From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 377 Return to Konoha
"Damn it, I thought I'd gotten a bargain, but who knew I'd run into a penniless wretch!"

Asuma returned from the Tuilin River looking dejected. He had been looking for a sacred place similar to Mount Myōboku, hoping to make his future Sage Mode training easier. But who would have thought that the lizards of the Tuilin River had even lost their Sage Mode? This left him feeling rather disappointed.

But that's all.

Judging from the current situation, apart from their immortal techniques, the lizards of Tuilin River are quite powerful. Apart from those at the immortal level, their strength below the immortal level is no weaker than that of the other three holy lands.

Even after he grows up, he will have some special abilities that surprise him.

Like Zaemon, besides being able to transform into a castle and possessing power almost like a tailed beast, he also has two innate abilities: one is the ability to manipulate souls, and the other is the ability to move freely underground, which is essentially a kind of innate ability similar to earth-escape techniques.

Earth manipulation was nothing special to him, but the method of manipulating souls surprised him and gave him a sense of familiarity.

Could these lizards have been a species from the underworld before?

With this question in mind, he left Tuilin River.

call! !

Suddenly, he heard the sound of wind in his ear. He remained unmoved, his figure dissipating like a gentle breeze. A large foot abruptly passed through the spot where he had just been standing.

"Jiraiya-senpai, isn't it a bit too enthusiastic of you to greet me like that?"

Asuma chuckled as he watched Jiraiya emerge from the shadows.

"You bastard! You left without saying goodbye! Do you know that for this kind of behavior, I can list you as a rogue ninja?" Jiraiya pointed at Asuma, furious.

"Wrong!" Asuma sneered. "I'm not even a genin. I'm just an ordinary villager from Konoha. How could I possibly be a rogue ninja?"

"you……"

"Alright, I've finished my business, I can go back now."

"Finished? What exactly did you do?"

“This is my secret.” Asuma looked at Jiraiya and said, “However, with Jiraiya-senpai’s experience, strength and ability, if you investigate carefully, you should be able to find out the truth. How about this, when we get back I’ll have the old man issue you a C-rank mission and have you come here to investigate, what do you say?”

"You bastard, you're so arrogant!" Jiraiya shouted. "I will tell the teacher the truth about this..."

"Do you think the old man can control me?" Asuma laughed. "Alright, Jiraiya-senpai, I was just joking. This is just a coincidence, since our first mission was in the Land of Hot Springs."

"What's in the Land of Hot Springs?!"

"The Land of Hot Water is nothing special, but it's right next to the Land of Honey. As you know, I'm a genius and I love reading..."

He didn't intend to hide the matter of summoning beasts, because there was nothing to hide, at least not from Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi. The only thing he was hiding was that the Tsurugawa River had lost its Sage Mode.

Even so, after Asuma recounted the whole story in detail, Jiraiya listened in disarray for a while.

"You mean, while you were reading some random book, you discovered that the castle of the Shuzaki clan, which was wiped out fifty years ago, might be a summoning beast, so you came to investigate, found out it really was a summoning beast, and then you signed a contract with it?" Jiraiya looked at him with a "you're kidding me" expression.

"As expected of a novelist, your summary is spot on," Asuma said with a smile.

"You bastard, do you think I'd believe such an absurd reason?"

"Why don't you believe me? Weren't you also teleported to Mount Myōboku while using a summoning jutsu?" Asuma looked at Jiraiya with surprise. "If you can have such luck, why can't I?"

"No, you..."

"My experience is enough to serve as a model for educating the world, letting them know that reading more and thinking more are beneficial." "Then let me see just how powerful that summoning beast you mentioned, comparable to a tailed beast, really is!" Jiraiya stood up and said seriously.

"I see!" Asuma smiled and then began to form hand seals.

"Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei..."

After forming the five seals at an extremely fast speed, he slammed his hands onto the ground.

Bang! !

A massive white mist rose up, and from within it, the enormous figure of Lizard Zaemon pressed down like a mountain.

"Zaemon, beat him up!"

Asuma points to Jiraiya.

Roar! ! !
Zaemon's scythe-like claws slashed towards Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was startled and leaped backward, barely dodging the attack. But Zaemon gave him no chance, charging forward and sweeping out his thick tail like a giant python. This time, Jiraiya seemed to have no time to dodge and was hit by the tail. But as soon as it hit him, there was a loud "bang," and his body turned into a wooden stake.

Substitution!
"Alright, that's enough. If you keep fighting, I'll fight back." Jiraiya's voice came from the tree behind him. Asuma smiled and released the summoning jutsu.

"How's my summoned beast? Not bad, right?"

"Not bad." Jiraiya nodded, his expression somewhat unnatural.

Although they had only exchanged blows twice, he could already tell that Asuma's summoning beast was no less powerful than Gamabunta, and even surpassed him in strength. In addition, with its six scythe-like claws and a size that was a whole size larger than Gamabunta's, if they really clashed, Gamabunta would probably get a beating, since Gamabunta only had one sword.

With the matter explained and the mission accomplished, the two set off back to the village.

Three days later, Jiraiya returned to Konoha Village to hand in his mission. With a gloomy expression, he told Hiruzen Sarutobi about the entire trip.

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Jiraiya and Asuma with his mouth slightly agape, looking on in astonishment, as if he had something to say but couldn't.

It was just a C-rank mission, how did it lead to the discovery of a powerful summoning beast, and how did Asuma manage to successfully contract it? My son's luck is just that good.

No, according to his explanation, it means reading more books and thinking more...

I don't believe you for a second. You're the kind of guy who skips school at the ninja academy, and you think you can study?

But facts speak louder than words, and he believed Jiraiya wouldn't lie to him, so he could only nod in the end. "I understand, that's fine. Don't go around talking about the summoning beasts. Asuma is too young and needs more experience."

At this point, he looked at Asuma and said, "Asuma, this time there was a reason for it, but there must not be a next time. A ninja's highest principle is always to complete the mission. Someone like you..."

"I went there after I finished my mission, and besides, I'm not a ninja yet," Asuma said, pursing his lips. "When will I become a ninja?"

“After you complete ten C-rank missions,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said. “Also, Sakumo will be going to the border soon for a mission. If you want, you can go with him.”

"Huh? Isn't Orochimaru-senpai at the border?"

Orochimaru has other things to do.

"As for other things, hehe..." Asma chuckled twice and said nothing more.

(End of this chapter)