The next morning, it was nearly ten o'clock before Jiraiya slowly sat up from his floor bedding. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at Naruto, who was still sprawled on the bed, snoring away with a snot bubble on his nose.
He reached out and popped Naruto's snot bubble with a pop!, then immediately gave him a wake-up call guaranteed to jolt him awake.
"Ichiraku Ramen has gone bankrupt! Teuchi ran away with his daughter Ayame!"
"What!!!?"
Naruto kicked hard with both feet, sending the light blue summer blanket covering him flying. He sprang upright onto the bed and stared at Jiraiya with wide eyes.
"What happened to Ichiraku Ramen? What happened to Uncle Teuchi!?"
Seeing Naruto so bright-eyed and energetic, Jiraiya knew he must have slept well last night. Otherwise, that shout could not have been so full of force and vigor.
"Haha, Ichiraku Ramen is doing fine, and Teuchi didn't run away. I just shouted something random to see whether you'd get up."
Naruto rolled his eyes at Jiraiya, quietly making his own calculations.
Next time, as long as I wake up before him once, I'll show him what Sexy Jutsu: Altered - Ugly Woman Technique is all about.
"All right, stop sulking. Hurry up and pack your things. Today, you'll be leaving with Hidden Cloud's delegation to find your big brother Killer B and train in how to become a Perfect Jinchuriki."
"Don't you want to become true friends with it sooner and master this power?"
"Then, when you come back, you'll definitely be able to stomp Sasuke beneath your feet."
"By then, Sakura will surely see you in a whole new light too~"
Jiraiya's bait was simple and unadorned, but to Naruto, those two things were his greatest motivation.
He immediately jumped out of bed, hurriedly