BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Sasuke's hand shot out and silenced the alarm in one clean motion.
The sliding balcony door opened with a soft click. Cool air brushed against his face as the sun began to rise over the uchiha compound. Pale gold light stretched across the empty courtyard below. He went back inside, set water to boil, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and tied his hair back. When the kettle began to whisper, he measured out coffee beans, ground them carefully, and poured the water through a filter with steady hands.
The smell filled the kitchen.
He carried the mug to the balcony and leaned against the railing, taking a slow sip.
Sasuke had been enjoying the quiet of the morning... right up until it was violently interrupted by a very loud reminder that Naruto existed.
"SASUKE!"
The balcony window door slammed open.
Sasuke almost spilled his coffee.
Naruto stumbled out in bright orange pajamas and a ridiculous conical sleeping hat that drooped over one eye. In one hand he held a large metal pot filled with water. In the other, he dangled Oscar by the tail like luggage.
"What are you doing?"
Naruto ignored him and set the pot down on the balcony tiles. He formed a quick hand sign. A small, controlled flame flickered under the pot. He dipped a finger into the warming water, nodded to himself, and lowered Oscar into it.
The lizard floated, perfectly content.
Sasuke blinked once. "…You're boiling a lizard."
"It's a bath," Naruto shot back. "He likes warm water. Right, Oscar?"
Oscar made a pleased little trill.
Sasuke decided this was not worth the energy. He took another sip of coffee.
Naruto stretched and yawned loudly. "So. What's for breakfast?"
Sasuke didn't look at him. "There isn't any."
"C'mon. You've gotta eat something."
"I don't really do breakfast," Sasuke said, taking another sip of his coffee. "I'll have this, maybe some fruit if I feel like it."
"So, you just drink bitter bean juice."
"…Say that again."
"Bean. Juice."
There was a long pause.
"You have the palate of a five-year-old," Sasuke said calmly.
"At least I enjoy life."
"At least I don't think instant ramen is a balanced diet."
Naruto gasped. "You take that back."
Sasuke sipped his coffee. "No."
Naruto crouched by Oscar's bath, muttering, "Ignore him, buddy. Some people wake up and choose misery."
"I choose comfortable silence," Sasuke corrected. "And you're ruining it."
Before Naruto could fire back, something landed onto the balcony railing. "So this is where you ran off to."
Both boys glanced to the side to see Jiraiya balanced on the railing like a toad.
Sasuke frowned. "Why is everyone suddenly trespassing in my house?"
"I'm not everyone," Jiraiya said lazily, still perched on the railing. "I'm just here for the brat. You could've left a note, you know."
"I didn't have the energy to write a note while half the village was camping outside my door."
"Fair enough." The white haired sannin turned to Sasuke. "Mind if I borrow him for a bit?"
Sasuke lifted his coffee and took a slow sip. "Be my guest. I'll enjoy the peace and quiet."
Naruto gasped dramatically. "You wound me, teme."
"You'll recover," Sasuke replied.
"Anyway," Jiraiya said, hopping down from the railing, "let's go, brat. I've got some news."
Naruto perked up immediately. "What kind of news?"
"The kind you don't shout about on someone else's balcony."
"Okay, okay. Let's go."
Without another word, the redhead hopped onto the railing and leapt down to the courtyard below.
Jiraiya followed in a blur.
As they landed, Naruto's voice floated back up. "Sasuke! Look after Oscar for me!"
"Hn."
The uchiha took another sip of coffee, listening as their voices carried faintly through the quiet compound.
"Pervy Sage, did you know Sasuke doesn't eat breakfast?" Naruto called.
"What kind of idiot doesn't eat breakfast?" Jiraiya replied immediately.
"I KNOW, RIGHT?"
Sasuke's eye twitched at that as lonliness returned.
Almost.
He looked down at the metal pot still sitting on the balcony tiles.
Oscar blinked up at him from the warm water.
Sasuke stared back. "…How do you tolerate him?"
Oscar chirped.
"Yeah," Sasuke muttered. "I don't get it either."
He stepped over, crouched beside the pot, and examined the lizard more closely. The creature tilted its head, steam rising faintly around it.
Sasuke glanced at his mug, then back at the lizard. "…You want to try coffee?"
Oscar nodded.
Sasuke smirked faintly. "Thought so."
He dipped a fingertip into the mug and let a single drop fall near Oscar's mouth. The lizard flicked its tongue. Then immediately recoiled.
Sasuke let out the smallest huff of amusement. "Pathetic."
Oscar made an offended little trill and splashed water at him.
"…You're lucky you're cute," Sasuke muttered.
Oscar blinked slowly, entirely unbothered.
Sasuke stood, drained the last of his coffee, and looked out over the compound once more. He valued the quiet, but lately… he didn't entirely mind that the house wasn't so silent anymore.
After grabbing breakfast from a small street stall, Naruto and Jiraiya wandered through the village at an easy pace.
Jiraiya had been gone for years at a time, drifting between borders and brothels, battlefields and back alleys. Naruto took it upon himself to give him a "proper tour," which mostly meant pointing at places and saying, "I onced pranked them like this."
But, neither of them was in a rush.
Jiraiya had been gone for years at a time, always chasing rumors, women, or trouble. Naruto had spent his life moving forward at full speed, whether that meant training, fighting, or surviving in lordran.
Walking without urgency felt… strangely nice.
"You know," Naruto said, pointing at a renovated storefront, "that used to be an old weapons shop. Now it's a dango café."
"I remember that place used to sell kunai so bad they'd bend if you sneezed on them. Good riddance."
They passed the academy.
Jiraiya stopped.
"This courtyard used to be smaller," he said, hands tucked into his sleeves. "Back in my day, we trained on packed dirt. No tiles. If you tripped, you ate rocks."
"Sounds about right."
"And over there," Jiraiya continued, pointing toward a distant rooftop, "that's where Tsunade punched me through a wall for peeking."
