"Ne, ne, Ero-Sennin. How are we going to be looking for that lady?"

"Her name is Tsunade, and she's a gambler quite famous for losing her bets -- her fame is to the extent that she's gained a nickname," said Jiraiya wistfully. "The Legendary Sucker."

"If she's that Senju Tsunade, she will have Uzumaki lineage. So she'll look pretty young or, at least, younger than you," Naruto reasonably guessed.

Jiraiya laughed awkwardly, "Not quite... She looks my age, but she isn't the type to grow old gracefully. She does appear young, but that's due to some jutsu she has used to hide her true appearance."

Naruto feigned shock.

"The aftereffects of war?" said he, in "realisation".

Jiraiya's smile was one of melancholy. "Something like that."

"Well, rather than waiting for you to find her through your network, it'll be faster if we went someplace based on my guess. My luck has always been good, dattebayo!" Naruto quickly changed the topic.

It would be best if this was concluded before Orochimaru came for Tsunade.

Jiraiya propped his chin up with his hand.

"So where are you suggesting, brat?" he asked.

Cooperating with Naruto and going to a place he suggested would not hinder his search. He thought it was just as well that he humoured the son of his late student. The kid was supposed to be his apprentice anyway.

"Tanzaku-gai!" said Naruto, sticking out his right thumb in the good guy pose he picked up from Gai and Lee. "Trust me. She will definitely be there -ttebayo!"

"Fine," conceded Jiraiya, adjusting the ropes that strapped his luggage to his back. "Off we go, then."

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

"Now that I think of it, I've decided to be your master... but I haven't taught you a thing yet. How about I teach a couple of tricks to you?" Jiraiya spoke up as they stopped at a town for lunch.

"Such as?" Naruto asked, looking up from the strange fūinjutsu matrix he engraved on his hitai-ate.

"An A-rank ninjutsu..."

"You mean this?" Naruto held out his hand, palm facing up.

Five pearls of chakra coalesced in his hand, one over each finger, and swirled like moving tiny balls of yarn. The sunshine yellow chakra above each finger immediately took the form of multiple miniature Rasengans. Each one spun vigorously without interfering with each other -- a magnificent display of chakra control that most shinobi would never attain in their entire lifetimes.

"You already mastered the Rasengan?" questioned Jiraiya, incredulous.

"I had Kaka-nii teach me during our month off. I guess that would be soon before we met?" Naruto answered and, twisting his wrist, made the five spheres of spinning condensed chakra orbit around his hand.

He maintained the same perfect control over the five small Rasengans that each had the explosiveness of an ordinary one at full strength, rolling them around like toys in his hand.

It was a far cry from his former self, who initially needed both hands to control a Rasengan properly. As for the shortcut of using shadow clones to simplify the work, he only thought of that after a lot of trial-and-error. In other words, it only came to mind that such a thing would work after succeeding in recreating the Rasengan with the fruit of his gruelling training under Jiraiya's tutelage. He had shown off his creativity to Jiraiya, well aware that decreasing the difficulty of execution would make his early success more believable.

Naruto let them dissipate and made two more half-sized Rasengans, one in each hand.

"And if I spin them in opposite directions and do this..."

He threw the jutsu away as if it was a landmine.

The two balls collided together, and the friction from the opposing forces caused an incredible explosion.

It was really just as horrible as a landmine -- a crater in the dirt with a radius of approximately five metres was all that remained after the two balls of spinning chakra collided.

"It continues spinning after leaving your control... Even if you have mastered the 'closed chakra system' concept, this should be impossible," Jiraiya stated in disbelief.

Naruto began a lecture full of scientific know-how that most cared nought for, "Yes, it is a closed system. However, that is not all there is to it. From your words, I believe you are aware that the forces in nature behave according to certain laws of physics. For example, a body cannot rotate without continuous application of force. Perhaps you also know that forces must exist in a couple for rotation to be established -- that means a body must have equal and opposite forces acting on it at two different points. Chakra, in contrast, is a unique energy that has the properties of matter and rotates naturally. If there is sufficient gravitation towards the centre of a Rasengan, it will be able to maintain its structure. Thus, I condensed chakra within the core of the Rasengan. Without coming into contact with an opposing force, it won't explode. That was why two Rasengans rotating in opposite directions were necessary to get this to work."

