A/N: Good news, the first chapter of the new series is up. And the winner was…Kurenai! This will make updates a bit slower, but I won't just up and abandon one of them. I have every intention of bringing both to a full conclusion. I will try to update both of them at least once a week so please bear with me. Also, someone had asked if I planned to have Naruto gather all of the 7 swords of the mist. I hadn't really planned on him gathering any beyond Kiba and Kubikiribocho, but who knows. It's a possibility.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 6
Once the bridge was finally complete, Naruto was eager to leave. Their job was finished and he had no interest in staying to celebrate with the others. He stood by the edge of the bridge waiting while Jiraiya and Kakashi talked.
"I'll get things started. You can stay here and let the kiddies celebrate with everyone else. By the time you get back, phase 1 should be ready to go," Jiraiya and Kakashi smirked as they wrapped up their conversation and walked toward Naruto. "Have a safe trip back, Jiraiya-sama. You too, Naruto-kun." Naruto gave the silver-haired Cyclops a sideways glance before rushing off. Jiraiya shook his head with a sigh before waving goodbye and following after his student. The trip back to Konoha was spent mostly in silence.
After Jiraiya and Naruto left, Hiruzen figured it was as good a time as any to talk to his other loyal student. "So, tell me about your travels, Tsunade. And perhaps you can introduce the young lady beside you properly." Tsunade had been reminiscing about her time in the village when her former teacher brought her back to reality.
"Of course. Sarutobi-sensei, this is my apprentice, Shizune. We met several years ago when an unfortunate incident left her an orphan. She showed great potential so I took her as my apprentice and she's been with me ever since." Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe as he listened to her.
"I see, well it's nice to meet you, Shizune. Now then, I believe I had also asked about your travels?" Tsunade gave a nod and started talking about everything of importance that had happened since her departure. Shizune noticed she left out the parts about her causing them trouble with her gambling and drinking issues and felt it was necessary to bring them up as well. Hiruzen wasn't sure whether to laugh or sigh at the mention of such things. He threw in a few questions here and there, but for the most part, he just listened quietly to her story.
"And that's when the kid showed up with Jiraiya. He'll be able to explain everything else better than I could so I'll let him fill in the rest when he gives his report. On a more serious note, what's going on with the council? Jiraiya filled me in on the truth about what happened to the kid." The old kage let out a heavy sigh at the question. That was not something he wanted to think about right now. Shizune's confusion was evident on her face and Tsunade waved it off saying she didn't need to know.
"I'll fill you in when Jiraiya gets back. I'd really prefer not to have to talk about it twice," Tsunade nodded. She wasn't thrilled about the topic either, but it was something she needed to know. With that said, they decided to leave it at that for now and Tsunade and Shizune left the Hokage's tower. With nothing better to do for the moment, master and apprentice wandered the streets of Konoha. Tsunade was amazed at how little had changed over the years while Shizune took in the sights for the first time. They stopped and had lunch at a local Akimichi restaurant after a while. Once they were seated and she was sure nobody could hear them, Shizune took the chance to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue since they left.
"What were you talking about back there with the Hokage, Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade sighed. She had been hoping her student would just accept it was something she didn't need to know. "Listen, Shizune, it's something that I wish even I didn't know so believe me when I say you really don't want to know. I just pray Naruto never finds out…" She mumbled the last part as it wasn't really directed at Shizune, but she heard it nonetheless. She would respect her master's wishes and not bring it up again, but the confusion and curiosity were still there.
Naruto already knew about it of course, and was thinking about it as he and Jiraiya got closer to the village. Another thing he had on his mind was his contract with Kurama. He still had not had a chance to keep up his end of the bargain and summon his partner. Kurama was keeping quiet about it, but Naruto was sure the fox was growing restless waiting for his chance. It was then that Jiraiya decided to start setting his plan in motion. He just hoped Tsunade would go along with this or it would be far more difficult.
"Oi, Naruto. How would you feel about relaxing at a hot spring for a bit when we get back? I don't know about you, but I could use a break." Naruto raised an eyebrow as he was drawn from his thoughts. "You mean you could use a break to get more of your damn research done. Damn pervert," Jiraiya laughed and waved him off. "Relax, kid. Even I'm capable of going to a hot spring without peeping every once in a while. Tell you what, how about we get a room with a private open-air bath?" Jiraiya smiled when he saw his student thinking about it seriously. 'If I suggested that from the beginning he would no doubt think I was up to something, but like this, he shouldn't suspect anything.'
