Chapter 140
Jiraiya nearly collapsed when he heard Naruto's words.
He couldn't help but roar, "That was all me!"
"Haven't you heard of the great Jiraiya?!"
Naruto simply sat cross-legged on the ground, stroked his chin in thought, and then firmly shook his head.
"No."
"..."
"What an ignorant brat!"
Their arguing clearly scared away the people bathing in the distance, and they quickly scattered.
Jiraiya was greatly surprised, pleading with longing eyes for them not to leave, but the area was already empty... "Damn it, it's all your fault, you brat, you ruined my research!"
"What research? Isn't it just peeping? You pervert!"
Naruto angrily pointed at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya, however, extended both hands and made a grabbing gesture.
"Wahahahaha, you're wrong, I'm not a pervert!"
"I saw it with my own eyes, how am I wrong, you pervert!"
"I'm a super pervert!"
Naruto was instantly speechless: "..."
"He actually shamelessly admitted it!"
Jiraiya sighed, looking at the empty river in the distance, and prepared to leave in disappointment.
"I finally returned to Konoha for research, and just as I saw such a beautiful scene, you ruined it..."
"How boring, how boring!"
Naruto was furious: "What research? I say you interrupted my training!"
"Training? I see, looking at your headband, you've already become a Ninja..."
"Of course! And, I'm the genius Ninja who graduated at the top of this class in Konoha..."
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Jiraiya, however, didn't take it seriously: "A genius Ninja who graduated at the top?"
"It's nothing special."
Naruto said, "Were you back then?"
"...Not really."
"...Then what are you so proud of?!"
Jiraiya seemed to be lost in thought.
"The top graduate of our class back then wasn't anything good either..."
Naruto suddenly felt a pang of pain, as if his status as "the top graduate" was being challenged.
"Who was the top graduate of your class?!"
Jiraiya said calmly, "Orochimaru."
Naruto: "...???!!!"
"O-Orochimaru?!"
Jiraiya frowned: "What, you've heard of that name instead?"
Naruto angrily said, "Not only have I heard of him, we even fought him!"
Jiraiya was startled: "You fought Orochimaru?"
"And you're still alive?!"
Naruto, beaming with pride, recounted the battle in the Forest of Death in detail, with some embellishments.
Jiraiya listened, and couldn't help but frown.
"A vessel?"
"That scoundrel Orochimaru, has he already completed that forbidden jutsu?!"
"What forbidden jutsu?"
Jiraiya shook his head: "I won't tell you yet, so you don't have nightmares."
"You said Orochimaru left you a Cursed Seal, where is it?"
Naruto didn't resist and directly showed Jiraiya the Cursed Seal markings on his shoulder and neck.
"Here, this one."
Jiraiya took a look, and his expression also turned grim.
"I see, it is indeed Orochimaru's Cursed Seal..."
"It seems that besides Uchiha Sasuke, you have also become one of his candidate vessels..."
"I have to say, he does have good taste. If he could obtain the power of both Uchiha Sasuke and you, I'm afraid no one in the entire Ninja World would be able to deal with that scoundrel..."
Naruto keenly noticed something.
"You said that at that time..."
"So, there's someone who can deal with that monster now?"
Jiraiya smiled slightly: "Of course!"
"You're not going to say... yourself, are you?!"
"Precisely!"
Naruto pouted: "Although you just neutralized my taijutsu attack, and I can tell you have some skill, compared to that monster, you seem to be far behind, don't you?"
"That monster, even with the combined efforts of the three of us in Team 7, we couldn't do anything to him..."
Jiraiya chuckled: "It's natural for you to think that."
"After all, you're still too young, you've never even heard of the legendary Three Sannin, famous throughout the Ninja World!"
"The legendary... Three Sannin?"
"That's right! That's the collective name for me, Orochimaru, and that Tsunade fellow!"
Naruto was skeptical for a moment. He stood with his arms crossed, scrutinizing the man in front of him.
He had long white hair, a tall and sturdy build, wore wooden clogs, a loose robe, and a large 'Oil' character written on his forehead, plus his recent peeping misconduct. He didn't look like a peerless master at all... "Is it real or fake?"
"I told you I'm Mount Myōboku's White-Haired Child, Sage of the Spirit..."
"Yes, yes, Pervy Sage!"
"...Don't call me that!"
"Okay, Pervy Sage!"
"..."
Naruto tentatively asked, "ano sa, ano sa, Pervy Sage, if you're really that powerful, can you help me remove that Cursed Seal?"
Jiraiya's heart stirred: "You don't want it?"
"...Only a ghost would want it!"
Jiraiya said: "Although the Cursed Seal is a curse, it is also a means to quickly enhance strength. Once you can merge with the power of the Cursed Seal, you can gain unparalleled power in a short time!"
"Isn't that what you want?"
Naruto snorted: "What I want is to gain power through my own efforts!"
"Let alone that Orochimaru is a bad guy, a monster, even if he were a good person, I wouldn't want this kind of power that looks so evil!"
Jiraiya frowned: "I see, I didn't expect you, kid, to have such conviction. That's something I didn't expect..."
"If that's the case, then the Nine-Tailed Demon Foxinside you..."
Naruto proudly said: "Ah, I don't want that power either!"
Jiraiya was truly surprised this time.
He, of course, knew why the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, left half of the Nine-TailedChakra to Naruto back then.
Besides sealing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox itself, it was also to allow Naruto to gradually master and control this power, thereby gaining the strength to contend with that "Uchiha Madara"!
After Minato Namikaze's death, Jiraiya, as his teacher, had always kept an eye on Naruto, preparing to guide him at the right opportunity, and the most important thing was to safely unlock that seal step by step.
But now... Naruto didn't want the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox at all!
From the source, he directly thwarted all of Minato Namikaze's and his own plans!
Jiraiya said, unwilling to give up: "Naruto, the Cursed Seal is one thing, but do you know that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside you is a terrifying existence known as a natural disaster? Once you master its power, you can dominate the entire Ninja World, practically unrivaled!"
"Your dream of becoming Hokage will no longer be just a dream..."
"Even so, you still don't want its power?"
Naruto firmly said: "That's right!"
"Why?"
"Because... I once almost lost control due to its leaked power. Although I killed Mizuki and saved Iruka-sensei that time, I also almost completely lost control myself and hurt Iruka-sensei!"
"I don't want this kind of completely violent and uncontrollable power!"
"Moreover, I also firmly believe that with my own efforts alone, I can become incredibly strong, and I can become a Hokage who surpasses all previous Hokage!"
Jiraiya immediately scratched his head repeatedly.
To be honest, all the peeping and research were just a pretense.
He had returned to Konoha Village this time precisely to take over Naruto's training, and the first step was to teach him how to initially control the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
As a result, this twist truly caught him off guard!
Of course, just as frustrated as him was Kuramainside Naruto... In the mental space, the sealing cage.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox roared furiously.
"You damn brat!"
"Do you think this great one wants to lend you his power?!"
"You even dare to despise my power!"
"You sealed me inside you, but then you don't want my power, so what exactly do you want to do?!"
Naruto's will looked at the enraged Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, still calm as usual.
"Hey, Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, I never wanted you!"
"And I can probably guess that the villagers hate me so much, it must have something to do with you, right?!"
Kurama snorted coldly, not answering.
Naruto sighed: "As expected..."
"I don't want your power, and you being inside me will only attract others' dislike and hatred, so..."
"Why can't you just get out?!"
Kurama was furious: "Do you think I want to stay inside you?!"
Naruto scratched his head: "Then why don't you leave?"
"Nonsense! If I could leave, why would I wait until now?!"