Within Konoha Village…
"Sakura-chan, you're here too...? Naruto exclaimed upon arriving at the meeting spot Kakashi-sensei had mentioned yesterday. He was surprised to see Sakura already there.
"Haha, well, I got knocked out of the preliminaries, and since there aren't any missions during the Chunin Exams, I figured I'd come watch you train," Sakura explained. "What, you're not happy to see me?!"
"No, no, I'm glad you're here, Sakura-chan! I bet Kakashi-sensei was just messing with me, finding some random teacher. They're probably not even as good as you!" Naruto was genuinely happy about Sakura's presence.
"No way. The person coming to teach you is one of the strongest in Konoha," Sakura countered, thinking that pretty much nobody in the village could beat Jiraiya.
"Whoa~~ Really?... Are they that strong?... " Naruto instantly perked up, excitement bubbling in his voice.
"Ahem." A cough came from behind the two of them.
Naruto turned around to see a ninja wearing dark sunglasses. Recognizing the familiar attire, Naruto immediately knew who it was. "You... you... You're that pervy teacher! What are you doing here?...."
Ebisu, his face a mask of awkwardness, pushed up his glasses. "So rude! I'm your teacher for this next month." Ebisu sounded less than thrilled. He wouldn't be here if it weren't for Kakashi's request. Even though Ebisu was two years older than Kakashi, Kakashi outranked him in both power and status. Networking was important, even among ninjas; after all, a ninja's life wasn't just about completing missions.
"What?! You're the teacher Kakashi-sensei found for me?" Naruto roared. "Why would Kakashi-sensei ask you to help me train? You're even weaker than me! You couldn't even handle my Harem Jutsu...!"
"You miserable dead-last! You should be honored to have me train you!" Ebisu shouted back, furious that Naruto was bringing up his embarrassing past.
"No way... Sakura-chan, is this the top-tier Konoha ninja you were talking about?" Naruto asked, pointing incredulously at Ebisu.
Hearing Naruto say that the girl had called him a top-tier Konoha ninja, Ebisu's naturally showy personality kicked in. He puffed out his chest, struck what he considered a cool pose, and waited for Sakura to praise him.
"Hehe... Of course not him," Sakura said. She'd known immediately that Naruto had misunderstood when Ebisu showed up. "The person I was talking about is just as perverted as this teacher, but a hundred times stronger..."
"Just as perverted...perverted...verted... a hundred times stronger... a hundred times..." Ebisu felt like he'd just taken ten thousand critical hits. Looking at Sakura's disdainful expression, Ebisu's entire world seemed to turn gray. He was actually being looked down upon by a pure, innocent young girl.
"You brat, don't push it!" Ebisu roared at Sakura.
"Hey, pervy teacher, are you going to teach me or not?" Naruto thought this teacher wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. He had no choice but to accept the situation.
Ebisu, finally setting aside his playful attitude, took a good look at Naruto and Sakura. "Kakashi said there would only be one... What's she doing here...?" He pointed at Sakura.
"Haha, don't worry about me. I'm waiting for someone," Sakura replied.
"Waiting for someone?" Ebisu pushed up his glasses again. "Who?"
"Over there," Sakura said, having already spotted Jiraiya peeping over the bamboo wall surrounding the bathhouse.
"?" Ebisu turned his head to see a long-haired man wearing wooden sandals peeking over the wall of the women's bathhouse.
"Hmph, so this is the man who's more perverted... I mean... a hundred times stronger than me," Ebisu muttered, a hint of a sneer on his lips as he adjusted his glasses. "But I can't allow him to do something so shameless in broad daylight."
With that, he charged towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya, who was in the middle of "research," sensed someone attacking him from behind and quickly summoned a toad.
Ebisu had seen Jiraiya before, but he'd been a bit impulsive due to Sakura's earlier taunts. Seeing the summoned toad, Ebisu immediately recognized it as Jiraiya's.
