Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 66 Still Holding a Pipa, Half-Concealing Her Face

Hashirama's proposal was firmly rejected, with Tobirama reacting the most strongly. His foolish older brother had once again made this suggestion that put the initiative in the hands of others, which he vehemently opposed! However, this absurd proposal also created a broken window effect, and they eventually settled for a more prudent approach to currying favor.

After a day of amazing adventures, Jiraiya decided to use beautiful women to clear his head so he could face tomorrow's shocks. However, no sooner had he arrived at the hot spring than the frogs he had contacted huffed and puffed their way over.

"Naruto said you need to go there right away; he's encountered a situation he can't handle."

Jiraiya didn't have time to be shocked. The fact that he could use the communication frog to transmit information so quickly after just learning summoning demonstrated his incredible comprehension. If Naruto couldn't handle something like this, what a huge problem it must be! So Jiraiya rushed over, and what he saw was indeed a major problem.

"Don't die, I'm telling you! The perverted sage is coming soon!" Naruto, dressed in the fox spirit cloak, seemed to be stabilizing the vital signs of an adult ninja, but in reality, he was delaying his awakening. Huihe and Lang had already slipped away, leaving behind only a silk scarf with a special mark, which was tied to the wound of the injured person.

"What happened?" Jiraiya was reliable when it came to serious matters. He recognized the man and immediately went to check on the wounded. Hayate Gekko was a bodyguard handpicked by Minato, so his strength was undoubtedly considerable. For even he to be injured like this, what kind of opponent must he be?

“A couple told me that there seemed to be someone lying in the alley. They came from out of town to watch the game and didn’t dare to get involved, so they went out to find the nearest ninja to give them directions.” Naruto pretended to wipe his sweat and said, “The situation was urgent, and I was in a hurry to use Kurama’s power to save his life. I didn’t notice when they left.”

Jiraiya assessed Hayate Gekko's condition and noticed that while the tear in his shirt was alarming, his overall condition was alright, though he had lost a lot of blood. It was Kurama's chakra that had activated the activity of his cells; otherwise, his wounds wouldn't have healed so quickly. So, Kurama can be a doctor after all?

"Take him to the hospital first and find out what happened." Jiraiya picked up the injured man and ran off, not worried at all that Naruto couldn't keep up. And Naruto, as expected, followed closely behind, not falling behind at all.

Hayate's condition was relatively stable. The doctor removed the silk scarf that was serving as a makeshift bandage and re-treated his wounds. Jiraiya and Naruto were standing side by side waiting, and the blood-stained silk scarf was clearly visible to Jiraiya. The minimalist lines outlined the invisible wind, and Jiraiya, who had traveled extensively, recognized the symbol. "East Wind," founded in the Land of Craftsmen, had captured a large share of the maritime trade in less than ten years, and now it had appeared in Konoha, located inland... What were they trying to do?

"Were you attacked by people from Sunagakure?"

As soon as Hayate Gekko woke up, he was eager to see the Third Hokage. However, Jiraiya's status was enough to gain his trust, and since Hayate was physically disabled, it was convenient to inform one of the Sannin of such important news. The Third Hokage reacted quickly, promptly sealing off the news of Hayate's awakening and internally removing him from his position as the chief referee of the third exam.

Sunagakure was ultimately their nominal ally, and the ninja, bound by an alliance brokered by the Daimyo, had to give them some face. The higher-ups maintained a relatively unified stance externally and quickly approved a plan to turn the tables. Given that Sunagakure and Otogakure could infiltrate the village secretly, it was impossible to say there weren't traitors within Konoha. To avoid alerting them, Konoha increased patrols as if an attack had occurred, but deployed highly skilled core personnel to key positions. They anticipated the enemy would definitely make a move on the day of the Chunin Exams, when Konoha's personnel would be most diverse, making it easier to infiltrate and create chaos.

Konoha was busy preparing its forces for the defense, and those messy battle plans weren't Jiraiya's forte; he would only be responsible for executing orders at the last minute. Of course, he had his own considerations, such as the silk scarf that served as evidence of its existence, which Jiraiya had secretly kept. So far, "East Wind" and Konoha had no conflict; one was a maritime cargo fleet, and the other was a ninja village belonging to a country—it seemed unlikely they would clash. Moreover, Konoha had incurred their debt in this incident; without their help, Hayate Gekko would probably be a corpse by now. To avoid diverting the attention of those suspicious old fogies, Jiraiya put away the silk scarf, intending to report back after the matter was resolved.

Therefore, Jiraiya continued Naruto's training plan the next day. That night, Naruto wasn't the only one who didn't go home; Sasuke also stayed in the back mountains of Konoha, seemingly pondering some new technique. Considering he had already mastered Chidori, could Sasuke already be researching how to use the Chidori Spear? That seems too early; he's probably training his Sharingan usage.

"Were you listening to what I just said?" Jiraiya's smiling face suddenly drew closer.

Unfortunately, Naruto was past the age of being easily frightened and replied with a blink, "The Rasengan is a ninjutsu created by the Fourth Hokage. It can be released without hand seals, but it is extremely difficult to learn..."

Not seeing the scene he wanted, Jiraiya straightened up, still somewhat dissatisfied, and continued to press the issue: "Then what are the key points of the Rasengan?"

"Rotate, maintain, compress."

"Wrong! It's rotation, compression, and maintenance. Don't get the order wrong!" Jiraiya tapped Naruto's forehead with a finger before extending his hand to demonstrate a standard Rasengan. A blue sphere of chakra floated in his palm, looking exceptionally beautiful, but in reality, it was extremely dangerous. An ordinary person hit by a full-power Rasengan would suffer minor external injuries, but their internal organs would be completely destroyed, leaving them with absolutely no chance of survival.

Naruto stared at the ball for a long time, and in a daze, he watched Jiraiya use the Rasengan to create a hole in the boulder, and then in a daze, he caught a water ball. As soon as the water ball in Jiraiya's hand broke, Naruto's also broke, but the chakra that caused the water to rotate did not disappear, but continued to operate, completely replacing the position of the water ball.

The Rasengan, a technique he used his entire life and developed into various variations, was so deeply ingrained in his being that it took shape on its own with just a thought.

"..." Jiraiya felt he should say something, but he couldn't bring himself to praise him, and expressing shock would seem too undignified. He couldn't believe Naruto could learn the Rasengan so quickly, mimicking it with just a glance! This made him, who had spent the entire night brainstorming and dissecting the Rasengan's learning steps, feel like an idiot. No! This must be just a facade! This can't possibly be the real Rasengan!

"...Well done. Now, try attacking the stone."

Naruto nodded and raised his hand, and the half-exploded rock shattered into pieces.