Aftermath
Me:Welcome back, everyone. I know I've been taking my sweet time, but come on. Not everyone can put out a new chapter every week. It's called a job. And mine sucks.
Naruto:Quit whining you big baby and get back to writing. Your making us look bad.
Me:Shut up or else…
Naruto:Or else what?
Me:Maybe I'll tell Hinata-chan what you do at night when you think of her?
Naruto:(blushes badly) Okay! I'll shut up! Just don't say anything!
Hinata:Say anything about what?
Naruto:Uh…uh….uh….nothing.
Me:Oh this is fun. Would you like to know what we were talking about, Hinata?
Naruto:No! That's fine. Come on Hinata-chan, lets go somewhere far, far away from him. Okay?
Hinata:O-okay.
Me:That would have been funny. (sighs) Oh well. Who's giving the disclaimer today.
Sasuke:I'll do it. Alex (the insane author) does not own Naruto. If he did, the dobe would have a girlfriend and I wouldn't be so powerful. I would like to add that I really don't like him. At all.
Me:You know Sasuke, Itachi didn't really appreciate me either. That's why he got the shotgun to the knee cap.
Itachi:(walks in with crutches) The pain! It hurts so much!
Me:Quit being such a baby!
Sasuke:………………
Itachi:………………….
Sasuke:……………….
Itachi:Um….Hi?
Sasuke:(Curse seal lv2 activating) I'm sooooo gonna kill you.
Itachi:Bye! (runs away on crutches)
Me: What a happy family reunion.
Itachi:(sound of Chidori fills the air) Not the other knee cap!
Me:Heh Heh Heh.
Ch1 - Return
Tsunade sat at her desk, battling the greatest enemy of any kage. Paperwork. Pausing for a moment, she turned to look at the portraits of the first 4 Hokages. The Shodaime was her grandfather. The Nindaime was her uncle. The Sandiame was her student. And the Yondaime…well. She was like an aunt to him. He was always finding ways of pissing Jiraiya off while not training or working with his team.
'Why did I agree to come back and do this?' she thought as she returned to the mountainous piles of paperwork. The sound of rapid foot steps approaching her door caught her attention before she returned to work. Without knocking, Shizune blasted through the door and looked at her sensei. "Tsunade-sama" she paused to catch her breath "the Sasuke retrieval team has returned."
Tsunade stood, her body shaking. "Did they accomplish their mission?" She was worried. If Naruto failed again, there was no telling what the council would do.
"The scouts report that there are several ninja accompanying them that were not there when they left. So, if they are returning and with a group of unknown shinobi, then yes. I think they accomplished their goal" Shizune said, trying desperately to get the Hokage to calm down.
"Are there any Injuries, Shizune?" Tsunade asked. Shizune looked down. "That is unknown as well. But…" she trailed off
"But what, Shizune?" inquired Tsunade, not liking where this was heading.
"The scouts report seeing several kage bunshin carrying something." Shizune said quietly, not wanting to finish the current report.
"What kind of something, Shizune?" the Hokage asked, growing more uncomfortable with the situation.
"It-It resembles a……..casket." Shizune finally said. She didn't want to think of the possibilities that it posed.
Tsunade said nothing. She just turned to the window and looked out at the village. "Inform me when they arrive at the gates, Shizune." She said softly. Shizune bowed and exited the room. 'Please let me be wrong. Please let me be wrong.' Tsunade repeated to herself.
Approaching Konoha Gates
The mood was somber amidst the team. Yamato and Sai lead, with Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino directly behind. Then came Sasuke and Sakura and the rest of Team Hebi. And at the back, Kakashi and Hinata watched Naruto in his self-imposed duty.
Flashback
"Okay Naruto. Your wounds are healed. But remember, you're on the verge of chakra exhaustion. So over don't do anything to over exert yourself, okay?" Sakura spoke, voice filled with the authority of a trained med-nin.
"I got Sakura-chan." Naruto replied quietly. Naruto tried to stand up on his own, only to collapse just as quickly. "N-Naruto-kun! Are You okay?!" Hinata rushed over to her new boyfriend. "I'm fine, Hina-chan. Just need some help getting up."
