In a moment of adrenaline-fuelled panic, Fukasaku makes a split second decision that wrests our favourite toad sage from the cold grasp of death!

AN: And here's our next chapter. Don't worry, there will be action the next chapter! Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: All characters of Naruto and things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Continues by ShadowedNara

XxX

Chapter 4

The Cycle of Hatred


"A thousand moments that I had taken for granted, mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more."

—Morgan Matson


The Village Hidden in the Leaves…


"Sound the emergency alarm," Tsunade barked, her gaze boring into the special jōnin kneeling before her desk. "The Akatsuki has finally made their move, and we need to eveacuate all the civilians into the shelters immediately. Go. Now!"

The man disappeared in a puff of smoke, and she swivelled on her foot and glanced behind her, eyeing the small red coloured toad with blue markings around its eyes intently. "You there; Kōsuke was it?"

At the nod of its head, Tsunade smiled grimly. "Return to Mount Myōboku and recall Jiraiya and Naruto immediately! With the Akatsuki able to mass up an offensive of this magnitude, we're going to need our heavy hitters back in the village. I'm counting on you."

The small toad saluted her and brought its small webbed hands into a Ram seal. "You've got it Lady Hokage. Just leave it to me!" The toad was subsequently enveloped in a small puff of smoke, signalling its departure. Tsunade turned back to face the front of her office and her mouth opened to address the Anbu standing to her left. Before she could however, her door swung open with a bang, and the dishevelled form of her assistant jogged in.

"Lady Tsunade! I need to show you something…" Shizune was slightly out of breath from her hasty trip to the office, but her breathlessness didn't last long. She brought her hand up to reveal a small piece of metal clutched tightly between her fingers. "These small black rods were scattered all throughout the body of Pain Lord Jiraiya managed to retrieve, and during the autopsy, I discovered something quite unusual."

Tsunade eyed the small cylindrical piece of metal critically, her honed senses picking up on the small thrum of chakra that was eminating through the rod. "What is it exactly?"

"It's a type of chakra receiver. According to the debriefing from Lord Jiraiya after his battle, each of the Pain's had these metal rods imbedded throughout their bodies," she recalled hurriedly, handing her master the small piece of metal to examine more closely.

"And if these are all chakra receivers, then it would suffice to say that they're all receiving chakra from an unknown source of some kind." Tsunade looked upon the chakra receiver intently, the small metal rod warm between her fingers from the gathering of chakra. Even now, it was still receiving chakra. She looked up at Shizune. "This would support the claim Jiraiya made about the real Pain not being among the six that he and the elder toad sages fought."

Shizune's eyes widened somewhat as she caught on to her master's train of thought. "You think—maybe it's some sort of puppet jutsu? And this unknown source could be controlling the Pain's through these chakra receivers?"

"It could mean anything from transmitting chakra between them, to acting as a way for them to communicate with each other." Tsunade looked thoughtful, and handed the small piece of metal back to her assistant. "In any event, take this intel over to Torture and Interrogation, and see if you can find out anything else on Pain's jutsu."

The blonde hokage turned her gaze to the Anbu still standing patiently off to the side. "Anbu, round up Team Gamma and escort Shizune. Once she arrives, protect Torture and Interrogation with your lives. The fate of this battle could rest squarely on our ability to decipher this intel! I'll relocate to the roof and await reports there, while simultaneously healing as many of the injured as I can with Katsuyu."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Let's move out then," she declared loudly, moving for the door with an expression set into fierce determination. "I will protect this village!"


Mount Myōboku…


"Well," Lord Fukasaku uttered, picking himself up off the ground and panting a little heavier than usual. "It would seem that the Nine Tails within you is rejectin' my chakra, and it won't allow me to merge with ya."

Naruto's eyes were wide at this information, and Jiraiya's gaze narrowed thoughtfully. "Wha—what do you mean we can't merge?! If we can't merge, how will I be able to gather nature energy in the middle of a battle? There's no way I'll be allowed to sit down on the side of the field and gather nature energy while all my comrades are fighting for their lives around me! I wouldn't let them!"

