Chapter 16: Before the Departure

"Wiz! Speak to me!"

"The... The light... It's so bright..."

"Don't go to the light! You're just hungry!"

Naruto was holding Wiz in his arms as they did their little drama.

Jiraiya watched the scene with a twitching eyebrow. How did Naruto, THAT Naruto, meet such a curvy beauty? The brat was even holding said beauty in his arms!

'No wonder the kid tried to outrun me when he suddenly took off, he must not have wanted me to come here... But the question is, why?'

The older sage thought while rubbing his chin in thought before his eyes widened.

Could it be-

After Naruto helped Wiz to the table, he sighed. He had been so engrossed with his catching up with Jiraiya, if one could even call that catching up, he had forgotten about Wiz's lunch.

'The ramen I made was ruined, but hopefully that clone I made was able to make some more and...'

Naruto's thoughts trailed off as he noticed the look on Jiraiya's face. The man was grinning madly and looked as though he would burst any moment.

'Oh crap, he followed me here. I wasn't able to outrun him...'

The blonde thought while starting to sweat bullets. He had taken off without saying a word to his old master, so of course Jiraiya would follow him.

"So hungry..."

Wiz said while panting heavily, gaining the attention to the two boys. Her breathing was ragged, and she was reaching towards Naruto with a glazed look on her face.

"Give it to me... Naruto-San's... I can no longer live without it!"

"W-Wiz!? D-Don't say things that'll make Ero-Senin misunderstand!"

Naruto stuttered and looked back at Jiraiya to see the man was already scribbling into his notebook, with steam coming out of his nostrils.

"Stop writing you pervy old man!"

Naruto shouted and lunged towards Jiraiya to grab him, but the man nimbly dodged to the grapple and the teen ran into a Shadow Clone who only just walked into the store with a bowl of ramen in his hands.

*Crash!*

The clone popped out of existence, and the ramen began to fall. But luckily Naruto was able to recover fast enough to catch the bowl at the last second before it hit the floor.

Ignoring the perverted giggles coming from the ceiling, Naruto quickly ran over to Wiz and placed the bowl of ramen in front of her.

"Safe!"

Naruto said while panting profoundly.

When the aroma of the broth his Wiz's nose, she snatched the chopsticks Naruto placed on the table before she began to dig into the bowl of noodles with gusto.

Naruto sighed in relief as Wiz began to calm down and finished the bowl normally.

Ramen Withdrawal Symptoms.

This was the term Naruto used when Wiz had begun to act strangely whenever she didn't get her daily bowl of ramen. He had forgotten to make ramen for her one day, and had brought some products from a food stall in town. This happened for a couple days and on the third day, Wiz had not only refused the snacks, but the normally calm and peaceful girl had all but tackled him and begged him to make her ramen.

After drinking the broth, Wiz placed the bowl down onto the table and let out a relieved sigh. She then blinked when she noticed Jiraiya standing on the ceiling.

"Who is that man on the ceiling, Naruto-San?"

"Long story short, this guy's my mentor."

Naruto said while throwing a thumb back as Jiraiya dropped to the floor.

Wiz stood up and clasped her hands together excitedly.

"Oh! Nice to meet you, mentor-San! My name is Wiz!"

"You can just call me Jiraiya, Wiz-Chan! I trust you've been taking care of my cute pupil?"

Naruto's eye twitched when he heard the Jiraiya call Wiz 'Chan', but he chose to keep his mouth shut since Wiz seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.

"Oh no! Quite the opposite! Naruto-San has been taking care of me these past few weeks!"

Wiz said while sending Naruto a shy smile.

"Taking care of... I see!"

Jiraiya said and scribbled something into his notebook again.

'Is she trying to cause more misunderstandings? No... Wiz is too nice to do this kind of thing on purpose.'

Naruto thought as he shook his head.

"Ah, Wiz. There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Eh?"

Wiz tilted her head cutely, and Naruto elbowed Jiraiya in the arm when he was about to write in his notebook again.

"Well, you see... I'm going on a trip with Jiraiya-Sensei because he knows a mage that might be interested in joining my party, so I'll probably be gone for a couple days."

Wiz's eyes widened as Naruto continued to talk.

