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Chapter 3- An Impossible Mission
Konohagakure- Hokage Tower
The Sandaime Hokage sat behind his desk, completely ignoring the massive pile of paperwork his assistant had just brought in. He was lost in his thoughts about what to do now that Jiraiya had abandoned the village and was now training Naruto. 'Jiraiya is too powerful for any of my current ninja to kill one on one, and even if I were to send my best jounin and Anbu after him it would only result in their deaths. Also it would be pointless to try and track them, Jiraiya being the spy master he is, knows better than anyone how to cover his tracks. ' The so called 'Professor' sat in silence for a little while longer before a knock on his door brought his attention back to the present. "Enter," he said in the most commanding voice he could muster with his thoughts in the state they were.
The door opened and allowed a man the same age as Sarutobi into the office. The man had grey hair as well as a beard of the same color and glasses on the bridge of his nose. His strong jaw line was made even more prominent with the frown that seemed to be permanently etched on his face. His attire was very similar to Sarutobi's own, the only difference being instead of his robe being red with a white coat over it; his was a dark blue with a tan coat. He also had a white cloth wrapped around his shoulders that hid his neck from view.
Following the man was a woman of similar age; her grey hair was pulled into a tight bun with a traditional Japanese hair pin holding it in place with fringes hanging down over her forehead. She wore a grey kimono held together by a simple obi with a dark green jacket and a sash over her left shoulder that went down to her right hip. Her eyes were squinted in her old age, giving her a permanent and intimidating glare.
The last one to enter was another man the same age as the three already in the room. He was a frail old man and he used a cane to help him walk, but if one looked close enough they would notice he could walk perfectly fine without it. His shaggy black hair was a strong contrast to the white bandages that were wrapped over his right eye. He had a frown on his face, a trait the three seemed to share, that made the unusual X shaped scar on his chin more prominent. He wore a dark gray robe over a white shirt that stopped just above his right shoulder, partially concealing his bandaged right arm that was in a sling. His only visible eye was squinted shut, but seemed to look at everything in sight with a hawk like gaze.
These three were none other than Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane and Danzo Shimura, the three Elders of Konoha.
Homura stepped forward, his tone betraying his curiosity, "Why have you called us, Sarutobi?"
Sarutobi looked each of them in the eye before sighing and motioning for them to take a seat in front of his desk. Once the three were seated, Sarutobi began what he knew would be a long conversation, "I have called you here to discuss a matter of great importance. One year ago, one of my Anbu teams returned from a mission in the Land of Mountains with a scroll. According to them, they found the scroll hidden in a shrine atop one of the mountains being guarded by surprisingly talented Warrior Monks. When they returned with the scroll I was the first person to read it, only to receive the shock of my lifetime."
The Elders eyebrows rose slightly at this little piece of information. The four of them had lived through all three of the Shinobi World Wars, having fought in the First and commanding the village through the Second and Third. Living through those times had hardened them to the point where not much could truly shock them, but when something did, it usually meant trouble was very close on the horizon. Sarutobi was especially immune to surprises, being the Hokage during times of war tended to make one expect almost everything. The three Elders once again glanced at each other, but this time if one looked carefully they would see the growing fear in their eyes.
"The scroll you see, was a message left behind by the Sage of the Six Paths himself for his one true heir," before Sarutobi could continue he was interrupted by a completely shocked Koharu.
"Heir? Are you saying that the Sage of the Six Paths somehow knew he would one day have an heir?"
"Yes Koharu, and not only was this person his heir, the Sage also called him his successor."
This time it was Danzo who couldn't keep quiet, "A successor, you can't mean…"
"I do Danzo," Sarutobi interrupted his old rival, "Someone who would one day become his equal, and maybe even surpass him in power and skill. But that is not the most shocking news."
"What the hell could be more shocking then discovering that the Sage of the Six Paths would have an heir?" asked an incredulous Homura, thinking things couldn't possibly get any more surprising than they already had.
Sarutobi looked his old team mate dead in the eye, "Perhaps it was the fact that the heir the Sage spoke of resided here in this very village." The Elders couldn't help but gape at this newest piece of information. Not only had the Sage had an heir, but that person was living in Konoha? It was almost too good to be true!
"We must find this person at once; we cannot let such a potentially powerful person to slip through our fingers!" Not surprisingly it was Danzo who spoke up, he always was the more militaristic one of the four of them. Homura and Koharu nodded in agreement with their fellow Elder, letting someone like that out of their sight could be disastrous for the village.
The Sandaime sighed; he knew this part was going to cause him a serious headache, "I'm afraid you're too late, I already know who the person is, but getting him under our control will not be an easy feet." The Elders stopped the small planning session they were having and turned suspicious eyes to the Hokage. "The heir the Sage spoke of in his message was none other than Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze."
