Jiraiya laughed heartily at Qingshui's modest reply.
Who wouldn't like a junior who was not only talented but also polite and respectful?
After the laughter subsided, Jiraiya waved his hand and continued the lesson.
"Alright, since you've already grasped the basics, I'll teach you another Fire Release technique."
Qingshui straightened immediately, his attention fully focused.
"This one is Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
Jiraiya's expression grew serious.
"Compared to the regular Fireball, this is an upgraded version. The power is at least ten times greater. It's classified as a B-rank ninjutsu."
Although the principle was similar—compressing chakra and expelling it as flame—the difficulty was on an entirely different level.
The reason was simple.
The amount of chakra required was far greater.
And the scale of the flames increased dramatically.
A properly executed Great Fireball could engulf an area spanning dozens of meters.
Such a massive technique demanded not only abundant chakra, but also exceptional control.
If control was lacking, the user might injure themselves before ever harming the enemy.
"Power without control is meaningless," Jiraiya said solemnly. "Remember that."
Qingshui nodded seriously and immediately began practicing.
For the remainder of the day, he devoted himself entirely to mastering the Great Fireball.
Even with his prior mastery of the basic Fireball, progress was slow.
That alone proved how difficult it was to learn a B-rank ninjutsu.
More importantly, unlike many of his previous techniques, Qingshui had not obtained this one through system rewards.
This time, he truly had to rely on himself.
By the time night fell, although he had made clear progress, he still hadn't fully mastered the technique.
Exhausted but satisfied, Qingshui returned to the house with the others.
---
Mikoto also returned not long after, accompanied by Mukai Yuuki and Sasaki Ayami.
The two genin looked utterly miserable.
Their clothes were soaked, their hair plastered to their faces, and their legs trembled slightly as they walked.
After asking, Qingshui learned the reason.
Today, Mikoto had begun teaching them water-walking.
Before this, both had already completed tree-climbing training.
Tree climbing and water walking were fundamental chakra control exercises for genin, but the latter was far more difficult.
Trees were solid.
Water was not.
To stand on water, one had to continuously adjust chakra output—too much and the water would explode outward, too little and one would sink.
It was no surprise the two looked half-dead.
---
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three days, Qingshui made astonishing progress.
First, he completely mastered the Great Fireball Technique.
Not only that—under Jiraiya's guidance, he also "purified" the chakra nature transformations he had already mastered.
Earth Release.
Lightning Release.
Though he had possessed them for a long time, he now had a proper explanation for their origin.
In addition, Jiraiya taught Qingshui two Earth Release ninjutsu.
The first was Earth Release: Earth Flow River, a C-rank technique.
Qingshui mastered it quickly and could already use it proficiently.
The second was Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet, a powerful B-rank ninjutsu.
This one, however, was far more complex.
Although Qingshui understood the theory, he hadn't even fully completed the first stage of practice yet.
As for Lightning Release ninjutsu—
Jiraiya himself didn't know any.
Naturally, he couldn't teach Qingshui.
Qingshui wasn't disappointed.
There would be other opportunities in the future.
---
On the fourth day, Jiraiya clapped his hands and gathered everyone together.
"Today," he announced, "we won't be doing regular training."
Everyone perked up immediately.
"Instead, we'll have real combat practice."
Excitement flickered across the children's faces.
Jiraiya continued, laying out the rules.
"We'll draw lots to decide opponents. The winners will then fight again to determine the final victor."
He looked at Minato, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in turn.
"I want you to fight seriously. Show me what you've learned."
"And don't worry about injuries," he added with a grin. "Qingshui is a medical ninja."
With that, the lots were drawn.
Konan vs. Minato.
Nagato vs. Yahiko.
The first match was Konan against Minato.
The moment Jiraiya gave the signal, Konan moved first.
She knew Minato was strong.
If she hesitated, she would lose instantly.
With a flick of her wrists, several white shuriken shot forward.
Upon closer inspection, they weren't metal at all.
They were made of paper.
Paper Shuriken.
Under chakra reinforcement, the originally fragile paper became as hard as steel and razor-sharp.
