Chapter 48: Advice & Interruptions
Just as Naruto was about to head home, Kurenai suddenly called out to him. "Naruto. A moment? There's something I'd like to discuss."
Naruto paused, surprised.
On the now-quiet street, only their footsteps echoed. Under the dim glow of the streetlights, Naruto finally turned to her. "Kurenai-sensei, if there's something you need to say, please go ahead."
Kurenai stopped walking and looked at him directly, her expression serious. "You're aware of Hinata's performance in the preliminary match, correct?"
Naruto nodded slightly.
Kurenai's brow furrowed. "You weren't there, so you didn't see it. That girl… she was like a completely different person from usual."
Thinking of Hinata's inner strength hidden beneath her gentle exterior, and her shy, sweet face when she looked at him, Naruto couldn't help a small smile. "Yes. Hinata is much stronger than she seems. I'm glad her injuries weren't worse."
"But do you know?" Kurenai pressed, her gaze intense. "After she collapsed, she kept calling your name." She studied Naruto's face. "As her teacher, I know her very well. That girl… her feelings for you run deep."
Naruto was taken aback, both by the fact that Kurenai knew and by her bluntness. "I… am aware of that, yes. Kurenai-sensei, is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Hmph! Uzumaki Naruto, I thought you were more mature than your peers, but it seems you're still just a boy!" Kurenai's tone sharpened with frustration. "If you know how Hinata feels about you, then you shouldn't be playing games with other girls. Puppy love is troublesome enough at your age, but you should understand—Hinata is fragile. If she sees you entangled with others, it will break her heart."
"…" Naruto looked at her, a complex expression on his face.
"Are you listening to me?"
After a moment of silence, Naruto finally spoke, a faint smile touching his lips. "Tell me, Kurenai-sensei… why are you so concerned? If I recall, you don't have a boyfriend yourself, do you? Shouldn't you be worrying about your own love life before meddling in mine?"
"You—!" Kurenai sputtered, momentarily speechless.
Scene Fifteen: A Promise
"Alright, Kurenai-sensei," Naruto continued, his smile softening into something more sincere. "I won't make Hinata sad. She's a kind, wonderful girl. I have no intention of hurting her."
"Really? You'd better mean that." Looking at his earnest expression, Kurenai seemed to relax slightly.
"That's all, then. I'll head home. Goodnight." Naruto gave her a brief wave, turned, and walked away, his figure soon disappearing around the corner.
Watching him go, Kurenai let out a quiet sigh. "I hope you keep your word, Uzumaki Naruto."
In the days that followed, Naruto threw himself into training. He created over a dozen shadow clones, tasking them with the perilous work of developing the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. His main body returned to the pounding solitude beneath the waterfall, refining his chakra control and reserves under its immense pressure.
Sasuke, unable to find a suitable accelerated training method, continued to grind away on her own. Sakura was fully immersed in her Medical Corps training. The other finalists, having seen their own glaring weaknesses during the preliminaries, trained with a similar, desperate motivation.
One afternoon, Naruto was deep in meditation under the waterfall's relentless cascade. The water roared around him, a crushing, numbing force that left only a small pocket of air. His body and chakra were being tempered in the crucible of nature's power.
His focus was shattered by the sound of cheerful, girlish voices approaching.
"This place is perfect! A pool right under a waterfall! Let's take a bath here!" one voice exclaimed joyfully.
"Great idea! The water must be so cool!"
Soon, the sounds of rustling clothes and playful splashes filled the air. Oblivious to the figure hidden within the curtain of water, the girls began their impromptu bath.
Naruto, hearing the commotion, inwardly sighed. So much for a quiet place to train. A flicker of irritation sparked within him. For the sake of his training regimen, he decided on a drastic course of action.
Splash!
With a surge of chakra to his feet, Naruto shot up out of the waterfall. He landed standing calmly on the surface of the pool, water streaming from his bare torso, a deliberately casual smile on his face as he looked down at the shrieking, scrambling girls below.
"You all seem to be having fun~ Mind if I join?"
"…"
"EEEEK! A PERVERT!!" After a stunned second of silence, piercing screams erupted. The girls scrambled frantically out of the water, covering themselves with their hands as they bolted for their clothes and the tree line.
In under a minute, the area was deserted. Naruto stood on the water, muttering to himself, "I really hope I don't get a reputation as a creep over this. Well… for the sake of training, it couldn't be helped."
He turned, ready to dive back into his watery sanctuary.
"Hey now, kid! Why'd you have to scare off all my lovely little muses? Don't you know a sage is in the middle of gathering vital research materials?!"
The voice came from the bank. Naruto turned to see a tall man with long, spiky white hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a red haori over his flak jacket, a forehead protector with the character for "Oil" proudly displayed. His face would have been impressively rugged if not for the distinct, lecherous gleam in his eyes and the telltale trickle of blood from one nostril.
Naruto wasn't entirely surprised. He'd been considering how to seek this man out, and here he was.
"A pervert like you dares to call himself a sage?" Naruto shot back, unimpressed.
"What?! How dare you call this sage a pervert?!" Jiraiya bellowed, incensed. "You brat have no idea who you're talking to! I am Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku! Have you heard of the Legendary Sannin?"
"I have. And I'm even more disappointed now. So this is what a Sannin is like," Naruto said dryly, a hint of amusement playing on his lips.
"You! You disrespectful little—!" Seeing he couldn't win the verbal spar, Jiraiya switched tactics, grumbling. "Do you have any idea how important they were to my artistic research?"
"Of course not. All I know is they were seriously disturbing my training. Scaring them off was a public service. Better that than leave them to be ogled by a creepy old man."
With that, Naruto ignored him, turning and walking back into the thunderous downpour of the waterfall, resuming his cross-legged meditation.
Jiraiya, intrigued despite himself by the unusual training method, wandered closer to observe. After a few minutes, he called out, his voice carrying over the roar, "Not bad, kid! That's a clever idea. Strengthening both body and chakra under pressure… you've got a good head on your shoulders. Worthy of…"