Yo! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, i don't really have an excuse and i do feel bad, especially all the nice reviews people have posted. As for why im so delayed in posting, i just got a bad sense of writer bock and then got mixed up in coursework and exams. Sorry nonetheless!
Anyway, just a pre-chapter warning, this one i think really earns the story its M rating. So prepare yourselves and enjoy :)
"Oi Kurotsuchi stop daydreaming and hurry up!" a happy male voice called, braking the girl out of her daze. The voice who'd called her belonged to a large teenage boy who wore a dusty red flak jacket, accompanied by red trousers with a dark yellow scarf. The head plate embelished with the Iwa emblem was stitched onto a red bandanna he wore on his head. He had beady black eyes and a bulbous nose slightly redder than the rest of his face.
"Yeah yeah alright," She huffed, as she turned to follow the larger boy.
"You sure have been spacing out a lot recently Kurotsuchi." He commented, remaining facing forwards, an amicable smile on his face.
"Really?" the girl answered rhetorically. The boy hummed in response.
"It wouldn't have anything to do with that Konoha kid you met now would it?" the faintest of blushes crossed Kurotsuchi's cheeks before she subdued it, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"What? No! I wish I'd never told you about that." The boy merely kept his smile in response.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! God damnnit Akatsuchi would you shut up already." Akatsuchi didn't rise to the flare of anger from his female companion instead choosing to give her a knowing look before returning to his happy-go-lucky façade, "Ugh, let's just go meet the old man." Kurotsuchi jumped forward suddenly and began hopping over roof tops towards a large building in the centre of the village. Akatsuchi waited a second before following her.
When they entered the building, Kurotsuchi received the standard treatment. Overly pleasant smiles and false niceties. Of course she was used to it by now. Being the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, she'd lived with this treatment for her whole life. Not that she could complain or anything. Some people definitely had it worse. A certain blond came to mind for one.
During their short time together they'd talked about their friends and families and opened up quite a bit. More so than Kurotsuchi would like to admit. After all, she didn't exactly have a reputation for being open emotionally. But nonetheless, the blond had managed to get her to talk about herself, somehow or other. She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt remembering how she'd talked about her family and childhood for nearly an hour, only to ask about Naruto's and find out he had no family, except for the distantly related Hokage that is, and his childhood was, well, tough to say the least.
Frowning slightly to herself, she thought back to Akatsuchi's comments earlier. While she did admit she liked the blond when she met him. It irked her slightly at how often her mind seemed to wonder in his direction. She, an Iwa shinobi, granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, respected and feared as a prodigy and possessor of the Yoton kekkei genkei was hung up on some kid. And a Konoha shinobi no less. The fact that the two had been exchanging letters the past months didn't help her cause, however, she had convinced herself it was just a means of staying cordial with a distant friend. Despite the rather intimate kiss they'd shared.
Sighing in frustration she realised she'd reached the door to the Tsuchikage's office and proceeded to clear her head and knocked resolutely.
Upon hearing a faint call for her to enter, she open the door and walked in, eyes talking in the mounds of paperwork heaped on the desk.
"Sup gramps, struggling with the paperwork as ever I see," she commented with a smirk as her gaze fell upon the old man sat on the chair behind the desk.
The man himself was considerably short. He had balding white hair that was pulled from the sides of his head and tied into a short ponytail tied with a dark yellow ribbon. He wore a strange robe that consisted of a red upper part that covered his shoulders and upper chest with a red trim, and flowed down further in four separate strands, all coloured green with the same golden trim along the edges.
The old man looked up before grunting, "And as rude as ever I see Kurotsuchi," he leant back in his chair turning his head to the side, "young people these days. Not a shred of respect for their elders."
"Yeah yeah whatever old man, why don't you just hand over the hat already?" her smirk widening.
"I'm not that old yet brat, and you still got a long way to go," he retorted matching his granddaughters smirk.
Before Kurotsuchi could reply however, another knock sounded at the other side of the door before the head of Akatsuchi popped its way around the partially open door.
"Hope you don't mind the intrusion Tsuchikage-sama, I heard you two arguing so I figured it was okay to come in." he said, his ever present smile beaming.
"Yes yes come in Akatsuchi." The boy nodded before opening the door fully, closing it behind him and walking in next to his teammate.
"So what did ya call us for old man, some kinda high-ranked classified mission?" Kurotsuchi asked hopefully, face lighting up at the prospect.
"Hmpf, like I'd trust you kids with a mission of that calibre," the girl pouted, "but this is an important task nonetheless," the girl's face lit up, "recently we've heard reports that the Akatsuki are become increasingly mobile in the their hunt of the jinchuriki."
"But gramps, haven't we hired them before?" the old man frowned.
"This is true, however initially they were merely a powerful mercenary group, reasonably priced too, however with the edition of our own traitor Deidera, and their recent movements, I've decided to start to taking them seriously, in order to protect our own jinchuriki,"
"So what do you want us to do?" Akatsuchi spoke for the first time.
"I have heard reports that Jiraiya of the Sannin has been spotted travelling through lightening country with his apprentice, and when it comes to the Akatsuki, he seems to be well learned. Your mission is to intercept them and deliver this scroll requesting an exchange of information."
"As much as I don't like the idea of working with Konoha, why aren't we just going to the village if we want information?" Kurotsuchi asked, scrunching her brow.
The old man clicked his tongue and muttered something about talking back to elders before answering, "If you just waltzed into Konoha asking for information, for one you might not even get let in, two, if you are let in, those dogs could take too long to consider the offer and worst case scenario they might even imprison you, we're not on the best of terms with Konoha still after all."
"Alright alright you didn't have to give us a lecture jeez," Kurotsuchi mumbled under her breath.
"So where are we intercepting Jiraiya, Tsuchikage-sama? Akatsuchi asked, sensing the tension building between the two relatives.
Onoki managed to tear his glare away from his granddaughter before glancing at Akatsuchi and sighing.
