Wow, really great turn out for the first chapter. I don't think I've ever been more proud! Now, let's get on with the show, because I kinda left you guys hanging with that first chapter.

2: A Price for Freedom


Above the Hidden Waterfalls village stood two figures cloaked in black and red. Of the two, the most notable carried a large scythe over his shoulder and had stark white hair, and a mad grin adorning his face. "So, you really think the little bastard's down there?" He asked his large companion.

The big man grunted, "If Deidara saw things right after the riot he caused, then the river should have floated that little money bag right here," he said, dull black eyes narrowing at the sight of his former home. "Hn, I'd hoped never to come back to this little hovel. Still, two of our targets are here, and one of them should be an easy catch."

"Ch, yeah, stupid little fuck should'a just let the old man take that Earth Spear, and gotten his ass outta there, huh?" The white-haired man snickered, kneeling over the ledge, "Think we'll find the other one?"

"If I were a betting man, I'd say most definitely," the big man said, "Taki is weak compared to the other villages, and they wouldn't risk losing a bargaining chip like a Jinchuuriki." He smiled beneath his mask, "Still, if that blond brat floated here as I believe he did, then that old man must not be too far behind him. That'll make two nice bounties on our hands."

The white-haired man chuckled, "The old man I get, but how the fuck did the brat get such a high bounty? Twenty billion ryo isn't a fuckin' slap on the wrist."

His companion took out a small black book and began flipping through it, "Hmm, apparently he went berserk in a small village a year or so back and killed a few people," he said, chuckling, "And it was within Iwa's boundaries, heh, so that's why Deidara led them in like that."

"He takes a shot, and we make the kill," the smaller man laughed manically, "Too bad, I wanted to have a go at the little bastard that gave poor Kisame such a hard time."

Still staring down at the book the man nodded, "For once, I feel the same," he said, looking over the file of a blond young man in the book, "Kid's dangerous for someone so young...just the kind of hunt I like."

"Well, Kakuzu, if we wanna catch him, then we'd better get the fuck down there."

"Just try to keep your head on, Hidan."

=x=

Jiraiya brushed passed the Anbu standing in his way, physically assaulting one that was foolish enough to try and stop his advance, slamming him in the face(mask), and knocking him out. Shibuki fluttered uselessly behind him, trying to slow him, though he was wise enough not to get too close. "Lord Jiraiya, I really must protest this!" The man shouted, "I understand your worry for your apprentice, but you cannot simply barge into my village and start snooping about!"

Jiraiya didn't even turn to the man as he spoke, "And I told you that boy is everything to me." He growled, "I've trained him for three years, naming him my heir as a Toad Summoner, and in a moment of carelessness, I allowed him to be nearly fatally injured. If he's really here, then you will not stop me from getting to him, and taking him home!"

"But I am the Kage!" Shibuki yelled boldly, trying to use his authority.

But the man just scoffed, "I don't care if you're the Daimyo! Get in my way, and I'll turn you into a toad!"

Shibuki paled at the threat, "But if you disturb all of that poison Fu spread out, the village will suffer!"

Jiraiya just rolled his eyes, "Am I to understand that no one here uses Wind or Fire?" He asked rhetorically.

"Water, primarily," Shinbuki answered anyway.

Jiraiya just lept from the docks, and scaled the tree, ignoring further protests. When he reached the little cabin in the tree, he found it covered in a shimmering purple dust. He ran through a series of hands signs, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Inside the cabin, Fu was preparing a simple meal of rice for her guest when the whole cabin shook and swayed as a massive gale of wind struck it, unsettling a few things from the walls. "What in the -?!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

She fluttered to the window just in time to see her poisoned powder being blown away from the tree in a great cloud, and collide with a large ball of flames, and explode, destroying her toxins. "Oh, no!"

The door crashed open, startling her as a bear of a man stood in the frame. She darted over to where Naruto lay sleeping, shielding him from attack. 'Don't go near him!' Chomei shouted loudly, 'That man is powerful, and has almost as much chakra as the boy!'

Fu trembled visibly, 'He's that strong?'

"Step away, girl," the man said, "While I thank you for caring for him, that boy is my responsibility."

"He can't be moved," Fu yelped, her voice trembling, "He's far too weak."

Jiraiya's face fell slightly, "But he lives?" Fuu nodded. "Then you have no need to worry about me." He said, stepping into the room, closing the door behind him and bolting it, "Has the wound began to close?"

"Barely," she said, looking over her shoulder at the boy, "I've only just gotten him out of danger."

Jiraiya nodded, and moved to sit next the prone blond as Fu scooted out of the way. The man's face was worn with worry as he looked at the blond's sleeping face. "Has he woken?" He asked without looking at the girl.

"Once," she relented, "He was really weak, and fell back asleep almost immediately after he told me his name." She said, regarding the man with a little fear, "If...if you don't mind me asking, how did he get such a horrible wound?"

