Once again I must apologize, this is later than I wanted to get this out. I can't really blame the tardiness of the chapter on work and school this time, though writers block did rear it's ugly head again. No, this time, the lateness can be blamed on Horizon Zero Dawn and Mass Effect Andromeda. I did mention in my profile that March would be a troublesome month for my attention span. To make up for it, I have a special treat for you guys at the end of the chapter.

Anyway, here's chapter 4.

I do not own Naruto or Okami.

Ink Stained Leaves

Chapter 4

First Impressions

Six weeks had passed by since the white-haired clan had marched on the village to join its ranks. Since then things had changed in Konoha. Not many could deny that the addition of the Okami clan was the cause for this change in the ninja village.

Yomi and his family members were seen at many damaged areas around the village; using Rejuvenation, repairs had taken very little time to complete, though the limits of the technique were made apparent. There were just some areas that could not be repaired, thankfully these areas were small in number and could be taken care of by the genin squads.

Those of the clan that had combat training were tested and many found positions within the village's ninja ranks. The Celestial Brush Masters were all found to be at least tokubetsu jonin to jonin rank in terms of skill and power. Of the remaining eighty-one ninja of the clan, nine were given the tokubetsu jonin rank, twenty-three earned chunin rank, and the last forty-nine were placed as genin. While this didn't bring them back to the numbers they had before the Kyuubi's attack, it did alleviate the pressure a significant amount.

With this boost in man power, the ninja of Konoha weren't as overworked as they were before. Not that this meant much, they were still trying to stay ahead of the other villages and not reveal that they were still recovering, though things were proceeding far quicker than they would've without the Okami.

Hiruzen stood in his office, looking out over the village as it started to look more like it had before the Kyuubi came. He was taking a moment to ignore his paperwork and relieve his stress by surveying his village and taking a few puffs of his pipe.

All major repairs on the village had just gotten completed a few days ago with the finishing touches being applied here and there. What was left was being handled by genin teams which amounted to pretty much being cleanup. The only major work being done right now was the construction of the Okami clan compound. Hiruzen could only shake his head when he thought back on that meeting…

Five weeks ago

"We can't have them staying in that camp forever Fugaku!" Tsume argued with the Uchiha clan head.

"And where would you suggest they stay? We have bigger things to worry about, like finishing repairs and getting our security back to what it was!" Fugaku retorted.

"What repairs? Yomi-san and his family have been fixing things all week; they've gotten things repaired faster than any of our own could've done it. Your police force hasn't had to offer any to the repair effort so you should have plenty to keep up security." Shikaku stated, "We're weeks ahead of where would've been if it weren't for the Okami's."

"The least we can offer is a place where they could build a place to call home." Choza followed up with.

The meeting had been going on like this for nearly an hour now. While nearly every other ninja on the Shinobi council was willing to accept that the Okami's needed a lot for their compound, none could agree on where it should be. No one could really pick one spot over another; when one would offer an idea for a spot, another would voice why that location wouldn't work. And so the conversation would circle around until they reached the point they were at now

Hiruzen himself was looking a map of the village trying to locate a spot that hadn't been thought of yet. As simple as it should've been, Fugaku had a point; there simply wasn't a spot that immediately stood out. The park they were currently camped out in wouldn't do for much longer so a spot had to be found soon. The fact that Fugaku still was mistrustful of the clan didn't help matters either. Hiashi had relented on his bias, though he still hadn't commented on what should happen with the compound issue.

Staring down at the map, Hiruzen started to get an idea. It was a little crazy, but maybe that was all he needed to make it work.

"Everyone, quiet please. Fugaku, looking at this map, am I to understand that there is a rundown warehouse complex not too far from your compound?" Hiruzen asked.

The look on Fugaku's face as he realized what the Hokage was saying was something Hiruzen wouldn't forget anytime soon. Just the look he wanted the Uchiha clan head to get.

"Hokage-sama, you can't possibly be suggesting what I think you are."

