Outside Konohagakure, a white-haired master and his blond student traveled side by side along the road.
Not far behind them followed another blond student.
A shadow clone.
Jiraiya carried only an enormous scroll upon his back, while his empty left sleeve swayed gently with every step.
Naruto wore a traveling pack and chatted casually with his master as they walked.
The shadow clone trailing behind them, however, kept its head lowered, concentrating entirely upon its outstretched palm.
Floating above it was a small black sphere.
The prototype from which the Rasengan had been derived—
The Tailed Beast Ball.
“Hey, Pervy Sage.
Where are we supposed to look for Granny Tsunade?”
Naruto glanced curiously at Jiraiya.
They had set out to find Tsunade much earlier than the journey in his future memories.
Naturally, Naruto had no idea how Jiraiya intended to locate her.
In fact, even within those memories, his future self had never understood exactly how Jiraiya gathered information on Tsunade’s whereabouts.
Every time the old pervert arrived in a new town, he would disappear into brothels and drinking establishments under the noble excuse of “collecting intelligence.”
“Tsunade is easy to find.
All you have to do is—”
Jiraiya had just begun boasting about his understanding of the old woman’s habits when he suddenly sensed a violently unstable chakra erupt behind them.
A Tailed Beast Ball was created by mixing the positive and negative aspects of a tailed beast’s chakra in a precise two-to-eight ratio.
Controlling it was extraordinarily difficult.
And when a jinchūriki tried to form one directly above their palm, it was no different from balancing a restless land mine in one hand.
Fzzzt—
The Tailed Beast Ball in the shadow clone’s palm suddenly collapsed.
The berserk chakra that escaped from it struck the clone—
Poof!
—and dispersed it instantly.
At the same time, the clone’s training experience flooded back into Naruto’s mind.
Naruto and Jiraiya hurriedly ran several steps forward to avoid the blast.
Then—
Poof!
Another shadow clone appeared.
Without needing to be told, it ran to its position behind them and resumed practicing the Tailed Beast Ball.
Had they not been traveling, Naruto would have created a hundred clones—or perhaps even more—to train simultaneously.
Unfortunately, a massive crowd of identical Narutos marching down the road would attract far too much attention.
The Chūnin Exams would begin soon.
Naruto wanted to become even stronger before then.
After all, that meant the snake and the tanuki from the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy would soon appear.
Orochimaru.
And Gaara.
Orochimaru was unquestionably dangerous.
Gaara, at this point in time, was practically a madman.
If either of them threatened the village, Naruto would step forward without hesitation.
Every bit of strength he gained now might allow him to protect one more person when the time came.
As though nothing had happened, master and student continued calmly down the road.
…
At noon, Naruto and Jiraiya arrived in a small town.
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiraiya strode openly into the red-light district, leaving his adorable student alone in their inn room to practice ninjutsu.
Naruto did not mind.
He was genuinely terrible at gathering information, so being left behind suited him just fine.
After reviewing the principles of the Flying Thunder God Technique inside his head, Naruto placed his right palm against the low table.
Chakra spread from his hand.
Slowly, he attempted to draw the technique’s unique formula.
A faint outline appeared.
Then—
It twisted out of shape and collapsed.
“Ahh!
I failed again!”
Naruto grabbed his hair in frustration.
However, his discouragement lasted only a moment.
He quickly gathered his resolve and tried again.
Failure.
Failure.
Failure.
The entire afternoon passed.
“Ugh…”
Naruto finally collapsed backward onto the small bed.
Cold sweat covered his forehead from the intense mental exhaustion.
How did Dad ever learn such a difficult technique?
Naruto recalled the ghostlike figure of Namikaze Minato flashing across the battlefield in his future memories.
His father had looked unbelievably cool.
But no matter how much Naruto studied, he could not reproduce the formula.
He felt as though he were missing only one thing.
One crucial detail.
A single point—
Yet because he could neither see nor understand it, the obstacle before him remained impossible to cross.
Without that final piece, the technique would never take shape.
By the time Jiraiya returned, carrying the scents of alcohol and perfume, Naruto had already fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Jiraiya smiled silently.
Then his eyes drifted toward his missing left arm.
He thought of the two students who remained far away in Amegakure.
Nagato…
…
For the next seven days, Naruto and Jiraiya continued searching for Tsunade.
They limited their search to a radius of roughly two hundred kilometers around Konoha.
Jiraiya knew Tsunade well enough to be certain that she would never wander too far from the village.
Whenever they entered a new town, the first thing they did was visit every gambling establishment they could find and ask about the woman known as the Legendary Sucker.
The casino owners and regular gamblers would usually shake their heads with regret.
“Haven’t seen her in a while.”
“What a shame…”
“We’ve been missing out on a fortune.”
Naruto did not waste his time while they traveled.
In addition to practicing the Tailed Beast Ball, he repeatedly studied the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He broke down every line of theory.
Analyzed every step.
Experimented again and again.
But without exception—
Every attempt ended in failure.
There was still an invisible wall blocking his path.
“Do I really have to do that…?”
Naruto rubbed beneath his nose, looking conflicted.
“It’d be kind of embarrassing…”
Rather than asking for help, Naruto wanted to master the technique by himself first.
Then he wanted to stand before that person—
Before his father—
And show him proudly.
However, before Naruto could seek Minato’s guidance, the Legendary Suck—
Tsunade herself appeared.
