Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 69 Testing

"What do you take the Hokage for?!"

This question is deafening to those who are truly interested.

Naruto's will was certainly within the scope of the assessment, but he felt it unnecessary to be so harsh on a child and never asked Naruto's opinion. Unexpectedly, although he was unintentional, someone still walked into the crossfire. At least he knew that Naruto's understanding of Hokage was not so narrow as to be merely a title.

Being rejected by someone you dislike is incredibly frustrating, especially when that person is just a callow child. Ebisu's patience ran out, and he disdained arguing with a piece of trash. He reached out to grab Konohamaru, but Naruto intercepted his grab.

"I'm warning you. If you keep arguing like this, I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

Naruto ignored him, patted Konohamaru's head and teased, "Konohamaru, don't listen to your useless teacher. I can take care of this kind of guy in one move."

...I never expected Naruto to have this side to him; I really underestimated him. That ninja teacher must have had enough of that provocation.

Ebisu's veins bulged; he was indeed ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

Is it time to make a move? What will be the decisive move?

Then, Jiraiya saw Naruto leisurely form a hand seal, it looked like… a transformation jutsu? Next, the blond boy vanished, replaced by a stunningly beautiful, tall blonde woman with a voluptuous figure! The beauty wore an extremely form-fitting black fishtail dress, her chest prominent, the deep V-neck extending to her cleavage, the slit in the skirt almost reaching her thighs. Her hair was completely styled in an updo, adorned with a small black silk hat. She was clearly dressed, yet it seemed as if she was wearing nothing at all; a single whiff of a kiss was enough to captivate the lifeless Ebisu. That guy, utterly pathetic, coughed up a nosebleed and collapsed unconscious.

"That's it?" Naruto suddenly returned to normal. Even so, he was still very confident in his improved Sexy Jutsu. The ultimate Sexy Jutsu wasn't about being completely naked, but about being clothed, yet even more alluring.

Then, he heard a thud beside him, turned around and found that Jiraiya had also fallen down, still in the position of giving a thumbs-up as he fell, giving Naruto a thumbs-up for his unexpected new look.

Jiraiya's reconnaissance plan failed miserably before it could even be carried out!

Regardless of whether Konohamaru has learned some strange new techniques, at least Naruto did teach him the basics of the Transformation Jutsu. Conjuring something that doesn't exist in reality is inherently difficult, and Konohamaru will need to figure it out for a long time.

"Ahem, it's a holiday today, I'll take you out for a stroll." After finally coaxing the three little ones back to school, Jiraiya decided to continue today's itinerary.

"Where should we go?" Naruto asked.

"There's a famous hot spring village near Konoha. How about it? Your first time soaking in a hot spring, not bad, right?"

Naruto tilted his head and looked Jiraiya up and down, asking suspiciously, "You're that kind of person? If you want to use me as a cover for research, then... I'm not going."

"You little brat! Do me a favor!" Although his purpose did not include gathering material, Jiraiya, who was indeed a little guilty, shouted loudly as he took Naruto away. On the way, he asked Naruto a lot about his preferences and fulfilled everything he could.

Naruto was all too familiar with this plot. Back then, after doing the same thing, Jiraiya threw him off a cliff to activate the Nine-Tails' chakra within him through his survival instincts. But this time, he even unleashed the One-Tail. What was the purpose of all this?

I can't figure it out, but... it seems quite interesting.

With this in mind, Naruto went for a stroll outside the village, casually browsing the libraries in nearby towns to give his master another shock. As dusk fell and the two walked back to Konoha, Naruto asked in a casual tone, as if discussing "what to eat tonight," "So, you perverted sage, what exactly are you planning to do to me?"

"Huh?" Jiraiya, who was just about to launch a sneak attack, was suddenly called out. He was a little surprised, but pretended to be harmless and asked in return, "Why would I do anything to you?"

"Didn't Kakashi-sensei tell you? I can sense emotions. You were gloating one minute and feeling guilty the next, and you were especially excited just now. Based on my experience, you were probably planning to ambush me."

The two stopped abruptly, Jiraiya truly shocked. Emotions can be sensed?! Why didn't Kakashi explain his abilities completely when he said so?!

However, this unexpected incident did not affect the veteran actor. Jiraiya chuckled sinisterly, thinking himself quite villainous, and said, "I didn't expect you to see through me. Well then, I won't beat around the bush."

"Now, start running with all your might. If I catch up with you and you get into Konoha, you might still have a chance to survive, otherwise..."

"You'll die~"

Both being legendary Sannin, Orochimaru's killing intent was sinister and bloodthirsty, while Jiraiya's leaned more towards coldness. Every ninja who came from the battlefield had blood on their hands, but Jiraiya's more cheerful personality often led people to overlook his danger.

When confronted with the killing intent, Naruto's pupils contracted and then dilated. Countless possibilities flashed through his mind as he frantically analyzed the reasons behind this scene. But those vague reasons quickly vanished. Naruto didn't believe Jiraiya truly wanted to kill him; instead, he was more inclined to believe it was a test. A test involving a fight to the death, an attempt to drain him of all his trump cards.

Should we pretend to have been infected?

Jiraiya didn't give him much time to think. The messy, frizzy hair shot towards him like the First Hokage's Wood Release technique, attempting to envelop him. This was the Lion's Mane Technique; if caught, he would theoretically be torn to pieces in his current state.

However, hair is still hair. Even hardened hair cannot compete with wind release. Naruto instantly unleashed several wind blades, precisely slicing through the source of several strands of hair.

This response was somewhat unexpected. Jiraiya's follow-up ninjutsu didn't keep up seamlessly, and Naruto seized the opportunity to create several shadow clones. His main body burrowed underground, while one clone feigned an escape, and the others desperately blocked his way, creating the illusion that he had already left. Jiraiya hadn't expected the little guy to be so cunning. He used a fire jutsu to break free of the blockade and immediately gave chase.

The two moved very fast, but Naruto, who was burrowing underground, didn't chase too closely in order to perfectly conceal his presence. He trusted Jiraiya completely and believed that Jiraiya wouldn't kill him until he figured out that the person wasn't the real Jiraiya.

Honestly, only Jiraiya could come up with such a wicked trick. He'd already experienced risking his life to stimulate his potential once before, when facing Orochimaru! And thinking about it, he'd probably have to go find Tsunade again, and then he'd have to fight her again... Wouldn't that complete his achievement of taking on the legendary Sannin of Konoha one-on-one?

Naruto, trying to find some humor in his predicament, casually popped out, created a few clones, and then disappeared back underground.

Since we can't just fight randomly, let me demonstrate the correct way to use Shadow Clone Jutsu.