Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 70 Hide and Seek

Is this the place?

"This is the limit of Konoha's patrol range."

"Can that thing really break through Konoha's walls?"

Are you questioning Lord Orochimaru?!

A few furtive individuals were moving through the dense forest outside Konoha, quickly pinpointing a location. This was a collaboration between two ninja villages, and neither truly trusted the other. Even during this short reconnaissance trip, an argument nearly broke out.

They got their satisfaction verbally, and their eyes, even from a distance, also got the information they wanted.

So, you know, things just don't stand up to being talked about. The spot we were talking about last night, Naruto ran into today. He decided to ignore Jiraiya altogether and released more clones to play a ghost-hunting game in the forest. His main body, meanwhile, quietly hid in a newly dug cellar, intently observing the suspicious group's movements.

In his past life, he was too young, and he genuinely didn't understand the details of the Konoha Crush plan. At that time, he only felt that everywhere he went was a battle, and his primary objective was to stop Gaara and the others from leaving. Therefore, he didn't know how many summoning beasts had invaded Konoha. Looking back now, Sunagakure did have some sense. Upon discovering that the Kazekage was Orochimaru in disguise, and that Gaara was showing signs of losing control, they immediately ordered the three Sunagakure siblings to retreat. At the very least, they couldn't let the One-Tailed Beast appear in Konoha; otherwise, it would be difficult to shift the blame to Otogakure afterward, and repairing relations would come at a heavy price.

While Naruto was silently noting the locations where the summoning beasts appeared, Jiraiya was having a headache in the dense forest.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, a forbidden technique for others, was child's play for Naruto. He had no idea how many clones the kid had created. The initial bait was already useless, and Jiraiya's observation and analytical skills were top-notch. He quickly realized that the little guy wasn't running away with all his might, always leaving traces that he could see directly. He wasn't so easily fooled by such tricks, and immediately accelerated and smashed the clone to pieces. However, what followed was just the beginning of the trouble.

Looking back, an even larger number of clones appeared in his line of sight. Even their smiles were uniform, showing no sign of the tension of fleeing for their lives.

...I feel like this brat is mocking me...Damn it, was it because my emotional simulation wasn't good enough that this kid saw through me?! He's taking advantage of the fact that I'm not a sensory type, so he's trying to fool me with a clone, huh!

Alright, today I'll let this kid experience firsthand what a real "Toad Sage" is all about!

Shadow Clone Technique is a highly intelligent technique. Although the original body issued the command to maneuver, they quickly realized what technique Jiraiya was using when they noticed that he remained still and that a large amount of chakra was gathering within his body.

Sage Mode possesses powerful perception, and the user's location will be revealed.

This logic was immediately transmitted to the information center through the shadow clone responsible for reconnaissance, and then to Naruto's main body. However, he was listening to the battle plan from afar and had no time to deal with this matter, so the shadow clone made a new decision on its own.

To stop Jiraiya from gathering Sage Chakra.

As we all know, Sage Mode chakra is extremely difficult to sense and control; Naruto used to have to remain completely still to enter Sage Mode. However, Jiraiya, after being harassed, remained lively and energetic, yet the chakra gathering didn't stop, but his palms, which were pressed together, didn't loosen—clearly, this was the jutsu's weakness. Dense forests are ideal for ambushes, but due to the terrain, numbers are actually a disadvantage; there are only so many attack directions, and even with more people, it's impossible to attack simultaneously.

When dealing with Jiraiya, Naruto dared not use lethal ninjutsu, and mainly relied on Water Release and Earth Release. It's a pity he couldn't learn Wood Release, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a passive position.

The tide of the chase had turned, with Jiraiya marveling at Naruto's quick reflexes while simultaneously confirming that Naruto didn't believe his act at all. He'd thought he'd done a great job, hadn't Orochimaru always smiled like that? Why wasn't Naruto falling for it?

Another Naruto suddenly appeared directly in front of him. Having gained some experience, Jiraiya immediately accelerated, thrusting his palms forward to send the clone flying. Then, the spot where he had just been was pierced by several kunai attached to steel wires. But before he could catch his breath, there was another clone behind the one that had flown away. This one was even more merciless, unleashing a massive, overwhelming wave of water.

He had to reassess Naruto's abilities. From the beginning until now, aside from the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Jiraiya had never seen Naruto form hand seals for any of the other Five Elements Release techniques! Was that reasonable?! Even if his ideas were bizarre and he didn't use his hands to perform techniques, he should still use his feet to form hand seals! Had Naruto even memorized the flow of energy through the meridians during a technique? That was terrifying! Didn't that mean that even without seeing the hand seals, as long as Naruto sensed the opponent's technique-making process, he could completely replicate their ninjutsu?!

Actually, Jiraiya was overthinking it. Naruto didn't bother memorizing the hand seals for the Five Elements Release techniques; he simply had absolute control over his chakra. Once he learned elemental transformations, he could control the different forms of the techniques by manipulating the amount and degree of chakra output.

The two chased each other for a while, with several ambushes coming very close, but Jiraiya dodged them all thanks to his experience. Finally, his most treasured possession was brought out.

"Hmm? Little Jiraiya, what trouble have you run into that you need to summon me to deal with it?" A small toad wrapped in a black cloth appeared on Jiraiya's shoulder. It was quite unlike a toad, with a tuft of hair and a beard, as well as two thick eyebrows.

At this point, Jiraiya's appearance had become even more like a toad, with his eyes shrunk into the shape of a toad and a bulbous nose, making him look somewhat comical. He still had some sense of shame, so he only summoned Fukasaku, intending to deactivate Sage Mode once he found Naruto.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you to help me catch a child. You see..." Jiraiya pointed around and saw countless Narutos hiding in the grass, trees, and rocks. Now that he had senses, he felt even more deeply that Narutos were no ordinary people.

The clones weren't randomly arranged; they were even divided into melee and ranged groups based on the amount of chakra remaining, maximizing the advantages of the clones. However, this intimidating tactic was useless against sensory-based opponents, because Naruto's main body's chakra... shone like a lighthouse at sea...

Wow, this kid is really that outrageous! You wouldn't believe it until you see it...

"Hmm? This child looks familiar..."

"Shh, it's not time to tell him yet." Jiraiya interrupted Fukasaku's speculation in a low voice, saying, "His name is Naruto Uzumaki. What we need to do now is to capture his real body."

Fukasaku stroked his beard and nodded, instantly understanding his meaning. "...I see. This amount of chakra is truly rare. He looks like a promising candidate for Sage Mode."

"I think so too. But let's go catch this brat first! He just stayed in one place while we were running away, he has absolutely no sense of danger! He needs to be taught a lesson!"