Naruto: Start By Punching Trees And Shocking Kurama!

Faced with Fukasaku's enthusiastic invitation, Jiraiya wanted to refuse, but Naruto was somewhat curious about the unique cuisine of Mount Myoboku.

Judging from the way it was portrayed in anime, it is not an exaggeration to call them 'dark cuisine'.

But when it came to eating a bug-based meal, Naruto wasn't the least bit fazed.

After all, he had eaten roasted silkworm pupae and fried locusts before.

As long as one got past the psychological barrier, it wasn't that bad.

As for whether it tasted good or not, that depended on the cooking method.

And besides…

Fukasaku once said that eating this stuff would help with Senjutsu training.

Naruto immediately dragged the extremely reluctant white-haired old man along with him, and Jiraiya, feeling the immense force on his arm, had no choice but to follow.

'Damn it!'

'This brat hasn't realized the seriousness of the problem yet!!'

'That stuff wasn't even fit for human consumption!'

'I'd rather starve to death…'

'I'd rather die right here in Mount Myoboku than eat a single bite of that food!'

Not long after, they arrived at Fukasaku's home.

Shima brought out all kinds of colorful bugs and placed them on the dining table, making Jiraiya want to flee on the spot.

When Naruto saw that the old man was trying to run, he stomped on his foot, preventing him from taking even half a step away.

Then he looked back at the bug feast on the table...

And suddenly realized he might have been a bit too naive earlier...

'Holy Sh**!!'

'Are steaming and boiling the only cooking methods used in Mount Myoboku?!'

If it they were fried or stir-fried, Naruto could've eaten with several bowls of rice...

But steaming or boiling preserved the bugs' natural flavor, and now, the entire room was filled with an overwhelming earthy stench.

The master and disciple exchanged glances and swallowed with difficulty.

"Jiraiya-chan, Naruto, dig in."

Fukasaku picked up his chopsticks and immediately urged them to start eating. Naruto stood up on the spot and marched straight into the kitchen...

With Shima's help, Naruto quickly fried three dishes.

His impressive cooking skills earned him continuous praise from Shima, who kept complimenting him at the table, calling him a good boy.

Jiraiya could only sigh helplessly at that.

'A good boy, huh...'

'Which good boy started a cult that attempted to destroy the world less than a month after going on a mission?!'

'But still…'

'This kid is such a good cook!'

Jiraiya picked up the fried insect pupae made by his student and crunched down on it.

'Mmm... delicious.'

After the master and disciple finished their meal, Fukasaku led them to an area filled with toad statues.

Not far away, there was also a waterfall flowing with toad oil.

Then, Jiraiya and Fukasaku began explaining the key points of Senjutsu training. Naruto listened attentively, and the big fox in the sealed space also listened very attentively.

Kurama was disdainful, but he still wanted to eavesdrop and borrow some techniques to create his own Senjutsu.

"Alright!"

"We, the white-haired old mo... Grandpa, let's get started!"

In his excitement, Naruto almost slipped up and called Fukasaku 'old monster', but Jiraiya elbowed him just in time to make him correct himself.

Fukasaku scratched his head. He felt like something was off about what Naruto had just said, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Meanwhile, thinking about Naruto's upcoming training, Jiraiya felt a faint sense of anticipation.

After all, toadification was a common occurrence during Senjutsu training, which meant using a big stick to knock the trainee back to normal.

In other words, he finally had a chance to properly discipline his troublesome student!

With this in mind, Jiraiya's smile suddenly became unrestrained.

"Old man, what are you grinning about?"

Naruto, who had just finished applying the toad oil, looked at Jiraiya with confusion.

"Nothing..."

"Let's start training!"

"I can't wait!"

Seeing that the white-haired old man looked even more eager than himself, Naruto scratched his head, becoming even more confused.

But he didn't dwell on it. He sat cross-legged on the ground and began to feel the Natural Energy, keeping Fukasaku's advice about emptying his mind firmly in mind.

Generally speaking, it wasn't too different from Taoist meditation.

But the moment Naruto closed his eyes...

All kinds of thoughts kept popping up in my mind...

Bang…

Outside, when Jiraiya saw the characteristics of a toad appearing on Naruto's body, he immediately raised his stick and swung it at Naruto's back.

"OW!!"

"What are you doing, old man!!"

Naruto clutched his back, gasped, and looked at the white-haired old man angrily.

Because that strike had actually hurt him.

He had no idea what that stick was made of, but it hurt even more than Tsunade's punches.

"I'm helping you train."

Jiraiya nodded and spoke with a righteous look on his face.

But inwardly, he was baffled.

'It's really weird! That stick had actually made this brat feel pain!'

Back when Jiraiya was training, a single strike from that stick would leave him rolling on the ground in agony, unable to get up for over ten minutes.

'Ah, whatever. At least he felt some pain. That was good enough.'

When Naruto heard what the old man said, his face instantly darkened.

He suspected this old man was taking revenge under the guise of training!!

'Just wait!'

'When I have mastered Senjutsu, it'll be time to revive my mom!'

'White-haired old man, just you wait till my mom beats you up!!!'

Naruto gritted his teeth and glared at him fiercely for a few times. But in the end, he chose to endure it and continued to train with his eyes closed.

A week later...

"YOU DAMN WHITE-HAIRED OLD MAN!!"

Naruto stood up, pointed at Jiraiya, and couldn't bear it anymore. He opened his mouth and started cursing at him.

'That damn stick was seriously weird. With my physique, I can obviously endure the pain of broken hands and feet, but why can't I endure being beaten by this stick?'

'What's even worse is...'

'This old bastard kept laughing while hitting me!!'

On top of that, having grown up in the era of information overload, the moment Naruto closed his eyes, his mind would flood with all kinds of distractions.

Sometimes, he could even play a BGM in his head, and he couldn't stay focused at all.

Frustrated with his lack of progress and the old man's relentless beatings, Naruto had finally reached his limit.

Naruto took out the black stick he had 'borrowed' from Fukasaku and charged straight at Jiraiya.

"Naruto, I'm helping you train!"

"What are you doing!?"

"Are you still going to beat me with a stick?"

When Jiraiya saw the black stick in Naruto's hand, sweat suddenly dripped from his forehead.

'Damn it!'

'If this turned into a real fight, this brat could afford to mess up countless times, but if I got hit even once, he'd be rolling on the ground in pain.'

Thinking of this, Jiraiya immediately got serious.

He looked at Naruto, sighed, and then said, "Forget it, bring it on."

"After all this time, I've never actually taught you Taijutsu."

Speaking of Naruto's Taijutsu, Jiraiya doesn't know how to describe it.

To put it in Naruto's own words, he was a pure 'stats monster', and his previous battles never required any flashy techniques.

But for someone with Naruto's future potential, that wasn't a good thing.

He had to learn how to properly utilize his strength.

"Alright!"

When Naruto heard that Jiraiya wanted to teach him Taijutsu, he also got serious.

Even though the white-haired old man is often beaten by Tsunade and ridiculed by Naruto in the village, his strength is truly genuine.

So, Naruto decided to take this spar with his master seriously.

In a blink of an eye, the master and the disciple were fighting with black sticks in their hands.

However, relying purely on Taijutsu, Naruto couldn't even touch Jiraiya, and he was hit several times by Jiraiya after just a few charges.

Rubbing his sore spots, Naruto couldn't help but feel the old man was definitely holding a grudge.

"Again!"

After a few seconds, Naruto charged forward once more.

Fukasaku looked at the master and disciple who were fighting with each other, and then glanced at the half-depleted toad oil nearby.

Suddenly, he fell into a long, deep silence.