In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

The Land of Hot Water is a place where beauty and relaxation intertwined.

It's famed for its scenic hot springs and lovely soft-skinned women. There were even a few red-light districts bundled together with the hot springs, catering to every taste.

Naruto had no idea which establishment Jiraiya was currently occupying, so he had no choice but to search one place after another. He was like a young fledgling wandering into a marshland, startling a flock of seabirds into the air.

Seeing someone like Naruto, which is young and full of energy, the women's eyes sparkled with excitement. One by one, they swayed their willow-like waists, pulling down their clothing to reveal smooth skin, some even offering their services for free.

"Come on, little brother, Big Sis will take good care of you."

"Men your age are the tastiest. Especially with that mix of sweat and masculinity. One taste, and you won't be able to stop."

"Why don't you come in and play a game with me? Rock-paper-scissors, and if you lose, you have to ***."

"Yeah, yeah, it must be very ****."

As the future leader of the new era and the chief priest of the Church of Pure Love in Konoha, Naruto's will is as hard as iron. He completely ignored the women swarming around him.

"Ma'am, please respect yourself!"

"Stay back! I am devoted to pure love! Damn it! You temptresses with your skimpy clothes."

Finally, with a bang, Naruto found Jiraiya in one of the establishments, drinking with a group of women. Seeing him drunk and telling dirty jokes to a woman, Naruto's face immediately darkened.

"Pervy Sage! You bastard! You're using my name to mess around in these red-light districts? You have no shame!!"

Jiraiya was startled by the commotion at the door, but he quickly calmed down when he saw Naruto. He casually dismissed the woman at his side and a familiar smile appeared on his face, "Yo, Naruto, long time no see."

"Stop trying to change the subject!" Naruto walked over angrily and ate all the snacks on the table. "How do you explain this?"

"I didn't use your name." Jiraiya pulled out Icha Icha Paradise, then pointed at the protagonist's name and said, "The name of the protagonist in my novel is Naruto."

Naruto's face twitched at Jiraiya's obvious deflection, feeling both baffled and amused by this veteran's antics.

"Stop showing off! Isn't it just some smut?" Naruto sat down, then glanced at Jiraiya again, "For you to be in such a hurry to find me, did you finally come around?"

The mission to investigate the Land of Rain was undoubtedly perilous. For Jiraiya to go there alone, without any reliable intelligence, was essentially a death wish.

But until recently, Jiraiya had been stubborn and insisted on going there alone. Naruto doesn't know why, but this guy suddenly changed his mind.

"What's all this talk about 'coming around'? Show some respect for your elders." Jiraiya replied, sipping from his cup, still slightly tipsy, "We'll talk about the investigation of the Land of Rain later."

"For now, I've got some big news for you. Don't be too shocked when you hear it."

Hearing Jiraiya's familiar fishing tone, Naruto immediately became wary, 'What bad things this old guy was up to? Is he trying to drag me into one of those prophecies again?'

"Wait, if it has nothing to do with me, then you don't need to spill it." Naruto stood up and was about to leave.

"Since you're already here," Jiraiya grabbed him and pulled him back, "Why don't you listen to it first before you leave?"

"Pervy Sage, you better not be setting me up. I'm warning you!" Naruto frowned and said to Jiraiya with dissatisfaction, "I am the only genius left in the Uzumaki Clan. If you pull any shady tricks, you'll be struck by lightning."

"What are you talking about? Am I that kind of person in your heart?" Jiraiya feigned innocence, but he couldn't fully hide his guilty conscience.

He quickly composed himself and continued, "How could I possibly harm you?"

"Usually, criminals will argue that they are innocent at the first opportunity." Naruto looked at him coldly and shook off Jiraiya's hand. "Whatever trouble you've gotten yourself into, don't drag me down with you."

"I got the Kyubi extracted from my body and haven't even had a few good days yet. Don't force weird things onto me, or I'll seriously cut off our master-disciple relationship."

"Alright, alright." Jiraiya cleared his throat awkwardly to cover his embarrassment, "I, the great Jiraiya, would never set up my disciple. Anyway, here's the situation…"

For the next half hour, Jiraiya recounted his experiences from the past several months.

"Stop." Naruto rubbed his temples and couldn't listen any more, "So, you found the Child of Prophecy, only to discover that Orochimaru got his hands on him? And now Orochimaru's disappeared?"

"More accurately, Orochimaru was killed by Uchiha Sasuke." Jiraiya corrected as he picked up his sake cup and took a sip.

"So, what's your plan?" Naruto asked.

He knew that Jiraiya had an almost blind faith in the prophecy from the Great Toad Sage. Even after dedicating half his life to searching for the Child of Prophecy without success, he had never questioned the authenticity of the prophecy.

"Now that the clues are gone, the best thing I can do is focus on the pressing matters in the village first." Jiraiya replied, "In two days, you'll be coming with me to the Land of Rain for the investigation."

" Pervy Sage, why do I feel like you're planning to throw me under the bus?" Naruto still didn't give a clear answer.

"How could I??" Jiraiya took a sip of sake strategically. "It was you who have been nagging me to take you to the Land of Rain all this time. Now I'm agreeing, and you're having second thoughts?"

"The trip to the Land of Rain is most likely full of dangers. My current strength is already not inferior to yours." Naruto said slowly, "So coming with you is just to make sure you don't die there."

"Pervy Sage, I'll be your bodyguard, so don't be ungrateful. Who knows who will be the master and who will be the disciple in the future?"

Hearing this, Jiraiya's face turned pale.

"Such disrespect."

"Heh."

"I also dug up some information while I was traveling." Jiraiya added, still unwilling to let go of the conversation.

Naruto glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, feeling a little reluctant. But considering that Jiraiya had agreed to resolve the issue with the Land of Rain sooner, Naruto reluctantly nodded, signaling for him to continue.

At this point, the roles of master and disciple seemed almost reversed, but Jiraiya didn't mind. He continued speaking, "I have traveled extensively over the years and have discovered one thing: Ninjutsu seems to be gradually declining. Maybe in the future, Shinobi will disappear, as if they had never existed."

"If Ninjutsu is on the decline, so be it." Naruto nonchalantly leaned back in his chair, looked up and said, "There was a time when Shinobi didn't exist, and everything was still fine."

"Pervy Sage, instead of worrying about that, why not focus on developing technology? To put it bluntly, Ninjutsu is inherently unstable, and relying on Kekkei Genkai is a gamble."

"What do you know? Ninjutsu is irreplaceable," Jiraiya countered.

"Tsk." Naruto leaned back in his chair and glanced at Jiraiya dismissively, "Ninjutsu is just a form of power that appeared out of nowhere. It wouldn't be surprising if it disappeared one day."

"Sandaime Hokage was called the Professor of Ninjutsu, but no matter how many Ninjutsu he had learned, or how strong he got, he still died and turned to dust."

Jiraiya was momentarily stunned, the words evoking memories of someone else who had spoken similarly.

Naruto (Orochimaru): "If Ninjutsu must have an end, then that end is immortality."