"Alright, Naruto," says Pervy Sage, putting down the bucket of water balloons he refused to explain the reason for. "It's time to start learning that jutsu I was telling you about. I'm going to show you what to do, and while I search the town for Tsunade, I want you to practice. Don't be too upset if you don't get the hang of it before we get back to the Leaf - this jutsu took the Fourth three years to develop."
"Okay," says Naruto, eagerly. "Can you show me the jutsu first?"
"Of course," says Pervy Sage. He holds out his right hand and grasps his wrist with his left hand. "This is called the Rasengan." A ball of blue spinning energy forms in Pervy Sage's hand.
Naruto's eyes grow wide as he stares at it in awe. "So cool, 'tebayo…"
Pervy Sage grins and slams the ball into a nearby tree, shattering the bark around where the ball hits the tree. "That is the Rasengan!" says Pervy Sage, turning back to Naruto and grinning. "Now are you ready to train your butt off?"
"YES I AM, DATTEBAYO!"
"Good, then allow me to explain the first step in learning the Rasengan!" says Pervy Sage, taking a water balloon out of the bucket. "The first step is to pop the water balloon."
"Why?" asks Naruto, skeptically.
"It's the first stage of learning how to mold your chakra," explains Pervy Sage. "You know how to channel chakra out of your hands, right?"
"Yes."
"Good, then pick up a balloon."
Naruto does so. "Now what?" he asks.
"Now channel your chakra into the balloon," says Jiraiya. "Use it to make the water turn around inside the balloon until the balloon pops like mine did. Do you understand?"
"Umm…" Naruto screws up his face in thought. "I have to make the water in the balloon spin around with my chakra until it pops?"
"Yes," says Pervy Sage, crossing his arms and nodding self-importantly. "That's exactly it. It will take lots of practice, so don't give up."
"Okay," says Naruto. "What way should I make it spin?"
"That depends, are you left handed or right handed?"
"I'm right handed," says Naruto.
"Then spin it around to the right," says Pervy Sage. "Right handed people find it easier to spin to the right and left handed people find it easier to spin to the left."
Naruto holds out the water balloon in his hand and spins the water around with his chakra, Nothing happens.
"Keep practicing," says Pervy Sage. "I'll be in town looking for Tsunade."
Naruto turns his attention to popping the water balloon.
Konan sits on the windowsill while Nagato and Yahiko cheerfully fight over a copy of Make Out Paradise.
"But you read it already!" shouts Yahiko. "I want a turn!"
"I didn't FINISH reading it!" counters Nagato.
"But You've read it TWICE before!"
"You've read it FIVE TIMES ALREADY!"
"Why don't we just buy another copy?" suggests Konan, trying not to smile.
Yahiko and Nagato stare at her as if she just discovered the secret to immortality.
"Let's go to the bookshop!" Yells Nagato, jumping up and running for the door.
Yahiko is only a few centimeters behind him. Konona follows her husband and best friend out of the inn and into the main town area of Konoha.
"It's so sunny here!" says Yahiko, grinning. "I like it!"
Nagato sniffs the air. "I smell ramen," he says.
"Well, it is nearly lunchtime," shrugs Yahiko. "Let's follow Nagato's nose to the ramen."
Nagato follows his nose, and Konan and Yahiko follow Nagato. Soon they come across a ramen stand called Ichiraku Ramen. Nagato follows his nose inside the stand and sits down on one of the bar stools. "One Miso Ramen with extra naruto, please," he orders.
Yahiko sits down and orders whatever the day's special is.
Konan sits down between Yahiko and the stand's other occupant, who has a toddler on his lap. Konan orders what Yahiko ordered, but with extra naruto.
"Hey, I know you!" says the man sitting beside Konan.
Konan turns in surprise. Then she smiles. "Hey, you're the man who summoned me!"
Yahiko and Nagato lean forward to look past Konan at Fugaku.
"So who are these two?" asks Fugaku, raising his eyebrows at Yahiko and Nagato while the toddler on his lap tries to get the noodles from the bowl to his mouth. They keep sliding out of his chopsticks.
"This is my husband, Yahiko," says Konan, putting her hand on Yahiko's shoulder. "And that is Nagato Uzumaki, the guy I told you about - who has the same eyes as you."
