Plans and a Test

Time was the most merciless thing of all. Amid the endless sound of rain and Jiraiya's lectures, a year passed in the blink of an eye, leaving behind nothing but the boys' sweat and youthful innocence.

By now, Yuehua Ai was six years old. He had grown noticeably taller, standing over 110 centimeters—an impressive height for a child his age.

His skin was fair, and his dark hair fell to about shoulder length. His eyes sparkled like stars, his eyelashes were very long, and with his red lips and pearly teeth, he looked just like a porcelain doll.

His lips were just as thin, and his features were delicate and handsome, making him look almost like a girl. Fortunately, his sharp, sword-like eyebrows gave his refined features a masculine edge. Dressed in loose, casual clothes, he looked neat and lively. With his striking looks and bearing, he really was a rare little heartthrob.

The other boys had changed quite a bit too. The most obvious difference was their height, but Yahiko and the others had also matured in their bearing. Compared to a year ago, they seemed steadier and more confident.

In their everyday lives, Yahiko and Nagato were content to pay only a little attention to their appearance. Konan, however, had reached the age when girls started to care about looking pretty. Whenever their training wasn't too intense, she began to learn how to dress herself up. Light blue eyeshadow, a princess-style haircut, and a touch of lip gloss brought a hint of feminine charm to her youthful beauty.

The shinobi world was a world where strength mattered. Compared to the changes in their appearance, the biggest changes over the past year were in the boys' abilities and their understanding of the world.

Not long after they began learning the Three Basic Techniques, Jiraiya changed up their physical training. Instead of simple running and squats, they began practicing with all kinds of ninja tools. Using shuriken, throwing kunai, handling different weapons, and recognizing and setting traps became the focus of their training outside of ninjutsu.

The boys trained in all these skills with no less enthusiasm or dedication than they had shown when practicing Hand Seals. Compared to children from the great shinobi villages, they had endured countless hardships and understood all the better how precious this hard-won opportunity was.

The students were good students, and their teacher was just as good. Though Jiraiya was a lecherous middle-aged man who could be unreliable in everyday life, he took his teaching seriously. After teaching them the basic skills of a shinobi, he began teaching them general knowledge as well.

At first, this so-called general knowledge was nothing difficult or lofty. In fact, it was almost absurdly basic and commonplace. But for Yuehua Ai, it was rather awkward: they were learning to read, and most of the lessons were aimed at him. Before becoming orphans, Yahiko and the others had been taught some basic writing by their families. Yuehua Ai, on the other hand, had been born while fleeing for his life. He'd never had a chance to learn.

The main language in the Naruto World was Japanese, just like in his previous life. Yuehua Ai had become fluent in speaking it over the years; after all, he'd picked it up simply by listening. But he barely knew how to read and write it.

Jiraiya adjusted his teaching to suit everyone's abilities, spending more time teaching Yuehua Ai basic literacy than the others. As a powerful shinobi, he didn't limit his lessons to ordinary writing. He also taught them the codes shinobi used to communicate and the ciphers used to decipher intelligence. After all, being a shinobi was a high-risk profession. To survive the cruelty of war, they had to be prepared for anything.

Besides teaching the boys the skills every shinobi needed, Jiraiya most enjoyed telling them about different countries, shinobi villages, and the customs and traditions of various regions. His stories about all sorts of intriguing things broadened their horizons considerably, giving them a better understanding of the shinobi world.

Though Yahiko and the others were curious about the world beyond their home, their hearts remained in the Land of Rivers. Yuehua Ai was different. He yearned for the vast world beyond. To be honest, he was growing tired of this miserable place where it rained every hour of every day. He hated its damp, clammy atmosphere. In his previous life, he'd liked rainy days, but after six years of feeling as if he were always soaked to the skin, he'd had more than enough. Apart from Konan, Yahiko, and the others, there really wasn't anything about Amegakure he'd miss.

His heart yearned for the wider world beyond. He wanted to pursue his interests in a place with more room to explore. He wanted to leave his mark on the Five Great Shinobi Villages and all the distinctive countries scattered across the world.

Whenever Yuehua Ai saw Yahiko and the others smiling, a pang of sadness would stir in him. He had decided that when Jiraiya left, he would go with him. He wanted to follow Jiraiya to Konoha. Ever since arriving in this world, he'd most wanted to see the famous Konoha Ninja Village for himself. He wanted to try the Ichiraku Ramen that Naruto loved so much, and catch a glimpse of Teuchi, the legendary hidden boss. He also wanted to visit Yakiniku Q, where the Konoha 12 so often gathered, and see if the barbecue was really as delicious as it looked.

Thinking of Konoha, Yuehua Ai couldn't help but picture that stunning figure: her tall frame, her flawless face, Princess Tsunade, the woman Jiraiya had loved in secret all his life—the most beautiful woman in Naruto, a kunoichi who combined beauty with boldness. Princess Tsunade, Konoha's strongest medical-ninjutsu user. Thinking of the field he'd studied in his previous life, Yuehua Ai really wanted to learn Medical Ninjutsu from her. He couldn't begin to imagine what sparks might fly when the medicine of Earth and the medicine of the Naruto World were brought together.

When Jiraiya leaves, I have to go with him. Yuehua Ai silently made up his mind. Though he was reluctant to leave the others, each of them had their own path to follow. If he wanted the strength to control his own fate, he had to go to Konoha. Besides, by the time Jiraiya returned to Konoha, Orochimaru should still be there. With the knowledge he'd gained in his previous life, there was a lot he wanted to discuss with Orochimaru.

