I am the man who makes other men pale! I am the man who makes women tremble in desire! The Great Sage Of Myobokuzan, the wonderful, the gallant, JIRAIYA!... Oh what? Oh yeah that's right, Digi doesn't own Naruto or something like that.
Sage
"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." - Aristotle
In comparison to entering the country, leaving proved to be far more of a chore. The two of them had been checked for any 'contraband' which Naruto knew to mean any signs of rebel influence. It had taken a good hour before they were cleared to finally leave and cross over into Kusa no Kuni. Unfortunately for them, despite leaving the land of Rain, the clouds over head made no attempt to dissipate; Shizuku's mood seemed sombre after that.
Naruto had never taken much stock in borders between countries; they were mostly artificial anyway, only really being true on maps. However the difference between Ame and Kusa was almost strangely apparent. No sooner were they out of the relatively flat and barren country behind them before they found themselves walking through a large, jungle-esque area. Everything from the plants to the animals seemed vastly over-sized; mushrooms the size of small buildings seemed especially prevalent.
Another strange thing was that there seemed to be no obvious roads anywhere; they seemed to stop right at the border with Ame. This left them to trek through the jungle with only a small map to tell them the way. Naruto was never sure why, although he suspected it had to do with his Deva Path's gravity abilities, but he always had an innate sense of direction; he just instinctively knew which way was north and such. That proved helpful when the sky overhead became blotted out by the thick canopy of jungle foliage and they couldn't even tell where the sun was.
However this had the added benefit of blocking the rain which lightened the mood for the both of them; although they could have done without the rather oppressive jungle heat. Along that line the two had abandoned the rain-coats they had picked up in Ame in favour of their lighter attire; Naruto in his robes and Shizuku in her Miko outfit. However they decided to keep the sugegasa hats they had picked up; Naruto liked the look of them and they kept the upper half of his face hidden meaning he could keep his eyes open without anybody seeing them.
"You know, as a monk I'm supposed to be in tune with nature and the animals around me." Shizuku was quietly giggling to herself as Naruto held his hands in fists, the one around his Shakujou turning white. "But that would be a whole lot easier without all of these bugs!" As if to prove his point a rather large and lazy-looking fly landed on Naruto's outstretched arm. The blonde was physically restraining himself to not just slam his other hand down on it. The jingle of a monk's Shakujou was for the express purpose of warning insects and bugs away from him so he would not step on them; unfortunately they did not seem to be getting the message.
"I have no idea what you mean." Her voice was calm but Shizuku still had her hand across her mouth to suppress her giggles. Naruto had been getting more and more irritable the further they got into Kusa; far from the usual serene monk persona he normally wore. Naruto just cast her a rather pointed glance, his eyes momentarily flaring with Chakra to light up his Rinnegan.
"Why isn't this happening to you?!" The girl just shrugged; honestly she too had thought it was rather strange that not a single insect had come anywhere near her since arriving in the country.
"I don't know, I guess animals just like me better." Naruto just gritted his teeth as he shook off yet another bloodsucker looking for its next free meal. He sighed irritably as he noticed the area around them growing darker; no doubt the sun was going down; not that they could see it.
"Alright, well we might as well stop for the night anyway." At that Shizuku froze, looking at Naruto with wide eyes before turning that same frightened gaze around her.
"Here? As in the middle of the jungle?" Naruto nodded absently as he began the process of unsealing all of their equipment and supplies. "Are you kidding? Did you see the size of some of the animals we passed?" Naruto quickly waved her off with a smile as he continued to lay out the two sleeping mats they had; he had made sure to pick up a second one during their trip through Ame.
"Don't worry; this is the perfect opportunity for me to try something out." Her anxiety being replaced by curiosity for the moment Shizuku calmed down and looked at her blonde companion in interest.
"What?" Naruto just cast her a quick smile she knew meant he was either planning something or wanted to keep it a surprise. He settled down into his usual meditative position and began seeping his Chakra into the ground. Then, with all the control he could muster, he began to raise his arm and to Shizuku's amazement, the ground around them began to break down, quickly replaced by fine golden sand. His face scrunched up in concentration the blonde raised his other hand up, as if obeying orders the sand began to move, circling the pair until it formed a make-shift hut.
