The white-haired man gave a dry laugh, reached out, and effortlessly grabbed Naruto, who was about to charge forward, lifting him off the ground.
Naruto's legs kicked wildly in the air as he struggled. "Damn it, let go!"
"Kid, you've got so spirit," the white-haired man chuckled, before placing Naruto back down.
Sasuke's expression grew colder.
"Who are you?"
At those words, the white-haired man quickly ford a hand seal with one hand.
"Boom!"
A puff of white smoke burst into the air, and within it, a massive clam appeared out of nowhere. Perched proudly on top of the clam's head was the white-haired man.
He swung his arms dramatically into a pose he thought was incredibly stylish and grinned ear to ear. "Oh, shh! Listen up, little brats! Standing before you is none other than the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, the great Jiraiya-sama! Author of best-selling novels adored by countless won, and one of the Legendary Three Ninja!"
Silence.
The air was so still it felt like imaginary crows were flying overhead.
Naruto and Sasuke just stood there in a daze, black lines practically forming on their foreheads as they stared like they'd been turned to stone.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Jiraiya felt secretly pleased.
Heh! My entrance was perfect! They must be trembling in awe at my overwhelming reputation and powerful aura!
But Jiraiya couldn't have been more wrong.
Naruto and Sasuke's shock had nothing to do with his flashy appearance. Both of them already knew the na "Jiraiya."
In fact, within the dream world, Naruto often spoke of "Lord Jiraiya" with deep respect and admiration.
Sasuke, who had been chatting with Naruto in those dreams, had often heard about Jiraiya's power.
According to Dream Naruto, Jiraiya was an incredibly wise and powerful master, the source of many of the techniques Naruto had learned.
The Naruto from the dream was absurdly strong, and for both Naruto and Sasuke, Jiraiya had long been a figure of deep curiosity.
They had expected a mysterious, awe-inspiring master.
Instead, reality showed them a lecherous old man who had just been caught trying to peek at won bathing.
The sheer contrast was too much for them to accept at once.
Naruto snapped out of his daze first. He jumped up and down, pointing at Jiraiya with furious eyes. "What kind of sage are you supposed to be?! You're nothing but a Pervy Sage! Sneaking around to peep at girls while they bathe how shaless can you get?!"
Sasuke crossed his arms and nodded in disgust.
"…Agreed."
Jiraiya's face flushed crimson as he scrambled to defend himself. "W-What do you an peeping?! I was gathering research material, you hear ? Research!"
He shook a small notebook in his hand as if it were evidence of his noble work, his tone dead serious, as though writing romance novels was a matter of great ninja duty.
Naruto rolled his eyes so hard it hurt.
He leaned close to Sasuke and muttered under his breath, "Honestly, the title of 'Legendary Three' is totally overrated. Orochimaru couldn't even withstand a single move from your brother, and now this Pervy Sage is a shaless peeper. Totally untrustworthy!"
Sasuke gave a quiet nod and calmly added, " 1. It really does prove there's a gap between dreams and reality. The Jiraiya that Naruto admired in his dreams would never behave like this."
"?!"
Jiraiya froze when he heard their words.
What were these two brats whispering about?
Orochimaru couldn't take a single blow?
What dream?
This wasn't how the script was supposed to go!
According to the natural order of things, once they heard his glorious na "Jiraiya of the Legendary Three" these kids should have been brimming with admiration, eyes sparkling with excitent at eting such a famous ninja, right?
But just as Jiraiya was left utterly confused
Naruto leapt out of the hot spring with a splash, waving impatiently at Sasuke. "Co on, Sasuke, let's go! This weird old guy is way too suspicious. Who knows what other perverted habits he's hiding!"
"That's right."
Sasuke followed Naruto without hesitation, his agreent sounding firm and absolute.
"Huh?"
Jiraiya finally snapped back to reality.
But Naruto and Sasuke didn't even look back. They ran off together, leaving him standing alone on top of his clam summon, staring blankly in disbelief, speechless for a long while.
anwhile, back in Konoha, inside the Hokage's office
The room was thick with smoke as the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat frowning, his pipe slowly burning between his fingers.
A scroll of intelligence lay unrolled on the desk before him, its contents making his expression especially grim.
At that mont, a knock ca at the door.
"Please, co in," Sarutobi said, pushing aside his thoughts.
The door creaked open, and Kakashi stepped inside.
"Hokage-sama, I've returned."
Seeing Kakashi back so soon did not bring Hiruzen relief. If anything, his brow furrowed even more deeply.
"Kakashi," he asked in a low, heavy voice, "why have you returned so quickly? Did you abandon the mission?"
Kakashi reached up, scratching the back of his silver hair with his usual air of helplessness. He shook his head and explained, "No, Hokage-sama. The mission was completed successfully. But the situation turned urgent, so I had to accelerate the pace and return early."
At this, Sarutobi let out a long breath. His expression eased slightly.
"I see. You've done well, Kakashi."
