Abandoned Training Ground.
Jin saw two figures from a distance and quickened his pace.
Under the shade of a tree.
Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze had been waiting for a long time.
"Jin, you're late this time."
Minato waved at Jin.
He was wearing his eternal white tracksuit with green stripes.
The biggest change was his temperament. He seemed much more composed than before. It seemed his strength had improved significantly over these four months.
"Yo, Jin, long time no see."
Jiraiya also wore a sunny smile. He wasn't wearing his casual clothes but a suit of grey armor, his forehead protector properly worn.
He looked like a soldier going to war.
But looking at their similar smiles...
"I thought it was just a rumor that people influence each other after prolonged contact."
Jin looked at the two with a face full of regret.
"I didn't expect that an idiot's smile was contagious too."
Jiraiya's smile froze. To smile or not to smile... neither felt right.
Who's smiling like an idiot?!
This is clearly a handsome guy's smile!
Watch out, kid, or I, Jiraiya, will sue you for slander!!
Jiraiya roared internally.
"Jin, Teacher Jiraiya's smile isn't an idiot's smile. It's the smile of a hero."
Minato gave a thumbs up. Jin felt like he was seeing Might Duy's shadow on him.
It was completely adding fuel to the fire.
"Show me some respect first!"
Jiraiya punched Minato on the head.
Bam!
A bump quickly swelled on Minato's head. Rubbing the bump, he looked at Jiraiya with total confusion.
"I respect Teacher Jiraiya very much."
Why did I get hit?
Minato's cluelessly cute look made Jiraiya sigh. Although this student was a natural airhead, if you cut him open, he must be black inside.
Turning to look at Jin, who was smiling like a fox that stole a chicken, his anger flared up.
"You're the main culprit!"
Jiraiya appeared next to Jin in an instant. He raised his fist and stopped it just above Jin's head, hesitating to bring it down.
He remembered a certain someone's promise.
Seeing Jin smiling so widely his teeth showed, as if expecting something...
He withdrew his hand resentfully. He was genuinely afraid Jin had hidden poison needles on his head.
Jin's previous words were still fresh in his memory.
This was someone who would put poison needles on his head. He was still a little scared.
Jin had trained with Orochimaru for four months. Although Orochimaru wasn't primarily a poison master, he was an expert.
In the village, he was second to none in terms of poisons.
Teaching Jin how to concoct poison and strike people with it was easy.
"Scared, aren't you?"
Seeing Jiraiya hesitate, Jin mocked him wantonly.
"Who's scared?!"
Jiraiya gathered his courage and brought his fist down rapidly towards the top of Jin's head. Unexpectedly, he punched empty air. The person under his fist had vanished.
Turning back, he saw Jin standing with his back to him, turning around to flash a peace sign.
It was speechless. Who is playing around with whom?
But Jiraiya was astonished by this speed.
"So fast."
He hadn't even seen when Jin moved. It was almost like Space-Time Ninjutsu.
Facing Jiraiya's praise, Jin tilted his head and said faintly.
"Rokushiki - Soru - Flash Step." (Shunpo)
An upgraded version of Soru. He hadn't wasted these four months. All his skills had basically leveled up. They were no longer comparable to before.
Ever since the restrictions on his Goldfinger were lifted, his strength had begun to skyrocket.
So his weakness before was all the Goldfinger's fault.
"Don't get cocky, kid!"
Jiraiya's hair grew rapidly, wrapping towards Jin.
Facing the incoming long hair, Jin just smiled indifferently. Unknowingly, his hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
The next moment.
The sword was unsheathed.
In a flash, silver hair danced in the sky.
Jiraiya only saw a flash of sword light. He didn't see the appearance of the opponent's sword clearly at all.
This kind of high-speed Iaijutsu was comparable to Sakumo Hatake.
That was an expert in Kenjutsu. Even the current Jiraiya wouldn't dare face Sakumo Hatake's blade lightly.
Especially that certain pitfall of a taijutsu technique... just thinking about it caused phantom pain in his rear.
"You really didn't waste these four months."
Jiraiya looked at Jin seriously.
With this movement and drawing ability, he was no longer someone Jiraiya could easily knock down.
At the very least, he could go a round or two.
"But I haven't made zero progress either."
Jiraiya appeared beside Jin instantly again. Jin had just sheathed his sword and couldn't react in time.
Without giving Jin any reaction time, the fist fell heavily.
Bam!
Jin squatted down, clutching his head.
"It hurts."
He really hadn't put anything in his hair this time. And the movement technique the opponent used...
Jin looked at Minato with resentful eyes.
Jiraiya used Soru!!
Minato turned his head away subconsciously.
Actually, he didn't teach it. Teacher Jiraiya learned it himself. And the other three styles too.
He hadn't learned many ninjutsu from Jiraiya, but Jiraiya had gained a lot from him.
He didn't know who was teaching whom anymore.
"Haha." Jiraiya laughed with his hands on his hips. "Kid, don't underestimate the Great Jiraiya."
