Naruto: The New Beginning

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Hanabi finally leaves with a satisfied burp, and by the end of the meal, she doesn't dislike Naruto as much. Maybe it's because Naruto has been so generous.

Hinata barely eats one-fifth of what Naruto devours, leaving most of the heavy lifting to her stomach. In the end, both sisters are quite satisfied.

Naruto, on the other hand, is exhausted. He and Sasuke have been up half the night, unable to sleep because of Jiraiya.

The old sage stumbles back in the middle of the night, reeking of alcohol and some stranger's perfume.

For a brief moment, Naruto entertains the thought of crashing into Sakura's room. After all, they are teammates, right? It couldn't be that weird... could it?

But he quickly shakes off the idea. "No, my comrade's room is off-limits," he tells himself.

Luckily, an idea pops into his head: solve the problem using ninjutsu. Sasuke is impressed and silently vows to never get drunk in Naruto's presence.

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The next morning, Naruto and Sasuke go to get Sakura for breakfast, while Jiraiya is still fast asleep.

The sunlight eventually creeps through the window, hitting Jiraiya's face. With a pop, the snot bubble he's been blowing bursts. He blinks his eyes open and yawns, trying to roll over—only to find he can't.

Jiraiya: ? ??

He realizes he's been trapped... by his blanket.

Looking closer, he sees the intricate sealing techniques on the quilt: sound suppression, immobilization, and something that seems to block the smell.

Is this what Naruto's doing?

"Kid's gotten pretty good at sealing techniques," Jiraiya said with a smile on his face, but there was no time to admire the work—he quickly broke free of the seals without much trouble.

Naruto hasn't meant to make them too strong, just strong enough to stop his snoring and the alcohol stench from bothering anyone else.

Jiraiya stumbles downstairs, still groggy, and immediately starts digging into Naruto's plate without so much as a hello.

Naruto, poking at his chopsticks, raises an eyebrow and asks, "Pervy Sage, what are you doing?"

Jiraiya shoots back, "What am I doing? What did 'you' do?"

Sasuke, already feeling a bit guilty, looks away. He's been watching the chaos last night with interest and even copied a few of Naruto's sealing techniques with his Sharingan.

Naruto defends himself, "What was I supposed to do? You came back reeking of booze and who knows what else. How were we supposed to sleep?"

Jiraiya waves it off. "It was just a little alcohol."

Naruto isn't having it. " 'Just' a little? That was a stink cloud, not a smell!"

He adds sarcastically, "Didn't you just tell us yesterday, 'A ninja must endure'? Does that mean we have to endure 'you'?"

Jiraiya isn't fazed at all. "Brat, you don't know what you're talking about. I was gathering 'intel'."

Naruto smirks and quips, "Oh yeah? So you're telling me your stomach can process info from alcohol now?"

Jiraiya grumbles something unintelligible as he continues shovelling food into his mouth.

Naruto shrugs and orders another breakfast.

Sasuke watches the back-and-forth between Naruto and Jiraiya with a slight sense of envy. Naruto always seems to get along with everyone.

Whether it's his parents, Kakashi-sensei, Shikamaru, or even Jiraiya, Naruto has this way of joking around with people without annoying them.

Even now, he's stealing Sasuke's fried egg.

"Uzumaki... Naruto..." Sasuke says slowly, his voice cold.

Naruto looks back, fried egg halfway in his mouth, and blinks innocently.

After a brief staring contest, Sasuke sighs and smiles. "Forget it. Enjoy your food."

Naruto happily chews the egg. For some reason, stolen food always tastes better.

Sasuke turns back to his plate and splits his remaining egg in half, offering the other half to Sakura, who smiles brightly at the gesture.

Seeing her so happy makes Sasuke smile even more. He's glad to have been placed on this team.

He keeps his eyes on his plate, though, making sure to guard the rest of his food from Naruto's next sneak attack.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya watches them banter and thinks back to his teammates. His team had once been just as close.

He had been more handsome than Sasuke, more talented than Naruto, and Tsunade... well, he convinced himself that she'd been as gentle as Sakura back in the day.

He shakes his head, his chest tightening. No, that's just the alcohol still messing with him. Tsunade? Gentle? She's worse than Orochimaru in that regard.

---

After breakfast, the group heads to a hill outside the village for some training. Jiraiya wants to see how the three are progressing.

First is Sakura. Jiraiya is impressed by her chakra control and medical knowledge. It's like seeing a young Tsunade, right down to her flat chest.

Jiraiya isn't skilled in medical ninjutsu, but having trained alongside Tsunade, he gives Sakura some advice based on what he remembers from their younger days.

He realizes now that he genuinely wants to introduce her to Tsunade for further training.

Sasuke's Sharingan, paired with Chidori, is also impressive. His Fire Style jutsu and quick reflexes make him a formidable opponent.

Jiraiya shares his insights on using ninjutsu strategically, advising Sasuke not to mimic Naruto's all-out assault style.

He also suggests that Sasuke and Naruto try combining Wind and Fire release jutsu in the future.

This new, knowledgeable side of Jiraiya changes both Sasuke's and Sakura's impressions of him. He isn't just a perverted old man—he's a wise teacher too.

Finally, Jiraiya tosses a scroll to Naruto. "Here's that Lion's Mane jutsu I promised. But don't be greedy. Focus on mastering Water release and perfecting the Rasengan."

"Got it!" Naruto replies enthusiastically, though he secretly plans to learn everything.

"Alright, you three train hard. I need to check on something suspicious from my last intel mission," Jiraiya says, his face becoming comically serious as he walks off.

The three of them exchange glances, and whatever respect they gained for Jiraiya quickly evaporates. They watch him leave, shaking their heads in unison.

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