One Last Question

The students at the Ninja Academy had heard some news... A little brat who had only attended the entrance ceremony yesterday was graduating today.

Because a first-year teacher had carelessly let it slip under a little girl's persistent questioning, they all knew about it.

The graduation exam was being held at the training ground near the Uchiha clan, leaving many students who wanted to watch thoroughly disappointed... Really... No wonder that kid had no friends!

At the training ground, Fugaku felt like his ears were being tortured.

"Hey, old man, I didn't come back to the village to help you babysit students... Hurry up and tell me what you know about Orochimaru."

"Jiraiya... I'm getting old..."

"Kakashi is pretty good, isn't he?"

"The Will of Fire still needs to be passed on by us. The village's younger generation isn't yet capable of shouldering such heavy responsibility..." Hiruzen Sarutobi thumped his aching lower back. "Itachi is a true genius..."

"If Senior Jiraiya has no intention of becoming a jonin instructor, then let's end this farce!" Fugaku Uchiha looked displeased. The tear troughs beneath his eyes made him look especially fierce.

"Don't be like that, Fugaku..." The white-haired old man casually slung an arm around the police force captain's neck, his face full of nostalgia. "It reminds me of when you, Nawaki, and Mikoto were together..."

"...Don't mention that name to me!"

"Hey, hey, hey, he's angry, he's angry... Hahaha! You looked exactly like this back then! Whenever I made a joke, little brats like you always looked more sour than the last..."

Jiraiya really was from an optimistic family... When he mentioned Nawaki, his expression did not turn unnatural in the slightest, despite how close he had once been to Nawaki.

"..."

This felt like it was shattering his worldview a little.

Jiraiya appearing here meant that he had not refused Hiruzen Sarutobi. Aside from searching for the Child of Prophecy, he also wanted to help Konoha cultivate its younger generation... The problem was the candidate the old man had arranged for him...

Uchiha Itachi, six years old.

Wasn't this just making him a nanny? He wondered whether this little brat still wet the bed... And he was an Uchiha too, so he definitely would not listen.

Time would always pass, bit by bit, bit by bit... Jiraiya's awful personality was exposed without restraint before Uchiha Itachi. The white-haired old man was obviously unreliable.

The little boy still stood quietly beside Fugaku, only occasionally talking to the crow at his side...

Jiraiya looked at Uchiha Itachi and called out, "Hey, kid, let's begin. Use every method you have and come at me!"

"Yes!"

The instant he answered, Itachi raised his leg and kicked!

Bang!

One of the Sannin, Jiraiya, was sent flying by the little boy's kick... After climbing up from the ground, he instead said with keen interest, "That strength is nothing like a six-year-old's!"

What a wild and unrestrained fellow...

Using the momentum to pull back and widen the distance, Uchiha Itachi threw a shuriken at Jiraiya's head. He would not underestimate his opponent. Yesterday, his father had already briefly introduced Jiraiya's background to him...

Strength: powerful, extremely powerful.

Personality: awful, extraordinarily awful.

He was a ninja worthy of respect, but whether he deserved respect in daily life depended on one's mood... If he was in a bad mood, then he should simply be ignored.

Uchiha Itachi only remembered one thing: he was powerful!

Another shuriken flew out!

Clang!

The later-thrown shuriken struck the first one. The two shuriken, originally traveling in a straight line, crossed and abruptly changed direction, shooting toward Jiraiya from both sides!

"Ha, Uchiha shuriken techniques... Too immature..."

Jiraiya crossed his arms and caught both shuriken, then casually tossed them to the ground... The child's shuriken technique might have been exquisite, but before him, it was not worth mentioning.

Itachi leaped forward!

The larger and smaller figures immediately began fighting in close-quarters taijutsu. After practicing with Shisui many times, the little boy had long realized the importance of ninjutsu. His hand seals had to be fast...

But Jiraiya's hand seals would certainly be faster than his! So he needed to slow the pace as much as possible and look for a chance to use ninjutsu!

"Sharingan: Release!"

"Golden Binding Technique!"

After the Three-Tomoe Sharingan opened, it not only allowed him to spot and exploit an opponent's weaknesses more quickly in close combat, but also greatly enhanced genjutsu.

Within the illusion, Jiraiya stared in surprise at the enormous bronze nails pinning him firmly in place... But this could not stump him. The flow of Chakra in his body became chaotic, and he immediately broke free from the genjutsu's control.

Then he ran straight into a red shuriken!

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson!"

Shisui had taught this to Itachi, and it was also the only ninjutsu that required no hand seals! A shuriken infused with fire-nature Chakra had been thrown. At the distance they had been fighting, Jiraiya could not possibly dodge it!

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

Jiraiya smiled and rapidly formed hand seals, raising a wall of water that extinguished the fire-nature Chakra on the shuriken... His hand seals were too fast!

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Uchiha Itachi suddenly created a shadow clone. The two people outside the field could not quite understand this move... This ninjutsu seemed unnecessary, and it wasted both hand-seal time and Chakra.

After all, Jiraiya only needed one punch to blow it apart...

When Itachi's shadow clone rushed forward, he really did throw a punch at it...

But just as it was about to hit his face, Jiraiya stopped. Looking at Itachi's shadow clone, he suddenly laughed. "It's filled with fire-nature Chakra... Kid, did you think I'd fall for that..."

"Clone... Great Explosion!"

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Boom!

A huge hole was blasted straight through the earthen wall!

That brief moment was enough for Jiraiya to retreat far away... Standing beyond the earthen wall, the old man sighed at the move's power. If the caster could control when the clone exploded, then this technique would be incredible...

Clone Great Explosion was a new technique developed from the crow's exploding clones... Kitahara always sent his shadow clones off to die, and before they died, they would explode with the Chakra overflowing from their entire bodies.

Following the principles of that explosion, Uchiha Itachi replaced all the Chakra in the shadow clone meant to explode with fire-nature Chakra... The caster could detonate it whenever he wished...

"Cough, cough... Cough... Not bad!"

Jiraiya stopped Uchiha Itachi's next wave of attacks. His taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu had all far surpassed Jiraiya's expectations... And he had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan as well... That left only one last question!

"You've passed the test..." Jiraiya's gaze gradually became exceptionally sharp. "But becoming my disciple isn't so simple. There's still one last question..."

"That is..."

"You're so cute. Do you know lots of pretty big sisters?"

By the time he finished speaking, his expression... was completely unbearable to look at... In the distance, Fugaku Uchiha broke out in a cold sweat as he recalled Jiraiya's numerous disgraceful deeds...

What a waste. He had thought Jiraiya would ask Uchiha Itachi about things like the relationship between the village and the clan. As a father, he wanted to know the answer too.

Bang!

A figure suddenly rushed over and sent Jiraiya flying with a punch! The newcomer snorted coldly and flicked his blond hair behind him. "How embarrassing..."

Would anyone be watching? Also, please throw in some recommendation votes or something...