"So how exactly are you planning to train me?" Naruto asked eagerly, his eyes bright with anticipation and curiosity. He bounced slightly on his feet, clearly expecting to hear about some incredibly powerful secret technique. "Are you going to teach me some amazing new jutsu that nobody else knows?"
Jiraiya's expression grew somewhat sheepish as he scratched the back of his head, looking uncharacteristically uncertain. "Well, when it comes to teaching you specific ninjutsu techniques, Minato will handle that aspect of your education gradually over time. I honestly can't offer you anything in that department that would surpass what he could teach you."
The admission was both humble and accurate. Minato had not only mastered an enormous variety of techniques but had also proven capable of developing entirely new jutsu from theoretical principles. In terms of pure technical knowledge and innovation, the student had indeed surpassed his teacher.
"Then what was all that talk about making me stronger?" Naruto protested, his face falling into a disappointed pout. "If you're not going to teach me any cool techniques, what's the point?"
"Listen carefully," Jiraiya said, his tone becoming more serious and instructional. "For a truly powerful ninja, mastering devastating techniques is certainly important, but it's far from being the most critical factor in determining effectiveness."
He paused to ensure he had Naruto's attention before continuing with his explanation. "The foundation for successfully utilizing powerful ninjutsu lies in developing the personal qualities and fundamental skills that match those techniques. Without that foundation, attempting to use advanced jutsu will likely result in injuring yourself before you can harm your enemies."
"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked, his expression showing genuine confusion as he tried to process this concept.
Jiraiya suppressed a sigh, recognizing once again that among all the students he had ever instructed, Naruto definitely ranked among the least intuitive when it came to grasping abstract concepts. The boy's learning style required concrete examples and hands-on demonstration rather than theoretical explanation.
"Let me give you a practical example that you can relate to," Jiraiya said patiently. "Think about your shadow clone training progression. When you first started learning the technique, you could only create a few clones with the same amount of chakra, and those clones could barely maintain their form for more than a few minutes."
Naruto nodded, remembering his early frustrating attempts at the technique.
"However, as your control over chakra improved through practice and experience, you became capable of creating many more clones and maintaining them for much longer periods. The same principle applies to every aspect of ninjutsu application."
Jiraiya's expression became more analytical as he continued his assessment. "Your current approach to using shadow clones is still quite limited in scope. You rely primarily on overwhelming numbers—creating massive quantities of clones simultaneously to confuse and distract enemies."
"While this represents an appropriate fighting style given your particular advantages," he acknowledged, "it's not necessarily the most effective or efficient way to utilize the technique."
This criticism touched on a fundamental aspect of Naruto's combat approach. Having inherited the exceptional chakra reserves of both Minato and Kushina, he could afford to employ tactics that would be prohibitively expensive for ordinary ninja. However, this abundance had also led him to develop somewhat wasteful habits.
Looking at Naruto's still-confused expression, Jiraiya felt the familiar frustration of trying to explain complex concepts to someone who learned better through experience than theory.
"You know what," Jiraiya said, leaping backward and creating distance between them, "let's try a more direct approach. Attack me using your best and most confident technique. I guarantee that you won't be able to land a single hit on me."
He gestured mockingly with one finger, issuing a challenge that he knew would provoke Naruto's competitive instincts.
For someone like Naruto, practical demonstration would always be more effective than lengthy explanations.
Hearing this obvious provocation, Naruto's expression immediately shifted to one of determined defiance. While he understood intellectually that Jiraiya was far more experienced and powerful, the claim that he couldn't even touch his opponent seemed like an insult to his abilities.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto shouted, forming the familiar hand seals with practiced speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thick white smoke suddenly filled the expansive training ground as hundreds of identical Narutos materialized in perfect formation, completely surrounding Jiraiya from every possible angle of approach.
"Let's go!" the crowd of clones shouted in unison, their voices creating a thunderous chorus as they charged toward their target from all directions.
Observing the impressive display of shadow clones converging on his position, Jiraiya smiled with faint amusement and began forming his own hand seals with deliberate precision.
Just as the nearest Naruto clones were about to reach striking distance, Jiraiya suddenly dropped into a crouch and pressed both palms firmly against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earthquake Core!" he called out, channeling his chakra through the earth beneath them.
The moment his hands made contact with the training ground's surface, a tremendous seismic force rippled outward in all directions. The ground beneath the feet of hundreds of shadow clones began shaking violently, creating an unstable surface that made coordinated movement impossible.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The earthquake technique proved devastatingly effective against the massed clone assault. As the violent tremors disrupted their footing and concentration, every single shadow clone dispersed simultaneously in clouds of dissipating chakra.
Only the original Naruto remained, stumbling and falling awkwardly to the ground as the seismic waves threw off his balance.
"Your Shadow Clone Technique becomes nothing more than a wasteful expenditure of chakra when facing an opponent capable of using large-scale area-effect ninjutsu," Jiraiya explained calmly as he rose to his feet, brushing dust from his clothes.
