"Got it from a friend." Naruto didn't explain the source further.
Tenten nodded and didn't press further. She tapped the surface of the metal ingot with her fingertips, quickly estimating the weight of the material and the forging time in her mind.
"It's perfect timing. My dad just finished the orders from the Chunin Exams period, and he doesn't have any urgent work on hand. If you place the order now, he can fire up the furnace tomorrow. With this much material, we can probably forge over a dozen Kunai. Are you in a rush for them?"
Naruto shook his head. "No rush. Whenever your dad has time, he can do it. Don't rush him."
"I'm going on a long trip soon, and I'll pay the balance then. I don't have enough money on me right now."
Previously, he had given most of his cash to Karin to pay for her room and daily necessities, and the remaining change was only enough to eat a few bowls of ramen on the way.
"Alright, we'll talk about it when you get back. No rush on the final payment, it's not like you can run away from Konoha anyway." Tenten nodded readily.
She stored the chakra conductive metal into a safe engraved with a Fuinjutsu formula. Then, she pulled out an order slip, wrote down the order number and amount, calculated the final payment, and handed it to Naruto.
Naruto folded it in half, tucked it into his ninja tool pouch, and nodded to Tenten. "Thanks, Tenten. I'll treat you to ramen when I get back."
Tenten's voice carried a hint of teasing. "Forget the ramen. Just don't make any more Ninjutsu that are even scarier than the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique next time. I watched the Chunin Exams live, you saw right through Neji's Revolving Heaven."
Naruto turned back with a faint smile, then pushed open the door and walked out into the night.
...
Returning to his apartment, Naruto took off his windbreaker and threw it over the back of a chair. He took a shower, washing away the dust from his body.
After showering, he folded the clothes he would wear tomorrow, placed them on the chair next to his bed, and fell fast asleep.
—
Early the next morning
Shortly after dawn, Naruto arrived at the village entrance carrying a travel bag.
By this time, Jiraiya had already arrived. Seeing Naruto walking over, he raised his hand and waved at him.
"Yo, I thought I'd have to wait for you for a while."
Naruto walked up to Jiraiya, his tone carrying a hint of surprise. "Pervy Sage, I didn't expect you to arrive so early."
Perhaps accustomed to Kakashi's lateness, suddenly encountering someone punctual made him feel a bit unused to it.
"Nonsense, I would never be like a certain masked guy. Let's go."
Naruto nodded and took the lead, walking toward the village gates.
Guarding the gates were still the two legendary Chunin, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo.
Izumo couldn't help but take an extra look at Naruto as he passed by, but said nothing, only nodding as he continued to lean against the gatepost.
After walking out of the gates, Naruto suddenly thought of something.
Come to think of it, this seemed to be only the second time he had stepped out of the Konoha gates.
Just as the figures of Naruto and Jiraiya disappeared down the official road leading to the Land of Fire, in another direction from the Konoha main gate, two figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds stood on a distant high ground, gazing at the village that had just caught its breath after the war.
One of the figures wore a bamboo hat with wind chimes hanging from it, and from beneath the hat, a forehead protector with a horizontal slash across it was revealed.
The other person was tall and muscular, carrying a sword wrapped in bandages on his back.
The two did not step into Konoha's security perimeter, merely pausing on the high ground for a moment before vanishing without a sound.
...
After leaving Konoha, Naruto and Jiraiya walked north along the official road for a while, then turned onto the path leading to Adofu Street at the first fork. This was the first stop in looking for Tsunade.
According to the intelligence gathered by Jiraiya, there were the most rumors of Tsunade appearing around Tanzaku Quarters recently, and Adofu Street was the only way to get to Tanzaku Quarters.
The scenery along the way gradually changed from dense coniferous forests to open fields, and they would occasionally pass by one or two villages where houses were being repaired.
Seeing two ninjas wearing Konoha forehead protectors passing by, some villagers would nod in greeting from afar, while others would bring out water from their houses to invite them to take a break.
The news of Hiruzen's sacrifice had already spread throughout the Land of Fire, and the civilians along the way showed a bit more respect and sympathy toward the Konoha ninjas than usual.
As they walked, Jiraiya finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He originally wanted to wait for Naruto to bring up yesterday's matter first, but this kid was even more composed than he was along the way.
He quickened his pace to walk side-by-side with Naruto and asked in a tone that couldn't hide his curiosity, "Naruto, you said yesterday that you've completed fusing the Wind Release Nature Transformation into the Rasengan. What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Naruto's tone was calm, and his footsteps didn't stop.
***
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