Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. However, the original characters and plot of this fic belong to me.
Author Notes: I did say the updates were going to slow down but i think they're still at a reasonable pace. Anyways, i understand that some people are eager to see the pairing to start it's core development but all i ask for is some patience. There's a long way to go and enough time for Sakura and Naruto to interact. You won't be disappointed, i guarantee it.
Chapter 9: Faults In History
Genkei made his way through the dirty alley, careful not to make any noise. He hadn't enjoyed the previous day too much as he found that Naruto was being followed by a group of shinobi. The day before, a kunoichi with pink hair was looking over him before another older and more mature shinobi took over. As the new day began, the white haired man left and a shinobi with black hair took his place.
The complicated situation made it impossible for him to get in contact with Naruto since he would be discovered. He had resorted to following and waiting for the opportune moment to talk with the blonde. He wondered what the reason for the shinobi monitoring the jinchuuriki was, hoping it wouldn't result in unwanted difficulties.
Moving around the trash can, he hid in the shadows of the large building. His eyes focused on the figure of Naruto who was standing still with his arms folded. The dragon knew his summoner was confused about where he was and probably trying to determine the best route to take. These occurrences were irritating however they brought a smile to his face occasionally as they would remind him of the first time he had met Naruto.
He looked towards the top of the building he was next to, feeling another chakra source which belonged to the shinobi tracking Naruto. At first he didn't pay any attention to the black haired individual however after he caught sight of the Uchiha emblem on the back of his shirt, he became more cautious. He was familiar with the strength of the Uchiha clan and he knew this was the last one remaining in existence.
Shifting his concentration back to Naruto, he felt an awkward feeling as he realised he was being watched. He was cautious not to make any sudden movements as he slowly turned to find a young girl staring at him. Her eyes were wide with bewilderment and she could easily be mistaken for a statue by how still she was.
Genkei remained silent, not wanting to cause any disturbance since there was an Uchiha several feet above him on top of the considerably sized building. He inched forward before the girl fell back, not letting out any sound as she did. The dragon acknowledged she must have fainted as he walked closer to her.
Shaking his head, he spoke as if he was insulted, "She acts like this is the first time she's seen something like me. I've been here before and I know there are plenty of things which look scary. You have oversized snakes, cockroaches and even spiders." He paused for a second as he took in what he said, "These kids probably don't get out much; that must be it."
Picking up the small girl, he placed her against the wall in a comfortable position, hoping her guardians would find her soon. As he turned around, he saw Naruto take off in the same direction he had previously come from. The dragon shook his head, "This is going to be a long day."
XXXXXXXXXX
Jiraiya was seated at a table with benches on either side. The restaurant was small and had only a few customers, making it the perfect kind of place he wanted to be. Even though he had wanted to catch up with his research, he found that his mind wouldn't let him focus properly after being told about the Kyuubi vessel the day before. Sighing, he called over the waitress and ordered some fresh tea.
He rested his arms on the table as his mind wandered to thoughts of the Sandaime. The last meeting he had with his teacher was a mistake as he hadn't expected to run into the old Sarutobi.
Flashback
The full moon shone on the rooftop where two individuals stood. The night sky was murky with no stars visible; the darkness reflecting the emptiness held within the old man who took the pipe out of his mouth. Blowing out some smoke, he spoke in his aged voice, "It is a surprise that you have returned."
Jiraiya folded his arms as he looked towards the streets below, "It's a bigger surprise that you were searching for me; this is a first."
The Sandaime chuckled, "How have you been Jiraiya?"
The frog hermit didn't respond immediately; he found it awkward that the Sarutobi was making small talk with him after actively seeking him out. "This isn't the reason why you're talking to me."
The Sandaime nodded, his back turned to Jiraiya, "You're right."
Jiraiya looked at his former teacher, "Then what is?"
The Sandaime sighed, "You know what it feels like to fail someone. But the failure isn't something which is easily overlooked; instead it can change the course of a person's life."
Jiraiya stared at the ground, remembering how it felt when he couldn't stop Orochimaru from leaving Konoha years ago. He understood who the Hokage was referring to, "You're talking of the jinchuuriki."