The man nodded, "We were on our way home, actually." He began, "We were entering the Land of Fire, skirting around an Iwa outpost, but someone set off a set of explosives, and somehow we were blamed for it." He said, shaking his head, "Naruto wanted to avoid a fight, so we turned tail, and made for the border, but that didn't stop our pursuers. Next thing we knew, we were skirting around Serpent's Gorge under fire from those Iwa shinobi pursuing us. I wasn't quick enough to dodge all of the attacks, and nearly bought it, but he pushed me out of the way...and took the attack himself, and got knocked into the river in the gorge."

Fu bit her lip, "He fell from the Northern falls when I caught sight of him," she explained, "I don't know how he survived when he was bleeding out so much into the water, but I suppose it could have been the Nine-Tails - "

"You know?" Jiraiya's eyes hardened before softening, "Ah, I see, you're Taki's Seven-Tail Jinchuuriki."

Fu nodded, and bowed slightly, "My name's Fu, Sir."

Jiraiya scooted back from the bed, turning himself around while he sat, and took to his knees, bowing his head to the floor, "I am Jiraiya, Toad Sage of Mount. Myoboku, and one of the Leaf's Legendary Sannin," he said, "And I thank you for taking care of my student, and heir." He lifted his head to see a very surprised girl looking at him in shock, "There are many things I could offer you as thanks for your care and protection of him, but I fear what you would ask I have no power to give."

"I'd ask you to take me with you," Fu admitted with a nod of her head, "Shibuki's already furious with me for not letting him take Naruto, but with me spreading all of that dust around, I - "

Jiraiya held up his hand for silence, "I understand, and again, I thank you for defending my apprentice." He said, smiling slightly at the girl's bravery, "Shibuki seemed like he wanted me as far from your little home as possible, but my threats seldom end in empty words if not heeded, as for your treatment, the compensation I can offer Shibuki should shut the village up well enough."

"Still..." Fu mumbled, but before she could go on, there was a knock at the door. Jiraiya smirked and gesture toward the door with his head. Fu scowled, but nodded all the same, and the man rose.

He opened the door to reveal the timid village leader, looking nervous at coming face to face with the legendary Leaf shinobi once again. "Lord Jiriaya," he said nervously, casting a worried look at the girl, who had moved in front of Naruto again. She was less on edge with the man than she would have been with anyone else, and he was alone. "I trust your apprentice is well?"

Jiraiya nodded, stepping aside to allow him inside, "Well enough that he will recover within a few hours." He said as the man moved past him. "But I believe we have business to discuss."

Shibuki nodded as he took a seat at the fireplace, which was still burning brightly thanks to Fu. "I suppose we do."

Jiraiya took a seat opposite of the man, sinking into the lotus position, and bowed his head, "First of all, I would thank you as I did young Fu for your care of my apprentice."

Shibuki shook his head, "You need not thank me, Lord Jiraiya. My own people would have let him bleed to death before helping him." He said shamefully, "We are a small, and mistrustful people. Outsiders are rare and unwelcome." He looked over to Fu where she was tending Naruto, "Fu, however, has always had a kind heart, and would never leave anyone to such a fate. All your thanks should go to her."

"Be that as it may, she is a shinobi under your rule," he said, reaching into his robes, "As such your village is owed compensation for the life of my student," he pulled out a checkbook and pen, "The bounty on Naruto is roughly twenty billion," he said, and began writing down a number, "I intend to give you triple that amount."

"S-sixty?!" Shibuki gulped, "Why so much?!"

Jiriaya finished writing out the check and handed it to the village leader, "For one thing, Naruto is not only my apprentice, but my adopted son," he said, making Fu gasp. "And the second would be that he is also the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-tailed Fox. Therefore he is valuable to the Leaf."

Shibuki took the slip of paper hesitantly, "I must thank you for being so generous, Lord Jiraiya," he said, slipping the check into his robes, "Our village has fallen on hard times recently with the civil war in Kiri finally ending."

Jiraiya nodded, "I'm well aware. We've passed through the Mist village once or twice during our travels." He said, sighing, "I can tell you that the loss of the Three-tails has everyone on edge. If Naruto had been known back then, he would have been made into a bigger target than he was just by being with me." He said, looking from the village leader to the girl tending his apprentice, "Which brings me to my second order of business: Fu."

"Me?" Fu looked up from dabbing Naruto's face with a cloth.

"Fu?" Shibuki asked, looking at the girl, "What about her?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath before continuing, "As you are aware, Kiri is now bereft of a Jinchuuriki, the so-called weapon of the five great villages." He said, crossing his arms, "The Three-tails has yet to reform itself, and the bearer of the Six-tails is A.W.O.L. so they will be looking for ways to bolster their fire power."

"You believe that they will come after us," it wasn't a question that the timid village leader posed. He was well aware that the border patrols had reported several scouts from Kiri moving around their village, searching for the entrance. The barrier around the village was not a strong one, because their village was naturally hidden by the surrounding valley, but if someone got close enough, they could find the village.

"I know they will," Jiraiya said, nodding, "Which is why, given that the girl saved my son and heir, I would like to take her into my care."

Fu looked at the man with wide eyes for a moment. Dare she hope she could finally leave the village?

