Chapter 21

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone sounded calm, but the smugness in his words still could not be hidden.

In the end, it was his Will of Fire that had won over the entire younger generation of the Uchiha Clan, leading to the situation today.

He had never approved of Danzo's extreme methods. "Fine."

Danzo was unbelievably calm.

He left behind only that one word, then turned and melted back into the darkness.

Watching Danzo leave, a trace of helplessness surfaced on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.

Times were different now.

Some things could no longer be compared to the past.

Right now, he was Konoha's strongest Hokage, and he directly held Konoha's strongest clan in his hands.

What he needed to do next was no longer to consolidate his position—but to make his reputation sound even better.

A shady figure like Danzo should also be reaching the time to step down. "The plan... really does need to change."

As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, he took a document from a scroll.

Konoha's higher-ups were about to explode into chaos.

But Uchiha Sasuke, who had stirred up this storm, was acting as if nothing had happened, crouched inside his room training.

Inside the room, Sasuke sat on the floor, his brows twisted tightly together. "Still no good..."

"This strengthening route has reached its end."

"My body simply can't keep up with the pace."

"What exactly should I do to make my flesh keep pace with the tempering?"

He sensed the condition inside his body.

Last time, he had barely endured the strengthening by copying Naruto's method of cell generation.

But compared with Naruto's body, the gap was far more than just a little. "Looks like I have to pick up physical training again."

"Right—"

A figure suddenly popped into Sasuke's mind.

If he wanted to train his physical ability, finding that guy would definitely be right.

But to learn the real thing from him...

He was thinking of Emperor Guy.

The man whose kick had nearly blasted the ending away.

Although the man was a little crazy, his taijutsu was truly hardcore.

Sasuke was not afraid of Guy being crazy. He was afraid Guy would force him to wear those green bodysuits that were shameful enough to make him die on the spot.

After mulling it over for a while, he still decided to go try his luck.

He closed his eyes and began refining chakra.

No matter what he planned to do next, chakra was the foundation. "Kid, come with me!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed into the room.

Without another word, it grabbed Sasuke, and the person vanished.

"Jiraiya?"

"What does he want?"

Sasuke, who was being dragged along at high speed by Jiraiya, did not panic.

Given that guy's personality, he would not go so far as to ** him.

Before long, the two arrived at the edge of Shadow Leaf Lake. "Brat, I have an important training mission, and I need your help."

"If you pull it off, as long as it's something I can do, you can ask for anything."

"How about it? A personal promise from the Toad Sage, one of the legendary Sannin. Pretty **, right?"

Jiraiya grinned slyly as he stared at Sasuke, speaking extremely fast. "Training?"

"Go on, which bathhouse have you set your sights on this time and can't find a way into?"

"Besides, what do you think a child like me can help you with?"

Sasuke did not believe for a second that Jiraiya had anything serious to ask of him. "Uh..."

Jiraiya immediately wilted.

He had not expected Sasuke to see through him at a glance. "Don't tell me it's our Uchiha Clan's bathhouse?"

A bad thought surfaced in Sasuke's mind.

This guy wouldn't go that far, would he...

"Wasn't it because I got caught before I even had time to observe?"

"Brat... no, Sasuke, help me this time, and I'll take you to Mount Myoboku to eat something good."

"Your body happens to need polishing right now. I can also provide you with training resources. How about it?"

Jiraiya hurriedly threw out conditions.

After all, if word got out that he had been caught ** at the Uchiha bathhouse, he would lose every bit of face he had left. "Fine."

"This is a contract. Write down everything you just said first."

Sasuke directly took out a scroll and handed it to Jiraiya along with a pen. "You brat..."

"I'll write."

Jiraiya scribbled down a long string of words. "Here, you have to add why you agreed to all this. That is, you need to write clearly about you ** at the bathhouse."

"When you press your fingerprint later, cover the contents."

After he finished writing and pressed his fingerprint, Sasuke carefully folded the scroll and tucked it into his clothes. "Let's start right here."

