Great Fireball Technique

"Handing this over to the public is a task I leave entirely to you. You must make sure to tell that old man, the Third, that all the credit for this belongs to you alone."

Although Jiraiya was deeply confused as to why, he nodded and agreed.

Binding Bu Liuye tightly, Jiraiya bit his thumb, performed a series of hand seals, and slammed his palm onto the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A small toad appeared on the ground, opened its mouth, and swallowed Bu Liuye whole.

"No time to waste. I'm going to hand this guy over to the Third right now and, while I'm at it, confirm if he's the one who was impersonating me."

Shen Ye nodded. Seeing that it was getting late, he headed in the opposite direction from Jiraiya.

Even if he couldn't make this matter public, he still needed to let Tsunade know, as it would facilitate his future actions.

Without stopping, Shen Ye darted across the rooftops and came to a halt right in front of his own door.

A sneaky figure was pacing back and forth at the entrance. At first, Shen Ye didn't pay much attention, as there were many people coming and going on the street.

"Shen Ye, you're finally back."

Hearing the familiar voice, he realized it was Uchiha Mikoto, the person Shen Ye least wanted to face.

"Is there something you need from me?"

"There are some things I want answers to, so I've been waiting here for a long time."

Shen Ye spread his hands. Although Mikoto was very sweet-looking, he didn't want to deal with her for the time being, as she still suspected him of being a peeping tom.

If that misunderstanding were cleared up, the situation would be entirely different.

"If you have a question, spit it out. Otherwise, if people see you, they'll say you're hanging out with a peeping tom."

Shen Ye teased her, expecting a retort, but to his surprise, she suddenly fell silent.

"I want to know if the sudden improvement in Minato and Shikaku's ninjutsu has anything to do with you."

"And if it does? What if it doesn't?"

"The Uchiha clan is holding a tournament soon. I want to place well, so I want you to guide my training for a while."

Shen Ye checked the time; it had only been about ten minutes since he last used Steal Skill, so he couldn't perform it again just yet.

"Come here and wait for me tomorrow morning."

Leaving her with that, Shen Ye pushed the door open and returned home, where Tsunade was busy organizing some documents.

Seeing the younger brother she had taken in return, Tsunade put down her work, turned to greet him, and opened her arms to give Shen Ye a big hug.

However, Shen Ye pushed her away with a blank expression, an action that left Tsunade deeply confused.

Usually, Shen Ye would be clinging to her; this was the first time he had ever rejected her embrace.

"Did something happen, Shen Ye?"

"I ran into some Kumogakure ninjas in the village with Jiraiya today, but the two of us managed to capture them."

Tsunade nodded, patting Shen Ye's head with a look of relief.

Based on her understanding of Jiraiya, if he had encountered that guy alone, there was a high chance he would have let him go.

It must have been Shen Ye by his side, offering subtle advice, that made capturing the enemy ninja so simple.

"This is a good thing for you, being able to experience combat before officially becoming a ninja."

"But I can't be sure if that guy is the one who was impersonating Jiraiya. Are the enemies of Konoha increasing again?"

Tsunade paused, naively assuming that Shen Ye's behavior was entirely out of concern for the village's safety, and quickly leaned down to pull him into her arms.

"Don't worry. No matter how many enemies the village faces, I will protect you well."

Shen Ye nodded, leaning against Tsunade's shoulder with a look of existential despair, feeling the warmth radiating from her arms.

The next morning, Uchiha Mikoto's voice drifted from outside the room, and Shen Ye jolted awake from his sleep.

It had been a pleasant dream, but because of Mikoto's voice, it had nearly turned into a nightmare.

"This girl is certainly punctual. Still, it's better not to keep a lady waiting."

Although Shen Ye was usually a bit of a rogue, he was still a gentleman at heart.

"Our goal today is the training ground. If you can reach it before I do, I'll teach you a very powerful ninjutsu."

"Is that true?"

Mikoto's surprise had barely registered before she realized Shen Ye had already bolted.

For the sake of her training and a good result in the upcoming tournament, Mikoto didn't want to fall behind and chased after Shen Ye toward the training ground.

However, as time passed, the distance between them grew wider.

"That guy really holds a grudge. But he doesn't seem to know the layout of the village very well."

Mikoto suddenly stopped, turned, and ran toward a side path, weaving through the crowded streets until she arrived at the center of the training ground shortly after.

Shen Ye stood at the entrance of the training ground, looking at Mikoto in surprise, unable to understand how she had caught up to him.

"You've lost this bet, so you know what you have to do."

Shen Ye walked toward Uchiha Mikoto helplessly, raised his hand, and patted her shoulder gently.

Ding, congratulations to the host for successfully stealing Uchiha Mikoto's skill, Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique! Skill cooldown: 3 hours.

Shen Ye was quite satisfied with this result.

The Great Fireball Technique held a prestigious reputation not only within the Uchiha clan but throughout the entire ninja world.

"I will teach you the techniques for Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique today, but whether you can successfully cast it in the end depends on your own efforts."

Mikoto nodded repeatedly; she knew deep down that it was impossible to awaken the Sharingan before the competition.

Therefore, the Great Fireball Technique was currently her only path to victory.

Shen Ye led Mikoto to the small river by the training grounds, formed the hand seals, and demonstrated every move and stance for her.

Mikoto watched Shen Ye's hand movements intently, wishing she could pull out a notebook to record them.

"This covers the entire sequence of hand seals for the Great Fireball Technique. I believe you have already mastered these, but the ultimate trick lies in the way you manipulate your chakra."

Mikoto nodded repeatedly. She had tried forming the seals before, but encountered issues while gathering her chakra, which caused the jutsu to fail.

As long as the problem with chakra manipulation could be solved, not just the Great Fireball Technique, but any ninjutsu could be mastered with ease.

This was the difference between a genius and a dead-last; some ninjas could master ninjutsu effortlessly after only simple instruction.