Chapter 389: Master Disciple Meeting Across Time and Space
That night, Mugetsu interrogated Anrokuzan alone.
"Tell me the secret technique for absorbing the Dragon Vein's power," Mugetsu said calmly. "And I can make your death a little easier."
That was all Anrokuzan was worth to him.
"Hahaha." Anrokuzan laughed hoarsely. "So you want the Dragon Vein's power too."
Trapped like this, he had already been resigned to death, but he did not expect a chance to turn the board around.
Mugetsu's tone was cold, but Anrokuzan did not care. He understood power chasers like Mugetsu far too well.
"Release me," Anrokuzan said, voice turning seductive, "and we kill the Queen of Roran together. Her daughter can control the Dragon Vein too, and she's easier to handle. After that, I'll give you sixty percent of the Dragon Vein's power. I only take forty."
He continued, laying it on thicker, as if he were offering a crown.
"Your strength is already this great. If you absorb that much more Dragon Vein power, you'll become invincible in the ninja world. You'll be the one and only king. Calling you the second Sage of Six Paths would not even be an exaggeration."
If Mugetsu agreed, Anrokuzan really would teach him the absorption method.
Of course, Anrokuzan was not that generous.
Only half of what he said was true. If Mugetsu dared to absorb Dragon Vein energy into a normal human body using that technique, he would absorb himself to death.
Then Anrokuzan would not need to lift a finger. Once Mugetsu died, Anrokuzan could take the Dragon Vein energy from his corpse.
"You still want forty percent?" Mugetsu asked with a faint smile.
Even now, this man still dared to propose a sixty forty split. He truly lived in a dream.
"Fine." Anrokuzan's voice dropped, as if he were making a painful concession. "Eighty for you, twenty for me. No less. That's my bottom line."
In truth, he would not have minded taking even half a percent. It would all return to him once Mugetsu died anyway. He only feared Mugetsu would see through the trap if he acted too eager.
Mugetsu's smile vanished.
"I don't have time to play games with you." His gaze turned flat and cold. "If you won't talk, then I'll use ninjutsu to search your memories myself."
Mugetsu could not possibly trust Anrokuzan. With such an advantage in hand, why would he gamble on Anrokuzan's words?
Back when he was farming rewards from the intermediate class, Mugetsu had obtained a Yamanaka clan secret technique. However, his proficiency was still low, and he was not confident he could extract exactly what he wanted without mistakes.
Worse, Anrokuzan's current state was abnormal. Strictly speaking, he was no longer human. Mugetsu was not sure that technique would even work on him.
"If you can do it, then go ahead," Anrokuzan said, refusing to back down.
Directly digging information out of a shinobi's mind was an extremely rare technique. He did not believe Mugetsu just happened to know it. And whether it would function on his current body was another question entirely.
Mugetsu did not argue further. He left behind arrangements that promised pain, then turned and left.
If Anrokuzan chose to speak, good.
If he refused, Mugetsu would wait until his spirit weakened, then invade and extract what he needed.
After that, Mugetsu's days in Roran became similar to his routine in Konoha.
He either taught or researched.
But with time pressing down, he temporarily set sealing techniques aside and focused fully on developing Yang Release Breathing.
With the teaching bonuses and Mugetsu's full effort, the progress was extremely promising. He could already see the outline of something that could be cultivated in practice.
It was during this period that Jiraiya arrived in Roran.
Mugetsu's shadow clone, together with Jiraiya's shadow clone, entered the city, then immediately dispelled itself, leaving only a Flying Thunder God kunai on the ground.
Of course, Mugetsu's main body could not go looking for Jiraiya in person. The moment Naruto made his request, Mugetsu sent out a shadow clone to fetch him.
That way, Mugetsu's progress on Yang Release Breathing would not be delayed, and Naruto could meet Jiraiya sooner.
After receiving the memories from his clone, Mugetsu used Flying Thunder God and appeared directly in front of Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya sama," Mugetsu greeted, smiling warmly.
"Mugetsu." Jiraiya blinked in surprise. "You learned Flying Thunder God too?"
Flying Thunder God was no ordinary ninjutsu. Its difficulty was absurd. In Jiraiya's memory, since Second Hokage Tobirama created it, only Minato had mastered it.
He did not expect Mugetsu to become the third so quickly.
"Yes," Mugetsu replied with a calm nod. "And I have Minato to thank for his guidance. Without him, I wouldn't have mastered Flying Thunder God this fast."
