chapter 94 part 5
Tsukasa Kaede said, "I just said it, didn't I, Minato? You can't kill him, so go ahead and do it confidently. Training him is also training some of your own Jutsu Formulas; you can confidently use them."
At this time, Minato, whose Ninjutsu couldn't kill Hidan and who didn't know Reaper Death Seal—though he wouldn't use it even if he did—realized this meant he could attack freely.
"Is that so? No wonder Lord Tsukasa Kaede said he could cultivate you into a self-reliant Ninja in just a few months. Besides your Immortality, you must have other methods, right? You can use them on me too."
Minato held a Kunai in one hand and opened his other hand into a claw shape. "Then I won't hold back. Although this Jutsu isn't complete yet, if I can use it in battle, I'm sure I'll accumulate some good experience... Rasengan!"
Visibly, Chakra rotated violently, but it was extremely loose. Minato pressed it forcefully onto Hidan's abdomen.
"Waaahhhhh!!!"
Hidan's entire body spun backward, letting out a series of screams with varying pitches, eventually slamming into a wooden post and crashing to the ground.
The damaged marks on his upper body's clothes were also extremely unique, forming circular patterns.
"It looks like it succeeded." Minato clenched his fist, somewhat excited, but the power seemed far off... He needed to further compress the Chakra, and he was temporarily stuck there.
"So painful, so painful, so painful!!"
Hidan sprang up, furious, and once again chopped at Minato with his Scythe. The two continued to entangle and stalemate like this. Meanwhile, Minato used the Rasengan many times, each time creating a lot of commotion, but without producing any actual results.
Tsukasa Kaede watched the entire exchange between the two guys.
"It's completely indistinguishable who would win. Fighting like this, either one side actively retreats, or we see whose Chakra runs out first and can't hold on." Tsukasa Kaede found this kind of battle a bit boring, but Hidan's Taijutsu level was indeed visibly improving.
Repeatedly brutalized by someone like Minato Namikaze, and Hidan strongly disliked enduring pain, even the most stubborn head would start to adapt, not to mention Hidan's perception in Taijutsu wasn't actually low.
Both of them were immersed in their own worlds, improving their respective skills.
Tsukasa Kaede watched this scene, and the Third Hokage observed it through his Crystal Ball.
"He truly is an Immortal Ninja. I didn't see Tsukasa Kaede performing any Jutsu midway. Could it be that Hidan's ability doesn't originate from Tsukasa Kaede?"
The Third Hokage felt that there were simply too many secrets in the Shinobi World; all sorts of things always appeared that surprised even him.
Fortunately, such a special Ninja belonged to Konoha. The Third Hokage was also very curious: Hidan couldn't become the kind of Ninja Tsukasa Kaede spoke of with just Immortality alone. What other abilities had he not used yet?
Was it some kind of mutual annihilation Ninjutsu? Hmm, cover himself with Explosive Tags, then rush towards the enemy to die together... And he wouldn't die even if shattered to pieces?
"And Minato, this child is becoming more and more excellent. He quietly developed the prototype of a powerful Ninjutsu—a Hand Kaedegn-less Ninjutsu activated instantly. What a genius idea. These past few years, without Jiraiya's guidance, he has already achieved very good results on his own."
The Third Hokage sighed with emotion. As he aged, every time he saw outstanding juniors emerging in the Village, he always felt as if he had gained some vitality out of thin air.
He watched Minato, immersed in battle and experimenting with new Ninjutsu, and pondered, hesitating whether or not to tell Tsukasa Kaede to teach Minato the Spatial Rift Jutsu. Being both rare Space-Time Ninjutsu, there presumably existed certain commonalities.
Although Minato certainly couldn't learn the Spatial Rift Jutsu, by learning by analogy, he might gain something and further develop the Flying Raijin Jutsu.
He just didn't know if Tsukasa Kaede would be willing to do this.
At this moment, a Ninja guarding the gate came to the Hokage's Office to report.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Jiraiya has returned!"
"Is that so? Jiraiya has finally returned. It seems he also went through a struggle of thought."
The Third Hokage was somewhat delighted. It was good that he was back; as long as he was willing to return, some unpleasant matters could be completely forgotten, and many things would cease to be issues.
Even if Jiraiya had implicitly played an inglorious role in many previous matters, indirectly facilitating Mito Uzumaki's death.
For the Third Hokage, this was not an unforgivable matter. As long as Jiraiya was willing to come back, everything was negotiable.
Jiraiya walked on the noisy street, watching the bustling traffic, his spirit somewhat dazed. His already uneasy heart was now even more filled with timidity.
Ordinary Ninja and villagers didn't know what he had done, but would the Village's Higher-ups not know? He had discovered and concealed Intel about the Rinnegan, but in the end, he couldn't hide it from the Village, nor from Mount Myōboku.
Jiraiya recalled the scene of warm greetings after the two Sages met Nagato, and his mouth felt bitter.
How had things gradually turned into this awful mess? The people who least should know all knew, and all his initial expectations were shattered.
The only thing to be thankful for was that he had taught Nagato for three years, and Nagato now had enough strength to protect himself. Provided he stayed a bit low-key and didn't provoke powerful individuals like Hanzo, saving his life wouldn't be an issue.
"In this situation, Mount Myōboku will keep a close eye on Nagato. If I hadn't stopped them, they would have directly signed a Summoning contract with Nagato."
The so-called Child of Prophecy, whose future path was caught between Konoha and Mount Myōboku, must have become completely unrecognizable by now, right? Nagato's path would become even more arduous and unpredictable.
"But, I didn't expect the Great Elder Toad Sage to actually know the Sage of Kaedex Paths. If the Sage of Kaedex Paths was the previous person who changed the Shinobi World, then Nagato is the current person who will reform the Shinobi World..."
Jiraiya actually understood Mount Myōboku's actions. They wanted to continue to seize the trend of the times and ensure Mount Myōboku's existence and prosperity amidst raging waves.
"I'll wait a bit longer. I also want to see what path Nagato will ultimately choose in the future; this point is very important... I'll go see the old man first, and then chat with Minato. Speaking of which, I originally thought Minato would be the Child of Prophecy."
Jiraiya gave a self-deprecating smile. There should only be one Child of Prophecy, right? Could there be several?
(end of chapter)