Naruto blinked. "You deserved it."
"I was doing research."
"You deserved it."
Jiraiya laughed.
They eventually reached the park near the river. Children ran across the grass. Elderly civilians fed koi in the pond. Naruto sat down on a wooden bench beneath a broad tree. Jiraiya returned from a nearby vendor holding a pale blue twin-stick popsicle.
He handed one half to Naruto.
"So," Naruto said around a bite, "what did you want to talk about?"
Jiraiya licked his popsicle slowly, eyes drifting toward the sky.
"Naruto, does Lordran have dragons?"
Naruto swallowed. "Yeah. But the true dragons were wiped out a long time ago by the Lords of Lordran. What's left are descendants. Still dangerous, but not the everlasting kind."
"What's the difference?"
Naruto scratched his cheek. "Dunno. The old ones were immortal or something."
"Comforting," Jiraiya muttered.
Silence stretched between them for a moment.
"Is there a possibility that a dragon could escape from Lordran?"
Naruto didn't hesitate. "No."
Jiraiya's gaze sharpened. "Are you sure?"
That made Naruto pause.
He frowned slightly, thinking it through instead of answering on instinct.
"Look," he said finally, "I can't give you a hundred percent guarantee. But getting out of Lordran is insanely hard. Me being able to do it is… not normal. It's kind of a big deal over there."
Jiraiya nodded slowly.
"Even if something did escape, I'd kill it."
Jiraiya glanced at him.
When Naruto spoke those words, something in his expression shifted. The easy going attitude disappeared, replaced by a calm, cutting focus that mirrored the Fourth Hokage the moment he stepped onto a battlefield.
"Pervy Sage, Knights were created to fight dragons."
Jiraiya believed him.
Still…
"Why are you asking?" Naruto said, tilting his head.
Jiraiya almost laughed it off. Almost said something about idle curiosity. But that wasn't fair. What kind of godfather kept secrets out of fear? "Naruto, have you ever heard of the Child of Prophecy?"
"Sounds dramatic."
Jiraiya leaned back on the bench, staring at the clouds. "Long ago, the Great Toad Sage told me a prophecy. He said one of my students would change the world. That they would either bring about great peace… or plunge everything into destruction."
Naruto slowly nodded.
"I've spent most of my life chasing that prophecy," Jiraiya continued. "Looking for the one who would fulfill it. I thought it was your father once. I thought it might've been Nagato. I've been wrong before."
The wind stirred the treetops above them, carrying the distant sounds of the village.
"Pervy Sage, you're going way off topic. What are you even talking about?"
Jiraiya winced. "Yeah, yeah. I'm rambling. The point is that I trusted thiz. I built my life around it. I kept thinking if I found the so-called Child of Destiny, everything would make sense."
Naruto snorted and waved a hand as if brushing away smoke.
"What was that for?"
"I think the whole prophecy thing is flawed," Naruto said bluntly. "You're putting the weight of the entire world on one person's shoulders. That doesn't make sense. No matter how strong someone is, they can't rewrite human nature."
Jiraiya watched him carefully.
"People fight because they want different things," Naruto went on. "Power, money, revenge and pride. Even if one guy forces peace, what happens after he's gone? What happens when the next generation disagrees? Or when someone stronger shows up and decides to take everything?"
He looked out over the park.
"One person can't control greed, fear, or hatred forever. If peace is real, it has to come from everyone choosing it. Not from some chosen hero who fixes everything alone."
Jiraiya's expression softened.
"How do you bring true peace to a world that's always been torn apart by conflict? That question followed me through every war, every mission, every loss." He exhaled "Maybe I'll never find the answer."
"Why not?"
"Because the Great Toad Sage has spoken again." Jiraiya's face grew solemn. "He said the first prophecy may still come true… but the future is shifting. Even he can't see it clearly anymore."
Naruto frowned.
"This time, it was a warning that… a dragon will attack Konoha."
Images flooded Naruto's mind. The undead ancient dragons. The crackling lightning wrapped around Stormrend. The lesser drakes that still prowled the valley of drakes.
"Is it supposed to come from Lordran?"
"I don't know," Jiraiya admitted. "It might not be connected at all. But knowing dragons once ruled that land… it feels like more than coincidence."
Naruto stared at the ground for a moment.
"So what you're saying is… if I stop going to Lordran, maybe that stops the dragon?"
"That's one possibility," Jiraiya said gravely.
Naruto shook his head immediately. "No way."
Jiraiya blinked.
"You said the future is shifting, right?" Naruto continued. "You said it's dim. That means it isn't fixed."
He pointed at Jiraiya.
"The second you told me about this warning, the future changed. If it was dim before, it's dimmer now because I know."
Jiraiya's jaw tightened, searching for a rebuttal and finding none.
"Well, regardless of where this dragon is from, you're going to need to prepare for it," Jiraiya said seriously.
"Oh?"
Jiraiya bit into his thumb, drawing blood with as his hands blurred through seals.
Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!
A massive plume of smoke exploded outward, grass bending under the pressure. When it cleared, an enormous toad stood before them, large enough for Jiraiya to ride comfortably on its back. Its skin was a deep orange, patterned with bold blue markings. Bandages wrapped around its torso and left foreleg. Around its neck hung a heavy necklace of seven large beads, the central and largest carved with the kanji for loyalty. On its left palm were three swirl-like markings.
Clamped in its wide mouth was a giant scroll.
"Gamachu," Jiraiya said, patting the toad's side. "Open the summoning contract."
The toad's long tongue unfurled, placing the massive scroll on the ground before Naruto with surprising delicacy.
"This, is the contract with Mount Myoboku. It's been passed down for generations."
He pointed to the parchment.
"First, you write your name in blood. Below that, you press all your fingerprints. After signing this, you'll be able to summon toads in battle. Just like me. Just like your old man."
Naruto's eyes drifted over the names.
