Chapter 50 - Yahiko: Sensei, I’m here to learn from you!

“Phew! That was close, I almost lost my life!”

Kabuto wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

In that moment, the opponent’s blade had been mere inches away—just a fraction more and he would have been dead!

“They let you off easy. If they’d gone for a lethal strike, you’d be dead by now.”

Konan also let out a breath of relief.

The blade had been so fast, there was no way to dodge or avoid it.

It was truly terrifying speed!

Fortunately...

“It’s lucky they didn’t pursue. Otherwise, even I wouldn’t have the confidence to escape without alarming too many people.”

The young ninja with orange hair finally caught up with them from behind.

Thinking about the situation from earlier, he couldn’t help but let out a breath, “Sensei’s new student is truly terrifying. By the time he’s our age, he’ll probably be the new Konoha White Fang.”

“I heard Sensei has another student, too. It’s a shame we arrived too late to meet them.”

Yahiko nodded, “I heard he went to Iwagakure.”

He then sighed.

“What a shame!”

Yahiko sighed and sat down in the cave.

“It’s a shame there were so many people. If we had a private meeting, we might have asked them to help us contact Sensei.”

“Why the sudden urge to contact Sensei? You’ve always said that the issues in the Land of Rain should be resolved by us, not by asking Sensei for help.”

Konan asked, confused.

Kabuto also paused and looked at Yahiko.

Over the years, they had been working hard to protect the civilians of the Land of Rain. Along the way, some ninjas who agreed with their ideals had joined them, and Kabuto was one of their comrades.

However, not long ago, Yahiko suddenly said he wanted to go to Takigakure to find Jiraiya.

Konan and Kabuto didn’t understand but still came along.

“Hmm.”

Yahiko thought for a long time before speaking, “I have a feeling, Sensei has changed.”

“Changed?” Konan was puzzled.

Yahiko explained, “Since Konoha sent Sensei to Takigakure to oversee things, it means he’s the one pushing this behind the scenes. The Sensei we knew wouldn’t have done this before.”

He paused for a moment and then shook his head, “No, I shouldn’t say that! What I mean is, it feels like now, the true form of achieving peace is through ‘dialogue,’ so I want to ask Sensei about his current thoughts and philosophy.”

Yahiko’s ideal was to achieve peace between the Land of Rain and the surrounding countries through dialogue and mutual understanding, and to change the tragic fate of the Land of Rain.

The multilateral talks that took place in Takigakure gave him hope!

Konan’s expression changed upon hearing this.

Yahiko, being extremely perceptive, noticed, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just… even though what you said makes sense, I still feel like it’s a bit off. It doesn’t seem like Sensei’s style.”

The speed of that sword!

Yamashiro Konoha rubbed his eyes and then whispered, “Isn’t that guy Kakashi?”

“No, it’s not. Kyōen’s speed is impressive, his timing and targets are perfect, but his swordsmanship... hmm, his basics are very solid.”

Mibutsu Reitō thought for a while, finally finding a more positive term to describe it.

Sunset Red's mouth twitched slightly.

“Really impressive that you spent so much time thinking of that, Kyōen’s been practicing swordplay for only about two months, and his level is still just basic.”

“Two... two months?”

Might Guy, Yamashiro Konoha, and Mibutsu Reitō all immediately turned their heads toward her.

What? Just two months for such a result?

Mibutsu Reitō couldn’t help but grip his sword hilt, biting his lip, with a look of admiration on his face.

Such talent... he wished he had it!

“What are you all talking about? Aren’t you coming in?” Kyōen returned in an instant.

He had just gone out to observe Yahiko and the others’ departure.

The road was filled with traps, and pursuing them wasn’t easy. He decided to turn back.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Sunset Red said, her gaze filled with concern. “Did you get hurt?”

“No, just some non-lethal traps. They probably didn’t want to escalate things.”

After entering and sitting down, they chatted briefly.

The war had only ended a few years ago, and most of the ninjas had already been promoted to Chūnin. Those who had just graduated were still not very powerful.

