Freelancer in the Ninja World

This time, Senshi agreed without hesitation. "Yes, Sis Konan, that plan also takes time."

In truth, compared to other options, reclaiming the Rinnegan from Tobi (Obito) might take less time overall and wasn't that unfeasible.

All he really needed to do was lie in wait in Obito's Kamui dimension. Unless Obito stopped using Kamui entirely, sooner or later Senshi would catch him.

But for now, he had no intention of snatching the Rinnegan back from Bro Tobi. Once Tobi got the Rinnegan, he was bound to stick the Ten-Tails into his own body, using him as the sacrifice for reviving Kaguya.

If Tobi couldn't handle it and decided instead to bring Madara back to life, giving Madara the Rinnegan, that still wouldn't get in the way.

In that scenario, they'd just stick the Ten-Tails into Madara's body, making him the sacrifice. In the end, at least one of those two had to serve as the vessel, or else Ōtsutsuki Kaguya couldn't be resurrected, and poor Black Zetsu wouldn't see his "mother" again.

Pitiful Uchiha Madara was just waiting in the Pure Land, not knowing that the ninja world had already changed drastically. Otherwise, he'd either choose to stay comfortably in the Pure Land and never come back, or drastically alter his plans the moment he was revived. Because in today's ninja world, even Lord Madara would be out of his depth.

While Senshi and Konan (with Nagato listening) were discussing the Rinnegan, back in the Mountain Graveyard, Obito was also gazing at the Rinnegan in a glass jar. Internally, he was torn—he simply couldn't decide.

From the operation to seize the Rinnegan, Obito had confirmed one thing: the problem wasn't that Tobi himself was incompetent; it was that his "teammates" were too worthless.

It wouldn't matter if "Four Hokage" or some other generation person were around—he couldn't carry them either.

In Obito's faction, White Zetsu's main function was intelligence gathering. Against Senshi or any strong ninja, it was basically useless.

As for Black Zetsu, these days he was even less useful than White Zetsu. At least White Zetsu was on call, following orders absolutely. Black Zetsu? He'd disappear for days picking up junk somewhere.

So Obito sat there, frowning. "Those Akatsuki folks, plus Senshi and all those people around him, are no pushovers. Sure, I've got the Rinnegan, but even the sharpest blade can't parry attacks from every direction. One flame can't outburn a wildfire. If Nagato's group and Senshi's allies join forces, I'm outnumbered and outmatched. It's a real headache."

Right now, Obito had a choice: proceed with his plan from before snatching the Rinnegan and bring Old Man Madara back. But he really did not want to resurrect Uchiha Madara.

According to his original blueprint, he could accomplish his goal without ever restoring Madara. Once all the prerequisites were met, Obito would cast Infinite Tsukuyomi himself and build a dream world with Rin alive again.

But the resistance was too great now. The plan was too hard to push forward. Besides, Senshi was too terrifying—without a strong partner, Obito couldn't even guarantee his own safety, let alone see his plan through.

Still, even in that predicament, he was reluctant to revive Madara, an unpredictable factor. After a very long time thinking on the stone steps, he simply sealed away the Rinnegan again, resolved to weigh things carefully later.

Meanwhile, in Konohagakure, at the Uchiha clan's Training Ground…

Jiraiya hadn't gone wandering off with Naruto this time. Instead, Naruto brought him back to the village, because Naruto only liked Ichiraku Ramen; he "coughed" if he ate anything else.

Plus, Naruto was recognized by Senshi as the prophesied child. If Jiraiya took him wandering, any weird issues—like Naruto not adjusting to local food—would be trouble. So Jiraiya ended up following Naruto back to Konoha.

Now that Orochimaru was also in the village, if Hiruzen Sarutobi ever decided he didn't want to be Hokage anymore, Jiraiya could even recommend Orochimaru to step in. So he didn't feel any pressure at all. The only pity was that Tsunade-hime wasn't around—who knew where she was roaming in the ninja world. If she were here, everything would be perfect.

When Naruto led Jiraiya to the Uchiha training field, he waved from afar. "Sasuke—I'm back!"