"We have no need for those buildings right now, if we cleared that area it would be the perfect size for a compound. And look at it this way, since you have yet to fully put your trust in them, your clan is close enough to keep an eye on them." the old Hokage said.

Fugaku struggled with his words for a few moments, as he wanted to argue the point, but what the Hokage said made sense. The Okami seemed to be happy just being a part of the village, but his position as the head of the village's police force meant he couldn't just trust them as much as the rest of the Shinobi clans did.

If they were someplace out of the way, he would have a hard time justifying having patrols keeping an eye on them. With them being so close to his clan's compound would make surveillance on them simpler. On the other hand, they would be close to his compound as well as the police headquarters. Not that they knew that, but it wouldn't be long before they figured it out.

The Uchiha were by far the most isolated of the clans in the village, it was something they had come to accept and grown used to. To say the least having neighbors of any kind made him weary was an understatement.

"I can see what you mean Hokage-sama, but I must add that I am not happy with this arrangement." was all that Fugaku could say.

"Pfft, you're just upset that your clan won't be able to sit in their own little corner and brood for hours on end by themselves anymore." Tsume said amused.

"Must you always comment?" asked the Uchiha clan head.

"Yes. If only to see the look on your face." she replied with mirth.

"Can you think of any reason that they shouldn't be given that lot Fugaku-san?" the Hokage asked.

"….. No, Hokage-sama. I can give no reason they should not be granted that spot." the Uchiha said in defeat.

"Very well, I'll inform them that they now have a lot and then I want a demolition team there as soon as one becomes available. Meeting adjourned." Hiruzen finished.

Present

Hiruzen couldn't really blame Fugaku for his reluctance to let the Okami live so close to his clan compound; the clan had been out in the part of the village by themselves for a long time now. It only made sense that they would be hesitant about suddenly accepting neighbors. Still, it wasn't like they were right next door, the lot was still a good distance away.

Hiruzen thought that it would be good for the Uchiha if they weren't so isolated, though he guessed that a period of adjustment was needed for a bit.

Once again Hiruzen had to be impressed with the new clan. Two weeks since they had been given their lot and the Okami had already accomplished much with their slice of land. They had already laid down a foundation and were nearly complete with the frame of the main house. It would still be a while before they would complete the compound, but speed at which they finished what they had was impressive.

In those two weeks, Hiruzen had made it a personal goal to get to know the Okami clan head. So far, she had proven to be an incredible person. Once he told her that she could drop her noble mask, she opened up quickly. They have had many conversations now, usually over drink, and had become good acquaintances.

Hiruzen learned that Rasu grew up traveling village to village, never really having a place to call home. Her mother had promised her that one day she would give Rasu the best home that she could. Sadly, Rasu's mother had contracted a terminal disease when Rasu was sixteen. In her final weeks, she told Rasu about her heritage and about how the clan had split. She told her about her grandmother and the great deeds she had done. She apologized for not being able to keep her promise about giving her a home. In the end, she made her peace with her failures, something that Rasu never blamed her for.

After her mother's death, Rasu decided that her clan had been split for long enough and set out to reunite her clan. After tracking down the first family, it came as a surprise to her that she was a member of the Royal branch of the family. Rasu wouldn't go into details of that story, simply stating that it took her a long time to convince them to join her before that revelation.

Rasu revealed that because of how she was raised, she is a little out of her element being the clan head of the Okami's. She feels that she can get by just fine without having her attendants at her side whenever she's with the clan. She told him about how she just wants them to treat her like they would anyone else, a request that seems to fall on deaf ears.

Finally, she told him about Ammako. In her travels, she met a man who she grew fond of, though it wasn't meant to last, as they both had their own journeys to finish. Their last moments together were spent in each other's embrace, which gave Rasu Ammako. She told the aged leader that she would've joined the village as soon as she had gotten the invitation from the Yondaime, but her advisors were against sending their Matriarch into a possibly hostile village while pregnant. So she stalled. And then the lessons came.

Hiruzen listened to her summarized tale; he really hoped that one day she would tell him the whole story and not just the footnotes.

