Disclaimer: As the Manga might as well be "Sasuke" I guess it comes down to me to write "Naruto"- Even if I don't own it.
Summary: The Yondaime survived sealing the Kyuubi, and he sent Naruto out of Konoha under the protection of an Erotic Novelist, Chronic Gambler and aspiring Godaime Hokage. Now at the age of twelve, Naruto and his foster family return.
Previously in Diminishing Soul: Uzumaki Naruto the Jinchuuriki to the Nine Tailed Fox- Kyuubi, is the genetically altered son of Konoha with no real family; he shares the genes of the Sannin, the Yondaime Hokage and Sarutobi Sasuke. In an attempt to hide his roots as a Jinchuuriki and experiment at the hands of Orochimaru, the Yondaime: Namikaze Minato decided that he would legally adopt Naruto as his son. But for the boy's own safety and for practical purposes, Naruto was sent away from their ninja village of Konoha to be raised and trained by Jiraiya, Tsunade and their equal student Shizune.
Tsunade was furious.
Jiraiya was giggling.
Shizune was shocked.
Naruto was very satisfied.
A soiled diaper lay before the three ninja. Shizune thought back to the first time they had encountered Naruto's creation and smiled.
Flashback
"How can something so adorable create something so foul?" The dark haired student screeched as she held her nose together with her fingers to block out the stench.
"… Before we can teach the boy to be an ace-ninja, we'll have to potty-train him first." The white haired pervert Jiraiya said with a dry tone.
"I hate children!" Tsunade snarled dangerously, "you are no exception- you got that Naruto?" The baby looked at her questioningly. This only spurred her on. "I hate you!"
The three ninja were in the market when Naruto decided to drop the 'atom bomb'. Presently Tsunade was raging with other women in the market giving her judging looks and muttering things along the lines of: 'What an irresponsible and immature mother.'
Tsunade heard this. And it only goaded her further. "Look at what you've done brat! Because of you my reputation will be ruined!"
"… Shizune, do you think that Tsunade realised that she ruined her reputation herself with her very suggestive nickname?" Jiraiya said as he leered lecherously at the large-breasted blond.
Shizune gave him an innocent glance. "Suggestive?"
"She's the 'Legendary Sucker' Shizune." Jiraiya said wagging his eyebrows for added (unneeded) perversion.
"I bet she made Dan a very happy man before he passed on…" the toad-summoner continued with reminiscence. "Did I ever tell you about the time I walked in on them doing ana-" He stopped talking immediately. He noticed that Tsunade had stopped shouting, and was dangerously silent.
"Ji… Rai… Ya…" Tsunade said ominously. Jiraiya trembled in fear.
Flashback
Shizune looked askance at the baby's 'guardians' and watched them stand up with hesitation.
"Shizune, you attend to Naruto. Tsunade and I are going to discuss the boy's upbringing by ourselves to prevent further distraction." He began to turn, thought better of his action and his eyes found her looking apprehensively down at Naruto. "If there's a problem, flare your chakra. We'll be back soon."
"Right." Shizune affirmed she understood and then she began the gruelling process of changing baby Naruto.
"Jiraiya," Tsunade said taking a sip of her sake "don't kid yourself. We'll be the kid's parents. Just by doing this favour, we might get involved in some horrible domestic argument."
"How do you mean?" The toad summoner responded dim wittedly.
Tsunade exhaled angrily. "Looking after a boy his whole life while his father sits in a village that the boy is meant to swear loyalty to- Despite never living in it? It'll be a difficult situation."
"You're right. But I've already considered that." Jiraiya said with a smirk, "I thought you meant something 'underneath the underneath'. Kind of like: How will Minato feel when we return to Konoha and his 'son' doesn't love him like he would love us?"
Tsunade's features softened. "Minato probably already knows all of this. He's one of the geniuses of Konoha remember?" She broke off, and swirled her sake in it's' dish. "He's Konoha's Kiroi Senko (Yellow Flash). The man who dominated the last Ninja War. We don't need to worry about him." She glanced back up at him and saw he had been visibly comforted by what she said.
"Right. But back to Naruto himself, Minato and Sarutobi had a list of what they wanted from him. How will we handle it? When should we start teaching, what should we teach first…? I'm not good at planning things." Jiraiya trailed off, "I'm better at spontaneity."
Tsunade smiled and said "luckily for you, planning is one of my strong suits. We'll be fine Jiraiya. We always are." He smiled back at her.
