Introduction Arc
Part III: Operation "Find the Perverted Sage"
Phase Two
by Taliath
Day Two. Namikaze Naruto had woken up at the crack of dawn, and was now lightly stretching as the sun really began warming up the day.
He sighed at the warmth of the sunlight, briefly closing his eyes as he rested. Today was going to be a very strenuous day. He just knew, just had a gut feeling, that Phase Two was going to be slightly harder than he had first imagined.
There was a gentle breeze sweeping through the grass, chirping from birds just waking up, buzzing of insects.
It was very peaceful, Naruto noted. He hadn't realized how tense he had been until now. This Konoha just didn't have the same feeling of home.
"Boss, we're all done here."
"Oh, well. Better get to it," muttered Naruto as he slowly got up. "Thanks!" The clones disappeared with puffs of smoke.
He was currently deep, deep in the forest surrounding Konoha—where, he remembered, there were very few ninja patrols. In fact, if he remembered correctly, there was only one quick check once a week. It was just that secluded.
And it was just perfect for what he was about to do. No witnesses, far enough from Konoha to avoid patrols, in a region that was significantly lower than its surroundings, thus limiting sight from afar.
He remembered this area being his favorite spot for training top-secret techniques back in his home world—and now he would have to use it once more.
Phase One was dramatic, and he knew there would be consequences. It would definitely grab Jiraiya's attention, too. But there wasn't a guarantee that the perverted sage would come to Konoha, let alone that Naruto would be able to catch him in time.
Which was why Phase Two was necessary, since it was sure to grab that Sannin's attention.
Besides, he needed to get in contact with his godfather fast. The Sandaime was already suspicious of his actions, and the robbery wouldn't help his mood at all—
But, he thought with a foxy grin, that was the point, too. He needed to show some of his skill for the plan to be plausible. His whole plan with the pervert depended on it.
"Well, let's get the show on the road." Naruto carefully made sure that everything was in its place. His clones had been working on it since daybreak, only now finishing all preparations.
There was large patch of earth devoid of grass where forty-eight separate seals converged in a large circular spiral. Beside the enormous seal were two large pyramids of the four thousand barrels of sake he had stolen the night before.
Yes, thought Naruto, it does look like everything's perfect.
During his travels with Jiraiya, back when he was but eight years old, he had learned the lore behind summoning. After all, someone had to have created the contracts in the first place. Years later, when he began to learn about seals from his father, he had furthered his knowledge by stumbling onto the original summoning arrays that were used by the ninjas of old.
Indeed, he had been there when his father had crafted slightly altered summoning arrays during that brief war with the hidden village of Cloud. When other ninjas poured chakra into the array, large battle toads had been summoned. Those summoning arrays were largely based on the original.
And now, Naruto was going use this knowledge to summon. Sure, he had signed the toad contract years ago in his own homeworld—but when he tried the traditional method an hour earlier, it hadn't worked. Thus the need for the original summoning array.
He needed to forge a new contract with the frogs. And he knew just how he would go about doing it.
"I hope this works," said Naruto, as his thoughts returned to the village.
No doubt there would be a full inquiry into the robbery. It was highly doubtful they'd ever connect the loss of sake to him, but he needed to be careful. Already the Sandaime had asked him questions regarding the Mizuki situation. Not that it would hurt his plans if the Sandaime was intelligent enough to connect the dots—after all, it only helped his plan with the pervert. But still, if he couldn't contact Jiraiya soon, Naruto might be in rather large trouble.
No. I need to focus. I'll need to concentrate for this. With a firm nod, the blond slowly charged up the chakra in his hands until it glowed brightly blue. He gritted his teeth, forcing ever more to gather until his hands began to burn.
Summoning Gamabunta was exhausting as it was, normally. He himself could only just summon the boss twice, and that was when he was completely rested up and fresh. Normally. But this was different. He needed to pump far, far more than was necessary in order to activate the array.
