Chapter 2: Strange Feelings
Naruto picked himself off the ground and stared back at his enemy. He was in the midst of a fierce battle in the middle of an open field and he was struggling badly. Each breath took a lot of effort and he could feel aches and pain in almost every part of his body. However, he wasn't going to give up. He never gave up because that was his ninja way. He thought back to his training and simply stopped for a second, not allowing his emotions to be his master. One deep breath later, he was ready for action once more. He then summoned a clone and held out his hand. In no time, there was an orb of blue chakra rotating in his palm and Naruto ran towards his target. He pulled his arm back and prepared for the impact.
"Rasengan!" he cried, just as his opponent prepared to dodge. Although, this time Naruto was prepared for the movement and he altered his run, which allowed his to thrust the attack towards his opponent's chest. However, this was easily dodged and the elderly man he was facing doubled back.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Naruto hadn't been expecting the counter of fire, yet that didn't mean that he was completely helpless against it. Luckily, he had not ended his clone jutsu just yet and he was able to use his copy to throw him out of harms way. While this destroyed the clone, it at least allowed him to remain safe. Taking a different tack, he drew a kunai and engaged the other man in a bout of taijutsu, where his younger body was at a slight advantage. He soon summoned more clones to help in his assault and he soon overwhelmed his competitor. Finally, a Rasengan was able to connect and the man was sent flying into the nearest tree, where his long gray hair simply lay around his back.
"Pervy Sage" Naruto gasped, as he stood in awe of his accomplishment. "I did it."
"Well done Naruto" Jiraiya said, as he stepped out from behind the tree. The man who lay in front of the tree disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. "Who would have thought that you could beat my Shadow Clone without any assistance? Although, you've got a long way to go to beating me."
Jiraiya couldn't resist the little dig at the end. In truth, he was proud of his student and the progress that he had made. He had watched the young boy grow over the course of the last three years and he was now a fine young man not unlike his father, especially around the hair. However, it was his improved skillset that was truly impressive, with his strength, speed, stamina and general power all vastly improved. Of course, this was a necessary power gain as Naruto was in great danger. The criminal organization known as The Akatsuki were after him and Naruto had to be able to defend himself. Although, that didn't seem to be Naruto's main concern, as he seemed more determined to rescue his friend, Sasuke Uchiha, than to protect himself.
"Well, I guess this is it" Jiraiya said, "It's our last training session together. Tomorrow we'll be back in the Hidden Leaf Village and you'll be on a team again."
"I can't believe it's finally over" Naruto replied, sounding slightly upset. "I mean, I want to get back to the village, but it's been fun hanging out with you for the past 3 years Pervy Sage. I guess it was all worth it in the end."
Jiraiya smiled as he listened to Naruto's words, before leading his student back towards the hotel they were staying at in town. He felt a little tinge of regret as they began to wind down from their very last training session and watched the sun fall beneath the trees.
"Yeah, it's been a good time kid, although I do have one regret" Jiraiya said, looking to draw a reaction from his student.
"What's that?" Naruto asked innocently, not realizing the sarcasm in his teacher's voice.
"I wasn't able to get you to appreciate my great literature!"
Naruto and Jiraiya both laughed at this and continued joking around as they reached the town. Jiraiya's present of his latest novel wasn't met with much enthusiasm, although they compromised on the idea that it would make a good present for Naruto's former teacher Kakashi. As Jiraiya walked, it dawned on him that this would be the last time he would have someone for company as he walked around a strange place. In his future intelligence gathering missions, he knew he'd miss the companionship. Sure, the wild nights with women were fun and all but at his age he appreciated the finer company. However, as they reached their hotel room, Jiraiya stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell is that?" he thought, as a gut wrenching feeling came over him. He'd never felt anything like it before, both in it's scale and the general evil that crept over him.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto inquired, a little worried about his teacher's strange behavior.
"That chakra, Jiraiya thought, that's huge. I'm no sensory type, but even I can feel that. It's evil, of that I have no doubt. So full of aggression and malice, their hatred is truly remarkable. Where is it coming from and, more importantly, who's controlling it. The Akatsuki? Orochimaru? Another village? Whoever it is, it's bad news for us. I'll have to tell Tsunade as soon as I can.
"It's nothing for you to worry about" Jiraiya said sternly, which let Naruto know he shouldn't ask any more questions. "You go in the room, while I just send a message to Tsunade, so that she knows to expect us tomorrow."
