Rorin chatted with Gaara for quite a while. Time passed quickly, and nearly an hour had gone by.
After grabbing a simple breakfast in the Hidden Sand Village, Rorin went to Gaara's hospital room. Gaara hadn't fully recovered yet, so he remained in bed while talking with Rorin. Glancing out the window, Rorin then looked back at Gaara and said his goodbyes,
"I should head back to the Hidden Leaf Village. I came in a hurry this time and didn't inform Tsunade-sama. I need to return."
Gaara nodded. He wanted to get up to see Rorin off, but unfortunately, he still couldn't leave the bed.
After a moment of thought, Rorin spoke seriously,
"Gaara, be careful. The enemy might come back again. If you run into danger next time, contact me immediately. Let me say this again—we're friends. There's no need to worry about village politics between us."
Gaara froze for a moment, then replied confidently,
"Don't worry. I'm not that weak. I just suffered from a lack of intel this time. If he comes again, I won't end up like this."
Rorin shook his head and didn't say anything further before leaving the Hidden Sand Village.
With a flicker, Rorin returned home. He took a shower—he hadn't washed up when he rushed to the Hidden Sand Village last night, so the first thing he did upon returning was clean himself.
A short while later, Rorin dried his hair with a towel and slowly walked out of the bathroom.
Remembering that he had an appointment with Jiraiya to talk, Rorin headed out to find him.
He first went to the Hokage's office and briefly reported to Tsunade about his trip to the Hidden Sand Village the night before, apologizing for not informing her due to the urgency.
Tsunade didn't blame him. Instead, her expression changed as she asked,
"You mean the Akatsuki? They attacked the Hidden Sand Village yesterday?"
Rorin nodded and explained that he had successfully rescued Gaara. Tsunade let out a sigh of relief and said calmly,
"You did well. Good thing you arrived in time."
After reporting, Rorin left the office to look for Jiraiya.
Coincidentally, as soon as he stepped out of the Hokage building, he saw Jiraiya downstairs.
Jiraiya turned to him with a smile.
"Well? Finished with your business? Got time to talk now?"
"Yeah. I was just about to look for you," Rorin replied with a smile.
"Then let's go!" Jiraiya said, walking ahead as Rorin followed.
The two arrived at the same bench from last night. Jiraiya sat down boldly and patted the seat beside him.
Rorin walked over and sat down.
"Do you know about the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya asked bluntly, observing Rorin's expression.
The reason he wanted to talk to Rorin was because of how he interacted with Naruto yesterday. It made him suspicious—he felt Rorin was deliberately trying to get close to Naruto, so he couldn't let his guard down.
Caught off guard by Jiraiya's directness, Rorin finally understood why Jiraiya had followed him yesterday—he suspected Rorin might be an Akatsuki agent planted in the Hidden Leaf Village.
Rorin answered calmly, "Yeah, I know. And just last night, I fought them."
Seeing nothing suspicious in Rorin's demeanor, Jiraiya gradually lowered his guard but still frowned.
"Last night? You mean the urgent matter you handled was encountering the Akatsuki?"
Rorin nodded. "Yes. They targeted Gaara. At a critical moment, Gaara used a bone I gave him—marked with the Flying Thunder God—to send a distress signal. As for the Akatsuki, I learned about them after Gaara woke up."
Jiraiya tilted his head back, looking at the sky.
"So what you used last night really was the Flying Thunder God."
When he saw Rorin disappear instantly last night, Jiraiya had already suspected it. Now that it was confirmed, it reminded him of someone from the past.
"Is there a problem?" Rorin asked calmly.
Jiraiya shook his head. "No. Just reminded me of a former student of mine. He could use the Flying Thunder God too."
"Really? Then I guess we're somewhat connected," Rorin said with a smile.
"Hahaha!" Jiraiya laughed heartily. By now, he no longer suspected Rorin. Rorin's calm and openness gave him no reason to doubt.
On top of that, Rorin had saved Gaara from the Akatsuki. If he were truly a spy, it wouldn't make sense to sabotage his own side's mission just to gain trust. If that were the case, Jiraiya would have to admit he completely misjudged him.
Jiraiya then continued, "You said you fought them in the Hidden Sand Village. Tell me what you know about the enemy."
Rorin nodded slightly. "The opponent was a ninja with blond hair. He stood on a bird—looked a bit like an owl. Gaara fought him for a while. From what Gaara told me, the enemy uses explosives as his main method of attack."
Jiraiya stroked his chin. Based on the description, it wasn't Pain. He nodded for Rorin to continue.
Rorin spread his hands. "By the time I arrived, he seemed to have run out of attack methods. Before that, he used a massive explosion. To protect the village, Gaara took the blast head-on and was seriously injured."
Jiraiya stood up slowly and asked, "Did you tell Tsunade all of this?"
Rorin nodded.
Jiraiya patted behind him and said softly, "Thanks. That's very important information."
Rorin shook his head. "I'm part of the Hidden Leaf Village too."
Hearing that, Jiraiya felt a flash of guilt. He had just suspected this kid—it really wasn't right. He patted Rorin's shoulder and said,
"I enjoyed talking with you today."
As Jiraiya turned to leave, Rorin reached out to stop him. He pulled out a bone from his clothes and handed it over. "Hey, greasy old man."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched. Another weird nickname? His face darkened as he raised his hand to smack Rorin.
Rorin quickly explained, "You never told me your name. I saw the word 'oil' on your forehead protector, so I figured I'd call you that. You don't mind, right?"
It wasn't really Rorin's fault. Jiraiya hadn't introduced himself, and calling him "Jiraiya-sama" didn't feel very natural.
Jiraiya crossed his arms and decided not to argue over the nickname. Looking at the bone in Rorin's hand, he asked, "What's this?"
"This is a bone marked with the Flying Thunder God. If you ever run into danger, you can use it to contact me. I can come help you."
Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively.
"Forget it. If there's an enemy even I can't handle, you'd just be going to your death. I don't need it."
Seeing him refuse, Rorin persisted,
"I don't necessarily have to defeat the enemy. I can at least bring you somewhere safe."
Jiraiya's face darkened. "Are you wishing bad luck on me?"
After knocking Rorin on the head, Jiraiya took the bone anyway, muttering,
"Since you insist, I'll accept it… you little bone kid."
Then he slowly walked away, idly tossing the bone Rorin had given him in his hand.