Naruto was indeed considering the idea, but not for the reasons his perverted master thought. 'If we had a private suite then I could let Kurama out for a while without having to worry about anybody seeing. Getting rid of the pervert would be a simple matter. Hmmm, what do you think, Kurama?'
"I think he's up to something, but we may not get another chance like this for quite a while. I'm all for it," Naruto nodded his head and turned to address the old toad sage. "Sounds good, Jiraiya, but it better be completely private or I'll burn your manuscript right in front of you." Jiraiya nodded swiftly and cringed at the thought of seeing his latest masterpiece destroyed before his very eyes. Besides, if things worked out, he could get material for his next book. The price of a suite was a small one indeed by comparison.
Once again, everyone's eyes were on Naruto as they walked through the gates of Konoha. Or rather, they were on the large sword strapped to his back. The stares continued as he approached the Hokage's tower. He let out a soft chuckle when he heard someone say "first he shows up with Kiba and now Kubikiribocho? What the hell is with this kid?" The attention was starting to annoy him, but the fear he could feel coming off of the civilians made it completely worth it. He barely contained his laughter when the Hokage's assistant looked like he was about to piss himself when he walked through the door. To his defense, seeing somebody walk through the door with a sword bigger than they were on their back and a smile on their face that screamed "I get off from killing people" is rather intimidating. He had no intention of stopping the boy as he walked up the stairs on his way to the Hokage's office.
Since he was in such a rare, good mood, he decided to make a flashy entrance. When he approached the door, he pulled his foot up, and kicked it forward forcefully knocking the door from its hinges. "The demon has returned!" he announced as the ANBU jumped in front of him with their weapons drawn. Hiruzen sweatdropped at the entrance and title, but waved his bodyguards off. Naruto stepped over the broken door and walked towards the elderly kage with that smile still on his face.
"Mission accomplished old man!" Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "I gathered that from the fact that you have Kubikiribocho with you. I'm glad you're happy Naruto, but could you refrain from trying to destroy my office? I'd really prefer not to have to replace something every time you're in a good mood." Naruto laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, I'll try to keep that in mind, but I make no promises. Well, I'm gonna go terrorize the village while you and the pervert talk business. Later, Gramps," Naruto said as he turned around and walked through where the door used to be. Taking that as his cue, Jiraiya climbed through the window.
"Sorry about the door Sarutobi-sensei. It's not too often the kid gets into such a good mood so try not to hold it against him." Hiruzen just shook his head and waved it off while the ANBU tried to put the door back in place. "It's fine, Jiraiya. I'm just glad to see him happy for once. Now then, fill me in on what happened in Wave and we can discuss the rest when Tsunade gets here." That being said, he ordered one of his ANBU to go get Tsunade while they talked.
Once Tsunade got there, they discussed the majority of what had happened since Jiraiya left with Naruto. Hiruzen listened carefully while Tsunade just nodded every so often having heard most of it already or been there herself. Once the Hokage was up to speed, they started talking about more serious business.
"I suspect Danzo was the mastermind behind the incident, but I haven't been able to collect any evidence against those of the council that were involved. We were able to implicate several civilians outside of the council were involved, but they were executed after it was discovered we wouldn't be able to get any information out of them," Hiruzen brought his pipe to his lips once more as the information soaked in. "So I assume Danzo probably used some of his techniques from ROOT to keep any information from being leaked by the civilians?" Tsunade asked to which Hiruzen nodded. "Most likely, but as I said, I haven't been able to gather sufficient evidence. Danzo is very thorough about his underhanded operations and it is doubtful he left any loose ends. I will continue the investigation regardless. More importantly, Naruto must never learn of this. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not so sure he would be able to handle it."
"Of course, Sarutobi-sensei. While we're on the subject, I have a bit of a plan to help him out and it would go much smoother if you two went along with it," Tsunade and Hiruzen turned to Jiraiya and waited for him to continue. "Tsunade, how would you feel about setting the kid up with Shizune?"
Naruto was beginning to grow bored with his walk through the village. The sense of fear he was causing was nice, but the initial rush he felt from it was long gone. 'Fear from insects just isn't enough to do it, eh Kurama,' "I agree. This has lost its sense of amusement. Maybe nobody would notice if we just killed 1 or 2 of them…"
'C'mon Kurama, you know we can't afford to risk blowing things this early. If they caught onto us we'd have the whole village up our asses in minutes. Don't worry, we can find something to occupy us in the meantime. If nothing else, I could always get some more training in while we wait for the pervert to finish.' "Yeah, you're right. No sense risking losing out on a massacre just to take out a little trash," Kurama replied with a chuckle. Naruto laughed along with him drawing a few stares from those nearby.
