Orochimaru's Purpose

Jiraiya's body trembled as the light gradually faded from his eyes, and he fell backward.

The silver hair wrapped around Minato Namikaze and Kushina vanished as well.

"Poof!"

Jiraiya's figure turned into smoke.

It had actually been a Shadow Clone.

Jin sighed helplessly. He no longer had the ability to keep fighting.

Fortunately,

the bells had not vanished with Jiraiya, but fallen to the ground.

Kushina's chains swiftly wrapped around them and pulled them into her hand.

Jiraiya emerged from the woods carrying a box.

"You three really aren't simple."

The one who had appeared before the three of them from the beginning had been a Shadow Clone. Yet even an ordinary Shadow Clone should have been impossible for a typical genin team to defeat.

Only a chunin team could eliminate one of his Shadow Clones.

"Teacher Jiraiya, we won." Kushina happily waved the bells in her hand.

The bells jingled brightly.

Jiraiya smiled.

That little brat finally knew how to address him properly.

"Let's eat first."

Jiraiya patted the box in his hands.

"This is my loving homemade lunch~"

Kushina wore a disgusted expression, but her hungry stomach did not allow her to be picky. She still followed Minato Namikaze over to Jiraiya.

Jin walked over as well, looking weak.

Spirit Gun consumed an enormous amount of Chakra. Although the Golden Finger's Deduction had produced a technique with considerable power, it was still too much for him at his current level.

That attack had drained a large amount of Chakra from his body and severely exhausted his stamina.

"Come on, eat up."

The box contained a generous spread of food, along with a steaming bowl of rice for each of them.

The three began digging in.

The food visibly disappeared at a rapid pace.

Jiraiya lifted his chopsticks and stared thoughtfully at the rapidly emptied plates.

Seeing the three of them looking at him, he gave an awkward smile before his expression swiftly turned serious.

"So, have you decided who will return to the Ninja Academy?"

Minato Namikaze and Kushina looked at each other.

Jin, meanwhile, calmly lay down. This kind of test was practically nonexistent to him.

"Me! I want to go back to the Ninja Academy and study for another ten years."

If one could be called a permanent fixture at the academy,

he would be more than happy to be one.

It was still better than being sent to the battlefield.

As for fighting to protect the village,

sorry, Uchiha Jin was one of the Will of Fire's escapees.

Unfortunately, that was only wishful thinking. With the strength the three of them possessed now,

the village would certainly not let them go so easily.

Minato Namikaze raised his hand.

"I should be the one to give up."

"After all, I feel like I haven't been much help."

Though he still wore a smile, it could not conceal the bitterness beneath it.

Compared to Uchiha Jin's frontal combat ability and Kushina's Uzumaki Clan secret techniques, Minato Namikaze felt as though his presence barely mattered.

"I should be the one to give up."

Kushina's expression darkened.

"I don't think the village would let me do any missions anyway."

As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and someone who considered herself an outsider to the village, she naturally understood her circumstances.

Of the three, only Uchiha Jin was truly sincere.

He could not be bothered to say anything else and simply stared at the sky.

The sky was so blue, and the clouds were so white.

"Hahaha." Jiraiya laughed loudly, satisfaction appearing on his face as he looked at the three of them.

"You've all passed."

"From now on, you'll be teammates who rely on one another. If you can't even trust your own teammates, it can cause tremendous harm."

What he had wanted to test was the bond between the three of them.

Kushina looked utterly confused. Seeing Minato Namikaze's smile brighten again, she finally realized it.

"So we all became ninja."

As for Uchiha Jin, there was no point looking at him.

"That's right. Starting today, you are Team 7, a genin squad under Jiraiya."

"Yay!!" Kushina jumped up happily.

Jiraiya grinned as he watched the three children. They were practically a remake of the old Team 7.

Kushina was a violent girl like Tsunade, Uchiha Jin was as steady as Orochimaru, and Minato Namikaze was as handsome and gentle as the great Jiraiya.

That was right. Jiraiya himself was exactly like Minato Namikaze.

"As our team leader, shouldn't Teacher Jiraiya treat us to a big meal?"

Uchiha Jin suddenly sat up, a sly smile on his face.

Like a fox.

Seeing the expectant looks Minato Namikaze and Kushina gave him,

Jiraiya patted his chest.

"Of course, no problem."

But why did he have such a bad feeling about this?

And hadn't they just finished eating?

Konoha Barbecue Restaurant.

Jiraiya stared at the bill dragging on the floor in his hand, his jaw nearly dropping.

Holding his wallet, he counted the money inside several times, yet it was still not enough.

Jiraiya had not yet become a great author, so he was hardly well-off.

Ninja earned money quickly, but ninjutsu, ninja tools, and similar things also cost plenty.

He looked up at the barbecue restaurant owner, whose face was covered in smiles, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Can I wash dishes to pay off my debt?"

The owner's eyes widened. There was actually such a shameless ninja? He was not even as straightforward as that kid who kept rolling his eyes last time.