"Phew, I don't know how Gaara did that with such ease." He was nearly tackled off his feet when he stood up only to have Shizuku run at him, grabbing onto his shoulders and looking at him with wide eyes.
"That was so cool! Can you teach me that?" Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head as he sat back down, Shizuku descending with him onto her knees.
"Um not really." The girl's face fell which made the blonde's heart clench slightly at the sight.
"Oh, is it one of your Rinnegan abilities?" Naruto quickly shook his head only to earn a look of intense confusion from his female companion.
"No, actually it's something I picked up from a friend of mine, Gaara from Suna." Shizuku just frowned, poking at the walls of the makeshift hut to find them surprisingly strong and unyielding.
"Well if you picked it up why can't I? Do you not think I'm good enough?" Again Naruto found himself faced by a girl on the verge of tears and once again found his arms flailing out in front of him for no discernible reason.
"No no, nothing like that it's just, well, it's complicated." He looked down a bit at that, it sounded like a rather pathetic excuse and Shizuku seemed to agree.
"What do you mean complicated?" Naruto opened his mouth to speak but nothing came; he closed it with a frown before repeating this three times. He looked over at Shizuku; he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell the girl about his tenant. However as soon as he looked at her he saw that moment when she was sitting in the cave, rain pouring down in front of her as she curled in on herself. With a soft sigh his eyes lightened slightly and she turned back to look at her again.
"Have you ever heard of the Bijuu?"
"Wow." Shizuku just sat there, shocked at everything she had heard; she might have thought it was a joke if Naruto hadn't been so serious as he talked.
"Are you alright?" The violette just nodded dumbly, her eyes unfocused as she tried to process it all. It sounded so fantastical; her friend contained the most powerful demon in the world, and now another one too if his story was anything to go on.
"Yeah, it's just a lot to take in." Naruto nodded sympathetically, it was shocking enough when he had been told. Finally though the girl seemed to snap out of it, looking around the sand hut with renewed awe. "So you can do all this with sand because of that second demon inside of you, Shukaku?" Naruto quickly nodded, waving his hand to a small pillar of sand grew between them to demonstrate.
"Yes, the previous host was also able to do it too, but to a greater degree and with much more ease. Although that was probably due to the fact he had his entire life to practise, this is still fairly new to me. Also calling them demons is probably incorrect, they are just beings made entirely of Chakra, Bijuu would be the correct term." Shizuku stopped her awed gazing as she swivelled in place, looking at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.
"Tailed beast? Isn't that just as negative?" Naruto blinked at that before looking down with a frown, she did have a point after all.
"Unfortunately that is the only thing I can call them, anything else and people wouldn't know what I was talking about." Shizuku sighed but nodded all the same, her hands began idly playing with the sand on the ground, drawing absent patterns with her fingers.
"I wonder what that would be like, to be locked up inside of somebody just because you are powerful and feared. It just sounds so unfair, I mean like you said, they can think right? No intelligent animal should have to be caged up like that against their will." The blonde just stared at her for a moment, surprised but smiling all the same.
"Well the Kyuubi certainly doesn't make itself easy to talk to it; it's an uphill battle with that fox." Shizuku giggled at that, the thought of Naruto acting so flippant about such a powerful being was a rather amusing thought. "Anyway, it's about time we get onto your Chakra exercises." Shizuku's laugh immediately turned into a drawn out groan and it was Naruto's turn to chuckle. "Those don't sound like the noises of the 'best student ever'" He laughed again as she just looked at him with a deadpan expression before her head slumped forwards.
"It's just soooo boring though; can't we do something else for once like learn how to manipulate fire or wind?!" Naruto put his finger under his chin in a thoughtful expression as Shizuku's gaze turned hopeful.