His strength was no small matter now.
That Internal Cultivation had increased his improvement speed significantly.
Just then.
The three looked at the sky simultaneously.
A figure was gradually descending from the air, getting closer and closer.
"That's Kushina, right?"
Jin was a bit puzzled. That red hair was too conspicuous.
"Why is she coming from the sky?"
Minato also looked worried. She'll fall to her death from that height, right?
As Kushina's figure fell to the ground...
BOOM!!
The ground was instantly torn apart by immense force. Dirt and stones splashed in all directions, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A figure leaped out of the dust, flipped in the air, and landed in the middle of the three.
"Kushina Uzumaki! Has arrived!"
Kushina half-crouched on the ground, slowly standing up and adjusting the forehead protector on her forehead.
Jin's face was covered in black lines. With this entrance, those who know might realize it's you. Those who don't would think it's an enemy attack.
Jiraiya and Minato had stars in their eyes. "So cool."
Jin: "That's enough, you guys!!"
Jin looked broken. He felt like he didn't fit in because he wasn't stupid enough.
The reaction of the two made Kushina even more proud. She had racked her brains and begged Tsunade to learn this entrance.
Jiraiya and Minato diligently went up to ask Kushina about her entrance method.
"That's enough!! You guys!!"
Jin hurriedly called a stop. They were a squad gathering, not a fan meeting.
"It's Jin." Seeing Jin, Kushina lifted her head almost to the sky.
"Long time no see. How's your progress?"
Acting like a big sister facing a little brother.
Jin hesitated for a moment.
"Probably not as high as yours. After all, you've learned to look at people with your nostrils."
He really couldn't do that.
"Go to hell!"
Kushina smashed a fist over. Jin's figure flickered and appeared on the other side. The wooden stake behind him took the full brunt of Kushina's punch.
Boom! The entire wooden stake turned into powder.
"Monster Strength (Kairiki), huh."
Jiraiya looked nostalgic. He hadn't endured this for a long time.
Watching the chasing figures before him... one caused destruction wherever her Monster Strength went, while the other was like a phantom that couldn't be touched.
There was still a difference from Jiraiya's past. At least Orochimaru wouldn't mock Tsunade so viciously.
As for him... he was usually insta-killed by Tsunade, with no chase process involved.
"Ahem!"
Jiraiya coughed twice. The two finally stopped and walked over.
"Hmph!" Kushina snorted and turned her head away.
Only then did Jiraiya tell the three about the mission.
"This time we are going to the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire. It's mainly to guard against Iwagakure's surprise attacks. Mostly reconnaissance."
"Any problems?"
"No." The three shook their heads simultaneously.
They really had no opinion on this, as it was their first time leaving the country.
"Then Team 7 is assembled! Move out!"
The remnants of the bitter cold hadn't dissipated yet. The air still carried a chill.
The melting snow revealed the barren land underneath, and the water from the melting snow made the ground muddy.
Team 7 walked on the desolate road.
Konoha was no longer visible behind them.
"Minato, Jin, I got the Summoning Beast that the First Hokage possessed."
Walking in front, Kushina turned back with a proud face.
Jiraiya, leading the way, just smiled knowingly.
Minato hesitated for a moment.
"I also got a very good Summoning Beast."
It was the same Summoning Beast as Teacher Jiraiya.
"Then summon them and let's see whose is stronger."
Kushina, with her strong competitive spirit, wanted to see it right there. Before Minato could refuse, she had already finished the hand seals.
"Summoning Technique."
Poof.
A slug more than two meters tall appeared. Kushina stood on the massive figure.
"Little Kushina, do we need to fight?"
"No, just letting my teammates see!" Kushina raised her head proudly.
This was the Summoning Beast only the First Hokage (Hashirama's wife, Mito) possessed.
Katsuyu: ???
Minato scratched his head and also finished the summoning seals.
Poof!
A toad more than two meters tall also appeared beneath his feet.
Jin, whose height hadn't grown much due to his age, looked up at the two massive figures expressionlessly.
"Hey! Jin! Doesn't Lord Orochimaru have powerful Summoning Beasts too? You didn't fail to sign a contract, did you?!"
Kushina didn't miss a single chance to mock Jin.
"I signed."
Jin walked quickly past the two standing on their Summoning Beasts, not giving Kushina a chance to make trouble.
White smoke rose behind him as he canceled the summons. Kushina and Minato quickly caught up.
"If you don't have one, just say it. I'll definitely mock you properly."
Kushina followed behind with cold ridicule.
Jin suddenly stopped. Kushina almost crashed into his back.
Before Kushina could ask.
Jin gave an order.
"Little White, bite her!"
A white shadow suddenly drilled out of Jin's collar and bit Kushina on the nose.
"Ahhh! My nose is going to fall off! It's falling off!"
Kushina grabbed Little White's body tightly, running back and forth in panic. Not paying attention, she slammed her head into a tree.
"Heh." Jin snorted.
"This is my Summoning Beast!"