Want to Learn Ninjutsu?

Looking at the golden hair floating in the river, Naruto let out a slight sigh of relief. A small blessing amid misfortune—though a small patch had been torn out, he could still cover it with hair from other areas.

"Looks like I need to switch training tools."

Uzuki Yugao's initial demonstration, combined with how difficult hair was to obtain, had given Naruto a misunderstanding: that wind Nature Transformation required hair.

But looking back now, he realized it had merely been a beautiful misunderstanding.

Uzuki Yugao had used her own hair for the demonstration because she was confident in herself. Besides, the results were more obvious with fine strands of hair.

"Chakra Nature Transformation training really is a tedious process of endless repetition." Touching the bare spot at his temple, Naruto finally understood the true meaning of those words.

Splash.

He casually plucked a leaf and placed it between his palms.

A moment later, Naruto looked at the nearly invisible cut along the tender leaf's edge.

Sure enough, compared with hair, leaves were far too "sturdy"...

Still, Naruto did not feel discouraged. The door to progress had opened for him. Though it was only a tiny crack, the rest was simply a matter of steady grinding.

Of his month-long vacation, only seven days had passed so far.

The next day.

Not long after Naruto sat down, the chirping voices of girls drifted over from afar again.

Helplessness appeared on his face as he slowly packed away his fishing rod. If nothing unexpected happened, he probably would not be able to fish here for the next few days.

He could have gone fishing somewhere farther away and more dangerous.

But that would take too much time and cost too much. It was not worth it.

Fishing was merely a recreational activity to ease the fatigue of his tedious training. It was not essential.

Putting the cart before the horse was not advisable.

Naruto simply hid his things away. His Nature Transformation training had just begun to show results as well, so it would be good to stay home and focus on training for a while.

"Hehehe..."

That lecherous laugh from yesterday reached his ears again. Naruto turned his head and saw a familiar backside in the bushes not far away.

Naruto's gaze shifted slightly. Once could be called a coincidence, but twice in a row—and both times in such secluded places...

Was he here to watch me again...?

Ever since Naruto had begun living independently, ninjas had monitored him from time to time.

Later, perhaps because he had grown older, or perhaps because his "stable" state had gradually made certain people lower their guard, the surveillance had changed from around-the-clock monitoring to occasional checks, and now to once a month.

To be honest, he hated it.

But back when this body had not yet developed, he had been powerless to resist such surveillance and could only let it happen.

Now that he was older, the number of times he was watched had greatly decreased. Besides, he had developed some attachment to the place where he had lived for over a decade, so he had not paid it much attention.

But not paying attention did not mean he liked those who watched him.

Was it the Third Hokage, or one of Konoha's higher-ups...?

There were some things he understood perfectly well.

The Third Hokage's various forms of support were only because of the Nine-Tails inside him.

If he had not retained the experiences of three lifetimes, the Third Hokage's methods would undoubtedly have been nearly perfect.

With emotional ties and occasional small investments, he could keep the "nuclear weapon" firmly in his own hands.

No matter how one looked at it, Third Hokage's methods had not failed his position. He deserved to be called a politician.

Naruto's smiling treatment of Third Hokage was merely a transaction driven by mutual benefit.

As a child, he needed Third Hokage's allowance to sustain himself, while Third Hokage needed to ensure that Naruto remained firmly under his control.

Though he felt repulsed inside, Naruto did nothing further. For now, he did not want to fall out with the old man.

The small man in the bushes seemed to notice his movement. He hurriedly straightened up and called out to him.

"Hey, boy over there!"

Seeing Naruto's surprised expression, the middle-aged man felt helpless as well.

Normally, shouldn't children this age be overflowing with hot blood? Shouldn't they step forward and loudly stop someone like him?

"Is something wrong?" Realizing that he might have misunderstood the man, Naruto asked quietly.

The ANBU monitoring him would not greet him.

"You were training wind Nature Transformation just now, right?" the middle-aged man asked.

"..." Naruto raised an eyebrow. Uzuki Yugao had made it very clear that Chakra Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation were things only jōnin-level ninja came into contact with.

In other words, this strangely dressed middle-aged man was at least a jōnin.

"That's right." Naruto admitted it openly. It was not something shameful.

"Wind's cutting edge needs to be thin, like the blade of an axe. If the entire axe were the same thickness as its body, then it wouldn't be able to cut anything." As the man spoke, he demonstrated.

Watching the leaf in the man's hand split in two, Naruto's heart stirred. The problem that had troubled him for days was instantly solved.

"Thank you. Would you like something to eat?"

Though he did not know why this man was teaching him, the outcome benefited him, so he had reason to thank him.

"May I ask your name?" Naruto asked. Perhaps this man was some ninja from the village whom he did not know.

Of course, with the Chunin Exams underway, he could also be from another village.

But there was no reason for a ninja from another village to instruct a ninja from Konoha.

"Good question!" The man burst into laughter, striking an extremely exaggerated pose. "Mount Myōboku's Great Toad Sage, the wild ninja hero Jiraiya—that's me!"

"A sage? I never thought sages would enjoy worldly women so much." Naruto smiled faintly.

Perhaps this world was simply different. The sages he knew should have been great figures capable of plucking stars and moons, moving mountains and filling seas—detached from worldly desires, seated among the clouds and watching the changes of the world from afar.

"What does a little brat like you know? This is called gathering material. Do you even know what gathering material is?" Jiraiya sneered.

A child whose body had not even developed yet could not possibly understand the wondrous appeal of such things.

"Perhaps." Naruto's tone was unreadable.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"My material-gathering time is so limited. When would I have time for breakfast?" Jiraiya replied irritably.

Naruto looked up at the blazing sun already hanging high in the middle of the sky, then shook his head with a smile. Silently, he walked over to where he had put his tools and took out a small pot.

"Oh? You've got everything. Don't tell me you live here?" Jiraiya stroked his chin. He had seen it clearly just now—pots, bowls, seasonings, everything was there.

"More or less."

Naruto took out part of the food he had gathered yesterday, washed it, and cut it into pieces...

"I can tell you're a ninja. Didn't you think about inviting me into the village for a good meal?" Jiraiya asked ingratiatingly.

Naruto's hands paused slightly. He said sincerely, "Sorry, I can't take you to those places to eat. Otherwise, you might end up unable to eat because of me."

"...Is that so?" Jiraiya looked at the boy's apologetic face. His lips moved, but in the end, he did not know where to begin amid the countless words in his heart.

In his eyes, Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son, the descendant of a hero, and had the support of the Third Hokage. His living conditions should not have been too bad.

But it seemed...

"Naruto, how have you been these past years?" Jiraiya squatted beside him.

"So you know me." Naruto's hands paused, but he did not press for details. Instead, he answered, "I have food and a place to live. I'm doing pretty well."

"Is that so..."

Naruto gave him a surprised look, unsure why he had suddenly become so depressed. Still, he did not pay it much mind and continued with his work.

After years of cooking experience, his skills were fairly good.

The aroma drew over several girls playing in the water nearby. At Jiraiya's enthusiastic invitation, what had been a simple lunch for two became a picnic for five.

From the moment the girls sat down, Jiraiya's delighted laughter did not stop for even a moment.

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