A New Look for Konoha

The morning mist had yet to fully clear from Konoha's training ground.

Yet a blond figure sneaked furtively inside, wearing a rather ridiculous dark hood that left only his two blue eyes exposed as he glanced warily around.

Jiraiya, who had been waiting in the middle of the field, nearly spat out his sake when he saw Naruto's getup.

He suppressed his laughter and asked with feigned seriousness, "Hey, Naruto, what's this new look? Are you heading out on some S-rank infiltration mission?"

At the sight of Jiraiya, Naruto looked as though he had found his savior. He yanked off the hood, his face full of hurt and frustration, and began pouring out his grievances:

"Pervy Sage! You're finally here! You have no idea! Yesterday, for some reason, I kept feeling people secretly brushing against me when I walked down the street!

"And people were whispering behind my back about 'Naruto cells' this and 'Naruto cells' that!

"Even worse, someone just pretended to fall over and yanked out several strands of my hair! It hurt like crazy!"

He rubbed his head indignantly. "What is wrong with them? It's so annoying!"

Jiraiya froze for a moment at his words. Then, seemingly realizing something, a flicker of understanding crossed his eyes. He burst out laughing and vigorously ruffled Naruto's messy hair.

"Hahaha! It means you're getting more famous, kid! Soon everyone in Konoha will adore you! This is the price of fame, Naruto!"

Cloning technology? Jiraiya wondered. His smile remained unchanged, but his gaze grew a little more thoughtful.

It looks like the Canopy Screen's influence has already begun to show. Orochimaru was obsessed with forbidden techniques and the mysteries of life years ago.

*Perhaps some of his seemingly insane ideas and experiments weren't entirely meaningless. Could he even have been ahead