Chapter 551: Evaluation

Yahiko showed great interest in Jiraiya’s suggestion.

Because he already had the idea of recounting their experiences.

“After you left, Jiraiya-sensei, we wanted to contribute to the peace of the Land of Rain with our own strength. At first, we helped some villages repel attacking Ninja…”

Yahiko put down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, and began to tell their story.

Initially, Yahiko had no intention of creating a Ninja Organization.

After all, at that time, he was just a fledgling kid.

Neither his strength nor his insight, nor any other aspect, was sufficient to support such an idea.

The general environment in the Land of Rain was chaotic at the time, but even in the chaotic Land of Rain, there were Ninja who yearned for peace.

Through successive actions, Yahiko and his companions gradually gained other partners. When the number reached a certain point, the Akatsuki Organization was naturally formed.

However, Yahiko didn’t dwell on the Akatsuki Organization for too long. He quickly moved on to their first encounter with Sōsuke.

It wasn’t that Yahiko thought the Akatsuki Organization period was bad; it was just that there wasn’t much to say.

“Compared to the Shinobi Sect’s influence on the Land of Rain, the Akatsuki Organization could only be described as a minor skirmish. Although the slogan was loud, the impact was really small,” Yahiko said, taking a sip of water to clear his throat.

“As a young man, what you’ve done is enough for you to be proud of yourself,” Jiraiya encouraged.

Yahiko, an orphan who hadn’t received formal education, yet possessed such aspirations and acted upon them, Jiraiya felt he had surpassed countless people.

Jiraiya’s words brought a smile to Yahiko’s face. He laughed as he recounted their story with Sōsuke.

“At that time, Sōsuke-sensei might have heard about the Akatsuki Organization from somewhere else and was interested in our ideals. Unfortunately, I disappointed him; I knew almost nothing,” Yahiko said with regret.

Upon their first meeting, Yahiko was convinced that Sōsuke was an important figure who could promote peace in the Land of Rain.

What Yahiko regretted was that his performance was too poor. He couldn’t answer Sōsuke’s questions well, which might have disappointed Sōsuke at that time.

“He sounds like a serious and meticulous person,” Jiraiya thought, stroking his chin as he listened to Yahiko’s words.

Yahiko’s words reminded Jiraiya of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. It was as if to compensate for his older brother’s bluntness, Senju Tobirama exhibited seriousness and meticulousness in all aspects.

Jiraiya didn’t dislike seriousness and meticulousness, or rather, very few people would dislike those who are serious and meticulous about their work and ideals.

Of course, if one were serious and meticulous about every small detail in life, Jiraiya thought it would be bad, too exhausting.

“Sōsuke-sensei is very serious when dealing with major matters, but he is very easygoing when giving lectures,” Yahiko explained.

The development of the Shinobi Sect and Sōsuke’s lectures are inseparable. The birth of the Shinobi Sect began with Sōsuke traveling around the Land of Rain to give lectures.

Yahiko also continuously attended lectures and eventually decided to join the Shinobi Sect, even disbanding the Akatsuki Organization entirely and merging all members into the Shinobi Sect.

“It is a terrible thing when an incompetent person makes decisions.”

Speaking of the Shinobi Sect’s development, one cannot help but mention the crisis that almost led to its demise.

Yahiko unhesitatingly placed most of the blame on himself, as that crisis was inseparable from his naivety.

At that time, the Shinobi Sect’s numbers were not large, and Yahiko was the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, supported by a group of Akatsuki Ninja. Coupled with the fact that his words did move some Shinobi Sect Ninja, the final vote result leaned towards cooperation.

“So you were there that time too,” Jiraiya said, somewhat surprised.

As Ninja Master Sōsuke’s battle that made him famous throughout the Ninja World, even Jiraiya, who hadn’t paid special attention, had heard some news.

However, people like Jiraiya, who hadn’t paid attention, basically only knew one piece of information: that Sōsuke’s Fire Release was invincible, and he could defeat Hanzo, who excelled in Water Release, by using Fire Release against its natural affinity.

Jiraiya didn’t know about characters like Nagato and Yahiko, who were merely bystanders.

As Yahiko continued to speak, the image of Sōsuke in Jiraiya’s mind gradually became fuller and more concrete.

He had a dream of world peace and would pursue it with a rigorous and serious attitude. He possessed strong teaching abilities while upholding an inclusive teaching philosophy. He had a broad perspective and could set aside the hatred of the Amegakure for the peace of the Land of Rain.

“Have I been too busy these past few years? Such an interesting person has appeared in the Ninja World, and I didn’t even notice,” Jiraiya sighed, planning to travel extensively after the war ended.

