Mastering the Elements - Chapter - 26

Naruto watched closely, his blue eyes narrowed as he took in every detail of the enemy shinobi before him.

The white-haired man was completely focused on peeking through the hole in the bathhouse wall.

Naruto gritted his teeth.

He knew what this guy was doing.

He wasn’t just some random pervert—

No.

This was a shinobi.

And he was selecting targets to kidnap.

His mind raced.

Mikoto-obaasan is in there.

No—

Mikoto… Mom…

Naruto never called her that out loud.

Not because he didn’t see her as his mother—he did.

But he also had another mother, a mother he never got to know.

And it felt wrong to replace her.

Still—

He knew deep down that Mikoto was his mother in every way that mattered.

And now, this enemy shinobi was trying to take her.

Not happening, dattebayo.

Naruto knew one thing for sure.

This wasn’t just some ordinary man.

He had to be a strong shinobi—the way he moved, the way he held himself.

If Naruto attacked recklessly, he could lose.

Then I just have to take him down before he even knows what’s happening.

His fingers tightened around the three-pronged kunai that Uncle Harry had given him.

Naruto had promised the Hokage that he wouldn’t use his teleportation technique carelessly.

It was too much like the Fourth Hokage’s Hiraishin.

Too dangerous.

Too suspicious.

But—

This is different.

This was life or death.

And Naruto wasn't going to let anyone take Mikoto away from him.

Naruto moved fast.

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the kunai—

Aimed straight at the back of the shinobi’s head.

But—

The man moved effortlessly, tilting his head just slightly—

Dodging the kunai like it was nothing.

Naruto’s eyes widened.

Fast!

The man’s eyes flickered toward the kunai as it whizzed past him, and—

For the briefest second—

His entire body went rigid.

Like he had just seen a ghost.

"No way…" the man muttered, his face paling.

And that’s when Naruto moved.

In a flash of yellow light, he disappeared—

And reappeared instantly right in front of the old man.

The shinobi’s eyes widened in pure shock.

"Impossible!"

But Naruto didn’t waste time.

Before the man could even react, Naruto launched a powerful kick straight into his chest.

BOOM!

The white-haired shinobi flew backward, slamming hard into the bathhouse wall.

The entire building shook from the impact.

Inside, the women screamed in shock.

Water splashed everywhere.

And Naruto landed smoothly, ready to fight.

Naruto stood tall, fists clenched, breathing heavily.

He was ready for another round—

But then, to his complete confusion—

The old man didn’t attack back.

Instead, he just sat there, staring at Naruto.

His face was filled with pure disbelief.

"That… that jutsu…" the man muttered, still winded. "That’s… the Hiraishin…"

"You picked the wrong village, you damn kidnapper! I won’t let you take my mom, dattebayo!"

The man blinked, confused.

"Mom?! What are you talking about, brat?!"

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Don’t play dumb! You were peeking into the bathhouse! My mom is in there! You’re trying to kidnap her!"

The white-haired man stared at him for a moment—

Then, suddenly—

He burst into laughter.

A deep, booming laugh.

"Bwahahahaha! Kidnap? Me? Oh, you’re hilarious!"

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"What’s so funny, you damn pervert?!"

The man grinned, standing up and dusting off his red haori.

"Listen here, brat. I’m not some random kidnapper."

Then, he struck a ridiculous pose—

"I am the great and legendary Toad Sage! The one and only—Jiraiya-sama!"

Naruto blinked.

"Who?"

Jiraiya froze mid-pose, a look of pure offense on his face.

"Who?! WHO?! Brat, do you live under a rock?! I’m the greatest shinobi in Konoha! The Toad Sage! A member of the Sannin! The legendary—"

Naruto interrupted him with another kick to the face.

BOOM!

Jiraiya collapsed back onto the ground, twitching.

"Liar! If you were a Konoha ninja, you’d have a Leaf headband!"

Jiraiya groaned, rubbing his bruised cheek.

"I travel a lot, kid! I don’t always wear it!"

Naruto huffed, still on guard.

"Then why were you peeking into the bathhouse, huh?!"

Jiraiya paused—then, with absolutely no shame, he grinned.

"Because I was researching, of course!"

Naruto stared at him in disgust.

