Jun didn’t go alone. The Konoha Council had gotten wind of the matter and decided to send others with the potential to become experts in Fuinjutsu. There were three. Genma led the team, then came Jun, and a young man named Koguro. They each had their own specialty. Jun was the most versatile of the bunch. Genma was apparently familiar with the Yondaime’s Hiraishin no Jutsu. He was supposed to find clues on how to complete the technique from Jiraiya. Having other shinobis who could use the Hiraishin would be extremely beneficial for the village.

As for Koguro, he was familiar with seals allowing control of others. He was a young man in his twenties with a piercing gaze, dressed entirely in black. He didn’t talk much and simply mentioned having learned Fuinjutsu from Danzo. Jun immediately decided to keep his distance from him. It was clear the guy worked for the Root, Danzo’s organization.

They were leaving Konoha for a few months. Jun would spend his fourteenth birthday outside the village. His mother and Izumi were sad and disappointed. The teenager promised they would celebrate after his return. He set off a bit reluctantly.

Finding Jiraiya would be challenging. He more or less kept the Hokage informed of his travels, but the information was often outdated. The Sannin enjoyed having his freedom. That being said, Jun welcomed the challenge. He had a few tracking missions under his belt. They were usually operations that require patience. In this case, Jiraiya’s appearance worked to their advantage. The man was tall and had spiky white hair with red lines on his face. Moreover, they knew his weakness for women. The fact that Jiraiya wasn’t trying to hide would also make things easier for them.

Jun interacted with Genma. He was nice, and the teenager knew him quite well. They had a lot to talk about. Genma was about to be promoted to Tokubetsu jonin, but it was delayed due to this mission. It was obvious that if he came back with a complete Hiraishin, he may as well become a jonin. Genma wasn’t overly ambitious, but he was tired of being chunin.

The idea of getting promoted was exciting, especially if he could perform the Hiraishin. When the man talked about the Yondaime, his tone became melancholic. Jun could tell how much he respected Minato. Genma specialized in assassination. It was his style that made him a suitable candidate to be taught the Hiraishin. However, the Yondaime died before Genma could master the technique. The latter was hoping to get some tips from Jiraiya to improve his mastery of the jutsu.

It was a gamble, though. The Sannin couldn’t use Minato’s famous technique. However, he had been his sensei. The Sandaime hoped Minato had shared some theoretical knowledge on the Hiraishin with Jiraiya. But Jun didn’t understand why they had waited until now. Also, from what he remembered from the Naruto storyline, there was no mention of Genma mastering the technique with Jiraiya's assistance.

“Why haven’t you sought out Jiraiya before?”

Genma shrugged, feigning indifference and continuing to play with the senbon in his mouth.

“I had given up on mastering the technique. Then I heard a few months ago that you’ve been studying Fuinjutsu. You could say it made me want to train the Hiraishin again, so I talked to the Sandaime about it. I guess that’s the reason I’m on this trip with you.”

Jun was surprised. It didn’t know his interest in Fuinjutsu had rekindled Genma’s desire to work on Minato’s jutsu. He realized his actions may have changed the original storyline of Naruto. Had Genma had this desire as well in the original storyline? Did he try to fully master the Hiraishin and fail? Jun didn’t know. He had no information about it. If Genma succeeded in mastering the technique now, the original storyline would change.

“What about you? I heard you’re shooting for a promotion, why?”

“I wanted to become a Tokubetsu jonin, that was my original goal. But Shiba-sensei told me I could do better. He said I should directly aim for the jonin rank. Apparently, I’m a frontline fighter.”

Genma snorted amusedly. He was probably thinking of all the missions they had done together.

“I can’t disagree with him there. And Fuinjutsu?”

Jun shrugged.

“I got into it because I was interested in making explosives tags. But I realized what genuinely interests me wasn’t the bang of the explosion, but designing them and modifying them. I started studying Fuinjutsu and created many storage scrolls as well. The more I learned about seals, the more applications I saw. After I created the Paralyzing Trap Seal, the Sandaime noticed my potential and offered me this opportunity to learn more.”

“I see. What do you know about Jiraiya?”

“I’ve seen his books…”

“You shouldn't have. You’re not old enough.”

“I said I’ve seen them; I didn’t say I read them.”

Genma hid a chuckle in a fake cough and didn’t pursue the matter any further.

Finding the Sannin wasn’t difficult per se, but the search area was large. Jun knew how to track a target by noticing broken twigs or marks on damp moss. However, interrogating civilians to get information on someone was another story. Fortunately for him, it was Genma who managed that.

Jun and Koguro watched him from a distance as he interacted with the locals. The latter was waiting for it to pass, impassible as always. But the young Uchiha was examining Genma to learn from him. He paid attention to the manner he addressed people, his word choice, his posture…Almost all the people Jun interacted with in Konoha were shinobis; he never realized that talking to civilians was an art on its own.

