Konoha.
White clouds drifted across the sky, and the gentle sunlight shone down upon the village.
In a secluded forest, a waterfall hung from an enormous cliff like a silver hook, its silvery spray refracting a kaleidoscope of colors beneath the sunlight.
Just then—
"Success!!"
An excited shout suddenly rang out from the grass beside the waterfall.
By the waterfall, a blond-haired boy beamed at the burst water balloon in his hand, his palm covered in splashed droplets.
The moment he saw the water balloon burst, he excitedly ran toward a large tree nearby, shouting as he ran.
"Pervy Sage! Look, look! I did it!"
Hearing him, Jiraiya, who was sitting on a tree branch and scribbling in a notebook, gave him a disdainful glance before lazily saying, "It took you a whole week just to get this done. Naruto, you really are terrible. Back then, I only needed three days to finish it!"
With that, he tucked the notebook into his clothes, then leaped down from the tree branch and landed steadily in front of Naruto.
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Naruto, who was still brimming with excitement, was not discouraged in the slightest. He grinned and said, "You're the Pervy Sage. I'm already satisfied if I can be half as good as you!"
"Haha, now I've got the strength to teach Sasuke a proper lesson!!"
Naruto secretly clenched his fist, feeling immensely pleased with himself.
Wanting to show off his strength in front of Sasuke was probably the true motivation behind his desperate training.
Hearing Naruto's words, Jiraiya's forehead filled with black lines as he said helplessly, "Your way of thinking really is unbelievably childish!"
"I really don't get it. Minato and Kushina both have such good personalities, so how did they end up with a mischievous kid like you?"