After the last time, our cute little Naruto's life took a surprising turn. Without the Nine Tails inside him, the whiskers on his face disappeared. He was personally trained by the Third Hokage, and the large amount of Chakra from his Sage Body perfectly matched the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
The only regret the Third Hokage had was that Naruto only had Wind-style Chakra. Of course, he also had Yang-style, but it didn't count towards fighting ability.
With his whiskers gone and new clothes on, plus the villagers' guilt and the Third Hokage's authority, Naruto quickly became the most popular kid in Konoha.
Was Naruto's talent weak? Of course not. He was the man who perfected the Rasenshuriken and was incredibly good at developing Ninjutsu.
The only thing that gave the Third Hokage a headache was Naruto's silly personality. Maybe it was the influence of Ashura's Chakra, but Naruto was even more simple-minded than in the original story, like the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
But the problem was, he couldn't just put his hands together and make anything he wanted appear...
The Third Hokage's style was naturally different from Jiraiya's. He started Naruto with hand-seal practice, then based on C-rank Ninjutsu, climbing trees and walking on water were moved up the schedule.
This put a lot of pressure on the just-five-year-old Naruto. Climbing trees and walking on water were okay, but the hand seals...
The less said about that, the better. Konoha's copy ninja hadn't done anything else since that day except make Naruto practice hand seals. After all, when it came to hand seals, this white-haired kid was definitely at the level of the Six Paths.
Oh, never mind, they didn't really use hand seals much either.
Uzumaki Naruto was squatting by the river being a rascal, while Kakashi, who was grilling fish nearby, completely ignored him. "Ah!!! Kakashi-sensei! Can't I change my training method? Aren't there any Ninjutsu that can be used without hand seals?"
Only Ninjutsu that don't need hand seals? There actually were some. "There are, but you haven't even mastered regular C-rank Ninjutsu yet. If you learn them directly, you're likely to get hurt."
Uzumaki Naruto's eyes lit up. "What?! Teach me, teach me! Kakashi-sensei!"
Hatake Kakashi regretted it. He was too talkative. He should have worn an extra mask before going out to protect himself from this… uh, not COVID, but this habit of blurting things out.
Uzumaki Naruto used a skill exclusive to children: throwing a tantrum. Some things don't need to be taught. As the famous comedian, elementary school student Guo, once said: "It's hard to learn good, but easy to learn bad."
Kakashi looked at Naruto's face, which really wasn't that different from his teacher's, and secretly groaned. "Teacher... were your wife's genes really that strong?"
Just as he was about to speak, he heard an old male voice, slightly trembling, softly call out, "Minato..."
Unlike Kakashi, this person had long white hair that reached his waist, two red tear marks on his face, and a large "Oil" symbol on his forehead. He exuded an air of unrestrained freedom.
Kakashi immediately stood up respectfully and said, "Jiraiya-sama!"
Uzumaki Naruto opened his big, wide eyes and carefully looked at this uncle who suddenly appeared and called him Minato. For some reason, he seemed to hear a woman's voice telling him to stay away from Jiraiya-sensei.
So, the five-year-old Naruto very confidently pointed his finger at Jiraiya. "You're a bad guy!"
The child wasn't embarrassed, only the adults were. Jiraiya also snapped back to reality and looked at this blond boy. It wasn't Minato. It was Naruto?
His most proud student had used the name of the main character from his only serious novel.
Kakashi softly scolded, "Naruto! Don't be rude to Jiraiya-sama. He's your father's teacher!"
Uzumaki Naruto turned his head away and quietly moaned, "He doesn't look like a good person at all!"
Jiraiya suddenly burst out laughing. "He's exactly like Kushina! I said back then that the child would definitely look more like Kushina. Come here, Namikaze Naruto, call me 'grandpa-teacher.'"
Uzumaki Naruto looked around, then pointed at himself in surprise, as if to say, "Are you talking to me?"
Jiraiya was at a loss. Had he called him the wrong name? Hatake Kakashi smiled awkwardly and explained, "Actually, Naruto has his mother's last name. He's called Uzumaki Naruto."
Jiraiya's eyes dimmed slightly. "Oh, the elders, huh? It's okay, Naruto, let grandpa-teacher take a look at you. I'll teach you a really amazing Ninjutsu later!"
When he heard talk of a powerful Ninjutsu, Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really? Grandpa-teacher, hello! Grandpa-teacher, you're so cool!"
Who says Naruto is dumb?
He's just simple.
"This kid is really likable, haha. Here's a gift for you." Jiraiya took out a signed, limited-edition book from his chest, making Kakashi's eyes widen with envy, and handed it to Naruto.
But Naruto glanced at it and threw it away in disgust. "What's this? I can't even read."
Kakashi reacted as if he were the bridesmaid catching the bouquet at a wedding, using a Body Flicker Technique to catch it in his arms.
A rare, signed, limited edition of Make-Out Paradise! It was said to have scenes that the regular editions didn't have!
"Haha, looks like the Hatake kid is a loyal reader too. Naruto, you're too young to understand this now, but you'll get it when you're older." Jiraiya raised his eyebrows, hinting at something to Kakashi, making the thick-skinned Kakashi blush.
But Jiraiya didn't know that even when Naruto grew up, he still wouldn't understand. It wasn't until after he really broke up with Sasuke that he finally realized that ninjas should like women.
What? You said Sakura?
Lalala, can't hear you, just nonsense.
"Hey, Grandpa-teacher, what about the Ninjutsu you promised? The really powerful one!"
Instead of rushing to teach him, Jiraiya first asked Kakashi, "Kakashi, is Naruto's constitution really as the teacher said?"
Hatake Kakashi nodded in agreement.
Then, Jiraiya showed off by spinning a ball of Chakra, formed into the signature move of the whole series, the Rasengan, in his hand.
But its size and visual impact made Naruto unhappy. "Huh! That's all it is?"
Jiraiya chuckled. He was already looking forward to seeing Naruto's expression.
Then he pressed it directly onto the ground. Boom! A large hole more than three meters wide appeared, making Naruto's eyes widen. He kept repeating, "Grandpa-teacher, I want to learn it!"
Kakashi sighed and silently turned away. He secretly gathered a Rasengan in his hand and thought, "Naruto, it's not that I don't want to teach you... If you could understand what Chakra transformation and volume movement are, I'd teach you even if you didn't ask..."
Little did Kakashi know, Naruto was a practical person!
Just as Kakashi silently dispersed the Rasengan in his hand, suddenly a blood-red moon enveloped the entire Konoha.
At this time, White Zetsu, who was next to Obito in the Mizukage's village, suddenly screamed, "Ah! A red moon has appeared in Konoha again!"
Uchiha Obito was immediately possessed by White Zetsu, who amplified his Chakra to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan and rushed towards Konoha.
And Black Zetsu, who was hiding in the Land of Rain, was even faster. He combed his hair, tidied his clothes, and prepared to welcome his mother's return.
However, just as the two were about to move, the blood moon disappeared.
In the Uchiha Shrine, a handsome man with wings on his back laughed loudly!
"Sage Mode isn't that hard after all!"