After a bit of casual conversation, Kakashi spoke to Jiraiya privately, "Jiraiya-sama, did you come to see me... because Sandaime-sama or Godaime-sama have some instructions?"
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and gestured to pull Kakashi outside to discuss.
"Nothing major, it's just about Naruto..."
Before Jiraiya could finish, Naruto, sharp-eyed as ever, caught him.
"Eh? Pervy Sage, are you taking Kakashi-sensei away? But Sensei said he'd treat us to dinner, and he hasn't paid yet."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto and silently pulled out a stack of bills from his pocket.
However, Sasuke was troubled by the fact that the smallest denomination in the stack was a 10,000-ryo bill.
Their meal probably only cost a few hundred ryo.
Sasuke casually pulled out a 10,000-ryo bill, deciding not to worry about the denomination, and pushed it toward Ayame.
"No need for change."
Ayame hesitantly accepted the large bill.
She stammered, "I'm sorry... this is too much. Shouldn't I give you change?"
Sasuke waved it off, "Give it to Naruto. I don't need it."
"O-okay."
Sakura, sitting nearby, was once again stunned by the Uchiha heir's wealth.
She couldn't help but muse to herself, 'If I could marry into the Uchiha clan, wouldn't I live a life of luxury forever?'
Meanwhile, Naruto, who was still arguing with Kakashi, was moved to tears when Ayame handed him the bill.
But he quickly turned back to Jiraiya and said, "Speaking of which, Pervy Sage... we never finished that match you promised me this morning."
If there was anyone Naruto hadn't fought today among the people he knew, it was Hiruzen and Tsunade, as well as Jiraiya.
However, the Hokages were usually too busy with work, so Naruto rarely got to see them.
This morning, Jiraiya, who had originally come to tease Naruto, happily accepted Naruto's challenge after sitting down.
But before that, many others had lined up to fight Naruto, and by the time it was Jiraiya's turn... Kakashi had rushed in and called Jiraiya away.
That's right, after watching the storyline about Naruto, Kakashi had quickly gone to the main shop to inform Jiraiya.
The two then headed to the Hokage's Office to report to Tsunade.
After watching the storyline, Tsunade immediately called a meeting of the elders, followed by a Jonin Meeting in the afternoon.
Finally, she held a private discussion with a few high-ranking figures from the Hokage's faction.
And Kakashi, after all that, had brought his three students out for dinner.
…
Remembering the match he had promised Naruto this morning, Jiraiya laughed heartily and gladly accepted Naruto's challenge.
Knowing that Naruto's skills had improved significantly, Jiraiya confidently selected his strongest lineup.
Tsunade, Tsunade [Byakugou], and Jiraiya [Sage Mode].
But just as Jiraiya was about to confirm his selection, he suddenly smirked.
He changed his lineup to...
Naruto Uzumaki [Kurama Link Mode], Naruto Uzumaki [Nine-Tails Chakra Mode], and Naruto Uzumaki [Sage Mode].
Then he decisively locked in the lineup.
When the loading screen appeared and Naruto saw that Jiraiya had the same lineup as him, he scratched his head in frustration. He hated mirror matches.
But at least Jiraiya's secret scrolls were different from his.
Seeing that Jiraiya's Naruto [Kurama Link Mode] had the Chakra secret scroll, Naruto grinned.
In his opinion, Naruto [Kurama Link Mode] had its own exclusive secret scroll, Sage Mode, so there was no need to bring anything else.
As the match began, the first round was Naruto [Kurama Link Mode] vs. Naruto [Kurama Link Mode].
But just as the match started, Naruto heard Jiraiya say, "You're planning to start by throwing a Rasengan at me to catch me off guard, right? Too bad, too bad...."
Jiraiya's tone was teasing as he laughed.
At this moment, Naruto, who had already thrown out his skill, watched helplessly as Jiraiya's Naruto [Kurama Link Mode] effortlessly dodged his Rasengan.
Frustrated, Naruto shouted, "Ah! Pervy Sage, you're cheating! This isn't fair!"
In response to Naruto's protest, Jiraiya chuckled, "Stop whining. Watch this!"
With that, Jiraiya seized the moment during Naruto's recovery animation and used his second skill to dash in and land the first hit.
This move left Kakashi, who was watching from the sidelines, utterly shocked.
He had thought Jiraiya's ability to gather intel was already overpowered.
But he never expected it could be used in the game as well!
By using intel to predict the opponent's playstyle, strategy, and even the timing of their skills...
Such a terrifying ability was like bringing a nuke to a knife fight!
With this, who could possibly stand a chance against him?
Kakashi couldn't understand it. He didn't get why Jiraiya, with such an overpowered ability, was only at the Anbu rank in the game.
But... Kakashi was about to get even more confused.
After landing the second skill, Jiraiya didn't follow up with a sub-skill attack. Instead, he immediately used his first skill.
'Wait... wasn't he worried about getting caught in the recovery animation?'
From this point on, Kakashi couldn't make sense of Jiraiya's moves.
But he figured that since Jiraiya had such an overpowered ability, there must be a reason for his actions.
What Kakashi didn't notice was the cold sweat forming on Jiraiya's back.
In Jiraiya's mind, it went something like this…
'Naruto is going to substitute and follow up with his second skill. How do I dodge that?'
'I need to use a secret technique or summon at just the right moment to block the control effect, then try to land a basic attack to regain the initiative.'
'His cooldowns are faster than mine. I can't drag this out...'
'No, no, I can't time the secret scroll or summon right. I need to adjust my strategy...'
But just as Jiraiya's brain was about to overload from processing all the intel...
Naruto pressed the substitute button, just as Jiraiya had predicted. After substituting, Naruto immediately used his second skill and its sub-skill, landing two grabs that left Jiraiya unable to substitute.
'If I substitute now, Naruto will use a summon... the summon is Gamakichi, and the attack direction is to the right. So I just need to basic attack three times to the left to dodge it.'
After finally processing the intel, Jiraiya frantically started mashing buttons.
Kakashi was puzzled, 'Why isn't he substituting now? It's the perfect opportunity!'
'But... Jiraiya-sama must have his reasons!'
In a fighting game, every second is critical, so Jiraiya's brain was working overtime.
In the end, Jiraiya managed to substitute in the midst of his panic, and just as the intel had predicted, Naruto threw out his summon, Gamakichi. But the direction of Jiraiya's basic attacks... was the same as Gamakichi's Toad Oil Bullet.