Lord Fukasaku shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "I'm truly sorry Naruto-boy, but there's just nothin' that can be done about it."

Jiraiya's mind was buzzing however, and he clapped his hand on Naruto's shoulder, eyes still narrowed somewhat thoughtfully. "Quickly make a shadow clone and have it gather nature energy. There's something I want to test."

Naruto furrowed his brows at the odd request, though quickly did as his master told him. It took a few minutes, but eventually his clone gained the orange ringed eyes that signified his ascension into Sage Mode. Naruto glanced back to Jiraiya. "Now what?"

Jiraiya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Dispel it. I want to see what happens after it dispels while having gathered nature energy."

Naruto's eyes seemed to widen as the implications hit him, and he quickly dispelled the clone, a wide grin slowly springing onto his face as his eyes suddenly became orange ringed, nature energy flowing into him from dispelled clone. "Pervy Sage! You're a genius! Why didn't I think of that?"

Jiraiya rubbed his finger beneath his nose proudly, though looked towards Naruto with a smile. "Given a bit more time I guarantee you would have. With the amount of shadow clones you're constantly using, realisation would have dawned on you pretty damn quickly."

Lord Fukasaku was wearing an impressed expression, and he smiled up at the two ninja. "You know, this might actually work. We can have your clones gather nature energy off on the side lines of the battle, and whenever you run out of nature energy, a simple dispellin' of a clone is all you'll need to re-enter Sage Mode. Truly ingenius!"

"I can only make a few though when I'm in Sage Mode," Naruto provided with a slightly downcast expression. "If I create too many, it becomes difficult to keep control over Sage Mode. At most I'll only be able to have three clones gather nature energy, if I want to be able to use an extra two in battle like I usually do."

Jiraiya threw an arm around Naruto's shoulders, a small smirk on his lips. "Do not fret my youngest of protégés! For with the noblest and most gallant Jiraiya the Toad Sage by your side, no foe shall prove too powerful! We'll be sure to get rid of any enemy before you need to use even two of your clones gathering nature energy!"

The reminder that Naruto would indeed not be fighting alone proved to be enough to ease his worries, and a small grin soon followed his downheartened expression. "Yeah, you're absolutely right Pervy Sage! There'll be no enemy alive who'll be able to foresee the unpredictability of Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage!"

Jiraiya smiled at his godson, recognition flashing through his eyes as he remembered something. "That reminds me Naruto, I've got something for you."

"Another gift?" Naruto's face was a little confused, though the curiosity and excitement he was trying to supress were bubbling to the surface all too fast. "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything Pervy Sage. I really appreciate the book, honest. But…"

Jiraiya removed his arm from around Naruto's shoulder and reached into his haori, pulling out a small scroll and holding it between his fingers. "Don't be silly Naruto. I already told you that the book was yours, I was simply holding onto it for you. So here, take this. Consider it an early birthday present," he added quickly, under-arming the scroll at Naruto.

The blonde caught it deftly, and no sooner had it touched his hands did the scroll fly open, Naruto eyeing the storage seal atop the paper for but a second before applying a small amount of chakra to it.

He was thereafter shrowded in a puff of smoke, and once it dissipated, he was decked out in a solid black short sleeved haori, not dissimilar to the one he saw worn by the Fourth Hokage in his book. Red flames licked at the bottom edges of the haori that came down to just below Naruto's knees, as well as the same red flames at the bottom edges of both the short sleeves.

Naruto eyed himself as best he could, getting in as much of the haori as he could before growling to himself and creating a wordless shadow clone, said clone inspecting Naruto appraisingly from all sides before dispelling. Jiraiya snorted. "You really do abuse that jutsu."

Naruto cracked a small grin at that, sorting through the clone's experiences hurriedly before turning a grateful smile to his godfather. "Thanks Pervy Sage. It looks awesome you know! Just like dad's, only cooler!"

Jiraiya's expression softened at that, and he gestured to the back of Naruto's haori at the lack of words. "I left the back open for now, because I know one day you'll fill it with 'Hokage'. Whether it'll be sixth or seventh is still up in the air, but I'm looking forward to seeing you take the hat the day that you do."

