After signing the scroll and leaving his thumbprint, Sasuke carefully put it away.
"Let's do it here."
"Lord Jiraiya, please!"
As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, lightning surged across his body.
He turned into a blur and vanished from where he stood.
"Please what?"
"Hey, you..."
Bang!
Before Jiraiya could react, Sasuke's small fist had already connected with his chin.
The tremendous force sent Jiraiya flying.
His head was ringing...
"You little brat, you're going all out!"
Jiraiya couldn't help complaining.
That last blow had nearly knocked his brain offline.
As the saying went, no matter how skilled you were, you were still afraid of a kitchen knife.
And Sasuke's kitchen knife had been sharpened to perfection.
Bang, bang, bang...
After that, Jiraiya was ready.
Sasuke's attacks were fierce, but Jiraiya still managed to block them one by one.
Before long, Jiraiya spotted Sasuke's shortcomings and instinctively corrected them.
He corrected Sasuke's mistakes in the heat of battle without saying a word. By guiding the way Sasuke attacked, he could help him work through those problems.
Before long, Sasuke realized what Jiraiya was trying to do.
"Watch out, Lord Jiraiya!"
Sasuke let out a sharp cry. The lightning around him formed a swarm of Little White Worms behind him.
The Little White Worms now had jagged scales covering their bodies.
They looked far more imposing.
These were different from the Little White Worms used to temper Naruto and Neji's bodies.
They were a special ninjutsu developed exclusively for the [Thunder God Mode], with attack as its sole purpose.
Without the Thunder God Mode's complete immunity to lightning, this mutated version of the Little White Worms might even hurt Sasuke himself.
"An original ninjutsu?!"
"Now that's something. Just as Fugaku said, this kid really is a genius!"
Jiraiya had traveled the Ninja World and met many powerful geniuses and all kinds of extraordinary people.
Even so, he couldn't help exclaiming when he saw the ninjutsu Sasuke had unleashed.
"Go!"
Sasuke controlled the lightning and sent it hurtling toward Jiraiya.
The Little White Worms blocked off every route around him.
More importantly, Sasuke still controlled the lightning he had released.
Most people couldn't track the paths of those bolts.
But Uchiha Sasuke wasn't most people!
"Sharingan!"
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated in an instant.
The Little White Worms' paths appeared directly in Sasuke's field of vision.
At the same time, Sasuke began analyzing Jiraiya's movements.
He raised both hands and controlled the Little White Worms, sending them at Jiraiya from every direction.
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
As several bolts of lightning crashed down, the spot where Jiraiya had been standing was swallowed by thick clouds of dust.
Going by the rule that if there was smoke, there was no damage, Jiraiya should be fine...
"Damn it, Jiraiya, you shameless old man! Was that really necessary?"
Just as Sasuke was thinking about how to continue the fight, he suddenly realized that his surroundings had changed...
No, it wasn't the surroundings that had changed...
The fleshy walls around him had already told Sasuke where he was.
To block Sasuke's Lightning Style, Jiraiya had actually summoned that giant toad.
That was right. They were inside the giant toad's stomach.
Poof!
As a cloud of smoke dispersed, Jiraiya appeared in Sasuke's field of vision.
The smoke had cleared.
But Sasuke's Byakugan hadn't disappeared.
"Uh, you attacked me by surprise and fought like you were trying to kill me."
"You don't show your elders any respect at all."
"All right, that's enough training for today."
"Once you're strong enough to break through the seal I used just now, I'll come teach you again."
Jiraiya spoke with a sly grin.
That was right. This was what Jiraiya had planned from the start.
He'd humor Sasuke for a bit, then use a suitable ninjutsu to show him the gap between them.
That way, he'd have an excuse not to train Sasuke.
And Sasuke wouldn't be able to complain about it.
"Shameless."
"Never mind. I'll start by telling you what I want."
"I need materials for weights, just like the ones Might Guy uses."
"Then I need some medicinal herbs. You should know which ones."
"After all, you and Lady Tsunade are close friends."
"And I need money. I've been spending a lot lately treating people to meals..."
"Oh, and I also..."
"Wait, wait, wait..."
Jiraiya couldn't sit still as Sasuke listed his demands.
For starters, the materials for Might Guy's weights would cost at least ten million ryo.
And the medicinal herbs custom-selected by Tsunade for a strengthening bath... those would cost a pretty penny too.
If he let Sasuke keep making "wishes," even all his money would be gone.
"I can take care of everything you've asked for so far."
"Don't ask for anything else. I'm afraid I might change my mind."
Jiraiya spoke awkwardly.
After all, saying something like that in front of a child was enough to make even an old man like him blush.
"Fine."
"I..."
"Father?"
Just then, Sasuke saw Fugaku Uchiha approaching with elite shinobi from the Uchiha Clan.
Sasuke's heart sank.
Could this guy have gone to spy on my mother?
Sasuke turned around and stared at Jiraiya with a frown.
Jiraiya gave a slight shake of his head.
Clearly, Jiraiya had understood what Sasuke meant.
"Sasuke, what are you and Lord Jiraiya doing out here so late?"
Fugaku Uchiha looked at Sasuke, then turned a displeased gaze on Jiraiya.
He knew what Jiraiya was like, but... having this happen in his own clan still left him feeling uncomfortable.
"I asked Lord Jiraiya to give me some special training. Father, did something happen?"
Sasuke cocked his little head and asked curiously.
Seeing Sasuke act so innocent and sweet, Jiraiya could hardly connect him with the shameless kid who had just made outrageous demands.
"Lord Jiraiya, next time you visit the Uchiha, make sure you don't take a wrong turn."
"Let's go."
"Sasuke, you should head home and get some rest too."
Fugaku Uchiha wasn't a fool.
Since Sasuke had put it that way, he wouldn't expose his son in front of everyone.
"I understand, Father."
Sasuke nodded obediently.
Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief.
As long as Fugaku Uchiha didn't press the matter, things would be easy from here.
"Sasuke, I'll have Might Guy bring you the weights you asked for."
"As for the herbs, I'll help you find them."
"And money... Here's ten million ryo. It should last you a while."
"I'm heading out."
After putting down the money, Jiraiya vanished in a flash.
He was afraid Sasuke would make more demands.
Before you continue