Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

Half a year ago,
Because of Gin Uchiha's interference, Jiraiya and Orochimaru's journey to immortality did not go smoothly.
Both sides studied in the sacred lands where they had switched paths for a long time, but they still couldn't adapt to the immortal arts system that didn't suit their own attributes.

Seeing that things had reached a stalemate, at the strong suggestion of the Toad Sage, Gin Uchiha had no choice but to make some adjustments.
Orochimaru, who was causing havoc on the frogs of Mount Myōboku, was switched with Jiraiya, who was starving nine times a day in Ryūchi Cave.

The Fukasaku couple were eager for Orochimaru, that frog-killer, to leave as soon as possible, and the Three Goddesses, harassed by Jiraiya, shared the same thought. Naturally, this outcome was a happy one for everyone.
The toad sage of Mount Myōboku, upon seeing Jiraiya's white, spiky hair, left behind a prophecy that this child was the destiny of Mount Myōboku.

Orochimaru, whose temperament perfectly matched that of Ryuchi Cave, also gained the favor of the Three Goddesses.

After changing their learning environment, Jiraiya and Orochimaru's training path finally became much smoother.

Jiraiya no longer had to worry about going hungry. He could enjoy the insect dishes carefully prepared by Sage Shima every day. In addition, without the entanglement of beautiful women, he was able to refine a tiny bit of Sage Chakra very quickly, making progress at an astonishing pace.
Before Orochimaru went astray, he quickly passed the Three Goddess Test, which Jiraiya had never been able to pass, thanks to his strong will and extraordinary intellect. He then came before the head of Ryuchi Cave, Sogami Sadahime, thus beginning his true journey of cultivation.

"So, have you all learned that?"

Seeing Jiraiya and Tsunade chatting happily, and knowing about their training program, she asked curiously, while gesturing a few times to her face.
What she was referring to was the Sage Mode, a miraculous technique mastered only by Hashirama Senju in the entire ninja world. Her gesture clearly indicated the presence of a Sage mask.

"Uh, I'm still learning, I'm just a tiny bit short of mastering it~"

Jiraiya's expression stiffened upon hearing this. Meeting everyone's gazes, he somewhat awkwardly made a gesture that seemed to tell the Korean to shut up.

"I haven't learned it yet."

Orochimaru was quite honest, admitting that he had not mastered Sage Mode.

It's important to understand that extracting natural energy and cultivating to immortality are two different concepts.

You can't say that just because you've refined chakra, you can freely unleash super-powerful S-rank ninjutsu.

"Even Orochimaru couldn't learn it, so does that mean I have no chance?"

Hearing this answer, Tsunade couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.
Never one to admit defeat, how could she stand by and watch her two teammates drift further and further away from her?
So, she was preparing to go to Shikkotsu Forest to study soon, but even someone as clever as Orochimaru hadn't mastered Sage Mode. She was afraid her chances were even slimmer.

"That's not necessarily true. Lady Zhenji once said that magic is all about fate. If your fate is right, it will naturally work."

Orochimaru earnestly comforted the dejected Tsunade, unaware that he had misunderstood.

Sujin Zhenji's original words were not "fate" but "round ball".

As long as you're willing to spend money, the natural energy in the Three Goddess's Poison Fang will be plentiful, guaranteeing you a quick mastery of the Dragon Cave Immortal Mode in three months, making you invincible wherever you go.

"Celestial arts? How enviable!"

Kato Dan and the others, who were listening attentively, showed no jealousy in their eyes, only envy for their friend's success.

"We were just lucky."

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya scratched his head.

"I believe in Jiraiya, you will definitely succeed, and your future achievements will absolutely surpass those of the First Hokage!"

The little fanboy, Hiruko, excitedly clenched his little fists, looking at the humble Jiraiya with stars in his eyes.

"Haha~ In some areas, I have already surpassed the first generation."

Jiraiya, flattered by the praise, chuckled and mysteriously pulled a book with a stained-color cover from his backpack, shoving it into the hands of the bewildered Hiruko.
"This is a deluxe edition that I prepared especially for you. It has my autograph inside. You must keep it safe, as it is extremely rare and valuable on the market."

"This is... um!"

Hiruko looked at the book in his hands with a puzzled expression, then casually flipped through a few pages. His fair face instantly flushed red.

"You came here by yourself, didn't you take the wrong one?"

“You didn’t pick up the wrong one. This is my latest masterpiece, which I adapted based on my experience training in Ryuchi Cave.”

Jiraiya shook his head. He was now the best-selling author of Liu Bei fanfiction in the Land of Fire, with his books far surpassing the sales of the First Hokage's work, "The Will of Fire," consistently ranking number one on the bestseller list.

"What book is it? Let me see!"

Tsunade curiously leaned closer, but when she saw the words "The Legend of Immortal X: The Dust-Covered Tale" on the cover, she didn't react much, assuming it was just an ordinary fantasy novel.

"You'd better not watch it."

Hiruko quickly closed the book and hugged it tightly to his chest.
It’s tricky!
Seeing this, Tsunade narrowed her eyes and, with lightning speed, snatched the book that Hiruko was desperately guarding.
"(;Д｀) No!"