"All the details should in this scroll here," the old man suddenly began looking around his desk, "ah where did I put that thing." Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi promptly sweat dropped at the old man's clumsiness, "ah there it is!" he proclaimed, spotting the scroll down on the floor to the side, reaching down with a triumphant grin. That is until a loud crack echoed throughout the room, causing the Kage to fall onto the floor with a pained yell.
"Gramps!" "Tsuchikage-sama!"
"Ne, ero-jiji when will we reach Kumo? Feels like we've been going for ageees," Naruto complained, drawling his words as the master/student made their way through the less mountainous regions of lightening country.
"I've already told you kid, we've got pit stops on the way, I'm not Konoha's go to spymaster for nothing you know!" the old man replied.
The blond didn't respond, choosing to grumble incoherently instead. Since Naruto's birthday they'd been slowly making their way to Kumogakure, much to the ire of the young blond. Recently he'd hit a wall with the space-time fuinjutsu basics that Jiraiya had gave him. He was at the latter end of grasping it however he just wasn't quite there. To be honest, he didn't even know why the old man wanted him to go over them anyway. He hadn't even heard of any space-time techniques except the summoning jutsu. Well that and of course the famous Hiraishin of the Yondaime Hokage, but there's no way he could ever dream of learning a technique like that. Not only did he not have the scroll on how to learn as it was probably locked up somewhere but to actually learn it also. It seemed too much.
So in the slump he was in, Naruto decided to take a break from his fuinjustu studies and instead opted for a more mature pass time. Whining.
"Common ero-jiji can't you teach me somethin cool please?"
"Would you cut it out gaki, I've already given you a few wind jutsu as well as a couple of earth ones. Ain't that enough?" the old man retorted, slightly exasperated.
"More's also better though! Common, how about one of those toad jutsus, I don't know any of them!" the blond continued causing Jiraiya to stop and glance at the boy. After all he did have a point. Despite the toad sage having improved Naruto's speed, strength along with his taijutsu and increased his ninjutsu repertoire, plus the addition in the chakra chains, he had yet to show any of the signature toad summons jutsu. He did have a contract with the toads to be fair. And no doubt the traitorous snake would be teaching the Uchiha some of the snake summons jutsu.
"Alright kid, that's too bad of an idea," the man said, stopping and looking around, "I think here will do just fine." He proceeded to take of his travelling bag and face the blond, who placed his bag down also, "Now we just gotta work out what to teach you." The sage scratched his chin in contemplation as he consider the different techniques he could teach his student.
He could teach the boy some application techniques like his hiding in a toad technique or his toad transformation technique however torture and espionage weren't really the blond's forte. Although on the other hand it would do him good to learn them just in case… Although now he thought about it, with the blond's capability with shadow clones, he could learn the toad's number one offensive collaboration jutsu all by himself! Also, Jiraiya was sure the boy would be content and willing if learning an offensive jutsu rather than an applicable one.
Nodding to himself, the old man locked eyes with the blond, "Right gaki I've figured out what jutsu I'm gonna teach you."
"Cool, is it some badass explosive jutsu!?" the blond commented in his child-like excitement.
"No brat it's-" he paused momentarily, as if slightly confused, "actually, yeah it is!" he said grinning.
"Yes! Thanks ero-jiji you won't regret it!" the man laughed slightly and the blond's enthusiasm before going into lecture mode.
"Alright now, the jutsu I'm going to be teaching you is normally a collaboration jutsu, however I figured with your use of shadow clones you could pull it off by yourself." He stopped, making sure the boy was paying attention, "The jutsu is called Katon: Gamayuu Endan or Toad Flame Bomb and relies on the combination of the Gamayudan (Toad Oil Bomb), and pretty much any Katon jutsu. In addition, I figured you could use your Fūton: Daitoppa is order to increase the power of the flames, since your Katon affinity is relatively weak due to your high Futon affinity, you with me so far?" The blond nodded eagerly in response.
"So where do I start?" Naruto asked inquisitively.
"Firstly, you need to learn the toad style jutsu Gamayudan, which normally is a supplementary technique, " the man, turned to face the slightly barren tree line at the side of the path, "it only takes the ram seal to pull off however requires some slightly tricky manipulation of the chakra." He then proceeded to make the ram seal, take a deep breath and the exhale, causing a torrent of thick dark brown oil to spill from the man's mouth, covering the area it was aimed at.
Jiraiya then turned to face the blond again, "the only difficult part of this jutsu is the conversion of chakra to oil, however, the key to that is imagination." He proclaimed with dramatic effect.
"Imagination? Whadya mean ero-jiji?"
"Work it out yourself brat, i'm off to find somewhere to drink!" the blond's face soured and he opened his mouth to retort, "and don't me any of that "you're supposed to be training me crap kid", if I were to just spoon feed you everything you'd never get anywhere. After all, success is not a destination, but rather the road you take to get there." Naruto's eyes widened slightly at the meaning of the quote, before they narrowed accusingly.
"Oi ero-jiji who'd you copy that line off?"
"Pfft what you talking about brat?" he huffed crossing his arms, eyes shifting to the side.
"There's no way you could've come up with something as deep and meaningful as that, you write porn for Kami's sake!"
"I so could come up if with a quote like that! And it's not porn its art in its most raw and sensual form!"
"Fine so it's artsy porn!" Naruto grinned, a triumphant grin.
"For the love of-" Jiraiya placed his head in his hands, seemingly take a time out in order to cool down.
Watching the man with a curious expression, Naruto heard faint mumbling emanating from beneath his father-figure's hands before he slid his hands off his face and slapped his cheeks once, "alright brat, I need to find someplace where I can get me a drink. Work on that and I'll be back… well I'll be back some time or another." The man proceeded to pick up his back and wonder back down the path, all the while mumbling under his breath something about annoying brats and sweet self-assurances that his literature wasn't smut.
Shaking his head with a laugh, the blond fixed his hands into the ram seal and took a deep breath, moulding chakra into his lungs. Going on what the sage said about imagination, he imagined his chakra becoming oil as he manipulated it.
After a second he realised nothing had happened and so concentrated more chakra into his lungs and focused even more on the thought of it becoming oil.
