Twenty days into the on-road training, Jiraiya rubbed his temples in exasperation. He had started to teach Naruto the Rasengan, after he deemed his chakra control was perfect. That was on the third day into the trip, four days after the preliminaries ended. Jiraiya had allowed Naruto to look a Rasengan closely, before giving him a water balloon and instructed him to pop it with his chakra only.
Naruto surprisingly had done that in a record of eight hours, while a few of his clones worked on perfecting the seal in the first four books, and learning from the latter four. When Jiraiya had asked how he had done it so quickly, Naruto had explained that the Rasengan had obliterated a rock, but also on closer inspection, grinded into fine powder at the point of contact. The second step had been completed two days later, while the third needed another four days.
Soon, Naruto realized that his Rasengan didn't pack much power, and kept repeating the third step, gradually increasing power. That was what had brought Jiraiya to such a state.
"So, you're telling me that you increased power in your Rasengan till my level?", Jiraiya asked as Naruto nodded and formed a bright blue Rasengan in one his hands. Jiraiya too made one of his own, before raising a brow at the similar brightness of chakra. "Guess the chakra control training with your clones succeeded! That's stronger than what Kakashi can make".
"Thank you for teach me, sensei!", Naruto suddenly exclaimed with a smile. Jiraiya rose a brow at the sudden statement, before getting a new idea for teach Naruto.
"Where are you in fuinjutsu and taijutsu?", he asked while furrowing his brows.
"I am about to complete the eighth book. So, I can create quite a few barriers, specialized blood seals, as well as stasis seals. I am stuck on the part where you use chakra to imprint seal on a surface. In taijutsu, my accuracy is fine, but my speed and power are a bit off. You are often able to block my strikes, or come in before I put a guard up", Naruto explained as Jiraiya nodded pensively.
"Have you ever tried sensing chakra?", Jiraiya asked as Naruto tilted his head sideways.
"How the hell do you do that?", Naruto blurted out, making Jiraiya smirk.
"You meditate. If I try to explain how I sense chakra, you will not be able to understand. Everybody senses chakra in their own way. So meditation is the first in the list for sensing chakras", Jiraiya explained. "You should be able to sense them easier than others because both your mother and father were sensors. So there's no doubt you are a sensor. So now your assignment alongside fuinjutsu and taijutsu, is trying to sense people around you".
Naruto nodded seriously, before making shadow clones and assigning them to their jobs. Fuinjutsu, taijutsu katas, meditation and chakra control. The original Naruto started to do physical workout. Jiraiya raised a brow at that.
"Why aren't you meditating?", he asked with frown. Naruto looked at Jiraiya in innocence.
"My first match is Neji. He is a master in Jyuuken taijutsu. And I need to teach that bastard on how to treat your family. You said the Jyuuken is fast, and you get in my guard even at a slower speed. I can focus on sensing later. It will be useless if I don't have any chakra in me", Naruto replied. "The second match can be either Sasuke or Gaara. Even in those matches if I don't have speed, I lose. Sasuke has his Sharingan, while Gaara just keeps piling sand on you", he added.
Jiraiya had to agree with that. 'If sensei had told about Minato earlier, Naruto would have been the strongest genin by now! He admires Minato so much that even his name is enough to push Naruto beyond his limits. At the level he is now, we still have three more years'.
Jiraiya left back a kage bunshin like usual to help out, while he went to do some research. He would admit proudly that Naruto would surpass him in three years, because all that he was lacking, was experience. He had asked the three year trip for that very matter.
Soon enough, Jiraiya found a hot spring in a nearby village, ten minutes of ninja run from where Naruto was training. He kept an eye out for Naruto's chakra knowing that his chakra often reflected his mood, and his huge chakra reserves were unable to sense unless you had Jonin level chakra reserves. He would be nonchalant till Naruto's chakra reflected his determined mood.
Taking out a notepad, he started scribbling notes while giggling perversely often. For the first time in the past couple of days, he had been able to do his research for more than an hour. Naruto had popped up quiet a few times, finding him unintentionally with his sensing.
On the other hand, a blonde's eye twitched seeing a familiar red and green in a tree near the hot springs. She quietly walked over to the perving white-haired male. She patiently tapped on his shoulder. The man brushed off her hand, before writing a line.
"Don't disturb me, brat! Instead of using your clones, you yourself try making seals with your chakra", Jiraiya said before writing again. The blonde rose a brow, her eyes still holding anger.
"I didn't know you took a student after Minato, Jiraiya", the blonde said calmly. Jiraiya paled hearing the voice, his hands trembling with fear. He shakily turn to the blonde, and the snickering raven-head behind her.
"T-Ts-Tsunade!", he squeaked in shock, holding his hands up in surrender as he jumped away from where the two women were standing. "I-Its not w-what it l-looks like!", he stuttered out in fear.
Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Yeah, its not what it looks like", Tsunade iterated Jiraiya's statement. "It's exactly what it looks like, you damn pervert!", Tsunade accused in a loud voice.
Jiraiya's eyes widened, before fear struck in them. "Please keep your voice low. The others will hear you", he pleaded.
