Daily Life

Under Jiraiya's questioning, Naruto Uzumaki stammered, "Ahem, well, Pervy Sage, listen to me. I just tried out a new secret technique I learned, but I couldn't control it well and it ended up affecting you. So, uh, you should go back to sleep. I won't bother you anymore."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto with an expression that clearly said, "Do you think I'm an idiot?" and replied, "What secret technique? Show me."

Hearing this, Naruto immediately stepped forward and signaled for Jiraiya to crouch down. He then pressed his finger against Jiraiya's forehead, transmitting the Aura Burst to him.

Jiraiya closed his eyes, observing the Aura Burst imprinted in his mind.

When Jiraiya opened his eyes and saw Naruto standing nearby, he gritted his teeth, rushed over, grabbed Naruto's head, and rubbed it vigorously. "You brat, are you sure it was just because you couldn't control it?"

Naruto, being manhandled by Jiraiya, didn't say a word, just chuckled.

Seeing this, Jiraiya released Naruto, wanting to test the effects of the Aura Burst himself.

He assumed the same crossed-arms stance, but as soon as Naruto saw him do it, he immediately shouted to stop him, "Wait, Pervy Sage..."

But it was too late. Before he could finish, a pressure even more formidable than Naruto's erupted from Jiraiya, accompanied by a scorching heat.

Unlike Naruto, Jiraiya didn't bother to control the pressure to keep it from touching the floor. As his pressure exploded, the surrounding walls and floor groaned under the unbearable strain.

Only then did Jiraiya realize what Naruto had been trying to say, but it was already too late. Even though he retracted the pressure immediately, the floor and walls had already cracked, and the fissures were widening.

Seeing that the house Naruto lived in was about to collapse, Jiraiya quickly grabbed the stunned Naruto and his backpack, flashing out of the building.

After they left, the entire building crumbled. Naruto snapped out of his daze amidst the roaring sound and turned to look at the embarrassed Jiraiya.

Seeing this, Jiraiya said, "Ahem, sorry about that. I didn't expect the pressure to be so strong. Don't worry, I'll definitely compensate you," and handed the backpack he was carrying to Naruto.

Naruto didn't say anything after taking the backpack. Although he felt a bit of regret, there hadn't been anything in the house besides some cup noodles and milk anyway.

That backpack was the one Jiraiya had carried when he left Konoha; all his worldly possessions were inside.

It contained his bankbook, small gifts he'd bought while out shopping with Hinata, and the two sets of clothes Jiraiya had given him. As long as the backpack was safe, Naruto comforted himself.

Naruto turned to Jiraiya and said expressionlessly, "Pervy Sage, you have to compensate me."

Jiraiya nodded quickly. "I will, don't worry, I'll definitely compensate you."

"Hehe, that's good. Now, I want to go eat ramen," Naruto said with a grin.

Jiraiya nodded in agreement, and under Naruto's lead, they arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.

It wasn't mealtime yet, so there were no other customers, and the owner was busy with preparations.

Hearing someone enter, he looked up and said, "Welcome."

Seeing it was Naruto, he added, "Oh, Naruto, craving ramen again?"

He then stared at Jiraiya behind Naruto, finding him familiar but unable to place him.

"Hi, Ichiraku, long time no see," Jiraiya said, stepping forward.

The owner's expression turned to one of realization. "Isn't this Jiraiya? It's been a long time; you look younger than ever."

Naruto looked at the owner in confusion and asked, "You know the Pervy Sage too, old man?"

The owner laughed. "Of course. Jiraiya came by when I first opened the shop. Back then, there was a beautiful girl with golden hair with him."

Jiraiya nodded and smiled. "I've been away from Konoha for many years; I just got back."

"No wonder I haven't seen you in so long. Seriously, you really are looking younger. You look like you're only twenty now," the owner continued.

Jiraiya laughed in response, "It's not that exaggerated."

"Old man, I'm hungry. Give me a bowl of ramen first, add all the toppings. Pervy Sage is paying," Naruto interjected.

The owner smiled immediately. "Coming right up. And for you, Jiraiya? The usual?"

Jiraiya nodded, and they sat down. Soon, the owner placed two steaming bowls of ramen in front of them and stood nearby to chat with Jiraiya.

Naruto focused on his ramen. When he finished, Jiraiya prepared to pay, but the owner refused, saying he hadn't seen Jiraiya in years and this meal was on the house.

Jiraiya didn't insist further; he left a three-hundred-ryo note and quickly pulled Naruto away.

After leaving Ichiraku Ramen, Jiraiya asked, "So, how else do you want to be compensated?"

"Obviously, we need to find a place to stay first. We're going to be in Konoha for a few days; we can't sleep on the street, can we?" Naruto said, slightly speechless.

Jiraiya laughed heartily. "Don't worry about that, I was just about to take you there."

He pulled Naruto toward the west side of the village. After a long walk, Jiraiya brought Naruto to the edge of the forest near Konoha, where there was nothing but a dilapidated two-story wooden house.

