Naruto: Chronicles of A Fire Ninja

Chapter 257: Changed future

"Did the procedure fail?" Kaida asked in a gloomy voice. He had desperately tried to stay conscious during the whole ordeal, but he knew he had lost the battle at some point and succumbed to unconsciousness.

"Who do you think your sensei is? Something like this is child's play for me! You’ll see the effects of the procedure once you activate the seal," Jiraiya said proudly, a grin on his face.

"Really?" Kaida asked, his voice tinged with hope as he felt a wave of relief wash over him.

"Yes, you held on through the most important part. After that, it was easy." Jiraiya nodded, choosing not to mention the test Kaida had unknowingly endured.

"Thank God, I thought I ruined everything," Kaida said, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Don't worry about it now. But since you've been asleep for so long, it's already night. We’ll continue the training tomorrow. For now, you’re free to do whatever you want," Jiraiya said, rising from his seat.

Kaida, realizing that Jiraiya had waited patiently for him to wake up, smiled in appreciation.

‘This world is so strange. There are people like Danzo, Hanzo, and Obito who treat life so cheaply, killing without hesitation. And then, there are people like Naruto and Jiraiya, who form deep bonds with people after only meeting them a few times. But, it’s not a bad thing,’ Kaida thought with a soft smile.

"Sensei, my family runs the first medicinal bathhouse in Konoha. Since we have some time, would you like to visit it with me?" Kaida offered.

"Sure, why not?" Jiraiya grinned. The idea of relaxing his tired muscles in a premium bathhouse was too tempting to resist.

---

They arrived at the bathhouse and indulged in the luxurious baths one by one. While Jiraiya appreciated the bathhouse's quality, he had a love-hate relationship with it. There was no place in the entire bathhouse where he could do any “re

Seeing Jiraiya in such deep contemplation, Kaida chose not to disturb him, silently standing at his side.

“You’re not my guard, Kaida. Besides, you don’t have the luxury to wait around. We only have three weeks left, and there’s much for you to learn. For the next two weeks, we’ll focus solely on stabilizing your progress,” Jiraiya said.

“Yes, Sensei,” Kaida replied, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that Jiraiya had something more to say but had chosen not to.