Seeing Yourself

After a puff of smoke, Naruto changed back to normal.

"Ah, it ended so quickly."

Jiraiya said regretfully.

"Now you can help me with my Training, right?!"

Naruto asked eagerly.

Looking at the expectant eyes of his two disciples, Jiraiya took a deep breath and made up his mind.

"Good! Then let's begin our path of Training!"

Before long, the three arrived by the Konoha River.

"Come to think of it, why are you practicing walking on water?"

Jiraiya asked.

"Kakashi said my Chakra control and precision are lacking, so I need to build a solid foundation."

Naruto answered honestly.

"I see."

Jiraiya nodded.

"Then the two of you can train here together!"

Uchiha Sasuke was unconvinced.

Why did such basic training require one of the Three Sannin?

He gathered Chakra beneath his feet, casually stepped forward, and stood firmly atop the water.

On the other side, Naruto also gingerly stepped onto the river.

"Good. Now squat down on the water."

Sasuke found it strange, but he still followed his teacher's instructions and cautiously crouched on the water's surface.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no such luck. As his center of gravity shifted, controlling his Chakra became several times harder. One lapse in concentration, and he fell into the river.

The water churned violently, and Sasuke was dragged in as well.

After the two climbed ashore in a bedraggled state, Sasuke's dissatisfaction reached its peak.

They had clearly agreed that he would receive some kind of special training plan, yet here he was, accompanying this idiot through such boring exercises.

"What? You don't like your teacher's arrangements?"

Jiraiya saw through him and asked.

"Yes! I want to begin training in ninjutsu as soon as possible! Not stay here doing the most basic things with this fool!"

Sasuke could not help saying.

"Damn it! Who are you calling a fool?!"

Naruto protested heatedly, heedless of the water dripping from his body.

"Is that so? Then how about this? I remember the Uchiha clan has a Dragon Fire Technique. Can you use it?"

Jiraiya asked.

Sasuke was secretly pleased and nodded.

"What is the key to this ninjutsu?"

Jiraiya continued testing him.

"Condense the Chakra into a single point as much as possible, then expel it as fast as possible."

Sasuke answered seriously.

Both his family's teachings and his past combat experience had taught him that this technique's greatest advantage was its powerful single-target lethality.

But its weaknesses were just as obvious. Its range was narrow, and it was easy to lose the target, which was why he had previously needed to combine it with the control of Sharingan Control: Windmill Triple Blades to use it.

Gathering the flames and achieving an extremely high firing speed were the two keys to increasing its power and improving its accuracy.

"Now try using the Dragon Fire Technique, but I want you to slow it down as much as possible while still keeping the flames condensed."

Sasuke did not understand, but he still performed the technique as Jiraiya instructed.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Flames slowly flowed from Sasuke's mouth, but the fire dragon at the end quickly slipped out of control and dispersed.

At the same time, because it was moving too slowly, Sasuke felt the blazing flames scorching his face, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Unable to hold on for more than a few seconds, Sasuke stopped the technique and began coughing violently.

Isn't this just nonsense?

Sasuke grumbled inwardly.

Before he could complain, Jiraiya rapidly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

A tiny fire dragon slowly swam out of his mouth. It circled Naruto and Sasuke, its pleasantly warm flames gradually drying their drenched clothes.

Then the fire dragon spun through the air and vanished.

"Ha, haha, that's interesting! Fun! But what's the point? Do you need something that troublesome just to dry clothes?"

Naruto asked in confusion.

But Sasuke, standing beside him, was deeply shocked.

Having just attempted it himself, he knew perfectly well how difficult Jiraiya's little "clothes-drying" trick was.

He recalled the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet he had barely managed to use when fighting Neji, as well as the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet Jiraiya had used back then.

The greatest difference between the two was precise Chakra control!

So this seemingly dull practice was actually laying the foundation for Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.

Once he understood Jiraiya's intentions, Sasuke's passion for training immediately ignited.

"You think you're accompanying Naruto in his Training, but Naruto is actually helping you train!"

Jiraiya lectured.

Sasuke said nothing and walked onto the water again.

After a whole day of hard training, Naruto gradually became able to slowly squat on the water.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was now able to quickly adjust his Chakra output according to the ripples on the water whenever Naruto fell in, thereby maintaining his balance.

Dusk gradually arrived, and the setting sun dyed the river crimson.

Jiraiya lit a fire by the riverbank. The teacher and his two disciples sat around it, ending their day of grueling Training.

"To be honest, compared with Sasuke, you really don't have much talent," Jiraiya said to Naruto.

Before either of them could react, Jiraiya continued.

"But you have your own strengths. Right, fox boy?"

"Hey, no matter what, you don't have to put it like that!"

Sasuke shouted.

At that moment, neither of them could sit still. Naruto's face was full of resentment, while Sasuke's expression was equally unpleasant.

"What's the big deal?

"You, fox boy.

"You, the one whose entire clan was killed by his own brother.

"Me, a failure who couldn't bring back his Comrade, couldn't protect his disciple, spent his life unable to win the woman he loved most, and accomplished nothing.

"What's the big deal? A man without the magnanimity to say these things as jokes is the most useless kind of man!"

Before his words had even faded, Naruto and Sasuke were both visibly agitated, nearly storming off.

Jiraiya ignored them and continued speaking.

"You want to become stronger, earn recognition, and become Hokage, don't you?

"And you want to become stronger, kill Uchiha Itachi, and avenge your clan, right?

"If you want to become stronger, you must face your current circumstances, face the realities of the outside world, and face the desires in your own heart!"

Hearing their dreams laid bare so bluntly, Naruto and Sasuke calmed down a little.

"So what if you're a demon fox? So what if you're an avenger?

"Don't think you're so special, as though you bear something ordinary people could never understand. Accept it and coexist with it. That is seeing yourself."

"Don't interrupt me again." Jiraiya waved his hand, turned to Naruto, and returned to the original subject. "When I said you lacked talent, I was telling you not to waste time in areas you aren't good at.

"Especially when there are only a little over twenty days until the next exam.

"As the Demon Fox Jinchuriki, you possess power unlike that of ordinary people. Others practice Chakra control and precision because their foundations aren't strong enough.

"But you're sitting on a treasure mine. Why beg with a golden rice bowl in your hands?

"Rather than painstakingly digging through this little patch of dirt, why not put more thought into finding the key to open the treasure mine's gate as soon as possible?"

Naruto was dumbfounded. This was the first time he had clearly heard about the relationship between himself and the demon fox.

But in the Perverted Sage's eyes, it was not proof of his original sin. Instead, it was his unique advantage.

That's right!

Since it had lived inside him for so long, what was wrong with charging it some rent?

"As for precise Chakra control, you'll gradually master it through repeated practice in your daily Training."

"Starting tomorrow, Sasuke, you'll continue today's Training. As for Naruto, he'll need a new training method!"

"Okay!"

After hearing Jiraiya's explanation, Naruto became fired up again, wishing tomorrow would arrive immediately.

Meanwhile, Sasuke considered the suggestions from the netizens before opening his mouth.

"Um, Jiraiya Sensei, can I take a day off tomorrow?"