A/N: Thanks, Bobboky, Crystalzap. We'll see more Naruto and Sasuke talk probably in the next chapter, since he still has to resolve the issue he created with Sakura last time. I'm still not 100% on if Jiraiya knows or not about Naruto, but for now at least take it that he doesn't but has suspicions about the kid.
And now to Dan. When I first read your reviews I did have a legitimate answer for them, but now I'm just drawing a blank. Suffice it to say that it is unfortunate so many flaws stood out to you that it eventually became impossible to continue reading.
Much appreciated, Inuyonas, thank you. As usual thank you to the readers, favoriters, and alert+ers who have added this story to your lists.
The clang of metal against metal filtered through the trees around the area as Sasuke brought his tanto to bare against Lee's. Truth be told, the month of 'training' had paid off for both boys far in excess to what was expected. Sasuke's natural urge to keep up coupled with Lee's drive to succeed where his other areas of skill had failed him was pushing them both along quickly.
Stamina was still a weak point, but the breaks had become longer as the weight began falling less and less from what it started as in order to keep going without showing weakness. Lee continued to have the physical advantage from his earlier starting time but when it came to their matches later in each day Sasuke edged out victory just as often as he lost.
Pulling away and twisting aside as he considered the next blow, Sasuke's eyes glanced down to his opponents wrist to try and see where the tanto was likely to swing at him. The chest? he thought and hesitated a fraction of a second in a calculated risk.
Lee took the hesitation at face value and struck earlier, slashing toward one shoulder. Sasuke grimaced as he dropped back with a narrow line of red cut into his white shirt, proof that he was at least close and getting a little better at predicting movements thanks to his growing familiarity with the opponent- and his teachers occasional advice over dinner.
Lee's eyebrows rose at his successful blow and drew back from the expected return attack, putting some distance between them. "I thought you were quicker than that." he said.
Sasuke frowned. "I am." he shot back and put his chakra where his mouth was, having pushed enough through his legs quickly to launch across the distance and thrust his weapon for the other boys neck.
Now Lee had to drop back and he barely managed to get his own tanto around in time to prevent the burn of the others sword across the side of his neck, a non-fatal but painful move regardless. Stepping quickly to the side Sasuke threw his other hand forward, grimaced, and twisted the fingers around as he once more brought his weapon forward.
Lee shouted in surprise and dismay when his blade was torn to the side as if of it's own accord and left him wide open to attack. He winced a moment later when blood ran across his eternal rival's tanto, but the pain following it was less then usual and he found out why when Sasuke relaxed his stance and stepped back- as only the tip had drifted across his skin.
"Hn! A good match, my pupil, you fought valiantly!" Guy's voice called from the branches of a nearby tree before he dropped down, a strip of gauze already held in his hand in case of just such a wound occurred, signaling the decisive blow if this was a real encounter.
Lee sighed as the cloth was wrapped around his throat tight enough to prevent the wound from becoming a problem and nodded at his sensei's words. Ruffling his hair, Guy turned to Sasuke and examined the shoulder slash with a critical eye. "Hm. Yes, you too must be wrapped! Kakashi?" the jounin called up into the trees.
The Copy Ninja dropped down as well and stowed away his book, reaching into his vest pocket for the small bundle of gauze he carried since these matches had become common at the end of each day. Neither jounin would actually heal the others student unless their rival was missing from the session.
Naruto was growing concerned. Ever since his last encounter with Sakura a month previous she had failed to show up for class, and perhaps worse was that no one would answer the door when he knocked at her house.
As far as he knew, she had simply stopped coming out of her room after leaving the academy grounds that day, and he knew that since Ino made sure he was aware of the fact every time class began or, if he avoided her then, when it ended.
Sakura wasn't seeing anyone of her old friends and it was Naruto's fault. He found himself back on his training grounds after school today with his frustrations rising again. How stupid can you be? he asked himself as he drilled newer kunai into the circle mark just off center with a sharp thunk, having asked Yamato to buy him some not long ago.
She wasn't exactly a well of stability in these days! I forgot how strong she became when I was training with Jiraiya those three years before... dammit! What if she never becomes a kunoichi now! throwing the other three at the circle as he thought Naruto ended with two of them missing altogether, and his expression only soured further.
I can't let that happen, and I won't! If Sakura doesn't show up at school tomorrow, I'm going to crawl through a window and drag her out myself! he swore, clenching a fist tightly at his own idiocy.
"Hello... Jiraiya-san." the cold sound reflected off the walls and back toward the doorway even before the Toad Sage stepped through it. Most of the base had been demolished when he arrived, but the final few halls he had been through was something else altogether.
Scenes of blood spill decorated the walls in multiple degrees of red, crimson, and brown from age. Two tables had remains left on them he could only identify based off of the skeletal structure as once being human, even with several critical elements torn free.