"WHAT!?" shouted the three retired ninja as they tried to wrap their minds around what Sarutobi had just said. Naruto Uzumaki, the village pariah, was the one true heir of the Sage of the Six Paths, the man who founded the ninja world? It just wasn't possible! From what they had read about the boy in his Academy file was that he was almost useless as a shinobi. His taijutsu was very below average, his genjutsu was nonexistent and his ninjutsu was horrible! How was it that someone with no skill what so ever could possibly be the heir to the most powerful shinobi ever to walk the earth?
"Yes, the scroll also explained in detail about the Rinnegan and how it was awakened. I sent a team of shinobi to complete the task and force Naruto to awaken the Rinnegan, giving us all three of the Legendary Dojutsu at our disposal. Unfortunately, circumstances occurred that caused a small problem. It seems the jounin I put in charge of the mission blabbed that I was the one who ordered the attack, causing Naruto to flee the village." The Sandaime finished with a sigh, already preparing for the tongue lashing his advisors were about to deliver, and they didn't disappoint.
"What, you let that boy flee knowing who he was? Are you insane Sarutobi, if any of the other villages were to get their hands on him…" trailed off Homura, not even wanting to think of what could happen if a village like Iwagakure got their hands on Naruto.
"Homura is right Sarutobi; we cannot allow any other village to find out who Naruto truly is! We must bring the boy back inside the walls of Konoha for the villages own good," Koharu said, her frown deepening as her thoughts drifted into ones similar to Homura's.
"This is not something that we can ignore Sarutobi, we need to send out teams to find the boy immediately and bring him back to the village. Once he has been returned, he must be trained to be a loyal follower to the village to prevent something like this from ever happening again!" Danzo said his anger visible in his lone eye.
"I know, however it is not as simple as that," the Hokage said cutting off the Elders before they could get too far into their rant. "Jiraiya, the boy's godfather, found him shortly after he left the village. It seems Naruto told Jiraiya everything that happened to him and Jiraiya was less than pleased to say the least. He was angry enough over what happened to Naruto that he has abandoned the village to become a rogue ninja." The Elders stiffened at this, Jiraiya was by far the most powerful shinobi that Konoha had at its disposal after the treason of Orochimaru and Tsunade's leaving. They also knew that sending teams after Naruto would be nothing short of suicide as Jiraiya could probably take on half of their current available ninja at once, and win. "As you know, trying anything to get Naruto back now would be extremely risky with Jiraiya around. The only course of action available to us is to bide our time and wait for an opening to present itself."
The Elders could only nod in agreement, they may not have liked the idea, but it was the only one available to them that didn't result in the massacre of hundreds of their ninja forces. "Very well, we shall wait and make our move when the time is right, but until that time comes we need to prepare for anything and everything," Danzo said, getting nods of agreement from everyone else in the room. "Even if there was only one technically loyal to the village, the Sannin were, and have always been a deterrent to the other villages to prevent war. When word gets out that all three Sannin have abandoned Konoha, other villages might be tempted to make a play for power."
"Danzo is right; we must be prepared for anything that might happen in the future. For now though, we shall retake control of the Ninja Academy and up the curriculum, we will need more powerful ninja at our disposal when the time comes to make our move and help prevent war, and the best place to start is at the bottom," said Sarutobi as he took out a sheet of paper and a pen and began writing orders out. "It is time that our ninja's skill should reflect our title as 'The Strongest of the Five.' Homura and Koharu, send word to all of our forces that there will be an emergency meeting in exactly two hours. Danzo, I am officially reactivating your Root Anbu program, I know that you have some young children already in there so send them to the Academy to train with their peers. Also, send word to the Academy that they are to implement these changes at once, and anyone who tries to argue with these orders is to be killed on the spot. As far as I'm concerned, we are now in a state of war and we will prepare as such."
The three Elders nodded in understanding and quickly left the office to complete their assigned task. Sarutobi sat back in his chair and glanced over at a picture he kept on the edge of his desk. It was a picture of his genin team when they were first formed. The Sandaime frowned at the sight of the picture before he pushed it off his desk watched as it cracked of the floor. 'It seems that all three of my former students have abandoned the village now. No matter, they can be dealt with in time, and then all three of them will pay the consequences for abandoning Konoha,' thought Sarutobi as he got back to work, but not without one last glance at the now broken picture. The glass had cracked in three places, each crack going through the face of one of his students.
Time skip- One Year Later
Jiraiya stood in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by the dense forest of the Land of Woods. He remained unmoving for a few more minutes before a shift in the wind caught his attention. Spinning around, he raised his arms just in time to block a kick to the head from a black blur. Pushing the assailant back, Jiraiya took a moment to observe the person.
