Chapter 43: Teaching Jiraiya the Rasengan
Three days later, Jiraiya and the others had mostly recovered from their injuries. The group began their journey back to Konoha.
"Brother Tenchi, we were pretty much healed the next day. Why did we have to stay two more days? And why are we walking so slowly now? Don't you want to get back to Konoha quickly?" Jiraiya complained.
Tenchi shot him an exasperated look. "You talk too much. Do you still want to learn that ninjutsu or not?"
"I do! Of course I do!" Jiraiya's complaints vanished instantly, replaced by frantic nodding.
"I'll start teaching you on the way. I'll probably be in some trouble once we get back to Konoha this time." Despite the serious nature of his words, Tenchi said them with a completely relaxed face, as if it were nothing.
"Trouble? How could there be trouble? We over-performed on the mission! We should be rewarded, not get in trouble!" Tsunade said, frowning deeply.
"Yeah, the village shouldn't have a problem with us. We completed a mission that went far beyond its original C-rank rating," Orochimaru analyzed.
Tenchi shook his head. "You misunderstood. I said *I'll* be in trouble, not you. You'll be fine."
"You? How is that possible? I don't believe the village would be so unreasonable! If they trouble you, I'll demand an explanation from Lord Sarutobi myself!" Tsunade declared, her voice filled with indignation.
"I'm afraid even Sarutobi won't be able to help this time," Tenchi said cryptically.
*'After the beating I gave Iwagakure, Sarutobi will probably have a hard time protecting himself, let alone me. But at most, it'll be a slap on the wrist. They wouldn't dare to punish me severely.'*
***
While Tenchi and his team were traveling, a celebration was underway in Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo with a pleased expression. Today, Danzo was officially being inaugurated as a Konoha Elder. Knowing Tenchi was out of the village, Hiruzen had rushed the ceremony through, complete with a village-wide celebration.
If Tenchi had been present, Hiruzen would have simply made the announcement and been done with it. A full-blown celebration would have been asking for trouble.
Danzo, for his part, looked anything but happy. He didn't want to be an Elder; he wanted the Hokage's seat. This title meant nothing to him.
***
Back on the road, Tenchi began his teaching.
"It's just a little trouble. I'm not worried about it. Come on, come with me. I'll teach you the Rasengan. You two can follow if you want to listen."
"But..." Tsunade started to protest again, but Tenchi had already pulled Jiraiya aside.
"If the village gives you trouble, I'll go to Grandma Mito and demand justice for you," Tsunade vowed quietly, watching Tenchi's retreating back.
"Orochimaru, do you think the village is really that unreasonable? We over-performed, and Tenchi might get punished for it?"
"I don't know. I have a feeling this won't be simple," Orochimaru replied, sharing her unease.
The two of them didn't follow Tenchi, choosing to rest where they were.
***
"Jiraiya, the Rasengan is learned in three stages. The first stage is about rotation." As he spoke, Tenchi pulled a water-filled balloon from his Kamui dimension.
"Watch closely, Jiraiya. The first stage is simple. You gather chakra in your hand and make it rotate, popping the balloon." Tenchi held the water balloon and demonstrated.
"That sounds easy. Give me a balloon and let me try!" Jiraiya said, already reaching for it, confident he could manage.
"You can try. But there's a small trick to this first step. Lower your head and let me see." Tenchi didn't hand over the balloon immediately.
"You need to make the energy in your body rotate in the same direction as the chakra you're using to pop the balloon. This synchronizes the flow and makes it much easier. To find your natural rotation direction, just look at the swirl on your head. Yours goes to the left. So when you try, rotate your chakra to the left." After inspecting Jiraiya's crown, Tenchi finally handed him a balloon.
"No problem, Brother Tenchi! Watch me succeed on the first try!" Jiraiya declared confidently and began his experiment.
He stood there, staring intently at the water balloon.
"Why are you just standing there? Get started," Tenchi urged, seeing him frozen.
"Uh, Brother Tenchi... I already have started," Jiraiya said, embarrassed.
"What? You started? There's no movement at all!" Tenchi was dumbfounded. Had he explained it poorly? "Jiraiya, did you understand what I just said?"
"Don't worry, don't worry! Let me try again!"
"Pop, for me!" Jiraiya focused and tried once more.
Tenchi's face darkened. There was still absolutely no movement.
"This is hopeless. Practice hard here by yourself. Don't come back until you've succeeded." With that, Tenchi turned and walked away without looking back.
"Brother Tenchi! Don't go! Give me one more chance! I'll get it next time!" Jiraiya pleaded.
Tenchi didn't stop. He just walked back to where Tsunade and Orochimaru were resting.
When he arrived, he found they had built a small campfire and were roasting a few chickens over it.
Without a word, Tenchi slumped down beside the fire.
"Brother Tenchi, what's wrong? Did Jiraiya's training not go well?" Tsunade asked, seeing his dejected state.
"I thought Jiraiya wouldn't be as bad as... well, I thought he wouldn't be too stupid. I didn't expect him to get stuck on something so simple." He had almost compared Jiraiya to Naruto but caught himself just in time. He didn't want to alter the boy's future path.
"Hahaha! That sounds about right, Brother Tenchi," Tsunade laughed. "Don't worry about it. That's just how he is. He just needs more time."
"That idiot," Orochimaru chuckled, amused by the thought of Jiraiya failing to learn such a powerful technique right away.
"Whatever. He'll have time. He'll learn it eventually."
"Orochimaru, can I ask you a question?" Tenchi looked at the smirking Orochimaru.
"What is it?" Orochimaru looked back, curious about the sudden seriousness.
"What do you think is more important for a person? Relying on a Kekkei Genkai, a bloodline limit? Or relying on their own hard work?" Tenchi asked, his expression grave.
Orochimaru thought for a moment before answering. "Although some bloodline limits are powerful, I believe one's own effort is more fundamental. Someone with a Kekkei Genkai is useless if they don't work hard."
Tenchi nodded in agreement. "Good. I hope you always hold onto that belief."
"Orochimaru, do you know what the true meaning of life is?" Tenchi asked, hoping to plant a seed of wisdom to prevent the dark path Orochimaru would one day take.
"Huh? What?" Both Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at him, bewildered by the philosophical turn.
"In my opinion, everything that lives has its own purpose. To me, the true meaning of life can be summed up in six words."
He paused for effect.
"Origin."
"Connection."
"Life."
"Strength."
"Understanding."
"Acceptance."
"I'm giving you these six words, Orochimaru. I hope that one day, you can truly see through everything and understand them."
Orochimaru listened and nodded slowly, though he didn't fully grasp the meaning yet.
"Brother Tenchi, what's going on with you? You're acting really strange today," Tsunade said, eyeing him suspiciously.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about some things and got a little philosophical," Tenchi replied, his tone lighter.
"Well, while Jiraiya is practicing, Tsunade, let me write something down for you." He picked up a blank scroll and began to inscribe a specific ninjutsu for her.