“Hahaha, makes sense. Speaking of which, when I first saw this kid, I thought he was some thief. Never expected him to be Tsunade’s cousin,” Jiraiya said, ughing as he downed another cup. Then, he sighed deeply.

  Orochimaru quietly took a sip of his drink.

  The war was over.

  But the scars and pain it left behind didn’t just vanish. Tsunade’s experiences were a tragic testament to the horrors of war.

  “Hey, why so quiet? You’re sg people just by not speaking. Don’t terrify our little cousin here. e on, drink up!” Jiraiya’s enthusiasm was iious.

  He was naturally sociable, but his words carried a deeper i—hoping Orochimaru wouldn’t dwell too mu old wounds.

  Orochimaru smiled faintly and raised his gss toward Kyoichi. “Kyoichi-kun, we meet again.”

  “You’ve met him before?” Jiraiya asked, surprised.

  “He was one of the didates during the Jonin exams. I served as the examiner,” Kyoichi expined simply.

  Jiraiya paused briefly before realizing what had likely happened.

  Orochimaru as an examihe test must have been no walk in the park. Jiraiya chuckled but refrained fr further. Instead, the three of them gradually settled into a rexed versation.

  Most of the talk revolved around Tsunade.

  “Lady Tsunade is doing well overall, though she’s stantly being hounded by debt collectors,” Kyoichi said.

  “Hahaha!” Jiraiya burst out ughing. That was cssic Tsunade! No matter what she had, money always seemed to vanish into thin air.

  “Did you lend her money?”

  “Of course not. I never lend to gamblers.”

  “Smart move! If you’ve got that kind of cash, you’d be better off funding my research. At least I teach you something useful afterward,” Orochimaru quipped with a rare hint of humor.

  Talking about Tsunade seemed te the emotional gap betweehree of them, if only for a moment.

  Kyoichi observed carefully. At least at this moment, Orochimaru wasn’t ed by ambitioed to Senju geics or Hashirama cells. He seemed more like an ordinary person, simply reminisg about an old teammate.

  “By the way, I heard from the old man that you’re w on some kind of teique. If you run into any difficulties, let us know. At least for now, both of us are still in the vilge. Who knows how long we’ll stay,” Jiraiya said in his usual fht tohough it carried a hint nation.

  The state of Konoha now...

  Calling it precarious would be an uatement.

  Year after year, the reat nations seemed i on taking a bite out of Konoha.

  “I’ve made some progress oeique. Right now, the main challenge is with the skihing aspect, but it’s ing along. I should have a breakthrough soon.”

  In truth, Kyoichi had already mastered skihing to some extent. Currently, though, it was only a supplementary ability to reduce strain on the lungs. It hadn’t yet evolved into something game-ging like his envisioned Fourth Activation.

  “Skihing?” Both Jiraiya and Orochimaru froze for a moment.

  Orochimaru fell into ption. What kind of teique would require such a capability?

  Jiraiya, oher hand...

  After a moment’s thought, he said, “If it’s something like that, I might actually be able to help.”

  “No rush. Speaking of which, Lord Jiraiya, you mentioned earlier that you’d be leaving the vilge again soon. Does that mean...” Kyoichi trailed off, l his voice.

  Jiraiya nodded lightly. “It’s been a few years sihe death of the Third Raikage. Both Kumogakure and Iwagakure have regained much of their strength. We o scout the northern regions.”

  “Mist Vilge might also be a possibility, no? They’ve been rebuilding their strength too, and their prominence has been growing i years. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen have been making quite a name for themselves. They might pose a threat,” Kyoichi added.

  He recalled that Mist Vilge’s resurgence happened around the same time as Iwagakure’s, and both were clear signs of future flict.

  Jiraiya and Orochimaru pondered briefly before nodding.

  “You’re right. Mist Vilge has been quiet for years, but they’ve retly gained some notoriety. The Seven Swordsmen’s fame has been growing steadily,” Jiraiya agreed.