Aside from that, they spoke of other things, mainly the other people that tagged along with her clan.

The first were the Pons, a large family of artisans that chose to follow the Okami clan a long time ago. The family head is Ishaku, a truly ancient man in the ninja world as he is well into his eighties. Hiruzen had the pleasure of meeting the old patriarch, who despite his age was still pretty spry. He spent his whole life mastering his brushwork; he even showed Hiruzen some of his art pieces. The old Hokage was impressed and asked if any of his work was for sell. He was gifted with a piece depicting a great battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

The rest of the Pons were just as skilled in their chosen crafts. Whatever craft they pursued they strove to master. They had blacksmiths, tailors, painters, cooks, and all other manner of craftsman. Their presence was quickly noted in the village, as the goods the family produced became highly sought after.

Next were the Oranges, an elderly couple that seemed to have adopted Rasu while she was on her journey. Oddly, Rasu couldn't really say what their first names were as she never thought to ask. To her, they were just Mr. and Mrs. Orange. She couldn't really say much about them as she felt it wasn't her place to tell him about their past. If he wanted to know he would have to talk to them about it.

Finally was Onigiri. No other name, just Onigiri. Now this was an enigmatic individual. Rasu has no idea where he came from or why he's following the clan. According to her, she met Onigiri when she was out in a field training. He happened to be resting under a tree nearby and commented on her stance. After saying that everyone got one, he showed her how to properly position herself. When asked what else he could show her, he refused and said that if she wanted to learn more it would come with a cost. She turned down the offer and he went on his way. Several weeks later their paths crossed again and he said the same thing. And so it would go for a while until eventually he didn't even vanish and just kept following the clan.

There seemed to be more to the story, though when pressed for more, Rasu simply took a horrified expression and refused to say anything more. Hiruzen heard her mutter something about terrifying sensei's and left it at that.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Hiruzen turned back to his desk and looked at his paperwork disdainfully. It wasn't the amount that got to him; it was the contents of those papers he had to deal with. A pile of papers with unreasonable requests, petty complaints, and ideas from civilians who thought that they knew better than the ninja on how to handle shinobi business.

Sighing, the aged Hokage braced himself as he prepared to start on the pile again. Just as he reached for his first sheet, he got the feeling that he wasn't alone in the office anymore.

"Jiraiya, how many times must I ask you to use the door." he asked the presence.

"Honestly, I lost count a long time ago sensei." said a man, more out of reflex than anything else, as he finished entering through the window.

Jiraiya of the Sannin, usually a boisterous man even in his later years, appeared grey and ashen. His clothing was dirty and ragged, his hair even messier than it normally was, and he had dark bags under his eyes. To say he had seen better days would be understating things.

Sarutobi could only feel sympathy for the sannin, he never lost any of his students. He watched as his former pupil lurched towards the cabinet that he kept his liquor in. Jiraiya pulled out a large glass and grabbed the first bottle that he could. Filling his glass he turned to Hiruzen while taking a swig from it. Jiraiya slumped into a seat, his eyes to the ground and his shoulders slouched. If ever there were ever a vision of a defeated man, it was this. Minutes passed in silence as the two men sat in the office, neither making any noise.

Taking a final look at his glass, Jiraiya downed the remaining alcohol then set his glass onto the desk.

"How are you holding up Jiraiya?" the aged leader asked.

"..." the sannin gathered his thoughts for second, "What happened?" was all he said.

"We don't know. I was here in the village covering for Minato while Kushina was in labor. Next thing we know, the Kyubi was descending onto the village. Minato was absent for a most of its rampage, we still haven't been able to piece together why. The cave that was set up for Kushina's pregnancy was somehow compromised. We haven't been able to find out by who yet." Hiruzen replied sullenly.

"I should've been there, I might've been able to do something." the sannin started to shake as his emotional control started to fail, "Why wasn't I there? Why did I insist on going on that mission?"

Jiraiya's shaking began to grow more violent as he started to vent all of the thoughts that he had been thinking ever since he heard the news of the attack and the death of his student. He let his emotions run free, probably for the first time in weeks. Despite his break down, Jiraiya didn't sob. Tears flowed freely, his body wracked in tremors, but he didn't sob.

