Pervy Sage Jiraiya

"Kakashi, I'm leaving Sasuke to you! This scroll will help you too!" Uchiha Yoru tossed him a scroll on Ninjutsu derived from Chidori.

"Yoru, where are you going?" Sasuke Uchiha asked. Weren't they both members of the Uchiha Clan? Shouldn't Yoru be teaching him?

"I'm taking Naruto to find his teacher!"

"You're not going to teach me yourself?" Naruto Uzumaki complained.

"Do I look like I have that much free time?"

Uchiha Yoru poked Naruto's little head.

"Don't you?"

"Where's my teacher?"

"Stop asking! We're almost there! This is the last bathhouse!"

"Is my teacher bathing inside?"

Uchiha Yoru just smiled and said nothing.

"Found him!"

Uchiha Yoru pointed to a white-haired figure lurking suspiciously outside the women's bathhouse.

"How can he spy on the women's bathhouse?"

"Wind Release: Beast Wind Palm!"

Brimming with righteous indignation, Naruto Uzumaki struck with his palm. A massive Wind Release palm print hurtled toward the white-haired figure.

It sent him crashing straight into the women's bathhouse.

"Pervert!"

"You dirty old man!"

"Get out!"

Jiraiya: So white...

"Well, you've gotten to know each other now! Jiraiya, I'm leaving Naruto to you!" Uchiha Yoru said, looking at Jiraiya's battered, bruised face.

"Him? That little brat!"

"Dirty old man!"

"Naruto Uzumaki, don't say that. He was the Fourth Hokage's teacher, one of the Sannin, a disciple of the Third Hokage, the author of Icha Icha Paradise, a dirty old lecher who spies on the women's bathhouse every day—the Pervy Sage himself!"

Jiraiya nodded and smiled at Uchiha Yoru's introduction, though something about it felt off.

"Him? No way! I want to train with you!"

"Jiraiya, he's all yours. I still need my afternoon nap." Uchiha Yoru yawned.

Jiraiya folded his arms. "Why should I? I haven't agreed to take this brat!"

"Konoha owes him. If it weren't for Konoha, his father wouldn't have died! And do you know what Naruto's life has been like all these years? You bear some responsibility for it!"

Uchiha Yoru spoke furiously, recounting every hardship Naruto had suffered over the years.

"How could that old man, the Third Hokage, do this?" Jiraiya was furious. He had let the child of a hero live like that. The inheritance Minato had left behind alone was enough for Naruto to stay home and live comfortably every day without ever becoming a Ninja.

Of course, Naruto couldn't be allowed to hear any of this openly. Uchiha Yoru had pulled Jiraiya aside to tell him.

"Tell me you weren't part of the reason. If you'd stayed in Konoha, Naruto wouldn't have had to live like that!"

Jiraiya had no answer. Guilt washed over him.

After Orochimaru and Tsunade left, he hadn't stayed in Konoha either.

And Naruto's childhood had turned out so miserable.

"Ah, well! From now on, I, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, will teach you!"

"Pervy Sage!"

"Toad Sage!"

"Pervy Sage!"

"I said I'm the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku! Got it?"

"Got it, Pervy Sage!"

Watching the two bicker like children, Uchiha Yoru rubbed his forehead helplessly. "You know what to teach him. Don't forget the Rasengan and Summoning Technique..."

At this point, Jiraiya had only taught Naruto the Summoning Technique. He hadn't even bothered with the Rasengan!

This time, Naruto was up against Sasuke, who had already learned Chidori and even mastered a whole series of Ninjutsu derived from it. If Naruto didn't step up, Sasuke would leave him far behind.

And so the days ahead went like this...

"Sasuke, Naruto's already learned an A-rank Ninjutsu. How come you still haven't mastered Chidori?"

"I'll master it faster than him!"

"Naruto, Sasuke says you're an idiot and don't deserve Sakura!"

"Sasuke, Haku went to see Naruto and brought him food. He says he thinks you're a complete loser!"

"Sasuke's mastered every Ninjutsu in the Chidori school. What about you? You can't even manage a little Summoning Technique!"

...Throughout the break, both boys threw themselves into training, itching to show the other what they could do!

At Orochimaru's hideout, another person slowly approached.

"Lord Orochimaru, I want revenge!"

It was the injured Dosu. The place also served as a contact point for the Sound Ninja, making it convenient for Orochimaru to assign missions.

After that day, he had obtained two scrolls and chosen to enter the next round of selection!

But against Naruto Uzumaki in that state, he knew he had no chance of winning. After thinking it over, he concluded that only Orochimaru could help him.

"I want to kill Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Do you think I'll help you?" Orochimaru said without looking up from his work at the Experiment Table.

"I'll endure any experiment! As long as I get to kill Naruto Uzumaki!" Dosu dropped to his knees and pleaded desperately.

He had always wanted to escape Orochimaru's control. He had never imagined he would end up like this.

"Experiments? If you think you can handle them, we can give it a try!" Orochimaru turned around, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he spoke to Dosu.

He hadn't expected one of his Sound Ninja to care so deeply about a teammate.

"But I can't guarantee you'll survive!"

Dosu obediently lay down on the Experiment Table. He had expected Orochimaru's warning. Metal restraints emerged around him and bound his limbs tightly.

"Aah! Aah! Aah! Aah!"

Dosu's screams filled the entire laboratory.

On the day of the selection matches, the crowd roared and the stands were packed.

The Kazekage and the Hokage sat on a higher platform to watch the matches. Beside the Hokage stood someone in a cat-faced mask, radiating a Kage Level presence as a warning to anyone who might cause trouble.

"I didn't expect nearly every team in this round to be from Konoha. Your village truly has an abundance of talent!" The Kazekage, disguised by Orochimaru, spoke pointedly, as though implying Konoha had pulled strings to get its own Ninja into the final round.

"Not at all! The children earned their places through their own efforts!"

"Sarutobi, why don't you introduce the person beside you?"

"A candidate for Next Hokage, and a genius of the Uchiha Clan!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said proudly. "What about you, Kazekage? Have you chosen your successor? Or is there so little talent in your village that you can't find anyone?"

The Kazekage froze, as if the Hokage had struck a nerve. Suppressing his irritation, he said, "I'm still young. There's no rush."

"You should choose someone all the same. Who knows? You might depart before I do. It would be a shame if your village had no one to serve as Kazekage," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied, his words barbed.

"That's not necessarily so!"

"The matches are starting. Let's watch," the Kazekage said.

The first match was about to begin: Naruto Uzumaki versus Sasuke Uchiha!