"My name is Ebisu, and I am Konohamaru's private tutor. I know practically every jonin in Konoha, so why have I never heard of you?" Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses and spoke with immense conceit.
"Oh? Is being Konohamaru's private tutor such a big deal?" Rather than getting angry, Jiraiya teased him.
"You clearly don't know anything. Konohamaru is a future successor to the Hokage!" Ebisu declared shamelessly. His sense of superiority always came from Konohamaru.
"Is Konoha getting a new Hokage?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
"Tch!" Jiraiya's reaction infuriated Ebisu. "An outstanding private tutor has no need to boast about his credentials or his students, but given your ignorance, I'll tell you."
"Konohamaru is the eldest grandson of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi!" By the time he finished, Ebisu was practically floating with pride. He could hardly wait to hear Jiraiya sing his praises.
"Since you're so outstanding, you should be able to undo the Five Elements Seal Technique on this kid, right?" Jiraiya flicked his wrist and lifted his fishing rod, dragging Naruto Uzumaki over.
"Hey, if you two want to argue, can you let me go first?" Naruto Uzumaki complained, but no matter how hard he struggled, the fishing line refused to break!
"Are you trying to push your luck?" Ebisu snapped out of his daze. This man had suddenly interfered, offered no apology, and even snatched his student right in front of him?
"What Five Elements Seal Technique? I've never even heard of it. Don't make me use force!" Ebisu strode toward him as he spoke. He swore that if this fellow dared make a move, he would make him regret it.
Boom! Boom!
Just then, a thunderous rumble came from the pool behind Jiraiya. The water surged into the air as an enormous figure burst through the surface. The force unleashed with his appearance swept outward with the water, blasting Ebisu clean out of sight.
"Aaaah! What a huge toad!" Naruto Uzumaki stared, dumbfounded. When had he ever seen anything like this? A single entrance had blown a jonin away.
"Rude little brat!" Gamabunta grunted around the pipe in his mouth. "Jiraiya, are you sure you've got the right person? This kid looks like a total weakling."
"There's no mistake." Jiraiya set down his fishing rod, and the line binding Naruto Uzumaki immediately loosened.
"Kid, I can teach you a few tricks. Want to learn?"
"Can I learn that?" Naruto Uzumaki wasn't intimidated. This giant toad clearly had a close relationship with Jiraiya, so just how powerful was the man himself?
"Before you learn anything, we need to undo the seal!" Jiraiya pressed his hand against Naruto Uzumaki's abdomen. As a stream of chakra entered him, the Five Elements Seal Technique on his body came undone with ease.
Naruto Uzumaki felt the chakra inside him flow much more smoothly. He immediately slid to his knees in a perfect kneeling salute. "Master, your disciple, Naruto Uzumaki..."
"Stop!" Jiraiya waved a hand. "I never said I'd take you as my student. If you want to earn my approval, go play in the water with Gamabunta." With that, Jiraiya got up, walked over to the little wooden cabin nearby, and began eating peanuts at the doorway.
Naruto Uzumaki looked at Gamabunta and gritted his teeth. "Bring it on! How do we play?"
Meanwhile, above a ravine somewhere on the outskirts of Konoha, Kakashi Hatake stood atop a lone peak.
A rustling sound came from near his feet. A bedraggled Sasuke Uchiha was struggling to climb the peak beneath the blazing sun.
"How many times now?" Kakashi Hatake hadn't taken his eyes off Icha Icha Paradise.
"The... twenty-second!" Sasuke Uchiha remained as sparing with words as ever.
Crack!
Without warning, Kakashi Hatake stamped his foot! The rock Sasuke Uchiha was gripping shattered instantly, sending him falling once again.
"Again!!"
After leaving Konoha Hospital the previous night, Kakashi Hatake had brought Sasuke Uchiha here.
There was only one thing to do here: climb. Every time Sasuke Uchiha was about to reach the summit, Kakashi Hatake kicked him back down.
Kakashi Hatake offered no explanation, and Sasuke Uchiha didn't ask.
The two had spent the entire night like that.
A little while later, Sasuke Uchiha climbed back to the same spot. "Twenty-three!"
After calling out the number, Sasuke Uchiha let go, ready to fall, only for Kakashi Hatake to grab him and haul him up.
"Do you know why I made you climb, then kicked you back down?" Kakashi Hatake asked.
"Hah... hah... hah... No." Sasuke Uchiha gulped down air.
"Because I felt like it." Kakashi Hatake's answers were as punch-worthy as ever.
Even with Sasuke Uchiha's temperament, that was hard to stomach.
"That's it! That's the feeling!" Kakashi Hatake suddenly began clapping. "Hatred is the driving force behind growing stronger. You carry the Uchiha Clan's blood debt, but you keep it buried too deep. How can you get stronger if you don't let it out?"
"What are you trying to say, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke Uchiha didn't want to discuss this subject.
Without a word, Kakashi Hatake punched Sasuke Uchiha in the abdomen. Sasuke cried out and collapsed onto the ground.
"Sasuke, this is the downside of burying your hatred. If you want to get stronger, you have to unleash it!"
Before you continue