"Honestly, this is quite a tricky situation. Are you interested in becoming a Jinchuriki?"
"A Jinchuriki?" Mizuki thought for a moment and shook his head. "I prefer to be in total control of my own strength. The idea of having a wild, uncontrollable force inside me just unsettles me."
"In that case, I can't really help. If you're unable to sense natural energy yourself, then you'll need a medium. If you're willing, we could use frog oil. Considering your sealing technique skills, dealing with its volatility outside Mount Myoboku shouldn't be too hard."
"I'd rather stick with the way things are and keep using tailed beast chakra." After some thought, Mizuki declined Jiraiya's suggestion. "Thanks for thinking of me, Lord Jiraiya."
"Guess I didn't really end up helping after all."
Just as Mizuki and Jiraiya's conversation was drawing to a close, a knock suddenly came at the door.
"You in there, Mizuki?"
"It's Kakashi? Come in, been waiting for you."
Kakashi pushed open the door and walked in, seeing Mizuki and Jiraiya sitting opposite each other.
"Sorry, just got back. Talks about tonight's meeting with Kiri went longer than planned."
"Looks like our chat'll have to wait, Mizuki. We can talk more later. Right now, I've got things to handle." Jiraiya then turned to Kakashi and said, "You sit down too. We need to discuss current affairs regarding the Land of Water and Kirigakure."
...
In Mizuki's room, Kakashi Hatake was troubled by the intelligence brought by Jiraiya.
"Lord Jiraiya, the possibility you mentioned—about Kirigakure's policy shift potentially strengthening their forces—is actually something Mizuki predicted as well..."
"Oh really...?"
Jiraiya glanced at Mizuki, nodded approvingly, and continued,
"It seems Tsunade made a wise choice sending both of you out here. But I must emphasize—the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi is an extraordinary woman, second only to Tsunade herself. When devising countermeasures, remember to account for this powerful kage who holds real authority over Kirigakure."
"Yes, we had already considered that angle."
After a moment's thought, Jiraiya continued, "Concerning what I told you earlier, I've already explained Kiri's actual problems. Their original two tailed beasts—Three-Tails remains dormant since the death of Fourth Mizukage Yagura and won't awaken again for another three years, which will definitely cause huge troubles for them when they eventually search for and attempt to recapture it. As for Six-Tails' jinchuriki Utakata, he Rampaged during an incident, killing his mentor Harusame before abandoning the village, and now he's being pursued relentlessly. However, as you saw yourselves, unless Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi personally intervenes, chances of retrieving the Six-Tails jinchuriki are practically nil. Their strength might actually be much weaker than we imagined."
"So should we get involved directly then?" Mizuki suggested. "Like offering help in return for something?"
"No need," Jiraiya shook his head. "Being overly enthusiastic toward allies isn't always wise, especially when Kirigakure hasn't requested aid themselves."
The unspoken agreement between the Five Great Nations and their ninja villages must not be broken. Don't provoke unnecessary trouble."
"However," Kakashi felt slightly convinced by Mizuki's suggestion, "it's not a good situation to have the Six-Tails jinchuriki wandering freely. Even though Akatsuki has temporarily halted their operations, they might still target this isolated jinchuriki."
"Kakashi, it's not worth risking the established order for a potential threat. Offering help now would only raise suspicions about our motives. Compared to Kirigakure, Konoha is currently too strong. It's better not to say too much."
Mizuki interjected appropriately, "This exchange seems like we were overly cautious. There was absolutely no need to send such a powerful team here. With Lord Jiraiya and Kakashi Hatake around, I really didn't need to come along."
"Haha, Mizuki, are you complaining? You were supposed to be taking it easy back home, not getting stuck with mission duty." Their conversation gradually lightened.
"You're speaking the brutal truth now, aren't you?"
"Haha, Kakashi does have a point..." Jiraiya burst into laughter. "Mizuki, I heard you just got married recently. Tsunade can be pretty heartless—acting like she doesn't care about young people at all, even at her age..."
He broke into another cheerful laugh afterward.
"Lord Jiraiya, there's no way I'd dare say something like that to Lady Tsunade."
"You're afraid, but so am I. Afraid of Tsunade's iron fists. Haha." Jiraiya reached into his robe and pulled out a small scroll. "I couldn't make it to your wedding day, so consider this a belated gift." He handed over the scroll.
"Thank you very much." Mizuki received the gift with surprise. "May I open it to look?"
"Of course!"
"In that case, excuse me." Eagerly, Mizuki unrolled the scroll.
After seeing the title written inside, his expression changed slightly.
"[A-Rank Fire Release Ninjutsu — Great Fire Annihilation!] Lord Jiraiya, this gift is simply too valuable."
Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, never failed to impress; even an ordinary item from him turned out to be an A-ranked technique.
"Just keep it. This isn't an easy jutsu to master—it demands top-notch Fire Attribute nature transformation and extremely precise chakra control, not to mention the immense amount of chakra it consumes. Ordinary shinobi couldn't handle it. Your chakra naturally aligns with the Fire Attribute, so combining it with Sage Mode will work perfectly. With added natural energy, its power comes surprisingly close to S-ranked techniques."
"In that case, thank you indeed. However, such a precious gift demands a return favor."
Thinking for a moment, Mizuki took out a different scroll and handed it to Jiraiya.
"What's this?" Curiously, Jiraiya weighed the object in his hand.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu—with some personal insights added. It enables partial control over the chakra contained within each Shadow Clone. The better your chakra control, the greater the range in adjusting chakra proportions across clones. I consider it quite a practical little skill."
"Now that's actually pretty clever—I'll gladly take it."
"Your technique does have merit, but it still pales in comparison to the A-rank ninjutsu Jiraiya just used. Still, I suppose you could say it's somewhat of a fitting response.
"Now that we've had quite a lengthy conversation, shouldn't we start preparing for tonight?"
Kakashi Hatake remarked at just the right moment.
Just as he finished speaking, the entire room trembled violently, and a clamor erupted from outside.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>