Jiraiya felt like his whole understanding of the world had shattered into pieces. Was this kid even human? He learned it from one look? Not even copy and paste worked that fast!
Back when Jiraiya had trained this jutsu, he had spent three straight days grinding away at it day and night.
And that had been when he was already Kage-level, experienced enough to fill a book, yet Akira had still made him look completely outclassed in an instant.
Was this what people meant when they said comparison was the thief of joy?
Naruto stared at the Rasengan in Akira's hand, completely dumbfounded, and stammered, "A-Akira... you learned it? Just like that?"
Without saying a word, Akira walked over to a tree even thicker than the one Jiraiya had used and casually pressed the Rasengan into it.
"Whump... boom!"
With a thunderous blast, a hollow even larger than the one Jiraiya had made appeared in the trunk, and the inner walls were smoother still, polished almost like glass.
Letting the chakra in his hand disperse, Akira looked down at his palm and muttered, "This jutsu really wasn't as hard as I expected. The principle is actually pretty simple."
Behind him, Jiraiya's mouth twitched violently. For the first time in a long while, he truly had no idea what kind of expression he was supposed to make.
"You're a monster, through and through... I've seen plenty of geniuses in my life, Kakashi, Minato, but none of them were this absurd. An A-rank jutsu, and you understood it on sight? If word of this gets out, other ninja are going to lose the will to live."
"No wonder you can go toe-to-toe with Kage-level fighters at your age. Talent like this is even more broken than the Sharingan."
"At least the Sharingan can't copy a seal-less jutsu like the Rasengan!"
Jiraiya took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down before asking curiously, "Was it the same when you learned Chidori?"
Akira thought about it, then nodded. "More or less. I saw it once, thought it looked interesting, tried it, and it worked."
At that moment, Naruto's face was a perfect picture of envy, disbelief, and silent resentment. He swore to himself right then: Thank God I never seriously tried to compare myself to Akira. This guy isn't even in the normal human category.
Even Akira himself had not expected the Rasengan to come so easily. If he had known it would be this simple, he probably would not have shown off in front of so many people. It was a little too flashy.
Jiraiya looked at him, the admiration in his eyes growing stronger. "I thought Orochimaru, Minato, and Kakashi were the upper limit of talent. Now it looks like even they'd have to take a step back compared to you. Your future is absolutely limitless."
"No wonder the old man wanted you to succeed him as the Sixth Hokage. Honestly, if you weren't so young, I'd say you could take the Fifth's seat right now without any trouble."
Akira, however, stayed completely calm and waved it off. "Being Hokage was never my dream. Sounds exhausting. Naruto, though... I think he really might become Hokage someday."
Jiraiya paused.
Among the past Hokage, aside from the First and Naruto's particular brand of overwhelming force, the rest had all been sharp, politically savvy people.
Naruto, at least right now, was a total hotheaded knucklehead. Jiraiya had never seriously believed the boy could sit in that chair.
The moment Naruto heard those words, he jumped up in excitement. "Really? Akira, you actually think I can become Hokage?"
Akira looked at him seriously. "I do. Because you have something most people don't. You can truly understand other people's pain. I think that's the most important quality a good Hokage can have."
Those words hit Jiraiya so hard he felt his whole body jolt.
To understand the pain of others... that was exactly the answer he had been searching for, and exactly what he believed a true Hokage should be.
Naruto's eyes turned watery with emotion. Being recognized by someone as monstrously talented as Akira meant a great deal to him.
Jiraiya frowned at Akira. "Even so, I still think you're the one born to be Hokage. If you wanted it, that position would be yours for the taking."
He was still unwilling to give up. Someone as intelligent, powerful, and gifted as Akira was exactly the kind of all-around talent made for the job. Letting him avoid it felt like a terrible waste.
Akira smiled and cut him off before he could keep going. "Jiraiya-sama, I really don't have the patience for that. Actually, you and I are the same type of person. If you had truly wanted to be Hokage, there'd have been no need for us to come out searching for Tsunade-hime this time, would there?"
