"If this continues," Jiraiya said with a troubled expression, "I'm afraid the Rasengan won't be mastered within three days…"
His tone had changed slightly compared to earlier. The confidence he once had now carried a hint of doubt.
Naruto tilted his head.
"Huh?"
"You said I popped the balloon, didn't you?"
Jiraiya sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"Yes, but popping the balloon is only the first step. There are still several stages left before you can truly master the Rasengan."
He looked at Naruto carefully.
"To be honest… successfully learning the Rasengan in three days may be impossible."
Naruto blinked.
"Impossible?"
Jiraiya shrugged.
"Well… I suppose it's not completely impossible. But the odds are extremely low."
Naruto lowered his head for a moment.
His body was exhausted. His muscles ached, and his chakra reserves felt nearly depleted from continuous training.
Yet suddenly—
A triumphant smile slowly appeared on his tired face.
"Hehehe…"
Jiraiya frowned slightly.
"Why are you laughing like that?"
Naruto suddenly reached behind his back and pulled out the Kusanagi sword he had been carrying.
Then—
He quickly formed a series of hand seals.
Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly.
"This posture…?"
Naruto shouted loudly.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sword!"
In the next instant—
Boom!
A violent gust of wind erupted from the blade!
Invisible wind blades shot forward like razor-sharp projectiles, tearing through the air and racing toward Jiraiya.
The speed was astonishing.
Jiraiya's expression changed immediately.
"Not good!"
Without hesitation, he slammed his palm against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
The ground trembled violently.
A massive wall of earth rose from the ground in front of him, forming a solid defensive barrier.
However—
The raging wind blades struck the wall with terrifying force.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The earth wall was instantly torn apart.
Chunks of rock exploded outward as the sharp wind blades sliced through the defense like paper.
Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief.
"This power…!"
Seeing that the defense could not hold, he quickly jumped onto the collapsing wall and dodged to the side.
The wind blades rushed past him, carving deep marks across the ground before finally dissipating.
For a moment, the air fell silent.
Jiraiya slowly looked down.
The Earth Flow Wall had been shredded.
Even the corner of his clothing had been sliced open by the wind.
His heart trembled slightly.
"Naruto… you…"
"You've actually mastered the Wind Release: Vacuum Sword…"
Naruto burst into laughter.
"That's not all!"
Before Jiraiya could respond, Naruto suddenly bit his finger.
A drop of blood appeared.
He quickly wiped the blood across his palm before forming another series of hand seals.
Then he slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
BOOM!
A massive explosion of white smoke erupted.
The ground shook violently.
From within the thick cloud of smoke—
A gigantic figure slowly appeared.
When the smoke cleared, a huge toad stood proudly on the ground.
The creature was enormous.
It held a massive pipe in its mouth and wore a short sword at its waist.
Its presence alone carried an overwhelming sense of majesty.
Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock.
"T-This…!"
"He even mastered the Summoning Technique?!"
"And he summoned…"
At that moment, Naruto was standing proudly on top of the toad's head.
He crossed his arms and looked down at Jiraiya with a smug grin.
"Well?"
"What do you think, you perverted sage?"
"Isn't that amazing?!"
Jiraiya stared upward in disbelief.
"I can't believe it…"
"To summon that toad…"
The toad slowly exhaled a ring of smoke from its pipe.
It then looked down at Jiraiya.
"What's wrong, Jiraiya?"
"Do you have a problem with me?"
Jiraiya quickly waved his hand.
"No, no, not at all."
He forced a laugh.
"I just didn't expect Naruto to summon you."
The giant toad shifted its gaze upward toward Naruto.
"So this kid is the one?"
"I was quite surprised when he summoned me."
The toad spoke slowly.
"Other than you and the Fourth Hokage… he's the first person capable of summoning me."
Jiraiya's expression softened.
"So that's how it is…"
The toad continued calmly.
"At first, I didn't want anything to do with him."
"But then I watched how he trained."
It took another slow puff of smoke.
"To be honest… I've never seen someone train like that before."
"Completely reckless."
Jiraiya nodded with a helpless smile.
"That certainly sounds like Naruto."
Gamabunta continued speaking.
"Minato was a true genius. A brilliant ninja who appeared only once in a generation."
"Meanwhile, you, Jiraiya… you were someone who accumulated strength slowly before eventually reaching great heights."
Jiraiya laughed awkwardly.
"That's not exactly flattering."
Gamabunta glanced upward again.
"But Naruto is different."
"He possesses both genius and diligence."
"His talent is comparable to Minato's… and his determination surpasses even yours."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so?"