"Naru-chan?" Naruto turned around to see Shizune staring at him. "Hey, Shizu-nee, what's up?" Naruto asked as he walked toward her. "I was thinking about getting something to eat to kill time until Tsunade-sama is finished with her meeting. When did you get back?" "Just a couple hours ago. Mind if I join you? The pervert is with the old man too and I'm a bit hungry myself." Shizune smiled and nodded as they started walking toward a nearby restaurant. "So I take the fact that you have that sword on your back as a sign that your mission was a success?" Naruto nodded as they entered a dango bar and moved to an open table.
"Yeah, it didn't go exactly as planned, but in the end it worked out I guess." The waitress took their orders and Naruto told Shizune about what happened in Wave. He left out a few details here and there, like how he brutally slaughtered over 100 men with a smile on his face, but he told her the important bits. She was aware of his past exploits, but he felt it was better to spare her from the finer details of his…eccentric behavior. Whether he would admit it or not, he did care about her opinion of him. Once they had finished their meal, Naruto paid for their food and they left to find their masters. Conveniently, they didn't have to look far because shortly after they turned onto the street, they saw Jiraiya get launched out of a nearby bar in an all too familiar fashion.
"Guess the pervert let his hands wander a bit too much again," Naruto said with a sigh while Shizune shook her head. "You're damn right he did!" Tsunade yelled as she exited the aforementioned bar; in a far less painful manner of course. Seeing her apprentice, Tsunade stormed off in a righteous fury while motioning for her to follow. "C'mon, Shizune, let's go before that pervert tries anything with you, too." Shizune sighed before smiling and waving to Naruto. "Thanks for dinner Naruto, it was fun." With that said, she ran to catch up to Tsunade.
"Oh? And what was that all about?" Jiraiya asked with a smirk on his face as he pulled himself out of the remains of the wall he had collided with. "Never mind that, what the hell did you do this time you old pervert? Drink too much and rub the old hag's ass again?" "Of course not!...it was her breasts this time." Naruto facepalmed and shook his head. "Why must my master be someone like this guy," Naruto asked nobody in particular. "That hurts brat. And to think I went out of my way to get us a private suite at a hot springs resort for 4 days and 3 nights. I guess I could always just go by myself…" Jiraiya said the last part with an evil smirk.
'4 days and 3 nights, huh? A bit longer than I had intended to be idle, but it looks like you'll get to stretch your legs even more than we planned, Kurama.' Kurama was pleased with the idea so Naruto broke from his thoughts and gave the pervert his attention again. "You better think again if you seriously believe you're going without me, Jiraiya. When are we going?" Jiraiya laughed and gave his apprentice a pat on the back. "Tomorrow. It's here in Konoha so no need to worry about travel time. I'll meet you there around noon." Having said what he needed to, Jiraiya went his separate way as Naruto turned to head back to his apartment.
"So, what did you and the brat do tonight, Shizune?" Tsunade asked after pouring herself some sake back at the Senju compound. "We ran into eachother in the street earlier and decided to have dinner while you and Jiraiya-sama were at your meeting." "I see. Did you enjoy yourselves?" Tsunade prodded for information while Shizune seemed to think nothing of it. "Of course, I always have fun with Naru-chan." Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that thinking Jiraiya might have been onto something.
'What harm could it do? It's not like the brat would pounce on her like Jiraiya would.' "Hey Shizune, how would you feel about taking a break and heading to the local hot springs for a few days?"
The next morning, Kakashi and his team had just returned from the land of waves. The genin went home while Kakashi went to give the Hokage his report.
"I see, so Naruto has 3 tails now. To be honest, I wish you would've done as Jiraiya suggested and left out some of the more specific details, but you did the right thing. Tell me; what is your opinion of the situation, Kakashi?" Kakashi took a moment to think before answering.
"As far as power goes, Naruto definitely could match the strength of an average jounin. However, I would not advise putting him to work in a team. I believe what Jiraiya-sama said about him was perfectly accurate. As unstable as he may seem, he would not harm an ally. But by that I mean someone he personally views as an ally, not the village's definition of an ally. I would advise keeping him with Jiraiya-sama for the time being." Hiruzen smoked his pipe as he thought it over for a moment.
