I Am Jiraiya! (4/4)

It was understandable that Karin Uzumaki did not know how to cook.

"Let's clean this up first." Tianming smiled and tossed out a minor Water Release technique, washing the smoke-filled kitchen clean. After tidying it up a little more, it was restored to normal.

"I'm sorry, I'm so useless." Karin Uzumaki blamed herself. She had realized that ever since meeting Qingchuan Tianming, she had become useless.

"Don't say that. Take it slow. If you don't know how, you can learn." Tianming comforted her and wanted to reach out to rub Karin Uzumaki's hair, but his hand stopped short. He worried that such an unintentional gesture might be impolite.

Karin Uzumaki watched Tianming's outstretched hand pause, then stepped forward, grabbed it, and placed it atop her own head. "Did you want to touch my hair?"

"Uh..." Tianming was embarrassed.

"It's okay. I'm willing to do anything you like." Karin Uzumaki spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Ahahaha, that's good." Tianming pulled his hand back like lightning and laughed awkwardly. "Let's cook something to eat."

At the same time, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno were walking toward Konoha Hospital.

Sakura Haruno moved extremely slowly along the way, even stopping in front of shop windows while walking down the street.

"Sakura, weren't we going to visit Sasuke? Why aren't we walking faster?" Naruto Uzumaki was clearly getting anxious.

He was only going this slowly because he was accompanying Sakura Haruno. Naruto could have covered this distance in less than three minutes.

"I need to be in my best condition when I see Sasuke. You wouldn't understand." Sakura Haruno adjusted the pink headband on top of her head in the mirror, then smiled in satisfaction. "As expected of Konoha's prettiest female ninja. Let's go!"

The two slowly arrived at Konoha Hospital, only to find Sasuke Uchiha's bed completely empty when they reached the ward.

"Miss Nurse, where did the patient in this room go?" Naruto Uzumaki stopped a nurse who was changing medicine nearby.

"Sasuke Uchiha? Someone took him to check out last night. The discharge papers are even posted on the door." The nurse replied without turning around.

"He checked out?" Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno simultaneously looked at the form on the door.

The signature read Kakashi Hatake?

"Kakashi-sensei took Sasuke away? That doesn't make sense!" Naruto Uzumaki was dumbfounded. He had visited Sasuke at the hospital just yesterday during the day, and Kakashi-sensei had still been keeping watch at his bedside then.

But after one day, both of them had vanished?

Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, their students, had not known a thing?

"Where did they go? Would Qingchuan Tianming know?" Sakura Haruno immediately became upset. She had specifically changed into a new headband to see Sasuke today.

"He probably doesn't know. Tianming was summoned to the Konoha office yesterday, so he wasn't with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto Uzumaki analyzed. "Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke probably went off on their own."

"Forget it, I'm leaving." Sakura Haruno's face fell. Ignoring Naruto Uzumaki's attempts to stop her, she turned and left the hospital.

"Sakura, wait for me!" Naruto Uzumaki chased out of the hospital, but Sakura Haruno had already disappeared.

Naruto Uzumaki sighed and decided to head home as well. But just as he turned around, he bumped into someone. The person's stance was so stable that Naruto was sent flying.

"Ah, that hurts, that hurts..." Naruto Uzumaki held his head and looked up, only to see a slender man in round sunglasses standing before him.

"Who are you, mister?"

"I am Ebisu! At Kakashi-sensei's request, I've come to teach you a few things. You are Naruto Uzumaki?" Ebisu asked with a lofty air.

"Ebisu?" Naruto Uzumaki was full of question marks. He had never heard that name at the Ninja Academy.

But after thinking about it, there was no reason for this man to use Kakashi Hatake's name just to mess with him. Since he could not find Kakashi-sensei anyway, having a teacher train him was not bad.

"Fine, then follow me." Ebisu turned and left after saying that. Naruto Uzumaki could only follow him.

The two went all the way to the northern side of Konoha Village. Unlike the dense forests in the south, springs flowed from the low hills here, gathering into pools of all sizes.

