"Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya stepped out and found himself face to face with none other than his fellow member of the Legendary Sannin.
"Orochimaru? You actually left your house for once?" Jiraiya grinned, holding up his palm to show off a glowing Rasengan.
"What do you think? This jutsu cool or what? Took Minato three years of hard work to create this, and look at me—I picked it up in no time!"
"You mean Minato's A-rank jutsu? Not bad," Orochimaru replied with a knowing smile.
"Though with your talent, I imagine it still took quite a while."
"Hey, don't underestimate me! I'm amazing, you know! A-rank jutsu aren't exactly easy to learn." Jiraiya glanced at the kid beside Orochimaru.
"This brat your student?"
Kiyosuke greeted him politely.
"Nice to meet you, Jiraiya-sama. I'm Asakawa Kiyosuke, Orochimaru-sensei's student."
This man… he was a legendary teacher who had trained a whole generation of Kage-level powerhouses. Sure, he was a bit of a pervert, but in terms of teaching ability, he was second to none. And among his students was none other than the Child of Prophecy—the Crown Prince himself.
Not to mention, he trained not one, but two Hokage. If you wanted to exaggerate a little, you could even say he was a teacher of emperors.
"Hmph, way more polite than your master." Jiraiya lowered the Rasengan toward Kiyosuke.
"So? Pretty cool, right?"
"Is that so?"
Kiyosuke opened his hand. A fireball of roughly the same size hovered over his palm. It didn't look as impressive, so he added a special effect—flames began spiraling around the orb. Now that looked kind of interesting.
"…"
Jiraiya was silent.
"Kid, that's just flashy. Mine packs some serious punch."
Still unconvinced, he watched as Kiyosuke aimed his palm at the ground. The fireball shot out, crashing into the earth and leaving a crater bigger than a soccer ball.
"…"
Jiraiya fell silent again.
He turned to Orochimaru and muttered, "Did you train this brat just to show me up?"
"No," Orochimaru said, clearly enjoying himself.
"He just doesn't like certain people showing off in front of children."
"Yeah, yeah, it's just an unmarked jutsu. Nothing special. What, you think I can't do that too?"
"Kid, do you have any idea how hard unmarked jutsu are?" Jiraiya's expression darkened as he remembered the boy had just casually used one. His face twisted like he'd swallowed a fly.
"Not really," Kiyosuke said innocently.
"Oi, Orochimaru, this brat of yours… don't tell me he's got a kekkei genkai?"
"Indeed. His family had one, though it hadn't awakened for generations. It skipped a few, and now it's reawakened in him."
"That's insanely rare," Jiraiya muttered. If a bloodline hadn't manifested in generations, that clan was usually doomed to fade into obscurity. For someone like Kiyosuke to awaken it—it was like bumping into the Sage of Six Paths on the street. Almost impossible.
And of course, it was impossible. Kiyosuke didn't actually have a kekkei genkai.
"This kid's got real luck. And you're finally taking a student, huh? That's something." Jiraiya sounded genuinely happy. He'd honestly thought his old friend would never take on a disciple.
"His talent may not match Minato's, but he's still better than you," Orochimaru said calmly.
"You little—ugh, whatever. Come on, it's been a while. Let's go grab a drink." He threw an arm around Orochimaru's shoulders and started dragging him toward a nearby izakaya.
Kiyosuke tried to follow—he wanted to see what these legendary shinobi did for fun—but Jiraiya stopped him.
"Nope, can't bring kids to an adult place!"
Tch.
I'm only physically underage!
Perverted adults! And seriously, is that place even a real izakaya?
Forget it. I'll just go eat at Ichiraku Ramen instead.
Ichiraku Ramen was a famous spot, a must-try. Kiyosuke waited in line for over an hour, and by the time he finally sat down, it was already afternoon.
"One chashu ramen, please! Extra pork!"
"You got it!"
The young-looking chef squinted as he worked behind the counter, hands moving skillfully. Kiyosuke watched him intently, eyes growing more contemplative.
Was this the true power of Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku?
According to unreliable rumors, the ramen chef kept his eyes narrowed to hide his Rinnegan and Sharingan. He'd retired to Konohagakure, but was actually a god-tier Ōtsutsuki warrior, making ramen purely as a hobby.
Looking around, Kiyosuke realized this tiny ramen shop was actually the sturdiest building in the entire village. It had survived the Nine-Tails' rampage, the Konoha Crush, even Pain's invasion—and the very next day, the chef would be back at work like nothing happened.
Its defensive strength was basically on par with Truth-Seeking Orbs.
"Here you go! Your chashu ramen—enjoy!"
While Kiyosuke's imagination soared, the ramen was already served.
A thick slab of chashu rested atop soft noodles, garnished with scallions and nori strips, along with half a boiled egg. It looked amazing and smelled even better—so savory it made his mouth water.
He broke apart his chopsticks and said softly, "Let's eat."
The noodles were the perfect balance of soft and firm. Paired with the rich broth, the flavor exploded across his tongue—absolutely delicious.
The chashu was also excellent. You could tell the chef had real skill. If he had to sum up the whole bowl in two words?
Absolutely delicious.
Slurp, slurp!
He even drank the soup dry, wiped his mouth, and set down his bowl.
"Hey, you paid too much. Today's half-price," the chef said.
"No worries. I'll be back tonight!" Kiyosuke waved goodbye.
Tonight, he'd come again—for miso ramen this time.
...
"This mission is to help the Senji blacksmith family harvest sweet potatoes."
"Yes, ma'am." x3
...
"This time, we're looking for a missing cat. Belongs to Madam Matsushita."
"Yes, ma'am." x3
...
"Today's mission is—"
"Yes~" x3
...
"I can't take it anymore, Shinku-sensei! Don't we have any C-rank missions? Why are we getting flooded with all these D-rank chores? Has my old man lost it?" Asuma couldn't hold it in anymore.
Kurenai replied, "Asuma, don't talk like that about the Hokage. We're just Genin. It's not like we get C-rank missions every day."
"Exactly," Kiyosuke said. "Being a Genin means picking up garbage." Honestly, he wasn't thrilled about it either. Maybe he'd ask Asuma to go complain to his dad later.
"My mom nags me every time I come home stinking."
"More sweat now, fewer tears later." Kiyosuke nudged him. "Shinku-sensei's here. Time to pick up trash."
Yūhi Kurenai approached and said, "Pack your bags. We're heading out of the village today."
The three of them immediately perked up. They ran home to grab their pre-packed gear. Genin rarely got to leave the village, but when they did, they were always prepared.
Soon after, the four-man squad regrouped at the gates. After presenting their mission papers, they stepped beyond the village walls—off to carry out their mission.