Shizune finished with Naruto and set the boy back in her arms, cooing at him.
"I've always loved you Tsunade." Jiraiya said suddenly. The lights had been turned off, and the barman had vanished through a door leading to a backroom. Thunder crashed outside.
Her eyes widened, "I've always loved you Jiraiya." They embraced.
Shizune peered out of the window. Naruto had fallen asleep in her arms. Rain piddled down from the sky, pooling in the city they had cooped up in after they had brought Naruto with them.
'Isn't it funny that your future's been decided while you're this small? … It's funny. But at the same time, it's so sad." She looked down at the boy with the greatest sympathy, and love.
Jiraiya left his fantasy, and saw Tsunade sitting in front of him, still smiling. The bar was still full of people, and he could never say what he wanted to. He stood up steadily, dropping money on the table and he gave Tsunade his hand to help her to her feet.
She took it, and she felt a tingle run through her which she hadn't felt in so long. 'Dan…' She felt guilty. She dropped Jiraiya's hand as though it were coated in poison. He couldn't hide the pain from his eyes, even if his face was blank. Her guilt intensified, and she made to apologise.
"Listen, Jiraiya-" Tsunade began, when he interrupted her.
"Shizune's flared her chakra!" He said quickly, as fear tore through him. 'I hope they're okay.'
They sprung through the door, and charged through the rain back to their hotel room.
Shizune screamed. A flash of metal. Silence.
The assassin laughed, "I thought she was a student of the Sannin?" He said rhetorically. "Too easy." He nudged her lifeless body onto its back. Shizune's face wasn't twisted into a grimace of pain that he was so familiar with.
"Shit!" He shouted in shock and frustration. Shizune stuck her tongue out in a taunting motion, as a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) struck him through the neck through the side with three Senbon needles.
"Damn straight I'm a student of the Sannin." She retorted with every bit of satisfaction. Jiraiya and Tsunade burst into the apartment in time to see her Kage Bunshin disperse into a flourish of smoke, with her getting back up to her feet.
"Attack?" Jiraiya said shortly. Tsunade felt another pang of grief, his voice was cold.
"Yes Jiraiya-sama, I was capable of defeating him. This just proves it- All of my fears have been justified. We're being watched. Either somebody knows of Naruto's heritage outside of Konoha, or" she turned the enemy ninja over to see his headband. It identified him as an Iwa (Rock) ninja, "or Iwa wanted to eliminate me so they don't have to fear having another ninja like the infamous Namikaze Minato." She said scathingly.
"Don't worry Shizune, this just means that we'll have to up your training." Jiraiya said in a careful tone. His voice made Shizune and Tsunade look at him and they understood what words he had been careful not to say. We'll be looking for them in the mean time. Be careful. "Tsunade-shishou I understand that you want to train me, but where's Jiraiya and Naruto?" Shizune questioned, "I thought that because of that attack we would be more tightly knit than ever."
Tsunade laughed, "No worries Shizune. I'm not concerned about anymore attackers. Jiraiya's at the Playgroup with Naruto. We think it'd be good for the boy to interact with other children of his age."
Shizune nodded, "Right. So what are you going to teach me?"
"I'm going to teach you the properties of poison techniques and how we use them in batt-" Tsunade was cut off in her speech by a sling of shuriken aimed directly at her chest. Her eyes widened at the barrage, and she immediately ducked to the floor. 'Jumping doesn't provide any manoeuvring, and going to the side could give the enemy the opportunity to flank me.'
The enemy appeared before her in the form of a female ninja from Kumo (Cloud) Village. The light that glinted from her headband blinded her for an instant, and Tsunade was momentarily vulnerable. The ninja took that moment. She stabbed Tsunade in the chest with two Kunai in one hand creating an explosion of blood.
… Or so she thought.
"Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique: Food Cart Destroyer.)" A massive toad, the size of a small whale plummeted down from the sky, crippling- if not killing the ninja outright.
Jiraiya let out a smirk. "We knew he'd take the bait." He stood next to Shizune and Tsunade. They had been under an intense illusion technique to make them appear as trees, while they used clones to distract the ninja. "These're definitely rookie ninja. They know nothing of tactics."
"Rookie ninja?" Tsunade pondered. She was struck by realisation. "They're trying to earn fame in their villages! The child raised by the Sannin most likely has a high bounty. They're treating us like a giant practical joke!"
