From Danmachi to God of Ninja

Chapter 71: Chapter 71

"Ahem. Kiriya-sama, don’t take it too seriously. Everyone is just being enthusiastic. They want to get closer to you."

A middle-aged man with two thin mustache lines above his lips came over with a smile and quietly explained.

Kiriya stared at him with dead fish eyes.

"What, are you here to recommend a daughter too?"

"I’d love to, but sadly, my family only has one useless brat of a son."

The mustached man smiled, then pulled several small booklets out from inside his clothes.

"I just thought you might be bored while recovering, so I brought a few things for you to appreciate."

Kiriya glanced at the covers.

His eyes lit up at once.

’Make-Out Paradise!’

’Princess XX’s Summer Swimsuit Special!’

’The Breast Princess Ninja Scrolls!’

’Damn. Why didn’t you say something this important earlier?’

His face stayed perfectly calm, but his hands had already swept the books into his clothes.

He moved so quickly that the mustached shinobi barely reacted.

"You’re already at your age.... Reading this kind of thing isn’t good for your health."

Kiriya spoke with righteous seriousness.

"My body is strong, so I can handle it. Allow me to criticize them properly in your place."

"Kiriya-samaa is absolutely right."

The mustached shinobi looked deeply convinced, his face full of admiration.

"Only an outstanding young man like you could withstand that kind of impact."

"Exactly."

Kiriya raised his head with confidence.

He was not bragging.

Even if everyone here added their experience together, they might not reach one-thousandth of his.

Dozens of terabytes of reading experience.

That was the confidence of a true veteran!

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, a silent understanding spreading between them.

They were getting along quite peacefully, but the others were arguing more and more fiercely.

It looked like they were about to roll up their sleeves and start fighting for real.

Just then, a tall figure with long white hair stepped into the tent, and a stern voice rang out.

"What are you all doing? This is the wounded barracks. Have you considered the injured comrades around you?"

The person who had come was the commander of this place.

Jiraiya.

Behind him stood the young medical-nin, grinding their teeth in anger.

His words nearly brought tears to the eyes of the injured shinobi lying on the surrounding beds.

Finally!

Someone had considered their feelings!

Heaven knew what kind of torment they had just gone through.

They were injured too!

They had also bled for Konoha and earned merit for the Hokage.

So why was only Kiriya treated like a star surrounded by the moon?

Why were people practically crying and begging to marry their beautiful daughters to him?

The worst part was that this bastard still looked troubled about it.

Troubled your ass!

’Send them to me! I’m single too!’

More than one person screamed that in his heart, but sadly, no one would ever hear them.

That only made their hearts ache even more.

Fortunately, Lord Jiraiya was fair after all.

The moment everyone heard Jiraiya’s reprimand, they shut their mouths. The noisy tent instantly became so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

That was the authority of one of the Sannin.

"What are you standing around for? Go back where you came from!"

Jiraiya snorted and waved them away.

"If you’re that bored, I can always add a few more missions for you."

The moment those words came out, the shinobi scattered like frightened birds, leaving in a noisy rush.

In an instant, the lively tent became painfully quiet.

"Hmph. You’re popular, aren’t you?"

Jiraiya looked at Kiriya with obvious jealousy.

Back when his own name had shaken the shinobi world, why had he never received treatment like this?

He had been handsome too, damn it.

"Uh... Jiraiya-sensei, did you need something?"

Kiriya felt his skin crawl under Jiraiya’s stare, so he quickly asked.

"The village sent a message. You’ve earned great merit and deserve a reward."

Jiraiya adjusted his mood and organized his words.

"The Sandaime says you may choose one high-level ninjutsu to learn."

"Oh?"

Kiriya’s eyes lit up.

"Then I want the Flying Thunder God."

"The Flying Thunder God?"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"You really don’t have a small appetite, kid. You’re aiming straight at space-time ninjutsu!"

"Hehe. It’s the Flying Thunder God after all."

Kiriya’s face filled with longing.

Unmatched mobility, no cooldown, and speed pushed to the absolute extreme—those things were unimaginably tempting to him.

Why had Minato Namikaze become the Golden Flash, a name that terrified enemy shinobi?

Why had he been able to shine so brilliantly on the battlefield?

Why had the major ninja villages given their elite shinobi permission to abandon missions without punishment if they encountered him?

The core reason was this space-time ninjutsu.

If used properly, it was a power strong enough to change a battle.

No, not just one battle.

It could change the entire war!

Naturally, Jiraiya understood the power of the Flying Thunder God very well.

His student, Minato Namikaze, had relied on this technique to stand out among countless civilian shinobi.

Even against veteran experts from major clans, Minato did not fall behind.

That was how valuable this ninjutsu was.

"Kid, the Flying Thunder God is excellent, but it isn’t suitable for everyone," Jiraiya warned him. "That technique demands extremely high talent in several specific areas."

"I know."

Kiriya nodded.

"Extremely sharp reflexes, strong perception, and talent in space-time techniques... none of those can be missing."

"Then why would you still—"

Jiraiya was about to ask why he wanted a technique that he most likely could not learn, but then he saw Kiriya’s confident smile.

"I want to try."

If he failed, he would not lose much.

In this kind of war environment, he would have plenty of chances to earn more merit and exchange it for other ninjutsu.

But if he succeeded in learning the Flying Thunder God?

Then he would truly take off.

"..."

Jiraiya still wanted to persuade him, but the words circled his mouth once and were swallowed back down.

These young geniuses were all the same.

Each one was more confident than the last, and none of them would turn back until they slammed face-first into a wall.

’Hmph. Once you actually start learning it, you’ll understand what despair means.’

Jiraiya muttered inwardly.

Was the Flying Thunder God strong? Of course it was.

Absurdly strong.

Did people want to learn it? Obviously.

Plenty of people did.

But throughout history, only two people had truly left their names behind with the Flying Thunder God Technique: the Nidaime Hokage and Minato Namikaze.

The requirement for talent in space-time ninjutsu alone was enough to eliminate 99.99 percent of people, not to mention the other conditions that came after.

So in Jiraiya’s view, Kiriya would most likely fail.

But that was not entirely a bad thing.

Failing once in a while would be good for a genius like Kiriya.

It would keep him from looking down on everyone and getting tricked to death without even realizing it.

"Fine. I’ll pass your request back to the village. It should be sent over in a couple of days. Until then, rest properly."

As Jiraiya spoke, he reached under Kiriya’s blanket and pulled out several books.

They were the "mental tempering materials" the mustached middle-aged man had given Kiriya.

"Hey, hey, those are mine," Kiriya protested.

"Hmph. You’re still young, and you’re already learning bad habits. Your teacher will hold on to these for you."

Jiraiya knocked Kiriya on the head twice, tucked the booklets into his own clothes, and strode out with big steps.

Kiriya was left behind while glaring helplessly.

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