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Jiraiya came over again to mooch another lunch.
"Perverted old man, where's the money?" Naruto pulled out a fish tank and pushed it toward Jiraiya.
The fish tank was Naruto's special piggy bank—practical and effective.
"You little punk, what kind of strange ability is this? You even have a fish tank?"
"Don't change the subject. Who eats for free without paying?"
"How much?" Jiraiya pretended to reach into his pocket.
"One hundred ryō."
Ichiraku Ramen had bowls priced at sixty or eighty ryō, so Naruto's price wasn't unreasonable.
"Here, take it or leave it." Jiraiya tossed a coin with a prominent "one" engraved on it.
Clang! The coin landed in the fish tank with a crisp sound.
"Old man, you're something else!" Naruto was truly impressed. He had never seen a one-ryō coin in his life—what year was this thing discontinued?
Naruto quickly stashed the coin away. This thing had collector's value; he'd hold onto it for future appreciation.
...
By evening, Jiraiya returned to freeload another meal, but this time he ran off without leaving any money.
He muttered something about "finding leads" that Naruto didn't understand.
The little miss hadn't come to splash around today either—she must've been thoroughly spooked yesterday.
After his bath, Naruto teleported himself to the top of the First Hokage's head to play another tune for Konoha.
Unlike yesterday's grand performance, today Naruto played the first piece from the beginner's manual.
Yesterday's impromptu playing had been chaotic—something only he could replicate, and even then, not a second time. It could be summed up as "random nonsense."
Naruto didn't know when Hayate Gekkō would die, so he decided to play every day.
...
After freeloading two more meals...
Jiraiya sat solemnly, his expression serious.
"Naruto, can I see that explosion technique you use to dig pits?"
Jiraiya was finally ready to teach Naruto, now that they were familiar enough.
But he needed an excuse—he couldn't just jump straight into teaching.
"Perverted old man, are you sure?"
"It's Sage, Sage!"
"Oh, right, Perverted Sage."
The two walked over to the fishpond. Naruto summoned a Shadow Clone and began the process of targeted demolition.
The routine was so familiar it was almost second nature.
BANG BANG
The Shadow Clones happily ended their brief lives.
Jiraiya fell deep into thought.
Setting aside the self-explosion aspect, that punch bore a striking resemblance to Tsunade's monstrous strength—a single blow that cracked the ground. However, Tsunade's power was far greater.
But when Tsunade struck, smoke didn't pour out of her seven orifices.
"Naruto, how did you come up with this technique?"
"Boiling water."
"Boiling water?!" Jiraiya was shocked. Since when did boiling water require such force?
What kind of logic went into this kid's techniques? Look at how others created jutsu—they observed the heavens and earth, like those who developed Sage Mode, admired the sun and moon to create moves like the Crescent Moon Dance of the Sarutobi clan, or pushed the limits of the human body, like the Eight Gates. Even the worst ones studied meaningful trees, like the willow, to inspire techniques like the Leaf-Style Swordsmanship - Willow.
Why was this kid fixated on the kitchen? Between flour explosions and boiling water, it was almost as if he came up with this attack flow while steaming buns.
"Explain it in detail."
Naruto reluctantly explained the principle behind his technique and its drawbacks.
He glossed over the true inspiration, claiming instead that it came from the pressure released when lifting a pot lid.
Jiraiya was speechless. That sounded even more like steaming buns.
"Naruto, if you want to keep practicing this move, I have a solution."
"What solution?"
"Cover your entire chakra circulatory system with chakra, creating a membrane that both pressurizes and insulates. Understand?"
"That's it? Just a membrane?"
Jiraiya laughed.
"To my knowledge, no one in the ninja world can control chakra to that extent."
This chakra membrane had to be sturdy, pressure-resistant, and heat-insulating. Then, through the membrane, the internal chakra had to be heated. Jiraiya felt this level of control might even be harder than forming a Rasengan inside the chakra pathways. He had never met anyone capable of it.
"Not a single person?" Naruto was shocked. He knew Jiraiya was acquainted with Tsunade, whose chakra control was already at the pinnacle of the ninja world.
"Not a single person."
Naruto felt discouraged. Was his dream of becoming a one-punch powerhouse limited to a disposable self-destruct version?
Seeing Naruto's disappointment, Jiraiya spoke up. "Listen, I've been eating your food for days, and I feel bad about it. Since I can't help with your technique, let me teach you an offensive jutsu as payment for the meals. How's that?"
Wait... Naruto stared at Jiraiya, feeling like he had seen this plot somewhere before!
Could it be that Jiraiya's surname was Hong, and he was the seventh eldest in his family?
Was his nickname not "Mad Dog" but "Northern Beggar"? Was he not a hero, but Qigong?
Am I not Uzumaki Naruto but Uzumaki Jing, or Guo Naruto?
And why doesn't anyone call me "Big Brother Naruto"?
Despite his complaints, Naruto was still excited.
"Perverted Sage, how strong is it? If it's weak, I'm not learning it."
Naruto feared Jiraiya would teach him another Great Fireball Technique. He felt like he was naturally incompatible with fireballs.
A Rasengan would be ideal; if not, even the Five Right Guardian Elements would do—he already had wind and fire, and oil came naturally.
"Watch carefully." Jiraiya extended his hand toward Naruto.
A small blue chakra sphere formed in his palm, growing larger as Jiraiya continuously poured chakra into it. The chakra within spun in different directions.
"So beautiful…" Naruto murmured. The blue chakra sphere, combined with the swirling energy inside, was indeed breathtaking.
Jiraiya slammed the Rasengan into a tree. The spinning sphere shredded the bark into splinters, then exploded on the other side with a loud boom. The tree swayed precariously before collapsing.
Naruto pointed at the crater left by his Shadow Clone earlier—the message was clear: the Rasengan's power paled in comparison.
"What about this, then?" Jiraiya stretched out his hand again, forming another Rasengan. With increased chakra input, this one grew to a diameter of two meters.
Leaping into the air, he slammed it into the pit created earlier by the Shadow Clone.
BOOM
Rocks flew everywhere. Naruto once again pulled out his trusty iron pot for defense.
Once the chaos settled, Jiraiya tapped the pot and called for Naruto to stop hiding.
This kid really had a thing for the kitchen—his techniques were inspired by cooking, and even his defenses involved kitchenware.
"Powerful enough for you?" Jiraiya proudly gestured to the significantly enlarged crater.
He couldn't let a kid outdo him.
"Can you do that again?" Naruto reached out and placed his hand in Jiraiya's palm.
"You little brat, you're such a hassle," Jiraiya complained, but seeing Naruto's eager expression, he complied and released the technique again.
With Naruto's small hand overlapping Jiraiya's large one, the blue Rasengan slowly expanded.
Because Naruto's hand blocked part of the formation, the Rasengan took longer to stabilize. Naruto stared at it, entranced.
"So beautiful…" he whispered.
Old man, just for teaching me how to make this ball, I'll handle Pain for you. I'll beat him so hard he'll call me "Senior Brother!"
"Hey, hey, I know it's impressive, but you don't have to stare like that, do you?"
"Mind your own business," Naruto grumbled, reluctantly pulling his hand back.
Old man, just for that comment, I won't interfere with Konan. You deal with her yourself.