Kyōichi, Konoha’s Life Mentor

"Hahaha, that makes sense. When I first saw this kid, I thought he was some thief. Turns out he's Tsunade's cousin," Jiraiya said as he took another drink, then let out a long sigh.

Orochimaru silently drank a cup.

The war had ended.

However.

The trauma and pain wouldn't disappear. Tsunade's experience was a tragedy of war.

"Hey, why so quiet? You're scary when you don't talk. Don't frighten our cousin. Come on, let's drink," Jiraiya said warmly.

He was naturally friendly, but saying this was more about hoping Orochimaru wouldn't overthink things.

Orochimaru smiled and raised his cup to Kyōichi, saying, "Kyōichi-kun, we meet again."

"You've met him before?" Jiraiya was very surprised.

"Orochimaru-senpai was my chief examiner during the Jonin exam," Kyōichi said simply.

Jiraiya paused for a moment, then instantly understood the situation.

With Orochimaru as the examiner, the test must have been challenging. He smiled without asking further details, and the three began chatting casually.

Most questions were about Tsunade's recent situation.

"Lady Tsunade is doing well overall, except she's short on money and constantly being chased by debt collectors."

"Hahahahaha!" Jiraiya laughed heartily.

That was definitely Tsunade!

She had everything except money.

Because no matter how much money she had, it wasn't enough for Tsunade, this cash cow, to lose - she would eventually lose it all.

"Did you lend her money?"

"No, I never lend money to gamblers."

"Good call. Better to give that money to me for jutsu research - at least after getting results, I could teach you something," Orochimaru said with a slight smirk.

When talking about Tsunade, the barriers between the three seemed to lessen.

Kyōichi could tell.

At least at this moment, Orochimaru wasn't thinking about the Senju body or Hashirama cells - he was just an ordinary person who cared about his teammates.

"By the way, I heard from the old man that you're researching a jutsu. If you need any help, just say so. At least we're both in the village for now, though we might have to leave again soon," Jiraiya said cheerfully, though with a hint of resignation.

The current state of Konoha...

Calling it precarious would be an understatement.

Years of war, with all four major villages trying to take a bite out of Konoha.

"The jutsu is showing some promise. Currently having some issues with skin breathing, but it's manageable. Should be resolved soon," Kyōichi replied.

In reality, Kyōichi had already mastered skin breathing.

However, the current skin breathing technique could only serve as an auxiliary function to reduce lung pressure, far from reaching the fourth activation stage he envisioned.

"Skin breathing?" both Jiraiya and Orochimaru were surprised.

Orochimaru was contemplating.

What kind of jutsu would need such an ability?

As for Jiraiya...

He thought for a moment and said, "If it's about that, I might actually be able to help."

"There's no rush. Jiraiya-senpai just mentioned having to leave again, could it be...?" Kyōichi lowered his voice halfway through.

Jiraiya nodded slightly, saying, "The Third Raikage has been dead for several years. Both Kumo and Iwa have recovered quite a bit of strength. We need to check the northern border."

"Kiri might be a concern too, right? They've recovered significantly, and there's been a famous group there in recent years. They might make a move against us," Kyōichi said.

He remembered that Kirigakure's conflict with Iwagakure happened around the same time. Like Iwagakure, the signs of impending war were traceable.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Indeed, it's possible.Kiri hasn't made any moves for many years, but recently the Seven Ninja Swordsmen have been gaining quite a reputation."

Kyōichi didn't say more.

That was enough said.

He had three young students under his care, so he couldn't go north or east to investigate. The future situation was something for the higher-ups to analyze.

Not everyone in Konoha's leadership was incompetent.

"Come on, let's drink... kid, you drink this cup on behalf of Tsunade, no refusing."

"That won't be necessary," Kyōichi waved his hand, then bit his finger and performed a summoning jutsu.

A small slug appeared.

"Lady Katsuyu?" Jiraiya was quite surprised.

Orochimaru gave Kyōichi a meaningful look.

The Shikkotsurin contract.

This kid really had connected with the Senju clan.

It seemed he'd need to visit Danzō again, otherwise if Tsunade got angry...

Who knows what might happen.

He took a drink to hide his expression.

"Lady Katsuyu, please deliver this bottle of sake to Lady Tsunade. Tell her it's from a gathering with Jiraiya and Orochimaru of the Sannin."

"Certainly."

Katsuyu wrapped around the bottle, controlling her internal mucus to avoid corroding it, then disappeared from the table.

Jiraiya was deeply moved.

The Shikkotsurin contract signing meant Kyōichi's Senju identity was recognized - quite different from before.

Was that day when he went to get the summoning scroll?

Jiraiya understood, then became exasperated with Tsunade - leaving the contract scroll just lying at home?

She was too carefree!

"Drink up, and then I'll tell you more about skin breathing."

Jiraiya raised his cup.

After several drinks, the food on the table was gradually cleared away.

Orochimaru left first.

He was a busy man.

Jiraiya was used to it. He wandered randomly with Kyōichi after leaving the pub, explaining some key points about skin breathing - the Mount Myōboku toads had this ability.

During his sage mode training, he had experienced synchronizing with toads and understood how skin breathing worked.

So Kyōichi had asked the right person.

However...

There was one problem.

"Jiraiya-sensei, I'm grateful for you teaching me these things, but why did you bring me to the hot springs?"

Steam swirled around the walls.

The sound of women's laughter.

Kyōichi felt like there was a big "DANGER" sign above his head.

He was a sensei!

If someone discovered this, he might as well say goodbye to Konoha.

"Ahem! Don't misunderstand, I took a wrong turn. Let's go, let's go around this place, to avoid any misunderstandings from the people inside."

Jiraiya's face reddened.

After drinking, he had unconsciously followed the sounds here.

Kyōichi was speechless.

Did you really need people to misunderstand?

Everyone in Konoha knew about your glorious history, Jiraiya.

But he didn't expose this.

"By the way, I still don't know what jutsu you're researching. Can you tell me about it?"

"Cell Activation Technique."

There was nothing to hide.

Kyōichi spoke directly while gathering chakra in both hands, and then...

He started forming hand seals.

His hand seal speed was notably faster than normal!

"This is my current approach to combining skin breathing with the activation technique."

"Local cellular stimulation activation?"

Jiraiya pondered thoughtfully.

This method was quite ingenious, allowing for enhancement based on need without putting too much strain on the body, but the requirements were also extremely high - ordinary people couldn't possibly learn it.

"This technique must have higher levels of application, right?"

"That's right. I named it the Seven Heavens Breathing Method. The first three activations only require lung breathing, but for the fourth activation, I envision enhanced skin breathing."

"That's definitely feasible. This activation technique..."

"If you want to learn it, I can teach you, but it's a forbidden technique, so it's best not to use it frequently."

Kyōichi didn't hesitate.

The first three activations weren't particularly precious, so there was no need to be stingy. Besides - what he could learn from teaching Jiraiya might be worth more than its value.

"Well then, how about this - you teach me the activation technique, and I'll teach you my hair techniques."

Since Kyōichi was Tsunade's cousin, Jiraiya couldn't just learn it for free.