Chapter 522: Assessment

Yahiko showed great interest in Jiraiya's suggestion.

Because he had originally thought about telling their experiences.

"After you left, Teacher Jiraiya, we wanted to use our own strength to contribute to the peace of the Rain Country. At first, we helped some villages repel attacking ninja..."

Yahiko put down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, and began to tell their story.

At first, Yahiko had no intention of creating a ninja organization.

After all, he was just a greenhorn brat at that time.

Neither his strength, experience, nor any other aspect was sufficient to support such an idea.

However, people like Jiraiya who hadn't been paying attention basically only knew one piece of information: that Sōsuke's Fire Release was invincible, capable of using reverse attribute to defeat Hanzō, who specialized in Water Release.

Seizing the moment when Jiraiya swung his kunai, Yahiko suddenly kicked out a crescent-shaped chakra slash at Jiraiya, using the power condensed in his leg.

Jiraiya's words made Yahiko smile, and as he smiled, he recounted their story with Sōsuke.

Two Breathing Methods could be cultivated simultaneously, but they could not be used at the same time; unlike the Rock Breathing Method, which provided both high strength and defense.

"Awesome!" Yahiko cheered.

Failing with ninjutsu, Yahiko once again gathered the power of Breathing and charged at Jiraiya, ready for taijutsu combat.

Konan's fake shuriken looked the same as real shuriken on the surface, but ultimately there were some differences. In the eyes of an experienced ninja like Jiraiya, the shuriken revealed its flaw the moment it was thrown from her hand.

When talking about the development of the Ninshū Sect, one cannot avoid mentioning the crisis that nearly wiped it out.

"Teacher Jiraiya, please be careful from here on." Nagato said respectfully as he stepped forward.

The power of the Breathing Method infused the body to enhance defense, combined with the hardening from Earth-nature chakra nature transformation, allowed this technique the possibility of withstanding ninjutsu head-on.

Actually, she had kunai and shuriken in her ninja tool pouch, but Konan was thrifty and preferred to use her secret techniques whenever possible.

After all, there was a considerable gap in strength among the three; if they all attacked together, it would likely turn into a personal show by Nagato.

At that time, the Ninshū Sect was not large, and Yahiko was the leader of the Akatsuki. With the support of some Akatsuki ninja, plus his words indeed moved a few Ninshū members, the final vote leaned toward cooperation.

"Sōsuke-sensei is very serious when dealing with major matters, but he is quite easygoing when giving lectures," Yahiko explained.

"How about I go first?" Yahiko spoke up first.

Yahiko had been attending lectures all along and eventually decided to join the Ninshū Sect, ultimately even disbanding the Akatsuki entirely, with all members merging into the Ninshū Sect.

The abilities of the Rinnegan could easily achieve a first-time kill when the opponent had no information about them.

After lunch, Jiraiya voluntarily offered to fulfill his duty as a teacher and guide the training of Nagato and the other two.

One absorbed all ninjutsu, the other repelled all attacks; the combination of the two could handle too many situations.

However, for better effect, Jiraiya had Nagato and the others go one by one, rather than all three together.

"Haha, let me see how much you've grown over the years." Jiraiya didn't think Nagato was boasting.

During the time Jiraiya had been away, Nagato and the others' experiences were indeed enough to be adapted into a story.

After another ten minutes or so, Konan, having received her guidance, stepped back, and Jiraiya looked at Nagato.

"Sounds like a serious and meticulous person," Jiraiya thought, stroking his chin as he listened to Yahiko.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Jiraiya had fought the Iwa-nin many times. Their hardening technique was indeed troublesome for someone like him who hadn't mastered Lightning-nature chakra nature transformation, but once faced with a Lightning Release ninja, this technique was practically useless.

Bearing the title of the strongest genius in the ninja world, and possessing the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.

Actually, Muyue had already warned them when teaching, after all, such defensive ninjutsu always gives one a false sense of invincibility; without a reminder, they would truly become arrogant.

Seeing that Konan and Nagato had no objections, Yahiko walked to the opposite side of Jiraiya.

"Teacher Jiraiya, forgive my rudeness." Since Jiraiya himself had said so, Yahiko did not hold back and charged forward with gathered power.

Of course, even as he praised her verbally, Jiraiya did not treat Konan specially because she was a girl; he still struck just as hard.

It wasn't that Yahiko thought the Akatsuki period was bad, but that there was nothing worth saying about it.

