Chapter Text
CHAPTER 9
Footsteps started moving away at a relatively quick place, leaving me to catch up on my own. It was difficult only having the sound of footsteps to show me the way. I ended up stumbling several times on sticks and rocks but other than that, I did pretty good. We were only walking for about ten minutes when he announces we were here right now before I could walk into him.
“This should do,” he said after a moment. Whenever we were, it still smelled like minerals but it wasn’t as much as before though the sound of the water was still pretty loud. “Off with the jacket.”
“Wait, what?”
“The seal is on your stomach, right?” he said slowly. “I can’t very well see through clothes, now can I?”
“You’d enjoy that too much,” I muttered as I removed my jacket as well as my shirt. “Happy?”
“No, so let’s get this done so I can leave,” he muttered. “Focus your chakra into your stomach.”
“Why?”
“Stop asking so many questions, brat!”
“Then start explaining stuff better!”
“Fine!” He snapped. “The chakra reveals your seal. So focus your chakra so I can see what’s wrong.”
“Alright then! That I understand,” I stated, forming a seal and starting to focus my chakra.
“Damn brat,” he muttered. He hummed in thought for a while before speaking again. “Your problem’s right here. Someone put another seal over the one you already had.”
“It wouldn’t be the Five Pronged Seal, would it?” I asked, thinking back to what the snake bastard said in the forest.
“It is. I assume you know who did it then?”
“It was that weird, snake-loving girly man that gave Sasuke the hickey,” I answered.
“I should have know,” he said to himself before talking back to me. “Lucky for you, it’s an easy fix.”
“How?”
“Like this,” he said, answering nothing before shouting “Five Prong Seal: Release!”
A palm slammed into his stomach. I stumbled back in pain, and though it wasn’t as bad as when the seal was first placed, it still hurt.
“There, now try water walking again.”
“That hurt!” I yelled.
“It’s fixed, be grateful you little shit!” he said. I frowned at him. “Just try it.”
“Fine, but if this doesn’t work, you’re next on my reinstated prank list,” I said as I headed towards the sound of the water. He muttered something about being a carbon copy of some carbon copy of some Kushina person. I ignored him, focusing on the water rushing over my toes. I focused on my chakra again, channeling it into my feet.
I could already feel a difference. The chakra already felt more controlled, a lot better than it had or the last few days. I took a step forward towards the water, hoping it would work.
My foot sunk slightly into the water, but stopped before half my foot was even submerged. It never connected with the sandy ground of the bottom.
“It works!” I yelled happily. I looked towards my feet mostly for show as I ran out a little farther before turning around and heading back the way I came. “I guess you won’t be put on my list.”
“Oh thank Kami!” he exclaimed.
“So what now?”
“Keep practicing,” he said simply.
“Why? I’ve got it down.”
“The more you practice, the better your control will get. Trust me, kid, you need this,” he said. I thought for a moment before nodding reluctantly. “So get started, brat.”
“You’re buying my ramen afterwards,” I demanded. “That Ebisu pervert took me away from my lunch.”
“I’m training you! You should be buying me ramen in gratitude!”
“A sensei should treat their students to food after a grueling day’s work,” I explained as innocently as possible. He made an unbelieving huff as I continued talking. “After all, ramen is the best way of keeping me quiet.”
“And why would I need to keep you quiet?” He asked flatly.
“I’m pretty sure that the girls in the bath house would love to hear who was peeping on them a half hour ago,” I explained.
“I wouldn’t,” he said. I could almost feel the glare that was surely aimed at me.
“Try me,” I said, matching his glare. I was pretty sure I ended up starting another useless staring contest between us. I must have looked pretty convincing since he gave up pretty quickly.
“Only this once,” he said, sighing again. “And you have to work hard or the deal’s off.”
“Yes sir!” I yelled excitedly. I ran towards the water to try again, only to fall straight through the surface.
“Wow, I might actually enjoy this,” he said once my head broke the surface. I flipped him off before climbing back out and trying again.
! ! ! ! 5 HOURS LATER ! ! ! !
“I’m done,” Jiraiya heard his new student say.
He looked up from his notes to see the boy purposefully flop backwards into the sand. It was about four in the afternoon so, by his calculations, Naruto had been working for almost five hours now. It was quite the impressive feet for a boy straight out of the hospital, especially since he wasn’t looking so good when he had been checked out. According to his sources anyways. He was almost impressed. Not that he would tell Naruto any of this. He couldn’t let the boy’s ego get any bigger.
“Seriously? That’s all you got?” he taunted. “The sun’s still up.”
“I just got out of the hospital!” the boy shouted despite his breath still labored from his training.
“That’s no excuse.”
“Yes, it is! And I’m tired!”
“Fine, I suppose you’ve earned your dinner,” Jiraiya said dramatically. Naruto threw his feet in their air in victory only let it drop back to the ground with a quiet thump. “Get up and we’ll leave.”
“Can’t.”
“What do you mean ‘can’t’?” I asked.
“Too tired.”
“How do you expect to get there? Me carrying you?” Jiraiya asked sarcastically.
“Yes.”
“No,” Jiraiya said with a sigh. “What makes you think I’d even consider that?”
“Bath house.”
“You can’t blackmail me twice with the same thing,” Jiraiya rubbed his forehead with a grumble.
“Says who?” he asked instead of coming up with a legitimate argument. Unfortunately, Jiraiya couldn’t come up with anything to combat it.
“Damn brat,” Jiraiya muttered as he picked the blond up and threw him onto his back. “I don’t want to hear a single complaint from you, you got that?”
“Hai,” Naruto muttered already half asleep.
It wasn’t much of a surprise when after a minute or two he heard a light snore coming from his back. Jiraiya shook his head, amazed at the boy’s ability to trust almost anyone. It was almost nice to see a ninja still so naïve, even though he knew he’d eventually have to teach him otherwise.
Jiraiya paused for a moment, trying to figure out exactly when he decided to continue training the boy. Maybe it was because of his determination to get stronger, or when he actually noticed his chakra was out of whack on his own. No, if he was being honest, it was as soon as he saw him. The boy looked far too much like his father to be ignored. And knowing that man wouldn’t be around to teach the boy his inherited techniques, well, Jiraiya just knew he had to do so in his place.
“I guess I’m stuck with you for a while,” he mumbled to himself as the ramen stand came into view. “Hey, brat, we’re here.”
Jiraiya jostled the boy trying to get his attention, but there was no response.
“Did you hear me? We’re at your stupid ramen stand,” Jiraiya tried again. Naruto muttered a something into his back but didn’t wake up.
“You must have been more exhausted than you let on,” Jiraiya said to himself. “Saves me some ramen expenses, at least.”
Jiraiya was about to just leave when he remembered why he was taking the kid to ramen to begin with. Sure, the blackmail he was trying, wasn’t exactly the best. Most people in the village already knew his peeping habits, but having Naruto going around shouting it in the streets would be an inconvenience.
With a sigh, Jiraiya stepped up to the stand and ordered two to-go containers of ramen so the child would be satisfied.
“Are these for Naruto?” The pretty waitress asked as she delivered the order to her father.
“How’d you know?”
“Call it a hunch,” she said peaking at the sleeping Naruto no doubt drooling on his vest. She reached under the counter, pulling out a familiar book to put on the table top. “Would you mind giving this to him when he wakes up? He forgot it this morning when his other sensei dragged him away.”
“Will do,” Jiraiya said after a moment. He picked up the book, studying it for a moment before putting it in one of his pockets. He hadn’t known Naruto was reading his ‘Gutsy ninja’ book. Maybe the kid had good taste after all.