12 Sennin Mode I

Finding Jiraya is not an easy process; Yujin thought as he walked through the village with Tsunade. They went to his house, went to the Ninja Academy to see if he was with the Hokage, went to the bookstore where he apparently is a regular...

They went to various places he frequents, but still couldn't find him.

Yujin doesn't know much about Jiraya, only that he was a teammate with Tsunade, and that he is one of the Hokage's disciples, highly trusted by the Hokage himself.

Therefore, the difficulty in finding him made Yujin wonder if maybe Jiraya was a busy person, but when he asked Tsunade about it, she laughed loudly and replied.

"Hahahaha, of course not. I mean, Sensei trusts him a lot, but that's not why we're having trouble finding him."

After checking another place that Yujin doesn't know, they continued on their way.

"You have to understand one thing about Jiraya, Yujin. He's a pervert."

The word didn't make much sense to him. When she saw the confusion on Yujin's face, Tsunade explained.

"He's a troublesome guy... Remember the last place we went to?"

"The bathhouse?"

"Yes, he likes to go to places like that to try to peek at women taking baths."

Yujin's expression upon hearing this was so hilarious that Tsunade laughed again.

"He watches women take baths? How disrespectful."

Yujin's opinion of Jiraya immediately plummeted. Tsunade is a respectable woman, so he expected to find someone equally respectable, but he didn't expect Jiraya to be that kind of person.

"Isn't he the only person in the village who can enter 'Sage Mode'?"

"Don't get me started. Orochimaru and I tried for many years and never succeeded, but that damn toad did. But don't worry, I said he 'tries' to peek at women taking baths. The village bathhouses are protected against perverts like him."

That didn't ease Yujin's opinion of Jiraya.

In the world Yujin came from, Jiraya's actions are extremely disrespectful. Such heinous acts that if someone were caught doing something like that, they would be decapitated.

Finally, they found Jiraya lying by the side of the road with several shoe prints all over his clothes. He seemed to be muttering something. Although Yujin could hear, he pretended not to, and Tsunade spoke.

"Well, well, well, finally found you, and at a good time."

Before Jiraya could say anything, Tsunade stepped on his face, knocking him to the ground.

"I need your help with something. Come."

Jiraya got up from the ground and started grumbling something under his breath. Again, Yujin pretended not to hear, and followed Tsunade until they were in a restaurant.

The three sat at the table, and Jiraya looked at Yujin and asked.

"This is...?"

"This is Yujin, a friend of mine. Yujin, this is Jiraya, the pervert I mentioned earlier."

Jiraya nodded to Yujin, who tried his best to show the least amount of respect even though he didn't respect him.

"Wait a minute, Tsunade. What do you mean, pervert? What lies did you tell him about me? He seems to hate me."

"I didn't tell any lies, just the truth, and obviously that's reason enough not to like you."

Jiraya seemed dissatisfied, and Yujin decided to ask.

"So, you don't try to peek at women taking baths?"

"But of course not, I-"

"Don't listen to his nonsense."

Tsunade huffed and didn't let him come up with any lies, but he didn't give up easily.

"Look, I'm just making sure the place is safe so the women in our esteemed village feel secure taking a bath there."

Seeing the change in Yujin's expression, as if he had actually believed Jiraya's words, Tsunade added.

"And when you do see something, is it your way of saying that the security system in the village bathhouses is flawed, and that's why they should improve? So you don't have to spend two hours standing there looking if you've found a security flaw."

"But then I'm testing to see how long it takes for security to discover me. If last time it was two hours, it just shows how inefficient the security is. I take my job seriously."

"And since when is that your job?"

"If I don't do it, who will? For the sake of the women in the village who need to take a bath to stay clean, beautiful, and fragrant, I need to make this sacrifice."

Tsunade couldn't take any more of his nonsense and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground with a bleeding nose.

Although their argument was somewhat comical, Yujin couldn't accept Jiraya's actions, and therefore didn't comment. This is the least respect he can show out of respect for Tsunade.

"You're impossible. You're such a nuisance that when you come back from a mission, your arrival is announced to all the bathhouses in the village. Pathetic."

Yujin sighed upon hearing this. Is this one of the Hokage's disciples? Known as the most talented among them? Capable of using Sage Mode?

The food arrived, and the three began to eat. Tsunade and Jiraya continued to argue throughout the meal, while Yujin remained silent. He was trying to understand why Tsunade respected the perverted man so much to the point of continuing these antics.

Perhaps because they've known each other for so many years since they were children?

When they finished eating, Jiraya showed himself to be a decent person for the first time, surprising Yujin.

"Tsunade... I'm sorry about Dan."

Jiraya's serious expression finally calmed Yujin. Tsunade also became serious and sighed.

"Thank you."

Jiraya then looked at Yujin, and then Tsunade, and said.

"But it seems like you're recovering well. I was worried about you when I heard about Dan."

Tsunade smiled and nodded, lost in thought. Yujin looked at Jiraya and finally nodded, as if saying he did something decent, making the man a bit embarrassed. It's as if Yujin finally recognized him as a human being, and knowing that Yujin's impression of him wasn't good, it was a compliment.

Jiraya looked at Yujin attentively, and then Tsunade, as if trying to understand their relationship, but in the end found no clues.

"So... Why did you come to find me? We can't go out for drinks like before since I'll be leaving for a mission soon, if that's what you want."

The first thing Jiraya wanted to do when he came back to the village was to try to comfort Tsunade by taking her out for a drink, but when he heard that Yujin had become close to her, and that the two were like peas in a pod, spending the whole day together, he was reassured, and at the same time, jealous.

That's why he didn't go to find her, and instead went about his usual routine.

"No, it's more complicated than that. I want you to show Sage Mode to Yujin, if it's not a problem."

"Well... If that's what you want, I have no problem with that, but why does he want to see it?"

"We'll explain to you. For now, let's go to a more private place."

The three then went to Tsunade's training facilities. Along the way, she explained a bit to him about Yujin, and how he came from another place, and how the Qi he practiced, and the Chakra they have in their bodies, were different.

The load of new information was too much for Jiraya, who was extremely confused. He had never heard of Qi, and couldn't feel anything coming from Yujin, as if he were a normal person.

Jiraya is even more experienced than Tsunade. He has traveled to many places, and therefore knows much more than she does, and yet he had no idea what she was talking about. For a few moments, he tried to figure out if she was playing a prank on him, but in the end, he believed her.

Although he still hadn't properly processed the implications of this.

"And what's the connection with wanting to see my Sage Mode?"

Finally, although he understood something, he still didn't see the connection between this and Sage Mode. This time, it was Yujin who explained since even Tsunade didn't understand it well. He began by explaining the different forms of Qi practice, such as Inner Qi, External Qi, and Harmony.

He then explained that people who have mastered Martial Arts can feel the natural energy of their surroundings, as well as their intent. Tsunade, for some reason, could also feel this energy, and she said it seemed similar to Sage Mode in their previous conversations.

Sage Mode is when you balance Chakra and Natural Energy within the body, creating a new energy called Sage Chakra, which is somewhat similar to Qi, and Yujin wanted to see this happen.

"So you want to see Sage Mode to see if Sage Chakra is similar to Qi?"

Jiraya had learned so many new things that even if he understood what Yujin wanted, he still couldn't quite grasp it, but he accepted it nonetheless.