Jiraiya's expression was calm, as if he were contemplating something else. After a long silence, Jiraiya said, "Kakashi, let me take Naruto." Kakashi was taken aback.
"Can you tell me why?" Although Kakashi trusted Jiraiya, Naruto was a Jinchuriki, entrusted to him by the Third Hokage. Without the Third's permission, he couldn't make such a decision on his own. Jiraiya was silent for a moment before saying, "Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Kakashi didn't respond; everyone knew that. "You know I've been monitoring Orochimaru all these years," Jiraiya continued.
Kakashi nodded. Jiraiya went on, "During these years of monitoring Orochimaru, I discovered he joined an organization called Akatsuki." Kakashi frowned.
"There are nine members in this organization. Over the years, they've been taking on missions across the ninja world and collecting jutsu from various ninja villages. At the same time, they're also investigating the Jinchuriki of each village." Kakashi was shocked. "Are you saying~" Jiraiya nodded, "That's right, they might be collecting the Tailed Beasts just like they collect jutsu, to use them for their own purposes."
Kakashi frowned, "Can't even you deal with this organization?" After all, Jiraiya was one of the Legendary Sannin; he should have the ability. Jiraiya shook his head, "No, the ninjas in this organization are very strong, almost every one of them has Kage-level power."
Kakashi was stunned, "They all have Kage-level power?" He couldn't believe it; this was beyond his imagination. To think that Jiraiya said there were nine of them, nine Kage-level ninjas, that was enough to conquer a nation.
Just one Orochimaru had Konoha on edge, and nine ninjas as strong as Orochimaru was terrifying to even think about. Jiraiya said gravely, "That's why I need to keep Naruto by my side. He must master the Nine-Tails' power to avoid being captured by the Akatsuki." Kakashi was silent.
He didn't know how to respond. Logically, this was beneficial for Naruto, but he wasn't sure if Naruto would agree. The Third Hokage probably wouldn't oppose it, given that he understood Jiraiya's strength well.
Following Jiraiya would be much safer than wandering around the village. But Kakashi also thought of Yoruha. Immediately, Kakashi made his decision.
Without needing further reasons from Jiraiya, Kakashi nodded, "Naruto will indeed be safer with you." Jiraiya was surprised; he hadn't expected Kakashi to agree so easily. "I thought you would oppose it."
Jiraiya said in surprise. Kakashi sighed, "I just want him to be safer, and he won't learn much from me anyway." Jiraiya frowned, feeling that wasn't the real reason.
"Kakashi, this isn't like you." Knowing he couldn't deceive Jiraiya, Kakashi reluctantly revealed his true thoughts. "I just don't want another one of my students to risk their life."
Jiraiya asked in confusion, "Are you talking about Sasuke?" Since Yoruha had only recently risen to prominence, Jiraiya wasn't aware of his existence. Kakashi shook his head, "No, Sasuke doesn't have that kind of strength right now."
Jiraiya was a bit surprised. "Wait a minute, your other disciple, isn't that a girl? Does she have the same talent as Tsunade?" He assumed Kakashi was referring to Sakura.
Indeed, Sakura's talent was exceptional. Without any bloodline advantage, she mastered most of Tsunade's jutsu and eventually reached Kage-level strength. However, Kakashi wasn't talking about Sakura. After thinking for a moment, Kakashi said, "It's one of my disciples. If he were in Konoha, I wouldn't be so worried about Orochimaru's invasion."
Jiraiya was taken aback. "Are you saying your disciple is a match for Orochimaru?!" He couldn't believe it. Orochimaru was one of the legendary Sannin, just like him. Kakashi gazed into the distance and sighed, "I'm not sure, but there's a high probability he could."
"Kakashi, do you even know how strong a Kage is?" Jiraiya was reluctant to believe it; it was simply too unbelievable. Kakashi chuckled, "I didn't quite believe it at first either, so I observed him for a long time. He indeed possesses Kage-level strength."