Sasuke wasn't worried about Naruto having gone off for a while, because he'd seen how Naruto had been dragged away by one of Sensei's space-time jutsu. Knowing Naruto was with Sensei, what was there to worry about?

Instead, Sasuke's eyes were drawn to Naruto's companion—a white-haired man wearing a "油" (Abura / "oil") forehead protector: Jiraiya. Sasuke felt vague familiarity but couldn't remember many details.

Reaching Sasuke, Naruto laughed and introduced them, "Sasugay, this here's the Pervy Sage. Pervy Sage, this is Sasugay."

After hearing Naruto's introductions, both Jiraiya and Sasuke thought Naruto had done enough, so maybe next time he shouldn't do any introductions at all.

Since Naruto had abruptly been dragged away by Sensei, then came back with this guy, who was apparently free to move around the village, Sasuke just assumed the man was a friend of Sensei and a Konoha ninja. Hence, he greeted him: "Hello, sir. I'm Uchiha Sasuke from the Uchiha clan. Lord Uzumaki Senshi is my tutor."

Learning Sasuke was Senshi's student piqued Jiraiya's interest. With a laugh, he said, "I'm—"

But Naruto cut him off, "Pervy Sage, you don't have to introduce yourself. I just did that for you."

Jiraiya nearly snapped at the cheeky kid, but he only fumed silently, then calmly continued to introduce himself to Sasuke, "I'm the inheritor of Mount Myōboku's Sage Arts, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, the author of numerous best-selling books, student of the Third Hokage. If a roaming dragon must return to the sea, the sea need not greet me, Jiraiya—Toad Sage Jiraiya, at your service!"

He rattled off the entire phrase in one breath, exactly as Senshi had taught him in the hot-springs inn. Sasuke: (O_O)???

After Jiraiya finished, Sasuke felt like he'd learned something. This fancy, refined style of self-introduction might be worth copying. He gave Jiraiya a respectful look, which made the latter quite pleased—until Naruto spoiled it.

Naruto scratched his head, perplexed. "Pervy Sage, why do you always rattle off that huge spiel? You could just say your name. Also, when are you gonna treat Sasuke and me to Ichiraku Ramen? Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and Senshi-sensei have all taken me there."

Hearing that, Jiraiya only gave a wry smile. "The ramen can wait. Let's train you in some ninjutsu first, all right? Sasuke, if there's anything you don't understand, come ask me."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-senpai," Sasuke replied politely, thinking even better of him. He recalled now that Jiraiya was a big name in the village, ranked alongside Orochimaru and Tsunade-hime as the Legendary Sannin—truly formidable.

Jiraiya's down-to-earth manner surprised him; apart from Sensei, it was the first time he'd met such a powerful, approachable stranger of high status.

Naruto, who wanted to grab ramen first, grumbled, "Aww, why can't we go for a nice bowl of Ichiraku Ramen first?"

Seeing his attitude, Jiraiya found it exhausting. This prophesied child is a handful. Still, no matter how hard, Naruto had to be trained—both Jiraiya and Senshi recognized him as the child of prophecy, so he had to persist.

Within the Uchiha training grounds, after a few moments, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sasuke were somewhat more at ease with each other.

Naruto was cheerful and energetic, albeit a bit hyper and scatterbrained—always bright and sunny. Sasuke was calm, composed, proud, and far more level-headed than a typical child his age. Through some chatting, Jiraiya learned Sasuke might have solid talent in Fire Release and Lightning Release.

As for Naruto… every time Jiraiya thought about Naruto, he got a headache. Naruto claimed he was good at a lot of things, that he knew a bit of everything.

Impossible, Jiraiya thought. Apart from the Third Hokage—acclaimed as the "Professor of Ninjutsu"—no ninja could possibly say they knew a wide array.

But oh well. Jiraiya decided that from now on he'd correct Naruto's mistaken notions, show him that most ninja only master a limited set of techniques or specialize in a handful of them.

"Ehem." Jiraiya cleared his throat to get Naruto's and Sasuke's attention. When they looked his way, he cheerily announced, "As a greeting, I'll teach each of you a single ninjutsu."

Naruto lit up at once. "Awesome, Pervy Sage! Show me a jutsu. I bet I'll master it faster than Sasuke!"