But the relief didn't last. Rembering the urgent intelligence Kakashi had sent ahead, Hiruzen's expression darkened once again. "Kakashi, there is sothing I must ask directly. That ssage you sent… you said you learned of Orochimaru's movents from a special source, and that you are certain he intends to strike Konoha. Explain this to clearly. What is going on?"
At the ntion of Orochimaru's na, Kakashi's eye sharpened, his face growing serious.
"Yes. Actually… the story is a long one."
And so he began recounting the events in detail to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Hokage listened in silence, pipe in hand, his brow creasing ever deeper with every word. A thin ring of smoke slipped from his lips.
"So… it's connected to that strange dream again?"
At that mont, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a loud, brash voice rang out:
"What a strange dream! Sounds pretty interesting, old man!"
…
As night fell, the sky glittered with scattered stars.
Sasuke returned ho, exhausted.
He lay on his bed, but Jiraiya's antics still lingered in his mind.
That so-called "Clam Sage" had completely overturned his expectations.
With chaotic thoughts tumbling through his head, Sasuke drifted into a deep sleep without realizing it.
No one knew how much ti had passed when his consciousness slowly began to return.
His brow furrowed. He could faintly hear the chirping of insects, the rustling of leaves.
That sound
Sasuke's eyes flew open!
The sight before him made his body tense imdiately.
This wasn't the familiar room of his ho. Instead, he was surrounded by a dense, ancient forest!
Towering trees rose high around him, their thick canopies blotting out the sky and leaving only scattered patches of light on the forest floor.
The air slled of damp earth and moss, mixed with a faint, fishy stench and the rot of fallen leaves.
Sasuke pushed himself upright, scanning his surroundings quickly, his hand instinctively reaching for the ninja tool pouch at his waist.
But soon, he realized he wasn't alone.
Not far away, Sakura was leaning against the trunk of a great old tree, eyes closed, quietly asleep.
Her breathing was even, her face touched with fatigue, showing she had gone through so serious exertion.
Sasuke lowered his gaze and noticed his own posture he, too, was resting with his back against a tree.
Had they both been sleeping here just now?
What's going on?
This should be tonight's dream. But why… why are we in such a strange place inside the dream?
[Ding! Uchiha Sasuke's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotional value 200!]
…
Outside the dream, in the viewing seats
Gasps of shock echoed through the audience.
"W-What's going on?!"
Naruto leapt from his chair, pointing frantically at the enormous screen in front of them. "Why is Sasuke in a forest?!"
[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotional value 100!]
On the other side, Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at the screen, pointing in disbelief. "W-What?! I'm in there too?!"
Ino, sitting on the other side, imdiately grew unhappy when she saw Sasuke and Sakura appear together in the forest.
She shot to her feet and shouted angrily, "What the heck?! Why is Sasuke going on a date with you in the forest, Forehead Girl?! That's so unfair!"
[Ding! Yamanaka Ino's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotional value 200!]
Sakura tilted her chin proudly, giving Ino a smug, provocative smile. "Hmph, of course it's because Sasuke-kun and I are in the sa squad! Ino-pig, don't be jealous!"
"You !"
Ino clenched her teeth in fury, unable to co up with a rebuttal. She could only glare daggers at the screen, as though sheer hatred might swap Sakura out of the scene.
Among them, Kakashi was probably the only one who remained calm, piecing things together with a sharp eye.
He stared at the screen thoughtfully and murmured, "It seems… the Chunin Exams have already begun inside the dream world."
"Chunin Exams?!"
Sakura and Ino both froze in surprise. Their eyes t, reflecting the sa shock.
Kakashi gave a small nod and pointed at the vast forest on the screen. "Yes. If I'm not mistaken, this should be Training Ground Forty-Four, also known as the Forest of Death. The second stage of the Chunin Exams is held there."
"The Forest of Death?!"
Both Sakura and Ino's faces paled slightly.
Naruto, listening to their conversation, grew restless. He jabbed his finger at the screen, then pointed at himself in panic. "Chunin Exams? Forest of Death? Then what about ? Where am I?! Don't tell I've already been eliminated?!"
The thought of being knocked out so early in such an important exam sent a wave of dread through him.
[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotional value 200!]
Sakura rolled her eyes and teased him with a playful grin. "Your Naruto might get eliminated, but that Naruto? No way!"
Ino nodded firmly and chid in, "Exactly!"
After so much ti watching the dream-world play out like a movie, both girls had beco loyal fans of "Dream Naruto," carrying blind confidence in his strength.
Of course
It was the sa kind of admiration a younger sister might hold for a brother who shines like a superstar on screen.
After all, they couldn't actually see what he was like in reality.
"Waaah…"
Hearing their rciless teasing, Naruto felt his chest take a direct critical hit.
He pressed his lips together and sniffled pitifully. "Sakura-chan… those words are way too cruel… wuwuwu…"
[Ding! Uzumaki Naruto's emotional fluctuations detected! Emotional value 400!]
....
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