After parting ways with Sasuke and Kakashi, Naruto walked alone through the streets of Konoha, staring at the Hokage Building in the distance as he fell into deep thought.
Well… it had sounded easy enough when he said it out loud, but now that he thought about it, he was starting to regret it a little.
Dad was so busy—would he really have time to help with special training? Naruto didn't care much about Sasuke's mockery, but when he imagined himself being pinned down by Sasuke a month later, it still made him feel pretty annoyed.
Maybe I should just go find Uncle Hoshiyomi instead.
Just as Naruto was thinking this, he suddenly heard a lecherous laugh by his ear.
"Heh heh heh… just move over a bit more… a little more…"
Hearing such an incredibly creepy laugh, Naruto shuddered involuntarily. He became curious—what on earth could someone be looking at to laugh like that?
He subconsciously turned his head and saw that right beside him was Konoha's public bathhouse.
Uh… no way…
With that thought, Naruto quietly shifted a couple of steps to the side. Sure enough, as soon as he reached the back of the bathhouse, he saw a white-haired middle-aged man pressed up against the women's bath, craning his neck to peek inside. Peeking would've been bad enough—but his butt was swaying back and forth too. The sheer level of sleaziness was off the charts.
Three black lines appeared on Naruto's forehead. After checking and confirming there was no one else around, he broke into a devilish grin. Taking a couple of steps back, Naruto sprinted forward and kicked that wiggling butt as hard as he could.
The kick was devastatingly effective. The white-haired man was launched straight into the women's bath.
Hearing the chaotic cries of "Catch the pervert!" coming from inside, Naruto couldn't help but laugh in satisfaction.
After completing his good deed for the day, Naruto was just about to head toward Hoshiyomi's house when a voice sounded behind him.
"Is it really that funny? You interrupted this sage's precious research time and you're still laughing?"
Naruto jumped in fright and stiffly turned around. One look, and his jaw nearly hit the ground.
A toad.
A gigantic toad!
Twelve-year-old Naruto was already about 1.5 meters tall, yet he barely reached the calf of that massive toad.
And sitting atop the mountain-like toad's head was the very same pervert who had been peeping into the women's bath, now standing high above Naruto with his arms crossed.
Naruto swallowed hard instinctively. Such a huge toad—this was way too cool!
Still, he stubbornly shot back:
"A sage? How can a guy who peeks into women's bathhouses call himself a sage?!"
The man—Jiraiya—burst into a hearty laugh.
"Good question!"
As he spoke, Jiraiya suddenly stood up and struck an exaggerated pose, leaning his neck forward, spreading his arms wide, one knee bent as his sandal clacked against the toad's head.
Even more amusingly, the toad beneath him struck a pose along with him.
"I am the Great Toad Spirit Sage of Mount Myōboku, the Sage of Essence and Tao, known by many as the Toad Sage—Jiraiya!"
Naruto counted on his fingers for a long time and still couldn't remember that long string of titles. In the end, he summarized it simply:
"So basically, you're just a Pervy Sage."
Jiraiya straightened his collar and didn't seem the least bit bothered by Naruto's description.
"This isn't ordinary peeping. I'm searching for inspiration. After all, I'm a famous bestselling author in shinobi world. Icha Icha Paradise is renowned throughout the entire shinobi world."
Naruto was utterly shocked.
"Isn't that the book Kakashi-sensei reads? That's obviously porn!"
Jiraiya played dumb despite knowing perfectly well.
"Kakashi? You actually know that little brat?"
Sure enough, the moment Naruto heard Jiraiya call Kakashi a "little brat," his interest was instantly piqued.
"You pervy sage actually call Kakashi-sensei a little brat?"
"Of course he's a little brat. When I fought side by side with his father on the battlefield, he hadn't even been born yet. I even held him when he was just a baby."
"Huh?! You're kidding, right? If you fought together with Kakashi-sensei's dad, wouldn't that mean you're from the same generation as Uncle Hoshiyomi?"
Inside, Jiraiya felt immensely pleased—after going in circles, the bait had finally landed.
"Ha! You know Hoshiyomi too? He and I are good brothers. Back in the day, I—along with Hoshiyomi's wife Tsunade and Orochimaru—was known as one of the Three Sannin."
Naruto's eyes practically turned into 200-watt searchlights.
"You're good brothers with Uncle Hoshiyomi, and you're one of the Three Sannin along with Aunte Tsunade… doesn't that mean you're just as amazing as Uncle Hoshiyomi?"
"Ahem, ahem… well, that's not really wrong."
And just like that, with Naruto asking questions and Jiraiya shamelessly bragging, the young and naive Naruto completely fell into Jiraiya's trap.
Thinking, Jiraiya is just as strong as Lord Hoshiyomi, knows my dad, and even my name comes from his book—if I become his disciple, I'll definitely surpass Sasuke and reach the peak of life in no time, Naruto foolishly became Jiraiya's student.
"Hey, hey, Pervy Sage, where are we going to train next?"
Along the way, Naruto kept pestering Jiraiya with that question. Looking at Naruto behind him—hands clasped behind his head, wearing a dumb, blissful grin—Jiraiya rubbed his forehead with a headache.
It really felt like he had dug a huge pit for himself.
Secretly sizing Naruto up, Jiraiya pondered. Naruto was Minato's child and had already received guidance from Hoshiyomi. Ordinary techniques probably wouldn't impress him at all.
If he wanted to overwhelm Naruto right from the start, he'd have to show some real skill. But on the other hand, Naruto was, in a sense, a complete idiot.
So… which jutsu should I use?
After hesitating for quite a while, Jiraiya finally made up his mind.
He'd use the Summoning Technique.
Naruto had just seen it, and he clearly looked fascinated when he saw the toad.
Using this technique would also let Naruto sign a contract with Mount Myōboku directly. Later, Jiraiya could take him to meet the Great Toad Sage and see whether he truly was the Child of Prophecy. Thinking about it, it was killing several birds with one stone.
With that decided, Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction and turned around.
"Next, the very first jutsu I'm going to teach you is the one you just saw—the Summoning Technique!"
As he spoke, Jiraiya rapidly formed hand seals and slammed his palm onto the ground. With a puff of smoke, a giant toad carrying a scroll jumped out.
Jiraiya took the scroll and unfurled it.
"Come on. Use your blood to write your name on the scroll. Once your name is recorded and the contract is complete, you'll be able—just like me—to summon the toads of Mount Myōboku, one of the Four Great Sacred Lands!"
Naruto's eyes sparkled with stars. Without even thinking, he signed his name.
...
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