Jiraiya.
Minato Namikaze.
Then an empty column waiting for him. Yet Naruto didn't lift his hand.
"What's wrong, brat? Why aren't you writing?"
"I'm going to have to say no to the toad contract."
"…What?"
"I'm not signing."
"Why?" Jiraiya demanded. "Aren't you the same kid who practically demanded his parents' legacy? This is technically your father's legacy!"
"I know, I know," Naruto said quickly. "But it feels unnecessary."
"Unnecessary?" Jiraiya echoed incredulously.
"I don't see myself using toads in combat," Naruto explained. "Getting out of Lordran is hard. Getting in is even harder. I don't even know if summoning contracts would function there. And even outside of Lordran, I've already got Oscar. I don't think he'd appreciate giant toads hopping around us in battle."
Naruto pressed his palms together in apology. "I'm sorry, Pervy Sage."
"…It's your decision."
Jiraya tried to sound neutral, but the disappointment slipped through. With a grunt, he rolled up the large contract and handed it back to Gamachu. The toad vanished in another puff of smoke.
Jiraiya then pulled out a smaller scroll and crouched, beginning to inscribe a complex fuinjutsu array onto it with swift strokes.
"What're you doing?"
"I'm making you a summoning scroll," Jiraiya said without looking up. "I'll assign a specific toad to it. That way, while I'm out of the village, you can contact me directly."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah." Jiraiya finished the seal and blew lightly to dry the ink. "I've got to track down Tsunade and bring her back to Konoha. We'll need her for the Chunin Exams."
"When?"
"Sensei wanted me to leave right away," Jiraiya said, "I pushed it back a few days because I figured I'd teach you summoning properly before I went. Guess that plan's not happening now."
Naruto glanced at the small scroll, then back up at him. "What if, instead, you gave me a jutsu I'd actually use?"
"Oh? And what would that be, Your Highness?"
"I'm good with whatever," Naruto replied with a shrug. "As long as it's not something I'll never touch."
"Alright. New question. What's the plan for that hair of yours? You gonna cut it?"
Naruto immediately shook his head, brushing a hand through his long crimson hair. "No way. I like it long. Makes me look cool and handsome too. And Oscar likes sleeping in it."
"Then I have the perfect jutsu for you. A technique most shinobi ignore because they think it's flashy or gimmicky. Fools. In the right hands, it's a battlefield control monster."
"You're overselling it."
"Am I?" Jiraiya asked. "What if I told you this jutsu works as solid defense, mid-range restraint, sudden offense, and a hard counter to close-quarters fighters? And with your ridiculous chakra reserves, you could maintain it all day without breaking a sweat."
"Okay, now I'm interested."
Jiraiya blurred through a rapid string of hand signs. Chakra pulsed outward from his scalp.
His white hair began to move on its own. Thick strands spilled down his back and over his shoulders, growing longer and heavier. In seconds it spread outward like the quills of some enormous beast. He slammed his foot down, dust kicking up around him, and threw his arms wide in an outrageously dramatic pose.
"Behold! The magnificent Lion's Mane of Jiraiya!"
Naruto blinked. "…Like the mushroom?"
A crow cawed in the distance.
"Eh?"
"You know," Naruto continued helpfully, "the fluffy white fungus? Looks like a beard glued to a coconut? Pretty sure Teuchi-san mentioned it once."
Jiraiya deflated so fast it was almost audible. His glorious mane sagged.
"Shut up," he muttered darkly. "People like to assume it's based on an actual lion. The Majestic King of beasts."
Naruto squinted at the hair still puffed out around him. "…It kinda does look like the fungus though."
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"It does not!"
"It does."
Jiraiya pointed accusingly. "You wanna learn this or not."
"Yes."
"Then listen carefully."
Ths Art of the Raging Lion's Mane worked by channeling chakra into the scalp to temporarily accelerate its metabolism, causing the hair to grow at a rapid rate. At the same time, chakra flows through each strand, hardening it to a density comparable to steel wire.
The duo wandered to an empty training field to practice.
"Brat, do you know how Lion's Mane helps with solid defense, mid-range restraint, sudden offense, and a hard counter to close-quarters fighters?"
"Dunno."
"It's the underlying principle of the jutsu that makes it so versatile. The art of chakra string manipulation."
Naruto tilted his head. "How does string relate to a hair jutsu?"
"Because the hair is the medium."
Jiraya lifted a strand of his own long white hair and let it fall between his fingers. "Lion's Mane is just about growing your hair and hardening it. That's only step one. The real trick is weaving chakra strings through every strand. The same principle puppeteers use to control dolls."
"So you're controlling each strand like a limb?"
"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded. "Without strings, it's just reinforced hair. With strings, it becomes an extra limb."
He held up a finger.
"Solid defense? You bundle the strands tight and anchor them with dense chakra strings. You hair now acts like a shield."
Another finger.
"Mid-range restraint? Split the strands thinner. Extend them outward like cords. Wrap, bind, and pull."
A third finger.
"Sudden offense? Coil the strands with tension in the strings, then release. It snaps forward like a whip."
He leaned closer.
"And close-quarters fighters? They rely on entering your range. But if your hair is controlled by chakra strings, your entire radius becomes active territory. They step in, they get caught."
Naruto ran a hand through his crimson hair thoughtfully. "…That's awesome."
"Of course it is," Jiraiya said proudly.
"Alright, pervy sage, serious question about this jutsu."
Jiraiya waved a hand lazily. "Go ahead."
"Could you… maybe… use it to make a bald guy not bald anymore?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"It's important."
"No, it isn't."
"It is to the bald guy."
"I… what? No. Maybe. How should I know?" Jiraiya snapped, rubbing his temple. "That's not what this jutsu was designed for. Stop wasting my time with nonsense."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. A different question. Can I use it to style my hair?"
Jiraiya slowly lowered his eyelids and gave him a long, flat stare. "Alright, brat. What are you planning?"
