Faced with Naruto's barrage of questions, Jiraiya appeared quite composed.
Jiraiya slowly reached out a hand, gently placed it on Naruto's head, and explained earnestly:
"Naruto, isn't having me personally guide your training enough?"
Hearing this, Naruto's face showed a trace of disdain and contempt.
Naruto turned his body slightly to dodge the large hand Jiraiya was using to pet his head, then curled his lip, lowered his voice, and muttered:
"Hmph, save it! Who doesn't know that most of the time, Pervy Sage, you're either sneaking around peeping at the women's bathhouse or wandering everywhere stirring up trouble, and you always end up dragging me down into misfortune with you..."
At this point, Naruto paused and stole a glance at Jiraiya's expression, only to find that the man didn't even blink or blush, and actually looked somewhat smug.
As a result, Naruto could no longer contain his growing dissatisfaction. His bright blue eyes rolled upward, showing a large expanse of whites.
At the same time, he raised his already loud voice and continued his frantic ranting mode:
"Hmph, not only that, but you even dared to scam me out of my money—that is simply an unforgivable act!"
Standing nearby, Jiraiya remained calm and collected, showing no shame or embarrassment whatsoever at being accused.
The corners of Jiraiya's mouth rose slightly with an indifferent smile as he replied: "Oh my, what does a little brat know?"
"Everything I do is for your own good. This is just a way to temper you."
Hearing this, Naruto immediately curled his lip in disdain and retorted:
"Tch, save it. If it weren't for my Sexy Technique being able to hook a pervert like you, you probably wouldn't be willing to spend any time and effort guiding my training at all!"
Faced with Naruto's sharp words, Jiraiya was evidently stung into anger.
Jiraiya suddenly bent over, thrust his face right in front of Naruto's, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"You brat, get your facts straight!"
"Back then, it was clearly you who wailed and shamelessly begged me to guide your cultivation. How can you turn around now and bite back, saying it's my fault?"
Seeing this, Naruto naturally refused to back down.
Without a shred of fear, Naruto forcefully thrust his head forward, bringing it into intimate contact with Jiraiya's forehead, and talked back unceremoniously:
"Who told you to be such a pervert! You can't even walk when you see a pretty girl. If I didn't use some special tricks, how could I ever catch your attention?"
For a moment, the two stood eyeball to eyeball, neither willing to yield, and the air was thick with tension.
At this moment, Boruto, standing off to the side, rubbed his forehead and gave a wry smile. Why was it so difficult just to have a decent meal?
Boruto stood up helplessly, walked quickly between the two arguing figures, and used both hands to pull them apart.
"Alright, you two stop fighting."
Then, Boruto turned his head toward Naruto and said earnestly:
"Naruto, wait here for a moment. I have something to discuss with Jiraiya-sensei alone."
With that, Boruto cast his gaze toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya, who usually always wore a flippant and sloppy expression, suddenly looked rather serious.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up the young man before him from top to bottom, as if trying to see through Boruto's exterior to his innermost thoughts.
After a moment, Jiraiya slowly spoke: "Follow me."
Before the words had even faded, Jiraiya turned around and began walking toward the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Seeing this, Boruto nodded, then quickly turned back to give Naruto a reassuring look, as if telling him not to worry.
Without hesitation, Boruto strode forward, closely following Jiraiya's figure as they stepped into the dense woods just outside the Hidden Leaf Village.
Jiraiya leaned lazily against a thick tree trunk, his gaze piercing as he stared intently at Boruto, who was leaning against another tree not far away. With a solemn and grave expression on his face, Jiraiya slowly asked:
"Kid, tell me, what is your purpose in deliberately approaching Naruto and Sasuke?"
The corners of Boruto's mouth curved up into a faint smile as he softly replied:
"Jiraiya-sensei is certainly direct."
At this moment, Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest, his sharp gaze like two bolts of lightning piercing straight into Boruto's face as he issued an ice-cold warning:
"If your purpose in coming to the Hidden Leaf Village is aimed at Naruto and Sasuke, then let me tell you, you are dead wrong!"
"This is not a place where you can act as you please."
Faced with Jiraiya's questioning and warning, Boruto's expression remained completely calm as he answered unhurriedly:
"Please believe me, toward Naruto and Sasuke, I harbor not the slightest bit of malice."
"On the contrary, if I had a choice, I would rather exhaust everything to ensure they remain safe and sound."
Hearing this, Jiraiya couldn't help but frown slightly, meditating inwardly.
This young man kept claiming to care about Naruto and Sasuke's safety, but why would he have such an attitude?
Even though he claimed to be Namikaze Minato's disciple, given Jiraiya's understanding of Minato, such a claim was utterly absurd.
Yet, judging by Boruto's words and actions, he genuinely seemed to care deeply about Naruto and Sasuke, which was truly baffling.
After a moment of silence, Jiraiya's deep, ocean-like gaze locked once more onto the young man before him, as if trying to peer through his eyes to find the truest thoughts hidden in his heart.
Then, with a solemn and grave tone, Jiraiya spoke:
"You must surely know that the powerful and terrifying Kurama is currently sealed within Naruto's body."
When Boruto heard these words, he was slightly startled at first, but quickly nodded gently to indicate that he was indeed aware of the matter.
Seeing Boruto's reaction, Jiraiya paused briefly before slowly opening his mouth to continue:
"In fact, aside from the factors I mentioned to you earlier, there is another extremely important reason why I am reluctant to let you guide Naruto's training."
At this point, Jiraiya intentionally paused, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Seeing this, Boruto thought for a moment before slowly asking: "Is it because of Kurama?"
Part of Dad's power came from Kurama; it looks like I need to figure out a way to help Dad master Kurama's power as soon as possible.
I just don't know how Dad originally bridged the gap with Kurama.
Although I could use brute force to bully Kurama into submission, I still hope the two of them can get along harmoniously.
Besides, if I were to intervene directly, it might end up having the opposite effect.