"I'm sorry, but I can't agree to your request."
"Why not?" Yahiko asked, clearly disappointed.
Takuya's expression was serious as he replied:
"I'm not really interested in taking on disciples or teaching them. Besides, I've seen too many instances where disciples end up killing their masters.
So forget about becoming my apprentice. Besides, I don't have the time to stay in the Land of Rain and train you."
Yahiko felt a deep sense of disappointment at being rejected, so much so that he barely registered the rest of what Takuya said.
Konan looked at Takuya in confusion, not fully understanding what "killing the master" meant.
Does it mean the disciple kills the teacher? she wondered.
"I can only teach you how to refine chakra and show you some basic ninjutsu techniques.
How far you go after that depends entirely on you."
At most, Takuya planned to stay the night. Tomorrow, the team would have to continue their mission.
Takuya wasn't like Jiraiya; he wouldn't stay behind to teach disciples.
Besides, he had no intention of taking on any students.
In the world of Naruto, taking on disciples was practically inviting trouble.
Just look at how many students have ended up killing their teachers.
Disciples killing teachers, teachers killing disciples—it's all chaos.
This kind of situation had to be avoided, and the best way to avoid it was to have no teachers and no disciples.
Problem solved.
Takuya took out his training notes and handed them to Yahiko, instructing the three on how to refine chakra and perform basic hand seals.
That night, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato stayed with them, diligently refining their chakra.
They hoped to gain as much knowledge and guidance from Takuya as they could before he left.
Unfortunately, Konan and Yahiko didn't succeed, but Nagato... managed to do it in less than three hours.
He just kept it to himself.
Deep down, Nagato still didn't trust Takuya. The death of his parents left him deeply wary of Konoha ninja.
How had Nagato been nurturing the Rinnegan all this time?
That might be one of the secrets of the Rinnegan.
Shaking his head, Takuya decided it wasn't something worth concerning himself with.
In a dimly lit underground space, Uchiha Madara listened to Black Zetsu's report, surprised by what he heard:
"You're saying there's a kid in Konoha named Yagami Takuya who's highly talented? And he's already made contact with Nagato?"
"Yes," Black Zetsu's voice echoed in the underground chamber:
"At just nine years old, he already has a three-tomoe Sharingan and is skilled in genjutsu.
And his genjutsu is incredibly powerful, capable of affecting even Kage-level shinobi.
Even if they manage to break free from it, they'll suffer a mental backlash, resulting in psychological damage.
I suspect only a strong shinobi like Lord Madara could be immune to such genjutsu."
"Not bad," Uchiha Madara commented casually, though the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Black Zetsu's subtle flattery had hit the mark.
In Madara's eyes, the only true strong shinobi were himself and Hashirama Senju. The rest were trash.
"Keep an eye on him. He might not be the right candidate," Madara said.
"Understood, Lord Madara," Black Zetsu replied before slowly sinking back into the ground. Madara closed his eyes, remaining as still as a statue.
Behind him, tubes connected him to the Gedo Statue.
Ever since the Rinnegan was transplanted into Nagato, Black Zetsu had been closely monitoring him, watching every interaction and action Nagato took.
His level of attention far exceeded that of Uchiha Madara.
Noticing that Nagato had made contact with Takuya, Black Zetsu immediately reported the situation to Madara.
"Find a quiet place to hide. The Land of Rain might not be so peaceful in the coming days."
Leaving behind some food, Takuya, Minato, and Nawaki decisively set off.
They still had their mission to complete, and Takuya wasn't like Jiraiya, who would risk punishment to stay behind and teach Nagato and the others.
Nor did Takuya share Jiraiya's lofty ideals.
Besides, Jiraiya's desire to stay was largely driven by his weariness of war.
In the end, he accidentally discovered that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, which solidified his decision to stay.
So he took care of Nagato and the others for three years, fully believing Nagato would become the savior of the world.
But the "savior" he trained ended up killing him.
Konan and the others watched Takuya leave with reluctance. His departure meant they would no longer have a source of food or protection.
They would have to continue wandering on their own.
At least they had learned how to refine chakra, and Takuya had given them his training notes, along with some basic ninjutsu techniques.
"I wonder if those three will make it to the end of the war. Takuya, are you really okay with leaving them behind?"
"That girl Konan seems to rely on you a lot," Minato remarked.
"Then why don't you stay and take care of them?" Takuya retorted.
As for why Konan seemed to rely on him, Takuya himself couldn't figure it out.
She was clearly very shy at first, but after spending just a few hours together, everything changed!
Could it be because I'm just too handsome, even little girls can't resist me? Takuya thought.
"Let's keep moving. We still have our mission to complete," Nawaki quickly changed the subject.
He could barely take care of himself, let alone three more burdens; it just wasn't realistic.
"It looks like we came here for nothing. The Sand Village has already abandoned this camp."
When they arrived at their destination, Takuya learned from Snowy that the camp had already been deserted.
There were only some miscellaneous items left behind—no supplies, and no Sand Village ninja.
It seemed they had relocated not long ago.
"What now?" Nawaki and Minato asked, frowning at the empty camp.
"Let's head back. This is the Intelligence Department's problem, not ours. Maybe the Sand Village decided to abandon the camp at the last minute, or maybe they got suspicious and moved out."
"Whatever the case, it's not our responsibility to clean up the mess."
It's not uncommon for missions to fail due to changes in intelligence, especially on the battlefield where information changes rapidly.
Someone could have been here yesterday, but after receiving orders, they immediately moved to a new location.
Since the mission couldn't be completed, the three of them decided not to linger and began making their way back to camp.
However, they hadn't gone far before they ran into a large force of Amegakure ninja.
"Master, there's a ninja army ahead."
"A ninja army?" Takuya was slightly startled. What luck!
He had hoped for a smooth return to camp, but they had barely turned around before running into a large enemy force.
"How many of them are there?"
"A lot."
"…"
For Snowy to use the word "a lot," it meant the enemy numbers were indeed significant.
But on the battlefield of the Land of Rain, which side would gather such a large force?
It couldn't be Konoha.
And the Sand Village was only in the Land of Rain to stir up trouble and stall Konoha, so it was unlikely they would send out a large force.
The same logic applied to Iwagakure. They were in the Land of Rain because Ōnoki wanted to weaken both Konoha and Amegakure's military strength.
A large-scale battle wouldn't benefit Iwagakure, especially since, since the start of the war, Kumogakure had been eyeing them, and Ōnoki wouldn't dare act recklessly.
Since it couldn't be any of the three major villages involved in the Land of Rain's battlefield, that left only one possibility: Amegakure!
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