Just as he thought he was getting somewhere, Naruto was hit with a wave of nausea. Eyes bulging, cheeks inflating, Naruto did something he'd never once done before (to his knowledge) in his life. He threw up. It wasn't just bile, but thick oil. He was throwing up oil.
After a few moments of gagging and a dozen spits later, Naruto rose shakily from his hands and knees and wiped his mouth roughly with his sleeve. It was going to be a long day.
In a tree nearby, a certain sage sat snickering quietly to himself. Payback never felt so good.
"Katon: Gamayuu Endan" , "Fūton: Daitoppa!" A trio of voices shouted before unleashing a torrent of oil fuelled flames, fanned by a powerful gust of wind. The jutsu barrelled its way across the slightly barren clearing scorching the ground it its wake until it collided with a small cliff face causing an explosion to rocket outwards.
Standing a way off, Jiraiya raised his eyebrows. An impressed expression plastered across his face. He knew that the boy would be able to pull off the jutsu with relative ease due to his large reserves but to perform it to such an extent.
Looking over to the blond, he noticed the two Kage Bunshins accompanying him had already dispelled and the boy himself was sat on the rough floor, legs spread out in front of him propped up on his arms.
"That sure was impressive kid, I knew you'd be able to get it down but that was still a big show." He commented.
Naruto calmed his breathing momentarily before replying, "Heh thanks ero-jiji, I told you I'd get it," He then flopped down onto his back, "Saying that though… I put too much chakra into that" The old man raised a single eyebrow inquisitively, bordering surprise.
"You're out of chakra?" the blond looked up at the man for a moment before looking back up at the sky.
"No no I got a lot more in the tank," he waved his hand pathetically before letting it fall back to the ground, "it's just that my control over Katon and the Gamayudan isn't good enough yet so I had to overload it, and the sudden decrease in chakra kinda hit me hard. Even if do have over half left." The old man nodded in understanding.
"Well now you got the jutsu down, all that's left is for you to practice each segment individually until it becomes more chakra efficient." Naruto nodded in agreement.
"You got it ero-jiji," he sat up, stretching his arms out above him before looking around the clearing "ne, how far from Kumo are we?"
"Hmm, I'd say a week or so's walk," he replied, before adopting a frown, "It wouldn't take as long however we gotta go a slightly indirect route due to me meeting my contacts."
The blond nodded in understanding, "I can't wait to get there and finally do this sword justice," he looked over to where the two's bags were placed, the elegant sheathed blade resting against the larger of the two.
"I know I know." He looked down at the blond appreciatively, in the last year Naruto had become a lot more calm and understanding when it came to these sort of matters. A testament to his growing maturity, "Alright kid, five minutes rest and then we'll head out to the next town."
The blond grinned brightly up at the old man, "Hai, jiji!"
Jiraiya plopped himself down next to Naruto and the two sat in relative silence, simply content to just listen to the sounds of nature.
After five or so minutes, Naruto and Jiraiya gathered their belongings and began their leisurely walk to the next town. Sure the two could spring there with relative ease however they were in no rush so opted against it.
It was mid-afternoon when the pair strolled into the quant town. Its outskirts were dotted with traditional family houses and children played in the streets while the elderly sat out in the shade. As they entered the town centre, the paved streets became more clustered as locals rushed about their business.
Making their way to a reasonably priced inn the two checked in and dumped their stuff off in their room.
"Alright, I'm gonna go meet my contact… you do, well you can do whatever." The older man commented with a wave of his hand as he exited the building and strolled off down the road. Naruto responded with a non-committed grunt before stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Hmm might as well get some training in then," he said aloud before walking off in the opposite direction that his sensei had walked.
Quickly leaving the heart of the town, Naruto found himself in a relatively secluded clearing, shielded from the village by a thick wall of large trees alike to a strip of tropical forestry.
"Man this is perfect" he said with a whistle, looking around. He then proceeded to remove a scroll from within his kimono top and sat down against one of the trees. The scroll included details on the kenjutsu style he was hoping to grasp better when in Kumo. So far his progress had been somewhat stunted as Jiraiya only new the basics of kenjutsu and the style had proven to be tricky to decipher. Unfurling the scroll, he began to look over laijutsu (drawing techniques) he was currently working on. Well 'currently working' was a stretch. With the all the travelling, ninjutsu and fuinjutsu Naruto didn't have much time to work with his sword, however when he did practice, this was what he was working on.
Glancing over the forms shown in the scroll and the description, Naruto nodded to himself resolutely before standing up and observing the trees above him. Noticing a suitably thick branch on a particular tree, Naruto unsheathed his sword and in one fluid motion, leapt into the air and sliced it at its base.
He landed silently and awaiting for the deep thud and snapping of smaller twigs of the branch as they collided with the floor. Naruto then cut the branch again with a single slice a little further from the base, so that the piece of wood was now roughly the same length as him. After de-twigging the log, the blond picked it up and placed it vertically at one end of the clearing, before giving it a chakra enhanced palm thrust on the top to secure it into the ground. He stepped back, eyeing the now makeshift practice dummy appraisingly with a nod.
Standing opposite the dummy, Naruto placed a single hand on the handle of his sword which was strapped horizontally across his lower back and settled into his stance. Both legs bent, his left foot facing forward in front and his right foot back and facing to his right. His left arm bent at the elbow across his lower torso, tensed guardedly and slightly forward.
Closing his eyes, Naruto was about to begin his practice before he heard a rustling in the bushes at the base of the trees at the edge of the clearing on the side of the town. Frowning inwardly, Naruto made no outward reaction that he'd noticed the presence.
Honing his senses, Naruto was able to pick up the scent of 2 or 3 people, however that was the limit of what he could pick up from smell alone. That is before a soft, high-pitched voice reached his sensitive ears.
"Quiet you baka! He'll hear us!" it said, in a scolding tone. Naruto heard what sounded like a faint whine from the other counterpart.
"But Mimi-chan he's got a sword! What if he cuts us with it?" Naruto chuckled slightly as he relaxed his tensed muscles.
"Don't be such a wimp Aomaru. There's no way he could hear us! We're Goji village's ninja trio!" a third, more masculine but still young voice butt in.
