"So...." Jiraiya looked at Kai and Aelira, fixing them with his gaze, "How old are the two of you?"
"I am sixteen." Aelira said.
Kai and Jiraiya both looked at her, surprised, "You certainly look older than your real age, young lady." Jiraiya said, with a surprised voice with an undertone of disappointment, perhaps at her being too young..
"I thought you'd be 21 or something... You are quite tall for a girl." Kai said. "I am nine."
"Ah well, let's get to the main thing kids." Jiraiya said and crossed his arms, "Now, do you two remember how you moved natural chakra between you two?" He asked.
- Kai's POV -
I shrugged, "Yeah, well mostly." I said, recalling the memories of the day when we encountered Aelira.
"I didn't do much expect move my chakra through the connection formed by the shadow, he did all the work." Aelira said calmly.
Jiraiya nodded, "Well, that's good, because we'll be doing it again."
"What." I immediately said, confused, "But why? Isn't it dangerous."
"Because I need to see it myself." Jiraiya said, pointing at his eyes, "Besides, you've done it once already, you didn't die, did you? Besides, don't worry, you've got a natural chakra expert here, I won't let anything happen to you!"
Shikamaru, who was sleeping while leaning against one of the trees right now, having woken up surprisedly, to watch Jiraiya and Kai train, was now awake, "That's a bad idea."
"All the good ones seem like they are bad." Jiraiya replied.
"This isn't a good one." I said.
"Too bad you don't get a say." Jiraiya said firmly.
"This is obstruction of free will." Shikamaru said.
"I am sorry, but people like your brother and the girl don't have free will." Jiraiya smiled and turned around again, facing Aelira, "Now, you used that spiky haired brat's shadow binding jutsu to form a chakra connection, didn't you?"
Aelira and I nodded.
"Well, we won't do that now." Jiraiya said and walked forward and stopped between us.
"We will use a seal, I will create a seal on a scroll with two ends and a center, I will regulate and control the seal from the center, if anything happens, i will completely severe the seal. You two, will place both your hands on each end of the seal," he said and turned to Aelira, "you, will channel your chakra and let it pass to him, understood?"
Aelira looked at the scroll.
Then at Jiraiya.
Then at me.
And nodded.
"…Understood."
Jiraiya crouched down and unrolled the scroll across the grass, smoothing it out with one hand. The markings weren't like the usual storage seals I had seen before—these were… flowing. Circular. Interconnected.
Three distinct points.
Two at the ends.
One in the center.
"Don't move unless I tell you to," Jiraiya said, pressing his palm into the center mark. His chakra flared—controlled, precise, overwhelming even in its restraint.
I could feel it.
Even without trying.
"Place your hands."
I stepped forward and crouched, placing my right palm over one end of the seal.
Aelira mirrored me on the other side, her pale fingers resting gently over the inked pattern.
For a second—
Nothing happened.
Then—
"Alright," Jiraiya said calmly. "Begin."
Aelira closed her eyes.
And I felt it.
Not suddenly.
Not violently like before.
This time—
It was guided.
Measured.
A slow… steady flow.
It entered through my palm.
And everything changed.
It wasn't like chakra.
Not exactly.
Chakra always felt like something mine—something that responded to my will.
This—
This felt like something else entirely.
Something older.
Something that didn't care about me.
My breath hitched.
"…Kai," Jiraiya's voice cut through, sharp but steady, "focus."
I clenched my jaw.
Right.
Focus.
The energy moved through my arm.
Up my shoulder.
Into my core.
And this time—
I didn't drown.
It was still overwhelming.
Still dense.
Still far beyond anything I should be handling.
But—
Something inside me responded.
A shift.
Subtle.
But real.
Like gears clicking into place.
And then—
I saw it.
Darkness.
Endless.
And in the middle of it—
That thing.
Massive.
Towering.
Unmoving.
The wheel.
It stood behind it—
Silent.
Watching.
And then—
Click.
The wheel moved.
Just a little.
One notch.
Mahoraga.
