The Seeds That Had Been Planted

The leaden clouds hung low and heavy. Though it was nearly noon, the sky looked as dark as dusk.

Despite the terrible weather, the rain was unusually light today. Five figures stood still on a wide river. Though the water rushed beneath their feet, they stood firm on its surface as if on solid ground.

"Everyone's here. Good!"

Jiraiya nodded to the boys standing in a row. His expression was unusually serious today.

The boys could tell from Jiraiya's expression how important this test was to him. So they said nothing and waited for his instructions.

"You've trained with me for three years now. You've all grown a great deal over that time, but I can't know how strong you've become, or whether you're capable of protecting yourselves in these chaotic times, without putting you to the test."

"I've called you here today to assess the results of your training and see whether all your hard work can give me—and you—a perfect answer sheet!"

"Next, you'll attack me with everything you've got. Only by fighting with the resolve to kill me and giving it your all will you be able to judge yourselves accurately and understand your own limits!"

"All right, let's begin!"

"Wait, Teacher Jiraiya!" Yuehua Ai raised his hand, interrupting him.

"Oh? What is it, Ai? Do you have a question?"

Jiraiya looked at Yuehua Ai with some confusion as he raised his hand.

"Can I sit this one out?"

"Uh... why?" Jiraiya looked astonished. This was the first time Ai had asked to withdraw from one of his tests.

Over the past three years, he had given the boys plenty of dangerous tests to help them grow. But Ai had never backed down, no matter how dangerous the opponent. And today wasn't a fight to the death against an enemy; it was just a test with Jiraiya himself. He couldn't imagine what the boy was thinking.

"Because Teacher Jiraiya said we have to attack you with the resolve to kill you, and I can't do that!"

Yuehua Ai explained, and he meant every word.

Even if the four of them gave it everything they had, they probably wouldn't be able to hurt Jiraiya. But this wasn't about whether they were strong enough. Yuehua Ai believed in knowing right from wrong. He couldn't bring himself to attack his mentor with all his strength—even in a spar—if there was any chance of hurting him.

"Haha! How could you possibly hurt me, the great Toad Sage Jiraiya? Don't worry, Ai. I told you to fight with the resolve to kill me so you'd unleash all your potential. If you really were strong enough to hurt me, I'd be delighted!"

Hearing Yuehua Ai's reasoning, Jiraiya laughed heartily, but a feeling of warmth welled up inside him. Ai might have been the youngest of the children, but he was the most considerate.

"That's not the point. We train hard so we'll be strong enough to protect what we cherish. You make it sound easy to attack you with all our strength, but I can't get past that obstacle in my heart!"

Yuehua Ai rolled his eyes at Jiraiya, then glanced at Yahiko and the others. After hearing what he said, the boys had all fallen silent in thought, and now and then a flicker of shame crossed their faces.

Sensing their reaction, Yuehua Ai felt quietly pleased.

Jiraiya was a dedicated teacher. When he taught the boys, he made sure to impart the principles of being a good person, but he had overlooked something important: teaching them gratitude.

Jiraiya had always been the sort of person who gave without expecting anything in return. Even with the students he had taken in, he had never expected them to repay him for anything. But because he was so willing to give, he had neglected to teach the boys to respect and honor their teacher.

Nagato and Konan would be changed by pain in the future. When they faced Jiraiya, they would be able to kill him without hesitation. That was the greatest failure of Jiraiya's way of teaching them.

Jiraiya's death in the original Naruto story had always weighed on Yuehua Ai's mind. Now that he had been reborn as Jiraiya's student, he would never let that tragedy happen again. Yuehua Ai had a purpose in explaining himself to Jiraiya just now. He wanted to plant a seed in Yahiko and the others' hearts, so they would learn to reflect and recognize the importance of gratitude within their own kind natures.

Yuehua Ai had spoken up to turn the conversation toward gratitude. Jiraiya had told them to attack him with the resolve to kill him. Though Yuehua Ai truly couldn't bring himself to feel murderous toward him, this was only a test. If it came down to actually attacking him, of course he could do it!

From the moment he interrupted Jiraiya, Yuehua Ai had been trying to help make up for what Jiraiya had failed to teach the boys. Three years had passed, and Yuehua Ai knew the day when Jiraiya would part ways with Yahiko and the others was not far off.

Meeting Yuehua Ai's clear gaze, Jiraiya stepped in front of him and affectionately ruffled his hair.

"Don't overthink it. You can relax. Your opponents this time will be my shadow clones. Just give them everything you've got. How far you can go will depend on your strength!"

"Oh, shadow clones? That's a relief. Now I won't have to hold back!" Yuehua Ai pretended to let out a long breath, then grinned.

"Haha, then there's no problem! Let's begin!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily. When he finished, his real body left a shadow clone in place and retreated into the distance.

"Now I can go all out, too!"

Seeing that Jiraiya had left a shadow clone behind, Yahiko smacked his fist into his palm. He had already been itching to fight, and he charged in first.

As Yahiko and Jiraiya's clone fought, Nagato, Konan, and Yuehua Ai exchanged glances, then joined the battle together.

Jiraiya was every bit as skilled in Taijutsu as he was in ninjutsu. Tall and imposing, he had a steady presence, and every attack and defense revealed the bearing of a master. Even as he shifted positions across the river while trading blows with the relentlessly attacking Yahiko, his steps remained as steady as a mountain. Though he trod on the water, he hardly raised a splash.

