Chapter 116 : Meeting Uchiha Itachi Again
Riku nodded calmly.
Seeing his unshaken expression, Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Aren’t you curious?"
Riku smiled. "What’s there to be curious about? It’s an A-rank jutsu. I think Chidori is good—and it works really well when combined with the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Jiraiya laughed. "The Rasengan is even stronger. Though it’s also A-rank, its power definitely surpasses the Chidori."
Riku didn’t quite agree with that assessment.
After all, the Chidori in his hands was completely different from the version Kakashi used.
Whether it was Chidori or Rasengan, their effectiveness still depended on who was using them.
But Riku didn’t feel like explaining. He simply smiled. "Oh? Then I’ll see for myself just how powerful this jutsu really is."
In truth, Riku had little interest. If he wanted to develop Rasengan, it wouldn’t be difficult at all.
He hadn’t done so because he knew he didn’t need it.
Based on the foundation of Chidori, he had already developed several Lightning Style techniques tailored to his own style—each one comparable in power to the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
Some of them were even stronger.
But he rarely had the need to use them.
One of the main reasons he agreed to travel with Jiraiya this time was to witness Tsunade’s medical ninjutsu firsthand—and also to enjoy the opportunity to get out of Konoha for a bit.
Jiraiya laughed again. "Still, it’s not easy to learn. Takes a long time to master."
Riku smiled to himself. He had been able to learn Chidori at a glance—Rasengan would be no different.
Rasengan was the pinnacle of shape transformation.
Chidori required both shape transformation and nature transformation.
Logically, Chidori should be harder to master.
Naruto had needed over a month of training, largely because he struggled to concentrate his chakra properly.
But someone like Jiraiya—or a highly skilled ninja—should be able to learn it within three days.
Riku, of course, said none of this out loud.
Jiraiya caught the amused smile on Riku’s face and sighed. "Right... you’ve already mastered Chidori. I guess Rasengan isn’t exactly a challenge for you."
Rasengan was pure shape transformation, without any nature element.
And Riku had already mastered both shape and nature transformations completely.
In fact, the moment Jiraiya had first seen Riku’s Lightning Style techniques, he’d suspected the boy had already reached the pinnacle of both transformation types.
Maybe Rasengan really wouldn’t be difficult for him.
It would probably be a different story for Naruto, though.
Very few shinobi could combine nature and shape transformations—most only managed it at the Jōnin level.
Riku chuckled. "Actually, I’m more interested in Lady Tsunade’s medical ninjutsu."
Jiraiya looked exasperated. "And here I thought you agreed to come along just to learn the technique I was teaching you."
Riku smiled. "That’s part of it, too."
But Jiraiya could tell the smile wasn’t sincere.
He sighed again. It seemed Rasengan wasn’t exactly appealing to Riku at this point.
After walking for a while longer, the three of them arrived at a hot spring town not far from Konoha.
Jiraiya grinned. "Let’s stay here for the night."
Riku didn’t mind either way. Naruto, who rarely left the village, was clearly thrilled by the town’s liveliness.
The three entered a hot spring inn, and just as they were about to get a room, a beautiful woman with a stunning figure appeared at the entrance. She gave them a wink.
Naruto and Jiraiya were both immediately captivated.
She was, admittedly, very attractive.
Even Riku thought she looked quite nice.
But he immediately noticed the genjutsu cloaking her.
Jiraiya clearly noticed too—but he didn’t seem inclined to resist.
Riku sighed inwardly but said nothing.
Naruto blushed furiously and even looked like he was about to go over and greet her.
Jiraiya quickly stopped him and handed over a room key with a grin. "You two go up and practice chakra control in the room. I’ve got something to take care of."
Naruto, still fired up from earlier, froze in place. "Pervy Sage... you’re going off with that lady, aren’t you?"
"I wanna come too!"
Jiraiya put on a mock-serious face. "Why would you? You’re still a kid. The most important thing for a shinobi is to resist temptation. Go on—get to training. I’ll handle this."
Naruto opened his mouth to protest but couldn’t find the words.
Even if Jiraiya came back with a ridiculous excuse, everyone knew what he was really doing.
Jiraiya chuckled. "Riku, look after Naruto, will you?"
Riku shook his head, expression flat. "This isn’t right, Master Jiraiya... she’s clearly—"
But he didn’t finish.
He turned around and walked off toward their room.
A woman under genjutsu, no matter how beautiful, wasn’t worth a second thought.
Naruto kept grumbling, but Riku said nothing.
Once he was sure Riku had taken Naruto upstairs, Jiraiya headed toward the mysterious woman, his face lit up with joy.
Up in the room, Riku lay down to rest immediately, showing no intention of practicing at all.
Naruto sat cross-legged on the other bed and began trying to focus his chakra.
As he trained, he muttered, "Hey, Riku... do you think Pervy Sage is gonna get dumped?"
Before Riku could respond, Naruto answered himself. "He’s definitely gonna get dumped. No way that gorgeous lady actually likes a pervy old man like him."
Riku remained silent, his eyes closed as if asleep.
Naruto huffed. "You’re not even training?"
Riku didn’t answer.
With no other choice, Naruto continued practicing on his own.
Before long, the room was full of Shadow Clones.
A few hours passed.
Eventually, Naruto’s clones dispersed from fatigue, though he kept trying to mold chakra.
Still, Jiraiya hadn’t returned.
Just as Naruto was about to complain that his clones kept falling asleep, there was a knock at the door.
Riku’s eyes opened.
Naruto dispelled his remaining clones and grinned. "Bet he got dumped! Hehe..."
He jumped out of bed and rushed to open the door.
Riku calmly sat up, watching from behind.
Naruto opened the door—and froze.
Standing in the hallway was Uchiha Itachi.
Naruto stared, dumbfounded. "You—who are you? Where’s Pervy Sage?!"
Riku stepped up behind Naruto, eyes locked on Itachi with a composed expression. "So it’s you... Uchiha Itachi."
Itachi frowned slightly at Riku’s calm, unwavering gaze.
Even Kisame, who stood behind him, looked somewhat surprised.
"This kid... he’s not even panicking?"
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