The machines lining the final room actually made him look away in both pity for the poor men and also in disgust at what his former companion and team mate was doing now.
Without even stopping, the black-haired and pale skinned man in the far left corner placed his scalpel along one edge and deftly sliced through the top few layers of skin in a crisp and nearly completed circle. Beneath the knife the subject moaned faintly and stirred against the metal spikes holding him crucified in position to the table beneath.
"It's fascinating what you can turn a strong shinobi into with enough time and practice put into it." speaking as he worked, the scalpel descended deeper with a little effort and another section was carefully drawn away without fully breaking it off. "I've been at this for six hours today, Jiraiya-san, and still his will to live thrives strong enough to endure the surgery procedure."
Jiraiya's grimace narrowed further. "Either you put him out of his misery or I'll do it for you, Orochimaru." he stated flatly. The fully perfected Rasengan he had learned from Minato before the others sacrifice years ago was swirling in the mans right hand.
Across the room Orochimaru let out a soft sigh and stood upright, twirling the scalpel between two fingers effortlessly as he reached up to draw the blood stained visor away from his eyes and push it into his hair. "You never did accept the sacrifices made during warfare, Jiraiya-san. I caught this traitor preparing to poison my villages supply of water, potentially killing hundreds. Is it not my right to draw out as many answers from his soul as I can before finishing up here?" he questioned curiously.
"No. You've obviously gotten whatever answers you wanted, or am I mistaken in the jar resting beside his head with the severed tongue inside, or the cracked headband at the base? You're sick, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya shouted by the end, emotions stirred by the level of torture and simple gore decorating the area- as well as the other man's non-chalet attitude toward it all.
Orochimaru hissed quietly before gripping the scalpel and in one smooth motion driving it through the victims chest bone into the heart beneath, and still further out the back and firmly into the steel table below. "So be it." he called across the room. "A welcoming gift to you for finally meeting again after several years." turning away from the brief choking sounds made as blood rushed out into the chest cavity, Orochimaru wiped his hands off on a corner of his smock not already saturated by it.
"You may lower your ninjutsu. I've spent just as much time devoted to unraveling it as I have preparing for your eventual arrival." he continued, approaching a worn iron chair and settling down into it comfortably. Gesturing with one hand he offered another chair with a dead and beheaded man chained to it loosely toward his fellow Sannin member.
Jiraiya's other hand clenched into a fist. He had come here for knowledge but what he had found instead... it sickened him deeply, but further than that it scared him that this is what the once quiet yet brilliant friend of his had not only descended into, but had actually come to embrace now.
Stepping into the room proper he forced his eyes to scan for any kind of obvious trap, senses alert for when Orochimaru struck, not if he would. The other man studied him in silence for a few moments before reaching over to the table beside the chair and bringing the cup there up to his lips to sip from.
"Really, Jiraiya-san, our first reunion after such time and you provide me with the cold shoulder in such a manner. Haven't I been a gracious host so far? We've much available to talk about, you and I. Surely you would be willing to settle down and... chat." he spoke after another few moments.
Jiraiya grimaced. "I doubt there's anything left of the man I once knew in you to make that conversation worth while... it's over, Orochimaru. I'm bringing you back to Konoha for trial and execution." finally settling his eyes back on his fellow Sannin member the Toad Sage's Rasengan began to swirl quicker.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed further but he kept a loose smile on his lips as he said "Strong words for a man in your situation. Do not forget whose domain you have entered, Toad Sage." he stated.
A brittle silence held out for a few seconds following that before Jiraiya seemingly vanished from sight and the small sphere suddenly accelerated, rushing straight for Orochimaru's throat. Just as quickly the other shinobi's yellow eyes flickered and he kicked back and leaned away to the side, hissing sharply.
Even before he touched the floor with his left hand and brought one booted foot up to kick out at where he smelled Jiraiya to have shifted to through shunshin, the walls had begun to rumble as Orochimaru's summons answered the call from the nest some distance behind one wall.
Sakura did not show up for class the next day. Naruto grimaced and waited a few more minutes after it had begun before standing up and making his way for the window. The teacher looked up at him. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded. Naruto ignored him, drew the window open, and stepped up to the ledge. "Hey! Get back here!" the teacher shouted and took a few quick steps forward.
Naruto looked over one shoulder at him. "I'll be back when Sakura is." he said loud enough for the rest of the class to overhear, then dropped down to the ground below roughly ten feet. The teacher made a half-hearted attempt to grab him by the hair before giving up and watching as Naruto landed with a dull thump and rolled several times, then pushed up to his feet and began loping off quickly.
It was only a short time later that he was in the civilian housing district and knocking on the door in one final attempt to try a reasonable result. No one answered, though his hearing did pick up movement inside. Fine! Unreasonable it is! he thought in annoyance and headed around to an open wall.
