Chapter 552: Meeting Between the Three Ninja and the Ninja Master
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
Unlike the previous two times, Jiraiya did not wait for Nagato to make the first move before reacting. Instead, he directly formed hand seals, condensed his chakra, and launched a ninjutsu attack.
Unlike ordinary Fire Release, Flame Bullet first converts chakra into oil and stores it in the mouth.
Then, the instant the oil is spat out, Fire Release chakra nature transformation is applied to the condensed chakra, igniting the expelled oil into a high temperature fireball.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Nagato created two shadow clones, then his main body stepped forward and opened his Rinnegan, activating the absorption shield.
Before the high temperature flames could even touch Nagato, they were instantly absorbed the moment they made contact with the shield he had raised, as if they had never existed.
"So that's the nullification ability mentioned in the intelligence. I can't tell exactly what method it uses, but it should be connected to the Rinnegan," Jiraiya thought to himself.
If it were anyone else using such a mysterious technique, Jiraiya would have guessed it was some kind of secret jutsu. But Nagato possessed the Rinnegan.
Such a powerful and mysterious ability fit Jiraiya's image of the Rinnegan perfectly.
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
One of Nagato's shadow clones formed hand seals and spat out a sharp spear of lightning at Jiraiya.
Whoosh!
Jiraiya had been paying close attention to the shadow clones Nagato created and instantly dodged aside.
"Bansho Tenin!"
Using his excellent perception and the Rinnegan, Nagato instantly caught Jiraiya's movement after the dodge. He extended his hand and released a powerful attractive force toward him.
At the same time, the other newly created shadow clone finished forming hand seals, ready to attack Jiraiya the moment he was dragged in.
But to Nagato's surprise, he failed to pull Jiraiya over.
Jiraiya transformed his hair, making it long and rigid, then drove it deep into the ground to anchor himself against Nagato's pull.
"Water Release: Water Spear!"
Seeing this, the shadow clone immediately launched three Water Spears at Jiraiya.
As Bansho Tenin ended, Jiraiya's long hair retracted from the ground and wrapped around his body, blocking the incoming Water Spears.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Under Jiraiya's control, his hardened hair shot out like steel needles toward Nagato and the two shadow clones.
Because the attack came too quickly and there was no time to evade, Nagato once again activated his Rinnegan ability.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A powerful repulsive force erupted and knocked away all the hair that resembled steel needles.
"No wonder he earned such a reputation from just one tournament. This really is troublesome," Jiraiya thought, secretly astonished.
Nagato's various abilities were nearly unsolvable for ordinary ninja.
Anything the Preta Path could not absorb could be repelled by Shinra Tensei, and Bansho Tenin could forcefully create openings in the enemy's defense.
Combined with the powerful ninjutsu Nagato himself had mastered, he truly excelled at both offense and defense.
"Let's stop here. Nagato, I may not be able to give you any useful pointers for now," Jiraiya called a halt to the spar.
Nagato was simply too strong. If they kept going, the fight might spiral out of control.
After all, Jiraiya had come to the Land of Rain this time mainly to visit Nagato and the others, not to give them all a beating.
Jiraiya was confident he could defeat Nagato, but there was no point.
What was the meaning of defeating your own disciple? If one day Nagato truly grew to the point where Jiraiya could no longer defeat him even at full power, Jiraiya would only feel proud.
Nagato nodded and dispersed his shadow clones.
"Jiraiya sensei, you didn't see this coming, did you? Nagato's already so strong that even you can't defeat him easily now," Yahiko said jokingly, with a hint of pride in his voice.
He mainly feared Jiraiya might feel awkward, so he wanted to lighten the mood a little, especially after such a long awaited reunion.
However, Yahiko had misjudged this one. Nagato was the ninja Jiraiya believed had the highest chance of being the Child of Prophecy, the ninja he thought might one day shoulder a destiny equal to that of the Sage of Six Paths. The more outstanding Nagato became, the more it confirmed Jiraiya's belief.
And besides, Jiraiya himself was exactly the type of person who found it very difficult to feel embarrassed.
"Haha, this just proves my teaching back then wasn't wasted!" Jiraiya laughed heartily.
