Chapter 95

"You came here earlier than I expected, Jiraiya." I let out as I put down my cup of sake while I was peacefully sitting on a bench at Teuchi's currently closed restaurant, making the three of us the only ones in the vicinity

"I may be somewhat irresponsible but I know that you never call me back to Konoha for no reason." Jiraiya replied as he sat down in front of me while I asked Teuchi to bring another cup as I made a sign with my hand

"Same as usual?" I asked to which Jiraiya replied "Same as usual." which Teuchi heard as he brought another bottle of sake we both enjoyed drinking

Outside of my family, Jiraiya was the only friend I could drink with like that because he resisted alcohol a lot, unlike Dai or Shikuro, while Orochimaru didn't drink.

Teuchi then filled our cups and left our table before saying "Take your time, it's on the house." which was nice of him since he was closed for two hours already but still made some time for us

If we took too long, I would still pay Teuchi, after all, the later he can go to bed tonight, the harsher tomorrow's day of work would be for him.

Jiraiya, noticing that I already drank a whole bottle of sake before he came here, at least he knew about one of them from the empty bottle Teuchi took off our table, suddenly said "You seem quite stressed out today, Yuichi. Is it because of the rumors going around?"

"Rumors?" I wondered but Jiraiya quickly explained "I heard that you took a second wife home a few days ago and civilians believe that you are going to retire because of it."

"Uh? I don't see how the two are linked but I guess they aren't wrong either since I intend to retire from being the Hokage soon." I tiredly said as it was still exhausting to be Hokage even by using clones for paperwork since they always shared what they did when they despawned

"Yeah I thought so, there's no way someone as vigorous as you would retire for something like this." Jiraiya jokingly replied before swallowing the content of his cup in one go

While he did so, I kept on looking down in my cup, looking at my reflection while I was thinking about a lot of stuff happening recently.

"Mh, this won't do." Jiraiya suddenly said which made me let out "Uh?" as I raised my head to look at him

"Look, Yuichi, you're not just stressed out, you're completely out of it as of now... You're worried, am I wrong? It's written all over your face, and if even I can realize it then I'm certain Tsunade did too." Jiraiya first explained but before I could answer, he added "I know the reason too, after all, the frogs told me about it in a new prophecy, even the Great Toad Sage was surprised to have such a clear and lengthy one for once."

"And does it end badly..?" I couldn't help but ask which made Jiraiya fill another cup of sake before emptying it with one gulp again

"If you keep being so pessimistic and paranoid, then it might end badly." Jiraiya then said as he stared me right in the eyes

'Mh, I swore to never lock away my feelings again since I realized how inhuman it made me... Maybe I should do it again but only for my worries, that way I won't affect my close ones with my nervousness' I thought as I looked at my reflection in the cup

"Honestly, I don't truly know how powerful our enemies could be... But I know one thing, if you, the undoubtedly strongest shinobi in the world, show such feelings to your family and friends, then how do you expect them to be at ease?" Jiraiya finally added which was enough for me to agree with him as I then locked away my feeling of worry

"I guess no one's perfect uh... Thanks, Jiraiya, I almost believe that I called you for that, unfortunately, that wasn't the case." I then said as I let out a chuckle and finally felt like a huge burden was lifted from my shoulders

"You're welcome." Jiraiya replied before asking "Now that our little therapy session is over, what kind of mission are you sending me to this time?"

"The first part will be to find and stea- *cough* retrieve an item, once done, you will need to find the place where this item will be of use." I briefly explained before taking out a scroll from Shiromari's pocket dimension belly

"Oy, you almost said 'steal', don't try to hide it from me!" Jiraiya first exclaimed before massaging his temples as he added "From who do I have to steal this item? And what kind of thing it is for you to steal it?"

"Nothing much, you just have to steal the Land of the Moon royal family's heirloom." I let out which made Jiraiya show quite a funny expression as he yelled "Are you insane?! Just imagine if they learn that Konoha did it, our Daimyō won't let this pass, Hokage's order or not!"

"But no one will know, right? After all, if you fail, I won't kill you and just ask Chizu to cut your genitals since she will go with you." I said with a gentle smile which made him shiver as he let out "...Argh! Fine! But I hope that this is worth it."

Smiling again when I heard his reply, I explained "Trust me, it is." before taking out a picture that showed a beautiful jewel that radiates the incoming light just like the moon

This orb-like jewel even mimicked the current phase of the Moon, fully shining white during the full Moon or being completely black on the new Moon, with all the phases in between as well.

Heck, it even allowed the royal family to predict an eclipse.