Jiraiya wrote the critical points of Naruto's explanation in a notebook.

"You understand chakra better than any scholar I've ever known," Jiraiya sighed in emotion.

Naruto knowingly finished Jiraiya's thought, "And that reminds you of my tou-chan?"

Jiraiya unthinkingly nodded before realising the abnormality. "Sarutobi-sensei has told you about your lineage already?"

Naruto grinned impishly, his eyes narrowing just like his Academy persona.

"I got him to spill the beans early -ttebayo! But he would've told me anyway when I turned chūnin, so I'd guess it doesn't matter anymore," he cheerfully revealed.

Jiraiya was so shaken by the previous revelations that he did not give the pretty waitress who served them their food a second glance.

"Let's... make haste for Tanzaku-gai," Jiraiya finally decided.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

"Tsunade."

Jiraiya's subconscious utterance of the name of a fellow member of the Sannin was more poignant than a cry or shout may have been.

The blonde dazedly looked up from her alcohol and called out uncertainly, "Jiraiya...?"

She was very drunk, muddled between dreams and reality.

"Why... In a place like this...?" Tsunade slurred, her sake splashing from her cup as she set it down.

Her unfocused eyes were trained on his figure now, and she tried to get up but failed.

"Ah, I get it now. This must be a dream," Tsunade murmured.

Shizune, beside her, was sweating nervously.

"Tsunade-sama, that's Jiraiya-sama. You aren't sleeping," Shizune whispered into Tsunade's ear.

Tsunade blinked blearily.

"Not... a dream?" Tsunade muttered. "Do take a seat. Don't just stand around..."

Naruto quietly stood behind Jiraiya while the said Sannin took the seat next to Tsunade at the bar counter.

"You... Why did you come to see me...?" Tsunade inquired, resting her arms under her bust on the table.

Jiraiya admirably did not allow his gaze to waver -- though that may have been because of the pain ingrained into his body from previous attempts.

"Frankly speaking, the reason for my visit is simple. Sarutobi-sensei... wishes to hand the hat over. I've been told that he's retiring from duty because of Orochimaru's attack, and you're our only candidate," said Jiraiya, sombrely.

Tsunade hugged herself and asked tersely, "How is he? Was he injured?"

"Konohagakure managed to repel his newly founded Otogakure, and one of the Hokage's guards summoned that Shinigami of the Uzumaki clan to seal Orochimaru's arms. If he's still the guy we remember, Orochimaru won't settle for his path being cut like this..." Jiraiya explained, allowing his voice to trail off at the end.

"So he'll come to me?" Tsunade sighed, sinking into the table.

"He'll offer to bring your loved ones back to life," said Naruto.

Tsunade looked up, a bit soberer now.

"This is?" she asked, staring at him intently.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm Konoha's jinchūriki," Naruto introduced himself simply. "I'll settle for becoming the Hokage after you step down."

"So, what's your answer? Are you willing to become Konoha's Godaime Hokage?" Jiraiya probed her.

Tsunade quietly contemplated the question for a long time.

Finally, she said, "Sorry... but no thanks!"

Everyone was stunned -- other than the blond and blonde.

"That line... really brings back memories. I remember you used it once back when I asked you out," said Jiraiya, nostalgic.

"If that's all you're here for, scram. I'm not going back to become the Hokage at any rate. Why don't you step up to the occasion instead?" Tsunade replied cynically.

Defeated, Jiraiya stood and plodded out of the bar with Naruto trailing behind him.

He did not notice the glint in those blue eyes as they drifted back onto the pair of women in the bar surrounded by innumerable sake bottles -- most empty and others half-filled.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

Naruto returned alone -- in the wee hours, to the bar where Tsunade drank away her worries.