"I'll leave you some emergency money if the red digits continue this week. Oh, and I'm going to ask Kazuma to check up on you every now and then, so you don't get lonely."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at that last statement. Who was Wiz to Naruto, a child that couldn't take care of herself, or a puppy that lost its way easily? He thought they might have been lovers, but now he was beginning to have his doubts.

"Wait! But if Naruto-San leaves, then that means-"

-I won't get to eat Naruto-San's ramen!

Is what Wiz was going to say, but couldn't bring herself to do so as it might hurt Naruto's feelings by making him feel like that was all she wanted him around for. Which was not the case at all! Naruto was a great friend, gave helpful advice, and all around good company! It's just... He made really good ramen.

"I'm sorry Wiz, it's just... I thought I was never gonna see my old mentor again, and going on a trip would be just like old times."

Naruto said apologetically, prompting the older man to rub his hair affectionately.

"Aw, you did miss me you little brat you~!"

"Don't make me regret going, you old geezer..."

Wiz frowned as she was struck by a sudden wave of guilt. It seemed Naruto really wanted to go on this trip, and who would she be to get in the way of his happiness? After all, Naruto had already done so much for her, and here he was asking if he could have some time off for a job he wasn't even getting paid for...

"Y-you don't have to worry about me, Naruto-San! Go find that mage for your party!"

"You sure?"

Naruto asked and when Wiz gave him a thumbs up, he cheered.

"Alright! Let's go Ero-Senin!"

Jiraiya chuckled as he watched his student bolt out of the store. Some things never changed.

"Jiraiya-San, please look after Naruto-San."

Wiz said with a gentle bow.

Jiraiya grinned mischievously.

"What? Are you worried about that kid?"

"Yes, I am. After all, Naruto-San is the one who has sacrificed so much just to help the clumsy me and this little shop."

Wiz responded with a soft smile, one that made Jiraiya rub the back of his head awkwardly.

"I-I see... So the brat means a lot to you. Thank you for being his friend."

Jiraiya said and gave a slight bow in return, then turned around and walked towards the door waving behind him as he went.

"But don't worry, little miss! That brat will be traveling with the great Jiraiya-Sama!"

Wiz giggled and waved goodbye as the man roared with laughter and disappeared through the door, leaving her lonesome self in the shop

.

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"How long is it going to take to get to this mage you mentioned?"

Naruto asked as they walked down the streets of Axel town.

"Hm... Well we won't be able to use this town's teleport shop to get there, so maybe-"

"Eh? Teleport shop?"

"It's a shop where you can pay a mage to use the Teleport spell to warp you to another town."

"Really!? That's awesome!"

Naruto shouted excitedly, earning a smirk from the older sage.

"Heh! That's why I became an Arch Wizard! But the only problem is... The place we'll be going to can't be reached through the Teleport shop because none of the mages in this town of beginners have ever been there."

Jiraiya boasted smugly before turning a little more serious as he pondered on how they would be traveling. They could hitch a ride on a caravan, but that wouldn't even take them half-way to their final destination. The rest they were going to have to walk.

'But somehow, I don't think that'll be a problem for this guy.'

The old hermit thought with a grin when he saw the eager look on Naruto's face.

"Ah, but before we go there are some things I need to take care of. Mind if we stop by the adventurer's guild?"

Naruto needed to ask Kazuma if he could go to Wiz's shop every now and then while he was gone, he also needed to tell Dust that he was leaving to find their third party member.

It was then-

"I did great this time around, wouldn't you say? One could say I was the MVP this time around!"

"All you did was buff our speed so we were able to run away from the Rookie Killer..."

"But because of my quick thinking, we were able to escape! Surely that is worthy of praise!"

"If by 'quick thinking', you're referring to us begging you to stop crying and to use your spells, then yes, you did a good job. Although I wish we stayed to fight that Rookie Killer... I can only imagine what those teeth could do to my armor!"

When Naruto and Jiraiya turned the corner, they came face to face with a familiar tri-colored group of girls and a very tired looking delinquent.

Dust noticed Naruto and his face lit up with hope and he pounced onto the whiskered teen.

"Boss! You gotta help me! I was wrong to want to travel with these girls! They may be cute, but there is something seriously wrong with their heads! Maybe they were droped on the head a couple times when they were babies, but they seriously scare me!"

