A not-so-wise sage.

Eiji was surprised by the sudden shout, but he didn't make any action or movement. After all, he was certain that nobody would dare to attack him while he was with Minato.

Then he saw a figure with long white hair waving his hand with a goofy smile on his face.

Eiji finally managed to identify the guy, and he couldn't help but be surprised – he finally met Jiraiya in person!

Indeed, it was him who had arrived!

Jiraiya was a tall man with spiky white hair, usually tied in a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing each side of his face.

He also had red lines coming out of his eyes and wore a forehead protector with the kanji for "oil," showing his affiliation with Mount Myōboku.

He also had a visible wart on the right side of his nose. Jiraiya wore a kimono with a green shirt and short pants, under which he wore chainmail armor.

His outfit was completed with hand guards, a simple black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, a red cape with two plain yellow circles, and a scroll on his back. He also had a tattoo on the palm of his left hand, similar to the one 'Gama' has.

He loved frogs so much because it was the only one that would pose with him in his presentations and he self-proclaimed wherever he went!

"Oh, Sensei. When did you return to the village?" Even Minato was surprised by his arrival. Jiraiya had a habit of being a free bird, coming and going as he pleased.

"Better than that, who are these brats, Minato? I thought you said you only had one genin under your command," Jiraiya replied with another question.

Minato was already used to his sensei's ways; he often tried to divert others' attention to another place and almost never answered the most important questions.

Minato just let it go; he understood that Jiraiya probably had a good reason for appearing here in person.

Then he pointed his finger at Eiji, who was sitting and looking at the two of them with great care, and introduced them.

"This is Hatake Eiji, he's not really my disciple. He's Kushina's genin. He's here just to learn a bit from me," Minato rubbed his cheek a little awkwardly.

"Hatake?"

"Pleased to meet you, Jiraiya," Eiji stood up and, to everyone's surprise, he didn't bow or use honorifics, he addressed him directly by his name and extended his hand for a handshake.

'Jiraiya? Huh?' Jiraiya smiled at the interesting scene before him. He had met many people in his life during his journeys. But he had never met anyone as carefree and relaxed as this boy in front of him.

He wasn't even surprised or impressed by his arrival and treated him as if he were any other common shinobi! That was incredibly insane! He had never seen anyone behave like this.

'Now, this is interesting.'

"Kid, don't you know who I am?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. Nonetheless, he didn't refuse the handshake and returned the gesture.

"Of course, I know. You're Minato's sensei."

'Minato, huh?'

"Hehehe, kid," Jiraiya retracted his hand while laughing. "I'm not just his sensei." Jiraiya jumped back from Eiji as he twirled his hair wildly.

"I am Jiraiya, the wise toad of Mount Myoboku, one of the legendary Sannin, the village's crazy too!" He finished twirling his hair, propped his right foot, stretched, and extended his arm forward.

"I'm also the number one pervert in the entire ninja nation! Hahahaha."

"..."

No one could react right after such self-proclamation.

"Sensei, that's not something to boast about... If Kushina heard you say something like that, she'd leave you all black and blue," Minato advised his teacher.

Jiraiya heard what Minato said and began to frantically look to the left and right, searching for Kushina. When he realized she wasn't there, he let out a relieved sigh.

'It seems nobody dares to confront Kushina,' Eiji meditated.

Jiraiya was disheartened; neither of the two kids reacted to his magnificent presentation. They had no sense of humor.

Minato stepped forward and pointed at Kakashi, who was completely ignoring what was happening after seeing Jiraiya's actions.

'Why do I only know irrational lunatics?' Kakashi was starting to wonder if he was somehow cursed.

"That one is Hatake Kakashi, a genius of his generation. Although he's a bit rude most of the time, he's a good boy."

Jiraiya had a goofy smile on his face as he observed the Hatake siblings; one was training his kenjutsu skills, and the other was...

Lying down to sleep?

"Hey kid, are you really going to sleep?"

"I'm not going to sleep; I'm just resting my eyes until Kakashi finishes training," Eiji's tone of voice was slow and lazy, as if he had a lot of work to respond.

"I never thought the Sakumo kids would be this strange!" Jiraiya commented loud enough to catch Kakashi's attention.

"Do you know my father?"

"It's no wonder he doesn't know that; Sakumo doesn't talk much, huh?" Jiraiya reflected. Despite all the strange and eccentric behavior of Eiji, he noticed unusual and uncommon things about him.

'He acts lazy and disinterested but is always aware of his surroundings, as if he fears being attacked... His hands are also calloused, which indicates intensive training. His chakra reserves are already at the level of a normal chunin, and his words, mindset, and intelligence are not normal for an ordinary child.'