Shizune was dozing on the counter next to her master, but their pet pig Tonton guarded its owners alertly.

Naruto joined Tsunade at the counter seat and took her sake bottle, downing the contents in a single gulp.

His unique constitution that was closer to a bijū than a human ensured that he could not get intoxicated no matter how much he drank.

"Senju Tsunade," Naruto addressed her, "how about we make a bet?"

Tsunade looked up at him, drunk but still holding on to her rationality.

"A bet?" she echoed, intrigued.

Naruto, smirking, nodded.

"I bet that I'll be able to drag you back to Konoha within one week," said Naruto, confidence lacing his words.

Tsunade laughed, amused, "This is one bet that I can win. I'll bet that you fail, then."

"Excellent," said Naruto, his smirk broadening into a fox-like grin.

"Becoming the Hokage... is your dream, isn't it? My condition is that you'll give up on becoming the Hokage if you lose," declared Tsunade.

Naruto replied pleasantly, "Very well. My condition is that you'll become Hokage if I win."

"Deal!"

They shook hands seriously.

Having agreed on this bet with the fellow blond, Tsunade immediately cleared her system of alcohol using some self-invented jutsu and began deliberating over the question.

What kind of intricate, convoluted plan did this Uzumaki have? For him to be so sure that he would succeed in bringing a member of the legendary Sannin back to Konohagakure against her will within such a short time limit... Tsunade could not even begin to imagine what kind of grand masterplan this proud jinchūriki had thought up. She will have to crush it -- no matter how ingenious his ideas.

It was slightly daunting when she thought she would be up against the progeny of the Uzumaki clan, but there was no way she would be beaten by a newly-minted chūnin.

Then it hit her that she was up against a child of that Uzumaki clan upon noticing the fūinjutsu tools hung on Naruto's belt.

She thus began to think of the loopholes that could be exploited within their bet.

First, they were a fair distance from Konoha right now. This meant that it was not going to work if Naruto was going to convince her to return over these seven days. And, even if those two threatened her to return or used some other means to physically inhibit her and drag her back, it could really be considered Naruto's loss if they did not arrive in Konoha precisely within a week.

Secondly, Naruto used the word "I". In other words, he should be doing it alone and without external help. She will call it a foul the moment Jiraiya gets involved in this matter. On the other hand, there were no such restrictions on her. If she deemed it necessary, she could enlist a third party to assist her in escape -- or whatever was needed depending on Naruto's actions henceforth...

Tsunade was broken from her train of thought when Naruto called over the bartender and requested juice.

She looked between the Uzumaki, the empty bottle and the freshly-squeezed orange juice being delivered to their table and felt her mind blank.

He nodded at her and sipped at his juice, causing Tsunade to doubt her eyesight briefly.

Was this kid the same person as the one who finished her sake earlier?

She gestured at his hitai-ate and green flak jacket, then stated, "Old enough to kill, old enough to drink."

Naruto looked down at the new flak jacket that he was clad in as though surprised to see it -- which he was.

Momentarily, he had been lulled into the past by the mood too similar to when he joined Tsunade's drinking sessions back when the war was just on the horizon. Then, he had yet to get used to the burning taste of alcohol. Due to his past, he also disliked the intoxication caused by the liquid. It was only... after Tsunade had passed that he really took to drinking -- even if he did not quite enjoy it as his late predecessor had.

Naruto smiled, almost longingly, into his glass of orange juice.

He shook his head. "This is good enough for me."

Back in those years, there was no leisure to return to obtain a chūnin qualification. As such, even after ascending to the role of Hokage, he had never worn this signature flak jacket. When putting it on in the Hokage's Office, he did not pay it any heed. After all, there were more important things at stake then. Now that he actually thought it over, it was meaningful that he was wearing it now. This was a sign that their choices changed the world that they lived in.

Naruto knew he would be removing this article of clothing before going on a trip around the Elemental Continent with his mentor.

He will relish the novelty of having the right to wear this chūnin flak jacket for a while longer.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

Tsunade was still on guard when, in the evening, Naruto joined her again during her drinking session.