Helping her love up, Hinata was about to start walking forward when another voice cut into her thoughts. "You can let go Hinata, I've got him." Turning her head, she saw Kakashi holding him. "Ne, Kakashi -sensei? Can you take me over to Yamato-sensei?" Naruto asked.
The copy-nin looked at his student with a questioning glance. "Are you sure Naruto?" he asked, voice filled with worry "I don't want you to have to see…" he couldn't bring himself to say it. 'Ero-sennin's body' Naruto finished for him, mentally.
"I'll be okay sensei. I need to ask him to do something for me." Kakashi nodded and they proceeded towards Yamato.
Said ANBU watched as his taicho and student approached. "Are you okay, Naruto?" he asked. "Hai, Yamato-sensei. Would do something for me thought?" Yamato nodded. "C-Can you make a casket for Ero-sennin?"
Yamato could sense the barely held back sobs. "Hai, Naruto. I can do that." Forming a few seals, a casket formed before him. The rest of the group watched in amazement, most never having seen Mokuton jutsu.
When it was finished, Naruto let go of Kakashi and slowly approached Jiraiya's body. He then formed the cross-seal for Kage Bunshin and three more Naruto's puffed into existence. "Naruto! I said not to push it!" Sakura began to march forward, only to be caught by Kakashi. "Let him be Sakura." She turned to him "But sensei…" "No Sakura. He needs to do this."
The four Naruto's picked up the body and slowly placed it in the casket. "Sensei? If you could?" Yamato nodded again. A handle grew out of each corner and each Naruto grab one and lifted. "Lets go home" was all Naruto said before walking away.
Flashback end
"We're almost there Naruto-kun" Hinata said to her love. "I know Hina-chan, I know." Despite the fact that he was completely exhausted, Naruto refused to let anyone else carry his sensei. Having spent the better part of almost 3 years together, Naruto had grown very attached to Jiraiya. He had come to think of him as the grandfather he had never had (besides the Sandiame). "Naruto. Are you sure you don't want any help?" Kakashi asked for the thousandth time.
"No Kakashi-sensei. It's my duty" Naruto replied for the thousandth time.
Yamato and Sai reached the gate first. "Halt. Identify yourselves." Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu stood before them. "Yamato and the Sasuke Retrieval Team. We're returning from the mission." Yamato called out. The two looked at each other before responding. "Very well. Wait here. Kotetsu, go and inform Shizune-san that the team has returned." Izumo said to his partner. "Hai." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Sorry about the inconvenience, but Godaime-sama want to know of your return the moment you arrived." Izumo said to Yamato. "I understand."
A few minutes later three people arrived at the gate. "Yamato, report." Tsunade said as she approached him "Was the mission successful?" Yamato nodded. "Hai, Tsunade-sama. We have returned with Uchiha Sasuke and his team." The Hokage nodded. "Also Tsunade-sama, I would like to report the elimination of the entirety of Akatsuki ."
This caught Tsunade, Shizune and the two guards off guard. "W-what do you mean the entire organization? I mean, I know Jiraiya is strong but…"she stopped as Yamato's face dropped.
"It wasn't Jiraiya-sama that did it. It was Naruto." Yamato said, not bringing his eyes to meet the Hokage. "How could Naruto-kun defeated so many S-class missing nin?!" Shizune asked.
"He used the full power of the Kyuubi." Yamato responded quickly. "Yamato" Tsunade began sweetly "why was he even around them in the first place?" Yamato still did not raise his head, only turned it to the side. Tsunade followed his movement and caught sight of Kakashi, Hinata, and Naruto, finally reaching the gate. She started to move towards them.
And stopped dead at the sight of the casket. The somber expression on Naruto's face said it all. "Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. She peered around the older woman and saw the casket herself. 'Oh Tsunade-sama..' was her only thought.
Naruto walked towards her. He could see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I'm sorry Oba-chan." Tsunade prepared herself for whatever state Jiraiya's body was in. Peering into the casket, she choked back tears as she realized his right arm was gone. She also noticed the hole in his chest, that went straight through.
But what did her in was the smile that adorned his face. The fact he died smiling, ushered a new wave of emotions through her. A single tear found it's way down her cheek. "Oba-chan?" Naruto asked quietly. Too quietly for Tsunade's liking.
