"When a roaming dragon returns to the sea, the sea does not greet him—he arrives anyway."
The instant Kai saw the man perched in the tree, those two lines surfaced unbidden in his mind.
On the branch above—
Two bold streaks of red oil paint ran down the man's cheeks.
The forehead protector on his brow bore a clear, unmistakable "油" character.
Wild white hair spilled down like a lion's mane, a massive scroll strapped to his back, and over everything—
That flamboyant crimson outer robe.
In the entire shinobi world, there was only one person dressed like this.
One of the Legendary Three.
The Toad Sage.
Jiraiya.
A true all-rounder of the ninja world.
And the only elder whose death had ever left countless people in tears.
Noticing Kai's gaze, Jiraiya rubbed his chin, eyes gleaming with interest. His attention lingered on the faintly glowing energy field around Kai, then shifted pointedly to the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes.
"Tch, tch, tch… Uchiha Kai, huh?"
"This domain of yours is interesting. And those eyes… mm, very interesting."
His words sounded casual, scattered even—but his eyes were anything but.
In a single glance, he had already swept Kai up and down, peeling back layer after layer of information.
Kai could feel it clearly: a vast, gentle sensory chakra radiating subtly from Jiraiya's body.
He didn't speak.
He simply stared at the man before him—
One of the most tragic figures in the Naruto world.
The one whose absence had once left even the ever-optimistic blond idiot hollow for days.
[Detected communicable target: Jiraiya]
[Analyzing copyable traits…]
[Prophet's Mentor (Black)]
[Emotional Creator (Black)]
[Born Teacher (Black)]
[Toad Sage Mode (Gold)]
[Mount Myōboku Toad Contract (Purple)]
[Wild Lion's Mane Technique (Blue)]
[Rasengan (Blue)]
[Toad Oil Flame Bullet (Blue)]
…
Three black traits.
One gold.
Kai's heart skipped hard.
In six years, aside from a few "version protagonists," it was rare to see even two black traits on a single person.
And clearly—
Two of them were… questionable in value.
One was niche at best.
Only "Prophet's Mentor" was worth real consideration.
After all, Jiraiya's students included Minato, Yahiko, Nagato, and Naruto—
Every single one a monster.
As for why Jiraiya had returned early?
The answer was obvious.
Behind the scenes, the Third Hokage had pulled strings.
At this moment in time, only that old man could call Jiraiya back under the banner of "the village."
Thinking this through, Kai kept his composure and asked calmly:
"Jiraiya-sama? I'm just checking on the village's… 'assets.'"
In a sense, early Naruto really was Konoha's most valuable asset.
"Assets?" Jiraiya burst into laughter.
"Hah! You're an interesting brat."
He hopped down from the tree, landing lightly.
"But since when did that kid count as property?"
Then his tone shifted, the humor receding.
"And as for you…"
His eyes turned playful—but sharp.
"To stir Konoha's stagnant waters into chaos and even make old Sarutobi eat dirt…"
"Kid, you're way more interesting than that stiff, dead-serious brother of yours."
The "brother," of course, meant Itachi.
Straight to the point.
Kai was mildly surprised.
Jiraiya didn't seem inclined to fight.
He'd even openly revealed the reason for his return.
That made things… intriguing.
Perhaps Jiraiya hadn't left Konoha solely because of Orochimaru.
Perhaps his disappointment wasn't just with his teacher—but with the rot festering inside the village.
Given Jiraiya's intelligence network, there was no way he hadn't seen Konoha's parasites.
He'd just chosen to look away—for his teacher's sake.
Which meant—
This man was absolutely someone who could be pulled over.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Instead of responding about Itachi, Kai smoothly changed the subject.
"I heard one of the Legendary Three specializes in senjutsu."
Born Teacher—activate.
"Oh?" Jiraiya's eyes lit up immediately.
"An Uchiha interested in senjutsu? Now that's rare."
He slipped naturally into a lofty, teacherly pose.
"Senjutsu is the supreme art of harmonizing with heaven and earth—drawing in natural energy itself!"
"In the shinobi world, the finest of these techniques come from Mount Myōboku…"
And so—
For the next ten minutes, Jiraiya went completely off the rails.
The origins of Mount Myōboku.
The greatness of Fukasaku and Shima.
How terrifying and difficult senjutsu training was.
How overwhelming its power could become.
Spit flying.
Hands waving.
Absolutely in his element.
Only after a long while did Jiraiya notice something odd.
The Uchiha kid was listening.
Patiently.
Seriously.
No impatience.
No arrogance.
Just… listening.
A strange glint flickered in Jiraiya's eyes.
This Uchiha brat was nothing like the others.
What Jiraiya didn't know—
Was that Kai was waiting.
Ten minutes of conversation.
Even if the odds were low, it was worth trying.
What if… gold dropped?
[Ten-minute conversation with Jiraiya detected]
[Attempting to copy trait…]
[Copy successful]
[Congratulations! Acquired Epic Trait: Mount Myōboku Toad Contract (Purple)]
[Effect: Allows summoning of Mount Myōboku toads. The more chakra used, the higher the chance of summoning powerful toads.]
[Note: Upon activation, reverse summoning to Mount Myōboku is possible.]
A summoning contract!
The moment the system prompt appeared, a sharp glint flashed deep in Kai's eyes.
Once activated, he could clearly sense—
The spatial coordinates of Mount Myōboku.
The summoning formulae.
Even the mental resonance linking him to the toad clan.
Gero.
Gero.
Faint toad croaks echoed in his ears.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya was still enthusiastically rambling, completely unaware that one of his greatest trump cards had just been quietly lifted.
"Hahaha! So senjutsu isn't something just anyone can learn!"
"Only those acknowledged by the Great Toad Sage, with iron will and—hm?"
Mid-sentence, Jiraiya frowned.
Something felt… off.
He squinted at Kai suspiciously.
"You little punk… you're not plotting something weird, are you?"
Kai smiled brightly.
"Weird? No, no. I just think… Mount Myōboku probably has great scenery."
"…Huh?"
That uneasy feeling in Jiraiya's chest intensified.
He couldn't explain it.
It felt like he'd just messed up—badly.
Then he noticed it.
The boy's hands.
Forming seals.
Ancient.
Familiar.
Unmistakable.
Jiraiya froze.
A ridiculous thought slammed into his head.
That's not… a toad summoning, is it?
Panicking, he yanked out his scroll and flipped it open.
The last name written there—
Namikaze Minato.
He sighed in relief and patted his chest.
"Okay, okay… I'm overthinking—"
BANG!
"Summoning Technique—Reverse Summon!"
BOOM!
A pillar of golden light erupted into the night sky.
Within it, the massive silhouette of a toad flickered past—
Then snapped shut around Kai.
Gone.
The clearing fell silent.
Only Jiraiya remained.
Staring.
His scroll slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a dull clack.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then—
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Jiraiya screamed.
"REVERSE SUMMONING TO MOUNT MYŌBOKU?! HOW DOES THAT KID KNOW THAT?!"
He staggered, clutching his head.
"…Don't tell me—Fukasaku and Shima went behind my back and had an affair?!!!"
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