Arduous Cultivation

"Hmm... hmm? Have you already popped it?"

Having taken a sound nap under the tree, Jiraiya opened his eyes and looked at Naruto Uzumaki in the distance, puzzled.

"Uh..."

Naruto Uzumaki turned his head to look at the sleepy-eyed Jiraiya, recalling the bold declaration he had made at noon.

He felt incredibly awkward all of a sudden.

"Ah? I don't know if this counts as having learned it..."

Naruto sheepishly reached up to scratch his orange hair.

"It seems that instead of just a nap, I've slept for quite a long time!"

Jiraiya stood up, pulled a sake gourd from behind his back, and tipped it into his mouth again, only to find it was empty.

He sighed and turned to leave.

Naruto Uzumaki grew anxious and rushed forward to grab Pervy Sage.

"I'm asking you, I'm asking you, what do I have to do to pop it?"

"Hmm?"

Jiraiya heard Naruto's question, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

"Didn't I say I wouldn't give you any detailed instructions until you popped it?"

He reached up to stroke his chin, looked at Naruto who had been exhausted for the entire day, and clicked his tongue.

"I see... I originally wanted you to discover it through trial and error so you could master the technique of this move. I'll teach you the trick to this ninjutsu; try making the water rotate first!"

Naruto nodded, extended his right hand, held up the water balloon, and gathered his chakra once more.

Hum, hum, hum—

The water balloon spun a few times before quickly returning to stillness.

"Left or right, which way are you making the water rotate?"

Seeing that Naruto Uzumaki had stopped circulating his chakra, Jiraiya asked.

"Hmm... to the left!"

Naruto Uzumaki answered subconsciously, but then he felt confused—did this ninjutsu really depend on the direction of the chakra's rotation?

"To the left, huh..."

Jiraiya reached out to touch the top of Naruto's head, closing his eyes to sense it.

"As I thought, you really are the type that rotates to the right!"

"???"

The confusion on Naruto Uzumaki's face deepened; what on earth was this Pervy Sage playing at?

Seeing the doubt on Naruto Uzumaki's face, Jiraiya smiled and explained:

"To gather chakra, you need to mix energy.

Everyone unconsciously makes energy rotate within their body to condense chakra, and the direction this energy rotates—left or right—varies from person to person.

In other words, during this training, if you try to make the water balloon rotate in the opposite direction of your own natural rotation, the flow of chakra will be blocked and repelled, making it impossible for the rotation to proceed smoothly!"

At this point, a helpless look appeared on Jiraiya's aged face.

"Basically, you should be able to feel this kind of thing for yourself!"

"..."

"Then how could you tell at a glance that I'm the type that rotates to the right?"

"Heh heh!"

A mysterious smile appeared on Jiraiya's face.

"The cowlick on your head—if it swirls to the right, you're a right-rotating type. If it swirls to the left, you're a left-rotating type. It's that simple!"

After saying this, he took the water balloon that had lasted all afternoon from Naruto's hand.

He gathered a small amount of chakra in his palm.

Pop! The water balloon burst instantly.

"So, you have to make the water rotate to the right!"

"Hmm... I've never paid attention to such details before!"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto Uzumaki, who was scratching his head in frustration, and couldn't help but laugh.

"But this ninjutsu is perfect for you. It doesn't require any hand seals, just chakra. You don't need to memorize difficult seals—even an idiot can do it!"

"Pfft..."

Hearing Jiraiya's somewhat disparaging words, Lin Mu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

After a moment of shock, Naruto Uzumaki quickly realized what had been said.

He jumped up in anger, shouting:

"I'm no idiot! I'm the man who's going to be Hokage one day! Once I find the trick, it'll be easy. I only need... three days to master this kind of ninjutsu perfectly!"

Three days?

The corners of the mouths of Jiraiya and Lin Mu curled up simultaneously.

Jiraiya's expression turned serious as he spoke slowly.

"Three days, huh... This technique was left behind by the Fourth Hokage! It took the Fourth Hokage a full three years to master it."

"The difficulty level of learning this ninjutsu is the second highest among the six stages, making it an A-rank super-high-level ninjutsu!"

Jiraiya held up three fingers and waved them in front of Naruto Uzumaki.

"To learn this technique, you need to undergo three stages of training. Bursting this water balloon is the first stage."

"There's no point in explaining further to a guy who can't even clear the first stage. Try it yourself from here on out. I'm heading back to town to gather some intel. What are you going to do?"

Naruto Uzumaki stared at the water balloon in his hand, his expression shifting constantly.

That genius ninja, the Fourth Hokage... took three years.

A-rank difficulty, a ninjutsu left behind by the Fourth Hokage.

"I'm not going back just yet."

A bright smile suddenly appeared on Naruto's previously solemn face.

"Hahaha..."

Jiraiya, with his back to Naruto, wore a look of gratification.

This kid...

"See ya, don't overdo it!"

After greeting Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya turned his gaze toward Lin Mu.

Lin Mu also smiled and said:

"I'll stay here and train as well, Jiraiya-senpai. This forest is also of great benefit to my Wood Style Body!"

"Hmm."

Jiraiya nodded slowly, said nothing more, and turned to leave the woods.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another three days passed.

Naruto Uzumaki sat crouched in the woods, drenched in sweat, his mouth constantly letting out roars of confusion:

"Damn it! It's been three days since I asked the Pervy Sage for the trick, and the rubber is stretched this far! Why won't it burst? How am I any different from the Pervy Sage?"

Naruto was angry, Naruto was frustrated, but Naruto was also helpless.

The Fourth Hokage was a genius, and even he took three years to master this ninjutsu.

He didn't consider himself particularly talented, so naturally, he couldn't compare himself to a figure like the Fourth Hokage.

But he didn't have three years to train.

He needed to get stronger, get stronger as quickly as possible, and get stronger at the fastest speed imaginable!

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Naruto Uzumaki roared loudly, venting his inner emotions.

Then, a look of determination returned to his face as he bent down to continue refining his chakra.

This ninjutsu... he had to master it!

Not far away, Lin Mu remained seated cross-legged, watching Naruto Uzumaki struggle with learning the technique, and couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

"It's a good thing I have the system! All ninjutsu are directly instilled into my memory, and I can master them perfectly in just a few breaths."

Otherwise, the time he would have spent training in ninjutsu would definitely not be any less than Naruto Uzumaki's!