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The teacher quickly shook his head and waved his hands in refusal.
To begin with, he truly didn't have such thoughts.
Even if he did, he wouldn't dare say it out loud!
Although Naruto's attitude toward learning had improved recently, dealing with such a troublemaker was better left to Jiraiya himself.
The teacher was genuinely exhausted.
"Well then, I'll leave it to you."
After thanking the teacher, Jiraiya beckoned Naruto over. The brat still hadn't come to him.
Unable to hold back any longer, Naruto sprinted forward, nearly throwing himself into Jiraiya's arms.
"You little brat, I'll deal with you later."
Instead of the warm, familial affection he had imagined, Naruto felt a sharp pain as his ear was grabbed.
"Ow, ow, ow! Grandpa Jiraiya, let go! That hurts!"
"Causing trouble all day—just wait till I teach you a lesson later."
With an apologetic smile at the teacher, Jiraiya pinched Naruto's ear and dragged him away.
Once they left the ninja academy, Jiraiya released Naruto.
Twisting Naruto's ear in the classroom had been a way to give the teacher an easy out.
Jiraiya didn't need to guess to know that, based solely on Naruto's antics, the teacher probably wanted nothing more than to kick him out.
Not every teacher was like Iruka, who had been thoroughly brainwashed by the Third Hokage into tolerating Naruto's behavior unconditionally.
Under normal circumstances, the more Naruto acted out, the less the teacher would like him.
The only reason the teacher hadn't disciplined Naruto was due to his status and orders from the Hokage's office.
When Kazuki instructed the teacher to stop worrying about Naruto, the man had nearly cried tears of joy.
"Grandpa Jiraiya, you're finally back!"
"If I hadn't returned, you'd have turned the world upside down, you little rascal. Still as mischievous as ever."
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Naruto lowered his head and apologized to Jiraiya.
Seeing Naruto's improved attitude, Jiraiya sighed.
"Alright, I'm not blaming you, Naruto. But you're growing up now. You can't keep fooling around like before, understand? I heard you've been training with Kakashi lately and have improved a lot. So, I've decided to reward you."
"A reward?"
The moment he heard the word, Naruto's eyes lit up.
"A very powerful jutsu—one that's not too difficult to learn and suits you perfectly. Want to give it a try?"
"Yes!!!"
"Awesome! Grandpa Jiraiya, you're the best!!!"
A small reward instantly dispelled all the resentment Naruto had built up over the years. He fawned over Jiraiya eagerly, amusing the older man to no end.
Hmph, thought I couldn't handle you?
After thoroughly teasing Naruto, Jiraiya took out a scroll from his back and had Naruto sign a contract.
That's right—he was going to teach Naruto the Summoning Jutsu.
As a disciple trained by Jiraiya, how could Naruto not inherit the legacy of Mount Myōboku? The Summoning Jutsu was just the first step.
It was still too early to teach Naruto the Rasengan outright, so the Summoning Jutsu would be a crucial milestone in his gradual growth.
Most importantly, mastering this jutsu would undoubtedly boost Naruto's strength.
As for whether Naruto might accidentally summon a giant toad—well, Jiraiya hadn't considered that yet.
He just needed to give the toads of Mount Myōboku a heads-up. They wouldn't give Naruto too hard a time.
At most, they'd mess with him a little.
No big deal.
Ecstatic, Naruto signed the contract with his name and a handprint, then began learning the Summoning Jutsu under Jiraiya's guidance.
---
"Has Jiraiya changed his ways?"
Upon hearing that Jiraiya had been diligently training Naruto for days without slacking off or fooling around, Tsunade wondered if he had finally come to his senses.
"At least until Naruto masters the jutsu he's teaching, he'll probably stay well-behaved."
Kazuki glanced at the documents in his hands, then suddenly remembered something.
"Say, do you think the village might suddenly be overrun by giant toads one day?"
"Uh…"
Tsunade pictured the scene.
"Probably not. Naruto's talent for learning jutsu isn't that great. It won't be easy for him to master the Summoning Jutsu and summon the toads of Mount Myōboku."
She smirked. "What about you? Want to go play with the Slug Sage?"
"Hard pass. I'm not a fan of slimy creatures."
Kazuki's expression twisted slightly as he vehemently refused.
---
"Aaaah, this is so annoying!!!"
At first, Naruto had been thrilled to learn a powerful new jutsu.
But his excitement quickly faded when, after days of effort, he could only summon a tiny tadpole.
Each attempt sent Jiraiya into fits of laughter.
It reminded him of his own early struggles with the Summoning Jutsu—back when he, too, could only summon tadpoles and tiny toads.
Even Minato, a true prodigy, had faced similar difficulties when first learning the technique.
Back then, Minato hadn't been much better than Naruto, summoning nothing but small toads and tadpoles.
It was as if the Summoning Jutsu was locked to only those creatures for beginners.
Naruto grew increasingly frustrated, while Jiraiya laughed heartily.
On the first day, Jiraiya found it hilarious.
On the second day, he was still amused.
By the third day…
Eventually, even Jiraiya couldn't laugh anymore.
Naruto's progress was just too slow.
---
After another day of training, Jiraiya intercepted Kazuki on his way home from work.
Over dinner, Jiraiya vented his frustrations:
"This kid is way too slow—much slower than Minato was back then. Even now, he can only summon tadpoles and tiny toads. At this rate, he's going to lose all his patience."
Of course, there's no such thing as a free meal from Jiraiya. He just wants to complain to me.
"Then give him a little push."
Kazuki continued eating leisurely as he offered a simple suggestion.
In the original timeline, Naruto's progress with the Summoning Jutsu had also been sluggish—until Jiraiya gave him the right motivation.
He had thrown Naruto into a deep ravine, and the fear of falling had forced Naruto to successfully summon Gamabunta.
Of course, Gamabunta hadn't been pleased about being summoned in such a state and had toyed with Naruto mercilessly, nearly making him vomit.
If the Naruto from the original timeline could do it, there was no reason this better-trained Naruto couldn't.
"You've got a point. The kid does need a push. But how?"
Jiraiya set down his chopsticks and pondered seriously.
Just when Kazuki assumed he'd resort to the ravine trick again, Jiraiya suddenly slammed the table.
"I've got it! I'll go find Orochimaru. I'm sure he's already taught Sasuke the Summoning Jutsu. If Sasuke's progress is better than Naruto's, that'll light a fire under the brat!"