Rasengan

"You brat, are these ninjutsu not powerful enough? Are you playing games with this Sage?"

"Pervy Sage~ couldn't you teach me another jutsu just as powerful?"

Yi Xiang transformed back into the young lady from before, speaking timidly with a charming expression on his face.

"Hahaha! Of course I can, I just forgot to show you earlier. You'll definitely like this one!"

"Rasengan!"

Boom! The brown tree trunk to the side was struck by the blue, head-sized sphere in Jiraiya's hand, leaving behind a hollow, spiral-patterned hole.

If I hadn't forgotten the training method for this sphere, I wouldn't need you to demonstrate it. Hmph!

Despite his internal grumbling, Yi Xiang wore a smile as he said, "That's not bad, I'll learn this one."

"Pervy Sage, I plan to master this move first, then practice the Summoning Jutsu."

Naruto was equally awestruck by the power of the technique, but he was met with a sharp rap on the head from Jiraiya.

"Idiot! Learn to manifest the red chakra first! Now get over there and practice your Summoning Jutsu!"

"Oh."

After Yi Xiang reached into his own pocket to give Jiraiya thirty thousand ryo for sake and bought over thirty water balloons, Jiraiya's enthusiasm for teaching increased significantly, and the first stage of training officially began.

Jiraiya pulled out a green water balloon at random. Even though his left hand didn't appear to move, the water inside seemed to come to life, bursting through the rubber skin on its own.

"Rotation is the key point of the Rasengan. Tree climbing is about gathering chakra and maintaining it in a specific spot, while water walking is about releasing a fixed amount of chakra. Since you taught Naruto so early, you must have mastered both of those quite well. Rotation is simply creating a flow of chakra."

Before he could finish, the red water balloon in Yi Xiang's hand burst with a pop as he controlled his chakra to rotate left and then irregularly, leaving only water stains on his palm.

This kid's talent is even more astonishing than the rumors suggested. Not bad, not bad at all. It's rare to find an Uchiha who is both well-mannered and this intelligent.

Jiraiya's distracted expression became more focused. He reached out a hand toward Yi Xiang with the natural air of someone expecting payment. "The items for the second stage of training also cost money. How are you supposed to train if you don't pay?"

"Jiraiya-senpai, how much do you need?"

Jiraiya held up two fingers on his other hand, intending to ask for two hundred ryo, but he watched as Yi Xiang consciously pulled out two thousand ryo and placed it in his hand. Concealing his inner delight, he nodded and said, "Practice here a few more times; I'll be back shortly."

Watching Jiraiya walk away with the clack-clack of his wooden sandals and a joyful gait, Yi Xiang chuckled.

"To improve his efficiency, aside from beauty, money is the only way to pave the path. Money, after all, is a method that never fails and is exceptionally effective."

"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"

"Why is this happening! How come every time I summon, I only get a tadpole the size of a finger? What am I supposed to do!"

Hearing this, Yi Xiang looked at the sighing Naruto, thinking that Naruto could only access the Nine-Tails' chakra through extreme emotional fluctuations. He didn't have any good ideas; he couldn't exactly help him break the seal directly.

"Naruto, if it's not working, just take a break for a while. Jiraiya-senpai should have some tricks; ask him more about it when he gets back."

"Big Brother Yi Xiang, you're much more reliable than the Pervy Sage. Do you have any way to help me? How can I use that other kind of chakra?"

Yi Xiang shook his head and turned his attention to the remaining twenty-some water balloons. "Naruto, since the Summoning Jutsu isn't working, why not try the Rasengan? There are still plenty of water balloons here."

Under Yi Xiang's guidance based on his own experience, by the time Jiraiya returned, Naruto was also able to use both hands simultaneously to force the water to rotate irregularly to the right, bursting the balloon. This left Jiraiya feeling quite surprised.

"Since that's the case, you two can start the second stage of training together. Here, take these."

Jiraiya tossed a rubber ball to each of them, then showed them a blank sheet of paper before drawing a dot on it and showing it to them again.

"This is called focusing on a single point. Once your consciousness is focused, your spirit will stabilize, and you will unleash unexpected power. Therefore, the second stage is primarily about mental focus and power."

After speaking, Jiraiya pulled a brush from his robes, drew a spiral pattern on the palms of Yi Xiang and Naruto, and told them to begin practicing.

Focus your mind, focus your mind. Hu~ ha!

Yi Xiang continuously blocked out the distractions in his mind until the only thing left was the image of the rubber ball in his left hand. It was then that the ball in his hand developed a small hole and immediately shriveled up.

"That's not enough. You have to make the rubber ball explode completely for the power to reach the standard."

Jiraiya, who was drinking alone to the side, offered a reminder.

Hearing this, Yi Xiang picked up a new rubber ball and closed his eyes. This time, to an outsider, there was no movement in his hand at all, but if one could look through the rubber, they would see the chakra inside being continuously compressed.

Just as the rubber ball in Naruto's hand had deflated twice, there was still no movement from Yi Xiang. When Naruto picked up his third rubber ball to practice, he noticed Yi Xiang was still standing there, motionless.

Just as Naruto was about to call out to Yi Xiang, and Jiraiya was about to intervene, a pop sound rang out. Yi Xiang was knocked to the ground by the immense force in his hand, and the remaining shockwave sent him sliding backward.

Just as Jiraiya prepared to help, Yi Xiang suddenly flipped himself up with a burst of effort, slamming his left hand into the ground. In an instant, his entire body seemed to float in the air, supported solely by the strength of his left hand.

Pop! Boom! Amidst a massive, thunderous roar, the earth was blasted into a crater roughly two meters in diameter by the small ball compressed by Yi Xiang's left hand.

"Cough, cough."

As the dust settled, Yi Xiang felt as though his left palm had lost all sensation, unable to even perform a simple lift.

"Isho, your learning talent is truly on par with this Sage. From here on, you only need to maintain the state you just achieved, and the Rasengan will be considered fully mastered."

Jiraiya offered his critique with a hint of smugness, as Isho had, after all, learned it under his brilliant tutelage.

"Huh?! Big Brother Isho, you've already learned it? I'm already on the third stage and still can't find the trick to it!"

Seeing Isho master it almost instantly, Naruto's expression suddenly wilted, clearly struck by the speed of Isho's progress.

"Naruto, everyone's talents differ in various aspects. For instance, while my talent for learning ninjutsu is high, I am inferior to you when it comes to diligence, personal courage, optimism, and cooking."

"You must be good at discovering and promoting your own strengths, while doing your best to make up for your shortcomings."

Actually, aside from a bit of learning talent and my foreknowledge of the plot, I'm just relying on cheats for everything else.

Of course, Isho did not voice his inner thoughts. Instead, he flashed a sincere smile and offered encouragement.

The relationship between these two is better than I imagined. Uchiha Isho... Uchiha, huh... It's been a long time since such an interesting kid has appeared.

In Jiraiya's eyes, the two youths, bathed in the golden afterglow of the setting sun, looked remarkably close, like an older brother encouraging his younger sibling.