"This... Is a jewel that the royal family uses to adorn their golden crown, but in reality, this is a key, you see?" I revealed before showing him a map of the shinobi world that had some locations marked

"I need to go to the Moon to find something that will help us against the invaders, and to do so I have to find a gate... At first, I believed that the gate would be somewhere around the Land of the Moon but I was wrong, instead, after some lengthy research, I found out that the Land of the Moon only had this 'key' and that it was required to activate the gate." I began to explain in more detail as Jiraiya quietly listened to me

"The places I surrounded with a marker are where I believe the gate to be." I then said as I talked about the Land of This, the Land of That, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Iron

"Places? You encircled entire lands! Shouldn't it be faster for you to search for it?" Jiraiya asked as I was basically telling him to find something that could be said to be small when compared to the size of these four countries

Not only that but it was only assumptions of mine since I didn't find anything that told me where the gate was, heck, the only one who knew was Hamura Ōtsutsuki and he didn't even tell his brother

"I thought about that as well but this gate cannot be located even by someone with the Byakūgan so let alone me." I first said, still not telling anyone about my sensing ability which was the Byakūgan

"The problem is that this gate doesn't even exist unless you have the key on yourself which, when close enough, will make the gate appear and allow you to pinpoint its exact location." I explained the issue with that gate and why I didn't try to blitz my way in by swarming these four countries with billions of small clones

Believe me, I was ready to do it.

"I see... Even then, the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire are quite big you know, while the two others wouldn't be as long, it will take me years..." Jiraiya said as he brushed his chin and looked at the map, surely thinking about where to go first once he stole the key

"I advise you to begin your research near the border between the Land of This and the Land of That, then cover them whole... One thing I know for sure, is that this gate is underground so you might be able to gain some time by skipping areas without any." I told him as it was information I got from Hagoromo

These two lands were the first places I believed Hamura placed the gate since it was where once stood the Land of Ancestors where he was born along with Hagoromo, and also where the first God Tree sprouted and where Kaguya first got sealed by them.

"Alright, these two together will take around the same time as doing only one of the two others... But why would you expect the gate to be in our land? Or the Land of Iron for that matter. I know that the Land of This and the Land of That are two of the oldest lands which probably explains why you sent me there, but I can't see the relation between a portal leading to the Moon and them?" Jiraiya asked as he was curious about what made me choose these two bigger lands

"For the Land of Fire, it's quite simple, the one who created the gate is the ancestor of the Hyūga Clan but also of the Clan that lives or lived on the Moon." I explained which made Jiraiya exclaim "Wait, you're telling me that some humans are living on the Moon?!"

"Key words, lives or lived, but yes, you could say that some humanoids are up there." I replied as I believed that Hamura created the gate somewhere the Hyūga Clan once stood during their first year, making them 'guardians' of some sort, a place which unfortunately couldn't be pinpointed more precisely than the Land of Fire as a whole nowadays

"As for the Land of Iron, well, they do have a long history as well but more importantly they are considered the 'only' neutral ground of the shinobi world, a reputation that they held far before the Warring States period, so, knowing that the gate's creator was a man who believed in peace, I thought of their land as another possibility, but not one that you have to visit first." I finished explaining, truly hoping that this gate was somewhere I pinpointed because I would need to theorize even more in case it wasn't

"What's the deadline if there is one?" Jiraiya asked to which I shortly replied "Three."

"Three years? For everything?" Jiraiya exclaimed as he was surprised by how short of a time frame it was for the kind of job I asked

"You have three months to steal the key, and up to three years to find the gate, at least by covering the Land of This, That, and Fire." I explained as I gave him the map, the picture of the key, and a scroll that contained everything he might need during his travel

Before Jiraiya could open his mouth, I finally added "You and Chizu will depart in three days at four a.m. She already knows the whole mission and she's also tasked to cut your precious family jewels if you're taking your time, and you know how diligent she is." before chuckling as I saw his face and how he currently 'protected' his genitals by placing his hands in front of his pant

"Urgh, you don't need to remind me, last time you sent both of us on a mission together I almost died because I tried to peep on her... Thankfully, using your name was enough to stop her but I'm not sure if it will be enough anymore..." Jiraiya said as he surprisingly had a... Scaroused expression?

Nevertheless, now that our business interaction with each other was over, we were back to enjoying our drinks and talking about a lot of trivial stuff

And as hours passed, Jiraiya, whose face was completely red from the alcohol suddenly asked "So you're telling me that your son was born a few days ago? Who's the Godfather?" as I told him that Tsunade gave birth to Yushiro five days ago

"His godfather? Well, I asked Orochimaru to become his Godfather but..." I let out, my face red from being drunk as well

"He refused?" Jiraiya said but I quickly denied his assumption as I replied "No, he accepted, it's just that I'm not sure if I should call 'him' Yushiro's God'father'..." before remembering my previous interaction with Orochimaru

*Flashback no Jutsu*

*Three weeks ago*

After making sure that Kaguya was accommodated with living with us at the Senju Compound, and also after completing the paperwork required to make her officially my second wife, I decided to go underground to the laboratory where Orochimaru passed most, if not all, his time experiencing.

When I transferred my chakra to release Kaguya, I had to dispel the clone that was working with Orochimaru and I forgot to make a new one since I came back which made me worried that my friend fucked up something.

Not by killing someone he shouldn't, I trusted him enough not to do so since he was far from going rogue and had everything he ever needed to be provided by me, making him a shut-in since he barely left the underground in the last few decades.

What worried me was that my clone dispelled just before the worst timing possible, and knowing Orochimaru's personality, he surely continued his last experience without waiting for me, which could end badly for him as it was quite dangerous.

