Naruto: Amongst the Whirling Tides Chapter 28

Hi all, 

Here’s the next chapter. Naruto continues his training and makes lots of progress.

Chapter 28

“What the hell? What did you do to me, Fukasaku?”

Fukasaku poked him with a stick. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Naruto boy.”

"I have turned into a slimy toad!" Naruto looked down at his arms and torso. The skin had become much rougher, and several warts protruded from it. 

Shima sniffed. "I take offence at being called slimy. Furthermore, your torso has only partially changed into a toad. It’s a side effect of using the oil. Don’t be a crybaby.”

Naruto grumbled. "I'd better return to normal after I’ve finished training.”

“Stop your whining,” Fukasaku barked. “You're a bigger baby than even Jiraiya-boy was when he started training. Now, sit yourself on top of the water.” 

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to use chakra,” Naruto said.

Shima shook her head. "Keeping your position on the water will not have any negative consequences for you. The ability to remain completely still is a necessary component of sensing and absorbing natural energy. It’s a good training exercise because staying dry is a good motivator."

Naruto sat on the surface of the water, using his chakra to keep from sinking beneath it.

He was eager to devote his time to senjutsu training, but first he needed to learn how to sense nature energy. He assumed that he would already have that ability due to his chains, but he was mistaken. They were only fully visible to him because they were a part of him, an actual physical manifestation, but this didn’t make him more sensitive to nature energy. He would need to put in the work and learn it like everybody else.

Before that, he had to rebalance his tailed beast chakra, which was out of sync. His task would be much more difficult if he didn’t address this issue first. Not to mention the other issues that stem from it.

Shima took the Yamanaka scroll from him and unrolled it to examine the contents. "This is not a simple technique to master. Why don’t you try meditating the traditional way first before attempting this? This place is excellent for helping people reach a meditative state."

"Shima makes a lot of sense, Naruto-boy," Fukasaku said. "Why make things more complicated than they need to be?"

Naruto followed her suggestion. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. He emptied his mind of all thoughts and tried to maintain that state of emptiness. Minutes passed as he fell deeper into a state of relaxation. He had practised meditation before, so he didn’t have problems reaching this point, and he found the environment was helping him as well.

However, he soon discovered a problem. Sensing something was off, he opened his eyes and found himself in his mindscape.

“Dammit!” Naruto cursed, and the noise woke up a particularly grumpy fox.

"What the hell's your problem?" Kurama growled, opening his eyes to glare at him.

"Hi, Kurama," Naruto said, waving before vanishing from his mindscape.

“Rude brat,” Kurama said, closing his eyes again. 

Naruto attempted to meditate several more times but was repeatedly drawn back into his mindscape. He found it absurdly easy to enter after doing it so many times. All he needed to do was close his eyes and think about entering his mindscape, and it worked. But it had never interfered with his meditation before. 

Something about being on Mt Myoboku was different. It kept sending him to his mindscape without any clear intent on his part. He didn’t want to even imagine what combination of factors was causing this, but he needed to solve the problem. 

When he explained it to the elderly frogs, they frowned.

"This is an unexpected wrinkle," Shima sighed. “Rather than help you meditate, this environment has become a hindrance. Perhaps it's your unique body qualities that are interfering with your attempts at meditation.”

That didn’t sound flattering. “Are you saying I’m a freak?”

“Of nature energy!” Fukasaku cackled. “Get it! Freak of nature!”

Shima grabbed the stick out of her husband’s hands and whacked him over the head, sending him crashing to the ground. “That doesn’t even make sense. Stop trying to be funny.”

Naruto winced. Note to self: Don’t marry a violent woman.

Fukasaku rubbed his head as he sat up. “Perhaps you should try the Yamanaka technique, Naruto, boy.”

Shima passed him the scroll and he read through it. There was a picture of a person sitting in a cross-legged position, hands resting on their lap, forming a hand seal. It was called the Mind Seal, and it wasn’t something he had come across before. He assumed it was something the Yamanaka’s had invented to help them practise meditation. To perform the hand seal, he had to fold his fingers closed to form knuckles. Then he had to press his palms together, with his thumbs pointing upwards. Holding it was awkward because his arms were held horizontally, causing his wrists to bend into a painful position.