Naruto's eyes glistened with happiness at Jiraiya's words, and he wiped a sleeve across his eyes before any tears could fall, sending his master a mega-watt smile. "You can count on it Pervy Sage. I'll make you proud, just you wait…"

The last sentence from Naruto's mouth was barely a whisper, and Jiraiya was sure it wasn't intended for him to hear, though he still heard it all the same, and he looked content. 'You've already made me proud Naruto. So proud...'

Their heartfelt moment was broken as a small red toad zipped into view at the speed of a bullet, a cloud of dust in its wake. Both Naruto and Jiraiya immediately recognised the toad as the one they'd sent back to Tsunade in case she needed to get a message to them, and the slight look of alarm on the toad's face did not bode well.

Fukasaku leapt back into view then, having momentarily removed himself from the godfather godson moment between Naruto and Jiraiya. "Kōsuke? If you're here, then does that mean—"

The small toad had already caught its breath, and it nodded grimly at the three onlookers before him, speaking quickly. "I'm afraid so Lord Fukasaku. The Akatsuki has begun their assault on the Hidden Leaf, and Lady Hokage has requested that Lord Jiraiya and Naruto return to the village immediately!"

Naruto tried his best not to look outwardly panicked, but inside was a different story, and he silently hoped that everyone was still all right. He whipped his head around at Jiraiya, a determined expression replacing the small amount of uncertainty he'd been feeling a second ago. "Pervy Sage—"

Jiraiya's expression was serious, set in firm expression, and he nodded resolutely. "I know Naruto. It's time we headed back home then. It won't quite be the welcome home party I'd been envisioning, but it will have to do." There was a sardonic smile twitching at the corner of his lips. 'For one, I'd imagined it to involve a lot more of Tsunade, but that will have to wait I guess.'

The tall white haired man turned to Lord Fukasaku, and the small toad spoke before Jiraiya's mouth could even open. "Don't worry Jiraiya-boy. Ma and I will be sure to be by your side, and we ain't leavin' it like last time. Together with Naruto-boy, we'll definitely finish off Pain this time. I'm sure of it."

Jiraiya nodded, a thin smile on his face. "All right Boss. I can't thank you enough." And then they were off, jumping and leaping back towards the cottage they'd been staying at here in the land of the toads. "Let's make a quick stop to go fetch Ma'am, and then we'll leave immediately!"

"Right. Let's go!"

Jiraiya's body language exuded a calmness that belied his true feelings on the matter, and he clenched his lone fist grimly, his knuckles going white. 'Don't worry Tsunade, I'm on my way. Just hold on for a little longer. We'll be there soon, I promise.'


The Village Hidden in the Leaves…


It took a few minutes to gather all their possessions, enter into Sage Mode and make sure they were ready for a fight, but before they knew it, they were enveloped in a puff of smoke as the reverse summoning was cancelled.

Pillars of smoke, screams of distress and rocking explosions were what greeted them upon their arrival home, and Jiraiya, Fukasaku and Shima firmly latched to his shoulders, turned to Naruto with a serious expression. "I'm gonna go make sure Tsunade is all right and see if I can make heads or tails of the situation, you—"

"I can feel Kakashi-sensei's chakra is in a bit of trouble, so I'm gonna go give him a hand," Naruto interrupted quickly, his eyes searching as they swept across the village. "Don't worry Pervy Sage, I'll come find you as soon as I can."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder before he could leap away, his eyes boring deep into Naruto's own. "Remember, the Akatsuki is here for you Naruto. Please, use that brain that I know you actually do possess, and don't do anything stupid. Got it?"

Naruto's gaze softened for a brief second before he nodded seriously, turning around sharply. The sudden turn ruffled the edges of his haori, and he leapt away in a cascade of black and red flames.

Jiraiya watched him for but a second before leaping away in the opposite direction, his finely tuned chakra senses pin pointing Tsunade's location. Her chakra was aggravated, and her chakra was saturated throughout the entire village. 'She must be giving her chakra to Lady Katsuyu. We better hurry.'