"That was just a fluke! I was being careless!" Naruto protested stubbornly, his competitive spirit refusing to accept defeat so easily. He struggled back to his feet and immediately began forming the shadow clone hand seals again. "I won't make the same mistake twice!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Once again, dozens of shadow clones filled the training ground, though this time Naruto was clearly attempting a different tactical approach.
Throughout the afternoon and into the early evening, the sounds of combat echoed continuously across the training area. Explosion after explosion marked the repeated destruction of shadow clone armies as Jiraiya demonstrated various counters to Naruto's increasingly creative attack patterns.
As the sun began to set, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and red, Naruto lay sprawled on his back in the center of the training ground, his arms and legs spread wide as he gasped for breath. His clothing was torn and dirty from repeated falls, and his chakra reserves had been pushed to their absolute limits.
Despite his obvious exhaustion, a satisfied grin spread across his face as he looked up at Jiraiya.
"Just a little bit more," he panted triumphantly. "That last attempt... I almost managed to touch your arm."
"Heh heh," Jiraiya chuckled with genuine amusement, though his expression also showed approval and perhaps a hint of pride.
While Naruto's theoretical understanding of combat principles remained frustratingly limited, his tactical adaptability during actual fighting was remarkably impressive. After his initial strategy of overwhelming numbers had failed repeatedly, he had quickly begun developing more sophisticated approaches.
Various clever feints, misdirection techniques, and combination attacks had emerged throughout their extended sparring session. If there hadn't been such an enormous gap in their fundamental power levels, even Jiraiya might have found himself genuinely challenged by some of the boy's more innovative tactics.
"All right, that's enough for today," Jiraiya announced with satisfaction. "It's time to head back to the village."
"Wait, not yet!" Naruto protested, struggling to push himself upright despite his obvious fatigue. His eyes burned with determination that hadn't been dimmed by hours of repeated failure. "I still have one more technique to try!"
"A secret technique?" Jiraiya asked in surprise, studying Naruto's exhausted form with puzzlement. "Your chakra should be completely depleted by now."
As he watched, Naruto began forming hand seals that appeared to be nothing more than the basic transformation technique—hardly a secret weapon capable of changing the outcome of their bout.
"Prepare yourself for the ultimate ninjutsu that this genius has just developed!" Naruto declared with renewed confidence, his eyes blazing with excitement and pride.
Swoosh!
At that precise moment, Minato materialized near a wooden observation structure adjacent to the training ground, having arrived just in time to hear his son's bold proclamation.
Minato's blue eyes widened with shock and interest. Naruto had actually managed to develop an original ninjutsu technique?
As both Jiraiya and Minato watched with anticipation and curiosity, Naruto completed his hand seals and shouted his technique's name.
"Sexy Jutsu!" he announced proudly.
"Transform!"
Bang!
White transformation smoke erupted around Naruto's form, and when it cleared, Jiraiya found himself facing a completely different sight than he had expected.
"Um... Jiraiya-sama..." came a sultry, feminine voice.
Where Naruto had been standing moments before, there was now an attractive young woman who appeared to be completely nude, with only strategically placed wisps of lingering transformation smoke preserving her modesty. The figure's pale, smooth skin and curvaceous form were clearly visible, creating an image that was both alluring and shocking.
Jiraiya's expression underwent a dramatic transformation. His eyes widened to an almost comical degree, and a steady stream of blood began flowing from his nostrils as his face flushed bright red.
From his position near the observation post, Minato's eye began twitching involuntarily as a look of profound dismay crossed his features. In that moment, he found himself seriously questioning the wisdom of entrusting Naruto's training to his notoriously perverted teacher.
"Perfect opening!" the transformed Naruto thought triumphantly, recognizing that his opponent was completely stunned and vulnerable.
Dropping the transformation and returning to his normal appearance, Naruto launched himself forward and delivered a solid punch directly to Jiraiya's midsection.
"Success! I actually hit him!" Naruto exclaimed joyfully, jumping up and down in celebration of his first successful strike.
However, his victory celebration was short-lived. The combination of chakra exhaustion and the final burst of energy required for his technique left him completely drained, and his legs gave out beneath him.
Just as he was about to collapse, Minato appeared behind him with incredible speed, catching him before he could hit the ground.
"Hey, Dad! Did you see that? I actually managed to land a hit!" Naruto said with a tired but triumphant smile, looking up at his father's face.
Minato's expression was a complex mixture of pride, embarrassment, and concern as he glanced toward Jiraiya, who was still clutching his stomach with an expression that seemed more pleased than pained.
"Teacher... are you all right?" Minato asked hesitantly, though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear the answer.
Rather than showing any signs of discomfort from the punch, Jiraiya appeared to be in a state of blissful satisfaction, which only increased Minato's sense of unease about the entire situation.
"Naruto," Minato said seriously, looking down at his exhausted son, "promise me you'll never use that particular technique again."
His voice carried a note of genuine worry as he added, "If your mother ever finds out about this jutsu, she'll probably kill me first and ask questions later."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more early access chapter of this fanfic or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~