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A nurse, all curves and wearing a nurse's uniform, slammed the door shut in a huff. She was muttering about an old pervert or something similar. Naruto, who hadn't been sure which room Jiraiya was in, now knew for certain.
Taking advantage of the still-open door, Naruto, with his two teammates, slipped sideways into the ward. The moment he stepped inside, he wanted to emulate his senior disciple, Nagato, and achieve enlightenment by slaying his master.
At this moment, Jiraiya lay flat on his back, head turned to the side. A prominent slap mark adorned his face, and he wore a lecherous grin, muttering through drool, "Purple... hehehe..."
'This is just too embarrassing.'
Jiraiya, sensing someone had entered, wiped the corners of his mouth and rubbed his face, then said sternly, "What are you doing here?"
[I'm here to purge the sect for the Third Hokage.]
He took out two apples, placed them on the bedside table, and said, "Heard you were hospitalized, so I came to see you. Didn't expect you to be living quite comfortably, huh?"
"Hahahaha...Ā hiss... so-so, hahahaha...Ā hiss..." Jiraiya laughed so hard it strained his injuries, but he couldn't stop. This place was practically a paradise for him.
Giving him a look of disdain, Naruto pointed at Sakura and introduced, "This is my teammate, Haruno Sakura."
"Sakura-nee, this is my master, the pervy old man, Jiraiya."
At his words, veins bulged on both their foreheads.
"It's the Toad Sage!!!"
Sakura didn't speak, but the bed frame she was holding onto deformed. It wasn't hollow iron pipe; it was solid.
Naruto inwardly mourned for Sasuke's future while quickly urging, "Sakura-nee, calm down, calm down!"
Naruto didn't call her Sakura-nee when outsiders were present, but were there any outsiders in this room? No. The relationships among these few people in the room would be so tangled in a few years, as messy as tangled headphones in a pocket. And perhaps even the relationships of their children would be tangled.
[Should I find one for Kakashi too, for a three-generation family?]
'Hmm, 'family.' Same classroom.'
'And leave everything to Iruka; he loves looking after kids the most anyway.'
His otaku-like divergent thinking once again sent Naruto's thoughts adrift.
"What did you call her? Sakura-nee?! Hahahaha...Ā hiss..." Jiraiya strained his injury again.
"Old man! Can you please stop laughing?!" Sakura exerted force with both hands, tearing the solid iron rod.
Originally, Sakura still had some respect for Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin. But after learning he was the one who had peeked at Sister Miko last time, plus his behavior just now upon entering, it was truly impossible to respect him. This kind of person was simply a disgrace to Konoha.
"Ah... my apologies, my apologies." Jiraiya offered his apologies. He was a senior, after all; laughing at a young girl like that wasn't good. And this young girl resembled Tsunade when she was younger: the same monstrous strength, a manly demeanor, and a body like a washboard.
[Perhaps I can introduce her to Tsunade to mentor,] Jiraiya thought. It wasn't because Sakura was Naruto's teammate, but Jiraiya felt a little sorry for Tsunade. Tsunade had been under too much stress recently and was drinking too frequently.
Tsunade had just become Hokage, like an elder sister who had entered a gambling addiction recovery center, not only heavily in debt but also wanting to gamble but unable to. Her two advisors gave her headaches to the point of explosion with all sorts of reasons. With her career and hobbies both not going well, Tsunade was forced to want to punch the two advisors to get some peace and quiet, but she couldn't do that. So Tsunade could only drown her sorrows in alcohol, downing three to five bottles a day, only to wake up the next day still troubled. Plus, Naruto's latest fountain explosion added another three to five bottles. If she hadn't known Naruto's special identity, Tsunade would have beaten him to death with a set of military martial arts.
Jiraiya was heartbroken upon hearing the news, so he wanted to find something for Tsunade to do to relieve her stress. From Jiraiya's understanding of Tsunade, when she took on disciples, even if not direct ones, it would always be a mix of hitting and scolding, just like Shizune had experienced. Introducing Sakura to her would be a good way for Tsunade to vent her anger.
Of course, Jiraiya wasn't trying to trick Sakura. He understood Tsunade: she truly hit, but she also truly taught. So, Tsunade would vent her anger, and Sakura would learn thingsāit was a win-win. But before introducing them, he needed to understand the girl's specific situation. Her talent couldn't be too bad, nor could she be too stupid, otherwise, she'd be beaten to death.
Jiraiya liked Tsunade very much and tried his best to alleviate her worries. But he didn't know that, in Naruto's previous world, men who silently sacrificed for their goddesses were generally called "spare tires," and usually received a phrase like, "You're a good person, but..."