"I'm no different. Your hobby is wandering around gathering 'research material,' mine is reading, training, and taking the occasional mission. That kind of free life suits me just fine."
Jiraiya's face darkened at once. "What do you mean, my hobby is chasing women? That's devotion to art! Your thinking needs some serious correction, Akira!"
Naruto immediately piled on. "Oh, give it a rest, Pervy Sage. During the Chunin Exams, the stuff you were doing..."
Before he could finish, Jiraiya slapped a hand over his mouth. "Quiet! What would a kid know?"
Akira smiled in that knowing way of his. Jiraiya's shameless old rogue routine had been obvious for a long time. If the man had not been so strong, somebody probably would have beaten him to death already.
"All right, all right. Either way, I'm not interested in being Hokage. That kind of miserable job should be left to people who actually dream about it."
Jiraiya still refused to let it go. "Dreams aren't enough. You need the ability too."
Akira spread his hands. "Ability can be learned. It's not like people are born with every skill they need."
Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "You say that like everyone's you, learning things after one look."
Akira could not be bothered to argue. He knew the story well enough. The future Hokage slots were already spoken for, and none of it had anything to do with him.
In order to teach Naruto the Rasengan, Jiraiya specially came up with a "Naruto-style" training method tailored just for him.
From that day on, Naruto trained like a man possessed. Every time they reached a new place, he would dive into the woods and start grinding away at chakra rotation.
After witnessing Akira's ridiculous talent with his own eyes, Naruto had completely given up on ever trying to compete with him. Comparing himself to a monster like that was just asking to suffer.
Now his only real motivation, other than getting stronger, was imagining how cool he would look showing off the Rasengan in front of Sakura and earning a smile from his dream girl.
Of course, that was entirely one-sided on Naruto's part.
Over the following days, Naruto poured all of his energy into mastering the Rasengan.
Akira, on the other hand, slipped into the lifestyle of a retired old man. Every day he meditated quietly at the inn, and every so often he would stroll through town and take in the scenery.
In the past, he had trained to survive.
Now that he was already strong enough, training had become more of a personal hobby.
He liked studying ninjutsu, and he also enjoyed looking into strange ninja tools and unusual weapons. There were still many unknown corners of the ninja world that fascinated him.
Sometimes, when the mood struck, he would even summon Shinra and have him run to Ryūchi Cave to discuss training insights with the Snake Princesses or the White Snake Sage.
This easygoing routine lasted for more than a month.
Jiraiya came and went like a ghost every day, off "gathering intelligence," while Naruto's Rasengan training had started to take real shape, though he still lacked practical control in battle.
Every time Jiraiya tried to drag Akira along on one of his so-called research outings, Akira refused without mercy.
The cheap girls in those pleasure quarters did absolutely nothing for him.
His body might only have been thirteen, but he had grown fast, standing five foot nine with a mature air that made him pass for an adult at a glance.
Even so, the idea of visiting brothels with an old letch like Jiraiya disgusted him on a very basic level.
Jiraiya, naturally, did not care in the slightest what anyone thought and spent his days happily wallowing in soft company.
Then, one night more than a month later...
Naruto was still in the woods behind the inn wrestling with a water balloon. He had already mastered the first stage, but the second had him stuck. No matter what he did, he just could not find the right feeling.
Jiraiya returned reeking of alcohol. The moment he pushed the door open, he saw Akira sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, resting quietly.
Jiraiya dropped into a chair, poured himself a cup of tea to sober up a little, and joked, "You really live like a hermit. Aren't you bored, cooping yourself up in a room all day?"
Akira slowly opened his eyes, his gaze perfectly clear. "I've already been to every place in town worth visiting. There's nothing new left. But what about you, Jiraiya-sama? You've spent a month gathering intelligence. Any useful results?"
Jiraiya took a long swallow of tea and grinned. "Naturally. I've got solid information now. Someone spotted Tsunade in Tanzaku Town. It's a famous gambling city. With Tsunade's personality, she'd definitely lose the shirt off her back there."
A faint smile touched Akira's lips. "Oh? So our little search expedition is almost over?"
