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Early the next morning, Naruto woke up and teleported to the pool for a cold shower to freshen up.
Being physically fit, he didn't have to worry about catching a cold.
He then sent off a shadow clone into the Forest of Death with a loud bang to wake up the animals.
Teaching them the lesson that "the early bird catches the worm."
Though the ninjutsu had deviated from its original design purpose, practice was still necessary.
The technique wasn't useless. A moment before the clone exploded, it could still throw a punch. Whether the enemy was punched to death or blown up didn't matter—what mattered was that the enemy died.
It was like having a budget of three thousand yen to buy a computer but eventually paying ninety-eight thousand yen after negotiations. The process didn't matter; what mattered was getting the computer.
One-Punch Man Shadow Clone—Disposable Explosion Edition.
Naruto, who activated his trembling mode in the water, felt that he had finally achieved half of his fantasy. He would punch an enemy flying, flames erupting, and then turn around stylishly amidst the explosion.
During his morning training, Naruto noticed a passing young woman who had discovered this hidden—but not really well-hidden—summer retreat.
The place where Naruto trained was within Konoha, so occasionally people passed by. It wasn't the Forest of Death; how could it be completely deserted? There were so many people in Konoha that even training grounds sometimes doubled as picnic spots.
The young woman first stood by the pool, observing for a while, as if trying to confirm whether anyone was there. After all, this pool clearly looked man-made, though it lacked any discernible pattern.
Of course, there was no pattern—it was made by shadow clones randomly exploding in different places. It wasn't like stepping on landmines; how could explosions follow a pattern?
When she realized that no one came out to chase her away, she dipped her hand into the water to test the temperature and smiled with delight.
Then, she kicked off one sandal, testing the water with her foot while keeping a wary eye on Naruto in the woods.
Dangerously teasing the edge.jpg
The young woman also realized that Naruto was a ninja—and he was training.
But ninjas weren't a rare sight in Konoha. If you poured a bucket of water out of a window upstairs, seven out of ten people would get hit, and the remaining three who dodged must be ninjas.
So she observed what kind of training Naruto was doing. If it involved large-scale ninjutsu, she'd run—it was too dangerous and prone to collateral damage.
After an hour of observation, she concluded that the person was simply dragging something around. And since she had already been soaking in the pool for so long without being chased away, she became even happier.
This pool must have been built by the training ninja. On such a hot day, after intense physical exertion, building a pool to cool off seemed perfectly reasonable.
She reasoned that the ninja must have noticed her presence by now but hadn't stopped her, which meant he wouldn't drive her away. Of course, someone as cute and beautiful as herself—how could anyone bear to kick her out?
(Pein: What did you just say?)
The young woman joyfully returned home to call her best friend, planning to come back in the afternoon to have fun.
She imagined that when they played in the water, the ninja might emerge to wash off sweat, and she'd mention it to her friend.
But wouldn't they want to meet such a strong, energetic, and seemingly young man? If they managed to hook up with him, then in the future… hehehe.
Due to the distance, she couldn't see what Naruto was dragging. But regardless of what it was, unless it was a bundle of explosive tags, she was determined to enjoy the pool this afternoon.
Naruto saw the young woman too but didn't stop her—that was part of his plan.
Mutual benefit: you play your game, I fish for Jiraiya, as long as you don't disturb me, we're good.
That afternoon, when Naruto came out to soak in the pool, he saw four bikini-clad young women splashing around happily. However, upon seeing him, their expressions turned slightly disappointed.
"???" Naruto gave a confused black question mark face.
Why is he just a kid? The young women felt let down.
Then they watched as Naruto found a pool, lay down, closed his eyes, and dozed off.
Sure enough, he's still a child. While feeling disappointed, one of the young women considered whether she should try raising him. Such a young boy already possessing such stamina—what would he be like when he grew up?
They had seen clearly: they had played in the water all afternoon, while Naruto had been running through the woods the entire time. His endurance was impressive—just thinking about it made them excited!
Well, these were young women. If they were older women, they would've already picked Naruto up and sprinted home with him by now.
Naruto didn't pay attention to the young women. He had seen plenty of bikinis before—on Golden Beach during Crescent Moon Festival, the number of bikini-clad beauties was counted in the tens of thousands.