"RESEARCH?! FOR WHAT?! ARE YOU SOME KIND OF PERVERT SCIENTIST?!"

Jiraiya laughed proudly.

"For my next novel, of course!"

Naruto froze.

Wait… a novel?

Then—

Something clicked in his head.

The stories.

The whispers.

The one name that always came up whenever grown-ups talked about books they weren’t supposed to be reading.

Naruto’s eyes widened in horror.

"WAIT A DAMN MINUTE… YOU’RE THE ONE WHO WRITES THOSE PERVERTED BOOKS THAT SHISUI-NISAN ALWAYS READS?!"

Jiraiya beamed.

"Ah, so you do know me! You should feel honored to meet a legend!"

Naruto's brain shut down for a full three seconds.

Then—

"YOU’RE JUST A PERVERTED OLD MAN!!!"

Before Jiraiya could laugh any further, the doors to the female bathhouse suddenly slammed open.

A wave of steam poured out, followed by—

A very, very pissed off Mikoto Uchiha.

She was wrapped in a towel, dripping wet, her Sharingan spinning wildly as she glared at the two figures outside.

"What the hell is going on out here?!" she demanded.

Jiraiya froze, his face paling.

"Oh, shi—"

He couldn’t even finish his sentence.

Because the very next second, Mikoto picked up a nearby wooden bucket—

And smashed it over Jiraiya’s head.

CRACK!

Jiraiya collapsed like a sack of bricks.

Naruto watched in awe.

"Wow. That was fast."

Mikoto sighed, rubbing her temples before turning to Naruto.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Naruto pointed accusingly at Jiraiya’s twitching body.

"I caught this pervert trying to kidnap you! I stopped him before he could get away, dattebayo!"

Mikoto blinked, then looked down at Jiraiya—

And burst out laughing.

"Naruto… that’s Jiraiya. He’s one of the Sannin."

Naruto froze.

"Wait. So… he’s not a kidnapper?"

"No."

"But he is a pervert, right?"

Mikoto sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Naruto thought about it.

Then shrugged.

"Then he deserved it."

Mikoto smiled fondly, patting his head.

"Thank you for protecting me, Naruto. But next time, maybe ask first before attacking someone, okay?"

Naruto puffed out his chest proudly.

"No promises!"

Mikoto sighed, shaking her head in amusement.

And Jiraiya?

He groaned, his voice muffled from where his face was still buried in the dirt.

"Damn brat…"

Later that evening, Naruto boasted about how he kicked a legendary ninja’s ass to Hinata.

Hinata, of course, didn’t believe him—until Mikoto confirmed the entire story over dinner.

And even then, she still couldn’t stop giggling.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya nursed a bump on his head, sulking in the corner of a bar.

"Kids these days… no respect for their elders…" he muttered, sipping his sake.

But deep down—

Even Jiraiya had to admit.

That brat was something else.

Ever since the bathhouse incident, Naruto had been seeing Jiraiya far too often.

At first, he thought it was a coincidence.

Maybe the old pervert just happened to be around.

But Naruto was not stupid.

He watched people—analyzing them, figuring things out.

And now—

He knew.

Jiraiya was following him.

At first, it had seemed random.

Naruto would be eating ramen at Ichiraku’s—and out of nowhere, Jiraiya would be sitting a few stools away, ordering the same thing.

Naruto would be training in the woods—and he would see a flash of white hair behind the trees before it disappeared.

Naruto would be walking home—and from the rooftops, he could feel a pair of eyes watching him.


The more it happened, the more obvious it became.

He’s following me.

At first, Naruto thought that Jiraiya might be holding a grudge.

Maybe he was mad about the bathhouse fight and was waiting for the right moment to get revenge.

Naruto gritted his teeth.

If he wants a fight… then let’s have a fight.

That evening, as Naruto left the Academy, he could feel the presence again.

Jiraiya was watching him.

So this time—

Naruto acted like he didn’t notice.

He walked casually, humming a tune, heading toward a secluded training ground.

And just as he reached the center—

He spun around, fast—

And threw a kunai straight into the trees behind him.

"Stop following me, you damn pervert!"

A hand snatched the kunai mid-air.

And from the shadows—

Jiraiya stepped out, grinning.

"Heh. Not bad, kid."

