A few more days slip by as my boredom increase.
Time spent mostly practicing my new ninjutsu, chakra control and striking logs.
Training, eating, sleeping, and doing it all over again had become the rhythm of my life. Funny thing was, I didn't mind it. It was… peaceful, in its own way.
But that wouldn't always last.
The threat of the second shinobi war loomed over my head. Despite it going to rage on in two decades, the feeling of needing to get stronger was there.
When I first woke up in this world, I was barely keeping up with the basics. My chakra was a mess, my control was laughable, and my weapons looked like they'd been sitting in a rust pit for years.
Now, I could actually call myself a Genin. My stats if I could call them that had finally evened out and are even.
I tugged lightly at the mesh shirt under my jacket real chain mail, the kind Anko and Naruto used to wear.
Hiruzen bought it for us.
It was more for us to get used to the movement wearing them in the future.
When I reached the training grounds that morning, Tsunade and Orochimaru were already there, both standing in that usual calm, confident way. Hiruzen-sensei stood ahead of us, and when his eyes met mine, he gave a small approving nod.
"Jiraiya," he said, his tone calm but warm. "Your chakra has increased considerably since joining the team. You're turning into quite the capable all-rounder."
"Thank you, Sensei," I chuckle out. "I've been working hard!"
"I can tell," he said with a faint smile.
We spent the next few minutes warming up. With some stretches as Orochimaru was quiet as always, was even better than Tsunade. Tsunade stretched with casual confidence, occasionally glancing at me with that grin that always seemed halfway between teasing and genuine amusement.
"So stiff Jiraiya, need a hand?" She teases stretching her leg to an ungodly degree.
'What the fuck,' I thought in horror knowing that if I even tried a little bit of that stretch. Something would pop, while not sure what it would be. It wouldn't any good that's for sure.
"Stay away from me." I mutter my body shivering a little as she laughed at my plight.
"It's not that bad trust me!"
Trusting her was like giving her older self money and not expect that amount to be gambled .
Yeah maybe in the next life it would be possible.
"Trusting you is the problem princess. I couldn't leave you with a single Ryo before you lost it."
Orochochimaru who was next to the both of us, overheard our words and started to join in the conversation. It was an improvement from the first few weeks as now he talked a lot more to us.
Maybe eating lunch after every training session with my team worked out.
"Tsunade where did your mission money go? You said to sensei you needed more." Orochimaru innocently asked which shut her up. Hearing this I laugh out loud causing her to get mad.
This was stopped by a well placed smack on the head by Hirzen.
When Hiruzen finally spoke again, his voice carried that teacher's authority that made everyone straighten automatically. "Today, we'll review your ninjutsu progress. I want to see what you've learned and how much your control has improved."
We each took turns standing before Hiruzen-sensei. Orochimaru went first, of course. Always calm, precise, like he had everything rehearsed in his head hours before.
He made the hand signs effortlessly, then threw a single shuriken high into the air.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."
In a puff of smoke, the lone shuriken split into several copies, all cutting through the air with a sharp whistle before burying into the target log behind Sensei.
*Thunk thunk thunk*
Even from this distance, you could hear the metallic thunks in rapid succession.
Hiruzen looked surprised, his expression pleased. "Excellent control, Orochimaru."
"Way to go, Orochimaru!" Tsunade cheered from the side.
He just gave a curt nod and began collecting his shuriken.
I stepped up next, scratching my head awkwardly. "Guess it's my turn."
My performance wasn't as fancy. A mix of [Body Enhancement], some decent taijutsu strikes and chakra bursts was able to dent the practise logs badly. It was godly feeling.
I'm now a super human!
Hiruzen gave an approving nod while rubbing his chin. "You've developed that technique well, Jiraiya. We will work on your taijutsu and chakra control more later."
"I've been practising, Sensei. Nearly broke my wrist the first time," I mutter, flexing my hand.
Tsunade went last, demonstrating her growing control over chakra flow, punching a log and leaving a crater in the dirt. Even Hiruzen blinked at that.