The Sandaime chuckled, "It's amazing how the greatest sacrifice of this village was dishonoured by the masses. We praise and look to the Yondaime with grateful feelings yet the only wish he left behind was ignored and hated. There is irony in this wouldn't you say?"
Jiraiya was surprised as he heard the Hokage speak to him of his innermost feelings. Through all of their training together and even when they had grown into adults, his team mates had never seen the shield of their teacher ever falter. But now, Jiraiya was seeing a side of his former mentor he hadn't witnessed before. "You blame yourself."
The Sandaime looked towards the Hokage monument, "More than anyone else, I knew what he was going through. His tears, struggles, smiles; I saw everything. I had faith that he would persevere through all of it and become strong."
Jiraiya felt uncomfortable and at the same time, he couldn't help but let his heart sting with pain as heard the old man. "What do you want from me?"
The Sandaime stared at the carved visage of the Yondaime, "My time draws near; until I know he has become the man I envisioned him to become, my spirit will never be at peace. Whether you take this burden is entirely up to you."
End Flashback
2 weeks later, the Sandaime had died in battle with Orochimaru and Konoha had barely defended against the attempted invasion. Jiraiya had willingly taken the task in order to honour his deceased mentor who had sacrificed his life for Konoha. He informed the council of the Sandaime's last wish and managed to convince Tsunade to become the next Hokage.
The only thing remaining was to track down the Kyuubi container but the task was harder than initially perceived to be. His existence was like that of a ghost with absolutely no information as to his whereabouts. Then without expecting it, he heard of Akatsuki capturing their final target. He had taken Sakura and Kakashi along with him in order to somehow retrieve the Kyuubi container but several complications arose.
They found they weren't the only ones attempting to venture into the land of Akatsuki as Orochimaru and his loyal servant Kabuto were also there. This changed the objectives of Team 7 as they were horrified to find that Sasuke had been taken over. Soon after, 6 members of Akatsuki confronted them before they could make it into the metropolis leaving only the leader of the organisation behind. After a long battle, Jiraiya had managed to make it into the city of towering buildings only to find a corpse covered in the cloak of Akatsuki. There was no sign of the vessel of the Kyuubi. He had found solace in the fact that the Kyuubi container had survived somehow.
Jiraiya stopped wandering in his memories as the waitress placed down a pot of tea in front of him and walked away. The old shinobi picked up the boiling tea and poured some into a cup as a familiar masked man entered the small restaurant, "Kakashi, care to join me?"
Kakashi folded his favourite book and placed it into his vest, "I've been looking for you."
Jiraiya blew his boiling tea before taking a small sip, "Why is that exactly?"
Kakashi waited for a few moments, eventually sitting down. "I need to know about the Yondaime's seal."
Jiraiya nodded, "What do you need to know about it?"
Kakashi put his arms on the small table, "What was its purpose? Whether it had any side effects? I know you're the best person to ask when it comes to this."
Jiraiya observed the jounin; curious as to why he wanted to know about all of this. He answered regardless, "The original purpose of the seal was to slowly merge the chakra of the Kyuubi and its container into one. This would grant the container the ability to defend himself and it would ultimately get rid of the Kyuubi. As for side effects; there shouldn't be any."
Kakashi acknowledged everything he was told, "That's interesting."
Jiraiya placed his cup on the table, the tea having brought his mind some relaxation, "What's wrong with the jinchuuriki?"
Kakashi focused on the steam rising from the tea, "He's changed; eyes, face, teeth. All of it reminds me of that night when I saw the Kyuubi."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, knowing that nothing like that should be happening, "Are you sure?"
Kakashi nodded, "Was there a possibility of the Yondaime's seal breaking?"
Jiraiya began to pour himself more tea, "No, a seal of that strength can't be broken unless someone tampered with it." He paused as he realised something, "Akatsuki…"
Kakashi faced the legendary ninja, "You said there was no notice of the vessel at the city meaning he had escaped."
