Chapter 39 – Neither Side Can Have It? I Get It Now!

A familiar courtyard.

Kyōen returned home, emotions stirring in his chest.

As he stepped through the door, he was momentarily stunned. Though he had been away for a few days, the place wasn’t nearly as messy as he’d expected. On the contrary, it had been improved with additional setups.

There were more sandbags now.

And in certain areas of the yard, some things had been planted...

Herbs?

However, the front door and windows were still covered in dust, suggesting no one had actually entered the house.

Kyōen stepped inside. After doing some light cleaning in his room—

“Man, I’m exhausted.”

Rather than train right away, he went to the study and began searching. After a long while, he finally found the book he was looking for:

"Kenjutsu Notes."

Swordsmanship.

He flipped it open. Inside were the compiled sword techniques of Tobirama Senju.

Judging by the concepts and ideas within, many later techniques like Dance of the Crescent Moon and Konoha-ryū: Yanagi all stemmed from Tobirama’s sword philosophy.

“White Fang’s style is all about assassination—swift and deadly strikes.”

“Tobirama’s approach, on the other hand, incorporates genjutsu and ninjutsu to create openings—then finish the enemy in one clean blow.”

“Even the Flying Thunder God Slash serves a similar function.”

As his enemy, Madara's infamous description of Tobirama as "underhanded" was actually the highest praise for his tactical prowess.

But what about himself?

Kyōen finished reading and pondered deeply.

He didn’t plan to specialize in kenjutsu.

To him, the sword was a tool for training and tempering his skills.

That said, White Fang’s style seemed to have improved his reflexes and proficiency with ninja tools.

“No, to be exact… it’s enhanced my reaction speed and attack speed.”

Kyōen thought carefully and reached a conclusion.

White Fang’s swordsmanship and combat philosophy demanded sharp judgment, blazing-fast reactions, and incredible speed when striking.

Such qualities weren’t something Kakashi naturally possessed.

Whereas someone like Minato Namikaze, with his godlike speed, could wield them with ease.

That’s innate talent.

If Kakashi had similar natural gifts, he wouldn’t have needed the Sharingan to control Chidori to a usable degree in battle.

Of course—

Kakashi’s talent wasn’t bad by any means, but compared to Minato or White Fang, he was a tier lower.

“I definitely don’t have White Fang’s talent in this regard.”

“So…”

“I need to combine the strengths of both styles to compensate for my weaknesses. That’s the only way I’ll be strong enough before the next war breaks out!”

Right now, the shinobi world seemed to be in a brief period of peace, but under the surface, tensions and skirmishes were everywhere.

It wasn’t just Konoha and Kirigakure—every village had their own conflicts.

War could break out at any moment.

Kyōen couldn’t afford to rely on the timeline he knew from the original series and wait around.

He’d rested enough.

Time to train!

Kyōen headed downstairs to continue his routine.

By evening, seven or eight sandbags attacked him from all directions. He quickly knocked away three with a burst of speed, then ducked through a gap and escaped to the outer edge.

But with his growing strength and familiarity with the process, this level of training no longer helped much.

He needed to build a new mechanism—one his shadow clones could operate.

That night, Kyōen went to bed early.

However—

He suddenly jolted awake, instinctively grabbing a kunai and dashing to the window.

And then—

“You’re in the middle of the village—why are you still this cautious, kid?”

Jiraiya pushed the window open.

Kyōen blinked.

“Sensei?”

He sheathed the kunai, puzzled. “It’s so late. Why’re you here instead of resting?”

“Wanted to talk.”

Jiraiya looked around somewhat awkwardly. “Got a moment?”

“Of course.”

Kyōen got up and followed him outside. Jiraiya sat atop the rooftop, under the bright moonlight.

He had a bottle of sake in one hand and juice in the other. When he saw Kyōen, he patted the spot beside him.

Kyōen sat down.

Jiraiya looked like something was weighing on him.

“You get juice.”

“Okay.”