In the afternoon, Jiraiya had continued to pester her about becoming Hokage -- it was clear he had no idea that Naruto had an ongoing bet with her. She could not bear her ex-teammate hounding her to become Hokage and thus gave up on her gambling hobby. As a result of this choice, Jiraiya could no longer find her at gambling dens and casinos.

Naruto made no move, even when she downed entire jars of sake as if without heed to the consequences of doing such a thing. He just sat by her side, sipping at his apple juice -- the dedicated bartender never allowed his glass to bottom out. He never tried to convince her to return to Konoha to be the Godaime Hokage. To be precise, he did not speak a single word without prompting.

His silent presence was soothing, somehow.

She was comforted by the respectful sense of distance between them but at the same time disappointed by it. This kid... was an intriguing individual. Somewhat regretting her absence from his childhood, she concealed these traitorous thoughts and switched to drinking beer after clearing her system -- a drink with much lower alcoholic content.

It was nice to have a drinking partner, even if this was a kid who refused to drink even a sip of alcohol despite emptying a bottle of her sake with no debilitation before.

Shizune was not the same. She fretted over Tsunade's health and tried to stop her from drinking. She would never drink with her master or maintain such a calm silence that allowed both sides to dwell on various thoughts without the weight of expectations.

The second evening, Naruto appeared again to join her in another night of drinking.

An industrious bartender set a chilled glass in front of him, as usual, a paper coaster under it, just like the pint of beer Tsunade was chugging down.

Tsunade looked over as soon as he showed up and noted that it was grape juice today.

"I... dislike bloodshed. No, it would be more accurate to say that I'm scared of seeing blood again. I wasn't strong... Or, at least, I wasn't strong enough to protect the ones I loved. Nawaki and Dan both dreamed of becoming Hokage -- they had so many things they wanted to do after attaining that goal. They died in vain, for their dreams never came to be. That position is cursed, as is this necklace of mine. No one who becomes the Hokage has a good end, and many have died yearning for it. Even Sarutobi-sensei almost got hurt because of it... Yes, it's a good thing that he's retiring at last..." Tsunade reminisced. Her fondness for those who have departed caused her voice to be heavy with guilt and depression.

Naruto held out his glass for the bartender to refill and said, "But Hokage-jiji is alive and well, isn't he? And this Nawaki and Dan you speak of... That would make them your brother and significant other? You say they had ambitions too big for them to bear, and I will not dwell on that but did you ever think of what they would have wanted? As you say, they died believing in their village. They never stopped dreaming of becoming the Hokage. They were bright people with hopes and aspirations. Will those people feel happy to see you, the one they left behind, wallowing in misery like this?"

"Wallowing in misery..." said Tsunade, wryly. "Indeed an apt descriptor for this life I now lead. But, as we both know, they're dead. What can I do now except grieve?"

"You are alive, yet you lurk where others cannot find you. You seep yourself in memories of the past, but what's the point? No amount of sadness can bring back the deceased. They are long gone, and it is time for you to move on too. Even if you cried them a river, it would help no one. You know they died without ever regretting their dream, so how could you rebuke them for it after they're gone? Take the post of Hokage -- live out their dreams for them. I'm sure they will be glad to see you finally progressing from this state in which you willingly trapped yourself."

"Moving on..." Tsunade murmured. "That's more difficult than it sounds."

"I know," Naruto professed.

He has had to do plenty of that during the previous timeline.

"You're so stupid. Why does it always have to be Hokage? That role is not glorious at all..." Tsunade choked out, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "It is built on the blood and tears of those who have passed. It isn't heroic -- it's the grave of the most brilliant shinobi to live. No matter how talented they were, they died before achieving what they strived for. They protected Konohagakure with their lives, and no one remembers that. I think all of you are so, so foolish. People will only remember what you achieve in life. Once you die, no one else cares."