"Hmmm, no." Her head immediately fell again and Naruto could have sworn the sounds of rain above them actually increased for a moment. "You need Chakra to do those things and right now you still haven't managed to find yours." The blonde was moderately surprised as his friend's head shot up, a determined expression across her firm features as she pulled herself into a relaxed cross-egged pose.
"I'll do it this time!" She closed her eyes as a look of intense concentration appeared on her face, crinkling her brow as her tongue started to poke from the corner of her mouth. Naruto sat against the wall of his self-made hut, watching the girl carefully, noticing no change in her Chakra whatsoever. After about five minutes Shizuku's shoulders slumped forward and she let out a long drawn-out breath.
"This is impossible, how am I supposed to find my Chakra when I don't even know what I'm looking for?!" Naruto sighed for a moment before looking up with what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
"You have to look deep within yourself until you find that tiny spark of warmth; you have to lock onto it and concentrate hard, fanning that spark until it becomes a small flame." Shizuku still looked dejected and for good reason, Naruto had already told her all this before and she still could not find what he was telling her to look for. The blonde thought for a moment, perhaps he was just going about this the wrong way?
"Tell you what, if you manage to find your Chakra tonight, I promise that tomorrow I will teach you how to climb trees without your hands." Shizuku's head shot up, stars twinkling in her eyes as she remembered how Naruto had introduced her to the concepts of Chakra in the first place. Once again a determined look crossed her face; however this time she tried to get into a proper meditative position like she had seen Naruto do so many times. The blonde was mildly impressed, her posture was a little off but it was a close approximation. Deciding to get his own time in while he could he got into the correct position, closing his eyes as he allowed his mind to clear.
"Father's back!" Naruto couldn't help the small smile that broke on his face as he heard the ever excitable voice of Shukaku break through the calm of the seal.
"Quiet you pitiful Tanuki, that mere Ningen is and never will be the Sage so be silent before I end your pathetic ramblings myself." And of course Naruto immediately sighed as the Kyuubi's angry retort once again plunged the seal into silence.
"It is good to see the both of you as well." The Kyuubi had become a lot more irritable since Shukaku had been added to the seal. As far as he understood the two couldn't actually interact on a regular basis; when Naruto wasn't in the seal their individual cells separated, or at least that was the impression he got from Kyuubi's contemptuous statements. However Naruto came into the seal quite regularly and thanks to the fox's intense distain for his fellow Bijuu that was enough to set him on edge.
"Quiet Ningen, you are just as pathetic for never denying Shukaku of his insane delusions." Naruto once again sighed, this was how it would always go; he would enter the seal, Shukaku would greet him and the Kyuubi would have some scathing comment that would immediately induce the Tanuki into a fit of rage. Sure enough not a moment later Shukaku began angrily banging on the bars of its cage, thrashing against the reinforced metal with its whole body.
"Brother shouldn't say that! Father will get mad at you and then! Then you'll be punished!" The Kyuubi merely grunted in annoyance before laying its giant head back down on its paws, ignoring the enraged cries of its fellow Bijuu. "Aaahgg! DON'T IGNORE ME FOX!" The best he got was a small twitch of the Kyuubi's ears causing the sand construct to let out another murderous cry. Naruto sat there in the middle of the room, just watching as the Ichibi vented its frustrations against the bars of its cage. Suddenly its ear twitched and it looked around, its eyes quickly settling on Naruto as it inched its face closer to the bars.
"Father should tell the fox, father should punish the fox! You are father, you have to be father, you have father's eyes and father's staff and father's hair and father's eyes and I bet you have father's other possessions too!" Naruto suddenly blinked in surprise at that; he had known about the sage's legendary artefacts before but he had never had a clear answer what they were. Between the Bijuu's insane attitude and almost sycophantic worship he forgot that, like the Kyuubi, it too must have known the sage.
"Shukaku, remind me about my possessions." Out of the corner of his eye Naruto saw the Kyuubi crack open a single eye and glare at him. He was obviously affronted Naruto would actually impersonate the sage just to get answers; however there was nothing he could do. Shukaku on the other hand practically preened, glad to be of help to the one he saw as his progenitor.