After a brief exchange, Mugetsu did not waste time. He used Flying Thunder God again, appeared beside Naruto, and brought him straight back in an instant.
"Big Brother Mugetsu, what…" Naruto began, startled by the sudden pull.
Then he saw the man standing there.
His words died in his throat.
Familiar.
White hair. The markings around the eyes. That shameless aura he knew too well.
It was Ero Sennin.
And yet, unfamiliar.
This Jiraiya was not wearing the red outer cloak Naruto remembered. He wore gray plate armor instead. His face carried no wrinkles at all.
Looking at this younger Jiraiya, Naruto felt a painful sense of wrongness settle in his chest.
He did not belong here.
He was a traveler who had slipped into a time that was not his.
Naruto clenched his fists hard and forced his emotions down. He would not let his eyes redden. He would not let his vision blur. He would not let his voice shake.
This era's Ero Sennin did not know him.
If Naruto lost control, it would only cause trouble for Jiraiya.
"You're Uzumaki Naruto?" Jiraiya scrutinized him with sharp eyes. "How rude. Either call me Jiraiya sama, or Toad Sage."
He observed Naruto again, quietly stacking the facts.
He did resemble Minato. Add the Uzumaki surname and the Nine Tails jinchuriki detail, and Mugetsu's conjecture was practically confirmed.
"But aren't you Ero Sennin?" Naruto wiped at his eyes and answered righteously, as if that was the most proper title in the world.
Jiraiya's eyelid twitched.
"…Forget it. I'm too lazy to argue with a brat like you."
Naruto's attitude reminded him of someone, and it was not a pleasant memory.
"Mugetsu said you wanted to see me," Jiraiya said, turning and walking onto Roran's streets.
Naruto's eyes flickered. He remembered why he had begged for this.
He clenched his fists again and nodded hard, then hurried after him.
"I'm a ninja from the future," Naruto said, catching up.
"So what?" Jiraiya's eyes widened instantly as he spotted beautiful women in traditional Roran clothing. His voice stayed casual, as if Naruto had just told him the weather. "What do you want, exactly?"
Naruto stumbled for a beat.
That reaction was way too calm.
"Don't you want to ask about the future?" Naruto blurted. "About you?"
When Obito and the others learned he was from the future, they practically sprinted back to their rooms to interrogate him all night.
"No," Jiraiya answered simply.
"If I knew everything about my future, life would lose a lot of its fun."
Jiraiya had been willing to roam the world for the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, but that was different from reading his own fate like a script.
"Besides," Jiraiya continued, his tone turning serious as he looked at Naruto, "if you tell me the future directly, you could change history. You might even disappear."
"As long as history moves in a good direction, who cares if it changes?" Naruto said, meeting Jiraiya's gaze head on. His voice was steady, but the weight behind it was heavy. "Even if I'm not in that good future, I'll still be happy."
If Mugetsu, the Fourth Hokage, Obito, and Jiraiya could all survive in the future, Naruto felt it would be worth everything.
Even if he vanished.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
"Who do you think you are?" he snapped. "A minor acting like some tragic hero? No one needs you to sacrifice yourself. No one needs you to save them."
Naruto's teeth clenched.
After talking for only a short time, Jiraiya could already guess his future might not be pretty. Still, Jiraiya did not want to know it.
He was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku.
Did he really need a kid from the future to throw himself into a fire for him?
"Damn it, don't underestimate me!" Naruto barked. "I've done countless missions and beaten countless enemies!"
At first, Naruto had felt Jiraiya looked so young he barely recognized him. Now, after a few sentences, Naruto was certain.
This was absolutely his Ero Sennin.
Annoying. Shameless. Perverted.
Who else could it be?
"Is that so?" Jiraiya teased, eyes gleaming. "Then why don't you have a Chunin vest? Don't tell me you're not even Chunin yet."
A Chunin vest was not mandatory. Some Chunin did not wear one.
Naruto opened his mouth to argue, then froze as reality stabbed him.
He really was still a Genin.
Jiraiya laughed loudly, completely unrestrained. It was rare to see someone Naruto's age still stuck at Genin.
Naruto's face burned. His eyes darted around, hunting for a counterattack that would not get him killed.
Then he found one.
"Ranks don't matter," Naruto declared. He grabbed Jiraiya's sleeve and yanked him toward a quieter corner. "I'll teach you a super strong ninjutsu. Insane power."
"Rasengan!"