Jiraiya nodded, then asked casually, "That brat still training?"
"Yeah. He's still locked in mortal combat with the balloon. I'll give him this much, his persistence is frightening. I think he'll master it sooner or later."
Jiraiya sighed, sounding a little frustrated. "The Nine-Tails chakra interfering doesn't help, but his progress really is painfully slow."
Akira smiled. "Slow and steady. This jutsu is already way beyond what someone his age should be learning."
Whether it was Chidori or Rasengan, throwing an A-rank jutsu at a twelve-year-old genin was basically forced growth. The risks were huge.
Jiraiya shot him a sideways look. "You've got some nerve saying that. A freak like you, who hits max level after one look, really thinks he has the right to say that without shame?"
Akira looked completely composed. "People have different kinds of talent. I think it doesn't matter whether someone learns fast or slow, as long as they get there in the end. Besides, learning quickly doesn't necessarily mean using it well. Real combat is the only true test."
Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. "That's true enough. But you're still an exception. You learn fast and use it well. You really don't leave other people much room to live."
"To be honest, I'm starting to think your strength is already close to mine."
Akira smiled modestly. "You flatter me. How could I compare myself to one of the Sannin?"
That was little more than professional courtesy.
In reality, Akira knew full well that he had already surpassed Jiraiya in his normal state.
Perfect Sage Mode, a sea of chakra, and the forbidden jutsus he kept in reserve... if they truly fought, Jiraiya might not come out ahead.
And that was before summoning beasts came into it. Shinra's temper and power were so absurd that even Manda would think twice before crossing him. Compared to Shinra, Gamabunta would come off looking like the younger brother.
On top of that, Akira had an excellent relationship with the great snakes of Ryūchi Cave. If it really came down to a life-or-death fight, he was confident he could keep Jiraiya firmly suppressed.
But there was no reason to say any of that out loud. It would only hurt the old man's pride.
The two of them chatted on and off, the topic drifting from training methods to hidden secrets of the ninja world.
What surprised Jiraiya most was the sheer depth of Akira's knowledge. It felt bottomless. There were plenty of obscure things even Jiraiya, a veteran who had traveled all over the world, did not know.
Akira might not have gone very far himself, but he had read enough books to fill a library. On top of that, people like Kakashi and Guy were always bringing him strange materials and odd bits of information. He was the kind of person who could stay home and still know what was happening under the sky.
By the time Naruto finally came back late at night, covered in dirt and dragging his exhausted body behind him, the two of them only reluctantly ended their conversation.
After that long talk, Jiraiya's opinion of Akira rose even higher.
The more he learned about him, the more he regretted the fact that someone this perfect had no interest whatsoever in becoming Hokage.
In that sense, Akira really was like him. Both of them had the ability, but all they wanted was to live freely.
Naruto came in, too tired even to wash his face, collapsed onto the bed, and immediately began snoring loud enough to shake the room.
Looking at Naruto sleeping like the dead, Akira smiled. "He's only getting away with this because of the Nine-Tails' recovery. If anyone else trained like that, their body would already be falling apart."
Jiraiya looked at Naruto's sleeping face, his eyes full of something almost fatherly.
Early the next morning, the three of them packed up and headed straight for Tanzaku Town.
Several days later, as evening fell, they finally stood before its grand entrance.
As one of the shinobi world's most famous money pits, Tanzaku Town was far more extravagant than any ordinary city.
Naruto looked up at the enormous gate and laughed excitedly. "So that legendary woman is here? Once we find her, Kakashi-sensei and the others are saved!"
Akira immediately poured cold water on him. "Don't talk like they're about to die tomorrow."
Naruto pumped a fist. "It's basically the same thing! We've got to drag that woman back as fast as possible and make her heal them!"
Akira patted Naruto on the shoulder and gave him a serious warning. "When we meet her, try to show some manners. She's one of the Legendary Sannin, just like Jiraiya-sama, and she's got a fiery temper."
Naruto scratched his head, looking puzzled. "If she's from the same generation as Pervy Sage, doesn't that make her some old lady in her fifties? Why do you all keep saying she's beautiful?"