Naruto's lips curled into a mischievous grin. He rubbed his palms together.
"Picture this. I'm talking to someone. Every time they blink, my hair changes. Spiky then straight. Then maybe curly. Small changes at first. They keep blinking. It keeps changing. And I act completely normal. After a while they start wondering if they're losing their mind or are in a genjutsu."
He let out a villianous cackle, clearly proud of himself.
Jiraiya stared at him, caught somewhere between disbelief and reluctant amusement. He shook his head. "In theory, yes. If you gained enough control, you could manipulate it for styling. But is that really your grand plan for a jutsu this versatile? Hairstyle pranks?"
"Obviously I'd use it differently in a real fight! I'm not dumb. And it's not like there's some rule that says I can't use ninjutsu to have a little fun!"
"Okay, so the average human head has somewhere between eighty thousand and a hundred fifty thousand hairs. If you tried to move every strand individually, you would need tens of thousands of chakra strings. Each one anchored to a strand for maximum control. The level of control required would make most shinobi quit before they even began."
Naruto tilted his head. "So that's why you bundle the hair together, right? Makes it easier?"
"Exactly. Bundling reduces the number of chakra threads you need to maintain. It also reinforces the structure. But even then, the control is brutal. I would wager that even Suna's best puppet masters would give up halfway through."
Naruto's eyes lit up.
A massive puff of smoke exploded across the training field. When it cleared, hundreds of shadow clones stood shoulder to shoulder.
"Alright! Are we about to give up?"
"NO!"
"Are we going to let anyone deny us our right to prank?"
"NEVER!"
The roar shook the open plain.
Naruto thrust his fist into the air. "Then we train like never before! We master this jutsu! We make the impossible possible! Together!"
"Dattebayo!" the army of Narutos bellowed, their voices echoing like a war cry.
The original Naruto turned to Jiraiya and clapped him on the shoulder, completely satisfied.
"All yours, sensei, teach us everything."
Jiraiya stood there in stunned silence, staring at the sea of identical maniacs burning with determination.
All this effort, chakra and time for a prank.
"All of this… just to mildly annoy people. Minato, your kid is insane."
By the time night settled over the Uchiha compound, the four of them were seated around the low dining table. The meal had been simple but filling. Oscar had claimed a small saucer of diced vegetables and something suspiciously metallic that Naruto had slipped him on the side.
Sasuke rose first, collecting the dishes. "Do you require a futon for the night, Master Jiraiya?"
"Yes, thank you," Jiraiya replied with an easy smile.
Then he glanced sideways at Naruto, who was currently trying to maneuver his hair like a clumsy third arm in order to scoop Oscar off the table. "C'mon… cooperate… you're supposed to be my majestic lion's mane."
"You could stand to learn a thing or two from him," Jiraiya added casually.
Naruto didn't even look up. His hair twitched, wrapped awkwardly around the lizard's middle, and lifted him an inch before dropping him again.
"Yeah," Sasuke said dryly as he headed toward the storage closet. "I highly doubt he's learning manners any time soon."
Naruto finally managed to hoist Oscar up by the hair and held him triumphantly at eye level. "Now that you've kinda taught me Lion's Mane," he said, adjusting his grip so Oscar wasn't dangling quite so indignantly, "are you leaving sooner or later?"
"Wow. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."
"Just asking."
"I'll be heading out Sunday," Jiraiya replied. "Figured I'd give you a few days to practice before I go."
Naruto hesitated, then lowered his voice slightly. "... Then you should know Danzo contacted me."
"When?"
"When I went back to my apartment," Naruto said. "There was a letter under my pillow."
Jiraiya's expression sharpened, but before he could respond, Sasuke returned, carrying a neatly folded futon.
"Here, I cleared the spare room."
"Much appreciated, son," Jiraiya said as he accepted it.
They began settling in for the night. Sasuke moved to slide open the door to one of the unused rooms, but Jiraiya shifted direction.
"That won't be necessary. I'll stay in Naruto's room."
"Why?"
"The boy still has a hundred questions about the absurd names his father tried to give his techniques."
Sasuke raised his eyebrow, curiosity piqued.
Jiraiya cleared his throat dramatically. "At one point, your father wanted to call the Rasengan… 'Halo Frozen Dessert Hair Whorl Jiraiya Twin Formula Sphere.'"
There was silence.
"…No way."
"Way," Jiraiya said solemnly. "Thankfully, Kushina stepped in before he embarrassed himself permanently."
Sasuke slowly turned to Naruto. "That explains a lot."
"Hey!" Naruto protested. "Long names are automatically cooler and more intimidating."
"You once tried to name a combo attack 'Crimson Knight Supreme Infinite Comets,'" Sasuke deadpanned.
"And it was awesome."
"It was twelve letters too long."
Jiraiya barked out a laugh. "Minato used the exact same logic."
"See? It's hereditary."
"Get some sleep," Jiraiya said, shaking his head. "We start early. And that includes you, Sasuke."
"Me?"
"Think of it as a thank you for housing the village idiot."
Naruto gasped. "I am not—"
Sasuke hid his reaction behind a calm nod. "Understood." But the subtle glint in his eyes betrayed him. Anyone would be excited at the thought of being trained by one of the Sannin.
As they headed toward Naruto's borrowed room, Naruto nudged Jiraiya. "So you're not planning to make Sasuke a frog summoner?"
"What? No."
"I figured you were shopping for a replacement since I declined."
Jiraiya snorted. "There have been toad summoners before me. There'll be more after me. The contract doesn't hinge on you."
"So why not him?"
Jiraiya glanced back toward the hallway where Sasuke had disappeared. "The Uchiha clan relies on their Sharingan. On their own strength. I don't see Sasuke depending on a summon."
Naruto frowned slightly.
"And even if he wanted to, his reserves aren't suited for the bigger toads. You need ridiculous chakra for that."
