"Why do you want to learn this jutsu?" Jiraiya asked. When he taught Rasengan, Naruto said it looked cool and wanted to learn it. When he taught the Lion Combo Hair Technique, Naruto said his long hair looked handsome.
This child was like him when he was young; learning ninjutsu was all about looking good and being cool. The only difference was that when Jiraiya was young, he thought about how to attract girls, while Naruto simply wanted to look good.
But this jutsu of his wasn't good-looking. Jiraiya's Sage Mode wasn't perfect and indeed looked quite unappealing.
"The horizontal pupils, they look cool," Naruto said, sitting up.
"...We'll talk about it later," Jiraiya said, disengaging Sage Mode.
Jiraiya truly didn't want to teach him any more skills; it was too exhausting. Every time he taught him something, Naruto would turn it into something bizarre. Rasengan became a rainbow glow stick used for digging wells and illumination. And this time, with the Lion Combo Hair Technique, Jiraiya still remembered the constipated expression he had yesterday when Naruto mastered it and pointed to a strand of hair sticking out from his head, saying, "Look, an ahoge!"
This child's ninjutsu was never normal. Jiraiya was truly afraid that teaching him Sage Mode would also deform it beyond recognition. Would he still be worthy of Mount Myōboku's legacy then? The main point was, Mount Myōbōku was too small to endure this child's antics.
Naruto only realized he couldn't turn into a Super Saiyan after learning the Lion Combo Hair Technique, but he couldn't just learn it and not use it, right? So the first thing he thought of was to create an ahoge like Ahoge King (Artoria Pendragon). Yes, very chuunibyo.
But it wasn't for combat; it was just for fun. And Naruto had turned thirteen two days ago, after his birthday. According to national regulations, thirteen was the age for junior high second year. What's wrong with being a little chuunibyo at the age of a junior high second-year student?
He didn't use this technique against Shukaku because Shukaku would grab his hair and beat him, which would be too embarrassing.
"Gaara... Gaara..." Temari ran over and gently shook the unconscious Gaara, helping him restart his system.
"Ugh..." Gaara, who had been suppressed and unconscious by Shukaku, slowly woke up.
"You're awake." Naruto thought he might say this phrase his whole life. People in the Naruto world had terrible physiques; they'd faint at the drop of a hat. Why couldn't they learn from him and train their bodies properly? Look at him; after being beaten by Shukaku, he was still jumping around.
"You defeated it again..." Gaara took the tea Naruto offered him.
Temari, supporting Gaara, secretly rolled her eyes. When you went berserk, your sister and brother were right there. You woke up and didn't ask us, but asked him first? She subconsciously ignored the fact that she had forgotten her brother, who had been kicked into a wall, because she was too busy looking at handsome guys.
"Next time it comes out, call me, and I'll beat it again," Naruto said. This time, fighting Shukaku was for his Fox Spirit, so getting beaten was considered an honorable injury. Maybe the Fox Spirit would even change positions out of happiness.
Naruto's demands weren't high. He didn't expect the Nine-Tails to lose weight, but he'd be happy if it just moved a little. However, Shukaku comparing him to a turtle couldn't be let go of. He had to beat it again.
"You're going to fight it again!?" Kankuro exclaimed in surprise. Did this guy have a vendetta against Shukaku or something? Not only did he beat it every time he saw it, but he was also making reservations?
Kankuro no longer wanted revenge, because he couldn't fight. Even his best poisons were useless. Even if he luckily hit, the opponent's physique could withstand the poison and beat him to death, then teleport back to Konoha to find Tsunade for an antidote... How could he fight that?
"Yes, fight." Not just fight, I'm going to beat it until it screams... Never mind, it has the same dad as my Fox Spirit, so I'll just beat it until its own mom wouldn't recognize it.
After a few brief words, Naruto opened a portal. He was tired and needed to go back to rest.
"Wait a moment..." Gaara weakly sat up.
"Hm?"
"Thank you." Gaara extended his right hand.
"You're welcome." Naruto stepped forward, shaking his hand back. This marked his official acceptance of Gaara as a friend.
"Can you stay a little longer? There's something I want to tell you," Gaara said. He was a Sand Shinobi Jinchuriki and couldn't just freely follow Naruto around.
"Uh... alright." This place was filled with yellow sand, not a good place to rest. However, out of respect for Gaara's red hair, Naruto decided to humor him. But why did you three siblings each have a different hair color?