"But isn't that the way we honour the dead? We remember the things they have given us. Wouldn't history books be too tragic if they focused on how our greatest heroes died to protect us? It breeds ignorance, but I don't think that's a sin. It's a blessing. It means that we've the leeway to protect the innocence of the populace. It is a sign that... we have attained peace. A truly joyous thing," he refuted, calm.

"You must have suffered much torment in Konoha. Humans are never kind to what they do not understand. People... do not hold affection for the jinchūriki. You suffered due to that ignorance, but you wish to shield those villagers even then. Why?" Tsunade could not help but question him.

Naruto did not answer that.

Instead, he changed his approach.

"Throughout history, how many heroes have been considered such during their lives? Most of them were seen as villains because their actions were too incomprehensible to the common folk. Our Shodaime Hokage, too, was seen as an ambitious man by his rivals. They copied him, setting up villages as their fighting forces, and plunged the world into war. It was only after the Shodaime was able to protect our peace that civilians were able to appreciate his actions. They took refuge in the safe haven they once considered a military camp.

"He became the God of Shinobi not by his ideals but by his strength. Only after his demise did people finally acknowledge his efforts to make peace. Our enemies trample on that, so why wouldn't we try to protect it? I don't think what the citizens of our Konohagakure did to me was excessive. They needed a place to vent all of their grief of loss in the wake of the Kyūbi Attack, and I was their best outlet. It was convenient -- they felt no remorse as long as they never considered me a fellow human being. They did not know what it means for one to become a jinchūriki, so while I do not enjoy the abuse, I tolerate it because this village is the one I wished to protect."

"That is no reason to abuse a child... Not even I can defend people like that. How could you, the victim of their aggression, excuse their actions?" argued Tsunade -- she has always been a medic-nin.

How could she stand by, hearing that this child had been tortured by the citizens of her home village?

"I bear their sins so they would not harm anyone else," Naruto rationalised, unperturbed. "If I was so well protected, they would have felt that Konohagakure defended the demon that ended many lives during the Kyūbi Attack. And not all people are saints. How many will turn to crime once they lose the place they can vent their anger? I can tolerate the abuse, but it is not as if everyone has the resilience of an Uzumaki jinchūriki. Other victims would die if I were selfish enough to escape. No one wanted to kill me outright -- they just wanted to see me suffer."

"You..." Tsunade gritted out, a tick mark forming on her brow.

Her mood turned towards rage -- a default coping mechanism for when the reality was too harsh.

"Anyway, what was that about your necklace being cursed?" Naruto deftly changed the topic so she would not get more furious in his stead.

There was no reason to dive down that rabbit hole.

"What kind of analogy is that?" Gyūki asked in bafflement.

"You chase a rabbit down into its home?" suggested Matatabi.

"Sounds about right," said Kurama and Shukaku.

'In internet lingo, a rabbit hole would refer to an extremely engrossing and time-consuming topic,' replied Naruto, with his bizarre... otherworldly knowledge.

"The... internet?" repeated ten confused bijū.

Naruto did not bother to tell them more.

"Anyone I gave this to died. Its past owners perished, unable to ever achieve their goals," Tsunade replied, clutching the pendant tightly in her palm.

Naruto smiled.

"Then I guess it's up to me to break that curse."

Tsunade laughed bitterly.

"Not even you can escape this curse. You are better off without this cursed thing. You might become the Hokage one day, so don't ruin yourself just for some ridiculous sentiment," Tsunade admonished, chugging more alcohol.

Naruto's smile turned devious. "Then let's bet on it. If I manage to take that necklace from your neck, you will agree to one condition from me."

"There's nothing in this for me," Tsunade chuckled. "I don't think I heard a time limit on this one."

"I'll overcome a death flag for you and succeed the will of your loved one," he cheekily retorted. "That's the payment, in and of itself."

"Aha," Tsunade thought she saw through his schemes. "But let's place a taboo in advance. I will not become the Hokage if you fail our previous bet. You can't just give up on that and use the favour I owe to get me to take that hat."

Naruto grinned. "You don't have to worry about that, Tsunade-baa-chan. I'll absolutely succeed."

"Brat."

