Chapter 123: Parents

Orochimaru wasn't stubborn; since the man himself said to call him "Nii-san," then that was naturally fine. "Nii-san" was much more intimate than calling him a "Lord."

"Father, Mother, you two go back first. I'll go home with Jiraiya later."

Orochimaru's father nodded at him, then took his wife and headed home. This was Konoha Village, and the one playing with his child was the Hokage's disciple, someone stronger than himself. He didn't see how his son could be in danger. However, while the father wasn't worried, the mother's heart was filled with concern. Even though the "safety buffs" were practically maxed out, she still couldn't stop worrying, always afraid of accidents.

Orochimaru watched his parents' retreating figures from the sky, then sighed. Today's events would definitely worry his mother. He would have to sincerely apologize when he got home tonight.

"Ready, Orochimaru? Here we go!"

Hearing this, the guilt he had felt moments ago immediately vanished. Going home could wait; since he was already in the sky, he would make the best of it. Look how happy Jiraiya was!

After all, they were just children. Orochimaru, who had been feigning a cool, brooding demeanor for so long, finally joined Jiraiya in his excitement. Over half of Konoha was drawn to look up at the sky. Being watched by so many people made Orochimaru quite shy, but Jiraiya felt nothing, still shouting joyfully, even singing a nursery rhyme his mother had taught him. The song lingered in the sky above Konoha for a long time.

"I say, Jiraiya, you should have some shame!"

Jiraiya hummed, then a confident smile spread across his face. "What's there to be embarrassed about?! I, Jiraiya, am going to be the strongest ninja in all of Konoha in the future!"

Facing Jiraiya's grand pronouncements, Orochimaru felt embarrassed for him, but Torifū gave him full affirmation. "I believe in you, Jiraiya, you will definitely become a very strong ninja." He then added, "And you too, Orochimaru. Both your futures are bright."

In the original world, Jiraiya's ending wasn't perfect, but this time, it might be different. And Torifū believed that Orochimaru, in the original world, had gone through immense hardship to find a father figure for himself. This time, Orochimaru shouldn't be so extreme. Probably?

They had been flying for a while, and it was getting late. Torifū decided to send the two children home to prevent their parents from worrying about them not returning late. After discussing it with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Torifū prepared to turn back.

But then Jiraiya suddenly said, "Torifū nii-san, wait a moment! Those two look like my father and mother!"

"Oh?"

Torifū looked in the direction Jiraiya pointed and saw two ninja indeed rushing towards the village. From the sky, he could only see the style of their clothes, which indicated they were Konoha ninja. What surprised Torifū was that Jiraiya could distinguish his parents from such a distance. Truly the bond of blood.

But since he was with two children, Torifū couldn't take them out of the village with him. So he decided to land at the main gate to see if they were indeed Jiraiya's parents. If not, he would take the two children straight home.

Konoha's gate slowly opened, and two ninja entered from outside the village. Before Torifū could even ask Jiraiya if they were his parents, Jiraiya had already pounced.

"Father, Mother, you're finally back!"

The sudden appearance of a white fur ball caught the couple off guard. Just as they were about to toss this white fur ball away, they suddenly realized it was their own son.

"Jiraiya! What are you doing here?" Jiraiya's mother exclaimed, her face radiating a joyful smile.

Jiraiya pointed behind him. "Torifū nii-san brought me here! Huh? Where is he? And Orochimaru's gone too?"

Jiraiya's father patted his head. "Which Torifū nii-san? How come I don't know little Jiraiya has a friend like that?"

Jiraiya quietly complained in his heart about Torifū and Orochimaru abandoning him and leaving first. Then, hearing his father's question, he said, "I just met him today. Torifū nii-san is the Hokage-sama's disciple."

Then Jiraiya recounted to his father how he met Torifū, and everything he saw in the sky. He explained every detail clearly, afraid that any omission would ruin the story's completeness.

"Torifū-sama probably didn't want to disrupt our family reunion, which is why he left."

"If Torifū-sama truly intends to get to know you, you'll surely meet again in the future, but he often performs missions, so his free time is scarce."

Jiraiya nodded upon hearing his father's words. His father's words were very fair. Jiraiya wasn't an idiot and naturally knew that Torifū's status and position were relatively high. It was just that he didn't like calling people "Lord," and thankfully, Torifū didn't like being called "Lord" either.

His mother also patted Jiraiya's head. "After this mission, I won't have to take any for a long time. I can make delicious food for Jiraiya every day."

"Yay! Mother is the best!"

Jiraiya's father let Jiraiya ride on his shoulders. "Let's go, we're going home." However, before that, they still had to hand over their mission report, and there was nothing wrong with taking Jiraiya along.

Meanwhile, Torifū was sending Orochimaru home. From a distance, he saw Orochimaru's mother looking out from the doorway, seemingly very worried about Orochimaru. Seeing Torifū bring Orochimaru back, her heavy heart finally settled.

"Torifū-sama, please come in for a cup of tea." She was only worried about her child getting hurt and had no dissatisfaction with Torifū at all; instead, she greeted him warmly.

Torifū waved away Orochimaru's mother's kind offer. After all, it was a minor matter, and it was already dark, so it was time to rest. It was good for everyone. Since that was the case, Orochimaru's mother didn't try to hold him back. After a final thank you, she took Orochimaru back inside.

Torifū also directly transformed back into a cloud crane and returned to the compound. He intended to get as much rest as possible these two days. After all, the Hokage inauguration ceremony was the day after tomorrow, and he needed to be in good spirits. He also needed to keep an eye on Kakuzu's movements, as the chaos event hadn't been completed yet. Kakuzu's life or death was secondary; the chaos value was the main concern! Torifū certainly didn't want the chaos value to increase again.

He quietly flew in through the window, then transformed back into his original form. He glanced into the yard and saw that Snowflake and Aokumo and Ryūfū were already asleep. Torifū simply washed up and went to rest as well.

[T/N: He cosplays as a 'cloud' crane sometimes. Dunno what that is. Something Celestial maybe.]