After a few more minutes of this, Jiraiya managed to regain his composure.

"I'm sorry sensei, I…"

"You don't need to apologize to me Jiraiya, not for this. You were on a mission, if you had broken down during it you would have been compromised. I take it this is the first time you were truly able to let it out?"

A nod was all the response he got.

Hiruzen took his pipe out and lit it. He took a few puffs from it, blowing some smoke rings out, his form of stress relief when he needed.

"What… what of the child? What happened to Naruto?" Jiraiya asked pleadingly.

"He's alive. As for how he is, that matter is up for debate. Minato couldn't defeat the Kyubi. He… he was forced to seal it inside of Naruto."

"Oh, oh Minato, what have you done?" Jiraiya said as he placed his palms to his face. "Does the village know?"

"Unfortunately yes. Before I could label the knowledge of his condition as an S-class secret, the news had already spread through the village. The best I could do after the fact was order a law stating that anybody who reveals what he is to anyone who doesn't already know to be put to death. My hope is that he can have a normal life, but I fear that may be not be the case."

Standing, Hiruzen once again looked out over the village. "I'm not exactly enthusiastic about how the villagers will react when he gets older. I've already had to place an Anbu detail on where I'm keeping him right now. There have been a few attempts on his life from vengeful villagers. No shinobi have tried yet, but I suspect it is only a matter of time."

Jiraiya sat silently, listening to everything that his former sensei told him. His expression by the end of Hiruzen's tale could only be described as vengeful.

"Who?" his voice carrying a dangerous edge.

"Jiraiya. They have already been dealt with. Understand that they have suffered a loss, just as you have. I would be more surprised if they didn't try anything. Now if they continue to act up in this way, then I will hand out names, but for now, remain calm and relate to their pain."

Jiraiya took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. "Fine, but I expect those names should that ever be the case." Whatever weight that was on his shoulders, it appeared that some of it was lifted, for the time being anyway.

"Can I see him?"

"Of course. Come by the mansion later and you can meet your godson." The age lines in Hiruzen's face deepened, thinking of what he was about to say. "Jiraiya, this is probably not what you want to hear, but you won't be allowed to care for the boy."

This took Jiraiya by surprise, as he was expecting to take full custody.

"What do you mean I can't care for him!?" Jiraiya's expression quickly turned angry, "Minato and Kushina entrusted him to me should anything happen to them. You can't just take that away from me!"

"I know Jiraiya, I know. But that was when he wasn't a jinchuuriki. As it stands, it took everything I could do to keep him out of the hands of Danzo. But it's more than that Jiraiya. Right now, the world knows that Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina died in the Kyubi attack. If their enemies ever found out that their child survived, they would constantly be after him. They wouldn't rest until they saw him dead. If you showed up caring for a child, it wouldn't take long till they made the connection. You are too well known as a philandering womanizer to ever take care just any child."

Hiruzen sat back in his chair, feeling the weight of his years pressing down on him.

"As much as I would love to place Naruto in your care, unfortunately that would just place a target on his back."

Jiraiya wasn't pleased with what he had just been told. But he couldn't refute any of it. Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki now made him far too valuable as a village asset to entrust to any one individual or clan. To do so would cause tension and distrust between the clans.

As for the second point, it was well known that Jiraiya was the sensei of the Yellow Flash. Their relationship was one closer than most, being more akin to father and son than teacher and student. It was also well known that Jiraiya chased women with reckless abandon and was a self-labeled super pervert. His reputation simply didn't allow the existence of a child around him without people asking questions. Questions like whose child it was. Another known fact, told by Jiraiya himself, was that he couldn't have children. A lifetime career as a shinobi has its consequences, usually in the form of rather horrendous injuries. This one just so happened to leave Jiraiya unable to produce a child. If there is one thing that can get a woman into bed it's knowing that she won't get knocked up as a result.