…
Bang!
A sake bottle was slammed onto the table in front of Tsunade.
Her cheeks were flushed red from drinking.
Her finely shaped brows immediately furrowed.
Which suicidal idiot is bothering me now?
Tsunade raised her head with murderous intent.
There stood Jiraiya, wearing the shameless grin she remembered all too well.
“You’ve already had this much to drink…”
He glanced at the bottles scattered across the table.
“How much did you lose today?”
“Get lost!”
Tsunade exploded in fury and raised one hand threateningly.
Jiraiya’s entire body trembled.
Out of pure reflex, he instantly moved a full step away from her.
Across from Tsunade sat Shizune, holding the little pig Tonton in her arms.
She gave Jiraiya an apologetic bow.
“I’m sorry, Jiraiya-sama.
Tsunade-sama has had a little too much to drink…”
“Who said I’m drunk?!”
Bang!
Tsunade slammed the bottle down again and glared at Shizune.
I never said you were drunk…
Shizune felt deeply wronged, but she certainly did not dare argue with Tsunade in her present mood.
You’ve really had a difficult life, Shizune…
Jiraiya silently sympathized with her.
After all these years, the old woman’s explosive temper had not changed in the slightest.
“What are you doing here, Jiraiya?”
Tsunade took several large gulps of sake.
“Did you come all this way to spy on the women’s bath?”
Jiraiya’s mouth twitched.
At that moment, Naruto approached from behind him.
“What are you doing, Pervy Sage…?”
Then he noticed the woman sitting at the table.
“Huh?
Isn’t that Granny Tsunade?”
Naruto’s face lit up.
“Great!
We finally found you!”
“You came here specifically to find Tsunade-sama?”
Shizune looked at them in surprise.
“Pervy Sage…?”
Tsunade stared at Jiraiya for a second.
Then she burst into drunken laughter, slapping the table repeatedly.
“Hahahaha!
That suits you perfectly!”
Tears nearly appeared in the corners of her eyes.
“Who is this brat?
He’s hilarious!
Pervy Sage… Hahahaha!”
“As for who he is…”
His voice became calm.
“Take a closer look and you’ll understand.”
“Hm?”
Tsunade blinked through her drunken haze.
“A closer look…?”
She leaned forward until her face was only a short distance from Naruto’s.
Her unfocused eyes moved slowly over him.
Blond hair.
Blue eyes.
Three whisker-like marks upon each cheek.
Gradually—
The drunkenness vanished from her expression.
Tsunade straightened and glared at Jiraiya.
“Why did you bring him outside the village?”
Shizune also studied Naruto carefully.
She could not see what was so unusual about him.
Was it the whisker marks on his cheeks?
“Because Naruto is rather different from what you think,” Jiraiya answered with a smile.
“Hmph.”
Tsunade gave a dismissive sneer.
She had no interest in wasting more words on Jiraiya, nor did she wish to involve herself in the village’s troubles again.
She raised the bottle and drank.
A moment earlier, upon recognizing Naruto, she had unconsciously used medical chakra to purge the alcohol from her body.
Now she had to replace it.
Tsunade needed to remain drunk today.
She did not want to face this day while sober.
Every hour—
Every minute—
Every second—
Was far too painful.
Far too unbearable.
Shizune silently mouthed a name toward Jiraiya.
Nawaki.
Jiraiya’s expression immediately changed.
He remembered.
Today was the anniversary of Tsunade’s younger brother’s death.
His mood grew heavy.
That energetic boy, once so full of dreams and confidence, had already been gone for so many years.
Tsunade continued drinking alone, showing no intention of acknowledging Jiraiya again.
For a while, Jiraiya also remained silent.
However, one person clearly could not endure watching any longer.
“Hey, old lady!”
Naruto slammed his hand over Tsunade’s as she reached for the bottle.
“How long are you planning to keep drinking?!”
His determined blue eyes stared directly at the beautiful, youthful-looking grandmother before him.
“We don’t have time to waste!”
“The village needs you right now!”
“And before long, they’ll even need you to become the next Hokage!”
Naruto tightened his grip.
“So hurry up and come back to Konoha with us!”
Tsunade almost laughed from sheer anger.
She tried to throw off Naruto’s hand—
But because she had underestimated him, his arm did not move.
Her face darkened.
Humiliated by the unexpected resistance, Tsunade seized Naruto’s wrist with her other hand and tightened her grip.
A vicious smile appeared on her face.
“Brat, do you have a death wish?”
Naruto winced.
“Hokage?”
Tsunade sneered.
“What kind of worthless garbage is that?”
“Only an idiot would ever want to become Hokage!”
Jiraiya covered his face with one hand.
Tsunade’s physical strength was monstrous.
Naruto pulled his aching hand away, but the determination in his eyes did not waver.
“The Hokage…”
He clenched his fist.
“…is my dream!”
His voice rang throughout the tavern.
“I will become Hokage!”
Tsunade looked down at him with open contempt and calmly took another sip of sake.
Granny Tsunade really is infuriating at this point in time…
Naruto gritted his teeth.
“Then how about making a bet with me, old lady?”
He raised his right hand.
A blue sphere of chakra rapidly formed above his palm.
“We’ll bet on whether I can master the Fourth Hokage’s Flying Thunder God Technique…”
Naruto stared directly into Tsunade’s eyes.
“…within one week!”