XxX

Naruto's legs propelled him forward in the direction of Kakashi-sensei. His sensei's chakra was precariously low, and it only fuelled Naruto to move faster. He was a blur as he raced through ruins of the village left in the wake of Pain, and Naruto clenched his fists in supressed rage. 'This… this is unforgiveable! Pain will pay for this!'

Naruto gave one last leap through the air as he landed in the destroyed area where he had felt Kakashi's chakra, vaguely feeling Chōji's chakra leaving the area with great speed, and in the opposite direction. Naruto furrowed his brow at that, though didn't think on it too much, as the slumped form of his sensei came into view. It wasn't his usual lazy slump either, and Naruto's eyes widened in worry as he felt his sensei's chakra, Kakashi's life force feeling barely like a drop in an ocean.

He landed before his sensei with ragged breaths, his eyes wider and more fearful than before as he took in his battered appearance. Kakashi's breathing was even heavier than Naruto's own, and the silver haired man barely caught Naruto's eye. "N-Naruto…"

His sensei sounded horrible, and Naruto placed his hands frantically on Kakashi's shoulders. Kakashi winced in pain however, and Naruto quickly removed them. "Kakashi-sensei! What—what happened? Can you move?!"

Kakashi gazed through half lidded eyes at his mentor's legacy, and he managed a small sorrowful smile, his eyes teetering on the edge of staying open. "Naruto… you've become a… fine shinobi…"

Naruto's eyes quickly filled with moisture, and he hung his head low, feeling more than seeing, but not ready to start believing. "Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi-sensei! Don't—you can't go, not yet!" Naruto's walls broke, and tears began flowing freely from his eyes. His body wracked with quiet sobs as his tears slowly impacted with the ground below. 'Why… why Kakashi-sensei…'

Naruto felt like his limbs were made of lead. He couldn't move his body, and he honestly didn't want to. Not at the moment. But his better judgement soon won out, and carefully and deliberately, he began removing Kakashi-sensei from his sandwiched position between two large pieces of earth, holding him tentatively within his arms.

He looked down with sorrow at the defeated form of his sensei, and Naruto carefully dragged a hand over Kakashi's eyes, letting him rest in peace as his tears impacted with Kakashi's face. "Hang in there Kakashi-sensei," Naruto wheezed out between sobs, his breathing chaotic. "Granny Tsunade will—she'll know what to do. She has to…"

A blue and white slug the size of a small dog suddenly came into view, its eyes staring intently at the body held in Naruto's arms. "Is he…"

Naruto's voice was suddenly scarce, and he just didn't trust it at the moment. Slowly he shook his head, closing his eyes and trying but failing to allow more tears to slide down his cheeks. 'I know he is, but I—I can't believe it… not until Granny Tsunade says so. I mean, it's Kakashi-sensei. How could he—'

Another silent sob racked at his body, and he shook his head softly, leaping away and following the chakra signal of his godfather. 'Kakashi-sensei…'


A few moments earlier, with Jiraiya…


Jiraiya along with Fukasaku and Shima sped through the village, sending passing glances over the death and destruction that had befallen the village. It struck a chord deep within Jiraiya, and he couldn't help the small feeling of guilt that twinged at his core, feeling as if his absence had somehow resulted in this mess. He was one of the strongest, if not the strongest ninja of the Hidden Leaf, and he hadn't been here when they needed him most.

His expression was biting, though he didn't allow himself to wallow in his guilt for long. Now that he was here, he needed to make sure that this didn't continue happening, and he shot off in Tsunade's direction with another great Sage Mode enhanced leap, flinging forward at unimaginable speeds.

It wasn't long before he landed atop the rooftop of the Hokage Tower, and his gaze immediately swept over the blonde buxom woman who was seated within a sealing circle, her chakra no doubt flowing unbidden into her summon Katsuyu, which confirmed his thoughts on why her chakra was all over the village. There were a ring of Anbu stationed around her, Team Ro if he wasn't mistaken. The purple hair flowing out from behind one of their masks was unmistakeable, though he paid it no mind as he singled out Tsunade herself. Her eyes opened before he could even get a word out however, and the next thing he knew, her expression turned horrified. Stricken even.

