Chapter 45: Jiraiya

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Konoha Village.
The tall wooden walls enveloped Konoha.
The entire village had undergone significant changes over the past ten years.
A decade was enough to make one’s hometown almost unrecognizable, with only a few iconic buildings and landscapes hinting at its former appearance.
“This…”
“Is this really Konoha?”
The young Danzo stared in disbelief, his eyes wide open.
Having grown up in Konoha as a child, his impression had always been of a humble village. Now, it had transformed into a prosperous and bustling town.
The main gate of Konoha was also built impressively tall and grand.
Two Chunin shinobi in uniform sat at a table beside the gate, with registration forms laid out before them, watching as Emiya Shirou and his group approached.
“Welcome to Konoha,”
one of the Chunin greeted them warmly, inviting them over to register: “Please register your information before entering the village.”
“We are ninja of the village.”
The young Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward immediately, proactively registering his and Danzo Shimura’s names, flashing a broad smile at the two Chunin.
“I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, a Genin of the village.”
“Huh? You’re Senior Sarutobi?”
“That’s such a big change!”
“If you didn’t look closely, you’d never recognize you as our senior from before!”
The Chunin on duty, unable to believe his eyes, recalled how Sarutobi had been the esteemed upperclassman often praised by teachers at the Ninja Academy. He quickly introduced himself: “Senior Sarutobi, I’m Kamizuki Kumo!”
“Eh?”
The young Sarutobi scratched his head, eyes widening involuntarily: “You were just a rookie when we graduated, and now you’re already a Chunin?”
“Hehe…”
The Chunin beamed with pride, patting his Chunin uniform: “I was lucky to pass the village’s exams the year before last, so I got promoted a step ahead of you, Senior Sarutobi!”
“Hahaha… Well done!”
Sarutobi chuckled and praised his junior, then sighed with a hint of regret: “Looks like we need to complete our exams as soon as possible now that we’re back…”
“Hmph…”
Young Danzo approached, his expression clearly displeased with his own lagging behind: “We only wasted ten years wandering the ninja world outside. Otherwise, we would surely have been promoted to Jonin by now…”
“How can that be considered a waste of time!”
Sarutobi quickly nudged Danzo’s shoulder.
Although he knew the ten years had delayed their promotion, the experiences gained during their travels could never be called wasted.
Ten years of wandering…
had broadened Sarutobi’s horizons.
This young man no longer played around like he did as a child; he even tried to think from the perspective of Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, pondering what Konoha’s future should look like and what kind of relationships they should maintain with other great ninja nations.
Most importantly…
their strength had improved tremendously.
Danzo Shimura had attained Jonin-level combat ability over these ten years.
Moreover, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had mastered the five elemental chakra natures, truly experienced a qualitative leap in strength after receiving Emiya Shirou’s cursed seal, which greatly enhanced the power of his techniques.
To be frank…

