Finishing his day of training as usual, and after safely escorting the somewhat reluctant Satsuki back to the Uchiha Clan Compound, Naruto embarked on the journey back to his apartment alone.
The streets of Konoha Village were bustling at their busiest hour, dusk.
Pedestrians thronged, and Ninja who had completed their missions walked in twos and threes towards izakayas and barbecue restaurants.
Warm lights emanated from the shops, children chased and played in open spaces, and the entire Village was enveloped in an atmosphere of peace and vibrant life.
Also as usual, during the latter half of the training, when Naruto was developing his Ninjutsu, Jiraiya had already slipped away with the excuse of 'important matters.'
He was probably now in some tavern, drinking merrily with a few 'female friends' he had just met, completely drunk.
Naruto had long grown accustomed to the unreliable antics of his future teacher.
As he walked through a quieter street, his gaze was drawn to a scene ahead.
Several small children, seemingly only about five years old, were gathered around a tree, looking up with bewildered expressions at a red balloon stuck in the branches, their faces filled with anxiety.
This scene was almost like a classic illustration from a school textbook used to teach that 'helping others is a virtue'...
Naruto made a small mental note, but his steps still carried him forward.
Under the children's astonished gaze, he simply leaped lightly, easily plucking the balloon from the treetop.
"Here, hold on to it." He handed the balloon over.
The children, receiving their lost and found balloon, their eyes instantly lit up as they looked at Naruto, filled with pure gratitude and adoration, and they shouted in unison: "Thank you, Ninja big brother!"
A gentle smile naturally appeared on Naruto's face, and he was about to respond with "You're welcome"—
"Ken! Come here quickly!"
A hurried shout, carrying obvious tension, interrupted him.
Not far away, several adults who had been chatting noticed the interaction and immediately rushed over, picking up the child who was thanking Naruto without a word and hugging him tightly.
It seemed they had been engrossed in conversation with acquaintances and had temporarily left their children to play.
Those parents completely ignored the bewildered and confused looks the children gave them; their gazes were fixed on Naruto, filled with undisguised wariness, apprehension, and even a hint of fear.
They said nothing, simply holding their children, and like avoiding something ominous, quickly turned and hurried away, disappearing around the street corner.
Here we go again...
Naruto's outstretched hand slowly lowered, and the smile on his face faded.
He merely raised a hand to scratch his golden hair, a bit troubled, as he had long grown accustomed to this kind of treatment.
Naruto even found some dark humor in his thoughts, thinking that these few people today were actually quite 'polite,' at least they just silently walked away, unlike some others who, before leaving, would deliberately lower their voices to utter a disgusted 'monster' or 'demon fox.'
"Sorry, miss, don't leave! But your… uh… your bosom is truly as vast as a mountain range!"
"I told you I'm not that kind of woman! Get lost, you old pervert!"
With a crisp "Thwack!" sound, it seemed someone had received a solid slap.
Naruto found the lewd voice somewhat familiar, and following the sound, he indeed saw an angry woman quickly depart, leaving behind a white-haired figure covering his face, reeking of alcohol, and staggering—it was Jiraiya.
"This old pervert..."
Naruto couldn't help but rub his forehead and mutter.
Jiraiya's eyes were unfocused, his cheeks flushed with drunkenness, and his whole body swayed as if he would collapse to the ground at any second.
"Oh! It's Naruto!" Jiraiya recognized him with narrowed eyes and let out a loud burp, "Training... finished? Hehehe, even if you're a genius... you, you can't slack off! Otherwise... this Sage might have to... reconsider taking you as a disciple!"
These were clearly the incoherent ramblings of a drunk.
Naruto quickly stepped forward and grabbed Jiraiya, who was about to fall.
Despite the man's misconduct, Naruto couldn't just leave him on the street.
"Yes, yes, I know.
Let's go, Perverted Sage." Naruto said helplessly, slinging one of Jiraiya's arms over his shoulder, supporting his heavy body, and slowly moving towards his small apartment.
Jiraiya leaned almost his entire weight on Naruto, swaying as he walked, muttering incoherent drunken words, sometimes singing a few off-key tunes, and sometimes boasting about his past 'great achievements.'
Naruto could only painstakingly support him while occasionally offering a perfunctory "Mm" or "Oh" in response.
Smelling the strong scent of alcohol beside him and feeling the difficulty of supporting a drunk, Naruto secretly congratulated himself, thinking that deciding not to drink was truly a wise choice.
"Naruto... you kid... *hic*... your strength is enough, but you're still too green! You lack experience..." Jiraiya, half-leaning on Naruto's shoulder, drunkenly waved his other hand, "You should know! Your Jiraiya-sama... once fought against Hanzou, who was called the 'Demigod'! He's a true legendary Ninja!"
"Yes, yes, you're the greatest." Naruto agreed helplessly, while steadying their swaying figures.
"And also... the people who wanted to become my disciples once stretched from the Konoha Village entrance to the Hokage Rock! You kid... don't be ignorant!" Jiraiya continued to boast with a thick tongue, his tone suddenly carrying a hint of imperceptible loneliness and pride, "Do you know who my last disciple was? That was... the famous Fourth Hokage!"
"Yes, yes, I know."
Thus, listening to Jiraiya's hazy drunken ramblings all the way, Naruto finally half-supported, half-dragged him back to his small apartment.
There was no other way; he had no idea where Jiraiya was currently staying in Konoha.
He settled the heavy Jiraiya onto his not-so-spacious small bed, took off his shoes, and covered him with a blanket.
Jiraiya mumbled a few unintelligible dream words into the pillow, and then loud snores filled the entire room.
It seemed he would have to sleep on the floor tonight.
Naruto first quietly tidied up the room a bit, then carefully moved the Pokémon egg to a more secure corner.
He had already eaten dinner at Satsuki's house, and after washing up, he was ready to rest.
Changing into clean pajamas, he lay down on the prepared futon, hugging the small cat doll wearing a mini Uchiha clan outfit that Satsuki had given him.
Accompanied by the rhythmic snoring coming from the bed beside him, Naruto slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
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