Which was why summoning arrays were outdated and never used in recent times—and when they were used, it was by a team of jounin supplying the chakra.
Just a little more. Naruto winced as his hands began to shake in pain. A bit more.
There!
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Gamabunta!" roared Naruto as he slammed his hand down on the sealing array, unleashing all the chakra gathered in his hands—
The whole array lit up, each cluster of seals lighting up in ethereal blue. The array pulled more and more chakra from Naruto. The jounin gasped as more and more was taken from him. It was more than he had expected! Even with the large margin of error he had prepared for!
When the chakra in the vast sealing array had taken half again what was usually necessary for normally summoning the Toad Boss, the glow from the array disappeared—
There was an enormous cloud of smoke—
"EH?" rumbled a familiar yet still terrifyingly loud voice. "Where am I? Who dares to summon me using a summoning array? Was it… JIRAIYA?!"
Namikaze Naruto grinned weakly. The array had actually worked. Before him was Gamabunta, the boss of the toads.
The Sandaime sat alone in his office, a pile of paper sitting untouched beside him. Absentmindedly smoking his pipe, the old ninja considered the dilemma before him—his thoughts whirling at speeds unknown.
He was a true genius, declared Hokage of Konoha at the age of thirteen, living to a ripe old age, a fact which most ninja couldn't even dream of. In his prime, he had easily been the most powerful ninja in the shinobi world. He had lived through three separate Great Ninja Wars. But his strength was failing him, he knew, and he still had no heir.
But this old problem was not what was plaguing his weary mind at the moment.
He briefly glanced down at the reports before him, compiled by various ANBU captains and even an ANBU Commander. He had already memorized them, of course, but it still allowed him to refocus at the task on hand.
Illusionary techniques concealing facilities not disturbed. No traps deactivated or released.
The intruder was very skilled—or knew an alarming amount of information about the precise location of the warehouses and its protections.
No sign of forced entry, yet a vast amount of sake is missing.
The intruder had known a top-secret, elite-jounin level unlocking combination. This was strong evidence that this intruder was a Konoha-nin.
Very minute traces of chakra, too minimal to obtain a match for known chakra composition.
The intruder was skilled, possibly an A-rank shinobi, and definitely a seal master. There was no other way that much sake could disappear with almost no trace of chakra.
The A-Level Lightning Lock was reactivated before a chakra-enhanced physical attack triggered it.
The intruder had taken the time to make sure everyone in Konoha knew what had happened. Was it a taunt? A declaration that even their supposedly secure facilities weren't as safe as they had presumed? Perhaps blackmail of some sort?
No evidence that explosive charge from seal was blocked in any manner. Evidence suggests that there was nothing impeding the explosive charge….
The intruder had disappeared before the lightning charged from the seal. Thus, the intruder must at least be an elite jounin in rank. There was no other way anyone could be fast enough to escape the explosive storm, especially after having physically punched the seal at close range.
Lockdown of the facility was in full force. No ANBU member unaccounted for. No evidence of intruder escaping from facility. Search of the warehouses revealed no one in hiding.
The intruder had escaped, yet was undetected even when the facility had been locked down by ANBU shinobi. Either the intruder had been skilled enough to impersonate someone or had been skilled enough to evade the virtual army of ANBU completely. Both possibilities were disturbing.
Preliminary tests show no sign of tampering with any other warehouse. More detailed analysis to follow. Will take approximately three months.
The Sandaime put down the reports once again with a weary sigh. The reports amounted to this: the intruder was highly efficient, impossibly skilled, perfectly capable, and terrifyingly well-informed. If he didn't know better, the Sandaime might have even suspected his old student, Orochimaru, to be behind this.
But, no, that last report discounted that idea. If Orochimaru had done something like this, the Sandaime was heartbreakingly sure the consequences would have been dire. If it really had been his former student, the situation would have included far more destruction and death all around.
