Jiraiya looked at the three of us as he narrowed his eyes, then he exclaimed, "You know Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I nodded, so he stepped close enough for me to recoil a bit. "Are you like what, ten?" I replied with a bit of smugness, "I'm almost nine." Jiraiya looked impressed and said, "Your chakra level is insane for your age." I chuckled while replying, "Yeah, I've been told that before." He circled me while I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was doing. He scratched his stubble with his finger and said suspiciously, "Why does nature chakra hate you? What have you done to nature?" He narrowed his eyes at me. I got a bit tense, remembering the horrible crimes I committed against it, but I didn't think that was what Jiraiya was sensing. Horrible people like Kabuto could master Sage Mode, so it must be the fact that I'm not from this world that makes nature chakra react weirdly to me. I couldn't sense it myself, so I couldn't say.
He suddenly nodded and said, "The old man did tell me about a promising young shinobi when I visited him earlier. Are you by any chance that kid named Noa?" I replied while thinking, Since when did Hiruzen start talking about me? Maybe it's his way to make my name more visible to keep ROOT off me. But judging by Danzo's early morning visit, it's not working too well. Still, I didn't get kidnapped, so that has to count for something.
Jiraiya kept nodding while circling me, which weirded me out a bit, so I said, "Can you please stop circling me like I circle expensive food stalls?" Jiraiya stopped and laughed. "Kid, you've got a sense of humor. In my opinion, that's the one thing most lacking in this village." He looked at my clones, then asked, "Where are you going anyway with all those boxes?" I answered, excited, "I'm moving to the Senju compound." Jiraiya's eyes suddenly sharpened as he asked, "Did they force you to join their clan or pressure you in any way?" I shook my head fast, feeling the terrifying aura rolling off him. "No, nothing like that. I'm just going to train in the Senju taijutsu style and build my body to suit it, so moving to their compound will save me time and help me focus more on my training." His face relaxed as he nodded. "The Senju taijutsu style does suit you, from what I see. But young Noa, you should expand your knowledge and focus on all aspects of being a shinobi. Ninjutsu, kenjutsu, taijutsu, fuinjutsu, genjutsu, and you should experiment with all chakra natures too. Having more options is the bread and butter of a competent shinobi." I nodded at the advice. You might think of him as a joker type, but he'd completed more missions than anyone in Konoha. He was a very powerful, hardworking shinobi. Any advice he gave should be taken seriously.
I sighed and said, "I do learn fuinjutsu and taijutsu, and I'll start learning kenjutsu very soon. But for ninjutsu, I can only do Lightning Release. I tried the others, but they're really hard for me and take way too much time for very simple jutsu. I think my only affinity is for Lightning chakra." Jiraiya extended his hand and I noticed chakra forming on it as his hand touched my shoulder. He knitted his brows, then said in a baffled tone, "I'm only sensing an affinity for Lightning Release… but the strength of it is unusual. It might be masking others, or it's just that strong." I raised my head with a smug look, but Jiraiya laughed. "That attitude is excellent, young Noa, but the older you get and the stronger the shinobi you face, the more you'll find this makes things harder." He rubbed his stubble and said, "You have a great affinity for two other types of energy, but they're not chakra natures." I scratched my head, trying to remember the chakra natures. As I recalled, they were Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. I vaguely remembered other types but couldn't name them or what they did.
Jiraiya saw my confused and strained face and laughed. "Don't worry about them just yet. That's a bit far off for you. I'm sure the old man will tell you about them when the time comes." He smiled and said, "I can see why the old man is excited about you. For someone your age, you're leagues ahead of where powerful shinobi were back then. You have incredible potential for growth." He grinned wide. "Keep at it, young Noa. With great effort, you might one day become almost as great as me, Jiraiya the Gallant." Then he started laughing like a lunatic. Right at that moment, a woman came out of the bathhouse door, covering herself with a towel. She pointed a finger at him and yelled, "I knew I saw someone with white hair peeking through the fence! Come here, you perverted freak!" She started running at him as Jiraiya's face sank. He said, "Till another time, young Noa," before forming a hand seal and disappearing in a puff of white smoke. The woman looked around, frustrated that he'd gotten away, then glared at me and the clones.
"Young kids, don't hang around creeps like that old man. If you see him, inform the village shinobi right away and say he's a perverted deviant." Seeing her angry, red face, I couldn't say anything and just nodded. The woman turned around and went back into the bathhouse, huffing.
I facepalmed and thought, Is the universe trying to prevent me from moving to the Senju compound? I shook my head in denial and kept walking with the clones, much faster than before. While moving as fast as possible to the Senju compound, I heard a familiar voice shout, "Let the power of youth explode in you, Kakashi!" I looked and saw Might Guy walking on his hands, racing a completely uninterested Kakashi. I screamed inside my head, hid my face behind the boxes, and took another route, praying to every god I wouldn't bump into the Sage of the Six Paths or something.
After a long walk, glancing around like a lunatic and making villagers eye me with suspicion, I finally arrived at the Senju clan compound, thanking every god I didn't run into anyone else. The compound's old guard was actually smiling for once as he said, "Welcome. Please come in. Takemaru and Genta are probably waiting for you at their place. I hope you enjoy your stay." His creaking body opened the creaking gate as I thanked him and walked in.
When I reached Genta's house, I heard him shout, "Noa! You really decided to move!" He ran out and practically glued himself to my side, bouncing with excitement. I couldn't help but smile at how happy he looked. At the academy, he always kept up that serious image, but out here he was a lot more cheerful and way less formal.
I replied, "Yeah, it'll be a great chance to improve my abilities before we graduate. We have to be ready for missions when they finally come."
Genta nodded, looking serious for a moment. "It's going to be hard though." Then he smiled wide and said confidently, "But I'm sure we're up to it."
Takemaru walked out of the house too, arms crossed. "Keep that energy after you've been training for a year. We'll see then." He looked at me and nodded. "Welcome, Noa. I'm glad you decided to move here. It'll make things much easier and make sure the training pace stays focused and intense."
He grinned and said, "Ready to see your new house?"
I nodded, grinning. "I'm ready."