Pain.
My entire body tensed as my chakra coils screamed in protest.
It felt like they were being stretched—
Expanded—
Forced to accommodate something they weren't built for.
Back outside—
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed slightly.
He felt it.
"…Interesting," he muttered under his breath.
Aelira's brows furrowed.
"…His body… it's not rejecting it," she said quietly. "It's… changing."
Jiraiya didn't respond.
But his grip on the seal tightened just a little.
Inside—
I dropped to one knee.
My breathing uneven.
My vision shaking.
But I didn't pass out.
Not this time.
I clenched my teeth.
Forced my eyes open.
The energy was still there.
Still flowing.
Still heavy.
But—
It wasn't crushing me anymore.
It was being… processed.
"…That's enough," Jiraiya said suddenly.
The flow stopped instantly.
The pressure vanished.
And I collapsed forward, catching myself with one hand.
Breathing hard.
Sweat dripping down my face.
Silence.
Then—
"…You're kidding me," Jiraiya muttered.
I looked up slightly.
Still trying to catch my breath.
"…What?"
He stared at me.
Really stared this time.
Not casually.
Not curiously.
But seriously.
"…You didn't just endure it," he said slowly.
"…You adapted to it."
My heart skipped.
Aelira was already looking at me.
Eyes sharp.
Focused.
"…It's stronger than before," she said. "Your compatibility."
Yeah.
I felt it too.
Not a lot.
Not enough to matter in a fight.
But it was there.
Something had changed.
Jiraiya suddenly bit his thumb.
I blinked.
"Wait—what are you—"
Poof.
A cloud of smoke burst beside him.
Two small figures appeared.
An old toad with a wrinkled face and a smaller one beside him.
"Hey, Jiraiya boy, what's the rush—" the smaller one started, then stopped.
Both of them looked at me.
And froze.
"…What the hell is that?" the old one muttered.
"Watch your tongue, old man," Jiraiya said. "Take a look at the kid."
They both hopped closer.
Eyes narrowing.
Observing.
The old one—Fukasaku, I think—leaned in.
"…Boy," he said, "what did you just do?"
I blinked.
"…I don't know."
"That's not reassuring," the smaller one—Shima—said.
Jiraiya crossed his arms.
"He just handled natural energy without any training."
Silence.
Then both of them shouted at the same time.
"WHAT?!"
Shikamaru, who had been half-awake till now, fully opened his eyes.
"…What a drag…"
Fukasaku circled me slowly.
"…No transformation… no imbalance… no petrification…"
Shima leaned closer.
"…And no frog traits either…"
They both looked at each other.
Then at Jiraiya.
Then back at me.
"…This doesn't make sense," Fukasaku said.
"At all," Shima added.
Jiraiya scratched his head.
"Tell me something I don't know."
Fukasaku turned to me again.
"Alright, boy. Try something."
I raised an eyebrow.
"…Like what?"
"Draw in natural energy."
I blinked.
"…How?"
Both of them froze.
"…What do you mean 'how'?" Shima asked.
"I mean," I said, "I don't know how to do that."
Silence.
Fukasaku stared at me.
Then at Jiraiya.
Then back at me.
"…You're telling me," he said slowly, "you can handle natural energy… but you don't know how to gather it?"
"Yeah."
Another pause.
"…That's backwards," Shima said flatly.
Jiraiya sighed.
"That's what I've been saying."
Fukasaku rubbed his chin.
"…No, no… if he's compatible, he should be able to feel it… and if he can feel it, he should be able to draw it in…"
"Try again," Shima said. "Sit still. Clear your mind. Feel the energy around you."
I sat down.
Closed my eyes.
Focused.
Nothing.
I tried again.
Harder this time.
Still nothing.
No sensation.
No flow.
No connection.
Just…
Nothing.
I opened my eyes.
"…I don't feel anything."
Silence.
Fukasaku and Shima looked at each other again.
"…Impossible," Fukasaku muttered.
"He should be picking it up instantly," Shima said. "If his body can use it, it should be able to draw it in without problem."
