Advent of Mokuzai

Chapter 14: Belief and Hope

"Orochimaru… huh?" Jiraiya asked in a low whisper, with a bit of surprise. He certainly wasn't expecting the blond to ask about him. There was a moment of silence and Naruto saw the toad sannin stare at the sky with a saddened gaze. A sudden gust of wind passed by them which made Naruto cover his face for a few seconds. Looking back at his godfather, he felt a little down for asking the question.

"Why do you wish to know about him, Naruto?" Jiraiya finally asked firmly, looking towards the blonde. Once again, Naruto stammered, wondering if he must tell him the reasons for his curiosity about Orochimaru.

"I just want to know why he turned out the way he is. During the time, that I was… with him, he always spoke about uncovering the secrets of chakra, learning all the jutsus there are, and he seemed particularly immersed in the idea of immortality. He did not speak much to me, but when he did, he always spoke about how different my chakra is compared to all the ninjas he has encountered over the years and that he wanted to uncover the secrets of my body. It was like, he thought about nothing else other than those things. I know, Kaa-chan, you and he were teammates earlier and fought for Konoha during the Second Shinobi War. But, I just can't understand why, a shinobi like him would abandon his home, the very foundation of 'Will of Fire' and become so detached and inhuman." Naruto replied honestly. Till now, he had never spoken about what he had gone through or how he felt during that time with anyone other than Sai. But, he also knew there was no one who knew or understood Orochimaru better than his godfather. Despite being a traitor to his home and abandoning everything he had been taught to believe in, Naruto had noticed that Orochimaru considered his mother and oji-chan in high regards because of the power they possessed.

Jiraiya sighed as he heard Naruto's words. He never did like talking about his relationship with the snake sannin. During their genin days, Jiraiya would always chase after him, trying to be as 'cool' as him and in trying to do so, he had found an unlikely friend in him. However, the person who Orochimaru had turned into later was obsessed with the secrets of ninjutsu and chakra and would go to any measures to see his goals accomplished. Even after knowing him for so many years, he never really could figure out, what his fellow Sannin really yearned for. He had his guesses, but he was never certain when it came to Orochimaru.

Unnoticed by Naruto, Jiraiya smiled slightly as he realized Naruto was willing to talk a little about his feelings during that time. Though he did not like the subject at hand, he would indulge the blonde a bit.

"Orochimaru was always a quiet one during our time at the academy and even then, not many people talked to him or hung out with him. He was the smartest person in the class. Be it ninjutsu, taijutsu or academics, he was always the top student in the class. Even at that young age, he thought as an experienced shinobi. I think it was because of his high intellect that he couldn't talk to children our age back then. But despite all that, he was never cruel or ruthless. He was blunt about the things he thought and believed in, but he never showed off. He was the type of ninja that I always aspired to be back then." Jiraiya said with a nostalgic look on his face. Looking at Naruto's face, Jiraiya understood his train of thoughts.

"Hard to believe huh?" Jiraiya questioned. Naruto merely nodded, not knowing what to answer. Sitting cross legged and keeping both his hands behind himself for support, he once again looked at the dimming sky, as if looking for answers himself. He never really thought about his genin days or rather his troubling past with Orochimaru nowadays. To him, it seemed like a lifetime ago.

"It was just after the First Shinobi War, that Orochimaru's parent had died on a mission. There was still a lot of tension going on between the great five villages. It hadn't been long since the villages were formed and the clans from different lands still festered their hatred against those from Konoha. Shinobis from different villages were extremely hostile against each other. No one knew the details of his parent's death, but since then he began to change. It wasn't much for people to notice, especially for those who didn't know him well. But, I could tell. He began questioning things, that no one of our age should have. Despite all of that, he was still loyal to the village and he behaved the same way with Tsunade and I. As the years went on, we fought many battles together for the sake of Konoha and he never showed any signs of ever betraying. He was Sarutobi-sensei's favorite student…" Jiraiya stated with a dry chuckle.

"So, Sandaime jiji was hurt the most by his actions, ne?" Naruto questioned. He was intrigued by the stories Jiraiya was telling. It was certainly hard for him to believe that Orochimaru was anything but a cold-blooded person. Yet, from what he had heard so far, he was beginning to understand- maybe a little, of the Snake Sannin's past.

"That is right." Jiraiya replied grimly. He was appalled when he learnt that Orochimaru had betrayed the village and run off, so, he couldn't even begin to understand what his sensei was going through at that time. Both, Jiraiya and Naruto became quiet as they stared down at the village which was still hustling with people. By now, the sun had already set, and the moon shone brightly over the village. From a non-shinobi's perspective, the village truly symbolized the epitome of beauty and peace.

