Naruto: Faint Smile - CH 90

[Arata Takeshi - POV.]

Training alone had become routine by now. I was standing in an open field, my legs steady in a stance I had repeated a thousand times, hands moving through forms I had memorized in the last two months.  Two months since I left the village with Jiraiya. Two months since he sealed my chakra sensing, making the world feel strangely muted and empty.

But hey, I was making progress.

It still felt odd. No, odd wasn’t the right word…wrong was closer. Ever since I could remember, the world had been filled with life. Chakra. I could feel everything, everyone. People walking by, animals scurrying in the distance, even the subtle pulse of the earth beneath me. Now, all I felt was my own chakra. Everything else was... gone.

I exhaled slowly, focusing on my movements as Jiraiya’s voice echoed in my mind, reminding me to keep my form loose, to stay relaxed. “You’re too stiff,” he had said. “You’re thinking too much.” 

That much was true. Without my chakra sensing, it was hard not to think too much. Every move felt more deliberate, more isolated. The world had shrunk down to just me, no more invisible webs of energy connecting me to everything around. It wasn’t just unsettling; it was quiet. And I wasn’t used to that.

‘No distractions,’ Jiraiya had said when he sealed my senses. ‘You need to rely on yourself, not what you can feel around you. A great shinobi can fight without his eyes, and you need to learn how to fight without yours.’

It made sense, I knew that. In fact, I was having fun learning how to fight again. But that didn’t stop the world around me from feeling hollow, like something vital had been stripped away.

Sighing, I moved through the next sequence, keeping my balance steady. Jiraiya’s training was… quite the unique experience, ranging from difficult to downright absurd. I had been told the man was… unique, but his reputation didn’t do this part of him any honors.

I still remember the time he made me dress up as a giant frog for an entire week.

I still wasn’t sure what that was about. It wasn’t even a convincing frog costume—just a big, bulky thing with oversized limbs that made basic movements awkward. At first, I thought it was some kind of practical joke, but the old Sanning had been serious about it. Dead serious.

“If you can train while looking like a fool,” he had said, “you’ll train twice as hard!”

It was hard to argue with logic like that. Though, to be honest, I wasn’t sure if he was just making it up as he went along. His methods weren’t exactly conventional. Still, I followed his orders. Maybe there was some hidden benefit to it all that I hadn’t figured out yet. Maybe it was a lesson in humility. Or maybe he just enjoyed seeing me struggle in that ridiculous outfit. Either way, he was the teacher, and I was here to learn.

Not everything was ridiculous though, most of his training was rather helpful. The hand-to-hand combat drills, the chakra control exercises—those were challenging but made sense. The frog costume? Not so much. But I wasn’t in a position to question it. That pervert was a legendary shinobi, after all. There had to be some reason behind his madness... right?

Then again… he took pictures of me in that suit, just as he was cackling diabolically. 

“Maybe it was to study my stances?” I muttered, letting out a sigh. “He’s totally gonna blackmail me…” As I finished the last sequence of the day, I paused, cracking my neck. My muscles felt warm, not quite burning, but close.

There were times when I found myself wondering what Jiraiya was really trying to teach me. He wasn’t like other teachers. He wasn’t like Lord Fugaku or Mr. Yamato. His approach was always... different. Unpredictable. Sometimes it was like he wanted me to figure things out on my own, as if the real lesson was hidden beneath all the absurdity. Other times, it seemed like he just wanted to laugh at me.

“Trust the process,” I reminded myself. After all, I had agreed to this training. Jiraiya was the best choice I had. He was powerful, experienced, and more importantly, he had no problem telling me the harsh truths. Like the fact that I relied too much on my Claymore and sensing, something that just two people had ever pointed out. 

He had been right about that. I mean, I always knew I needed to expand my horizons in terms of skill, but regardless of that, the matter of fact remained. I had gotten so used to fighting with my claymore, that I had let it completely define my style. And while I was good with it, very good, my reliance on it had left gaps—weaknesses I hadn’t fully considered.

The old sannin had wasted no time in pointing those out. That being said, despite my willingness to improve, learning how to fight without the two things I had always relied on was… frustrating at first, and I am not above admitting it, but the more I practiced, the more I could feel the improvement. Without those two things, I was learning how to move differently, I was growing, so I was grateful to him.

That being said… There were times where I questioned if the old sannin was missing a screw. 

Like the time he made me climb up a tree while balancing a glass of water on my head.

Or the time he insisted I train in the rain, wearing nothing, because… “real shinobi don’t get cold.”

I frowned slightly, wondering if he knew my body had a high tolerance to such things, making the entire training pointless. At the time, I had thought he was messing with me, but Jiraiya’s face had been completely serious. 

Sometimes I wonder if he just enjoys making me do strange things because he could.

Still, beneath all the weirdness, there was something real in his training. Something that was helping me grow in ways I hadn’t expected. Even if half the time I felt like I was just stumbling through a series of bizarre tests, there was always a lesson at the end. And I was starting to see the results, even if it wasn’t always obvious at first.

“Alright, break’s over,” I muttered to myself, stretching out my arms before getting back into my stance.

Jiraiya wasn’t here to monitor my progress today, he was doing… research, but I knew he’d ask about it later. The man never missed an opportunity to critique me. And honestly, I appreciated it. His bluntness kept me grounded. It was part of the reason I had wanted to train with him in the first place. He didn’t coddle me. He didn’t care that I was considered a genius. To him, I was just another shinobi trying to reach my potential.

“Genius doesn’t mean anything unless you know how to use it,” he had said to me once. “Talent alone won’t take you to the top.”

I believed him. That’s why I was out here, pushing myself harder every day, even if I didn’t always understand his methods. Even if the world around me felt empty and strange without the constant hum of chakra I was used to.

This was part of the process. This was what it meant to become stronger.

Another deep breath. Another series of movements. My body moved naturally now, flowing through the forms without hesitation. The emptiness was still there, but I was learning to ignore it. To work within it. To find my strength even without the senses I had relied on for so long.

One step at a time, I was getting closer to where I needed to be. Even if it meant wearing frog costumes and climbing trees with glasses of water on my head.

Maybe one day I’d even understand the point of it all. But for now, I was content to keep training, keep pushing myself further. Whatever Jiraiya’s next challenge was, I’d face it head-on.

I just hoped it didn’t involve another ridiculous outfit.