"Ah, how about I call you Tsuna-baa-chan instead?"

She rolled her eyes fondly.

"Whatever you want."

"Tsuna-baa-chan!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, brat."

Though she sounded annoyed, her lips were tilted upwards subconsciously.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

During the day, Naruto underwent training in Mount Myōboku to handle senjutsu chakra. Jiraiya remained there to cheer Naruto on, though he was no better than a spectator. Jiraiya's own Sage Mode was incomplete anyway, so it was not as if he could advise Naruto. They only returned to their hotel at sunset to rest for the night.

Naruto, who did not require rest due to his bijū-like disposition, relieved his mental exhaustion by making some shadow clones sleep in his stead.

At night, Naruto accompanied Tsunade in her drinking sessions. She no longer got dead drunk, and they would chat over drinks. The third time, Naruto had peach. After that, it was lime. And on the fifth evening, he had plum juice. Every time, it would only be fruit juice.

It was the fifth evening, the start of the second-to-last day of their bet when Tsunade could not take it anymore.

"You could not possibly have forgotten our bet, right? Tomorrow is your last day. Don't you have to start doing something if you want to get me back to Konoha?" Tsunade reminded, feeling distressed for his inaction despite the approaching deadline.

Naruto was not troubled about how he had whiled away his time over the past week.

He teased her, "Oh, you seem more worried about this than me. Why don't we go back to Konoha now? If you're a Hokage, your debts will become a matter of the past. And the annoying council will be under your rule! There are so many benefits to becoming a Hokage. You'll never regret this choice."

Tsunade felt her heart soften, but she did not agree just yet.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

It was already the last day and the last hour, yet Naruto was still drinking with Tsunade at the inn.

The glass before him was filled with strawberry juice.

Tsunade was back to drinking sake and, tipsily, mocked him, "You said such big words, but it seems you've given up without even trying."

Naruto was unbothered by her remark.

He smiled enigmatically, not even the slightest anxiety showing on his face as the remaining minutes ticked by.

When the last ten minutes arrived, Tsunade felt her stomach twisting as their surroundings flashed.

She sobered up with a fumbled hand seal, discovering their location had changed.

They were still seated on the same chairs, but they were no longer in that quaint bar in Tanzaku-gai.

This was the Hokage's Office.

Tsunade was shocked by the abrupt change.

"When...?"

Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"I used fūinjutsu to get you here," Naruto confessed, somewhat abashed -- he felt like he had deceived her somehow. "I didn't need a week -- I just wanted to spend a bit of time with you before bringing you back. I hoped to get you accustomed to the idea so you wouldn't resent Jiji for handing off the hat to you."

Recovering her wits, Tsunade laughed heartily -- at herself for underestimating an Uzumaki and her naivety in thinking that a gap in experience could hinder an Uzumaki from pulling one over her.

She did not know if they had been moving towards Konohagakure in these past days or if he had used space-time ninjutsu to get her here.

Either way, it was her loss.

"You win, gaki."

She stood from her seat, clearing the alcohol from her system with a quick jutsu.

Naruto handed her a glass of water that he seemed to whip out of nowhere, a sight that she had gotten used to over the past few days.

She drank it in one gulp.

"I'll be the Hokage for you, Naruto. I'm waiting for you to take this hat from me, alright?" Tsunade told him with a smirk, taking the hat set on the desk -- it was clear Hiruzen had left it for her.

"Of course. Don't count on getting comfy in that seat, Tsuna-baa-chan. I'll take over soon enough!" Naruto replied beamingly.

She wore the hat and looked at the blond for a long moment.

"You must succeed, Naruto," she whispered, removing the necklace.

She looped the jade pendant around Naruto's neck, pressing a kiss to his forehead in passing.

"You win."

Although Tsunade was usually a sore loser, she did not look unhappy as she conceded the victory to the boy before her.

Naruto touched the piece of jade that hung over his chest once again.

It still carried the warmth of its original owner.

He looked down to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.

