Jiraiya, You Wouldn't Want This Known

Inside the Hokage office.

"What do you intend to do? Perhaps you should show a little more patience with Kakashi."

The Third looked toward Jiraiya.

Kakashi was the biggest problem child.

However.

He possessed talent, and the Third truly could not bear to watch him go to waste; he still hoped Jiraiya would show some leniency.

Jiraiya, however, replied, "If it truly comes to a result I do not wish to see, then it can only be said that we were not meant to be."

"I'm off."

He waved his hand and vanished from the office.

The Third Hokage sighed softly, his face unable to shake its troubled expression.

The next day, Forest of Death, Training Ground 7.

Kurenai Yuhi arrived early, and then, she noticed that Kyohiko and Kakashi had already arrived ahead of her, sitting under a tree to rest.

She tiptoed, not daring to make a sound.

Just sit down and rest...

Why do I always have so much on my mind!

Kurenai Yuhi looked at the tree shadows above, her mood complex.

A long while passed.

"Oops, sorry, something came up on the way, I'm late."

Jiraiya chuckled.

"Lord Jiraiya, you're way too late!"

Kurenai Yuhi checked the time.

In another hour, it would be noon.

However.

Seeing the three people before him, his smile instantly stiffened.

One wore a mask, his gaze cold.

The other two were quite calm.

"Quite the tacit understanding and unity. Seeing you like this, I have more confidence in you passing the test."

Jiraiya gave a light cough and took the opportunity to pull out the bells at his waist.

"Kakashi, I don't know what the situation was like during your first test, but the test on my end is very simple: as long as you snatch a bell, you pass."

Jingle~

The bells chimed.

He hung the bells back up.

"Any questions?"

"Is it a pass if we snatch one, or do we need to snatch all of them?"

Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya said, "Considering the gap between you and me, you only need to snatch one to succeed. However, the one who performs the worst will be hung up by me without lunch and will participate in a separate individual test in the afternoon."

Kakashi took a deep breath and said nothing more.

Jiraiya looked at the other two.

"What about you two?"

"No problem."

Kyohiko said.

"Good, then let's begin. I'll give you some time to set up your tactics."

Whoosh!

In an instant, the three people vanished from where they stood.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, They went in different directions? Could it be...

His heart sank.

Jiraiya thought highly of Kyohiko, but if Kyohiko's perspective and sense of teamwork were this shallow, he would be very disappointed.

At the same time.

Kurenai Yuhi whispered, "Kyohiko, are we really not going to help Kakashi?"

"Of course we are. We'll coordinate and devise a strategy to create an opening for him. He's a Chunin; if he refuses to cooperate, there's nothing we can do."

Kyohiko replied.

Kurenai Yuhi breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, how do we fight?"

"You and I will stall from the front to draw his attention, using traps and genjutsu to complement Kakashi's positioning and surprise attacks to see if we can snag a bell. Specifically, you'll provide support with genjutsu, and then..."

"Understood."

"It begins. You must obtain my bells before the hourglass runs out, or you fail."

Jiraiya flipped the hourglass over.

Then, he sensed the situation around him.

"Hidden well."

Jiraiya's lips curled upward.

These three kids, if nothing else, had solid fundamentals.

However.

One of them still left an opening.

Jiraiya walked forward, appearing casual but stepping with caution.

Snap!

A massive log, bound with ropes, swung horizontally from the front.

Jiraiya used Body Flicker to dodge.

But.

In an instant, he saw a figure ahead distort and vanish.

Kurenai Yuhi?

Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!

The name of the jutsu surfaced in Jiraiya's mind, and he instantly mobilized his chakra to disrupt his own flow.

In a flash, he broke free from the genjutsu.

However.

In the blink of an eye, several traps flew toward him simultaneously.

Jiraiya vanished with a Body Flicker.

The next moment, he crouched on a tree branch, observing his surroundings vigilantly.

These brats...

Truly, not a single one of them can be underestimated!

He never expected that the little girl from the Yuhi clan would have already mastered a B-rank genjutsu.

Before he could observe carefully, two figures lunged out.

Kakashi held his blade, while Kyohiko used Body Flicker to strike from below.

Jiraiya's lips curled upward.

Then.

Clang!

He swung his kunai upward, perfectly blocking Kyohiko's strike.

Kyohiko didn't linger, vanishing from his spot instantly and landing on another tree.

