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That evening, Naruto trained with a sense of satisfaction. After training together for years, suddenly being without a companion felt awkward.
It was like during summer vacations at home—though he didn't talk much with his parents, once he returned to school, he'd miss them. Of course, it was just a matter of getting used to things. He wasn't incapable of training alone.
But he also needed to learn how to adapt. In the future, Sasuke would leave, and he himself would travel across the entire ninja world with Jiraiya.
Naruto didn't understand politics very well, but he knew that times of regime change were the most unstable. After Tsunade took office, Danzo might take advantage of this transitional period to make moves against the two of them.
Though they wouldn't die, dealing with all sorts of trivial nonsense would still be irritating.
As for Danzo, Naruto had his own plans. If possible, he wanted Sasuke to delay killing Danzo as long as possible.
After the Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, only two people in the whole world would be able to move freely. At that point, who cared about restraint?
By then, Naruto would bring Sasuke right next to Danzo, who'd still be trapped in the dream.
"Brother, this is Danzo."
"I know."
"I've got a Sage Art Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken technique I want to test out."
"I've got an Indra's Arrow technique I want to try too."
"Let's face off using Danzo as the boundary and see who's stronger."
If Danzo managed to leave behind even a speck of ash after that, it'd be impressive.
What about Izanagi? Under the suppression of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, he wouldn't even have the chance to activate it.
If anyone asked who killed him, the answer would be Kaguya. If they didn't believe it, they could go ask her themselves.
Even if Danzo were brought back with Edo Tensei, he wouldn't even know how he died.
Madara, Kaguya, himself, and Sasuke—four people's combined power taking down one man. Talk about VIP treatment.
...
The next morning, Sasuke didn't show up again, likely dragged off by Kakashi.
In the afternoon, a group of young women arrived, their intentions obvious.
Naruto was still soaking in the pool.
The young women waited eagerly for Sasuke.
But instead, they were greeted by a white-haired pervert.
"Ah…!"
A chorus of screams rang out, followed by splashing water, the sound of objects being broken, and a man's agonized cries.
Naruto opened his eyes to see a white-haired man dodging attacks from unidentified flying objects around the pool.
It was… Jiraiya!
This time, he'd really caught a big fish.
Naruto wanted to laugh, but at the same time, tears welled up in his eyes.
He remembered watching Boruto: Naruto the Movie multiple times just to catch a glimpse of Jiraiya wielding a Rasengan. Each time, he cried, and so did the people sitting next to him.
Flipping over, he sank into the water to escape the commotion and compose himself.
"A frog at the bottom of a well finally returns to the sea." These were Jiraiya's last words before he died.
But even a dragon eventually returns to the ocean.
Jiraiya's charisma was undeniable—kind, carefree, free-spirited, and bold in battle. His fighting style was grand and unrestrained.
Naruto admired Jiraiya deeply and had always looked forward to meeting him. But now that he was here, Naruto wasn't sure how to face him.
The chaos around him subsided, and then came a splash as someone jumped into the pool.
Opening his eyes underwater, Naruto saw that Jiraiya was already sitting in the pool.
Their gazes met through the ripples, neither clearly visible to the other.
Naruto stood up and moved to another pool.
Though he liked Jiraiya a lot, according to his character setting, he wasn't someone who enjoyed meeting strangers.
Director, I've accepted this scene!
Another splash sounded as Jiraiya followed him into the new pool.
Naruto switched pools again.
"Old man, are you annoying or what?!" Naruto broke the silence first.
"Old… old man…?!" Jiraiya froze mid-jump, slipping and falling back into the pool.
Then came frantic splashing.
Naruto stifled a laugh.
[Character setting, character setting! No box lunch if I mess this up!]
He reminded himself repeatedly, finally managing to twist his expression into one of annoyance.
After floundering for a bit, Jiraiya grabbed onto the edge of the pool, lifted his head, and spat out a stream of water downstream.
"Phew… That was close… So close," Jiraiya patted his chest, pretending to be shaken.