When he'd first met the Sannin, Orochimaru had been the one Yuehua Ai was most interested in as a teacher. Their temperaments had a lot in common, and since they both enjoyed studying living things, they would surely have plenty to talk about.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru's temperament was very different from Jiraiya's. Jiraiya had chosen to stay and look after orphans from an enemy shinobi village. Orochimaru, when faced with people he considered useless, would more often choose to eliminate them completely.

Compared to Jiraiya, Orochimaru was hardly a good teacher, and Yuehua Ai knew it. In truth, Orochimaru was more like someone of his own kind. If Yuehua Ai had never lived his previous life and had instead gone through the same experiences as Orochimaru, he felt their choices might have been very similar.

This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, where the law of the jungle was laid bare. Only those with great strength could get what they wanted and keep tragedy from befalling them.

Since arriving in this world, what Yuehua Ai had craved most was strength. Unfortunately, though he had some talent, he was better than some shinobi but far behind the best. At the end of the day, he had an ordinary person's physique. He had no Kekkei Genkai and no protagonist's halo. He wanted to become a truly powerful shinobi, but Jiraiya's teaching alone wouldn't be enough. He wasn't the protagonist, Uzumaki Naruto. He didn't have a Sage Body, nor was he a Jinchūriki who could control a Tailed Beast's power. The strength he wanted couldn't be gained through conventional training alone. He needed secret techniques, forbidden techniques, and the results of other kinds of research to transform himself. That was why he needed to work with Orochimaru. Only by collaborating with Orochimaru, who wielded the greatest forbidden science in Naruto, could he gain the strength to control his own fate and change the course of other people's lives. Otherwise, even if he eventually attained the strength of a Special Jōnin, what could he change or protect if he couldn't even withstand a single Tailed Beast Bomb?

Reaching Konoha, meeting Orochimaru, and working with him to get what he wanted—that was Yuehua Ai's plan for the future. Jiraiya had only been with them for a year, and there was still a long time before he decided to leave, but that didn't stop Yuehua Ai from preparing early. He needed to keep growing stronger over the next few years. He couldn't rely on his knowledge alone when dealing with Orochimaru. He also needed to become strong enough that he couldn't easily be pushed around. Only then would he have more of a say and more choices when they worked together in the future.

"Everyone, come over here. There's something I need to tell you." Jiraiya waved to the boys who were doing their morning exercises by the doorway.

Jiraiya's call brought Yuehua Ai back to the present. He quickly followed the others back inside.

"What is it, Jiraiya-sensei?" The boys took off the raincoats they'd worn for training by the door. Yahiko had just changed and walked inside when he asked Jiraiya.

"It's nothing major. I just have a small task for you to take care of. You can think of it as a test." Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the tatami, looking relaxed as he gently tugged at his chin while he spoke.

"A test where we have to take care of something? What do you need us to do?" Yahiko sounded excited. After so long spent on monotonous training, they were all getting bored. No wonder he was thrilled to hear that Jiraiya had a task for them.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes at Yahiko, then straightened up a little and lowered his hand from his chin.

"Given your current abilities, this might not be too difficult. But it's still quite a test, and it's the sort of thing shinobi often encounter later on."

Something they'd encounter often? A challenging test? Hearing Jiraiya describe it that way, Yuehua Ai, Konan, and Nagato couldn't help growing curious. What was it that shinobi often had to deal with?

Jiraiya had no interest in dragging out the suspense. He got straight to the point. "You know the village across the river, the one I took you to, right? It seems bandits attacked it recently."

"When I passed through yesterday, I noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere there, so I asked around. I found out that a gang of bandits with an unknown origin had ransacked the village not long ago, causing the villagers considerable losses."

"Judging by their pattern of movement, this gang doesn't seem to be the kind that roams from place to place. They've been moving frequently between several villages lately, so it looks like they may be settling in this area. To stop them from coming back and hurting the villagers, I want you to help deal with them."

Yuehua Ai had been to the village across the river. It was the closest settlement to where they lived. Once they crossed the river and passed through the woods on the other side, a short walk would bring them to a small village. Jiraiya had traded there for all the supplies they needed.

The boys had only been to the village once, and it wasn't very close. At their current pace, it would take them at least an hour to get there. Still, that was nothing compared to before they learned to use chakra. Traveling at an ordinary child's pace, it might have taken them a whole day. Becoming shinobi had made them more than ten times faster.

"Bandits!" Hearing that they were supposed to deal with a gang of bandits, Yahiko clenched his fists, eager to get started.

"Is Jiraiya-sensei coming with us?" After such a long stretch of dull training, they were eager to take on a new mission. They wanted to set out right away, but they were still curious whether Jiraiya would go with them.

Jiraiya shook his head. "Of course I'm not going. They're just a bunch of petty thieves. Why would I need to deal with them myself?"

"Huh? Then it'll just be us. Won't that be dangerous?" Konan asked, sounding uncertain.

"They're just ordinary bandits." Jiraiya's voice turned stern as he answered Konan's concern. "Besides, I told you this was a test. If you've trained with me for so long and still can't handle a few ordinary people, then don't call yourselves my students."

"Uh... all right." The others said no more, only nodding at Jiraiya.

"Good. Go get ready, and set out on your own when you're done. Decide among yourselves what to do with the bandits. I'm busy too. I'll have to think about where to go for material later!"

Jiraiya waved them off, telling them to deal with the bandits as they saw fit. He'd sounded casual when he told them to prepare and go on their own, but when he got to the part about finding material, an unmistakably lecherous note crept into his voice.