Along with the image, the Yamanakis had written down the entire method and explanation for why it was done that way. Chakra was a mix of mental and physical energies, making it difficult for a Shinobi to achieve a proper meditative state. The seal's purpose was to help him disconnect from his physical energy and achieve a state in which he could focus on achieving a state of relaxation without being distracted by his body. 

The technique was dangerous, though, as he needed to cut off the chakra in his brain from the rest of his body, by closing off a tenketsu node located in his neck. If that chakra were to disperse, then that could damage his brain. He couldn’t maintain this state for long periods of time, so he would need to feed more chakra to his brain. It was important to have someone monitor him, as he may not even notice the passage of time when he was in his meditative state.

Once his chakra was separated, then the balance of it would change, leaning more towards the mental energy side of the equation. This would allow him to enter a state where his mind was almost detached from his body, with no physical sensation. 

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing steadily. After some relaxation, he was able to sense the tenketsu point in his body thanks to the seal he was maintaining. He attempted to focus on it and close the point off, but it proved elusive, like a slippery fish wriggling in his hands.

“This is harder than I expected,” Naruto complained, opening his eyes.

“Well, are you going to whine about it or try again?” Shima rolled her eyes.

“I can use my clones to help,” Naruto suggested.

"I do not think your clones can use this method," Fukasaku informed him. "You will have to figure it out for yourself. Say, I have got a question for you, Naruto-boy. How many clones of yourself does it take to make one functioning brain? Ten? Twenty?”

Shima fell over laughing.

“Hilarious,” Naruto grumbled.

It took him an hour to be able to block the tenketsu node. The first time he managed it, he felt extremely disoriented, as it felt like his head was floating above the ground, with no physical body to anchor him. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about his position, and he sank into the water. 

At the very least, he found it much easier to achieve a meditative state. But he did not find the experience of attempting to achieve inner peace to be the easiest. He discovered that his emotions were in turmoil beneath the surface, with several unresolved memories or feelings emerging to surprise him. Hinata's near-death experience was only the catalyst; he had been holding back some unresolved issues for a long time. Mainly to do with his imprisonment at the hands of Danzo, and the treatment at the hands of the villagers.

It was confronting. He didn’t like what he saw and wanted to give up on resolving, or at least accepting, the issues. But the old toads were unyielding, refusing to let him quit. Frequently, he felt his anger spike, and Kurama’s chakra would emerge from his body. He worked hard to suppress it, knowing that if he lost control now, he may never regain it.

It took him the entire day to work through his worst memories, and by the end of it, he felt completely drained. He lay on the ground, not wanting to move an inch, and trying to ignore his grumbling stomach.

“How do you feel?” Shima asked.

Naruto opened his eyes and held his hand up, clenching it into a fist. “I feel a little better,” his tone filled with surprise. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. All this time, he allowed himself to bury his emotions and hide behind his humour to distract himself from his inner turmoil. He didn’t think he had managed to resolve all his issues, but he was feeling a lot better about everything. 

“Who knew that confronting your issues would be so liberating?” Naruto mused.

Fukasaku snorted. “Yes, yes. That’s wonderful and all, but more importantly, how is your tailed beast chakra now? Has it settled down?”

Naruto briefly visited his mindscape and found that the red pool had returned to a placid state, and he grinned. It was nice that he had visible proof of his progress.

“Hey, do you see that?” Naruto asked Kurama, pointing at the pond. “Look what I was able to accomplish after spending a day meditating. I could be a mind healer, considering how well I’m able to confront my own issues. Do you need me to book you in for a session? You have a lot of anger issues.”

Kurama roared. “That’s because I have to put up with you, bloody brat.”

“You are just proving my point,” Naruto said, wagging a finger at him. “I sure got a fire in my belly, and his name is Kurama.” 

“Get lost!”

Naruto exited his mindscape to find that Fukasaku was preparing a meal. He almost vomited upon seeing the selection of bugs laid out on the platter. “I’m going back to eat with Kushina.”

“Make sure to be here at dawn,” Shima said. “The real work begins tomorrow.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Naruto and Kushina’s residence for the duration of their stay at Mt Myoboku was a small hut located a few miles from Gamamaru’s shrine. It used to be where Jiraiya lived while he was training with the toads. Naruto entered the hut to find Kushina lying on the living room floor, a book open in front of her, holding onto her pet squirrel. Gamakichi was standing beside her.

