Lord Jiraiya had Naruto pressed against a rock wall; and Naruto, to his humiliation, couldn't even break free. "You're out of chakra," Jiraiya crowed. Naruto gave a grunt of effort trying to free himself, and finally took the easy way out. His arms might have been pinned, but his legs were just fine, and he used them to kick his master in the stomach.
"Am not!" Naruto protested hotly. "Kage bunshin no jutsu! Art of the shadow doppelganger!" A shadow clone appeared at his side, and together the two of them rushed Jiraiya.
"Oh, yeah?" challenged Jiraiya. As the two Narutos came at him from either side, he slapped the flat of his hands into each boy's chest—a ridiculously simple maneuver that nonetheless worked. The two attackers lost their footing, and Jiraiya put a hand behind each blond head and pushed them together. Two identical yelps sounded over the cracking of one skull against another. The clone Naruto disappeared, and the original doggedly went on the offensive again. Jiraiya sidestepped his punches, which were getting slower and weaker. Eventually he just stood
passively and let his student's fists hit him. "Out," he repeated with a grin. He put his pointer against Naruto's forehead and pushed him over. "Like a light." To his credit, he bent over and caught Naruto before he could hit the ground. He carried his apprentice back to base camp, ignoring the boy's feeble struggles.
"C'mon, Pervy Sage," Naruto protested. "I can still fight!"
"Give it a rest, Naruto," Jiraiya admonished him. "You're no good to anyone if you keel over."
"I'm fine!" Naruto insisted as Jiraiya laid him down next to the sluggish campfire.
"Get some rest," Jiraiya said. "Later, we can pick up where we left off." As Naruto struggled into a sitting position, Jiraiya frowned and went on, "Come on, now—I'm the master and you're the apprentice, so you have to do what I say." Naruto grumbled but lay back down. Rolling onto his back, he bent his legs to his chest so that he could rip the dangling shreds of fabric from the cuffs of his pants. He threw the bits of material onto the fire and squirmed out of the remains of his jacket. With the sleeves gone and the rest tattered beyond repair, it had ceased to be of any use to him. The day's training had been strenuous; both Naruto and the clothing looked the worse for it. "We'll go into town tomorrow," Jiraiya announced from where he sat writing more of his manuscript. "More clothes for you, more ink for me, more food for us both."
"And ramen," Naruto added with longing.
"I'll get you anything you want," Jiraiya consented indulgently. "You're turning fifteen, after all."
"Yeah. . ." said Naruto. "I wonder if all this training is gonna make a difference."
"What do you mean?" Jiraiya wanted to know.
"Well, I'm definitely stronger," Naruto conceded around a yawn, "but . . . have I gotten strong enough? Orochimaru's really powerful, and if he's teaching Sasuke . . . will I be good enough to beat him?"
Jiraiya laughed loudly. "Of course you will!" Having run out of ink, he stuffed his scroll inside his robe and came to sit next to his pupil. "Jiraiya the Toad Sage always picks the best." He smiled fondly down at Naruto. "You were the best of Kakashi's team, Naruto. Why do you think I wanted to teach you?"
"You're just saying that 'cause it's my birthday tomorrow," Naruto mumbled. Jiraiya's eyes twinkled above the red tear streaks.
"Yep. I'm telling you because it's your birthday tomorrow. I'm telling you because it'll make you feel better. And I'm telling you because . . . it's true." Naruto smiled as he drifted off to sleep.
"Thanks, Master."
= The End =