Passing the Buck, Jiraiya's Guidance (Please Bookmark, Follow, Vote, and Send Monthly Tickets)

Konoha, an izakaya.

The Sannin, rarely gathered together, were drinking and chatting in the izakaya.

The izakaya's dim yellow light swayed in the sake. Tsunade's fingers around her ceramic cup had gone slightly pale. Orochimaru's golden slit pupils flickered in the shadows like a venomous snake coiled in the dark.

"I saw it with my own eyes." Jiraiya shook his sake flask, ice cubes clinking against its walls. "At Training Ground Three last week, the way you taught that black-haired brat the Chakra Scalpel—"

"That was medical guidance!" Tsunade suddenly raised her voice, making the bartender behind the counter jerk. Ice rattled in the cocktail shaker as she stared at the plum pit settled at the bottom of her cup. "That child now..." A familiar taste of rust suddenly rose in her throat, and the sight of Nawaki covered in blood from years ago flashed before her eyes.

Orochimaru's sneer brushed past their ears like a snake's tongue. "It takes admirable courage to let someone whose hemophobia can flare up teach him." The kunai at his fingertips spun into an afterimage, carving a deep mark into the wooden table. "Why not leave him to me..."

"Don't even think about it!" Two voices rang out at once. Jiraiya's palm slammed onto the table, knocking over the sake flask. Amber liquid dripped through the cracks in the table. Tsunade grabbed a towel to wipe the spilled alcohol from her sleeve, only then noticing that her hand was shaking.

Drunken shouts came from the alley behind the izakaya, while moonlight leaked through the crack in the sliding door. Jiraiya scratched his messy white hair. "I'm saying, since that kid can learn the Chakra Scalpel, it proves he has talent..."

"What he needs now isn't just Medical Ninjutsu." Tsunade suddenly cut him off, poking at the grilled saury on her plate with her chopsticks. "Yesterday, when he asked whether I knew any lethal taijutsu, I realized..." Fish bones scraped harshly against the porcelain plate. "I can't teach him anything more."

Orochimaru's pupils suddenly contracted. He recalled passing by Konoha Hospital three days ago and seeing the black-haired youth practicing swordsmanship on the roof. The trail left by his blade cutting through the morning mist looked remarkably like that of a certain silver-haired man.

The night wind made the curtain rustle, and the izakaya's lantern suddenly went out. In the darkness came Tsunade's muffled voice. "Hey, Jiraiya, why don't you teach him for a while? It's not like you have anything to do right now."

Jiraiya's cup froze halfway to his mouth. He went completely stiff, never expecting that coming out for drinks would bring him extra trouble.

Before Jiraiya could agree, Tsunade stood up, casually tossed down some coins, and said, "Then it's settled. Come on, let's go see him."

Jiraiya was dumbfounded...

The river at the training field reflected the afterglow of the setting sun as Taiichi practiced chakra control on its surface. A sudden whistle through the air behind him made him instinctively flip away, and three shuriken grazed past his hair before embedding themselves in a tree trunk.

"Your reaction passes." Orochimaru's hoarse voice came from the treetop. When Taiichi looked up, he saw Tsunade crouching on a rock by the river, the Chakra Scalpel gathered at her fingertips slicing through the rushing waves.

Jiraiya's Great Fireball suddenly came at him from the left as well. Taiichi retreated rapidly across the water's surface. White mist rose where the flames swept past, boiling the river water. The power was immense. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" The youth's clear shout pierced through the mist as a whirlwind swept the fire dragon into the sky.

"Beautiful combination of two chakra natures!" Jiraiya laughed as he stepped out from behind a tree, his headband glinting in the sunset. He noticed the way Taiichi turned his wrist, identical to the opening stance of the swordsmanship he had seen through his telescope three days ago.

Tsunade suddenly grabbed Taiichi by the back of his collar, pressing her Chakra Scalpel against his throat. "What should a Medical Ninja protect most?" Her voice carried the smell of alcohol, but her fingers were as steady as surgical forceps.

"Chakra pathways." Taiichi answered without hesitation. The green light at his fingertips suddenly jabbed into Tsunade's elbow. The instant their chakra collided, a spray of water three meters high exploded from the river.

Orochimaru's applause startled birds into flight from the forest. "A perfect counterattack. Unfortunately..." His long tongue slid over his lips. "Your Chakra Quantity is down by thirty percent."

When Tsunade released him, Taiichi staggered and fell onto the shallows. The pebbles hurt his palms, and he saw Tsunade's back trembling faintly in the dusk—it was the shudder that came when her hemophobia flared up.