"The Hokage is aware of this too." Jiraiya, who was initially skeptical, had no doubts once he heard that the Third Hokage knew about it. "If that's the case, you've taken on a very strong disciple."
"Who is he? Can you tell me?" Jiraiya was very curious about who could make both the Third Hokage and Kakashi believe he could stand against Orochimaru.
Kakashi thought for a moment. Introducing Yoruha to Jiraiya could be beneficial for his future connections. Moreover, since Jiraiya was aligned with the Hokage, he would eventually learn about Yoruha. So Kakashi said, "My disciple's name is Natsuki Yoruha. He accompanied us on a mission before."
"During that mission, he single-handedly killed Kurosuki Raiga of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen." Jiraiya was somewhat astonished. At this time, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were still quite renowned.
Jiraiya was extremely shocked. "How old is your disciple?" Kakashi replied, "He's the same age as Naruto and Sasuke, in the same class."
"What! The same age as Sasuke and Naruto? You're not joking, are you?"
Jiraiya couldn't believe it. He thought Yoruha must be at least fifteen or sixteen years old. Having the strength to kill an elite Jonin at that age, while extremely talented, was something Jiraiya could understand. After all, Minato had such talent back in the day.
But Kakashi said Yoruha was the same age as Naruto, which far surpassed Minato's talent. He found it hard to believe someone with such talent existed. Kakashi looked at Jiraiya and calmly said, "Do I have any reason to deceive you?"
Seeing Kakashi's calm demeanor, Jiraiya was deeply shocked. He knew Kakashi wouldn't lie to him. But he found it hard to believe it was true.
Mainly because he had never seen someone with such talent. Even Orochimaru, whom he once considered a genius, wasn't this terrifying. "The Third Hokage knows about this too?"
Kakashi nodded, "It was the Third Hokage who promoted him to Chunin."
"And it was a recent promotion." Jiraiya was silent for a long time; the news was simply too unbelievable.
Transformation. After a long pause, Jiraiya furrowed his brows and said, "Are you saying that he already has the strength to withstand Orochimaru?" Kakashi thought for a moment and replied, "I'm not sure, but I feel that with his current strength, it shouldn't be a problem."
"What does the Third Hokage think of him?" Since Kakashi was Yoruha's teacher and only an elite Jonin, Jiraiya was concerned that Kakashi might misjudge. Kakashi said, "The Hokage said he already possesses Kage-level strength."
Now Jiraiya was completely convinced. He just couldn't believe that such a genius existed. To have Kage-level strength at just 12 years old, Jiraiya had never seen such a ninja.
This was a good thing. Jiraiya curiously asked, "Why isn't he in the village? Isn't he participating in this Chunin Exam as a proctor?"
Kakashi shook his head, "The Hokage wants Yoruha to accumulate mission experience, so he gave him a B-rank mission to complete on his own." Hearing this, Jiraiya looked at Kakashi in shock, "What did you say?" Kakashi repeated himself.
Jiraiya was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. He muttered to himself, "What is the Third Hokage planning? Could it be that he's chosen that kid?
Just like he chose Minato back then." As a disciple of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya had already vaguely guessed the Third's intentions. The Third Hokage was planning to groom Yoruha to become the Hokage.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent him to carry out a B-rank mission alone. Although Yoruha indeed had the qualifications to undertake a B-rank mission, such tasks usually required the accompaniment of a Jonin. Or at least a team of several Chunin.
Solo missions were extremely rare, almost unheard of. If the Third Hokage didn't want to send Yoruha to his death, there was only one possibility: the Third believed that with Yoruha's strength, even executing a B-rank mission alone wouldn't pose any danger. Most importantly, he clearly wanted Yoruha to accumulate mission experience, and why would he want Yoruha to accumulate mission experience?
It's obvious he wants to groom Yoruha to become the Hokage. Otherwise, letting Yoruha slowly accumulate mission experience on his own would be sufficient, without such urgency.