Jiraiya's body trembled, his eyes lost their light, and he toppled backward. The silver hair binding Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina vanished as well.
POOF!
Jiraiya's body turned into a cloud of smoke. It had only been a Kage Bunshin.
Jin let out a helpless sigh. He did not have the strength to fight anymore. Luckily... the bells did not disappear with the clone, they fell to the ground. Kushina reacted fast, whipping out a chain that snatched them before they could hit the dirt.
Jiraiya stepped out of the forest with a box in his hands. "You three are truly impressive."
From the start, the "Jiraiya" they fought was a clone. Even so, a mere clone of an elite Jōnin should not have been defeated by a team of Genin. Normally, only a team of Chūnin could pull off something like that.
"Instructor Jiraiya, we won!" Kushina shook the bells in delight. They chimed brightly. "Tlim, tlim."
Jiraiya smiled. This brat finally learned to address me with the right title.
"First, we eat." Jiraiya patted the box he was carrying. "This is my lovingly made bento."
Kushina made a disgusted face, but hunger won out, and she could not afford to be picky. She walked up with Minato. Jin also dragged himself over, looking weak. Reigan consumed an absurd amount of chakra. Even though the system's derived version was powerful, it was far too demanding for his current state. That single shot had drained most of his chakra, leaving him exhausted.
"Go on, eat, eat."
Inside the box was a plentiful meal, with warm individual portions for each of them. The three started devouring the food. It vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Jiraiya picked up his chopsticks, then froze when he saw the dishes emptying so fast. He fell into thought. Noticing the three looking at him, he gave an awkward smile, then his expression turned serious again.
"So, have you decided who's going back to the Academy?"
Minato and Kushina exchanged glances. Jin, on the other hand, lay down on the ground without a care. This test meant nothing to him. "Me. I want to go back to the Academy and study there for another ten years."
If he could become the Academy's eternal student, he would be thrilled. It was better than being sent to war. As for fighting to protect the village... sorry, but Uchiha Jin was the fish that slipped out of the net of the Will of Fire.
Unfortunately, that was only a dream. With the strength the three had shown, the village would never let them go so easily.
Minato raised his hand. "I withdraw." "I feel like my contribution was not that big compared to the others."
He kept a smile on his face, but there was a trace of bitterness. Compared to Jin's frontal combat ability and Kushina's Uzumaki clan secret techniques, Minato felt like his presence had almost been irrelevant.
"No, I'm the one withdrawing." Kushina's expression was dark. "I don't think the village is going to let me do many missions anyway."
As the Kyūbi's Jinchūriki, and as someone who felt like an outsider in the village, she understood her situation well. Of the three, only Jin was sincere about wanting to quit. He did not bother saying more, only stared up at the sky. The sky was so blue, the clouds so white.
"Hahaha." Jiraiya laughed loudly, looking at the three with satisfaction. "You all passed."
"Because in the future, you will be teammates who rely on each other. If you can't trust your teammates, it will cause tremendous harm." For him, the test was about the bonds between the three.
Kushina was confused for a moment, but when she saw Minato's bright smile return, she finally understood. "So we all became ninjas?" Ignoring Jin, of course.
"Exactly. From today onward, you are Team 7, Team Jiraiya."
"Yeee!" Kushina jumped with joy.
Jiraiya watched them with an amused smile. They looked like a reincarnation of the old Team 7, his team. Kushina was violent like Tsunade, Jin was steady and analytical like Orochimaru, and Minato was handsome and gentle like the great Jiraiya. Yes, in Jiraiya's mind, he was exactly like Minato.
"As the instructor in charge, shouldn't Jiraiya treat us to a big meal?" Jin suddenly sat up, a sly grin on his face. He looked like a fox.
Seeing Minato and Kushina's expectant looks, Jiraiya patted his chest confidently. "Of course. No problem."
But why do I have a bad feeling about this? And they just finished eating, didn't they?
At Konoha's Yakiniku Restaurant.
Jiraiya stared at the bill that seemed to drag all the way to the floor, his chin nearly hitting the table. He opened his wallet and counted the notes again and again, but the result was always the same. It was not enough. The current Jiraiya, who was not yet a famous author, was not exactly rich. Ninjas earned good money, but they spent a lot on ninjutsu and equipment.
He looked at the owner, who maintained a professional smile that was just a little sadistic, and asked hesitantly, "Can I wash dishes to pay off the debt?"
