Unable to contain himself any longer, Sora blurted out, "It's a transformation jutsu!"
Tsunade's gaze snapped to the small red-headed boy, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Sora felt a shiver run down his spine under her intense stare. Quickly, he focused his attention on the rubber ball in his hands, a training tool Jiraiya had given him earlier.
Tsunade's lips curled into a smirk. "I didn't know you were babysitting these days, Jiraiya," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "A bunch of genin... and a kid too young to even hold a kunai."
Sora's head snapped up, his green eyes flashing with indignation. "Hey! I'm old enough to hold a kunai!" he protested. "Plus, I'm already a chunin!" To prove his point, Sora made a hand sign, and in a small puff of smoke, a chunin vest appeared in his hands, summoned from a storage seal.
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Wait, when did you become a chunin?" he asked, dumbfounded. "You were in the first year of the academy, right?"
Sora grinned "Well when you guys were chasing that Tanuki, I was the one who saved the village. Obviously, I would get a promotion." His grin faltered slightly as he continued, "Well, there was a theoretical exam too. I was told about it six hours before, so I had to cram all the theoretical stuff from six years of an academy in six hours." He shivered at the memory.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at this information. She turned to Jiraiya, her voice laced with concern and a hint of mockery. "The village must be in a very dire state if they need a kid to rescue them."
Jiraiya's expression turned serious. "If you're so worried, princess, why don't you come back? The village has decided to appoint you as the Fifth Hokage."
The reaction to this statement was immediate and varied. Naruto, who had just taken a mouthful of noodles from a bowl that a server had brought, choked in surprise. The rubber ball in Sora's hands exploded with a loud 'pop', startling everyone at the table. Sasuke, true to his nature, remained outwardly unfazed, though his eyes narrowed slightly at the news.
As Naruto coughed and spluttered, trying to clear his airway, Sora patted his back, a look of concern on his young face. "You okay, Naruto-nichan?" he asked.
Once Naruto could breathe again, he immediately launched into a tirade. "Why does she have to be the Hokage? I'm going to be the next Hokage, believe it!"
Jiraiya sighed, rubbing his temples. "Naruto, it's not that simple. Tsunade is one of the Legendary Sannin, a master medical ninja, and the granddaughter of the First Hokage. She's the most qualified person for the job right now."
Naruto grumbled, clearly not happy with the explanation. Sora, meanwhile, had retrieved another rubber ball from his pocket and was focusing intently on it, trying to replicate his earlier, accidental explosion.
Tsunade, who had been watching this exchange with a mixture of amusement and annoyance, finally spoke up. "Who are these brats, Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya straightened up, a hint of pride in his voice. "These are my disciples, Tsunade. Well, two of them are. Naruto Uzumaki and Sora here," he said, gesturing to the blonde and the redhead. "Sasuke Uchiha is just tagging along for this mission."
Tsunade's eyes widened slightly at the names, recognition flickering in her gaze. "I see," she said slowly. "And what exactly is this mission?"
Jiraiya's expression turned serious once more. "As I said, Tsunade, the village wants you to become the Fifth Hokage. Do you accept?"
There was a tense moment of silence. Then, Tsunade scoffed. "No," she said flatly. "I decline."
The reaction at the table was immediate. Naruto's jaw dropped in disbelief, his blue eyes wide with shock. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, the most reaction he'd shown all evening. Sora, however, merely rolled his eyes and returned his focus to the rubber ball in his hands.
Jiraiya chuckled, though there was a hint of disappointment in his voice. "You know, this reminds me of all the times you rejected me when I asked you out, Tsunade."
Sora couldn't help but make a wry smile at the shamelessness of his mentor. Naruto, on the other hand, looked utterly confused.
"I don't get it," Naruto said, his voice rising with frustration. "How can she reject being Hokage? It's the greatest honour in the village! And we need her to come back to heal Kakashi-sensei! Where did all this Hokage stuff come from anyway?"
Jiraiya placed a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Settle down, Naruto. Let me explain. Tsunade is the only candidate for the position right now. She's not only a legendary ninja but also has the lineage. She's the granddaughter of the First Hokage and grandniece of the Second."
Naruto's eyes widened at this information, but before he could say anything, Tsunade cut in.
"Unlike your previous disciple, this one's got quite the foul mouth," she remarked, taking another sip of her sake.
Jiraiya's expression softened a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "Everyone pales in comparison to the Fourth, Tsunade. You know that."
Just as the words left Jiraiya's mouth, there was another loud 'pop'. All eyes turned to Sora, who was grinning triumphantly, wisps of chakra dissipating around his hands.
"I did it!" he exclaimed. "I'm done with the second step, Pervy Sage!"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Isn't that the training for the Rasengan?" she asked, her voice a mix of surprise and scepticism.
Jiraiya nodded, a proud smile on his face. "That's right. These three have been working on it."
Tsunade scoffed. "You shouldn't teach jutsus to your disciples when they have no hope of mastering them, Jiraiya. It's because of things like this that one of these kids is hoping to become Hokage." Her voice dripped with disdain as she continued, "A thankless job that—"
Before she could finish her statement, there was a sudden surge of chakra from Sora's direction. The young boy, who hadn't been listening to what he considered the ramblings of a drunken old lady, had managed to form a Rasengan in his right hand. It was small, about the size of a marble, but it was unmistakably a Rasengan.
The table fell silent, all eyes fixed on the swirling ball of chakra in Sora's hand. Jiraiya and Tsunade, in particular, couldn't hide their shock.
"Pervy Sage," Sora said, his brow furrowed in concentration, "how do I increase the size of this? It's pretty small."
Jiraiya, still stunned, took a moment to respond. "Try to increase the output gradually," he advised. "Don't increase it suddenly, as that might cause it to become unstable."
Sora tilted his head. "Like turning a knob?"
When Jiraiya nodded, Sora closed his eyes, his face scrunching up in concentration. Slowly, the tiny Rasengan began to grow. It expanded from the size of a marble to a golf ball, then to a tennis ball. Within moments, it had reached the size of a normal Rasengan.
But Sora didn't stop there. The sphere of chakra continued to expand, growing larger and larger until it was easily twice the size of a normal Rasengan.
"Woah, kid!" Jiraiya exclaimed, his eyes wide with amazement. "You've got good chakra control over these aspects!"
Sora, however, seemed lost in thought. His green eyes were fixed on the swirling mass of chakra in his hand, a look of intense concentration on his young face.
"Pervy Sage," he said slowly, "can't we throw a mini Rasengan by turning the knob very quickly, like how samurai do chakra slashes?"
Jiraiya's brow furrowed as he considered the question. Meanwhile, Sora dispelled the large Rasengan and summoned a log from another storage seal, handing it to a bewildered Naruto to hold.
"It's possible," Jiraiya said after a moment of thought. "It wouldn't technically be a Rasengan, but the effect would be close to that. But that would require changing the frequency of chakra output at least a hundred times in a second. I don't think it's possible."
Even as Jiraiya finished speaking, Sora was already attempting the technique. He formed another Rasengan, this time focusing on lowering the output gradually to form a normal-sized sphere. Then, with a look of intense concentration, he changed the output rapidly.
***
Lol, 400 Powerstones for an additional chapter!(Lol, I completely disregarded about asking for Powerstones in last author note)