Naruto: The Teaching System - 272

Chapter 272: The Complete Copy of the Sage of Six Paths

As Sawada spoke, Jiraiya gradually sank into thought. The shinobi world was vast, and there were too many strange jutsu and kekkei genkai. During his years of wandering, hadn’t he met all kinds of people? If not for luck, he might have died long ago.

He took a slow breath and let out a bitter laugh. “I didn’t expect there’d be a day I couldn’t accept something new.”

“No, Jiraiya-senpai, you’re just stuck in a blind spot—or rather, misled by the village’s assumptions.” Sawada shook his head. If not for the intelligence from the village, Jiraiya might have sensed something off already. The timing just happened to be perfect. It made Sawada even more certain of his suspicion.

Black Zetsu. That thing lurking in the dark must have seen him capture a tailed beast and bring it back to the village. It was getting impatient.

“So, Sawada—what are you thinking?” Jiraiya asked, curious. If Sawada had gotten this far, he either had seen it firsthand, or—

Fugaku watched as well, equally interested.

Sawada stood and raised one finger. His entire body began to sink slowly. “This is—” Jiraiya started, then realized something was wrong. He couldn’t detect any of the five basic nature transformations at work. Fugaku’s gaze fixed on Sawada, his crimson Sharingan spinning violently.

“Jiraiya-senpai, Fugaku-san, this is a form of Yin Release. Next, try to sense whether you can detect me at all.”

With that, Sawada’s body sank into the ground.

Jiraiya rose and paced the command tent, then turned to Fugaku. “Can you see him?”

Fugaku shook his head, closing his Sharingan. “No. Even though I saw Sawada sink before my eyes, the moment he vanished, I completely lost any sense of his chakra.”

Jiraiya nodded. He felt the same. “Alright, Sawada. Come on out.”

He called into the air. This was just a test—this was enough.

But a few moments passed with no sign of Sawada. Even Fugaku stood up.

“Could it be…?” Fugaku began.

Jiraiya’s expression tightened, then he shook his head. “No. If he’d run into an enemy, there’d be fluctuations. Even if someone isolated him, Sawada would warn us.” Fugaku asked, “What if someone used absolute power directly against him?”

Before Jiraiya could answer, a sharp slap echoed from the corner. Both men turned. Sawada emerged from the shadows, holding—

Several white, vaguely humanoid clumps—like people made of pale roots. Or plants that looked like people.

“Phew. Jiraiya-senpai, just as expected,” Sawada said, tossing the things to the ground. He had stimulated them with Yang Release, and now they were growing like weeds.

“What are these?” Jiraiya crouched and prodded one, brow furrowed.

“Zetsu clones,” Sawada said. “I found them the moment I slipped beneath the ground. They even tried to escape. I chased and eliminated them.” He dusted off his hands. “They can transform into human shapes in an instant, but they’re afraid of the Yang Release chakra. As soon as I touched them, they turned into this.”

“So that’s why Iwagakure has been countering my deployments?” Jiraiya asked, face grave. If that were the case, then failure wasn’t without reason.

“Given what we’ve seen, yes.” Sawada nodded. “That’s what makes Black Zetsu so troublesome. In this world, only Naruto’s Nine-Tails Chakra Mode’s malice sensing can pick up something like this. Most other sensory abilities are nearly useless—and they can mimic others.”

“What should we do next?” Jiraiya asked. With a presence like that on the front, almost any deployment would be compromised before Iwa even moved.

“Leave it to me,” Sawada said, rubbing his chin. After a moment’s thought, he spoke again.

“You have a way?” Jiraiya asked, surprised. Sawada had just said normal sensing wouldn’t work.

“It’s troublesome, but there’s a solution,” Sawada said with a shake of his head. The best method was to enter a Yang Release chakra mode—then he could sense the entire front. But that also meant exposing one of his trump cards. As for Nyanko, he had no plans to summon help just yet. The village might also be compromised by Black Zetsu’s methods, so it's better to keep Nyanko guarding Naruto and the others.

Suddenly, Sawada smacked his forehead with a wry grin. The unseen realm—his concealment barrier—could block external sensing, right? And it wouldn’t interfere with his own senses. He’d used it last time to avoid detection by Black Zetsu and Obito. He had been too scattered to think of it earlier.

“What is it?” Jiraiya asked, puzzled by Sawada’s shifting expression.

“Nothing, Jiraiya-senpai, Fugaku-san,” Sawada said with a short laugh. “From here on, keep everything you see to yourselves. Don’t let anything leak.”

Jiraiya and Fugaku exchanged a look, then nodded. They didn’t know why, but they agreed.

Seeing they understood, Sawada drew a deep breath and began to move his fingers rapidly. Yang-nature chakra surged through his entire body.

Jiraiya and Fugaku took a few steps back as the power rose. “This junior of mine is… terrifying,” Jiraiya murmured. Yin Release earlier, now Yang Release. On top of that, Sawada seemed to command all five basic natures. He was like a complete copy of the legendary Sage of Six Paths.

Fugaku, however, saw more. This time, his pupils were no longer three tomoe. They spun and shifted, settling into an entirely new pattern. Beside him, Jiraiya stared, astonished. Mangekyō Sharingan?

“Don’t worry, Jiraiya. I’ve already discussed it with the Third Hokage,” Fugaku said flatly. If he was willing to show it, it meant he had informed the Hokage. He simply hadn’t displayed it publicly to keep the Uchiha from drawing too much attention.

And now, with Sawada’s sealing barrier isolating them, he didn’t need to fear exposure. Besides, the Hokage’s disciple right now was even more astonishing than his Mangekyō.