This time Naruto had to actively restrain the grin that was threatening to curve his lips as he kept is neutral façade externally as the three kids continued to argue, blissfully unaware that the victim of their spy-work was listening in on every word.
"Tsk, kids" Naruto muttered to himself as a hint of a grin broke out onto his face, "might as well give them a show." Taking a deep breath, Naruto collected and calmed his now more erratic thoughts and blocked out the background noise of the children, instead focusing on the sounds of the forest. Paying especially close attention to the wind as it rustled its way through the grass and leaves in the trees.
Suddenly, faster that the children, who had now switched their attention to the blond, could follow, Naruto dashed forward off his left leg, sending up a small plume of leafs where his feet had pushed off the ground.
The children, wide eyed let out an involuntary gasp as they lost sight of their target.
"Look!" the one called Aomaru, suddenly whispered loudly, pointing past the upright log.
Naruto had reappeared behind the dummy with his blade, seemingly only drawn by an inch or so. Confusing the children even more. The blond then began to slowly re-sheath the blade leaving them wondering, for a second, just if he'd actually done anything.
Then, with the melodic click that paired with Naruto fully sheathing his sword, a diagonal cut showed itself across the width of the log, before the upper half slowly slipped to the side and fell to the ground with an ungraceful thud.
"Sugo-!" Mimi proclaimed before Aomaru clamped his hand over the girl's mouth.
"Shhh he'll hear us!" The boy hushed, eyes still glued on the blond.
Naruto allowed himself a full grown smirk as he listened the children's praise, even though the jutsu itself had been pretty simple in kenjutsu terms, in the eyes of a kid, it must've looked damn impressive. And hey, it's not such a bad thing to hear praise every now and again, right?
"Oi what's he smiling about?" the unnamed youngster asked, all three's gaze still locked on the blond.
"Dunno, looks kinda stupid though, smilin' for no reason." Mimi replied, before either of the other two could respond however the trio froze as a voice spoke from behind them.
"Aw I thought I looked quite cool, judging by you three's reaction, you must've too, no?" the three spun out of their crouches all landing on their rears with a squeal as they shuffled back from the suspect voice, eyes wide with fear.
Fear, however, quickly turned to confusion as they looked back into the clearing and observed another blond, identical to the one who'd appeared behind them, standing with a foxy grin giving them a cheeky wave.
"Wh-ha but you're there. How can you be here?" Mimi stuttered as she looked between the two blonds.
Naruto merely chuckled in response before pointing at own face from his crouched position, "Ninja." He said with a grin as the trios eyes lit up.
Naruto then pointed to his clone in the clearing and as the children's eyes landed on it copy burst in a plume of smoke.
"Sugoi! Can you teach me that?" The boy on the far left of the trio said with stars in his eyes. He had short spiky brown hair and his eyes seemed constantly squinted. He wore simple brown shorts with a white t-shirt.
Naruto chuckled to himself as the other two nodded in agreement, "Sorry mina, the technique requires a little too much chakra for you guys." He said with an apologetic grin.
The three promptly pouted in canon, before Mimi spoke, "Yosh, I've decided!" she announced before standing up and looking down at the blond, "You're gonna take us on as your students"
All three heads swivelled to look at the girl, her pigtails bobbing slightly as she nodded her head, arms crossed.
Naruto however merely sweatdropped at the scene, "I'm gonna what?"
"We're gonna be your students!"
"Are you now?" The blond grinned, standing up and crossing his arms while looking the three over.
"Yep!" Mimi retorted, sounding more than confident.
"Well, you don't have to ninja-san" the one who he assumed was Aomaru managed, reminding the teen of a certain pale-eyed girl back home.
"What? Aomaru! I wanna be taught to!" The squinty-eyed boy exclaimed.
"I agree with Popo-kun, you gotta teach us!" the girl shouted with renewed vigour.
"Mimi! I told ya not to call me Popo!" The boy named Popo then turned, blushing slightly.
"But you're Popo! Popo is Popo!" She replied with a tilt of her head.
"But that's not even my name!" He then stepped forward, a vein showing on his forehead.
"Um, I don't think Popo is that a bad name." Aomaru intervened, causing Mimi to nod and slap the quiet boy hard on the back while Popo raved.
Meanwhile, Naruto watched the trio with a strange fascination, the kids reminded him of Konohamaru and his little triplet of ninja hopefuls. Eventually however the senseless arguing got a bit much for the young Uzumaki.
"Alright, enough!" He exclaimed raising his voice slightly causing the three to turn in his direction, "Why do you kids wanna be ninja anyway!"
"Cause ninja are cool!"
"I wanna breathe fire!"
"Umm… cause Popo-san and Mimi-chan want to?" Aomaru finished trailing off after the other two's shout.
Naruto shook his head in mirth, if anything the louder two reminded the teen of a younger him, but surely not as bad. There's no way he could have been that bad.
"Well I suppose those are good reasons…" The three nodded excitedly, their eyes widening, "But I'm still not gonna teach you." He finished with a slight smirk.
"Wha-why not!" Mimi gawked.
"Mmm I don't feel like it."
"You don't feel like it!?" The girl echoed loudly.
"Common ninja-san! We need training!" Popo whined exasperated prompting the blond to raise a single eyebrow.
"Oh you need to train do you? Why's that?" This time it was Aomaru who answered, however his voice wavered so much that no one understood what he said, why'll still drawing everyone's attention, "what was that?"
"I said… we need to train so we can protect the village." The boy all but whispered, seemingly shrinking under the gaze of the others.
Naruto's grin fell into a soft smile before he crouched down so that they were all slightly taller than him, "You wanna protect the village huh?" the boy nodded, slightly more confidently this time, "and you two feel the same way!"
"Course!" "Hai!"
"Hmm… well I'm not going to be in the village for long but…" the trio leant forward in anticipation, but jumped back when the teen suddenly stood up, "Yosh! I've decided," he looked over the kids once more before grinning, "Meet me here tomorrow at 9 in the morning," he then turned and began walking away, "And don't be late!" he said, smiling over his shoulder.