"So, I guess you're stuck being the last great toad summoner."
Jiraiya promptly smacked him upside the head. As the door clicked shut, the older man's expression shifted.
He formed a quick sequence of hand seals.
A thin veil of chakra spread outward, clinging to the walls, ceiling, and floor like a transparent membrane. The air hummed softly for a brief second before going still.
"Alright," Jiraiya said, holding out his hand. "Let's see the letter from Danzo."
[ Item: The Red Letter ][ Description: A letter said to come from a friend. Within its words lies the promise of treasure, yet every boon bears a burden. To trust its sender is folly, yet to ignore it may be costlier still. ]
Naruto stared at the description as it hovered before his eyes. The phrasing was deliberately vague, but the malice was clear.
Said to come from a friend.
That alone set his teeth on edge alongside the system's warning sat heavy in his mind: Do not ignore it.
The letter shimmered into Naruto's palm. Jiraiya turned it over in his hands. His thumb brushed across the hardened wax seal, feeling the insignia pressed into it.
"Should I open it?"
Naruto didn't hesitate. "No point dragging it out."
Jiraiya exhaled through his nose, then broke the seal in one clean motion. The wax split with a brittle snap. He unfolded the parchment, eyes scanning the first few lines, his expression unreadable.
Without a word, he handed it to Naruto.
[ Naruto,
I see that you have upheld your end of the promise. It must not have been easy, but you did it. That shows strength… the strength of an Uzumaki. And as I swore, I return something precious to you. A picture of your mother. The woman who gave you life, who loved you more than anyone else in this world. Naruto, you deserve to know her face. To know her name. To know the bond that Hiruzen and the others have tried so hard to bury beneath lies. ]
Naruto pulled his mother's wedding photo from his inventory and carefully placed it beside the second photograph that had come tucked inside the red letter.
His father's wedding photo.
Minato Namikaze stood in a traditional black kimono. His blond hair was slightly tousled, soft strands catching the light as if stirred by a quiet breeze. His expression carried the weight of the moment. The kind of smile a man wore when he knew exactly who he was choosing and would choose her again in every lifetime.
Naruto held the two photographs out in front of Oscar.
The little lizard tilted his head, blinked once, then leaned forward to gently boop Minato's image with his nose. A soft, curious chirp escaped him before he shuffled closer and lightly pawed at Kushina's picture, as if committing their faces to memory.
Naruto huffed a quiet laugh.
Carefully, he slid both photos back into his inventory for safekeeping. Then his gaze shifted to the third photo.
A man stood beside Minato and Kushina. His hair was shaggy and long, framing eyes that were an ordinary brown in the picture. He looked like any other veteran of a bloody era. Nothing remarkable at first glance.
Yet something about the way he stood behind them felt… wrong.
"…Is this Danzo?"
"Yes," Jiraiya replied without hesitation, leaning in to inspect the image. "These two were from their wedding."
His finger moved to the third picture.
"This one's fake. Danzo probably had one of his Root operatives use a Transformation Jutsu to stage it. He wasn't even invited to your parents' wedding. I'm fairly certain Kushina said she'd personally throw him out if he so much as showed up."
Naruto exhaled slowly.
So Danzo had inserted himself into the memory. An attempt to place himself within his personal history.
"Trying to make me trust him without realizing it," he muttered.
Most of the letter was filled with details about Kushina that Naruto already knew. Until one line stopped him. Kushina had loved ramen and had gone on her first date at Ichiraku when it first opened.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
"Let me see the jutsu scroll he sent," Jiraiya asked.
The white haired man unrolled the parchment, and his expression shifted.
"Something wrong?"
"This is the Blade of Wind jutsu."
"So… it's strong?"
"It's classified as an A-rank Wind Style ninjutsu. But forget the ranking system. You've heard of the Sickle Weasel Technique from the Sand?"
Naruto shook his head.
"The Sickle Weasel Technique creates intersecting currents of wind that collide with each other, forming vacuum pockets," Jiraiya explained. "Even on its own, the gust is strong enough to deflect incoming attacks and send opponents flying off their feet."
He held up the scroll slightly.
"The Blade of Wind is to the Sickle Weasel what a longsword is to a kunai."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"Historically, the First Kazekage unified the desert tribes through sheer, overwhelming strength. There are legends that his Blade of Wind could cleave through entire town blocks in a single sweep, carve apart S-rank Earth Style as if they were paper, and sever your fingers before you could even complete a handsign."
"No way," Naruto breathed, staring at the scroll as if it might explode in his hands. "He just… gave me one of the strongest wind jutsu."
"That's exactly why I don't like it. Danzo doesn't give gifts. He invests. If he's willing to hand you something like the Blade of Wind, then he expects a return worth far more."
Naruto's grip tightened slightly on the parchment.
"And don't forget," Jiraiya added, "this isn't some common technique floating around the villages. He either stole it, extorted it, or acquired it through means the Sand would not be pleased to hear about."
Naruto exhaled slowly, eyes scanning the rest of the letter until he reached the final line.
[I look forward to our meeting, my boy.]
Naruto felt Oscar shudder where he sat on his shoulder.
Below the signature was a summoning seal.
"If you channel chakra into it, you'll summon one of Danzo's summon. Either it acts as a messenger… or it reverse-summons you to him."
"Both options are bad."
"Agreed."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Jiraiya spoke again. "Let's activate it."
Naruto looked up sharply.
"I'll be with you," Jiraiya continued, voice low but steady. "If Danzo tries anything, he'll remember exactly why they call me the Toad Sage."
For a brief moment, the easygoing pervert vanished.
In his place stood one of the Legendary Sannin. A man who stood as one of the strongest shinobis of konoha. Naruto and Oscar felt the weight of that presence.
"…Alright," Naruto said quietly.
Jiraiya moved through a rapid string of hand seals, his expression sharpening in an instant.