"So there's one thing that's struck me outright though." Shizune said, with Naruto in her arms once more. "And that's how Konoha has very bad relations with these countries. Not only that, but I'm positive that those ninja were working together."
Jiraiya shot her a dangerous look. "Shizune, are you saying that you think that Kumo and Iwa have created an alliance?"
A group of ninja hidden in shadow shot up in surprise at this.
"We have to silence that girl."
"I'm certain. In fact, I think the group of ninja hiding in the woods over there will support my conclusion." As if on cue, dozens of ninja shot from the trees to appear in front of Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shizune. "Umm… I didn't know there would be this many." Shizune sweatdropped.
"Tsunade, you take that half- I'll take the other. Shizune, run. They're all at Jounnin level, some might get past us. Head to Suna (Sand) or even Konoha if you have to!" Jiraiya said calmly, beginning a set of hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique.)"
A large toad erupted from smoke next to Jiraiya, "Hey J-man!" He greeted, "good to see you!"
"Likewise. Shizune? What are you still doing here? Go!" Shizune's eyes widened in terror.
'I have to protect Naruto!'
Shizune raced through the plains and into the village the group had recently occupied; Naruto was weeping as she leapt through and over buildings, and dove around and under people. She could feel them coming. She spared a glance behind her- she could see them coming.
'They're here!'
Tsunade raised her fist and walloped the first ninja who dared to get close to her. They died on impact. "Who's next?!" She yelled, diving at them. The ninja who were previously fearless squealed in terror.
Jiraiya had demolished his group within seconds with his newly developed combination technique he used with the toad he'd summoned. It was deadly, and it had left only one survivor.
He stood on equal footing with the Novelist at a similarly great height. He was equipped with not only monstrous muscles, but a sword and an angry disposition. His Iwa forehead protector glinted in the sunlight.
The sun was slowly setting.
'How did they get here so quickly? It must be true. Iwa have been trying to recreate the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) that made the Yondaime win Konoha the last Great Ninja War!'
A flicker of silver shot towards her. Her eyes widened.
'How's he doing this?!'
Naruto continued to sob.
Tsunade finished breaking her daily number of faces before she approached Jiraiya and his stare-down partner.
"I can see I'm more than outmatched." The Iwa ninja said, before rolling his shoulders carelessly. "… But I'm not one to think of the outcomes of my fights!"
The ninja shot forward with surprising speed, blasting dirt and grass away from him as he shot like a bullet towards Tsunade and Jiraiya.
He took one swing with his sword, and seeing them both dodge it, he hid a smirk.
Then he continued with his momentum, and ran straight past them.
The two members of the Sannin shared a look of confusion, before one of realisation.
'Shizune!'
The brunette steadied herself after she regained her balance. 'I'm outnumbered. This sucks.'
Shizune was stuck in a formulaic triangle-assault. She had no form of escape, as whenever she tried to dart past one, he would use a defensive technique while the others would use a combat technique. Shizune thought quickly, and decided on the idea.
She gathered Naruto up into one hand, and threw him with all her might into the air.
She then lifted her sleeve, before pressing a trigger of a metallic mechanism on her arm. Poisonous needles collided with two of her enemies. They dropped to the floor- the puppet's strings had been cut.
She formed a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) without speech and that very clone caught the baby, and darted through one of the houses close by. As the ninja showed signs of wanting to follow, Shizune decided to put him out of commission. He just wouldn't give up. She sucked in a deep breath, before forming a bizarre single seal.
The ninja examined it carefully, and drew up a blank.
"Sui Kiichigo! (Acid Raspberry.)" She gurgled the name of the technique as she expelled a ghastly green liquid from her mouth. She held a dull smirk as she watched the ninja writhe in pain as his face melted away. It was her most dangerous technique, but it took a lot of chakra.
"Ooh! You killed all of them?" Another ninja stood a few paces away from her. He was heavily muscled, and he carried a very big sword.
He was different from the others. He moved with grace and power, and his onyx coloured eyes bore into hers.
"But can you kill me, Kiichigo (Raspberry)?" He muttered huskily, before dragging his sword across the ground, and swinging it to rest on his shoulder. "Or will I kill you first?"
He vanished without a trace, and Shizune was hastily made aware of the fact that it was a battle situation.
Jiraiya and Tsunade bounced towards Shizune aboard the travel-toad known as Gamashabu. The scenery blurred past them as they waited, hoping that Shizune and Naruto would be safe.