Shibuki sighed, "Lord Jiraiya, I know that we will likely be invaded by Kiri, but that is all the more reason that we will need her." He said, frowning, "Our village is on the verge of poverty, with fewer and fewer missions coming in from the surrounding villages in need of shinobi services, and if we are invaded by a larger village, then - "

"Then it will be a massacre," Jiraiya said, looking the man in the eyes coldly, "Of all the people in this village, I cannot sense anyone aside from Fu that could hold their own against someone of Yagura's caliber, let alone Mei Terumi. Fu would die here if she fought, and would be treated no better than an animal given how Yagura treated his people."

"I can't just give her to you," Shibuki protested with a shake of his head.

Jiraiya nodded, "I wouldn't ask you to simply give her over," he said, holding up his checkbook up once more, "Naruto's bounty added to my own is two hundred billion," he said, flipping the book open, "For Fu's life, I will offer you three times that amount."

Shibuki and Fu both felt their jaws drop. "S-six billion?!"

"Why?!" Fu cried, voicing a slightly irritated tone.

Jiraiya turned to the girl with a somber look, "It's not the freedom that you desired, Fu, but I can think of little else that I can do to let you see the outside of your village." He said by way of apology before returning his attention back to Shibuki, "I know that you are not like the rest of your village, Shibuki. I have heard the whispers of your kindness toward this girl, even though the rest of your village fears her. You are her only friend, and it is as her friend that I ask this of you." He bowed his head low, "Take my offer, and allow the girl to finally live."

Shibuki looked torn. On the one hand, his council of elders, greedy as they were, would scoff at the idea of giving up their 'equalizer'. The possession of a Jinchuuriki made them an important balance keeper since both Kumo and Iwa had two Jinchuuriki each, as would Kiri if the bearer of the Six-tails ever be found.

Konoha and Suna each had a single vessel containing one of the Beasts, and Taki was right in the middle as the smallest, weakest of all the villages to possess one of the fabled containers.

On the other hand, what the Leaf Sannin was offering was enough money to buy out their own Daimyo. The man was low-born, merely an elected official from one of their own to keep the peace among their people. Once, he had been a powerful shinobi, but now he was fat and complacent, just as any noble would be.

The money would, of course, feed his people, and bolster his village's defenses, but that wouldn't last long. Not without Fu around to act as a deterrent to other villages.

There was literally no right answer to give the Sannin.

'Yes, there is,' the man thought angrily, 'You already know that Fu's as good as dead after her little stunt. The village will never forgive such an act, whether I say no or not.' He growled, clenching his fists in his lap angrily before he looked up at the man,"Keep your money." He said, waving off the man's checkbook, "The moment your son is well enough to travel, take the girl and go."

Fu gasped as the words registered. She was free? Just like that?

Jiraiya nodded, "Take that other slip I gave you, and disappear, my friend." He all but commanded, "Live a proper life. Find a real home, and fall in love, maybe even raise a family." He said, his eyes narrowing, "It won't be long until Naruto recovers, but what time we spend here will cost a great deal. When the gates open, take your life and flee the flood that comes."

Shibuki shook his head, "The people of this village, while some of them are foolish and greedy, are still mine to protect." He said, sighing with a tired smile, "I may not be a true Kage, but I am still the leader of this village."

"Well said," Jiraiya nodded to him, smiling as he rose, "I would like to purchase supplies we will likely need for the journey home. Will you guide me around your market?"

Shibuki smiled slightly, and rose to join the man. Fu, however, fluttered after him, her wings sprouting almost instantly as she flashed to his side. "Why?" She asked him.

Shibuki smiled down at the girl, and patted her on the head, "Because I want you to live...daughter."

=x=

"Lots of eyes, Kakuzu," Hidan muttered to his partner, his weapon concealed beneath his cloak, "What's the plan?"

Kakuzu grunted, "We play it safe for now," he said, keeping his voice low. "The people here are suspicious of strangers, and that hasn't changed in over a hundred years." He nodded to the large tree within the middle of the village. "Let's just focus on the main target. The Nine-tails brat is near that tree, and from the feel of his chakra, he's still recovering, but fast."

Hidan shrugged, "So we go in, knock his ass out, and drag him back to Leader, simple."

The big man shook his head, "Not so simple." He said, "I can sense another nearby...someone almost as strong as he is. I'm willing to bet that it's either Jiraiya, or the Seven-tails."

Hidan scoffed, "The only way that old toad could've beaten us hear is a summoning seal."

"Jiraiya of the Sannin is a renowned master of seals," Kakuzu pointed out. "A summoning seal would be simple for someone like him, especially since that boy is his apprentice." He said, shaking his head, "But I believe it to be the Seven-tails, because I can sense their chakra, as well as Jiraiya's. He's down here among the villagers."

Hidan looked around, smiling a little. "Well, if you'd like to go after the brat, I can keep the old man entertained?"

"How?" Kakuzu asked, his eyes narrowed.

A woman passed by the pair as he spoke his question. Hidan grinned madly at her before his robes flared. Red and black steel cut into flesh, a scream erupting from the woman's mouth as blood splattered the ground. The white-haired rogue laughed madly. "Lord Jashin thirsts for blood," he said, his scythe raised, the blades dripping red, "I'll turn the lake red with blood in his name!"


Second chapter, hope it's as good as the first. Read and review!