Jiraiya stared at Gekko Chizan standing in front of him, that sly grin on his face. He felt like he'd just been schooled.
This particular lesson was called: As long as I'm shameless, no one can control me.
"Jiraiya-sama, just one Ninjutsu. As long as I learn it, I won't tell the old Third Hokage what you've been up to."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched violently. He decided to trust him… for now.
They arrived at the slope behind the Hokage Monument. Jiraiya looked at the boy with a stern face.
"Alright, what Ninjutsu do you want to learn?"
"Hmm… how about Senjutsu?"
Jiraiya's freshly serious face collapsed on the spot. He nearly stumbled and fell.
"No way! Senjutsu is too complicated and broad. I can't teach that."
"Pick something else."
Gekko Chizan looked at the burly Jiraiya with obvious distaste.
"What's with that look? Any other Ninjutsu is fine, but Senjutsu really is out of my league!"
Jiraiya was on the verge of tears. Why were kids so difficult nowadays? His student, Minato Namikaze, was so well-behaved...
"I mean, come on, you're one of the Legendary Sannin and you can't even teach me Senjutsu? Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Knew it! Legends are always exaggerated!"
Jiraiya: …What the hell!
"Fine! Then Sealing Techniques it is. "
"I... How many do you want to learn?"
"Let me think. Fire Seal, Five Elements Seal, ah whatever, just teach me all the Sealing Techniques you know. I mean, sure, your Sealing Techniques aren't quite as good as the Uzumaki clan's, but hey, something's better than nothing."
Jiraiya: You little bastard! You latch onto someone and just bleed them dry, huh?!
"You said one Ninjutsu! And now look how many you're asking for?!"
"It is one Ninjutsu! They're all called Sealing Techniques! Isn't that one category of Ninjutsu?"
Jiraiya felt his blood pressure skyrocketing.
It was as if he might drop dead at any moment.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a scroll from his cloak and shoved it into Gekko Chizan's hands.
"Take it! I'm out! If I stay around you any longer, I won't die at the hands of an enemy—I'll be killed by pure rage."
"Later!"
Poof!
A puff of white smoke rose—and Jiraiya disappeared.
"Hehehehe…"
"Another freebie!"
Staring at the scroll in his hands with the word "Seal" written on it, Gekko Chizan grinned slyly.
Humming a tune, he began heading home.
The Gekko clan's residence was located in the northern part of Konoha.
Not big, but it was a standalone house with its own yard.
Of course, the entire Gekko clan now only had two members—
Gekko Chizan and Gekko Hayate.
And Hayate was just a baby still nursing. Gekko Chizan had poured everything he had into raising him.
Pushing open the door, he was greeted by a woman smoking a cigarette and playing with the two-year-old Gekko Hayate.
When she saw Chizan walk in, she grinned and immediately started roasting him.
"Well, well, the little brat Chizan is back?"
"What kind of nonsense did you pull today?"
Gekko Chizan's face darkened, clearly annoyed.
"I broke into your house and stole your thong. That count?"
The woman burst out laughing, showing zero shame or embarrassment.
Then, she let out a wild line.
"You stole it? That's weird!"
Gekko Chizan stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.
He looked at the woman with a gaze full of grievance.
Her name was Sayo.
A Chūnin of Konoha. Her son: Ebisu.
She was the nanny he specially hired to help take care of Gekko Hayate…
If he had a second chance, he'd never have gotten involved with this woman.
She was a full-blown thug in female form!!!
Despite having the experience of two lifetimes and being well-versed in sneakiness, in front of this woman, he was utterly outmatched.
"I was wrong. I didn't take your thong."
"I just went out for a walk to see if there were any missions available. I'm running low on baby formula money."
Seeing the helpless look on his face, Sayo laughed heartily, clearly enjoying teasing the little punk.
And honestly, she really did.
Sayo was a single mother. Her husband had died in the Second Shinobi World War in the Land of Rain.
Their father had been comrades-in-arms with Chizan's parents—the families were close.
So when Gekko Chizan needed help raising Hayate, he naturally turned to her.
But… oh boy, he had no idea what he was getting into.
This woman was the reincarnation of a delinquent queen.
Later, when he learned that her son would become one of Konoha's future pervy, moody, self-righteous maniacs—Ebisu—Gekko Chizan's jaw dropped so hard he could've swallowed a whole durian.
"Tomorrow I have a mission. Heading to Takigakure."
Hearing the word mission, Sayo froze up. She didn't even notice the ash about to fall from her cigarette.
"Hey, hey, hey! The ash! Don't let it fall on Hayate's head!"
Thanks to Chizan's reminder, Sayo snapped out of it and quickly extinguished her cigarette.
"Don't give me that look. I'm slippery as hell—I always prioritize self-preservation. I'll be back in a few days if things go smoothly."
"Oh, right. Take this."
Gekko Chizan said as he placed a kunai in front of her.
It looked like a regular kunai, except for one detail: there was a charm on the handle.
On it were the words: 「お父さんが来た」(Daddy's here!)
Pure troll energy.
"What the heck is this? 'Daddy's here'?"
Sayo picked up the kunai and instantly looked distressed. This kid was absolutely derailed. He actually left her this as a keepsake?
"Hmph. What's with that look? I'll have you know this is a special jutsu formula."
"You've heard of the Flying Thunder God Technique, right? Invented by the Second Hokage?"
"I had to risk my (sneaky) (dirty) (shameless) life to learn it!"
"Just watch!"
As he spoke, Gekko Chizan dashed out the door.
In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Sayo stood there dumbfounded, muttering, "Is this kid mentally okay...? Maybe I should get him checked out..."
"What did you just say?! You're the one who's mentally off!!"
Just as she finished speaking, a spatial ripple appeared beside her—and Gekko Chizan suddenly popped into existence.
Sayo: ?????
Seeing her stunned expression, Gekko Chizan looked extremely smug.
"See that? As long as this kunai is marked with the formula, I can teleport back using the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"Of course, I still need to be relatively close. It eats up a lot of Chakra."
Of all the overpowered abilities he'd unlocked, the ones he found most enjoyable were Flying Thunder God and Transparent Release.
One for teleportation, one for stealth—a perfect combo!
The ultimate template for a stealthy rogue!