I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 262's clarification of the rumors could very well be labeled as an attempt to whitewash the situation. [Wishing you success in the college entrance examination]

For the next two days, Tatsuma visited various places. From the moment he learned of the absurd rumor on the road, Tatsuma knew that the impact of his injury was greater than he had imagined.

After a brief investigation of the source of the information, Tatsuma was somewhat amused and exasperated. His first thought was that he had become a tool in Danzo's hands.

However, Danzo's unspoken concern was genuine, so Tatsuma could only conclude that the two things had collided.

Danzo's concern, though seemingly without reason, was genuine, as was his use of the situation to attack Sakumo Hatake. However, in the past two days, he has also received some dispelling rumors.

Tatsuma figured that Danzo had stopped, or Hiruzen Sarutobi had made his move, but it didn't matter. He just needed to correct the actions of those who were truly affected.

Tatsuma visited Danzo, Sakumo Hatake, the Senju clan, and all of Tatsuma's classmates, repeating the same explanation over and over again.

It's often said that spreading rumors takes only a mouth, but debunking them takes a lot of legwork. A rumor only needs one point to quickly spread throughout the social circles of the person spreading it.

Each point on the surface will continue to develop through its own social circle, from point to surface, from surface to a fully covered sphere, eventually forming a logically consistent and unbreakable conclusion.

Fortunately, the rumors haven't gotten that far yet; with more time and manpower, they can always be corrected.

Minato and Jiraiya were the last two people Tatsuma visited, because neither of them were easily influenced by rumors, especially since one of them was the person directly involved, so all that was needed was for him to clarify things.

Tatsuma then took the opportunity to ask Jiraiya to teach him the art of paper sculpting. Jiraiya, instead of being reluctant, chuckled and said, "Konan also learned the art of paper sculpting. Konan, you know her, right?"

"One of those three children."

On the back mountain of Konoha, Jiraiya was training Minato, and Tatsuma was talking to the two of them there.

Upon hearing that Tatsuma indeed remembered, Jiraiya chuckled and nodded, saying, "Yes, her chakra is naturally compatible with paper. If it were hundreds of years ago, she would probably have been a renowned Onmyoji or priestess."

The old man has put my ninja world tour plan on hold, and Minato has asked me to guide him for a while longer. So, for the next period of time, you can also come and learn the Shikigami Technique from me.

But you know what I mean, right? Minato won't teach me that technique.

Tatsuma smiled and nodded. He understood that Jiraiya was referring to the Rasengan. In the original story, Jiraiya learned the Rasengan from his disciple, Minato.

This is what sets Jiraiya apart from others; he never refuses to ask questions, and his easygoing nature makes him unpretentious.

Tatsuma wouldn't refuse Jiraiya's request to learn the Rasengan, since Jiraiya had been a great help in its development, such as the Giant Rasengan and the Great Flame Rasengan, which were all further developed by him.

However, now that the "intellectual property rights" of the Rasengan belong to Tatsuma, no matter how close Minato is to him, he will not overstep his bounds and decide on his behalf to pass on this technique to others.

"No problem. Minato actually has the complete training method for the Rasengan. After he finished training, he should have had a lot of supplies left over. You can talk to him about how to get them."

As Tatsuma spoke, he raised his left hand and continued, "I guess I won't be able to teach you personally anymore."

Chakra overflowed from his palm, swirling in his hand, but it was difficult to take shape. Jiraiya's smile faded, and he asked seriously, "Did the injury still leave some aftereffects?"

Is this why you want to learn the art of paper styling?

Seeing Jiraiya suddenly become serious, his eyes filled with concern, Tatsuma shook his head and said casually, "My chakra is more than twice what it was before I was injured."

This caused my chakra control to drop by more than one level. The Rasengan is the ultimate chakra transformation; without sufficient chakra control, it cannot be used.

The sudden surge in chakra did bring some troubles, such as the need to readjust to the finer control of chakra.

Just like pouring water from a hand-held teapot or a high-quality Yixing teapot, it's easy to pour out a continuous, even, and slow stream of water. But it's much harder to do that with a wide-mouthed water tank.

Hearing Tatsuma's words, which were calm yet tinged with pride, Jiraiya's fist hardened. Sure enough, the little Tatsuma from back then, with his pitifully small amount of chakra and who had to carefully calculate every technique, was still the cutest.

"Then why do you want to learn the Paper Technique? This technique isn't very useful in actual combat unless your chakra has a natural affinity for paper. If that were the case, you should have discovered it long ago."

Jiraiya, somewhat puzzled, continued, "I learned this technique to deliver messages to the older women in the red-light district. After all, I couldn't get in back then. You wouldn't...?"

Seeing Jiraiya speak so frankly about his past, Tatsuma was truly impressed, but still clarified, "I don't have your kind of perverse sense of humor. I'm preparing for another technique."

"What kind of technique?"

"The technique of multiplying explosive tags".

Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's full head of silver hair trembled, and he said, "That's not a technique that a living person can use. Would the old man agree to let you learn it?"

