"Eh? Why is Jiraiya-sensei just standing there?"
Yahiko stared at the battlefield in confusion, eyes wide as he watched Jiraiya remain motionless—even as Aosui's shadow clone charged straight toward him.
"That's because Jiraiya-sensei has fallen into Big Brother Aosui's genjutsu!"
Minato was the first to react. Having noticed the subtle movements of Aosui's main body earlier, he immediately understood what had happened and explained it out loud.
"What?!"
Yahiko and Konan cried out at the same time, shock written all over their faces.
"Does that mean… Jiraiya-sensei is going to lose?"
The thought alone felt unreal.
Teacher Jiraiya—one of the legendary Three Sannin—losing to Big Brother Aosui?
It felt like a dream that made no sense at all.
"No!"
Nagato spoke up instantly, his voice firm.
"That can't happen."
Yet at that moment, no one paid attention to him. All eyes were fixed on the battlefield, afraid to miss even a single detail.
Just as Aosui's two shadow clones were about to strike Jiraiya simultaneously—
An unexpected change occurred.
In a flash, Jiraiya moved.
His body blurred, and in the next instant, his counterattack erupted with terrifying speed. His hands struck out precisely, destroying both shadow clones almost simultaneously.
They didn't even have time to resist.
Before dispersing into smoke, the expressions on their faces were frozen in pure shock, as if they themselves couldn't understand what had happened.
"Aosui," Jiraiya said, looking toward the real body in the distance, his tone half helpless and half amused, "you're far too cautious."
Aosui dispelled the remaining chakra and looked back calmly.
Even though Jiraiya had been caught in a genjutsu, Aosui had never moved his real body forward. Instead, he had relied entirely on shadow clones to test the situation.
That alone explained everything.
"You're right," Aosui replied honestly. "After all, my opponent is Lord Jiraiya. When facing you, no amount of caution is excessive."
The truth was—
Jiraiya had not been pretending earlier.
He had indeed been caught in Aosui's genjutsu.
Or rather, he had allowed himself to be caught.
Although Jiraiya could not use genjutsu himself, his experience in dealing with it was immense. The moment the illusion took hold, he had already identified it and broken free almost instantly.
Unless it was a Sharingan-level genjutsu, it would be nearly impossible to truly restrain him.
Jiraiya had done this deliberately.
It was a lesson.
A lesson to show Aosui that even when an enemy appeared to be immobilized by genjutsu, complacency could be fatal.
If Jiraiya had truly been careless, how could Aosui have controlled him so easily?
After all, he was the Toad Sage, a man who had fought against the so-called Demigod of the ninja world.
Seeing Aosui calmly withdraw his ninja blade, Jiraiya smiled faintly.
"Good judgment," he said. "You knew when to stop."
Indeed, Aosui still had strength left.
But continuing the fight would have been meaningless.
The only genjutsu capable of affecting Jiraiya had already proven ineffective, and dragging things out further would only expose unnecessary information.
Unless—
He revealed his hidden trump cards.
But this was a spar, not a life-and-death battle.
The colorful orb he had hoped for did not appear, which was admittedly a pity—but this had been a calculated attempt, not a necessity.
Getting it would have been a bonus.
Failing to get it was no real loss.
"Aosui," Jiraiya said seriously, "your strength is outstanding."
He spoke from the heart.
"Your swordsmanship is solid, your ninjutsu foundation is excellent, and even your genjutsu usage is precise. Among Konoha's jōnin, you would not be considered weak."
These words were not polite exaggeration.
They were Jiraiya's genuine evaluation.
If he had not noticed Aosui's preparations for genjutsu in advance, even he might have suffered a momentary setback.
Of course—
He would never let that situation actually spiral out of control.
Losing to Aosui in front of his students?
That would be far too embarrassing.
Didn't the Toad Sage still need to save face?
Aosui remained calm after hearing Jiraiya's praise, as if such an evaluation was only natural.