Tsunade was alive. She stood in front of him as she had done years before, going through the same actions regardless of what path he chose to take. In the future, Naruto once became the Hokage at the cost of his predecessors' lives. Never again did he want to see that happen.

"I just kidnapped you, so why are you giving me your necklace?" he asked helplessly, barely hiding his emotions under a joking exterior.

Tsunade smiled but did not answer.

Instead, she queried, "What request do you have? I'll do my best to accomplish it, no matter how outlandish it might be."

Naruto snorted. "Am I that unreasonable in your eyes? I just wanted to ask you to consider bringing my teammate under your wing. Her name is Haruno Sakura, and she's quite talented in medical ninjutsu. I thought you would be interested in taking an apprentice."

Tsunade's eyes brightened.

"If you're the one introducing her, I'll keep my hopes up."

Naruto's brow creased.

He saw fit to remind the blonde, "You should try not to be too surprised when you meet her."

After all, while Tsunade might have been the pioneer of the medical field, Sakura was the greatest medic-nin of all time.

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

Naruto, while putting away his chūnin flak jacket in preparation to leave on a long journey with Jiraiya, rebuffed the little toad's attempts to get him to take his orange outfit.

After all, that attire was too poor for camouflaging in the wild. Even if little posed an actual threat to Naruto in this world, there was no reason to call unnecessary attention upon himself. He was not a kid trying to declare his existence to everyone who would spare him a glance anymore.

Now that he thought of it, Jiraiya had never taught him anything beyond the frog kata, senjutsu and the Rasengan. This had not been an issue as Jiraiya's skills did not mesh well with his fighting style, and they never had the time for it after those two years of wandering. He might as well take the opportunity to rectify that in this timeline. It would not hurt to learn a bit more from the Toad Sannin.

Naruto skipped out of the Forest of Death and bade farewell to the Suna siblings, who were also soon to leave Konoha. He said goodbye to his acquaintances, from genins to ANBU agents. He even paid a trip to the T&I Bureau to say parting words to his longtime guardian and friend, Anko.

When Naruto met Jiraiya by the village gates (this pervert did not dare peep on the women's baths with Tsunade having returned), it was already noon.

"Ero-sennin, could you show me all of your jutsus? I want to see which ones I want to learn!" Naruto declared his intentions immediately, his eyes bright with anticipation.

Faced with the eager look of his apprentice, Jiraiya could not refuse outright.

"I'm always busy with information gathering, so I can't focus exclusively on your training. I cannot guide you through the steps, so how much you learn will depend on your ability to absorb my teachings," said Jiraiya sagely.

"That sounds like what you told your puppeteer kid last time," snickered Kurama.

Naruto was struck by how similar those words were to his own proclamation to Kankurō. However, he felt that he was more reliable than this erotica writer. To even suggest he was the same sort of teacher as this old man was just... He really begged to differ.

'I'm not the best with puppets, but I'm the greatest fūinjutsu master in the history of the Elemental Continent. I treat Kankurō and Haruto as proper disciples. I've taught them what I know properly and without cutting corners like this useless mentor of mine,' Naruto scoffed mentally.

Honestly, he did not resent Jiraiya for paying too little attention to him.

Jiraiya was and will always be family to Naruto.

It was just that he was busy and never seemed to consider Naruto as his student. Jiraiya treated Naruto as his son. To this godfather of his, Naruto had no complaints. Despite this, he felt it was his right to grumble about it a little.

Jiraiya promptly demonstrated his entire skillset to Naruto with the attitude of a braggart.

He did not expect the blond to actively take notes, diligently recording what he saw in a notebook.

"
Doton: Yomi Numa,
Kebari Senbon,
Hari Jigoku,
Hari Jizō,
Ranjishigami no Jutsu,
Gamadaira: Kageayatsuri no Jutsu,
Gamayudan,
Tōton Jutsu,
Kaeru Kaeru no Jutsu."

He showed the list of techniques that he wished to learn to Jiraiya.

"I'd like to learn these. Don't worry about my learning capacity -- I have my Kage Bunshin no Jutsu for a reason," Naruto cheerfully announced.