It was only for a second before she steeled herself like any Hokage was expected to in front of her ninja, but Jiraiya had seen it regardless, and his brows furrowed. "What's wrong Tsunade?"

She didn't say a word however, getting to her feet calmly and with purpose before striking out at one of the many raised pillar like objects that encircled the roof of the Hokage Tower, shattering its base and sending the slab of concrete falling down to the ground below.

Her hand went up to her eyes, and she wiped a sleeve across her face quickly before turning to Jiraiya with a watery smile. "My apologies. It's good to see you Jiraiya. You're looking better than ever in fact. I must get back to—"

Jiraiya was already nodding his head as if he'd been expecting the answer all along, and he gestured back to the sealing circle in the middle of the Anbu. "Do what you've gotta do Tsunade. This is your village now, so do what you must to protect it. I'm here reporting in, so use me as you see fit."

She looked grateful and began walking back towards the Anbu, but the yelling voice of Chōji quickly reached her ears, and she turned in his direction as he landed with a skid, tears flowing freely from the rotund ninja's eyes. "What's the matter Chōji? Do you have anything to report?"

The Akimichi clan heir took a moment to compose himself before speaking, his voice cracking slightly from the tears he'd been shedding earlier. "Yes Lady Tsunade! We've discovered one of the enemy's profiles."

At the nod of her head, he quickly surged on, explaining the Pain that they'd encountered, and describing the nature of his attraction and repulsion techniques, as well as the five second gap between uses of the jutsu.

"It's the body of Yahiko, I'm sure of it," Jiraiya suddenly said, his eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed.

She nodded solemnly at Jiraiya before glancing back at the Akimichi heir. "Good work Chōji. This intel will help prevent fewer casualties. Lady Katsuyu has already made contact with everyone in the village, and she will relay this information to everyone."

Chōji's mouth opened as he prepared to continue, his eyes filling with moisture again, though before he could, Naruto suddenly landed atop the roof with his eyes no longer tearing, though they looked a little puffier than usual, his expression hard. "Granny Tsunade, is there anything, anything at all—"

Her head shook slowly from side to side, and Naruto bowed his head lowly, his bangs overshadowing his eyes. "I see…"

He said nothing more after that, and Tsunade gave Naruto a piercing stare before turning her eyes back to Chōji. "You must go back to the scene of the battle, and take Chōza to the hopsital. He can still be saved, but you must hurry Chōji!"

The rotund boy looked up from his position with wide glimmering eyes, and he nodded furiously. "Y-Yes Lady Tsunade! Thank you!" He sent a sad glance in Naruto's direction, sniffing loudly as he fought to hold back more tears before jumping off back towards his father.

Tsunade glanced back at Naruto worriedly, her gaze sympathetic. "Naruto, about Kakashi…"

Words failed to form, and she watched as Naruto gently rested Kakashi's body on the ground, standing back up and staring at her with orange ringed eyes, his yellow irides and barred pupils shining with determination and thinly veiled hatred. "Kakashi-sensei died for the village, died protecting it… and I'll make sure Pain dies for his."

Jiraiya watched the proceedings sadly, and although his greatest of goals were to bring about world peace, by ending the cycle of hatred, he couldn't fault Naruto one bit for wanting to avenge his sensei. 'And so the cycle continues… maybe not in my lifetime, but someday… someday, I truly believe the day will come when people will understand one another, and live in harmony…'


AN: Okay guys, that's a wrap. Let me know what you think. I was a little bit undecided on how much to change this part of the series... I've got something worked out, and I just hope that's okay with some of you, but the more drastic changes will be coming after this arc. Please bear with me, that's all I can ask I guess.

I also changed up Naruto's haori slightly, so don't think it was a mistake on my part saying it was black instead of red. I saw a picture of it somewhere as a black haori with red flames, the colours inverted, and it looked way better in my opinion. So yeah...

Still not on holiday yet, but a few more days and then I will be... this one took a few nights before bed to write up, but here it is, so enjoy!

ShadowedNara