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A familiar courtyard.
When Leo stepped back into his home, a wave of emotion hit him.
But the moment he pushed open the door, he froze. He'd only been gone a few days, yet the place wasn't the chaotic mess he imagined. In fact, someone had added quite a bit.
More sandbags.
And in a few corners of the yard, someone had planted… herbs?
But the front door and the windows were covered in dust, like no one had actually gone inside.
Leo entered, cleaned the place up a little, then collapsed onto the floor.
"So tired…"
Instead of jumping straight into training, he went to the study and rummaged through the shelves. After a long search, he finally found a book.
"Notes on Swordsmanship."
Swordsmanship.
Leo flipped it open. Inside were Tobirama Senju's personal notes and theories on kenjutsu.
Judging by the concepts and ideas, later techniques like Dance of the Crescent Moon and Konoha-ryū: Willow all stemmed from Tobirama's original framework.
"White Fang's style focuses on assassination—one hit, one kill.
"Tobirama's way is to use genjutsu, ninjutsu, and countless tricks to hide his true intent and create the perfect chance for a decisive strike.
"Flying Thunder God Slash works the same way."
Even Madara calling him "despicable" was basically the highest compliment to Tobirama's combat philosophy.
And what about him?
Leo finished reading and started forming ideas in his head.
He wasn't planning on mastering swordsmanship.
To him, a sword was more like a tool—something to sharpen himself with.
But White Fang's swordsmanship seemed to have improved his reflexes and his handling of ninja tools…
"No… to be precise, it boosted the reaction speed of my hands and my striking speed."
Leo thought through it carefully.
In other words—
White Fang's style relied on razor-sharp judgment and absurdly fast reflexes and attacks.
Those conditions didn't really suit Kakashi.
Someone like Minato, who was freakishly fast, could handle it effortlessly.
That was talent.
If Kakashi had the same kind of talent, he wouldn't have needed the Sharingan to begin with—he could've mastered Chidori into a combat-ready technique by himself.
Of course…
Kakashi's talent wasn't bad. But compared to Minato or White Fang, he was one tier lower.
"I definitely don't have White Fang's talent."
"So…"
"I should combine the strengths of both styles and make up for my weaknesses. That's the only way I'll get stronger before the war hits."
The ninja world looked peaceful for the moment, but tensions and small skirmishes were everywhere.
Not just Konoha and Kirigakure—every village was the same.
War could erupt at any moment. He couldn't rely on the original timeline and wait for some perfect opportunity.
He'd rested enough.
Time to train.
Leo went downstairs and continued his routine.
By evening, seven or eight sandbags lunged at him at once. He struck three away in quick succession, lowered his posture, slipped through a gap, and escaped to the edge.
But with his increased strength and familiarity, this training no longer did much.
He needed a mechanism—something a shadow clone could operate.
…
Later that night, Leo went to bed early.
But suddenly, he jolted awake. His hand shot out, grabbed a kunai, and he appeared by the window instantly.
Then—
"Kid, why're you this alert inside the village?"
Jiraiya slid the window open.
Leo blinked. "Sensei?"
He put away the kunai, confused. "It's so late… why aren't you sleeping? What brings you here?"
"Wanted to talk."
Jiraiya scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Got time?"
"Of course."
Leo stood up.
They went outside, and Jiraiya sat on the roof.
The moon hung bright and high above.
He held a bottle of sake in one hand and a bottle of juice in the other, and when he saw Leo, he patted the spot beside him.
Leo sat down.
Jiraiya looked troubled.
"You can have the juice."
"Okay."
Leo took it and sipped. Orange juice. Not bad.
Jiraiya drank, then began speaking to himself.
The topic… was the same old stuff about peace.
The usual lines.
Leo wasn't surprised. With Jiraiya's personality, if the situation wasn't in the Land of Waves but in the Land of Rivers—and the enemy was the Land of Wind—he probably would've hesitated and done nothing.
The Land of Water, Kirigakure… that was different.
Talking peace with them was like lecturing a brick wall.
Right now, Jiraiya's hesitation came partly from the Third Hokage's influence, and partly from worries that if Konoha clashed with Kirigakure in the Land of Waves, the conflict would escalate and drag Konoha into a worse situation.
It was a legitimate concern.
Leo quietly listened.
Jiraiya sighed. "Leo, you're not like other kids. Your ideas are always sharp. What do you think—wait, forget it, you already said we should've intervened."
He took another drink and continued talking.
Honestly, he wasn't really talking with Leo.
He just needed someone to sit there while he sorted out his own thoughts.
But still…
Wasn't Minato in the village? Couldn't he talk to him?
Meh. Maybe Leo could get something out of this.
Leo squinted, fighting sleep.
Being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night was torture for a kid, and Jiraiya's issue wasn't something a simple answer could fix.
The man was just too lost.
Fortunately, Jiraiya's "peace ideology" hadn't fully solidified yet.
There was still time.
As for Sarutobi Hiruzen and his stubborn nonsense—
Leo didn't care if that old man dropped dead.
He listened patiently.
When Jiraiya finally finished and let out a long sigh, Leo finally spoke.
"Sensei, what you're worried about is basically that Konoha isn't strong enough right now. You're afraid that interfering in the Land of Waves will spark a conflict with Kirigakure, and then our weakened state will attract attacks from other villages. Right?"
"…Yeah. That's part of it."
Jiraiya nodded.
Leo said, "I don't understand village politics or world affairs. But when I was little and got into fights, I always called friends to help gang up on people. And if that didn't work, I'd bribe others with candy."
Someone like Kirigakure? Evil and twisted? Talk morals with them? Pointless.
Jiraiya blinked, then laughed.
Candy…
Definitely a kid's tactic.
But effective.
Kids will do anything for candy. But nations and shinobi villages were a bit more complicated than children brawling.
Jiraiya chuckled. "Anything else? Go on."
"If it were me, the Land of Waves is like a training ground. I want to use it. Someone else wants to hog it all. So I'd gather everyone who doesn't want him to hog it and beat him together."
"Beat him… together?"
Jiraiya frowned.
The Land of Waves had a unique role in shipping routes, but that only mattered for the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. Other nations had little stake in it.
How would you form alliances?
If anything, the only possible ally was Kumogakure.
Kumo definitely wouldn't want Konoha or Kirigakure getting control of the Land of Waves.
"And there's another way," Leo added. "Find someone to stir things up. Make sure neither side can get the Land of Waves. As for other problems, deal with them later."
"Neither side gets it?"
Jiraiya froze.
Then slapped his forehead.
"I'm such an idiot. Leo, you're right. I know exactly who to ask—and he's an expert among experts."
And with that, Jiraiya vanished instantly.
Looked like he was going to find Orochimaru.
If it came to pulling the Land of Waves firmly onto Konoha's side, Orochimaru might not succeed. But if the goal was sabotage—pure chaos—he was absolutely world-class.
Not to mention…
Danzō was also a sabotage grandmaster.
Jiraiya cursed himself.
Something this simple… and he needed a kid to remind him?
Maybe…
His thinking really was too narrow.
"....."