However.

"Nice tactic."

Jiraiya's voice rang out from behind him.

The Jiraiya from a moment ago dissolved into bubbles and vanished.

It was a Shadow Clone.

Jiraiya immediately launched a flurry of punches and kicks, moving with incredible speed.

In a few moments, Kyohiko and Jiraiya exchanged three punches and two kicks.

Not bad taijutsu!

Jiraiya thought, surprised.

Kyohiko's agility was absolutely top-tier among genin; many chunin were likely not even as skilled as he was.

His heart stirred, and he immediately struck with heavy force.

The result.

Poof!

The figure in front turned into a log.

The real Kyohiko had already fled in another direction.

Good lad!

A flash of admiration crossed Jiraiya's eyes.

What he appreciated was not just Kyohiko's agility, the speed at which he combined the Substitution Technique with the Body Flicker Technique, but also Kyohiko's judgment.

The moment he struck with force, the boy had immediately made a run for it.

Such judgment proved that Kyohiko was remarkably calm.

Impressive!

"Over here!"

A massive log flew out from above, sweeping horizontally toward Jiraiya.

Kurenai Yuhi triggered the trap to provide cover for Kyohiko.

However.

Jiraiya threw a punch, shattering the wooden mechanism.

"If this is all you have, you will definitely not pass the assessment."

"Move!"

Kyohiko was very clear—Jiraiya was not using his full strength!

If this were a real battle, the man could have easily used the Wild Lion's Mane Technique, and his speed would have been far greater than this.

After all, the man was one of the Sannin!

Jiraiya's current speed was kept just slightly faster than his own.

He had to rely on traps or coordinate with his teammates to escape.

This was a test.

But he had already lured Jiraiya to the exact position he needed.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wooden rafts embedded with spikes flew from all directions toward Jiraiya, who had leaped into the air.

At the same time, two clones charged out.

One looked like Kyohiko.

The other had transformed into Kakashi.

The two "people" rushed toward Jiraiya.

Kurenai Yuhi stood in the trees, forming hand seals.

In the blink of an eye, four or five wooden raft traps and the two "people" were already upon him.

In an instant, his hair grew rapidly, spreading in all directions to grab the first incoming wooden rafts, while other strands lashed out at the two attackers.

Poof!

The clones immediately exploded.

This was the Hell Clone, a genjutsu created by Shinku Yuhi.

It was an advanced clone genjutsu infused with additional abilities.

Jiraiya had been maintaining a chaotic flow of chakra and had not been caught in the genjutsu, but at that very moment, the wooden rafts flying from behind instantly transformed into human shapes.

Kakashi gripped a rope, his blade bared like the fangs of a beast, striking at Jiraiya with extreme speed.

Clang!

Jiraiya blocked the blade with a kunai.

However, a breeze stirred from behind.

Kyohiko?

Such incredible speed!

Jiraiya was startled—

Although he had long known that Kyohiko's Body Flicker Technique was extraordinary, facing it at full power was still shocking.

To master the Body Flicker Technique to this degree at seven years old...

It was simply astonishing!

And that wasn't all.

His punches, kicks, and physical balance all surpassed the taijutsu standards of his peers.

The only ones who could compare to him...

Were likely only Kakashi and that other eccentric youth.

What's more.

At this very moment, another Kakashi was also attacking him.

Blades, kunai, and fists.

Combined with the intermittent cherry blossom genjutsu.

The coordination of the three was dazzling.

The next moment, the blade and fist struck simultaneously.

"Careful!"

The moment Kyohiko's fist made contact, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

It didn't have the texture of a real body.

Besides.

With their amateur skills, could they really pose a threat to Jiraiya?

Sure enough, the Jiraiya before him dissolved into a puddle of mud.

It was an Earth Clone.

"Above!"

Kurenai Yuhi shouted immediately.

Without needing a command, Kakashi swung his blade upward to meet the threat—

A large net descended from above.

All around them, the wooden rafts previously anchored by hair also surged toward the center.

Rip!

Kakashi slashed through the net with his blade, tearing a massive hole in it.

Before he could recover his strength, Jiraiya was already upon them.

However.

Kyohiko arrived in front of him in an instant.

Bang!

Their fists collided solidly.

Boom!

Kyohiko was sent flying toward the ground, but in that split second, he shouted, "Lord Jiraiya, you wouldn't want people to know that you spend every day..."