Lying in the water, feeling its coolness and listening to the cheerful chatter of the young women, Naruto thought life was pretty great—and then fell asleep!
The four bikini-clad girls were speechless. How could he fall asleep surrounded by beauties in swimsuits? Was he… malfunctioning?
Later, they thought, perhaps he was malfunctioning—after all, he was still a kid.
They didn't recognize Naruto because almost no one in the village had ever seen him. From birth, he had been a shut-in—where would they have seen him?
Even if there were rumors, how useful were those after so many years? People kept talking, but no one actually saw him. Without evidence, how could gossip spread? Were they telling fairy tales? They might as well buy a book and read it aloud instead of making things up.
The next day, a certain white-haired old man wandering outside spotted several young women chatting and laughing as they walked. Their figures and looks were excellent, prompting him to take a few extra glances.
With decades of experience as a seasoned pervert, he noticed a bikini strap peeking out of one girl's bag.
He immediately understood where they were headed. Swallowing some saliva, Jiraiya decided to follow them.
The young women didn't realize they were being tailed.
Today, there were two more young women than before, all from the same circle. These girls, who were attractive and carefree while others were busy, either came from wealthy families with mines or owned vast tracts of land.
Jiraiya crouched in the bushes, drooling, with binoculars hanging from his neck. He occasionally raised them to take a peek, then shivered with excitement, muttering under his breath: "One… black…"
He also noticed the person training in the distance. Though obscured by trees and distance, he could barely make out some figures hiding nearby for protection—but he didn't realize they were ANBU.
ANBU operatives didn't stand around openly staring; they hid themselves. For Jiraiya to spot even a shadow at a glance was already impressive.
Why didn't he use the binoculars to look closer? This tool was reserved for gathering material!
"Slurp…" A line of saliva dangled from his mouth, only to be sucked back in just before it hit the ground.
"Lord Jiraiya."
"Oh? Kakashi?"
Two figures crouched behind the bushes, whispering.
Jiraiya wasn't surprised. He had been back in the village for several days. If the Third Hokage hadn't noticed, he might as well step down. He just didn't expect Kakashi to be the one contacting him.
Jiraiya didn't want to see the Third, and the Third understood. But now that Jiraiya was lurking near the jinchūriki, the Third could no longer pretend not to notice.
"This is a handwritten letter from Lord Third," Kakashi said, handing over the note.
Jiraiya took the letter, opened it, and read it. Though he didn't want to see the Third, he couldn't ignore a handwritten letter.
Crumpling the letter into a ball and gripping it tightly, Jiraiya gazed at the distant figure of blond hair, his eyes filled with nostalgia and regret: "Uzumaki…"
"Yes, Uzumaki," Kakashi echoed, wearing a similar expression.
They were remembering two people—one with golden hair, warm like the sun, and the other with red hair, passionate like fire.
Both died at the age of twenty-four.
Each lost in thought, they exchanged occasional words until…
Naruto sauntered over to a nearby pool, stripped down to his shorts, and lay down inside.
The nearby young women acted as if nothing unusual was happening.
Jiraiya and Kakashi were dumbfounded.
What kind of operation is this?! Jiraiya was shocked.
Kakashi was stunned because Naruto wasn't wearing a mask. Didn't he always wear a mask around crowds?
Could it be that being handsome grants privileges?!
"Ah!!!"
Their thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and Jiraiya watched the excited young women with even more shock.
Could it be that being handsome really grants privileges?!
"What are you doing here?" Naruto woke up startled by the scream and saw Sasuke standing by the pool, looking down at him.
"He left. Efficiency is low."
Naruto sighed deeply.
Brother, I beg you, can you speak properly? Just say that Kakashi left, and without guidance, you feel your training efficiency is terrible, okay!
By the way, where did Kakashi go?
Naruto hadn't noticed the two hidden perverts nearby. Their stealth skills were top-notch.
In Konoha, the only ones who knew anything and could communicate with Jiraiya were Kakashi. So the Third had sent Kakashi to contact Jiraiya.
Kakashi had left, leaving Sasuke without guidance. Feeling his training efficiency drop, Sasuke decided to return here—after all, at least he could train freely.
And so, he came back.