Looking at his full head of golden hair reflected in the river, Naruto let out a small sigh of relief. A stroke of luck amidst misfortune, perhaps; although there was a small thinned patch, he could still cover it with hair from other areas.
"Looks like I'll have to switch to a different training tool."
Uzuki Yugao's initial demonstration, coupled with the difficulty of obtaining hair, had led Naruto to a misunderstanding: that Wind Nature Transformation had to be practiced with hair. But looking back now, he realized it was just a beautiful mistake. Yugao had undoubtedly used her own hair for the demonstration because she was confident in her control, and besides, the results were more clearly visible with a fine strand of hair.
"Practicing chakra nature transformation really is a tedious process of constant repetition." Touching the thinned spot on his temple, Naruto now had a true understanding of this statement.
Rustle.
He casually plucked a leaf and placed it in his palm. A moment later, Naruto looked at the edge of the tender leaf, at an almost invisible cut.
[Indeed, compared to hair, leaves are much 'sturdier'…]
However, Naruto didn't feel disheartened. The door to success had already opened for him, even if only a crack. The process that followed would merely be a matter of patient, persistent effort. Of the one-month vacation, only seven days had passed so far.
The next day, not long after Naruto had settled down, the merry chirping of girls' voices drifted over from the distance again.
A look of resignation crossed his face. He slowly reeled in his fishing line. If things went as expected, he probably wouldn't be able to fish for the next few days. Going to even more remote, more perilous locations to fish wasn't out of the question, but it would consume too much time and the cost would be too high; it wasn't worth it. Fishing was merely a recreational activity he used to unwind from tedious training, not an absolute necessity. Grasping the minor and neglecting the major was not advisable.
Naruto quickly hid his things. His nature transformation training was showing progress anyway, so spending some time cultivating it diligently at home would be a good thing.
"Hehehe…"
The same lewd laughter from yesterday reached his ears again. Naruto turned his head. In the nearby bushes, a familiar posterior came into view.
Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. Once could be a coincidence, but twice, and in such a remote location both times…
*[Are they here to monitor me again…?] *
Ever since he began living independently, ninjas had intermittently monitored him. Later, whether because he got older or because his 'stable' state gradually made certain people lower their guard, these surveillance efforts changed from round-the-clock to irregular, and eventually to the current once-a-month check.
Truthfully, he strongly disliked all of this. But back then, this body hadn't yet matured, and he had been powerless to resist such monitoring, so he could only let it be. Now that he was older, the surveillance had greatly decreased. Coupled with the fact that he had developed some attachment to this place where he had lived for over ten years, he hadn't paid it much mind.
But not paying it mind didn't mean he liked those who monitored him.
[I wonder if it's the Third Hokage, or some other high-ranking official in Konoha…]
There were some things he understood clearly. The Third Hokage's various forms of assistance were merely because of the Nine-Tails sealed within him. If he hadn't possessed the experiences of three lifetimes, the Third Hokage's methods—using emotional bonds and small, irregular investments—would undoubtedly have been a perfect way to firmly keep the 'nuclear weapon' under his control. From any angle, the Sandaime's tactics were befitting of his position and worthy of the title 'politician.'
His own 'smiling face' towards the Sandaime was merely a transaction based on mutual interest. In his youth, he needed the Sandaime's stipend to survive; the Sandaime needed to ensure he was firmly within his grasp. Despite his inner resentment, Naruto hadn't done much about it; he didn't want to fall out with the old man just yet.
The hunched-down man in the bushes seemed to notice his movements, quickly straightened up, and called out to him.
"Hey, young man over there!"
Seeing Naruto's surprised expression, the middle-aged man also felt a sense of helplessness inwardly. Generally speaking, shouldn't kids this age be hot-blooded and impulsive? For behavior like his, shouldn't they rush forward and loudly reprimand him?
"Is there something I can help you with?" Realizing he might have misjudged the person, Naruto asked softly. The ANBU who monitored him would certainly not greet him.
"You were practicing Wind Nature Transformation just now, weren't you?" the middle-aged man asked.
"…" Naruto's eyebrow arched slightly. Yugao had made it very clear that day: chakra nature and shape transformation were things one typically encountered at the jonin level. Which meant that this oddly dressed middle-aged man before him was, at the very least, a jonin.
"That's right," Naruto admitted openly. It wasn't anything shameful.
"The cutting aspect of Wind… it needs to be thin, like the edge of an axe. If the body of the axe were just as thick all over, then it wouldn't be able to cut anything," the man said, demonstrating as he spoke.
Watching the leaf split in two in the man's hand, something clicked in Naruto's mind. The problem that had been troubling him for days was instantly resolved. "Thank you. Would you like something to eat?" Though he didn't know the man's motives for teaching him, the result was beneficial to him, so expressing gratitude was necessary.
"May I ask your name?" Naruto inquired. This person might be some ninja from the village whom he didn't recognize. Of course, during the Chunin Exams, he could also be from another village, but there was no reason for a ninja from another village to guide a ninja from a different one.
"A fine question!" The man burst into loud laughter and struck an extremely exaggerated pose. "From Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage! The Gallant Ninja Hero, Jiraiya! That's none other than yours truly, the magnificent!"
"A sage?" Naruto smiled faintly. "I didn't expect sages to be so fond of mortal women." His idea of a sage was more along the lines of a grand master who could pluck stars and grasp the moon, move mountains and fill seas, someone who abstained from worldly food, sat enthroned among the clouds, and aloofly watched the myriad changes of the world.
"What does a little brat like you know? This is called research! Research, understand?!" Jiraiya scoffed. A child's body hadn't even developed yet; how could they understand the beauty of these things?
"Perhaps," Naruto said, his tone unreadable. "Have you eaten breakfast?"
"Research time is so limited; who has time for breakfast?" Jiraiya said irritably.
Naruto looked up at the sun already high in the sky, shook his head with a smile, and silently walked over to where he had put his tools, taking out a small pot.
"Yo, you've got quite the complete setup here. Don't tell me you live around here?" Jiraiya said, rubbing his chin. He had seen it clearly earlier: pots, bowls, seasonings—everything was there.
"More or less." Naruto took out some of the food he had gathered the previous day, washed it, cut it into pieces…
"I see you're a ninja. Haven't you ever thought of inviting me to a proper meal in the village?" Jiraiya asked with a teasing smile.
Naruto's hands paused for a moment. He said sincerely, "I'm sorry, I can't take you to those places to eat. Otherwise, you'd get implicated because of me and wouldn't be able to eat at all."
"…Is that so?" Jiraiya looked at the boy's apologetic face, his lips trembling. A thousand words welled up, but he didn't know where to begin. In his view, Naruto, as the son of the Fourth Hokage, a hero's descendant, and with the Third Hokage's support, shouldn't have had too poor a living environment. But it seemed…
"Naruto, how have you been all these years?" Jiraiya asked, crouching beside him.
"Looks like you know me." Naruto's hands stilled for a moment. He didn't press for details but replied, "I have food and shelter. It's pretty good."
"Is that so…"
Naruto glanced at him in surprise, wondering about his sudden inexplicable melancholy, but didn't dwell on it and continued with the task at hand. Years of cooking experience had made his skills quite decent. The aroma attracted several girls who were playing in the water nearby. At Jiraiya's enthusiastic invitation, what was supposed to be a simple lunch for two turned into a picnic for five. Ever since the girls joined, Jiraiya's cheerful laughter hadn't stopped for a moment.