"H-hey, calm down! What happened!?"

Naruto said as he pried the shivering boy from his jacket.

"We were on a simple quest to kill some goblins, but there were so many that we had Megumin use her magic to wipe em all out in one go... Then a Rookie Killer showed up so I told everyone to run away! But then Darkness charged at it head on while saying 'go on, I'll hold it off'! We somehow managed to escape thanks to Aqua's speed buffing spell, but I seriously thought I was gonna die boss! Why didn't you warn me about them!?"

Dust shouted before he gulped and hid behind Naruto when he felt murderous vibes from the girls.

"Excuse me, but who was dropped on their head as a baby!? You beg us to let you join our party, and this is how you repay our kindness? By calling us crazy? Apologize! Apologize for falsely accusing these beautiful women!"

Aqua shouted in a lecturing manner while pointing an accusing finger at the cowering Dust.

"You also promised to go on quests with us for three days, and it's only been a day! Tomorrow, let's go after that Rookie Killer again!"

Darkness said with an eager look on her face. It seemed she really wanted to fight that strong monster.

'Uwa... This guy must have had it rough.'

Naruto thought with a sweatdrop before he noticed Megumin was only silently glaring. But she wasn't glaring at Dust. Looking behind him, Naruto found Jiraiya trying to sneak away.

"...Oi. Where do you think you're going?"

Hearing Megumin's low voice, Jiraiya stiffened.

Turning around, the sage grinned cheekily.

"W-why hello there little one! Fancy meeting a Crimson Magic Clansman in this town of beginners!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Did Megumin and Jiraiya know each other?

"You've got a lot of nerve to call a lady little... But then again, a big oaf that knows nothing more than to peep wouldn't know proper etiquette."

Megumin said while shaking her head.

"H-how rude! Is that any way to talk to your elders, you brat!? Also, who would want to peep on a tiny thing like you? There's nothing to even look at! I like my girls nice and curvy, like your friend there! Now that's a lady worth peeping on!"

"!" x2

Megumin and Darkness both gawked at Jiraiya's sudden claims.

"A-as expected of the one that the Crimson Magic Clan has dubbed 'the number one peeping tom'..."

Megumin said while gripping her staff, her eyes glowing intensely.

"T-to think that such a man would appear and ogle at my voluptuous body... Naruto! Who is this man!? I don't think I'm mentally prepared for this new level of sexual harassment!"

Darkness grabbed Naruto's hands and demanded with a massive blush on her face.

"N-no, um... How should I put it? This is my mentor, Jiraiya-Sensei."

Naruto said awkwardly as he turned his gaze from the girl that was invading his personal bubble. Hopefully they didn't get the wrong idea and think he was a perverted peeper like his sensei.

"Pui!"

In the middle of Naruto's sentence, Megumin spit on ground. But before the whiskered teen could question the little girl, Darkness drew even closer to his face excitedly.

"I knew it! That must mean you really are a pervert on the inside! You being nice to me was all part of your scheme to get my guard down! Then, when I'm at a vulnerable state, you will strike with no mercy and claim me as your property!"

Darkness claimed with steam blowing out of her nose.

"Wh-what? Why the hell would I do that? No, I'm not a pervert like that guy... Aqua! Stop looking at me like I'm trash!"

Naruto pushed the strangely excited Darkness out of his face and pointed at Aqua, who was giving him a stone-cold look.

Dust, who seemed to have been forgotten, could only looked between the two arguments happening in front of him. He was about to escape, but Darkness reached out and grabbed his shoulder with an iron-like grip.

"Have you no shame!? The woman at the Crimson Magic Village weren't enough, you have to sexually harass my friend as well?"

Megumin pointed her staff at Jiraiya and said.

"I have nothing to be ashamed of! It was their fault for bathing in such a poorly guarded bathhouse!"

Jiraiya responded while looking away with his arms crossed.

"Oh yeah? Then why were you trying to sneak away just now?"

Megumin shot back, smirking when Jiraiya flinched.

"Th-that because..."

Jiraiya trailed off and glanced at Aqua, who hid behind Naruto when she noticed the man's gaze.+

"Hey, Naruto... Why is that old guy staring at me? He was talking about Darkness' slutty body earlier; do you think he finally noticed my goddess-like figure?"