Seeing the small cabin, Jiraiya pointed at it and said, "We'll stay here for the next few days."

Looking at the cabin, which was even more run-down than the one Jiraiya had destroyed, Naruto realized the situation and asked, "Is this your place, Pervy Sage?"

Jiraiya nodded, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "Yeah, I haven't been back in many years. It's fallen into quite a state."

He led Naruto to the front of the cabin, pulled a key from his robe, and opened the door.

As the door swung open, a musty smell rushed out. Naruto pinched his nose with his left hand and waved his right hand in front of his face.

Jiraiya chuckled, walked inside, and opened all the windows. He stood in the middle of the living room and formed a hand seal.

Whirlwinds appeared around Jiraiya, and under his control, they flew throughout the house, sweeping up all the dust, cobwebs, and debris before flying out the open windows.

Much of the musty smell was cleared away as well. Jiraiya looked at Naruto, who was still standing at the door, and said, "What are you staring at? Come in and help."

Although the ninjutsu had blown away the surface debris, the insides of the cabinets were still dirty and cluttered, which required manual cleaning.

Naruto Uzumaki acknowledged the request and walked inside, where he began cleaning diligently alongside Jiraiya.

At this moment, at the Hyuga Clan Training Ground, the place where the children of the Hyuga clan usually practiced their skills.

Two figures, one large and one small, were locked in a rapid exchange of blows; these were naturally Hinata and her younger sister, Hanabi.

Hanabi was currently attacking Hinata with all her might, grumbling, "Stupid sister, you're going to get snatched away by Naruto Uzumaki again, and you're even leaving Konoha, hmph!"

Hinata, meanwhile, allowed Hanabi to attack, merely defending passively. Upon hearing Hanabi's words, she quickly replied, "Hanabi, sister is going out to train, Naruto Uzumaki isn't snatching me away. You have to be good, I'll come back often, be a good girl."

Hearing this, Hanabi's offensive grew even fiercer as she continued, "Hmph, I'm not a little kid anymore. Once you've left Konoha, how could you possibly come back often?"

After Jiraiya left last night, Hyuga Hiashi had summoned all the high-ranking members of the Hyuga clan to inform them that Hinata's eyes could evolve, as well as everything Jiraiya had permitted him to share with the clan.

The clansmen were stunned to hear that the Byakugan could evolve into an even more powerful existence, but given that it was their clan head speaking, they had no choice but to believe it.

Later, when they heard that Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, had taken the clan head's eldest daughter as his disciple and hoped to take her out of the village to facilitate the evolution of her Byakugan.

After much deliberation, the elders decided to agree; after all, they also hoped for the clan to grow stronger. As for whether the Byakugan might be stolen once she was outside, they were not worried, as Hyuga Hiashi had already told them about Mount Myoboku.

Early the next morning, Hyuga Hiashi had informed his wife, Hyuga Chushin, and his daughter, Hanabi, about Hinata leaving the village to train, which led to the scene currently unfolding.

Hinata looked at Hanabi, whose attacks were sharp but whose eyes betrayed her reluctance to let her go, and said, "Hanabi, sister wouldn't lie to you."

After Hinata's repeated assurances, Hanabi said, "Hmph, then I'll forgive you for now, but you have three days left, and you must spend all of them with me."

Hanabi had always loved sticking to Hinata, so Hinata understood her true feelings and nodded in agreement.

As for Hinata's mother, she was a very gentle and understanding person; upon hearing the news, she did not stand in the way, as she was a ninja herself.

She simply spoke of preparing some supplies for Hinata to take on her journey.

Seeing this, Hyuga Hiashi gave Hanabi a three-day leave, telling her to let Hinata spend some quality time with her.

As a condition for forgiving Hinata, Hanabi made her promise that she would take her along wherever she went over the next few days.

Hinata happily agreed and immediately took Hanabi to the Konoha Commercial District. Through her father, she had learned exactly who Jiraiya was.

She was very grateful that Jiraiya was willing to take her as his apprentice, so she decided to buy some gifts for both Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki.

On the other side, Naruto Uzumaki and the others were nearing the end of their cleaning. After seeing the dilapidated walls, Jiraiya had gone to the market to buy plenty of wood lacquer and ingredients, and the two of them had painted the house inside and out.

After finishing, Jiraiya ran to a distance and circled the house to see if they had missed any spots.

Looking up from the bottom, Jiraiya nodded with satisfaction at first, but when he saw the exit to the second-floor balcony, several black lines appeared on his forehead.

The exit was circular with a fan-shaped relief on top; now, two long whiskers had been added to either side of the exit, and a large circle had been painted in red lacquer above the relief.

Although speechless, Jiraiya did not wipe them off; after all, this was, in a sense, the fruit of Naruto Uzumaki's labor.

You are reading Naruto: Starting with Asura Chakra by Ti Ta.