However, Jiraiya didn't give Ebisu a chance to explain. The toad extended its tongue and smacked Ebisu unconscious to the ground.
"Seriously... so weak..." Naruto muttered, speechless at how easily Ebisu had been taken down.
"Hey, who the heck are you?!" Naruto went over to check on Ebisu, realized he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, and then pointed accusingly at Jiraiya.
"Hm? Oh, it's you, kid," Jiraiya said, noticing Sakura behind Naruto.
"Hi, long time no see, Jiraiya-sama," Sakura quickly greeted him.
"Sakura-chan... you know him?" Naruto asked, bewildered.
"Haha, yeah, he's the pervert I was talking about," Sakura said with a smile.
"Hey, hey, what are you talking about, kid? Nothing good ever happens when I run into you," Jiraiya retorted, unhappy that Sakura was ruining his image.
"Listen up, blondie! I am the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, master of senjutsu, and known to all as the Gama Sennin! Pleased to meet you!" Jiraiya struck a pose for Naruto.
"Sage...Sage?" Naruto tilted his head, staring at Jiraiya.
"Pervy Sage, what about my training? He was supposed to be teaching me." Naruto pointed at the unconscious Ebisu.
"That's not my problem. He shouldn't have gotten in the way of my research," Jiraiya said casually. "I'm a novelist, you see. Like this."
Jiraiya pulled a book out of his pocket. It was none other than Konoha's infamous "Icha Icha Paradise."
"Ah------ Isn't that the inappropriate book Kakashi-sensei is always reading?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Idiot! It's a novel I poured my heart and soul into!" Jiraiya roared, immediately taking offense.
"Whatever, never mind that! You knocked him out, so you have to train me!" Naruto demanded, pointing again at Ebisu.
"I hate brats like you! And you're a guy!" Jiraiya yelled at Naruto's demanding attitude.
Since that's how it is, then... Hearing Jiraiya's words, Naruto activated his jutsu: "Sexy Jutsu!"
This was the first time Sakura had ever seen Naruto's Sexy Jutsu. He'd never used it in front of her before. But today, in order to get Jiraiya to stay, he unleashed it.
Sakura stared at the naked beauty Naruto had transformed into, and her heart started to pound. She suddenly felt a warm sensation on her lip. She touched it and found blood.
The scene was just too stimulating. In her twelve years, Sakura had never seen anything so exciting, and she was completely stunned.
Even Jiraiya, who was used to this sort of thing, was taken aback. He circled Naruto, taking notes.
"Huh? Sakura-chan, you're getting a nosebleed!?" Naruto, remembering Sakura was there, had carefully glanced back at her after using the Sexy Jutsu.
To his shock, he saw Sakura was bleeding from her nose. He panicked. Naruto was usually quite reserved around Sakura, never using things like the Sexy Jutsu in front of her.
But he hadn't expected Sakura to be affected by the Sexy Jutsu too. Did this mean his Sexy Jutsu worked on both guys and girls?
As Naruto looked at Sakura, Jiraiya also turned his gaze towards her. "Hehe, just like always. I really wonder what she'll be like when she grows up," he thought.
Sakura, feeling both their gazes, quickly wiped away the blood and said, "I'm fine. Naruto, Jiraiya-sama, the Chunin Exams are going on right now. Please train Naruto."
"Hmph, fine. I don't have anything else to do right now. I'll train you, but only because Sakura asked," Jiraiya agreed, taking Sakura's suggestion.
Sakura figured Jiraiya was probably pretending not to know him so that Naruto wouldn't find out. If Naruto knew Jiraiya knew him, he'd probably start asking about his parents.
Jiraiya might believe Naruto isn't mature enough yet. If Naruto learned about his parents, he might not understand the decisions made by the Fourth and Third Hokage, and it could shake his resolve.
When Naruto is mature enough to understand the Fourth's actions, Jiraiya would probably tell him the truth of what happened back then.