18 Chapter 18: Just Like Old Times

After Naruto felt satisfied with the distance he'd put between himself and Alcanretia, he slowed to a stop and propped Jiraiya against a tree.

"Geh... I thought I was going to die!"

Jiraiya gasped to catch his breath and clutched his pounding heart.

"When did you get so fast, kid? Is that the Kyuubi's chakra?"

"Yeah, and it's Kurama. He'll get angry if you keep calling him that."

Naruto replied absentmindedly as he looked around the forest he'd stopped in for any signs of monsters. When he didn't see any potential threats, and he let out a sigh and reverted back to his base form.

"I can't sense any monsters nearby so we're good."

"That makes sense. We're near the city of Alcanretia, which is full of Axis Cult members. Only high leveled monsters like Rookie Killers ever come close to that place."

Jiraiya said with a wave of his hand, and Naruto sweatdropped. Even monsters feared the Axis Cult... that was scary.

"By the way... Does that mode heighten your senses?"

Jiraiya asked as he dusted himself off. He was rather curious as to what else Naruto was capable of with the Kyuu-Kurama's chakra than being able to flee from a city at impossible speeds. After all, they had spent a good portion of their training trip working on that power. If Naruto was confident enough in his friendship with the demon fox to bring it with him to this world, then he must have mastered using its chakra.

"I can sense the negative emotions in people while using Kurama's chakra and create chakra limbs and mini Biju-bombs."

Naruto stated proudly, prompting the old sage's eyes to widen. He also wanted to brag about how he mastered sage mode too, but he decided to save that for another time and savor the moment.

"Wahaha! Look at you, so full of variety in your attacks! I'm sure you even managed to perfect the Rasengan after I left, so I think you might have even surpassed the Fourth Hokage by now!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily and ruffled his student's hair. He remembered back when all Naruto's only strategy was to spam Shadow Clones in hopes to overwhelm his opponents with sheer numbers! As crafty as the brat was with his clones, it could only get him so far in the world of ninjutsu. But with all these new techniques, Naruto was surely a force to be reckoned with. He couldn't be prouder of his prized pupil!+

"Hehe... Of course I surpassed my old man, ya know!"

Naruto snickered, and Jiraiya stopped ruffling the blonde's hair.

"...So you know about your father."

Obviously, it wasn't a question. Jiraiya hadn't told Naruto about Minato or Kushina. He had planned to do so after he returned from his last mission, but... Things didn't turn out the way he'd hoped.

"Yeah... After Nagato attacked the village, Kurama almost broke free and dad fixed the seal."

Naruto said with a sad smile, his hand unconsciously going to his stomach. His grin grew when he heard an indignant grunt in the back of his mind.

"I see..."

Jiraiya said in an almost whispered tone. The mood then turned gloomy the two fell silent for a couple of minutes.

"...I don't resent you for not telling me."

Naruto suddenly said, and Jiraiya seemed surprised to hear that.

"I mean, how could I? My dad had a lot of enemies, and if word got out that Minato Namikaze had a son, I would have had a lot more to worry about than just being a Jinchuuriki."

Naruto laughed while rubbing the back of his head. Besides, it's not like he had been miserable because Jiraiya hadn't told him about his parents. Just like his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto lived a happy life with friends and loved ones.

"Naruto..."

Jiraiya was at a loss of words. But before he had the chance to even think of a way to respond, Naruto suddenly shouted and jumped onto a nearby tree.

"Ah! What are we doing!? We gotta hurry and go find that mage you were telling me about! Where to next, Ero-Senin?"

Naruto said and peered around the forest like sailor in the crow's nest.

Jiraiya chuckled and hopped onto the tree next to Naruto. All this talk about Konoha was making him feel a little homesick too.+

"Luckily, you ran in the right direction when you brought us out of the city. In fact, we're not too far from the trail that leads to our destination."

"Alright! Let's go!"

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—After a couple hours of tree hopping Naruto and Jiraiya had set up camp when the sun went down, it was dangerous to travel at night due to the increase in monster activity.

They took turns keeping watch every few hours. It almost felt like old times when they would set up camp when they couldn't find an inn to stay at.

Morning came fast and there hadn't been any monster attacks, so Naruto and Jiraiya cleared their campsite and took to the trees again.

"I've been wondering... What did you bring to this world, Ero-Senin?"