The assailant flipped twice in midair before landing in a crouch a few yards away. Baggy black cargo pants led up to a black skin tight sleeveless shirt that displayed the person's developing chest, black sandals completed the outfit. A mop of spiky blonde hair rested on top of the attackers head while three whisker-like marks stood out prominently on his cheeks. The attacker was none other than a nine year old Naruto Uzumaki.
Jiraiya smirked when he saw the small frown growing on his godson's face, "Not bad gaki, your stealth has improved since the last time we sparred, though you're still nowhere near good enough to get the drop on me." Naruto's frown, which had started to turn into a smile at his sensei's compliment, was back in full force. Seeing an opening in Jiraiya's guard the blonde shinobi shot forward and attempted to deliver a left hook to the Toad Sage's ribcage. Naruto smirked when his punch met its mark only for his eyes to widen when the 'Jiraiya' he punched disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Caught off guard by the fact he was fighting a clone, Naruto was completely unprepared for the palm to the back that sent him sprawling. Deciding to take things up a notch, Naruto used the momentum from the palm strike to roll into a hand stand and flip backwards a few times before finally landing on his feet. Going through hand seals and ending with the tiger seal, Naruto jumped into the air and brought his right hand up to his mouth. "Katon: Fireball Jutsu," taking a deep breath, the young blonde launched a medium sized ball of fire at his sensei.
Seeing the approaching threat, Jiraiya flashed through hand signs of his own and ended with the snake seal. "Doton: Earth Wall," slamming his hands of the ground, a wall of earth rose just in time to block the attack. Releasing his jutsu, Jiraiya jumped up to meet the falling Naruto and delivered a sharp knee to the boy's chest.
Gasping for breath, Naruto could do little more than grab ahold of his sensei's arm to keep from falling to the unforgiving ground below. Seeing his student unable to keep his balance and control, Jiraiya flung him over his shoulder and landing softly on the ground. Setting his student down, Jiraiya waited for him to get his breathing back under control. "You've definitely improved Naruto, but you're becoming predictable again. You're relying too heavily on your elemental jutsu; you need to start using your Rinnegan and the Paths you've already unlocked more. I understand wanting to keep those abilities secret, but they won't do you any good to keep them secret if you don't know how to use them effectively in combat."
"I know Jiraiya-sensei, but you also said I needed to work on my skills in deception," said Naruto not facing his sensei. Jiraiya's eyes widened at the tone in his students voice but before he could react, said blonde spun around with his Rinnegan glowing slightly. "Shinra Tensei," said the Kyuubi jinchuuriki as he watched his sensei get blasted back by the invisible force of gravity.
'Why that little bastard,' cursed Jiraiya as he crashed into a few trees before coming to a stop at the edge of the now expanded clearing. Slowly getting to his feet, the Toad Sage cursed under his breath as he felt multiple joints popping back into place. Sensing his student approaching he managed to lift his head enough to see the smirking face of his nine year old student. "Damn it gaki, I hate it when you do that."
Naruto gave Jiraiya a look, "You're the one who said I needed to learn to use my Paths effectively in combat, so quit complaining."
"Oh shut up," rasped Jiraiya as he shakily made it to his feet, "I think that's enough for today anyway, we don't want to draw any attention to ourselves by altering the landscape."
Naruto nodded in agreement, but couldn't help the question that slipped out, "If you didn't want to bring attention to us, then why did you insist we come to the Land of Woods? This country was the birthplace of the Senju clan and has strong ties to Konoha, so a Konoha ninja could pop up almost anywhere."
Jiraiya just rolled his eyes, but couldn't fault his student's logic, "True this country has strong ties to Konoha, but it's also the home of one my secret hideouts."
"You have a secret hideout?" asked Naruto incredulously with a raised eyebrow.
Jiraiya glared at his student in mock indignation, "What, do you honestly believe I became a spy master without having a hideout or two lying around in case of emergencies?" Naruto had the decency to look slightly sheepish for not thinking about that before. Shaking his head in exasperation, Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to follow him as they made their way deeper into the forests of the Land of Woods. They traveled in silence for a few hours as they continued to make their way into the deeper and darker parts of the forest. Eventually they stopped at the base of a large tree but before Naruto could question his sensei, Jiraiya jumped up into the thick canopy above. Cursing his sensei silently, Naruto quickly followed by running up the tree with chakra.
Surprisingly, instead of thick, hard branches like he was expecting, Naruto found himself standing in the middle of what appeared to be large tree house. Taking a closer look, he noticed that it wasn't an actual tree house, but an open space with a wooden floor that spanned out to multiple surrounding trees. There was no actual roof above him, just the unnaturally thick canopy he had been expecting to run into on his way up. Returning his attention to the area around him, Naruto noticed several large monitors that were hanging on the side of one of the tree trunks with a large semicircle couch in front of them. In the center of the couch seemed to be a fire pit of some kind which he guessed was for cooking meals. There were also several large pieces of cloth draped over openings towards the back which most likely lead into bedrooms of some kind.