"Of course! There was father's necklace, it was shiny and red; there were father's pots, you told us to stay away from those or we might get hurt because father was nice and he cared! Father had a sword too but he never cut people with it, Shukaku never understood why but father would pat Shukaku on the head when he asked! There was also..." The Bijuu gained a look of intense concentration which might have amused Naruto if he wasn't so interested right now. The look of happiness as realisation dawned on its great face might have been amusing in another situation.
"The rope! Father had that gold rope!" It nodded once in satisfaction as its enormous tail swayed back and forth behind it contentedly. It peered down at Naruto with yellow eyes, expectation apparent on its sandy face before it leaned down. Knowing what to do now Naruto quickly walked over and scratched the enormous sand construct on the head. It let out a massive sigh that shook the bars of the cage slightly as it slumped onto one side. Naruto almost expected its giant foot to start twitching in pleasure but thankfully it didn't; Naruto didn't think he would be able to get that image out of his head.
"You did good Shukaku." If anything the great creature's look of contentment increased before soft but still bone-shaking snores reverberated around the seal.
"How pitiful, using his insanity for your mindless questions; are you that depraved Ningen?" Naruto looked over and gave the great fox a small smile, although there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
"I have to use the resources available to me, although its descriptions were rather vague." He looked up, not entirely expecting a positive answer to his question. "Any help on that front?" The Kyuubi just snorted, once again blowing a gust of warm air over the blonde, causing his robes to move in the breeze.
"Why, surely you have your loyal lap dog now? What possible use could I be Ningen?" Naruto gave a small sigh as he returned to the centre of the chamber, sliding down into a relaxed sitting position.
"My name is still Naruto." At that he could have sworn he saw the great fox roll its slitted red eye but it may have been a trick of the light.
"How wonderful for you." Again Naruto could only sigh at the Kyuubi rebuking his attempts at engaging the great creature in meaningful conversation. "Just leave so I can have my lonely cell back, it is better than listening to that blasted Tanuki snore." Naruto gave a conceding nod before fading from the seal, allowing the Kyuubi to watch as the other cage vanished as well, once gain returning him to his solitude.
"Naruto!" The blonde's eyes shot open, searching around frantically for the danger as he heard his name being called.
"What?! What is it'?!" he blinked as he saw Shizuku a few inches in front of him, waving her hand in in front of him. She stopped when she saw his eyes open before blushing and moving back when she realised how close they had been.
"You wouldn't wake up when I called." Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back into a more comfortable position, accidently nudging his staff as he put his hands back.
"Sorry I was, uh, I was talking to them." Shizuku's eyes widened for a moment but she quickly shook her head of it.
"Naruto I did it!" The blonde blinked in surprise before a fox-like grin spread across his face.
"That's great!" Shizuku beamed at the praise, her eyes closed as she basked in it for a moment.
"Yeah, I found that spark you were talking about then just like that time you showed me I felt that warm feeling in my body." Shizuku felt amazing, her senses felt more alert than ever and she felt as though she could run miles without getting tired. It was as though she could feel the new energy coursing through her body like little streams of warm water. "You didn't tell me it felt so amazing." Naruto just tilted his head slightly with a small nostalgic smile.
"I wouldn't really know, because of the Kyuubi constantly dripping its Chakra into my system I've always had it; I don't know what it's like not to." Suddenly his smile turned into a confused frown as he looked over his companion, a blush suddenly alighting on the bridge of his nose.
"Uhh, Shizuku, did you go outside or something?" The girl blinked in surprise as she looked out of the hut before back to the blonde.
"No, why?" Naruto looked away for a moment, the blush intensifying as she moved.
"Your clothes and hair are wet." The girl blinked again before looking down; sure enough her skin had a thin sheen on moisture and her decidedly thin clothes were plastered against her body. Her eyes widened as she immediately threw her arms over her chest; she may have only been eleven but there were already signs of her becoming a woman.