For security reasons, currently, only the two teams were present.

“Since there aren’t many people, you can rest here for now. We’ll arrange things once Sensei Jiraiya arrives.”

“Okay.”

Evening.

Kyōen had been waiting for Jiraiya’s return but—

He first received a notification from the system.

[Effective Leadership! Well-Managed Personnel!]

[Under your strategic guidance, the village gained compensation and significant fame.]

[Reward: Shadow Clone Technique Level 1 increased.]

Shadow Clone Technique?

Kyōen was taken aback.

Then, he vaguely understood the reason.

Things that benefit the village usually result in an enhancement to one of his jutsu, and this situation didn’t offer much benefit to Konoha.

It was more of a loss for Iwagakure in terms of reputation.

Moreover—

Ōnoki probably didn’t care much about this.

Iwagakure was recovering quickly, and as Jiraiya had said, the pro-war faction had been growing stronger in recent years.

War was inevitable.

Compared to that, the bigger headache might actually be from the Hidden Mist Village.

However...

For Kyōen, the reward was still the most important...

A master-level Shadow Clone Technique might one day enable him to achieve something like Shisui's Body Flicker technique.

In the room, Kyōen carefully pondered the implications of the master-level Shadow Clone Technique.

He had been working on the technique recently but had made little progress. To truly improve, he needed to learn more about Genjutsu, understand and master more of its knowledge and techniques.

That would require dividing his attention significantly.

Now, leveling up the technique would save him some trouble.

“More refined control, guiding chakra to affect the enemy using Genjutsu techniques…”

With that thought, several possibilities appeared in his mind.

At this stage, reaching the level of Shisui’s skill would be difficult, but if his Genjutsu level reached Master rank, it might still be possible.

A reasonable approach would be—

To reduce the number of clones.

Also, integrating Shadow Clones to confuse the enemy.

“Worth a try!”

Kyōen smiled slightly.

“What are you thinking? You’re smiling.”

Just then, Jiraiya’s voice came from outside.

Kyōen snapped back to reality and immediately opened the window.

Jiraiya crouched outside on the eaves, smiling, clearly in a good mood.

When the window opened, he jumped in.

“Sensei, I just had an idea to use the Shadow Clone Technique and Body Flicker together to create a more powerful deceptive effect.”

“Shadow Clones and Body Flicker…”

Jiraiya thought for a moment and quickly understood Kyōen’s idea.

With proper tactical application, it would indeed be terrifying, but it required an extremely high level of mastery in Shadow Clones.

“It requires a very high level of proficiency in Shadow Clones.”

“So, I wanted you to help me see if it’s feasible. Also, Sensei—today there were a few Rain Village ninjas…”

Kyōen then shared his encounter with Kabuto.

At first, Jiraiya didn’t react.

However...

When he heard about the paper jutsu...

He immediately stood up, shock and confusion apparent on his face.

“It’s her... why are they here in Takigakure?”

“Sensei, you know them? No wonder, I felt like they had some sort of objective but no malicious intent. If they’re old acquaintances of yours, that makes sense.”

“Hmm, it’s a post-war matter.”

Jiraiya’s expression was distant, but he still began to recount the past events.

He trusted that Kyōen had mature enough judgment and thinking.

“Hmm, now that you mention it, I wonder... are they here because of the agreement with the Land of Waves?”

“Eh?”

“Using communication and mutual understanding as bridges to achieve peace, isn’t that Yahiko’s ideal you mentioned before?”

“This…”

Jiraiya felt that his recent actions didn’t align much with communication or mutual understanding.

But...

On second thought, there seemed to be a connection, though the approach was more through alliances and using force to compel the other side to agree.

So...

Yahiko came to seek his guidance?

However, Jiraiya’s recent actions were largely influenced by Kyōen.

If he were to meet Yahiko and Konan, should he bring Kyōen along?

Jiraiya looked at Kyōen, his gaze slowly turning odd.