He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of his sensei's voice, "Well gaki, what do you think of our new home?" The young blonde took a few more moments to take in his surroundings before turning to his sensei with a small smirk on his face.
"Not bad sensei, though how is it a secret hideout exactly, anyone who climbs any of these trees will be able to find it."
Jiraiya only smirked as he had been expecting that very question, "No, they can't, this place is hidden by an extremely advanced, and nigh undetectable genjutsu. Only those with blessed eyes can hope to find it, and even then only those whose blood is keyed in to the security seals can access it."
"But wait, you're not that great at genjutsu sensei, so how is it there is such an advanced genjutsu protecting this place?" the blonde jinchuuriki asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"True I may not be the best at genjutsu, but I am a seal master. I created a seal that would temporarily place someone under my control and erase all their memories of whatever it is they did while under my control when the seal was released," Jiraiya said with pride while Naruto just gaped at him, "I placed the seal on Tsunade and had her apply a genjutsu similar to the one she uses on herself to hide this place."
Naruto merely starred at his sensei in wonder; to have such a seal at his disposal was invaluable. But then another thought stroke him, "You realize sensei, that if what you have told me of Tsunade is anything to go by, if she were ever to find out about that fact she would probably jump to conclusions and kill you, right?" Jiraiya's only response was to pale slightly, but quickly shook it off as he moved over to the monitors.
"Anyway, we'll use this place as our base of operations for the foreseeable future, unless circumstances demand we abandon it. For now though, get some sleep, cause tomorrow we'll be making plans on what we have to do in the coming years," said Jiraiya as he sat down on the couch and turned on the monitors, showing live and recorded camera feed from inside Konohagakure no Sato.
"Yeah, I'll see you in the morning sensei, night," said Naruto with a slight yawn as he made his way to one of the cloth covered openings.
"Night gaki," Jiraiya said over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the monitors, specifically the two showing the live and recorded footage from the Hokage's office. 'Time to see what that traitorous sensei of mine has been up to lately.'
The Next Morning
Naruto and Jiraiya sat across from one another on the couch in front of the monitors, each monitor showing footage from one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Naruto was focusing on the meat that was cooking over the fire pit, occasionally flipping a piece so it wasn't over cooked. Jiraiya though, was focusing solely on the monitors, when he saw the recorded footage of Sarutobi having a meeting with the three Elders of Konoha and what they talked about; he had been keeping a critical eye on the villages. "Hey Jiraiya-sensei, breakfast is ready," Naruto said, bringing his sensei's attention away from the monitors.
Jiraiya smiled as he accepted the plate his student was offering him, "Thanks gaki, you're a way better cook then I ever was." Popping one of the pieces of meat into his mouth, Jiraiya returned his attention to the monitors not wanting to miss even the slightest hint that there might be war.
Naruto looked up from his own meal and noticed Jiraiya had barely even touched his, "Hey sensei, is something wrong?"
Jiraiya glanced over at Naruto before turning back to the monitors, "I'm not sure Naruto, and that's what has me worried." Sighing the Toad Sage turned away from the monitors and began to eat his almost forgotten meal.
"What do you mean sensei?"
Putting his plate down, Jiraiya turned serious eyes to his student, "Last night, I watched a recorded meeting between Sarutobi and the village elders. It seems that for the past year or so, they have been making some drastic changes to the village and the ninja there. They have upped the curriculum at the Academy to increase the quality of their future ninja and they have also been training their active shinobi as well. It seems that with my departing, they fear that the other villages will see this as an opportunity to attack."
Naruto's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "So you're worried that another village may attack Konoha, is that what's got you so worked up?"
"No, it's not that," said Jiraiya with a glance at the monitors, "It's what might happen should another village try and attack Konoha. I fear that it may trigger another war and make our lives that much more difficult."
"How would a war make our lives harder, it's not like we'll be fighting in it," said Naruto his confusion growing.
Jiraiya sighed again before continuing, "It would make our lives harder because during times of war everyone, ninja and civilian alike, is very weary of outsiders and travelers. The civilians because they have no way of knowing if a person is who they say they are and the ninja because it could be a potential enemy of some kind. Also during war, some villages will hire or seek out wandering ninja and mercenaries to aid them, and with me being who I am, I'd be a prime target for those villages."
Naruto nodded, understanding why his sensei was so intent on keeping an eye on the villages. The two continued to eat in silence after that before a thought stroke him, "Hey sensei, if the villages are willing to waste resources on mercenaries and wandering ninja, do you think they'd use them to find stuff like weapons?"
Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, in fact they would probably go after weapons or objects that would help them in a war more than they would wandering ninja or mercenaries. That is because getting their hands on something is usually easier than recruiting a ninja; why do you ask?"
Naruto looked hesitant to respond and that set off alarms inside Jiraiya's mind. 'Naruto is usually outspoken and doesn't think before he speaks, what could possibly make him hesitate in voicing his thoughts?' thought the Toad Sage before he remembered the conversation he had with Kurama a year ago. 'Could it have something to do with that mission Kurama spoke of?'
Naruto took a shaky breath before finally answering his sensei's question, "Would jinchuuriki be included in that as well?" at Jiraiya's nod, he continued, "Then we have to move soon, if a war does break out it will make my mission that much harder."
"You're talking about that mission Kurama mentioned a year ago, right?" Naruto nodded the affirmative bringing a thoughtful look to Jiraiya's face. 'A mission involving the jinchuuriki, what the hell could he have to do?' Jiraiya pondered things for a moment before his eyes shot open, causing Naruto to flinched back slightly. 'He couldn't possibly be considering gathering all the jinchuuriki together could he?' "Naruto, what do you have to do that involves the jinchuuriki?"
"I have to bring them together so that the nine of us can fight together against a darkness that is hiding in the shadows of this world. Only when the nine of us fight together can we stand a chance of defeating this evil." This made Jiraiya frown slightly as he thought this over, 'A mission of this caliber would easily be considered SSS-rank by a village's standards, but what could this darkness he mentioned be? I'll have to let me spy network know to keep an eye and ear open for anything that might be related to this threat. Oh well, I always did enjoy a challenge.' Outwardly a smirk began spreading across Jiraiya's face as he continued to think things over.
"Alright gaki, sense it seems this mission was given to you by the Sage of the Six Paths himself, it must be of great importance. Now the first place to start is to locate the other jinchuuriki, and to do that we'll need my spy network. I'll send word out for them to start looking for any information that could relate to the jinchuuriki," said Jiraiya as he got up and walked over to one of the many flaps that covered an opening in the hideout. Naruto quickly followed after his sensei and had to control his surprise at what he found in the room.
The whole room was covered in seals. A large seal matrix was drawn in the center of the room where Jiraiya was currently sitting and a large map of the elemental nations lined an entire wall, with seals and locations listed all over it. Some of the seals were glowing a feint red while others weren't doing anything. Naruto's attention was torn from the room when the seal matrix Jiraiya was sitting in the middle of started glowing the same feint red as the seals on the map. Slowly, one by one the seals on the map began to dim and return to normal, and after the last seal had faded Jiraiya stood up from the seal matrix and motioned for Naruto follow him back into the main area.
"What the hell was that sensei?" asked a completely astonished Naruto.
Jiraiya couldn't keep the smirk off his face as he turned to his student, "That Naruto, is one of my greatest creations in the art of fuinjutsu. It is based on the same principle as the Yamanaka clans mind jutsu, but on a much larger scale. You see Naruto; I can't always be there in person when one of my informants has something important they need me to know. So I designed a seal that could be placed on my informants that would allow them to transfer whatever it is they need me to know into that room we were just in. When they do this, the seal that is linked to theirs will glow, indicating a new message and by sitting in the middle of that seal matrix, I am able to absorb whatever knowledge they send to me."
Naruto, for the first time in his life, was speechless. What his sensei had just told him seemed almost impossible, and to an average civilian, it was impossible! But as Naruto was quickly learning, in the world of ninja, always expect the unexpected. Finally finding his voice, Naruto said the first thing that came to mind, "That is so cool Jiraiya-sensei, you are so teaching me that later on!" Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down Naruto looked at his sensei with a question on his face, "So what all did you learn sensei?"
Hearing the question, Jiraiya's expression turned serious again as he and Naruto sat back down on the couch. "Actually Naruto, I got a possible lead on one of the other jinchuuriki." Naruto's eyes snapped up to meet his sensei, all traces of his earlier excitement gone. "From what my informant can gather, the jinchuuriki lives in Sunagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Sand. According to the stories that the Sandaime used to tell my team growing up, during his reign of the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju gained control over all nine of the bijuu thanks to his unique Mokuton abilities. Shortly after Konohagakure was founded, Hashirama spread the bijuu around to other sprouting villages in an attempt to equalize power. If I'm not mistaken, he gave the Ichibi to Sunagakure because of its ability to manipulate sand."
Naruto nodded slightly in understanding before turning to the monitor displaying Sunagakure, "So Shukaku is in Suna, that's at least a couple of day's journey from here at my top speed, which isn't much."
Jiraiya nodded, picking up a controller and turning on other monitors, showing different locations inside Sunagakure. "True, but that is if we go by foot. I think this would be a good time to test out summoning a larger creature through your Animal Path, but we can worry about getting there later. First we need to try and piece together an identity of who the jinchuuriki might be. From what my informant gathered, it is a young boy around your age, and judging by what some of the people he talked to said about the jinchuuriki it's obvious he isn't accepted."
