Jiraiya said, "Naruto, try to avoid contacting members of the Akatsuki alone in the future. You are indeed very strong among your peers, but they are all S-rank rogue ninjas, and each of them has countless blood on their hands."
"There is only one reason they are targeting you, and that is the Nine-Tails within you. You are Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and you are the Akatsuki's most desired prey."
"If you encounter anyone from the Akatsuki again in the future, inform me or any Konoha Jonin immediately. Do not confront them alone under any circumstances."
Naruto nodded. "I understand. I'll be careful in the future. Besides, I'm not weak either."
Hearing this, Jiraiya fell silent first, then smiled helplessly.
"You brat, you are indeed ridiculously strong for your age. But remember, there is always someone stronger out there. Don't be too complacent."
"The Fourth Hokage was also a genius at your age, but he remained low-key and humble his entire life. You should learn from him in this regard."
Naruto nodded.
He understood his own strength better than anyone else.
With Absolute Control, the explosive power of Kurama Chakra Mode, the spatial mobility of Flying Thunder God Technique, and the long-range devastation of Rasenshuriken...
Leaving aside enemies of the Ōtsutsuki level, his current combat power was already enough to confront Super Kage-level beings head-on.
As for peak Super Kage-level beings like Madara and Hashirama, he still needed to improve a bit.
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Jiraiya's mood was clearly much lighter.
He picked up the half-finished bottle of sake and waved to Naruto. "Get some rest early. We have to continue our journey tomorrow. Since it's a rare visit to Adofu Street, I'll go see if there are any local customs nearby worth... cough, researching."
Naruto nodded, watching Jiraiya leave.
Soon, the sound of Jiraiya teasing the inn's landlady came from downstairs, and then gradually faded away.
'It's still early, and there's nothing else to do. Why not try to fuse Wind Chakra and Lightning Chakra?'
After Jiraiya left, Naruto checked the time and then formed hand seals to set up a small Sensory Suppression Barrier on the four walls of the room.
After doing all this, he created ten Shadow Clones. It wasn't that he didn't want to make more, but the room was only so big. Any more clones and they would have to sit on top of each other.
The ten Shadow Clones each found a place to sit on the tatami mats and the bed, each of them condensing a ball of Chakra in their left and right hands.
In their right hand was Wind Chakra, and in their left was Lightning Chakra.
"Everyone, let's begin." Naruto sat and nodded to the ten clones.
"Leave it to us, original!" x10
The ten Shadow Clones replied, and then simultaneously brought the two balls of different Chakra attributes in their left and right hands slowly together.
Both wind and lightning are highly active, offensive attributes in the Chakra spectrum. Wind is centered around cutting, while lightning is centered around piercing.
When the two met on the same plane, it was like splicing two live ignition wires together.
In the palm of one clone, the moment the two balls of Chakra touched, they let out a sharp screech and then rebounded. Like two magnets with their positive poles facing each other, they repelled each other frantically.
The Shadow Clone tried to force the two balls of Chakra together, but the harder he pushed, the greater the repulsive force became.
Ultimately, this out-of-control mixed Chakra exploded between his hands, turning him into white smoke and dispersing him.
Immediately after, the second clone also exploded at around the same time, followed by the third, the fourth...
In less than two minutes, all ten Shadow Clones had dispelled themselves due to the failure of the Chakra Fusion.
Cloud after cloud of white smoke exploded in the room one after another.
Naruto closed his eyes, and ten sets of memories flooded into his mind at the same time.
He compared the subtle differences in each memory's fusion failure one by one.
Some clones had increased the ratio of the wind attribute, with the result that the wind blades at the fusion point cut through the electric arcs first.
Some clones had increased the ratio of the lightning attribute, with the result that the Lightning Release electrocuted and dispersed the Wind Release's rotating structure.
Still other clones tried changing the flow rate and angle of the two Chakras, only for the mixed sphere to fly out of their hands and explode.
Naruto opened his eyes, his brow furrowing slightly at first, before slowly smoothing out.
"It seems I'll have to do it myself."
The trial and error of the Shadow Clones had given him some experience.
Naruto sat up straight, spreading his hands in front of him. He condensed a ball of Lightning Chakra in his left hand, and a ball of Wind Chakra in his right.
Activating his Absolute Control ability, the two balls of Chakra were precisely suppressed and tuned under his conscious control.
The two streams of Chakra were no longer as mutually repulsive as they had been in the clones' hands.
Naruto controlled the two balls of Chakra, bringing them slowly closer together.
The two streams of Chakra began to permeate each other in a subtle way, slowly blending together.
Naruto focused his attention on the fusion node that was undergoing a qualitative change, then controlled the blended Chakra to slowly enter his body.
After an unknown amount of time, a low rumble echoed from Naruto's body, as if something had been born, and his consciousness was jolted by the sound.
He slowly opened his eyes. The Wind Chakra and Lightning Chakra on his hands had disappeared, replaced by a brand-new Chakra.
Naruto sensed this Chakra and thought for a moment.
After leaving a Flying Thunder God Kunai in place, he locked his mind onto the Flying Thunder God Mark inside the Konoha Waterfall Cave.