Jiraiya took a drink of his tea, "Maybe the extraction started but was interrupted. It would explain why the adverse side effects are occurring."
Kakashi inwardly sighed as he took in the information. The bells hanging from the ceiling chimed with noise as the wind blew; the pleasant sound disturbing the silence of the small restaurant. This was bad news since he knew they couldn't let the Kyuubi possibly escape its container. He wondered whether the objectives of Team 7 would change if he informed the Godaime of the new development.
Jiraiya looked at the white haired Hatake, knowing he was deep in thought, "He reminds you of your father, doesn't he?" Kakashi moved his head upwards as he heard the words escape the mouth of the older man, "Shunned and abandoned while doing something honourable."
Kakashi's eyes showed trouble as he rose from his seat. His mind focused on his father who had taken his own life because of being rejected by Konoha. The legendary White Fang had chosen his comrades above his mission but his valour was scorned resulting in his tragic suicide. "The life of a shinobi is full of hardships. The people you meet often remind you of others."
Kakashi turned to leave as Jiraiya spoke, "You're right. But it's harder to deal with when it seems like it is a repeat of the past which people should have already learned from."
Kakashi remained still as the words of the perverted hermit sank in before leaving the small restaurant. Jiraiya quietly drank his tea, his thoughts on the container of the Kyuubi and what his purpose for returning to Konoha was.
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Naruto began to laugh as he stretched his arms, enjoying the shining sun. Falling back on the grass, he put his hands behind his head and began to rest. He had come to one of the many training fields in Konoha but he had an ulterior motive for his location as he needed some place where he could talk with Genkei and his chaser wouldn't notice.
The training field was located on the edge of a forest and he could feel the presence of the Uchiha some distance from him. Genkei, on the other hand, seemed to be getting closer to his position and was no doubt using the vegetation as a cover. He could sense Genkei's unique chakra signature after having been trained to as the dragon was an expert at concealing his presence. He took off his hat and placed it next to his mouth in order to cover the lower part of his face from the watching Uchiha.
He had learnt of the Uchiha and their abilities when he was young and knew well that they were capable of reading lips easily if the sharingan was activated. He waited patiently as he felt Genkei's chakra signature stop behind him, "What took you so long?" He had a playful tone.
The bushes behind the blonde let out a voice, "What's that supposed to mean? I should ask you what took you so long to find a place. But I'll give you credit for thinking up something like this."
Naruto made sure to keep his expression the same so he didn't seem suspicious, "So, how's your day been?"
Genkei didn't move in the foliage, "Remember when you said you had an opportunity and took it?"
Naruto realised what he referring to, "Yeah, that day in my home."
Genkei couldn't believe he didn't know where he was heading with his words as he spoke again, "That opportunity must be the reason why you have 3 shinobi tracking you like Gamatatsu tracks food."
Naruto was confused at the mention of the weird name, "Gamatatsu?"
Genkei felt like hurting the blonde, "He's just some…the point was about the shinobi following you."
Naruto yawned, "Okay, but it can't be helped. We'll have to deal with things how they are now."
Genkei licked his teeth, "Something like this is too risky to try again with all of these shinobi following you. We need another method of communication."
Naruto stared at the blue sky as he began to think about what to do. An idea quickly came to him as he answered the dragon, "I could leave you a letter informing you of any new things. The shinobi only follow me so you could easily get the letter from where I'm staying when I'm not there."
Genkei nodded, "That sounds good. Any idea of how you're going to get the scroll and crystal."
Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, "Not yet." Sitting up, he lit the cigarette with a match before hearing a large commotion. He turned to the entrance of the training field to find a group of four people entering.
"Neji, would you really not read my book?" The loud voice echoed through the area.
Neji tried to keep his composure, "It's not for me."
Lee shook his head as Gai spoke instead, "Why wouldn't you want to learn of the taijutsu style which has made us both the beautiful beasts of this village?"
Neji stopped momentarily, "I already have a taijutsu style."
Lee ran around the Hyuuga before stopping in front of him, "I understand; but please read my book."
Tenten sighed, "Lee, you need to calm down."