"Then we need to hurry and get him out of Suna as soon as possible. I will not let one of my brother's suffer the same treatment I did," Naruto said, a quite rage building inside him as he remembered his life in Konoha. "Calm down kit, getting angry want do anything for us right now," said the voice of Kurama. Naruto was surprised to hear the kitsune's voice since he been strangely quiet for a while. 'Your right Kurama, but what's been up lately, you haven't said much since we passed through the Land of Waterfalls a month back?'
"Yeah, sorry about that, I've been thinking about something I felt while we were in that country."
'Really, what is it?'
"I wasn't sure at first, but now I know for certain, it was my brother Choumei. I felt his presence, but it was diluted, which explains why it took me so long to recognize it. He is inside a jinchuuriki, but the seal holding him is suppressing most of his power." Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, they had been so close to one of his sibling jinchuuriki and they didn't even know it!
"Jiraiya-sensei, we have a lead on another one of the jinchuuriki," said Naruto coming back to the present. Said Sage looked at his student in surprise, but quickly shook off, simply passing it off as a jinchuuriki thing.
"What do you have gaki?"
"The Nanabi no Kabutomushi, it is sealed inside a jinchuuriki in Takigakure. Kurama said he felt a presence there when we passed through it a month ago but couldn't tell from what. Apparently the seal holding Choumei, the Nanabi, is suppressing most of its power and keeping him from interacting with his jinchuuriki."
Jiraiya placed his hand under his chin in concentration, "Hmmm, you're probably right cause if I'm not mistaken, the Shodai gave the Nanabi to Taki as a sign of good faith. Alright then, we now know the location of two of the jinchuuriki, but the question is, which one do we go after first?"
"Shukaku's jinchuuriki, from what Kurama told me, he always was the most bloodthirsty and impulsive of the bijuu. Suna isn't known for its fuinjutsu expertise so it's extremely possible that whatever seal is holding Shukaku isn't up to standard, and his personality may influence his host. If that's the case, we need to get him out as soon as possible and you need to improve his seal." Jiraiya nodded in agreement, he may not have had a giant fox in his gut telling him about its siblings, but he had heard the legends of Shukaku's previous jinchuuriki.
"Alright gaki, you're right about Suna and their skills in fuinjutsu, so it's probably best to get them out first," said Jiraiya as he nodded to himself, "We'll leave in a week, that will give me time to work on a better seal for the jinchuuriki and give you time to hone your skills more. Now before we do anything else, I want to work with you on summoning a larger creature with your Animal Path. You have been able to summon numerous animals up to the size of a large bear, but nothing bigger. Naruto, if you were ever to get into a fight with someone who is capable of summoning something the size of, say Gamabunta, you would be easily defeated."
Naruto nodded in understanding, "I know sensei, but for some reason I just can't find the strength in me to summon something that size." Jiraiya closed his eyes as he contemplated this; this was a constant problem they kept running into whenever Naruto tried to summon something larger. They knew it couldn't have been because of a lack of chakra, being the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and thanks to the chakra control granted by Rinnegan, he had an almost unlimited amount of chakra at his disposal.
"Alright, hopefully we can figure that out while we train," said Jiraiya as he made his way towards one of the many gaps in the floor. Naruto quickly followed and the two jumped down into the forest below and moved away from the hideout. "This is far enough," Jiraiya said after they were about two hundred yards from the hideout, "Ok Naruto, you know what to do, try and summon a dog the size of one of the trees."
Naruto closed his eyes for a few moments before they snapped open. His first level Rinnegan blazing, Naruto flashed through the familiar hand seals for a summoning. Slamming his right hand on the ground Naruto focused as much chakra as he could into the jutsu, "Summoning Jutsu!" A large poof of smoke appeared in the clearing, when the smoke finally dissipated it revealed a large two-headed dog as tall as Jiraiya. "Damn it, why can't I summon anything larger than this?"
Jiraiya watched his student with a critical eye; he couldn't put his finger on it but he felt something was off about the summoning. 'Normally when someone summons something, it requires a small blood sacrifice, but when Naruto summons something, there is no sacrificed needed. When he first started training with his Animal Path we found out that the creatures he summons aren't real, they are just a manifestation his Animal Path creates. But wait, if the creatures are just manifestations, then extra chakra shouldn't be required no matter the size!' "Naruto, dispel him and come over here for a minute."
Still grumbling to himself, Naruto obliged and walked over to his sensei while the dog dispelled in a poof of smoke, "What is it sensei?"