However… Sarutobi narrowed his eyes as he watched his beloved village.
The list of accomplished ninjas capable of pulling this off was very short. Too short.
Jiraiya. Tsunade.
Suddenly, the image of a blond, hyperactive brat came into the old Hokage's mind. That boy, with his flair for dramatics and desire for attention, would have gladly, even enthusiastically, pulled off something like this—if he had the skill.
Who was he kidding? the Sandaime thought with a sigh. No, no. The child was hardly a ninja, barely a genin. There was no way Naruto could—
Yet another rather vivid image came into his mind—of another blond brat. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, father of Uzumaki Naruto. The legendary Yellow Flash—
Evidence suggests that there was nothing impeding the explosive charge….
The Sandaime sat down abruptly as all strength suddenly left his body.
"I am getting too old for this," muttered the Sandaime as he tossed that revelation out the window. It was absolutely ridiculous to even suggest that an unskilled, untrained—
"He was acting—strange, Hokage-sama. Not like himself at all. Maybe… maybe it was because he was still shocked by the revelation of the Kyuubi….?"
Unwillingly, Iruka's voice stirred in the corner of his mind, and other thoughts coalesced together—the Yellow Flash, a byproduct of the legendary Hiraishin no Jutsu. It was plausible, it was very much possible that the intruder could have escaped through this method—thus escaping the lightning charge—undetected by all the ANBU—past all the security—
No! Absolutely not possible! The technique was dead! argued the Sandaime to himself most vehemently.
"He's always been an impossible brat, but he's… like family, you know?" Iruka smiled sadly. "He's a good boy, really. He's just never been given a chance. But that'll change, Hokage-sama. After all, he makes the impossible possible."
The impossible possible….
No. Uzumaki Naruto was not capable of infiltrating such a secure facility! Not even if by some impossible event he knew the Flying Thunder God technique—he would have still had to get passed the A-level locking seal and somehow made thousands of barrels of sake disappear into thin air—and the blond child didn't even drink sake—
Jiraiya. Lover of booze and women. Yes. Now that made sense. But why would the perverted Sannin, who hadn't stepped foot in the village for over twelve years now, come back just to cause this chaos?
Then again, it was precisely what the Toad Hermit might do, thought Sarutobi with a roll of his eyes.
He was weary. That could be the only explanation for why he had, even for the slightest of moments, suspected Uzumaki Naruto—
"I thought I was going to die, but then Naruto caught the shuriken as if it was nothing. I-I… to be honest, I didn't think he could do something like that. Then he was fast enough to intercept Mizuki mid-charge, shut his opponent down like nothing I've ever seen. It was like… like Mizuki was nothing to him. Not even a threat. It was…"
Impossible. Implausible. Utterly contradicting everything previously known about the boy.
"Hey, grandpa! Who was that guy? He looks really strong! And he did that disappearing trick all jounins know!"
Crack! The Sandaime looked down at the shattered cup in his hand blankly. Slowly he allowed the shards to clatter onto the table. How did Naruto know the jounin technique? It wasn't a skill listed in the Forbidden Scroll—
Could it really be? That Naruto, might not be Naruto? That the boy was—
Almost in a trance, the old Hokage turned to the crystal ball hidden in his backroom. He sat down carefully in front of the all-seeing eye of the artifact, focusing chakra into the ball. He directed it to Naruto's apartment, certain that the boy would be there—
"Iruka spoke to me about several discrepancies that appeared in your behavior…. After all, defeating a chuunin on your own… just short of impossible."
The Sandaime exhaled sharply. The crystal ball was blank, misty, unable to penetrate into the apartment. There were obviously seals preventing him from viewing the inside.
Seals. Security.
Uzumaki Naruto was nowhere else to be found in the village, the Sandaime confirmed. Either he was inside his home, or he was outside the village walls.
