Author's Notes:
I am not the creator of Naruto, I do not own Naruto nor am I attempting to portray myself who owns the copyrights/production rights to Naruto.

Lightening Bug Flicker...3 Years

"Chikusho!"

A small pool of blood collects on the side of his thumb as Naruto flinches slightly, dropping his hands down onto his lap still holding the threaded needle and his damaged forehead protector. He directs his attention to his mentor while letting out a troubled sigh.

"I can hit a target on mark, repeated 100 times with 96 accuracy. I can hold a steady run in admirable silence through a full night without rest. I can hear the crackling of an exploding tag as it ignites from the other side of a river and maintain enough chakra to create 8 consecutive Rasengan launches..." Naruto says in Jiraiya's direction.

Jiraiya replies with a quizzical look as the young shinobi finishes, "but I can't sew a 3 inch rip in my forehead protector without stabbing my thumb with the same 96 accuracy."

Jiraiya lets loose a full chuckle as he half sits, half flops on a large fallen log next to where Naruto is sitting.

"You have 3 paths to choose from now that you have taken into consideration this observation. One- master sewing. Two- grow thicker skin. Three- not care about the tear in the cloth."

Smiling he looks down at Naruto who cleans his bloody thumb in his mouth and finishes saying, "But knowing you I suspect you'll simply wind up trying to talk a shadow clone into completing the task for you."

Naruto smiles at the thought which is already quickly retreating from his mind, "Perhaps in younger days, Sensei."

He looks at his thumb again and closes his eyes for just a moment, envisioning a tiny red glow in the spot where the needle made it's pain felt, calmly seeing it with his open eyes become the physical remedy he now is so naturally accustomed to.
"..but it seems more efficient to focus the chakra on healing the wound and removing the distraction of the pain, than it would be to fling around by creating the shadow clone, doesn't it?"

A slitted glimmer shines across the Sennin's eyes as he nods slowly in agreement with his younger companion.

"And that level of forethought is exactly what you need to maintain, Naruto. We both know all too well now the consequences of letting loose that incredible amount of chakra as well as frivolously using your chakra outright when it can be avoided. Always remember that the ground has ears, the river has eyes, the trees and rocks are manipulated to be camouflage and the animals can have a master they report to. The less skill you display for those who are hidden the more advantage you will have when they make their move."

Nodding in agreement, Naruto finishes with his task. His hands move the needle through the fabric that has been straightened out and folded to make clean creases, binding together the two sides into an almost clean stitch.

The movement of his fingers pulling the needle and thread back and forth draw a picture of a shinobi, dressed all in black with a zippered mask over his head jumping from limb to limb in two perfect rows of never ending trees.

His minds draws a line of chakra following the ninja's jumps, leaps forward, steadied landing and then jumps again from branch to branch, creating a perfect crisscross pattern glowing fire red.

Completing the knot to seal it, Naruto's mind thinks of Kyuubi and his own seal. His attention now fully engulfed in the mental image of the line of red chakra which has become a wider, thinned out line taking on the characteristics of clouds as they puff up and spread out on a breezy day.

At the moment his mind was about to turn his thoughts from red chakra to thinking about billowy clouds, the thought snapped in two, flashing once Kyuubi's demon red eye, then flashing again the crimson Sharingan eye - then just as quickly, was focused back onto the needle and thread, ready to be cut from the fabric.

"Omaesan, omaesan (hey, hey..).." Naruto stops suddenly with that thought, asking the older Sennin, "how much time do you think Konoha will have... once Orochimaru completes his jutsu?"

Jiraiya, taking note of the unusually high level tone in Naruto's voice, closes his eyes and recalls the information they obtained from when the Snake Summoner performed this jutsu before.. and after realizing he knew just as much, or better to say just as little as Naruto on the subject, elected to redirect the topic to one of more immediate concern.

"Naruto, we should be thinking more about how much time you will have for peace once word spreads around that we've returned to Konoha. Orochimaru is not your immediate concern. He's not my immediate concern either. While he is a constant reminder of the corrosiveness of betrayal, allowing that act to usurp your peace is the surest way to acknowledge his victory."

Naruto was already nodding his blonde hair in agreement before his mentor finished his statement, and was already continuing two trains of thought as Jiraiya sat back to think.

One thought was still trying to dig into his memory for anything he may have forgotten about around the time Orochimaru switched bodies in that forbidden jutsu, before Sasuke left.

The other thought pulsing like a massive lightening bug's glow..."3 years.. 3 years.. 3 years...Akatsuki was on hold for 3 years... it's been 2 years and 10 months..Orochimaru can only perform that jutsu once every 3 years... 3 years.. I had so much time before.. and now.. now I'm just about out of time."

Jiraiya heaves a hefty sigh as he stands up and takes into consideration the time of day as the green coloring of the leaves have darkened from a sunshiney bright to a mellow dark.

"It should at least drizzle tonight.. if we're lucky we'll have fog settle into the forest. If that is the case then we'll travel the route that was our 3rd choice. If it remains clear however - we'll stick to our first choice and just move quickly."
"Naruto, how much longer do you need to complete that?"

Naruto playfully flips the sewing supplies into a black canvas clip bag, buttons it closed and throws it like shuriken into his open black canvas backpack on the other side of the empty fire pit.

Tucking his knees into his chest, he pushes himself up halfway into a squatting position, rams his back suddenly against the same tree he'd been sitting beneath and with one good shake the tree releases a scroll about a quarter the size of Naruto, bound by a long leather strip from it's branches. It drops to shoulder level next to Naruto who unties the leather knot with enough speed and ease that you wouldn't have thought it was knotted at all, whips the scroll around his back to rest, fastening it with his supply belt, finally replacing the knot this time securing the scroll to his back.

Pulling his flat green jacket over his black tshirt, Naruto half smiles, "Already done. Do you need me to clean up anything else from the camp?"

Jiraiya looked over the campsite answering, "Hmm, you already took care of removing proof of our existence from here before you fixed your forehead protector- it looks like just the fire pit area needs to be removed."

The young shinobi quickly tied his forehead protector on and made a quick start for the fire pit when his teacher raised his hand for him to stop. "Sensei..?"

Jiraiya smiled and as Naruto followed him with his eyes, the Sennin completed the art of removing all trace of their campsite's fire pit before his student had time to think of..
...something else to think of.