Then the group continued training while Jiraiya observed from the side.
After watching Nagato train for an hour, Jiraiya finally discovered Nagato's weakness.
Of course, this weakness was only relative. Compared to his peers, Nagato's taijutsu was already quite good. But compared to his ninjutsu and the abilities of the Rinnegan, it appeared far too lacking.
So Jiraiya began guiding Nagato's taijutsu.
From an overall ability standpoint, Jiraiya was actually a very balanced fighter.
He was proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, secret techniques, and Sage Mode. The only thing he was truly bad at was genjutsu.
However, precisely because of that weakness, Jiraiya had worked especially hard on his ability to break genjutsu.
This meant that while he could not use genjutsu against others, enemy genjutsu also had little effect on him.
That evening at dinner, Jiraiya asked, "Is Sōsuke usually busy? If not, I'd like to meet him."
Even though Yahiko and the others spoke very highly of Sōsuke, Jiraiya still believed in seeing for himself rather than relying only on what he heard. If he did not personally observe and interact with Sōsuke, he would not feel at ease.
The reason was simple. Yahiko, Nagato, and the others had already shown him an extreme level of reverence toward Sōsuke.
In that state, Jiraiya felt that even if Sōsuke sold them off somewhere, Yahiko and the others would probably help count the money afterward with a smile.
For the sake of his disciples' future and safety, he had to see for himself what kind of person Sōsuke really was, even if his time was limited.
"As for Sōsuke sensei, I feel like he's actually been relatively free lately. If you want to meet him, we can go ask," Yahiko replied after thinking for a moment.
He did not say he could absolutely arrange a meeting.
After all, Jiraiya had been brought to them by a Shinobi Sect ninja, which meant Sōsuke already knew he had arrived.
Since Sōsuke had not come personally to meet Jiraiya, perhaps that meant he was not interested in him.
"Was Konoha really behind that incident?" Yahiko suddenly thought of the mystery inside the Shinobi Sect that still had never reached a unified conclusion.
Back then, it had been Iwagakure that promoted the peace talks between the Shinobi Sect and the Amegakure. The explanation given by both the Rain ninja and Iwagakure was that Hanzo had been misled by Danzo Shimura of Konoha, which led him to attack the Shinobi Sect.
Because Iwagakure and the Amegakure had both produced substantial evidence at the time, many within the Shinobi Sect had developed strong hostility toward Konoha and felt intense dissatisfaction.
However, in the investigations that followed, the Shinobi Sect never uncovered additional evidence directly tying Konoha to the matter. Combined with some of Kakuzu's analysis, differing opinions began to spread within the sect.
Of course, that group's opinions were not even unified among themselves.
Some believed it was all just a tactic by the Rain ninja to cleanse their own name and had nothing to do with Konoha. Others believed Konoha had indeed been involved, but Hanzo himself was not innocent either. Some even believed all three sides, Iwagakure, Konoha, and the Rain ninja, had been in it together.
Yahiko had once been among the group that deeply hated Konoha, but after thinking it over again and again, even he no longer knew what the truth really was.
Sōsuke had never publicly supported any one viewpoint. At the meeting back then, he had only spoken about the necessity of cooperating with the Amegakure.
So even Yahiko himself did not know what Sōsuke truly thought of Konoha.
If Sōsuke really believed Konoha had been one of the forces pulling strings from behind the scenes, then it would be completely understandable for him to dislike Jiraiya out of association. Yahiko could understand that very well.
After all, that incident had nearly destroyed the Shinobi Sect.
"I hope not. Becoming enemies with Jiraiya sensei would really be terrible news," Yahiko sighed inwardly.
Yahiko held a very special affection for Jiraiya, the teacher who had guided him onto the path of a ninja.
But if the two sides really did become enemies and met on the battlefield, Yahiko would still greet Jiraiya warmly before the battle began, then tell Nagato not to hold back once the fighting started.
There would be plenty of time to apologize after Jiraiya died.
But while alive, even if it was the teacher who had once guided him, if he tried to destroy the peace the Shinobi Sect had built and stood in the way of peace moving forward, Yahiko would absolutely never allow it.