"Ahh! What the hell?! Is this supposed to happen?" Naruto just ran through his thoughts in confusion, he had never read anything about this happening at the temple.
"I don't know, here let me..." he trailed off as he opened his eyes, examining the girl with his Rinnegan; his blush spread slightly but it quickly disappeared as he frowned. "Hey, your Chakra changed and its flowing differently." Shizuka was still covering her chest as she inched closer to the fire in order to dry off; strangely she noted that the heat seemed more uncomfortable than usual. She looked up at Naruto strangely, wondering what exactly he saw through those eyes of his.
"What do you mean different?" Naruto just peered closer which made the girl feel decidedly uncomfortable; it was like he was looking through her instead of at her.
"I'm not sure, your Chakra used to be light blue like most people's; they all look different but its only slight. Now yours looks like a much darker blue and instead of flowing erratically it's moving more calmly like water, or at least that's what it looks like." Naruto had nowhere near the vision of the Byakugan so he couldn't perfectly see the movement of Chakra through the pathways or tenketsu but he could see enough to spot how it flowed and the colour at least.
"What does that mean?" Naruto finally sat back, allowing his eyes to narrow like usual which was a small relief to Shizuku. He thought for a moment in silence as his friend continued to attempt to dry off by the fire; although it didn't seem to be working much to her distress.
"I have no idea. Maybe it has something to do with your elemental affinity?" At this point Naruto could only speculate; while in Suna he had noticed slightly more difference in people's Chakra that were ninja, especially Jounin. However it had never been to the extent that Shizuku's had changed. "In any case we won't find out now, we should get some sleep." The girl smiled timidly but gave a firm nod.
"Right." A small smirk played over her lips for a moment as she lay down to sleep. "And tomorrow you teach me how to wall-walk."
"This is awesome!" It was a few days after Shizuku had managed to unlock her Chakra and they were still making their way steadily through the jungle. The only difference was that Shizuku now took every opportunity she could to walk up any tree, mushroom or really anything vertical in sight. Naruto had thought it might grow tiresome to see her continually amazed by something that was so simple to most who learned to use Chakra. On the contrary it was rather refreshing to see her take such delight in such a small and trivial thing.
Then again, he guessed to a civilian who had only lived an ordinary mundane life would find such things to be extraordinary. He was surprised by her quick uptake; she got the exercise down within two days and was able to securely stay on the trees even while still. Although on the first attempt she had nearly put her back out trying to keep her body horizontal forcing Naruto to teach her how to channel Chakra to other parts of her body to reinforce her back and legs. Luckily once you could send Chakra to your feet, anywhere else proved to be much easier.
"Be careful." His only response was the echo of Shizuku's laughter as she jumped from one branch to another. He hadn't been thrilled when she began hopping from tree to tree but she seemed fairly apt at it and he rationalised he would be there to catch her if she fell so he allowed it. Suddenly she appeared by his side, dropping from a reasonable height but using Chakra to both reinforce her legs and cushion the blow.
Shizuku had been in relatively good spirits lately; things were just looking up for her. The dense foliage meant that the rain couldn't reach them, something that was a rarity for her when she was outside. Plus she now had access to her Chakra which meant she felt full of life and energy which only enhanced her now seemingly permanent bubbly attitude. The only strange thing was that every time she seemed to use Chakra in large amounts she would get wet for no discernible reason.
"It's fine, you don't have to worry." Her smile practically sparkled despite the lack of sunlight reaching them through the jungle canopy. "I have a great teacher after all Naruto-sensei." The blonde gave a small sigh along with his customary smile.
"Not you too Shizuku." The purple-haired girl merely gave a beaming grin before running off again, under Naruto's careful watch of course. He was glad the various large and dangerous animals were staying away from the pair for some reason but it never hurt to be a bit too cautious. As he watched her run he felt a sudden weight appear on his Shakujou; looking around he was surprised to see a small Capuchin monkey sitting there, staring at him with curious brown eyes. The blonde and the monkey just stared at one another for a few moments before the small mammal chittered excitedly.