"Wait a moment," Naruto instructed, then released a shadow clone and began building a home in the desert. The reputation of Konoha's Logistics and Medical Center was not unfounded. In less than ten minutes, Naruto had built a small house that was wind-proof and sand-proof, and even had windows.
Inside the house, a carpet covered the floor, and an iron pot held ice. The four sat together, and Jiraiya leaned against the wall, cuddling the cat. He found the cat felt especially good to the touch.
Naruto pointed at the shuriken in Shunpo's mouth and said to Kankuro, "You'd better have an antidote, or I guarantee you'll die a miserable death." The dog had found the shuriken from somewhere and was happily wagging it around.
"Yes, yes, yes," Kankuro pulled out a vial of medicine and went to feed the dog.
After a while, Gaara, having adjusted, sent Kankuro and Temari away, then sat in front of Naruto, pulling out a handful of sand and asking, "Naruto-kun, can you... truly feel her?" The sand was clean, without any trace of blood. Although he understood maternal love, he had never truly understood the connection between the sand and his mother.
"I guessed." He couldn't very well say he watched anime, could he?
"During this time..." Gaara slowly recounted his experiences: "But I've never been able to feel her presence."
Naruto listened, then organized his thoughts and adjusted his posture, sitting up straight. Although Gaara was a sand art enthusiast and would turn himself into a sand racoon dog for no reason, his intelligence was not low. He couldn't be brushed off with just a few empty words.
My sand friend, today I will tell you what maternal love is. The two sat opposite each other, two tea cups on the small table, giving a sense of ancient scholars debating. But Naruto was debating love with Gaara.
"That day, your chakra was depleted, and Shukaku was also exhausted. It still protected you. I can't think of any other power than maternal love that could protect you so selflessly."
"Moreover, it was drenched. Don't you think this kind of act, where it stands in front to block even when powerless to resist, is just like a mother protecting her child in an ordinary family?"
"Yes, it's truly similar, just as I saw that day..." Gaara recounted what he had witnessed.
The two conversed back and forth. Jiraiya stopped stroking the cat. He felt this world was too absurd. Gaara and his siblings had been captives for a while, so Jiraiya knew about his family situation. Gaara's mother had died after giving birth to him, and Naruto's parents had both died in battle shortly after he was born.
Two children who grew up without mothers, sitting upright and discussing maternal love? Had the world gone mad, or had he?
Watching Naruto speak with increasing animation, Jiraiya subconsciously asked, "Naruto, you're an orphan, aren't you?" After saying it, he immediately realized his mistake and rephrased: "No, I mean, how do you understand maternal love so well?" You understand more than I do, a man decades older. This doesn't fit your character persona.
Naruto glared at Jiraiya. Old man, I heard what you just said. Yes, I cheat. I'm an orphan. But you can't say it like that. I just feel like you're insulting me. As the top cheater on the cheating leaderboard, who tearfully won first place after narrowly losing second, Naruto never denied he cheated. And he even brazenly hung a coin around his neck, telling everyone – "I'm a cheater."
But Jiraiya, what you said is not right.
Naruto, feeling extremely depressed, took out paper and a pen.
October 12th, Konoha Year 60.
Today is the day after my birthday. I discussed maternal love with Gaara. Jiraiya-sensei suddenly asked me why I, an orphan, understood maternal love so well. I felt a little sad...
This grudge, I will remember it first.
---Uzumaki Naruto.
Jiraiya, you're dead. Even Minato can't save you, I swear it! If Kushina doesn't beat your soul until it can't even be Edo Tensei'd, she wouldn't deserve her title of the Red-Hot Habanero.
Putting the note away, Naruto said mournfully, "Old man, I'll be marrying Hinata in a few years, and I'll have a family and children too. I've always thought about what kind of mother Hinata will become, and what I will be... So the mother I envision should be one who shields her child, protecting him, while the father fights for this family until death..."
Children in the world of Naruto matured early, so thinking such things wasn't out of line.
"Yes, yes, yes, I was wrong. Tear up the note." The words that slipped out were indeed his own. Since he was wrong, he had to admit it. Although Jiraiya was an irreverent old man, he was very principled, which could be seen from his unwavering stand against Pain to the death. Could he not have escaped? Using Reverse Summoning was child's play for him.
But he believed that when a disciple made a mistake, the master must correct it, even if it meant death.
"Impossible." I'm keeping this note for Kushina. How could I tear it up?
"Then what will it take for you to forgive me?"
"I want to learn the horizontal eyes."
Jiraiya gritted his teeth: "Fine."
My apologies, everyone from Mount Myōboku.
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