Naruto Uzumaki glanced around, his heart filled with curiosity.
He and Jiraiya stood in a picturesque location filled with intertwining rivers and lush greenery—far more vibrant than the Konoha he knew so well.
Gamariki and Fukasaku stood before the two, addressing Naruto.
"Welcome to Mount Myōboku, kid," Gamariki said. "You'll be completing your training here."
"Take a deep breath and enjoy this fresh air," Jiraiya added, inhaling deeply and patting his own chest proudly. "That's the true scent of nature… Soak it all in before your training begins."
Honestly, this place was pretty great. Naruto really liked the peaceful tranquility—it felt much safer than the Forest of Death he'd previously been through.
As long as there weren't flesh-eating spiders lurking around, hunting ninjas like last time, Naruto thought this place was nearly perfect.
After admiring the surroundings for a while, Naruto impatiently turned to Fukasaku.
"I don't mean to seem ungrateful or impatient…" he began, scratching his head slightly, nervously, "but seriously, what exactly am I supposed to do here?"
Jiraiya patted his shoulder and grinned.
"How about a little sparring session? A good warm-up between master and apprentice."
Upon hearing those words from Jiraiya, Naruto frowned slightly.
His master had never been the one to suggest a fight before—it was always him who asked. Jiraiya had only ever started one fight before—and that was during their very first meeting years ago.
"I just want to give you a taste of what you'll be learning," Jiraiya continued, "and maybe test your current level too."
Naruto fell into thought.
"What if he sees my Sharingan? Hmm… Well, there's no need to use it anyway."
Smiling smugly, he replied, "Fine then, Ero-Sennin! You've got a fight on your hands!"
With a chuckle, Jiraiya led Naruto across the rugged terrain of Mount Myōboku.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you."
"Save the talk," Naruto shot back. "I'll make sure you wake up staring at the sky!"
Before long, they reached a peaceful clearing encircled by gentle streams. Once they reached a suitable spot,
Fukasaku hopped off Jiraiya's shoulder and landed on a giant lotus leaf.
"Alright then, kid," he called out. "Let's see what you've got. I can't wait to see what you've learned!"
Naruto smiled, assuming a fighting stance.
"You won't believe how many new moves I've picked up since our last fight."
With that, he unleashed a half-developed technique—[Explosive Limit]—that he still hadn't fully mastered.
The full [Explosive Limit] required the power of the Sharingan, but Naruto saw no reason to reveal that ability to Jiraiya.
Naruto shot toward Jiraiya at blinding speed, leaving him completely stunned.
"This... sure is a new move," Jiraiya muttered, raising one arm defensively.
But trying to block Naruto's attack with just one arm proved to be a dangerously reckless move—one Jiraiya realized too late.
Naruto's strikes came fast and precise, landing with pinpoint accuracy.
Time had clearly done nothing to weaken Naruto's physical power—each strike he unleashed carried immense force, a fact Jiraiya could keenly feel.
To break free from Naruto's assault, Jiraiya swiftly formed a single hand seal and released his ninjutsu.
[Needle Jizo!]
Despite not activating his Sharingan, Naruto's final punch struck against Jiraiya's hardened hair, leaving his knuckles raw and bleeding.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiraiya leapt backward to create distance before executing [Hell's Needle!].
"Darn it!" As jagged spikes erupted from the earth, Naruto sprang backward and summoned a Shadow Clone to aid his escape.
Just as the spikes were about to pierce him, he launched himself into the air.
Naruto swiftly performed three hand seals, took a deep breath, then released a concentrated burst of air.
[Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!]
A barrage of miniature vacuum spheres erupted from his mouth toward Jiraiya, forcing Jiraiya to abandon his assault and concentrate on evading.
Jiraiya assumed Naruto would descend back to ground level to continue his attack, but he had gravely underestimated Naruto.
He watched as Naruto steadied himself mid-air, Chakra Bubbles forming beneath his feet.
As the bubbles burst, Naruto was propelled forward straight at Jiraiya.
"This kid fights like a rabid dog!" Jiraiya thought to himself, hardening his hair into an upright defensive shield.
Naruto pulled out a shuriken from his ninja pouch and hurled it toward Jiraiya at blinding speed.
[Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!]
The single shuriken doubled into dozens, showering toward Jiraiya like a storm of meteors.
Jiraiya dodged the attack by jumping aside and completed his final hand seal.
At that moment, he saw Naruto already back on the ground, charging at him with a kunai in hand.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!]
[Clone Explosion!]
Naruto's kunai clone instantly exploded, partially countering Jiraiya's fire release. The resulting shockwave sent Jiraiya stumbling backward.
"What an annoying brat! Guess he's not gonna cut this old man any slack."
Naruto maneuvered gracefully through the air using Chakra Bubbles, dodging Jiraiya's sight while occasionally sending out Shadow Clones to harass and distract him.
When he finally decided to return to ground level, a confident grin spread across his face.
"Thank you, Itachi. Thank you, Sharingan. Thanks to the powerful clone technique you gifted me. That's why during our last fight, I only used the most basic jutsu. Against copycats with stolen eyes like you, hahaha."
Jiraiya stood up and said with a smile:
"You've definitely become stronger, Naruto. You're not that reckless kid anymore. You're now truly a capable ninja on your own." He chuckled, "But you've still got a long way to go. I haven't even used my full strength yet!"
Though Naruto felt a surge of pride, frustration simmered beneath the surface.
His newly mastered Shadow Clone Jutsu hadn't even grazed Jiraiya, which annoyed him greatly.
"I know you're holding back! Why don't you finally show me your true strength? Are you finally ready to admit I'm stronger than you?"
"There will come a day when you surpass me!" Jiraiya felt two sudden weights press down on his shoulders, and the momentum of the fight changed in an instant.
"But unfortunately, that day isn't today..."
In an instant, his nose swelled outward, a thick tuft of beard burst forth from his chin, and his eyes morphed into large, bulging frog-eyes with markings stretching from the corners down to his cheeks.
"Boy, behold Sage Mode!"
Grinning down at Naruto from atop Jiraiya's shoulders, Shima declared,
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