Anomalous Rain Ninja

"Huh? Why is Jiraiya-sensei just standing there?"

Yahiko asked, confused, watching Jiraiya remain motionless as the Qingshui Shadow Clone approached.

"Jiraiya fell for Qingshui Big Brother's Genjutsu!"

Minato, who had noticed the Qingshui Main Body's movement first, immediately explained.

"Then Jiraiya-sensei is going to lose?"

Yahiko and Konan said in unison, their voices full of disbelief.

Such an outcome was too shocking for them.

Jiraiya-sensei lost to Qingshui Big Brother. Why am I having such a dream?

"No, Jiraiya-sensei can't possibly lose!"

Nagato immediately retorted.

But no one paid attention to him at this moment. Everyone focused their attention on the two sides of the match, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

Just as the attacks from Qingshui's two shadow clones were about to hit Jiraiya, a sudden change occurred!

Jiraiya, who had been standing still, counterattacked with lightning speed, instantly blowing up both of Qingshui's shadow clones.

They didn't even have a chance to resist.

Before dissipating, their faces were filled with shock, as if they couldn't understand what had happened.

"Qingshui, you're really too cautious."

Jiraiya, having dealt with the shadow clones, looked at Qingshui's main body and said helplessly.

Even though he had fallen for Genjutsu, Qingshui still only sent his shadow clones forward, while his main body remained hidden far away.

That's right, Jiraiya wasn't faking it just now; he had genuinely fallen for Qingshui's Genjutsu.

Or rather, he had actively fallen for the Genjutsu.

Although he didn't know Genjutsu, Jiraiya had extremely rich experience fighting against Genjutsu users.

He had almost instantly dispelled the Genjutsu the moment he fell for it.

Only a Sharingan Genjutsu might cause him some trouble.

Jiraiya wanted to teach Qingshui a lesson this way, to not be careless just because the enemy fell for Genjutsu.

Otherwise, with his strength, it would be impossible for Qingshui to control him so easily.

He was the Toad Sage, famous throughout the ninja world!

"After all, my opponent is Jiraiya-sama. It's never too much to be cautious when facing you," Qingshui said as he sheathed his Ninja Sword.

Although he still had the strength to fight, there was no need to continue.

The only Genjutsu that could counter Jiraiya was ineffective, so dragging it out would only be a waste of time.

Unless he revealed his hidden trump card.

But this was just a sparring match, not a fight to the death.

It was a pity that he didn't get the Color Orb, but this was just a whim.

It would be great if he got it, but he wouldn't lose anything if he didn't.

"Qingshui, your strength is very good. You're proficient in swordsmanship, and your Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are also strong. Even among the Konoha Jonin, you're not weak," Jiraiya said sincerely.

If he hadn't noticed Qingshui preparing to use Genjutsu beforehand, he might have actually lost due to carelessness.

Of course, Jiraiya would never let that happen.

After all, he was in front of his students. Losing to Qingshui would be too embarrassing. Did he, the Toad Sage, not care about his reputation?

Qingshui remained calm upon hearing Jiraiya's evaluation, but Minato was surprised. Jiraiya-sensei had a very high opinion of Qingshui Big Brother! Unlike the Trio beside him, he was a native Konoha Ninja and naturally knew how strong Konoha Jonin were. Moreover, it was important to remember that Qingshui was currently still a Genin.

"So, who won in the end?" Yahiko asked blankly, seeing this.

"Jiraiya-sama won," Qingshui replied as he walked over.

"Compared to Jiraiya-sama, I'm still too young and have a long way to go."

A few days had passed since the spar with Jiraiya.

Qingshui and his group had been here for a total of a week now, and it was time to leave.

Upon hearing this news, Konan appeared somewhat unhappy.

She felt that the week had passed too quickly, as if in the blink of an eye, and she would have to part with Qingshui Big Brother, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.

However, she was ultimately a sensible child and quickly put away her unhappiness, folding a Paper Flower to give to Qingshui.

"Thank you, Konan. I really like your gift."

Taking the Paper Flower, Qingshui squatted down in front of Konan and hugged her.

At the same time, he silently vowed in his heart that Konan was so cute, he had to change her future.

In fact, the simplest method would undoubtedly be to separate Konan from Nagato.

But this was unrealistic.

After all, Konan had spent several years with Yahiko and Nagato; the Trio had become the best companions.

Therefore, the best method was for him to work hard to become stronger, strong enough to protect her.

"Goodbye, Qingshui Big Brother!"

This was Konan.

"Goodbye, Qingshui Big Brother!"

This was Yahiko.

Unlike their journey here, where they had to escort the merchant caravan, Qingshui's group could now travel at their fastest speed on their return to Konoha.

With a ninja's speed, they could reach Konoha in just over a day.

However, shortly after leaving Jiraiya and the others, they encountered a group of Rain Ninjas.

There were fifteen of them in total, led by a Jonin, with the rest being a mix of Chunin and Genin.

Such strength was certainly no match for Qingshui and his group.

But the level of trouble was higher than the Rennin Organization they had encountered before.

A group of Rennin could be killed, and no one would trouble Konoha over them.

But Rain Ninjas were different!

This was, after all, the Land of Rain, the territory of Amegakure.

If they killed the Rain Ninja here, it would absolutely be seen as provoking Hanzo of the Salamander.

Even though Amegakure was just a small ninja village, it was one of the top-tier small ninja villages with a "Demigod" guarding it.

Such a status was not something even Konoha could easily provoke.

Once a conflict between countries broke out, it could easily ignite a war.

No one could bear such a heavy responsibility.

Therefore, in the face of the Rain Ninja's attack, they could only defend with all their might.

"We have no ill intentions. We only entered the Land of Rain to carry out a mission. Now that our mission is complete, we will leave the Land of Rain immediately."

Mikoto, as the Jonin leading the team, quickly explained.

But this group of Rain Ninja showed no intention of communicating from beginning to end. Regardless, their attacks were deadly, as if they were determined to kill Qingshui and the others.

"We are Konoha Ninja. Are you trying to provoke a war with Konoha?"

However, even though Mikoto used the threat of war, the other party still showed no intention of stopping.

Their abnormal behavior made Qingshui and Mikoto's expressions extremely grim.

It was impossible for the other party not to know their identities, yet they still made such a choice. In Mikoto's opinion, this was definitely the Rain Ninja plotting some conspiracy.

After all, in the recently concluded Second Shinobi World War, Amegakure had successively fought wars with Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure.

But Qingshui thought of Uchiha Madara.