The next day.
A scream echoed through the hot spring district.
Naruto, holding a broom, squatted on top of a wooden fence, looking out at Jiraiya, who was rolling on the street, tears streaming from his eyes.
"Hey, Ero-sennin, who sneaks into my house to peep on me bathing early in the morning?"
"Did you think the anti-peeping barrier I set up was just for show?!"
Naruto poked Jiraiya with the end of the broom.
Jiraiya jumped up and said with a serious expression, "Nonsense, brat! I am one of the Legendary Sannin. How can I be the pervert you speak of?!"
"Really? Who randomly peeks every now and then—
"Cough, cough, cough!"
"That's training, do you understand, training?!"
Jiraiya coughed a few times, covering his embarrassment, and stopped Naruto from exposing him.
Speaking of training.
Jiraiya approached Naruto with a stern face and asked irritably, "You said you'd become my disciple and train with me, but I've waited a month and haven't seen you come?"
"I am—"
"One of the Legendary Sannin, how many people are lining up to become your disciple, right?" Naruto quickly answered.
"Exactly! Today, no matter what, you must come with me!"
"I feel like you don't have anything to teach me."
"Nonsense! As one of the Legendary Sannin, anything I casually pull out will benefit you for life!"
"Alright, alright, anyway, I'm bored today with nothing to do, so I'll go with you."
Seeing that Jiraiya wouldn't give up, Naruto threw the broom back into the yard and went with Jiraiya to the back mountain of Konoha Village.
"Hey, Naruto!"
Jiraiya cleared his throat and put on the air of "the Legendary Sannin" he should have.
"From today onwards, you will undergo strict training with this immortal! Are you ready? Let me tell you first, my training is hellish!"
A playful smile appeared on Naruto's lips: "Ero-sennin, what are you planning to teach me?"
"Just so you know, I'm not interested in most low-level Ninjutsu."
Jiraiya chuckled, jumped off the stone, walked in front of Naruto, and extended his right hand: "Low-level Ninjutsu? Who are you looking down on?!"
"Listen, kid, the first ultimate technique I'm going to teach you is a super high-difficulty Ninjutsu that your dad and I spent three years developing! It requires extreme Chakra shape transformation, possesses immense power, and is an ace in close combat! Its name is—"
"—Rasengan?"
Naruto blinked his clear blue eyes and naturally finished his sentence.
Jiraiya's smile instantly froze on his face, and his extended hand stopped in mid-air: "—Huh? You—what did you say?"
Since Naruto hadn't used Rasengan much recently, Jiraiya truly didn't know he could.
"Rasengan! I know a little bit about it—"
Naruto looked as if it was obvious, his right palm facing upwards, fingers lightly curled.
With almost no preparation, with a "whoosh," a highly condensed blue Chakra orb instantly formed in his palm!
The orb spun rapidly, continuously expanding and growing larger, emitting a low, powerful hum. The surrounding air slightly warped, blowing Naruto's clothes and Jiraiya's white hair.
"How is it?"
Naruto showed the perfect Rasengan, radiating powerful Chakra fluctuations, to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's eyes nearly popped out, his mouth wide enough to fit an egg: "Wh—What?! One-handed, instant activation,
perfect… such a perfect Rasengan?!"
"You—how could you—when did you learn it?! Who taught you?!"
"This size is even close to a Great Ball Rasengan!"
His inner shock was beyond words.
He knew the difficulty of the Rasengan all too well; after all, he and Minato Namikaze had spent a lot of time developing it.
Its learning difficulty was a genuine A-rank Ninjutsu.
This blond brat in front of him could use it so easily?
Moreover, the activation speed, the Chakra condensation, and the stability of the rotation were all perfect!
Its size was even close to a Great Ball Rasengan.
Anyone who didn't know would think Naruto had been training Rasengan for three or four years.
Naruto smiled, enjoying showing off, and replied, "No one taught me. I accidentally stumbled upon some scroll notes left by my dad, and then I tried to train according to them. I didn't expect to accidentally succeed."
"Accidentally succeeded?"
Jiraiya felt his authority as a "teacher" was being challenged like never before.
He forcibly suppressed the turbulent waves in his heart, coughed twice, trying to regain his composure: "Hmph! Rasengan, Rasengan, you barely pass! But this is just the beginning! A true strong person also needs strong companions!"
"Next, I'm going to teach you the Summoning Jutsu! You'll sign a contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku and summon powerful Summoning Beasts to fight alongside you! This is 'Summoning Jutsu?'"
Naruto interrupted Jiraiya again.
"Coincidentally, I know this too."
Jiraiya's heart tightened, and he had an ominous premonition: "You—you mean—"
"Jiraiya-sensei, I only know a little bit!"
"I hope you truly only know a little bit."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Naruto didn't wait for Jiraiya to finish speaking, already impatiently biting his thumb and quickly forming hand signs.
Boar! Dog! Bird! Monkey! Ram!
Then he slammed his palm onto the ground!
"Boom!!!"
A puff of white smoke, far larger than that of a normal Summoning Jutsu, instantly exploded, and the powerful airflow even pushed the caught-off-guard Jiraiya back two steps! The smoke quickly dissipated, revealing a gigantic Hell Cerberus that appeared in the clearing by the stream. It was even larger than an adult giant toad, with jet-black fur, radiating a powerful aura. It was indeed the Hell Cerberus!
"Roar—!!"
The Hell Cerberus bared its teeth at Jiraiya, its voice like a booming bell, shaking leaves from the trees.
The aura emanating from it was even far stronger than that of Manda or Gamabunta, the Summoning Beasts of the Legendary Sannin, approaching or even fully reaching the level of a Tailed Beast.
Jiraiya was completely petrified.
He stared blankly at the fierce Hell Cerberus in front of him, then looked at the calm-faced Naruto beside him, feeling his worldview collapsing.
"Kuro, don't be rude to Jiraiya-sensei."
Naruto frowned and scolded it.
Although Jiraiya couldn't teach him anything, Naruto still called Jiraiya "sensei."
"Nar—
The Hell Cerberus whimpered and lowered its head, looking aggrieved, as if actively trying to please Naruto.
Jiraiya was dumbfounded, feeling a wave of dizziness.
Such a powerful and rare Summoning Beast, yet it was so obedient to a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy? Unbelievable, simply unbelievable!
What did all the hardships he endured to sign a contract with the Mount Myōboku toads count for then?
Did it count as being an idiot?
"He knows Rasengan—Summoning Jutsu—not only does he know it, but he also directly summoned a powerful, rare Summoning Beast."
Jiraiya muttered to himself, his eyes vacant, as if he had lost his life's purpose.
"Then what else can I teach you?"