Naruto did as he was told, while Jiraiya summoned one of his toads and explained the situation. After it was done, he sent the small animal away to relay the information to the Hidden Leaf Village. He knew that, from now on, it was a whole different game.
Deep underground, another young Shinobi was also undergoing intense training. The boy with spiky black hair and blood red eyes found himself surrounded by a large group of masked and nameless ninja. Despite their overwhelming advantage in numbers, the masked men all appeared to be very nervous. There were whispers amongst them that this boy was the last of a famous clan of warriors, a once in a generation genius. In contrast to the nervous mutterings of the group, the boy was calm and collected. He simply reached his hand back to his sword and withdrew it slightly, before moving quicker than the eye could see. Instantly, the masked shinobi began to fall one by one, blood being sprayed from their slashed limbs. This boy's master, with his long black and hair and pale skin, stood on a balcony above the room and watched as the events unfolded. His yellow eyes followed every movement below, keeping their concentration on the events.
Incredible he thought, as he listened to the cries of pain. They always called me a genius as a child, but he is something else. Of course, he won't be able to grow much further as his body will soon be mine.
As the boy finished, his master noticed something peculiar that annoyed him.
"Sasuke" he hissed. The boy slowly stopped, although he didn't seem to be paying much attention. However, his teacher knew exactly what buttons he needed to be pressed in order to draw some kind of reaction. "You didn't kill any of them. Why is this? You'll have to be much more ruthless if you hope to deal with Itachi."
The boy, Sasuke, glared back up at his teacher with utter contempt. Unlike Naruto, Sasuke felt absolutely no connection to his Sensei and saw him as nothing more than a path to power and an obstacle he would have to overcome in the near future.
"The only person I intend to kill, Orochimaru, is Itachi" Sasuke replied, with a tone that portrayed his true feelings. "If that's all, then-"
Sasuke was cut off as he felt a sudden surge of chakra. He didn't recognize it and, more importantly, he couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. He pondered what it was for a moment, before Orochimaru spoke again.
"That's very interesting" Orochimaru mused, a hint of delight in his voice. His casual response was unnerving, making Sasuke wonder if anything would draw a reaction from him. "I wonder what that could be. I guess we'll have to find out, eh Sasuke?"
Sasuke had already begun to leave as Orochimaru spoke, his back now facing his master. He didn't intend to show him any weakness, knowing that it would only be used against him later.
"You do what you want, I couldn't care less" Sasuke said, trying to sound convincing.
High above the surface of the planet, on top of a large lookout that floated in the sky, an old and wrinkled Namekian was studying the world below. He too had just felt the disturbing energy that was nearing the planet, and he was incredibly concerned. Compared to the terrors of the past, they weren't that powerful. However, he knew that their power outstripped the current generation of warriors and their motive for coming to the planet was also a concern. After all of this time, what could they possibly want?
"Mr. Popo" Dende croaked, as he called for his faithful assistant. "Did you just feel that?"
"Yes Dende" Mr. Popo replied, mirroring his masters concern. "Whoever it is, it feels like trouble. I haven't felt power like this for such a long time. What do we do?"
Dende pondered for a moment as he considered the few options that lay before him. Whichever way he chose, there was an element of risk but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"I think it's time we revealed ourselves to the Shinobi" Dende said, gripping his wooden staff tightly as he spoke. Such an action would go against everything they had discussed all these years and was in many ways illogical.
"Are you sure that's wise?" Mr. Popo asked. "We've gone over this many times before and thought it wouldn't be necessary. "
"That's true, but the situation has changed dramatically" Dende replied. "We now have to deal with an invading force from another planet once again and they must be warned. Also, I believe they may have better luck in finding the Dragon Balls than we did."
"Why would you say that?" Mr. Popo asked, the caution in his voice obvious.
"Even though they are not quite as strong as the warriors we knew in the past, they make up for it with their ingenuity and special techniques. Indeed, we could have used such techniques in the past. However, the warriors we were once friends with and relied upon are long gone. We have to believe in this generation now."
Mr. Popo nodded his heads at Dende's wise words and found that he agreed with the wise old Namekian.
"Now, Mr. Popo you will have to be the one that goes to see the world leaders down there. I think that I'm a little too old to be travelling now. It's all I can do to stand up anymore. "
Mr. Popo nodded and prepared to leave. For the longest time, he had enjoyed an often forgotten luxury known as peace. However, it was now clear that the world's time of peace was coming to an end.