Uchiha Gate: From Konoha to One Piece

— — — — —

"Isn't that the truth?"

Kushina nodded, exasperated. "From what I've seen, Jiraiya's been beaten half to death by Tsunade at least four or five times."

"Every time, he'd have to spend two weeks or even a month in the hospital!"

"But this guy just doesn't learn. Even Tsunade sometimes gives up on trying to deal with him!"

"Now, unless she catches him in the act or he's stupid enough to confess in front of her, she just turns a blind eye. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess."

"Of course, she warned me and Mikoto to avoid the village's hot springs to keep from running into him."

Kushina suspected Tsunade had probably given similar warnings to all her close female friends.

As for the rest of the women in the village, well, there wasn't much she could do.

It's not like she could just kill Jiraiya.

"Uh…"

Hearing this, Minato's eye twitched. He looked utterly speechless. "Well, that's… something. I was actually debating whether or not to become his student."

"I mean, he seemed so sincere, and he's the Hokage's student. It felt kind of rude to outright reject him."

"But now… yeah, I think I'll just pass."

There was no way he wanted to be associated with Jiraiya.

No amount of power was worth it if it meant people might think he shared Jiraiya's… hobbies. That'd be a social death sentence—and who'd want to marry him then?

Absolutely not.

Sure, Minato had long since given up on Kushina, but that didn't mean he didn't want a wife someday.

There were plenty of promising candidates among the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans.

He figured he could pick someone and see where it led.

As for being like Kaito, with his playboy ways?

Minato didn't dare.

Uchiha and Uzumaki women were notoriously fierce, after all.

"That's the right call!"

"If you turned out like him, don't think we wouldn't cut ties with you!" Kushina threatened, waving a fist for emphasis.

"Heh," Minato chuckled wryly. "I'll find him later and explain everything."

Hearing this, Kaito and the others nodded approvingly.

They were all glad Minato wasn't going to study under Jiraiya.

Kaito had even considered contracting Orochimaru but had hesitated about including Jiraiya.

For now, it seemed best to wait and see.

It wasn't just about Jiraiya's pervy tendencies.

The bigger issue was that Jiraiya had been deeply brainwashed by the Third Hokage and Mount Myoboku. There was a risk he might eventually stand against Kaito.

For now, it all depended on Jiraiya's choices in the future.

As for the Third Hokage, Kaito was determined to dethrone him.

— — — 

Later, Minato parted ways with the group and spent some time tracking down Jiraiya to explain his decision.

"Huh?"

Jiraiya looked stunned when Minato rejected his offer to become his disciple.

He hadn't seen this coming at all.

He thought this was a sure thing.

After all, he was Jiraiya—the Toad Sage, a disciple of the Third Hokage, and a ninja with plenty of accomplishments.

Minato was certainly talented, but he was still just a civilian ninja.

At most, he hung out with Uchiha Kaito and trained with him and his friends.

"Can I ask why?" Jiraiya asked, his voice tinged with disappointment and confusion.

He couldn't help but wonder if someone had sabotaged him.

Minato hesitated before explaining, "Well, for one, I'm already getting support and guidance from Kaito and Tsunade-sama. I don't really lack training or resources."

"And second, well… you know how Tsunade and Kushina feel about you."

He'd checked with both Kushina and Tsunade beforehand, even reaching out to Tsunade through their communication network.

Both of them had encouraged him to reject Jiraiya, so Minato felt no guilt about it.

"What? Tsunade and Kushina?"

Jiraiya's face turned red with anger. "What gives them the right to interfere? This is outrageous! I need to have a word with them!"

"Especially Tsunade—what, is she afraid I'll train a genius student who'll outshine hers?"

"Uh…" Minato broke into a cold sweat.

Comparing him to Kaito?

That was absurd.

Any success Minato had achieved was thanks to Kaito.

He was well aware of just how monstrous Kaito's talent was.

At Kaito's current strength, even the Third Hokage might not be able to defeat him. Comparing Minato to Kaito was practically an insult to the latter.

"I could never compare to Kaito!"

Minato shook his head firmly. "Also, I wouldn't recommend confronting Tsunade or Kushina about this."

"Unless, of course, you feel like getting beaten up."

"They're just worried you'd be a bad influence on me, which is why they told me not to take you as a teacher. I hope you understand."

"Still, I appreciate the offer," Minato added sincerely. "I'm sure you'll find students even better than me."

If all went as expected, Jiraiya would soon take in Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan as his disciples after the upcoming Rain Village war.

Minato knew this was the case in the original timeline.

Back then, Jiraiya had taken him as a student during this same period.

But with the war demanding most of Jiraiya's time, he hadn't been able to teach Minato much.

By the time the war ended, more than a year had passed.

What made it worse was that after that, Jiraiya left to train Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

And he was gone for three whole years.

Minato had been completely left behind, with no teacher for over four years. 

