Shihōin Naraku stopped Tsunade from assigning Jiraiya a mission. Faced with the others' puzzled looks, he explained.
"You've only just returned, so you don't know yet. Naruto Uzumaki's training succeeded, and the new Ninjutsu he developed is incredibly powerful..."
"Right, speaking of that, we still don't know exactly what happened." Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi Hatake all grew interested.
They had only just returned to the village and had not witnessed Naruto's new Ninjutsu themselves. Now that Naraku had brought it up, their interest was immediately piqued.
What made them even more curious was that Naraku himself had emphasized how powerful Naruto's new Ninjutsu was.
"Yes, it really is powerful. But it's too powerful-even Naruto can't withstand the damage from his new Ninjutsu..."
Huh?
What did that mean?
Faced with everyone's questions, Naraku briefly explained the awkward situation Naruto was in.
"So that's how it is." Tsunade nodded thoughtfully. Naraku's medical expertise was already beyond her ability to question.
Since even Naraku had said it was that serious, that had to be the case.
"Isn't there another way?"
Jiraiya and Kakashi frowned in unison. Even though they had yet to see Naruto, they could already imagine him loudly complaining.
"Of course there is!"
Fortunately, Naraku answered promptly, making both Jiraiya and Kakashi breathe sighs of relief. Thankfully, there was a way to solve the problem. Otherwise, neither of them would have known how to face Naruto.
"That's why I stopped Lady Tsunade just now." Naraku spread his hands and told them, "Master Jiraiya, take Naruto to Mount Myōboku."
"Hm?"
Jiraiya froze for a moment, then caught on. "You mean..."
Seeing Jiraiya trail off, Naraku nodded, confirming that he had guessed correctly.
"Now? Isn't it a little too early... Can Naruto master it?"
The others were still somewhat confused. Only Tsunade understood