"Huh? You want me to go with you to look for Tsunade-sama?"
Kiyosuke blinked in surprise. They were bringing him along to search for Tsunade? Were they trying to steal her away?
Because his house had been damaged during the Konoha Crush Plan, he was currently having craftsmen repair and remodel it. For now, Kiyosuke, Naruto, and Karin were all staying at an inn.
Jiraiya said,
"That's right. We need you to come with us. And that little guy Naruto is tagging along too—perfect chance to teach him a few things along the way."
"Alright, fine."
After handing off the repair supervision to someone else, Kiyosuke leapt down from the house and joined Jiraiya to go find Naruto. When he saw Kiyosuke and Jiraiya approaching, he waved excitedly.
"Kiyosuke-san! Sasuke wants to train under you!" Naruto called out.
"Huh? Train under me?" Kiyosuke asked.
"Doesn't your Uchiha clan have enough secret techniques for you to learn?"
The Uchiha hadn't been wiped out. Sasuke's father, Uchiha Fugaku, was still the clan head and knew plenty of powerful jutsu and secret techniques. So why train with him?
"I already talked to my father. He agreed. So, Kiyosuke-sama, please allow me to train under you,"
Sasuke said, taking a deep breath and bowing deeply.
Kiyosuke stroked his chin.
"Then tell me, what's your reason for wanting to grow stronger?"
"I… I want to bring my brother back!" Sasuke clenched his fists.
"Before he left, he was already stronger than my father. Even under his training, I don't think I can surpass him. Only you—Konoha's strongest—can help me do that!"
Sasuke firmly believed that his brother wasn't a traitor. All he wanted was to bring him home.
After witnessing Kiyosuke's strength during the Chūnin Exams, he had decided to follow him. To be blunt, Kakashi was no longer enough for him.
"Oh? Interesting. Alright then. Go home and pack up. We're heading out to find the Fifth Hokage."
"The Fifth Hokage?!!" Naruto shouted.
"Isn't that supposed to be you, Kiyosuke-san?!"
Even Sasuke agreed. His father had said more than once that Kiyosuke was the one with the greatest potential to inherit the Hokage title—if only he actually wanted it. They both assumed Kiyosuke would become the Fifth.
"How many times do I have to say it—I don't want to be Hokage! That's exactly why we're going to find the Fifth. She's out of the village right now, and we're bringing her back. Sasuke, meet us at the main gate."
"Understood."
Sasuke immediately went home to inform his mother, grabbed his things, and rushed to the gate.
...
The four of them left Konoha, beginning their journey to find Tsunade under Jiraiya's lead.
"So, uh… who exactly is this Tsunade?" Naruto asked on the way.
Kiyosuke replied,
"She's one of the 'Three Sannin,' along with Jiraiya-sama and my teacher, Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru… is your teacher?!" Sasuke said, shocked, reaching up to touch the curse mark on his neck.
"Huh? No one told you? I thought Kakashi or your dad would've mentioned it."
Sasuke shook his head.
"No. Kakashi and my father never said anything."
"Really? Looks like Konoha's been covering it up," Kiyosuke muttered, scratching his head.
"Someone wanted the village's hero to have a clean background. I'd bet this was Sarutobi Hiruzen's doing."
"Kiyosuke, do you still consider Orochimaru your teacher?"
"Of course. I owe much of my strength to him. Sure, he's not exactly a good person, but he is my teacher. It's normal for students and teachers to clash sometimes. I mean, look—he tried to kill his own teacher, the Third Hokage. So what's a fight between us?"
"True, true," Jiraiya chuckled, gaining a new appreciation for Kiyosuke. He turned to Naruto.
"This trip, I'm gonna teach you your old man's technique."
Was he about to start learning the Rasengan?
"My dad's technique? What is it?" Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Is it that crazy strong move he used?"
He still clearly remembered Minato in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode during the exams. Jiraiya, however, hadn't seen that, so he had no idea what Naruto meant.
Kiyosuke explained,
"Not that one. You can't learn that yet. I'm talking about the move that blasted a hole through the Second Hokage."
"Oh, that blue ball thing? That's strong and all, but I really want to learn the one where Dad looked super cool!"
"You can learn that one eventually. But right now, you're still too weak."
"What are you two even talking about? I feel like I'm the only one left out!" Jiraiya complained.
"Minato was brought back by my Edo Tensei. He subdued half of the Nine-Tails and became its jinchūriki. He could fully control its chakra and entered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode," Kiyosuke explained.
Jiraiya's eyes widened with realization.
"So that's it… No wonder—it's just like him."
Among his disciples, Minato had always been the most talented—even Nagato, with his Rinnegan, couldn't match him in some areas.
If anyone could tame the Nine-Tails, it was Minato.
"What exactly is the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode?" Sasuke asked.
"Let's put it this way. There are nine tailed beasts in the world. The five great villages, along with Takigakure, divided them up. Konoha has the Nine-Tails. These beasts are basically chakra incarnate. When sealed into a shinobi's body, they're called jinchūriki. If a jinchūriki can fully control their beast, they enter what's called a tailed beast chakra mode."
"So that means… Naruto has half of the Nine-Tails sealed inside him?" Sasuke asked, finally grasping it.
But why Naruto?
"Yeah. Back then, Naruto's dad split the Nine-Tails in two. He sealed one half inside himself and died with it. The other half he sealed into Naruto, hoping he could learn to control it someday. It'll just take time."
Naruto placed a hand on his stomach. He had seen that big guy once… and had even used that power. He lowered his head, silent.
Kiyosuke ruffled Naruto's hair.
"Don't look so down. It was a desperate situation. Your father did it because he believed in you. That's his hope for you."
"Got it! I will master my dad's mode!" Naruto perked up, full of energy again.
Jiraiya smiled.
"Good. Then you'll be training under me."
Kiyosuke turned to Sasuke.
"Naruto will be learning a new technique. As for you, continue training with the Chidori Kakashi taught you. It's got good potential. I'll guide you as well. Also—wear this."
He handed Sasuke some weights.
The moment Sasuke took them, he felt the heavy burden in his hands.
"You'll be wearing these on the journey. It's part of your training."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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