Master-Seeking Strategy

As soon as Qiuyang placed the golden-brown grilled fish onto a plate retrieved from his pack, Jiraiya emerged leisurely from behind a tree and sat down opposite him without a hint of hesitation.

He reached out and grabbed one of the fish to eat.

After just one bite, Jiraiya was captivated by the flavor, nearly biting his own tongue off in his delight.

It was nothing short of a culinary feast.

He realized then just how fishy and foul-tasting the fish he had grilled in the wild during his past missions truly were.

Qiuyang said nothing, arranging some wild vegetables he had gathered while grilling onto a plate, adding clean water, and sprinkling on chili oil, cumin, and other secret seasonings.

Then, under Jiraiya's puzzled gaze, he placed the entire plate of fish over the fire to simmer.

Before long, the already alluring aroma intensified even further.

There was something even better?

Jiraiya looked at the half-eaten, somewhat dry fish in his hand, and it suddenly lost all its appeal.

Just then, a pair of chopsticks appeared before him:

"Jiraiya-sensei, these are some precious spices I've spent years painstakingly collecting."

This was no lie; when Qiuyang first encountered the food in this world, he found the variety of seasonings to be severely lacking.

Most food here emphasized "original flavor," and anything that truly stimulated the taste buds was rare.

In truth, the Ninja World was not devoid of these spice-bearing plants, but in a world where strength was everything, no one cared about the enjoyment of food.

Jiraiya was naturally pleased by this explanation; he set down his fish and took the chopsticks.

Setting aside the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, his favorability toward Qiuyang had risen significantly.

"You're quite particular, bringing these things along on a mission."

He had assumed the kid's pack was filled with ninja tools, not such fine treasures.

"Unless I'm on a mission, living well is an attitude, no matter where I am."

Jiraiya nodded in firm agreement:

"I never expected the little guy to be someone who understands how to live."

It was quite different from the Uchiha he had encountered long ago, and it was a personality type he liked.

In reality, Jiraiya didn't know that Qiuyang's true motivation was: to eat well, save money, and try to win Jiraiya's favor, which was why he said such things.

Gurgle, gurgle...

By now, the aroma of the fish and the spices had completely melded. The gluttonous worm in Jiraiya's stomach was screaming for its master to dig in, and he fought the urge to drool:

"Hey, you aren't trying to slip something into this so you can snatch the bells once I lose my combat effectiveness, are you?"

"That wouldn't be an honorable victory."

Hmm... fair point.

Jiraiya didn't say anything else to ruin the mood; he used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish that had fully absorbed the broth and popped it into his mouth...

"Oh, oh... this really is delicious!"

Jiraiya prided himself on having traveled through more than half of the Ninja World, even infiltrating the mansions of Daimyo, yet he had never tasted fish this good.

After devouring a dozen pieces of the fragrant grilled fish, he took the large cup Qiuyang handed him and downed most of the drink inside, letting out a long, satisfied sigh:

"Ha~~~~~"

This Komugi-flavored carbonated drink, which tasted like sake but wasn't quite sake, paired perfectly with the grilled fish.

If only he could be cuddling a fair-skinned, long-legged, busty girl, it would be even more perfect...

After eating his fill, Jiraiya stretched comfortably. Watching Qiuyang finish washing and putting away the utensils, he asked with composure:

"So now... let's continue our challenge. Use your clan's Sharingan."

Qiuyang looked up in shock at these words, only to see Jiraiya looking up at the stars at a 45-degree angle with a haughty air:

"Don't think I didn't notice when you used the Rasengan; those red eyes of yours are hard to ignore."

Jiraiya knew something of the dark night of the Uchiha clan massacre in Konoha years ago, so he understood perfectly why Qiuyang had been hiding it.

The poor kid had even dyed his hair, the signature black of his clan, to this color.

Seeing Qiuyang knit his brows in worry, he quickly added in a gentle tone that he would never reveal this secret, so he should feel free to use it from now on.

Qiuyang was stunned again, a flicker of genuine emotion rising in his heart.

No wonder they said Jiraiya was the first person to truly heal the wounds in Naruto's heart; with this level of emotional intelligence and consideration for others, he was truly a great teacher.

He couldn't let Jiraiya-sensei down, then...

When Qiuyang blinked and opened his eyes again, they had transformed into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

He decided to go all out.

He would stake everything on his strongest technique yet.

If I gain it, it is my fortune; if I lose it, it is my fate.

Seeing Qiuyang assume a combat stance, Jiraiya, wishing to express his gratitude for the dinner they had just shared, condensed a miniature Rasengan directly in his right hand.

"I've long heard that the Sharingan possesses unparalleled insight. Let me put that to the test."

He wanted to see if this kid truly possessed the potential to stir up the entire Ninja World, just as the Great Toad Sage had predicted.

The battle to decide their master-disciple relationship was on the verge of erupting.

Qiuyang threw a kunai downward at an angle, then bent his waist slightly, forming a sword-finger gesture with his left hand while slowly raising his right palm upward.

After dodging, Jiraiya cast a glance at the kunai, which had landed less than two meters away from him. Based on their sparring today, he knew this little guy wouldn't do anything without a reason.

There were no explosive tags attached.

There were no steel wires tied to it either.

It was just an ordinary kunai, except for a strange Eight Trigrams pattern on the handle.

However, Jiraiya would never associate that pattern with the Flying Thunder God.

The Flying Thunder God required an incredibly high level of talent; even someone as powerful as him, one of the Sannin, still hadn't grasped the principles behind it to this day.

Therefore, in his eyes, it was nothing more than an ordinary kunai.

This shouldn't be happening after activating the Sharingan!

"Hey, hey, did your accuracy actually drop after opening your eyes? I recall the Sharingan's kinetic vision providing a significant boost to your clan... Wait, what the hell? How do you know that technique?"

Was he seeing things? Was that a Rasengan?

On the palm of Qiuyang's slowly rising right hand, a glowing sphere had appeared as well.

Unlike Jiraiya's, the sphere in Qiuyang's palm was an irregular mass of chakra, with rotating chakra constantly escaping from it.

Could it be that this kid had learned most of it just by watching him use it twice today? Had he mastered the first two stages of the Rasengan's rotation and power?

No... that wasn't right. This Rasengan wasn't just in the second stage. What on earth was going on?

As Jiraiya watched with his jaw dropped, the chakra escaping from Qiuyang's palm gradually stabilized, eventually compressing into the ultimate form of the Rasengan.

Only then did the tomoe in his eye sockets stop spinning.

Jiraiya naturally noticed the tomoe spinning in Qiuyang's red eyes and instinctively looked down at the miniature Rasengan he had condensed in his own hand.

So, Qiuyang had been observing his Rasengan the entire time?

At that moment, Jiraiya suddenly recalled that kid Kakashi in the village, known as the "Copy Ninja," who seemed to use his Sharingan to replicate the ninjutsu of his opponents.

This... these eyes were simply toxic; it was completely unreasonable.

No wonder the Third Hokage always mentioned that when he talked about the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, Tobirama often said that the Uchiha clan were born evil.

Today, Jiraiya finally understood. It really was too evil.

Ninjutsu that others spent so long training to master could be learned by this clan just by observing it a few times with their eyes. It was just too damn unfair!

Just as he was lamenting this, a ghostly voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Rasengan."