Xiao Nanniang fought back, but how could she possibly be a match for the strength of a growing mother monster?

Swish swish swish~
"It has come!"

After flipping through only two or three pages, Tsunade's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom, her beautiful eyes filled with shame and indignation as she stared intently at Jiraiya, who was tiptoeing and preparing to run away.

Jiraiya, caught off guard, looked embarrassed. He hadn't expected Tsunade to be so curious, even wanting to see the gift he'd given to Hiruko.
"Um... I just remembered there are clothes hanging on the fire at home."

To avoid being beaten to death, Jiraiya lied and said there was an emergency at home.

But how could such a reason convince Tsunade? What awaited him was only an iron fist gleaming with a dense blue light.
"Xinei!"

Bang! ! !
"hiss"

The others, including Mikoto and the others who were unaware of what was happening, all gasped as they watched Jiraiya trace a perfect parabola in the air.
"Rope Tree, your sister is amazing!"

After a brief moment of shock, Mikoto's face was filled with admiration.
"Heh heh~ Pretty impressive, huh!"

Rope Tree, his face contorted with phantom limb pain, wore an arrogant expression. How could he not know how formidable his sister was?
He could take ten punches like that in one go!

"Brother, is this the legendary steel fist super strength?"

Still shaken, the Japanese trader quietly nudged his older brother beside him and whispered, "..."

"Just as Grandpa described, it must be superhuman strength."

Hiashi swallowed hard, imagining what his chances of winning would be against such monstrous strength if his Gentle Fist were to encounter it.

Seven floors, I think?
He could be sent flying about seven stories high if he took a punch.

Just as everyone was showing sympathy, Jiraiya, who had been thrown out of the shop, finally landed.
Puff-!
"what!"

However, everyone was puzzled to find that the scream the other person made when he fell to the ground sounded rather childish, which seemed quite out of place with the burly Jiraiya.

"Why does that voice sound so familiar?"

Rope Tree blinked and spoke first.
"Now that you mention it, it does sound familiar."

Hizashi stroked his chin and nodded in approval.

"Idiot, it's Fugaku."

Having identified the source of the sound, Hiashi patted his younger brother, who was pretending to be deep in thought.
"Ahhh! Young Master Fugaku~"

Meanwhile, Mikoto, who had also figured out who had spoken, had already vanished without a trace.
"Cough cough cough I'm still alive!"

Jiraiya, who had landed on the "soft" ground, coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutched the deep wound under his ribs, and straightened up, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Could it be true that what Master Shima said—that long-term consumption of insect dishes has the effect of strengthening the body?

"Cough cough cough you bastard, get your ass off me right now!"

Just as Jiraiya was marveling at how Mount Myōboku was brimming with rare and precious resources, even the insects there contained far more protein than anything else in the outside world, a childish voice rang out beneath him.

"what?"

It was only then that Jiraiya belatedly realized that there was a fleshy pad lying under his buttocks, and it was a very young fleshy pad at that.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Startled, he quickly sat up, ignoring his broken ribs, and painfully dug the black-haired boy out of the ground.
"Little boy, are you alright?" Jiraiya carefully checked Fugaku, who had shielded him from harm, and was surprised to find that apart from a slightly dirty hem of his clothes, the other boy was otherwise unharmed.

"Ptooey! Uncle, who are you? How did you fall from the sky?"

Fugaku, who had just been shoved head-on into the buttocks by Jiraiya, was ashen-faced and spat out several mouthfuls of saliva. Only after he had spit out all his saliva did he wipe his mouth and look the old man who had suddenly appeared before him up and down.
"Phew, at least you're alright. Wait, how could you possibly be alright!?"

Looking at the energetic Fugaku, even if Jiraiya didn't believe his own weight, he couldn't deny the sheer force of Tsunade's monstrous punches.

"Who do you think you're underestimating? I am Fugaku Uchiha, the next head of the Uchiha clan!"

Wearing a stylish gray shawl, Fugaku pouted slightly.
"The Uchiha clan chief?"

Jiraiya blinked in confusion, his gaze sweeping over the black-haired boy before him. He actually spotted the Uchiha clan crest hidden beneath the boy's gray cloak.

Fugaku?

Why does that sound so familiar?

"I didn't know the Uchiha clan was yours."

However, there is another similar name, Jiraiya, whose name is widely known.
That handsome, talented, and most importantly, rich Konoha's number one genius.

"He's my older brother."

It matches up!

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed; they met his gaze completely.
The black-haired boy before me is the second son of Uchiha Izuna, who went to the Land of Waves to carry out a long-term mission years ago.
Given his background, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's the next clan leader.

"Do you know my brother?"

“I know not only your brother, but also your uncle.”

If we were to ask who Jiraiya was most familiar with within the entire Uchiha clan, it would undoubtedly be our Konoha Silver Wolf, Konoha's Gynecological Expert, Konoha's No. 1 Genin, and the last guardian of Konoha's dungeon.
【Uchiha Prison Silver】

"I am Yin San San's unofficial closed-door disciple."