Yahiko sent word through a Shinobi Sect ninja. After receiving permission, the group headed toward the Shinobi Sect headquarters together.
By then, the sun had already set and night had fully fallen.
As Jiraiya walked through the Shinobi Sect headquarters toward the reception hall, he suddenly felt a chill for no clear reason.
"This weather really shouldn't feel like this," Jiraiya thought, sensing the odd drop in temperature.
The next moment, he felt a gaze on his back.
Jiraiya turned around sharply. He, Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were walking side by side, and there were no Shinobi Sect ninja nearby.
"Hehehehe!"
Ghastly hovered there staring at Jiraiya with wide eyes, letting out a series of strange laughs.
"What in the world is that?"
Jiraiya instinctively stepped forward and shielded Nagato and the others behind him, rapidly forming hand seals.
"It's not a ghost. It's Nagato's Nin Beast," Yahiko explained.
Ghastly's body structure was extremely unusual. In an open environment, even a naturally strong gust of wind could scatter or blow away its body. Although it could eventually gather itself back together, it was still troublesome.
So Ghastly usually stayed inside buildings or nearby and did not follow Nagato when he trained outside.
"Nagato, your Nin Beast has a rather unique appearance," Jiraiya said tactfully.
He had traveled all across the world and seen many strange creatures, but this was the first time he had ever seen a Nin Beast as sinister looking as Ghastly.
"Ghastly!"
Ghastly floated behind Nagato and cried out cheerfully toward Jiraiya.
That's right, it was the most unique Ghost in the whole world.
"You might feel that way at first," Nagato nodded.
Once someone got used to it, though, that was all there was to it. By now, no one in the Shinobi Sect would be startled by Ghastly's appearance anymore.
When Jiraiya entered the reception hall, he found Sōsuke already seated there, waiting.
"Sōsuke sensei."
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan immediately greeted Mugetsu with respect.
Mugetsu smiled and nodded in response, then looked at Jiraiya, who was carefully observing him.
"Hearing about you doesn't compare to meeting you in person. As expected of a Ninja Master recognized by so many ninja, your bearing really is extraordinary," Jiraiya said with a chuckle.
With a face resembling Aizen's, plus the long white robe and the teaching aura he had built up over time, Mugetsu gave Jiraiya the impression of a kind and reasonable teacher.
"The feeling is mutual. The name of one of the Sannin has long echoed like thunder. Today I finally get to meet the real person," Mugetsu replied with a gentle smile.
Jiraiya's arrival had been within Mugetsu's expectations all along.
Nagato was not only Jiraiya's disciple, but also the Child of Prophecy Jiraiya himself had recognized.
Now that the title of the Ninja World's top genius had suddenly fallen on Nagato, it was perfectly natural that Jiraiya would come to see him.
"I've heard that the Shinobi Sect's ambition is peace in the Ninja World. What do you think will happen to the current chaotic state of the world? Can peace truly be restored?" Jiraiya asked.
As he spoke, Jiraiya quietly watched Mugetsu's expression.
Whether it was based on the information he had gathered or the experiences Yahiko and the others had told him, Sōsuke was clearly someone who pursued peace.
So Jiraiya felt that if Sōsuke had not deliberately created some false persona to deceive people, then he should absolutely have his own thoughts about the current state of the Ninja World, even if those thoughts might not necessarily be correct.
It had to be said, Jiraiya had chosen his topic well. Even Yahiko and Nagato became curious about how Mugetsu would answer.
"That depends on what kind of peace you mean. Are you talking about absolute peace or relative peace? Temporary peace, or eternal peace?" Mugetsu replied.
"If one of the major powers were to produce another God of Shinobi like Hashirama, then the war might end very quickly, and after that there would be peace for as long as that powerhouse remained alive."
"If not, then the great war should still end in about three years, and after that the world will enter a period of relative peace. For the following ten years or so, there will still be local wars, but no major conflict that sweeps across the whole Ninja World."
As the war continued, the major ninja villages had gradually moved past the stage of probing each other. They had already gathered the intelligence they needed on their targets, so from here on the intensity would only keep rising until it reached its true peak.
