Encountering Shikaku and the Other Two

"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"

Yemo Hand Seals, and in front of him was a huge Toad's four-clawed footprint. After completing the seal, Yemo pressed his hands on the ground, and the earth trembled. Then, the soil in the footprint slowly rose up until it was level with the surrounding ground, leaving no trace of the footprint.

On the other side, Jiraiya stood beside a stream, with a flat open space in front of him planted with tender saplings.

Jiraiya leaped into the air, landing easily on the water's surface, his feet firmly planted, creating ripples in the water.

His hands Hand Seals intricate hand seals that Jiraiya completed effortlessly in the blink of an eye. With a low shout, he uttered, "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet."

The moment the voice rang out, the calm water surface surged violently, and waves several meters high billowed from the small stream, a truly terrifying sight.

Immediately afterwards, a giant water dragon shot into the sky from the waves, its head, larger than a house, bursting out of the water, followed by a body made of water that was tens of meters long.

The water dragon roared to the sky, carrying endless streams of water as it soared into the air. The clear stream instantly turned to the bottom, and all the water transformed into water dragons that flew up.

"Disperse!"

Jiraiya drained the entire stream. Seeing the water dragon fly to a certain height, Jiraiya Hand Seals and muttered a shout to disperse it.

With a deafening bang, the sky exploded as a massive water dragon burst open, unleashing hundreds of tons of seawater in a torrential downpour, like a typhoon.

Just as Yemo was erasing a claw mark, he clapped his hands. He heard a loud bang in the sky, looked up curiously, and before he realized what was happening, a torrential downpour began, soaking Yemo to the bone.

In just a few seconds, this unprecedentedly large fish fell. Although it seemed brief, the entire flat area was covered with a layer of rainwater, which quickly seeped into the soil and disappeared completely in the blink of an eye.

Yemo raised his head, his bright red hair matted together, drops of water trickling down his forehead and across his face, leaving a trail of moisture. He was soaking wet, and drops of water continuously dripped onto the damp stones at his feet.

"Pervy Sage, you did this on purpose, didn't you?" Yemo glared angrily at Jiraiya. He was still some distance from the watering patch, so there was no way he should get wet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to, I didn't control the range well," Jiraiya said apologetically, but there was no remorse on his face. Instead, he looked at the drenched Yemo with a smile.

For a Sannin to be unable to control the range of his Ninjutsu is practically giving up. Jiraiya was simply retaliating against Yemo for giving him the nickname "Pervy Sage."

Looking at the shameless Jiraiya, Yemo was furious, but considering that he was no match for this old lecher, Yemo naturally suppressed his desire for revenge. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years; once he surpasses this old lecher in strength, he will definitely get his revenge tenfold.

As for why Yemo and Jiraiya are here, one is here to erase the claw marks left by Gamabunta and the others, and the other is here to plant trees and water them.

It all started yesterday. After learning the reason for the incident, even the good-tempered Third was furious. These two guys were learning a Summoning Technique, but they caused chaos in the entire village and even put it on high alert.

He severely punished Jiraiya and Yemo in front of many ninjas. Since they had caused such a big incident, it was impossible to just punish them. As the Third Hokage, he had to give the village an explanation, so he ordered Yemo and Jiraiya to restore the dense forest to its original state.

Destruction is a very simple thing; a huge summoned beast can cause massive damage with a little commotion. But restoration is a very difficult thing, ten times more difficult than destruction.

The traces of Gamabunta are relatively easy to erase with Earth Release, but the destroyed dense forest is a big problem. Neither Yemo nor Jiraiya knows Wood Release, so they can't possibly regrow the destroyed trees. The only solution is to level these areas and then replant saplings on them, allowing them to be reborn from destruction.

Even with the use of Ninjutsu, it took Yemo and Jiraiya six days to complete the task. During those six days, the two clashed quite a bit, arguing and even fighting several times a day, yet they both seemed to enjoy it.

In this monotonous work environment, the two could only entertain each other to pass the time. After six days of living together day and night, bickering and joking around, the relationship between Jiraiya and Yemo progressed significantly. Yemo stopped seeing Lord Jiraiya and started calling him by the nickname Naruto had given him in his previous life, "Perverted Pervy Sage," while Jiraiya kept calling him "brat."

As evening approached, the setting sun seemed reluctant to leave the beautiful world, casting an orange-yellow glow on the rooftops. Walking along the road, the shadows of the Yemo were stretched long by the setting sun.

With his arms swinging freely, Yemo looked exhausted. For the past few days, Yemo had been working from sunrise to sunset, more tired than an ox. There was no way around it; the project was just too big. Even with such a strenuous effort, it took Yemo and Jiraiya six whole days to complete it.

So, there were originally half a month and fifteen days left until the Chunin Ninja Exams, but he has already used up half of them. Of course, Yemo didn't waste these days either.

Firstly, his use of Earth Release has greatly improved. He uses Earth Release dozens of times a day, and Yemo is almost sick of it. He has also used Water Release many times these days, and his skills have improved considerably as well.

And these past few days, I've been sparring with Jiraiya. Although each time it ended in his defeat, it's incredibly fortunate to have such a strong sparring partner as Jiraiya. Many ninjas wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

During their encounters, Jiraiya would occasionally offer guidance, and Jiraiya teaching style was indeed unique. Yemo learned a great deal from Jiraiya.

Sometimes, Yemo would wonder whether Jiraiya or Orochimaru was his true teacher.

Shaking his head to dismiss the question, Yemo now just wanted to have a good meal and then go back to get a good night's sleep.

Suddenly, Yemo felt a tap on his shoulder. He quickly turned around and saw Shikaku Nara and the other two appear behind him at some point.

"Yemo, what happened to you?" Chōza asked, his gaze curiously examining Yemo's disheveled appearance.

With a sigh, Yemo waved his hand and said, "The past is too painful to recall..."

"Who told you to be so bold as to cause such a big trouble in the village? The Lord Hokage is lucky he didn't lock you up," Shikaku clearly knew what had happened.

Inoichi immediately added, "You are unaware of this now, but you have already become a legend of Konoha."

"You three should at least comfort me, instead of gloating over my misfortune," Yemo said, looking speechlessly at his three friends.

Shikaku laughing, reached out and took Yemo, saying, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. How about we go eat together? Chōza's treating."

"More barbecue? Just to clarify, I'm not going to barbecue." It had been a long time since he had eaten with Shikaku two. Faced with their invitation, Yemo thought for a moment and didn't refuse, but he really didn't have the appetite for barbecue.

Patting Yemo on the shoulder, Shikaku said, "Don't worry, this time it's not barbecue, we're having ramen at Ichiraku Ramen."

Originally Shikaku and the other two were planning to eat barbecue, but since Yemo didn't want barbecue, Shikaku simply said they wanted ramen instead. Chōza and Inoichi understood and nodded in agreement.