Shhh!
Kaede closed his hand slightly. Black script-like characters appeared in the air around his palm, swirling together before rapidly condensing.
The Six Paths Yin and Six Paths Yang powers from the Sage of Six Paths were temporarily sealed away, transformed into two thin strands of black thread that wrapped gently around the tip of his index finger.
Then,
Kaede stepped forward, and with just a few steps, he returned to the hot spring, standing once again beside the steaming pool.
Shedding his bathrobe, he sank into the water and stretched out his body, submerging himself in the relaxing heat.
Mm…
He'd leave the matter of locating Urashiki to the Sage of Six Paths. For now, he might as well enjoy this rare moment of peace.
Lying in the hot spring, Kaede's gaze shifted toward the wooden partition on the other side of the bath. He suddenly let out a faint chuckle.
In fact, earlier, while bestowing Orochimaru with an immortal body, he had quietly done something else: he cast a secret ocular technique on Jiraiya called Rebirth of Life.
The effect of this technique was simple:
It created life.
If he used it on water, the water would come to life, forming a creature born of flowing liquid.
Essentially, it was a power that could create a soul inside a soulless, lifeless object.
Normally, this ability couldn't be used on living things that already had souls. But Jiraiya's soul, to Kaede, was so weak that it made no real difference.
So…
At this very moment, Jiraiya was probably just now realizing that a certain part of his body had come alive, now possessing a soul of its own.
Trying to peep on the women's bath in front of him, no less? A little beating was far from enough.
"With his strength, I doubt he can remove that extra soul. He'd have to seal it, or cut it off entirely."
Kaede looked up at the night sky, musing silently to himself.
Well, it counted as an experiment at least.
Just as Kaede was wondering how Jiraiya might be handling the situation, soft footsteps approached from behind.
"Kaede, would you like a massage?"
Rin's voice floated in from behind him.
She stepped into the bath wearing only a white towel, which clung tightly to her curves now that it was soaked through. Her eyes sparkled as she sat down beside Kaede.
As a woman, she was well aware that this look, wrapped in wet cloth rather than completely nude, was far more tantalizing.
Sensing that Kurenai was also approaching, Kaede let out a helpless sigh. Couldn't he just soak in peace for once?
Gazing at Rin as she settled beside him, he said, "Weren't you with Hinata? You just left her alone?"
Rin smiled sweetly. "She's a proper kunoichi now. She learned to look after herself."
"And you?"
Kaede gave her a sidelong glance.
Rin blinked. "I'm not a proper kunoichi."
Before he could say anything else, Yuhi Kurenai walked in from behind. She noticed Rin was already there and narrowed her eyes slightly before turning to Kaede.
"What happened just now?"
Kaede leaned back lazily and looked up at her from the water. "Jiraiya tried to sneak a peek, so I tossed him out."
"Jiraiya-sama?" Kurenai blinked in surprise. "Why would he…"
She didn't doubt Kaede's words, but her impression of Jiraiya instantly collapsed.
A wave of discomfort swept over her. "Then… did he see us earlier?"
"Don't worry," Kaede said, eyes still on the night sky. "He didn't see anything. And I have a feeling he won't be interested in this kind of thing ever again."
=============
Mount Myoboku.
In one of the rooms,
Shima the toad sage quickly formed hand seals, then slapped her hand onto the floor. A web of black seals spread out, and with a puff of smoke, Jiraiya's battered body appeared in the center.
"Little Jiraiya? What happened to you? Why are you this badly injured?"
Fukasaku, standing nearby, was stunned. "Did you fight some kind of monster?"
"Cough…" Jiraiya's face was pale. He coughed weakly and said, "Not a monster… Just… help me reset my bones first…"
"Alright."
Fukasaku hopped over, infused Jiraiya's body with sage chakra, and quickly assessed his condition before tearing off his clothes and beginning the bone-setting process.
However,
"Ahhh!! What is THAT?!" Shima suddenly shrieked.
"What is it?" Jiraiya blinked, confused, then suddenly noticed something… off.
One part of his body had completely lost all sensation.
That wasn't the worst of it.
The worst part… was that he could sense a completely separate soul inhabiting that specific body part.
What the hell?!
Jiraiya let out a panicked cry, flailing like a madman. Thankfully, Fukasaku and Shima were there to restrain him immediately.
"This is…"
"Ryuchi Cave's Inorganic Reincarnation Jutsu?"
"No, no, it's not that. That jutsu doesn't work on living people. This is something even more advanced…"
Fukasaku's face turned grave with realization.
Jiraiya's expression turned to stone.
After half a day of thorough examination with the two sages, they confirmed that the only ways to fix the issue were either a sealing technique… or amputation.
Jiraiya collapsed on the tatami, eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling.
He felt like all his dreams had just… died.
=============
Two years later.
A book titled "What It's Like When Your Ding-Dong Comes Alive" was published and quickly became a bestseller.
However, during later interviews, the author, Jiraiya himself, refused to explain where he got the idea for the story. Every time the topic came up, his face would darken and he would dodge the question.
=============
Back to two years ago.
At the same time Kaede was meeting with the Sage of Six Paths,
Somewhere in a pitch-black void, Otsutsuki Urashiki reappeared.
"No intel on that traitor? Impossible…"
Urashiki combed through the intelligence he had recovered from Orochimaru's base, his brows furrowing.
"The Ten Tails seems to have been split up too… What the hell happened? Who managed to defeat that traitor?"
Something about the whole situation felt off to him.
Otsutsuki Kaguya, after eating the God Tree's fruit, had gained power even he had to be wary of. And now, it looked like she had suffered some kind of defeat?
Still,
If the Ten Tails had really been split into multiple fragments, then none of them posed a threat to him anymore. Which meant… he could now collect the God Tree's chakra fruit without resistance.
"Looks like I won't need to call for backup after all. I can handle this world myself."
With a smirk, Urashiki's lips curled upward.
"But first, I'll gather a bit more intel to confirm everything…"
=============
Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria