Kou and Jiraiya's First Meeting

Thirteen years ago, Konoha, training ground.

The afternoon sun filtered through the branches and leaves of the old locust trees lining the training ground, the cicadas chirping in a rhythmic, unending chorus that served as a constant background hum.

In the corner of the training ground stood several battered wooden stakes, their surfaces riddled with scratches from shuriken and kunai, silent witnesses to the countless practice sessions held here.

A tall, white-haired man stood in the center of the training ground. Though he was already in his thirties, his face remained youthful, showing no signs of the fourteen-year age gap between him and the disciple beside him.

His disciple, the current rising star of Konoha, Namikaze Minato, stood at his side, a look of expectant warmth gracing his gentle face.

Before them stood a nine-year-old boy with black hair, wearing a forehead protector.

The boy was slender, dressed in the dark blue attire of the Uchiha clan, the fan crest emblazoned on his back.

His features were handsome and his expression clear; though still young, one could already discern the refined contours of his future self.

Unlike the stereotypical Uchiha—often perceived as cold, stern, and distant—a gentle smile played upon the corners of his lips.

Jiraiya studied the black-haired boy with curious eyes.

Uchiha Kou, he had heard the name before.

The face of the current generation of the Uchiha clan, a genius with a fair bit of fame within the village.

Among the Jonin ranks of Konoha, this name was often mentioned in the same breath as the son of the legendary White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo.

But most of the time, the boy before him was merely a foil in the conversations of the Jonin.

"Not content with the White Fang's son hogging all the spotlight, so they pushed out a genius of their own to compete with him, eh... The Uchiha clan is as obsessed with face as ever."

"Well, it's childish, but coming from the Uchiha, who are always spouting off about being the 'strongest clan in Konoha,' it's understandable."

"But surely everyone can see that the two children are on completely different levels of talent. Being forced out to be compared to a true prodigy—that's far too cruel for the boy."

"Sigh, who told him to be an Uchiha? Born into that clan, I don't know if it's the boy's fortune or his misfortune..."

Jiraiya had heard sentiments like these in the village more than once.

The genius pushed out by the Uchiha clan to compete with the son of the White Fang.

That was the initial impression the boy named Uchiha Kou had left in Jiraiya's mind.

Graduating from the Ninja Academy at eight and already at the level of a Chunin candidate at nine, the boy was undoubtedly a genius.

But in the face of Kakashi, who had graduated at five and become a Chunin at six, such achievements were simply not enough to turn heads.

To compare the two was, for a naturally proud Uchiha child, truly too cruel.

That was what Jiraiya had thought, right up until his own pride-and-joy disciple sought him out.

"Hey, hey, Minato, are you serious? This is the kid who helped you perfect the theory for that new ninjutsu?"

Jiraiya whispered to Minato beside him, his tone laced with skepticism.

His brows furrowed slightly as he muttered in a doubtful, low voice:

"You aren't pulling my leg, are you? Even I couldn't figure out how to overcome the bottlenecks of that technique."

The ninjutsu Minato had been researching—that seal-less technique inspired by the Tailed Beast Bomb—was, logically speaking, impossible to succeed.

Not to mention the high-density compression and stabilization of chakra, the very logic of chakra rotation was difficult to define.

Simply perfecting the related theory had exhausted the wits of both master and student.

But now, Minato claimed that the brat before them had helped them perfect this theory, which truly caught Jiraiya off guard.

Minato nodded earnestly, his blue eyes filled with sincerity and conviction.

He turned his head to look at the boy before him with an appreciative gaze, his tone carrying undisguised admiration:

"That's right. Thanks to Kou-kun's help, I realized that my previous attempts had been wrong all along. The reason the previous experiments kept failing was that I was using a single-direction chakra rotation. This method consumes a massive amount of chakra and causes severe chakra dissipation."

"But if I switch to a bi-directional, intersecting spiral rotation, it completely solves the original problem."

He paused, a flicker of excitement crossing his blue eyes:

"Thanks to this child, I can finally confirm that the development of a seal-less ninjutsu is feasible!"

"A double-spiral structure..."

Jiraiya murmured, his eyes filled with unconcealable shock.

As a top-tier powerhouse of the Ninja World, he analyzed the conclusion from Minato's words in an instant.

This plan was feasible!

His gaze fell upon the boy before him, his previously lazy and casual expression turning serious:

"If what Minato says is true, this child really is an incredible genius..."

But is this level of theoretical foundation and understanding of ninjutsu really something a child of this age should possess?

Even if he truly is a genius, this is simply too exaggerated.

Listening to Minato's words of praise, the black-haired boy before Jiraiya bashfully scratched his head.

The movement was somewhat clumsy, carrying the unique shyness of a child, yet it also revealed an indescribable sense of unnaturalness.

He smiled, a faint expression that felt as refreshing as a spring breeze:

"Minato-senpai is exaggerating. This is all thanks to Minato-senpai's own efforts; I didn't really help with anything."

"I just happened to see Minato-senpai often while training here, so I gathered the courage to talk to him for a while, hoping to get some pointers.

As we talked, I don't know how I ended up mentioning the idiot next door to me, and I told Minato-senpai about how I used hair gel to twist his two cowlicks into horns while he was asleep."

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, his smile carrying a touch of childish pride:

"In the end, Minato-nii seemed to have a sudden epiphany and thanked me excitedly.

To be honest, I hadn't even processed what happened myself."

Listening to Kou's humble words, Minato slowly shook his head, his blue eyes filled with admiration.