"Tch!" Sasuke glared, then politely thanked Jiraiya. "Much appreciated, Jiraiya-senpai."

Unlike in Amegakure—where the ninja academy teaches everything and any student can learn as many techniques as they can handle—Konoha's academy mostly teaches basics: the Three Basic Jutsu.

Kids from major clans can learn more from their family, but a child of ordinary citizens is usually out of luck. For instance, Sakura learned little beyond the basics from Kakashi as a genin. She only picked up advanced techniques by later seeking Tsunade.

Hence, having an elite like Jiraiya personally teach you a jutsu was a stroke of fortune. One might imagine that while your peers were still throwing shuriken, you—taught by Jiraiya—would be summoning toads or firing powerful fireballs, quickly outclassing them.

Seeing Naruto and Sasuke's eager looks, Jiraiya folded his arms and mused aloud, "Okay, Sasuke—since you're talented in Fire Release, I'll teach you Fire Release: Flame Bullet."

Sasuke: (O_O)???

Naruto: (O_O)???

At their puzzled faces, Jiraiya realized something was off. Sasuke ventured uncertainly, "Jiraiya-senpai, do you mean this technique?" As he spoke, he quickly formed hand seals and molded chakra into an oily fluid stored in his mouth.

Next second, he spat out the ignited chakra-oil as a fireball, letting it burn some distance away until the oil was fully consumed. Only then did the flame die out.

"Huh?" Jiraiya frowned. He hadn't imagined Sasuke would already know Fire Release: Flame Bullet.

In his recollection, members of the Uchiha clan typically used stuff like Great Fireball Technique, not Flame Bullet. While he was still wondering, Naruto shrugged dismissively. "What's this, Pervy Sage? You're teaching Sasuke a jutsu we already know. We've known Flame Bullet forever."

Speaking, Naruto formed seals in the same manner Sasuke had, releasing a Flame Bullet of his own.

"What? You can do it too?" Now Jiraiya was honestly surprised. What's going on here? He thought. The Flame Bullet technique he was proud of clearly wasn't a universal skill like the Three Basic Jutsu.

When Jiraiya asked, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, Pervy Sage—Sasuke and I learned that a long time ago. Don't you have something else to show us?"

Jiraiya pondered and asked, "What about Great Flame Bullet—do you guys know that?"

Naruto didn't even waste words. He instantly formed seals, aimed at an open patch of ground, and bellowed, "Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"

Jiraiya: (ΩДΩ)!!!

He was totally dumbfounded. They even know Great Flame Bullet? Naruto and Sasuke were only around eleven or twelve years old, yet Konoha's new generation had reached this level?

Re-evaluating the situation, Jiraiya thought, All right, so they already know the Flame Bullets. Then maybe I can see if they can do summoning… So he said firmly, "Well then, surely you two can't do the Summoning Technique, right?"

Sasuke said nothing—he just bit his finger, formed a seal, and slammed his palm onto the ground. Mysterious black markings spread across the dirt. "Boom!" A cloud of white smoke erupted, and Sasuke summoned a giant snake. Meanwhile, Naruto summoned a toad from Mount Myōboku.

Jiraiya: (ΩДΩ)!!!

He was once again at a total loss. Even though he wasn't too familiar with the Ryūchi Cave snakes, he was very knowledgeable about Myōboku's toads. Did Naruto already have the toads' permission for a summoning contract? And that toad recognized Jiraiya, too—that was Gama-ryū.

Now Jiraiya and Gama-ryū were just staring wide-eyed at each other, until the toad scratched his head and asked, "Lord Jiraiya, why are you here?"

"Never mind me, Gama-ryū," he answered. "I should be asking you—how did Naruto sign a summoning contract?"

Gama-ryū shook its head, "I dunno. The first time Naruto summoned me, I also felt baffled. Right, Naruto, do you have any food for me? I'm hungry."

Naruto felt a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, I don't have any on me right now. I brought you out just to show this technique. You can go back."

Gama-ryū nodded. "All right. Next time, remember to have snacks for me!" Then it vanished in another puff of smoke, returning to Myōboku.

