Early in the morning, Jiraiya woke up in his guest quarters.
Though he had long stepped away from active shinobi duties to become a world-renowned author of immense wealth, he still maintained the disciplined internal clock of a ninja. Of course, the time spent carousing and entertaining himself was strictly excluded from that schedule.
He pulled back the curtains, and looking out the window, saw the same sight as always: the relentless, pouring rain.
To be honest, Jiraiya wasn't a fan of the climate in the Land of Rain. He was a naturally sunny person, and the constant overcast skies and lack of sunlight here felt oppressive. He had been here for three days, and every moment felt gloomy. He certainly didn't care for it.
As for his accommodations? They were quite comfortable. Diarmuid was his friend and held the highest authority in the Land of Rain, so Jiraiya was naturally treated with the utmost hospitality. However, as a wealthy traveler who had wandered the world, what luxury hadn't he seen? It wasn't exactly enough to make him lose himself in the experience.
After washing up and getting ready, Jiraiya stepped out of his room. A maid was waiting at the door. Seeing him emerge, she immediately stepped forward. "Jiraiya-sama, what would you like for breakfast today?"
"Hahaha! Anything is fine. I'm not a picky eater at all," Jiraiya said with a booming laugh. Toward ladies, especially pretty ones, he was always exceptionally genial.
Following the maid, Jiraiya sat down for his meal.
"Where is your Lord?" Jiraiya asked while eating.
Aside from a brief meeting on the first day he arrived, Jiraiya hadn't seen Diarmuid for the past two days. He had managed to suppress his curiosity until now, but today he was genuinely intrigued.
"Diarmuid-sama is training," the maid answered candidly.
"Oh?" Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. As expected, true strength never comes for free.
In Jiraiya's eyes, Diarmuid was already incredibly powerful, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say he was at the absolute top tier of the shinobi world. Yet, even so, the man was still training this hard? Thinking about himself, Jiraiya suddenly felt a twinge of uncharacteristic shame.
"Where is he? Is it convenient for me to go have a look?" Jiraiya asked.
"He is on the rooftop terrace. Diarmuid-sama mentioned that if Jiraiya-sama wished to see him, he could do so at any time," the maid responded.
"Is that so? Then I'll head up after I finish eating," Jiraiya nodded.
While eating, Jiraiya recalled something else. Yesterday, while wandering around Amegakure, he had bumped into Shiramu Ameri. After a few words, he realized that the rascal Diarmuid had already quietly made her his.
Thinking back to when they first met, and looking at the present, it felt as if an age had passed despite it not being that long. He remembered fantasizing that his "talent" would win the favor of the top courtesans. Now it seemed he had been dreaming.
After breakfast, Jiraiya was led by the maid to the entrance of the rooftop.
It was raining outside, and since this was Diarmuid's training ground, the maid stayed at the door while Jiraiya, having been given the green light, pushed open the door to the open-air platform.
The moment the door opened, cold wind and rain lashed against his face.
Jiraiya wiped his face and grumbled, "Even for training, is there a need for a place like this? Getting drenched every day... isn't he afraid of catching a cold?"
He walked out and spotted Diarmuid in the distance, sitting cross-legged at the very edge of the building, close enough that a gentle nudge would send him plummeting.
Then, Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise. He realized that although Diarmuid sat in the middle of the wind and rain, surrounded by puddles, he himself was "spotless." It was as if the rain couldn't touch him at all, giving him a sacred, inviolable aura.
But before Jiraiya could process this phenomenon, his expression shifted drastically, as if he had seen something even more impossible.
Yes, truly impossible.
As the "Toad Sage" of the Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya was a master of Senjutsu. He had a deep, mature understanding of Sage Mode and could sense Natural Energy with ease.
He hadn't been looking closely at first, but when his focus sharpened, he discovered a staggering situation.
He sensed an immense amount of Natural Energy flowing continuously into Diarmuid's body. Furthermore, this Natural Energy, which was usually "violent" and capable of petrifying anyone who couldn't balance it, was currently as calm and steady as a still pond.
It was as if Diarmuid had tamed this power from the inside out!
"This is…!!?" Jiraiya couldn't help but gasp.
How is this possible? Diarmuid's mastery of Senjutsu and Natural Energy seems even more refined than that of Fukasaku and Shima Sages!
He was absorbing such a massive quantity of Natural Energy, yet there was not a single sign of petrification? It was as if he felt no pressure at all!
Jiraiya knew exactly what this meant. It meant Diarmuid possessed a level of Chakra far beyond imagination, allowing him to perfectly harmonize with that terrifying Natural Energy.
