"Now go and send a letter to Jiraiya. Tell him to come back as soon as he can," Hiruzen ordered.
"Lord Third, we lost contact with him after he completed his last mission," Shikaku reminded Hiruzen.
"That brat, always taking time off, even in such situations. You can go now; I will contact him myself," Hiruzen said. Shikaku bowed his head and left.
Hiruzen then wrote a note on special paper and made some hand seals.
Poof.
"Oh, Hiruzen, you're aging very rapidly. It feels like just yesterday you were such a small human child," said a small toad that appeared suddenly in the Hokage's office.
"It's nice to meet you as well, Kousuke-sama. I have an urgent message for Jiraiya; could you please deliver it to him?" Hiruzen said respectfully. The toad in front of him was more than twice his age and quite powerful. Though not at Kage level, it could handle some Jonin-level ninja on its own. Considering it was just a messenger toad, this spoke volumes of its strength.
"Don't worry, I'll deliver it within an hour," Kousuke said, taking the paper from Hiruzen.
"Thank you, Kousuke-sama," Hiruzen replied, and poof, Kousuke disappeared in smoke once again.
---
Jiraiya was doing his "research" at the moment, just about to head towards his favorite location in the Land of Hot Water. It was a spot where he could directly see inside his 'study area.' But before he could take a look...
Poof.
"Jiraiya boy, long time no see. What are you—" Jiraiya quickly closed Kousuke's mouth, but it was already too late. The ladies inside the bathhouse ran out, brandishing various weapons ranging from mops to knives.
"I'm going to kill that pervert this time!" one young girl shouted.
"No, first we'll torture him. I want first dibs," another one said.
"Okay, I'll take second place then," a third chimed in.
Cold sweat dripped from Jiraiya's forehead.
"I think you should run now," Kousuke said, still in Jiraiya's grasp.
Without wasting a second, Jiraiya ran at full speed. After running across the village, he stopped at a natural hot spring, a little away from the village.
"So, Kousuke-sama, why did you ruin my research this time?" Jiraiya asked. Clearly, this wasn't the first time this had happened.
"Though I'd like to point out that what you were doing was not 'research,' there's no point in arguing. I'll get to the main reason I'm here: Hiruzen sent this letter for you." Kousuke handed the letter to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya took the letter, ignoring Kousuke's earlier remark.
---
***
I hope this letter finds you not in the middle of "research" at some questionable bathhouse. If you are, please consider this an urgent reminder that peeping does not count as a diplomatic mission. We both know Tsunade would throw you across the continent if she found out.
Now, to the main topic: I need you back in the village in two days. Make sure you take this seriously, or I will personally come for you with Tsunade. She is still mad about the earlier incident, but I'm sure there will be no need for that, right?
***
The letter ended.
"Sensei is unusually forceful this time. Did something happen in Konoha?" Jiraiya asked.
"I don't know, but from Hiruzen's complexion and tone, I didn't feel there was any major problem in Konoha—at least nothing urgent."
"Then why is Sensei calling me? Is it because of the Danzo incident?" Jiraiya asked, mostly to himself.
"What happened to that boy?" Kousuke asked.
"He was plotting something against the village, killed many young ninja, especially Uchiha. The Uchiha blew up his base to expose him to the whole village. Sensei had no chance to save him, and he was killed by the Uchiha," Jiraiya explained briefly. He didn't want to go into full details.
(A.N.: And how did Jiraiya know all this? For those of you who don't know, Jiraiya was the spy master of Konoha. He knew about many major events, even about Akatsuki, long before anyone else, so knowing something that every major village knows is no big deal for him.)
"Poor boy, I always told him his ambitions were too big and destructive for his own good. Looks like he didn't listen to my advice. Well, anyway, my job here is done. Take care, Jiraiya boy," Kousuke said, patting Jiraiya's back before disappearing with a poof.
"Well, I'm free anyway. Let's give my village a visit for a change," Jiraiya said before vanishing from his position.
---
Kaida had just woken up from a deep sleep. After suffering through the torture/procedure, he was both physically and mentally exhausted. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he lost consciousness and only regained it after 10 hours.
'Man, that was some good sleep. This much time should be enough for my body to get used to the seal, right?' Kaida thought, then started pushing his chakra into the seal. By the time he had stuffed 50% of his chakra into it, it became difficult to push any more.
'I must've reached the same amount of chakra I filled last time. Now, let's push some more,' Kaida thought as his eyes began to glow red, with three tomoe appearing in them. Slowly, they started rotating. If someone with a Sharingan or Byakugan had been watching, they'd have seen how Kaida's chakra was flowing into the seal—slowly but steadily, like honey dripping down a slope.
The amount of chakra inside the seal started increasing from 70% of Kaida's reserves to 80%... then 85%... When he reached 92%, it became increasingly difficult to push any more in.
'Let's take a break and go downstairs… What?' Kaida was shocked to see the time—it was 12:15 p.m. It had taken him 4 hours to push just 17% more chakra into the seal. Though surprised, this was actually very fast. For comparison, Sakura took 3 years to completely fill her seal. In contrast, Kaida would only need 2-3 months at most. That was the power of the Sharingan: advanced control over chakra, though it also increased strain on the body.
Now, Kaida's chakra reserves were almost empty, and even after waking up from such a deep sleep, he was once again feeling mentally exhausted from using his Sharingan for 4 hours.
Even with his Senju bloodline, Kaida's eyes were aching so badly. Almost like someone had poured a freshly crushed red pepper the hottest ones in his eyes, he went to the kitchen and took out some ice to put on his burning eyes.
"What were you doing that you need ice for?" Shisui asked, walking into the kitchen.
"I was using the Sharingan to fill the seal," Kaida said, pointing to his forehead. Pain evident in his voice "But without realizing it, I used it for 4 hours," he continued.
"What? You used the Sharingan for 4 hours? How the hell are you not blind right now?" Shisui asked, though his actions contradicted his words. Not anger but care He went into his room and came out with a dropper.
"Hurry, show me your eyes," Shisui said, dropping some of the medicine into Kaida's eyes. Instantly, Kaida's eyes stopped burning.
"Wow, brother, I feel completely fine now! What is this medicine? Can you give me a bottle too?" Kaida asked.
"This bottle cost me around 10 million Ryo, though I paid with Contribution Points. Considering the exchange rate, it was about that much. If you want it, go do some S-rank missions and buy one for yourself... Now stop changing the topic. Why the hell did you use the Sharingan for so long?" Shisui asked, clearly a bit angry.
"I'm sorry, brother. I was so focused on filling the seal that I forgot about everything else," Kaida explained.
"What the f**king nonsense are you spouting? Your eyes should've been burning after just one hour!" Shisui said, because this was the norm for every other Uchiha.
"Well, they did start hurting like they were burning, but only after I stopped using my Sharingan," Kaida said, still a little surprised.
"... You cheater. Having a Senju body is such a cheat—a complete cheat!" Shisui grumbled as he walked toward the hall.
"What happened, brother? Why are you acting this way?" Kaida asked, following him.
"Any normal Uchiha with a three-tomoe Sharingan can only use it for 15 minutes without a problem. After 30 minutes, their eyes start burning. After an hour, the blood vessels inside the eyes begin to get damaged. Though the damage is curable, it reduces the performance of the Sharingan over time. That's why no one uses their Sharingan for that long. You're just lucky—you have a much higher capacity to use the Sharingan compared to others. Otherwise, you might have gone blind by now," Shisui explained, emphasizing the seriousness of Kaida's recklessness.
"Why the hell do I have eight times the normal capacity?" Kaida asked, completely ignoring Shisui's warning.
Smack!
"Is that the question you should be worried about right now? You nearly went blind!" Shisui said, landing a square punch on Kaida's head.
"I know, brother. I won't do it again. I'm just curious about the reason," Kaida said, rubbing the small bump on his head.
"I don't know... The simple answer could be that due to your Uchiha physique, you got this benefit. But from some recent findings, we've learned some interesting things..." Shisui paused for a second, contemplating whether to continue. "As the Sharingan evolves, it enhances the user's body so they can wield its power. But usually, an Uchiha's body isn't adaptable enough to handle too much change. However, you also have Senju blood, which gives you not only high physical capability but also high adaptability. As a result, your body is a perfect vessel for the Sharingan. But there's a downside to it as well. If you awaken..."