Hidden Leaf Village Hospital.
Rorin arrived at Uzumaki Naruto's hospital room with Jiraiya.
Whoosh!
Rorin pushed the door open. Inside, they saw Uzumaki Naruto in a hospital gown, standing by the window with his hands resting on the sill.
Noticing the movement, Naruto turned his head and said slowly,
"Pervy Sage, you're back? Rorin, did you get the popsicle?"
Rorin nodded slightly and smiled.
"Yeah, found it. Thanks for the reminder, Naruto."
Naruto squinted and grinned. "No problem."
Then he glanced at Jiraiya, frowned, and asked,
"Pervy Sage, where's your left arm?"
Jiraiya shook his head calmly.
"Ran into a bit of trouble." He stepped forward and stopped in front of Naruto.
With his right hand, he ruffled Naruto's hair and said with a smile,
"More importantly, I heard you got backlash from your own jutsu. Clumsy as ever. You okay now?"
Naruto pouted. "I just didn't master it properly. If I really get the hang of that jutsu, I'll definitely beat Sasuke and bring him back."
Hearing this, Jiraiya's playful expression faded. He turned serious.
"Naruto, do you want to become stronger?"
Naruto froze for a moment, confused.
"What do you mean?"
Jiraiya withdrew his hand and looked at him deeply.
"Time is getting tighter. The Akatsuki are becoming more active. You need to grow stronger—to protect yourself and the people you care about."
Naruto nodded seriously and looked at Jiraiya.
"Pervy Sage, I want to get stronger. After fighting Sasuke this time, I finally understand how far behind I am. I need to work harder."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched, and Rorin broke into a cold sweat. The same thought crossed both their minds: he really can't go three sentences without mentioning Sasuke!
After confirming Naruto's resolve, Jiraiya nodded slowly.
"Then once you've fully recovered, contact me."
Naruto nodded obediently. After that, Jiraiya and Rorin left the room together.
As they walked, Jiraiya paused, glanced at Rorin, and asked,
"Bone kid, do you want to learn Sage Techniques?"
He had personally seen Rorin defeat Pain, and Rorin's bone shield felt familiar—it resembled the use of natural energy.
He suspected that Rorin could already use natural energy directly, which made him consider teaching him Sage Techniques.
On top of that, Rorin had saved his life before. It wasn't just about repaying a favor—he also wanted Rorin to grow stronger, increasing their chances of victory.
To be honest, a thought lingered in his mind: could this bone-playing kid be the Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Toad Sage?
If Rorin knew what Jiraiya was thinking, he'd probably just smile calmly and reply: I'm not some Child of Prophecy—I'm the chosen one.
Rorin was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Jiraiya to bring this up so suddenly, but he still put on a puzzled expression and asked,
"Sage Techniques? What's that?"
Jiraiya scratched his head and explained, "It's about drawing natural energy from your surroundings into your body, then balancing it with your physical and spiritual energy to create a new kind of power. When you use that power to perform ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu, it's called Sage Techniques."
Rorin thought it over seriously. He already had natural energy from the Curse Mark, allowing him to enter a sage-like state, but he hadn't converted it into true senjutsu chakra—he was just using raw natural energy.
If he could learn Sage Techniques, his strength would rise to another level.
But could the Sage Techniques of Mount Myoboku really be taught so freely? Rorin wasn't sure.
After thinking it through, Rorin's expression turned firm.
"I want to learn!"
Jiraiya smiled and nodded. "Alright, I understand."
"Then I'll be leaving the village for a while. If Naruto comes looking for me, tell him to wait a bit," Jiraiya said before departing alone.
Rorin watched him leave, then returned to his residence and took a long-overdue bath.
Jiraiya walked alone to an open area, bit his finger, and used Reverse Summoning.
...
Mount Myoboku.
Jiraiya arrived at the home of Fukasaku and Shima.
"Old man, look who's here," Shima said while stirring a pot of food, noticing Jiraiya's arrival.
"Oh! Little Jiraiya, here for dinner?" Fukasaku smiled and asked gently.
Jiraiya looked a bit embarrassed. He glanced at the bubbling pot under Shima's hands, then said,
"I actually came to ask you for a favor."
...
Five days later, Rorin received a message from Tsunade and headed to the main gate of the Hidden Leaf Village.
At the gate, Naruto was already waiting alone. Seeing Rorin approach, he stepped forward and greeted him.
"Yo, Rorin, did Granny Tsunade call you here too?"
Rorin nodded slightly. After a brief exchange, Tsunade and Shizune also arrived.
"Granny Tsunade, why did you call us here?" Naruto asked.
Tsunade shook her head slowly. "Jiraiya asked me to notify you. He should be here soon."
Hearing this, Rorin's heart stirred, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Moments later, a powerful gust of wind blew down from above. Everyone looked up warily—and Rorin froze!
A giant eagle was flying in the sky, with Jiraiya standing on its back. The eagle swooped down toward them, and Jiraiya leapt off in an impressively flashy manner.
After landing, the summoned eagle touched down behind him. Jiraiya patted its back and dispelled the Summoning Technique, causing it to vanish.
Rorin muttered blankly, "This…"
Jiraiya laughed as he walked over.
"Bone kid, a couple of days ago I remembered what you said, so I went and found a ninja eagle. Gotta say, it's pretty fun."
Rorin's mouth twitched. He had only been joking at the time…
"Alright, Jiraiya. I've called them both here for you. The rest is up to you," Tsunade said with her arms crossed, glancing at him.
Jiraiya turned serious again and looked at Rorin and Naruto.
"Rorin, Naruto, I'm going to take you somewhere to train in Sage Techniques."
Then he glanced at Rorin.
"By the way, bone kid—since you don't have a contract with the toads of Mount Myoboku, we'll use a different method to bring you there."
Jiraiya bit his finger, formed hand seals quickly, and slammed his hand onto the ground.
Summoning Technique!
As the smoke cleared, a toad appeared.
Jiraiya nodded slightly and said to Rorin,
"You'll need to enter his body. Then we'll take you along to Mount Myoboku."
Rorin nodded and entered the body of the toad.
Soon after, Naruto's figure disappeared as well. Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade and smiled faintly.
"I'm off then. See you!"
Tsunade nodded. Jiraiya and the toad vanished together.
...
In the Land of Fire, within a forest, Uchiha Itachi walked forward alone. Suddenly, his eyes shifted as he looked behind him.
Tap, tap, tap!
The sound of footsteps slowly approached!
----------------
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (156 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)