It must be said that the Sōsuke Yahiko described was quite perfect. In some matters, Jiraiya, putting himself in his shoes, felt he couldn’t do what Sōsuke did.

“Yahiko, Nagato, it hasn’t been easy for you two to get to where you are now, having experienced so much. Tonight’s dinner will be on me!” Jiraiya said with a smile.

Pursuing dreams, encountering like-minded companions, forming a Ninja Organization, and then, in their struggles, meeting an incredibly strong senior with similar dreams, and finally, together, enduring various hardships and continuously striving.

During Jiraiya’s absence, Nagato and their experiences were indeed worthy of being adapted into a novel.

“Yay!” Yahiko cheered.

While getting a free dinner was a happy thing, what was even happier was that Jiraiya would stay until evening.

After lunch, Jiraiya proactively offered to fulfill his teacher’s responsibility by guiding the training of Nagato and the other two.

The three were naturally eager for this, so they went to the Training Ground outside the city together.

Having not seen them for too long, Jiraiya’s understanding of Nagato and their strength was limited to some collected intelligence. To better guide them, and with a bit of curiosity, Jiraiya conducted combat training with Nagato and the other two.

However, for better results, Jiraiya had Nagato and the others go one by one, instead of all three at once.

After all, there was a significant gap in the three’s strength. If all three went at once, it might turn into Nagato’s personal show.

“How about I go first?” Yahiko was the first to speak.

Seeing that Konan and Nagato had no objections, Yahiko walked to face Jiraiya.

“Use everything you’ve mastered as much as possible. Don’t hold back; let me see your full potential,” Jiraiya said boldly.

As a renowned powerhouse in the current Ninja World, Jiraiya had that confidence.

“Jiraiya-sensei, please excuse me.” Since Jiraiya himself said so, Yahiko didn’t hold back, directly gathering strength and charging forward.

The moment he launched his charge, Yahiko focused his Breathing Technique, enhancing his physical strength.

The Breathing Technique Yahiko practiced was a branch Breathing Technique developed by Muzuki based on Rock Breathing, named Ninja Breathing.

Strictly speaking, Ninja Breathing consisted of two Breathing Techniques: one for enhancing strength, with a taijutsu similar to Rankyaku as a Matching moves (matching technique), and the other for enhancing defense, with a defensive Ninjutsu similar to Tekkai as a matching technique.

The two Breathing Techniques could be cultivated simultaneously but could not be used at the same time. It was impossible to have both strong power and high defense like Rock Breathing.

However, relatively speaking, the difficulty of cultivation was greatly reduced. Under Muzuki’s guidance, even the most ordinary Shinobi Sect Ninja could gradually learn one of them.

Yahiko’s talent was decent, so he learned the complete Ninja Breathing.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yahiko first threw two Kunai.

Clang! Clang!

Jiraiya casually drew a Kunai from his Ninja tool pouch and blocked the Kunai Yahiko threw.

Swish!

Yahiko seized the opportunity of Jiraiya swinging his Kunai and suddenly kicked out a crescent-shaped Chakra slash, concentrating the power in his leg, towards Jiraiya.

But Jiraiya’s combat experience was incredibly rich. He had already noticed Yahiko’s movements through observation and dodged Yahiko’s kick by simply turning his body sideways.

Bang!

The crescent-shaped Chakra slash hit a tree, leaving a deep cut mark that almost severed the large tree.

“The force is decent, but the speed is slow,” Jiraiya commented.

Such an attack, if it hit a Ninja, could cause significant damage.

“Water Release: Water Spear!”

Yahiko was not affected by Jiraiya’s words and fully immersed himself in the battle, concentrating Chakra to create three Water Spears in front of him and shoot them towards Jiraiya.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!”

Jiraiya quickly formed hand signs, and a thick earthen wall rose in front of him. Yahiko’s Water Spears only left pits in the Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall, failing to break through its defense.

With his Ninjutsu ineffective, Yahiko once again mobilized his Breathing Technique power and attacked Jiraiya, preparing for a taijutsu clash.

Bang! Bang!

With Jiraiya holding back, the two fought back and forth.

After figuring out Yahiko’s taijutsu habits, Jiraiya began to increase the difficulty for Yahiko. A feint exposed Yahiko’s weakness.

“Earth Release: Iron Rock Technique!”

Yahiko calmly used the Ninja World version of Tekkai.

Breathing Technique power infused into his body enhanced his defense, coupled with the hardening of Earth Release Chakra Nature Transformation, making this technique potentially able to withstand Ninjutsu.