At that stage, clashes involving a thousand ninja would become common. Only battles involving several thousand would qualify as major engagements. It was even possible that full scale battles involving over ten thousand combined troops would occur.
In the world Mugetsu had lived in before transmigrating, ten thousand people was not such a shocking number.
But ten thousand ninja and ten thousand ordinary civilians were entirely different concepts.
Once a ninja reached the level of Chunin, the difference between them and ordinary people was practically like comparing two species. Even without using ninjutsu, chakra boosted their speed and power to an exaggerated extent.
And by then, top level powerhouses from each village, even Kage, might appear in person.
So when the Third Shinobi World War truly reached its peak, even Mugetsu would need to be much more cautious.
After all, there were still people in the shadows watching him, or rather, watching his disciples.
"Isn't that just the same as before?" Yahiko asked, confused.
A great war, then ten years of relative calm, with some small scale wars even during that supposedly peaceful period.
"That's basically how it has always been since the age of the ninja villages began," Jiraiya sighed.
Although Mugetsu's words sounded like nothing more than calm analysis based on history, Jiraiya had to admit that they were most likely correct. The future was very likely to unfold exactly as he described.
Jiraiya's impression of Mugetsu's alias rose slightly. Being able to draw real patterns from history was a kind of ability in itself.
"Even a powerhouse like the God of Shinobi could only create temporary peace. Then how can the entire Ninja World ever achieve long lasting peace? Would the Sage of Six Paths need to be reincarnated?" Yahiko asked, unable to help himself.
Although the Shinobi Sect's grand objective was peace across the whole Ninja World, under Mugetsu's leadership the sect mostly focused on practical matters. They rarely discussed world scale peace directly, because at the moment they were still concentrated on how to secure long term stability within the Land of Rain itself.
"The Sage of Six Paths returning wouldn't solve it either," Mugetsu corrected.
"The peace during the Sage of Six Paths' era was actually very similar to the peace during Hashirama's era. The only difference was that the Sage of Six Paths was even stronger."
The First Shinobi World War broke out after Hashirama's death. After the Sage of Six Paths died, the ancient Shinobi Sect also split apart and chaos erupted everywhere. In essence, the pattern had not been very different.
It was only because the Sage of Six Paths lived in such an ancient era, and because he had been thoroughly deified over the centuries, that many believed he could bring real peace.
In reality, from the standpoint of the current Ninja World, the effect of reviving Hashirama and Tobirama together would not differ that much from reviving the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Jiraiya looked at Mugetsu in surprise.
To outsiders, since this force called itself the Shinobi Sect and its city was named Six Paths City, the Sage of Six Paths should have been the sect's central faith.
Yet Mugetsu did not seem to revere him in that way at all.
At that moment, Nagato glanced at Jiraiya.
Earlier, Jiraiya had once used the example that Nagato might be the Sage of Six Paths reborn, someone who could create a world where people truly understood each other and bring peace just as the Sage once had.
Noticing Nagato's gaze, Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly. He could hardly be blamed. Most of what he knew about the Sage of Six Paths came from myths and legends. Compared to Mugetsu, his understanding clearly fell short.
"No wonder they dared to call themselves the Shinobi Sect so openly. That so called sage inheritance is probably real after all," Jiraiya thought to himself.
He suspected Mugetsu might have discovered the ruins of the ancient Shinobi Sect or something similar, with records of its history inside.
"I don't know how to create long lasting peace across the Ninja World. But aren't we already working hard to search for the answer right now? That's the meaning of training the next generation. Even if we fail to find it, our descendants can inherit the question and continue searching," Mugetsu said.
Even in the world Mugetsu had come from before transmigrating, there had never been peace for very long. Wars still broke out in different parts of the world.
So if someone asked him how to create lasting peace, Mugetsu could not give a certain answer.
In truth, he did have one method in mind, but it sounded too much like the delusions of a teenager, and in essence it was just a stronger version of Hashirama's path.
That was for a person who was both wise enough and powerful enough to become a true god, an Ōtsutsuki, or even something beyond an Ōtsutsuki.
If no external factor interfered, such a being could probably bring peace for a very long time.
Listening to Mugetsu's words, Jiraiya found himself deeply stirred.
