Just as the Shinobi World was in turmoil, and the major nations were shocked and unsettled by the sudden emergence of the Land of Whirlpools.

On a country road in the Land of Fire.

Two figures, one tall and one short, were walking slowly against the setting sun.

The tall one had exaggerated long white hair, carried a giant scroll on his back, wore wooden sandals, and had an unserious smile on his face; it was Jiraiya, the "Toad Sage," one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

The short one was a boy with blond hair, blue eyes, and six whisker-like marks on his face; it was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki.

At this moment, Naruto looked dejected, with his hands behind his head, walking listlessly.

"Hey, Pervy Sage, how much longer do we have to walk? My legs are about to break!"

"Hehe, the path of training is naturally long and arduous."

Jiraiya glanced at him and laughed.

"What, can you not even handle this much hardship? Aren't you still thinking about chasing that brat Sasuke back?"

Upon hearing the name "Sasuke," the once dim blue eyes of Naruto instantly reignited with light.

"Of course! I will absolutely! Absolutely bring Sasuke back!"

He clenched his fists and shouted loudly, as if cheering himself on.

Ever since the Valley of the End, he had been taken away from the village by Jiraiya, beginning a long journey of training.

And "bringing back Sasuke," this obsession, became the greatest and only motivation for all his training.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto's revitalized appearance and nodded in satisfaction, but deep in his eyes, a complex expression flashed.

Ever since he infiltrated the Land of Whirlpools last time and had an in-depth conversation with Uchiha Kei, his heart had been greatly impacted.

The power and wisdom displayed by Uchiha Kei, as well as the thriving scene in the Land of Whirlpools—so completely different from Konoha—had shaken the "Will of Fire" he had upheld his entire life.

Especially when he returned to Konoha and saw the incompetence and embarrassment of Teacher Sarutobi in handling the Uchiha defection, as well as that wanted poster that became a laughingstock, this wavering became even more intense.

Perhaps, Teacher was truly wrong.

Perhaps, this world truly needs some changes.

This shift in thinking also caused a huge change in how he taught Naruto.

He no longer just blindly taught Naruto powerful Ninjutsu as he did in the past.

He began to teach Naruto to think.

To think about the principles of Ninjutsu, to think about combat strategies, and to think about what true strength and true peace are.

"Naruto, come here."

Jiraiya stopped walking and sat down under a large tree.

He took a water balloon out of his pocket.

"Do you still remember the first stage of the Rasengan training I taught you before?"

"Of course I remember! Isn't it just making the water balloon rotate in my hand until it bursts!"

Naruto said confidently.

"Hmm, then try it again."

Naruto took the water balloon, took a deep breath, injected Chakra into his palm, and began to desperately make the water balloon rotate.

The water balloon in his hand shook and deformed violently, water splashing everywhere, but it just refused to burst.

"Damn it! Just a little bit more!"

Naruto was sweating profusely in his anxiety.

"Stop."

Jiraiya said suddenly.

"Look at your hand."

Naruto looked down and saw that his palm had turned bright red and even had some abrasions due to excessive force.

"You are just using brute force, Naruto."

Jiraiya shook his head and said earnestly.

"The essence of the Rasengan does not lie in the magnitude of power, but in the'shape transformation' and 'ultimate control' of Chakra."

"What you need is not stronger power, but a smarter way to use power."

Jiraiya reached out and took the water balloon from Naruto's hand.

He did not use all his strength like Naruto.

His palm just gently covered the water balloon, and Chakra flowed in slowly like a gentle stream.

Then, he closed his eyes, as if feeling something.

The next second, an astonishing scene occurred.

Inside the water balloon, countless tiny vortices, almost invisible to the naked eye, appeared simultaneously.

These small vortices rotated and collided at high speed inside the water balloon in a strange, irregular trajectory.

The entire water balloon did not shake violently like Naruto's, but instead became exceptionally stable.

But inside it, it seemed to contain a universe about to explode.

"Watch closely, Naruto."

Jiraiya opened his eyes abruptly.

"Burst!"

Pop!

A crisp sound.

That water balloon was not crushed by brute force; instead, it was instantly torn apart from the inside by countless chaotic rotational forces, exploding into a fine mist of water.

Naruto stared at this scene, dumbfounded, his mind went blank.

"This... this is..."

"This is the essence of the Rasengan."

Jiraiya said.

"Turning the rotation of Chakra from a single, orderly rotation into countless, chaotic, multi-directional rotations. When these chaotic forces resonate at a single point, the destructive power generated will increase exponentially."

"What I am teaching you is not just a Ninjutsu, Naruto. It is a way of thinking about problems."

"When encountering difficulties, don't just think about using stronger power to break through them. Learn to observe them, understand them, and then find their weakest link to dismantle them in the smartest way."

Naruto nodded as if he understood, he looked at the water balloon in his hand and fell into deep thought.

He discovered that a simple Ninjutsu training actually contained so many principles.

Looking at Naruto who had fallen into thought, a satisfied smile appeared on Jiraiya's face.

He understood that this seed had already been planted.

As for what it will grow into in the future, it depends on Naruto's own fortune.

"Pervy Sage."

Naruto suddenly raised his head and asked.

"You said before that Sasuke... and the people of the Uchiha clan, all went to a place called the 'Land of Whirlpools'?"

Jiraiya's heart sank slightly.

This question would come sooner or later.

He was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes."

"Land of Whirlpools... what kind of place is that? I seem to... have heard this name somewhere..."

Naruto frowned, trying hard to recall.

"That is the hometown of your mother, Uzumaki Kushina."

Jiraiya's voice became somewhat low.

"And it is also the origin of your surname, 'Uzumaki'."

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, exploding in Naruto's mind.

His whole body stiffened.

Mother's... hometown?

The origin of my... surname?

He never knew that the vague surname, which only existed in the words of Old Man Third, actually represented a country behind it.

"Then... then am I also... a person from the Land of Whirlpools?"

Naruto asked with a trembling voice.

"In terms of bloodline, yes."

Jiraiya sighed.

"The Land of Whirlpools was once Konoha's closest ally, but later, it was destroyed in a war. It was only recently rebuilt by a young man who also possesses Uchiha blood."

"And the Uchiha clan, because of some conflicts with Konoha, chose to leave and established the Land of Whirlpools."

Jiraiya explained all this to Naruto in language that was as simple and neutral as possible.

He didn't say who was right or wrong, he only stated a fact.

Naruto listened blankly, digesting this massive amount of information.

Uchiha... Sasuke... left Konoha...

Land of Whirlpools... Mom's hometown...

These originally unrelated terms were, at this moment, strung together by a single thread.

He finally understood why Sasuke left.

So, Sasuke wasn't defecting.

An unprecedented, huge sense of loss and loneliness surged into Naruto's heart.

So, Sasuke had found his place to belong.

And himself... still alone.

No.

That's not right.

Naruto raised his head abruptly, and in those blue eyes, the flame of defiance burned once again.

I am not alone either.

I have a hometown too.

That place called the "Land of Whirlpools" is my hometown too!

Sasuke is there.

One day, I will go there too!

I will go there personally, find Sasuke, and then, to his face, ask everything clearly!

"Pervy Sage!"

Naruto gripped the water balloon in his hand tightly, his eyes filled with unprecedented determination.

"Let's continue the training!"

"I swear, one day, I will become stronger than anyone! And then, I will go to that place called the Land of Whirlpools, openly and honestly, to find Sasuke!"

Looking at Naruto, whose fighting spirit had been reignited, Jiraiya smiled.

A new goal had already taken root and sprouted in Naruto's heart.