Chapter 88: The White-Haired Sage Shows His Skills

"Hey, Lord Jiraiya, it's been a while since you came by."

"Yes, yes... it's been a long time..."

"Hahaha! Busy lately... very busy."

Jiraiya sat comfortably in a lively establishment in the village of Konoha, sipping sake offered by a server, laughing heartily.

It had been so long since he felt this relaxed! Ever since he met that kid Naruto, he hadn't had a moment to truly enjoy himself.

"Ahhh—"

Jiraiya took a contented sip, savoring the drink. It was as if all his troubles had evaporated in this single moment.

But just as he was relishing the peace, a deafening noise erupted, followed by a tremor that shook the ground.

Boom!

"Not good!"

"There's been an explosion on the east side of the village!"

"Quick, notify the Third Hokage!"

The massive explosion drew every villager's gaze toward the eastern edge of Konoha. It was a place everyone knew well... the training grounds of Naruto Uzumaki.

Just a few days ago, a house on that side of the village had been crushed by a giant toad. Since then, the villagers had been too afraid to live nearby, and those who had once resided there quickly moved away.

Jiraiya, still seated with his drink, heard the distant explosion and the uproar outside the establishment. The cup lingered at his lips, his good mood vanished in an instant. His heart sank, alarms ringing in his head.

"No… no, it can't be..."

"Maybe I'm just overthinking this," Jiraiya muttered, shaking his head, stumbling as he left the establishment.

He'd barely taken a single step outside when he saw the enormous mushroom cloud billowing over the eastern part of the village.

"What the hell?!"

Jiraiya jumped back, blurting out a curse.

"That rascal!"

"I was only gone for a couple of hours!"

"This is bad, really bad..."

From where he stood, he could clearly see the scale of the explosion. Just yesterday, that kid had summoned a massive toad that demolished someone's house. Now, he'd caused yet another scene...

Jiraiya could feel an immense weight pressing down on him—an invisible but very real accusation hovering over his head.

"No, no way!"

"I need to get out of here before they blame me for this!"

Without a second thought, he spun on his heel and sprinted toward the village gates. After all, this incident had nothing to do with him! He had no intention of being dragged into the Hokage's office for another round of scolding.

Thus, Jiraiya smoothly slipped out of Konoha, evading detection with practiced ease.

Meanwhile, Naruto was groggily crawling out of a crater, his clothes completely shredded by the explosion. What had once been his personal training ground was now little more than a scorched wasteland.

At least… the only silver lining was that the blast hadn't reached the heart of the village.

Naruto grabbed fresh clothes from his system inventory, changed into them, and checked himself over. His injuries weren't as painful as they'd been a moment ago.

"What… what just happened?"

He'd been practicing the Rasengan, but instead of rotating, it had exploded after Kurama's warning. And now he was like this…

"Kid, are you insane?"

Within Naruto's mind, Kurama's voice was full of irritation. The Nine-Tails had been peacefully reading when it sensed the strange chakra fluctuations outside. A quick glance out had nearly made it drop its book in shock.

It had seen the Rasengan before, back when Minato used it.

But this kid…

He wasn't even using the Rasengan properly! Naruto had just been recklessly compressing a mass of chakra without control. If Kurama hadn't warned him in time, the explosion would've been far worse, likely blowing up the entire village—and Naruto with it.

Whizzing noises filled the air as Konoha's shinobi started appearing around the blast site. When the Third Hokage arrived and saw the scene, he was so furious he nearly fainted.

Even Kakashi showed up.

"Naruto!"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I told you not to experiment with new jutsu in the village! Look at this mess!"

The Third Hokage's words were sharp, each breath labored. Ever since Naruto created the Wind Release: Blood Burst Technique, he'd forbidden the boy from trying new jutsu within the village. Naruto had no understanding of the limits of his own power, and with his chakra levels already surpassing even the Hokage's…

The Third could imagine that if Naruto ever managed to tap into the Tailed Beast's chakra fully, things would truly go downhill.

Nearby, Asuma, Kurenai, and several other jonin all cast wary glances toward Kakashi, each silently wondering if his influence had led to this. Some even considered keeping their students away from the blond troublemaker.

Kakashi let out a tired sigh, his dead-fish eyes reflecting his growing frustration.

Great. Now they're all blaming me?!

"This… I wasn't creating new jutsu," Naruto protested. "Jiraiya-sensei was the one who taught me this A-rank jutsu—Rasengan! You know, the one Fourth Hokage used."

The Third Hokage: "…"

Kakashi: "…"

Naruto, worried they might misunderstand, quickly emphasized that he wasn't experimenting with any new techniques. When everyone heard Jiraiya's name, they temporarily shifted their suspicion away from Kakashi. But at the mention of the Rasengan, their eyes once again focused on Kakashi.

Their silent stares seemed to say, "How could Rasengan possibly cause something like this?!"

The Third Hokage took a deep puff from his pipe, exhaling alongside Asuma in a shared, frustrated silence.

"Where is Jiraiya?"

"Go find him immediately."

The Third was utterly baffled as to why Naruto's Rasengan had ended up like this, so he resolved to give Jiraiya a piece of his mind.

The ANBU received the order and disappeared instantly, leaving to search for Jiraiya.

However, the Third Hokage had no idea that, at the very moment of the explosion, Jiraiya had already fled the village to avoid the fallout.

"Naruto…"

"Right now! I want you to fix this place up!"

"And no more practicing that jutsu inside the village! If you need to train, go outside the gates!"

The Third was at his wit's end. Yesterday, this kid had brought a massive summon into the village, causing chaos. Today, he'd unleashed an explosion. He genuinely feared that, by tomorrow, Naruto might decide to release the Nine-Tails for a stroll.

Konoha simply couldn't endure this kind of destruction…

Naruto nodded, acknowledging the Hokage's words. He also had his own concerns…

But why? Why did my Rasengan turn out so different from the one Jiraiya-sensei uses?

The Third Hokage looked around the devastation, feeling a mix of emotions. He knew Naruto couldn't be fully controlled, but Jiraiya… surely he could do something about that man.

After instructing Naruto to clean up the area, the Third Hokage signaled for everyone to disperse.

But as his gaze shifted to a certain white-haired jonin, his expression shifted as well.

"Kakashi, come with me to the office. We need to talk."

Kakashi: "???"

What? How does this have anything to do with me?