Thankfully, he had an extraordinary natural talent. Otherwise, missing out on those critical formative years could have severely limited his growth and potential.

In Minato's eyes, Jiraiya might be a good teacher overall, but he could also be an irresponsible and self-centered jerk at times.

In the original timeline, Jiraiya's biggest contribution to Minato was arranging for him to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.

But now, he had already learned it from Kaito.

He didn't need Jiraiya to pull strings for that anymore.

Although… he hadn't quite mastered it yet.

For now, he was still working on improving his sealing techniques.

"Ah… you…"

Jiraiya finally understood why Tsunade and the others had interfered.

At the same time, he saw how firm Minato's decision was.

He sighed heavily, feeling a wave of regret as he patted Minato on the shoulder.

"Fine! Since you've made up your mind, I'll let it go."

"Just know this—I'm really disappointed!"

"But even if you don't become my apprentice, don't slack off. Don't waste your talent!"

"You have to become a dependable ninja, someone who can protect Konoha!"

"And if you ever run into problems with your training, don't hesitate to come to me. I'll help however I can!"

It hurt, really.

But there wasn't much else to say.

He knew that once Tsunade got involved, this matter was as good as dead.

As for confronting Tsunade or even Kushina about it?

Yeah, no thanks.

He didn't want to risk getting pummeled by Tsunade—or, heaven forbid, Lady Mito.

He couldn't afford to mess with either of them!

"Damn it! This is all because of my habit of peeping! Curse my teacher for leading me astray!"

Jiraiya cursed under his breath and disappeared in a flash.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama!"

Minato bowed deeply as Jiraiya left.

Only after Jiraiya was out of sight did he turn and walk away.

— — —

"Ah-choo! Ah-choo… Damn it, who's badmouthing me now?"

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen sneezed several times in a row. He rubbed his nose with a confused look.

"Hiruzen, don't change the subject!"

Danzo, seeing this, immediately snapped, "I don't mind letting senior students take the graduation exam early, but why didn't you discuss this matter with us first?"

"Now is absolutely not the time to send children to the battlefield!"

"You should've approached us for consultation, at the very least."

"Indeed!"

Koharu and Homura nodded in agreement.

Hiruzen looked at Danzo, clearly annoyed.

"Danzo, don't think I don't know what you're scheming!"

"Do you really care about kids graduating early?

"Don't tell me you're not planning to use this to handpick recruits for the Root?"

Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly, his dissatisfaction flashing briefly before he retorted, "The matter is done, but I need to select a group for the Root."

"The Root is too weak right now, with too many missions and not enough manpower. I need fresh blood."

"I've got my eye on some talented kids from the Uzumaki, Uchiha, and even some Senju descendants."

"Hand them over to me!"

Since he couldn't directly meddle with clans like the Uchiha, Senju, or Uzumaki, he figured starting with their younger members was a viable alternative.

Danzo believed in his brainwashing techniques.

Once these kids were under his control, he was confident he could turn them into his loyal operatives.

In the future, they could be used to suppress the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans.

He also wanted to recruit people from other ninja clans into the Root.

Eventually, with enough influence, he could control the clans from the shadows, secure their support, and finally achieve his dream of becoming Hokage.

Did people really think he wasn't preparing for this?

Of course, he knew he needed strong support to claim the title of Hokage.

In his eyes, winning over the civilians and regular ninjas wasn't that urgent—he could manipulate public opinion to sway them when the time came.

All he needed was control over most of Konoha's major ninja clans to secure his position.

"Huh? Are you crazy, or am I?"

Hiruzen stared at Danzo, dumbfounded.

Even Koharu and Homura were looking at Danzo like he'd lost his mind.

Hiruzen's face darkened as he shouted, "Are you seriously asking me to make decisions for the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki clans?"

"Do you really think I can dictate terms to Lady Mito or interfere with those clans without consequences?"

"Don't you realize that if word got out about me trying to do something like this, those three clans would revolt and overthrow my rule in a heartbeat?"

"They already have enough power to take me down whenever they want!

"If not for their concerns about public opinion and village stability, they might have acted already!"

"Do you think this is still like it was four years ago?"

Over the years, Danzo had secretly forced some talents from certain clans into the Root. This had caused many clans to distance themselves from Hiruzen, lowering his favorability among them.

While Hiruzen and the Sarutobi clan still had many supporters, most of them came from smaller clans and civilian ninjas.

It wasn't the post-Fourth Hokage era yet—the time when Konoha's leadership had alienated nearly every clan and ninja in the village.

Back during the First Shinobi World War, Hiruzen had garnered massive respect for his efforts.

But now, their underhanded tactics to exploit the village's resources and suppress various clans hadn't yet become widely apparent.

Not every clan had suffered direct losses or seen through their true nature, like the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki had.

And not every clan was as smart as the Nara.

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