"From today on, this troublemaker is yours." Tsunade suddenly shoved Taiichi toward Jiraiya. The youth bumped into the white-haired man's solid chest, smelling a heavy mix of alcohol and ink.

Jiraiya's palm pressed down on Taiichi's shoulder, its warmth passing through his soaked ninja clothes. "Kid, do you know what real ninjutsu is?" His other hand suddenly formed seals, and a massive fire tornado scorched an entire stretch of the riverbank black.

Firelight danced in Taiichi's pupils. Compared to his own Fire Style, Jiraiya's Fire Style was several orders of magnitude stronger.

"I..." The youth had barely opened his mouth when Orochimaru's cold voice interrupted him. "How far have you trained the Chakra Scalpel?"

The air by the river suddenly froze. Jiraiya felt the shoulder beneath his palm tense instantly—the instinctive reaction of an animal encountering its natural predator. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a solid, dazzling blade of light ignite at Taiichi's fingertips.

"The third form. I just learned how to cut chakra threads." Taiichi's voice was slightly breathless. Maintaining the high-density chakra made sweat bead on his forehead, but the hand holding the blade was steady as a rock.

Orochimaru's golden slit pupils narrowed to lines in the twilight. He recalled a rainy night when Danzo had shown him a Root report stating, "Suspected to have mastered Yang-style chakra transformation." The light blade before him was thirty percent more formidable than the report had described.

Jiraiya suddenly burst out laughing, breaking the deadlock. As if performing a magic trick, he pulled a Frog Wallet from his robes. "As a meeting gift, I'll treat you to ramen tonight!" The wallet opened its mouth and spat out three coupons, neatly covering the chakra threads Orochimaru had quietly extended toward Taiichi.

Tsunade's back had already vanished into the depths of the forest. Taiichi looked in the direction she had left and noticed finger marks nearly an inch deep in a stone by the shore—marks Tsunade had gouged out with her bare hand while suppressing her hemophobia. Perhaps she had left early to avoid showing her weakness.

"First, let's see how good your chakra control is." Jiraiya's voice suddenly became serious. He lightly stamped his foot, sending perfect circular ripples across the water's surface. "Stand on the river like this until the moon rises to—"

Before he could finish, Taiichi was already standing steadily atop the waves. Moonlight shone on his soaked pant legs. His chakra glow was weaker than before, but far more sustained. Jiraiya's pupils widened slightly as he saw the ripples spinning beneath the youth's feet—they were exactly like the effect of his own water-walking.

Orochimaru's sneer drifted over the river. "An interesting little fellow." His figure turned into green smoke with the Silencing Technique, and the last thing to vanish was the cold gaze fixed on Taiichi's back.

After a round of testing, Jiraiya had grasped Taiichi's level. Overall, he was about on par with a newly promoted Chunin. But considering his age and Medical Ninjutsu, that was an astonishing level. Teaching such a genius youth for a while would not take much effort.

Jiraiya then brought Taiichi to Ichiraku Ramen. It was Taiichi's first time here. He had not had the money before, and after he had money, he had never had the time to come. Today, he had finally arrived at this famous Konoha "landmark."

"Boss, one large tonkotsu ramen." Then Jiraiya added to Taiichi, "Order whatever you want. I'm treating today."

"Boss, I'll have the same."

"Sure thing, please wait a moment!"

While they waited, Jiraiya explained that Tsunade had asked him to teach Taiichi for a while.

Taiichi was speechless after hearing that. Compared to Jiraiya, an outsider, Taiichi understood Tsunade's state of mind over this period much better.

At first, she had taught him enthusiastically and kept a close eye on his progress. Later, she gradually became impatient. Sometimes, when Taiichi went looking for her, he could still smell alcohol on her. Although Tsunade had always fulfilled her responsibilities when teaching Taiichi, things were another matter outside of that. Maybe she really had grown impatient and wanted to quit, and Jiraiya had happened to come along as someone who could take over.

Of course, that was only Taiichi's own speculation. Naturally, he could not tell Jiraiya that. No matter what, Tsunade had done everything she could for him.

At the same time, Konoha Casino.

Tsunade was currently dominating the table, surrounded by a crowd of people. "I refuse to believe it can still be low this round." The moment she placed her chips on low, every other gambler promptly placed their chips on high. The veins on Tsunade's forehead throbbed.

Tsunade suddenly sneezed loudly. What's going on? Don't tell me that brat Taiichi is talking about me... she thought.

"Whatever. Dealer, reveal it~" Tsunade immediately threw herself back into her booming "money-losing business."