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Sarutobi Hiruzen even had confidence that he could defeat his own father, Sarutobi Sasuke.
“Indeed, time was wasted…”
However, the Chunin guarding the gate strongly agreed with young Danzo’s words. He mentioned some of Sarutobi and Danzo’s contemporaries: “Senju Haruharu and Mitomon En-senior have long since been promoted to Jonin; even Maruboshi Kosuke was once a Jonin!”
“But…”
“Maruboshi Kosuke made a mistake before…”
The gate guard, privy to much gossip, whispered a story about one of their contemporaries: “Apparently, he was demoted back to Genin and refused to retake the Chunin exam, remaining a Genin in the village…”
“Kosuke, huh?”
Sarutobi frowned.
He didn’t intend to inquire further for now; after registering, he planned to accompany Emiya Shirou to report back at the Hokage’s office.
“This person hasn’t registered yet…”
Another Chunin stopped them, pointing at Emiya Shirou, who looked to be about their age, and curiously asked: “Is he also a ninja of the village?”
“No.”
“This gentleman is a distinguished guest of the village.”
Sarutobi shook his head seriously, registering a false name for Emiya Shirou and solemnly introducing: “He is a guest more honored than anyone else.”
“Then you can take the guest on a proper tour of the village.”
The Chunin inspected the ninja registration papers Sarutobi and Danzo carried, sighing softly: “You’ll need to update your information and photos. If we weren’t here, other unfamiliar Chunin might not recognize you…”
“By the way…”
“Once you enter the village, you might not recognize what Konoha used to be. The changes here over the years have been enormous…”
Compared to the outskirts…
the changes inside Konoha were even more extensive.
The houses lining the streets were no longer simple or shabby; even the architectural styles had changed. The walls were no longer plain green or brown but brightly painted in many colors. Increasingly more shops had opened along the streets.
In appearance…
Konoha’s scenery could be described as vividly beautiful.
Surrounded by low, clustered mountains, dense green trees intermingled with colorful houses. From the neat streets, one could immediately see the red Hokage building and, behind it, the rock statue carved in the likeness of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
Compared to the Konoha built ten years ago…
the present Konoha was more truly a great ninja nation, even a small city-state, making it impossible to imagine its former simplicity.
If one had always lived in Konoha, perhaps they wouldn’t notice such changes; but Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo Shimura, having left for ten years, were awestruck by their hometown’s transformation.
“Unimaginable…”
Young Sarutobi leapt onto a tall water tower, gazing over Konoha’s landscape: “Konoha changed so much in ten years…”
“Indeed…”
Young Danzo nodded silently.
“Time flies…”
Emiya Shirou seemed to see the passage of time reflected in Konoha’s changes, knowing the village’s future prosperity would surpass the present.
Compared to the changes in scenery…
the village’s population seemed to have grown as well.
Perhaps due to Konoha’s reputation, many had relocated there, becoming villagers, and the number of children had increased.
Children ran and played everywhere on the streets, and even a small white-haired child clumsily bumped into Emiya Shirou, nearly colliding with him.
Yet Emiya Shirou’s palm gently extended, a breeze enveloping the child’s body, allowing the little one to halt steadily in place.

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“Eh? Is this ninjutsu?”
The white-haired child curiously touched the surrounding breeze, looking up at Emiya Shirou standing before him: “Are you a ninja senior of the village?”
“No.”
Emiya shook his head.
“An outsider ninja has infiltrated!”
The white-haired child immediately shouted to his companions behind him, ignoring that he was still under Emiya Shirou’s control, yelling: “Go call the village seniors! I found an enemy sneaking into the village!”
“……”
The group of children panicked and shouted loudly.
“……”
Emiya Shirou’s expression darkened.
“Bang!”
Young Sarutobi leapt down, flicked the white-haired child’s head with his finger, and chuckled teasingly: “Haha, kid, you have poor eyesight if you picked someone who clearly doesn’t look like an enemy…”
“Hey!”
The white-haired child pouted in annoyance.
“Does this gentleman look like a bad person to you?”
Sarutobi patted the child’s head, signaling him to acknowledge Emiya Shirou: “Kid, the person standing before you is the greatest man in the ninja world — just by looking at his face, there’s no way he can be a villain!”
If judging by appearance…
young Danzo standing beside them looked more like a bad guy.
Even the friendly Sarutobi was outshone by Emiya Shirou, who emanated a compassionate aura that Sarutobi felt he himself lacked.
“Which clan are you from? What’s your name?”
Sarutobi curiously stroked the child’s white hair.
“……”
Emiya Shirou’s gaze softened.
This little one’s full head of white hair and the red markings beneath his eyes vaguely resembled someone he might recognize in the future.
The white-haired child struck a very arrogant pose, clenched his fist, and gave a thumbs-up pointing at himself, crowning himself with a string of boastful titles:
“I am the genius youth who’s captivated countless beauties across the ninja world…”
“The most handsome, generous, free-spirited, talented, and gifted prodigy, future top student of Konoha Ninja Academy, and the strongest ninja in Konoha!”
“I’m the one and only!”
“……”
Young Sarutobi was dumbfounded.
He had never seen such a shameless little brat before.
Even in his own youth, he had never been as self-absorbed as this kid.
Yet Emiya Shirou remained silent for a moment, then said something that infuriated the arrogant, narcissistic white-haired child:
“All that talking must make a kid’s mouth pretty dry, huh?”