Chapter Twenty-One: Jiraiya Appears!

After assigning the training tasks to the Nine Little Ones, Hao Yun left the training ground, yawning as he headed for the hot springs. After spending so long in the Land of Fire, what pleased him most was, without a doubt, the hot springs... After all, hot spring culture wasn't something found everywhere! And comfortable, natural hot springs were a rarity in modern times!

He changed into a yukata with lazy, languid movements, slipped into the steaming water, and sipped a unique sake... Hao Yun basked in such pleasure that he nearly fell asleep.

And then... a sense of being watched drifted towards him from the tall wall nearby.

"A peeping tom?"

Hao Yun frowned. Since crossing over, he had been raised by Angel alone, and naturally respected women. Besides, Angel was considered a stunning beauty in the Marvel world, and back when they lived in a rural town, he had dealt with plenty of peeping offenders!

"Peepers deserve a beating!"

Hao Yun reached into his yukata and pulled out a coin.

"Railgun—minimum power!"

He flicked the coin; the force wasn't much, but it would leave any ordinary person with bruises for a month at least!

Yet, after the coin shot out, there was no scream, no sign of injury—almost as if nothing had happened.

Hao Yun's brow creased further. He sensed again... The watcher remained in place? Was this a provocation? Hah, must be a ninja. Seems he was being underestimated!

"Railgun—medium power!"

This time, the coin shot out at the speed of sound. Any typical chunin would suffer a serious loss!

A sharp whistle split the air, and then a faint impact sounded—the coin was caught effortlessly by the intruder.

Hao Yun's expression darkened. Two warnings, and still no retreat? Clearly, this was reckless to the extreme!

"Railgun—full power!"

He raised his right hand, unleashing the full force of his electromagnetic technique. Although he hadn't formed a rotating barrel to amplify damage and range, the raw power alone was enough to reach Kage level within fifty meters.

With a flick, the coin dropped into a turret of lightning... In an instant, it melted under the intense heat, transformed into a bullet, and shot toward the target at ten times the speed of sound!

"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"

At last, the intruder was forced to reveal his jutsu! Unfortunately, this technique was more suited for counterattack than defense—the ball of hair needles was easily pierced by the railgun's power, and the ninja inside was sent flying, crashing hard into the wall behind!

Hao Yun stood, grabbed his yukata with one hand, and donned it with a flourish. He leapt from the bath, landing before the peeping victim... The injured man's familiar attire made Hao Yun pause in surprise.

That upright white hair, as long as the waist; the haphazard paint on his face... Wasn't this Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, renowned for his love of the arts?

Wait—he had just struck a peeping tom... So was Jiraiya searching for inspiration when he got hit?

"You kid, you're pretty strong, aren't you?"

Jiraiya climbed to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth... He had underestimated his opponent. Who could have guessed that the first two attacks were so easy to handle, then the third was so powerful!

That force—he'd have thought it was Might Duy throwing it out with Eight Gates open!

"Jiraiya!"

"Hah, you do know me! I am Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku!"

Jiraiya performed an awkward dance, proudly introducing himself.

Hao Yun rubbed his head, embarrassed—he really didn't want to admit he knew him! But the client's wish was to save Jiraiya... Fine, he'd endure it, bring him home, and have him teach the students full-time.

That Sage technique should be quite suitable for spreading!

"Jiraiya, are you here to find Naruto?"

Hao Yun asked directly. According to the storyline, Jiraiya was here to teach Naruto and hand over the Mount Myoboku contract.

"Eh... how do you know? Have you investigated me?"

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. Knowing his purpose... Could the other be planning to abduct Naruto?

Just as well—he'd heard that a certain group in the ninja world had emerged these years, doing nothing good and specializing in underground bounty missions! Their nature—utterly evil!

"Of course not!" Hao Yun rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What are you thinking? I'm Naruto's master! Besides, you were the Fourth Hokage's master, yet you watched your disciple's grandson suffer in Konoha..."

"Hah, with your actions, once you're in hell, Kushina will surely give you a thorough scolding!"

Hao Yun's expression was particularly gleeful. The hardships Naruto endured as a child—bullied daily, ignored, garbage thrown at him, hated—weren't these all Jiraiya's responsibility?

Don't talk about the Third Hokage wanting to protect Naruto by hiding his origin... To be blunt, wasn't it just to make Naruto lose hope entirely and become Konoha's weapon?

His frequent visits to Naruto, showing concern for his health, were merely to check whether Naruto had lost himself or not.

"I..."

Jiraiya turned aside, unable to face Hao Yun's accusations.

Hao Yun lost interest in conversing further and turned toward the training ground. "Come on, don't you want to teach Naruto? I'll take you over."

At the training ground, as Jiraiya followed Hao Yun's lead, he happened upon Naruto practicing ninjutsu.

"Rasengan: Rasenshuriken!"

Boom!

Naruto slammed his Rasengan, infused with Wind Release nature transformation chakra, into the ground. A deep crater appeared, breaking through the underground water vein and spraying a fountain...

"Naruto, you've ruined the training ground again!"

Sasuke roared, forming hand seals. "Earth Release: Yellow Spring Swamp!"

The newly sprung fountain was covered with earth and stone... Restoring the original landscape.

Elsewhere, other students practiced new methods to boost their strength... Lee's shoulders were darkened, and he charged straight at rocks, protected by Armament Haki; Tenten held her breath, focusing, and her throwing knives moved so swiftly that even Jiraiya couldn't track their flight.

Jiraiya gaped in disbelief at the students in the training ground, each displaying unique skills... With his experience, he could easily tell that if these kids continued their training, reaching Kage level would be a simple matter!

At least, far easier than when he himself had to travel to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage arts!

"Naruto! Your grandmaster's here!"

Hao Yun stood at the edge of the training ground, calling out to Naruto, who was sitting on the ground, pen in hand, working out calculations.

Naruto looked up, frowning as he walked over.

"Master, what do you want? I'm researching the optimal speed for chakra flow through the meridians. I'm almost done."

Naruto's face was full of annoyance. After more than two months of study, he was now the top scholar among the Twelve Strong. Many ninjutsu experiments required his calculations! With only a month left before the final assessment, he didn't have much time to waste!

As for the old grandmaster by Hao Yun's side... Wasn't that just Jiraiya? The lecherous sage. He'd known all about him from his mother's soul in the Nine-Tails seal.

His mother, Kushina, had told him not to have too much contact with Jiraiya!