Returning Home

The morning opens with Tsunade grumbling over the weak finish to Jiraiya's book as Shizune brings her breakfast, and she moves on to the second volume. Inside the story, four teams of Leaf genin report to Minato after a mission that succeeded despite their defiance of orders, so no punishment follows, and the young shinobi mull it over among themselves. In a hospital bed within the tale, Jiraiya mends from wounds Naruto dealt while the Nine-Tails' chakra overwhelmed him, and he recalls tracing Orochimaru and turning up proof of his hand in the recent trouble.

Fugaku scolds Sasuke for failing to rein in his rule-breaking teammates, and the arrival of Itachi with a report sends Sasuke off. Over grilled meat at Yakiniku Q, the other genin trade talk of the blast at the neighbouring village, while Itachi and Sasuke speak of their father and the ongoing talks between the Uchiha and the village leadership. Eager to grow stronger, Sasuke asks Kakashi to teach him something new and begins learning the Chidori.

Minato assures Itachi that he means to honour his commitments to the Uchiha clan. Watching Naruto receive instruction in the Big Ball Rasengan from Minato, and stung by Fugaku's indifference to his own progress, Sasuke masters the Chidori yet immediately asks Kakashi how much further the technique can be pushed. The installment belongs to the Jiraiya Shinobi Handbook: The Tale of Naruto the Hero arc, a story that unfolds inside Jiraiya's novel.