After entering the room.
"Kyōichi, thank you so much!"
Jiraiya bowed deeply with utmost sincerity.
"Jiraiya-sama, there's no need for this. I just mentioned it casually. Whether it's useful or not is still uncertain…"
Kyōichi was somewhat surprised.
After all, Jiraiya was his senior.
For him to bow so deeply to Kyōichi wasn't really appropriate, but Jiraiya was insistent and didn't stop despite Kyōichi's words.
Fortunately, they were indoors.
Jiraiya brought the items in, placed them on the table, and Kyōichi tossed a cushion over.
The two sat down.
The atmosphere was different from their last meeting.
Previously, at the tavern, Kyōichi had been the junior, called in by Jiraiya to meet and, in a way, to reintroduce himself to Orochimaru.
But this time…
"There are many things that even Orochimaru and Tsunade don't know. For example, why I took Yahiko and the others as my students."
Jiraiya poured a cup of sake and spoke with a smile.
It seemed.
He was planning to share his secrets with Kyōichi.
Kyōichi opened his mouth.
He wanted to refuse.
But.
After some thought, he felt that knowing this might not be a big deal.
Mount Myōboku wouldn't know about him anyway.
Jiraiya began to recount his journey to Mount Myōboku, how he met the Great Toad Sage, and went on at length. The story was pretty much the same as what Kyōichi had seen in the Naruto series in his past life.
The only difference was.
In Jiraiya's version, he was portrayed as a heroic genius, and the Great Toad Sage had immediately recognized his talent, begging him to sign a contract with Mount Myōboku…
It was obvious who was exaggerating here.
Kyōichi pretended not to notice.
"So, back then, you were willing to stay and teach the three of them not just out of sympathy, but also because you felt they might be the 'Child of the Prophecy'?"
Kyōichi picked up the thread of the conversation.
"Yes, and later it proved my point. Nagato is quite extraordinary. He… as Minato said, he might very well be a member of Kushina's clan."
Jiraiya still didn't tell the whole truth.
The Rinnegan!
The eyes of a god—he kept that hidden.
Kyōichi listened and simply nodded, sighing, "No wonder he's so powerful."
"Do you really have the right to say that?"
Jiraiya was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but retort.
If anyone else had said that, it would've been fine.
After all, Nagato was indeed a genius, learning various jutsu quickly, and with the Rinnegan, even though at the time it only seemed to manifest as a force to repel others, it was clear that Nagato had an incredible future—
Both he and Yahiko believed this.
Rather than being interested in all three, it was more accurate to say they were interested in Nagato.
But.
The genius Jiraiya had recognized had been defeated by Kyōichi, who was three or four years younger.
According to Minato's account, Kyōichi had had several opportunities to kill Nagato but chose not to.
"I have to thank you for Nagato. If you hadn't held back…"
"I wouldn't have killed him. Those three are clearly the leaders of this faction of Amegakure ninja. Killing any one of them could have sparked a new war for Konoha, and Konoha can't afford that right now."
Kyōichi replied.
He had prepared this explanation beforehand.
Besides.
This was indeed part of Kyōichi's consideration at the time.
He had even considered the extreme option of killing Nagato and the others and taking the Rinnegan.
However.
That would have been suicidal, essentially putting himself on the chopping block for Black Zetsu and Madara.
A wise man doesn't stand under a crumbling wall.
Hearing Kyōichi's words, Jiraiya didn't doubt him, as Kyōichi's understanding of these matters proved that his perspective was focused on the bigger picture, not just the immediate situation.
"That's true. But right now, Yahiko and the others are still very weak. Fortunately, with your guidance, they can avoid many detours and even escape a deadly fate."
Jiraiya sighed. "These are things I, as their sensei, should have done. But in reality, after those three years, I never saw them again."
"With the frequent wars in recent years and Tsunade-nee leaving… it couldn't be helped."
Kyōichi understood.
By the time Jiraiya left Konoha later, news had already spread that Yahiko had been killed by Hanzō. Naturally, Jiraiya couldn't go looking for them anymore.
"Yeah!"
A cup of sake down.
Jiraiya rambled on about some past events.
Many of them.
Finally, he sighed, "From now on, I have nothing to do with that position, haha… Of course, this sage never cared much about the Hokage position anyway."
"Very magnanimous."
Kyōichi refilled his cup.
Jiraiya took a sip, then pulled out a scroll and said, "This scroll contains one of Minato's secret techniques."
Kyōichi looked at the scroll, then at Jiraiya.
Most likely, it was the Rasengan.
But.
What was this for?
"In a way, you saved Yahiko and the others. This is a small token of my gratitude. You and Orochimaru are similar—both of you are endlessly curious about unknown jutsu. This is for you. You can choose whether to teach it to others or not."
Jiraiya smiled.
But then, his mood soured again, and his smile became forced.
They ate and drank.
After a long while, he suddenly spoke up seriously, "By the way, don't misunderstand. If Orochimaru wants to do something, no one can stop him. If he ever has any designs on you, don't hold back out of consideration for me or Tsunade!"
"It won't come to that, but if it ever does, I will."
Kyōichi nodded.
Jiraiya must have spoken with the Sandaime yesterday and learned a lot of information—such as the details of the chūnin exams, the candidates, and Orochimaru's test questions.
With that knowledge, it wasn't hard to guess many things.
After saying this, Jiraiya picked up the sake bottle and stood up.
"I won't say much more. Knowing too much isn't necessarily a good thing, especially for a talented and ambitious kid like you. You don't drink anyway, so I'll leave the meat here and take the sake with me."
Jiraiya waved his hand, signaling Kyōichi not to see him off.
Then.
He stood up, and once outside, he vanished instantly.
Body Flicker Technique!
He was heading toward the village gate.
Jiraiya was leaving.
Of course.
Not like Tsunade, who left the village, but on orders to investigate the movements of Iwa and Kumo in the north—more accurately, to oversee the operations of the Anbu in the northern region.
Intelligence handling was too important.
If all the intelligence from the north had to be sent to the Hokage's office for processing and approval, they might not realize Iwa had invaded the Land of Fire until it was too late.
This was a pre-existing mission.
What made Kyōichi ponder was.
What exactly had Jiraiya discussed with the Hokage yesterday?
It seemed.
Jiraiya was clearly not in a good mood.
"Whatever, the Hokage… what does it have to do with me?"
Kyōichi shook his head.
His feelings toward Sandaime were lukewarm.
Not particularly good, but not particularly bad either. If he had to evaluate, Sandaime was far inferior to Tobirama Senju.
Kyōichi opened the scroll.
Sure enough.
On the scroll was written the training method and conceptualization of the "Rasengan."
The inspiration came from the Tailed Beast Ball.
The ultimate goal was to incorporate chakra nature transformation.
Unfortunately…
Even Minato hadn't achieved that yet.
Kyōichi already knew the training method.
But.
He was still quite satisfied with the scroll.
What was important wasn't the technique itself, but the detailed notes Minato had written about the Rasengan's inspiration, construction, and creation process. These were far more valuable than the jutsu itself.