"Hey, what the!" Suddenly the monkey raced across his arm, his little hands and feet tickling the monk as they clambered at his body. It paused around his neck for a moment, sniffing at the Magatama bead hanging from his ear before blinking in rapid succession and chittering again. He took it in his hands, nibbling it briefly before climbing down Naruto's back, once again eliciting a few laughs from the blonde. It did a full rotation around his waist before looking up, chirping like a bird and jumping off.
Naruto just smiled as he watched the excitable creature run off before frowning as he noticed he was a little lighter than usual. Glancing down his eyes widened as he realised the scroll containing all of their supplies and camping equipment was missing. He looked up shocked, just to see the monkey's tail disappear around the side of a tree. Without even thinking he took off after it, using Chakra to augment his movement.
"Get back here!" Shizuku saw and heard him run off, her eyebrows raised in confusion as she too took off after him, now somewhat able to keep up with the fast pace he set. However as fast as Naruto was the Capuchin was far more manoeuvrable, it also knew the jungle better than him. The only thing that allowed Naruto to keep track of the quick little simian was his ability to see its Chakra, even through the trees for a short distance.
After leading then on a merry little chase where both Naruto and Shizuku were forced to dodge stray branches due to Naruto missing when he tried to use Banshou Ten'in to capture the animal, the monkey finally stopped in a clearing. Naruto slowed to a stop, making very careful and deliberate movements towards the small black Capuchin who was just standing there, occasionally nibbling on the end of the scroll with its small pointy teeth. Raising an arm Naruto smirked; there was no way it would be able to doge him this time.
"Banshou-"
"Hey Naruto!" The monkey's head whipped round, already chittering excitedly before it seemingly vanished into a pile of leaves. Naruto sighed as the monkey disappeared just as Shizuku jumped into the clearing. "Why did you run off like that?" Naruto turned to her, considering telling her off but upon seeing her curious and innocent face he just didn't have the heart.
"A monkey stole the scroll with all the food and supplies." The girl blinked incredulously at the strangeness of the situation before letting out a giggle behind her hand.
"Well did you catch it?" Naruto just wearily shook his head, absently pointing to the pile of leaves the monkey had disappeared into.
"It ran off before I could grab it." He conveniently left out the fact that she was the one who alerted him to their presence in the first place. Shizuku just looked at him funnily before walking over to the pile of loose leaves.
"Hey cool, there's a door here." Naruto blinked before looking around; sure enough Shizuku was holding up one side of a trapdoor, peering down into the darkness it hid. "Maybe the monkey went in here?" Naruto just shrugged, it was possible; Shizuku smiled brightly at that before descending the steps. Naruto just looked at her like she was mad.
"What are you doing?" Shizuku gave the blonde the exact same look as she continued to walk down the steps carefully.
"What do you mean? We need those supplies don't we?" She said it as if she weren't walking down into a completely unknown corridor in the middle of a jungle that had no discernible reason for being there. "Now are you coming or not?" With that her head vanished as she walked further down the stone flight of steps. Naruto stared at the spot for a moment before his eyes widened and he ran after her.
"Hey wait up!" He caught up to her at the bottom of the stairs, peering into the inky darkness with difficulty while Naruto's superior eyesight had little trouble. It was just a long corridor with a few branches splitting off seemingly at random. The walls all had the same criss-crossing wooden pattern that was dizzying to try and follow while every so often there would be a small inlet with an unlit candle adorning the wall. Naruto walked up to the first one and channelled as much fire Chakra into his hand as he could; a small flame appeared over his finger tip which he quickly transferred to the candle.
"Oh great, how are we supposed to find the monkey in this place? It looks like it goes on forever." Naruto just sighed at the girl. It was her idea in the first place to come down here.
"Don't worry; if we get close enough I'll be able to see its Chakra, even through a few walls." Satisfied now Shizuku beamed before confidently walking into the darkness of the underground compound. Neither one noticed as they passed over an otherwise unassuming piece of floor, only for it to moments later crack open a single dull, brown eye.