Kou and Jiraiya's First Meeting

Thirteen years ago, at a training ground in Konoha.

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the branches of the old locust trees lining the training ground. Cicadas called back and forth, an endless backdrop of sound.

Several battered wooden posts stood in a corner of the training ground. Shuriken and Kunai had left them covered in scars, evidence of countless practice sessions.

A tall, white-haired man stood at the center of the training ground. Though he was already in his thirties, his face still looked so young that one would never guess he was fourteen years older than the disciple beside him.

His disciple, Namikaze Minato, was already making a name for himself in Konoha. He stood at the man's side, an expectant smile on his gentle face.

Before them stood a black-haired boy of just nine, wearing a Forehead Protector.

The boy was slender and wore the dark blue clothes of the Uchiha Clan, with the Gunbai emblem on his back.

He had handsome features and clear eyes. Young as he was, one could already see the striking looks he would grow into.

Unlike the stern, distant Uchiha of popular imagination, he wore a warm smile.

Jiraiya studied the black-haired boy with curiosity.

Uchiha Kou. He had heard that name before.

The face of the Uchiha Clan's new generation, a prodigy with a modest reputation in the village.

Among Konoha's Jonin Commander, his name often came up alongside that of the son of the renowned Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha.

Most of the time, though, the boy served only as a foil in those conversations.

"Can't stand letting White Fang's son have all the attention, so they've put forward a prodigy of their own to compete with him, huh...

"The Uchiha Clan cares as much about appearances as ever."

"Well, it's childish, but this is the Uchiha we're talking about. They call themselves 'Konoha's strongest clan' every chance they get, so I suppose it figures."

"But everyone can see those two children aren't on the same level when it comes to talent.

"Dragging that boy out to be compared with a real prodigy is far too cruel to him."

"Who can blame him for being born an Uchiha? I wonder whether that family is a blessing or a curse for the boy..."

Jiraiya had heard plenty of remarks like those around the village.

A prodigy put forward by the Uchiha Clan to compete with the son of White Fang.

That had been Jiraiya's first impression of the child named Uchiha Kou.

He had graduated from the Ninja Academy at eight and, now nine, was already capable of preparing for the Chunin exams. There was no question that the boy was a prodigy.

But next to Kakashi, who had graduated at five and become a Chunin at six, those achievements looked rather less impressive.

Forcing a comparison between them seemed far too cruel to a child born with an Uchiha's pride.

That was what Jiraiya had always thought, until the disciple he was so proud of came to him.

"Hold on, Minato. Are you serious? This kid helped you work out the theory behind that new jutsu?"

Jiraiya spoke quietly to Minato beside him, doubt in his voice.

His brows drew together as he muttered under his breath,

"You're not pulling my leg, are you? Even I couldn't figure out how to get past that jutsu's sticking point."

The jutsu Minato had been studying—an unsealed jutsu inspired by the Tailed Beast Bomb—seemed impossible to complete in theory.

Even setting aside the high-density compression of chakra and the need to hold its shape, they had struggled to settle on a workable theory for its rotation.

Teacher and disciple had racked their brains just trying to work that theory out.

Yet Minato now claimed that the brat in front of them had helped him solve it. Jiraiya was astonished.

Minato nodded firmly, his blue eyes full of conviction.

He turned toward the boy with open admiration and said,

"That's right. Thanks to Kou, I realized my approach had been wrong all along.

"My earlier experiments kept failing because I was trying to make the chakra rotate in one direction.

"That took an enormous amount of chakra, and too much of it dispersed.

"But if I use two spirals rotating in opposite directions and crossing over each other, it solves the original problem completely."

He paused, excitement flashing through his blue eyes.

"Thanks to this kid, I know now that developing a jutsu without hand signs is possible!"

"A double-helix structure..."

Jiraiya murmured, unable to hide the shock in his eyes.

As one of the Ninja World's strongest shinobi, he grasped the implication of Minato's words at once.

The approach could work!

His gaze settled on the boy. The casual look in his eyes vanished, replaced by sharp attention.

If Minato's telling the truth, this kid really is an extraordinary prodigy...

But should a child his age have that kind of theoretical foundation and understanding of jutsu?

Even for a prodigy, that's pushing it.

Hearing Minato praise him, the black-haired boy rubbed his head bashfully.

The gesture was a little awkward, touched with a child's shyness, yet there was something strangely unnatural about it.

He smiled faintly, a smile as pleasant as a spring breeze.

"Senior Minato is exaggerating. He did all the work himself. I barely helped at all."

"I often saw Senior Minato while I was training here, so I finally worked up the courage to talk to him. I thought he might give me a few pointers.

"Somehow, while we were talking, I brought up that idiot who lives next door to me. I told Senior Minato how I'd used hair gel to twist the two cowlicks on his head into horns while he was asleep."

The corners of his mouth lifted, his smile carrying a trace of childish pride.

"Then Minato looked like he'd suddenly figured something out and thanked me. Honestly, I hadn't even caught up with what had happened."

Minato slowly shook his head at Kou's modest words, admiration filling his blue eyes.

He spoke with the certainty of someone stating an undeniable fact.

"Don't sell yourself short, Kou.