Scaling it as quickly as he did his own apartment walls, Naruto looked in the window and almost dropped back to the ground in surprise. Sakura was actually being instructed by one of the other teachers! Her form was still terrible, but the look of concentration on her face showed how much she was trying.
Before he could drop down again the instructor glanced in his direction, and by proxy Sakura followed when the other gained a slightly slack jawed expression. Her eyes widened in surprise as well before she grimaced and clenched one hand into a fist again, glaring at him through the glass.
"Um... hi?" he greeted somewhat awkwardly when she approached and drew the window open. "What do you think you're doing here?" she hissed at him then looked out and at the few other people staring at the odd sight. "Get in here! NOW!" gripping the front of his shirt Sakura yanked the jinchuriki inside and quickly closed the blinds.
Picking himself up from the floor, Naruto looked between the two before settling back on Sakura. "I'm happy you took my advice seriously." he said after a moment to compose himself. She shook her head furiously.
"It wasn't because of you!" she denied sharply. He raised an eyebrow but accepted her attitude for now, not wanting to upset her any further.
"Well, I'm still happy for you." he said. "By the time we become Genin you should have no trouble at all." he added, then looked over to the instructor. If she continued with this hack she wouldn't be much better off then originally. "But..." he paused, thinking.
I don't really know what Kuranai or the other female Jonin are up to now, but Old-man Hokage probably would and with one notation already in the files he might be willing to help get one to take in Sakura like Kakashi-sensei did with Sasuke. he thought with a faint smile, a plan coming to mind quickly.
"But it would probably be a good idea to get someone who can dedicate their full ability to your success once you're good with this basic style." he finished.
The older woman blinked before scowling down at him. "How dare you imply I haven't been teaching this child fully!" she snapped at him. Looking back over his shoulder toward Sakura he saw the flickering emotions running across her face, finally settling on indecision and some apprehension.
Naruto turned back to the instructor. "How long have you been doing this?" he asked. "Four hours a day for the last three weeks, you wretched brat. Her progress is drea-" pausing and swallowing back the rest of the response about to slip off the tip of her tongue, the woman's eyebrows met in a flash of anger.
Without needing to look around Naruto could sense the sudden stiffening in surprise as Sakura flinched, understanding the implication. I don't like doing this to you, Sakura, but you need someone who cares what becomes of your progress. Too many jackals like this are around the academy. he thought.
"If I can stop whatever taijutsu you can throw at me, will you put in a request for the next highest skilled sensei to take over her training?" he questioned in a neutral tone, slipping into the same basic style as was generally taught at the academy- with all of it's flaws showing.
The instructor grimaced. "That will never happen." she stated quietly, "Your form is worse than hers." having already slipped up, their was little point in concealing her thoughts any further. Naruto's eyes narrowed and Sakura crumbled a little more on the inside, stepping away and closer to the window.
"Then what have you got to lose." he challenged, a flicker of orange chakra bubbling around the back of his neck. The Instructor settled into a more solid looking pose with a hard look on her face. "And when you lose, brat, you will finally leave our village. Do you agree?" she challenged in return.
Naruto frowned but nodded his head, confirming his agreement and lulling her into a false sense of security. A moment later when the taller kunoichi came toward him Naruto grinned, catching the first blow and ducking under the follow up.
A few minutes after it started and it was apparent that Naruto was not a sap at taijutsu like his academy files listed. He may not be perfect, but it was a damn sight better than that of the one he was facing off with, as evidenced by his reactionary time and ability to counter.
An hour after the match started, and Sakura was timidly carrying a scroll to the Hokage's office declaring the Instructor unfit to continue for the next few months and requesting one of the chunin or above available sensei's to take over instead, and a fair distance away Naruto was grinning into his bowl of ramen noodles at the success of the hastily constructed plan.
Holding one numb arm where the giant snakes poison had done it's job well, Jiraiya looked over the completely destroyed land where the battle had exploded into action. Orochimaru had developed far greater combative skills in the seven years since they had last met, but what was truly terrifying was his genjutsu control.
It had taken the Toad Sage some time to figure out what was wrong with the world around him and break free, and by that point he was already being eaten alive by the snake. His Rasengan made sure it's brains were scattered to the four winds a few moments later, and it was during this time that Orochimaru had vanished.
Surely the first few minutes of the two on one battle had been real, but he wasn't confident that he had actually seen the extent of his former team mates skill in action. "Look's like... that mission to Suna's gonna have to be... delayed." grimacing as the poison started to spread, Jiraiya forced his hands to respond correctly in order to drag out the summoning scroll to Mount Myoboku.
He only was able to confirm he was still under the effects of a genjutsu when Orochimaru reappeared from thin air to his left and held out a thin katana toward his chest. Time seemed to hesitate for a few moments before Jiraiya smiled and the length of the blade rushed forward to meet his body.
Blood splattered across the summoning contract and sucked the two of them across the land.
End Chapter Fourteen.