Chapter 25 – Passing the Buck: Jiraiya's Lesson
Konoha, a sake house.
For once, the Legendary Sannin were all gathered together, drinking and chatting.
The dim amber light swayed in their cups of sake. Tsunade's fingers tightened around her ceramic cup, her knuckles pale. In the shadows, Orochimaru's golden slit pupils flickered, like a venomous serpent coiled and waiting.
"I saw it with my own eyes," Jiraiya said, swirling his sake pot, ice clinking against porcelain. "Last week at Training Ground Three—teaching that black-haired brat the Chakra Scalpel, weren't you—"
"That was medical guidance!" Tsunade's voice cracked like a whip, startling the bartender so much he nearly dropped the shaker. She stared into her cup, where a pickled plum pit lay at the bottom. "That kid now…" The familiar taste of iron crept up her throat—Nawaki's bloodied form flashed before her eyes.
Orochimaru's smirk was a whisper of scales across the ear. "Letting someone with hemophobia teach—quite the gamble." A kunai spun between his fingers, biting into the wood of the table. "Why not leave him to me…"
"Don't even think about it!" Two voices overlapped—Jiraiya's palm slammed onto the table, rattling the sake pot until amber liquor dripped through the cracks. Tsunade dabbed at her sleeve with a towel, and only then noticed her hands were shaking.
Outside, drunkards bellowed in the back alley. Moonlight slipped through the sliding door's gap. Jiraiya scratched at his unruly white hair. "Look, if he's already picked up the Chakra Scalpel, then his talent—"
"He needs more than medical ninjutsu," Tsunade cut in sharply, stabbing her chopsticks into a grilled saury. "Yesterday he asked if I knew any lethal taijutsu. That's when I realized…" The fish bones scraped against porcelain with a grating squeal. "I can't teach him any further."
Orochimaru's pupils narrowed. He remembered passing Konoha Hospital three days ago—seeing that same black-haired boy practicing swordwork on the rooftop. The blade slicing the morning mist reminded him of a certain silver-haired man.
The paper lanterns swayed as a draft swept in, snuffing them out. In the dark came Tsunade's muffled voice: "Hey, Jiraiya—why don't you teach him for a while? It's not like you're busy."
Jiraiya froze mid-drink, staring at her like she'd just handed him a live explosive tag.
Before he could protest, Tsunade was already on her feet, tossing coins onto the counter. "Settled. Let's go see him."
Jiraiya was still blinking in disbelief…
---
The river by the training field shimmered with the last light of sunset. Taichi stood on the water's surface, honing his chakra control. A sudden rush of air from behind made him twist mid-leap—three shuriken hissed past his hair, thudding into a tree trunk.
"Reaction time: acceptable." Orochimaru's rasp drifted from the treetops. Tsunade crouched on a boulder by the bank, the gleam of her Chakra Scalpel slicing through the rushing current.
From the left, Jiraiya's Great Fireball roared toward him. Taichi skated backward over the rippling water, steam billowing as flames kissed the river's skin. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" His clear voice cut through the mist—wind wrapped around fire, spiraling into the clouds.
"Nice two-element combo!" Jiraiya laughed, stepping from behind a tree, his forehead protector glinting in the dusk. He noticed the twist of Taichi's wrist—the exact sword stance he'd seen through his spyglass three days ago.
Tsunade seized Taichi by the collar, her Chakra Scalpel at his throat. "What's the first thing a medic-nin protects?" Her breath was warm with sake, but her grip was steady as surgical steel.
"The chakra network," Taichi replied without hesitation. Green light bloomed at his fingertips, striking her elbow joint. The instant their chakra clashed, the river exploded into a spray three meters high.
Orochimaru's slow clap startled a flock of birds from the canopy. "Perfect counter… but…" His tongue flicked across his lips. "You're running thirty percent short on chakra."
When Tsunade released him, Taichi collapsed onto the shallow shore, pebbles biting into his palms. Through the haze of exhaustion, he caught sight of her back trembling in the twilight—the telltale shiver of her blood phobia.
"From today on, he's your problem." She shoved the boy toward Jiraiya. Taichi stumbled into a chest that smelled of sake and fresh ink.