“Naruto!” Kushina sprang to her feet and ran over to him. “I’m hungry. Kichi tried to feed me some bugs.”

Naruto grimaced. “Sorry, Kushina. I expected the toads to have some human food. Let me prepare something quick.”

“There is nothing wrong with eating bugs,” Gamakichi protested. “They are tasty and full of protein.”

 Naruto pointed at the squirrel. “Even the squirrel looks disgusted by the thought of eating bugs.”

“His name is Bubbles,” Kushina told him.

“I think you are projecting,” Gamakichi muttered. “He’s only a bloody squirrel.”

Naruto pulled out a storage scroll from his pocket and pulled out some bowls of instant ramen. It was a good thing he had brought some in case, otherwise, they might have starved. Now that he had solved the issue with his imbalance, he had no qualms about using his chakra anymore. He summoned some water and boiled it with a small stream of fire, and soon the hut was filled with the smell of pork ramen. 

Naruto sat down with Kushina and got stuck in his ramen. “What were you reading?”

“Kichi gave it to me. It's a book Uncle Pervy Sage wrote,” Kushina said. “It’s called Tales of the Gutsy Ninja.”

Knowing Jiraiya’s history of writing Icha Icha Tactics, Naruto was alarmed. “Gamakichi, why did you let Kushina read smut?”

“Settle down, Naruto,” Gamakichi said. “This was the only book Jiraiya wrote that was serious and didn’t contain any smut.”

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

“What is smut?” Kushina asked.

“That’s not something you need to know about until you are older,” Naruto said, ruffling her hair.

Kushina pouted, but then her expression brightened. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“The story is about you. I knew my big brother was amazing!”

“About me?” Naruto asked, feeling curious. 

He opened the book to a random page and began reading. 

The scene focused on Naruto, a Shinobi who was hiding from an enemy ninja. He used smoke bombs to launch a surprise attack, but the enemy ninja appeared to repel and overpower him. When the enemy ninja attempts to kill him, it is revealed to be a shadow clone, at which point the real Naruto appears and defeats the enemy ninja. The enemy ninja, moved by Naruto's desire for peace, asks for his name, prompting Naruto to introduce himself.

"My name is Naruto," he said softly, reading aloud. "I will make certain that I transform this cursed world so that everyone can live in peace."

“That sounds so cool,” Kushina exclaimed. “Read the book to me, Naruto.”

“Let me finish my ramen first,” Naruto replied. 

He was surprised by Jiraiya's ability to write something so interesting. Was this Jiraiya's true perspective on the world? It is likely why the old man did not hesitate to get him out of Konoha and establish their own village when he was rescued. He turned to the first page and discovered that the book was old, written before he was born. Why did his name appear in the book? Was it the reason his parents named him Naruto?

 He turned to Gamakichi. “Why did Jiraiya stop writing books and write smut instead?”

Gamakichi shrugged. “Not a clue. You will have to ask him.”

Naruto read Kushina the book after dinner. They were so engrossed in the story that they finished it in one sitting. Even the squirrel appeared to enjoy the book, judging by the way he sat in Kushina's lap without complaining.

Kushina fell asleep shortly after, but Naruto wasn't able to fall asleep so easily. His mind was full of thoughts on the story.

The story was somewhat generic, but it conveyed a strong message. It depicted Naruto's journey through the Five Elemental Nations, during which he questioned the nature of the world. Naruto openly expressed his displeasure with the Shinobi System and considered ways to reform it. He found it strange that his own thoughts mirrored the character's, especially since they shared a name.

In the end, the only feasible idea Naruto in the book had for changing the world was power. To wield such immense power that you were able to persuade others of your vision solely by your strength alone. Although he didn’t think this was the best method, it certainly was the easiest. There was always the chance it could backfire, though, and perpetuate even more hatred.

"But if I gain such power, it will mean that our village is at least safe," Naruto whispered, energised by the thought. 

The significance of his training took on a whole new meaning, and it fueled his desire to improve. He planned to take advantage of his time here to achieve a new level of strength.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Naruto meditated for the next three days, learning to sense nature energy in his surroundings. He always had two clones by his side, learning alongside him, and he frequently absorbed their memories to gain their experiences. He almost didn’t recognise it the first time he was able to sense it, as it was barely imperceptible, like a faint breeze ruffling his hair. It was only when he repeated it a second time that he was able to notice a difference.