"Yes, Naruto?" she replied, her voice faltering at the end "what is it?" Reaching into a pocket, Naruto pulled out the note for Tsunade. "He wanted me to give you this." Not asking how he spoke to Jiraiya, she took it from his hand and began reading.
Finishing the letter, she looked at Naruto.
'Jiraiya…I hope your right. Because if your not, I'll enter the after-life and kill you myself' Tsunade thought. She could imagine what this would do to Naruto's life. Steeling herself like a shinobi, she turned to Kakashi and Yamato. "I want the two of you to take your team and head to the tower."
"Um, Tsunade-sama, what about Ji…" Kakashi was cut off mid-sentence "Naruto, please leave the" she paused "casket here. I'll take care of him."
"No. I can't Baa-chan. It's my duty" Naruto replied.
"Don't give me that, gaki. Go with the others and leave him with me!" Tsunade roared at him. "NO!" he yelled back. In a instant, Tsunade was behind him and then Naruto knew no more. "Kakashi, please take Naruto to the tower now." Said man nodded in understanding. It was an order, not a request.
Picking up the blond, Kakashi looked over at the rest of the group. "Lets go people" Kakashi quietly said before leaping away. The others nodded and followed. Nobody noticed that a single figure leapt in the opposite direction.
Tsunade knelled beside the casket. 'Oh you stupid man. Why did you leave me?' she thought. Behind her, Shizune turned to Izumo and Kotetsu "I understand your orders are to guard the gates, but could you leave for just a few minutes? For Tsunade-sama's sake?" They both nodded and disappeared. Shizune turned back towards Tsunade and approached her.
Kneeling down next to her teacher and friend she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you miss him Tsunade-sama, but remember that he knew what might happen."
Said woman continued to cry but it lessened with each second. Shizune knew the last time her teacher had cried was when her Uncle Dan had been killed. Tsunade had promised never to cry again afterwards.
But some promises are made to be broken.
Konoha Forest
Karin landed on a branch to catch her breath. 'Damn it Sasuke! I should have been the one you chose! Not that little pink haired whore!' she thought to herself. During the trip back to Konoha, she had watched as her beloved Sasuke spent more time with his former teammate.
Peering over her shoulder, Karin took one last look at Konoha. "I hope your happy with that bitch Sasuke." Turning around, she almost fell out of the tree. There before her was one Yakushi Kabuto. Reigning herself in she jump to the tree he was standing in.
"K-Kabuto-sama! What are you doing here?" she asked the spectacled young man. His eyes were closed and gave no response. "Kabuto-sama, are you alright? You don't look well." Indeed his skin had become even paler than before. Almost chalk white. A slight chuckle caught her attention.
The chuckle became a full blown laugh. It was terrifying. She had never heard Kabuto so much as giggle before, but this was not what she expected. It was dark, wicked, almost evil sounding. "Oh Karin. You always were a bit slow to pick up on certain things" he said with a smooth yet condescending tone that didn't belong to Kabuto.
He opened his eyes and Karin took a step back. "No. That's not possible! Your d-dead!" she yelled.
"Sssilly girl. I am not sssooo easssily defeated! I am Orochimaru and I am IMMORTAL!" Orochimaru roared.
He approached Karin slowly, bent down to her ear, and whispered "And you will help me with my revenge."
Me:Finally. Okay, I know. That took way to long to finish but hey, It's done now isn't it? So be happy. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Which hopefully should be before the year ends…..Please don't kill me!
Naruto:Yeah. Hurry up and get on it! These people are loyal readers. Don't waste their time!
Me:Bite me you little ramen eating bastard!
Naruto:Don't make me sick Garra on you.
Garra:………………………………………….
Me:What's his problem?
Naruto:He's upset that you haven't included him in this series or any other story you've written. He might kill you just for that.
Garra:………………………………….. so?
Me:I-I'll try and get you into the next chapter or story, okay? (drops to knees) Please just don't crush me with the sand!
Garra:I won't just crush you, I'll (leans in and whispers). Got it?
Me:(nodding) Y-Y-Yeah, I g-g-got it. (turns to readers) Well until next time……….yeah.