"Lord Jiraiya, please!"

The moment his words fell, a layer of blinding lightning abruptly erupted over Sasuke.

His whole body turned into an afterimage and disappeared straight from where he stood. "Please what?"

"You brat—"

"Bang!"

Before Jiraiya could finish speaking, Sasuke's small fist had already smashed solidly into his chin.

A savage force blasted him clean off his feet, sending his whole body flying backward.

His head buzzed, and stars burst before his eyes. "Good grief, you're trying to beat me to death!"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin and could not help cursing.

That blow just now had nearly shaken his brains evenly.

As the old saying went, no matter how skilled you were in martial arts, you still feared a kitchen knife.

Not to mention Sasuke's kitchen knife had been sharpened on purpose. "Bang, bang, bang—"

After that, Jiraiya focused up. Although Sasuke's offensive was ferocious and fierce, he steadily received every strike.

And as they fought, Jiraiya figured out the kid's weaknesses and subconsciously helped him adjust.

Without needing to speak and give pointers, he could correct each flaw one by one purely through guidance in actual combat.

As Sasuke fought, he also sensed the other party's intentions. "Lord Jiraiya, be careful!"

Sasuke gave a low shout.

The lightning wrapped around his body suddenly split into tiny white snakes that appeared behind him.

These white snakes were completely different from the ones he had used to temper Naruto, Neji, and the others. Fine scales had already grown on them, making them look awe-inspiring.

This was an offensive ninjutsu developed specifically for [Lightning God Mode].

If not for the absolute resistance to lightning attribute while in the Lightning God state, these mutated white snakes could even injure Sasuke himself. "A self-created ninjutsu?"

"Good kid. Fugaku was right, you really are a monstrous genius!"

Jiraiya had traveled far and wide for so many years and had seen countless talented experts.

But when he personally saw Sasuke's ninjutsu, he still could not help sucking in a cold breath. "Go!"

Sasuke controlled the lightning white snakes and sent them pouncing toward Jiraiya.

Every escape route in all directions was sealed off.

Most fatal of all, the control over these released Lightning Release attacks was still firmly held in Sasuke's hands.

Ordinary ninja simply could not predict their trajectories.

But he, Uchiha Sasuke, was not an ordinary ninja!

"Sharingan!"

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan lit up instantly.

The white snakes' movement paths were reflected clearly in his eyes.

At the same time, he completely saw through Jiraiya's route of movement as well.

With a wave of both hands, Sasuke sent the white snakes pouncing toward Jiraiya from every angle at once. "Boom, boom, boom—"

Several bolts of lightning smashed down hard, blasting up rolling smoke and dust from where Jiraiya had just been standing.

According to the law of smoke means no damage, that old guy should be totally fine...

"Damn it, Jiraiya, you shameless bastard. Was that necessary?"

Sasuke had just been pondering how to fight next when he realized the surrounding environment was wrong.

It was not that the environment had changed...

The circle of flesh walls before him already made it perfectly clear where this place was.

In order to block his Lightning Release, Jiraiya had directly summoned that giant toad.

That was right. At this moment, they were inside the toad's stomach. "Poof!"

A cloud of white smoke exploded, and Jiraiya's figure walked out of the mist, standing in front of Sasuke.

The fog scattered completely, but Sasuke's Byakugan eyes remained fixed on him. "Hey, kid, you were the one launching sneak attacks just now, and every move was aimed to kill."

"You don't understand what it means to respect the old and cherish the young at all."

"All right, today's guidance ends here."

"When you can break through the seal I just placed, come talk to me about the next stage of training."

Jiraiya grinned, smiling like a thief.

He had already calculated everything.

First, he would casually fool Sasuke a couple of times, then pick a decent ninjutsu to make the brat understand how huge the gap between them was.

That way, he would have a suitable reason to push away the next training task.

And even if Sasuke felt unhappy about it, he would not be able to find any fault with him. "You really are shameless enough."