Jiraiya was stunned. So that's the "Child Of Prophecy" advantage? Not only had Naruto learned Fire Release: Flame Bullet and so on, he could apparently sign summoning pacts unwittingly, with no formal arrangement.

He still believed, though, that he definitely had something to teach Naruto and Sasuke. After all, he was Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin.

It was impossible that these kids knew more jutsu than he did. He'd been training for decades under Hiruzen Sarutobi, the "Professor of Ninjutsu." Naruto and Sasuke were just kids in their first few years as ninja. They obviously couldn't have spent enough time to learn that many jutsu.

Possibly everything so far was just a coincidence—maybe Senshi had specifically taught them Flame Bullet, Great Flame Bullet, and Summoning.

But as Jiraiya was reorganizing his thoughts, Naruto whined, "C'mon, Pervy Sage, do we have to keep showing these basics? Let's show him the jutsu we're really good at, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded. "Exactly. No point repeating old stuff. Let's show him something that's truly ours."

Naruto agreed, "I guess so. Otherwise, we'd be stuck here all day before we can eat any Ichiraku Ramen. I'll spar with you. Sound good?"

"Sure." Sasuke inhaled, and Jiraiya—both curious and apprehensive—watched Sasuke carefully. Naruto suddenly called out, "Sasuke, let's do a friendly match!"

Sasuke's aura surged with lightning chakra. "Thunder Punch!"

Meanwhile, Naruto formed a spinning sphere of chakra. "Aura Sphere!"

As Sasuke unleashed a barrage of "Ora ora ora!" punches crackling with electricity, Naruto volleyed large destructive "Muda muda muda!" bullets everywhere. They went blow for blow.

Jiraiya was practically stupefied. He'd never seen Sasuke's technique or Naruto's technique before, and both were extremely powerful, packing tremendous destructive force. Then the pair unleashed a flurry of further jutsu, each more intense than the last. Jiraiya's scalp tingled. They weren't stronger than him, exactly, but they sure knew more ninjutsu than he did.

Jiraiya realized that if he'd planned to give Naruto and Sasuke "one jutsu each," it might be the other way around—they could each teach him something. For instance, Naruto's "Aura Sphere" or Sasuke's "Thunder Punch" both seemed pretty interesting.

Moreover, he quickly noticed one more thing. Even after firing off a massive volume of jutsu, neither Naruto nor Sasuke looked the least bit drained.

Their chakra pools must be immense. To Jiraiya, this was simply staggering. On the one hand, he was thrilled about Naruto's talent and potential.

On the other, he realized all his normal training methods and experiences might no longer apply. Naruto, it turned out, already possessed far more ninjutsu than Jiraiya did. He'd need some time to really think about how to guide these kids going forward.

At that same moment, in Amegakure, Senshi had no idea how badly he'd shocked Jiraiya by providing Naruto and Sasuke with so many techniques—or by giving them the ability to collect scratch-off cards for even more ninjutsu.

Senshi had already settled matters in Amegakure and was heading out with a group of "recruits" to execute a mission.

Their task: that 100-million-ryo revenge plan against Iwagakure. And to lighten the load while training his mercenary members, he'd brought along a few talented subordinates. First, of course, was Karin—her stand, "Killer Queen," was perfect for sabotage missions. As long as she didn't announce "Amegakure claims responsibility for this terror attack," everything would be fine. After all, their operation was meant to be a rightful act of vengeance, not a random act of terrorism. Even Deidara's old "terror bombings" in Iwa had some reason behind them—he wanted to prove his art. So it wasn't entirely unprovoked.

Aside from Karin, the team included "heavy hitter" Uzumaki Musen. During the riot in Amegakure, that kid had used Wood-Style so wildly he damaged the village more than the rioters, nearly winding up in jail.

Brought to Iwagakure for sabotage, though, he might prove extremely valuable. The rest of the team included old standbys: Lanyu, Lanwu, the Raimon siblings—everyone was a known face.

Shortly before setting out, Senshi glanced toward Karin. When they learned they were leaving for Iwa, Karin had tried to bring her two younger sidekicks—Haruko and Mikiko. Though they were decent in ability, they were too young, not suited to traveling outside. So presumably, she had to send them away. Knowing how silly Karin was, who knew if she'd really complied.