Naruto gathered a huge amount of chakra in his palm. He compressed and rotated it until a high speed spinning sphere formed, whining with pressure.
Then, with a loud bang, he slammed it into the ground.
A crater opened beneath his hand.
Naruto straightened, planted his hands on his hips, and looked up proudly.
"Told you it was strong."
He was absolutely certain this would impress Jiraiya.
More than that, Naruto was looking forward to the day Jiraiya learned Rasengan from him.
He would do everything back to Jiraiya that Jiraiya had done to him.
"You only need to give me 150,000 ryo and treat me to ramen ten times," Naruto said with righteous greed. "Then I'll teach you, okay?"
"The power is good," Jiraiya admitted, glancing at the crater.
With his eyes, it was easy to see the truth. This was a seemingly simple, extremely complex, hand seal free technique with frightening destructive force.
Then he refused without hesitation.
"But I don't want to learn it."
"Huh?" Naruto's jaw nearly dropped. "Why!"
"Because you look too arrogant," Jiraiya said, stroking his chin.
It was a joke.
The real reason was simple. Jiraiya did not want to change history.
He came to see Naruto not because Naruto was from the future, but because Naruto was tied to Minato and to Jiraiya's own future self.
He was fulfilling the kid's wish. That was all.
He did not want the future, and he did not want to learn future techniques from the future.
Naruto panicked instantly.
"Then forget the money!" he blurted. "Just treat me to ramen once, that's all!"
Of course he did not care about Jiraiya's money. He wanted Jiraiya to learn Rasengan earlier, to become stronger. And he wanted, selfishly, to eat ramen with him again.
"Ramen isn't cheap either," Jiraiya said, still teasing.
"Then I'll treat you!" Naruto said, getting more anxious. "I'll treat you to ramen once, and you learn Rasengan with me!"
Jiraiya's gaze swept the street.
Then it locked onto something, and his eyes lit up.
He pointed at an ice pop vendor.
"Forget ramen," Jiraiya said, dragging Naruto over. "Just treat me to one ice pop."
"One ice pop," Jiraiya told the vendor.
The vendor immediately handed him two connected ice pops.
Naruto sighed, accepted defeat, and dutifully pulled out coins, handing them over.
Since Jiraiya refused ramen, Naruto could only hope Jiraiya would remember Rasengan and learn it later.
Just then, Jiraiya snapped the connected ice pops apart and handed one to Naruto.
"This one's on me," Jiraiya said, smiling.
"What do you mean, on you?" Naruto could not help retorting. "I bought it."
Even while complaining, Naruto immediately took the ice pop and bit down.
Jiraiya did not eat right away. He watched Naruto with a chuckle.
"Good?"
"Mmm." Naruto nodded, smiling despite himself. "Delicious!"
It was the simplest ice pop.
But right now, in Naruto's heart, its sweetness could rival even Mugetsu's cooking.
Jiraiya finally took a few bites.
Then, suddenly, his voice softened.
"No matter what you run into, face it head on. Don't give up. Don't run away. If you truly believe in your dream, you will always have a chance to reach it."
Naruto's throat tightened.
Jiraiya did not know what Naruto had lived through, but he could tell this kid lacked affection, and trusted him far more than he should.
Jiraiya finished another bite, then spoke again, casual, as if he were changing the subject.
"Thanks for the ice pop. As for learning a technique, we'll skip it. This shadow clone's chakra is almost gone."
As the foremost shadow clone combatant, Naruto understood immediately.
He tensed and tried to speak, desperate to warn Jiraiya not to go gathering information.
But Jiraiya moved first.
He placed a hand over Naruto's mouth.
He did not use much strength, yet Naruto did not dare struggle. He was terrified that if he damaged the clone, Jiraiya would vanish right away.
Jiraiya quickly finished the ice pop, then placed his hand on Naruto's head.
"If I ever take disciples again," Jiraiya said with a quiet chuckle, "I'll train him to be as excellent as you."
He had not spent much time with Naruto, but what he saw satisfied him.
"Ero Sennin, don't…" Naruto reached out desperately.
His fingers closed on nothing but air.
Jiraiya dispersed into smoke.
Naruto only caught the falling ice pop stick as it dropped.
He stared blankly at the spot where Jiraiya had stood.
If not for the stick in his hand, still faintly cool, he might have believed the whole meeting was a dream.
At that moment, Naruto could not hold it in anymore.
His vision blurred. Tears spilled down his cheeks, unstoppable.
He really wanted Jiraiya to live.
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