Gamabunta nodded.
"That's why I accepted him."
Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Chief Gamabunta!"
"From now on we're comrades fighting side by side!"
"We'll share the good times and overcome difficulties together!"
"If I ever need help, I'll call you!"
"And if I'm in danger, please have your subordinates come help me too!"
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly.
"Boss or assistant…?"
Gamabunta chuckled.
"Although we haven't yet shared the ceremonial sake of sworn brotherhood, Naruto and I are already like brothers."
Jiraiya's face darkened slightly.
"You two really are troublesome."
He looked up at Gamabunta.
"You get irritated with me all the time, yet you treat Naruto like your brother."
Gamabunta shrugged.
"Jiraiya, perhaps you should reflect on yourself."
After saying that, he blew out one final large ring of smoke.
Then he smiled faintly.
"I'm leaving now."
A moment later—
His enormous body dissolved into white smoke.
The summoning ended.
Jiraiya sighed.
"Gamabunta… that guy is just as unpleasant as ever."
Naruto jumped down from where the toad had been standing.
"I think Chief Gamabunta is great!"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes.
"That's because he likes you."
"That guy has terrible anger management."
Naruto laughed loudly.
"Anyway!"
Jiraiya crossed his arms.
"Naruto, I still can't believe you managed to learn both the Wind Release Vacuum Sword and the Summoning Technique in a single day."
Naruto scratched his head proudly.
"Hahahaha!"
"Of course!"
"After all, I'm a genius ninja!"
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Jiraiya smiled slightly.
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a frozen popsicle.
"Well done."
"As a reward, I'll treat you to this."
He broke the popsicle in half.
One half for himself.
The other half he handed to Naruto.
Naruto froze.
For a moment, he simply stared at the popsicle in silence.
During his childhood, he had often seen parents walking with their children along the crowded streets of Short Tail Street.
They would buy popsicles.
Then they would share them together.
Every time Naruto saw such scenes, he felt both jealous and lonely.
He had never imagined—
That one day someone would share one with him.
To others, it was just an ordinary popsicle.
But to Naruto—
It meant everything.
His eyes filled with tears.
Yet he forced himself to laugh loudly as he accepted it.
"Thanks, Pervy Sage!"
Jiraiya smirked.
"Eat it quickly."
"Then continue training."
"Tomorrow is the last day."
"And I think you're still far from completing the Rasengan."
Naruto nodded confidently.
"Don't worry!"
"After finishing this popsicle, tomorrow I'll definitely master the Rasengan!"
Jiraiya chuckled.
"Do you know something?"
"The Fourth Hokage spent three entire years developing that jutsu."
"And you want to learn it in three days?"
"If you told anyone that, they'd laugh."
Naruto grinned.
"You said the same thing when you taught me sealing techniques!"
"And what happened?"
"I still mastered them!"
Jiraiya sighed.
"That's true."
"You really do destroy expectations."
"But this situation is different."
"You only have one day left."
"And yesterday was practically wasted."
"Plus you're training three different techniques simultaneously."
"In other words…"
"You're basically trying to master the Rasengan in a single day."
"That's pure fantasy."
Naruto devoured the popsicle loudly.
Crunch… crunch…
"Don't underestimate me, Pervy Sage!"
"I'll definitely learn it tomorrow!"
Jiraiya smiled faintly.
"Alright."
"I'll be waiting to see that."
However, on the final day, Jiraiya did not allow Naruto much time to train.
An ominous feeling had been growing stronger in his heart.
He had no choice but to continue searching while taking Naruto with him.
The old man and the young boy wandered throughout Short Tail Street.
Naruto could only train while walking.
Fortunately, after two days of rest, most of his earlier injuries had almost healed.
Without the distraction of numerous Shadow Clones—
Naruto's main body slowly began to grasp the trick behind bursting the balloon.
His chakra rotation became more precise.
More concentrated.
More violent.
Finally—
Near noon—
POP!
The balloon burst violently.
A powerful surge of chakra exploded outward.
The sudden explosion startled nearby pedestrians.
Even Naruto himself was blown backward by the recoil.
Boom!
He crashed into a roadside stall.
Wooden boards scattered everywhere.
The vendor shouted in shock.
But Naruto didn't care.
Despite the pain—
His face lit up with joy.
"I did it!"
"I really did it!"
Nearby, Jiraiya was apologizing repeatedly to the stall owner.
"I'm terribly sorry…"
"We'll pay for the damages."
But when he turned back and saw Naruto's shining expression—
A proud smile slowly appeared on his face.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)