"Ebisu-sensei, did you bring me here to take a bath?" Naruto Uzumaki looked at the crystal-clear pools and simply could not think of any related training method.

"Bathing is out of the question. What I'm going to teach you is a whole new realm of chakra control: water walking!" Ebisu tapped his toe against the water and stood gracefully atop its surface.

Naruto Uzumaki: "..."

Though he did not understand what kind of training water walking was supposed to be, Naruto Uzumaki said nothing. He directly gathered chakra beneath his feet and leaped onto the water.

But he had forgotten!

In the Forest of Death, Orochimaru had used the Five Elements Seal on him. The Nine-Tails' chakra could not be used, and Naruto Uzumaki's own chakra was insufficient to sustain water walking.

Splash!

Naruto Uzumaki's attempt ended with a simple fall into the water.

"Kid, study properly!" Ebisu said smugly.

Naruto Uzumaki swam back to shore. Just as he got ready to jump into the water again—

A transparent fishing line, nearly invisible to the naked eye, shot out from behind him, wrapped around Naruto's waist, and yanked him back.

"Who is it?!" Ebisu turned around.

Near the pool behind them stood a man with his back to the two of them, long white hair falling naturally down his back.

The man turned around, and the character for "oil" on his forehead stood out conspicuously.

"Oh, I am Jiraiya."

It was understandable that Karin Uzumaki did not know how to cook.

"Let's clean this up first." Tianming smiled and tossed out a minor Water Release technique, washing the smoke-filled kitchen clean. After tidying it up a little more, it was restored to normal.

"I'm sorry, I'm so useless." Karin Uzumaki blamed herself. She had realized that ever since meeting Qingchuan Tianming, she had become useless.

"Don't say that. Take it slow. If you don't know how, you can learn." Tianming comforted her and wanted to reach out to rub Karin Uzumaki's hair, but his hand stopped short. He worried that such an unintentional gesture might be impolite.

Karin Uzumaki watched Tianming's outstretched hand pause, then stepped forward, grabbed it, and placed it atop her own head. "Did you want to touch my hair?"

"Uh..." Tianming was embarrassed.

"It's okay. I'm willing to do anything you like." Karin Uzumaki spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Ahahaha, that's good." Tianming pulled his hand back like lightning and laughed awkwardly. "Let's cook something to eat."

At the same time, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno were walking toward Konoha Hospital.

Sakura Haruno moved extremely slowly along the way, even stopping in front of shop windows while walking down the street.

"Sakura, weren't we going to visit Sasuke? Why aren't we walking faster?" Naruto Uzumaki was clearly getting anxious.

He was only going this slowly because he was accompanying Sakura Haruno. Naruto could have covered this distance in less than three minutes.

"I need to be in my best condition when I see Sasuke. You wouldn't understand." Sakura Haruno adjusted the pink headband on top of her head in the mirror, then smiled in satisfaction. "As expected of Konoha's prettiest female ninja. Let's go!"

The two slowly arrived at Konoha Hospital, only to find Sasuke Uchiha's bed completely empty when they reached the ward.

"Miss Nurse, where did the patient in this room go?" Naruto Uzumaki stopped a nurse who was changing medicine nearby.

"Sasuke Uchiha? Someone took him to check out last night. The discharge papers are even posted on the door." The nurse replied without turning around.

"He checked out?" Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno simultaneously looked at the form on the door.

The signature read Kakashi Hatake?

"Kakashi-sensei took Sasuke away? That doesn't make sense!" Naruto Uzumaki was dumbfounded. He had visited Sasuke at the hospital just yesterday during the day, and Kakashi-sensei had still been keeping watch at his bedside then.

But after one day, both of them had vanished?

Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, their students, had not known a thing?

"Where did they go? Would Qingchuan Tianming know?" Sakura Haruno immediately became upset. She had specifically changed into a new headband to see Sasuke today.

