The gathering hosted by Kei had more attendees than he expected.
Aside from Shikaku, Chōza, and Inoichi, along with their respective wives, Minato and Honoka also came, bringing along Kakashi, Obito, and Rin to join in the feast.
Of course, according to them, they were here to thank Kei for his assistance the day before.
Additionally, Shibi and his wife Tsunane, who were invited by Inoichi, as well as Mikoto and Tsume, who were called over by Kushina, also joined.
Jiraiya came on his own.
Kushina, along with Honoka, Mikoto, Tsunade, and Tsume, sat around the dining table, eating, chatting, and having a great time.
In the living room, the Ino-Shika-Chō trio and Shibi naturally sat together, engaged in casual conversation.
Meanwhile, the wives of the guests, led by Yoshino, moved upstairs, where they enjoyed delicious food and light drinks, chatting freely in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.
Guy, Genma, and Kurenai, along with Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, after finishing the last touches on a large batch of half-prepared food and bringing it to the table, were finally free to enjoy themselves.
The six of them set up a big table on the lawn in the courtyard and started indulging in a variety of delicious dishes.
Obito, who had been drooling with anticipation, threw away all his manners and began devouring food ravenously. Guy, as energetic as ever, started a competition with him to see who could eat more.
Kakashi and Genma, on the other hand, were rare examples of calmness, sitting quietly and savoring their meals in a composed manner.
Rin and Kurenai huddled together, whispering non-stop, occasionally bursting into bell-like laughter.
"This is really nice."
Leaning on the third-floor balcony railing, Kei watched the six energetic kids downstairs while listening to the playful banter and laughter echoing around him. This, he thought, was what life should be like.
"Hahaha~ I always knew you liked lively gatherings!" Jiraiya walked up beside Kei, carrying a bottle of sake. One hand rested on the railing, while the other lifted the bottle for a small sip.
"Jiraiya-senpai, I suddenly remembered that I still haven't settled a certain score with you." Kei turned to look at the Sannin. This guy had actually taken advantage of his absence from Konoha to corrupt his beloved disciples!
"Uh… The payment for the auctioned summoning beast, that's all settled, right?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. If you accompany me for two days of sparring, I'll let this slide."
"Can you first explain exactly what I did?" Jiraiya stiffened for a moment, then quickly feigned innocence.
Minato, who had originally intended to join the conversation, smoothly turned around and decided to take this opportunity to go check on his students instead.
Kakashi's emotional issues still needed careful guidance.
"???!!! Just how many shady things did you do?!"
"Hahaha… What do you mean… Uh… Okay, okay. I may have… told your disciples about some of your 'glorious battle records'… and…"
"And what?"
"Ahem, before returning to the village, I, uh, got into a fight while using your face."
"Hm? Using my face to fight? Are you sure you mean an actual fight? With who?"
"Absolutely a real fight! Uh… the opponent was the village chief of Nadeshiko Village."
"YOU… JIRAIYA!!! You're such a bastard!" Kei was so furious he almost ground his teeth to dust. He really wanted to strangle Jiraiya right now.
Nadeshiko Village was quite well-known in the shinobi world, not because their kunoichi were particularly powerful, but because it was essentially an all-female village. As a matriarchal clan-based settlement, their method of continuing their lineage was to defeat strong male warriors and take them into the village as husbands.
Basically, if they set their sights on a powerful individual, and that person lost, they would be carried off to the village to become a husband immediately. If the defeated still had some potential, they would keep challenging them until they finally won.
And Jiraiya had used his face to fight the leader of Nadeshiko Village?! This was no different from standing there and catching the ceremonial marriage ball, then running away!
Who the hell did something like that?!
He was one of the Sannin! Could he stop lowering the bar for human decency?!
"Hahaha… I won the fight, though! And they knew I was using Transformation Jutsu, so there's no problem, no problem at all!" Jiraiya scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
When you're out gathering intelligence, it's always better to use a different identity—it makes movement much easier.
Kei's face was truly a powerful tool for gathering intelligence. It would be a waste not to make full use of it. Who could have expected that it would catch the attention of Kayo?!
"Three days of sparring!"
Kei had already made up his mind—during their training, he was going to beat Jiraiya to a pulp! It wasn't out of anger. He simply felt that cleansing the shinobi world's environment was his duty!
"No problem! As long as you don't use those illusion techniques you always rely on, I'm totally fine with it!"
"This time, I won't use genjutsu."
"Cough cough Well, maybe not entirely… I still think that genjutsu you call Paradise has great tactical value."
"..."
Kei had to admit—he had underestimated Jiraiya's shamelessness.
Demonic Illusion: Paradise was originally something he created as a prank, purely for entertainment. It worked by stimulating the target's most basic physical desires with genjutsu…
How should he put it?
Against normal kunoichi, this genjutsu usually just made them blush and had little practical use. But against a pervert like Jiraiya…
Kei dared to used it, and Jiraiya dared to enjoy it—so much so that he absolutely refused to dispel the genjutsu on his own. Even if his nose bled uncontrollably to the point of needing emergency treatment at Konoha Hospital.
Even if, after waking up, his pants weighed an extra few ounces.
When it came to being a hopeless lecher… He was convinced that no one in the entire shinobi world could surpass Jiraiya!
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[Name: Jiraiya]
[Career: Ninja/Author]
[Traits: Prophet of Destiny (Purple), One of the Sannin (Purple), Summoner (Purple), Hero of the Shinobi World (Blue), Literary Dandy (White), Easily Excited (White), Dances at Dawn (White)]
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Was Jiraiya strong? Yes, absolutely!
[Prophet of Destiny] not only greatly enhanced his teaching ability, but it also boosted his mastery of six chakra nature transformations—Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Yin, and Yang—along with his proficiency in secret techniques and sealing jutsu. It even granted him the protection of destiny, meaning as long as his disciple hadn't fully matured, he could recklessly do as he pleased!
[One of the Sannin] boosted his overall combat power while instilling fear in his enemies and increasing his prestige among allies.
[Summoner] massively improved his synergy with summoning beasts, reduced the chakra cost of summoning-related jutsu, and unlocked the full potential of his summoned creatures.
[Hero of the Shinobi World] enhanced his charisma, mental fortitude, and personal beliefs, while also improving his resistance to genjutsu and his influence over others.
On paper, with these traits alone, Jiraiya was undoubtedly a formidable ninja with great personal charm. But then there were those three white traits…
White traits were a mixed bag—half beneficial, half troublesome. They might not boost his power significantly, but their drawbacks were an absolute nightmare!
For instance, [Literary Dandy] greatly improved his writing skills, allowing him to become a famous author in the shinobi world… but everything he wrote had to be risqué to sell well.
[Easily Excited] enhanced his physical resilience, making him more energetic, but also ensured that the slightest provocation would cause an… embarrassing reaction.
As for [Dances at Dawn]… It practically eliminated negative emotions like depression, anxiety, or fear. But in exchange, he needed to regularly indulge in his favorite content—otherwise, his mind would be filled with nothing but garbage thoughts.
This guy…
It's a good thing you became a ninja. At least you write those novels now and then, which helps lower the crime rate among civilians… Otherwise, I swear, you'd be completely useless to society.
Kei looked at Jiraiya with the most sincere expression imaginable.
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Advance chapters!
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