Uzuki Yugao didn't realize how flushed her face had become as she continued downing one cup of sake after another. Soon, she'd emptied the entire bottle.
Richard made no attempt to stop her and simply matched her pace. It was perfectly natural for her to need release after losing a boyfriend of many years. Though ninjas possessed greater resilience than ordinary people, they were still human with all the accompanying emotions and desires.
Richard let her continue drinking for two reasons. First, he understood her need to vent her grief. Second, judging by her approach to alcohol, it wouldn't take long for Yugao to drink herself into complete intoxication.
Though the thought of taking advantage of the situation had crossed his mind earlier, Richard had no intention of acting on it tonight. This wasn't the appropriate time. His desires might be strong, but he wasn't so dishonorable that he would take advantage of Yugao's drunken vulnerability immediately after Hayate's death.
As Richard anticipated, Yugao—who rarely drank—soon passed out, slumping over the bar counter. Seeing she could drink no more, he called the bartender to settle the bill. Then, he carefully lifted her into his arms and left the izakaya, using his flight ability to carry her back to her apartment.
After arriving, he gently placed Yugao on her bed, covered her with a blanket, and retreated to the living room to consider his next steps.
Hayate's death at Baki's hands had occurred just as in the original timeline, which suggested Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha was proceeding unchanged. The third round of the Chunin Exam would begin in roughly twenty days.
If everything was following the original course of events, Naruto should have already met Jiraiya and begun learning the summoning technique from him. Meanwhile, Sasuke would be training with Kakashi to master the Chidori.
Perhaps I should meet Jiraiya, Richard considered. As a legendary pervert in the Naruto world, he and Jiraiya should have plenty to discuss. At the very least, they shared an appreciation for beautiful women.
Though Jiraiya was infamous for his lecherous tendencies, Richard couldn't recall the Sannin ever having actually been intimate with anyone. Richard, on the other hand, had no qualms about engaging in "in-depth discussions about the origin of life" with beautiful women when the timing was right.
After deliberating for a while, Richard decided to seek out Jiraiya the following day rather than immediately. The reason was simple—Yugao was still unconscious from drinking. Leaving a heavily intoxicated person unattended could be dangerous, especially for someone as unaccustomed to alcohol as Yugao. Though this was her apartment, there was no guarantee against accidents occurring. For safety's sake, it would be better to stay and watch over her through the night.
The next morning, Yugao slowly opened her eyes, experiencing all the classic symptoms of a hangover—throbbing headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, dehydration, and stomach discomfort.
Fighting through her physical misery, she tried to recall how she'd gotten home, but her memory failed her completely.
Did he bring me back? she wondered, suspecting Richard had returned her to the apartment.
After climbing out of bed, Yugao opened the bedroom door and made her way to the living room. There she found Richard sitting calmly.
"You're awake," he said. "Wash up first. I've already bought breakfast—you can eat after getting cleaned up."
Though he'd spent the night in Yugao's apartment, Richard hadn't done anything inappropriate. In fact, he'd checked on her every hour or two to ensure she wasn't experiencing dangerous symptoms like vomiting or breathing difficulties. He'd even gone out at dawn to purchase breakfast.
Despite not sleeping all night, Richard appeared completely refreshed. With his enhanced physical attributes, going without sleep for one night—or even a month—posed no challenge whatsoever.
"You didn't leave last night?" Yugao asked, surprised.
"No," Richard confirmed with a nod.
"I'm sorry for the trouble," she said apologetically.
"It's no trouble at all. Go wash up," he replied casually.
Half an hour later, after a quick shower and change of clothes, Yugao joined Richard in the living room.
"Have some breakfast," he said, gesturing to the food.
"Thanks," Yugao nodded, sitting down to enjoy the meal with him.
After breakfast, Richard said goodbye and departed. Rather than returning to his residence, he soared thousands of meters into the air, using his enhanced vision to search for traces of Jiraiya and Naruto.
