71. Wink*

(This bonus Chapter for me procrastinating for one day; Guys, we are falling in rankings, so take this chapter as a bribe, and Give me Powerstones :)

"So," Sora said, aiming for a casual tone, "how are you holding up after everything that happened?"

Naruto's face scrunched up in thought. "It's weird, you know? One minute I'm the village troublemaker and the next, people are calling me a hero. I'm not sure how to feel about it."

Sora nodded sympathetically. "I know what you mean. Earlier, some genin were treating me like I was some kind of prodigy. It's nice, but..."

"But it doesn't erase all the times they looked at us like we were nothing but trouble," Naruto finished, his voice uncharacteristically sombre.

They walked in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they both straightened up, grins spreading across their faces.

"Well," Sora said brightly, "I guess we'll just have to keep surprising them, huh? Show them that the village pranksters can be heroes too!"

Naruto's grin widened. "You bet! We'll be the best ninja this village has ever seen, believe it!"

As they approached the village gate, they spotted a familiar figure with long white hair and red facial markings.

"There you are!" Jiraiya called out as they neared. "Ready for an adventure?"

Naruto immediately launched into a series of complaints about how he wanted to train and how Kakashi-sensei might teach him Chidori. Sora watched with amusement as Jiraiya expertly baited Naruto by threatening to take Sasuke instead.

"On second thought," Naruto backpedalled quickly, "I don't mind tagging along. I'll go pack my stuff real quick!"

As Naruto dashed off, Sora couldn't help but sigh at the interaction. He caught Jiraiya's eye and saw the older man's amused expression.

"What about you, kid?" Jiraiya asked. "Don't you need to pack?"

Sora grinned, tapping the blue spiral-shaped tattoo on his right shoulder blade. "Nah, I've got everything I need right here. Storage seals are a ninja's best friend, you know."

Jiraiya facepalmed. "Are you always ready to leave the village at a moment's notice?"

Sora's grin turned mischievous. "Well, you never know when you might need to make a quick getaway. Especially when you're known for painting the Hokage Monument in glitter."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "That was you?"

"Maybe," Sora said innocently. "Or maybe it was my evil twin. You know how tricky those can be."

Before Jiraiya could respond, Naruto came barreling back, a bulging backpack slung over his shoulder.

"I'm ready!" he announced breathlessly.

Sora eyed the bag sceptically. "You know, Naruto-nichan, you could just use storage scrolls like me."

Naruto grinned, patting his bag. "Nah, this is for misdirection. Nobody expects the guy with the big bag to have all the cool ninja stuff hidden away!"

Sora's eyes widened, impressed despite himself. "Huh. That's... actually pretty clever."

"Don't sound so surprised!" Naruto huffed, but there was no real heat in his words.

As they set off, Jiraiya walked ahead while Naruto and Sora trailed behind, the two boys couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement. Whatever this mission was, it was bound to be interesting.

As the trio made their way down the dusty road leading away from Konoha, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Here he was, once again setting out on a journey with two young, energetic ninjas. The parallels to his travels with Minato were not lost on him.

"You know," Jiraiya said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over the group, "you two remind me a lot of my previous student, Minato."

Naruto's eyes lit up at the mention of the Fourth Hokage. "Really? Was he as awesome as they say?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Oh, he was something else alright. A prodigy if I ever saw one. But he had a mischievous streak too, not unlike you two troublemakers."

Sora, who had been idly practising his shape-shifting jutsu by morphing his hand into various objects, perked up at this. "The Fourth Hokage was a prankster? No way!"

"Oh yes," Jiraiya nodded sagely. "There was this one time he rigged all the toilets in the ANBU headquarters to spray blue dye. Took weeks for some of those poor ninja to get the stains off their... well, you get the idea."

Naruto and Sora burst into laughter, their eyes sparkling with newfound admiration for the legendary Fourth Hokage.

"Man," Naruto said, wiping a tear from his eye, "I wish I'd thought of that one!"

Sora nodded enthusiastically. "We should totally do something like that when we get back to the village!"

