Chapter 4: Jiraiya's research

The blade of wind cut through solid rock. The cut was mirror-smooth, reflecting the morning light like glass. Jiraiya lowered his hand and nodded. After a month of practice, his newly gained wind affinity still surprised him.

What surprised him most wasn't just the wind affinity gained from the soul fusion, but that it surpassed his natural affinity for fire.

The Wind Razor jutsu, a C-rank technique that typically required five hand seals, now came to him with just the Tiger and Dragon seals. On top of that, it had only taken him one month to master all of this, though he had used shadow clones to speed up the process.

Exhausted, Jiraiya watched as his clone popped another chakra pill and resumed practicing the wind jutsu. He settled down against a nearby tree, pulling out his notebook. During breaks from training, he'd been working on his next novel, letting ideas flow whenever he had a spare moment.

Today, as he gripped his pen, a brilliant idea struck him. Why not use shadow clones for writing too?

A perverted grin spread across his face as he imagined dozens of clones working simultaneously on his next masterpiece.

The title came to him quickly: Make-Out Paradise: Reborn in Another World. He pictured the plot taking shape in his mind—a ninja finding himself in the strange realm of Earth, surrounded by beautiful women who had never seen chakra before.

The sales would be astronomical! he thought, excitement building. After all, drawing from personal experience always makes for better—

A soft pop and wisp of smoke materialized a foot in front of him. Kosuke, a messenger toad no larger than his palm, balanced delicately on his notebook. The small amphibian bowed formally, a scroll clasped in its webbed hands.

"News from Shikkotsu Forest, Lord Jiraiya," the toad announced, extending the scroll toward him. "Lady Katsuyu sends her regards."

Jiraiya unfurled the scroll, reading its contents carefully. After a moment, he formed a quick hand seal, and a small flame consumed the message, leaving only ash that scattered in the morning breeze.

I guess it's time to make a trip, he murmured to himself, rising from his spot under the tree.

Jiraiya pocketed his notebook and stood up. He needed to check up on Naruto before leaving. The path through Mount Myoboku was familiar, and he could sense his student's chakra nearby. As he walked, the sounds of argument and laughter drew him to one of the smaller training grounds.

The sound of indignant squawking led him to a peculiar scene beneath an enormous purple-spotted mushroom. Naruto sat cross-legged, his training clothes still damp with sweat, glaring at his cards like they'd personally insulted him.

Across from him, Gamakichi wore the smuggest expression a toad could possibly manage, while Gamatatsu was contentedly stuffing his face with chips, his cards held backwards and clearly visible to everyone else.

"Read 'em and weep!" Gamakichi declared, slapping down another perfect hand. "Royal flush!"

"That's the third royal flush in five minutes!" Naruto exploded, pointing an accusatory finger. "There's no way—"

"Maybe you're just really unlucky?" Gamatatsu offered helpfully through a mouthful of chips, accidentally dropping his cards and revealing a hand that could have won three turns ago.

"Losing at cards again?" Jiraiya's voice called out from behind them, making Naruto jump.

"Pervy Sage! Gamakichi's totally cheating!" Naruto pointed accusingly at the young toad, who, despite being much smaller than Naruto, still managed to look supremely smug, as if he were towering over him.

"Am not! A true shinobi just knows how to play his cards right," Gamakichi retorted, while Gamatatsu continued munching on chips, his cards held backwards.

"Hey, hey, Naruto, want some chips?" Gamatatsu offered, completely missing the tension.

Jiraiya chuckled at the scene, pulling out his notebook. "Well, I'm heading out for a while. Got to do some important research for my next novel!" His eyes took on that familiar perverted gleam.

"Eh? Research?" Naruto's face scrunched up in disgust. "You mean you're just gonna go peeping at women again! But what about my training?"

"You'll figure something out!" Jiraiya called over his shoulder, already walking away with a spring in his step. "Just keep working on whatever you were doing!"

"WHAT? Hey, Pervy Sage, wait! You can't just leave like that!" Naruto jumped up, scattering his cards. "What am I supposed to do? How long will you be gone? Hey!"

But Jiraiya had already disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind only the echo of his distinctive giggle.

"Ugh! That pervy sage!" Naruto crossed his arms, scowling. "He's probably heading to the nearest hot spring..."

"Well," Gamakichi grinned, shuffling the deck with surprising dexterity for his webbed hands, "ready to lose another round?"

"Oh yeah? This time I'm definitely gonna win, believe it!" Naruto sat back down, completely forgetting his frustration with Jiraiya in his determination to beat Gamakichi at cards.

Hours later, as Jiraiya bounded through the forest canopy toward Konoha, his thoughts drifted towards Naruto. He knew he needed to balance between teaching Naruto just enough and letting him figure things out on his own.

He had to take this balanced approach to ensure that Naruto would develop that unyielding, unpredictable, and incorruptible character he would have had in canon, while helping him overcome his ADHD-like characteristic.

After all, he was not training a regular shinobi; he was training someone who would change everything.