Senshi looked at Karin and asked casually, "Haruko is back at the Uzumaki settlement, and Mikiko's gone back to the ninja academy, right?"

Karin's bright eyes darted side to side. "Ehh, that's… not certain. They might be somewhere else…"

At that, Senshi knew exactly what she meant and rubbed his temple in frustration. "Release them from Kamui," he said.

Karin stuck out her tongue, sheepishly letting Haruko and Mikiko out of her Kamui space.

Haruko was holding a plump, blue cat—actually a further-shrunken Two-Tails, Matatabi. Looking adorably clueless, she asked, "Karin-nee, we're there already? Is it time to start?"

Mikiko could only bury her face in her hands. This team is not gonna cut it. Karin's a bit too flaky, Haruko's too naive, and so forth. Haruko was hugging the Tailed Beast like a pet.

Senshi sighed and told Haruko, "That's a Tailed Beast. It's dangerous, not something to cuddle."

Haruko raised her innocent little face. "But, Lord Senshi, it isn't dangerous at all. Last time we were in Karin-nee's Kamui space, it grew big and tried to scare me, so I used Adamantine Sealing Chains and tied it up. It's really obedient."

Senshi blinked. He'd almost forgotten Haruko's remarkable potential. Though she was still a child, she'd already awakened the Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Meanwhile, Matatabi felt truly miserable. The Uzumaki clan was not even that large yet, and life was already this hard. Once that clan in Amegakure grew bigger, Tailed Beasts might be pinned by half a dozen or more Uzumaki all at once with Adamantine Sealing Chains if they so much as blinked.

After Karin brought Mikiko and Haruko out, Senshi didn't linger. First, he tossed the Two-Tails back into Karin's Kamui dimension. Then he used his Kāma space-time ability to send Haruko and Mikiko back to the village. There was no way he'd bring those two kids along to sabotage Iwa. Let them grow up first—maybe get to Karin's height.

With that sorted, Senshi gathered the rest onto a caravan wagon, ready to depart for Iwagakure.

As for Deidara and Sasori, they'd keep doing black-market missions with a Wood-Clone near them until they all reconvened.

That arrangement had advantages: it kept Iwagakure from staying on full alert indefinitely (if no retaliation occurred for a while, their guard might drop), plus it gave Karin and the others time to prepare.

Leaning against the carriage's wall, Senshi pondered: What's the best plan for attacking Iwa? Sure, I can single-handedly handle it, but if we had a scheme, it would be better. Let's see if these mercenaries have any bright ideas.

He voiced the question, "So, what do you all think about our revenge on Iwagakure?"

Musen immediately blurted, "Lord Senshi, I have a bold idea!" Before he could elaborate, though, Lanyu and Lanwu gave him death-glares—he'd already embarrassed them enough in front of everyone. Seeing that, Musen chuckled awkwardly. "Um… my idea's not fully formed yet, let me think it over."

Senshi only nodded. He never really expected Musen to produce a top-notch plan. Musen merely grumbled internally, Sigh, prejudices are so harmful. Why won't Lanyu and Lanwu trust that I've got a good plan? I mean, Iwa has fertile ground, I can combine my Wood-Style with Lord Senshi's and cover them in a massive forest…

He was partly right. With Senshi's Wood-Style, combined with Iwa's topography, they could bury the entire village in a giant forest—though that might just turn Iwagakure into the largest lumber exporter in the ninja world. Meanwhile, the others took a more cautious approach. Lanyu, after mulling it over, said, "Lord Senshi, maybe we should infiltrate Iwa first, gather intelligence, and then plan accordingly."

Raimon Setsuka agreed. "I support Lanyu's plan."

Lanwu nodded as well. Raimon Hayate—though not quite as crazy as Musen—was still a candidate for "Hidden Genius of Nonsense." He nudged Musen discreetly, whispering, "Musen-bro, I actually support you. Tell me your plan so I can see if it'll work." Musen only shook his head. "Go cool off on your own. Sensitive information shouldn't be leaked too easily."

~~~

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