Naruto asked Jiraiya as they soared through the treetops.

"Item?"

"You know, before you appeared in Axel Town. The goddess gave you something to help you defeat the demon king, right?"

"Oh, right..."

Jiraiya gained a sour expression as he fell into thought, as if he was reminiscing on an unpleasant memory.

"I was given a suit of armor, and I looked pretty damn cool in it. But... we got into an argument and it ran away."

Naruto's face scrunched up weirdly. There was something seriously wrong with what his master just said.

"...Ran away?"

"Oh! Hold up, kid! There's a monster up ahead! As an adventurer, you can't ignore this one!"

Jiraiya said and descended from the trees towards the ground, and it seemed Naruto had no choice but to follow.

They both landed on the ground in the middle of a rough path in the middle of the forest. The trail seemed to stretch on for miles.

Naruto looked around for the monster they had stopped for, but the only things he could see was the sea of trees.

'...No, wait.'

Upon further inspection, Naruto spotted a girl with green hair sitting atop a boulder in the distance. She seemed to be injured, if the bloodied bandage on her left ankle meant anything.

Naruto was about to rush over when Jiraiya placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up in confusion.

"What are you doing? That girl needs help!"

Jiraiya shook his head and pointed at the girl.

"That's a monster, kid. It looks like a human, sure. But in reality, it's a plant that tricks people into staying with them forever. You got a monster manual from the adventurer's guild, right? Check that if you don't believe me."

Naruto sent his teacher an incredulous look before looking back at the injured girl, and he couldn't help but feel the need to help her.

'But he did mention the guild's manual for monsters, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to check...'

Fishing the book out of his pouch, Naruto scanned the pages for a monster that matched Jiraiya's description and found a page with an illustration that looked eerily similar to the girl siting on the rock just a short distance from them.

Naruto gulped.

The monster was known as a "Tranquility Girl", which is a plant-based monster that takes the form of a young injured woman. This monster was a must kill on sight for adventurers not because it was ferocious, but because it charmed the unwitty into protecting them until that person dies of starvation. The Tranquility Girl then absorbs the victim's body of all their nutrients.+

What made killing this monster hard was that-

The tranquility girl seemed to notice them and cheerfully waved, causing Naruto's face to pale.

-its appearance made it seem like you're killing an innocent human.

Naruto was trained to be an assassin since an early age, but he had never actually done any assassination missions. Much less killed an innocent person!

Monster or not, this whole situation was heartbreaking!

As Naruto's mind jumbled over his morale standards, Jiraiya stepped forward.

'Ah, that's right... Jiraiya-Sensei's probably killed these things before. I'll just let him take care of it.'

Naruto thought and quickly followed the older man.

They stopped in front of the Tranquility Girl, who had been waving at them the whole time. Upon reaching the monster, she opened her mouth.

"Help... me?"

The Tranquility Girl said in a weak voice as she stared at them with hope-filled eyes. It seemed the monster learned how to speak the human language, which made her disguise all the more believable.

Naruto felt his heart breaking. This wasn't a girl in front of him, but a monster disguised as one. He knew that. But the way she spoke, the way she flinched in pain as she reached for her bandaged leg... It was just too much for him!

"Sorry, but we know what you are. As a (former)adventurer, I can't ignore your presence here in this forest."

Jiraiya said sternly, seemingly unaffected by the Tranquility Girl's human-like appearance. This impressed Naruto, as he hadn't seen his mentor this serious in a long time. Maybe Jiraiya hadn't just been messing around this whole time?

"Help... me?"

The monster girl reached her hands out and offered what looked to be fruit.

"I'm not interested in your nutrition-less monster food."

"..."

The Tranquility Girl gained a troubled look.

Knowing what was about to come next, Naruto turned away and looked at the information on the Tranquility Girl in his monster book again. Apparently, the Tranquility Girl bore fruit and would give them to the people they tricked into staying so they didn't feel hungry. But the problem was, those fruits didn't have any nutrients, so they would eventually die from hunger.

...How cruel.

Jiraiya reached into his jacket and pulled out a dagger.

"Well, no hard feelings-"

"Help... me?"

"!?"

Hearing his master make a strange noise, Naruto put his book back and turned back to find Jiraiya staring at the Tranquility Girl's chest. Wait, was the monster's chest always that big!?

