By the time Yuki Seisui returned from the training grounds, night had fully fallen. Fortunately, the shops on both sides of the street had residential spaces on their second floors, and the lights shining through their windows kept the streets from feeling too dark.
As Yuki walked along, contemplating how he might beat Minato into the ground again, a voice suddenly called out from above.
"Hey, kid. You're Yuki Seisui, right?"
"Hm?" Yuki instinctively looked up. There, crouched atop a building, was a man dressed in red with a head of wild white hair and an unmistakably roguish air about him.
"Who are you?" Yuki narrowed his eyes, though he already knew exactly who this was, Jiraiya. Still, he had to pretend not to know.
Otherwise, he'd have a hard time explaining how.
"Hahaha!" Jiraiya laughed heartily and jumped down from the rooftop. Striking a triumphant pose with hands on his hips, he declared,
"You're looking at him! I'm the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, the legendary wild man of the ninja world, Jiraiya the Gallant!"
The overly theatrical self-introduction made it hard for Yuki to keep a straight face.
"Sarutobi-sensei said you're a rare genius," Jiraiya said as he gave Yuki a once-over and then shook his head. "Doesn't really look like it."
"Kid, with the way you are now, you'll never become my student!"
He stood there, hands still on his hips, with an air of superiority.
Yuki blinked in surprise and pointed to himself. "Me? Become your student?"
Jiraiya's dismissive attitude stung a little, especially for someone like Yuki who'd recently gotten addicted to beating Minato to a pulp. He frowned and shot back, stirring the pot:
"Orochimaru-sama is way stronger than you."
In truth, Yuki had great respect for Jiraiya. The man was a real-deal warrior, no doubt about it, but his over-the-top attitude on their first meeting made him hard to stomach.
Still, deep down, Yuki was happy about the idea of becoming his student.
Compared to Orochimaru and Tsunade, Jiraiya's talent for teaching was undeniable. Plus, he was easygoing, and Yuki wouldn't have to worry about getting beaten up or being roped into some creepy experiment like with Orochimaru, even if he hadn't started those yet.
"You little brat!" Jiraiya huffed at the comparison.
"That gloomy weirdo? How strong could he even be?"
"He's got nothing on me!"
Some say Tsunade was Jiraiya's true love, but Yuki suspected it was Orochimaru.
Maybe that's just the kind of complex bond only the world of Naruto could have.
In the first half of his life, Jiraiya focused on getting stronger, chasing the so-called "Child of Prophecy" as foretold by the Great Toad Sage. But after Orochimaru defected, it seemed like he started chasing men instead.
And Orochimaru, of course, became something more like a snake auntie than a snake uncle. A perfect, weirdly mutual pursuit.
"Kid, you'd better give it your all in a minute, or you're gonna regret it," Jiraiya said in a low, ominous tone.
He already knew what Yuki was capable of, Sarutobi Hiruzen had filled him in before he came.
A strange Kekkei Genkai. A naturally gifted prodigy.
That was Jiraiya's evaluation of Yuki Seisui.
But earlier that afternoon, Jiraiya had been secretly observing their hidden training area. After watching the way they trained, he mentally added another label to the boy:
A hardworking genius.
Still, he'd noticed something was off about the group's mood during training.
With limited intel, though, he didn't jump to any conclusions.
Yuki's mind stirred at Jiraiya's words. He was curious about where he stood in terms of strength. There was no way he could win, of course, but testing himself was still worth it.
"Jiraiya-sama, are you trying to test my abilities?"
"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded. He'd already decided to take Yuki as a student, but he wanted to measure his strength firsthand.
"If you're not strong enough, you'll never be my student!"
Then, as if remembering Yuki's earlier comment, he added threateningly, "And don't think Orochimaru or Tsunade would take you in either!"
"So just surrender yourself to the greatness of Jiraiya-sama now! Hahahaha!"
Yuki gave him a doubtful look that practically screamed "Really? I don't buy it." It struck a nerve.
"Duel Arena, activate!"
As Yuki extended a hand and mimed grabbing Jiraiya from a distance, Jiraiya instinctively tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
The "air grab" was just for show. As long as the target was within line of sight, Yuki could pull them into the duel arena.
Unfortunately, this trick didn't work against true powerhouses.
Growing up in the 21st century with a modern education, Yuki had already imagined all sorts of sneaky ways to use this power, but after experimenting on Minato, he found it was impossible.
Even when catching someone off-guard, if they were hostile, the arena would automatically initiate battle at full strength.
It was like the system refused to let him exploit it.
Which made sense, if it could be exploited, the ninja world would end up with a whole new kind of broken support class.
Inside the duel arena, Jiraiya looked around curiously.
Yuki was used to it by now.
Every ninja who entered the arena for the first time reacted the same way, like a kid seeing a brand-new toy.
"So this is your unique Kekkei Genkai?" Jiraiya asked, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.
"I heard you don't actually die in here."
He cracked his knuckles, clearly itching for a fight.
Yuki beckoned with one finger. "Come on, then."
Jiraiya tried to play it cool, but in his mind, he was already preparing for an attack.
Still, before anything else, he had to establish a teacher's authority!
With that thought, he charged straight at Yuki.
Halfway there, though, Yuki gave him a sly grin, and suddenly, Jiraiya was frozen in place, unable to move, then blinked across the arena to find himself face-to-face with Yuki again.
A countdown appeared between them.
"So that's how it works…" Jiraiya muttered. Now he understood why this power was called the "Duel Arena."
As the countdown hit zero, Jiraiya made no move. Instead, he crossed his arms.
"Go ahead, kid. You'd better attack first, or you won't get another chance!"
Yuki wasn't about to waste this opportunity. He formed a hand seal, and two shadow clones appeared at his sides.
Left hand gripping the sheath of his sword, right hand ready to draw, he charged straight toward Jiraiya.
The two clones flanked him and began weaving signs at high speed. In seconds, two different ninjutsu attacks flew past Yuki toward Jiraiya.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere! And Great Breakthrough!"
This was a strategy Yuki had developed himself.
With each duel, his chakra reserves grew larger. Having two clones act as artillery while he took the offensive with swordsmanship was his most efficient tactic.
It allowed for a three-pronged assault, with ninjutsu providing cover.
After casting their jutsu, the clones followed up with a pincer attack.
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