"What?" Kadoya raised an eyebrow at the awestruck faces of the surrounding genin.
"They're just amazed," Jiraiya chuckled, slapping a hand onto Kadoya's shoulder with the familiarity of a proud teacher. "Look at you, my student, jumping from genin straight to jonin. What a rise!"
What is this old man speaking about? When did he become Jiraiya's student?
Kadoya blinked, utterly confused. "Since when the hell did I become your student?"
He looked at the white-haired literary youth in front of him like he had finally gone senile.
Jiraiya grinned shamelessly, then leaned in, speaking in a low tone. "Well, both your brothers are my students. So naturally, it's only a matter of time before you join the winning team."
Kadoya: "Heh?"
Kadoya's ahoge: "?"
The blank look on his face said it all.
Seeing his confusion, Jiraiya elaborated with pride. "Don't you see? Both Nawaki and Minato are my students. And they both seemed to want you to join them, so of course I couldn't bring myself to decline them."
Hearing Jiraiya's explanation, Kadoya couldn't help but wonder if this guy was an idiot or something. But since he isn't Snake Uncle himself, calling Jiraiya an idiot directly would be too rude.
Plus, Jiraiya, although a self-proclaimed super pervert, was still a good teacher and father figure to many. He also didn't get greedy for power like the Konoha F4; instead, he served his village and died like a true hero.
So there is really no reason to create bad blood between them.
Kadoya held his tongue.
"…Wait a second," Kadoya said suddenly, eyes narrowing. "You said Nawaki is your student?"
"Yup." Jiraiya nodded, puffing out his chest proudly.
"…Since when?"
"Before Minato," he answered smugly, like training that idiot was some kind of achievement.
Kadoya: "..."
Honestly, this was quite understandable, both Orochimaru and Jiraiya are Tsunade's teammates, so knowing Nawaki beforehand wasn't too far off. With Orochimaru's personality, Nawaki will most likely avoid getting in contact with him until they are put into a team together.
But with Jiraiya... yeah, he could see the two idiots bonding over stupidity.
"So, what did you teach him?" Kadoya asked, genuinely puzzled now.
If Jiraiya had been Nawaki's teacher for so long, why is Nawaki still so trash?
All of Jiraiya's students are legendary: Minato, Nagato, and Naruto, all powerful shinobi with Kage-level strength.
So why was Nawaki, who in this timeline became Jiraiya's first student, so weak?
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head. "Ahem… well… mostly research, stealth, and reconnaissance."
Kadoya: "..."
Being Minato's brother, of course, Kadoya knew what research, stealth, and reconnaissance coming from Jiraiya's mouth actually meant.
Still, giving him some face, Kadoya didn't call it out. Not with the genin watching.
"Since you're so eager to claim me as your student, why don't you teach me something?" Kadoya said, sighing dramatically. "Tsunade-sensei, Orochimaru-sensei, even Sakumo-san taught me kenjutsu. But you? Nothing."
He elbowed Jiraiya lightly, flashing a mischievous smirk. "Surely the Great Toad Sage has something up his sleeve that he can teach his student, right?"
Jiraiya: "..."
For some reason, Jiraiya found Kadoya's action now seems to resemble Tsunade whenever she asks for money to go gamble.
He gulped.
But he couldn't deny him right now, doing so would only tarnish his credibility.
"Ahem. How about I teach you the Toad Summoning Technique?"
"No thanks. I already have a frog, slugs, snakes, and cats."
Jiraiya: "..."
Is this kid trying to open a damn zoo?
"Alright, how about Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet?" He suggested.
This is one of the Ninjutsu techniques his teacher created and taught him. For an Uchiha who is a ninjutsu specialist, a technique like this should be effective.
"I'm an Uchiha, do you think a simple Fire Dragon Flame Bullet would be difficult for me?" Kadoya asks, looking back at Jiraiya like he was an idiot.
Jiraiya's eye twitched. He coughed, regaining composure. "Then… how about I pull a favor from the Hokage and get you an S-Rank Forbidden Jutsu?"
"I haven't even claimed my first one yet. Tsunade-sensei can just kick the Hokage's door if I need more."
Jiraiya: "..."
"…Can we talk about this later?" he asked, a little exasperated.
Kadoya smiled coolly. "A mosquito is still meat, Jiraiya-sama. You can't go around calling yourself someone's teacher if you can't even teach or give them anything."
Jiraiya: "..."
Hearing this, Jiraiya had to do a double-take, turn back toward the commander's tent, sensing Tsunade was still inside. Then he turned back to Kadoya, looking at him with a skeptical look, wondering if this was really Kadoya or just Tsunade in disguise.
Left with not much to teach, Jiraiya scratched his head and asked. "Then, how about I take you out on research and reconnaissance?"
Kadoya quickly countered with his own question. "Want me to tell Tsunade-sensei what you're researching?"
Jiraiya: "..."
Brat! Do you even have a heart!? Telling her would mean my death!
Jiraiya's eyelid twitched in annoyance before he leaned down and whispered to him.
"Alright, kid. What do you want?"
Kadoya leaned in and whispered, "Go to Mount Myoboku and get me that stick. You know, the one that knocks Senjutsu right out of you."
Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Kid, how do you even know about that?"
"Our clan's been fighting the Senju for centuries, and we have a lot of records. The First Hokage could use Sage Mode. If Nawaki learns it too… I want the stick ready to knock it out of him."
Jiraiya's face darkened.
Was this kid… planning to beat Nawaki into the dirt someday?
Kadoya shrugged innocently. "I just want to see the day he goes all 'Sage Mode' on me, and then bam, knocked out cold."
Hearing his explanation, Jiraiya grew skeptical.
"…Are you sure you're not planning to use it on me?"
