"Orochimaru, why are you asking about this?"
Jiraiya was surprised for a moment, then seeing Orochimaru's serious expression, he had no choice but to tell him: "Yes, there is. I originally intended to use it as a trump card to surprise you all, but I didn't expect you to already know. Orochimaru, how did you find out about Senjutsu?"
"Idiot, do you think only Mount Myoboku has Senjutsu? Shikkotsu Forest does too!"
Tsunade snickered after putting down her wine glass. Her grandfather could perform Senjutsu, and her second grandfather had studied Senjutsu, but he never learned it.
Senjutsu may be a secret to others, but to the Senju Race, Senjutsu is not mysterious at all.
"Indeed, Shikkotsu Forest has it too, but I wonder what differences there are in the Senjutsu of the Three Great Holy Lands. Jiraiya, is Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu difficult to learn?"
Orochimaru finished speaking and asked Jiraiya, who sighed upon hearing the question and then said to Orochimaru
"...I've been learning Senjutsu for ten years now, and I'm barely managing it, plus I need the assistance of the immortals from Mount Myoboku. Without their help, I'm afraid I'd never learn Senjutsu in my lifetime."
Recalling the lessons learned while training in Senjutsu, Jiraiya shivered.
Not only did he have to eat bugs, but he was also beaten with sticks every day and had to fall from heights.
Even now, he's only barely mastering Sage Mode, and if he's alone, he can't use it in a real battle because the enemy won't wait for him to spend several minutes gathering Sage Art Chakra.
He needs both immortals to help him quickly enter Sage Mode.
Jiraiya asked, "Orochimaru, are you planning to learn Sage Mode?"
"Sage Mode from Ryuchi Cave is also tough. I haven't gone through its trials, so I can't learn it yet."
Orochimaru didn't hide anything from Jiraiya. He wanted to understand the risks of training in Sage Mode, then devise a countermeasure; he believed that any jutsu could be mastered given time and research.
"The Senjutsu from Shikkotsu Forest is very dangerous, roughly equivalent to being immersed in Katsuyu's acidic fluid. Though not as exaggerated, without strong recovery power, it is impossible to successfully train in Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu."
Tsunade didn't hold back these methods. In her view, except for her grandfather, no one has successfully trained in Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu.
"My second grandfather researched for a long time and eventually gave up. Without grandfather's physique, it's impossible to train in Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu."
Jiraiya replied, "Then Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu is relatively simpler. Though it's a bit difficult, as long as you have the help of an immortal, you can always succeed in training."
The greatest danger of Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu is being eroded by Natural Energy, but Mount Myoboku has a staff that can expel Natural Energy. However, whether you can get an immortal to help you train depends on your relationship with Mount Myoboku.
"Is that so? Thank you."
Orochimaru raised his wine glass upon hearing this. Today he had gained much insight, including understanding the dangers of Natural Energy. When he has the time, he'll still visit Ryuchi Cave.
Since Jiraiya succeeded in training, there's no reason he can't.
"Orochimaru, could it be that you learned about Senjutsu from Uchiha Yoichi?"
Jiraiya suddenly asked. In his impression, Orochimaru didn't know about Senjutsu before. If he knew and was interested, he'd have asked much earlier. The only recent connection to Ryuchi Cave was Uchiha Yoichi.
"That's right, Manda said I'm not a Contractor of Ryuchi Cave, so I consulted Mr. Yoichi, and he didn't hold back..."
He even revealed many risks about Senjutsu in Ryuchi Cave, saying that learning it was on par with an A-Class Forbidden Technique.
Jiraiya drank a glass of wine, sighed, and said, "That brat, he always seemed difficult to get along with, and his temperament isn't great..."
Tsunade asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"During the last mission..."
Jiraiya recounted what happened during the mission to Tsunade and Orochimaru.
But Orochimaru shook his head and said, "If it were me leading the team, I'd have someone escort him back to the village for interrogation."
Jiraiya was surprised, "Isn't that too much, Orochimaru? He just spoke offensively..."
"Heh~"
Tsunade snickered, then disdainfully said to Jiraiya, "Are you an idiot? Orochimaru's talking about that ninja who resents the Uchiha brat. Why keep such a person? Resentment against a benefactor?"
"The Uchiha brat may not be likable, but he at least completed the mission well. What did the other person do? To say such words to harm a teammate!"
Although she sometimes wanted to beat that Uchiha brat, she wouldn't let someone who resents teammates off either!
Seeing that both companions opposed him, Jiraiya reluctantly said, "Alright, alright, let's talk about something else..."
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Konoha and the Land of Fire gained immensely this time in the Land of Rivers, but the Hidden Sand Village and the Land of Wind suffered significant losses.
They initially wanted more profits, but their goals weren't achieved, and worse, they couldn't even secure their original share of resources, being subtly accused of assassinating the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers.
Not only is the Daimyo of the Land of Wind angry now, but they also distrust Hidden Sand Village, thinking that without the official directive from the Daimyo Mansion, they dared assassinate a Daimyo.
Even if it's a small country Daimyo, it's unacceptable!
However, for Hidden Sand Village, this is no longer important. The greatest concern is the disappearance of their Third Generation Kazekage, and from the mouths of Konoha ninja, there's a suspicion that their Third Generation Kazekage was killed by their own village ninja.
It sounds like a ridiculous joke, but despite the entire village's efforts, they couldn't find the Third Generation Kazekage. Coupled with Sasori's sudden disappearance, it inevitably raises doubt.