[Land of Fire · Ancient border road · Noon]
After leaving the town, Jiraiya and Naruto headed north along a remote ancient road. It had been abandoned for years, its surface riddled with potholes and weeds growing waist-high on either side. Here and there, abandoned way stations and signposts spoke of the road's former prosperity.
"Where exactly are we going, Master Jiraiya?" Naruto asked as he followed behind him. He had asked several times already, but Jiraiya kept acting mysterious and refusing to tell him.
"What's the rush?" Jiraiya said without turning around. "You'll know when we get there."
"But we've been walking for hours!" Naruto complained. "There isn't even anywhere to rest, and I'm hungry."
"A ninja must learn patience," Jiraiya said solemnly. "Back when I trained under the old Third Hokage, going three days and nights without food or sleep was nothing unusual."
"Seriously?"
"Of course not." Jiraiya laughed. "But going hungry was real enough. We were poor back then and couldn't afford food, so we often trained on empty stomachs."
Naruto stared at him speechlessly, feeling that his teacher really was hopelessly unreliable.
They walked a little farther, and a dense bamboo grove appeared ahead. A stream ran through it, its crystal-clear water shimmering in the sunlight.
"Let's rest here for a bit." Jiraiya sat on a large rock beside the stream, took off his shoes, and dipped his feet into the water with a contented sigh. "Ah, nice and cool."
Naruto copied him, taking off his shoes and soaking his feet. The cool stream washed away the fatigue of their journey, leaving him feeling much more refreshed.
"Master Jiraiya." Looking at his reflection in the water, Naruto suddenly spoke. "What kind of person was my dad?"
Jiraiya paused, then smiled. "Why the sudden question?"
"I just