"Ero-Senin... You can't possibly-"

Naruto's words died in his mouth. This was a man who asked a little boy to turn into a naked woman for his own perverted amusement. Of course Jiraiya would be charmed by a monster with big breasts!

"D-don't look at me like that! I was just taken by surprise is all!"

Jiraiya quickly laid out his defense, then turned back to see the Tranquility Girl sticking out her full chest suggestively.

"But to think the Tranquility Girl had the ability to change their bust... Geheheh..."

"That's just wrong on so many levels..."

Naruto sighed. It seemed he'd have to take matters into his own hands...

"Move, Ero-Senin. I'll handle this."

"Eh? Are you sure, Naruto?"

Jiraiya asked, surprised that Naruto wanted to. To his knowledge, Naruto had never killed an innocent person, which was why killing a Tranquility Girl would be extremely hard for him. That's why Jiraiya decided he'd take care of the monster... Although he did get a little distracted.

"Geheheh..."

Naruto shook his head when Jiraiya began to stare at the Tranquility Girl's ample chest again.

"Just move, Ero-Senin! I'll do it myself!"

"Alright, alright! I get it! Quit shoving me!"

Jiraiya complained and gave Naruto some room. Killing a Tranquility Girl didn't require that much effort, it was more of a phycological battle. But Jiraiya still wasn't sure if Naruto would be able to handle it on his own.

Naruto turned back to the monster girl, only to find it staring at him with a small smile on its face. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought...

'Why are you hesitating? You know it's a monster, so just get it over with and kill it.'

'Easier said than done, Kurama. Every time I think about attacking this monster, she stares at me with those sad eyes...'

'Then give me control. I'll give that monster a swift, and painless death.'

'...No. This is something I gotta learn to do, and I don't want you destroying another forest.'

'Tch... Have it your way. Don't come crying to me when you chicken out then.'

Kurama grumbled and cut off their mental cable.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Right in front of him was a monster that posed a threat to the people that passed by this place. If he didn't kill it now, it would pose a threat to those people later.

'It's just a monster... It's just a monster... Okay, I got this.'

Brimming with determination, Naruto opened his eyes-

"Help... Me?"

"Gah! I can't do it!"

Naruto's determination was instantly shattered when he saw the Tranquility Girl offering him a piece of fruit with puppy dog eyes.

"It's no use... I can't do it."

"?"

The Tranquility Girl tilted its head to the side when Naruto fell to his hands and knees.

Jiraiya sighed, but he expected this outcome. Naruto was a hard worker, and a skilled fighter, but his mind still wasn't fit . But they could work on that. After all, Naruto was still young and inexperienced.

'I wonder if that's the reason he... No, it's best I don't ask that.'

Jiraiya thought but quickly stopped and shook his head. He was hesitant to ask Naruto about his death for the same likely reason Naruto hadn't asked about his. It was best not to delve on it until Naruto was ready to talk.

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A Few Minutes Later...

Naruto and Jiraiya were back on the trail. They walked in silence, but mostly because Naruto was grumbling to himself.

If Jiraiya hadn't been there, Naruto still had Kurama so it wasn't like there would have been a real problem. But it was still frustrating that he couldn't kill the Tranquility Girl.

Naruto looked up at his mentor, who was a few paces ahead of him. Jiraiya had turned dead serious after Naruto failed before he killed the Tranquility Girl, and it was quite surprising.

At that moment, Naruto was reminded how different they were in terms of experience.

Naruto may have gotten stronger, but Jiraiya was still so much more experienced than he was.

'Maybe he wasn't just messing around this whole time...'

Rustle!

The two halted in their steps when the bushes in front of them started rustling.

'Is that... a pig?'

Naruto thought when a pig humanoid wearing fur armor stepped out onto the path. The monster looked around the path but found nothing suspicious, so it turned back into the forest.

Jiraiya, who had hidden behind a tree just before the monster appeared, looked over to Naruto, who was also hiding behind a tree.

'Good, he hid. We're getting close to our destination, but we wouldn't want to mess with those... No wait!'

Jiraiya signaled for Naruto to stop when the blonde signaled he was going to attack, but it was too late.

"Take this, you stupid pig!"

Naruto shouted as he lunged forward, and the monster turned around just as he kicked it in the face and sent it through a tree. When the monster made no signs of getting up, Naruto wiped his hands and turned to his mentor.