"Wait! Ninja-san you didn't tell us your name!" Mimi shouted after him, however before she could finish the blond disappeared in a flurry of leafs, leaving the three alone in a content silence.
"Gah Naruto-sensei you're late again!" An indignant shout came from the clearing as the blond leisurely strolled forwards.
"Sorry mina, I got lost on the meandering road that is life," he grinned as Mimi stormed up to him.
"Again with the excuses! I woulda thought ninjas were all proper and on time and stuff! But you're always late!" She began, as the blond cleared his ear with his pinky.
"It's too early for all this noise, quiet down would ya?" he said before yawning.
"It's the afternoon!" the girl retorted angrily before continuing another rant.
"Afternoon, Aomaru." Naruto asked as he turned his attention to the blue-haired boy sat cross-legged under a tall tree.
"Morning sensei" the boy looked up from his book and smiled lightly.
"How's the reading going?"
"Good, I'm already half-way through! And it's my second one!" He replied in a quiet excitement, holding his book up to show his progress.
"That's great," Naruto smiled heartily, before casting a quick glance to the still ranting Mimi then looking around the clearing, "Where's Popo?"
The boy looked around uncertainly, "Um… I think he may still be out practicing his traps."
Naruto nodded understandingly before turning to address Mimi, "Ne, can you go find Popo and bring him here?"
"Huh? Why me?" The girl suddenly questioned, slightly out of breath from having been talking for so long.
"Cause I asked you to," he replied, causing the girl to frown, "please Mimi-chan?" she opened her mouth to speak before blushing slightly and turning her head away from the teen.
"W-w-well fine, but I need to speak to him anyway, so-yeah!" she said stuttering and then ran off to find the boy.
Naruto sighed in exasperation before sitting cross-legged on the floor near Aomaru. The past week had been interesting for the young Uzumaki. He'd never taught anyone before, besides Konohamaru anyway, and the kids were definitely eager to learn. He had begun their training by teaching them some basic taijutsu katas, mostly just what he could remember from the academy style. Naturally, there was a limit to what they could learn in a week, especially kids with no previous experience, so he made sure to keep it relatively rudimentary. Out of the three however, Mimi interestingly seemed to shine the best in close combat. Her loud and in-your-face personality seemed to translate to her taijutsu, resulting in a relentless brawler-like style. Popo seemed to be the mid-way point of the three. While he enjoyed getting up close and personal, he knew when to back off slightly and create space where Mimi didn't. And Aomaru, well Aomaru only served to remind Naruto more and more of a Hyuuga he knew well back home. He preferred to stay back completely, adopting a reactive approach.
Naruto also taught the three each an individual aspect of a ninja's repertoire. For Mimi, he taught her the basics of kenjutsu, but using a stick. No matter how much she'd protested, he wasn't to let her at his sword. Popo seemed to take to the underhanded list of skills a ninja can possess, so Naruto decided to teach him about traps and hunting. Finally, Aomaru rather unsurprisingly was perfectly content to read books about botany. He'd taken an interest in plants, both for medical uses and poisonous ones. Needless to say Naruto was a bit deterred that the boy could so casually and innocently read about plants that if prepared right could kill you in five minutes but then again, he supposed he'd learnt about killing people that young so hey, what the hell.
Naruto was broke out off his musings as Mimi and Popo came waking into the clearing breaking. Engaged in an animated conversation, arms and hands gesturing wildly they butted heads in contest.
"Alright alright break it up you two, I have something I need to talk to you about." Naruto interrupted, a faint smile on his face.
The friends were barely able to stop their glares at one another but managed to sit down in a huff to the right of Aomaru.
"What's this all about anyway Naruto-sensei? I was just telling Mimi-baka here that there's no way she could beat me in a fight." Popo crossed his arms and shot Mimi a look out of the corner of his eye.
"What! I so could beat you, teme!" the girl threw back, her face red and eyebrows furrowed.
"Yeah yeah whatever," Popo shrugged looking away.
"Why you-!"
"Enough! For the love of kami I'm starting to feel like Kaka-sensei…" Naruto managed, using two fingers to massage his temple, "Look the reason I wanna talk to you all is because I'm leaving today."
The three kids paused, slightly their jaws dropping slightly in shock before they unleashed a collective chorus of complaints and shouts. Well, except for Aomaru, who just seemed to sit their looking a little upset.
"But Naruto-sensei, you can't go! We've got so much training to do!" Mimi cried, her face a mix of anger and sadness.
"Yea and you said you'd show me how to make a double spring trap," Popo followed, looking more betrayed than anything.
"And what about the plants…" Aomaru added after a short pause. God damn that boy and his innocence.
"Look, you guys know I'm a shinobi right?" Naruto began in an attempt to placate the kids. The three nodded in hesitantly. "Well as a shinobi I have duties, and at the moment, I'm on a training mission with my sensei, who is also a top spy and information gatherer, so I have to keep on the move," he took in the three expressions before him, "I just, gotta go."
Mimi cast her gaze down to her lap, her lower lip wobbling while Popo looked away in a huff, his eyes watering slightly. Aomaru wore a quiet, sombre look, as if understanding and accepting Naruto's reasons completely.
Naruto felt a pang in his chest as he watched the kids' reactions. Never before had he had people so emotionally invested in himself. Sure the Konohamaru trio had been upset, Sakura might have felt something, and maybe the rest of the rookie nine were a little sad to see him go? But this wasn't the same.
The blond sighed and ran a hand through his hair before grinning and jumping to his feet, "Yosh! I don't wanna see those said faces anymore!" he shouted, adopting his trademark fox-like grin. The three children looked up at him, eyes slightly red and wide, "I'm gonna continue on my training trip and get a whole lot stronger, and I want you guys to do the exact same! I'm not sure when I'm gonna be back here but when I am, I wanna see you all training harder and as a strong as ever, believe it!"
The trio's expression's softened as they all mumbled something incoherent, Mimi with her lip still trembling, a slight shine to in her eye, Popo wiping his eyes and smirking, and Aormaru grinning a true smile.
"What was that? I didn't hear ya?" Naruto question, cupping a hand behind his ear comically.