"He probably doesn't know. Tianming was summoned to the Konoha office yesterday, so he wasn't with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto Uzumaki analyzed. "Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke probably went off on their own."

"Forget it, I'm leaving." Sakura Haruno's face fell. Ignoring Naruto Uzumaki's attempts to stop her, she turned and left the hospital.

"Sakura, wait for me!" Naruto Uzumaki chased out of the hospital, but Sakura Haruno had already disappeared.

Naruto Uzumaki sighed and decided to head home as well. But just as he turned around, he bumped into someone. The person's stance was so stable that Naruto was sent flying.

"Ah, that hurts, that hurts..." Naruto Uzumaki held his head and looked up, only to see a slender man in round sunglasses standing before him.

"Who are you, mister?"

"I am Ebisu! At Kakashi-sensei's request, I've come to teach you a few things. You are Naruto Uzumaki?" Ebisu asked with a lofty air.

"Ebisu?" Naruto Uzumaki was full of question marks. He had never heard that name at the Ninja Academy.

But after thinking about it, there was no reason for this man to use Kakashi Hatake's name just to mess with him. Since he could not find Kakashi-sensei anyway, having a teacher train him was not bad.

"Fine, then follow me." Ebisu turned and left after saying that. Naruto Uzumaki could only follow him.

The two went all the way to the northern side of Konoha Village. Unlike the dense forests in the south, springs flowed from the low hills here, gathering into pools of all sizes.

"Ebisu-sensei, did you bring me here to take a bath?" Naruto Uzumaki looked at the crystal-clear pools and simply could not think of any related training method.

"Bathing is out of the question. What I'm going to teach you is a whole new realm of chakra control: water walking!" Ebisu tapped his toe against the water and stood gracefully atop its surface.

Naruto Uzumaki: "..."

Though he did not understand what kind of training water walking was supposed to be, Naruto Uzumaki said nothing. He directly gathered chakra beneath his feet and leaped onto the water.

But he had forgotten!

In the Forest of Death, Orochimaru had used the Five Elements Seal on him. The Nine-Tails' chakra could not be used, and Naruto Uzumaki's own chakra was insufficient to sustain water walking.

Splash!

Naruto Uzumaki's attempt ended with a simple fall into the water.

"Kid, study properly!" Ebisu said smugly.

Naruto Uzumaki swam back to shore. Just as he got ready to jump into the water again—

A transparent fishing line, nearly invisible to the naked eye, shot out from behind him, wrapped around Naruto's waist, and yanked him back.

"Who is it?!" Ebisu turned around.

Near the pool behind them stood a man with his back to the two of them, long white hair falling naturally down his back.

The man turned around, and the character for "oil" on his forehead stood out conspicuously.

"Oh, I am Jiraiya."

It was understandable that Karin Uzumaki did not know how to cook.

"Let's clean this up first." Tianming smiled and tossed out a minor Water Release technique, washing the smoke-filled kitchen clean. After tidying it up a little more, it was restored to normal.

"I'm sorry, I'm so useless." Karin Uzumaki blamed herself. She had realized that ever since meeting Qingchuan Tianming, she had become useless.

"Don't say that. Take it slow. If you don't know how, you can learn." Tianming comforted her and wanted to reach out to rub Karin Uzumaki's hair, but his hand stopped short. He worried that such an unintentional gesture might be impolite.

Karin Uzumaki watched Tianming's outstretched hand pause, then stepped forward, grabbed it, and placed it atop her own head. "Did you want to touch my hair?"

"Uh..." Tianming was embarrassed.

"It's okay. I'm willing to do anything you like." Karin Uzumaki spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Ahahaha, that's good." Tianming pulled his hand back like lightning and laughed awkwardly. "Let's cook something to eat."

At the same time, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno were walking toward Konoha Hospital.

Sakura Haruno moved extremely slowly along the way, even stopping in front of shop windows while walking down the street.

"Sakura, weren't we going to visit Sasuke? Why aren't we walking faster?" Naruto Uzumaki was clearly getting anxious.