What does this mean? The Sandaime stood up slowly. What is going on here? Is Naruto's strangeness at all related to last night's incidence? Why are there seals on Naruto's apartment? Who placed them there?
How had Naruto learned the Shunshin? How had he been able to stop Mizuki, a chuunin, without a sweat? How was the boy able to learn and produce the Kage Bunshin in a single night?
And why, why was the old Hokage experiencing such an ominous feeling?
Was Jiraiya involved in any way? Was he the mastermind behind all this confusion? Could it be that Jiraiya had somehow established a rapport with Naruto?
It was possible. The man was the child's godfather. It was possible….
The Sandaime approached the large window in his office. He finally knew what to do.
All questions led directly to Naruto. There was only one possible course of action.
"Heiro, Kayumi." The Sandaime watched, detached emotionally, his face cold.
"Hokage-sama." Two ANBU shinobi blurred into view.
The Sandaime ruthlessly subdued the rush of emotions at the thought of hurting Naruto, and spoke with steel in his voice, his face impassive. "Find me Uzumaki Naruto. Bring him here—"
He was the Sandaime Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He was sworn to protect his home, at all costs—
"—by force, if necessary."
The ANBU disappeared; leaving behind an old, weary Hokage wondering if he was doing the right thing.
"Hmm," considered the Toad Boss, expelling a puff of smoke from the end of his pipe. "You expect me to believe this, runt?"
Naruto just barely stopped himself from slapping his forehead in irritation. "Look, Gamabunta-sama. I'm telling the truth—how else would I know how to use the old summoning arrays? How else would I have the chakra to summon you?"
"Hmm," growled Gamabunta. "So you're from another world, eh? The son of the other blond brat."
"That's right," said Naruto slowly, rolling his eyes.
"And you are here because the Kyuubi decided he didn't want to die."
"Yep."
"I battled that demon once, you know. It wasn't easy. He even gave me this scar."
"I know."
"Of course, I returned the favor by helping to seal him away permanently."
"Right."
"So. You want to forge another contract with me and the Toads."
Naruto looked up hopefully. "You believe me, then?"
"HAHAHA!" The Toad Boss roared with laughter. "Yeah right, runt! A likely story, but tell Jiraiya he needs to find a more believable idiot than you to tell it to me. I have no idea why that pervert wants another Toad Summoning Contract, and I don't care either. It's been a while since I've had some fresh air. Since it seems he doesn't need me, I'll be taking a walk." The large toad began to move away.
Naruto sighed. He had hoped the Boss would listen and believe his story, but it seemed Gamabunta was just as stubbornly suspicious as in his own world.
Well, thought the boy, I'd hoped I wouldn't have to use this, but it seems I've no choice.
In a loud voice, Naruto shouted after the Toad Boss. "I formally challenge you in a battle to obtain a summoning contract with the Toads!"
Gamabunta froze.
With a grin, Naruto leaped up and landed neatly on the Boss's nose. "That's right. I've learned Toad lore. I formally challenge you to a drinking match, Gamabunta-sama!" The blond pointed to the two large pyramids, each pile having almost two thousand barrels of alcohol. "I've even prepared the sake."
"Heh, heh, heh," chuckled the Toad Boss in amusement. "So it seems you know I can't refuse. But if you think a runt like you can out drink me, think again!"
"I'll take my chances," said Naruto, a sly smirk on his face. "Shall we?"
"I never refuse free sake, brat," said Gamabunta. "But when you become unconscious, I won't bring you back to Konoha."
"Don't," shouted the blond in response. "I'll beat you for sure!"
"Whatever, kid. Get ready for the challenge."
The jounin leaped off the Toad Boss and strolled over to the large pyramid. "According to the lore, the one who drinks the most, fastest is the winner, right? As long as I drink all of my pile before you do, I win this challenge, right?"
"Correct. You've already divided the sake equally. Good. And because I'm feeling generous, I'll allow you to call the start of this challenge."