"Do you think he poses a threat to the village?" Kakashi hesitated as he looked away. "…I'm sorry Hokage-sama…I really have no idea…" Hiruzen let out a sigh. "I'll leave him with Jiraiya as you suggested, but Kakashi, make sure nobody else learns of any of this. If this got back to the council they would no doubt order he be detained and try to use him as a weapon. This is now officially an S-rank secret and is to remain among those involved." Kakashi nodded his head in agreement before standing to leave.
"If there's ever anything I can do for him Hokage-sama, please call me immediately." With a nod from Hiruzen, the silver-haired jounin disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Hiruzen sighed as he looked out his window. "I hope everything turns out okay."
"Here is your room, Uzumaki-sama. The bath is just out back and there are towels in the closet. What time would you like your dinner brought to you?" Naruto was slightly uncomfortable with the hospitality he had been receiving since he arrived at the resort. "Ummm, at about 8 I guess?" If the hostess had said anything else, Naruto hadn't noticed. All he could hear was the laughter of a certain fox.
'What's so damn funny, Kurama?' "Being showered with blood gets you off, but you're uncomfortable with something as simple as a traditional hot spring, hahahaha," Kurama continued to laugh as Naruto mumbled something about stupid foxes. 'Keep it up and you can stay in that cage while I relax.' That had the desired effect as Kurama was the one mumbling now while Naruto wore a victorious smile.
Naruto had just taken his shirt off when there was a knock at the door. Dropping his shirt, he opened the door to find the hostess kneeling on the floor. "My apologies Uzumaki-sama, but there is a message from Jiraiya-sama. He said to tell you that something urgent came up and he will be away for the next week so he won't be joining you. Is there anything I can do for you while I'm here?" Naruto smiled at the news. "Thank you, but I'll be fine," She gave a short bow before closing the door and leaving him alone again.
"Well this makes things easier. Ready for some fresh air, Kurama?" "Yes! Get me the hell out of this damn cage!" Naruto chuckled at his partner's sudden impatience. Naruto bit his thumb to draw blood and flashed through several handsigns.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto called out as a large puff of smoke filled the room. When the smoke cleared, standing there in all his glory, was none other than Kurama the nine-tailed fox. Severely reduced in size of course, but it was him all the same. He stood at about 5 feet tall with 9 red tails thrashing around behind him. The only indication that he was still bound by the seal, was the black collar around his neck.
"I can't say I'm thrilled about this thing on my neck, but it's better than that cage," Kurama said as he looked around the room through his own eyes for a change and lazily scratched at the collar on his neck with one of his paws. "I gotta say, it's nice to see you outside for a change. How does it feel?" "It feels great kid, thanks for this." Kurama stretched out as he got used to being free again.
"Wow, did the great Kurama really just thank me? Shit it's the apocalypse isn't! I should've known letting you out would destroy the world," Naruto joked with a look of mock terror on his face. "Yeah yeah, very funny. Don't get used to it. The next time you hear me say it really MIGHT be the apocalypse. It will be for this village at least," They both laughed at the thought.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go ahead and check out the hot spring," Naruto said as he took the remainder of his clothes off and grabbed a couple towels. "Not a bad idea. By the way, why do you still have your transformation up?" Naruto looked behind him and noticed the lack of fur. "Huh, guess I didn't think about it. Having to keep it up constantly is starting to make me forget about it altogether," Naruto dropped his transformation and Kurama smiled. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of expression.
"Congrats kid, the 4th tail has formed." Sure enough, he now had 4 orange tails with yellow tips swaying behind him. With a huge smile on his face, Naruto ran for the door leading to the open-air bath. Kurama's nose twitched when another scent hit him.
"Naruto, wait!" He called after the boy, but it was too late. He swung the door open and looked out to the bath. Only, it wasn't vacant. Sitting in the water with wide eyes and red cheeks…was Shizune. "N-Naru-chan? W-what are you doing her-" she stopped midsentence when she saw a large red fox approaching Naruto from behind. As if that wasn't enough reason to freak out, it had 9 tails! Before Naruto could say anything, she fainted falling face-first into the water. Naruto let out a deep sigh as he moved to get her out of the water before she could drown.
"Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag now." "Don't you mean fox?" Kurama snickered while Naruto rolled his eyes. "Just toss me a damn towel will ya?"
That's it for now. I may be putting more time into my new NaruKure story to try and catch it up a bit, but I will still keep to my word and try to at least update once a week. As always, thanks for reading.