"Hai Sensei"" "Hai Naruto-sensei!" "Hai Naru-sensei!" the three shouted.
Naruto grinned in spite of himself, feeling a warmth build up in his chest, as his three students then barraged him with questions on his future training.
"So did ya have fun?" the old man asked, looking over his shoulder at the blond.
"Huh? Whaddya mean?" Naruto asked, lifting a single eyebrow.
"Don't play dumb boy, I'm asking if you had fun with your little students." Jiraiya let out a rumbling laugh as he continued down the path.
"Oh," Naruto laughed sheepishly, "yeah I suppose, I didn't know you were watching though Sensei, what happened with your informants?"
"Well I had a little time in between tracking them down so I thought I'd stop by." He adopting a mock serene expression, "imagine my surprise when a see my brat of a student has taken on three little brats of his own."
Naruto grumbled in response, not trusting himself to reply curtly.
"Anyway, isn't that one of them now?" The old man asked, nodding his head behind the boy.
"Huh?" Naruto turned slightly and saw a tired looking Mimi running towards the two, a large bag on her back.
"Naru-Sensei!" she shouted waving, a large grin on her face.
Naruto watched her, his tilted head slightly, only to sigh has the girl tripped on a small rock and face-planted on the ground, her large backpack almost engulfing her whole body.
Jiraiya let out another large bellied laugh, "Go to her brat, I'll be waiting up the path," he said before walking away, talking to himself about another clumsy young idiot.
Naruto muttered something incoherent in response and approached the now prone girl. He crouched in front of her, watching in amusement as she tried to stand up with the weight of the massive bag on her back.
"What are you doing Mimi?"
"Ah! Naru-sensei! I'm coming with you on your trip!" she shouted a muffled shout in response. Naruto sighed and grabbed her bag by the arm straps and lifted her up to a standing position. The girl straightened up as if she'd never fell in the first place, "And I won't take no for an answer!"
"No." the boy replied, looking the girl in the eyes.
"But Naru-sensei I-" she began, eyes frantic and wide.
"No buts Mimi, I can't take you with me, it's too dangerous" He watched her for a moment, "and besides, what about Popo and Aomaru, do you really want to leave them on their own?"
"Well no… But Naru-sensei they'll be alright they've got each other and their families and stuff!" she replied, slightly frantically.
Naruto looked the girl in the eyes and felt a small sadness consume him. He'd learnt over the week he'd spent in the small village that Mimi lived alone with her uncle and aunt who were always away on business. They ran a small merchant company. According to Popo and Aomaru, her parents had died when she was only two; mountain bandits if he recalled correctly. Looking at the small girl in front of him it was hard not to see a reflection of his younger self. Friends and acquaintances could only go so far to fill a void created by a loss of or absence of loved ones. It's the small things, like being scolded for coming home late or told that you did something well by someone that cares that he missed out on, and when without create that void known as loneliness.
"Look, Mimi-chan, I know what it feels like, to feel alone, trust me I do." The girl's eyes softened as she looked down at her feet, "but if you leave now who's gonna protect Goji village when mean bullies start stealing the other kids' sweets? The Goji village ninja trio certainly isn't a trio if you're not there, is it?" the girl didn't react so he continued, "Or who's gonna keep the boys from getting into trouble? Huh? Like when Aomaru spaces out and gets lost while walking or when Popo accidently picks a fight with some older kids?" The girl shrugged, turning her head to the side averting her eyes.
"You are! You big idiot!" he scolded softly, "now I'm not gonna pretend it's easy, but you know what the best trait a shinobi can have is?" the girl shook her head, her short locks flicking against her damp cheeks, "it's being able to get up and keep going no matter what. To pick yourself up and get stronger, so no one can tell you didn't try, or that you weren't good enough? Alright?"
The girl nodded, sniffling slightly.
"Alright." Naruto repeated while standing up, a smile etched on his face as he looked down at the girl.
Suddenly Mimi rushed forward and engulfed the blond in a hug, her face pressed against his stomach, prompting him to let out a small laugh. Placing one hand on the back of her shoulder and the other resting on her head, stroking her hair slowly he returned the hug, realising how few times he had actually hugged another person, regardless of their age.
"I'll miss you," came quiet voice from below him.
"I'll miss you too, Mimi-chan." He replied softly.
After a short silence, she looked up at him through red swollen eyes "Ne, Naru-sensei," the girl started before pausing slightly, seemingly struggling with something, "can I… can I call you nii-chan?"
The boy's eyes went wide in shock momentarily, before easing, a small smile tugging at his lips "sure thing kid,"
Now, no one would ever say that Uzumaki Naruto was a hard person to impress, but nevertheless, as the Sensei-student duo approached the gates of Kumogakure, he couldn't help but marvel at the enormity of it. The walk there had taken roughly three days from Goji village (at a leisurely pace that is) and quickly did the lush green countryside turn to rocky mountainous terrain. The inclining path to the gate was a mountain ridge, wide enough so that large groups of merchants and visitors could pass without endangering themselves but perilous nonetheless. Either side of the ridge thin veils of cloud obscured distant rocky mountains with only a few patches of blue shining through. The air was thin and Naruto realised what an advantage that must be for Kumo shinobi when defending against attacks. Anyone who wasn't used to the altitude would surely find themselves running out of breath and light headed sooner than they normally would.
The gate itself was relatively simple, reminiscent of Konoha's own gate in fact, except for having a dark blue steel hue to it instead of the burgundy wooden tone Konoha's gate embellished. Within the gate a smaller door seemed to be cut out and stood open for visitors. While smaller than the impressive gates, the door was still large enough to let most caravans through, most likely for merchant access. Two Kumo shinobi stood by the smaller door, one sat behind a counter which seemed to be part of the gate itself and the other in front, guarding the door and ushering visitors, not that there were any at this time.
As the pair approached Naruto noticed the guards draw their gaze onto them and tense. No doubt they looked indefinitely like ninja, and if he didn't look imposing with his sword strapped to his back and his battle kimono then Jiraiya's towering presence definitely did.
"Name and reason for visiting," the guard grunted, eyes apprehensively flickering to Jiraiya and back to the blond.