He was only going this slowly because he was accompanying Sakura Haruno. Naruto could have covered this distance in less than three minutes.

"I need to be in my best condition when I see Sasuke. You wouldn't understand." Sakura Haruno adjusted the pink headband on top of her head in the mirror, then smiled in satisfaction. "As expected of Konoha's prettiest female ninja. Let's go!"

The two slowly arrived at Konoha Hospital, only to find Sasuke Uchiha's bed completely empty when they reached the ward.

"Miss Nurse, where did the patient in this room go?" Naruto Uzumaki stopped a nurse who was changing medicine nearby.

"Sasuke Uchiha? Someone took him to check out last night. The discharge papers are even posted on the door." The nurse replied without turning around.

"He checked out?" Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno simultaneously looked at the form on the door.

The signature read Kakashi Hatake?

"Kakashi-sensei took Sasuke away? That doesn't make sense!" Naruto Uzumaki was dumbfounded. He had visited Sasuke at the hospital just yesterday during the day, and Kakashi-sensei had still been keeping watch at his bedside then.

But after one day, both of them had vanished?

Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, their students, had not known a thing?

"Where did they go? Would Qingchuan Tianming know?" Sakura Haruno immediately became upset. She had specifically changed into a new headband to see Sasuke today.

"He probably doesn't know. Tianming was summoned to the Konoha office yesterday, so he wasn't with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto Uzumaki analyzed. "Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke probably went off on their own."

"Forget it, I'm leaving." Sakura Haruno's face fell. Ignoring Naruto Uzumaki's attempts to stop her, she turned and left the hospital.

"Sakura, wait for me!" Naruto Uzumaki chased out of the hospital, but Sakura Haruno had already disappeared.

Naruto Uzumaki sighed and decided to head home as well. But just as he turned around, he bumped into someone. The person's stance was so stable that Naruto was sent flying.

"Ah, that hurts, that hurts..." Naruto Uzumaki held his head and looked up, only to see a slender man in round sunglasses standing before him.

"Who are you, mister?"

"I am Ebisu! At Kakashi-sensei's request, I've come to teach you a few things. You are Naruto Uzumaki?" Ebisu asked with a lofty air.

"Ebisu?" Naruto Uzumaki was full of question marks. He had never heard that name at the Ninja Academy.

But after thinking about it, there was no reason for this man to use Kakashi Hatake's name just to mess with him. Since he could not find Kakashi-sensei anyway, having a teacher train him was not bad.

"Fine, then follow me." Ebisu turned and left after saying that. Naruto Uzumaki could only follow him.

The two went all the way to the northern side of Konoha Village. Unlike the dense forests in the south, springs flowed from the low hills here, gathering into pools of all sizes.

"Ebisu-sensei, did you bring me here to take a bath?" Naruto Uzumaki looked at the crystal-clear pools and simply could not think of any related training method.

"Bathing is out of the question. What I'm going to teach you is a whole new realm of chakra control: water walking!" Ebisu tapped his toe against the water and stood gracefully atop its surface.

Naruto Uzumaki: "..."

Though he did not understand what kind of training water walking was supposed to be, Naruto Uzumaki said nothing. He directly gathered chakra beneath his feet and leaped onto the water.

But he had forgotten!

In the Forest of Death, Orochimaru had used the Five Elements Seal on him. The Nine-Tails' chakra could not be used, and Naruto Uzumaki's own chakra was insufficient to sustain water walking.

Splash!

Naruto Uzumaki's attempt ended with a simple fall into the water.

"Kid, study properly!" Ebisu said smugly.

Naruto Uzumaki swam back to shore. Just as he got ready to jump into the water again—

A transparent fishing line, nearly invisible to the naked eye, shot out from behind him, wrapped around Naruto's waist, and yanked him back.

"Who is it?!" Ebisu turned around.

Near the pool behind them stood a man with his back to the two of them, long white hair falling naturally down his back.

The man turned around, and the character for "oil" on his forehead stood out conspicuously.

"Oh, I am Jiraiya."