"Hah, take that Jiraiya!," Tsunade grinned while Hiruzen just sighed.
"Nobody cares!" I shout back causing her eyes to narrow.
The whole thing wrapped up not long after, and as Sensei started jotting down notes in his small scroll, I decided to shoot my shot.
"Sensei, I've been trying to learn the [Body Flicker], but I can't seem to figure out the control. I get the theory about fast movement through chakra bursts but I keep eating dirt."
Tsunade snorted. "That's not new."
"I'll deal with you later."
Hiruzen turned to me, amused at my response. "The Body Flicker isn't something to brute-force. Think of it like a slingshot."
My brows rose. "Slingshot?"
"Yes. You gather chakra throughout your body evenly, but heavier in your legs. The more you pull back the 'string,' the greater the release. Too much, and you'll overshoot. Too little, and you'll barely move. Bad control and you might hurt yourself/miss the target. The key lies in practise and chakra control."
I nodded quickly, pulling out the small notebook from my pouch.
That information clicked surprisingly well.
The mental image was so much clearer than any of the vague descriptions I'd read before. My hand moved fast across the page.
Slingshot → equal distribution → equal chakra through the body → smooth release.
Tsunade peered over my shoulder. "You taking notes now?"
"Yeah."
"You're not like Orochimaru, Jiraya. I'm surprised you can even write."
"Well where are you're notes? Are you stupid, princes?"
While we bickered. Hiruzen was casually watching, hands behind his back. Orochimaru nodded in quiet acknowledgment. Tsunade grinned confidently. The next few weeks were definitely gonna be spent on the body flicker.
...
The next morning, Hiruzen-sensei stood before us with his arms folded and that teacher's smile that usually meant trouble.
"Today," he began, "You'll learn the tree-walking exercise. This can improve chakra control, works as physical conditioning and is a crucial shinobi skill. How do you think Shinobi are able to effectively move everywhere?"
He demonstrated first, walking up a tree like it was flat ground. When he stopped upside down on a branch and smiled down at us, I already knew this was going to hurt.
"Lets head to a different training ground where theres hay sheets to smoothen your fall."
"That sounds great!" I cheer at sensei's thinking.
Tsunade went first, focusing chakra into her feet. Her first few steps were shaky, but within first try she was halfway up the trunk before falling. By the second attempt the already aced the practise which made me sweat a little.
'What a suprise.' I sarcasticly think to myself.
Of course, she had to turn around and smirk. "Hey Jiraiya, don't fall behind!"
"You're lucky the treed didn't come back down with you!" I retort as a red hue was now on her face. The lack of concentration was immediate as she slipped and fell right into the hay sheets.
Watching this, Orochimaru and I laughed as he was a bit more quiet than me.
"HAHA!"
This laughter didn't last though as Orochimaru and I couldn't do this exercise in even the first ten tries. We proceeded to fail and fail as Tsunade laughed from the back which was amusing to say the least.
'A dedicated hater is basically a fan.'
But by midday, after more falls than I could count, something clicked.
The chakra in my feet stopped slipping. My steps grew lighter, more stable. When I finally reached the top and stood proudly next to Orochimaru, I couldn't help shouting, "Ha! Knew I could do it!"
Taking the time, I check my panel.
---
[Body]
Strength: Genin
Speed/Agility: Genin
Stamina: High Genin
Chakra Reserves: High Genin
Chakra Control: Genin > High Genin
---
Orochimaru who was bellow gave me a thumbs up which I returned.
Hiruzen and Tsunade were somehwere else training water walking. Making our way to the lake we spot the now drenched princess who seemed to be hating the water.
Snickering at her situation, I whisper to Orochimaru.
"Yo, sensei's summoning jutsu." These words making his eyes gain stars as it was now time to note down the hand signs for a certain jutsu.
"Sensei," Orochimaru's calm voice broke through my thoughts. "That summoning jutsu you used last week the one that called the monkey… what kind of technique was it?"