"Oh, it's one of our own!"

Upon learning the other identity of the "uncle" before him, Fugaku's initially resentful face immediately brightened.
"Since you are my great-uncle's disciple, let's address each other as equals!"

"Fugaku Prison, right? My name is Jiraiya. I am Gintoki's last disciple and also a student of the Third Hokage."

"Wow, wow, this is incredible! I never expected Jiraiya to have such a powerful background. It really makes me look at him in a new light."

For some reason, the two, who seemed to have a mutual appreciation, hit it off immediately. Jiraiya searched his entire body and finally pulled out a novel he had personally signed as a gift.
"Brother, I just returned from my cultivation trip and didn't bring much with me. Consider this novel a gift from me!"

"A gift of a goose feather sent from afar is a small gift but carries great meaning."

Fugaku solemnly accepted the novel offered to him, but after merely glancing at the cover, his expression instantly changed drastically.
"It's this book! Where did you get it, bro?"

"I didn't expect that you, who look so young, have such a deep understanding of this great work."

Jiraiya stared blankly at the incredibly excited Fugaku. Shouldn't the target audience for his works be people over eighteen?

"Ahem. My neighbor is an old male chef who has been single for many years. He loves collecting books like this. I've only heard of him, but I've never read them."

Sensing Jiraiya's mocking gaze, Fugaku immediately distanced himself from Jiro Uchiha, who had taken care of him for many years.

"Oh, I see~"

Jiraiya, who could clearly see that Fugaku was lying, did not expose his naive lie, and immediately gave a mysterious smile.
"Of course, of course!"

Although Fugaku Uchiha said this, his hands moved quickly, and he stuffed the novel into his pocket in a few swift movements, while Jiro's famous quote echoed in his mind.

Is it wrong for a man to like Liu Bei?

Of course, Fugaku didn't know that this famous quote actually came from his father, and that more than half of the books Jiro collected were inherited from him.

"Young Master Fugaku!!!"

Just then, Mikoto, who had been speeding along, arrived late. Upon seeing Fugaku unharmed, her anxious expression finally softened.

"Yo~ Mikoto!"

"Young Master Fugaku, why are you wearing Grandpa Gin's summer blanket?"

Mikoto, relieved, suddenly noticed that the pattern on Fugaku's cloak was exactly the same as the summer blanket worn by the Uchiha Gin family, so she asked about it curiously.

"This was indeed given to me by my eldest cousin, but it's definitely not a summer blanket."

Turning to Mikoto, Fugaku showed her his exquisitely crafted cloak and patiently explained it to her.
“Isn’t this the same thing?”

Mikoto tilted her head, her big, watery eyes filled with confusion.
"You can actually make money this way? I really can!"

Selling summer blankets as capes, this seller is really something else.

"Alright, don't worry about such trivial things. We still have a date, don't we?"

Fugaku dared not forget his mission for the day. After looking around to make sure there weren't three other third wheels, he immediately showed a relieved expression.

"That's right, young master Fugaku, everyone's been waiting for you!"

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Fugaku's expression stiffened. Then he saw a large group of people, young and old, filing out, among them the three little wild boars he least wanted to see.

Nawaki glanced at the human-shaped dent in the ground, secretly comparing it to Fugaku's size, and a look of worry immediately appeared on his face.

"Fugaku-kun, are you alright?"

Of course, what he was most worried about was that Fugaku would hold him accountable, in which case his sister, as the instigator of this incident, would probably have to pay a large sum of money.

"Brother, is my Byakugan really ruined? How come I can't even see through Fugaku Uchiha's clothes this time?"

Hizashi was initially worried and wanted to use his Byakugan to examine Fugaku for any internal injuries, but the result was the same as when he checked on Mikoto before.
"Shut up!"

Hiashi turned and glared at his brother, whose face looked like that of an old man. The veins on his temples slowly subsided, and his eyes, now a clear white, were filled with contemplation.

What kind of method is it that can even detect and block out eye rolls?

"Jiraiya! You can still stand. It seems your training over the past six months has not been neglected."

Tsunade crossed her arms, looking at Jiraiya's flushed face in surprise. In the past, if Jiraiya took a punch from her, he would be bedridden for three to five days to recover.
"Hmph~ I'm not the same person I used to be!"

Jiraiya, beaming with smugness, had successfully drawn the ire of his old classmates with his cheeky antics. Everyone's eyes narrowed instantly, even Might Guy, the honest fellow.
"Alright, alright, then take another punch from me."

"Tsunade, Garlic Bird~ Garlic Bird~ You're not wearing a swimsuit!"

Seeing Tsunade about to charge, Kato Dan and the others quickly stepped forward to intervene, feigning to stop her while secretly fanning the flames. The scene became quite lively.

At this moment, two figures walking together slowly approached the bustling crowd.
"Wow, what day is it today? Why is everyone here?"

The man, whom everyone knew intimately, scratched his messy curly hair in confusion, his lifeless eyes filled with question marks.

"Silver, today is Crazy Thursday, have you forgotten?"

"Oh~ Did you all hear that? Hurry up and each give me 50 V's!" (End of Chapter)