"If I hadn't met you, I'd probably still be stuck on the theory.

"I only solved that problem thanks to you."

"Oh, you're exaggerating~~"

Kou answered, an "embarrassed" smile appearing on his handsome young face.

It was just right: full of a child's innocence, yet somehow... far too practiced.

"So that's what happened..."

Jiraiya looked at the boy and nodded in understanding, reflecting to himself,

To think the inspiration came from something so small.

I suppose you really can't focus only on theory when it comes to jutsu. Little things in daily life can give you ideas too.

"Hmm... I guess that's what they mean by a child's 'unpredictability.'"

He could not help remarking on it as he watched the two modestly give each other credit.

His still-youthful face held a complicated expression that said the next generation was not to be underestimated.

Jiraiya turned to Minato and continued pointedly,

"You didn't call me and this kid here today just so you could praise him in front of me, did you?"

With his intentions exposed, Minato rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Then his expression turned serious, his blue eyes earnest.

"Teacher, I'd like this kid to join us in developing the jutsu.

"Talking to him always seems to give me new ideas.

"It's only a feeling, but I'm sure he can help us with the research ahead."

He paused, his gaze imploring.

"Please give it some thought."

Beside him, Kou looked at Jiraiya expectantly too, a hint of nerves hidden in his dark eyes.

Jiraiya seemed to have seen this coming. He sighed helplessly and grumbled,

"I knew it. You little brat never come looking for your teacher without wanting something!"

Minato smiled sheepishly.

Jiraiya waved a hand. His tone was lazy, but his eyes were serious.

"I don't mind letting the brat join in. It's your jutsu, after all.

"But don't forget, this kid is the Uchiha Clan's darling right now.

"If you want to borrow him, you'll have to figure out how to get past the Old Man and the Uchiha."

At Jiraiya's warning, Minato and Kou exchanged a glance.

Then, as if they had planned it, they both turned to look at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya: "...?"

"Hold on. You're not expecting me to talk to them, are you?!"

His voice rose several notches, open resistance written across his youthful face.

"Please, Teacher Jiraiya!!" they said together.

Kou and Minato bowed to Jiraiya at the same time.

"...You two planned this from the start, didn't you?!"

"And you, brat! Since when did you start calling me Teacher so naturally? Call me Lord Jiraiya!!"

Jiraiya stared at them, unwilling to budge.

He was a man of principle, the freest man in the Ninja World. No one could make him do something he did not want to do.

I, Jiraiya, would sooner starve or jump from here than—

"Teacher Jiraiya, please accept this!"

With practiced ease, Kou pulled a magazine from his robe and held it out to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's gaze fell instinctively on the cover.

It showed a tall, alluring woman with a stunning figure and a seductive smile.

His eyes locked onto her as though they had a target-tracking jutsu. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed without thinking.

"Oh? Th-this is..."

"Just a small gift to mark our first meeting."

Kou wore an "innocent" smile, mischief gleaming in his dark eyes.

"I know a little about where to get books like this. If you like it, over the coming days, I could..."

"What a good kid!!"

Jiraiya seized Kou's hand—or, more precisely, the magazine in it.

His face shone with emotion, his eyes as bright as if he had found buried treasure.

"I knew from the moment I saw you that you were no ordinary kid! A prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, indeed!"

His voice rang with sincerity.

"With you around, Minato's research is bound to go much more smoothly!

"You and Minato focus on your research. Leave the Old Man and the Uchiha to me!!"

"Yes! Long live Teacher Jiraiya!!" they shouted together.

Minato and Kou slapped their palms together in celebration.

The crisp clap carried the exuberance of youth.

Damn it. I gave in without even thinking...

His wits restored after that moment of lust, Jiraiya realized he had been played and cursed himself inwardly.

He wanted to take it back, but he could not bring himself to go back on what he had just said. He swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

Jiraiya looked at the magazine in his hand, then at the two beaming faces before him, and snapped,

"Minato, you little brat!! This was your idea, wasn't it?!"

"And you, you wicked little Uchiha brat! Stop calling me Teacher Jiraiya. Call me Lord Jiraiya!!"

Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows over the three of them.

The cicadas kept calling, an endless backdrop of sound.

That had been the first time Jiraiya and Kou had truly met...

Jiraiya's thoughts returned from the memory, and his eyes, now clear again, settled on Kou before him.

He looked at the boy he had not seen in years—no, he could no longer call Kou a boy.

Compared with the child Jiraiya remembered from their first meeting, Kou had grown into a mature adult.

The familiar, easy smile was gone, replaced by a grave expression Jiraiya did not recognize.

All Jiraiya could sense in his gaze now was wariness.

"You've grown up, Kou."

Jiraiya could not help saying it softly as he looked at how much Kou had changed.

Kou regarded Jiraiya with an unreadable look. Something stirred deep in his dark eyes.

Looking at the figure who should have been so familiar to him, he spoke slowly.

"Yeah. It's been a long time... Lord Jiraiya."

(I got carried away and wrote too much of this chapter, so I'm running short on time.

Splitting it into two chapters wouldn't work well either. I'll post this one first and the next one a little later...)