"I'm going to use Toad Subjugation: Art of the Manipulated Shadow. I'll thread my chakra into your shadow, flatten myself, and merge with it. If that seal triggers a reverse summoning, I'll be pulled along with you. And if anything goes wrong on the other side, I can take control of your body instantly."
"That's… comforting and creepy at the same time."
"I have to hold my breath to maintain it," Jiraiya added. "So don't drag this out."
Jiraiya inhaled deeply and then his body thinned like parchment, collapsing into Naruto's shadow until it darkened unnaturally beneath his feet.
"Okay. That's officially the weirdest thing you've done today."
A faint tug at his leg answered him from below.
Naruto pressed a quick kiss to the lizard's head. "High alert. If anything weird happens, go ravenous mode."
Oscar chirped, eyes narrowing with surprising intensity.
Naruto channeled chakra into the seal.
With a puff of smoke, something small stood where the letter had been.
A tiny elephantine chimera no taller than Oscar swayed on stout legs. Its body was mostly soft pink, round and plush-looking, but darker tones colored its trunk and limbs. Tiger-like stripes wrapped around its feet. Tiny ivory tusks curled from its mouth, and delicate rings of vibrant color circled its large, glossy eyes.
It blinked at him then it sneezed out some pink smoke.
The system's window followed.
[ Name: Munna ][ HP: 150/150 ]
"Hello."
"Yo."
"My name is Munna. I am a baku summon."
The little chimera stepped closer, trunk reaching out to nudge his hand. The gesture was almost demanding, as if she expected him to pat her head. Naruto obliged with a single stroke, though his gaze slid to the side where Oscar crouched slightly openly glaring at the new girl.
"Why are you here?"
"My father said I'm supposed to use our clan's dream jutsu on you."
Naruto blinked. "And what's that supposed to do?"
"It's the secret technique of the Baku clan," she replied in a light, sing-song voice. "Baku are dream-eaters. We are a clan bound to the Dream Realm, the place human consciousness drifts to when the body sleeps."
"Like an actual dream?" Naruto asked confused.
"A dream is the mind untethered from the senses. When the body rests; thoughts, fears, memories, and desires bleed together. That space between waking and nothingness… that is where we live. We call it a shoreline between worlds."
She tapped her trunk against her forehead proudly.
"Our Dream Jutsu lets us step into that realm on purpose. We can enter someone's dreams, speak to them across distance, or carry messages through the space between sleepers. If two minds are dreaming, we can make a bridge."
"So, that's how the hawk wants to talk to me."
Munna bobbed her head. "
Naruto glanced at Oscar, then at the faint ripple in his shadow, and gave a small nod. "Alright," he said calmly. "Go ahead."
A haze poured from her trunk, pilling outward in curling pink tendrils. The edges of reality softened as if sleep had been forced upon him, and the last thing he saw was Oscar's silhouette, watching carefully as the world dissolved into dream.
The dream unfolded around Naruto in a way that was both familiar and deeply wrong. The colors bled together at first, a swirl of gold, ash-gray, and dying ember red, before the landscape began stitching itself into something recognizable. Stone arches from firelink shrine beside the crumbling battlements of Undead Burg.
The ground beneath his feet was a patchwork of everything he had walked before. Polished marble flowed into cracked cobblestone that spilled in the dirt of the valley of the drakes.
"Every individual is said to have their own unique dreamscape."
Naruto turned to the voice.
Normally, he wouldn't judge someone's appearance too harshly. But this man looked like he had stepped straight out of his parents' wedding photo, and Naruto understood exactly why. Presenting himself that way was another calculated layer of manipulation, meant to make Naruto subconsciously lower his guard and trust him.
That was what made Naruto's stomach twist.
"You must be Hawk," he said evenly, forcing his face into neutrality.
"Indeed. But shimura will suffice."
[ Name: Shimura Danzo ][ HP: ? / ? ] ◇
Naruto raised his brows slightly at the system prompt. That's new, he thought while asking, "So, what's with this dream call?"
"You are direct," Danzo observed, his tone held neither praise nor criticism.
"Honestly, I'm tired. I'd rather be asleep for real," Naruto replied with a yawn.
"Then I will be concise," Danzo said. "With the revelation of your parentage, multiple villages are sending expanded delegations to the Chunin Exams. Each comes with its own agenda. Some may attempt to eliminate you. Others will observe you carefully before determining how they will engage with Konoha in the future."
Naruto nodded slowly.
"Hiruzen will inevitably use your presence to elevate the village's standing. Increased prestige, increased trade, and increased influence. That is the burden of symbols. Your parents' legacy, their wealth, their name, all of it belongs to the village."
Naruto gave a small gasp, but not for the reason Danzo expected. He understood that this man was deliberately constructing a narrative. A quiet wedge meant to reframe loyalty as exploitation.
The manipulation was subtle in tone, but unmistakable in intent.
"So what are we going to do about it?" Naruto asked curiously, testing the waters.
"Direct confrontation with the Hokage would be inefficient," Danzo replied. "For now, survival and competence are your priorities. Power determines leverage."
"That's why you gave me the Blade of Wind scroll?"
"Yes," Danzo said. "It is a lethal jutsu capable of ending engagements swiftly.
"Yes," Danzo said evenly. "The true strength of the Blade of Wind lies in its invisibility. It cannot be seen, only felt when it is already too late. That makes it ideal for eliminating a target before they comprehend the threat."
His expression did not change.
"No matter how powerful a shinobi may be, a strike delivered unseen will always make them suffer. Power is irrelevant if one is unprepared. This technique exists to ensure your enemy never has that luxury."
Naruto nodded, remembering how the First Kazekage would cut off the fingers of ninjutsu users before they could complete their hand seals, how he would sever tendons, slice through defensive earth walls, and end battles before they properly began.
"But this jutsu is meant to push you and see what you're really capable of," Danzo said. "It will reveal your capacity for discipline. Strength without control is wasteful. I am assessing which you possess."
