A Deal with Jiraiya

"All right, now you're the only one left. Karin, what exactly do you want?"

Yakushi Kabuto had left. Uchiha Shunichi had not told him everything, instead needing him to investigate certain matters.

As for Karin, she had not left with Yakushi Kabuto.

"Because I want to follow you, Lord Shunichi!" Karin immediately put on a lovestruck expression and tightly hugged Uchiha Shunichi's arm.

Uchiha Shunichi discreetly pulled his arm away from Karin's chest and said coldly, "You're currently wanted by Konoha. I don't believe you'd dare walk openly through Konoha."

"True, that does seem like a bit of a problem! But naturally, I'll leave that problem for you to solve, Lord Shunichi!" Karin eagerly leaned closer to Uchiha Shunichi.

"Unfortunately, I can't solve that problem. More importantly, I don't trust you." Uchiha Shunichi raised a hand to stop Karin's next move, then made his position clear.

Leaving aside the fight they had had the previous night, Karin's inexplicable affection for him alone was enough for Uchiha Shunichi to feel not the slightest bit of trust.

"Ah, Karin is so heartbroken..." Karin immediately began acting in an exaggerated manner, and genuine tears even welled up in her eyes.

However, Uchiha Shunichi did not feel sorry for her at all. Instead, he felt that the woman before him seemed insane.

"Follow me if you want, but I won't trust you. If we run into Konoha's people, I won't help you either." Uchiha Shunichi spoke coldly, then lay down in a recliner and took out a book to read.

For now, he had no intention of attacking Karin. Although he could not trust her, she might still be useful. If Yakushi Kabuto...

Time passed bit by bit. Uchiha Shunichi became completely absorbed in his book. By the time he finished it, Karin beside him had vanished at some point.

Uchiha Shunichi ignored it and began his usual physical training for the day. His training intensity was not particularly high, but its effects on his body matched ten times the workload of an ordinary ninja's training.

That was because his training was not merely physical exercise. He also used chakra to permanently strengthen his body.

It was a pity he had yet to master Senjutsu. Otherwise, Natural Energy would have been the best thing for strengthening his body.

After staying home for two days, Uchiha Shunichi still had not received a mission from the Anbu. To further increase his strength, he decided to approach Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was easy enough to find. As long as he wandered around the hot spring baths, there was an eighty percent chance he would find him.

Of course, that was assuming Jiraiya was in the village.

"Lord Jiraiya, how about I trade some information about Akatsuki for some Sage Chakra?" While Naruto was off practicing the Summoning Technique, Uchiha Shunichi appeared directly before Jiraiya.

"So you've been the one watching me from the shadows lately. You brat from the Uchiha Clan who survived!" Jiraiya did not seem surprised. He had known about Uchiha Shunichi's arrival long ago, but had simply ignored him.

"Yes. I discovered the power of Senjutsu in some records, so I hope to exchange some information about Akatsuki for your Senjutsu. You don't need to teach me. I only need to take a look at it." Uchiha Shunichi spoke bluntly.

When facing one of the Legendary Sannin, Uchiha Shunichi did not need to be as wary as he was of Sarutobi Hiruzen. For one thing, Jiraiya did not have so many dark schemes, and for another, Uchiha Shunichi's current strength was temporarily enough to protect himself.

"Where... did you get information about Akatsuki?" Jiraiya's expression turned grave.

At this point in time, Akatsuki still operated in great secrecy. Since they rarely acted within the Five Great Nations, even Jiraiya did not know much about them.

He only knew that Orochimaru had once been part of the organization, which was why he had considered investigating it.

"I possess a pair of special eyes. Lord Jiraiya can take it as a prophecy, though it is very different from the prophecies of Mount Myoboku." Uchiha Shunichi spoke calmly.

"Mount Myoboku? It seems you really do know quite a lot. But how can you make me believe what you're saying?" Jiraiya was somewhat surprised, but he did not fully believe him.

"I have seen scenes from your childhood twice. The first time was when you asked Orochimaru to pretend to be a bandit and trick Tsunade. The second was when the Third was teaching you Ninjutsu. You scattered a huge number of shuriken and pretended it was the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

"If that still isn't enough to prove it, then you should have had something like an engagement with a female ninja..."

Uchiha Shunichi directly revealed what he knew in order to gain Jiraiya's trust.

It might cause something like a butterfly effect, but compared to changes in the future, his own strength was more important to Uchiha Shunichi.

After all, even if he did nothing, the future with his existence in it would not be exactly the same as the future in his memories.

"All right, I'll believe you for now. Sage Chakra is simple enough, but that power is extremely dangerous. As for the information you mentioned..." Jiraiya hesitated as he spoke.

"Huh? Shunichi, did you come to find Pervy Sage too?" At that moment, Naruto, who had been at it for a long time but could still only summon tadpoles, walked over.

"I merely have something I want to ask Lord Jiraiya." Uchiha Shunichi answered flatly.

"Jiraiya? Who's that?" Naruto immediately looked completely confused.

"Idiot, I'm Jiraiya." Even Jiraiya was speechless upon hearing Naruto's innocent words.

He had been teaching him for several days and had even taught him the Summoning Technique, yet this guy had not remembered his name...

"Ah! Pervy Sage, that hurts!" Naruto had been hit and hurriedly clutched his forehead in complaint.

"Go keep practicing! You're far too weak right now!" Jiraiya shouted helplessly.

Jiraiya also felt rather helpless when it came to Naruto. His father had been such a genius, so why...

"Lord Jiraiya, don't underestimate Naruto. He's only like this because he hasn't adapted to being a ninja yet. In terms of talent, he's very strong, even if learning things is a little difficult for him right now." Uchiha Shunichi said to Jiraiya as he watched Naruto's departing back.

Jiraiya looked gravely at Uchiha Shunichi. After a long while, he said, "I accept your terms!"