"I suddenly have something to take care of, so I'll be leaving first. You two should just follow Fukasaku-sama here and train properly!"
As soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, he turned and walked off. He glanced back slightly at Rorin and Naruto, a sly smile on his face.
Watching Jiraiya walk away, Rorin suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Hey, why did Pervy Sage leave already? Didn't he say he'd take me to train and get stronger?" Naruto stared blankly at Jiraiya's back, confused.
"Little Naruto, what little Jiraiya meant is for you two to learn Sage Techniques from me," Fukasaku said seriously.
Rorin nodded slightly. "Then I'll trouble you."
Naruto looked puzzled. "What are Sage Techniques?"
Fukasaku tilted his head.
"We'll talk about training later. First, let's fill our stomachs. Come with me!"
Naruto obediently nodded, but Rorin suddenly stopped, his face darkening.
He finally understood that smile Jiraiya gave earlier—it was mealtime.
Fukasaku stopped and looked at him.
"What's wrong, little Rorin? Hurry and catch up."
"…Okay." Rorin sighed helplessly and followed Fukasaku and Naruto.
As they walked, Naruto crossed his arms behind his head and glanced at the somewhat sluggish Rorin.
"Rorin, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Rorin slowly turned his head toward Naruto's innocent face and shook his head.
"I'm fine. Maybe I'm just not used to the environment."
"Oh, then you've gotta cheer up! We're going to learn Sage Techniques together!"
The two of them, along with the toad, arrived at Fukasaku's home. When they saw the full insect feast laid out on the table, Naruto and Rorin exchanged a glance, both swallowing nervously as their expressions turned uneasy.
"No need to be polite—eat more! I heard you were coming, so I specially prepared this big meal in advance. Dig in!"
Shima enthusiastically welcomed them, while Fukasaku was already eating with great relish.
"Go on, eat. You need a full stomach to have the strength to train," Fukasaku said while chewing.
Looking at the insect feast, Rorin suddenly had an idea.
He clenched his fist and lightly struck his palm.
"Two sages, we came in a hurry and unfortunately didn't bring any gifts. Seeing the food you prepared, I suddenly thought of something."
Fukasaku paused and looked at him. "What idea?"
Rolling up his sleeves, Rorin said calmly,
"Well, there was a time I also craved these delicacies, so I explored a few cooking methods. If it's alright, could I borrow your kitchen and cook personally? I'd like to give you a different taste."
Hearing this, Fukasaku glanced at Shima. "Dear…"
Shima smiled faintly. "Of course you can!"
Rorin stood up, and Naruto watched his back, thinking to himself that he hadn't expected Rorin to have such a hobby.
Rorin walked into the kitchen, selected several insect ingredients resembling locusts, and skillfully prepared them using methods he remembered from his previous life.
In no time, he produced a fragrant, steaming platter of ninja-world locust cuisine and brought it to the table.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Rorin said, "Everyone, let's eat!"
Fukasaku and Shima cautiously took a bite, and immediately their toad eyes widened.
"This… is incredibly delicious!" both sages exclaimed in surprise.
Rorin also tasted his own cooking and nodded slightly. While it couldn't compare to the master chefs from his previous life, it was still quite tasty.
Meanwhile, Naruto watched the scene with confusion. Driven by curiosity, he gathered his courage, grabbed an insect, closed his eyes, and bit into it.
Huh? It's surprisingly good! Naruto's eyes lit up.
Soon, the two humans and two toads began competing to eat the locust dish. Before long, they had completely finished it.
"Even though it looks kinda creepy, it's actually pretty good," Naruto muttered quietly.
Then he looked at the other insect dishes made by Shima and thought: if even Rorin—who only occasionally eats this stuff—can make it so delicious, then the sages, who eat it all the time, must make it even better.
With that mindset, Naruto smiled, picked up a spoon, and brought a mouthful of insect soup to his lips.
Ugh!
Naruto's expression changed instantly, but out of politeness, he forced himself to swallow it.
Why is this so different from what I imagined?! What's going on here?! Naruto screamed internally.
After finishing the meal, Rorin rubbed his stomach and glanced at Naruto's darkened face, a faint smile curling at his lips.
Naruto, you're still too naive.
Smack!
Shima slapped the table, her toad eyes fixed on Rorin.
"Hey, little Rorin, can you teach me how to cook this dish?"
Only after tasting Rorin's locust feast did she realize what truly delicious insects were like.
Rorin nodded. "Of course. I actually know several other dishes too."
Shima's eyes lit up.
"Ahem!" Fukasaku coughed solemnly. "About that, dear… let's talk about cooking later. Rorin, Naruto, now that you've eaten, it's time to begin training."
"Alright then. Little Rorin, you'll handle dinner later—I'll watch carefully and learn, and cook it myself in the future," Shima said, taking a step back.
"Sure, no problem!" Rorin agreed immediately.
"Then let's go. Follow me!" Fukasaku leapt up from his seat and headed out first.
Rorin and Naruto quickly followed.
After they left, Shima looked at the leftover insects on the table. Not wanting to waste food, she slowly began eating them.
But as she continued, they tasted increasingly bland, and she frowned.
...
Rorin and the others arrived at an open area, where Gamakichi was already waiting.
Fukasaku then explained what Sage Techniques were to Naruto. In the end, Naruto only truly understood after hearing Gamakichi's version of the explanation.
"Just explaining isn't vivid enough. Next, let's try it out," Fukasaku said calmly.
He walked beneath a giant toad stone statue, clasped his hands together, and placed them against it.
With visible effort, Fukasaku lifted the massive statue, panting and sweating.
"See that? This is the power of Sage Techniques fused with natural energy!" After speaking, he set the statue back down.
Sitting to rest, Fukasaku breathed heavily, clearly having expended a great deal of energy.
"Little Naruto can't yet sense natural energy, but according to little Jiraiya, little Rorin, you seem able to use it, is that right?" Fukasaku asked, looking at Rorin.
Rorin nodded slightly.
Fukasaku smiled. "Well then, how about giving it a try?"
After nodding, Rorin stepped forward and stood beneath the giant toad statue, while Fukasaku retreated to Naruto's side.