He recalled only that Naruto had encountered Jiraiya while the Sannin was peeping at the women's bathhouse, after which Jiraiya had begun teaching him the summoning technique. The specific location of their training had escaped his memory.
The only detail he was certain of was that Naruto would eventually follow Jiraiya outside the village to practice in the forest. Later, because Naruto couldn't master the technique, Jiraiya would push him off a cliff—forcing him to successfully summon Gamabunta under the pressure of imminent death.
Based on the timeline, Naruto and Jiraiya were likely still within the village. If events were proceeding normally, Naruto would currently only be able to summon tadpoles, with no need to venture beyond Konoha's walls for advanced practice.
Richard scanned the village systematically with his enhanced vision, sweeping it like a radar. Before long, he successfully located Jiraiya and Naruto.
As he'd suspected, they remained in the village, not far from the bathhouse. Naruto was diligently practicing the summoning technique while Jiraiya watched idly from the side, his expression reflecting disappointment.
Having found them, Richard flew directly toward their location without hesitation.
Before he landed, Jiraiya keenly sensed his approach and looked skyward. Though Richard wasn't flying at supersonic speed, his movement still created subtle sounds—the flutter of clothing against the air—which were easily detected by someone with heightened senses.
Why is he here? Jiraiya thought.
Though Jiraiya had only returned to the village a few days ago and hadn't yet met Richard personally, he wasn't unfamiliar with him. On his first day back, the Third Hokage had briefed him thoroughly about Richard.
Jiraiya's return wasn't coincidental—he'd been specifically recalled by the Hokage. While the Third didn't know about Orochimaru's secret plot to destroy Konoha, he sensed potential danger during the Chunin Exam and had deliberately summoned Jiraiya as a precaution.
Moreover, Naruto's "discovery" of Jiraiya peeping outside the bathhouse had been intentional on the Sannin's part. As one of the legendary Three Ninja, if Jiraiya hadn't wanted to be found by Naruto, the boy would never have spotted him.
Jiraiya had orchestrated the encounter specifically to teach Naruto the summoning technique. Minato, Jiraiya's student, had learned summoning from him and signed a contract with the toads of Mount Myoboku. As Minato's son, it was only fitting that Naruto inherit this tradition.
When Richard touched down, Naruto, who'd been practicing the summoning technique, noticed his arrival. Immediately, hostility clouded the boy's face.
Though Richard had done nothing directly to Naruto—they'd merely crossed paths occasionally at Ichiraku Ramen—the young ninja's dislike for him had steadily intensified. The reason was simple: Naruto believed Richard was a negative influence on Sasuke.
This stemmed from Sasuke's performance during the second round of the Chunin Exam. Though he hadn't received Orochimaru's Curse Mark, Sasuke's strength in the Forest of Death had far exceeded his capabilities in the original timeline.
Take Zaku of the Sound Village trio, for example. In the original timeline, Sasuke had defeated Zaku using the power of the Curse Mark. Here, Sasuke had easily overwhelmed him with the Vibranium sword. Had Sakura not intervened, Sasuke would have severed Zaku's arms, permanently disabling him.
Dosu had fared similarly, easily falling to Sasuke's enhanced abilities. Though the Sound Village trio had ultimately passed the second exam and advanced to the preliminary rounds, they hadn't posed the slightest challenge to Team 7.
While Sasuke's significant improvement should have pleased Naruto, the ruthlessness his teammate now displayed caused deep concern. Sasuke had always declared himself an avenger, but if Naruto hadn't been particularly worried about Sasuke's potential darker path before, his friend's conduct in the Forest of Death had greatly magnified those fears.
Though Naruto wanted to counsel Sasuke, it was obvious the Uchiha wouldn't listen to him. Consequently, Richard—who had trained Sasuke and sold him the Vibranium sword—had become, in Naruto's eyes, the adult corrupting his friend.
Richard ignored Naruto's hostility and addressed Jiraiya respectfully: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sannin Jiraiya. I'm Richard, and I'm glad to see you back in the village."