"Uh-huh. So have you again left your student while you perv around?", Tsunade asked accusingly. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in anger, flaring his chakra.
"I look after my student, Tsunade. I have looked after all my students and made them into remarkable shinobi. I haven't run away from the village like you did", Jiraiya replied calmly. Tsunade winced knowing she crossed her line by mentioning his students.
"I am sorry about that. And I didn't run away from the village, because I have nothing remaining there", Tsunade retorted making Jiraiya frown.
"You still had a relative in Konoha. I was not allowed to contact him till now because of the threat to his life. You had no such problems. You could have looked after the boy, rather than leaving him out like sensei did. Its still a miracle that even after the abuse of the villagers, he has managed to retain his sanity. We got a good view of what he could have done, if had given in to the Kyubi's temptations. So where were you?", Jiraiya asked harshly making the woman narrow her eyes.
"Who are you talking about? After Kushina and his son died, who was remaining in Konoha?", Tsunade asked in anger as Jiraiya looked at her in shock.
"What did you say?", Jiraiya asked in confusion.
"There's wasn't anybody in that hellhole after Kushina and his son died", Tsunade repeated in irritation. Jiraiya looked at her as if she had grown a second head.
"Who the fuck told you that Naruto died?", Jiraiya blurted out in shock.
"What do you mean?"
"I meant what I said. Who told you that Naruto died?"
"Tsunade-sama, who is this Naruto you and Jiraiya-sama are talking about?", Shizune asked as she readjusted Tonton in her grip.
"His father cannot be spoken so lightly about, his mother too. But, Tsunade-hime knows who Naruto is", Jiraiya responded making Tsunade frown.
"I had got a letter from sensei, saying that Kushina, Minato and Naruto had died the night of the Kyubi attack and Minato sealed the Kyubi away in an orphan", Tsunade stated with a frown.
"Sensei never told me such, rather I was knocking on his door demanding to see Naruto three days after the attack. Why would he write you such a letter. And Minato sealed the Kyubi in his own son", Jiraiya explained shocking Tsunade.
"You mean... he is alive? Naruto didn't die that night?", she asked as Jiraiya nodded irritated. Before he could say something else, a blonde announced his unflashy arrival, as he crashed face-first into the ground.
"Ouch! Too much chakra!", he mumbled before looking between Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya.
"Who are you, baa-chan?", Naruto blurted out before turning to Jiraiya. "You know her Ero-Sennin?"
"I told you to stop calling me that", Jiraiya shouted in anger. Naruto pointed a hand at the hot springs.
"When you are perving around, I will call you Ero-Sennin, not Jiraiya-sensei", Naruto pointed out humorlessly.
Tsunade and Shizune gaped at the blonde in shock. The grown spiky hair, and the two bangs framing his face from underneath the hitai-ate, she could have sworn it was Minato, if not for the whisker marks and the boy's age.
"Naruto?", Tsunade asked in shock as the boy looked at her cautiously.
"How do you know me?", he asked narrowing his eyes. Jiraiya gave her an eye message, telling that he would handle it.
"Naruto, she didn't knew that you were alive until we talked now. Somebody had sent a letter from Konoha saying that you were dead", Jiraiya explained making Naruto frown.
"Okay..? You want to add something, Ero-Sennin?", Naruto asked making Jiraiya shake his head in exasperation. Lying was no use to Naruto.
"Yeah... She is your maternal aunt and your godmother too", Jiraiya added making Naruto's jaw clench, but receded his anger.
"Why didn't she try to hope that I could be alive? Or return to Konoha? Isn't that her village? The village for which her grandfather, her granduncle and countless other shinobi sacrificed their lives to protect?", Naruto asked coldly making Jiraiya and Tsunade wince. "You know that I wasn't safe if I traveled with you. What was her problem then?"
Tsunade said nothing, rather she wasn't in a position to say anything at that. Naruto had perfectly asked the question one after the other, not giving her a chance to even utter an excuse. She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling down.
"If I were you, who has lost all of their family, I would still come to check in Konoha to check if the letter was true. And many people could have been saved with your medical prowess when the Kyubi attacked. Kaa-chan could have been saved, if you weren't cowering away trying to hide from reality", he added making the blonde woman flinch at the accusation.
"Naruto!", Jiraiya hissed in anger. Naruto gave an emotionless stare to Jiraiya.
"You know I am telling the truth. You said that Kaa-chan's wound was about two fuma shuriken in breadth because she had been only pierced by the from of the Kyubi's nail. I had got a smaller wound from a kunai once, but an experienced Iryo-nin healed it. Maybe the Kyubi's chakra helped too. But with her medical prowess and Kaa-chan's Uzumaki blood, she would have been weak, but would have lived", Naruto said coldly making Jiraiya look downcast knowing that the boy was right.
"I-I am s-sorry", Tsunade stammered out making Naruto frown.
"What's done is done. I am not trying to accuse you of anything, just pointing out that Kaa-chan would be alive if you weren't squandering around with the sacrifices Shodaime-jii-chan and Nidaime-jii-chan made", Naruto responded making Tsunade glare at him furiously.
