Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own my original arcs and characters.

A/N: This will be the journey of Naruto with Jiraya during his training trip. Inspired by Avatar the Last Airbender, I'll try to make several short stories that will confront Naruto with a number of situations that will help him develop as a character and that will shape him and make him think more about his actions and take more responsibilities.

I think ATLA is the best story to compare Naruto with in order to make it a better story. The benders are like element users in Naruto (or powerful ninjas without elements), Naruto is a little like Aang but less smart and he's got a great fate, but there are obstacles on the road and his goal will put him in dangerous situations. He makes friends along the road and realizes the issues of the world he lives in and tries his best to make it better. He builds his reputation by helping others and changing the world for the better (something Chiyo noticed in canon, she said that this period was better than the times she lived in, you can trust your allies which would be unheard of before Tsunade's governance).

Please suggest pairings for important characters in the future, I'll see who I can incorporate into the story and how. I'm kinda set on Jiraya x Tsunade because in canon Jiraya was going to ask her if he had survived his mission in Ame, and with everything they've been through and the absolute lack of anyone left from their generation, they're like the only ones left and they want to be present for each other. It's perfectly obvious in their discussion before he leaves to spy on Ame and ends up sacrificing for…not much. But there are more pointless deaths than his in canon…

Alternate events: Chouji and Neji died in the rescue mission and Lee can walk again but he won't be able to be a ninja because his body was too damaged from his fight with Gaara and his early fight with Kimimaro while he was still recovering. These will help the characters grow and they realize that being a ninja is not just a fun job, it can mean death anytime. It also tells Tsunade to be more careful about who she sends on which mission.

Elemental advantages: WaterFireWindEarthLightningWater.

Elemental combinations: Water+Fire=Steam/ Water+Wind=Ice and Storm/ Water+Earth=Mud and Wood.

Fire+Earth=Lava and minerals/ Fire+Lightning=Blast

Wind+Earth=Sand and Dust

Lightning is tricky, that's why it's not one of the Four Elements, it's not an element in itself. It's a combination of elements. Water only conducts electricity, some metals do the same, lead and earth are insulators…

Naruto will gain much more in this trip, abilities-wise. Not necessary many abilities, but he'll be much more effective and he'll be able to do a lot more things in general because of two and a half years on the road doing various things, helping people, fighting natural disasters, killing bad guys (yes, killing, not everyone is redeemable, would you give some really evil people in real life a chance to redeem themselves? Rapists, dictators who've killed tens if not hundreds thousands of people? Some things are not forgivable, especially in a world without a real justice system, but we aren't gonna fake that our real life justice systems are working as they should, as you know certain people can get away with anything while others get sent to jail for ten or twenty years for less. Just look at Me Too and Black Lives Matter if you want to see what kind of things are allowed to happen with real life justice or talk with any rape victim).

If you want to talk about this story or any of mine (Ashera Fanfics), send me an invite on Discord at: Graal DTC#0625 (since the link to my Discord channel is broken on the fanfiction website). For updates, I'm very busy training for a new job so it won't be daily updates like it used to be. I don't update the same story all the time, I update the one I'm inspired in when I have time. Naruto: Away from Konoha has a complete 1st arc for example, so unless I get a high demand, I'll try to finish at least a full arc about my other main stories before going back to it eventually.

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Chapter 1

Naruto and Jiraya were traveling at a slow pace. There wasn't any haste. The goal of the trip was to train and avoid the Akatsuki, not to go as fast as possible to a precise location.

"Take these papers, Naruto," said Jiraya while holding said items in front of him.

"What are these, pervy sage?"

"Respect your elders, you damn brat! These are chakra nature identifiers. They allow us to know what nature is our chakra. If you're a natural fire user, it will burn. If you're a water user, it will become damp. If you're an earth user, it will turn to dust. If you're a wind user, it will fly. If you're a lightning user, it will wrinkle."

"Okay! Gimme gimme!"

"Pour your chakra into one of the papers."

"Trying to. It's easier said than done…"

Naruto focused on the paper and sent his chakra into it. He felt some heat and the paper burnt in his hand.

"I'm fire!"

"Try again. Sometimes you have several natures."

"Okay!"

This time, the paper wrinkled.

"I'm also lightning!"

"I can see that. So…"

A third paper turned into dust.

"And I'm earth! I have three natures! Lemme try a last one!"

"No, that's enough. One nature is hard to master, three are hell, more are…let's say you're not the kind of person who would be able to master so many natures in a decent amount of time."

"Why is that?"

"You're not patient and focused enough. You get angry quickly, which matches with fire; you have too much energy to spend, which matches with lightning; you hit your head against the wall so many times you've become stupid, which matches with earth…"

"Hey! That was not nice!"

"I didn't mean to be nice, but real. You take things head on, which matches earth. In your case it's quite literal. So, earth is the easiest element to learn for you. It can be felt with your hands, it's not too dangerous…let's start with earth."

"What should I do then?"

