Jiraiya's Gift

"This book of yours was pretty good. I read it—it was quite interesting. Still, it was just a tiny bit worse than mine. Young man, you need to keep working hard!"

In the bookstore, Jiraiya spoke with a smug look on his face.

He had been coming by often lately, and each time, he would chat with Uchiha Arashi for a while. Over time, they had become fairly familiar with each other.

He had recently released a new book, and its sales were excellent, surpassing Uchiha Arashi's Bleach. Before setting out, he had deliberately taken a detour to come show off.

"Yes, yes, you're better than me. Isn't that perfectly normal? You're a senior veteran, after all. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if you lost to me?"

Uchiha Arashi said with a smile.

In truth, the two-part Teyvat series had previously surpassed the sales of Jiraiya's last book, making Jiraiya lose a little face. That was why he had made a special trip to boast today.

"Hmph, writing is about bringing readers the enjoyment of literature. Winning and losing are completely unimportant."

Jiraiya said insincerely.

Uchiha Arashi smiled without responding, instead giving Jiraiya a serious look.

"Are you leaving?"

"Huh? Was I that obvious?"

Jiraiya looked at Uchiha Arashi in confusion.

"Because you normally never show up at this hour. At this time in the past, you should still have been sleeping away in some tavern, right? Coming so early today is out of character. Considering your identity, I guessed that you were planning to go on a mission."

Uchiha Arashi nodded.

"Kid, you know exactly who I am?"

Jiraiya put on a somewhat dangerous expression.

Unfortunately, he had no killing intent, and he never hid his carefree nature. He could not frighten anyone at all.

"One of the Sannin, Lord Jiraiya. I've been in Konoha for a while now. How could I not know your identity?"

"Heh, if you knew all along, why do you still call me old pervert?"

Just mentioning it made Jiraiya furious.

This guy in front of him had been told countless times that he was the Toad Sage, yet all that ever came out of his mouth was "old pervert" and "pervert sage." There was no respect at all.

"Calling you Lord Jiraiya would be too distant. I consider you a friend, so I think old pervert suits you better."

Uchiha Arashi said with a cheerful grin.

"Hmph."

Jiraiya snorted, though the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Fine, you guessed right. I really am heading out on a mission. I'm going to capture a rogue ninja, and I'll probably be gone for quite some time. And after this departure, I'll continue traveling outside for a while, so before we part, I decided to give you a gift."

Jiraiya straightened his expression and pulled a scroll from his robes.

"This is...?"

Uchiha Arashi looked at him in confusion.

"Some basic ninja training techniques. You want to study ninja abilities, but the Ninja Academy will never accept you as a student. If you try to learn by yourself, you probably still won't even get started after ten years. The things inside are my own summaries. There's nothing profound in them, and you can't become a powerful ninja by relying on them, but they can help you get started and give you a simple taste of a ninja's power.

That's enough talk. Study it slowly when you have time. I'm leaving first."

Jiraiya set down the scroll, then turned and walked outside.

"Thanks for the gift, old pervert. Don't die out there."

Uchiha Arashi looked at the scroll, then at Jiraiya's back, and spoke.

"Don't worry. The person in the Ninja World who can kill me hasn't been born yet."

Jiraiya waved a hand and departed in style.

After he left, Izumi finally stepped forward.

"Is he our next opponent? Arashi, can you still bring yourself to attack him?"

Izumi asked worriedly.

"Why wouldn't I be able to? Besides, according to the plan, I never intended to kill him. Defeating him will be enough."

Uchiha Arashi handed the scroll to Izumi.

"But you two have a good relationship..."

"Don't worry, it won't affect anything. And rather than worrying about him, you should worry about me. He's one of the Sannin—it won't be easy to deal with him."

"Of course I'm worried about you. So, do you really not need me to come with you?"

"No. Stay in the village and watch the store. You can also serve as my alibi."

"Okay. You need to be careful too."

"Don't worry. I have Kamui. Even if I really can't beat him, escaping won't be a problem."

Uchiha Arashi smiled, took a step back, and vanished into the Kamui dimension.

Izumi took over the store, with Ayatsuki assisting her. Shizuka had been brought out and used the Transformation Technique in the back of the shop to take on Uchiha Arashi's appearance. Even if something went wrong and someone saw what was happening in the back, that simple disguise would be enough to fool most people.

This time, the battlefield was set in the Land of Grass.

The Land of Grass was also a small country wedged between great powers, but unlike other small nations, it was quite formidable.

In an era when most small nations did not have ninja villages, the Land of Grass, like the Land of Rain, had its own dedicated ninja village.

Kusagakure had its own ninja training system and had produced many outstanding ninja. Moreover, the ninja of this country were especially skilled at researching and learning the ninjutsu of other nations, then finding ways to incorporate them into their own abilities.

The reason for choosing the Land of Grass as the battlefield was very simple: to create the illusion for Konoha that the "Uchiha survivors" were attempting to head to the Land of Earth, forcing Konoha to send people out as quickly as possible.

But at the same time, the Land of Grass was an ally of the Land of Fire, and Kusagakure was not weak. Therefore, Konoha had to consider its ally's attitude and could not send too many people.

Putting all those conditions together, the person to dispatch was obvious.

"The traces are fresh. Someone passed through here not long ago..."

After two days of travel, Jiraiya finally arrived in the Land of Grass. Following the intelligence provided by Danzo, he found a campsite where the Uchiha had once stayed.

There was a campfire and signs of activity, proving that someone had indeed been here.

And judging from the number of traces, it should have been a team of more than five people.

The numbers were right.

"But... these signs of habitation feel rather deliberate. Could they have been staged?"

The more Jiraiya looked, the more something felt wrong. He stroked his chin, doubts filling his heart.

He had to be cautious, because according to the intelligence, the other side had two pairs of Mangekyo. Even he could die on the spot if he was even slightly careless.

Clap, clap, clap!

Suddenly, a round of applause came from behind him.

"As expected of one of the Sannin. I didn't think you would notice something was wrong even with this. That's right, these traces were deliberately made. They were meant to lure you here."

Jiraiya's pupils abruptly contracted.

He turned around and immediately saw the Masked Man emerging from a Vortex.