The man in question simply grinned, his eyes retaining a steely hardness, "Jiraiya of the Sannin and my apprentice Uzumaki Naruto, we've come to see your Raikage."
The guard and his comrade behind the desk's eyes widened as he took a step back, his hand edging slightly towards his kunai pouch, whereas the other stood up, and manoeuvred around the counter, his hands poised and ready to perform seals.
"Now now there's no need for violence," Naruto grinned to himself at the older man's tone, "if we were here to fight, well, you'd already be dead."
The guard suddenly reached for his kunai pouch, cursing to himself as the other began running through hand seals. Neither of the Konoha party moved.
"ENOUGH!" came a shout from behind the two kumo shinobi prompting them to stiffen, kunai drawn and jutsu ready, "these two are meant to be visiting and I'm sure if you idiots took the time to look you'd find their names on the visiting list."
The pair turned as a kunoichi approached them. Appearing to be in her early twenties, she had sandy blond hair, which was swept over her forehead, partially covering her hitai-ate. She adorned a short-sleeve black top with a purple plate-armour midsection and had bandaging wrapped around her forearms. A red sash was tied around her waist and her trousers were black also with a cloud pattern at the bottom of the left leg.
"Ah Nii Yugito, I presume?" Jiraiya greeted, completely bypassing the two guards.
The kunoichi narrowed her eyes and nodded slightly, "Jiraiya of the Sannin, your reputation as an information specialist precedes you."
The Sannin laughed loudly causing both blond's eyebrows to twitch, "you hear that brat, told ya I'm famous."
Naruto frowned in exasperation, "yeah famous for being a pervert." The man's laughter stopped as he cuffed the boy round the back of his head.
"Damn it brat don't embarrass your master."
"Hai hai…" he drawled out, "ero-sannin…"
"Why you-" The man started before he was interrupted by a courteous cough from the Kumo kunoichi.
"You are Jiraiya-sama's apprentice I take it?" she questioned, her dark eyes locking onto his own.
"Err yea?" Naruto managed, slightly startled by the question.
"Nii Yugito," she said formally, with a small dip of the head.
Naruto paused momentarily, not sure quite what to say before Jiraiya gave him a slight nudge with his elbow, "Oh um, Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet ya." He said with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head.
Jiraiya sighed and the kunoichi merely quirked an eyebrow at the teens response.
"Well, anyway, the Raikage is expecting you, so let's get going." She then turned and began walking away, prompting the two Konoha shinobi to fall instep behind her, giving the two guards cheeky grins as they moved by.
"Damn that Yugito," Naruto vaguely heard one of the guards mutter under his breath.
"I hate being bossed about by that monster," the other cursed.
The blond's brow furrowed as he drew his eyes from the two shinobi and back to the woman walking in front of them, noticing as her shoulders tensed slightly at the comment before relaxing.
Thinking the ordeal strange he began to wodner why two shinobi would call their comrade a monster. Maybe she had a notorious reputation? Narrowing his eyes slightly he noticed something felt familiar about her, she had a certain presence that he'd felt before, but couldn't quite place.
Absentmindedly, he realised they were now walking up a long set of stairs which seemed to lead up to one of the walkways that were laced around the village, being suspended among small mountainous peaks. Drawing his eyes from the rocky landscape, his gaze landed back on the kunoichi leading them a few stairs ahead. He began thinking back to when else he'd felt this feeling. It had definitely been during his time as a shinobi, maybe around the chunin exams…
Then, as if the pieces came together by some natural force it clicked. Gaara! He'd felt this feeling before when he had barged into Lee's room that first time and found him standing over the bed prone genin.
'She's a jinchuriki…' he thought to himself, 'that's why she feels so familiar, and why those guards said those things' his eyes widened as he watched the woman climb the stairs, she was like him.
"I know what you're thinking brat," Jiraiya said gravely in a quiet voice, bending slightly as they walked.
"You noticed too?" Naruto replied, his voice equally as serious.
The older man nodded in response before blushing and clasping his hands together over his chest, "She's got one mighty fine ass!"
"Ero-sannin!" the blond hushed, as a faint red hue crept across his cheeks, his eyes unwillingly drawn to the woman's behind as she climbed the stairs.
In front, Yugito felt a slight tug at her lips as she sighed softly. Men.
The, Raikage, as it turns out, was one scary looking dude. His light blond hair was scraped back behind his ears reaching the bottom of his neck and thick muscles bugled behind his dark skin. He wore a white open haori with no shirt underneath showing a golden belt engraved with a boar.
"So? What is it you want?" A grunted. He had a deep booming voice that demanded respect and carried an unquestionable authoritative tone. Naruto wasn't scared of him. He definitely, was not scared of him.
"We've come to offer information with regards to the Akatsuki A-sama," Jiraiya replied politely earning an impressed glance from the young blond.
"The Akatsuki?" A echoed, looking up from the paper work at his desk, the weight in hand stopping mid lift, "The Akatsuki is not a concern." He looked back down and continued lifting the weight.
"Oh, so you're not concerned about Yugito-san here or your brother's safety?" His arm stopped again, "surely you realise the threat they pose?"
A dropped the weight on the floor and narrowed his eyes at the Sannin, "Look here Konoha-dog, we can manage our jinchuriki just fine." Jiraiya raised his eyebrows in response, his neutral façade never dropping.
"I'm not doubting your competence A-sama, I merely suggesting that when the Akatsuki do come, which they will, it is better to use known information, to prepare for any inevitable attacks, and minimise damages, both to your shinobi and the village itself."
The Raikage looked at the Jiraiya long and hard before leaning back in his chair placing one arm over the back and letting the other rest on the desk. His haori had slid down slightly on one arm revealing the top of a large golden gauntlet.
"So, what's your price? I doubt you're willing to share this information for free." He grumbled, fingers beating against the wooden surface one after another.
Jiraiya grinned a knowing grin, "well we won't ask for much, since getting rid of the Akatsuki is a mutual interest after all."
"Yes yes, I get it," A said with a wave of his hand, "just name your price."
