The two continued arguing in the yard.
Xu Ming listened for a while and quickly understood the situation.
Jiraiya wanted to learn, Orochimaru was trying to teach him, but it wasn't working.
Body modification required a lot of prerequisite knowledge—such as human anatomy, Yang Release (Yangdun) Nature Transformation, and medical first aid. Unfortunately, Jiraiya lacked all of these.
To make matters worse, Orochimaru had even attempted to simplify and explain some of the foundational knowledge.
But Jiraiya's comprehension was as dense as a rock—no matter how it was explained, he just couldn't grasp it.
After an entire day of teaching, Orochimaru had nearly lost his sanity.
As a genius, he couldn't understand why Jiraiya struggled with something so simple.
Everything made perfect sense to him!
How could this guy be so clueless?
"Alright, alright, calm down. I'll teach him," Xu Ming said with a smile as he stepped in to separate them. "Don't worry, I think I know what's going on with Jiraiya. There's definitely a way to teach him."
Hearing this, Orochimaru and Jiraiya both looked at him skeptically.
"Wait a minute... Orochimaru doubting me is one thing, but why do you look so suspicious, Jiraiya?" Xu Ming asked, exasperated. "Are you saying you think you're an idiot?"
"Of course not!" Jiraiya quickly straightened up, putting on a confident expression.
"Heh, Xu Ming, you've just stepped into an abyss." Orochimaru shook his head, looking at him with sympathy, as if he were watching someone walk into a trap.
Xu Ming ignored him and went inside to put his belongings away.
He wasn't making empty promises.
Within the techniques of body modification, there were indeed methods that suited Jiraiya's learning style.
After all, Jiraiya wasn't actually stupid. He was a genius—but in his own way.
How could someone naturally born with all five chakra natures be considered ordinary?
'Jiraiya is the type of person who learns ninjutsu through physical practice—similar to Naruto in later years,' Xu Ming thought.
'Orochimaru, on the other hand, learns with his intellect.'
'The difference between them is like learning how to run. One carefully studies the running posture, breathing rhythm, arm movements, and recovery techniques before even starting. The other just starts running and figures everything out with his body along the way.'
After putting his belongings away, Xu Ming ran into Lord Hiruzen.
"Are you really planning to teach Jiraiya?" That was the first thing the Third Hokage said. His expression was one of exhaustion and regret. "I strongly advise against it. It's not a teaching job—it's hell! Pure hell!"
The way he spoke made it seem like he had personally suffered through the ordeal.
"It's fine. Jiraiya is actually very smart, just in a different way from others," Xu Ming said, patting his teacher's shoulder reassuringly.
"You're setting yourself up for misery," Third Hokage snorted.
"Sensei, don't be so sure. What if you get proven wrong later?" Xu Ming countered.
"Heh. Young people who don't understand the true struggle of life need more experience," Third Hokage smirked coldly.
Xu Ming sighed and decided to ignore his teacher's cynicism, quickly heading back to the yard.
The Third Hokage chuckled and followed him.
The Lesson Begins
In the yard, Jiraiya was already getting anxious. The moment he saw Xu Ming return, his eyes lit up with hope.
"Xu Ming, I'm counting on you!" Jiraiya wailed dramatically, nearly dropping to his knees in desperation.
"Alright, alright, I'll teach you," Xu Ming sighed, already feeling a headache forming from Jiraiya's antics. "But first, tell me about your progress so far."
"Got it!" Jiraiya immediately became serious.
Over the next few minutes, with Jiraiya's explanation and Orochimaru's exhausted interjections, Xu Ming understood the full extent of Jiraiya's progress.
Which was... nothing.
Absolutely zero progress.
Xu Ming almost wanted to applaud. No wonder Orochimaru had looked so defeated earlier.
Anyone else would have given up on Jiraiya by now.
"Well… what do you think, Xu Ming?" Jiraiya asked nervously. "Do I still have hope?"
"Hopeless," Orochimaru cut in coldly.
"Jiraiya, dinner's almost ready. This little experiment needs to end before then," Third Hokage added with a gentle but firm tone.
Jiraiya's expression changed—he could hear the hidden warning in his teacher's words.
"Don't lose hope yet," Xu Ming reassured him. "Try my method."
"Yes, Xu Ming, I'll do whatever you say!" Jiraiya clenched his fists, determined.
Xu Ming coughed slightly, then spoke with a serious expression:
"First, forget everything Orochimaru taught you today. His method doesn't suit you. We're starting from scratch."
"Just focus on forming the hand seals. Don't think about anything else."
"Start with the [Chou] seal, then proceed to [Chou-Xu-Chen-Zi], and continue from there..."
Xu Ming skipped all theoretical explanations and directly gave Jiraiya the complete hand seal sequence for the body modification technique.
It was a sequence of 36 seals.
Of course, when Xu Ming and Orochimaru performed the technique, they didn't need so many hand signs.
But as a beginner, Jiraiya needed "training wheels" to prevent accidents.
"Chou-Xu-Chen-Zi..."
Jiraiya focused and began forming the seals.
The first attempt was awkward and clumsy.
The second attempt was smoother.
By the third attempt, he successfully completed all 36 hand signs, stimulating his chakra.
By the fourth attempt, he instinctively performed the proper chakra nature transformation and shape manipulation required for the technique.
"This…!"
Orochimaru's jaw nearly dropped in disbelief.
He had spent an entire day explaining each seal, breaking down their functions and how they modified chakra. Yet it hadn't been nearly as effective as Xu Ming casually telling Jiraiya to just do it.
Was Jiraiya secretly pretending to be dumb all along?!
Orochimaru couldn't help but feel suspicious.
"Jiraiya..."
The Third Hokage was equally shocked. He had no expectations for Jiraiya at all.
As his teacher, he knew better than anyone how terrible Jiraiya was at learning theory.
What surprised him the most was that Xu Ming had skipped all explanations, jumping straight to practical application.
He hadn't even corrected Jiraiya's form—just let him figure it out on his own.
That approach seemed so careless!
And yet… it worked.