Yahiko was still more than half a head shorter than Jiraiya, putting him at a disadvantage from the start. But in the exchange, he adhered to the principle of "attack like fire, and seize the initiative." He launched a relentless assault, firmly keeping control of the fight.

Despite Yahiko's aggressive momentum, Jiraiya responded with composure and ease. Yahiko's Taijutsu training was solid, but he was still far from Jiraiya's level!

Momentum was the sort of thing that could surge all at once but never last long. After more than a dozen exchanges, Yahiko's momentum inevitably began to fade. As Yahiko's attack failed and he drew back his fist to catch his breath, Jiraiya seized an opening and swept a kick into his stomach, sending him flying far away.

Just as Jiraiya moved in to continue his attack, several Shuriken shot toward him, blocking his path.

Yahiko clutched his stomach and knelt halfway on the water, coughing a few times. Yuehua Ai and the others took the chance to gather behind him.

"Yahiko!" Nagato called out anxiously.

"I'm fine!" Yahiko got to his feet, brushed off his clothes, and waved without looking back.

Though Jiraiya had landed a blow, Yahiko wasn't badly hurt. He had reacted as soon as Jiraiya's attack came in. Once he realized he couldn't avoid being hit, he used the momentum of his body to retreat. Though he still took the blow, he had shed most of the force from Jiraiya's leg by moving backward. In the end, he slid more than ten meters across the water, but all he felt was a slight queasiness in his stomach.

"Show me what you've accomplished through teamwork!"

As the boys gathered together, Jiraiya's clone put some distance between them and beckoned provocatively.

"Right!" Yahiko shouted. Recovered now, he charged in first once more, but this time he took a curved path. It was the combined attack they had practiced together for a long time—Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Ai.

"Go!" Konan cried. Several Paper Shuriken suddenly appeared beside her. At her command, the Shuriken floating in midair spun rapidly, then traced arcs through the air as they flew toward Jiraiya's shadow clone.

Jiraiya didn't dare underestimate the boys' attack. He knew all too well how capable his students were.

Yahiko's attacks so far had all been unarmed. As his teacher, Jiraiya knew that Yahiko trained in both swordsmanship and ninjutsu. He had excellent physical conditioning, quick reflexes, and remarkable combat instincts, along with exceptional talent in both Taijutsu and ninjutsu. He could even combine ninjutsu with Taijutsu. Those few exchanges with Jiraiya were no measure of his true strength.

Konan's constitution made her unsuited to traditional ninjutsu, but she had found another way, incorporating everything she had learned into her unique Paper Style. Paper Style was a unique form of ninjutsu that had never before appeared in the history of the Ninja World. Even Jiraiya couldn't say what its full potential might be. Until recently, Konan's Paper Style had mainly relied on being "unorthodox," but ever since Ai had suggested adding Explosive Tags to it, its power had increased to an unprecedented level. Jiraiya couldn't begin to imagine how far Konan and her Paper Style might go in the future.

Yuehua Ai was the youngest of the children. But despite his age, he certainly wasn't the weakest. Ai had a talent for spiritual energy unlike anything Jiraiya had ever seen, making him the most unusual sensory-type ninja he had ever encountered. He had a maturity far beyond his years and learned ninjutsu at an astonishing pace. His unique way of thinking made him good at drawing lessons from experience and applying them to new situations. When it came to creating ninjutsu, Jiraiya could almost see the Second Hokage and Orochimaru in him. Yuehua Ai kept his strength well hidden, and Jiraiya had little idea how far his training had taken him. Ai was the only boy whose true abilities he couldn't read.

Jiraiya was very pleased by Ai's diligence in training along the ninja path and how quickly he was growing. The only thing that worried him was that Yuehua Ai studied too many things. Ai trained in both ninjutsu and Taijutsu, but according to him, what interested him most was genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu.

Nagato was undoubtedly the strongest of the boys. Though he usually kept his abilities hidden, Jiraiya had realized how powerful he was while teaching them ninjutsu.

Nagato could train in and master all five elemental natures: lightning, fire, water, earth, and wind. He could also learn the rare Yin-Yang Release techniques. At such a young age, he had already mastered several chakra nature transformations, giving him an advantage in any terrain and a level of combat talent ordinary ninja could hardly hope to match.

Nagato's Taijutsu was no less impressive than Yahiko's. Though he lacked Ai's unusual sensory talent, his eyes gave him powers of observation beyond even Ai's.

Nagato also had a special constitution and an unimaginable vitality. Jiraiya's chakra reserves were already far beyond those of an ordinary person, but they were nothing compared to Nagato's. Even now, Nagato had several times as much chakra as he did.

Nagato's talent was the greatest Jiraiya had ever encountered in his life. No—that wasn't quite right. It was the greatest he had ever heard of.

Nagato's talent and strength were already frightening, and this was before he had even awakened the Rinnegan. Once he could use the legendary Rinnegan with skill, Jiraiya didn't dare imagine how strong he might become.

Watching Nagato grow, Jiraiya could only marvel inwardly. If things continued along this path, one day he would surely gain the power to change the Ninja World, just as the prophecy said. Thinking of the heights Nagato might reach, Jiraiya silently praised him. Nagato truly was the Child of Prophecy foretold by the Great Toad Sage!