"Oji-chan, do you know what Orochimaru did to betray the village?" Naruto asked, albeit a little sadly. From the continued silence, he had understood that this was a sore matter for him. But, he still wished to know more about the man. He hated the man for he did to him in the past, but he still wished to know the circumstances which led him to become what he is. Ever since he started training in the shinobi arts, he understood that pain, tragedy and hatred were a constant figure in a shinobi's life.

Hearing that question, Jiraiya's face gained a serious look. He glanced towards the blonde for a few seconds without uttering a single word. He didn't know what Orochimaru had done with Naruto during that time, he was sure it wasn't anything good to talk about. But, Naruto was asking an awful lot of questions about his former teammate. Discarding the doubt from his mind, he smiled slightly. He was certain, Naruto would never do anything to endanger the village.

"Naruto, there are some answers which should never surface to the top, for the sake of others. If the circumstances that led to Orochimaru betraying the village became public knowledge, it would bring chaos among the villagers of Konohagakure no Sato. Most of the jounin and even several of the high-ranking officials are not aware of the circumstances which led to him fleeing." Jiraiya said authoritatively.

Seeing Naruto's face, he raised his hand, to stop him from saying anything further. Naruto's eyes widened a little upon seeing Jiraiya's face. So, he obliged and kept quiet.

'I didn't think oji-chan would get angry if I had asked about him…' thought Naruto as he lowered his head.

"Yes, I am aware why he left, but I don't think you are ready for it hear yet." Jiraiya stated firmly.

Understanding what his oji-chan was saying, Naruto didn't ask any further questions. He realized it must be a village secret, which he was not at liberty to give away. Lying down on the ground, he closed his eyes to clear his head a little. He felt at peace, as the slight breeze hit his face, giving him a tingling sensation in his body.

"Answer me something, Naruto." Jiraiya asked with his eyes focused on the ocean of stars in the night sky.

"What is it, oji-chan?" Naruto asked casually.

"Are we humans because we gaze at the stars or do we gaze at the stars because we are humans?" Naruto raised an eye brow at the question but didn't say anything. He simply laid his eyes out at the stars and pondered about it. His young mind could not really process the answer precisely as it could be seen from the thoughtful look on his face. Both sat quietly for more than ten minutes, before Jiraiya eventually got up.

"Let's get back home, Naruto. Your mother must be wondering where you are. It has become quite late." Jiraiya said with a slight shudder. Tsunade was a little too protective of her son.

"Hai, Hai oji-chan!" Naruto replied as he giggled lightly.

Two Days later

It was late in the morning and Naruto lay comfortably in his bed under the warmth of his blanket. As he slowly opened his eyes, he immediately put his hand above his face to block the sunlight from hitting his eyes. As a few seconds passed by, he sat up on the bed with a somewhat tried look. He yawned lazily and stretched his hands. He could still feel the soreness from last evening's taijutsu practice which he had with his mother. He knew his mother was among the finest shinobi in the Elemental Nations when it came to taijutsu, but he didn't think she would be so hard on him.

'Damn… most my body is still sore from the beating I took. I really do need to focus more on my physical strength.' Thought Naruto as he released a tired sigh. It was true indeed. The past few years, Naruto had devoted most of his time, learning and understanding various ninjutsu, advancing his fuinjutsu skills and improving his control over Mokuton, that he did not focus much on his taijutsu. He was aware that he possessed incredibly large reserves of chakra, but he was reminded yesterday that having large amounts of chakra would not help him if he was forced into a fight where he had to rely solely on his taijutsu.

He sighed once again as he remembered what his mother and oji-chan had told him about yesterday. Even though, he was burdened with the task of keeping Konoha safe by keeping the two tailed beasts at bay, over the years he had come to see the Kyubi and Sanbi more than just beasts made of chakra who cared only for destruction. He would hate it, if the two bijuus were forcefully taken from him. He couldn't really express it in words, but he had formed a certain bond with them.

Flashback

Naruto, Tsunade and Jiraiya sat in the training grounds of the Senju Compound. It was located to the west of the main house of the compound where the current Senju family now resided. Tsunade had left Shizune in charge of the hospital while she had come to train Naruto. She had decided that she was not going to force him into learning a particular style of taijutsu, rather make him adapt according to his own strength. It had been a good five years since he started training in the arts of shinobi and she was astounded by his improvement in ninjutsu, fuinjutsu and even medical ninjutsu. It had been a tiring work to make Naruto to learn to heal himself. Even though she knew the bijuus inside of him would always heal him of injuries he might receive, it was always considered beneficial for a ninja to know a little amount of medical ninjutsu in case of emergencies.

