Why Waste Time? Let's Learn Sage Mode Directly

"Holy shit!"

Jiraiya's soul nearly flew out of his body.

The little notebook in his hand smacked against the top of the wall with a slap, black ink flowing through the gaps between the bricks and leaving behind a suspiciously sleazy trail.

He did not even dare turn his head. He reached back, grabbed Naruto by the collar, and took off running. He moved so fast that even his afterimages overlapped into two layers.

"Run, kid! If they catch us, we're both dead!"

Naruto stumbled as he was dragged along, nearly face-planting into the ground.

Covering his face, he cursed Jiraiya's entire ancestral line, along with every toad on Mount Myōboku.

Who the hell did I provoke?!

I was just passing by! Just passing by!

You got caught peeping, so why are you dragging me down with you?!

Now it's over! The whole village saw us!

My reputation as Naruto Uzumaki, the man who killed without blinking, hasn't been cleared up yet—and now I'm going to gain a dark stain in my history for "peeping into the women's bathhouse with an old pervert"!

My lifelong reputation, ruined in a single day!

Behind them, the bathhouse doors were smashed apart with a loud crash.

Countless women wrapped in bath towels rushed out like maniacs. They carried washboards, brooms, dripping towels, and one of them was even holding a showerhead she had just torn off.

"Jiraiya, you old bastard!"

"Didn't you die outside the village a few days ago?! How did you come back from the dead to plague us again?!"

"Catch him! Break his third leg!"

"And that blond kid too! One look tells me he's no good! He's in this with him! Beat them both!"

Rotten vegetable leaves, tomatoes, and stinking eggs rained down on them.

Jiraiya dodged left and right with fluid movements, yet still remembered to use Naruto as a shield in front of him.

"Hey! Old man! You're going too far!" Naruto roared as he tilted his head aside to dodge a flying washboard.

"What's wrong with young people blocking a few hits? Don't you know to respect the elderly and care for the young?" Jiraiya said righteously. "Besides, who told you to yell my name just now?"

Naruto: "..."

Why, thank you so much.

The entire street exploded into chaos.

The apple vendor's basket overturned right in her hands, apples rolling all over the ground.

"Oh my god! Isn't that Naruto Uzumaki? Why is he with that old hooligan?!"

"It's over, it's over! People already said he was mentally disturbed, and now he's even learned to peep!"

"No wonder he killed those Hidden Grass Village ninjas yesterday without batting an eye. So he learned from someone so indecent!"

The ladle in Teuchi's hand clanged into the pot. Watching the two fleeing figures, the corner of his mouth twitched.

The waiter beside him whispered, "Boss, should we save Naruto a bowl of ramen? He looks pretty tired from all that running."

Teuchi: "...Let's first see whether he gets beaten to death."

Shikamaru and Choji had just bought some chips and stood dumbfounded at the roadside.

The chips in Choji's mouth fell out. "Shikamaru... is that Naruto?"

Shikamaru covered his forehead, looking utterly done with life. "Yeah... what a pain. I should've known better than to leave the house."

Ino let out a scream. "Oh my god! Naruto actually peeped with Lord Jiraiya! I misjudged him!"

Naruto covered his face, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

Now he truly understood what formidable women were.

So what if Jiraiya was one of the Three Sannin?

In front of Konoha's housewives, he still had to run with his tail between his legs!

The two of them ran out of Konoha in one breath, then sprinted another three miles before they finally stopped after the furious shouting behind them could no longer be heard.

Jiraiya braced himself against a tree, gasping for breath.

He straightened his messy hair, dusted off his clothes, and forcibly struck what he thought was a dashing, handsome pose.

"Whew... good thing this old man ran fast."

He raised his brows smugly and looked at Naruto.

"It seems you've heard of me—the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and brushed rotten leaves and tomato juice from his clothes.

He had heard.

He had heard all too well.

Konoha's number one pervert, the grandmaster of peeping, Mount Myōboku's Peeping Sage—who had not heard of him?

Kurama was rolling around on the floor of the seal space, laughing wildly.

"Hahahahahaha! Serves you right! You were acting all cool just now, and now they think you're his accomplice!"

"Shut up!" Naruto roared inwardly. "Laugh again, and next time I'll throw you out to block washboards!"

Jiraiya did not notice Naruto's expression. He pulled out a yellowed scroll from his robes and waved it smugly.

"Since you've heard of the great Jiraiya, I'll be the one to train you from now on!"

"Follow me, and I guarantee that one day you'll surpass the Hokage and become Konoha's strongest ninja!"

Naruto curled his lip disdainfully.

"Learn how to peep on those fierce women like you? I'm not interested."