A warm hand pressed down on his shoulder. "Kid, you know what real ninjutsu is?" Jiraiya's other hand flashed through seals, unleashing a blazing vortex that scorched the entire riverbank black.
Fire danced in Taichi's eyes. Compared to his own fire jutsu, Jiraiya's was on another level entirely.
"I…" he began—only to be cut off by Orochimaru's silken hiss: "What form is your Chakra Scalpel at now?"
The air by the river froze. Jiraiya felt the boy's shoulders tense beneath his palm—a reflexive shiver, predator meeting prey.
Taichi's fingers lit with a sharp, unwavering edge of condensed chakra. "Third form—just learned to cut chakra threads." Sweat rolled down his temple from the strain, but his grip on the invisible blade was steady as stone.
Orochimaru's golden slit pupils narrowed in the dusk.
A memory surfaced—one rainy night, Danzō had shown him a Root report containing the note: "Suspected mastery of Yang Release chakra nature transformation."
The light blade before him now was at least thirty percent more refined than the report described.
Jiraiya suddenly broke the tense air with a hearty laugh.
Like a street magician, he pulled out his frog-shaped coin purse.
"As a meeting gift, I'll treat you to ramen tonight!"
The purse spat out three coupons, perfectly covering the chakra threads Orochimaru had quietly extended toward Taichi.
Tsunade's silhouette was already disappearing into the forest.
Taichi looked in her direction and noticed deep finger marks in the rock by the riverbank—at least an inch deep, gouged out bare-handed.
That must have been her way of suppressing her hemophobia… and perhaps why she'd chosen to leave early, before anyone noticed.
"Let's see your chakra control first," Jiraiya said, his voice suddenly serious.
He tapped his foot lightly, sending a perfect ripple circle spreading across the river.
"Like this—stand on the water until the moon rises…"
Before he even finished speaking, Taichi was already balanced steadily atop the crest of a wave.
Moonlight gleamed on his soaked pant legs; his chakra glow was fainter than before, but smoother, more sustained.
Jiraiya's pupils widened slightly—he could see the spinning ripples under the boy's feet, identical to his own water-walking technique.
Orochimaru's cold chuckle drifted over the water.
"An amusing little fellow."
His form dissolved into smoke under the Sound Suppression Technique, the last thing fading away being that icy gaze fixed on Taichi's back.
---
After a round of tests, Jiraiya had a clear grasp of Taichi's abilities—overall, about the level of a newly promoted chunin.
Considering the boy's age and skill in medical ninjutsu, that was nothing short of astonishing.
Training a prodigy like this for a while wouldn't be much trouble.
He then took Taichi to Ichiraku Ramen—Taichi's first time there.
In the past, he couldn't afford it; later, when he had the money, he never had the time.
Today, at last, he'd come to this "landmark" of Konoha.
"Boss, one large tonkotsu ramen," Jiraiya said, turning to Taichi with a grin.
"Order whatever you want—it's my treat."
"I'll have the same," Taichi replied.
"Coming right up! Just a moment!" the owner called back.
While they waited, Jiraiya explained how Tsunade had asked him to take over Taichi's training for the foreseeable future.
Taichi could only respond with a wordless sigh.
Compared to Jiraiya, an outsider, he understood far better what Tsunade had been going through.
From her initial enthusiasm—always watching over his progress—to the gradual signs of impatience…
Sometimes, when he went to find her, the smell of alcohol clung to her.
To be fair, Tsunade had always been meticulous when teaching him—but in other areas… well, not so much.
Maybe she really had grown tired of it, and with Jiraiya conveniently around to take over, she'd just passed the burden along.
Of course, that was only Taichi's private guess—something he would never say aloud.
After all, Tsunade had already done far more for him than most ever would.
---
Meanwhile, at the Konoha Casino…
Tsunade was in her element, dominating the table with her usual swagger.
Crowds gathered around as she bet on "Small" with absolute confidence.
"I don't believe it—there's no way it's big this time!" she declared, pushing her chips forward.
Every other gambler at the table promptly bet on "Big" instead, making the veins in her forehead twitch.
Suddenly, she sneezed—loudly.
"What the—? Don't tell me that brat Taichi is talking about me…" she muttered under her breath.
"Never mind. Dealer—open it!" she barked, throwing herself right back into her glorious "money-losing career."
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