"By the way, Tengen, these spoils are yours. I'll just take the secret documents." Minato handing Tengen a collection of ninja tools and coins.
In the ninja world, spoils belonged to the victor, a matter of course.
"Thanks, Minato-sama." Tengen said, accepting them.
Among the spoils were explosive tags, costly ninja tools. The Suna-nins must not have had time to use them before Tengen took them out.
"Haha, Tengen, you're something else! You're on Kakashi's level, but don't go picking up his ice-cold attitude." Obito is recovering from his earlier shock.
"Obito." Tengen said suddenly.
"Yeah, what's up?" Obito replied.
"Can I just say, after killing three Suna-nins, I'm wiped out? Ease up on the shoulder slaps, people might think you're trying to kill me." Tengen quipped.
Whether from shock or enthusiasm, Obito's pats were heavy-handed.
"I'm a genius too, you know! I'm a chunin, pretty cool, right?" Obito bragged.
"Oh, I just took out three chunin." Tengen said coolly.
"Damn!" Obito reeled, thrown off by Tengen's sharp tongue. "Why do I feel like you're tougher to deal with than Kakashi?"
"Leave me out of this, Obito." Kakashi said from the side.
"Alright, everyone, let's head back to Konoha." Minato said.
"Hell yeah, we're going home!" Obito cheered.
Missions could keep them away from Konoha for months at a time.
Tengen followed Minato's team back to the village.
"See you around, Tengen!" Obito and the others waved as they parted ways.
"Time to head home." Tengen glances at the sky. After taking down three chunin, he was exhausted.
But the rewards far outweighed the effort.
"Well, damn, Tengen!" On his way home, Tengen spotted a haggard white-haired man. He nearly jumped; it was Jiraiya with his eyes sunken and lifeless.
Had Jiraiya been… overindulging with those magazines, lost in a haze?
"He's risking his life for it." Tengen muttered, half-admiring Jiraiya's dedication. If Jiraiya knew Tengen's thoughts, he'd probably throttle him.
Luckily, Jiraiya was clueless.
"Pervy Sage, what's wrong?" Tengen asked, curious.
"Come see something awesome!" Jiraiya grabbed Tengen, dragging him off without waiting for a response.
Soon, they arrived at a building. Jiraiya opened the door and pulled Tengen inside.
Clearly, this was Jiraiya's home.
"Pervy Sage, why'd you bring me here?" Tengen asked, bewildered. Was Jiraiya inviting him to… join in? Tengen was firmly against it.
At eight, he wasn't exactly mature in that department.
"Look over there." Jiraiya said, pointing to a pile of scattered books. Tengen recognized some, the magazines he'd extracted. But others caught his eye, their style distinct.
Jiraiya had absorbed the essence of those magazines and transformed them into his own works.
"Pretty impressive, right? These are my creations from the past few days!" Jiraiya boasted proudly.
"Impressive." Tengen was genuinely awed. Flipping through a book, he marveled at Jiraiya's skill, vivid and perfectly tailored to the Naruto world. These were practically must-haves for every man.
"So he wasn't just indulging." Tengen mumbled, realizing he'd misjudged Jiraiya's resolve. If Jiraiya had been recklessly overdoing it, that would've been weirder.
Okay, Tengen mentally erased his earlier assumptions about Jiraiya's self-destructive habits.
"What's that about indulging?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.
"Nothing, just praising you, Pervy Sage!" Tengen gave a thumbs-up.
"Not bad! I'm a genius, but call me Jiraiya-nii." Jiraiya grinned, thrilled his work was appreciated.
"By the way, Tengen, I owe you for this. Without you, these wouldn't exist!" Jiraiya laughed heartily.
"Jiraiya, Tengen, what are you two up to?" A voice interrupted. A stunning woman appeared, graceful figure, fair skin, and eyes like autumn pools. It was Tsunade.
Jiraiya's laughter stopped dead. Tengen froze.
This felt like the calm before a storm.
Moments later, a roar shook the room. "Jiraiya, Tengen, you're sneaking around doing this? Jiraiya, I was worried something happened to you!"
"Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya dragged me here! I didn't know!" Tengen protested.
"Tengen, some of this is yours!"
"Jiraiya, don't pin this on Tengen, it's all you!"
Poor Jiraiya was left speechless, unable to defend himself.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen looked at Minato. "You're saying we have a list of Sunagakure spies?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Minato confirmed. "These documents were recovered from the Suna-nins."
"Hm." Hiruzen nodded, examining the papers. "Not detailed, but it gives us a direction."
"Hokage-sama, do you know Tengen?" Minato asked suddenly.
"Tengen?" Hiruzen frowned. "Is there such a ninja in Konoha?"
"He's an academy student." Minato clarified.
"An academy student?" Hiruzen's eyes lit up. "I've heard of him. Lately, he's been called the strongest student at the academy."
"He's the one who killed those Suna-nins." Minato explained.
After a pause, Hiruzen nodded. "If that's the case, he's like Kakashi."
"Exactly. He plans to take the graduation exam soon, so his sensei…" Minato trailed off.
"I understand." Hiruzen said. A genius needed the right mentor, just as Kakashi had benefited from proper guidance.
***
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