75. Rasengan

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"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed, his blue eyes wide with awe. "That's so cool! Teach me, teach me!"

Even Sasuke, usually unimpressed by flashy techniques, couldn't hide his interest. "That jutsu... it's pure shape manipulation, isn't it? No elemental chakra involved."

Jiraiya nodded, impressed by Sasuke's observation. "That's right. The Rasengan is one of the highest forms of shape transformation. It was created by the Fourth Hokage himself."

At the mention of the Fourth Hokage, Naruto's excitement doubled. "The Fourth created this? Now I definitely have to learn it!"

Sora, always the analytical one, was already trying to deconstruct the jutsu in his mind. "The chakra is rotating in multiple directions at once, isn't it? That's what gives it its power and stability."

"Sharp eye, Sora," Jiraiya praised. "You're right on the money. Now, learning this jutsu isn't going to be easy. It took the Fourth three years to develop it."

Naruto's face fell for a moment, but his determination quickly returned. "Three years? Ha! I'll master it in three days, believe it!"

Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle at Naruto's boundless confidence. "We'll see about that, kid. For now, let's start with the basics. Each of you, take a water balloon."

As Jiraiya distributed the water balloons, he explained the first step of mastering the Rasengan – rotating the water inside the balloon until it burst. What followed was a comical scene of the three young ninja struggling with their balloons, each approaching the task in their own unique way.

Naruto attacked the challenge with his usual gusto, shaking the balloon violently and occasionally shouting at it in frustration. Sasuke, calm and methodical, closed his eyes in concentration, his hands barely moving as he attempted to rotate the water with precise chakra control. Sora, ever the innovator, was experimenting with different hand positions and chakra outputs, his face scrunched up in intense focus.

As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across their impromptu training ground, none of the boys had managed to pop their balloons. Naruto, covered in water from his many failed (and often explosive) attempts, flopped onto the ground with a groan.

"This is impossible!" he complained, glaring at his still-intact balloon.

Sasuke, though he'd never admit it, was equally frustrated. His balloon, while showing some signs of distortion, remained stubbornly whole.

Sora, on the other hand, was lost in thought. He'd made some progress, feeling the water swirl within the balloon, but something was still missing. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Hey, Jiraiya-sensei," he called out. "You said the chakra rotates in multiple directions, right? What if, instead of trying to rotate it all in one direction, we tried to create multiple, opposing rotations?"

Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, well. Looks like we've got a little genius on our hands. That's exactly right, Sora. The key to the Rasengan is creating and maintaining those conflicting rotations."

Encouraged by this revelation, the boys threw themselves back into their training with renewed vigour. As the first stars began to twinkle in the darkening sky, a loud pop echoed through the clearing, followed by Naruto's victorious shout.

"I did it! I did it!" he yelled, jumping up and down, his orange jumpsuit soaked but his face beaming with pride.

Jiraiya clapped him on the back. "Nice work, Naruto! But don't get too cocky. This is just the first step."

As if on cue, another pop sounded, this time from Sasuke's direction. The Uchiha allowed himself a small, satisfied smirk as he looked at the remains of his balloon.

Not to be outdone, Sora redoubled his efforts. His face scrunched up in concentration, sweat beading on his forehead as he poured every ounce of his focus into the task. Just as Jiraiya was about to call it a night, a third and final pop rang out.

"Yes!" Sora exclaimed, his usually calm demeanour broken by his excitement.

Jiraiya looked at the three boys, each panting slightly from exertion but glowing with accomplishment. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. These kids, so different in their approaches and personalities, each had the potential for greatness.

"Alright, you three," he said, his voice gruff but warm. "That's enough for today. Let's head back to the inn and get some rest. Tomorrow, we continue our search for Tsunade... and your training."

As they made their way back through the now-quieting festival grounds, Naruto's stomach let out a loud growl. "Hey, Pervy Sage," he said sheepishly, "since we did so well with our training, how about treating us to some ramen?"

Jiraiya sighed dramatically, reaching for his wallet. "I suppose you've earned it. But don't get used to it!"

As they sat at a small ramen stand, slurping up noodles and recounting their training successes (and failures), Sora couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment. Despite the challenges that lay ahead – the erratic threat of the Akatsuki, the search for Tsunade, and the mysteries of his own past – at this moment, surrounded by his friends and mentor, everything felt right.

Little did they know that their peaceful evening was about to be shattered. As they finished their meals and prepared to head back to the inn, a commotion erupted nearby. The sound of breaking glass and angry shouts filled the air.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, instantly alert.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. "Trouble. Stay close, boys."

As they approached the source of the disturbance, they saw a group of rough-looking men surrounding a cowering shopkeeper. The leader, a burly man with a nasty scar across his face, was holding the shopkeeper by the collar.