Old man, I beg you, stop messing with me—I still want extra chicken leg in my boxed lunch!
Naruto was holding back laughter, and Jiraiya could tell. He could read every muscle movement on Naruto's body at a glance.
Yesterday, Kakashi had shared some insights into Naruto's personality:
- Disliked strangers. He could handle small groups, but large crowds made him retreat or wear a mask.
- Once familiar, however, he transformed into a completely different person.
- Loved playing around, even when alone. With friends, he became even more lively. But around strangers, he turned distant.
- Had a quirky side, often creating bizarre gadgets and doing inexplicable things.
- Fought until death, among other nuances.
Thus, Jiraiya had chosen to appear as a perverted old man, scaring away the surrounding strangers while simultaneously using humor to lower Naruto's guard.
Could one of the Sannin really fall into the water just because someone called him "old man"? Could he nearly drown in a pool less than half a meter deep? All of it was deliberate.
In other words, Jiraiya was also acting, though his performance leaned toward exaggeration and superficiality.
"Old man, who are you?" Naruto asked, stifling laughter and adopting an annoyed tone.
"What a great question!" Jiraiya exclaimed.
Jumping out of the pool onto the stone ground, he accidentally stepped on his discarded wooden sandals.
You had to give it to ninjas—they could leap directly from water onto land effortlessly, something few others could do.
And ninjas? They made it look easy.
With a slap of his hand, a toad about Naruto's height appeared beneath Jiraiya's feet. Swinging his long hair back dramatically, he stomped forcefully on the toad's head, causing its mouth to twitch.
"I am the Sage Toad Hermit of Mount Myoboku, known as the Toad Sage. Pleased to meet you."
"Oh," Naruto replied, still seated in the shallow pool.
Yes, seated—the pool was that shallow. Hence, Jiraiya's exaggerated flair.
"Oh?" Jiraiya stumbled, the toad vanished, and he fell back into the water.
Climbing out, he spat out another mouthful of water.
"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto offered simply.
"Hey, Naruto, how do you do it?" Jiraiya asked with a lecherous grin.
"Do what?" Naruto frowned, thinking, Who do you think you are, getting so familiar with me? Do we know each other?
"You know, lying in the pool surrounded by a bunch of beautiful young women playing in the water." Jiraiya's expression was wistful—and genuine. He truly yearned for such a scenario.
This was Jiraiya's approach to dealing with Naruto: start casual, keep pushing, and familiarity would naturally follow.
Though Jiraiya didn't know the saying "Strike while the iron's hot," he understood the principle.
"Is that strange?" Naruto flipped over into another pool, lying down as he asked.
Naruto's acting was still on point. They'd just met—how could they be familiar enough to bathe in the same pool?
"Isn't it strange?" This time, Jiraiya didn't follow. Instead, he submerged himself in the water, leaning against the edge of the pool to watch Naruto.
His goal for today had been achieved: an introduction and perhaps a bit of conversation.
"I'm still a kid, you know," Naruto said, unsure why the group of young women hadn't run away. Their gazes were strange—excited yet tinged with disappointment.
"Maybe I'll turn into a kid next time?" Jiraiya asked lecherously.
"Old man, how can you be so perverted?" Naruto exclaimed, shocked. You're thinking of transforming into a child to get closer to women? Are you even human? Why don't you turn into a fish? That'd get you even closer!
"This isn't perversion—it's research! You understand, research!"
"No, I don't. Is this your excuse for being such an old pervert?"
"Life is short—enjoy it while you can!"
"Got it."
Both actors were performing the scene of their first meeting, but as they acted, they became so immersed that genuine emotions began to surface.
Thus, the winner of this year's Golden Horse Award for Best Actor goes to… Kurama!
A fox who portrayed a sleeping orange pig with vividness and lifelike detail, without a single line of dialogue. Even under the pressure of two Shadow Emperors, he fully embodied the essence of his role—fat, orange, and heavy—authentically capturing the life of an orange pig.