Could he really be a genius?

"Pervy Sage!" As soon as the words left his lips, Uchiha Chen realized he had made a slip of the tongue. He clamped his mouth shut, glancing nervously at Jiraiya.

If Jiraiya decided to discipline him, he would have absolutely no power to resist.

"You... know Sage Mode?"

However, it seemed Jiraiya hadn't even heard the "Pervy Sage" comment.

Instead, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Uchiha Chen, asking in a slow, measured tone.

"Sage Mode? What is that..."

Faced with Jiraiya's inquiry, Uchiha Chen certainly wasn't going to answer foolishly. He feigned ignorance, scratching the back of his head and asking back with a guileless expression.

"You actually don't know what Sage Mode is? Then what exactly are you practicing right now?"

Jiraiya frowned. His expression didn't change much, but he pointed to the eyeshadow around Uchiha Chen's eyes and continued his questioning.

"This? I'm not entirely sure myself. It's just that while I was practicing our Uchiha clan's cultivation method recently, a flash of inspiration hit me. I changed the way I circulated my chakra, and then it ended up like this.

But I feel like it's actually pretty good, so I've just kept practicing this way."

Uchiha Chen was, of course, perfectly aware of the changes in his body.

After a moment of internal deliberation, he looked up at Jiraiya, shrugged, and said with a relaxed expression.

"Hm? You mean to say you created a new chakra cultivation method on your own?"

Upon hearing Uchiha Chen's words, Jiraiya's eyes widened to the size of lanterns, his round pupils looking as if they were about to pop out of his head.

After a long while, Jiraiya realized he had lost his composure and quickly reined in his expression, though he couldn't hide the shock in his eyes.

While the ninja world was not lacking in geniuses who created their own ninjutsu, Jiraiya had never heard of anyone creating their own chakra cultivation method.

Moreover, creating a senjutsu chakra cultivation method based on an ordinary one was simply unheard of!

Furthermore, the probability that this Uchiha brat was telling the truth was high, because the Sage Mode this kid was using appeared to be of the same lineage as the Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku.

If his Sage Mode had been taught by the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, there was no way he, Jiraiya, wouldn't know about it.

As for whether the kid had stolen the technique, Jiraiya didn't even consider it; he dismissed the thought immediately.

Because the kid was currently in a state of perfect Sage Mode—a state that even he, Jiraiya, could not achieve!

Could it be... that he really is a genius?

Thinking of this, Jiraiya suddenly lifted his head to stare at Uchiha Chen, his expression turning serious.

"Kid, do you want to become my apprentice?"

"Huh???"

Jiraiya's train of thought completely stunned Uchiha Chen.

Uchiha Chen had never expected such a sentence to pop out of Jiraiya's mouth.

They were meeting for the first time today, after all! Not to mention, Jiraiya didn't even know his name!

"What are you 'huh'-ing at? I'm asking if you want to be my apprentice!"

Seeing Uchiha Chen's reaction, Jiraiya couldn't help but frown, looking somewhat displeased.

Does this kid not know the great reputation of the Toad Sage, Jiraiya?

But he clearly recognized me the moment he saw me, and the joy on his face didn't seem fake, so it's impossible that he doesn't know who I am, right?

"But, Lord Jiraiya, you don't even know my name..."

Uchiha Chen's eye twitched slightly. Jiraiya was truly living up to his reputation.

"Ah!"

"Cough, cough. Don't worry about the small details. By the way, what is your name?"

Jiraiya slapped the back of his head and gave a sheepish laugh, but quickly acted as if nothing had happened, beginning to ask for Uchiha Chen's name.

"Emmmmm... My name is Uchiha Chen."

"Mm, Uchiha Chen. A good name. So, become my apprentice!"

Jiraiya nodded, then went straight to the point once more.

Just as Uchiha Chen was about to speak, Jiraiya suddenly frowned. He rubbed the back of his head, then his nose, looked around, and said with a puzzled expression, "Eh? Why is this aura so familiar?"

"What is this sense of crisis?"

"Could it be her?!"

No sooner had Jiraiya finished speaking than a furious voice rang out from outside the gate.

"Jiraiya!!"

With a loud "bang," the gate to Uchiha Chen's courtyard shattered into fragments. A powerful gust of wind from the strike blew straight toward Uchiha Chen and Jiraiya, forcing them to squeeze their eyes shut.

"Tsunade?! It really is you!"

Once Uchiha Chen and Jiraiya recovered and saw who was standing outside the gate, Jiraiya couldn't help but cry out.

Yet, there was a trace of trembling in Jiraiya's voice...

"Jiraiya, you bastard, you come back and immediately try to steal my student?!"

Tsunade stood outside the doorway, her beautiful hair stirring without a breeze, her eyes fierce, and her fists clenched tightly as she glared straight at Jiraiya.

Clearly, the door scattered across the floor was Tsunade's handiwork.

Watching the enraged Tsunade outside, the corner of Jiraiya's eye twitched uncontrollably, and he couldn't help but take a step back...

"What? Steal your student?"

But soon, Jiraiya seemed to realize something, and he pointed at Uchiha Chen.

"The student you're talking about, it couldn't be Uchiha Chen, could it?!"

"Exactly! He is the student I had my eye on long ago!"

Tsunade had never expected that the moment she walked up to Uchiha Chen's door today, she would hear Jiraiya's voice from inside.

And he even wanted to take Uchiha Chen as his apprentice.

She had put so much effort into trying to recruit this student, yet Jiraiya, instead of wandering around as usual, came back and tried to snatch him away the moment he returned. How could she tolerate this?

Uchiha Chen, who had been staring at the door with a look of regret, finally poked his head out upon hearing Tsunade's words and blinked.

"Lady Tsunade, it seems... I haven't agreed to take you as my master yet, have I?"

Tsunade: ...

Hearing this, Jiraiya froze for a moment, quietly retracted his retreating foot, and then stepped forward.

"Did you hear that, Tsunade? Uchiha Chen said it himself, he hasn't agreed to be your student!"

"That's not important. Either way, Uchiha Chen will become my student sooner or later, and you are not allowed to steal him!"

Tsunade crossed her arms, her expression indifferent, showing no intention of backing down in the slightest.

"Heh heh, Tsunade, since Uchiha Chen isn't your student, then naturally there's no such thing as stealing a student."

Jiraiya chuckled, his confidence growing by several degrees.

Although Jiraiya had asked to take Uchiha Chen as his apprentice the moment he opened his mouth, he had still harbored some doubts.

Now that he saw Tsunade also wanted to take Uchiha Chen as her student, all of Jiraiya's doubts vanished, and his resolve to make Uchiha Chen his apprentice grew even firmer.