"A test?"
"A necessary evaluation," Danzo corrected evenly. "Master the technique with speed and restraint. Demonstrate that you understand what it means to carry a village's expectations. If you do, I will consider granting you access to certain Uzumaki clan techniques. Assets that should not remain dormant."
Naruto's eyes widened at the bait.
This was a leash being looped around his neck, plain as day. Danzo dangled his clan's legacy in front of him like a piece of meat, waiting to see how fast he would chase after it. Worse, he had not even set a proper deadline, leaving the condition vague on purpose. That way, Naruto would always feel like he was racing against invisible expectations, desperate to please a master who would never be satisfied.
"How do you even have those jutsu?"
Danzo's expression did not waver. "Your mother and father entrusted me with copies of their most precious techniques," he said smoothly, his tone soaked with feigned sincerity. "I am sure you have already asked Hiruzen for them. But he will never give them to you. He will dig into the Senju library, take what Uzumaki scrolls still remain, and claim that they were your parents' inheritance. Convenient, is it not, that the originals were supposedly destroyed during the Nine-Tails' attack?"
Naruto's anger threatened to spill out, but he pulled it back with a slow inhale. His parents' legacy dangled in front of him, twisted into a bargaining chip. He could not afford to lose his temper here.
"All I have to do is learn this wind jutsu, right?"
"Yes. I expect you will not disappoint me."
The subtle framing of expectations.
Danzo wanted him to crave his approval, to chase validation as if he were the only one who could grant it. The man was casting himself in the role of a trusted guardian, the one person closest to his parents' memory and the one who held their will.
"I see," Naruto muttered, careful not to give too much away. Suddenly; his body began to flicker, his form shimmering like water about to break apart.
"What's happening?"
"It seems someone is waking you," Danzo replied calmly.
Naruto let out a short laugh. "Oh, that would be Oscar. That little lizard gets pretty clingy." He gave a mocking grin. "Thanks for the jutsu, Shimura san."
The dream shattered. Naruto gasped awake just in time to be tackled to the floor by a crystal lizard, Oscar's tail slapping across his face with enough force to rattle his teeth.
"I AM AWAKE, I AM AWAKE!" Naruto shouted, throwing up his hands as Oscar gave him another thwack just to make sure.
Munna cried out in alarm, her small elephant form bouncing on its feet. "What have you done? That could have been dangerous!"
Oscar turned his eyes on her, growling low and threatening.
Naruto pressed a hand gently to Oscar's crystalline back. "Sorry about that. Oscar gets a little unhinged if I don't shower him with love every two minutes." He turned his gaze on the lizard. "Now say you're sorry to Munna."
Oscar dipped his head reluctantly, though his tail slammed down indicating that Munna did something.
"Don't worry, buddy. I understand."
His eyes shifted to the status bar flickering in front of him.
[ Status: Memory Eater (62%) ]
It did not take a genius-level intelligence to piece it together.
The dream was never a simple meeting. It had been an attempt to strip away his mind, to devour pieces of him until he was hollow and pliable. Danzo had not only been manipulating him with words, but had tried to reach directly into his memories.
Danzo was a parasite wearing the skin of trust.
Naruto gave her a small smile and gently patted her head. "Go back to your summoning realm. And thank you for your help."
Munna nodded nervously and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Jiraiya burst out of Naruto's shadow with a violent gasp. "Brat," he wheezed, pounding his chest once. "What the hell happened?"
"You okay? You looked like a sticker peeling off the ground."
"Answer the question."
Naruto's expression shifted, the earlier irritation fading into something more serious. He quickly relayed everything that happened. When he finished, the silence stretched.
"…Shit," Jiraiya muttered.
"Yeah," Naruto agreed quietly.
They both understood the implication without needing to spell it out.
Danzo had placed Naruto on the board like a piece to be maneuvered, and if Naruto wanted to reclaim the Uzumaki clan's legacy, he would have to learn how to play the game instead of flipping the table.
"Don't panic," Jiraiya said finally, voice calmer than he felt. "You've got people in this village who won't let you get swallowed by that man's shadow. Me, kakashi and even the old man, for all his faults."
Naruto nodded, though his eyes were distant. "I think I'm gonna head to Lordran. Clear my head. Kill a few things. Talk to some friends."
"Healthy coping mechanism," Jiraiya said dryly. "Try not to die."
"No promises."
Oscar gave Jiraiya a tiny wave with one claw.
A golden flare of light enveloped Naruto and the lizard. The Homeward miracle activated and they vanished.
Jiraiya lay back in the borrowed futon that night, staring at the ceiling.
Sleep did not come.
If he abandoned the Tsunade retrieval mission, he could stay and help Naruto with Danzo. But without Tsunade, the Chunin Exams would be a political disaster waiting to happen. The village needed stability.
Naruto needed protection.
For once, the great Toad Sage felt cornered. And morning arrived whether he liked it or not.
Jiraya found Sasuke in the kitchen making coffee.
"You want a cup?"
"Sure," Jiraiya replied, dropping into a seat. "Make it strong. I need something to kick me in the soul."
"How do you like it?"
Jiraiya back, giving two thumbs up. "Like I like my women... with big titties."
"...So you want to be breastfed?"
"..."
"..."
"...Yes"
After their "breakfast", the two headed to a nearby training ground.
It was quiet except for the sound of birds and the occasional rustle of leaves.
Sasuke reached into his pouch and pulled out a shuriken, holding it up between two fingers. He closed his eyes and began channeling lightning chakra into the metal.
He threw it. It hit the tree and... nothing.
"Yeah, you're doing it wrong." Jiraiya said.
"I gathered that."
"Alright Mr genius, lesson one. Elemental chakra coating isn't one size fits all. Every element has its own logic, its own personality. Wind, for example, has to be layered along the surface of a weapon. Earth is the opposite. You push it inside the weapon. It reinforces the structure, making the object heavier and harder."