Minato, however, was deeply shaken.
Jiraiya-sensei… holds Big Brother Aosui in such high regard?
Unlike Yahiko and the others, Minato was a native Konoha ninja. He knew exactly how strong Konoha's jōnin truly were.
And the most important point—
Aosui was still officially a genin.
"So… who won in the end?"
Yahiko scratched his head, looking utterly confused.
Aosui walked over and answered plainly.
"Lord Jiraiya won."
He paused, then added sincerely,
"Compared to Lord Jiraiya, I'm still too young. I have a long road ahead of me."
---
Several days passed after the spar.
By the time Aosui and his group had stayed for a full week, it was finally time to leave.
When Konan heard the news, her mood visibly dropped.
To her, the past week had passed far too quickly—almost like a dream. She had only just reunited with Big Brother Aosui, whom she hadn't seen in so long, and now they were parting again.
Still, she was a sensible child.
She swallowed her sadness, folded a small paper flower with great care, and handed it to Aosui.
"Big Brother Aosui," she said softly, "this is for you."
Aosui accepted the paper flower with a smile.
"Thank you, Konan. I really like it."
He knelt down, hugged her gently, and at the same time made a silent vow in his heart.
She's still so kind. So gentle.
I must change her future.
The simplest method would be to separate Konan from Nagato.
But that was unrealistic.
The three of them—Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato—had already spent years together. Their bond was far deeper than mere companionship.
So the only real solution—
Was to become strong enough.
Strong enough to protect her.
"Goodbye, Big Brother Aosui!"
Konan waved enthusiastically.
"Goodbye, Big Brother Aosui!"
Yahiko followed suit, his voice loud and sincere.
This time, unlike when they had arrived, Aosui and his group no longer needed to match the slow pace of a merchant caravan.
Using a ninja's full speed, they could return to Konoha in just over a day.
However—
Not long after leaving Jiraiya and the others behind, danger struck.
A group of Rain Shinobi intercepted them.
There were fifteen in total.
One jōnin.
Several chūnin.
The rest were genin.
In terms of raw strength, this group was no match for Aosui's team.
But the problem wasn't strength.
It was identity.
These were not rogue ninja.
They were Rain Ninja.
This was the Land of Rain—Amegakure's territory.
If rogue ninja were killed, no one would care.
But killing official Rain Ninja here would be seen as a direct provocation against Hanzō the Salamander.
Even though Amegakure was a small ninja village, it was one of the strongest among them.
And its leader was known as a Demigod.
Even Konoha could not afford to casually provoke such a figure.
If political tensions escalated, it could easily ignite another war.
No one could bear that responsibility.
Therefore, when the Rain Ninja attacked, Aosui's group did not counterattack recklessly.
They focused purely on defense.
"We have no hostile intentions!"
Mikoto shouted as she deflected an incoming attack.
"We entered the Land of Rain only to complete a mission. Now that it's finished, we will leave immediately!"
She spoke as the squad's leader, her tone calm yet firm.
But from beginning to end—
The Rain Ninja showed no intention of communicating.
Every strike they made was lethal.
It was as if their sole purpose was to kill.
"We are Konoha ninja!" Mikoto shouted again.
"Are you trying to provoke a war with Konoha?!"
Still—
No response.
No hesitation.
No retreat.
The abnormal behavior made Mikoto's heart sink.
They clearly knew who they were.
Yet they attacked anyway.
This wasn't a misunderstanding.
This was deliberate.
Mikoto's expression turned grim.
She believed this was a conspiracy being orchestrated by Amegakure.
After all, during the Second Great Ninja War, the Land of Rain had fought Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure in succession.
But Aosui's thoughts drifted elsewhere.
To a figure hidden deep in the shadows.
To a pair of crimson eyes that manipulated fate itself.
Uchiha Madara.
---
The rain continued to fall.
And unseen hands began to move once more.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)