"All I ask is for one of your, more accomplished shinobi, to train my apprentice here in some kenjutsu. Since your village is known for being well versed in the art." Jiraiya replied smoothly.
The Raikage frowned at the offer, the creases on his forehead deepening and his eyes hardening, "You wish to exchange some information, possibly meaningless information, for my village's secrets in kenjutsu?"
"Now, now A-sama, I never said anything about revealing your own kenjustu techniques," Jiraiya laughed lightly, "My apprentice has acquired some family techniques and wishes to train in them, however without an adequate sensei, he feels he would not do them justice. All I ask is for some tutoring and potentially a sparring partner so that he can develop enough skill to take matters into his own hands." The man paused momentarily, considering the Sage's words.
"Is this true?" A directed dark eyes to the blond, causing him to straighten lightly.
"Hai, Raikage-sama" the blond replied quickly, but not rushed nor frantically, 'damn this guy is intense' he thought to himself.
"Hmm," A stared the Uzumaki down, seemingly judging the teen before sighing "very well."
Now Naruto was really impressed. He'd always known Jiraiya was a shinobi, and a good one at that, but it's hard to take someone seriously when they're off acting like a fool the majority of the time. So seeing his sensei play the Raikage, he felt a small pang of respect blossom for his sensei. He had portrayed the initial offer as though it was completely in his favour, prompting the Raikage to question the deal, before proposing a more reasonable (while still questionable) offer, which in the Raikage's eyes, seemed perfectly logical.
"Yugito?"
"Yes Raikage-sama?"
"Please take, um," the large man looked at the boy, his brow once again furrowing.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto intervened, realising he hadn't introduced himself yet.
A's eyes narrowed at the sound the boys surname as his head moved back towards the kumo kunoichi, his eyes still latched onto the young blond, "Take Uzumaki, to a suitable inn while I discuss matters with Jiraiya."
Naruto frowned internally at the stress placed on his name, "Hai, Raikage-sama," Yugito turned the boy, "Naruto-san?" she proceeded to walk towards the door, the teen hesitantly following after her.
"Raikage-sama!" A voice shouted has as the door the office was knocked on heavily.
"Yes, what is it?" A called, and the door was flung open revealing a tired and sweaty Kumo shinobi. Hanging onto the door handle for support, he bent over to catch his breath. His attire, which consisted of the typical Kumogakure chunin wear, was dirtied and torn in places, his blond hair was matted and sticking to his face.
"A village…" he managed between breaths, "the patrol, and the village… they're gone."
"What nonsense is this about a village? Spit it out boy!" the Raikage shouted standing up.
"Destroyed…" the man spluttered out, his hand still latched onto the office door handle, "No survivors."
Only then did Naruto notice the faint sprays of blood that covered the man's trouser legs. A small thread of fear wormed its way into the boys mind as he watched the man attempt to speak.
"A village destroyed?" the Raikage questioned, a single eyebrow twitching into what seemed like a cross between confusion and worry. "What village was destroyed?"
At this point the chunin had regained his breath and now stood, panting lightly, "Goji village sir," he wheezed gravely, "It's been destroyed."
Naruto's mind went blank. He didn't hear the sudden bark of the Raikage's orders or the sound of rushing footsteps or Jiraiya calling his name.
Goji village.
One foot suddenly planted itself in front of the other, as he ghosted his way out the Raikage's office.
Destroyed.
His steps became quicker as he broke into a run, ignoring the attempts of the old man to stop him and the shouts of people he barged by.
No survivors.
His jog became a sprint as the unfamiliar scenery of the village hidden in the clouds blurred past him.
Popo.
The guards at the gate were thrown to the side by dark orange chains as he crashed his way through the small door in the large front gate.
Aomaru.
The rocky mountains and the cloudy blanket that covered the sky were morphed into streaks of brown and white as he plummeted down the mountainous path.
Mimi.
The blue sky that had appeared overhead had now began to darken as night consumed the day. He wasn't sure how long he had been going for. Nor did he care. Tree branches burst underfoot has he powered his way through the light tropical forestry that bordered the mountain terrain and the lush countryside.
He paused on a thick branch at the edge of the forest. He could see it. In the far distance. The small licks of flames the pierced the night sky. The dark plumes of smoke blackening the velvet blue night. His nostrils stung as the wind blew in his direction, disturbing the leaves in the trees. It smelt like death.
He pushed on. Mind still blank and limbs heavy, the village seemed to be getting further away the more he ran. The faster he went. Until it was upon him.
Suddenly the smell seemed so much worse. It stung both his eyes and nose.
Houses lay in ruin, the charred foundations still smouldering. Soft wails lingered in the air. He wasn't sure whether it was the wind or survivors or the grieving.
Hesitantly, he moved forward.
Bodies lay scattered on the burnt ground. Some still burning, some blackened, some bloodied and cold.
He kept going, ignoring the sense of dread that lingered at the back of his mind, the bile that rose to the back of his mouth, the smell that stabbed at his nostrils and the smoke that stung at his eyes.
Never before had he been surrounded by so much death. It was everywhere.
He approached the square that sat in the centre of the village, it's once smooth, paved ground upheaved and soaked a dark red. Little embers lifted into the sky like firery fireflies and smoke wafted in the wind. Stalls and stands stood stripped bare either burning or in heap. The bodies were more numerous now. He stepped around the charred remains of an old man, the same old man he'd seen selling fresh fruit not long ago. But, the old man was not on his mind, nor was the lady that sold various fabrics or the retired veteran who cooked homemade dango.
He stood frozen. The fear that was once but a lingering sensation blossomed into an uncontrollable fear, an overwhelming torrent of despair, consuming every part of him.
There, within the smouldering embers and the up torn gravel, lay the small forms of three still bodies, their limbs laying over one another in a protective lifelessness, and amidst the cackle of the soaring flames and the soft whimper of the wind, a single tear fell onto the burnt earth, filled with an indiscernible sorrow of loss.
And done! if you got any question about the chapter i'd be happy to answer em!
I should be uploading a lot sooner than last time, i'm on a summer break now so got a lot of time on my hands between work
Thanks for readin and dont forget to review, fave and follow if you're feeling it!