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Chapter 2: Entering Konoha!
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Almost time to storm the ANBU headquarters and kick Danzō's head in.
"Oof—" Lost in his excitement, Sōma Shō wasn't watching where he was going and walked straight into Naruto. Unexpectedly, being about the same height, their lips met directly!
"What!?" Naruto leaped back, clutching his throat and kneeling on the ground, gagging. Sōma Shō finally snapped back to reality too—he didn't just gag, he actually threw up!
"I've navigated the nightlife scene for years, and today I end up kissing a guy!?" Sōma Shō screamed internally.
"Kid, don't tell me you swing that way…" Jiraiya's eyes widened at the scene. What on earth was this guy doing?
"What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto gagged for a moment, then jumped up and yelled furiously at Sōma Shō. Luckily, Naruto already had prior experience kissing a guy; otherwise, he definitely would have hurled.
"What do you mean, what am I doing… Why'd you stop and turn around?!" Sōma Shō also got to his feet, wiping his mouth with his sleeve and yelling back at Naruto.
"And now you're blaming me!?" Hearing Sōma Shō's words, Naruto got even angrier and moved closer.
"Am I the one leading the way?!" Sōma Shō shouted back, moving towards Naruto as well. The two were head-to-head, looking like they might start throwing punches any second.
"Are you two planning to kiss again?" Seeing this, Jiraiya smacked both of them on the head. They both crumpled to the ground. "Alright, cut it out. Konoha's just ahead."
Jiraiya then pulled them both up. "Just in case, I'll hold onto him." He took the rope from Naruto and continued walking forward. Naruto and Sōma Shō quickly followed.
Along the way, Naruto kept glancing back at Sōma Shō with indignation, while Sōma Shō glared back, grinding his teeth. Other people transmigrate into the anime world to conquer sexy older women and cute girls. But him? The first thing he does is kiss Naruto! This was truly the pinnacle of shame for a transmigrator.
They didn't walk much farther before the gates of Konoha Village came into view. Naruto's mood instantly improved, and he stopped looking back at Sōma Shō.
Sōma Shō also gazed at the Konoha gate. This was way cooler than seeing it in the anime. Only when facing it directly did he realize just how massive the gate was. It was morning, a gentle breeze rustled through the forest—shhh, shhh—combined with the sight of the gate, it gave off a feeling of peaceful times.
"Keep moving." Jiraiya noticed Sōma Shō spacing out and tugged the rope, making him take a couple of steps forward. Sōma Shō followed. Inadvertently, he glanced down at Jiraiya's feet, and the next moment, his own gait became identical to Jiraiya's!
'Is this the power of maxed-out Learning Ability?' Sōma Shō thought. 'This is insane! Learned his walk with just one look. Will it be the same for learning ninjutsu?'
Entering Konoha Village, the two gate guards were dozing off. Sōma Shō glanced over—weren't those Konoha's eternal gatekeepers, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki. Seeing Naruto and Jiraiya enter, they stood up excitedly.
"Hey… isn't that…" Kotetsu looked at Naruto and Jiraiya, his eyes full of excitement.
"Yeah, no mistake," Izumo nodded happily.
Seeing their reaction, and recalling the earlier conversation between Naruto and Jiraiya, plus Naruto's current appearance, Sōma Shō quickly figured it out. This was the beginning of Naruto Shippuden—the moment Naruto and Jiraiya finished their training and had just returned to Konoha.
"Been about two and a half years since I was last back, huh?" Naruto remarked with emotion as they walked down the street.
"Yeah," Jiraiya nodded.
"Two and a half years?" Hearing those words, Sōma Shō didn't know what possessed him, but his shoulders instinctively thrust forward slightly in a weird, brief twist. Realizing it looked odd, Sōma Shō quickly stopped himself.
Just then, Naruto suddenly stopped in front of a utility pole, dropped his backpack, channeled chakra to his feet, and ran straight up the pole.
By observing Naruto's movements, Sōma Shō instantly learned how to use chakra and adhere it to surfaces—even the method for refining chakra popped directly into his mind.
Only… "Is learning chakra control from Naruto really a good idea…?" Sōma Shō thought uneasily. The next moment, he tried channeling chakra to his own feet. Being his first time using chakra, he lost control slightly—BOOM! The ground beneath him collapsed, creating a huge crater under Sōma Shō and Jiraiya.
Jiraiya stared wide-eyed at Sōma Shō. "You kid! Did you do this?!"
"Of course not! I don't even have chakra!" Sōma Shō quickly denied. "The ground here in Konoha isn't very sturdy, is it?"
'This modifier is too damn awesome,' Sōma Shō thought excitedly. 'Just one look, and I know everything about using chakra. And just using a tiny bit of strength cracked the ground… conquering the ninja world is just around the corner!'
"Everyone, Uzumaki Naruto is back!" Naruto shouted from the top of the pole, apparently not noticing the situation below. His yell attracted the attention of many passersby. At this point, Naruto hadn't yet become Konoha's hero; many still looked at him with disgust, and no one responded.
"Naruto? Is that you, Naruto?" Not far away, a girl with pink hair ran towards them. Sōma Shō looked—it was Sakura. Following behind her was the Konohamaru trio. Seeing her in person, Sakura was actually quite easy on the eyes.
Naruto jumped down, only then noticing the huge crater at Sōma Shō's feet, and looked at him quizzically.
"Strange… this guy really doesn't have any chakra. Could the ground really be that old and worn out?" Jiraiya probed Sōma Shō again, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
"Who's this?" Before Sakura and Naruto could catch up, their attention turned to Sōma Shō. His clothes were ragged, he was covered in dirt, and his hair looked like it hadn't been cut in ages—he looked like a total vagrant.
"A weird guy we picked up on the way back. We're taking him to Granny Tsunade," Naruto glanced at Sōma Shō and explained to Sakura.
"Big Bro Naruto!" Konohamaru called out from the side. Naruto turned to look at him.
Poof!
Konohamaru used the Sexy Jutsu, transforming into a curvy, voluptuous woman wearing barely any cloth.
"Whoa!!" Jiraiya's blood pressure instantly spiked, his eyes bulging.
"Not bad at all!" Sōma Shō exclaimed appreciatively upon seeing it. At the same time, his brain recorded the Sexy Jutsu—along with its prerequisite, the Transformation Jutsu!