Just then, the speed at which Diarmuid absorbed the energy accelerated, becoming a literal vortex. As someone who had successfully mastered Sage Mode, Jiraiya immediately recognized what was happening.
Diarmuid is about to reach completion?!
When Jiraiya had taken this final step at Mount Myoboku, he had experienced something similar. But back then, even with the help of the Toad Oil, his absorption speed couldn't compare to Diarmuid's current rate.
What incredible talent... Perhaps only the legendary Sage Body of the First Hokage, Hashirama-sama, could rival this, Jiraiya thought, utterly stunned.
He was about to witness Diarmuid successfully self-teaching Sage Mode!
This was mind-boggling. Others might not know, but Jiraiya did: even the "God of Shinobi," Senju Hashirama, hadn't self-taught Sage Mode; he had learned it at the Shikkotsu Forest.
Did this mean Diarmuid possessed talent even greater than the First Hokage? Or was Orochimaru truly that brilliant, able to research and decipher the mechanics of Sage Mode itself?
This was a secret held by the Three Great Sage Regions for thousands of years. If they had truly cracked it, it meant the monopoly held by those regions was over.
Orochimaru was the researcher; Diarmuid was the pioneer.
Once Diarmuid succeeded, they might be able to teach Senjutsu to other members of the Yorozuya...
The thought was terrifying. Even Jiraiya didn't have that ability. He could use Sage Mode, yes, but due to the rules of Mount Myoboku, he couldn't just teach it to anyone. Even if he found a student, he would have to take them to the sage land to train under the Sages' guidance. It was a matter of lineage.
Namikaze Minato had followed this path as a "disciple" of Mount Myoboku.
Without the authority or the Toad Oil, it was impossible for Jiraiya to bring the Senjutsu system back to Konoha for large-scale development. The First Hokage had likely faced similar constraints with Shikkotsu Forest.
But now, Diarmuid had carved out a new path.
When they first met, Diarmuid had been so interested in Mount Myoboku. Now, after such a short time... Mount Myoboku was irrelevant to him.
In an instant, the phrase "founding a new sect" flashed through Jiraiya's mind. Perhaps Diarmuid would become a legendary founder in his own right.
As Jiraiya's thoughts raced, a sudden surge in Natural Energy snapped him back to reality.
He saw the invisible Natural Energy above Diarmuid's head forming a literal whirlwind, turning the surrounding rain into a water dragon.
Then, Diarmuid, who had been motionless, finally moved.
"...HA!!!" Diarmuid roared.
His tightly shut eyes snapped open. In that instant, they shone with a brilliant light. His presence surged upward, and the diamond-shaped black mark on his forehead, which had struggled to solidify, finally set into place with absolute permanence.
Feeling the surging energy within him, Diarmuid's expression was grave. He leaped into the air, landing firmly on his feet. He lowered his stance, and his hands, which had been held near his lower abdomen, swept outward in a grand arc before slamming together.
With his palms joined in a prayer-like seal and a majestic aura, he growled:
"Sage Mode: Release!"
The moment the words fell, Jiraiya felt Diarmuid's already high-surging presence turn even more ferocious. The rain within a hundred-meter radius actually began to flow backward toward the sky.
The massive Chakra and Natural Energy combined limitlessly, emitting a sensation Jiraiya knew all too well.
Senjutsu Chakra!
A Senjutsu Chakra many, many times larger than Jiraiya's own was condensed within him, almost as if it had become a physical substance.
Jiraiya made a quick mental calculation. In his own Sage Mode, he could maintain it for five to ten minutes at full power, setting aside the help of the Two Great Sages. But looking at Diarmuid... he guessed the man could maintain it for at least an hour or two. And that was just a conservative estimate.
It was terrifying. He wondered how this would compare to the First Hokage. It was a shame he had never seen Hashirama's Sage Mode in person. As the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama likely wouldn't be inferior to Diarmuid.
Jiraiya had been close to Tsunade since childhood, so he had met Hashirama, but he hadn't seen him in combat, much less in Sage Mode. Usually, the First Hokage didn't need that kind of high-level power to deal with enemies. And even if he did use it, he'd have the enemy beaten within ten minutes, making it impossible to estimate his duration.
However, considering Hashirama was a reincarnation and possessed a Sage Body... he was essentially a "cheat code" character.
As Jiraiya was lost in thought, Diarmuid slowly turned around. His face bore the black Sage Markings, adding an air of wild authority to his already handsome features.
"Oh? You made it just in time. What do you think? Even without Mount Myoboku, this great one can still master Sage Mode on his own. Hahahaha! I really am a genius!" Diarmuid laughed, teasing his old friend.