Jiraiya's mind was working at a breakneck speed; he had long been accustomed to noticing almost imperceptible details that few people would see.

What Jiraiya didn't know was that Eiji was using a seal under his shirt that partially limited his chakra, making it seem like he had less chakra than he actually had.

"Yes, I know him. In fact, I even trained with him for a while and went on missions with him," Jiraiya replied honestly. He owed some things to Sakumo.

Eiji was very interested in the subject and asked bluntly, "Who is stronger between you two? My father or you?" He had already sat down and was paying close attention to the man in front of him.

In his previous life, he was idolized by many around the world. But after living in this world, Eiji began to not think so highly of him, but he still liked the man. His opinion of the man was so contradictory.

Jiraiya looked at Eiji strangely and seemed to be thinking about how to answer his question.

"Honestly? Even if Orochimaru and Tsunade were with me, we would still lose!" Jiraiya spoke with complete honesty.

"Really?" Although Eiji suspected it, it was different hearing

it from someone like Jiraiya. He wasn't weak at all.

"You have no idea!" Jiraiya shook his head. "Even though I'm a master of espionage, I still can't infiltrate without him noticing."

He had great respect for this boy's father. One of the reasons he came back to the village was precisely because of what happened to Sakumo. A classified leak classified as S-rank, and the Hokage took no action? There was a smell of conspiracy there.

"Let's not even talk about skill, experience, taijutsu, ninjutsu, strategy, overall strength. He surpasses us in everything. The most incredible thing is his kenjutsu skill, which is unmatched in the entire ninja nation."

Jiraiya knew that these two kids practiced kenjutsu with Sakumo, so he pointed at Kakashi, who was swinging his tanto.

"Do you know why Sakumo is feared by all the villages? He is an S-rank ninja."

Eiji didn't know how to respond and shook his head in denial. Everything he knew about his father's strength was almost nonexistent. Sakumo never showed any of his real abilities in front of his children.

"When Sakumo draws his sword, no one can capture his movement; all they see is a white blur. It's almost impossible to dodge if he's too close; he can even cut ninjutsu with a single strike. It's very insane."

Eiji was impressed by this information. He couldn't believe it was possible to simply cut through a ninjutsu! That's incredibly OP.

"So, you would lose? The great and legendary Sannin? Hehehe," Jiraiya was surprised that this kid had the audacity to mock him, the great and wonderful Jiraiya-sama!

Then Eiji took the opportunity and got slightly excited.

"Jiraiya, why are you called the legendary Sannin and lost 3 vs. 1 against a single ninja from the Rain Village? Shouldn't you be the legendary losers?"

"Jiraiya, why are you called Sannin if you can't enter sage mode?"

"Jiraiya, why are you such a clueless pervert?"

"Jiraiya..."

Jiraiya was amazed by this kid; he threw questions one after another in succession without losing his breath. He was starting to get annoyed with this brat.

"Kid, hold on a second." He covered Eiji's mouth and looked at him seriously. "I'm not a clueless pervert! I'M A SUPER PERVERT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND, BOY???"

Eiji found this unbelievable; of all the things he said, that was what he really cared about? WFT.

"But..." He looked around and deliberately took a moment to respond. "How do you know about Sage Mode? It's not something taught or known to people." His eyes narrowed as if he could see everything.

Eiji was surprised by this sudden change in attitude but didn't take it seriously. "My father said that there are certain summons that can teach the path of the sage if you find the qualified contractor."

Eiji was quite pleased with this; using his father as an excuse was really impressive. Nobody really suspected it was a lie.

'Something he said doesn't sound right. Hmmmm' Jiraiya never stopped analyzing Eiji. He noticed that this boy used to be eccentric and quite radical in some things. His mind wasn't functional according to what he was used to.

There was also this strange and unnatural attitude around Eiji that left Jiraiya intrigued; he asked inappropriate and somewhat rude questions as if it were normal... Many people could get angry or offended.

'This is going to take some time...'

"You're right. I am the contractor of Mount Myoboku; they are the frog summons that can teach the Sage path... and only I can do it so far. As for Orochimaru and Tsunade... One is disqualified, and the other is not interested."

"So why are you called the Sage? Legendary Sannin? You're not a Sage."

"Is it because you have such an honorable and cool title? Didn't you lose badly to a single shinobi, even with the advantage?"

"How did you lose to a SALAMANDER in a place full of WATER?"

Most of the things this kid said were unpleasant. It was as if he was trying to irritate him or something.

'Is he trying to provoke me, or is he testing me?'

Jiraiya put his hand on his forehead and regretted coming to this place to inspect these kids by order of Hiruzen. If one is already giving him such a headache, imagine two?

'I could be writing a book or spying on the bathroom, doing research...' Jiraiya sighed in distress.