With civilians, it wasn’t enough to relax your muscles and show both hands to display a friendly attitude. A ninja would pick up on that, but a civilian wasn’t trained to see it. One needed to overplay the body language and put on a friendly face and a smile. It was more of a theatrical performance than anything else. Jun was glad Genma knew what he was doing, and he could learn from him. After a few days, they finally found traces of the Sannin. It was much easier to track him down from there.

It was enough for the group to follow the indignant howls from the side of the hot springs. They found Jiraiya in a small village near the border with Kusa. It wasn’t a surprise to find a spymaster there. The small countries suffered the most from the previous war and hadn’t fully recovered from it. They were severely impoverished and terrified of another war.

The Sannin was perched on a rooftop. Jun couldn’t help but stare at him curiously. He knew he was tall, but seeing him in person made him realize how tall he was. However, the Sannin wasn’t the most professional shinobi in the world. He was busy giggling as he watched women in the street, taking notes from time to time in a notebook. Jiraiya only gave them a distracted glance when their small group approached.

“Don’t bother me; I’m in the middle of an important research.” He said.

Genma didn’t flinch and handed him a scroll from the Hokage.

“It’s for you.”

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. He grabbed the scroll and opened it.

“It takes three ninjas to deliver a message now? The level sure has dropped… If you’re going to come in a group, you should have brought a young woman with you.”

He looked at Genma pensively.

“You look familiar. Have we met before?” The Sannin asked.

“Well you slept with my mother once,” Genma replied casually.

Jun almost choked on his saliva. Genma only smile when he saw the look of dread that passed over the Sannin’s face.

“It was long after I was born. I’m not here to talk about what you and my mom did. She found you decent, nothing exceptional…” Genma added.

Jiraiya seemed to be torn between relief and vexation. Jun realized Genma had scared the hell out of the legendary ninja.

“Let’s see why you’re bothering my research.” Jiraiya tried to change the subject.

His expression grew darker the more he read the Hokage’s letter. He put the scroll back in one his pockets, looking displeased and staring at the three shinobis. His gaze particularly lingered on Jun.

“An Uchiha specializing in Fuinjutsu, that’s a first. Did Fugaku agree to this?”

Jun raised his eyebrows. He didn’t expect the Hokage to inform the Sannin he was an Uchiha.

“I’m not part of the clan. It’s a long story. I carry the name because of my mother, but we were rejected by the clan. I don’t even know if Fugaku knows I exist. And if he has an opinion about my life, he can put it where I think…”

Jiraiya burst into loud laughter.

“Well well, you do not mince your words, boy. Who taught you Fuinjutsu?”

“No one. I learned from books. I taught myself.”

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows and stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. Then he looked at the whole group.

“I will not take a disciple. I have no desire or the time to do so. As you can see, I’m in the middle of a crucial research for my next book. Also, none of you has the required potential to learn from me.”

Jun was a little miffed. But Jiraiya wasn’t done speaking.

“However, out of consideration to the Hokage, I won’t knock you out cold and be on my way. I will not take you under my wing, but I will give you each some notes concerning your specialization in Fuinjutsu. You may follow me for three months. If I feel like it, I may give you a hand in comprehending the complexity of the way of the seals. But if you slow me down or waste my time, I’ll send you right back to Konoha. Understand?”

The three of them nodded. Koguro remained impassive; Genma was amused by the situation; Jun looked displeased. The Sannin heaved a deep sigh and put away his notebook.

“We may as well begin now. You’ve already ruined the mood.”

“And we’re really sorry about that,” Genma said with a sarcastic tone.

Jun struggled to hide his smile, but Jiraiya didn’t seem to be fooled by his efforts. He gave a reprimanding look before asking them to follow him to his room. Once there, he took out numerous books and notes from several scrolls he carried on his person. Jun noticed the Sannin also used storage scrolls like him. Jiraiya distributed the material to them. Genma only received a few sheets of paper covered in scribbles and diagrams. Koguro got a thick scroll covered in writing. Jun found his arms full of half a dozen scrolls and notebooks.

“Have fun!” Jiraiya said before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

Jun waited until he felt his chakra vanishing before speaking.

“I don’t like his personality. He’s belittling us.”

Genma chuckled, then sat cross-legged next to the wall and patted the spot next to him.

“Come on; it’s not that bad. At least, we’re all in the same boat.”

He wasn’t wrong. Jiraiya was a little disappointing in person, but he didn’t come to make friends. He was going to study Fuinjutsu, something he loved. If all went well, he should be able to get his promotion and become a jonin at fifteen years old. He wasn’t alone in this, that was encouraging. He gave Genma a grateful smile and sat next to him. The teenager then opened the first book with determination.