"I told you, old man," the thug growled, "this is our territory now. Pay up, or we'll make sure you never open shop again."

Without hesitation, Naruto stepped forward. "Hey, you big ugly! Leave that old man alone!"

The thugs turned, their eyes narrowing as they took in the sight of three young kids and one imposing white-haired man.

"Well, well," the leader sneered. "Looks like we've got some wannabe heroes. Run along, kids, before you get hurt."

Sasuke's hand moved to his kunai pouch, his eyes flashing red with the Sharingan. "I suggest you leave. Now."

Sora, sensing the tension escalating, decided to try a different approach. With a quick hand sign, he transformed into a perfect copy of the thug leader.

"What the-" the real leader sputtered, taken aback by his doppelganger.

Sora, in the thug's gruff voice, addressed the group. "Alright boys, change of plans. We're leaving this town. Now."

The confusion that followed was almost comical. The thugs looked back and forth between the two identical leaders, unsure of which to follow. Jiraiya, catching on to Sora's plan, subtly cast a genjutsu to further muddy the waters.

In the ensuing chaos, Naruto and Sasuke quickly moved to protect the shopkeeper, while Jiraiya's imposing presence kept any of the smarter thugs from trying anything.

Within minutes, the gang had scattered, tripping over themselves in their haste to get away from the bizarre situation. As the dust settled, Sora released his transformation, a mischievous grin on his face.

"That," Jiraiya said, clapping Sora on the back, "was some quick thinking, kid. Nice work."

The shopkeeper, still shaken but grateful, bowed deeply to the group. "Thank you, thank you! How can I ever repay you?"

Jiraiya waved off the man's gratitude. "

Jiraiya waved off the man's gratitude. "No need for thanks. Just doing our job as shinobi." He turned to the boys with a proud smile. "And you three - that was some impressive teamwork. Maybe there's hope for you yet."

As they made their way back to the inn, the adrenaline from their impromptu mission still coursing through their veins, Naruto couldn't contain his excitement.

"Did you see how cool we were?" he exclaimed, punching the air. "Those thugs didn't know what hit them!"

Sasuke, ever the voice of reason, interjected, "We were lucky they were just common criminals. Against real shinobi, we'll need to be much more prepared."

Sora nodded in agreement. "Sasuke's right. We still have a long way to go, especially if we want to stand a chance against the Akatsuki."

The mention of the Akatsuki sobered the group. The memory of their encounter with Itachi and Kisame was still fresh in their minds, a stark reminder of the gap between their current abilities and their formidable foes.

***

Important

Okay, I want to state what people are saying about plotholes, It seems that some parts of the story are not mentioned clearly, either the reasons for certain character's actions or the world-building in itself.

So, I would address those in a new section called "Funk-it", at the end of each chapter.

You can also ask questions that you have doubts about and I would address that in a future session, that ofc if it doesn't involve the future plotline.

And if you think I am creating this out of nowhere... well, I haven't thought about this in great detail, but only have an idea of why certain characters are doing certain things, But you can also choose to not believe in me...

It doesn't matter.

I like stories that give people a chance to make their own assumptions.

Just like Pervy Sage says "a novel is much more interesting if you don't know how it ends." 

Hope you have a bad day~

Your favourite author

Desire

***

Funk-it

Why was Sora not abducted into the root, even after having super bright red hair which seems to be screaming for attention?

Simple! Sora seems to be around 6 years younger than Konoha 9, and on the assumption that Danzo doesn't abduct children of less than three years of age, Sora did not come on his radar, When Sora did turn around three years of age, which is ideal for kids of clans to start dealing with Chakra, Danzo had lost most of his power of root... why? isn't that obvious...

Why is Kakashi seen most of the time watching over Sora in his earlier days of pranking?

Simple, Kakashi like many others when saw his red hair, was curious about the kid, soon after observing him for a time, he reported it to the third Hokage, who gave him the work of observing the kid, in case Danzo didn't put clutches on Sora.

Why is the system not making any appearance in the late chapters? Did you forget that it exists?

I really hate the feature of not being able to put gifs in this chapter, but maybe I will put a gif if I am in the mood at this comment. Anyway, the answer is... I wonder why.

How can Naruto learn storage seals, isn't that too advanced? shouldn't only such Fuinjutsu knowledge be closely guarded?

Okay, Most people would have made their own assumptions and they are probably right, but in this fic, Fuinjutsu knowledge, mainly low levels is easily available in places like Library, similar to how it is for other arts like Genjutsu, Kenjutsu and blah blah blah.

I think enough is said about it, you guys are smart enough to know how Naruto learned it in just one night, if not then somebody probably will comment here about their theory, hopefully soon.

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