The owner quickly clicked away on his abacus twice.

Only then did he reluctantly reach an agreement with Jiraiya.

The gloomy Jiraiya had barely stepped out the door when he heard Jin speaking grandly.

"For people like us who are always hungry, we need to find some sucker to treat us."

Minato Namikaze looked embarrassed, while Kushina wore an earnest expression.

Jiraiya's face darkened. He took back everything he had said about Uchiha Jin.

Jin, who was teaching Kushina and Minato Namikaze about finding suckers, looked up and greeted Jiraiya, whose face was full of black lines.

"Yo, suck—no, Teacher Jiraiya."

You definitely meant to say sucker just now!!

Jiraiya roared inwardly.

Now he understood that this guy was nothing but a trap!!

"Alright, alright, don't be angry."

Jin stepped forward and handed Jiraiya a small notebook, speaking as though he were soothing a child.

"What's this?" Jiraiya looked at its contents.

"Basic Inner Cultivation."

"This is the secret behind why I didn't use ninjutsu before."

After all, everyone in a team needed to know each other's background. It definitely was not because he wanted Jiraiya's knowledge of ninjutsu.

This piqued Jiraiya's interest.

"Jiraiya."

A gloomy voice sounded as Orochimaru appeared beside them at some point.

Jiraiya looked pleasantly surprised when he saw Orochimaru.

Wasn't his savior here!?

"Yo, Orochimaru, why are you only getting here now? Hurry up and lend me some money!"

Orochimaru tilted his head. "???"

He searched through his pockets but could not find his wallet.

"I didn't bring my wallet today."

Jiraiya: orz.

Sure enough, saviors did not exist.

Orochimaru suddenly noticed the small notebook in Jiraiya's hand, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Jiraiya, there is a true path in there."

"Huh?" Jiraiya raised the notebook, looking confused.

But Orochimaru had no intention of explaining.

"I'm taking him."

Jin also waved to Minato Namikaze.

"See you tomorrow."

After Uchiha Jin and Orochimaru left,

Minato Namikaze looked at Jiraiya in confusion.

"Teacher Jiraiya, who was that?"

Jiraiya wore a wistful expression.

"Elite Jonin Orochimaru. He's my teammate."

The wistfulness on his face turned into a bitter smile as he told Minato Namikaze and Kushina, "I have something to do. You can go home. Tomorrow, I'll take you to accept missions."

With that, Jiraiya walked into the barbecue restaurant with a tragic expression.

Today, he had to complete his quota of washing ten thousand bowls.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina looked at each other.

Jin followed Orochimaru farther and farther into a secluded area.

If he remembered correctly, they were heading toward the Forest of Death.

That place had been sealed off because it contained too many ferocious beasts and Ninja Beasts. Non-ninja were not allowed to enter.

Many members of the Uchiha Clan had obtained their Summoning Animals from there.

Though puzzled, Jin did not say much.

He followed Orochimaru into the Forest of Death. After passing through a hidden passage, they finally entered a place that resembled a laboratory.

Orochimaru explained the layout to Jin.

"This will be where you train from now on. The first floor is the training ground, the second floor holds Ninja Beasts, the third floor is the ninjutsu archive, which you may browse freely, and the fourth floor is my laboratory."

Jin asked bluntly,

"Orochimaru-sama, you didn't bring me here just to train me, did you?"

No matter what differences there were between the past and present, Jin would never believe that Orochimaru would devote himself to him selflessly.

He was not Nawaki, someone with a powerful background.

Orochimaru definitely had an objective.

"Jin-kun, do you understand what the ninjutsu you created represents?" Orochimaru asked instead.

Jin frowned deeply and fell into thought. His ninjutsu had merely arisen because he thought differently from ordinary ninja.

What else could it represent?

As Jin pondered, Orochimaru gave him the answer first.

"Change. Change for the entire ninja world."

Jin instantly leaped backward and drew a kunai.

Things like change were not words to be thrown around lightly, especially when spoken by someone else.

That itself represented danger.

"Hiss."

A snake's hiss sounded beside Jin. He turned and saw a patterned snake already coiled around his body.

His entire body stiffened, and he dared not make any unnecessary movements.

The gap between them was far too great.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Don't worry, Jin-kun. I won't do anything to you. On the contrary, I will protect you. I only need you to continue developing this so-called Basic Inner Cultivation."

Orochimaru had come to understand over the past few days of research that although Basic Inner Cultivation was profound and mysterious, its actual methods were still quite immature.

Because he could not comprehend the thought process behind the technique itself, he could not alter it recklessly. It was not impossible to fully understand and modify it, but the time required would be considerable.

Then why not let its creator develop it personally?

"My current store of knowledge does not permit me to continue developing it."

It was not that Jin did not want to make a Deduction! It was that the Golden Finger had rejected every submission!!

"So I will grant you protection and the key to your growth. You only need to hand the results over to me."

"And during that time, you will participate in my experiments."

"What experiments?"

"Experiments involving Hashirama Cells."