When he looked at Mugetsu again, he even felt a strange sense of seeing another version of himself.
He too had wandered the Ninja World, taking in disciples who shared his ideals.
At that point, Jiraiya felt he had gained some real understanding of the ninja named Sōsuke, and his heart eased somewhat.
For Nagato and the others, following Sōsuke was not a bad thing at all. On the contrary, it was the kind of good fortune that one could only encounter through luck.
…
Konoha, South Border Forest.
Obito arrived early at his usual training spot, looking around as he waited for Mugetsu to appear.
For him, today was a special day.
Because today was the day Mugetsu had promised to teach him and Shisui a super powerful Fire Release technique.
"What kind of Fire Release will it be? Will it burn through space itself so the enemy can't even escape?" Obito could not help letting his imagination run wild.
If it really were that kind of Fire Release, then Fire Release would no longer be bottom tier. It would be top tier.
Golden Skyline and No Thought Strike would all have to move aside.
"Still not awake yet?" Kakashi asked as he looked at Obito, who was standing there with a foolish grin and vacant stare.
"You're the one who's not awake," Obito snapped back instinctively.
"Heh." Kakashi chuckled and ignored him, beginning his training alongside Rockruff.
Now that Rockruff had become one of Kakashi's key combat forces, training together with it was one of the fastest ways to improve his overall combat strength.
"Just wait. Once I learn the new Fire Release, I'll definitely beat you flat in front of Rin."
Obito had already surpassed Kakashi in the tournament rankings, and if he also learned this new Fire Release and defeated Kakashi in their next internal match, then he would be completely ahead.
In the face of undeniable results, Kakashi's words would become pale and powerless.
"What a day full of youth! Everyone's training so early!" Might Guy, who had come for rehabilitation training, greeted everyone with his usual enthusiasm.
"Riolu, it's such a shame that I can't train with you until total exhaustion today, but I'll cheer you on with all my heart!" Might Guy encouraged the Riolu beside him.
Back when Might Guy trained, Might Duy had often encouraged him exactly like this.
"Riolu!"
Feeling Might Guy's emotions, Riolu waved its paws with great fighting spirit.
"Even though Guy's stronger than Kakashi, his Nin Beast still hasn't evolved. Once I master the new Fire Release, he definitely won't be a match for Charizard and me," Obito calculated silently.
At the same time, he suddenly felt that the change to the internal match schedule had come at an extremely bad time.
Now the internal competition only happened twice a year, and the Martial Arts Tournament had already counted as one of those matches. That meant the next internal battle would not be for another six months.
But six months from now, Shisui's Pokémon and Might Guy's Pokémon would definitely have evolved too, and Charizard's current evolution advantage would vanish, unless Charizard somehow evolved again in the meantime.
Obito looked deeply regretful.
If the next internal battle had been within the next month or two, he truly might have claimed the title of strongest disciple.
Because Shisui's Pokémon, who would be learning Fire Release alongside him, still hadn't evolved. And Might Guy's Pokémon, the one with the strongest raw potential, hadn't evolved either.
Although Rin's Milotic was powerful in both offense and healing, Rin herself was still Milotic's weakness.
Only Kakashi was in the same situation as Obito, having both the evolution advantage and strong enough individual combat strength.
When he finally spotted Mugetsu approaching, Obito immediately stepped forward eagerly to greet him. The other disciples also gathered around.
"Yes, good morning to all of you as well," Mugetsu replied with a smile.
"Obito, Shisui, come over here." Mugetsu motioned for the two to approach, then created shadow clones to guide the others' training.
Azure Flame was extremely difficult to learn, so direct teaching and guided insight were both necessary to make the lesson efficient.
"The Fire Release I'm going to teach you today is called Azure Flame, also known as Blue Flame," Mugetsu said simply.
Obito listened with complete concentration, catching every word.
He swore he had never been this serious before.
Golden Skyline had suppressed him for too long, and now that Kakashi had also mastered No Thought Strike, Obito desperately wanted an attack of the same caliber.
…..
Check out my newly released fanfic on my second account: FanficLord02
I Became a Demon Sword and Traveled the Anime Worlds