In the Shinobi Sect, this Ninjutsu also had the nickname “Turtle Shell Technique” because it was genuinely very hard.

Bang!

Jiraiya punched Yahiko, but Yahiko remained unmoving. Instead, Jiraiya’s fist was slightly reddened from the recoil.

Yahiko couldn’t help but smile smugly.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. How did he get so carried away when he was holding back?

Next, Jiraiya’s palm burst with greatly increased Chakra power. He struck again extremely quickly, punching Yahiko flying.

“Using defensive Ninjutsu when unavoidable is indeed not wrong, but you must immediately disengage or counterattack afterward,” Jiraiya reminded him.

“The Ninjutsu you just used should be Earth Release. Try not to use it when encountering Lightning Release Ninja, as it will only injure yourself,” Jiraiya said.

Jiraiya had many encounters with Iwagakure during the Second Shinobi World War. Iwagakure’s hardening technique was indeed troublesome for Ninja like him who hadn’t mastered Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation, but once it encountered Lightning Release Ninja, this technique was virtually useless.

Because the hardening technique is a Ninjutsu applied to the body, once it is broken, the best result is injury.

“Hehe, thank you for the reminder, Jiraiya-sensei,” Yahiko chuckled gratefully.

Actually, Muzuki had already reminded them when teaching, as this kind of defensive Ninjutsu always gives people a mysterious confidence that their defense is invincible, and not reminding them easily leads to arrogance.

Ten minutes later, Jiraiya looked at Nagato and Konan, “Who wants to go first?”

Nagato voluntarily stepped back.

It wasn’t that Nagato was shy. If he were to fight Jiraiya, then by the time he guided Konan, Jiraiya might need to rest for a while.

Although he didn’t think he could defeat Jiraiya, with just the Preta Path and Deva Path’s absorption abilities, Jiraiya wouldn’t be able to easily defeat him.

One absorbs all Ninjutsu, and the other repels all attacks. The combination of the two can handle too many situations.

“Then I’ll go,” Konan said, stepping forward.

“Paper Shuriken!”

Konan took out pieces of paper from her body, infused them with Chakra, hardened them, and threw them.

She actually had Kunai and Shuriken in her Ninja tool pouch, but Konan was rather economical, using Paper Ninjutsu to substitute whenever possible.

Whoosh!

After throwing the Shuriken, Konan mobilized her Breathing Technique power and flashed forward, rushing towards Jiraiya.

Unlike Yahiko, although Konan also quickly learned the power-type Ninja Breathing, she did not learn the defense-type Ninja Breathing like Yahiko.

Because Konan’s Paper Ninjutsu already had impressive defensive capabilities. As long as she practiced Paper Ninjutsu to a sufficient level of proficiency, Konan could turn her body into paper to evade attacks, eliminating the need to endure them directly.

“Your taijutsu is pretty good. Your offensive power is even stronger than Yahiko’s,” Jiraiya praised.

Of course, while he praised her, Jiraiya didn’t treat Konan differently just because she was a girl. He still attacked her as usual.

After being thoroughly beaten in taijutsu, Konan threw three Shuriken at Jiraiya.

This time, Jiraiya didn’t use a Kunai to block. Instead, he used Fire Release to preemptively strike down the incoming Shuriken.

Boom!

The Shuriken hit by the fire bullet exploded.

One of the three Shuriken was a fake Shuriken that Konan had disguised as an explosive tag using Paper Ninjutsu.

Konan’s fake Shuriken looked identical to a real Shuriken, but there were ultimately some differences. In the eyes of an experienced Ninja like Jiraiya, the Shuriken revealed its flaw after being thrown from her hand.

Another ten minutes or so passed, and Konan, having received her guidance, stepped back. Jiraiya looked at Nagato.

At this moment, Nagato also happened to look at Jiraiya, and their eyes met. Jiraiya once again saw those Rinnegan that had once shocked him.

It was those unique eyes that made Jiraiya believe Nagato was very likely the child of prophecy.

“Jiraiya-sensei, please be careful next,” Nagato said respectfully, stepping forward.

The abilities of the Rinnegan can easily lead to a first-strike kill if the opponent has no information.

“Haha, let me see your growth over the years,” Jiraiya didn’t think Nagato was exaggerating.

He had the title of the Ninja World’s number one genius and the eyes of the Six Paths Sage.

Coupled with the unpredictability of Ninja battles, if Nagato were Jiraiya’s enemy, Jiraiya would definitely summon Gamabunta directly to help.

Those were the legendary eyes of the Six Paths Sage; who knew what terrifying abilities they possessed?

PS: I was dizzy from staying up late yesterday, so today is only 4k.