The Shopkeeper of Konoha

"Hahaha.. You are quite the observant one, kid." Jiraya declared.

"The same has been said by others." Aoto replied in a little irritated and proud tone.

"Who? The Hokage?" Jiraya asked, abruptly putting an end to his lighthearted grin and turning a little grave. When Aoto heard Jiraya say that, his mouth formed an O. Jiraya appeared content after wiping the child's pride away.

"What? You believed that I had simply entered the eatery by accident. I will confess that your meal is excellent, however it is insufficient to catch my interest." Jiraya chuckled as she spoke.

"You talked with the Hokage?" Aoto inquired without thinking about his narcissism.

"What do you think?" Jiraya stated. When Aoto saw how this man behaved, he was speechless.

"Then you are here on purpose. Is there something you want?" Asked Aoto.

"Hahahah.. I don't wany anything. Your meal is excellent. I simply want to know more about your so-called Palickos. Can I see one? I've traveled for years, but I've never come across anyone trying to sell summoning animals. Although this was supposed to be a closed trade, you've just altered the entire operation." Jiraya said. Aoto now saw why Jiraya had lingered at their diner for so long.

His dislike was just brought up as a conversation starter to bring up the subject of Palickos. He looked at Jiraya and then nodded. Arya and John had already finished cleaning the restaurant by that point. Aoto didn't yet open the Victoria's Secret and now that Jiraya was here he was glad he didn't open it today or else he would have flocked at the shop like a fly.

Aoto had decided that he would put signs stating 'no pervert allowed' outside when he would open the shop in a few days. After closing the store, they both proceeded to the primary bakery and instructed Jiraya to wait there. After a short while, Aoto emerged from the kitchen holding two different types of Palickos and placing them on the counter.

When Jiraya saw the cats, his face immediately became radiant. He adored animals in general and the cats in particular, and he couldn't help but pet them. He played with them, petted them, and even fed them food that he had carried in his pouch throughout the course of the following five minutes.

"So Jiraya-sama, want to buy one?" Whether he loved them or not didn't matter to Aoto. He wished to know if he intended to purchase. He shook his head, much to Aoto's dismay.

"No. I was just curious and contracting them would make me feel like I have cheated on my summoning beast, especially after what they had done for me over the years." Jiraya stated. Aoto recognized his meaning. His affiliations to Mount Myōboku definitely would make him feel like that.

After all, Sage mode was taught him to by them. Despite his disappointment, he refrained from criticizing Jiraya for wasting his time.

"Are you willing to sell them outside of Konoha?" Jiraya abruptly questioned.

"Good joke, Jiraya-sama. If I do that, I am sure I will hanged for treason." Added Aoto.

"That implies that you do consider selling it outside." Jiraya questioned as she observed Aoto's fear of Konoha's powerful individuals rather than his rejection of the concept of not selling such a potent asset outside Konoha.

"Jiraya-sama, you have fought in wars. What do you think is the main reason we won in wars?" Asked again by Aoto.

"Huh.. Hmm... Let me see.. It's because Konoha is more powerful than the rest." Jiraya was baffled as to why Aoto had chosen to discuss wars given that he had never actually been involved in or witnessed one.

"Logistics and tactics played a huge role, but your are right, the primary reason we won in wars was because we were more powerful. Then tell me Jiraya-sama what would happen if everybody had the same amount of power?" Aoto re-asked.

"Same amount of power? You mean if all the villages were on equal footing?" Jiraya enquired. Aoto responded by nodding.

"Hmm, I'm not sure." Jiraya had never considered it, therefore he actually had no idea. The idea of equality was ludicrous since it was both impossibly unrealistic and unattainable. It was just a dream.

"I will tell you what will happen. There will be no wars, but we both know that it's impossible. Equality is a pipe dream. That could never happen nor it should happen because it would lead to collapse of society if everything and everyone were equals. Now let me ask another question, if Konoha has a weapon that could threaten all the villages, what will happen then?" Asked Aoto.

"Kid, you are asking too many things that don't coincide with your age." Jiraya was a little angry when he noticed that this child had suddenly started preaching to him about the state of the world. He had seen more world than this could ever imagine.

"Even the Hokage has attested to your claim that I am exceedingly intelligent, which you made yourself. If you don't want to respond to my query, that's fine. However, we are both aware that if the other villages found out that Konoha had a strong weapon, they would all attack us out of fear." Jiraya's annoyance had no effect on Aoto; he simply said what was on his mind. The only person with whom he could discuss his objectives and aspirations without fear of offending the Hokage or the other Jonins was Jiraya.

Jiraya's response was to simply stare at Aoto. The few words and questions he posed were really good and couldn't help but praise the intelligence of this nobody that he was just a little curious about. He had heard about how Aoto had great affinity to Yin and Yang release and the Hokage himself had sent Jiraya to see if Aoto could be taken as a disciple.

He was too talented in Yin and Yang release to be left. He was now beginning to realize that his intelligence might be superior to his ninjutsu.