Patiently Enticing

Outside the Open-Air Hot Spring of the Women's Bathhouse, Hidden Leaf Village.

Jiraiya lay sprawled outside the high wall, peeping over it with his backside raised high. He breathed heavily, wearing a lecherous expression utterly unbecoming of his age, his cheeks flushed an unnatural red.

What he did not know was that this shameful act of "peeping" had already been witnessed by three people.

"Forget it, let's go." Tong Ren spread his hands. "I'm not interested in ruining someone else's good time."

Orochimaru gave him a surprised look. "That's actually how you see it?"

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"Of course. Just like Nian said earlier, I've never done anything that would hurt someone else's self-respect." Tong Ren spoke as though it were only natural.

"But the key issue is..." Uchiha Nian looked at Tong Ren, his gaze probing as he cautiously said, "Sister Zhi Li seemed to mention yesterday that she was coming to soak in the hot spring after work. Judging by the time... it should be right about now, shouldn't it?"

Tong Ren looked as though he had been struck by lightning. His mouth fell open, and his eyes widened into perfect circles.

"I'm fucking Fire Style—"

"Speak! Why were you peeping at girls bathing?!"

In the Hidden Leaf Forest, young Jiraiya was tightly bound to a tree trunk with oil-soaked hemp rope.

Uchiha Kirito was livid. If Orochimaru had not stopped him, he would have chopped this white-haired brat into eight pieces.

"How many times do I have to say it? I was gathering inspiration! How can a ninja's business be called stealing a peek?!" Jiraiya glared. "How can you slander my innocence out of nowhere..."

"Still fucking innocence! Fire Style—"

Orochimaru reacted swiftly, instantly wrapping his arms around Tong Ren while looking at Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, as your classmate, I know a little about you. A few days ago, I personally saw you get hung up and beaten for peeping."

Young Jiraiya's face immediately reddened, veins bulging across his forehead as he argued, "Gathering inspiration doesn't count as peeping!... Can a ninja's business be called peeping?"

A string of incomprehensible nonsense followed, things like "food and sex are human nature" and "such-and-such," making even Uchiha Nian chuckle softly. The Forest filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Logically speaking, the walls surrounding the hot spring are built from granite. With your skills, how did you make a gap in them?" Nian asked doubtfully.

Jiraiya proudly raised his eyebrows. "My Earth Release Ninjutsu isn't just for show. What, do you like it too? I can teach you... Ah, ah, I was wrong, I was wrong... I won't dare do it again..."

Orochimaru once more restrained the rampaging Tong Ren and said expressionlessly, "If you had used that move during the assessment, Kato Dan might not have beaten you."

After another round of threats from the three, Jiraiya could only lower his head and admit his mistake, promising not to tell anyone about what had happened today.

Several months later, after school, Nian came to the Secret Base to train as usual. After meeting up with Orochimaru and Tong Ren, he unexpectedly spotted Hiruko again.

This time, however, he was not practicing Shuriken Technique. He merely sat on a wooden stake in a daze, quietly gazing at the sky with drifting eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

The three exchanged glances and walked straight over, their feet stepping on branches and producing crisp snapping sounds.

Hearing the movement, Hiruko's eyes regained their focus, and he hurriedly turned around.

"Huh? You are..."

Tong Ren waved a hand. "Relax. We're just three youths who discovered this place before you and made it our Secret Base."

"Oh, so that's how it is?"

Hiruko jumped down from the wooden stake, bowed slightly, and smiled. "It seems I've taken up the three of your spot. I'm terribly sorry. Please don't hit me; I'll leave right away."

Nian glanced at him. "It's fine. Everything here is village property. We have no right to claim it for ourselves. You can use it whenever you want. There's no need to worry about us."

"Mm, we can train together," Orochimaru added.

"Thank you, but I'm used to training alone." Hiruko politely declined with a smile, appearing refined and courteous. "You're Lord Orochimaru, right? You may not remember, but we're classmates."

"That's not true. I know you." Orochimaru casually picked up a shuriken from the ground and threw it toward a distant target.

With a bang, it struck the bullseye.

"Huh? Lord Orochimaru remembers the name of someone like me..." Hiruko looked somewhat surprised, but his gaze suddenly dimmed. "I'm just a commoner ninja with neither strength nor friends."

"You don't need to feel inferior because of your background. My origins are no better than yours, yet I still have two friends from the Uchiha Clan." Orochimaru continued throwing shuriken. "As for strength, all you need to do is practice hard!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three shuriken shot through the air, all landing precisely in the bullseye.

"Just working hard... is enough..." Hiruko murmured.

Just then, a clear voice drifted down from above the trees.

"Simply working hard is not always enough."

The four abruptly looked up in the same direction and only then discovered someone standing atop the treetips.

A person who had appeared without a sound, at some unknown time.

Perhaps he had only just arrived, or perhaps he had been there all along.

He wore a loose Dark Cloak, his long, black-jade hair loosely tied behind him. His smile was gentle, and black satin covered his eyes. One hand rested behind his back, while a long Guardian God Sword hung at his waist.

"Big Brother?!"

The instant that valiant figure entered their sight, the three children spoke in unison. After two years, they had finally seen this mysterious man again.

Shin'yu gave a light cough, tapped his toes against the branch, and drifted down like a falling leaf in the wind, landing lightly before them.

"This is..." Hiruko was somewhat nervous. The man before him seemed light and effortless, yet his strength was surely unfathomable. He was in the Hidden Leaf Forest but wore no Hidden Leaf Headband; merely thinking about it made him seem suspicious.

Had he not realized that the three beside him seemed to know this person, he would have fled long ago.

Shin'yu turned his face toward Orochimaru so that the other boy would know he was "looking" at him.

"Orochimaru, do you truly think that hard work can grant strength?"

"I..." Orochimaru hesitated, seeming to realize there was something wrong with his words.

Shin'yu did not press him further. Instead, he smiled and gave his answer. "Hard work is certainly important, but choosing the right direction is what matters most."

As he spoke, he strolled leisurely and, in an instant no one noticed, arrived behind Hiruko and placed a hand atop his head.

"For instance, with talent like his, even if he worked hard for twenty or thirty years, he would only amount to a Jonin at best."

Hiruko felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. It was as if snakes were crawling over his spine. In that instant, he felt as though he stood at the edge of life and death.

Shin'yu spoke casually. "To reach Kage-level strength would be nothing but wishful thinking."

"This..."

The three children looked uncertain, while Hiruko's legs gave out beneath him. He slumped to the ground, a deep sense of helplessness flashing through his eyes.

"If you want true strength, then either you possess heaven-defying talent, such as a Kekkei Genkai..."

Nian and Tong Ren exchanged eye contact, each seeing a solemn expression reflected in the other's pupils.

"Or you master an incomparably powerful Secret Technique, such as... the Undying Forbidden Technique..."

Orochimaru's breathing quickened, and an urgent longing flashed through his eyes.

"Or..." Shin'yu spread his hands, patiently enticing them like a preacher. "Defying Heaven and Changing Fate!"