"Well that was easy. Shall we keep going?"

"..."

Jiraiya stood there silently, his hand still outstretched

'Naruto just defeated that monster... But we're almost there so we should be fine...'

Jiraiya nodded and silently started walking down the path with Naruto, albeit a little faster paced.

"Hey, there's two more of those monsters following us. Don't worry, I'll take care of them."

Naruto said and turned around to face their pursuers.

Jiraiya merely hummed in acknowledgment and continued walking, his pace increasing ever so slightly.

"Wh-what the...! There's more of you? Quick following us you stupid pigs!"

Crash!

A bead of sweat trailed down Jiraiya's face as he hurried along the trail. At this point, he was almost at jogging speeds.

Rumble...!

A sound that was close to an earthquake began to grumble and was growing louder at a steady rate. It almost sounded like a stampede of sorts...

Jiraiya had a good idea as to what the noise was, but he looked back anyway and saw Naruto sprinting down the trail towards him, a large cloud of dust chasing after the blonde.

"Ero-Senin! HELP ME!"

Naruto screamed as he ran towards his teacher like his life depended on it. He didn't dare look back, because he was currently being chased by the enemy of all men...

"Come back here, darling~!"

"We've never seen such a strong and handsome young man before~!"

"Won't you come back to our village and spare us a few of your genes~?"+

Female Orcs.

Freakish pig humanoid monsters with an abnormal sexual appetite. He didn't notice it before, but some of which had animal parts on various portions of their bodies. Cat ears, dog tails, pig noses... They were truly disturbing creatures to look at.

"NOOOOO!"

Naruto screamed with tears streaming down his face. The first couple monster he faced weren't much of a threat, he simply knocked them out with a single punch or kick.

But then more came.

Then more, and more, and more, and more until there was an army of the hideous monsters chasing after him. All of which were lusting after him for his "superior genes", which scared the living hell out of Naruto.

It was then Naruto remembered reading the article on female orcs in his monster manual, and how they sought out for strong males of all species to breed with.

If they captured him, Naruto would lose something very important.

'No no no! Don't think of that now! Just keep going to Ero-Senin! He'll know how to get rid of them since he's strangely reliable when it comes to monsters!'

Naruto thought as he continued to run towards his perverted, yet reliable mentor. But for some reason, he was having trouble catching up...

"Hey! Stop running and help me!"

"No way, brat! Even I don't mingle with female orcs! Just look at them! You take care of them!"

Jiraiya shouted without looking back, and just like that, Naruto's previous views were out the window.

"Give me back my thoughts of respect!"

Naruto could have just used one of his more powerful techniques to destroy them all in one go, but then the forest around him would be devastated. Luna had scolded him once after he destroyed a sizable portion of the forest outside of Axel Town, saying something about him messing with the ecosystem of the monsters. She had been furious then, and he could only imagine how angry she'd be if he wiped out an entire forest.

Luna already had her hands full dealing with the adventurers on top of managing the town's problems, so Naruto didn't want to add anymore to her workload if he could help it.

So, escape it was.

Naruto looked back to check if they were out speeding the orcs, but strangely enough, he found that they had slowed to a stop while he and Jiraiya had been bickering with one another.

'Huh? That's weird... They look like their scared of something.'

"Hah Hah! We did it! We made it!"

Jiraiya said as he slowed to a stop to catch his breath. He then turned around and pulled down his eyelid tauntingly.

"Take that, you beasts! Once again, the great Jiraiya-Sama has avoided your tainted claws! Wahahaha!"

Naruto panted heavily as he watched his mentor taunt the female orcs while howling with laughter.

"But... Why did they stop?"

Jiraiya let out a relieved sigh before placing an arm around Naruto's shoulder.

"That, kid, is because we made it! We're here!"

"Okay... But where is here?"

Naruto deadpanned when Jiraiya didn't even answer his question. Judging by the reaction of the female orcs, he assumed they feared wherever "here" was. But why did Jiraiya bother to keep where they were going a secret this whole time?

And why did Naruto feel like the answer should be obvious to him?

"Why don't we keep going and find out?"

Jiraiya said with a sly grin on his face, and lead Naruto off the path.

Off to the distance in the direction the two sages were traveling, a small village could be seen in the middle of the dense forest.

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A/N: Next Chapter, Naruto meets the mysterious mage! I wonder who it is... ;)

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