"Ah," says Fugaku. "Nice to meet you two. I'm Fugaku Uchiha."
"Bad noodles!" yells the toddler, poking his bowl of ramen with his chopsticks. "Get in mouth!"
"And this is my son, Eizo-Mori," adds Fugaku. "It's his second birthday so we are getting him his first bowl of ramen from Ichiraku's. Aren't we, Eizo?" He pats the boy's head.
"Pretty lady!" says Eizo-Mori, pointing at Konan.
"Aw, thank you," says Konan, patting the little boy's head. "You're such a sweet young man."
Eizo-Mori beams at Konan and goes back to attacking his bowl of ramen.
"How's your daughter?" asks Konan.
An expression of profound sadness washes over Fugaku's face. "She's still alive. Her only hope is Tsunade. If Naruto and Jiraiya don't get back in time, she'll either die, or be a cripple for life."
"Pretty big sister all broken," says Eizo-Mori sadly.
Ichiraku serves Nagato, Yahiko and Konan's bowls of ramen. They all eat in silence until Fugaku yells, "Oi! Don't stick the bowl on your head!"
Konan turns to see Eizo-Mori with his freshly emptied bowl placed upside down on his head.
"Pirate hat!" says Eizo-Mori, grinning.
Konan laughs. Her triplets used to do that, but at least Eizo-Mori emptied his bowl first.
Naruto has been practicing all day, but he cannot seem to get the hang of the exercise. Pervy Sage assured him that it would take time to learn it, so he should just keep at it. But Naruto feels like he is getting nowhere. They spend the night at an inn in town, and when they wake up the next morning, Naruto's foot is firmly wedged into Pervy Sage's face. Pervy Sage is not impressed and leaves to go and get some breakfast.
Naruto remembers what Grandma told him about looking tidy to impress Tsunade and heads to the bathroom to wash his face, brush his teeth and run his fingers through his hair. Once Naruto is satisfied that he looks presentable, he heads off to find his jumpsuit. While Naruto is rifling around in the mess he made of the room, the inn cat jumps in the window and starts playing with one of the water balloons, batting it left and right in a crazy fashion.
Then the balloon bursts, splattering water all over the cat. The cats hisses and runs away. Naruto's mind starts working in overdrive.
Then he grins in realization.
"PERVY SAGE! PERVY SAGE!" Naruto yells, running at Jiraiya with a water balloon in his hands. He skids to a stop beside Jiraiya, ignoring the curious looks the other people in the inn cafeteria are shooting in his direction. "Watch this!"
Jiraiya looks.
Naruto hold the balloon in his right hand and uses his left to pulse chakra into it first from the right, then left, then right, over and over until the water inside the balloon is spinning so fast that it bursts all at once, sending water flying in all directions.
Jiraiya is astonished. Naruto mastered the first exercise in a day! "Naruto, how did you manage to learn it so quickly?" he asks.
"I saw a cat playing with one of the water balloons," explains Naruto, grinning. "The cat was bashing it left and right so I thought if I could make the water spin left and right with my chakra I could burst the balloon. But then I couldn't do it with one hand , so I used two!"
Jiraiya grins. "That's a clever idea," he praises Naruto. He does not want Naruto to think Jiraiya hates him. It was quite a shock the day before when Naruto accused Jiraiya of not believing in him. Jiraiya does not ever want Naruto to think that again, so he is resolved to never make fun of Naruto's abilities again - or at least until they know each other well enough that Naruto will know Jiraiya doesn't really mean it. "Looks like we'll be able to move onto the next stage of training."
"YES!" Naruto does a victory dance around the cafeteria and Jiraiya remembers Kushina.
Dammit, Jiraiya was expecting a mini Minato when he started training Naruto. What he really has on his hands is Kushina's personality and unique perspective on life combined with Minato's genius and drive. The talent level is somewhere in the middle ground between Minato's prodigy status and Kushina's single-minded focus on sealing and brawling.
In short: Naruto is a moron with a ton of untapped talent, which can only be coaxed out of him by thinking so far outside the box that the box ends up as an origami boat made of orange ramen and everything outside it is just collateral damage.
Naruto is like a more rambunctious and stupid version of Nagato.