"Thanks!" beamed Naruto. "All right then. Ready, set, GO!"
Gamabunta reached forward and gripped the barrel carefully with two fingers and popped off its lid, pouring the sake into his mouth. "Ahh, very, very good! Come on, boy! Hurry up and start! You might finish one barrel by the time I'm finished with this whole pile!"
"Oss!" said Naruto, and he formed a single hand seal, expelling nearly the rest of his chakra with his one technique. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
"EHHH?!" rumbled the Toad Boss, momentarily stopping from drinking as he watched the forest around him fill with thousands of identical blond runts.
"This is how I'm going to win," declared the original Naruto loudly. "I, and my clones, am going to beat you!"
"Yeah!" shouted one clone.
"We'll definitely win!"
"This challenge will be a cinch!"
"You're going have to make us a contract now!"
"HO?" growled the Toad Boss. "Do you really think you can beat me with several thousand identical runts? Hah! Think again!"
"We'll see about that!" yelled Naruto. "All right, everyone! Drink up!"
Thousands of Naruto, grouping into teams of five each per barrel, began washing down the sake—
And the drinking contest was on.
Hours later, as the sun was just past its zenith, the contest was drawing to a close.
"Ughhh," groaned the real Naruto, as clones began disappearing one by one, having finished with their barrel. "I think I'm going to be sick."
He himself had not taken a single sip, but the combined memories of thousands and thousands of clones, and their muddled thoughts, nauseated the blond. "I don't think I'm going to do this ever again—"
The blond's stomach heaved and Naruto barely forced himself not to throw up. "Never again, never, never, never—"
But more and more memories piled on each other, as clones began dispersing by the dozens, and Naruto's eyes widened before he wretched up his breakfast, tears clinging to his eyes. He felt woozy, disoriented, and sick. His throat was parched and—
"Unbelievable. You're already finished with the sake." The Toad Boss was nearly finished as well, but it was clear who had won. "Heh, amazing, runt. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see if myself. To think you still had the chakra to summon so many shadow clones. I'm impressed, brat."
"I, I told you," mumbled Naruto, his eyes closed and his hands rubbing his temples furiously. "I told you I'd win no matter what!"
"So you did," agreed Gamabunta, still sipping from the relatively tiny barrels, which looked rather easily like a shot cup, tiny things used by humans to drink sake. "And I suppose I should live up to my side of the bargain. Very well, then. Kuyichose no Jutsu!" The Boss Toad slammed one of his webbed hands onto the ground—without blood—and another large toad appeared.
The new toad, who Naruto recognized as the official Toad Contract keeper, wore a large bead necklace signifying her role. She looked around slowly, recognizing Gamabunta and bowed low.
"Give him the scroll. We have a new summoner for the Toads."
The female toad warbled, before released the large scroll she held in her mouth.
"If you really have already signed this, then you should know what to do, eh runt?"
Ignoring the insult and resisting the urge to stick his tongue out at the Toad Boss, the blond jounin carefully unrolled the scroll, bit his thumb, and signed it. Finally, he pressed all his five, blood-stained fingers onto the scroll.
It was done.
The female toad reached out with her tongue, gathering up the scroll, before disappearing in another poof of smoke.
"You know, kid, I like you," rumbled the Toad Boss. "And I accept you as my subordinate. Now, since I'm out of chakra, I'll be leaving. You can now summon any toad with my permission—just don't summon me for the trivial things, all right boy?"
Naruto grinned weakly, still feeling the mess of memories from his drunken clones, and saluted. "Aye, boss! No problem. Thank you!"
Gamabunta took one last look around the world, breathing in deeply the fresh air.
Maybe, the toad considered, just maybe, the boy was speaking the truth after all—perhaps he really was from an alternate reality—
And if that were so, the Toad Boss was sorely disappointed that he would be unable to see the Sannin's face when the pervert found out.
Releasing his breath, Gamabunta allowed himself to escape back into his own realms with an enormous puff of smoke.