Though not a Konoha ninja, Richard still showed appropriate deference to the Sannin. Jiraiya might be somewhat lecherous, but in all other aspects, his character was beyond reproach.
"What do you want to discuss with me?" Jiraiya asked directly.
"Nothing in particular," Richard replied casually. "I simply wished to exchange ideas with you when I learned you'd returned to the village, Sannin Jiraiya."
Exchange ideas with me?
Though he detected no malice or hostility from Richard, Jiraiya doubted that someone who had caught the Third Hokage's attention would seek him out without reason. When first hearing about Richard from the Hokage, Jiraiya hadn't given him much thought. What truly caught his attention was the Third's assessment:
"His strength is definitely not inferior to any of you three Sannin."
As the Third's student, Jiraiya wouldn't question his teacher's judgment.
After a brief silence, Jiraiya said slowly, "I'll spar with you, but not within the village. Let's go outside."
"Agreed," Richard nodded.
Having secured Richard's consent, Jiraiya turned to Naruto and instructed, "Continue practicing the summoning technique. Don't slack off—I'll return soon."
"I won't slack off!" Naruto responded immediately.
After giving his orders, Jiraiya took the lead, using the Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the village exit.
Richard didn't match Jiraiya's movement technique but instead calmly used his flight ability to follow at a measured pace.
Noticing Richard tracking him through the air, Jiraiya suddenly accelerated, pushing his Body Flicker Technique to its limits in an attempt to outpace his pursuer.
Jiraiya's Body Flicker was exceptionally fast, far surpassing ordinary jonin. Yet for Richard, it posed no challenge. Even with Jiraiya's maximum effort, Richard maintained his aerial pursuit with apparent ease.
Shortly thereafter, both cleared the village boundaries. Whether by coincidence or design, Jiraiya had led Richard to the cliff's edge where Naruto would eventually summon Gamabunta.
Upon arrival, Jiraiya turned to face the hovering Richard. "Do you intend to fight me from the air?" he called up.
"Of course not. That would be rather unfair," Richard replied, landing about ten meters away from the Sannin.
"I've heard you're skilled with swords," Jiraiya remarked.
"That's correct," Richard acknowledged. "However, I don't intend to test my swordsmanship against you."
"Then what will you use—ninjutsu?" Jiraiya inquired.
"Indeed. While I excel at swordsmanship, I am also a shinobi."
Under Jiraiya's watchful gaze, Richard slowly raised his right hand and formed a perfect Rasengan.
Is that... the Rasengan?
Seeing the spiraling chakra sphere in Richard's palm, Jiraiya's expression shifted dramatically.
Though the Rasengan was renowned, to Jiraiya's knowledge, only he and Kakashi currently mastered this technique. Both had learned it directly from Minato—the difference being that Minato had developed the Rasengan and shared it with Jiraiya as his teacher, while Kakashi had learned it as Minato's student.
"How do you know the Rasengan?" Jiraiya demanded, his brow furrowing.
While Minato had documented information about the Rasengan, those records were strictly guarded by Konoha. Not only was Richard not a Konoha shinobi, but even elite jonin wouldn't have access to such protected knowledge.
"Self-taught," Richard replied calmly. "Once you understand the principles of the Rasengan, developing it independently isn't particularly challenging. You should know this better than most."
This statement was somewhat disingenuous—the principles underlying the Rasengan constituted its greatest secret. Simply observing the technique's appearance and power wouldn't allow one to accurately reverse-engineer its mechanics.
Additionally, even knowing the principles wouldn't make mastering the Rasengan simple. Without following the proper training sequence and attempting to perfect it in one step, the Rasengan was as difficult to learn as any S-rank jutsu.
Jiraiya said nothing, studying Richard silently. Then, he too raised his right hand, forming his own Rasengan.
"Since you want to test your Rasengan against mine," he declared, "then let's begin!"
With those words, Jiraiya launched himself toward Richard.