"I'm sorry kit, there's nothing I can do to fix the damage to her body." ~Kurama/ Kyuubi
"Stupid Kakashi-sensei, although he did leave me this cool looking jutsu, he also left that Closet Pervert to train me! I mean, all he wants to teach me is how to walk on water or how to improve my chakra control, which is phenomenal, considering me condition. But is that good enough for him, nope! I hope he rots in some dank cell in the I&T unit." Naruto grumbled as he walked down the street, his body filthy in several places, with his hair dripping sweat. But he could honestly say he had the jutsu Kakashi had left him, along side several others that he'd gotten from the library, albeit under an ingenious Henge. Turning into the Duckbutt of Konoha always left a bitter taste in Naruto's mouth, but even worse trouble for Sasuke.
He'd also managed to almost finish off the jutsu he was designing privately, the mechanics only needing a little tweaking to get right, but he still had three and a half weeks to work out the kinks. Right now, he wants to have a nice hot soak in the hot springs, and let all his tension wash away.
Entering the spring with a tired sigh of relief, he sunk down n the water, only his node up still visible above the water. Naruto noted with some interest that without his headband, his bangs hung down low enough to dip into the water.
"Okay, now that I'm relaxing, I can mentally list off and prioritize what I need to train in for the Finals. First, work on my Fuinjutsu. Second, improve chakra sensing abilities. Third, finish up my Taijutsu style. Fourth, get a summon animal. Finally, finish that jutsu and round off my general skills." Naruto thought, not noticing that has he became lost in his thoughts, he'd drifted to the side of springs, a low giggling bring him out of his meditating.
'Huh?" He said rather dumbly, looking around, but due to the thick steam, he couldn't spot the source. So, he closed his eyes, resorting to his other sight. Right next to him, a figure was hunched over, looking through the wall, giggling perversely at something.
Naruto's eyes shot open as he sensed a second chakra signature that was familiar on the other side, "Hinata-chan!" He thought frantically, before a furious rage filled him at the concealed perverts peeping. Smirking, he thought of a new jutsu on the spot to try out, sneaking up behind the peeping tom, which wasn't that difficult given the cover and his target's preoccupation.
Assuming the position, he mumbled under his breath, "A Thousand Years of Blistering Pain." Thrusting into the man's rear, adding a small cone of fire just for good measure, the man freezing for a second before shooting into the air, fire shooting out from behind him, giving him the appearance of a firework shooting off.
Naruto's dark chuckling was interrupted by the giggling beside him. His eyes widened in surprise, he had his sensors open, and should've been able to sense anyone around him, unless…
Using a minor application wind chakra to his hand, he waved away the steam to reveal a giggling man with a notebook out, writing something down. The man was wearing a red coat, and had long white hair in a ponytail; on his feet were geta sandals.
"Jiraiya of the Sannin!" Naruto hissed, before hearing what the Sannin was saying.
"Oh, there are some real beauties out today. The backside on that blonde, and the jugs on that delicious brunette. OH, and the curves on that Hyuuga!" he said, only to be rudely interrupted by Naruto punching him across the cheek, knocking him back into the water.
"Ero-Sannin! Stop peeping." Naruto yelled, only for Jiraiya to rise from the water atop a large toad, which croaked in tune to the crickets chirping.
"I said sto-" Naruto's yell was cut short as his mouth was covered by the same Sannin he was trying to cuss out.
"Shut it gaki, and I'll let you peek too." He whispered, and Naruto tried to break free. However, the pervert wasn't a Sannin for nothing, and Naruto couldn't break his iron grip any easier than he could've Orochi-pedo's.
"Mmh hmmph!" He said, the sage's hand muffling his rant.
"Oh, the Hyuuga girl's your girlfriend, well why didn't you say so. I'll make sure to include you in the book too." Jiraiya said, and now the tables turned as Naruto broke free, trying the righteous indignation to pry the notebook from Jiraiya's hands to burn it. Normally, he would've done that without taking it away, but in the highly humid environment, he'd need physical contact to burn it without using his more… explosive methods.
That was how Naruto was sent through the flimsy bamboo wall, crashing into the water on the opposite side, the women around him screaming 'ECCHI!'. However, Naruto had the naturally quick reflexes to Henge into a fox.
Which meant he died a much more pleasurable death as the females grabbed him up, snuggling him into their breasts, suffocating the blonde as he died a pervert's wet dream. Somehow in the chaos of cuddling and 'Kawaii' Jiriya slipped away without a scratch, a rarity for the perverted Sannin.