Phase Two was completed successfully.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu!
"Yo! The name's Gamakichi! Do you have any candy?"
"'KICHI! It's me Naruto! Hehehehe... Is it just me or are you thinner than the last time I saw you?" Giggle.
"Hey, are you drunk?"
"Must be because I haven't summoned you in a while. You've been starving for some tasty candy, haven't you?... Hehehe... Ugh. Headache. I've got a headache. I think I'm gonna throw up."
"Ahh! NOT AT ME! NOT ON ME!"
"Ugh... I feel better now. Thanks for helping me, 'Kichi!"
"YOU THREW UP ALL OVER ME, IDIOT!"
"STOP SHOUTING! MY HEAD HURTS, DUMB ASS!"
"I'M TELLING DAD YOU CALLED ME A DUMB ASS!"
Puff.
"OH YEAH? WELL GO RIGHT AHEAD!... Urgh... hey, where'd 'Kichi go?"
Kuchiyose no Jutsu!
"Oh, it's you. Are you gonna throw up all over me again?"
Sheepish look. "Sorry about that. Candy?"
"Fine. What do you want?"
"Could you deliver this to Jiraiya as soon as possible?"
"A letter? What's in it?"
"Something really really really really important!"
"Right..."
"THANKS 'KICHI! I'LL BE GOING NOW!" Groan. "I think I'm going to throw up again."
"Why is it always the weird ones? First that stupid pervert Jiraiya, then his apprentice with that obsession with the summoning world, and now..."
Heiro and Kayumi sorely regretted the fact that they had been standing on duty when the Sandaime had called out for them.
"Whatever it is, I didn't do it!" yelled a hyperactive blond. "Ow, ow, ow! My head hurts!"
Heiro's eyes twitched with extreme irritation and he snapped at the boy before he could stop himself: "Then stop bloody shouting!" His once pristine uniform was dirtied and singed. Part of his hair was painted bright orange—the other half was gone. He definitely felt he had a right to be fairly angry with the blond.
"What happened to your hair?" The boy began to giggle, swaying on his feet. His eyes were dilated, his cheeks bright red, and it was obvious that he was intoxicated. "That's so cool, ANBU-san! You've got real guts to go around like that!"
Heiro briefly considered using a kunai to show the brat just how much he appreciated his comments. After all, the Sandaime had given them permission to use force, right?
"Uzumaki-san, Hokage-sama wishes to see you immediately. We assure you, you are in no trouble," lied Kayumi smoothly. Out of the two ANBU shinobi, the kunoichi felt she had gotten off much better after that disastrously failed attempt to enter Uzumaki's apartment. Sure, she had been subjected to a cloud of sleep-inducing vapor that would have rendered her helpless for hours, but she was an Aburame, and her bugs had easily taken care of it. And she felt the pink highlights in her hair were rather cute—though she would never admit it to anyone else.
"Lying is bad," scolded the blond boy with a pout. "You shouldn't lie, ANBU-chan." Kayumi blinked and Heiro opened his mouth—but the blond boy continued to speak. "Especially when it's obvious you're lying. Bad neechan."
Kayumi raised an eyebrow. "We are not lying, Uzumaki-san. You are not in trouble. And Hokage-sama does wish to see you."
"There!" shouted the boy, his eyes wide and eager. "You use that voice whenever you're lying! Ha!"
Kayumi resisted the urge to frown. Her skills in deception were exceptional—all Aburame were extremely capable in this area of shinobi arts. How had the child known?
"Oh, dizzy," moaned Uzumaki, swaying quite ridiculously on his feet. "I think I better head home. Thanks for guarding my apartment for me! I appreciate it! See ya!" With unsteady steps, the blond boy attempted to walk past them into his apartment building, but Heiro moved to stop him.
"I don't think so, brat," he barked, standing rather dauntingly in the kid's way. "Didn't you hear me, Hokage-sama wants to see you now!"
