When the tall man saw the four members of Team 7, his face lit up with joy.
"Ahh, isn't this Team Kakashi? You're here so early."
Naruto, who was still upset about losing the match, glanced at the newcomer and muttered, "Huh? Isn't that the Pervy Sage? I mean... Pervy Sage, you're way too slow, and it's not early at all."
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly, "Well, there's nothing I could do. The lady at the entertainment district last night was just too... enthusiastic."
However, this explanation only earned him disdainful looks from three people and... admiration from one?
After a brief explanation, Jiraiya shamelessly sat down next to Naruto, making the already cramped two-person seat even more crowded.
Naruto shouted, "Pervy Sage, what are you doing? This is a two-person seat!"
Jiraiya chuckled, "Then, you should respect your elders and give up your seat for me. Problem solved, right?"
Seeing Naruto about to lose his temper, Kakashi reluctantly stood up and offered his seat, while also voicing his concerns.
"Jiraiya-sama, Naruto seems a bit... unusual. Do you think you could take a look and see if you notice anything?"
Hearing that Naruto might be acting strange, Jiraiya immediately dropped his playful demeanor and turned to examine Naruto.
Naruto, on the other hand, was visibly nervous… or rather, he was clearly showing signs of guilt.
"W-what... how could I be acting strange? Haha... Kakashi-sensei is just joking. There's nothing wrong with me."
Naruto forced out a laugh, and Sasuke couldn't help but facepalm, 'As a Ninja, Naruto's lying skills were truly terrible.'
But what happened next left everyone stunned.
After hearing Naruto's words, Jiraiya nodded seriously and said, "That's right. Kakashi is the one lying. Naruto is perfectly fine."
At this point... not just Sasuke, but even Kakashi could clearly see where the problem lay.
Just as Kakashi was about to sternly lecture Naruto, Jiraiya suddenly raised his hand.
He spoke up, "Naruto does have a problem, but it's related to his ability..."
Kakashi interjected, "Naruto's original ability was... Killing Intent. The stronger his Killing Intent, the greater his burst damage. So what is it now? What has it become?"
Jiraiya's expression turned serious as he continued, "It's... the 'Talk no Jutsu'! His new ability is the 'Talk no Jutsu.'"
"What?"
Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura all looked confused.
"Talk no Jutsu? What's that?"
Jiraiya explained, "The so-called 'Talk no Jutsu' is an ability that temporarily grants his words the power of 'Kotoamatsukami.' What is 'Kotoamatsukami'?"
Jiraiya, who quickly gathered information about Kotoamatsukami, continued, "Oh! Kotoamatsukami is a Genjutsu that can alter the target's will. It's considered... the strongest Genjutsu! What?! This is the strongest Genjutsu? Why have I never heard of it before?"
Kakashi and the others were completely lost, 'Why was Jiraiya-sama asking and answering his own questions?'
Kakashi, piecing together what had just happened, summarized, "So... Naruto's words now have the power to change someone's will?!"
Jiraiya nodded, "Exactly, but the effect only lasts for a few seconds to a few dozen seconds. However... the altered will makes the target subconsciously believe that they had thought that way all along. But if the altered will is too different from the target's original will, they might still notice something's off."
After Jiraiya's explanation, the group finally understood.
'Good heavens, altering someone's will... and all it takes is words? This is practically the strongest ability ever!'
Kakashi couldn't help but marvel at how terrifying this ability was.
If Naruto hadn't been so obvious about it, Kakashi might not have noticed at all.
Then, Jiraiya added, "Oh, and Naruto's original ability... hasn't been overwritten. This 'Talk no Jutsu' is just an additional ability."
"What? Such an overpowered ability, and it didn't replace his original one?"
Naruto's original ability, where his burst damage increased with his killing intent, wasn't particularly remarkable. It was purely about raw power, with no special mechanics.
But now, Naruto had gained an ability with such a powerful mechanic?
How were they supposed to fight him in the future? Ten seconds was more than enough time to get obliterated multiple times.
Jiraiya nodded, "That's how Naruto is. All he has to do is activate 'Talk no Jutsu,' while his opponents have to consider so many things... like covering their ears. If they can't hear Naruto, they won't be affected by 'Talk no Jutsu."
Kakashi, who had been immersed in the sheer power of Naruto's new ability, suddenly snapped out of it when he heard 'cover their ears.'
'That's right! To counter the Uchiha, you just close your eyes or avoid eye contact, right?'
'So to deal with the 'Talk no Jutsu,' all you had to do was cover your ears and not listen to Naruto's chanting… er, talking?'
This comprehensive analysis completely cleared up Kakashi's confusion, and he couldn't help but praise, "As expected of Jiraiya-sama's intelligence. It's truly all-encompassing!"
Jiraiya, pleased with Kakashi's compliment, laughed heartily, "Hahaha, am I really that amazing? Well, I suppose I am..."
After flattering Jiraiya a bit, Kakashi, still filled with mixed emotions, finally made his way to the branch shop next door.
Seeing that there were still a few empty tables in the branch shop, he let out a long sigh of relief. Now he could finally take a good look at the new Ninja.
When he opened the event page, Kakashi was surprised to find that the new Ninja wasn't available for direct purchase or through a gacha system. Instead, it was obtained by watching a story.
'Obtaining the Ninjas by watching a story? This was a completely new model that hadn't been used before.'
Kakashi clicked on the first story.
It was the story of Naruto [One-Tail].
---
[Valley of the End]
The familiar subtitles appeared on the screen. Since the story mode had stopped updating, Kakashi hadn't seen a story in a long time.
[Sasuke, I will definitely bring you back!]
…
After a brief introduction through a few lines of dialogue, the scene shifted to Naruto entering his One-Tail form, while Sasuke activated his Cursed Seal Level 2.
In the end, Naruto and Sasuke called out each other's names as their Rasengan and Chidori clashed.
Until one of them lost consciousness...
And the one with the stronger will... was Sasuke, who desperately desired power.
The story itself was simple, but Yuto hadn't skimped on the production. He had invested heavily in creating a ten-minute story to fully explain the background of Naruto [One-Tail] and the separation between Naruto and Sasuke.
The final scene showed Naruto on the verge of losing consciousness, with Sasuke walking away in the distance.
[Sasuke, I will definitely bring you back...]
The screen went black, and the story ended.