Jiraiya coughed loudly. "Now, now, let's not get any ideas. I'm supposed to be teaching you two to be respectable ninjas, not enabling your pranks."

Both boys looked at him with identical expressions of innocence that fooled absolutely no one.

"Us? Pranks?" Sora said, batting his eyelashes. "We would never."

"Yeah," Naruto chimed in, "we're super serious ninja now. No time for silly pranks."

Jiraiya snorted. "Right. And I'm the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."

As they continued their journey, the conversation flowed easily between the three. Jiraiya regaled them with tales of his adventures (carefully edited for his young audience), while Naruto and Sora competed to see who could come up with the most outlandish future jutsu ideas.

"Okay, okay," Naruto said, his face scrunched up in concentration. "How about... Ramen Style: Noodle Whip Jutsu!"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Everything's about ramen with you, isn't it? But fine, I'll play along. Water Style: Instant Hot Spring Jutsu!"

"Ooh, that's actually pretty cool," Naruto admitted. "But check this out: Wind Style: Stink Bomb Cyclone!"

"Gross!" Sora laughed. "But effective, I guess. How about... Earth Style: Quicksand Sneakers?"

Jiraiya listened to their increasingly ridiculous jutsu ideas with a mixture of amusement and mild concern. These two had entirely too much creativity for their own good.

As the sun began to set, they approached a small town. The streets were bustling with activity, lanterns being lit as vendors packed up their wares for the day.

"Alright, boys," Jiraiya said, coming to a stop outside a modest-looking inn. "We'll rest here for the evening and night"

As they entered the inn, a curvaceous woman with long, dark hair winked at Jiraiya. The Sannin's eyes immediately glazed over.

"Uh, you two go on ahead and get settled in the room," Jiraiya said, his gaze never leaving the woman. "I've got some... important research to conduct."

Naruto and Sora exchanged deadpann looks.

"Research, huh?" Naruto grumbled. "More like pervy old man stuff."

Sora nodded sagely. "The only thing he's researching is how fast he can get slapped."

Despite their complaints, the two boys made their way to their assigned room. It was small but comfortable, with two beds and a window overlooking the town's main street.

Naruto flopped onto one of the beds with a dramatic sigh. "Man, I can't believe Pervy Sage ditched us already. Some mission this is turning out to be."

Sora, who had settled cross-legged on the other bed, pulled out a scroll from one of his many hidden pockets. "Well, might as well make the most of it. Want to practice some jutsu?"

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You bet! What've you got there?"

"Just some notes on a new water jutsu I've been working on," Sora said, unrolling the scroll. "It's tricky, but I think I'm close to figuring it out."

As Sora began explaining the intricacies of his new technique, neither boy noticed the subtle shift in the atmosphere outside their room. The cheerful bustle of the town seemed to dim, replaced by an eerie quiet that crept along the hallway towards their door.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Naruto, who had been attempting to mould his chakra according to Sora's instructions, looked up in surprise. "Huh? Is Pervy Sage back already?"

Sora frowned, a sense of unease settling in his stomach. "That was... quick."

Cautiously, Sora made his way to the door. He reached for the handle, then paused, his ninja instincts screaming at him that something was off.

"Who is it?" he called out, trying to keep his voice steady.

There was a moment of silence, and then a calm, measured voice replied, "We have business with Naruto Uzumaki. Please open the door."

Sora's eyes widened. He turned to Naruto, who had risen from the bed, his face a mixture of confusion and wariness.

"Naruto," Sora whispered urgently, "I don't think that's Jiraiya-sensei."

Naruto nodded, his usual boisterous demeanour replaced by a serious expression that looked out of place on his young face. "Yeah, something's not right here."

Sora's mind raced. They were two young ninja, barely out of the Academy, potentially facing an unknown threat. The smart thing would be to stall for time, and hope that Jiraiya would return soon.

But Sora had never been one for the smart thing.

With a mischievous glint in his eye that Naruto recognized all too well, Sora turned back to the door. In a voice loud enough to be heard clearly through the wood, he called out:

"Sorry, but Pervy Sage said not to wander off with strangers. Especially ones who sound like they have a kunai stuck where the sun don't shine!"