Uzumaki peered up at him with large, watery blue eyes. "ANBU-san, can't you see I'm sick and tired here? W-would you really stop me from getting rest?"
Heiro's right hand twitched as he once again revisited the fantasy of using his kunai on the idiot in front of him.
"You do not wish to keep Hokage-sama waiting, do you?" asked Kayumi, carefully moving so that she stood between the two. For both of their sakes.
"But, you said I wasn't in trouble! You said so! That means I can see him tomorrow, right?"
"You claimed I was lying," Kayumi replied tonelessly.
Uzumaki winced. "Point. ANBU-chan, you're so smart!" The boy scratched the back of his head, grinning like a fool. "Say, do you think you could ask him to see me tomorrow instead?"
"No."
"What if I promised? Like, pinky promised?"
"No."
The boy giggled nervously. "But what if I'm already asleep? I don't think I can wake up until tomorrow."
"No—what?" Kayumi experienced a very bad feeling.
"Well, you see—when I saw you two standing there in front of my apartment, I just knew you'd try to stop me from getting my well-deserved rest! And I was really, really, really, really, really, really—"
"Uzumaki," growled Heiro, true anger bubbling up in his voice. He actually had the kunai in his hand now.
"—really tired! So I thought: I'll leave a shadow clone to deal with them while I go to sleep. I'm sure it's nothing important. And even if it is, I can deal with it tomorrow! So I went to sleep, and here I am!"
Kayumi stared blankly at the supposed shadow clone before her.
"But," said the shadow clone, looking quite pitiful. "I feel just awful too, you know. I'm dizzy and I feel like I'm going to spew out my insides. So, do you think maybe we could do this later? Like really late tomorrow? Preferably with the real me?" Actual tears began leaking out from the corner of the clones eyes. "You know, people think we clones don't have any feelings. But we do! So, ANBU-chan, can you let me go to sleep now? Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?"
The two ANBU were dumbstruck. The two shinobi glanced at each other, affirming that each had seen the absolutely ridiculous sight before them. The two then returned their gaze to the source of their bewilderment.
The nearly-crying boy pouted at them suddenly with impossibly large and round blue eyes.
Heiro couldn't believe it. So had the rumors been true after all? This idiot had really mastered a jounin-ranked technique?
"Very well. We will inform Hokage-sama," Kayumi said neutrally.
"Aww, really, ANBU-chan? You're the best!"
Kayumi froze as the blond boy leaped up to give her a hug, at a loss of what to do.
"Nighty-night, ANBU-chan," sang Uzumaki, still hugging Kayumi. He turned to Heiro and added not so enthusiastically: "ANBU-san, you're mean. I don't like you."
There was a puff of smoke and the shadow clone dispersed. Inside the apartment building, the real Naruto rolled over in his sleep, mumbling incoherently.
Back outside, Heiro spun around to face his partner in surprise. "What're you doing? Hokage-sama said we needed to bring the boy to him—by force if we needed to!"
Kayumi answered impassively. "And how do you plan to do that? A shadow clone would have been worthless. Are you willing to attempt to raid the apartment again?"
Her partner gave her a dirty glare, very self-conscious of his rumpled appearance. He could still vividly remember the traps that caused his current state. With a shudder at the thought of meeting anyone he knew, Heiro snapped right back. "Still, we'll be failing our mission then! Hokage-sama will be displeased!"
"Yes." Kayumi turned to head back to the Hokage Tower. "Yes. He will be. But it is out of our hands now."
Heiro followed reluctantly as they both began leaping atop the buildings. He sighed loudly. "What does the Sandaime want with that demon brat anyway?"
"It is pointless to ponder."
Heiro rolled his eyes. At least, he thought to himself, the brat was going to get his comeuppance soon. Snubbing a request (read: demand) to meet with the Hokage was something a person just did not do. Even the Fire Daimyo would come running at the Sandaime's call—perhaps whining and complaining the whole journey—but he would still come as soon as possible.