Once Naruto had been able to escape, he only made it three houses before Jiriya cornered the blonde, who had changed back to normal. However, his headband was currently in his pocket, his wet hair hanging down. As such, when the Toad Sage stopped him, he mumbled, 'He looks just like Minato.' under his breath.
"What do you want, Ero-Sennin?" Having heard the rumors of him being the self-proclaimed Sage of Toads. Considering the toad in the bath, such validity was to be expected, although Naruto still thought of him as more of a toad instead of a Toad Sage.
"Here's the deal, gaki. We had a good thing going in there, so I'd like to offer a temporary partnership. I have a fast approaching deadline, and need some help gathering inspiration. I'll train you, and in return, you use that fox form to attract all sorts of hotties, okay." Jiraiya suggested, Naruto glaring at the pervert. However, inside of him, unawares to the blonde, the Kyuubi was watching for his answer.
"I don't need training, even from a Sannin. I've made it this far on my own, and I'll make it all the way to the Hokage chair by myself. Find someone else to indulge your perverted wishes." Naruto said angrily, tensing his legs as he leapt onto the roof, leaping away from the Sannin.
"You know, gaki. It's not everyday that a Sannin offers to help train you. I don't feel that you properly understand the gravity of the situation." Jiraiya said, appearing next to Naruto, the blonde sighing as he made a sharp stop.
"Then how about you explain it to me then, Sannin-dono." He said, Jiraiya mirroring his solemn expression as he stopped across from the Genin who looked identical to his father.
"I'm well aware of the fox inside of you, for starters." He started, pausing as he awaited Naruto's outcry, but it never came. "And because of this, the village, the civilian council in particular hates your guts. I'd also bet on the fact that Danzo Shimura wants you to be placed under his command so he could turn you into an emotionless tool for Konoha." He continued, and Naruto's eyebrow rose skeptically.
"While the majority of what you said is true, there are… some on the council that like me. Also, from what I've heard, betting isn't exactly good where the Sannin are included. That said, what is your point." He said in an annoyed tone.
"First, wrong Sannin. Second, my point is, while it goes against what I feel, the Hokage isn't always the strongest person in the village. Sometimes, the shinobi that comes out alive is the one that brings back-up. If you want to be Hokage, then let me be your back-up, I have a good track record, after all." He smirked knowingly, and Naruto turned to look at the Hokage monument with longing in his eyes.
"You're saying that even if I could beat everyone else in the village blindfolded, the guy that has the support of the village will still get the hat." Naruto said, his tone matching his look. Turning back to Jiriya, the Sannin was pleased to the acceptance in his eyes. "Fine, I believe we can make this arrangement work. The Fourth certainly trusted you, and who can argue with those results? But understand this, Jiraiya of the Sannin," Naruto said, advancing on the Toad sage, who stood his ground, sensing no hostility from the blonde in front of him.
Then, in a flash of red, Jiriya was sent through the roof by an explosion that singed his coat. As he looked around for the source of the surprise attack, all he saw was the Genin above him, his legs dangling over the side of the hole, a notebook in his hands, sitting as blasé to the point of concern.
Slowly, purposefully, he flipped through the notebook before coming to a certain page as he ripped it out, slicing it neatly into squares and folding them meticulously. Then, he threw them all into the air, one dyed black to the white of the others. Naruto conjured small fireballs, sniping at the black paper plane, only to manipulate the wind to move a blank one into the way. However, eventually, he turned all of them into ash before catching the black one carefully, only to crush it, reducing it to ash as well, casting the ashes into the wind.
"Sometimes, all back-up means is more casualties to the superior fighter. And eventually, the shinobi or kunoichi will have to decide whether to cut the dead-weight, or take one on the chin." With that said, he threw the notebook at Jiriya, who caught it, but when he looked back to the blonde, he was gone, nothing left behind to say whether he had ever been there.
A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Scorched, because I was on the fence about it. I tried to think of a way to realistically get Naruto and Jiriya together, not that way Yaoi pervs, when Naruto has a different outlook on life to canon Naruto. Not that he isn't the same lovely blonde we know, but I like to portray him as more 'mature' like he's seen the worst in everybody, and slowly opens to them. Also, there's maybe one or two more filler chapters of training and development until the Finals actually begin.