Of course Naruto would inherit his parents' enemies. Even though they were gone, some people wouldn't be satisfied until every trace of their legacy was wiped from existence. Better the world think that they all perished the night the Kyubi attacked.

"I understand. I don't like it, but I understand." Jiraiya said dejectedly, "What will happen with him then?"

Hiruzen sighed, he had been expecting this question, but even he wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"He is currently at the orphanage, since we couldn't place him under the care of a family or clan, not that anyone would want to house the container of the fox. He'll stay there until he's old enough to take care of himself."

"That doesn't sound like it will be healthy sensei. A child needs care."

"I know, but it's the best I can do. If that damned Civilian council hadn't spoken so out of turn, it may have been easier to place him somewhere he would receive the care he needs. As it is, the best I can do is set aside a monthly stipend to take care of his needs. For his safety, I can't do much more than that."

Jiraiya simply sat there, trying to think of a way for him to be able to interact with his godson. Nothing he thought of could really get around the attention it would draw to the boy. He let out a drawn out sigh and refilled his glass. Both men once more sat in silence, neither too pleased with how things turned out for their young charge.

"Can I at least help him out financially? Set up a trust for him? Pay his bills? Something?"

Hiruzen thought for a moment, "Possibly, we'd have to bury it under a lot of paperwork to hide that the money is coming from you. But I think we can get a trust fund in place."

"Whatever it takes sensei."

Both men leaned into their respective chairs, indulging in their relief of alcohol and smoke. The silence was soon broken by the intercom.

"Hokage-sama, Okami Rasu-san is here to see you." his secretary informed him.

Hiruzen snapped out of the state and hastily replied "Could you ask her to wait a few minutes please. I'm in the middle of something."

"Of course Hokage-sama.

Jiraiya felt he recognized the name he just heard somewhere. A few seconds of thought brought it back to him. "Okami? They actually accepted?"

"You knew of Minato's plan to bring them into the village?"

"Of course I knew, he had me do research on them. Kind of came out of the blue really. One day he just asked me if I knew anything about them, I didn't so I took a look into it before I went away on my mission."

"Anything of interest?" Hiruzen already knew a decent amount about the clan, but Jiraiya was a spymaster, he may have been able to find out something about them that they have yet to reveal.

"Not much that I'm sure you don't already know. Their connection to that old tale that is told around here, their own brand of family jutsus, the fact that they have white hair." Jiraiya began to list off. "Other than that, the only thing I could find was that they are skilled in fuinjutsu."

"Yes, that correlates with what they have revealed to me so far. I was impressed with what the clan is able to do with just the things they have shown. There is still much that they haven't shown us, but I eagerly await when they show what they're fully capable of." Hiruzen paused as he straightened his robes and put his Kage hat on. "Would you like to meet their clan head?"

Jiraiya followed his sensei's actions and was tidying himself up, the best he could anyway. Realizing that physically making himself look better was a futile effort, the sannin opted to use a henge to make himself look presentable.

"Guess that's as good as it's going to get. Okay, I'm ready."

Hiruzen clicked on his intercom. "You can send Rasu-san up now."

A few moments later there was a knock on the door. "Enter."

In the three weeks that Rasu and her clan had joined Konoha, the Okami Clan head had decided to forego the façade she wore when she first arrived. Gone were the overly extravagant kimonos and hairstyles, replaced with a simple kimono and obi, her hair up in a simple ponytail. The simpler choice in clothing did nothing to diminish her natural beauty however, as Jiraiya had to stop himself from drooling outright onto the floor.

"Good afternoon Rasu-san, I hope you're day is going well. Please, have a seat" Hiruzen greeted the Okami matriarch.

A polite bow was given and Rasu sat down. "My day is going well Hokage-sama." She turned to face Jiraiya. "I don't believe we've met. Okami Rasu, pleasure to meet you."

"Jiraiya of the Sannin, I assure you, the pleasure is all mine." Any trace of the torment Jiraiya had been going through not too long ago had been buried for the time being, placed behind a mask the world was all too familiar with.