"I think I just figured something out. When you summon something with the Animal Path, they aren't real animals, they are just manifestations created by your Animal Path. If I'm right, then when you summon something it isn't about chakra like a normal summoning, but it's about your Animal Path. Try focusing more on your Rinnegan and your Animal Path to summon and less about the chakra involved." Naruto thought about what his sensei said and nodded in agreement, it made sense. Since his version of a summoning was different than a normal one, it was possible that he had to approach it in a different manner. Walking back over to where he had summoned the dog, Naruto closed his eyes, but this time he focused on his Rinnegan and his Animal Path. Eyes snapping open again, Naruto flashed through the same hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu," a large cloud of smoke filled the clearing and a few yards outside of it as well. Sensing something big coming, Jiraiya jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by a giant paw. 'Looks like he finally got the hang of it,' thought Jiraiya as he waited for the smoke to clear. Slowly the smoke began to thin and Jiraiya could just make out the shadowy outline of a Gamabunta sized creature. After the smoke had completely dissipated, Jiraiya had trouble picking his jaw up off the ground. 'Oh you have got to be kidding me! Only Minato and Kushina's son would have the imagination to summon something like that!'
Before Jiraiya, with a beaming Naruto on its head, was a Kyuubi no Kitsune. Though this one was very different than the real one; its fiery crimson red fur had been replaced by sun kissed blond fur that matched Naruto's own and its blood red slitted eyes had been replaced by a first level Rinnegan. The Toad Sage was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his student's voice, "You were right Jiraiya-sensei, all I had to do was focus on my Rinnegan and Animal Path then poof, giant summons!"
Jiraiya shook his head at his students rarely seen hyper active attitude, "Ok gaki, dispel that fox before someone notices it and comes to investigate." Complying with his sensei's instructions, Naruto mentally ordered his summon to lower its head allowing him to jump off before dispelling in a poof of smoke. "Ok, now that you seem to have a grip on summoning larger animals, practice with controlling the size of the creatures and summoning as many as you can at once. I'm heading back to the hideout to begin working on the seal, don't stay out more than a few hours and if anything goes wrong summon that yellow Kyuubi again and I'll be there as soon as possible."
Naruto nodded and watched as his sensei disappeared in a blur back to their impromptu home. Cracking his knuckles, Naruto smirked as he started training with his Animal Path, 'Let's see what else I can summon.'
A Week Later
"Alright gaki, time to get going," Jiraiya said as he waited for his student to get ready. The young blonde came out of his official room wearing the same black clothes he had taken to wearing and black traveling cloak.
"Ready sensei," said Naruto as the two jumped down to the ground below them. Acting before his sensei could even ask, Naruto went through hand signs with his Rinnegan activated, "Summoning Jutsu!" In a poof of smoke, two gray birds, large enough to ride appeared in front of the two shinobi. Climbing onto the birds, Naruto gave them a mental command and the two birds shot into the air heading towards the desert region that was the Land of Wind.
"Naruto," Jiraiya called over the wind, "When we reach Sunagakure I'm going to meet with one of my spies, while I'm doing that I want you to look around the village for any signs of the jinchuuriki. If you find him, do not approach him, find me and we'll plan our next move from there." Naruto couldn't hide his disappointment at not being allowed to talk to his brother jinchuuriki, but he understood the need for secrecy; nodding his head, though reluctantly, Naruto continued to direct his summons in the direction of Suna.
After a few hours of flying, the two shinobi had finally reached the edge of the deserts of the Land of Wind. "Naruto take us lower to the ground, we don't want to be spotted yet." Naruto outwardly nodded while mentally ordering his summons to lower themselves so they were skimming the surface of the sand. The effect was almost immediate, at the speeds the two birds were flying a small sandstorm quickly formed behind them. In a flash of inspiration, Naruto made a few hand seals.
"Fuuton: Great Breakthrough," the young blonde blew out a medium sized ball of compressed air into the sands ahead of them, effectively increasing the sandstorm around them.
Jiraiya nodded in approval, "Very good Naruto that was an excellent use of the terrain to our advantage. Since Suna is in the middle of the desert sandstorms no matter how small, have become a natural part of their lives. With this cover we'll be able to fly right into the village unnoticed." Naruto smiled at his sensei's praise and continued to direct the birds towards their destination.
Sunagakure no Sato
The Yondaime Kazekage looked over his villager from his office window, admiring the beauty of it. The sun had reached its peak for the day and its light was being reflected perfectly off of the sand. The tiny particles reflected the light just so that the entire village seemed as though it were covered in glitter and shinning as bright a star. The Kazekage frowned however as he remembered what this beauty hid, behind this outward beauty was a very dark secret. 'Even Gaara was a failure; can anyone truly control the power of the Shukaku?' thought the Kazekage as his thoughts drifted to his youngest child. He knew that his son Gaara, the current host of the Ichibi, was playing with his deceased wife's younger brother, Yashamaru.