"Throat, lungs…" A hoarse whisper carried through the heavily shaded alleyway. "Liver, spinal column…"
Shizune froze. 'He's playing with my head- he's listing my vital parts!'
"You're a pretty girl." The voice echoed again, portraying his morally-deprived nature. "Kiichigo." Shizune felt his breath on her neck. Her hand darted to her side, and she let loose a strap that held her senbon.
Shizune felt the sword's pressure against her back for a split second, and she let her body fall forwards to avoid being torn in half. Her battle-dress was torn, and blood trickled thinly down her body. She spun herself around and slid the senbon between her fingers before throwing it accurately at the brute's sword-arm. It made it useless within an instant, and Shizune disillusioned herself by thinking that she was safe momentarily.
The ninja's foot broke two of her ribs with a tenacious kick, and she winced in pain; holding back her screams that could draw innocent bystanders into their fight. A thought then came to mind, as she decided to create healing chakra in both of her hands, resting one on her ribs, and sharpening the other into a scalpel. 'It's normally only used with medical intentions, but I'm sure I could sever his nerves with this!'
She launched herself backwards creating more distance between the two, and kept her scalpel at the ready.
"I won't let you take him."
"Take him? You misunderstand. I am after you."
Gamashabu swam by the distorted images of the city, as Jiraiya and Tsunade prayed for Shizune's safety.
'She's not ready to fight a ninja of that calibre. Not yet.' Jiraiya thought. 'She's a powerful medic, but she has yet to show potential in combat above Chuunnin standard. And that man… He's an elite Jounnin. He's known as "Iwa's Chinsa Surapneru" (Sediment Shrapnel.) And he's listed in Iwa's Bingo Book as the third most dangerous ninja in Iwa.'
"Why are you after me?" Shizune asked, stunned.
"Because you are the first person to realise that Iwa and Kumo have formed an alliance. You need to be eliminated. The brat is just a side-mission. We were only intended to gather information, but you opened your mouth. You're a fool." The man smiled, yanking the senbon from his arm with a grimace.
"You think I'm a fool? I managed to disable you!" Shizune said with sarcasm, her ribs slowly feeling less tender.
"You're also a fool because you assumed that I primarily fight with a sword. I'm just training with it to become a well rounded as a ninja. My true talent lies in…" The Chinsa Surapneru stopped. He gave Shizune a cruel leer. "Well I think it's better that you figure out what my true talent is while you try to defend from it."
He then began a long and complex set of hand seals. Using only his left hand.
The brunette gazed warily at the man, fully aware that it's not natural for a person to be able to do that. 'He's definitely stronger than me. I have to wait this out until Tsunade and Jiraiya arrive. They're close by.'
"Ninpou: Chinsa Ryuudou! (Ninja Technique: Sediment Flow.)" He finished with a hand seal that Shizune had never seen before: His hands were spread in a triangular shape, with both thumb tips meeting to form the corners, and the index fingers meeting at the top.
But before Shizune could fully grasp the nature of this seal, water pistoned from it at incredible speed. With small rocks that swam inside the tide acting the part as bullets. Shizune's eyes widened before the attack hit her easily and quickly, propelling her through the wall of a nearby house.
She didn't stand back up, and her eyes didn't open. Rubble lay around her broken body, as her Kage Bunshin dispersed on the roof of that same building, dropping baby Naruto onto the tiled surface. Naruto cried all the more.
The toad stopped in its' movement.
Jiraiya and Tsunade jumped off of Gamashabu's side.
They had felt Shizune's chakra leave her body slowly, painfully, and almost theatrically.
They had arrived. And they were pissed off.
"You know who we are, don't you?" Tsunade said, taking steps towards the Iwa ninja.
"Yes. I know you are the two remaining members of the Sannin loyal to Konoha."
"Did you know how much we cared for our subordinate?" Jiraiya said, taking one of Tsunade's trembling hands in his own.
"I did not."
"We love that neurotic bitch. No matter how much of a wet blanket she is." Tsunade snarled, before disappearing from the Iwa nin's view. A sickening punch struck the back of his head, tearing it almost clean off.
"Tsunade, I'll get Naruto. See if you can resuscitate Shizune."
Hours later, and Tsunade was still working on waking Shizune- who had been placed in a coma. All of Shizune's bones had been fixed, and Tsunade had little chakra left.