Naruto observed the group of four, quickly realising they were a team of shinobi. He sweat dropped as he saw the green spandex wearing individuals, wondering whether people really called them beautiful. He raised an eyebrow as the eccentric and younger ninja wearing the green spandex looked in his direction.
Genkei quickly spoke, "Remember to leave the letters. I'm going to go get something to eat now; maybe a toad…"
Naruto saw the green spandex wearing individual advance towards him, feeling naked without Genkei near him. As the taijutsu specialist stopped in front of him, Naruto began to cough horrendously upon gazing at his eyebrows.
"Lee!" Tenten's voice could be heard as she ran towards him, "What did you do?" The rest of the team followed as Naruto began to recover, slightly disappointed now that his cigarette was ruined.
Lee had a puzzled expression, "I think it is to do with his habit of smoking." He turned his attention to Naruto, "Or maybe he's coughing from excitement as he saw me approaching in all my glory."
Naruto thumped his chest and stood up, avoiding staring directly at the weird eyebrows, "No, it's because of how you look." He coughed a few more times.
Gai smiled, "I see; you wish to have one of these amazing suits."
Naruto had a dumbfounded look, "Huh?"
Tenten grabbed Lee, "Let's go. You need to stop disturbing unsuspecting people."
Neji felt some shame as he looked at his team mate but he was glad that he was no longer the one being harassed. The Hyuuga turned his attention to the forest as he felt a chakra source; it was faint but he could feel it. He realised it belonged to Uchiha Sasuke but he wondered why he was concealing himself.
Naruto quickly spoke as Lee tried to stop himself from being dragged away, "You know, I'm a writer too."
Tenten relinquished her hold on her fellow jounin as Lee brushed his clothes. "I knew it. I could tell by your looks that you had talent."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the peculiar remarks, "…I heard you wrote a book about taijutsu."
Lee smiled and gave a thumbs up to his team mates, "Word of my book has reached even the borders of Konoha."
Naruto scratched the back of his head before placing his hat on top of his head. He had just heard the man screaming about his book when he entered the training field, "You're a specialist in that area?"
Gai nodded, "Yes, he is. I taught him the style which I perfected and now he has written a book to pass on the teachings to anyone else that may want to begin on their road to being as marvellous as ourselves."
Lee handed the book to Naruto, "You can have this for free. I would love it if you could come to the celebration of Iwa and Konoha's agreement. We could discuss our writing there."
Neji closed his eyes as he spoke, "That celebration is reserved for shinobi only. Ordinary people aren't allowed."
Lee had a downcast expression as Naruto expressed his interest, "Will the Tsuchikage and Hokage be present?"
Tenten nodded, "Yes, I'm sorry for my friend's invitation. Unfortunately, we're not the ones deciding who gets to go."
Naruto took out another cigarette and placed it in his mouth, "That's alright. It was nice meeting you all." Before he left, he rummaged in his rucksack and took out some of his notes, "Here's a sample of what I write." He handed the pages of writing to Lee and walked away.
Taking out a match, he lit his new cigarette and inhaled the smoke. He could hear a loud scream followed by the sound of Lee and Gai's voices, "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS YOUTHFUL! THIS IS SO WRONG!"
Naruto stopped in his path as he heard the shout in the distance, "That's the first time someone's reacted like that; there must be something wrong with them." Nodding to himself, he continued walking until he was at the top of a hill.
He let the smoke escape the end of his cigarette as he gazed at the stream of water which sparkled in the sunlight. He felt a relaxing sensation enter his body as he closed his eyes, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
"It has been a long time, Naruto." The recognizable voice quickly broke the retired shinobi from his tranquil state.
The jinchuuriki opened his eyes and turned around to face the robed man. He spoke coolly as he responded to the Tsuchikage, "Are you enjoying Konoha, Hajin?"
Author Notes: Everything should've been pretty much cleared up now except for how certain things went down and Naruto's past. Sasuke's side of the story is yet to come and it'll be an interesting read to see how he was freed from Orochimaru. But there's a lot of time until that is shown. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, laters.