Konan's shurikenjutsu was excellent.
The paper shuriken flew from multiple angles, sealing off Minato's escape routes.
But Minato remained calm.
He dodged cleanly, his movements swift and precise.
Not only that—
While evading the shuriken, he rapidly closed the distance between them.
Once it became close combat, Konan would be at a severe disadvantage.
But Konan had anticipated this.
She showed no panic.
Her hands flashed through seals.
A paper clone appeared instantly and charged toward Minato, intercepting him.
At the same time, Konan's main body attacked again, launching another volley of paper shuriken.
Her plan was clear.
Block his advance—
Then end it in one decisive strike.
For someone who had trained under Jiraiya for just one year, this was already an excellent tactical choice.
Unfortunately—
Her opponent was Minato.
Minato didn't retreat.
Instead, he adjusted his angle mid-movement, subtly guiding the trajectory of the incoming paper shuriken.
They slammed directly into Konan's paper clone.
At the same moment, Minato struck Konan's real body.
She was sent flying and rolled several meters across the ground.
"Minato wins!" Jiraiya announced immediately.
"Ah… Konan still lost," Yahiko said with a sigh. "But Senior Minato really is strong."
Qingshui had already moved.
He quickly reached Konan's side, helped her up, and began treating her injuries.
Meanwhile, the second match began.
Yahiko vs. Nagato.
Nagato took a step back almost instinctively.
He clearly had no desire to fight.
Seeing this, Yahiko immediately raised a hand to stop him.
"Nagato," Yahiko said seriously, "I want you to use your true strength."
"I want to know how big the gap between us really is."
Among the three children, Nagato always had the weakest presence.
Yet everyone knew the truth.
He was the strongest.
What he lacked wasn't power—
It was initiative.
Seeing Yahiko's serious expression, Nagato hesitated for a moment.
Then he nodded slowly.
While the two faced off, Qingshui continued treating Konan.
As he worked, he offered a suggestion.
"Konan," he said gently, "your paper ninjutsu has an extremely high ceiling."
She looked at him curiously.
"You could consider replacing ordinary paper with explosive tags."
"Explosive tags?" Konan repeated, thinking.
"Just like before," Qingshui explained. "Even if Minato dodges your attack, you can detonate them afterward and create a secondary explosion."
Konan's eyes lit up.
But then she frowned.
"Explosive tags are very expensive," she said honestly. "I couldn't afford to use them like that."
As a war orphan, money had always been a problem.
Even after becoming a ninja, her income would be limited.
"That's true," Qingshui nodded. "But you can ask Jiraiya-sama to teach you how to make explosive tags."
The moment those words landed—
Konan's eyes shone brightly.
If she could make explosive tags herself, she wouldn't just save money—
She could even sell them.
After years of poverty, Konan had developed a strong sense of thrift.
Not to Kakuzu's level, of course—but still very real.
"Brother Qingshui is amazing!" Konan said happily. "You came up with such a great idea so quickly!"
Qingshui smiled calmly.
This was the path Konan would walk in the future anyway.
He was merely letting her start earlier.
After all, six hundred billion explosive tags couldn't possibly all be bought with money.
Even Kakuzu wouldn't manage that.
---
While they spoke, the match between Yahiko and Nagato also came to an end.
Although Yahiko had urged Nagato to use his full strength, Nagato was not foolish.
If he truly went all out—
Yahiko wouldn't just lose.
He might die.
So Nagato held back.
He exchanged blows, allowed Yahiko to fully display his abilities, and only then defeated him cleanly.
"Completed Konan's treatment. Reward: Blue Orb."
"Congratulations. You have gained 30 chakra."
Qingshui finished treating Konan and immediately moved on to Yahiko.
"Thank you, Brother Qingshui," Yahiko said sincerely.
"Completed Yahiko's treatment. Reward: Blue Orb."
"Congratulations. You have gained 30 chakra."
As Qingshui finished, Jiraiya's voice rang out again.
"Alright," he said, smiling slightly. "Now comes the final match."
Minato.
Nagato.
The air grew tense.
And everyone knew—
This was the match that truly mattered.
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