Nature energy felt far different from chakra. It felt insubstantial, whereas his chakra was heavy. It took him a while to realise that nature energy was more neutral and unaffected by his emotions, unlike his other chakra reserves. As he gained proficiency, he began to discern the energy with his eyes; translucent ribbons of light that appeared as insubstantial as they felt. It was everywhere, but it appeared and disappeared so frequently that it seemed to be fading out of existence and then reappearing again. 

“Well done, Naruto-boy,” Fukasaku said. “You managed to learn how to sense nature energy much faster than Jiraiya-boy. I’m sure he would be pleased with your progress.”

Naruto snorted. “He would probably pout like a child. He did the same when I learned the Rasengan.”

“He hasn’t changed at all,” Shima sighed. “Anyway, now it’s time to learn how to gather nature energy into your body. This is the most dangerous part, but we will be here to watch over you.”

Fukasaku smirked, brandishing his stick. “This is always my favourite part of the training.”

Naruto glared at him. The old toad didn’t have to derive so much enjoyment from it. Fukasaku grabbed the pot of toad oil and started applying a fresh coat to his body. Naruto shivered when it touched his skin.

“Are you ready?” Shima asked.

“Hold on a moment,” Naruto said, getting an idea. He performed a hand seal, and twenty clones popped into existence around the fountain.

"I don’t recommend using any clones to absorb nature energy in the beginning," Fukasaku said. “It might be dangerous.”

"I am using them for a different purpose," Naruto explained before addressing his clones. "I would like you to continue training my wind elemental transformation. I have an idea about how I want to use it, so that will be your primary focus until you master it."

“You got it, boss!” The clones saluted, and got started on their training.

 Before he had even arrived here, he had made substantial progress in mastering the transformation thanks to his clones, so he expected them to finish before he had to return to Uzushio. If he could fuse it into his Rasengan, then it would become a lot more destructive. His father had told him that he had the same idea but didn’t get a chance to finish it before he died. 

“I’m ready for the last step,” Naruto said. 

‘You are making good progress,” Fukasaku said approvingly. “I have sent a message to Jiriaya, to let him know that you will be here for at least another week.”

Naruto nodded. “Hopefully, it won’t take that long.” 

“Don’t get cocky,” Shima warned. “The next step will not be easy. To gather nature energy, you must remain completely still, otherwise, you will start turning to stone.”

Fukasaku marched along the fountain's edge, continuing to explain. "Your goal is to combine nature energy with your chakra to create the senjutsu chakra. Once this step is achieved, then we can start teaching you Sage Mode.”

Naruto cocked his head. “I learned a little about it from my father. Sage mode is an empowered state that enables me to use new techniques and improves both my physical and mental abilities."

“That is correct, Naruto-boy,” Fukasaku said. “You will reach an entire new level once you have learned it. It increases your strength, speed, stamina, perception, reflexes, and durability. But it’s not easy to master. Your father was able to master it, but Jiraiya has failed to reach the same level.”

"Why do I have to learn Sage Mode? Isn’t creating senjutsu chakra the same as reaching the empowered state?"

"Ignorant boy," Shima mocked. "Being able to blend senjutsu only allows you to mould it outside your body and use it for certain techniques. Sage Mode fundamentally alters your body, and it requires a massive amount of chakra to achieve it.”

"Another thing we need to work on is your physical conditioning," Fukasaku said, his eyes shining. "To support Sage Mode, your body must be able to withstand a lot of abuse. Prepare yourself for hell, Naruto-boy."

.“Bring it on!” 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Six days later, Naruto sat in the fountain, wearing nothing but boxers. Nature energy was rushing towards his body at a breakneck pace, as if he was emitting pheromones that attracted it. It was a far cry from when he first started out, when he felt unable to absorb any nature energy.

He opened his eyes after he felt he had absorbed enough natural energy. After so many days of training, he could feel a substantial change—a surge of power that felt like every cell in his body had been transformed. He clenched his fists, feeling the immense strength contained within them.

“You did it, Naruto-boy,” Fukasaku exclaimed. “Take a look at your reflection.”