After chatting a few more sentences, Naruto, who was about to leave, was called back by Jiraiya.
"Naruto, try not to cause trouble for a while. If anything happens, it's best to tell me or Tsunade first, got it?" Jiraiya said earnestly, painstakingly. He had to say it. This kid secretly caused bigger and bigger incidents one after another. If this continued, Jiraiya was genuinely afraid he'd blow up Konoha.
"Understood."
'Understood your grandmother's leg!'
Jiraiya was so agitated he almost leaped out of bed. But his injuries forced him back down. He bit his finger, slapped it on the side of the bed, and a human-sized toad was summoned.
Jiraiya pointed at Naruto and commanded, "Go, kill him for me."
'Even if I get beaten to death again by Kushina down there, today I will purge the sect!'
"Pervy old man, are you crazy?!" Naruto turned and ran.
"Jiraiya-sama, are you alright?" Kakashi appeared just in time, saving his master's only remaining descendant.
Jiraiya dispelled his summoning jutsu and said, "You're here at a good time. I have something to tell you." He wanted Kakashi to keep an eye on Naruto, and also ask about Sakura's situation.
The three waited by the door for a while, then Kakashi emerged with a strange look in his eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei, what's with that look?" Naruto felt uncomfortable under his gaze. 'Why is the penetration power of those dead fish eyes so strong?'
"It's nothing. What are you doing next?" Kakashi asked.
"Going to find Tenten. I still owe her four kunai."
His clone had only brought one Mithril kunai as a sample; Naruto himself had to deliver the four he owed.
"Do you know where she is?"
"No." Tenten was in the small forest before, but so much time had passed, Naruto didn't know if she had left.
"I'll take you. I also have something to discuss with Guy," Kakashi said. He wanted to watch Naruto, and also tell Guy about Raiga's situation.
"What about you two?"
"Together."
"Together."
"Then let's go."
Kakashi led the way, with the three following behind. Naruto, as always, wore his mask. Less than half an hour later, they arrived at an unknown training ground, where Guy and a few others were doing simple training. Naruto noticed that besides Tenten, the other three were dusty from travel, while Tenten looked like she had just taken a bath.
'So, you told your clone to tell me to come back later because you wanted to take a bath in a water pool? You're really bold. Good thing Jiraiya is hospitalized, otherwise you'd be completely exposed by now!'
After handing Tenten the four Mithril kunai, Naruto was about to open a portal to leave.
"Naruto-kun, do you remember the spar we talked about during the Chunin Exams?" Lee walked over, brimming with fighting spirit.
"I remember. You want to fight now?" Naruto asked, puzzled. 'You just got back from a long trip; is it really okay not to rest first?'
"The hot blood of youth won't be extinguished by such a short journey!!"
Was it just his imagination, or did Naruto see flames burning in Lee's eyes?
'Well, I forgot about your character setting.'
"Alright, then."
Naruto also wanted to fight Lee once to test the power of the Eight Gates Formation. Both sides began to adjust their state. Lee had just traveled a distance, but Naruto was even worse off; not only had he traveled, but he had also been struck by lightning several times and needed to recover.
On the other side, Sasuke and Neji stared at each other. They were looking for a venue. One, a genius of the Uchiha, the other, a genius of the Hyugaāboth wanted to test each other's strength. Sasuke also began to adjust his state.
Although Neji had been defeated by Naruto, Sasuke didn't think Neji was weak. Being defeated byĀ thatĀ monster was normal; he himself couldn't defeat that monster, could he? 'Even though Neji and I both have combat bloodline limits, we just can't beat that guy with a medical bloodline limit. What else is he but a monster?'
Seeing that Sasuke also wanted to fight, Naruto called Lee to a halt and sent a clone home to retrieve equipment. He wanted to add BGM to the fight. But Naruto wouldn't show favoritism to Sasuke. Last time when Sasuke fought Yakumo, he gave Sasuke the background music. This time, with Sasuke fighting Neji, it was Neji's turn for a soundtrack.
He took out the equipment, found a good spot, and switched it to external playback.
A melancholic tune emerged from the device.
'Big brother-in-law, I believe in you. In your BGM, no one can defeat you.'
Under the accompanying music of Neji's death, the four stood opposite each other, battle about to erupt. The two girls also found a good vantage point to watch.
Tenten looked at Neji, pouting, "Hmph, men." They had run so far, yet instead of resting properly, all they could think about was fighting.
"So handsome." Sakura gazed at Sasuke, lost in infatuation.
"Yeah." Tenten rested her chin on her hand and softly agreed. She was referring to Neji.