A Little Time Skip

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression became serious, and at the same time, he clapped his hands, and an Anbu appeared before them.

"I've already sent someone to find the materials left by Lord First Hokage. When you teach him, give them to him as well. You must cultivate him well, understand?"

"Mm."

Jiraiya nodded. Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't say it, he would still do this well.

"This is truly good news..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen now had a smile on his face. He truly felt that Konoha was thriving...

But before he could be happy for long, Jiraiya's words suddenly choked him, "Old

man, you didn't give me these things back then, are you playing favorites?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen retorted, "Cough, cough, cough! You're learning with Mount Myōboku, do you need these materials?!"

Jiraiya stayed his ground, "Nah, you still have to compensate me. How about we look at that crystal ball together?"

"You! Immediately! Get out!"

.....

Sage Art: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

By a pond in a forest in Konoha, Takemi stood with one hand, seemingly completing a hand seal. The next moment, a giant red fire dragon roared out.

Its enormous size even covered the entire pond, and wherever the fire dragon passed, plumes of water mist rose.

Boom—

The fire dragon slammed into the opposite bank, immediately igniting a raging inferno.

The massive fire seemed to devour the forest there, but at this moment, Takemi unhurriedly formed another hand seal.

Sage Art: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

As his Chakra surged, a water dragon, no weaker than the previous one, quickly gathered in the pond.

This water dragon roared forth, instantly extinguishing the raging fire in the forest on the opposite bank.

Only the continuously spreading water mist remained, enveloping almost the entire forest.

"Jiraiya-sama, how did I do?"

After doing all this, Takemi turned his head to look at Jiraiya, whose lips twitched before he finally nodded.

"Very good... very good..."

In fact, Jiraiya was somewhat numb. He had seen such performances many times over the past month and a half.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, a month and a half had passed.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen learned of Takemi's ability, he immediately dispatched more personnel to gather and deliver the materials.

Takemi studied them diligently, and then began to make rapid progress, which truly gave Jiraiya a headache.

He had also read those materials, but they were not very helpful to him.

"This is a true genius!"

Jiraiya was somewhat dejected. He looked at Takemi's Sage Mode with frustration, and finally couldn't help but ask, "How long can you maintain it now?"

"I'm not sure, probably about ten minutes or so?" Takemi tilted his head and casually gave a number.

In fact, if he wanted to, he could maintain it for a longer time.

"That's not bad..." Jiraiya nodded.

This much time should be enough to end a battle.

"Jiraiya-sama, staying in Konoha doesn't seem to help me much, does it?"

Just as Jiraiya was pondering, Takemi suddenly spoke, "I think I need more training. How about we go out and travel?"

"Go out?"

Jiraiya actually had this idea vaguely in his mind. The last time he failed to track Orochimaru, it left him with a long-standing regret.

During this time, watching Takemi constantly improve in Konoha was satisfying, but it was also truly a blow.

He himself needed to summon two toads to use Sage Mode, while Takemi could seamlessly enter the state. Such a gap was indeed quite large.

He felt that he indeed needed a change of scenery, and at the same time, he could also see if there was any new information on Orochimaru or that organization.

Moreover, Takemi truly needed more tempering.

Jiraiya said, "It can indeed be considered. I will go to old man and ask if there is any noteworthy information recently."

"Then you continue training yourself, I'll go chat with him."

"No problem."

Watching Jiraiya's retreating back, Takemi also naturally deactivated his Sage Mode.

His mood was extraordinarily good now, after all, he could finally use his 'Byakugan' openly.

"Moreover, the information the Third Hokage found for me was indeed very helpful."

[Name: Kitagawa Takemi]

[Age: 13]

[Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki (24%)]

[Total Chakra: SS (High Kage-level and above)]

[Chakra Natures: Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Yin, Yang]

[Special Skill: Ice Release]

Looking at his panel, Takemi felt very comfortable. His idea was indeed correct, continuous development of natural energy indeed helped his bloodline improve.

Actually, he was also curious whether Hashirama had obtained the power of Sage Mode through Shikkotsu Forest or because he was the reincarnation of Asura.

However, this was no longer important. He dared to use it directly because the Ninja World was full of talents.

"At worst, I can also take Jiraiya to find Anko."

He hadn't forgotten that Anko had a curse mark on her neck, and he absolutely didn't believe that Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others hadn't checked it.

"Now that Sage Mode is 'whitewashed,' I should continue to focus on bloodline development..."

Being able to freely use his eyes, combined with Sage Mode, he felt incredibly strong now.

But no matter how strong he was, he still needed to constantly learn and improve. Not to mention the history of the Ōtsutsuki clan's failures, there were also many cases of Naruto and Sasuke failing.

He had to maximize his combat experience and tactical skills. There could be no slack whatsoever.

"Tailed Beast Chakra, Kekkei Genkai, and so on, these are all my goals, and I still need to work harder." As he spoke, Takemi looked up at the sky.

As his bloodline improved, his perception of things in the sky gradually became clearer. That 'super energy cannon' had been waiting for him.

His eyes and bones had continuously absorbed his Chakra, but the absorption by his bones had always been lukewarm.

Although it did make his body continuously stronger, other significant changes were not overly apparent.

Fortunately, Takemi didn't care. He knew the limit of the bone's power, which was probably truly beyond his reach.

Accelerating now might even lead him to follow in Kimimaro's footsteps.

His eyes, however, performed very well. The speed of Chakra absorption had started to increase again, clearly indicating that a new level up would appear faster.

"I already have the Byakugan now, or perhaps it shouldn't be called the Byakugan, but another type of eye similar to the Byakugan, then..."

Takemi stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.

"What's next? Will it directly reach the Tenseigan?"

Takemi didn't know, but he thought the probability was high. Moreover, the Tenseigan required three awakenings, and it wasn't that simple to master all its power.

"My path is still a bit long..."

.....

As Takemi pondered, in the Land of Rain, Pain, standing atop the Gedo statue, suddenly opened his eyes.

Around his hands, Chakra-constructed illusions began to appear.

He swept his gaze across them, then spoke in a flat voice, "Since everyone is here, let's begin the meeting..."