Naruto looked down at the water and saw that he now had yellow irides, toad-like pupils, and orange pigmentation around his eyes. Other than that, he couldn’t see any other differences.

“Woah, this is awesome,” he yelled. “Naruto Uzumaki is now a Sage! Believe it.”

Kushina cheered. She was sitting nearby with Bubbles in her arms,having come to watch him train. “My big brother is the best!”

Shima smiled. “Don’t get too cocky. This is only the beginning.”

“I would say he is already pretty advanced,” Fukasaku countered. “At least he doesn’t have the hideous nose that Jiriaya gets when he enters Sage Mode.” 

“I can’t argue with that,” Shima said, laughing. “Jiraiya is already ugly enough before he even transforms.”

Naruto jumped out of the water, feeling as if he had an endless supply of energy that needed to be released. When he spotted the large boulder in the distance, he ran over to it. Crouching down, he grabbed the bottom of it and started lifting. Nothing happened at first, but then the boulder was released from the ground's suction and he found it effortless to lift it above his head. 

“Look at how strong I am now,” Naruto said, smiling triumphantly.

“We can see you,” Shima said, rolling her eyes.

Naruto threw the boulder down, and it landed with a thud. He performed a series of hand seals, before breathing a stream of fire out of his mouth. The flames splashed against the boulder, scorching it black instantly. He could feel the overwhelming heat and power emanating from them, which had increased substantially from the last time he used the jutsu.

Next, he took his stance and began practising his taijutsu. Every punch, kick, and movement of his body felt quicker, more balanced, and more devastating. He was so into the exercise that he didn’t notice when Fukasaku approached him and whacked him on the shin.

“Ow, what the hell was that for?” Naruto rubbed his shin.

“We don’t have time for you to test out your new capabilities,” Fukasaku said. “Now that we have another Senjutsu user amongst us, we have to gather the toads for a celebration.”

“Is that really a thing?” Naruto asked in surprise.

“Of course,” Shima said. “Your father celebrated with us for three days. It would have been longer, but he had responsibilities in Konoha to take care of.”

Fukasaku grinned. “Don’t you mean he was summoned by his wife? That was one fella who was puss—”

“Don’t finish that sentence!” Shima growled.

“Yes, dear.”

Naruto laughed. “Well, I don’t think I could party for three days. What do you do for entertainment, anyway?”

Fukasaku smirked. “We have our own way of amusing ourselves.”

Later that afternoon, Naruto discovered exactly what Fukasaku meant. The celebration took place at Gamamaru's shrine, and the toads spared no expense. There were plenty of decorations, music, and dancers to add to the festive atmosphere. A large table was set up with platters of food and alcohol. Unfortunately, the toads hadn’t learned how to be proper hosts yet, as they didn’t serve any food suitable for human consumption. Naruto and Kushina were forced to eat ramen noodles again. By this point, even the ramen lovers were getting sick of them after eating them for so many days.

A small stage had been set up in front of Gamamaru's shrine to host the evening's entertainment. It turned out that toads loved to wrestle, especially the giant toads that liked to demonstrate their strength.

Naruto had met several of them, including Gamagoro; Gamahiro, and Gamaken. They were a lot more polite than Gamabunta, who sounded grumpy when he greeted him. 

An hour into the festivities, Gamabunta suddenly vanished from the stage, where he had been wrestling his opponent.

“It seems like Jiraiya has summoned Gamabunta,” Gamakichi said. “I wonder what he wants?”

Naruto shrugged, not paying attention to the matter. However, something else happened shortly after that did catch his attention.

“Naruto!” Kushina ran over to him, crying. “Bubbles has disappeared.”

"He probably wanted to get away from all the loud noises and bright lights," Naruto reassured her. “I’m sure he will show up later.”

"No," Kushina replied, shaking her head. "He vanished right in front of me. Like one of your clones.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”

The squirrel wasn’t real, which had some frightening implications. Has someone been spying on him this entire time?

“I believe you should return to your village, Naruto,” Gamamaru said, clearing his throat. “You will find your answer there.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jiraiya rose from the ground and dusted off his pants. His back and knees protested the abuse, having kneeled on the ground for the past few hours as he repaired the fuinjutsu formation.