The owner's eyes went wide. He had never seen such a shameless ninja. Even that Byakugan kid from last time had been more honorable. The owner grabbed an abacus and calculated quickly. Only then did he reluctantly agree to the deal.
Jiraiya walked out with an aura of deep depression, only to hear Jin speaking as if delivering philosophy. "For people like us who never get full, the secret is to find a sucker to treat you."
Minato looked embarrassed, but Kushina listened with full seriousness.
Jiraiya's face darkened. He took back everything he had said about Jin being "steady." Jin, who was teaching the art of finding suckers to his teammates, lifted his head and saw Jiraiya. "Yo, sucker... I mean, Instructor Jiraiya."
You were really going to say sucker, weren't you?! Jiraiya roared inside. Now he understood. This kid was a walking trap.
"Alright, alright, don't get mad." Jin walked over and handed Jiraiya a small notebook, speaking like he was soothing a tantruming child.
"What's this?" Jiraiya looked at the contents.
"Basic Internal Energy." "It's the secret behind why I couldn't use ninjutsu before."
Since they were on the same team, it was good for them to know the basics about each other. And of course, it was not at all because he coveted Jiraiya's ninjutsu knowledge. Jiraiya was intrigued.
"Jiraiya." A hoarse, shadowy voice sounded out. Orochimaru appeared beside them, as if he had been there the whole time.
Seeing Orochimaru, Jiraiya lit up. A savior had arrived. "Yo, Orochimaru! You came at the perfect time! Quick, lend me money!"
Orochimaru tilted his head. "???" He searched his pockets, but found no wallet. "I didn't bring it today."
Jiraiya collapsed in defeat. The savior did not exist.
Orochimaru noticed the notebook in Jiraiya's hand and smiled faintly. "Jiraiya, what's in there is the true path."
"Huh?" Jiraiya stared at the notebook, confused.
Orochimaru did not explain. "I'm taking the boy."
Jin waved at Minato. "See you tomorrow."
After Jin and Orochimaru walked away, Minato asked, confused, "Instructor Jiraiya, who was that?"
Jiraiya looked melancholy. "The elite Jōnin Orochimaru. He's my teammate."
His melancholy turned into a tragic smile. "I have something to do. You two can go home. Tomorrow we start taking missions."
With that, Jiraiya marched into the restaurant like a man walking to the gallows. Today, he had to wash ten thousand dishes.
Minato and Kushina looked at each other, unsure what to say.
Jin followed Orochimaru farther and farther into remote areas. If his memory was right, that direction led to the Forest of Death. It was a restricted area due to the number of dangerous animals and ninja beasts. Only authorized ninjas could enter. Many members of the Uchiha clan obtained their summons there.
Though confused, Jin stayed silent. He followed Orochimaru into the forest, and through hidden passages, they finally reached a place that looked like an underground laboratory.
Orochimaru explained the layout to Jin. "From now on, this will be your training place. The first floor is the training ground. The second floor contains the ninja beasts. The third floor is the ninjutsu library, you can read whatever you want. The fourth floor is my lab."
Jin got straight to the point. "You're not doing this just to train me, are you?"
No matter how different the past and present were, Jin did not believe Orochimaru was an altruist. He was not Nawaki, with a powerful background. There had to be a reason.
"Young Jin, do you understand what the ninjutsu you created represents?" Orochimaru asked.
Jin frowned, thinking. His jutsu had been born simply from a way of thinking different from normal ninjas. What else could it represent?
Seeing Jin ponder, Orochimaru gave the answer. "It represents a revolution. A revolution across the entire ninja world."
Jin instantly leapt backward, drawing a kunai. The word "revolution" was not something you threw around casually. And coming from someone else's mouth... it meant danger.
Sssss. A hissing sound came from Jin's side. He turned his head and saw a colorful snake wrapped around his body. He froze, not daring to move. The gap in power was too large.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Don't worry, young Jin. I won't hurt you. On the contrary, I will protect you. I only need you to continue developing what you call Basic Internal Energy."
From his recent research, Orochimaru knew that Basic Internal Energy, while profound in concept, was still very crude in practical execution. Since he did not understand the creator's original line of thought, he could not alter it recklessly. Understanding it and modifying it was possible, but it would take a long time. So why not let the creator himself develop it?
"My current knowledge is not enough to continue the research." It was not that I did not want to deduce it. The system rejected my submission.
"That's why I'll give you shelter and the key to your growth. You just have to hand me the results." "And during that time, you'll participate in my experiment."
"What experiment?"
"The Hashirama Cells experiment."