"Yes, I have a way to counteract the damage from this spell."

Tatsuma shrugged confidently, while Jiraiya curled his lip and said, "With that medical ninjutsu that almost killed you?"

Tatsuma's face fell. This Jiraiya was really hard to fool. He could only try to make amends, saying, "The Yin Healing and Destruction technique requires a lot of chakra. I didn't have enough chakra before, but it's different now."

"I have quite a lot of chakra."

Jiraiya uttered these words softly, then stared at Tatsuma. Tatsuma instantly understood what this guy meant, but he didn't refuse. He smiled and said, "If you, Jiraiya-sensei, also want to learn, I can teach you."

However, this involves a lot of knowledge about cursed seals, some of which I only know the surface of but not the underlying principles. If you don't understand, you can ask Lord Orochimaru.

"Ask that stinky snake for advice?! Forget it, I'd rather not learn!"

Jiraiya considered the scenario and refused outright. At worst, he'd be seriously injured. Why should he go and consult that stinky snake? That stinky snake would definitely give him sarcastic and disgusting remarks again; it wasn't worth it.

Then, Jiraiya suddenly remembered something, glanced at Minato who was training, and to make sure he wasn't paying attention, he leaned closer to Tatsuma and whispered:

"Tatsuma, your chakra control is currently impaired, so it's probably difficult to ensure success during medical surgery, right? It would be quite reasonable if you accidentally severed Kato's spare kidney, wouldn't it?"

"I reckon the teacher will kill me, and if she finds out you were the one who ordered it, she'll probably kill you too."

"Haha~ Haha~ What do you mean by 'instructing'? I was just worried."

Jiraiya increased the distance between himself and Tatsuma. Seeing Jiraiya back down, Tatsuma revealed a malicious smile and said, "Jiraiya-sensei, have you mastered Sage Mode?"

How did you know?

Jiraiya was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "That stinky snake must have told you. I still can't enter Sage Mode. Fukasaku keeps saying I can't calm down."

"I'll let you in on a little secret: I've already entered Sage Mode, hehe, that feeling was truly powerful."

As Tatsuma spoke, he raised an eyebrow with a look of smug satisfaction, as if he had just left a red-light district and was boasting to his friend about his patron. Jiraiya's eyes widened, and he subconsciously said:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I've studied for so many years and still haven't mastered it, and you've only been to Shikkotsu Forest once? How could you possibly have mastered it?!"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask the teacher; she witnessed it herself."

Tatsuma's tone was too certain, causing Jiraiya's expression to change. He then grabbed Tatsuma's collar tightly and said, "Is the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest simpler? Is it too late for me to become the successor of Shikkotsu Forest now?"

"Maybe so. We're such good friends, I definitely want you to master Sage Mode as soon as possible, if you really want to try learning the Sage Mode from Shikkotsu Forest."

With that, Tatsuma pushed aside Jiraiya's loosened hand and said, "You can be my first disciple, and I can have your name recorded on the summoning scroll of Shikkotsu Forest!"

"you"

Jiraiya wanted to get angry, but for some reason, he started to think about it.

Tatsuma suddenly panicked. What if Jiraiya really agreed? What would he do? Would he really take Jiraiya as his disciple?

Jiraiya thought about it seriously for a long time before sighing and saying, "Forget it, if I really did such a thing, I'm afraid Fukasaku and Shima, those two sages, would come all the way from Mount Myōboku and beat me to death."

Tatsuma breathed a sigh of relief. Jiraiya looked up at Minato, who was training diligently, and said, "It seems I really have to work harder. I still want to guide Minato's Sage Mode training as his teacher in the future."

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma had a sudden thought and said, "By the way, Jiraiya-sensei, the reason you can't calm down is probably due to some secretions in your body, such as male hormones, dopamine, or hormones."

In this situation, all that's needed is to eliminate the root of all worries and attachment to precious jade; without the source of trouble, one can naturally calm down.

"Where did you learn all this?"

As he spoke, Jiraiya lowered his gaze, and Tatsuma quickly blurted out, "I heard it from Lord Orochimaru."

"Him? Could it be... Hmm~ It's actually quite possible."

The thought of that possibility made Jiraiya feel like a cat with its fur standing on end; goosebumps covered his entire body, and his silver hair stood on end.

Orochimaru, who was studying Tatsuma's latest blood sample in his laboratory, suddenly felt an itch in his nose. He tried to turn his head away, even while wearing a mask, and avoided the direction of the equipment and materials.

"Ugh!"

"Could it be that I've also caught Tatsuma-kun's cancer? No, cancer isn't contagious! How can I jump to conclusions when it's not even confirmed whether it's cancer?"

Around this time last year, a fellow book lover shared with me a half-stanza of a poem by Jiaxuan, particularly suitable for exam takers: "The roc soars north to the sea, the phoenix faces the rising sun. Again, I carry my books and sword, navigating a vast and uncertain road. Next year on this day, I will soar to the clouds, laughing at the busy scholars of the world."

(End of this chapter)