Hearing the name of the legendary ninja, Rasu immediately got stars in her eyes. "Jiraiya? Thee Jiraiya? Writer of Icha Icha Paradise?" Rasu pulled out a book with an orange cover. "You have no idea how much I love this book, the writing and characters are amazing. Could you please autograph this for me?"

Her behavior came as a shock to both of the aged ninja. Hiruzen because he was not expecting this kind of reaction from the clan head and Jiraiya because it was rare to run into a woman who actually liked his book.

The Sannin smiled. "Of course, anything for a fan." He quickly placed an autograph on the rather worn copy of his book.

"Oh thank you, thank you! This means so much!" Rasu said as she reclaimed her book with near religious fervor.

"I'm surprised a woman of your stature is a fan of my book. Most women of any station tend to label it as pure smut."

"Yeah well, I'm not most women. I grew up on the road, I take my entertainment where I can get it. Besides, once you get past the sex, the story and characters are extremely well written. And don't think of me as some prim and proper lady Jiraiya-sama, I'm not above doing what I need to in order to get by."

This may have been taken the wrong way by both men in the room as both of their faces turned beet red. Noticing this, Rasu knew they misinterpreted her words.

"I wouldn't go that far, pervs. But I have modeled to make sure I had enough to get what I needed."

This calmed down the aged Hokage, but only seemed to spur the Sannin imagination as he pulled out his trusty notebook and began to quickly jot down notes.

"You wouldn't happen to remember the name of the magazine would you?

"Magazine? Oh no, nothing quite so professional. I posed nude for some art classes some time back." she said waving her hand dismissively.

For once, Jiraiya didn't write down his thoughts in his book. His brain would have had to still be functioning to do so. The thought that there were nude drawings of the beauty in front of him out in the world was too much for him to process.

Hiruzen however could only think of the potential drawbacks of there being an image of one of his Clan heads. The damage that could be done should anyone wanting to blackmail her could be catastrophic.

"I wouldn't spread that knowledge around Rasu-san, who knows what people could do with that information?"

"Why? My family has always been accepting of the arts. Nure herself has done some photoshoots for teen wear. Moe has modeled for a magazine in the capitol. Yomi has a statue of him somewhere in Tetsu no Kuni. We really don't mind. Besides, this was beginning art class, done in charcoal. I doubt anyone would recognize me from those."

Hiruzen could only sweatdrop at Rasu's antics, even he wasn't willing to admit that he owned a copy of his former student's book, craftily hidden away in a secret drawer in his desk, let alone everything that Rasu just told him. The scandal alone would be enough to make any of the current Clan heads to wage a small war. Rasu continued to surprise him at nearly every turn, as he was finding it hard to really get a true indication of her personality.

Satisfied that he wouldn't have to run damage control for the Okami clan head, he and Rasu continued talking about some of their favorite books, largely ignoring the catatonic Sannin next to them. It didn't take long for Jiraiya to regain himself.

He and Rasu began speaking again, this time about some of their favorite books and authors. Hiruzen took this moment to excuse himself from the room to relieve himself, both from biology and his old joints. Upon returning to the room he found that the conversation had taken a turn.

"So if I use an iron based ink rather than a charcoal based one, I can increase the chakra output by 9%?"

"Yeah, it's a simple trick, but a significant one all the same."

He had walked in on a conversation about fuinjutsu something that he understood some of , but for the most part, a lot of it went over his head. Things like ink density, chakra matrixes, and link variations were mentioned, not a bit of it registered as familiar to the old Hokage.

'At least they get along, here I was worried that Rasu would be aware of his philanderous ways.'

Hiruzen coughed, gaining the attention of the two fuinjutsu users.

"Ah, sorry about that sensei, it's not every day I meet someone who can keep up with me when talking about seals." Jiraiya said sheepishly as Hiruzen returned to his seat.

"Oh, you should really visit my clan then, we have lots of seal users in our ranks. They could use some fresh eyes on some projects they've been working on." Rasu offered.

"Heh, I'll do that then."