Akira blinked, then instinctively turned to look at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya immediately perked up and launched into an explanation with suspicious enthusiasm. "That's what makes Tsunade so amazing! She knows a mysterious jutsu that keeps her young. She may be older, but she looks like she's still in her twenties. A real beauty!"
Talking about Tsunade's looks, Jiraiya's old face actually started to flush a little.
From Akira's point of view, though, that expression was just plain creepy.
Akira and Naruto exchanged a glance and nodded in perfect understanding.
"Jiraiya-sama, that look on your face is begging to get punched."
"Yep. Pervy Sage really is a hopeless old degenerate."
Listening to the two of them roast him in perfect harmony, Jiraiya let out a helpless sigh.
"All right, all right, enough. Let's just get inside and find her."
"We know she's here somewhere, but this town is absurdly huge. Finding a woman who loses every bet she places isn't going to be that easy."
And he was right. Tanzaku Town was enormous. The main avenue alone stretched for miles.
The moment they stepped inside, luxury hit them like a wave.
Everywhere they looked there were casinos, exclusive clubs, and lavish entertainment houses. The air itself seemed thick with money and liquor.
Walking down the street, Jiraiya looked like a rat that had fallen into a grain silo, his eyes darting greedily in every direction. Whenever they passed the red-light district, his gaze practically glued itself to the women.
"Well now, the girls in this town are top quality!"
Naruto immediately edged farther away from him in disgust, like he was afraid the perversion might be contagious.
Akira was long past being surprised. After all, among the three Sannin, each seemed to embody one major vice, and Jiraiya's weakness for women was no secret.
After a long stretch of careful questioning through alleys and side streets, Jiraiya finally picked up a crucial lead and immediately took Akira and Naruto toward the mountains behind town.
According to a reliable witness, Tsunade had been seen in a towering old castle somewhere in the back hills.
The three of them moved quickly, and before long they reached the place, only to find that what stood there now was nothing but a section of ruined castle wall and broken stone.
Staring at the wreckage, Jiraiya's brow furrowed as he said grimly, "This has her fingerprints all over it."
Naruto stared at the collapsed wall and asked in confusion, "Was this Orochimaru's doing too?"
Jiraiya already knew the answer in his heart. Tsunade was long gone.
Putting together everything they had learned along the way, Orochimaru had also been searching desperately for her. The destruction here clearly meant Tsunade had fought someone, and the most likely opponent was Orochimaru.
"Come on. No use staring. She's already gone."
In truth, Akira could have activated his sensory network and mapped every movement within twelve miles, but he had no intention of showing that card right now.
The three of them searched the back hills methodically for most of the day and still came up empty. There was no sign of Tsunade anywhere.
The situation was becoming more urgent by the hour. Orochimaru was hunting in the shadows as well, and if he found her first, and if Tsunade yielded and healed his hands, the consequences would be disastrous.
With his full strength restored, Orochimaru would certainly come back and launch another devastating attack on Konoha.
The village had only just survived one catastrophe. If another blow like that hit now, it might truly collapse for good.
Because of that, Jiraiya resolved in secret that he absolutely could not allow Orochimaru to reach Tsunade first.
But there had been no progress in the mountains, so the three of them had no choice but to return to Tanzaku Town and keep searching through the crowded streets. They burned through a huge amount of time and still found nothing by nightfall.
Naruto's stomach had already been growling in protest for quite a while. He wandered after Jiraiya with no sense of direction at all, without spotting even a single useful clue.
By then, Jiraiya had sent Akira off to try another direction.
As Naruto and Jiraiya passed an izakaya spilling warm smells into the street, Naruto's stomach let out another thunderous growl, and he finally complained, "Pervy Sage, can we eat first? I'm starving."
Jiraiya sighed helplessly. He knew perfectly well that trying to find Tsunade in a short time was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
After glancing at the brightly lit tavern, he could only nod and step inside.
But the moment he crossed the threshold, his gaze locked onto a figure he had not been able to forget.
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