And even though Shizune was currently unmoving, two positive things had happened: Iwa and Kumo wouldn't be a problem anytime soon, and Naruto was finally safe.
Jiraiya was working on their destination. Tsunade wanted to be as far away from grassy plains as possible, and Jiraiya had just the place in mind: Snow Country. But to get there from their current position, they would first have to travel through Rice Country on foot, to the Wave Country to travel by boat to the Land of Snow.
It would be a long journey, and because of that, they would need to wait until Shizune woke from her coma. Or if it was concluded that she ever would.
Jiraiya stood up, and left the plans. He needed to check on Tsunade. He entered Shizune's room, and watched as Tsunade let a tear roll down her perfect cheek, as her final drop of chakra was forced into Shizune's body. 'What a way to spend Naruto's third birthday…' He thought glumly.
"Raikage-sama, I present to you: The honourable Tsuchikage-sama." A nameless ninja said with a deep bow, before disappearing back into the shadows of the office.
The one known as the Raikage stood before the Tsuchikage, "I'd like to thank Gatou enterprises for funding our developments, and allowing us to use their base of operations to meet like this."
The Raikage nodded. "As would I."
A small man with pointed features, and a stout body chuckled. "You're very welcome."
"However as the team that was spying on the Sannin never returned, I am withdrawing from the alliance." The Tsuchikage said placidly.
The Raikage was shocked, "Why? When we've come so far?"
This proved to be a mistake, as anger flashed within the Tsuchikage's eyes. "But you didn't lose your son in that last battle. Did you, Raikage? Konoha is too much for us to handle right now. I refuse to lose anymore of my ninja to a cause like this."
"Do you?" The Raikage sneered, "Well I'm afraid that if you won't ally now, then we never will."
The Tsuchikage looked at the Raikage piteously, "you will never forget how Konoha made a fool of you, will you?"
"They did not fulfil the agreement of peace! The man known as Hyuuga Hiashi broke into Kumo, stole many documents and files, and assassinated the former Raikage! And all at the age of fifteen!" He raved, temporary insanity coursing through him. "I will avenge that man, my beloved superior…"
The Tsuchikage sighed, "We've all suffered losses from Konoha. Suna, Iwa, Kumo… Oto (Sound)." The men shared a knowing look.
"I suppose. But I beg you to continue our agreement." The Raikage pleaded.
"I will not. You still have a complete force; you have only lost a few of what I like to call 'Fodder-nin.' I will not let my village be destroyed by Konoha. We have no hope of beating them, even with our alliance." The Tsuchikage resigned.
Gatou looked on between the two men, "But you can't just stop now! Don't forget all of the information you've given to me. You will continue to pay me, alliance or not." The short man said with a hint of trickery in his watery eyes.
"I didn't forget." The Tsuchikage said, before crumbling to the floor in a heap of mud, and appearing behind Gatou only to slit open his throat. "I will see you on another day, honourable Raikage." The Tsuchikage said.
He turned to leave through the open door, as Gatou bled onto the lush carpet. Then he spared a glance at the Raikage. "I advise you to watch out for the Snake-traitor Orochimaru. I know you have agreed to share some forces with him, but he's not to be trusted. I would stop the contact between him and your daughter. She's young, and she doesn't fully understand how dangerous that man is."
The Raikage snorted, "My daughter is as wise as she is beautiful. Not everyone's child is a failure ninja who can't handle the Sannin."
The Tsuchikage put a hand to his sword, ready to cut the Raikage into two pieces, when he felt another chakra presence in the room. Or to put it more accurately, ten more presences in the room.
"I do not come unprepared. If you will not join me, then you will not leave. And you have already made your decision." The Raikage said, clear insanity on his face.
"You've gone mad." The Tsuchikage said, with a voice that supplied scorn. "I'll take both your life, and your insanity."
Well, that's Chapter Two. The Tsuchikage and Raikage are intentionally left without description because I don't want to be contradicted by the anime/manga.
I have to say, I really like these two characters as well. I'm considering which one to kill off still (if either), but if you have a preference, let me know.
What do you think about my little Shizune-plot-twist?
And lastly, if you didn't understand fully, the first part of this chapter is with them with Naruto near the beginning of their relationship, but last part shows that he's three years old. This means that they were being watched by Iwa and Kumo for three years, and that Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't have much of a chance to train Shizune in-depth.
Please review. It gives me happiness.