The Unpaintable Mark

Leaving the Great Toad Sage's hall, the master and disciple prepared to return to Konoha.

"Pervy Sage, do you think the Great Toad Sage's prophecy... could have any irrelevant details?" Naruto speculated. The mention of a "man with the same eye power as Sasuke" in the prophecy had really been bothering him...

"How could it?" Jiraiya waved a hand, recalling. "Back then, the Great Toad Sage also gave me a prophecy. He said I would become a wandering writer, meet the Child of Prophecy, and finally... face a true choice."

He paused, then said seriously, "Because I became a writer and wandered the shinobi world, I met Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan. Later, I met you, whom I believed to be the Child of Prophecy... and finally, after learning about your Memory Intelligence, I made the choice to go to Amegakure to find Nagato!"

"The Great Toad Sage's prophecy is never wrong."

Naruto fell silent. After a moment, he suddenly smacked his left palm with his right fist. "Oh, maybe... all Sharingan eye powers are similar? Or maybe the Great Toad Sage's 'same eye power' just means 'both are Mangekyō Sharingan'?" He thought it over. "Because I feel like... I'll probably run into that 'Obito Uchiha,' and he has a Mangekyō Sharingan..."

But as soon as he said it, he shot it down. "No... if that were the case, I've already seen Teacher Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan, and his eyes are the same as Obito's..." Frowning, Naruto sank into deep thought.

Jiraiya sighed, stepped forward, and patted his student's head with a reassuring smile. "Since you can't figure it out, stop thinking about it! We got along fine before when we didn't know the future, didn't we? The future... we'll deal with it when we meet it!"

Naruto looked up, squinting with a smile, and nodded firmly. "Yeah... charge ahead and never give up—that's the ninja way my future self taught me!"

"Let's go. Back to the village."

Jiraiya took Naruto to find the toad responsible for contacting Konoha. Soon, a small toad dove into a magical spring at Mount Myōboku, emerging directly in Konoha. Then, using the Reverse Summoning Technique, the master and disciple returned to Konoha's soil.

The next day, in the forest.

Each member of Team 7 was equipped with a radio. The three genin hid behind large trees. Hinata activated her Byakugan, her powerful Kekkei Genkai granting her a highly penetrating 360-degree field of vision. She was quietly observing their mission target...

"How far to the target?" Kakashi's voice came through their radio earpieces.

"Five meters," Hinata replied briefly and quietly.

"Ready to move anytime!" Naruto answered on the shared channel.

"Same here," Sasuke said flatly.

Kakashi: "Good... Go!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata leaped out from behind the trees, capturing their mission target in one go... Sasuke pressed his radio earpiece to report the result: "Left ear tied with a ribbon, confirmed as the target, Kojiro." He glanced at the brown cat in Naruto's hands.

"Mission complete. Come back."

After following their team leader, Kakashi, to report to the Hokage and turn in the mission, Team 7's morning tasks were done. Naruto suggested that Sasuke and Hinata join him for a meal.

As for Kakashi... maybe he was in a hurry to get back to his little book, or maybe he guessed that if he didn't leave, his wallet would be in danger again. So right after turning in the mission, he used a Body Flicker Technique and bolted.

"How stingy can you be... I didn't even get to eat barbecue yesterday..." Naruto grumbled, dissatisfied with Kakashi's quick escape. Finally, he called out to Hinata and Sasuke, "Then let's go eat Ichiraku Ramen!"

"Fine," Sasuke said, heading out first. Over the years, watching Naruto grow stronger by leaps and bounds, he had gradually developed a habit of never wasting a single moment.

"Naruto... you really love ramen, don't you?" Hinata tested carefully, making sure to remember her crush's preferences.

Naruto caught up to Sasuke without looking back, flashing a grin. "Yeah, Ichiraku's ramen is amazing!"

Hinata happily followed after Naruto and Sasuke.

At the Hokage's office.

Jiraiya leaned against the wall, looking at the stack of documents on the Third Hokage's desk regarding the upcoming Chunin Exams. He spoke up, "The Chunin Exams are starting soon, old man... Are you really determined to keep that guy Orochimaru here?"

The Third Hokage put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and took a few puffs of his pipe, his voice hoarse with a chuckle. "Jiraiya... letting Orochimaru escape back then was already a huge mistake of mine... This time, even if I 'fall again' in battle, I can't let him get away..."

Jiraiya was silent for a moment, then said, "Old man, I won't let you die like that... And..." He looked out the window. On the distant street, Sasuke walked ahead, with Naruto close behind, walking side by side with Hinata. He chuckled softly, "Don't forget, Naruto's really strong now... Not much weaker than he was in that war from his memories..."

The Third Hokage smiled too, smoke veiling his aged face. He sighed, a mix of relief and melancholy. "Yeah, the new era has already caught up..."

Jiraiya ignored the old man's sentimentality, stood up, and prepared to leave. At the door, he paused with his back to the Third Hokage and said quietly, "Actually... in the end, Orochimaru... also sided with the Shinobi Alliance, didn't he?"

He stopped, and when the Third Hokage behind him didn't respond, he opened the door and left.

At Ichiraku Ramen.

The three sat side by side.

"I'll have a large miso ramen! Same flavor as always!" Naruto called out. He was already good friends with the owner.

The owner smiled and asked, "Got it. And Sasuke, same as usual?" Sasuke nodded. Over the years, Naruto had dragged him here countless times, and he still didn't get what was so great about it.

"What about you, Hinata?" Naruto turned, blinking his big blue eyes.

Hinata felt a jolt, her cheeks flushing slightly. She quickly sat up straight and nodded. "I-I'll have a miso ramen too, a small one, please... thank you..." Truth be told, Hinata didn't really eat ramen much and wasn't sure what kinds there were.

The owner's gaze shifted between Naruto and Hinata, a meaningful smile spreading across his face... He said cheerfully, "Today, all ramen is half off!"

"Huh?!" Naruto was surprised, but mostly delighted.

Sasuke remained unfazed, sitting there as he tried to extract a small amount of Lightning Release Chakra from within, stimulating his arms... It was a technique he'd seen Kakashi use before.

His chakra extraction and movements were so subtle that Naruto and Hinata didn't notice, which meant he had to focus more on feeling the changes in his arms.

Good ramen took time to prepare. Bored, Naruto tried again on the tabletop... using chakra to "draw" the Flying Thunder God Technique's formula.

Maybe he really did have a talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu. The theoretical knowledge from the scrolls was coming along smoothly, but the "technique mark" essential to the Flying Thunder God Technique still eluded him... It was frustrating. He wondered how his dad had ever learned it back then.

"Here you go! Your ramen!" Ichiraku's owner and his daughter Ayame set down three bowls of ramen.

"Haha, time to dig in!"

After finishing their ramen, the three of them walked out of Ichiraku's.

"Naruto..." Jiraiya, leaning against the wall by the entrance, called out to Naruto, who was patting his own belly.

Naruto turned around in surprise; Sasuke and Hinata also stopped in their tracks.

Jiraiya walked over and clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Go pack up. You're coming with me... to bring Tsunade back."