The ANBU grinned behind his mask. Uzumaki Naruto, you'll be wishing you'd stayed awake before long.
Sarutobi allowed the crystal ball to deactivate.
Naruto certainly seemed to have the same hyperactive, enthusiastic personality. He exuded the same temperament as before.
And yet…. The list of subtle differences was piling up.
Abilities—the boy had successfully evaded the ANBU sent to capture him. Defeated a chuunin easily. Supposedly learned the shadow clone technique, a jounin-ranked ninjutsu, within a single night. Could Shunshin with the ease of an experienced shinobi.
Seals—the boy's apartment was very secure. So secure, in fact, that two elite ANBU couldn't penetrate it.
The Sandaime's eyes narrowed.
There was one other thing to add onto the list. The boy was clearly intoxicated. Was it coincidence, then, that just the evening before, a vast amount of alcohol had disappeared?
"Hokage-sama," said Kayumi as she blurred into view; beside her was her partner. "We—"
"I know," said the Sandaime gently. "Do not worry. I'll deal with this situation. Rest now—Heiro, be sure to see a medic about those burns."
The two ANBU bowed before disappearing, leaving the old Hokage to return to his thoughts.
What to do… he wondered. What was the right course of action, now? There was just too much suspicion to leave Naruto alone. Though his gut feeling told him that the Naruto sleeping in his apartment was the real Naruto, the discrepancies in the boy's abilities were just too much to ignore.
Could it be that he was just overreacting? thought the Sandaime. Was there a simple explanation for all this?
"But to determine that, I must still question him," mumbled Sarutobi to himself. He sank into his chair, allowing his old bones to rest, and sighed. Briefly his mind wandered to a small orange book hidden beneath folders in his second drawer—
No. He had to focus.
What was he going to do about Naruto? The child obviously needed his rest from whatever he was doing all day. And it wouldn't do for the Hokage himself to personally punch through the security seals surrounding the apartment—and he didn't want to send a whole ANBU squad just to question the boy. There was no need to traumatize the child.
Yes. From his observations, he was entirely sure it wasn't someone impersonating the child. If nothing else, the ridiculous chakra capacity of the boy proved this—a chakra source perhaps as large as his own!
"Tomorrow, then," decided the old Hokage, vocalizing his thoughts. "After the team assignments, I will have to have a long discussion with Naruto to straighten all this out." And he also had to deal with a disgruntled village council.
Resisting the urge to yawn, as it was rather unbecoming of a Kage, the Hokage automatically reached into his drawer. It was time to relax, now.
A minute later, muffled perverted giggles could be heard in the Hokage Office.
To be continued...
INTRO ARC Part Four: Operation "Go With the Flow" will be updated very soon, but reviews really help encourage me to write! So take the hint, spend a minute, and review! As I've said before, I honestly appreciate each and every review you make, even the one-worded ones. Reviews really show me that you've taken precious time out of your schedule to comment on my fic--and there's nothing more an author can ask.
Technique Translations:
1. Kuchiyose no Jutsu -- Summoning Technique -- summons an animal
End Notes:
As promised, this next portion was uploaded within forty-eight hours. Cheers!
The next chapter will bring this whole Operation to a close, and we'll begin a new adventure. I think you'll enjoy what I have planned. Also, I hope you all enjoy my depiction of the Sandaime. He'll play a central role in this fic and I truly hope to do him justice. He's one character that I feel is often too flat in most fics. I hope to give him a more three-dimensional feel. After all, he played quite the role in bringing all these canon events together. This fic will explore the Sandaime quite a bit.
So. One last chapter for the INTRO ARC before we move onto the next arc that really gets the story moving along.
Thanks for reading.
Please, once again, review! Tell me what you think! I really appreciate any and all feedback.
Comments always welcome.
-- liath