"Ngh! A-Aqua! That was low!"

Darkness complained, but the heavy blush and smile on her face gave away her true feelings.

"Don't say your friend has a slutty body."

Naruto scolded and flicked Aqua on the nose, earning scowl from the bluenette. But come to think of it, Jiraiya did come to this world before he and Kazuma did. So if Aqua was telling the truth about being a goddess, then wouldn't she have been the one to send him here? If so, then why was she acting like she didn't know the guy?

Jiraiya's eyes widened in realization before he visibly relaxed.

Aqua didn't remember Jiraiya.

"Wahahaha! I was worried over nothing! Well then, I'll be taking off then Naruto. Meet me at the caravan station when you're ready to go."

"Ah! He's running away!"

Megumin yelled when Jiraiya started walking away, and growled when the man looked back and pulled his eyelid down while sticking his tongue out mockingly

'I wonder what happened between those two?'+

Naruto thought before he turned to Aqua, and he couldn't help but pity the girl. How could you forget about someone like Jiraiya? With his height, white hair, and personality, the man could stand out anywhere like a sore thumb. Oh well, it wasn't his problem.

"Hey Aqua, do you know where Kazuma is? I need to ask him something."

"Kazuma? He's probably at the stables reading that book of his. Honestly, he's been reading that thing non-stop. He even yelled at me when I tried to look at one of them! It really must be porn if he was that adamant on keeping it to himself!"

Aqua huffed when she remembered how rude Kazuma had been to her earlier that morning. All she wanted to do was look at the book he had found so interesting.

'Well, you're not wrong...'

Naruto thought with a sweatdrop before turning to Dust, who had crocodile tears streaming down his face.

"One more thing, Dust. I'm going on a trip with Ero-Senin for a couple days, a week at the longest. He says he might know of a mage that will join our party."

"Wait, did you say Ero-Senin!? That guy was THE Ero-Senin!? You have to get me an autograph Boss! I'm begging you!"

Dust suddenly regained his energy and grappled Naruto's collar.

"Alright alright, I'll get you an autograph! Just let go already! My poor jacket... and stop calling me Boss!"

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With Dust out of the way, Naruto made his way to the stables where he thought he would be able to find Kazuma. He was sure Wiz would be fine on her own for the duration he would be gone, but he couldn't help but worry her Ramen Withdrawal Symptoms would be too much for her to bear on her own.

"But to think even Dust knew about Ero-Senin... Do all the guys in town know him? He did have that large crowd earlier."

Naruto wondered aloud as he walked into the stables to search for the stall that his friend was staying in.

"Kazuma! Are you here? I have a favor to... ask."

Naruto walked into the stall in the middle of the stable to find Kazuma laying on pile of hay that was covered by a blanket in a very lazy-like fashion. He was on his side with his back facing Naruto, and the jinchuuriki could see that he was holding a copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

"Nothing beats a day of relaxation! I deserve this, after being coldly rejected like that. Even after all the hardships this world has thrown at me! Stupid old man! Even though his books are really good..."

Kazuma said and reached back with his free hand and scratched his back.

'T-this guy...'

Naruto thought with a twitching eyebrow. He had expected Kazuma to be sad about Jiraiya reject him of being his mentor, but Kazuma looked okay to him.

"Hey, Kazuma."

"Hm?"

Kazuma turned his head to see Naruto standing in the opening of the stall. He had a piece of jerky sticking out of his mouth.

"Oh, Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask for a favor..."

Naruto then explained the situation, but purposely left out Wiz's withdrawal effect.

"Hm... I see. But what do I get out of this? I'm a pretty busy guy, you see? Going out of my way to give your girlfriend a visit would only take up some of my precious time and make me jealous."

Kazuma said in a businessman-like tone, which was contradicting considering the way he was laying.

...Busy?

"Wiz isn't my girlfriend, I'm just worried she'll starve herself to death while I'm gone. But if you really want something in return, I can get Ero-Senin to sign another one of your books. How does that sound?"

Naruto offered with a twitching eyebrow.

Kazuma's eyes flashed, but he retained his poker face.

"Hm... You've got yourself a deal, Uzumaki-San."

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A/N: Next chapter, Naruto and Jiraiya go on a trip! But to where? ;)