Kyōen accepted the drink and took a sip—orange juice.

Pretty good.

Jiraiya drank, then slowly began talking.

The topic—

The usual talk about peace.

Same old rhetoric.

Kyōen wasn’t surprised. With Jiraiya’s personality, if the conflict had been between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind instead of the Land of Waves and Kirigakure, he might’ve hesitated and not intervened at all.

But the Land of Water, and Kirigakure, were different beasts.

Trying to talk peace with them was like playing music to a stone.

His current hesitation likely stemmed in part from Hiruzen’s influence, and partly from worry that if Konoha clashed with Kirigakure over the Land of Waves, it might spark a bigger war and put Konoha at risk.

It was a reasonable concern.

Kyōen listened quietly.

Then Jiraiya said, “Kyōen, you’re different from the other kids. You’ve always had surprising thoughts and words. What do you think—hah, forget it. You already told me we should intervene.”

He sipped again as he spoke.

It wasn’t so much a conversation anymore—Jiraiya was really just sorting out his own thoughts aloud.

He just needed someone to listen.

Still…

Wasn’t Minato in the village?

Oh well. Maybe he could even make a profit off this somehow.

Kyōen narrowed his eyes and suppressed his sleepiness.

As a kid, being woken up in the middle of the night was brutal—but Jiraiya’s inner conflict wasn’t something a single suggestion could solve.

His heart was too full of uncertainty.

Fortunately, Jiraiya’s ideals about peace weren’t fully solidified yet. There was still time.

As for Sarutobi Hiruzen, that old fossil—

Kyōen didn’t give a damn if he dropped dead.

He kept listening quietly.

When Jiraiya finally finished and let out a long sigh, Kyōen finally spoke:

“Sensei, what you’re really worried about is—Konoha doesn’t have enough strength right now. If we interfere in the Land of Waves and end up in a fight with Kirigakure, that might lead to a bigger conflict, and we could get targeted by other villages too. Right?”

“Yeah… that’s part of it.”

Jiraiya nodded.

Kyōen said, “I don’t know anything about village management or the grand scale of ninja world politics. But when I was a kid and got into fights, I’d just call a bunch of friends to gang up on the other guy. Worst case, I’d bribe them with candy.”

“Why try to reason with someone like Kirigakure? They’re just a bunch of psychos.”

Jiraiya was momentarily stunned—and then laughed out loud.

Candy...

Such a childish tactic—but actually pretty effective.

Kids couldn’t resist candy. But conflicts between nations and ninja villages weren’t nearly so simple.

Jiraiya chuckled.

“Got any more bright ideas? Keep going.”

“If it were up to me, I’d treat the Land of Waves like a training ground. I want to train there, someone else does too. But unlike them, I’m not trying to hog it all—so I’d just rally everyone else who doesn’t want it monopolized and take him down.”

“Gang up on him together, huh…”

Jiraiya frowned slightly.

The Land of Waves had a unique position in maritime trade, but that mostly mattered to the Land of Fire and Land of Water. Other countries didn’t gain much from it.

How could they be convinced to help?

If anyone, Kumogakure might be the key.

They wouldn’t want either Konoha or Kirigakure to control the Land of Waves.

“There’s another way—I can just find someone to stir the pot. That way, nobody gets it. As for cleaning up the mess later, I’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

“Nobody gets it...?”

Jiraiya froze.

Then smacked his forehead hard.

“I’m such an idiot! Kyōen, what you said makes perfect sense! I already know exactly what direction to go—and the guy I’ll find is a total expert at this!”

With that, Jiraiya vanished in a flash.

Looked like he was heading off to find Orochimaru.

Having Orochimaru bring the Land of Waves into Fire Country’s hands might be a stretch—but when it came to sabotaging and playing spoiler, the guy was a certified specialist.

Not to mention—

There was also Danzō—another expert in that field.

Jiraiya cursed himself.

How could something so simple require Kyōen to remind me?

Maybe… my way of thinking really has gotten too narrow.