Jiraiya exhaled.
"Well, he's not."
I frowned slightly.
"…So what does that mean?"
Fukasaku looked at me.
Long.
Carefully.
"…It means," he said slowly, "your body can process natural energy…"
A pause.
"…But it doesn't know how to seek it."
Shima crossed her arms.
"Which makes no sense."
Jiraiya smirked slightly.
"Welcome to my problem."
I leaned back slightly, letting that sink in.
So—
I could handle it.
Adapt to it.
Even use it, maybe.
But I couldn't… gather it.
That was…
Annoying.
Jiraiya looked between me and Aelira.
Then grinned.
"Well…"
He cracked his knuckles.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a pretty interesting combo."
I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
He pointed at Aelira.
"She generates and controls natural energy like it's second nature."
Then pointed at me.
"And you can handle it without dying."
A pause.
Then he smiled wider.
"That's not normal."
No shit.
"Train together," he said. "You complement each other perfectly."
Aelira glanced at me.
Just briefly.
Then nodded.
"…Understood."
I exhaled slowly.
"Well, I think I've got a rough idea of the abilities of you two." Jiraiya said, crossing his arms and then looked at Aelira, "You should probably learn some taijutsu and expand your jutsu arsenal, you've got so much strong chakra but nothing to use it for." And then he looked at me, "As for you, I'll be overlooking your training while I am here, we'll constantly be pushing your body to handle more natural chakra, it'll help both you and the girl out."
He looked at Shikamaru, "Hey brat, you'll have to along too, your mum asked me."
Shikamaru immediately opened his eyes and groaned loudly, "Oh god just make it quick before I die some gruesome death because of these two."
Jiraiya smirked and then his expression hardened and he looked at Aelira, "I have something else to discuss with the boy, and we'll be heading over someplace else. You and the spiky haired boy should go home." He said in a firm voice, not suggesting, ordering.
Aelira raised her eyebrows and cast me a look before nodding at Jiraiya and instantly vanishing alongside Shikamaru.
She was still miles stronger than both me and Shikamaru.
"So..." Jiraiya said, walking closer to me, "You still have some natural chakra in your system, right?" He asked.
I nodded, "Yeah, why?"
Jiraiya sighed, "You really are quite a special kid. Being so talented at ninjutsu, having an ancient and powerful bloodline, and being able to use natural chakra and...." His voice deepened, serious now,
"Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan..."
My eyes widened for a second, but the surprise didn't last.
Of course he knew, he's the village's strongest ninja right now after the Third Hokage, and their biggest information provider, as well as the most trusted student of the Third Hokage.
"So you know, huh? Can't say I am surprised." I said.
"Of course I'd know." Jiraiya said and then crossed his arms, "From what I know of the Sharingan, even with a fully grown and compatible Uchiha, it's usually more of a liability than an advantage, and the fact that even activating it puts a risk on your life, let alone using it, it's definitely gonna be unusable for you for sometime. But.." he stopped at but, contemplating something.
"But what?" I asked, curious now, no- dying to know what the 'but' was.
"But with natural chakra in play, I'd say that in about some years when your chakra coils grow and your body can get more accustomed to the eye, maybe you can use it, although probably to a quite less extent than Kakashi, but still, something's better than nothing." He said.
"Years, huh?" I said and looked down at the ground, thoroughly disappointed.
"Don't make that face. You can't just cheat your way to power, it takes time. Unlike him..." Jiraiya said, saying the last part quietly.
Him?
Oh, Danzo, i suppose.
Danzo is still probably too useful to be disposed of right now.
"Ah well, let's go brat! Let's have some fun while I teach and tell you more about natural chakra, we'll pick out some jutsu for you to learn as well, and some fun, of course!" Jiraiya said.
- Jiraiya's POV -
Such extraordinary circumstances surroind this kid.
The Sharingan, Being compatible with natural chakra so naturally, and his bloodline, backed with his talent.
Surely, he has to be the child of prophecy.