Senjutsu Chakra.
Jiraiya had spent decades mastering this power. It took him about five minutes to enter Sage Mode, but if he only wanted to reveal a little Senjutsu Chakra, he could do it anytime.
Jiraiya held out his hand. As long as Lin Qing touched his palm, he would be able to sense what made Senjutsu Chakra special.
"But do you dare?"
Jiraiya looked at Lin Qing.
The next second.
Slap.
Lin Qing took Jiraiya's hand. Golden ripples shimmered, meeting the Senjutsu Chakra in Jiraiya's palm on equal footing.
Both of their expressions shifted slightly.
Jiraiya was surprised by the power Lin Qing wielded, so completely different from the powers cultivated by ordinary ninja.
Lin Qing, meanwhile, was stunned that the Ripple... had resonated faintly with the Senjutsu Chakra in Jiraiya's palm.
"Why is that?"
The Ripple was like a scalpel, probing into the Senjutsu Chakra.
"Chakra fused with another, unknown energy to create a new power." Lin Qing looked at Jiraiya. "Is that why you call yourself a 'sage'?"
Jiraiya gave a slight cough and withdrew his hand.
He'd only wanted to prove his identity and show off a little. He hadn't expected Lin Qing to work out the principles behind Sage Mode after just one encounter.
"When chakra fuses with Natural Energy in a certain proportion, it produces Senjutsu Chakra.
"Of course, it's an extremely arduous process. One wrong move, and you risk turning to stone.
"Even a genius like me took more than ten years to learn to use it proficiently."
Natural Energy.
Turning to stone.
Those two concepts reminded Lin Qing of the Pillar Men from Part Two of JoJo, Battle Tendency: a group of immortal, perfect beings who feared only sunlight and turned to stone beneath it.
And sunlight was one kind of Natural Energy.
The Ripple Lin Qing cultivated was a power that imitated sunlight.
"If I learn how to absorb Natural Energy, could I make my Ripple even stronger?"
Jiraiya had spent years traveling the world and was excellent at reading people. Seeing Lin Qing lost in thought, he knew he was interested in Senjutsu—who wouldn't be? Jiraiya leaned closer.
"Want to learn? I'll teach you."
"What's the tuition?" Lin Qing asked.
"No tuition."
Jiraiya waved a hand. "Just come back to Konoha with me, and I guarantee no one will lay a finger on you. I still have some pull in Konoha.
"Once we're back, I'll take you to Mount Myoboku and have you sign a summoning contract with old Gamamaru."
Lin Qing gave a soft laugh.
So after all that circling around, Jiraiya had been setting a trap for him.
"No need," Lin Qing said.
Jiraiya thumped his chest. "You don't trust me? Let me tell you, I, Jiraiya, have a lot of sway in Konoha—"
Lin Qing waved a hand, cutting him off.
"It's not that I don't trust you. It's just..."
Lin Qing asked calmly, "If Konoha is so great, why don't you go back? Why do you spend all your time wandering around?"
Jiraiya was at a loss for words. "I... you... well..."
A thousand things he could have said came down to a sigh.
He hadn't even been persecuted, and he still didn't want to go back. How much less could he expect Lin Qing and Sasuke, survivors whose entire clan had been slaughtered, to return?
Jiraiya could help the two of them go back.
But could he help them get revenge?
If not...
What then?
Tell them to let go of their hatred?
Pretend nothing had happened?
What gave him the right?
"Never urge others to be kind when you haven't suffered what they have."
Jiraiya thought it over, slapped himself across the mouth, then pressed his hands together in apology. "Forget what I just said. Let me apologize over a drink. Don't leave..."
He grabbed Lin Qing and called toward the private room's entrance, "Boss lady! Bring out all your signature dishes! Dinner's on me tonight!"
Lin Qing couldn't refuse Jiraiya's enthusiasm. Besides, he really did want to learn more about Orochimaru and Itachi Uchiha, so they all sat down again.
Dish after dish arrived. Before long, there was no room left on the table.
Jiraiya felt his purse, swallowed, and said, "Boss lady, don't you think you've brought out a few too many of your signature dishes?"
"Oh, come now, sir! Look at you—you're so tall and imposing, the very picture of a man among men. I ordered food to match your build! If you think it's too much, I'll take some away."
At the words "tall and imposing" and "a man among men," Jiraiya grinned so widely his tongue lolled out.
The dishes were soon all served. Lin Qing and Jiraiya ate and chatted, drawing out one piece of information after another. After several rounds of drinks, everyone at the table was stuffed.
Jiraiya's face was flushed red as he raised his final cup. "Brother Lin, don't go back. Konoha has too many problems right now. That idiot Danzo—"
He glanced at the three children staring intently at him and swallowed the rest of the insult.
"I'll damn well... Danzo's a piece of crap..."
Unable to vent his pent-up feelings, Jiraiya's face grew even redder. At last, he said, "It's all in the cup."
He drained it in one go.
Lin Qing wanted to find the culprit who had destroyed Hope Village.
Jiraiya wanted to use the lead about the artificial humans to track down Orochimaru.
With Lin Qing's Hermit Purple and Jiraiya's ninja tracking skills, they would surely make twice the progress with half the effort. They agreed to work together the next day, then parted ways.
After saying goodbye to Jiraiya, Lin Qing bought enough food and medicine for thirty people and rented a handcart.
Amber pushed the food and medicine ahead of them. Though exhausted from the day and still injured, she strode along with vigor, eager to get food and medicine to everyone as soon as possible.
Sasuke walked beside Lin Qing.
"Brother Qing, learning Senjutsu would make you a lot stronger, wouldn't it?"
Lin Qing glanced at him. "What, do you want to go back for the sake of power? From what we know, Danzo was probably involved in the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Don't you want revenge?"
"Of course I do, but..."
Sasuke opened his hands and stared at his palms. "After all the people I've met and everything I've experienced lately, I feel there are things more important than hatred. I want to do those things..."
"You'll need power to do that."
Lin Qing asked, "What are these 'things' you want to do?"
"I want ordinary people to stop worrying about being killed, driven to their deaths, or sold off like livestock. I want to have the power to save others, just like you, Brother Qing."
Sasuke clenched his fists.
"If that's what it takes, I'm willing to set my hatred aside for now."
"By any means necessary?"
"By any means necessary."
After saying it, Sasuke scratched his head sheepishly.
"Brother Qing, is that... right?"
Lin Qing gave a slight shake of his head. "It might be right in the future, but it's wrong for now."
"Why?"
"Because I'm here, you don't have to make that kind of desperate choice.
"I don't want you to become another Danzo. Wrong is wrong, right is right. A noble goal doesn't let you reverse cause and effect."
Sasuke nodded, only half understanding. Then he asked, "Why might it be right in the future?"
"Because one day, I might die. I might not be able to protect you anymore, and you may have to face one cruel choice after another.
"But until that day—"
Lin Qing smiled and ruffled Sasuke's hair.
"Be someone who can look himself in the eye."
"And besides."
Lin Qing held out his index finger. A wisp of blue-green energy slowly gathered at its tip.
Sasuke's mouth fell open.
"I've already mastered Natural Energy."
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