"Brilliant! Absolutely f*cking brilliant, Kazuki!"Inside a private room of a barbecue joint in the hot spring town, Jiraiya was pounding Kazuki's shoulder, laughing like he'd just found his long-lost brother.
The old sage had already drained several jugs of sake.Kakashi, meanwhile, sat stiff and red-faced, blushing so hard it looked painful.
"Haha, you flatter me, Jiraiya-sama,"Kazuki answered with a polite smile, though inside he was practically smirking.
His gamble had paid off.
[Talk-no-Jutsu: 1/10][Charm ten powerful individuals and earn their acknowledgment to level up this skill]
Kazuki hadn't expected it — but sweet-talking Jiraiya into opening up had triggered a system reward: Talk-no-Jutsu.
The ultimate weapon of every Naruto protagonist.
He was burning with curiosity —What kind of options would unlocking the next stages bring?
And unlike his other skill grinds, this one scaled much more reasonably: a 1-to-1 ratio instead of the old brutal 10-to-1.
Still, charming ten powerful figures wouldn't exactly be a walk in the park.
Kazuki's original plan was simple:
Stage One —Snap compromising photos of Jiraiya.High risk, high reward.But they'd been caught almost immediately.
Stage Two —Pretend to be a hardcore fan.
Kazuki had bought The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja, skimmed it quickly, and bluffed using his vague memory of Naruto's backstory.
But flattery alone wouldn't be enough —this was Jiraiya, not some naive genin.
So Kazuki pivoted to Stage Three —Appeal to Jiraiya's true passion.
He knew exactly what masterpiece Jiraiya was cooking up right now:Make-Out Paradise.The legendary adult novel that would one day sell like wildfire and become Kakashi's lifelong addiction.
Knowing this, Kazuki deliberately fed Jiraiya story ideas — spicy, risqué scenarios drawn from Earth's vast catalogue of classic degeneracy — making them sound like innocent creative inspirations.
Predictably, Jiraiya ate it up.
Hell, he practically worshipped Kazuki now.
"Heh, why are you still calling me 'Jiraiya-sama'?"Jiraiya slung an arm around Kazuki's neck."We're comrades now! Blood brothers!"
Kazuki just chuckled awkwardly.Drunk talk.He didn't believe for a second Jiraiya was actually wasted after just a few jugs.
But he didn't mind playing along.
Kazuki leaned in, weaving even more "classic plot ideas" from his previous life —Cheating housewives, seductive landladies, lonely widows —timeless tropes delivered with just enough plausible deniability.
Each story made Jiraiya's eyes sparkle with glee.Kakashi, meanwhile, turned so red he looked ready to combust.The poor boy couldn't even handle a sip of sake without his ears burning.
"Don't worry, little brother Kazuki!"Jiraiya roared with laughter."When I publish my new book, you'll get half the royalties!"
Kazuki politely declined at first —then, under "pressure," reluctantly accepted.
Just like a kid being forced to accept a red envelope at New Year's.
Of course, Kazuki mused, Jiraiya has no idea how big Make-Out Paradise will become.
If he did, he'd probably try to renegotiate that split real fast.
"Say, Kazuki... the war's over now, right?"Jiraiya drawled, pretending to be tipsy."Why are you and Kakashi running around doing missions?"
Kazuki glanced at Kakashi.
The poor boy still couldn't meet anyone's eyes without blushing.Still too young, too raw, too unpolished.
But Kakashi noticed Kazuki's look and gave a small nod.
"This mission..."Kazuki began, explaining how it was assigned to help Kakashi recover emotionally.
Jiraiya listened quietly.When he glanced at Kakashi afterward, his gaze held real sympathy.
Losing one friend to death...Killing another with your own hands...It was a miracle Kakashi hadn't already shattered completely.
Kazuki could tell —Jiraiya's impression of him had improved greatly.Not just as a fan, but as someone Minato trusted enough to look after Kakashi.
Now came the real work:Time to deploy the full might of corporate social skills and drinking games.
Back in his previous life, Kazuki had been a master of corporate networking —Bullshitting around banquet tables, building rapport between rounds of alcohol.
Here, it was even easier.
Under Kazuki's deft handling, Jiraiya laughed, drank, and spent money like water —paying their entire tab, even booking them rooms for the night.
Finally, Jiraiya slipped away with a beautiful woman on his arm, leaving Kazuki and Kakashi to stumble back to their rooms.
Kazuki collapsed onto the bed, "drunk," though he was still mostly sober.
Kakashi sat nearby, brow furrowed.
After all, once Kazuki and Jiraiya had gotten into heavy drinking mode, they stopped talking about risqué nonsense.No more scandalous plots, no more raunchy jokes.
Just laughter.Brotherhood.Noise.
And Kakashi realized...He didn't feel that gnawing grief so sharply anymore.
Still, he couldn't shake one nagging thought:
What exactly is Kazuki trying to do?
Kazuki had said he wanted to bring Jiraiya back to Konoha.
But throughout the whole night, he hadn't once asked Jiraiya directly.
Kakashi didn't understand.
Lying in bed later, after a long cold shower to clear his head, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder:
Was this part of Kazuki's plan all along?