Sasuke nodded slowly. "What about lightning?"
Jiraiya held up a finger. "Lightning is unique because it can be applied both internally and externally, and the two do completely different things." He paused to make sure Sasuke was following. "Internal coating is simpler so we start there. You channel lightning chakra inside the shuriken, compress it, and essentially store the current inside the metal. The chakra doesn't release until the moment of impact."
"So it detonates on contact." Sasuke said.
"Detonates is a strong word but yeah, basically. The charge builds up inside and the second it hits something, the energy discharges outward through whatever it makes contact with." Jiraiya gestured toward the tree.
Sasuke took a breath, closed his eyes, and focused. Instead of trying to coat the outer edge of the metal he pushed the chakra through his fingertips and inward, compressing it into the body of the shuriken like he was packing something tightly into a box. The metal grew warm in his hand. He could feel the charge sitting inside it, contained and restless.
He threw it.
The shuriken buried itself into the bark of the tree and for a half second there was silence. Then the stored charge released in a sharp crackling burst, the lightning exploding outward from the point of impact in jagged arcs that scorched the wood black and blew a chunk of bark clean off the trunk.
"Wow." Jiraiya said, slow clapping. "Aren't you just a genius."
"Don't be patronizing." Sasuke said, but he was already reaching for another shuriken.
"I'm being genuine! That's annoying isn't it." Jiraiya grinned. "Most kids take a hundred tries to get the compression right. You did it in three."
Sasuke said nothing, which for him was basically a thank you.
"Now the fun part. External coating." Jiraya reached into his coat and pulled out a kunai, then crouched down, drawing two parallel lines about a foot apart. Then he took a shuriken from his own pouch and set it flat in the dirt between the two lines, right in the middle.
Sasuke tilted his head at the crude diagram.
"These two lines are your hands." Jiraiya said. "When you channel lightning chakra through both hands simultaneously and hold a metal projectile between them, you create a magnetic field. The current runs from one hand through the metal and to the other, and when the charge is strong enough, the interaction between the electromagnetic field and the current inside the metal generates a forward force." He looked up at Sasuke. "This is not just chakra theory. This is science."
"Hn."
"The tricky part is the balance. Too much chakra in one hand and the field destabilizes, the shuriken goes sideways. Too little and it just drops. You have to maintain perfectly equal output from both hands at all times while simultaneously building enough charge to actually launch it. Which should be easy to do with the help of the sharingan."
"How fast does it go?"
"Fast enough that you won't see it." Jiraiya said simply.
That was all Sasuke needed to hear.
The next six hours were ugly. The first attempt sent the shuriken spinning uselessly into the grass three feet to his left. The second attempt did nothing at all because he couldn't hold the balance long enough for the field to form. The third attempt built a field but discharged too early and the shuriken heated up so fast it burned his fingers and he dropped it.
"You're favoring cloakwise chakra flow." Jiraiya observed from where he sat on a log, eating from a rice ball. "You have to consciously counterbalance. Cloakwise flow in one and anticlockwise in the other."
"I know." Sasuke said through his teeth, shaking out his fingers.
"Just checking." Jiraiya said cheerfully, taking another bite.
"You could help instead of watching."
"I could." Jiraiya agreed. "But you're almost there and I don't want to interrupt your process. Also this rice ball is really good."
Sasuke shot him a look that could have curdled milk and turned back to the target. He reset his stance. Both hands up, shuriken held flat between his palms without touching it, suspended only by the magnetic tension of the field. He breathed out slowly and this time he didn't think about his right hand or his left hand. He thought about the current. One current. A single loop running from one palm through the metal and back. Not two separate outputs but one continuous circuit.
The shuriken began to vibrate.
The hum grew louder, higher in pitch, a sound like a wire pulled too tight. Lightning chakra crept across the surface of the metal in thin crawling arcs, and then the charge spiked and Sasuke shoved both palms forward and the shuriken left his hands.
It crossed the length of the training ground in something that didn't feel like a throw. It felt like it was simply gone from his hands and then it was on the other side of the field, buried past the blade into the solid wood of a tree with a crack that echoed off every surface around them. The bark around the impact point was scorched in a perfect starburst. The tree itself had a slight lean to it that had not been there before.
Birds scattered from the surrounding trees in every direction.
Jiraiya lowered his rice ball.
Sasuke stood with both arms still extended, breathing hard, staring at the damage across the field.
"Hm."
"Hm?"
"I was going to say something cool and mentor-like." Jiraiya said. "But you just put a shuriken through a tree with enough force to tilt it, so I'm actually a little speechless."
"You're speechless?"
"First time for everything." Jiraiya stood up, tucking the last of the rice ball into his mouth, and walked over to examine the tree. He ran a hand along the scorched bark, looked at the angle of the lean, whistled low. "You're gonna need to practice alot more if you want to master this technique. So, are you up for more training?"
Sasuke glanced at him sideways. "Don't you have to train Naruto?"
It was a reasonable question and not entirely an attempt to get out of anything. Naruto was Jiraiya's actual student. Sasuke was, by any technical definition, a bonus.
"Naruto's busy with a few things right now." Jiraiya said with a wave of his hand that implied he wasn't going to elaborate. "So I figured, why not make use of the time. Teach you something you can pass along to him later."
"Hn."
"I'll take that as a yes." Jiraiya said, already turning toward the open stretch of the training ground.
His Sharingan activated on instinct, the tomoe spinning into place. Whatever was coming, he wanted to see every detail of it from the first movement.
Jiraiya noticed and nodded once, approving without commenting on it. "This jutsu was created by the Third Hokage."
Sasuke's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. A jutsu bearing his authorship was not something you learned in an afternoon and called yourself done with.
He swallowed as he had to learn this jutsu and pass it onto Naruto.
Jiraiya reached into his coat and produced a handful of shuriken. He made some handsigns and threw the metal stars forward.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"