His tone was firm, as if stating an indisputable fact:

"Don't sell yourself short, Kou.

If I hadn't met you, I'd probably still be trapped in the mire of my theories.

Being able to solve this problem is all thanks to you."

"Oh, you're exaggerating~~"

Kou replied, a bashful smile appearing on his handsome little face.

The smile was perfectly measured, carrying the innocence typical of a child, yet it also revealed an indescribable... maturity.

"So that's how it is..."

Jiraiya looked at the boy before him, nodding in sudden realization as he muttered to himself with a sense of wonder:

"To think the inspiration came from such a trivial matter?

It seems the essence of ninjutsu shouldn't just focus on theory; the trivialities of daily life can often provide a certain level of enlightenment."

"Hmm... this is what they call the 'unpredictability' of a child, I suppose."

Watching the two humble figures before him, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

His face, still relatively young, was now filled with a complex expression of "the younger generation is to be feared."

Jiraiya then turned his head to look at Minato, adding meaningfully:

"You called me and this child here today, surely not just to praise the boy's contributions in front of me, right?"

Seeing his intentions laid bare, Minato bashfully scratched his head.

Then, his expression turned serious, his blue eyes filled with gravity:

"Teacher, I hope to have this child join our ninjutsu development research.

In my conversations with him, I always feel like I can gain some inspiration from his words.

Although it's just a feeling, I believe this child will definitely be of help to our upcoming research."

He paused, his eyes filled with earnestness:

"Please, you must consider it."

Beside him, Kou also looked at Jiraiya with anticipation, a hint of nervousness hidden deep within his black eyes.

Jiraiya seemed to have expected this, sighing helplessly as he retorted:

"I knew you brat wouldn't have any good news when you suddenly came looking for your teacher!"

Minato smiled sheepishly.

Jiraiya waved his hand, his tone lazy, but the light in his eyes was very serious:

"I have no objection to letting this kid join, after all, it's the ninjutsu you're developing.

But don't forget, this kid is a rising star of the Uchiha clan right now.

If you want to borrow this kid, you'll have to figure out how to get past the old man and the Uchiha side."

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

They then turned their heads in perfect sync to look at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya: "...?"

"Hey, hey, you don't mean to tell me you want me to be the one to talk to them?!"

His voice rose a few octaves, his young face filled with undisguised resistance.

"Please, Jiraiya-sensei!!" ×2

Kou and Minato bowed to Jiraiya in unison.

"So you two really were in cahoots from the start, weren't you?!"

"And you, you little brat, why are you calling me 'Teacher' so naturally? Call me Lord Jiraiya!!"

Jiraiya looked at the two people before him with an expression of pure resistance.

He, Jiraiya, was a man of principle, the freest man in the Ninja World; no one could force him to do anything he didn't want to do.

He, Jiraiya, would rather starve to death or jump off this cliff than...

"Teacher Jiraiya, please accept this!"

Kou skillfully pulled a magazine from his robes and handed it to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya's gaze instinctively fell upon the magazine cover.

It featured a tall, sexy woman with a fiery figure and a bewitching smile.

His eyes locked onto the woman on the cover as if he had activated an auto-targeting hack; his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard.

"Oh? This, this is..."

"A small gift for our first meeting, please don't refuse."

Kou flashed an "innocent" smile, his black eyes filled with cunning.

"I happen to know a thing or two about the channels for this kind of literature. If you like it, in the days to come, I..."

"Good kid!!"

Jiraiya excitedly grabbed Kou's hand—or more accurately, the magazine in his hand.

His face was full of emotion, and the light in his eyes shone as if he had discovered a treasure.

"From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were no ordinary child! You truly are a genius of the Uchiha clan!"

His voice was filled with sincerity.

"With you here, Minato's research will surely proceed much more smoothly! You just go ahead and study with Minato; I'll handle the old man and the Uchiha side of things!!"

"Yay! Long live Teacher Jiraiya!!" ×2

Minato and Kou high-fived in celebration.

The sound of the high-five was crisp, carrying the unique vitality of youth.

Damn it, I did that without thinking...

Recovering from the state of being controlled by his lower head, Jiraiya suddenly realized he had been played and muttered in his heart with some annoyance.

He instinctively wanted to go back on his word, but he was too embarrassed to lose face after what he had just said, so he had to swallow the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.

Jiraiya looked at the magazine in his hand, then at the two guys grinning brightly in front of him, and said irritably:

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

"And you, you naturally evil Uchiha brat, don't call me Teacher Jiraiya—call me Lord Jiraiya!!"

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows over the three of them.

The cicadas continued to buzz, like an endless background track.

That was the first real encounter between Jiraiya and Kou...

Jiraiya's consciousness pulled back from the memory, his eyes, now clear, looking once again at the Kou before him.

He looked at the young man he hadn't seen in years—no, he could no longer call him a young man.

Compared to their first meeting in his memories, the Kou before him had already grown into a mature adult.

The familiar, bright smile he remembered had been replaced by an unfamiliar gravity.

From the look in his eyes now, all Jiraiya could feel was wariness.

"You've grown up, Kou."

Jiraiya looked at the Kou before him, who had changed so drastically from his memories, and couldn't help but whisper.

Kou looked at Jiraiya meaningfully, something churning deep within those black eyes.

He looked at the figure that should have been incredibly familiar, and slowly opened his mouth to speak:

"Yeah, long time no see... Lord Jiraiya."