Naruto crossed his arms, scowling.

"What do you want? If you’re mad about what happened at the bathhouse, we can fight right now, dattebayo!"

Jiraiya chuckled, rubbing his chin.

"Oh? You think you can take me?"

Naruto grinned, cracking his knuckles.

"Damn right I can!"

Jiraiya laughed, shaking his head.

"You’ve got guts, brat. I like that."

Then—

He tilted his head slightly, watching Naruto with a more serious expression.

"But I’m not here to fight you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Then why are you following me?"

Jiraiya let out a long sigh.

"Because, kid…" He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You’re interesting."

Naruto blinked.

"Huh?"

Jiraiya stretched his arms, looking way too relaxed for someone who was just caught stalking a kid.

"You see, Naruto… I’ve been out of the village for a long time. I travel, I research, I train people when I feel like it."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get to the point."

Jiraiya smirked.

"Alright, brat. Here’s the deal."

He crossed his arms, his tone turning more serious.

"You’re using a technique that no one else in the village should know. A technique that only one person ever mastered."

Naruto froze.

"…What are you talking about?"

Jiraiya leaned forward slightly, staring straight into Naruto’s eyes.

"Your teleportation trick, kid. That’s not some ‘cool substitution’ like you think it is."

Naruto stiffened.

"It’s just something Uncle Harry taught me," he said quickly.

Jiraiya snorted.

"Kid, I was trained by the Fourth Hokage himself. You’re using his technique. And I wanna know where you learned it."

Naruto felt his heart pound in his chest.

Minato Namikaze’s technique?

He already knew some things about the Fourth Hokage.

But this?

This was his technique?

Naruto gritted his teeth.

He had to be careful.

Uncle Harry taught him well—how to keep secrets, how to think fast, how to never let someone control the conversation.

"So what if I can do it?" Naruto shrugged, pretending like it wasn’t a big deal. "What does it matter to you?"

Jiraiya watched him closely, his eyes sharp.

"Because, kid… I knew your father."

Naruto felt his whole body freeze.

But he didn’t react.

Uncle Harry always told him—

"If someone knows more than they should, let them talk first. Never reveal your cards first."

So instead—

Naruto tilted his head, crossing his arms.

"Oh yeah? And who’s my father?"

Jiraiya stared at him for a long moment.

Then he sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"Hiruzen really erased everything about him, huh? Figures."

Naruto didn’t say anything.

Jiraiya sighed again.

"Your father, brat… was the Fourth Hokage. Minato Namikaze."

Naruto felt like the world just stopped spinning.

His ears rang.

His breath hitched.

Minato Namikaze.

The Fourth Hokage.

His…

His father?

Jiraiya watched him, waiting for a reaction.

Naruto forced himself to move.

He shrugged, forcing a smirk.

"Hah. Nice joke, pervy sage."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"I’m not joking."

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Yeah? Prove it."

Jiraiya sighed.

"Kid, you have his jutsu. You have his face. You even have his stupid hair. What more proof do you need?"

Naruto stared at the ground, his fists clenching.

He wanted to deny it.

He wanted to laugh it off.

But deep down—

Something clicked.

Why the villagers hated him.

Why the Hokage hid everything from him.

Why everyone looked at him the way they did.

And why…

Why Uncle Harry never told him.

Naruto felt anger bubble inside him.

"Why didn’t anyone tell me?" he whispered.

Jiraiya sighed.

"Because, kid… knowing the truth would’ve made you a target."

Naruto gritted his teeth.

"That’s bullsh—!"

"It’s reality," Jiraiya interrupted.

Naruto turned away, his mind spinning.

This…

This changed everything.

Jiraiya gave him a moment to process.

Then—

"Kid. I wanna train you."

Naruto snapped his head up.

"Huh?"

Jiraiya grinned.

"You’ve got potential. And now that I know you’re using my student’s jutsu, I want to see how far you can take it."

Naruto hesitated.

"You wanna train me?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"If you want to get stronger, I’ll teach you. But only if you want to."

Naruto stared at him.

Then—

"Fine."

Jiraiya grinned.

"Good. We start tomorrow, brat."

And with that, the legendary Toad Sage walked away—leaving Naruto to stare at the sky, still trying to make sense of everything.