Naruto didn't really care whether Kyubi truly understood or not, after all, he was just acting on a whim. He had promised Kyubi last time, so he just did it while he was not busy.
With a snap of his fingers, Naruto's consciousness disappeared from the seal space.
The sky gradually darkened and the midsummer night was stifling.
At the entrance of the convenience store, Naruto, who crouching by the roadside and licking an ice cream, saw a pair of men's legs appeared before him.
"What?"
"Annoying brat, call me the Toad Sage! And don't block the way!"
The self-proclaimed Toad Sage was an old man with a head full of unruly white hair, a forehead protector with the kanji for 'oil', dressed in a mesh training suit with a tea-colored lining, and a red outer robe. His cheeks were adorned with two vertical red stripes of face paint.
"Old man, you are still acting so immaturely at your age." Naruto recognized Jiraiya, but had no intention of moving out of the way.
He licked his ice cream and glanced at Jiraiya sideways before saying.
"What a pitiful adult."
"You little brat, speak with some respect, or you'll get beaten up!" Jiraiya couldn't bear it anymore, and the smile on his face could hardly be maintained. He rolled up his sleeves and threatened like a rogue.
"Hey, old man, you'd better be careful. Last time I saw you using low-level tricks to peep into the women's bath." Naruto slurped his ice cream. His forehead is bare since he had gotten used to not wearing his forehead protector when not on missions.
After all, no one cared, so he could do whatever he wanted.
"Low-level tricks?" Jiraiya frowned, "What do you know, kid? I was collecting material."
"You got slapped when trying to flirt with someone, followed girls like a pervert and got chased through eight streets, and..."
"You've been spying on me?" Jiraiya was astonished, "How did you know that?"
"I have become a VIP at all the hot spring baths in Konoha."
"Damn it, how does a kid like you have so much money?" A cold sweat broke out on Jiraiya's forehead and he began to realize that something was off.
"If you have money, you can do whatever you want." After that, Naruto finished his ice cream, stood up with an ice cream stick in his hand, looked at Jiraiya and said, "Old man, I think you are a down-and-out writer, right?"
"Oh? What makes you say that?" Jiraiya's interest was piqued, and a small smile of expectation appeared on his face.
"It's easy to tell. You look sleazy, you're perverted, you act suspiciously, and you talk about collecting material. If you're not a writer, then you must be a pervert."
Hearing Naruto's words which did not sound like praise, Jiraiya's smile froze.
Ignoring Jiraiya's expression, Naruto continued speaking to himself, "But I guess even if you are a writer, you're probably the kind that writes 18+ stuff and doesn't have any decent works."
"You little brat, don't judge a book by its cover! My books are bestsellers, timeless classics!" Jiraiya couldn't stand Naruto's dismissive tone and argued back, feeling a little angry.
"Timeless classics? Old man, have you read 'The Plum in the Golden Vase'?" (T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Ping_Mei)
"The Plum... in the what?" Jiraiya was taken aback. He got goose bumps just from hearing the title of the book.
Plum blossoms have a special status in the Shinobi World. They are more beautiful than cherry blossoms. Geishas wear plum blossoms in February, and girls from the Land of Fire would say something like, 'My heart is like plum blossoms.' to their crushes, similar to confessing love by saying 'The moon is beautiful, isn't it?'. (T/N: In Japan, 'The moon is beautiful, isn't it?' is a more poetic way of saying I love you.)
'Such a pure and elegant flower should be housed in the most graceful container, yet the Golden Vase, with its crude appearance, paired with the plum, evokes an unattainable yet decadent allure.'
'Just from the name, one can tell it's a work of genius!'
"Tell me quickly, where can I buy that book?" Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's hand and asked with a little excitement.
"It's an ancient book I found in a garbage heap. I was fortunate enough to read it, but it was a fragmentary copy." Naruto casually broke the ice cream stick and then told Jiraiya a story of Pan Jinlian. (T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Jinlian)
Even though Naruto spoke incoherently and his words were random, Jiraiya was still able to immerse himself in the story. A good story transcends dimensions, and Jiraiya's eyes lit up when he heard it, but then the story came to an abrupt end.
"That's it? Why don't you keep going?" Jiraiya was a bit frustrated.
"I forgot." Naruto tossed the broken stick into the trash and said, "And I need to go home now."
Jiraiya was halfway through listening to the story when his inspiration burst forth. He could never let Naruto leave like that, and hurriedly followed him.
"How can you just walk away halfway through telling a story? Can you at least tell me what happened after knocking over the bamboo pole? It sounds so bitter and there's a lot of stories behind it."
"I said I forgot, so I forgot." Naruto ignored Jiraiya and walked forward without looking back.
"You little brat, why can't you make sense!" Jiraiya stretched out his big hand and grabbed forward, trying to grab Naruto.
But Naruto seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, and dodged Jiraiya's grab with a sudden sideways movement.
Seeing this, Jiraiya's pupils widened, 'My grabbing speed should not be slow. It was not something a Genin could dodge.'
He reached out again, but Naruto jumped away.
In a few steps, Naruto climbed up the tree and disappeared onto the roof in the blink of an eye.
Jiraiya stood in place. The night wind brushed against his wide robe. He was stunned for a moment, then chuckled.
'This kid was the complete opposite of his father's temperament. If Minato and Kushina were still here, they would probably find him quite troublesome.'
Walking in his wooden clogs, Jiraiya sighed and walked away in the opposite direction.
He hadn't planned to come back this time. His ideals didn't align with those of the old folks in Konoha. So he felt that it was better to collect intelligence outside than stay in this oppressive village.
After leaving, Naruto didn't go home. Instead, he wandered the streets for a while, then went went to the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
He hadn't seen Hinata in a month, and their planned barbecue was naturally nowhere in sight. After a month of wandering the streets, Naruto had become a proficient street lurker. However, this boring life would soon end, because tomorrow was the finals of the Chunin Exams.
Ino, who was watching the shop boredly, was about to close it when the wind chimes at the door rang.
"Welcome… Naruto?" Ino blinked, "Why are you here?"
"Buy flowers."
"Eh? Naruto, you actually know how to buy flowers?" Ino said this, but she still stood up, "Let me help you choose, who are you going to give them to?"
"Please don't pry into customers' privacy, okay?" Naruto quipped, "I want a white chrysanthemum. Please wrap it up for me."
"Hmm?" Ino wrapped up the white chrysanthemum neatly, looked up and asked, "Are you going to commemorate someone?"
"Oh, yeah." Naruto couldn't say that he prepared this flower for Sandaime for convenience.