Chapter 31: Only One Last Question Remains…
The students at the Ninja Academy heard some news… a little brat who had just attended the entrance ceremony yesterday was graduating today.
Because a first-year teacher accidentally let it slip under a little girl's persistent questioning, they all knew this news.
The location of the graduation exam was the training grounds near the Uchiha clan compound, which made many students who wanted to observe lose interest… Truly… no wonder that kid has no friends!
At the training grounds, Fugaku felt like his ears were being tortured.
"Hey, old man, I didn't come back to the village to help you mentor students… Hurry up and tell me Orochimaru's whereabouts?"
"Jiraiya… I'm getting old…"
"That Kakashi kid is pretty good, isn't he!"
"The Will of Fire still needs us to pass it on; the new generation in the village isn't strong enough to bear the heavy responsibility yet…" Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his old back, "Itachi is a true genius…"
"If Senior Jiraiya has no intention of serving as a supervising Jonin, then let's end this farce!" Uchiha Fugaku's expression was unpleasant, especially with the enhancement of his tear troughs, making him look exceptionally fierce.
"Don't be like that, Fugaku…" The white-haired old man casually put an arm around the Police Force captain's neck, his face full of nostalgia, "It reminds me of when you, Nawaki, and Mikoto were together…"
"...Don't mention that name to me!"
"Hey, hey, hey, getting angry, getting angry… Hahaha, you were just like this back then! Every time I joked, you little brats always had sourer faces than the last…"
Jiraiya truly was from an optimistic family… He didn't even show a hint of unnaturalness when he mentioned Nawaki, even though he had been very close to Nawaki back then.
"..."
It felt a bit like his worldview was being shattered.
Jiraiya appearing here meant he hadn't refused Hiruzen Sarutobi. Besides searching for the Child of Prophecy, he also wanted to cultivate the new generation for Konoha… The problem was the candidate the old man had arranged…
Uchiha Itachi, six years old.
Wasn't this asking him to be a nanny and raise a child? He didn't even know if this little brat still wet the bed… And he was from the Uchiha clan, definitely disobedient.
Time always passes, bit by bit, bit by bit… Jiraiya's terrible personality was fully exposed before Uchiha Itachi; the white-haired old man was clearly unreliable.
The little boy still stood obediently beside Fugaku, only occasionally talking to the crow beside him…
Jiraiya looked at Uchiha Itachi and said loudly, "Hey, that little brat, let's begin! Attack me with everything you've got!"
"Yes!"
The moment he answered, Itachi lifted his leg and kicked out!
Thump!
Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, was sent flying by the little boy's kick… After he climbed up from the ground, he instead said with great interest, "Your strength really isn't like a six-year-old's!"
Truly unrestrained…
Using the momentum to create distance, he threw a shuriken at Jiraiya's head. Uchiha Itachi wouldn't underestimate his opponent; his father had already briefly introduced Jiraiya's information to him yesterday…
Strength: Powerful, very powerful.
Personality: Terrible, extremely terrible.
He was a respectable ninja, but whether to respect him in daily life still depended on one's own mood… If in a bad mood, then just ignore him.
Uchiha Itachi would only remember one thing: immensely strong!
Another shuriken was thrown!
Clang!
The shuriken thrown later hit the first one. The two shuriken, originally moving in a straight line, suddenly changed direction upon collision, shooting towards Jiraiya from both sides!
"Ha, the Uchiha's shuriken throwing technique… too naive…"
Jiraiya crossed his arms, catching both shuriken, and threw them to the ground… A child's shuriken throwing technique might be exquisite, but against him, it was utterly insignificant.
Itachi rushed forward!
The big and small figures immediately engaged in close-quarters taijutsu combat. After practicing with Shisui many times, the little boy had long since realized the importance of ninjutsu; hand seal speed needed to be fast…
However, Jiraiya's hand seals would definitely be faster than his! So he needed to drag out the rhythm as much as possible, looking for an opportunity to release ninjutsu!
"Sharingan: Release!"
"Body Paralysis Jutsu!"
After activating the three-tomoe Sharingan, not only could he more quickly discover and exploit the opponent's openings in close combat, but more importantly, it greatly enhanced genjutsu.
In the genjutsu, Jiraiya looked in surprise at the giant copper nails on his body, firmly trapping him in place… But this couldn't stop him. The chakra flow in his body became chaotic, and he immediately broke free from the genjutsu's control.
He was immediately met with a red shuriken!
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!
This was taught to Itachi by Shisui, and it was the only ninjutsu that didn't require hand seals! The shuriken, imbued with fire-natured chakra, was thrown. Given their close combat distance, Jiraiya couldn't possibly dodge it!
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
Jiraiya smiled, his hands suddenly forming seals, erecting a water wall that extinguished the fire-natured chakra on the shuriken… His hand seal speed was too fast!
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Uchiha Itachi suddenly created a shadow clone. This move puzzled the two onlookers… This ninjutsu seemed unnecessary and wasted hand seal time and chakra.
After all, Jiraiya could destroy it with one punch…
When Itachi's shadow clone rushed forward, he really did punch it…
But just as it was about to hit his face, Jiraiya stopped, looked at Itachi's shadow clone, and suddenly smiled, "It's full of fire-natured chakra… Kid, you think I'd fall for that…"
"Clone… Great Explosion!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Boom!
A huge hole appeared out of nowhere in the earth wall!
This amount of time was enough for Jiraiya to retreat far away… The old man stood far from the earth wall, marveling at the power of this technique. If the user could control the clone's explosion, this jutsu would be incredible…
The Clone Great Explosion was a new jutsu developed based on the crow's clone explosions… Because Kitahara always sent its shadow clones out to die, and before dying, they would explode with overflowing chakra.
Uchiha Itachi, based on the explosion principle, replaced all the chakra in the shadow clone intended for explosion with fire-natured chakra… The user could detonate it themselves…
"Cough cough… cough… Not bad!"
Jiraiya stopped Uchiha Itachi's next wave of attack. His taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu were basically far beyond his psychological expectations… And he came with a three-tomoe Sharingan… Then only one last question remained!
"You passed the test…" Jiraiya's eyes gradually became exceptionally sharp, "But becoming my disciple isn't simple. There's one last question remaining…"
"And that is…"
"You're so cute, do you know many pretty older sisters?"
As he said the last part, his expression… was completely unbearable to look at… Uchiha Fugaku in the distance broke out in a sweat, remembering Jiraiya's numerous misdeeds…
It was a waste for him to think Jiraiya would ask Uchiha Itachi about the relationship between the village and the clan. As a father, he also really wanted to know the answer.
Thump!
A figure suddenly rushed over and sent Jiraiya flying with a punch! The newcomer snorted coldly, flicking her golden hair from her back, "Truly shameful…"
(End of this chapter)