Jiraiya's old face reddened as he scratched his head awkwardly.

"What nonsense are you talking about?! I'm a great artist seeking inspiration! What would a little brat like you know?!"

"It's all for writing the timeless Icha Icha Paradise! What's a little sacrifice of dignity?"

Naruto did not actually dislike the old man.

He could sense that Jiraiya bore him no ill will. Instead, there was something warm about him.

Like... a father.

He fell silent for several seconds, then straightened up and gave Jiraiya a deep bow.

"In that case, Teacher Jiraiya, Naruto Uzumaki, reporting for duty!"

"But what are you going to teach me?"

Jiraiya's eyes lit up, and he immediately perked up.

With a swish, he unfurled the scroll.

"This is a Summoning Technique contract passed down through my family for generations, signed with the toads of Mount Myōboku."

"Use your blood to sign your name on it, then press your five fingers down for a handprint."

"I'll teach you the Summoning Technique, so you can summon powerful toads to fight for you!"

Naruto raised a brow but did not take the contract.

He bit his right index finger, and blood seeped out.

His hands rapidly formed seals.

Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram!

"Summoning Technique!"

"Poof!"

A massive cloud of white smoke exploded outward.

Amid the billowing smoke, a gigantic toad more than ten meters tall appeared before them.

Gamabunta held an enormous pipe in his mouth. He blew out a smoke ring and looked at Naruto impatiently.

"You again, kid?"

"What is it this time? If it's nothing, I'm going back to sleep. The lady toads of Mount Myōboku are still waiting for me."

Jiraiya: "..."

The contract in his hand dropped to the ground with a slap.

Gama... Gamabunta???

How could he summon Gamabunta???

Even back then, he had exhausted every possible effort and fought Gamabunta before earning his recognition!

How old was this kid???

Naruto waved a hand and released the Summoning Technique.

The white smoke dissipated, and Gamabunta vanished.

He looked at the petrified Jiraiya and spoke calmly.

"What else?"

Jiraiya swallowed hard and forced himself to recover from his shock.

He picked up the contract, stuffed it into his robes, and cleared his throat.

"Ahem... the Summoning Technique is only the foundation."

"I also have a secret technique here. It was created by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Its attack power is astonishing, and it is said to be unstoppable..."

Before he could finish speaking—

Naruto raised his right hand.

He did not form a single seal.

Azure chakra rapidly spun in his palm, emitting a humming roar.

Rasengan.

Activated at zero frames.

The chakra's fluctuations blew the surrounding leaves into a rustling dance.

Naruto looked at the stunned Jiraiya, a faint smile curling his lips.

"And then?"

Jiraiya's mentality completely collapsed.

He stared at the spinning Rasengan in Naruto's hand, then at Naruto's infuriating face.

What kind of monster was this???

He was even more outrageous than his father!!!

And how could he summon Gamabunta?! Who taught him?!

Could Minato's spirit have appeared???

Kurama slapped the floor in the seal space as he laughed.

"Hahahahaha! Look how badly this old man's been scared!"

"If Minato knew his son was this monstrous, he'd probably laugh himself awake in his grave!"

Naruto dispersed the Rasengan and clapped his hands.

"No need to play these children's games."

"If you ask me, we might as well train Sage Mode directly."

Jiraiya abruptly raised his head.

The sleazy look and shock vanished from his face.

His eyes became incomparably sharp, like two unsheathed blades.

He sized Naruto up from head to toe as if he were meeting him for the first time.

The surrounding air instantly froze.

"You know about Sage Mode?"

"I do." Naruto nodded. "Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu. You absorb natural energy and combine it with your own chakra, greatly increasing your combat power, speed, and recovery."

"And I also know that yours isn't a perfect Sage Mode."

Jiraiya fell silent.

He stared at Naruto for a long, long time.

Then he suddenly burst into laughter.

He laughed so hard that he bent forward and backward, tears nearly spilling from his eyes.

"Good! Very good!"

He forcefully slapped Naruto's shoulder, almost knocking him flat with the sheer force.

"Kakashi told me you were impressive, but I didn't believe him."

"Now that I've seen it, you're even stronger than he said!"

His smile faded, and not a trace of sleaziness remained on his face.

In its place was the solemn majesty of one of the Three Sannin.

He slowly stepped back several paces and assumed a combat stance.

Chakra surged from his body like a tidal wave, pressing the surrounding trees into a slight bend.

"In that case."

"Let's exchange a few moves."

"Let me see just how capable you really are."

"And whether you're qualified to learn Sage Mode."

A bright smile spread across Naruto's face.

Golden chakra slowly flowed around his body like burning flames.

He rolled his wrists, producing a series of cracking sounds.

"Just what I wanted."