New Technique!

Shita Genichi and Jiraiya walked away from Konoha's central district, one following the other, and stopped in a wide-open clearing.

Snow still drifted through the air, and a thick layer covered the ground.

Jiraiya smiled and held out his right hand, palm up.

In the next moment, a blue Rasengan rapidly took shape in his palm.

Genichi immediately smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "As expected of you, Jiraiya-sensei. You mastered it so quickly."

Jiraiya grinned smugly. "That's not all!"

Genichi was startled.

The next moment, the Rasengan expanded. The air whirled around it at high speed with a rushing roar, and the snowflakes began to spiral along with it.

Genichi's eyes widened as the Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand underwent a dramatic transformation. Amid a piercing buzz, the familiar Wind Style: Rasenshuriken took shape.

Seeing Genichi's astonished expression, Jiraiya looked quite pleased with himself. "Genichi, this is the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!"

"As expected of Jiraiya-sensei, one of the Sannin. Amazing!"

This time, Genichi's praise came from the heart.

It had been less than a year since he'd first proposed the idea to Namikaze Minato, and Jiraiya had already completed the technique.

He was still a little slower than Naruto, though.

But Naruto had an enormous chakra reserve and could create hundreds or even thousands of clones to train at once. There was no way to compare their efficiency.

Not to mention that Jiraiya was a carefree wanderer who roamed everywhere.

All you could say was that Jiraiya truly deserved his reputation as the pinnacle of self-made ninja.

Genichi's praise made Jiraiya even happier.

"Jiraiya-sensei, can you throw it?"

Genichi asked quickly.

Jiraiya's smile froze. With a hint of helplessness, he said, "No."

"Okay, so it's only a prototype."

"Of course, I can still throw it."

Jiraiya smiled again, then dispersed the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken. "Well, I'll show you the version that can be thrown next time!"

Genichi nodded. He knew it could definitely be thrown in Sage Mode.

But Jiraiya needed the two sages from Mount Myoboku to help him enter Sage Mode.

Unfortunately, with his current chakra reserves, Sage Mode was out of the question.

"Genichi, I can teach you any ninjutsu you want!" Jiraiya declared, sounding like he could produce any technique on demand.

Genichi fell into thought.

He'd been desperately short on ninjutsu before.

But now... he didn't seem to lack anything.

The techniques he already knew were enough.

What he needed most was more chakra.

Should he ask Jiraiya to help him capture the Zero-Tails?

Genichi quietly shook his head. It wasn't the right time.

After thinking it over, he said, "Jiraiya-sensei, how about teaching me a defensive technique?"

"A defensive technique?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, considered it, then formed Hand Seals. "How about this?"

As he spoke, his white hair grew longer and hardened, wrapping around him and leaving only his face exposed.

The strands also stood on end, like a hedgehog's spines.

Needle Jizo!

Genichi naturally recognized the technique. It was a secret technique Jiraiya had created himself.

He just didn't know what nature transformation it used.

Earth Release, or Yang Release?

But Jiraiya knew his circumstances, so it probably wasn't an Earth Release nature transformation.

Jiraiya said, "Genichi, try attacking me. Use shuriken, for example."

Genichi nodded, leapt backward, and flicked both hands. Several shuriken shot through the air, struck Jiraiya, and bounced away with a series of metallic clinks.

Its defensive power was impressive.

He'd try something else.

Genichi sprang into the air, drew his sword with his right hand, and brought it down with a powerful slash.

He put everything he had into that strike.

Not just his physical strength, but also the chakra burst technique Hatake Sakumo had taught him.

Jiraiya couldn't help twitching at the eye as he watched. "That brat really isn't holding back."

"Good thing my defense is strong enough."

Just as expected.

Genichi's short sword came down, only to be stopped by Jiraiya's hair.

Genichi's eyes lit up.

This defensive technique was no weaker than Kakuzu's Earth Spear.

Sheathing his sword, Genichi gave Jiraiya a thumbs-up. "You created this technique yourself, didn't you, Jiraiya-sensei?"

Jiraiya dispelled the technique and smiled. "Of course I did. Pretty good, right?"

Genichi nodded repeatedly, then asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, what nature transformation does this technique use?"

Jiraiya countered, "What do you think?"

"Yang Release?"

Jiraiya nodded, then plopped down in the snow with a laugh. "I remember you've mastered Yang Release nature transformation?"

"Yes, but I'm not particularly proficient. I've only mastered the Mystical Palm Technique."

Jiraiya smiled. "The Mystical Palm Technique isn't some simple medical ninjutsu. Mastering that technique is more than enough."

"All right, let's get started."

"We'll begin with the Hand Seals. Minato told me you have a good grasp of them!"

With that, Jiraiya began teaching him.

The Hand Seals for Needle Jizo weren't complicated. There were only six, and they could be completed in under a second if you were fast.

Tiger–Horse–Boar–Ram–Tiger–Snake!

After seeing the demonstration just once, Genichi memorized the sequence.

But that was only the beginning.

For the second step, Jiraiya had Genichi practice the Hand Seals.

Genichi did as instructed. After only ten repetitions, he was already making the seals smoothly, completing them in just one second.

The third step was to channel chakra and perform the nature transformation while forming the Hand Seals.

This was the most crucial part.

Genichi took half an hour to figure out how to do it.

Finally, he tried the technique in earnest.

Tiger–Horse–Boar–Ram–Tiger–Snake.

Genichi formed the Hand Seals at an unhurried pace, completing all six in two seconds.

The next moment, his short black hair rapidly grew longer and hardened.

But it stopped at his waist, covering only half his body.

Jiraiya reached out and tapped the black hair. "It's not quite hard enough, either!"

"You'll need to keep practicing."

"You need both length and hardness."

Jiraiya smiled. "Well, from today on, grow your hair long, Genichi. Like mine. It looks so carefree!"

Genichi nodded.

He didn't mind growing his hair long.

What was that compared to keeping himself safe?

Besides, Jiraiya's white hair really did look pretty good!

"All right, that's enough for today!"

"I'm going to Minato's place. Come find me there if you need anything!"

With that, Jiraiya turned, waved, and gradually disappeared into the distance.

Genichi waved goodbye, then continued studying Needle Jizo.

With a defensive ninjutsu like this, fewer Hand Seals were always better.

That way, he could use it in battle.

I still need to study the Nine Syllables Hand Seals.

Genichi reminded himself.

He couldn't slack off. Even if he had no room to improve his ninjutsu, he still had to keep studying Hand Seals, especially the Nine Syllables Hand Seals.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Genichi arrived at the village entrance in a white, high-collared robe to gather with the others.

The first mission of the new year was about to begin.