The Kazekage sighed as he thought about his brother-in-law, other than his eldest child and only daughter Temari; Yashamaru was the only person in the village who didn't fear Gaara. That was why he had chosen him for the mission he was planning. Yashamaru was his right-hand man, and the commander of both the village's medical core and Anbu core. With his skill, he was the perfect match for the mission he had planned, but the Kazekage couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in his heart at the pain it would cause his brother-in-law. 'Forgive me Karura-chan, but this must be done to see if Gaara can indeed control the power of the Shukaku,' taking one last look over his village, he noticed a small dust cloud heading towards the village, 'Looks like another small sandstorm, nothing to raise an alarm over.'
With Naruto and Jiraiya
The two shinobi were on alert as they flew over the walls of Sunagakure, still under the cover of the sandstorm Naruto had created. Once they were clear of the outer walls, Naruto directed the two birds towards one of the scarce training grounds that had trees to shield their presence. Landing in one of the trees, Naruto and Jiraiya waited for the sandstorm to clear before quickly transforming themselves into average looking civilians and making their way into the heart of Sunagakure.
"Alright Naruto, I'm going to meet with my spy. Remember if you find the jinchuuriki; do not approach him, if he is treated as badly as my spy said he was it would draw to much attention if we approached him in broad daylight. We'll wait till the cover of night to make our move if we find him today. We'll meet up at this address," said Jiraiya as he handed Naruto a slip of paper, "Now go enjoy yourself and look around, but remember not to talk to strangers."
Naruto could tell that Jiraiya was acting, they had just reached the market district of Suna and they wanted to blend in as much as possible. "Ok grandpa, I'll be careful," he said as he walked off and pretended to look around at all of the different stalls and shops.
The transformed Toad Sage watched as his student acted like an average civilian child, and couldn't help the proud smile that was slowly spreading across his face. 'He's so young, yet already so adapt at infiltration, maybe I can finally pass on my skills as a spymaster,' he thought as he walked towards a local bar.
With Naruto
The transformed blonde was walking around the village looking at everything in sight. To the world he look like a normal child exploring his home, but inside he was on alert, waiting for any sign of his brother jinchuuriki. 'Where could he be?' the blonde thought as he continued to walk around the village, unknowingly making his way to one of the rare playgrounds in the village.
"It's the demon, run!" Naruto's head snapped up when he heard the shout. Picking up his pace, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki rounded a corner only to see a sight that made his blood boil. Kids, adults and families of all kinds and ages were running away from the playground as fast as their legs would carry them. In the middle of the playground, curled up in a ball with his shoulders shaking, was a young boy with spiky red hair, much like his own.
Naruto slowly approached the red head, subconsciously knowing that this boy was a brother to him. Some sand crunching under his feet jolted the red head into a standing position, his sea foam green eyes wide with fear. "Kit, it's him, he's Shukaku's jinchuuriki," Naruto nodded at the voice in his head, his eyes never leaving the shacking body of his brother. 'So much for not approaching him,' thought Naruto as he stopped in front of the red head, his eyes showing nothing but happiness.
Gaara watched this stranger with wary, scarred eyes, whenever a stranger approached him, it usually ended in blood. Deep inside of Gaara's mind, Shukaku was watching this stranger with a critical eye. There was something about the boy that seemed familiar; he just couldn't put his claw on it.
"I finally found you," said Naruto as he looked Gaara in the eye. Gaara couldn't explain it, but he felt he could trust this person, there was something in his eyes that he had never seen in anyone else. Understanding. This boy understood what it was like to be feared, to be hated, and to be betrayed. They were alike, they were brothers. "We have much to talk about…brother," Naruto said as his eyes flashed red with slits for the briefest of seconds.
Gaara's eyes widened as his eyes flashed golden with a star shaped pupil as a feeling of calmness washed over him. "Indeed we do…brother," said Gaara as the sand around him began to swirl and formed a dome around the two boys.
Unknown to the two boys, someone had seen the little interaction. 'I wonder who this young boy is, to be able to calm Gaara with a few words is something even I can't do,' thought Yashamaru, Gaara's uncle. The Anbu/Medical Commander watched as the sand dome formed around the boys, preventing anything else from being heard. 'Maybe he can do what no one thought possible, maybe he can save Gaara from his inner demon. I don't know who you are, but I pray that you can help my nephew.' With that parting thought, Yashamaru jumped towards the Kazekage's tower to meet with his brother-in-law and leader.
Ok, before anyone starts complaining, I know I made Shukaku more docile, but that is because he understands his place among his brothers and sisters. Also, we never really learned how old Gaara was when he was attacked by his uncle, so I improvised and made it the way I wanted.
Well, until next time!
BSW