Ninja Ice House

As Konoha Village gradually came to life, a heavy snow fell just before the eve of the New Year.

Fortunately, the wind wasn't strong, so it wasn't particularly cold; instead, it added a unique charm to the festive atmosphere.

The Konoha ninjas weren't on missions as frequently anymore; most of them were wrapping up their tasks and doing year-end summaries.

Over the past year, the ninja world has remained generally stable. Although there have been a few large-scale battles, there have been no major casualties. In particular, as Jiraiya has frequently appeared in the streets and alleys of the village, he has been spotted by those with ulterior motives, and the number of malicious glances has gradually decreased, making the ninjas feel much more at ease.

The ninja world has been at peace for nearly twenty years. In the past fifty years, there have been three major ninja wars, not including the few years when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha suppressed the entire ninja world into silence.

It's truly rare to have gone so long without a full-scale conflict between the five great ninja villages.

In recent years, the ninja world has been in turmoil, especially during the "Konoha Crush Plan," when the Sand Ninja, in alliance with Orochimaru, attacked Konoha headquarters and achieved considerable success, even killing the Third Hokage.

Of course, the Sand Village and Orochimaru suffered even greater losses.

Many people in the ninja world originally thought this was a "trigger" similar to the mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage and Sasori of the Red Sand twenty years ago, which triggered the Third Shinobi World War. Unexpectedly, the Sand Village decisively backed down, and then the Sand Village and Konoha Village quickly renewed their alliance agreement, putting all the blame on Orochimaru, as if the previous fierce and bloody conflict was just a trivial "misunderstanding".

Before Tsunade succeeded as Hokage and became the Fifth Hokage, it seemed that the Fourth Shinobi World War could break out again at any time. In the following years, Tsunade took various measures to ease relations with other ninja villages. In particular, Tsunade herself had a good personal relationship with the Fourth Raikage and they had a good impression of each other, which greatly reduced the possibility of conflict between the two strongest ninja villages.

However, in the past two years, an unsettling atmosphere has been clearly surging in the ninja world. With the emergence of the Akatsuki organization and the rise of the Eight Heroes in the south, coupled with the various affiliated organizations under the mixed group of the Fighters Association stirring up trouble, the changes in the ninja villages and ordinary people feel that there have been more changes in this period than in the past few decades.

Unrest, unease, conflicts of interest, and ideological confusion are often the harbingers and prelude to war.

In times like these, the more strong individuals who can provide a sense of security, the better.

Tsunade and Jiraiya are currently the most powerful and reassuring pillars of Konoha.

The spread of the "rumor" that Jiraiya was seriously injured and on the verge of death had a significant psychological impact on the public.

Dragging it out only causes psychological unease; it would be better to just die and create a short-term, huge shock, allowing for a gradual recovery later.

It's better to have a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one!

Fortunately, the result was reassuring!

That cynical, often exasperating, yet terrifyingly strong "Toad Master" has successfully weathered the storm and seems to be in pretty good shape.

As long as you can make public appearances and show yourself openly, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Tsunade is the number one medical ninja in the ninja world. People firmly believe that as long as someone is alive, there is no injury she cannot heal.

At the end of the long street, Naruto Uzumaki, with blond hair, followed the guidance of his summoning beast and found Jiraiya holding a telescope and looking into the distance on top of a water tower in a tall building. Jiraiya looked serious, as if he was scouting for enemy positions.

Unfortunately, the telescope was pointed in what appeared to be a women's bathhouse at an open-air hot spring.

"You lecherous immortal, you're spying here again."

"Naruto, don't say such harsh things."

Jiraiya reluctantly withdrew his gaze, showing no sign of nervousness, as if this had happened many times before and was nothing out of the ordinary.

"In this ninja world full of dangers and changes, it is necessary to always be observant and vigilant to prevent danger. No matter where you are, even if it seems normal... no, the more inconspicuous the place, the more likely it is to be the hiding place of the enemy."

"Hiding in the bathhouse?"

Meeting Naruto's disdainful gaze with ill intent, Jiraiya coughed a few times, embarrassed, and changed the subject:

"Why are you in such a hurry to see me? What's wrong?"

"I wanted to ask you for the secrets of cultivating immortality, but I can never find you."

"With the guidance of the two senior masters, Shima and Fukasaku, you should be able to master it quickly."

“But the two seniors said that training at Mount Myōboku is very different from training in the ninja world. In addition, it seems that something big happened there not long ago. Many places are dilapidated and in ruins, making some training difficult.”

"Hmm? These words don't sound like something you would say. They must be Shima-sensei's words."

"In short, you can't be lazy anymore."

Naruto Uzumaki grumbled somewhat discontentedly.

“I’ve already asked Granny Tsunade. She’s recovered long ago and there’s nothing seriously wrong with her. It won’t affect her teaching me training.”

"Ahem, don't get used to calling her 'Grandma Tsunade' and the Fifth Hokage hears it again, or you'll get a few more ribs broken."

"I understand. Don't change the subject. Just tell me, can you accompany me in my cultivation?"

"Where's Kakashi? Shall we have him spar with you?"

"They went to Shinjuku. I wonder if they're on vacation or on a mission?"

"There..."

Jiraiya seemed to have thought of something, and after a moment of silence, he asked Naruto.

"Do you still remember your classmate named Karin? Her mother is also from the Uzumaki clan, right? What do you know about her father and the Furusugi family?"

"this?"

Naruto was somewhat surprised that Jiraiya would ask her such a question.

"I'm not very familiar with her. I only know that during our time at the Ninja Academy, Karin was the top student who was always ahead of Sasuke. It was only in the last year or two before graduation that Sasuke managed to beat her a few times by sheer luck..."

"High win rate?"

"Ok!"

Although Sasuke losing his top spot made Naruto feel somewhat relieved, something still felt off. Even Sasuke had lost, and Naruto, who had taken him as his role model and kept saying he wanted to become Hokage, seemed to have chosen the wrong goal to surpass.

"I've hardly ever sparred with him. The few times I did, I lost terribly, and those... hardly even counted as a duel..."

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Despite his carefree attitude, Naruto Uzumaki knew that his past self was not qualified to compete with Karin.

After returning from her travels and training with Jiraiya, Karin had made great progress, but Naruto could still sense that she was stronger.

It wasn't until he mastered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, the basics of Sage Mode, and became a reliable fighting force that the young Nine-Tails Jinchuriki felt for the first time that he could truly compete on the same stage as top geniuses of his age, such as Uchiha Sasuke, Karin, Hyuga Neji, Haku, and Gaara.

The small-scale trials in several S-class missions have also proven this point.

Naruto Uzumaki has become stronger, far stronger than before.

As for that legendary young head of the family...

"I've barely had any contact with her father, and I'm not very familiar with Karin. She's never told me about her family either. All I know is that the Kosugi family is extremely wealthy, and many of the buildings, hotels, shops, and land in the village belong to them."