Although he didn't think he could defeat Jiraiya, Nagato, with just the abilities of the Deva Path and the Preta Path to absorb, made it impossible for Jiraiya to beat him easily.

With Jiraiya holding back, the two exchanged blows evenly.

"Paper Shuriken!"

The three of them were more than happy to agree, and so they all went together to the training ground outside the city.

Yahiko didn't hesitate to take most of the blame on himself, because that crisis was inseparable from his naivety.

Yahiko couldn't help but smirk proudly.

It was precisely those unique eyes that made Jiraiya believe Nagato was likely the Child of Prophecy.

The moment he charged, Yahiko focused his breathing to enhance his physical strength.

"So you were both present that time." Jiraiya was somewhat surprised.

Yahiko's words reminded Jiraiya of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. As if to compensate for his older brother's bluntness, Tobirama Senju showed seriousness and rigor in every aspect.

Thump! Thump!

This time, Jiraiya didn't pull out a kunai to block; instead, he used Fire Release to knock down the incoming shuriken in advance.

"The power is decent enough, but the speed is slow," Jiraiya commented.

"Earth Release: Rock Iron Technique!"

"Yahiko, Nagato, you two have come a long way and been through so much. Tonight's dinner is on me!" Jiraiya said with a smile.

Ten minutes later, Jiraiya looked at Nagato and Konan. "Which of you wants to go first?"

"It is a terrible thing when a person lacking ability makes decisions."

Jiraiya rapidly formed hand seals and raised a thick earthen wall in front of him. Yahiko's Water Spear only left pockmarks on the Mud Wall, failing to break through its defense.

"Using a defensive jutsu when there's no way to dodge is indeed not wrong, but you must immediately create distance or counterattack afterward," Jiraiya advised.

As for characters like Nagato and Yahiko, who were just going through the motions as extras, Jiraiya didn't know.

But Jiraiya had extremely rich combat experience; he had already noticed Yahiko's movements through observation and simply sidestepped to dodge Yahiko's kick.

"Water Release: Water Spear!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

Yahiko first threw two kunai.

Clang! Clang!!

Jiraiya casually pulled a kunai from his tool pouch and blocked the kunai Yahiko had thrown.

Because the Hardening Technique is a jutsu applied to the body, once it's broken, the best outcome is injury.

It wasn't that Nagato was shy; if he fought Jiraiya, then by the time it was Konan's turn for guidance, Jiraiya might need to rest for a while.

One of the three shuriken was a fake that Konan had disguised with an Explosive Tag using her Paper Secret Technique.

"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"

The development of the Ninja Sect was inseparable from Sōsuke's lectures. The birth of the Ninja Sect began with Sōsuke traveling around the Rain Country to give lectures.

Strictly speaking, the Shinobi Breathing Method consists of two breathing techniques: one enhances strength and comes with a taijutsu move similar to Storm Foot, and the other enhances defense and comes with a defensive ninjutsu similar to Iron Body.

What Yahiko regretted was that his performance was too poor; he couldn't answer Sōsuke's questions well, which probably disappointed Sōsuke at that time.

Next, Jiraiya's palm exploded with chakra, greatly increasing his strength, and he struck again extremely quickly, punching Yahiko and sending him flying.

Yahiko, an orphan who never received a formal education, still had such aspirations and acted on them. Jiraiya felt he had already surpassed countless people.

"Hehe, thank you for the advice, Jiraiya-sensei," Yahiko chuckled in thanks.

Within the Ninja Sect, this jutsu also had the nickname 'Turtle Shell Technique' because it was truly hard.

Although freeloading a dinner was something to be happy about, what made them even happier was that Jiraiya would stay until evening.

Jiraiya punched Yahiko, but Yahiko stood unmoved; instead, Jiraiya's fist was slightly reddened by the impact.

The first time they met, Yahiko had already deemed Sōsuke an important figure who could promote peace in the Rain Country.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. He had gone easy, so how was he getting cocky?

Unlike Yahiko, Konan quickly learned the strength-type Shinobi Breathing Method as well, but she did not go on to learn the defense-type Shinobi Breathing Method like Yahiko did.

When pursuing their dreams, they encountered like-minded companions and established a ninja organization. Then, in their struggles, they met an extremely powerful senior with similar dreams, and finally, they went through all kinds of hardships together, continuing to strive.

Yahiko was not affected by Jiraiya's words and threw himself into the battle, gathering chakra to create three water spears in front of him and shooting them at Jiraiya.