Hiruzen looked up from where he was observing Tsunade. "Ah, that. It's a summoning contract technique. Through a blood pact and chakra link, you can summon creatures from another realm. Mine happens to be the Monkey Clan."
I leaned in a little from my spot, pretending to be busy scribbling but really listening to every word.
Tsunade turned mid-step on the water, curious as well. "So… you just use chakra and blood? That's it?"
"Not quite," Hiruzen said, smiling faintly. "There's a set of hand seals. Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, and Ram. Form those, channel your chakra, and mark the ground with your blood. The rest depends on the contract itself."
I quickly flipped open a blank page in my notebook, pretending to doodle while jotting that down.
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram.
Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully, his eyes gleaming in quiet interest. "I see. Thank you, Sensei." As he turned back to his kunai practice, I closed my notebook, my heart thumping just a little faster.
Was my idea reckless?
Extremely.
Even right now I'm a bit hesitant to do it, but why should I delay it? I want to train in senjutsu as soon as possible. The rush in my heart because of the futures battles I will face is still here so it couldn't be helped.
Fuck it we ball type shit.
I grinned to myself.
When Sensei finally dismissed us, the sun was already dipping behind the trees. Training was over for the day.
Tsunade stretched her arms high, letting out a groan. "Finally done. I'm starving."
"Fatty," I muttered, brushing dirt off my knees.
She shot me a glare. "And you're always complaining."
Orochimaru, ever the peacekeeper, spoke up. "We could grab a meal together. There's a new stand near the market."
Tsunade perked up instantly. "I'm in!"
I hesitated, tugging at the strap of my pouch. "Sorry, maybe another time. I've… got something to take care of."
Both of them looked at me suspiciously. Tsunade smirked. "Oh? Trying to leave now are we..."
I grinned faintly. "Maybe it's because of you. Next time, dinner's on me." I say with a deadpan tone.
While annoyed these words seemed to satisfy her. She pointed a finger at me. "You better keep that promise."
"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving them off as they walked ahead.
Once they were gone, I took a deep breath and moved to the far edge of the training ground. The grass was still damp, the air heavy with the smell of dirt and sweat. Perfect place to make mistakes in peace.
Pulling out my notebook, I flipped to the last page I'd written on. The seals stared back at me like a dare.
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram.
My pulse quickened. "Alright… how hard can it be?"
Well it was very hard...
For starters making myself bite my finger to the point of bleeding was difficult. Especially since I'm a little bitch at times. This made it so it took me at least half an hour of just gagging on my finger.[1]
But eventually I mustered up the courage.
*Cck*
Smearing the blood on my palm like sensei, I start to do the hand signs.
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram.
My chakra flared unevenly still not perfect, but good enough, I hoped. Then I crouched down, pressing my palm to the earth.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The world exploded into smoke.
The last thing I heard before my vision warped was a distant, panicked voice "Jiraiya, no! Don't-"
Then everything went white.
...
When the smoke cleared, the scent hit me first of damp moss, heavy mist, the faint croak of frogs echoing somewhere in the distance.
I blinked.
"Did I make it?" I mutter still a little dizzy
The forest around me was alien. Towering mushrooms, ponds that glowed faintly in the dim light, and massive stone slabs shaped like lily pads. It seemed like the right place!
Mount Myōboku.
But instead of a massive toad fighting a snake I half-expected, two figures stood before me. Both short, both unmistakably… old.
'Ma and Pa.'
I froze, still crouched, bloodied hand pressed to the ground. "Uh… hi?"
The male toad adjusted his shawl, peering at me with bright, intelligent eyes. "Welcome, young one. We've been expecting you," he croaked.
Suddenly mid sentence, a wave of weakness hit my body.
'Oh shit, that took a bit of chakra to do.'
[1] He doesn't need blood unless he has a summon. But I didn't remember this from the top of my head so he shouldn't either lol. "Character development"