Chapter Twenty-Four
"I hear you're the strongest shinobi in Konoha."
Jiraiya started to preen at the kid's statement. "Yes indeed. I am the Sage of Toad Mountain, the master of understanding the hearts of women and the most skilled practitioner of the art of seals! The Kunoichi throw themselves at me for I am none other than Jaraiya the Toad Sage of the Densetsu no Sannin!"
A blank stare was his response and he sighed.
"Tough crowd. Alright kid, who are you and what do you want?"
The boy looked at him as if reconsidering his actions.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, genin of Hatake Kakashi."
"Ah!" Jiraiya laughed. "Little 'kashi-kun! You know I trained his teacher, right?"
"I… was unaware of that." Sasuke deadpanned. "I know he reads your books. However, if I am to defeat the one who betrayed the Uchiha clan, and Konoha, I need to get stronger. I have made progress, but I am not strong enough. I was… hoping that you would be willing to provide me with supplementary training."
Jiraiya paused and looked down at the roung shinobi.
"Supplementary training. You're not asking me to take you away from 'kashi-kun?"
Sasuke almost smirked, but he shook his head.
"I have seen what happens when one abandons team-mates… friends… in search of power. Orochimaru was strong, but I choose not to follow his path. Ideally, I would ask you to provide my entire team with extra training in the mornings since our sensei is always late, but I am aware that as a Sannin, you have many responsibilities that are far more important than mere genin."
Jiraiya gave him a long look.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but what happened to the arrogance that the Uchiha clan were known for?"
"I went up against a samurai trainee in the Land of Iron and got my ass handed to me." Sasuke said. "It let me activate my Sharingan, but it proved to me that my arrogance had blinded me to my weaknesses. So I decided to learn more and start listening to others."
"Land of Iron…" Jiraiya mused. "I think I heard Kakashi moaning about that. Naruto was in Konoha the whole time."
"Did you know about that?" Sasuke asked curiously nd Jiraiya shook his head.
"At the time, no." Jiraiya said. "I found out just before the finals. Walk with me and I'll tell you the story."