章節 54: Chapter 54: Jiraiya and the Test
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In the Hokage's office, the guards did not impede Natsuro's entry this time, as they had been notified in advance.
As soon as he stepped into the office, a voice reached his ears.
"What the hell, old man, you called me back with dozens of messages just for this kid? He doesn't look like much." said a voice filled with a sense of middle-aged grumpiness.
He turned toward the source of the voice, and although he had a suspicion from the sound, seeing the person for real still made him widen his eyes in surprise.
The speaker was a tall man with a headband bearing the character 油 (oil) and messy white hair that reached down to his waist. He had red marks below his eyes and was dressed in a red cloak.
He hadn't expected to see Jiraiya here thought it was easy to guess why. While excited he could help but to laugh at himself.
The Flying Thunder God technique from the Third Hokage wasn't something so easy to obtain. Even if his background was spotless and he had shown enough bonds with family and friends, it seemed like it still wasn't enough in the Third Hokage's eyes.
Nevertheless, he wasn't going to give up on the possibility of being Jiraiya's disciple, one of the Legendary Sannin and teacher of both Minato and Naruto.
"Third Hokage." Natsuro said, trying to keep his composure while greeting him.
"Hmm, Natsuro, I see you've met the person next to me." the Third Hokage said warmly.
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin. I didn't expect to see him here. I heard he's been away from the village for a long time." Natsuro responded honestly.
"Hahaha, it seems my reputation is still quite prominent in Konoha." Jiraiya said with a wide grin, laughing heartily. His lack of restraint made the Third Hokage a bit exasperated.
Natsuro could see that, despite his frustration, the Third Hokage was likely feeling more relaxed with Jiraiya around.
"Alright, Natsuro, you're prepared, right?" The Third Hokage interrupted Jiraiya's laughter, asking.
"Yes, I'm ready." He said, handing over the Flying Thunder God kunai to the Third Hokage.
Upon seeing the kunai, Jiraiya's laughter faded, and he looked at the kunai with a nostalgic expression. He thought of the golden-haired figure and then glanced at Natsuro.
From a looks perspective, he was quite similar, but of course, Minato was still a bit more radiant.
While Jiraiya was reminiscing, the Third Hokage took the kunai and said with a smile, "Natsuro, you've always been mature. You probably can guess why Jiraiya is here, right?"
"Yes, of course. I'm willing to become Jiraiya's disciple." he said, his eyes lighting up with sheer joy.
Seeing Natsuro's reaction, the Third Hokage nodded with satisfaction.
"Kid, becoming my disciple isn't that simple. The reason I came back after receiving so many messages from the Third Hokage is that he mentioned your talent is exceptional. I'm here to see it for myself. If you don't pass this test, it means your talent isn't as great as claimed, and I won't accept you as a disciple." Jiraiya said seriously.
He wasn't planning to take on a disciple, as he was focused on his travels and searching for the Child of Prophecy. However, the persistent messages from the Third Hokage and concern about Konoha's situation made him come back out of curiosity about Natsuro's talent.
"I will pass the test." Natsuro said confidently, his tone full of conviction.
This confidence made Jiraiya pause for a moment, and then he couldn't help but smile.
"Well, I'll look forward to adding another disciple!"
"Um, Third Hokage, Lord Jiraiya, could you please tell me what the test involves?" He asked after waiting for a while and noticing that neither the Third Hokage nor Jiraiya had explained the details of the test.
"Well, the test is quite simple. You just need to use the summoning technique to summon the Flying Thunder God kunai that I gave you." the Third Hokage said with a smile.
Jiraiya rolled his eyes upon hearing this. It seemed his teacher was making things sound easier than they were. In reality, the actual requirements were much lower.
However, he was taken aback. Summoning a kunai... is that really challenging?
He didn't understand but thought that if it was really this simple, then the Flying Thunder God technique would be his...
The next moment, Natsuro stopped, as he suddenly realized that he could no longer sense the Flying Thunder God kunai he had established a connection with for a long time.
His face showed a look of astonishment.
The Third Hokage nodded at this scene. Natsuro had detected it so quickly—indeed impressive. He then said, "You have until tomorrow to complete this. Jiraiya, you will watch."
With that, the Third Hokage picked up some documents and started reading. He thought that Natsuro would find it difficult to achieve this goal.
"Of course, I'm the one watching." Jiraiya yawned, glancing at the Third Hokage before casually telling Natsuro, "Kid, if you can't manage it, just give up quickly. This old sage still needs to enjoy some leisure. It's been years since I last visited Konoha. I need to make the most of it!"
He didn't respond. He was already deep in concentration, focusing all his attention on his sensing ability.
After a while, Natsuro still sensed a faint connection, but it was almost imperceptible. What had the Third Hokage and Jiraiya done? Why did they manage to make the kunai, which he had a deep connection with, seem like it had no link at all?
Though he was puzzled, the faint connection might not be enough to summon it. Should he use the technique he had established earlier?
But if the connection was almost severed, would the technique even work?
Filled with doubt but without hesitation, he decided to give it a try, as there was still time before tomorrow.
The next moment, he bit his finger and began forming the hand signs for the summoning technique.
Jiraiya, though appearing indifferent, had his attention fixed on Natsuro. He was surprised by the speed of his hand signs. Such speed indicated significant practice. This sight made Jiraiya gradually believe in the effort the Third Hokage had described in his letter.
However, Jiraiya shook his head as he watched Natsuro's summoning technique. This approach wouldn't work.
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章節 55: Chapter 55: The Flying Thunder God Is Mine!