"Fine, then I'll first talk about what I want."

"I need materials for making weights. The same specifications as Teacher Might Guy's will do."

"Also, I need a batch of medicinal herbs. You're definitely more familiar with that aspect than I am."

"After all, you and Lady Tsunade are old friends."

"And then there's money. I've spent quite a lot treating people to meals lately... Right, and also—"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Sasuke was still counting on his fingers and listing things when Jiraiya panicked first.

Putting everything else aside, just the weighted materials on Might Guy's level would cost at least ten million ryo or more.

Add in Tsunade's specially made medicinal bath formula and the herbs used to strengthen the body... that was another terrifying expense.

If Sasuke kept "making wishes" like this, even if Jiraiya had more money, he would be drained dry. "I'll accept everything you just said."

"Don't keep reading out the rest. I'm afraid I'll regret it in the next second."

Jiraiya spoke with an embarrassed look on his face.

After all, saying something like this in front of a little brat still left him somewhat unable to keep his dignity. "Fine."

"I—"

"Father?"

Before his words had even fallen, Sasuke saw Fugaku walking over from afar with elite ninja of the Uchiha Clan.

His heart immediately sank.

That guy Jiraiya couldn't have gone to peep at his mother, could he?

Sasuke turned around and stared at Jiraiya with a frown.

Jiraiya gently shook his head.

He understood what Sasuke was suspecting. "Sasuke, what are you and Lord Jiraiya doing out here this late at night?"

Fugaku's gaze landed on Sasuke, then swept over Jiraiya in displeasure.

Although he knew very well what kind of person Jiraiya was, when something like this happened on his own clan's territory, it still left him feeling rather uncomfortable. "I asked Lord Jiraiya to give me special training. Father, did something happen?"

Sasuke tilted his little head and asked with an innocent look on his face.

Seeing Sasuke's current pure and harmless appearance, Jiraiya muttered inwardly, completely unable to connect the child before him with the brat who had made such outrageous demands just now. "Lord Jiraiya, next time you come to the Uchiha side, don't take the wrong road."

"Let's go."

"Sasuke, you should go back and rest early too."

Fugaku was not stupid.

Since Sasuke had said that, he would not expose his son in front of outsiders. "Understood, Father."

Sasuke nodded obediently.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief.

As long as Fugaku did not keep pursuing this matter, things would be much easier afterward. "Sasuke, I'll have Might Guy send over the weighted materials you want."

"I'll get the medicinal herbs."

"As for money... here's ten million ryo. It should be enough for you to spend for a while."

"I'm leaving first."

After Jiraiya set down the money, he vanished from where he stood in a flash.

Once the money was put away, the corners of Sasuke's mouth could not help rising.

Great. The money for meals from here on was finally settled.

That bunch of bottomless pits could eat more than the next. If he did not find a way to get some money, he might really have to live on air.

He put the money away and headed back in a good mood.

After only a few minutes, Sasuke frowned. "Hm?"

An unsettling aura drifted over.

He stopped, his gaze sharpening slightly.

This place was not far from the Uchiha Clan Compound. If something really happened, he could still make it back in time.

Sasuke wanted to see just who was watching him from the shadows. "Rustle, rustle, rustle—"

Several sounds of air being cut rang out, and three figures shot out of the woods.

Three ninja wearing fox masks surrounded him in a triangle formation. "Root people?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What, you want to make a move on me?"

He felt a little uncertain.

He was indeed a genius, and he had been in the spotlight a bit recently, but surely that was not enough to make Root's elites come in person, right?

Besides, they would not dare drag him straight back to Root.

Never mind the Uchiha Clan—even that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi would not agree to something like this. "Come with us quietly."

"That way, you'll suffer less."

"If you dare resist... then you'll have to taste a little pain."

The Root Organization member directly in front of him spoke with obvious mockery in his tone.

As he spoke, he took out a sealing scroll and drew the long blade from his back. "Go with you?"

"To Root?"