Jiraiya was stunned.
He had seen many ninjas who aspired to become the Hokage—some for power, some for fame, some to prove themselves, and some because of their family's expectations.
He had also seen many people who talked constantly about changing the Ninja World, but the changes they spoke of were either conquest by force or empty idealistic talk.
Few actually cared about whether the post-change world would make life better for those at the very bottom.
But the person standing before him now and saying these words was an orphan who had been treated as a demon fox by the entire village since the day he was born, living in coldness and ostracization for a full twelve years.
This person, who had suffered all the malice of this world, did not talk about revenge or destruction, nor did he even speak of resentment.
Instead, he said, "Because I've suffered, I don't want other children to suffer like this too."
Jiraiya felt his eyes sting slightly. He turned his head slightly away, pretending to rub his eyes as if they were irritated by smoke, and quickly wiped the corner of his eye with his finger.
He had written many novels, constructing countless beautiful worlds in his books, stuffing the ideals that couldn't be realized in reality into fictional words.
Writing hope on paper, leaving it for future generations to fulfill.
But Naruto, standing before him at this moment, told him that some things didn't need to be run away from, and some ideals didn't need to be written in books. As long as one was firm enough, they could become that light themselves.
"To have such a goal, you need powerful strength." Jiraiya's voice returned to his usual carefree tone.
"You have to be stronger than anyone else, strong enough to make the Five Great Nations sit down and listen to you."
"You have to be faster than any enemy, fast enough to block all danger before anyone gets hurt."
"You still have a long way to go to reach that goal, so you've got to work hard, Naruto."
Naruto nodded, then sat cross-legged again to begin his daily Chakra training.
As he extracted, he thought to himself, 'Sorry, Pervy Sage. Becoming the Hokage is real, and changing the Ninja World is also real. But facing the upcoming Ōtsutsuki Clan, I no longer have any interest in playing house-like ninja games with the major nations of the Ninja World.'
...
An hour later.
Naruto opened his eyes from his state of Chakra extraction and looked around, finding that Jiraiya had disappeared.
Right after, he noticed a piece of paper pressed under the rock Jiraiya had been sitting on. H3 picked it up and saw what was written on it: "Continue tomorrow, don't slack off! -Jiraiya"
Naruto activated Negative Emotions Sensing and found no Chakra signals around, Jiraiya was indeed gone. Even the two Anbu monitoring him were gone.
Sure enough, after Jiraiya officially took over his training, Hiruzen withdrew the Anbu who had been monitoring him.
With Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, personally watching Naruto, Anbu-level surveillance was no longer necessary.
After confirming there was no one around, Naruto formed hand seals to create fifty Shadow Clones, letting them continue to practice Wind Release Chakra nature transformation behind the Hokage Rock.
Then, he dispatched a few more Shadow Clones to act as sentries around the area. If any Chakra approached, they would immediately dispel themselves and send their memories back to the original body, so he would know the moment Jiraiya returned.
After doing all this, he took out two Flying Thunder God Kunai crafted from chakra conductive metal from his ninja tool pouch.
These two Kunai were currently the most valuable ninja tools in his possession. Not only were they expensive, but more importantly, they had immense practical value.
Naruto focused Chakra in his right hand, and began to engrave stroke by stroke on the flat metal surface of the handles with his fingertips.
After carving the first one, Naruto did not pause and picked up the second one to do the same.
After completing all of this, he held one of the special Kunai in his hand and his figure vanished from the spot.
In the next moment, he appeared in the cavern behind the waterfall.
Everything in the cavern was as usual. The Sensory Suppression Barrier was still operating stably, and the Flying Thunder God Kunai he had left behind previously was still in its original position.
Naruto walked over, put the Kunai back into his Ninja tool pouch, and replaced it with the special Kunai he had just engraved.
The sensory connection to the mark on this special Kunai was much clearer. In the future, no matter where he was, he would be able to quickly sense this coordinate and return instantly.
Naruto looked down at the remaining special Kunai in his hand. In his ninja tool pouch, there were still over a dozen ordinary Kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God Technique formula kept as expendable spares.
'A pity there are only two. Once the Chunin Exams are over and I have more money, I'll customize some more.'
'Although chakra conductive metal is expensive, within the Flying Thunder God Technique system, it acts as a multiplier for combat power.'
Naruto planned in his mind, then activated the Flying Thunder God Technique coordinate to return to the mountain behind the Hokage Rock.
***
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