He used a hand seal to activate the formation. The kanji shone faintly with a golden sheen, indicating that it was functioning properly.  

“I’m getting too old for this,” Jiriaya sighed. “But there are only five more left to repair, and then I’m taking a break. Naruto can deal with the others once he gets back.”

He wondered how his godson was doing. The toads had delivered a message informing him that Naruto would be staying longer, allowing him to attempt to enter Sage Mode. Apparently, he could already sense nature energy. He had to shake his head at the boy’s talent. Like father, like son.

He was excited about Naruto’s progress, but he didn’t expect him to be able to enter Sage Mode in such a short period of time. Sensing nature's energy was one thing, but Sage Mode was a whole other level. Even Minato, despite his incredible talent, couldn’t master it in that amount of time. To be honest, he secretly wished Naruto would take longer than he did to enter Sage Mode, as he didn’t want to be upstaged again, as Minato had done to him. He didn’t know if he could live with the shame. 

Jiraiya bent down, pulling the stone cover down to conceal the fuinjutsu formaton. They were scattered all across the island, inscribed on stone tablets nestled into shallow pits dug into the ground. Each one was protected with a stone cover and hidden beneath layers of soil and grass to prevent others from finding them.  

He had been repairing the alert formation for the past few days, which had occupied all of his time. He would rather be visiting the bathhouses, but the work was necessary to give them a means to detect intruders on the island. He had already obtained blood examples from all of the villagers, so it would become immediately apparent if someone intruded upon the island. Each formation covered a range of a radius of three miles, and were positioned so that the entire island had coverage. 

"Inoichi, does the formation appear on the computer? Jiriaya asked, speaking to someone who wasn’t present.

“Jiraiya, the formation is working fine. Good work,” Inoichi’s voice sounded in his mind.

It was known as the Mind Transmission Technique, a hijutsu used by the Yamanaka Clan to communicate with others telepathically. It was very useful for communicating over long distances. Unfortunately, there were only a few Yamanakas in the village, so it could not be relied on as a viable mode of communication for the village's needs. 

“Jiraiya!” Inoichi shouted, making him wince. "Karin noticed an anomaly after the formation was activated. Someone is on the island who is not a part of the village, and they are not far from your location."

Jiraiya’s eyes narrowed. “Where are they?”

“About a mile north-northwest from your current position,” Inoichi replied. “They are currently stationary, hidden within a cave.”

“I’m going to check it out,” Jiraiya said.
“Be careful. I will send a Shinobi team to back you up. Don’t play any heroics and get yourself out of there if you can’t handle it.”

“Who do you think I am? I’m the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya.”

Jiriaiya cut off communication with Inoichi and performed a summoning jutsu. A huge cloud of smoke appeared, before it dispersed to reveal Gamabunta.

“Jiraiya,” Gamabunta said, puffing on his pipe. “Why did you summon me to such a dreary place?”

Gamabunta pondered whether he should tell Jiraiya about Naruto's accomplishment. But he decided to leave it to Naruto. He wished he could be there to see Jiraiya's reaction, knowing how whiny his partner could become when someone did something better than him. 

“I have an intruder to confront, Gamabunta,” Jiraiya said, leaping up to stand on the toad’s head. He pointed in the direction Inoichi had given him. “Go that way.”

“Hold onto your britches,” Gamabunta growled, crouching to gain some momentum. “This is going to be a bumpy ride.”

Gamabunta exploded forward, accelerating rapidly, until he was racing across the ground. Jiraiya felt the wind rush over his body, but his feet were securely fastened to the toad by chakra, so he had no trouble keeping his footing. 

“Who could have made it onto the island without us noticing?” Jiriaya asked himself, feeling worried. “And who do they work for?” 

They quickly arrived at their destination, where Jiraiya spotted the cave. He jumped down from Gamabunta and approached it cautiously, bracing himself for battle. When he was about twenty feet away, someone appeared in the opening, likely drawn by the noise outside.

Jiraiya's stiffened. “Dammit. This is much worse than I could ever have imagined.”

Killer B raised a hand and waved. “Yo, if it ain’t the toad, meeting Killer B on this lonely road. Hey, why do you look like you're going to explode?” 

So, what do you think? In the next chapter, Naruto returns to the island to confront Killer B.

Thanks for reading.