"What do you mean by squandering their sacrifices?", she asked furiously. Jiraiya looked at Naruto with worry, knowing that boy had been pushing his limits with Tsunade.
"Do you think that all those shinobi who died in the three Wars, died of their own will? Everybody wants to live. But they died with a smile, because they knew that they were protecting Konoha. They died with the peace that their families would remain safe, even if it meant dying for them. It is said that Nidaime-jii-chan died acting as a decoy to help Sandaime-jii-chan's team get away. Because he trusted Jii-chan to take care of the village, and his family. He knew that even if he died, Sandaime-jii-chan would keep the village and you safe. For me, all of them gave their lives trying to achieve peace. But in Jiraiya-sensei's book, he said that the alliance which we make are temporary. Nobody knows how true peace can be attained. I want the Hidden Villages to have true peace between them, and not go at each other's throat at the drop of a hat. A war brings misery to both sides, and we forget that trying to prove that one is right. That's why I want to become the Hokage", Naruto said passionately.
The three adults looked at him with wide eyes. The three seeing visages of the people they knew. Jiraiya shook his head with an exasperated smile, while Tsunade staggered back in shock. She was quiet for a few moments, as Naruto, Jiraiya and Shizune looked at her expectantly for an answer.
"When you put it that way, you sound like Minato. Making the person feel guilty by explaining your view. For all this time, I always thought that all the Hokages were idiots sacrificing their lives over a village, but they died thinking that they took a chance to protect and save their loved ones", she remarked softly, before untying the necklace around her neck. "Take this as a proof that I lost to you. This was Jii-chan's necklace, which he had given to Mito-baa-chan after marriage", she said handing the green crystal to the blonde boy.
As soon as the crystal touched Naruto's palm, his eyes flew open realizing what the crystal was. "This has a seal on it!", he blurted out shocking the three adults.
"EH?!", Tsunade and Jiraiya asked in shock.
"It's quite unique. It uses the property of the crystal. Though I am not sure for what", Naruto answered before frowning. "This feels like its absorbing chakra if I pump my chakra into it", he added before tapping it with a finger, making an array of seals appeared at its equator.
"What did you do?", Jiraiya asked in confusion. Naruto looked up after wearing the necklace.
"Just put a chakra seal on it. My chakra would bounce off it, while it would absorb other chakras", Naruto replied nonchalantly making Tsunade gape in shock.
"That's high level fuinjutsu! I assure you Jiraiya can barely do the same! And did you just imprint the seal with your chakra?!", Tsunade asked as Jiraiya's grinned widely.
"Tsunade-hime, if I were to rank him now in a Bingo Book, I would rank him as an A-Rank shinobi with flee on sight below B-Rank! And you finally pulled off where you were stuck! So how did you do it?", Jiraiya asked eagerly.
Naruto craned his sideways, before shrugging. "I am not sure. I just imagined my chakra taking the shape of the seal", he answered making Jiraiya fall flat on his face.
"Even Minato had said the exact same words! How am I supposed to complete level eight book like this?!", Jiraiya screamed.
"By understanding it yourself", Tsunade remarked dryly. "So why are you traveling around with this pervert?", she asked Naruto.
"Well, he agreed to teach me for the Chunnin Finals next week, after Kakashi-sensei dumped me for Sasuke. So, we hit the road when Ero-Sennin suggested that it would be fun traveling and training", Naruto answered with excitement. "It was actually fun!"
"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?", Jiraiya asked in anger. Naruto coughed in his hand.
"Because you are peeping at a hot spring again. Gathering writing material for the filth which should be burned because throwing it into trash would defile the garbage", Naruto responded making Tsunade snort in laughter while Jiraiya looked at him dumbfoundedly.
"Minato had said the same when he had read the first page of his first issue", Tsunade stated making Jiraiya look depressed.
"You don't understand! My books are an art!", he said loudly.
"Filth", Naruto remarked.
"Smut", Shizune added.
"Badly written smut", Tsunade corrected before realizing her slip.
"Ha! I knew it! You read my bo-", Jiraiya stopped seeing Tsunade looing over him with glinting eyes.
"Say one word more, and I will pummel you", Tsunade warned as Naruto, Jiraiya and Shizune nodded fearfully. "So, how did sensei allow you to take him for a trip in between Chunnin Exams?"
Jiraiya's eyes lit up with amusement. "I made Naruto write a vague note, making it look like he has been bribed and gotten kidnapped".
"This isn't funny, Jiraiya!", Tsunade scolded.
"Hey! At least I pointed out a flaw in Konoha's security! And also, I escaped because I blurted out about Minato to Naruto. He had been thinking that his father was some kind of criminal because sensei always dodged his questions", Jiraiya replied before looking at Naruto who had been staring ahead blankly. "Hey! Naruto! What's going on?", he asked with a frown.
Naruto looked at him blankly, before a smirk rose up his face. "I am going ahead sensei! I just remembered something!", he said before disappearing in a shunshin.