"So Rasu, I assume you didn't just show up today to speak with me about books and your past. What really brought you here today?" questioned Hiruzen.

"Right, according to my foreman, he says that we have an excess of building supplies and I was wondering if there was anywhere that they would be of more use."

"I'm sure I can find a place for them."

All in all, the meeting was pleasant compared to others the Hokage had to deal with.

Later, after Rasu had said what she needed and left, Hiruzen and Jiraiya were once again left to speak amongst themselves.

"So, what did you think?"

"Other than Rasu being a total babe? She has a grasp of fuinjutsu that I haven't seen in a long while. Maybe not master level, but the simple fact that she knew what I was talking about was refreshing to say the least. And she says that her clan is versed in it? That could only be a good thing for the village. Those brush jutsu are also intriguing, I can't wait to see them in action myself."

"Yes, I thought so myself." Hiruzen said while smiling as he lit his pipe.

A mirthful glint appeared in Jiraiya's eye. "So, you thought she was a babe too huh sensei?"

Hiruzen nearly inhaled his pipe whole with how caught off guard the comment had caught him.

"Jiraiya! She's young enough to be my daughter!" he managed to cough out.

"Never stopped me." The Sannin said coyly.

Hiruzen could only glare at his former pupil. "I'll admit she is attractive, but please, Biwako hasn't been gone long."

Of course, they were instantly reminded of the horrible tragedy that befell their home over a month ago. The awkward pressure in the office increased with each passing second.

"I… I think I'm going to go to my apartment and rest, I have a lot of things to go over. I'll see you tomorrow sensei." Jiraiya said as he left the room out the window.

'I think I should head home early too. I'm not going to get any work done now.' Hiruzen thought to himself.

With that, the Hokage called it a day.

And scene!

Not quite as long as I wanted this chapter to be, I was trying to hard to get a lot of things out of the way so we can move the story forward, but this chapter made things difficult as I really had no idea what to do with it. It's one of those bits that's needed to show that it happened, but at the same time not really interesting in the grand scheme of things. Well, that's how I felt writing this chapter anyway. I'll leave final verdict to you guys.

But yeah, Rasu meets Jiraiya, hopefully I showed a bit more of Rasu's personality. What this means for the future, we'll see.

On a separate note, not sure if anyone noticed, but I did go back through the other chapters and updated any errors I had failed to fix when I originally posted them. Also fixed some minor continuity errors. Mostly, I'm sure that there are some things that escaped my notice.

Anyway I wanted to send a thank you out to Dark Sun Noctis for his/her/it/apache attack helicopter/killer robot from the future review. I really appreciated the feedback, unlike some people who are content to simply say they like it, I'm almost positive one of them is a robot. Not a bot, an actual robot, who's trying to fool everyone into thinking that they are really a person. Sadly, I think I have to burst your bubble on what is going to happen with Naruto. Without giving too much away, I need Naruto to be Naruto. You'll see what I mean as the story progresses.

And a special thanks to two of my friends who have been helping me with my story. They've had to sit there and listen to my ideas whenever one happens to wreck it's way into my head. They both have been letting me know what works, what doesn't, as well as helping me come up with better plots and character twists.

Now that I got that out of the way, I believe I promised a treat here. Look beyond the great line and behold!

Character Bio

Name: Okami Rasu

Position: Okami Clan Head

Affiliation: Konohagakure

Ninja Rank: Tokubetsu Jonin

Age: 24

Blood Type: AB

Birthday: February 22

Family: Okami Ammako (daughter)

Rasu's Mother (deceased)

Rasu's Father (unknown)

Height: 152.4 cm

Weight: 47.63 kg

Favorite Foods: Cherry Cakes, Cherries, Steak (any kind)

Hobbies: Reading, training, painting, sculpting

Nature Type: Yin-Yang Release (In'yoton), Fire Release (Katon)

I figure that I can get some exposition out off the way by just putting certain attributes of the characters in little bios at the end of the chapter. Look forward to more as I will be using these to let you guys get to know the Omaki clan members a little better.

As always, review people! I can't make this story better if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong!