AN: The beginning of this chapter contains spoilers and is exactly like the manga I had found on the Internet so you are warned. Also, this is a side story so it won't be updated often XD. 'Turning a New Life' is more important in my opinion.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, the story would be crap and it would've ended a long time ago.
Thoughts
"Japanese"
"English"
A white haired man struggled to rise and speak to the frog on his shoulder. He merely coughed up blood.
It's no good…
My throats completely caved in…
Fuck, fuck!
I c-can't…
It's no good I 'm passing out…
Am I…
Dying?
Everything went dark.
Have I failed everyone?
A memory flashed before his closed eyes. A younger version of himself was sitting with an open book in his lap staring at the Hokage Mountain. Three heads were carved into it.
The true measure of a Shinobi is not how he lives, but how he dies…
He started to write in the book.
It's not what they do in life, but what they did before dying that proves their worth
The memory changed slightly. He was in the same position as before, but he was older. He steadily filled the crisp, white pages of a book with black figures.
Thinking back on it, my story is one full of failures.
Tsunade punched him in the jaw in anger. He went flying. Once again she rejected him.
Tsunade turned me down every time.
Orochimaru appeared in his minds eye.
I couldn't save my friend.
Next came a image of his sensei, Sarutobi, the Sandaime, and his student, Minato, the Yondaime.
I failed to protect my student…
And my teacher…
The image changed again to the Hokage Mountain, but instead of three heads, there were four.
Compared with the Hokage who came before me, my accomplishments have all been petty and insignificant…
Once again he was sitting on the ground and writing his book.
I wanted to die like them.
His pen froze in mid air.
I had come to a "conclusion" about how my life would end a long time ago.
I live believing my shortcomings were just amusing distractions that my failings would build character… and in return… After all those losses and mistakes I would be granted one great, final adventure…
And die a death befitting a true Shinobi!
The memories stopped for a second causing everything to go black.
I was really passionate about it… heheh….
But this…
Isn't how I wanted it to turn out…
A giant, old toad appeared before him. It was sitting on a chair and peering intently at something.
The Great Sage predicted I would raise a 'revolutionary.' Someone upon whom the fate of the entire Shinobi world would rest… and also that I would have to make a big decision.
Six different forms of pain appeared; their Rin'negan staring at something unseen by himself.
And when the time came, I decided to defeat Pain, stop Akatsuki, and save the world from ruin…
Yet another entry in my long lists of failures…
Pathetic…
This isn't how the 'Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya' was supposed to end.
Writing this story…
It's all been a waste of time.
"Come on, don't say that."
In the memory, he looked up, surprised.
A blonde man grinned at him and winked. He held his first book in his hand.
"I thought it was great! Each chapter really seems like a page out of your own life, sensei. It almost reads like an autobiography."
He scratched his cheek with a finger. He closed his eyes and said in a resigned voice.
"Yeah, but… it didn't sell at all. Maybe I should try and sex up the sequel a little… That's my real forte after all."
He laughed. Minato opened the book up and said.
"The way the protagonist refused to give up, even at the end… that was really cool. He's just like you, sensei."
He grinned and looked into his student's blue eyes.
"Heheh… you think so?"
Minato interrupted him.
"Actually, I was thinking…"
"Hm?"
Minato's face scrunched up into a grin.
"We want to raise our child to be a Shinobi like the one in your book!"
Minato shut the book and set it on the table. His eye's widened as his student continued,
"That's why we've decided to name him after the main character in your book. What do you think?"
He stuttered slightly,
"A-are you sure about this? It's just a random name I came up with while I was eating some ramen."
A heavily pregnant lady with red hair entered the room and spoke,
"Naruto… It's a beautiful name."
"Kushina…."
He started to laugh nervously.
"Hahaha… Hoo boy… If I name him, that makes me his godfather, right? Are you sure you want that on your heads?"
Minato gave him a sharp look and said in a serious tone,
"Absolutely. You're a man with true skill… An example we should all follow. I can't think of a finer Shinobi than you."
He sat in stunned silence.
That's right…
I remember now…
I named him….
Images of Naruto sprang into his mind's eye. Him shouting that he was going to be Hokage someday. The best one their was. Him saying that he doesn't go back on his word… that it was his Nindo way.
Naruto… you really did turn out exactly like the character in the book… Just like your parents… Like Minato and Kushina wanted.
But I…I…
……………………
Orochimaru appeared before him saying that a Shinobi's true skill was measured by whether or not he can learn and master all the Jutsu in the world. He replied that a ninja stands firm and endures, no matter what. The Snake Sannin just said it was another difference in opinion. He said "It doesn't if you know one technique or a million , the most important thing is for a Shinobi to have… the spirit and guts to never give up!"
Never go back on your word…
And never give up, no matter how bad it gets, that's your Nindo way.
And I'm supposed to be your teacher…
I can't go like this!
Because I….
He struggled to open his eyes. Slowly they did his bidding. He coughed up blood as he struggled to, painfully, get up.
The student's way should be the master's too!
Right, Naruto?
Pain looked at him with distaste.
"I was certain his heart had stopped…"
He glared at him and fell to the ground with a thud. He motioned for the frog on his shoulder to get off him. Pa, the frog, shouted a quick "right!" and got off.
Slowly, and painfully on both their parts, he burned a secret message on the frogs back. The frog formed a seal and shouted,
"Okay, I got it all!"
He smiled and let his head fall to the ground.
Never give up…
That was the choice I had to make!
Naruto… You're the 'Destined child,' I know it… the rest is up to you!
Pain growled as one of them realised what he had burned into the toad's back. Suddenly, some unknown force smashed the rock he had been bleeding on. Pa managed to get away… barely. He fell into the water.
He smiled despite the pain coursing through his body. Missing an arm and having five swords sticking out of your back isn't fun. Water gushed over him and the multiple entities known as Pain loomed over the water's edge.
There… that ending was a little better…The frog at the bottom of the well… Drifts off into the great ocean.
Heheh…
Yep…
Pretty Honourable… Pretty darn honourable…
Slowly he drifted down to the waterbed. His conscious started slipping away again.
I guess… It's time to put down my pen…
Oops… right…
I need a title for the next book… Let's see…
Every thing went dark.
Ah… Got it…"The Tale of Uzumaki Naruto."
…Perfect.
Foreign voices could be heard when he came to.
I'm… alive…?
Someone pulled at his hair and said something unknown to him. Another person, a girl by the sounds of it, said something back. Another person pulled at the summoning scroll attached to his back. The wind blowing was the last thing he heard before he drifted off into the dark bliss he was still unaccustomed to.
When he awoke again and managed to force his eyes open, three children were sitting in the grass trying to read something. Slowly, he tried to get up. Pain still racked through his limbs and back causing him to groan. The three children jumped and hastily said something to each other. One of them, a boy with green eyes and black hair, nervously helped him to his feet.
It was then that he realised be had both of his arms.
Didn't I lose one of them…?The wrinkles he had grown accustomed to seeing had disappeared as well.
How can that be…?The boy stepped back from him, leaving him standing, unstable. One of the boy's companions, the one with red hair, looked at him suspiciously and shouted something. A thirteen-year-old girl with bushy hair whacked said boy on the head with the back of her hand. She seemed to tell him off. The boy snorted and his cheeks went as red as his flaming hair. Jiraiya, still in his confused state, tried to stop himself from smiling slightly at the sight. They reminded him of the Genin team he had taught. He looked around. Wherever he was, it was beautiful.
Where am I?A large, old castle loomed over the four of them; the dimming light reflecting off it's stonewalls. A lake was not far away, shimmering with something magical. The kid that had helped him up vehemently shook his head at something the freckled boy had said. The girl stared intently at him before trying to speak to him. He responded by looking confused. Frowning, the girl pointed at herself and said slowly,
"Hermione Granger."
He tied his best at repeating, what he assumed, to be her name. He failed miserably. The girl, Hermione, laughed at him and the other two kids looked up from their argument and sent him suspicious glares. He narrowed his eyes at them when he saw his summoning scroll, opened, and lying carelessly at their dirty feet. A growl erupted from his throat as he moved forward to take his property back. The world went fuzzy and he stumbled. Just before he lost consciousness for the third time, he felt the temperature drop a few degrees. The students made panicked sounds.
What in the world…?
He fell to the floor; his long, snow-white hair sprawled about him.
AN: Well, what do you think. The first part of this chapter is from Naruto: Shippuuden… I forget which chapter… I think it was 382 or something XD.