Consecutive Normal Punches

Jiraiya's wish was to wander the world.

As his teacher, the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, naturally knew of his disciple's wish.

However, with the Shinobi World in turmoil, Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly planned to send the exceptionally gifted Liumu to Jiraiya as his disciple, in order to keep Jiraiya tied to the village.

However...

Having only just left the Land of Rain, Jiraiya still could not stop thinking about the three disciples he had left there and had no intention of taking Liumu on as another disciple.

"I'll be administering your Ninja Academy graduation test now."

In the Valley of the End, Jiraiya sat at the foot of Madara Uchiha's stone statue and told the bewildered Liumu before him, "If you pass my test, you can graduate from the Ninja Academy early and become a real ninja."

Liumu: ...

"What if I don't pass?"

Liumu frowned, thinking that he had only just decided to skip the system's task of becoming a ninja, yet now real life was forcing him to take a test.

Wasn't this like forcing a rooster to lay eggs, making him do something that wasn't his job?

"If you don't pass..." Jiraiya replied indifferently, "then you go back to school."

Having followed the Third for so long, Jiraiya understood what Teacher Sarutobi intended, but out of consideration for his position, Jiraiya had not refused outright.

"My time is tight. Once I finish testing you, I'm going to travel around and look for inspiration for my writing," Jiraiya said.

"Oh? Can you take me with you?"

At Jiraiya's words, Liumu ran up to him with a look of longing and said excitedly, "I've never left the village in my whole life. If I pass your test, can I go with you?"

Looking at Liumu's face right before his own, Jiraiya asked curiously, "You want to go out too?"

At Jiraiya's question, Liumu nodded over and over, his head bobbing like a garlic pestle.

"Hahaha!"

Jiraiya burst out laughing. The Third had intended to keep Jiraiya in the village by making Liumu his disciple, never expecting that Liumu wanted to travel the world just as much as Jiraiya did.

"All right. As long as you pass my test, I'll take you with me."

Beside the river, Jiraiya casually picked up a fist-sized stone and bent his knees slightly in front of Liumu. A powerful surge of chakra suddenly came from his outstretched left hand, and pale blue chakra flowed from all around his body into his palm. Before long, a miniature chakra Ninja Dart appeared in his hand.

"Watch closely!"

With that, Jiraiya hurled the stone into the air. Before it could fall, he released the chakra Ninja Dart, shattering the stone in midair.

With a boom, the Ninja Dart not only shattered the stone but also toppled a huge willow across the river, its trunk as thick as an adult's waist.

"If you want to become my disciple, you'll have to take a test even harder than the Ninja Academy graduation exam."

As he spoke, Jiraiya picked up another stone and told Liumu, "I'll give you three days. Whether you use ninjutsu or taijutsu, as long as you can shatter it, I'll take you as my disciple."

Without waiting for Liumu's reply, Jiraiya walked onto the riverbed alone and put on the wooden sandals he had left beside a boulder. He turned back to Liumu and said, "I'll go look for inspiration at the hot springs first. I'll come back for you in three days."

Seeing the sly smile that flashed at the corners of Jiraiya's eyes, Liumu shouted, "Wait!"

"Hm?"

Jiraiya turned around, but the riverbank was now deserted. He hurriedly searched around, yet could find no sign of Liumu.

"Where did he go?" Jiraiya was shocked. Just who was this five-year-old child, who could suddenly vanish right under my nose? Could it be... that he really has footwork on par with the Body Flicker Technique, just as Teacher said?

"I'm over here!"

Liumu's voice suddenly rang out again from far away. Jiraiya looked toward it and saw Liumu standing atop the head of Madara Uchiha's stone statue, waving down at him and calling, "There's no need to wait three days. I'll show you now, and then we can set off as soon as possible!"

Jiraiya: "???"

The evening glow spread across the entire sky, and a gentle breeze scattered the white clouds overhead.

The insects and birds in the woods stopped frolicking, only to be followed by the endless croaking of frogs along both banks of the river.

Liumu smiled faintly, drew his right hand behind him, and clenched his fingers into a fist with a series of explosive cracks.

"Normal Series: Consecutive Normal Punches!"

Boom!

In an instant, shattered stone flew and dust billowed.

Jiraiya watched in shock as the five-year-old boy before him smashed the Uchiha stone statue, dozens of meters tall, with a few punches, reducing it to countless fragments that crashed to the ground.

With a whoosh, a figure flashed before Jiraiya. Liumu leaped out of the rubble and appeared again completely unharmed. Jiraiya even noticed that not a speck of dust had landed on him.

"This..."

Jiraiya was tongue-tied. Despite the tremendous shock within him, all he could do now was stare wide-eyed, unable to speak.

Looking at his handiwork, Liumu sighed and shook his head helplessly.

As it turned out, the boost from the One-Punch Man Saitama template was so great that an ordinary stone statue of Madara Uchiha could not withstand the full flurry of punches.

"If I'd known, I would've just used a Normal Punch."

"You... you..."

Jiraiya was utterly astonished. He finally knew that the Third had not lied to him. On the contrary, the abilities Liumu had just displayed were even more terrifying than what his teacher had described.

At midnight.

As Konoha's guards were changing shifts, their eyes heavy with drowsiness, two dark figures shot out from the shadows of the gate with a whoosh.

Outside the Village Protection Forest, a young voice suddenly cried out as if in realization, "Oh no! I smashed the stone statue in the Valley of the End. The old Third won't be angry, will he?"

After all, according to the original story's description of the Valley of the End, the two stone statues symbolized the alliance between Konoha's First Hokage and the Uchiha Clan, while also proclaiming Konoha's unification.

"So you do know how important that statue was!" Jiraiya's formerly languid voice became exceptionally urgent as he shouted, "Then hurry up and run! If the Third finds out about that, we're both done for!"

"That bastard!"

In Konoha's Hokage office, a pair of elders stood apart with their hands behind their backs. Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was staring out the window, they asked solemnly, "This could provoke a revolt from the Uchiha Clan, couldn't it? After all, that statue was something like an object of faith to them, and now it has suddenly collapsed..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, turned around, and said, "But those two have already left the village."

As Konoha's Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had sensed the disturbance in the barrier the moment Jiraiya and Liumu left the village, and naturally made a connection.

"As for the Uchiha Clan..." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and smiled. "There was already a rift between us. With so much turmoil outside right now, they probably won't do anything to harm Konoha at a time like this."