"Look at this technique and exercise with it. Learn the hand signs and do them properly. With that, you'll be able to start your earth training. Doton: Practice Brick!"

A wall emerged from the ground, separating them.

"It's also useful to counter weak projectiles or to block an enemy jumping at you."

"That's great! Could you just show me the hand signs again, please?"

"Yes. It's like this."

Naruto did them at the same time as Jiraya while walking until the man was satisfied with his hand seals.

"Now put your hands on the ground after the seals and push your chakra into it."

"Doton: Practice Brick!"

A thick earth wall rose from the ground, separating the path in two over a five meters width and up to ten meters high.

"Wow! It worked!"

"Idiot! You put way too much chakra into your technique! Learn to control it!" scolded Jiraya through the whole he had just pierced through with a rasengan.

"Okay, let's try again!"

This time, the wall was half as massive.

"That's too much! You'll make it as small as possible. You won't master your earth chakra before being able to do it the size you want it and you'll get used to the technique along the way, so you won't need the hand seals anymore after some uses."

"So, to master earth, I must be able to make this wall any size I want it to be?"

"Exactly. Now we're going to reach the first settlement in our journey. You'll help the locals in construction works. It will get you used to this technique."

"Okay!"

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"So, this kid wants to help us build our homes?" asked a middle-aged countrywoman. "Well, any help is welcome, but is he strong enough?"

"I'm training my earth mastery, ma'am. I have to learn how to make it the size I want."

"Oh, nice! What dimensions can you currently make it?"

"He needs some practice," answered Jiraya in the boy's place, "he did a ten meters high and five meters wide wall on his first try and half of that on his second try. Not really what you expect to build houses."

"Oh? That's really high! You must be very powerful!"

"Yes, he is. He could go at it all day long with what he's got."

"Really? That's incredible!"

"Yeah, I'm incredible!"

"Shut your trap and practice, brat. You've got a week to help this settlement build all the houses the people need."

"One week? Then I'll begin right now!"

"He's energetic," commented the woman.

"He could change the world if he learned to use his power," affirmed Jiraya. "The thing is that he's got all power and no control, so he has trouble doing the tiniest things because even they require a level of control he's lacking."

"Well, he's still a kid. Don't ask him to be an adult."

"He's a ninja. He needs to see the world by his own eyes and grow up. If he doesn't mature and learn to control himself, he'll end up killed or killing his own allies. That's why he needs to grow faster than a normal kid."

"Such a big responsibility for such a young boy…"

"Yes, and I have to teach him that. Why did I decide on this…"

"Because you like him."

"Ha, maybe. I feel responsible for him. After all I did not to have children, I have to raise someone else's."

"You'll find it better than you think it is right now. You'll see, soon you're gonna miss this little energetic blonde."

"Maybe you're right…"

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Naruto trained all day long. On the second day, someone came to watch him.

"So, I've heard you were gonna help us build our homes. Is that true?" asked a boy around his age with common features and brown hair.

"Yeah, but I'm struggling with my chakra control… I keep making them too high or too wide. I don't know how to make them in the dimensions I want."

"Then try to make them as small as possible. Then resume from there…"

"I'll try that. Small, small, small…"

He made a wall of one meter square.

"I can do it!"

"See? Then try to increase progressively."

They spent the day together, the villager trying to give him advice on what he thought could help, even though he didn't know more about chakra than the fact it is the energy that circulates in the body and is used to make ninja techniques.

By the end of the day, Naruto was able to make house walls. This would save the civilians a lot of energy in building their homes, as well as a lot of time.

The third day, he started building houses for the villagers. It was rather generic, since he had trouble with customized dimensions, but he could make it better than he had up to that point.

At the end of the week, the civilians were happy about the two hundred houses he had built them and he had a better control of his technique. When they left, Jiraya disappeared while Naruto was looking the other way. He tried to find him but didn't.

Suddenly, he felt a danger and instinctively used his Doton: Practice Brick to block the attack he had felt coming.

"Too late," said Jiraya with a kunai on his throat. "But you've reacted decently. You've practiced this technique so much that you're using it as a reflex to protect yourself. Congratulations. Now, you're gonna learn a more complex technique that will push your training one step further."

"What's it?"

"Doton: Mud Clone!"

A clone of Jiraya appeared out of a mud blob.

"Hi!"

"It can even speak?" exclaimed Naruto, excited.

"Yes I can, and I can even kick your ass, brat."

While the clone finished his sentence, the boy felt Jiraya's geta hitting his bottom and he was sent into a nearby tree with a bottom ache.

"So, the hand signs…"

That's how Naruto's earth training continued…

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A/N: a light chapter to begin with, as you see, the training will be connected with the trip, thus it can be called a training trip. This will allow Naruto to see more of the world around him and it will help him in getting small goals to complete to get to the bigger goal.

I'll add characters along the way, maybe temporarily, maybe for the rest of the trip. I'm not fixed on that for now. Enjoy and comment!