Natsuro stared at the unmoving ground. On normal days, he would have already summoned the Flying Thunder God kunai, but now there was nothing happening.
Frowning, he didn't panic. He slowly closed his eyes and concentrated on sensing the connection.
"Good attitude, and he found the right method so quickly. It looks like this test won't hold him back for long. He just needs to try a few more times, and he should pass." Jiraiya thought, his eyes lighting up. The talent the Third Hokage mentioned was indeed impressive.
Moreover, Jiraiya hadn't been informed about Natsuro's composure. He had expected Natsuro to be somewhat flustered after the first failure, but he remained calm and confident. How much self-belief did he have?
Soon, Jiraiya saw Natsuro moving again, and his eyes brightened further.
Natsuro opened his eyes, grasping the faint connection he had managed to sense, and performed the summoning technique again.
Yet, it failed again. The familiar Flying Thunder God kunai did not appear, causing his heart to waver slightly. He took a deep breath, his eyes showing determination. No matter what, he was determined to master the Flying Thunder God.
What Natsuro didn't know was that Jiraiya and the Third Hokage exchanged a look of surprise as they observed the trembling kunai.
The fact that he managed to re-establish contact with the Flying Thunder God kunai on his second attempt was astonishing. They had used a sealing technique, albeit a special one, to obscure the connection. Despite this, Natsuro was still making progress.
"Wow…" Jiraiya gasped in astonishment. It seemed that his talent for the Flying Thunder God technique was indeed not much less than Minato's.
The Third Hokage, after his initial surprise, showed a satisfied smile and continued reviewing documents.
Jiraiya, observing Natsuro's response, noted that he had finally shown some fluctuation but recovered very quickly—faster than Jiraiya expected. This made Jiraiya very pleased.
At this point, Jiraiya decided he would accept Natsuro as his disciple. Even if he wasn't the Child of Prophecy, such talent was worth taking on as a student.
As time passed, Natsuro found the connection again, and this time it was clearer than before.
He didn't hesitate and performed the summoning technique again. It still failed, but this time he remained unfazed. He still had some ideas in his mind so he was confident he should be able to complete the task within the deadline.
Sure enough, when he sensed the connection to the Flying Thunder God kunai again, it was clearer than the previous attempt.
So, the extra day given was for this purpose? To allow him to repeatedly use the summoning technique to overcome the obstruction? No, it wasn't just about deepening the connection; it was that they had used some method to obscure the link, and he needed repeated attempts to break through this obstruction.
His instincts were telling him, he didn't need a whole day—probably just two hours would be enough. If so, he could pass the test this time.
But that wasn't enough. This was also an opportunity to showcase his talent. Simply passing the test would mean missing out on a great chance to display his abilities, which he considered a serious waste.
Therefore, he chose not to use the summoning technique again.
Jiraiya, seeing Natsuro's hesitation, wondered why he wasn't continuing with the summoning technique. Was he misjudging the situation? Jiraiya had stated he would only accept a disciple after passing the test. He already recognized his talent. If he didn't summon the kunai in the end, Jiraiya would be forced to retract his words.
Jiraiya, who was already satisfied with Natsuro's talent, now began to worry.
He soon noticed something familiar in Natsuro's current state but didn't connect it to Sage Mode. After all, how could someone from outside the three sacred lands to learn Sage Mode? Even if learning Sage Mode was possible, it required a significant amount of chakra to balance and suppress natural energy and Natsuro's chakra volume seemed insufficient.
Jiraiya's unfamiliarity with Sage Mode led him to miss the signs. If a seasoned Sage were present, they would have noticed Natsuro's state immediately.
Natsuro slowly entered the meditative Void State, and his sensory abilities underwent a qualitative change.
He now clearly sensed the connection to the Flying Thunder God kunai. More importantly, the connection felt identical to when he normally used it to detect the kunai while he was training.
He noted that The Third Hokage and Jiraiya's method of obscuring the connection was ineffective against more advanced sensory perceptions, rather than having some effect.
It was a pleasant surprise. The effectiveness of his Void State's sensory abilities was even greater than he had imagined. Something that would definitely help him a lot in the future.
Slowly revealing a confident smile, he began forming hand signs.
The Flying Thunder God technique was his!
While Jiraiya was still thinking about how to find another reason to accept Natsuro as a disciple after a failure, he suddenly saw him moving again and breathed a sigh of relief.
He also saw an increased confidence, which made Jiraiya's heart stir with a mix of disbelief and curiosity.
"Could it be...?"
In the next moment, Natsuro completed the hand signs.
This time, in Jiraiya's view, the Flying Thunder God kunai did not emit the usual summoning vibration because it had simply vanished.
How was this possible?
Natsuro, smiling, held the familiar kunai's handle and looked at the Third Hokage and Jiraiya with a cheerful and confident tone.
"Third Hokage, Jiraiya-sama, I did it!"
Jiraiya stared in disbelief at the kunai in Natsuro's hand.
The Third Hokage, who had let the document fall onto his desk at some point, was taken aback. Had he succeeded so quickly after just a brief review?
But as he looked at the kunai in Natsuro's hand, the Third Hokage gradually recovered, displaying a genuinely pleased and astonished smile.
He even began to consider that having Jiraiya teach such a talented individual might be a waste. Although the Third Hokage had little free time, he could still make room for another disciple if needed.
Considering his talent with the Flying Thunder God, it was clear that he could master it without Jiraiya's help. Jiraiya himself didn't know the technique—it was only Minato who was familiar with it. Now it seemed he could certainly learn it on his own.
In Konoha, two highly esteemed ninjas were utterly astonished by a mere seven-year-old boy.
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