As Yahiko continued to speak, the image of Sōsuke in Jiraiya's mind gradually became full and solid.

"Compared to the Ninshu's influence on the Rain Country, the Akatsuki organization can only be called small-scale. Even though its slogan is grand, its actual influence is very small." Yahiko drank some water to moisten his throat and continued.

A crescent-shaped chakra slash struck the tree, leaving a deep gash on it, nearly cutting the large tree in half.

But on the other hand, the difficulty of training was greatly reduced. Under Muyue's guidance, even the most ordinary Ninshu ninja could gradually learn one of them.

"At that time, Teacher Sōsuke might have heard about the Akatsuki's deeds from elsewhere and was interested in our ideals. Unfortunately, I disappointed him—I knew almost nothing when he asked." Yahiko said with a regretful expression.

After being thoroughly dominated in taijutsu, Konan threw three shuriken at Jiraiya.

Yahiko's talent was decent, so he learned the complete Ninja Breathing Method.

"Then I'll do it." Konan stepped forward upon seeing this.

As a renowned strongman of the current shinobi world, Jiraiya had this confidence.

At that time, the overall environment of the Rain Country was chaotic, but even in the chaotic Rain Country, there were not no ninjas who longed for peace.

Jiraiya didn't dislike serious and meticulous people, or rather, few people would dislike those who treat their work and ideals with seriousness and rigor.

As the battle that made the ninja teacher Sōsuke famous throughout the shinobi world, even Jiraiya, who hadn't paid special attention, had heard some news about it.

After throwing the shuriken, Konan mobilized her breathing power and swiftly dodged, charging towards Jiraiya.

After figuring out Yahiko's taijutsu habits, Jiraiya began to increase the difficulty for Yahiko. A single feint caused Yahiko to show an opening.

"Not bad in taijutsu, your aggression is even stronger than Yahiko's." Jiraiya praised.

Nagato voluntarily stepped back a step.

Konan took out some paper slips from her person, infused them with chakra to harden them, and threw them out.

Having not seen them for too long, Jiraiya's knowledge of Nagato and the others' strength was limited to the intelligence he had gathered. To give better guidance and out of a bit of curiosity, Jiraiya conducted combat training with Nagato and the other two.

Because the Paper Secret Technique that Konan was practicing had considerable defensive means—once she trained it to sufficient proficiency, Konan could turn her body into paper to dodge attacks, without needing to take them head-on.

Boom!!

The shuriken hit by the Fire Bullet exploded.

However, Yahiko did not dwell on the Akatsuki organization for too long. He quickly moved on to talk about his first meeting with Sōsuke.

He had a dream of world peace and would pursue it with a rigorous and serious attitude. He had strong teaching abilities while upholding a philosophy of teaching without discrimination. He had a big-picture perspective and could set aside the hatred of the Rain Shinobi Village for the peace of the Rain Country.

"Truly, have I been too busy in recent years? The shinobi world produced such an interesting person, and I didn't even notice." Jiraiya sighed, planning to travel extensively after the war ended.

"As a young man, what you have done is enough for you to wear an expression of pride in yourself." Jiraiya encouraged.

In one action after another, Yahiko and the others gradually gained other partners. When the number reached a certain point, the Akatsuki organization was established accordingly.

At this moment, Nagato happened to look at Jiraiya. The two met eyes, and Jiraiya once again saw those Rinnegan that had once shocked him greatly.

"The ninjutsu you just used should be Earth Release, right? Try not to use it when facing a Lightning Release user, or it might end up hurting you." Jiraiya said.

Such an attack, if it hits a ninja, can cause considerable damage.

Of course, if one is serious and meticulous about every small thing in life, Jiraiya thinks it's not good—too tiring.

The Breathing Method that Yahiko practiced was a derivative Breathing Method developed by Muyue based on Rock Breathing, called the Ninja Breathing Method.

"Use everything you have mastered as much as possible. Don't hold back. Let me see all of you." Jiraiya said with boldness.

Yahiko unhurriedly used the shinobi world version of Iron Body.

It had to be said, Sōsuke as described by Yahiko was quite perfect. Some things, even when Jiraiya put himself in that position, he felt he couldn't do what Sōsuke did.

Moreover, considering the uncertainties in ninja combat, if Nagato were Jiraiya's enemy, Jiraiya would definitely start with a summoning technique and call Bunta to help.

Those were the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths—who knew what terrifying abilities they had.