  Kyoichi didn’t eborate further. He had his own responsibilities, including training the three rookies under his care, so iigating potential threats from the north or east wasn’t in his purview. That was a job for the higher-ups.

  Konoha’s leadership wasirely inpetent, after all.

  “e o’s drink to that... Kid, this one’s for Tsunade. Don’t even think about deing!”

  “pletely unnecessary,” Kyoichi replied, waving his hand dismissively. The his finger and performed a summoning jutsu.

  A small slug appeared.

  “Lady Katsuyu?” Jiraiya was taken aback.

  Orochimaru, meanwhile, gave Kyoichi a long, meaningful look.

  The Shikkotsu Forest tract...

  This kid really had ties to the Senju .

  Clearly, Danzo would o revisit his strategies. Angering Tsunade could have catastrophisequences.

  Orochimaru took another sip, masking his thoughts.

  “Lady Katsuyu, could you deliver this bottle of sake to Lady Tsuell her it’s from Jiraiya and Orochimaru’s reunion gathering,” Kyoichi requested.

  “Very well...”

  Katsuyu coiled around the bottle, secreting a protective yer of mucus to prevent corrosion, then vanished.

  Jiraiya sighed in awe. Signing a tract with the Shikkotsu Forest meant Kyoichi’s e to the Senju was fully aowledged. His status was far beyond what it had been before.

  “Looks like you went to retrieve the summoning scroll that day,” Jiraiya mused.

  So, Tsunade had simply left the scroll lying around? Talk about a ck of caution!

  “Alright, enough chatter. Let’s drink. After this, I’ll tell you everything I know about skihing,” Jiraiya promised, raising his gss.

  As the food oable disappeared, the alcohol took its toll. Orochimaru left first—he was a busy man, after all.

  Jiraiya, now thhly tipsy, wandered aimlessly with Kyoichi, casually sharing his knowledge about skihing. He expined how he’d experienced a simir sensation during his training in Sage Mode, when he’d briefly harmonized with the toads.

  It turned out Kyoichi had asked the right person.

  However...

  “Lord Jiraiya, I really appreciate the lessons, but... why did y me to a hot spring?”

  Steam rose around the secluded walls.

  The sound of women ughing echoed faintly.

  Kyoichi felt as if a giant, glowing “DANGER” sign was h above his head.

  He was a teacher! If anyone saw this, his reputation in Konoha would be over.

  “Cough! Don’t misuand. I just took a wrong tur’s go before anyone is the wrong idea,” Jiraiya said, his face turning red.

  Wrong turn? Sure.

  Kyoichi gave him a skeptical look.

  Everyone in Konoha knew of Jiraiya’s illustrious “history” in such pces. There was no need for ao “misuand.”

  “By the way, what exactly is this teique you’re researg? you share?”

  “It’s a cell activation jutsu,” Kyoichi replied, deg not to keep it a secret.

  eling chakra into his hands, he formed seals faster than most ninja could follow.

  “This is the current application I’ve devised, bining skihing with activation jutsu,” he expined.

  “Localized stimution of cellur activity?” Jiraiya murmured thoughtfully.

  The method was ingenious—adaptable to various needs, without pg excessive strain on the body. Of course, it also required immense precision and skill, making it unattainable for most shinobi.

  “You’ve got pns for a more advanced version, don’t you?”

  “Exactly. I’ve the Seven Heavens Breathihod. The first three stages rely solely on lung-based breathing, but the fourth involves enhang skihing capabilities.”

  “Sounds feasible. This activation jutsu...”

  “If you’re ied, I don’t mind teag it to you. But it’s a forbidden teique—best not used frequently,” Kyoichi warned.

  Jiraiya was taken aback by the offer.

  “Cough, how about this: you teach me the activation jutsu, and I’ll share my secret hair teique with you.”

  Kyoichi couldn’t help but smirk. Secret hair teique? Only Jiraiya could e up with such a trade.

  Gcell