Great Fireball Technique

"I'll leave turning him in to you alone. Be sure to tell that old geezer, the Third, that this was all your doing."

Jiraiya was still completely baffled as to why, but he nodded and agreed.

After binding Bu Liuye up tightly, Jiraiya lightly bit the side of his thumb, then formed Hand Seals and slapped his palm against the ground.

"Summoning Technique!"

A tiny toad appeared on the ground. It opened its mouth and swallowed Bu Liuye whole.

"There's no time to waste. I'll take this guy to the Third right now and confirm whether he's the one who impersonated me."

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

Even if he couldn't let the matter become public, he still needed to tell Tsunade, so she'd know and he could plan his next steps.

He didn't stop once along the way. Shen Ye dashed across the rooftops and arrived at his front door.

A furtive figure was pacing back and forth outside. At first, Shen Ye paid no attention; after all, plenty of people came and went along the street.

"Shen Ye, you're finally back."

At the familiar voice, Shen Ye realized it was Uchiha Mikoto—the last person he wanted to deal with.

"What do you want?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you, so I've been waiting here for a long time."

Shen Ye shrugged. Mikoto was certainly sweet-looking, but since she still suspected him of being a peeping tom, he didn't feel like paying her much attention for now.

If he could clear up that misunderstanding, things would be completely different.

"If you have a question, hurry up and ask. Otherwise, people will see you with a peeping tom and start talking."

Shen Ye deliberately teased Mikoto. He'd expected her to argue with him, but instead, she suddenly fell silent.

"I want to know whether you had anything to do with Minato and Shikaku suddenly getting better at their jutsu."

"So what if I did? And what if I didn't?"

"The Uchiha Clan is holding a competition soon. I want to place well, so I'd like you to train me for a while."

Shen Ye checked the time. Only about ten minutes had passed since he'd used Steal Skill, so he couldn't use it again just yet.

"Come here tomorrow morning."

After leaving her with those words, Shen Ye opened the door and went inside. Tsunade was in the room, sorting through some documents.

When she saw her adopted younger brother come home, Tsunade put down what she was holding and turned to greet him, opening her arms to give him a big hug.

But Shen Ye pushed her away without a change in expression. The gesture clearly left Tsunade baffled.

Usually, Shen Ye practically clung to her every chance he got. This was the first time he'd ever refused her hug.

"What happened, Shen Ye?"

"Jiraiya and I ran into a Kumogakure ninja in the village today, but the two of us caught him."

Tsunade nodded, looking pleased as she ruffled Shen Ye's hair.

Knowing Jiraiya, if he'd run into that guy on his own, there was a good chance he would've let him go.

It must have been because Shen Ye was there and had offered some careful advice that they'd managed to capture the enemy ninja so easily.

"This is a good thing for you. You got to experience a real fight before officially becoming a ninja."

"But I can't be sure that guy isn't the one impersonating Jiraiya. Does that mean Konoha's enemies are going to multiply again?"

Tsunade froze for a moment. She took Shen Ye's words at face value, thinking his actions had been entirely motivated by concern for the village's safety. She quickly bent down and pulled him into her arms.

"Don't worry. No matter how many enemies the village has, I'll always protect you."

Shen Ye nodded and slumped against Tsunade's shoulder, utterly resigned, feeling the warmth of her arms around him.

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

He'd been having a wonderful dream, but Mikoto's voice had nearly turned it into a nightmare.

"That girl really is punctual. I'd better not keep her waiting."

Shen Ye might have been a bit of a rascal, but deep down, he still had a gentlemanly streak.

"Our goal today is the training ground. If you can get there before me, I'll teach you a really powerful jutsu."

"Really?"

Mikoto had barely shown her surprise when Shen Ye dashed off.

Determined to improve her skills and do well in the upcoming competition, Mikoto refused to be outdone and raced after him toward the training ground.

But as time passed, the distance between them grew wider and wider.

"He really holds a grudge. But it looks like he doesn't know the village layout all that well yet."

Mikoto suddenly stopped, turned around, and ran off to the side. She weaved through the crowded streets and soon reached the middle of the training ground.

Shen Ye stood at the entrance to the training ground, staring at Mikoto in surprise. He couldn't figure out how she'd caught up with him.

"You've already lost the bet, so you know what to do."

Shen Ye walked over to Mikoto helplessly and gently patted her shoulder.

"Ding! Congratulations, host. You successfully stole Uchiha Mikoto's Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique! Skill cooldown: 3 hours."

Shen Ye was quite satisfied with the result.

The Great Fireball Technique was famous not only within the Uchiha Clan but throughout the entire shinobi world.

"Today, I'll teach you the techniques behind Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. Whether you can actually pull it off will depend on your own effort."

Mikoto nodded repeatedly. She knew that awakening her Sharingan in time for the competition was impossible.

So the Great Fireball Technique was now her only way to win.

Shen Ye led Mikoto to the small river by the training ground. He formed Hand Seals and demonstrated each movement for her.

Mikoto watched his hands without blinking, wishing she had a little notebook to write everything down in.

"That's the complete sequence of Hand Seals for the Great Fireball Technique. I'm sure you've got them down. The real trick, though, is how you circulate your chakra."

Mikoto nodded repeatedly. She'd tried forming the Hand Seals before, but something went wrong when she gathered her chakra, and the jutsu failed.

If she could just figure out how to handle her chakra, she'd be able to master any jutsu, not just the Great Fireball Technique.

That was the difference between a genius and a dead-last ninja: some could master a jutsu with only a little instruction.