In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Jiraiya didn't care about any prophecy. Even if his fate changed or was destined to be a tragedy, he felt it wouldn't be bad to have a settled ending after a life of wandering for half of his lifetime.

Whether it was his disciples or his teacher, he hadn't been able to protect any of the people important to him. He fully believed in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, but he couldn't resign himself to accepting that fate.

Besides, once they returned to Konoha, they'd have to begin the investigation in the Land of Rain. If Naruto didn't have Senjutsu, Jiraiya wouldn't feel comfortable taking him there.

"Let's call it a day for now." Jiraiya said, shielding his eyes from the sun, "Naruto, get some rest. We can continue training tomorrow when you are in better condition."

Hearing this, Naruto couldn't sit still any longer. If they kept dragging this out, his taste buds would be completely destroyed.

"Wait, I think there's still a chance we can salvage this."

"Hmm?" Jiraiya looked at Naruto in confusion, "How?"

"Are you going to try again?" Fukasaku asked with a smile on his face. Looking at Naruto, he thought to himself, 'As expected of Jiraiya-chan's disciple, he's as tenacious as Jiraiya-chan.'

"Yes!" Naruto stripped down to his shorts and, without hesitation, leapt into the Toad Oil Waterfall with a loud splash.

"You're crazy!" Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock and he quickly rushed forward.

"Quickly get him out of there, Jiraiya-chan!" Fukasaku reacted quickly and quickly picked up the iron rod that could dispel Natural Energy, "If his whole body is covered in toad oil, the overwhelming Natural Energy will cause him to explode!"

Even though they knew Naruto's body rejected Natural Energy, that was in small amounts after all. With enough quantity, there would be a qualitative change, and an influx of massive Natural Energy into his body was no joke.

In the end, Jiraiya managed to pull Naruto out, with toad oil covering him from head to toe. Despite everything, Naruto still looked energetic.

"I can't absorb it." Naruto said dejectedly as he wiped off the toad oil, then added, "Does this stuff even work?"

"You little brat, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Jiraiya slapped the back of Naruto's head. "Of course it works. I also relied on these toad oils to guide me in absorbing Natural Energy in the past."

"Everyone's different, though. You can't just apply the same method to everyone." Naruto replied as he stood up, his face flushed. He could roughly sense the existence of Natural Energy, but he couldn't bring it into his body.

Jiraiya sighed, "We'll try again tomorrow."

Fukasaku was also shaken. He looked at Jiraiya with complicated eyes and said, "Jiraiya-chan, your disciple's condition is truly rare. It's as if he's completely isolated from Natural Energy."

"If that's the case, so be it." Naruto wiped his face dry, gritted his teeth and said, "I can clearly sense the Natural Energy, but they are just on the surface and refuse to come in."

"Even if it does get in, it just gets bounced back out!"

Upon hearing this, Fukasaku became thoughtful. He recalled the towering soul residing within Naruto, and he gave Naruto a serious look, unsure of what to say.

'Jiraiya-chan had already said that Naruto-chan was his only disciple, so we couldn't just ignore him. The Great Toad Sage had also approved, and there was also his relationship with Minato-chan.'

Just as Fukasaku was contemplating other possible solutions, he heard Naruto's loud voice yelling angrily nearby. It sounded like he was about to lose his cool.

'Has he reached his breaking point?' Fukasaku didn't pay much attention, as frustration was normal for beginners.

However, in the next moment, Naruto's furious voice came through clearly.

"It won't come in! It was just toying with me! I can't just indulge it like this! Damn it! If it won't come in, I'll just seal it in."

"Four Symbols Seal!"

A ripple formed in the space around them as the natural energy within a few meters was forcibly drawn into the Four Symbols Seal.

Fukasaku watched in astonishment as the strands of Natural Energy were sucked into the Four Symbols Seal, shaking him to his core, 'You need to absorb into your body, not sealing it, damn it!'

Meanwhile, Jiraiya's brow furrowed slightly, 'Four Symbols Seal?'

'Where did this kid learn it from? The Four Symbols Seal wasn't a basic Sealing Technique, and I had never heard of it being used to absorb Natural Energy. Still, it was an interesting new approach.'

Naruto, feeling relieved at last, thought to himself, 'Since the Four Symbols Seal could even suppress Kyubi inside me, there was no reason why it couldn't seal the Natural Energy.'

He turned to Jiraiya with a grin, "Pervy Sage, I've now absorbed the Natural Energy into my body."

Jiraiya: "…"

Naruto even snapped his fingers, making a crisp sound, and asked cheekily, "Want me to release it now?"

"Just shut up." Jiraiya turned and walked away, though a smile crept across his face.

'If the Natural Energy couldn't be absorbed into his body directly, using the Four Symbols Seal wasn't a bad alternative, though it did feel a bit odd. Well… I'll have to ask more about this tomorrow, maybe it is a new method.'

Suddenly…

Boom!!

Just as Jiraiya took a few steps, a loud explosion erupted behind him. He turned around suddenly and saw a dumbfounded Naruto standing near a boulder that had been blown to pieces.

Jiraiya stared at Naruto, "???"

Naruto: "Huh???"

"I just let a little out, and it exploded," Naruto explained, "I didn't do anything."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Jiraiya said helplessly.

After countless failed attempts, Jiraiya finally accepted the situation.

That month of bug feasts had left his stomach in bad shape, especially with Shima's passionate cooking efforts. Despite their disgust, they couldn't refuse the meals out of politeness.

As Bear Grylls once said, bugs may look gross, but they're essentially just protein if you remove the heads and tails.

Besides, the rich folks in Konoha enjoyed fresh sashimi, be it fish or premium beef. While Naruto found it a bit dull, thinking he might as well just eat it raw, that was the style.

Fortunately, there was a dish of bugs that were fried and tasted almost like regular meat.

"No more bugs. Let's go back for now." Jiraiya sighed and said, "Your condition is indeed a bit abnormal. So we'll just come back later."

"Yay! I mean... what a pity." Naruto quickly corrected himself.

Half a day later, Jiraiya took Naruto to bid farewell to the two Toad Sages, and with a bang, he lifted the Reverse Summoning Technique.

The moment Naruto's feet touched the ground in Konoha, he felt an overwhelming excitement. Ever since he failed to master Sage Mode at Mount Myoboku, he had been longing to return.

But Jiraiya, refusing to give up, insisted on trying again and again.

Naruto, feeling guilty about how hard Jiraiya was working for him, gritted his teeth and endured. But he couldn't stand it anymore, that's when he decided to use the Four Symbols Seal.

Perhaps it was the use of the seal that finally convinced Jiraiya to set aside the Senjutsu training. But Naruto didn't plan on asking what Jiraiya was thinking, what mattered was that they were back.