"Orochimaru, are you here?" I let out as I entered the room where we did the last experiment, and the table no longer had an artificial body on it

Before going down there, I sensed his chakra but he didn't look to be moving so I at least expected him to answer to know how he was currently.

"Ara Ara, Yuichi-san, you're alive." I heard a female voice say behind me which made me think 'Ara Ara?' before turning back and being face to face with whom I knew was Orochimaru, kind off

"Oh, you... Changed." I exclaimed as in front of me was a naked white-skinned woman with an androgynous face, more than before, which belonged to Orochimaru since I saw the snake eyes, the purple markings around them, and the long black hair

"I finished it while you left, and as you can see, it's a success." fem-Orochimaru said as he... She? Was feeling his own body

"Please put on some clothes." I let out before massaging my temples at the lack of decency that my friend had

"Would putting clothes truly change something? Aren't you seeing people naked when you sense them with your Dōjutsu?" Orochimaru replied, knowing about my abilities more than almost anyone else

"I don't have an X-ray activated all the time you know." I explained as I rolled my eyes but what Orochimaru did after surprised me as he said "If you're embarrassed because of my female body then I can change that." before growing the whole package at his crotch which was disturbing as he kept the female parts for a while before fully becoming male again

"..." nothing left my mouth, I was speechless at how much he didn't care about being seen like that at all

As I stayed silent, Orochimaru finally decided to put on some clothes, allowing me to forget what I just saw as I thought about getting some bleach for eye cleaning later.

"I'm glad that you successfully transferred your soul into a homunculus, just... Try not to do something as dangerous as that without me because even the smallest mistake would mean your death, and losing your soul would make me unable to bring you back." I finally said as the project we worked on after we finished Kaguya's homunculus body was to make one for Orochimaru which allowed him to reach immortality to some extent

With such a body, he couldn't catch any illness, disregarded the effect of aging on his cells, and he also no longer needed to eat, drink, and the usual needs going with them.

Something he had to keep in mind however was that his soul wasn't immortal yet, or more precisely, he still had a 'mortal' soul which means that there is a limit as to how long can it bear the burden of living for ages.

It was his next focus for his experiment, though he still had a lot more time than before to achieve it so he surely began to learn many Jutsu now that his body allowed an affinity with almost everything, and judging by the Ninjutsu books piled up in the room.

"Are you worried about me? You'll make me blush, Yuichi-san." Orochimaru jokingly replied before releasing a small eerie giggle, his voice still not completely male-sounding

Sighing at his antic, I said "Yes I am, we're talking about a permanent death here, but what's done is done." which made Orochimaru smile, and an honest one for a change

"Nevertheless, I didn't come here only to see how you were going." I let out as I laid my back on the nearest wall and crossed my arms before adding "As you know, my son will soon be born and I came to ask you something."

I saw him raise an eyebrow at my words before preemptively warning me "If you are asking me to become his Godfather then allow me to refuse. I am not yet willing to have a child of my own, let alone take care of someone else's... And taking into account your daughter's personality, I won't have the required patience to do it."

Letting out a chuckle as he answered before I could even ask him anything, I declared "If you're uneasy about my son's to-be personality then you don't have to worry since he isn't like Tsugumi at all, in fact, he's a lot more like me."

"He is? You are talking about your unborn son as if you met him already. Do you need help? I have some medication that requires a guinea pig if you want." Orochimaru replied as he moved towards his desk and took a bottle of red pills and another one with blue pills from a drawer

"Cut the crap, you know as much as me how limitless chakra can be used, and it allowed me to meet my son years before he was born." I said since I knew well enough that Orochimaru believed me and was just messing around

"If what you said is true then I don't mind it... And it's not like you're going to die anyway." Orochimaru replied which raised a few flags in my head... Where are they coming from?

"Thanks." I exclaimed as I was glad that he accepted but suddenly remembered something and asked "By the way, should you be his Godfather, Godmother, or both?"

Orochimaru was dumbfounded for a while, blinking his eyes multiple times in surprise before replying "Choose whichever you want, human gender is but a trivial thing for me, now more than ever."

'Still the same to this day uh' I thought with a smile before helping him with a few experiments for the rest of the day

*Flashback no Jutsu End*

"So Orochimaru said that uh? Seems like he didn't change at all." Jiraiya exclaimed as I only told him about Orochimaru's answer

"Right? I almost thought the same!" I replied before both of us heartily laughed, spilling some of our drinks on the table from our filled cups

Once we stopped laughing, I looked towards the window and saw that a lot of time passed since we began to drink, and, because I felt bad for making Teuchi wait for us to leave, I said "I think we should go home for the night, we'll talk more later." before getting up as I put a money bag on the table

"Oh, before leaving, Chizu will wait for you at the Senju Clan compound's main entrance in three days, so don't be late." I declared as I mimicked a pair of scissors with my fingers before waving and leaving the restaurant

The three years I gave him should be enough, and more importantly, it would let me and Madara plenty of time to find Isshiki's whereabouts, though we mustn't provoke him before I get to the Moon, after all, I prefer having the power boost I will get from there before facing him.