The ninja who had been about to apprehend Raj retreated obediently at the sight of this scene, leaving Kakashi behind.
"Meow~"
Raj sprawled on the table, initially intending to gnaw on Jiraiya's forehead protector.
But the thing reeked of toad slime and hair oil, making it utterly unappetizing.
"Tell me, little one," Jiraiya said excitedly, "how did you master the Rasengan and the Wild Lion's Mane Technique? Oh, and the Needle Jizo too!"
When Jiraiya got serious, he could be quite captivating.
Unfortunately, he rarely took things seriously.
Without hesitation, Raj replied, "I just knew how. It feels like I can use them just by extending my paw.
Is that hard?"
"You!"
Jiraiya felt a sudden surge of irritation.
He had nearly shaved his scalp bald developing the Needle Jizo and Wild Lion's Mane techniques, only for this cat to casually dismiss them as if they were child's play.
"Hahahaha..."
Minato laughed heartily, though a hint of embarrassment lingered in his eyes.
It had taken him three years to turn the Rasengan from concept to reality.
This cat, barely nine months old, had already mastered it.
The comparison was indeed a bit humbling.
"Meow~ I don't really know how it happened," Raj purred, his eyes gleaming mischievously.
"It's like the techniques just popped into my head. Want to learn? Give this cat a massage..."
Raj's eyes darted around as he hatched a plan to tease Jiraiya.
After all, he was just a kitten - it was perfectly normal for him to be clueless.
If he understood everything too well, he wouldn't be a cat anymore.
"This great sage is the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku! What technique in this world could I possibly not know?" Jiraiya declared, striking a dramatic pose.
He formed hand seals with a flourish, flicked his hair, and strands shot out wildly, transforming into the Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
"Meow!" Raj cried out, and his fur began to grow automatically, without even needing a simple hand seal like Jiraiya's.
These two techniques were simply too perfectly suited to him.
"...!" Jiraiya and the Little Black Cat stared at each other, wide-eyed, before Jiraiya reluctantly dispelled his Ninjutsu.
For some reason, he found himself thinking of Orochimaru back in their school days, when they had first become disciples.
'The deja vu is overwhelming!'
Jiraiya sighed softly, waving his hand in frustration before turning to Kakashi, who was standing nearby.
He had noticed Kakashi earlier, but the young man didn't particularly appeal to him.
Kakashi's methods were even more extreme than Orochimaru's had been in their youth.
While there might be extenuating circumstances, still...
"Lord Jiraiya," Kakashi said, bowing respectfully as he noticed the man's gaze.
A hesitant expression crossed his face.
Jiraiya wasn't stupid.
None of the Three Great Sages were pushovers; otherwise, they wouldn't have reached their current positions.
Kakashi clearly had his eye on one of Jiraiya's techniques.
Since the Rasengan belonged to Minato, it could only be the Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
Jiraiya chuckled, squatted down, and looked at Kakashi.
"What's this? You want to learn this technique?"
"Uh... yeah," Kakashi mumbled, lowering his head, aware that he wasn't favored by this esteemed figure.
"I'll teach you. This technique works like this: it uses Chakra to stimulate hair growth..."
Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the ground, while Kakashi knelt respectfully to listen.
The two, one daring to teach and the other daring to learn, appeared like master and disciple before the crowd.
However, those who knew their true relationship understood that a generation separated them, so no one found it particularly odd.
Minato, for instance, smiled brightly.
His hand had already healed, and he now held Raj, watching the scene unfold.
Kakashi was a prodigy, but anyone familiar with his temperament could easily guess the boy's intentions.
As Minato cradled the cat, his fingers unconsciously began stroking it.
"Mrow~"
'Ah, that feels good!'
Raj felt a blissful tingle throughout his body.
He had thought Kabuto was Konoha's top medical ninja, but it turned out there were others even more skilled, who had mastered their craft through sheer self-study.
Before long, the main force began to retreat.
Throughout the journey, Kakashi continued learning Ninjutsu from Jiraiya, while the two also took up the rear guard together.
Minato led the vanguard, guarding against potential attacks from the Sunagakure.
After reaching the camp, Minato immediately went to find Jiraiya and Kakashi.
The two had returned to Konoha's encampment and immediately resumed practicing Ninjutsu.
By the time Minato arrived, Kakashi had just completed the Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
"Hahaha! What do you think? Isn't this sage's technique amazing?" Jiraiya boasted.
Kakashi remained silent, releasing his grip and withdrawing the Chakra he had channeled.
The strands of hair automatically retracted, leaving the masked youth standing there in deep thought.
"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.
"Lord Jiraiya, your technique requires continuous hand seals to maintain the hair's restraint. But when Raj used it, he could still perform the Rasengan..."
His unspoken implication was clear: he was dissatisfied.
What he wanted was a Wild Lion's Mane Technique that required no hand seals, not this two-handed Ninjutsu.
Jiraiya was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.
"Well, you see... this sage is still researching it! Sooner or later, I'll figure out a way to perform it with a single hand seal!" Jiraiya declared, his pride unyielding.
"When Raj attacked, he simultaneously maintained small Rasengans with all four paws. He probably doesn't even need hand seals."
Kakashi immediately regretted saying that.
While true, Jiraiya was one of the legendary Sannin and the teacher of his teacher.
Without that connection, Jiraiya would never have shared such a secret technique so easily.
But the words were already out, and there was no taking them back...
"No hand seals at all? Impossible!"
Jiraiya stared in disbelief.
Even after streamlining the technique, he couldn't imagine performing it without seals.
If this cat could truly cast it seal-free, he'd be completely outclassed.
"Teacher."
At that moment, Minato entered with Raj in his arms, followed by the dazed Obito.
"Meow!"
Upon seeing Jiraiya, Raj's fur bristled wildly, even while being held by Minato.
It was indeed seal-free.
"Teacher, this is another student from my class, Obito Uchiha," Minato introduced with a smile.
Kakashi and Obito were Minato's first students, and he valued this class highly, which was why he brought them all to meet Jiraiya.
Of course, he also wanted to ease his teacher's awkward situation.
"Good, very good, not bad," Jiraiya said with a stiff smile, clearly not pleased.
This was understandable.
No one would be happy to see their signature Ninjutsu surpassed by a cat.
Not only was it humiliating, but it also blurred the lines of who truly developed the technique first.
"Thank you, Lord Jiraiya," Obito said, a bit stiffly.
Everyone in Konoha knew about the Mad Demon Jiraiya.
"By the way, who's the third one?"