After the brief encounter with Konohamaru, Naruto walked all the way to the edge of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Stopping only when the village gates came into view in the distance, he casually let the Rasengan he had been condensing in one hand dissipate into thin air.
"It seems that merely using the Rasengan isn't enough to upgrade my 'Ultimate Rookie' title. I'll have to figure out something else," Naruto muttered to himself, hands buried in his pockets as he stared at the village gates. "For instance, getting serious in actual combat must be the right way to level up titles."
For now, although he had scored the cheat known as the "Supreme Title" system, figuring out how to unlock and upgrade titles was entirely up to him; the system offered very little in the way of hints or assistance.
This was the one thing about the system that had bugged Naruto ever since he got it. Did his system feel just a tiny bit lacking in intelligence?
Yet precisely because of that, Naruto's desire to explore was only stirred further. Sure, coasting through life on autopilot without having to use one's brain sounded nice and comfortable, but gradually unlocking powerful titles through self-exploration and growing stronger in the process? That sounded pretty great, too.
Just as Naruto was lost in thought, a figure stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the village gates.
Looking at the white-haired man standing before him with a forehead protector bearing the kanji for "oil", Naruto knew instantly who it was.
None other than one of the Sannin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, the gallant Jiraiya!
If it were Jiraiya himself, he would definitely strike a pose, toss his hair, and introduce himself with that flamboyant flair, right?
Thinking back, the mobile game Naruto used to play before crossing over had only required four days of logins to claim Jiraiya plus a character skin for free. Now that sign-ins had been cut short due to forces beyond his control, it was honestly just a tiny bit regrettable.
Hey, system, can you help bring my smartphone over here too? ...Wait, what good would a phone even do? There's no internet in the Shinobi World.
Just as Naruto's mind began to wander once more, the Jiraiya standing before him gave a light cough and spoke up, "Naruto, are your injuries pretty much healed?"
"Ah, more or less," Naruto snapped back to reality and replied, "If I could just get a bowl of ramen right now, I'd probably be completely healed."
"You kid..." Hearing Naruto's somewhat nonsensical reply, Jiraiya shook his head helplessly. "Come on, I'll treat you to ramen."
Upon hearing this, Naruto was just about to accept when a sudden thought seemed to hit him. He shot Jiraiya a wary look and said, "We can go get ramen, but this time don't even think about skipping out on the bill and making me pay, Pervy Sage."
As a time-traveler, Naruto remembered the exact scene from the original story where Jiraiya took him out for ramen only to ditch him with the bill.
"..." Jiraiya was left speechless by Naruto's remark for a long time before finally saying, "Fine, let's go."
Sitting inside Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto finally felt his stomach settle after satisfyingly devouring a steaming, deluxe bowl of ramen loaded with extra toppings.
Credit where credit is due, Uncle Ichiraku really knew what he was doing in the kitchen. No wonder the ramen shop spanned the entire length and breadth of the Naruto anime—even Pain Tendo's Super Shinra Tensei hadn't been able to completely wipe it off the map of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Seeing that Naruto appeared to have had his fill, Jiraiya tipped his head back, downed his cup of warm sake in one go, and asked, "So Naruto, what are your plans for the near future?"
"Plans?" Hearing Jiraiya ask this, Naruto naturally thought of the original storyline.
According to the original plot, having just survived that epic battle against Sasuke at the Valley of the End, Naruto's next move should have been leaving the Village Hidden in the Leaves with Jiraiya for a three-year training journey.
However, now that Naruto was a time-traveler equipped with a system, he had no intention of dutifully following the original plot to build up his strength. Instead of spending the next three years training under Jiraiya, he would rather pour all his energy into tapping the system's potential, striving to unlock more useful titles in a short amount of time. Wouldn't that be far more efficient than returning three years later without even having mastered the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken like in the original story?
When all was said and done, the plot he knew could only serve as a reference. If he blindly followed it step by step and became a puppet controlled by destiny, he would be a complete idiot.
Having essentially lived a second life after crossing over, Naruto was certainly no idiot. He knew full well what path to strength he should walk from now on with the system by his side.
Therefore, facing Jiraiya's inquiry, Naruto answered decisively, "I want to leave the Village Hidden in the Leaves and strike out on my own for a while."
"Oh? Finally developed the resolve to go out and temper yourself?" Seeing the resolute expression on Naruto's face, Jiraiya was slightly surprised at first, then nodded. "In that case, your teacher will take you away from the Leaf and let you see the outside world."
"No, I mean I want to go it alone and experience this vast Shinobi World by myself." Just as Jiraiya was about to make the final decision, Naruto shook his head.
This caught Jiraiya off guard once more. Yet as he locked eyes with Naruto's fiercely determined gaze, for some reason, he was reminded of his own youth—carrying his pack alone and traveling across the shinobi world like an ascetic monk.
After a long silence, Jiraiya suddenly smiled, thinking to himself, *This kid Naruto might truly make a massive splash in the Shinobi World one day.*
"Good. That's the spirit." Overcome by a sudden surge of heroic spirit, Jiraiya couldn't help but give Naruto a thumbs-up.
Naruto returned the thumbs-up to Jiraiya, then abruptly changed the subject: "Before I leave the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Pervy Sage, would you mind sparring with me one more time?"
Naruto had previously deduced that titles could only be unlocked and upgraded through real combat. With one of the Sannin of the Leaf standing right in front of him, what reason did Naruto have not to make him serve as his sparring partner?
After all, finding a high-level sparring partner this strong who wouldn't actually kill him wasn't going to be easy to come by later on.
"That's easy enough. Naruto, follow me." Naturally, Jiraiya wouldn't refuse such a small request from Naruto. After settling the tab for the ramen and his sake, Jiraiya called out to Naruto and walked out of the ramen shop with a slight buzz from the alcohol.
A short while later, Training Ground 58 in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
With a slight alcoholic haze clouding his head, Jiraiya stood opposite Naruto and laughed heartily, "All right, Naruto. Come at me with whatever you've got."
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Naruto nodded upon hearing this, then raised his hands to form a hand sign. "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"