Jiraiya first taught Nagato and Yahiko a simple C-rank Water Release technique.
Standing on the surface of the sea, he formed hand seals, raised two fingers to his mouth, and shouted, "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A huge water ball spewed from his mouth and shot toward the distant surface of the sea, stirring up massive waves.
"Amazing!" Yahiko's eyes sparkled with awe as he exclaimed at the scene.
Jiraiya smiled. He definitely counted as a qualified teacher. He carefully explained to Yahiko and Nagato how to perform the technique step by step.
After finishing his explanation, he gave them time to explore and practice it on their own. To begin teaching ninjutsu just one day after starting chakra molding training was an extremely fast pace, but he had no choice.
This wasn't Konoha, and Yahiko and the others weren't villagers of Konoha. He couldn't stay here for long. So he had to teach them everything he could as quickly as possible.
Even Jiraiya himself didn't know when he might be summoned back to the village.
Meanwhile, he was also guiding Konan in developing her innate paper manipulation ability.
She was an exceptionally smart girl, she often understood everything with just the slightest guidance from Jiraiya. While Yahiko was still struggling to grasp the technique, Nagato had already successfully performed it.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A water ball shot out from Nagato's mouth and hit the sea, creating ripple after ripple that spread outward.
Jiraiya was surprised at the scene before him.
He succeeded on the first try?
He looked into Nagato's eyes, and deep in his heart he couldn't help but marvel: As expected of the Rinnegan wielder.
"I can't fall behind!"
Seeing that Nagato had already mastered the technique, Yahiko felt a sudden surge of urgency and determination.
He took a deep breath and began practicing with even more effort, repeating the technique over and over based on Jiraiya's earlier explanation.
Shiratori blinked. The moment Jiraiya demonstrated the technique, he had already activated Copy.
Perhaps because the technique involved activating a kind of cursed energy, Jiraiya hadn't noticed a thing. After all, the cursed energy flowed through him differently than chakra would.
This body had been altered into Yuta's physiology, so his innate techniques were embedded deep into his very being. His hands moved on their own, copying Jiraiya's Water Release technique, driven by his truest inner desire.
He stopped his training and ran over to Jiraiya.
"What's wrong?"
Jiraiya saw him approach and thought he had encountered difficulties in his physical training.
Shiratori pressed his lips together, glanced longingly at the sea, and asked hopefully, "That technique just now... can I try it?"
Jiraiya didn't react immediately. It wasn't until Yahiko and Nagato's gazes turned to Shiratori that Jiraiya finally caught on, he wants to try ninjutsu?
But that was impossible! He didn't even have chakra.
He looked at the boy with regret, but when his eyes met those sparkling, hopeful eyes, he found himself unable to say no.
So, he pushed down the bitter feeling in his chest and said softly, "Go ahead and try."
He just hoped the attempt wouldn't hurt the boy.
That was exactly the sentence Shiratori had been waiting for. His body moved instinctively. The Water Release technique felt so familiar, it was as if he had used it countless times before, his movements were smooth and effortless.
His hand seals formed with incredible speed.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A massive water ball crashed into the surface of the sea. The towering splash drenched all five people on the shore, leaving them soaked to the bone.
"..."
Jiraiya was so stunned that he didn't even manage to dodge in time.
He stood frozen in the wind, completely disoriented. His entire worldview had just been shattered. The understanding he had built of the shinobi world over the years had now collapsed into ruins.
He looked at the still-turbulent sea, then back at Shiratori beside him.
Is this normal?
Is this even possible?
Am I dreaming?
No chakra… but he could still use ninjutsu?
How is that even possible?
He was certain this ninjutsu had not been performed using chakra.
First of all, Shiratori didn't have any chakra.
Second, the energy fluctuation didn't match chakra at all.
Within his sensory range, there was no trace of that familiar energy.
Which meant: this was a foreign force, one similar to chakra, but not chakra.
He replayed the scene in his mind and filed away another piece of critical intel. And not only that, this mysterious force was just as powerful as chakra.
"How... how did you do that?" he crouched down and asked seriously.
Yahiko and the others looked over curiously. But they didn't seem nearly as shocked as Jiraiya was. Because they didn't yet know that chakra was supposed to be the only source of power in the world. They hadn't developed the kind of framework for understanding the shinobi world that he had.
So to them, Shiratori's display was something they could easily accept, just like how they had easily accepted Rika's existence back then.
"I watched it once... and then just followed what you did. I felt a power inside me pushing me to do it," Shiratori said, mixing truth with chosen words. His glanced nervously at Jiraiya's expression, looking a bit afraid.
Jiraiya realized his demeanor might have frightened the child. He gently patted Shiratori's shoulder to comfort him. But in his mind, those words were still playing on a loop: "Watched it once?"
The boy could perform the technique after seeing it just once?
Jiraiya lowered his gaze, and a thought took root in his mind. To verify his hunch, he stood up and said, "I'll perform another ninjutsu. Let's see if you can... learn it?"
He hesitated even using the word "learn," because Shiratori's speed was practically instant replication, not a learning process.
He quickly formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
This wasn't a C-rank technique, it was B-rank.
His hand seal speed was fast, and unlike before, he gave no explanation. If the boy could still learn and replicate it under these conditions, he would be nearly certain of one thing.
Just like before with the Water Release, as soon as Shiratori formed the desire to perform the technique, his muscle memory seemed to take over, and his hands moved at lightning speed.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
A sharp blade of wind shot out from his mouth.
The blade-like stream of air pierced forward instantly, slicing the waves before him in two. When the effect ended, the water surged back together again, swallowing all traces of what had just happened.
He looked toward Jiraiya, whose pupils trembled.
His face and eyes were filled with only one emotion: shock.
This... this is insane.