After the farce, Naruto finally cleared up the misunderstanding with Jiraiya properly.
…Though perhaps it wasn't really a misunderstanding to begin with.
"Oh, I haven't asked for your name yet."
Naruto had great respect for people who could create outstanding works of art, whether they were chefs or writers.
This was evident from his attitude toward Zeff at the Baratie.
Hearing Naruto's question, Jiraiya recomposed himself, then suddenly leaped back, striking an exaggerated pose.
"Hmph, since you've asked so sincerely, I'll grace you with my name."
It seemed many people had asked Jiraiya this before, as the moment he heard it, it was like a passive skill had been triggered.
He immediately formed a hand seal and summoned a toad larger than a person beneath him, then swung his hair dramatically like a kabuki actor, raising one hand.
"I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, the Hermit of the Toads! Also known as the Gallant Jiraiya!"
'That pose is very cool.' Though Naruto didn't quite understand what a [Toad Sage] was, he still applauded enthusiastically.
"Wow! Impressive, impressive."
Then, Naruto's gaze suddenly fixed on the giant toad Jiraiya had summoned out of thin air.
'This kind of technique is called... Summoning Technique, right? I remembered that Kakashi-sensei seemed to have used this Ninjutsu to summon Ninken before.'
'So, could this technique be used to summon someone from another world?'
Seeing Naruto staring intently at the toad he had summoned, Jiraiya felt a bit ignored.
"I'm one of the legendary 'Sannin'! And also the man who trained the Fourth Hokage!"
Hearing this, Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly, and his smile grew even more amiable.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"So, you were my father's teacher?"
Now it was Jiraiya's turn to be stunned.
He had never expected Naruto to say something like this.
"Naruto, who told you about this?"
It has to be said that Jiraiya is really Hiruzen's disciple. Even his first reaction when he heard Naruto revealed this was almost the same.
While Jiraiya looked at Naruto with nervous and concerned eyes, Naruto was also studying the man before him with his own gaze.
Of course, what was more important was his Observation Haki, which was practically a cheat.
Sensing the genuine emotions unconsciously leaking from Jiraiya, Naruto's impression of him shifted from 'a respected literary master' to 'a trustworthy elder'.
"Don't worry, it was old man Third who told me."
Without batting an eye, Naruto pinned the blame for the leak on Hiruzen.
After all, if what Kakashi had said was true, he had been his father's student, and his father had been Jiraiya's student, while Jiraiya was the Third's student.
Rather than letting Jiraiya trouble his 'grand-student', it was better to shift the blame to Jiraiya's own teacher.
'I believe he won't mind.'
Meanwhile, Jiraiya couldn't help but wonder inwardly, 'Since when did that old man have the guts to do something like this?'
He was deeply skeptical about this.
If Hiruzen had been that decisive, how could that old snake Danzo continue to cause trouble in Konoha for so many years?
Without letting Jiraiya stray too far from the topic, Naruto cut in first.
"Um, old man Jiraiya..."
"Hey, Naruto, don't call me that. It makes me sound like some geezer like the Third Hokage."
Hearing his student's words through the crystal ball, Hiruzen's face darkened, and he immediately canceled the Telescope Technique.
"Just call me Jiraiya-sensei."
In Japanese, 'sensei' could mean both 'teacher' and 'a master of something'.
So to Naruto, addressing a respected literary master as 'sensei' was perfectly acceptable.
So he obliged without hesitation.
"Alright, Jiraiya-sensei…"
"Actually, I wanted to ask you to teach me some Ninjutsu."
Hearing this, Jiraiya's eyes lit up.
Unlike in the original work, where Jiraiya had been a bit more reserved, now that Naruto had directly revealed his identity, Jiraiya no longer maintained the image of a reclusive sage.
Now, he is Naruto's elder… No, he is Naruto's grandfather!
As everyone knew, older generations often had a soft spot for their grandchildren.
In addition, Jiraiya felt guilty for neglecting his student's orphan all these years, so he was practically itching to prove his worth the moment Naruto made a request s.
The first thing that came to mind was the Rasengan.
After all, it was a Ninjutsu developed jointly by Naruto's father and himself.
Not only was it perfect for someone like Naruto, who had naturally massive Chakra reserves, but it also had incredible growth potential.
Jiraiya had originally planned to find an opportunity to teach Naruto this technique after their meeting, but he hadn't expected Naruto to bring it up himself.
"Naruto, what kind of Ninjutsu do you want to learn? Do you want to learn some special moves that can decide the outcome with one strike?"
Jiraiya's face wrinkled into a grin, practically on the verge of outright offering to teach Naruto the Rasengan himself.
But Naruto's response wasn't what Jiraiya had anticipated.
He pointed his finger at the big toad and asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, the Ninjutsu you just used was the Summoning Technique, right?"
Hearing this, Jiraiya nodded.
"Yeah, it's the Summoning Technique. It's pretty strong, but don't you want to learn something else? Like this..."
As he spoke, he extended his palm.
Chakra immediately gathered in his hand, forming a rapidly spinning sphere. Then, he pressed it against a nearby tree.
Then, under their watchful eyes, the tree was 'erased' from the middle, leaving a massive gap where the Chakra Sphere had struck.
"How's it going? Pretty cool, right?"
Jiraiya was sure that after seeing the destructive power of the Rasengan, the kid in front of him would definitely...
"Huh? But I still want to learn the Summoning Technique more."
"You kid, do you even know..."
His words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter a single word.
Because at this moment, Naruto's hand was holding a perfectly formed Rasengan, identical to the one Jiraiya had just demonstrated.
Though its cohesion was slightly weaker, it was already about 80-90% complete.
'He learned it after seeing it just once?!'
Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
Naruto felt the destructive force of the Rasengan in his hand… it was indeed stronger than the C-Rank Ninjutsu he currently knew, and it seemed like he could freely adjust its power based on how much Chakra he poured into it.
Thinking this, the Rasengan in his hand suddenly expanded, ballooning into a half-person-sized sphere in the blink of an eye.
"...Huh, so it really works like this."
He muttered to himself.
Unfortunately, Naruto hadn't yet mastered Yin-Yang Release Chakra, otherwise, he could've manually created a Tailed Beast Bomb without relying on a Tailed Beast.
Of course, he wasn't aware of this himself.
"Quick! Throw it into the river!"
Although this place is sparsely populated, it is still within Konoha Village.
Even if it didn't hit anyone, if it so much as grazed a building, it would cause significant damage.
Afraid that Naruto couldn't control such a massive amount of Chakra, Jiraiya urgently shouted at him.
"Relax, it's fine."
As Naruto said this, it is unknown what Naruto did, but the diameter of the Rasengan began to shrink rapidly.
However, the amount of attributeless Chakra contained in it did not decrease.
Only when the Rasengan had been compressed to the size of a marble did Naruto finally hurl it high into the sky.
The Rasengan shot upward so fast its trajectory was nearly invisible. By the time it reappeared, it was already high in the air.
The moment the compressed Chakra lost its restraint, it exploded outward in all directions, forming a massive energy sphere in midair.
"Whoa, Jiraiya-sensei, I take back what I said earlier."
"This Ninjutsu is pretty awesome too."
Looking at his palm, Naruto grinned and gave Jiraiya a thumbs-up.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya could only force a stiff laugh.
"Hah, haha… Yeah, I told you it was good..."
Jiraiya was already mentally preparing excuses to defend Naruto when they inevitably got dragged in front of Hiruzen later.