Doton: Yomi Numa was an earth release trap-type ninjutsu technique which created a swamp of mud that would sink any object within its range. It was quite a handy jutsu that worked on the ground and walls. That made this jutsu attractive to the well-learned Naruto with plenty of battle experience.

The three needle-hair techniques -- Kebari Senbon, Hari Jigoku and Hari Jizō -- were of little use since he had his chakra chains, but it would not hurt to learn them. The first three required him to keep his hair long to be effective, so it would take some time before he could use them properly anyway. He thus planned to try using Ranjishigami no Jutsu to lengthen his hair to a suitable length first. He could use chakra to stimulate the growth of his hair follicles, but learning another decent jutsu could never hurt.

The Gamayudan, or Toad Oil Bullet, was very useful for combination jutsus, though Naruto lacked an opportunity to learn it directly from Jiraiya before his passing. Before returning to the past, he had to get the toads to teach it to him. He needed an excuse to know the jutsu as soon as possible, so he would just get Jiraiya to show it to him now.

Gamadaira: Kageayatsuri no Jutsu and Tōton Jutsu had enormous potential as espionage and stealth techniques, even if they lacked utility in a fight. As they both had to be used in conjunction with other skills -- the Kage Henge no Jutsu and chakra concealment, he saw little use in sharing these useful jutsus with the allied shinobi alliance in future. He supposed he could just adjust the parameters of these techniques and add the relevant features later on. While the Tōton Jutsu was no secret, as Jiraiya taught it to his sensei after he invented it in his youth, Gamadaira: Kageayatsuri no Jutsu was not a mere camouflage or concealment technique. It allowed users of this technique to control a target via their shadows while the users flattened themselves into their target's shadow. It was inspired by the puppet technique and the Nara clan's hiden ninjutsu.

As for the Kaeru Kaeru no Jutsu, it was uncertain when a transfiguration jutsu intended for use on others would be necessary. Known also as the Turn-Into-A-Frog technique, it transformed its target into a frog. It was a permanent change, so it would require a suitable reversal jutsu to be formulated before Naruto dared use it indiscriminately.

Utilising his shadow clones to the utmost, he fully absorbed Jiraiya's fighting style in a month. He did not know when he would use it -- he may never need it -- but it could simply serve as a reminder of Jiraiya's presence in his life after his eventual passing. Naruto had not forgotten that he was supposedly immortal.

He relied on kenjutsu, fūinjutsu and elemental manipulation -- an ability granted by the Tenseigan. He also learned a plethora of taijutsu styles that he frequently used. They would be incorporated into his fighting style after he mastered them, and he occasionally integrated them into his kenjutsu. As for Jiraiya's summoning-derived techniques, Naruto did not think he could ever use them in combat. He has never relied on the Kuchiyose no Jutsu much, at best calling upon Gamabunta who would fight with him -- resembling a glorified clone that consumed more chakra and had a different set of abilities from him.

Naruto even had mythical summonses at his beck and call now. The toads were tolerant of this -- they too recognised his identity as the Master of Mugetsu. Even with that being the case, he was not about to rely on living beings as ninja tools.

Naruto remained for another week to properly bond with Jiraiya -- and share a customary ice bar with him -- before leaving for other affairs that had to be handled.

While he enjoyed a peaceful life roaming from country to country as much as anyone else, there was too much he needed to do. Whether it was the Akatsuki or Konoha, he could not just go on a two-year vacation and neglect the developments there. There was no such leisure in the face of an impending war.

On a night when Jiraiya did not return due to having to meet a contact of his, Naruto whispered a single phrase.

"Chi no Bunshin."

A clone, identical to Naruto in all aspects from appearance to speech, appeared before him.

Naruto had conscientiously adjusted it so that the blood clone would be one with a personality sufficiently similar to the guise that he wore around Jiraiya.

"Take care of Jiraiya for me, would you?"

"Yes, Master. I will watch over Ero-sennin for you."

"Remember to say 'dattebayo'."

"Understood -ttebayo."