Days of training with the Akatsuki

"What? You've heard of me?" Hatake Ziyan asked.

"I like asking my teacher to tell me stories about powerful shinobi. You were the first great shinobi in the shinobi world that Master Jiraiya told me about, a warrior as renowned as the God of Shinobi. I never imagined I'd get the chance to meet you!" Konan said, blushing.

Hatake Ziyan nodded at Konan's words. It seemed that brat Jiraiya had taught her well. The next time they met, he would spare him a beating.

"Achoo!"

On the roof of a bathhouse, Jiraiya suddenly sneezed while gathering material.

"Ah! A pervert! Catch the pervert!"

The women's bath erupted into chaos as the women grabbed their clothes, draped them over themselves, and screamed.

Jiraiya rubbed his nose and quickly leaped off the roof.

Meanwhile, once the three learned Hatake Ziyan's identity, they promptly forgot their lousy ideals and crowded around him, bombarding him with questions.

Their questions annoyed Hatake Ziyan so much that he had no choice but to tell them he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. He would be staying here, so they would have plenty of chances to ask him questions. Only then did they leave him alone.

Hatake Ziyan also wanted somewhere he could train undisturbed and properly practice the two techniques he had just received from the system.

The Pangu Visualization Diagram and the Nine Turns Mysterious Technique (simplified version).

Hatake Ziyan sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on the golden scroll within his sea of consciousness. The scroll depicted a giant holding an enormous axe, poised to cleave forward, with black matter above and below him.

Hatake Ziyan infused his mental power into the scroll and felt himself enter a dark world. Suddenly, a sliver of light appeared in the middle of that gray, murky world. In its glow, he saw a giant not far away, holding the posture of a horizontal swing.

But the light began to dim, as though it were about to disappear. Then the giant moved, delivering two more axe strikes in succession, splitting the entire world in two and bringing everything into focus.

Watching Pangu's magnificent feat of splitting heaven and earth, Hatake Ziyan briefly wondered whether he could ever reach such heights. He soon abandoned that thought, however. It was far too distant a goal for him.

Once Pangu finished splitting heaven and earth, Hatake Ziyan was kicked out of the world within the scroll.

His mental power abruptly returned to his body, and Hatake Ziyan felt as though his body were about to burst.

Hatake Ziyan's eyes snapped open. Had anyone been beside him, they would have seen wisps of golden light shining from his eyes the instant he opened them.

But he immediately clutched his head with both hands, feeling as though it were about to explode.

Struggling through the discomfort, Hatake Ziyan shouted to the system, "System, what's going on? I feel like my head is about to explode!"

Ding! Host, there is no need to worry. This is a side effect of the sudden surge in your mental power. You will adjust after a few days!

"Does that mean this will happen every time? That would be way too painful!"

Ding! Rest assured, host. This only happened because it was your first serious visualization session. Also, your body is pathetic. If your body were strong enough, this would not happen!

Hatake Ziyan nearly coughed up blood at the system's words. "Then why didn't you remind me to practice the Nine Turns Mysterious Technique first?"

Ding! Host, you never asked me! Besides, your previous training system was pathetic. How could it compare to these two techniques?

Hatake Ziyan felt his chest tighten. "Then why didn't you give me these two techniques back then? If you'd given them to me all those years ago, I would have mastered them by now!"

Ding! Host, please have some self-respect. If I had given you these two techniques back then, you would not be here today. Practicing them would have killed you on the spot! After all, your current strength barely meets the minimum requirements to practice them!

"So I should thank you, then?" Hatake Ziyan said through gritted teeth.

Ding! You are welcome, host!

With the system starting to act like a smart-ass, Hatake Ziyan no longer wanted to talk to it.

Enduring the discomfort in his head, Hatake Ziyan recalled the simplified Nine Turns Mysterious Technique from his memory.

Following the meridian pathways described in the technique, he began practicing the first level of the Nine Turns Mysterious Technique.

The first three levels of the simplified version established protection within the body, preventing later stages of training from damaging the internal organs.

As he circulated the technique, Hatake Ziyan could clearly feel his body gradually growing stronger, even though its primary purpose was to protect his internal organs.

Had Hatake Ziyan asked the system about it then, it would certainly have told him that he only felt that way because his body was too weak.

Hatake Ziyan slowly immersed himself in his training, losing track of time.

Six days later.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan all stood outside Hatake Ziyan's door.

"What do you think Lord Sword God is doing in there? It's been six days, and he hasn't come out once. Do you think something might have happened to him?" Konan asked worriedly.

"Probably not, right? I think Lord Sword God must have come out without us noticing. Otherwise, wouldn't someone die after six days without food or water?" Yahiko said.

Nagato, however, simply watched Hatake Ziyan's room in silence.

"Nagato, what do you think?" Yahiko asked when he saw that Nagato wasn't speaking.

"I don't think Lord Sword God has come out. Every time I've passed by over the last few days, I've sensed a special kind of natural energy rushing into his room!" Nagato said.

"Then that means Lord Sword God..."

Nagato suddenly interrupted Konan. "It stopped! Lord Ziyan should be coming out soon!"

Just as Nagato said it had stopped, Hatake Ziyan did indeed stop training. He opened his eyes, then exhaled a breath of stale air.

That breath pierced straight through the door before him like a sharp sword.

Hatake Ziyan felt strength filling his entire body, and the swelling pain in his head from his earlier visualization had vanished.

He instinctively looked toward the doorway, then froze. It was as though he had looked straight through the door and "seen" Yahiko and the other two standing outside.

Ding! Do not be surprised, host. This is a minor benefit of your increased soul power! P.S. This saves you from asking me about it in a moment!

Looking at the little line of text the system had displayed, Hatake Ziyan could practically see it mocking his ignorance.

"Thanks, system!" Hatake Ziyan said through gritted teeth.

Ding! You are welcome, host. Also, let me remind you not to keep gritting your teeth. You are getting old, after all, and I am afraid your teeth might fall out!