"If you've mastered it, dodging it shouldn't be that hard… right?"
Jiraiya grumbled. But after a moment of thought, he nodded. "Fine. Consider it a deal."
"Thanks, Pervy-sensei."
That nickname made his eye twitch again, but as Kadoya walked off, whistling like nothing happened, Jiraiya could only sigh and shake his head.
This brat…
While walking away, Kadoya smirked seeing the notification on his system.
Congratulations! Hidden Quest Complete:
"The Student of the Three Sannin: Act 1 (Jiraiya)"
"The Student of the Three Sannin: Act 2"
Reward: +2 System Point + Increase Jiraiya Bond Level + Summoning Beasts Size Increase
Kadoya smirked to himself, walking off with his newly acquired rewards. Originally, he'd planned to blackmail Jiraiya at some point, force the pervert to take him on as a student. But apparently, there was no need. The guy came running to him, practically throwing the title of "student" into his lap.
Saving him the trouble of luring him.
What surprised him more, though, was learning that Nawaki was also one of Jiraiya's students.
"…So that's why Nawaki has those 18+ manga," Kadoya murmured.
He'd spotted one once, crudely hidden beneath Nawaki's bedding, tagged with a giant red 18+ on the cover. The idiot hadn't even tried to hide it properly.
This guy is really bold. Bringing 18+ manga to the battlefield while staying inside the same tent with a Byakugan and a Sharingan user.
Did Nawaki think they were blind?
Isn't he afraid that one of them is going to snitch on him?
Still, Nawaki's spikey hair does resemble Jiraiya in a way when he was still a genin.
Who knows, maybe Nawaki without the protagonist halo will become the next Pervy Sage. That's only if he didn't jump on an explosive tag and die right at the end of the war, that is.
Kadoya sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"…Should've shipped Nawaki back to Konoha when I had the chance."
Nawaki: "..."
Nawaki, who happened to be standing a few meters behind him, froze.
Wondering what he did wrong this time to Kadoya to suddenly want to ship him back?
"Oh, Nawaki," Kadoya said, finally noticing him. "Didn't see you there."
"You damn evil Uchiha!!" Nawaki barked, furious.
Kadoya simply ignored him; the idiot still didn't know that he could get both him and Jiraiya shipped back to Konoha just by walking up to Tsunade and telling her to check inside Nawaki's pillow case.
Because Kadoya wiped out a Sunagakure's base camp. Leading to Suna and Iwa temporarily joined forces, choosing to take down Konoha first before turning on each other.
This creates a situation where two great ninja villages are targeting Konoha, plus they also need to be careful of Hanzo of the Salamander.
The war is most likely reaching its climax, as Kage-level shinobi from different villages will soon battle. And Genin will most likely become cannon fodder, dying pointlessly on the battlefield.
"Tsunade-sensei," Kadoya called, stepping into the commander's tent.
The Jonin present turned to him, eyes filled with a mix of awe and envy.
He was barely eleven years old, yet already held the rank of Jonin. At his age, most of them were still struggling as Genin or barely making Chunin.
Tsunade looked up from the map. "Kadoya, do you need something?"
"I want to request that all Genin be sent back to Konoha."
Everyone: "!??"
The tent went silent, eyes widening at the suggestion. Genin might be weak, but in a war, every pair of hands counted.
Tsunade frowned. "We don't have the time or manpower for that. Our forces are already stretched thin. Sending away even the weakest would put us at a disadvantage."
"I see." Kadoya nodded. "Then I have a request, keep all the genin here in the camp, let them stay on guard duty."
He stepped forward, finger tracing across the map laid out on the table.
"Sakumo-san is already holding the Suna battlefront, right? Send a few Jonin and Chunin to support him. As for the camp, let Tsunade-sensei, Orochimaru-sensei, and Jiraiya-sensei defend it."
He looked up, locking eyes with her.
"I suspect Hanzo will attack the base, and if anyone could defeat him, I believe that you three could."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "You're planning to-"
"-Split the forces," Orochimaru finished, his voice calm. "Not a bad strategy. Sakumo is already holding well, so there is no need to send him more forces. Our main issue is Iwagakure."
"I'll handle Iwa," Kadoya said, stepping back. "Put together a squad of Jonin and Chunin to follow behind me. They'll act as a relay team to report back quickly if things go south."
The room tensed.
Several Jonin scowled at him. A newly minted Jonin, acting like a commander, telling them to act as support? And now he was claiming he'd handle Iwagakure?
Why not just become the Tsuchikage while you're at it?
"Kadoya, that's reckless," Orochimaru warned.
Kadoya nodded casually. "Don't worry. I'll be bait, draw their attention, collect intel, and I'll also take responsibility to hold them back. If things get dangerous, I'll fall back. The squad behind me will report back immediately."
The plan sounded insane, one boy taking on an entire flank. But the Jonin held their tongues. His plan didn't endanger them. If anything, it gave them a clear role and cover as reconnaissance. So they didn't object, let the enemy show this arrogant Uchiha just how big the world truly is.
Tsunade's lips pressed into a thin line. Her worry was visible.
Orochimaru, though always unreadable, also seemed uneasy.
Tsunade is obvious, and Orochimaru is because Nawaki hasn't died, and he hasn't started his descent into darkness yet.
Finally, Tsunade broke the silence.
"…Then come back alive."
The tent grew quiet again. Her voice was steady, but those who knew her could hear the emotion beneath it.
Her words shocked Orochimaru and the others, unlike everyone else here. She knew the destruction of the Land of Sky was caused by Kadoya, so she knew that he at least had the strength to make it back alive.
Kadoya smiled, offering her a respectful nod.
"Thanks, Tsunade-sensei."