Despite having trained Naruto in taijutsu and overlooking his physical exercises, since he was five, she had never pushed him too hard. In the past five years, even Jiraiya had only helped Naruto in ninjutsu, helping him learn the concepts of each jutsus and how to use one depending on the situation. While none of them could use Mokuton, she was glad her grandfather had left a few notes about his kekkei genkai in the Senju Clan library, which proved to be extremely helpful for her son.

But, now that his body had gotten used to all the physical exercises and general taijutsu katas she made him go through as well as the ninjutsu and fuinjutsu he had learned over the years, she wanted to take it up a notch. She knew her son was an extremely capable shinobi even according to some jounin, but knowing the threat he would facing in the future, she had to make sure his strength would be up to par with those of his enemies. The thought of losing her son, made her tremble with fear and worry. She had already lost most of the people she cared about and even though she was not Naruto's biological mother, she had come to view him as her own flesh and blood. Looking towards her favorite blond, she was certain Naruto would become a shinobi who would become more renowned than the Shodai Hokage. She chuckled lightly knowing her only reasoning for such thoughts was, 'a mother's intuition'.

"Naruto, now listen to me carefully, okay?" Tsunade said seriously.

"Hai, kaa-chan." Replied Naruto, giving his full attention to his mother. He didn't know what his mother and Jiraiya wished to talk about, but looking at the seriousness on their faces, he gulped a little.

"The physical exercises along with the chakra control exercises that you have been doing over the years have made your body stronger, faster and adept at handling rough physical exercises. That is the foundation for any shinobi who wants to grow their strength. The past few years you have learnt the concepts and practical usage of various ninjutsu and your knowledge in fuinjutsu has increased dramatically. However, now I believe it's time for you to reflect on what you have learned over the years and master everything to the point that you don't feel any strain on your body or chakra when performing shinobi techniques." Tsunade explained briefly.

"What do you mean, Kaa-chan? I already have good knowledge of everything I have learned over the years." Naruto replied with a confused face.

"Learning a jutsu and mastering a jutsu are two different things, Naruto. Some jutsus require more than several hand seals to be used when you learn it in the beginning, but if you can master the jutsu completely, you can perform it with either one or no hand seals at all. The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu normally requires two hand seals to perform the jutsu, but if you get more familiarized with the technique, it's possible to perform it with one or no hand seals too. Also, the better you are at performing a jutsu, the better you will become at controlling the amount of chakra used by the jutsu." Jiraiya stated in detail as he got up from the ground and dusted himself off. Tsunade nodded, agreeing with her fellow Sannin.

Naruto folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, assimilating what he had heard. He understood what his mother and oji-chan were trying to stay in general and he too nodded his head absently. While he had four natural affinities, which was a great aspect for him as a shinobi, he hadn't trained any of his affinity to his full extent. Ever since he had discovered his ability to use Mokuton naturally, he devoted most of his time to get a good grasp of his kekkei genkai.

"Hai, I understand kaa-chan, Jiraiya oji-chan." Naruto said firmly.

"That's good, because from now on, your training is only going to get much harder and you won't have time to complain." Tsunade replied with a sickly smile as she cracked her knuckles. Jiraiya and Naruto both paled a little on seeing the expression on Tsunade's face. It was one which assured intense pain in every bone of the body. However, Naruto also felt a little excited upon imagining the different training exercises he will go through.

"Hime, it's time. We should tell him now about it now." Jiraiya muttered upon getting closer to Tsunade who was still dreaming about the wonderful training regimen she would have Naruto follow.

"Huh? Oh, right." Tsunade replied. Her mood suddenly changed as she remembered that Jiraiya and her had agreed to tell Naruto about the group that would be after him.

Tsunade gently called out to Naruto, who once again gave his entire attention to her.

"Now, listen to what Jiraiya has to say okay? Don't interrupt him in between. It's an important matter, which you should hear directly from us." Tsunade said warmly as she placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder gently. Naruto noticed the hint of sadness in her voice but did not say anything. Turning towards the Toad Sannin, he now had a serious look on his face.

"This group goes by the name of Akatsuki. They are a mercenary group consisting entirely of missing ninjas from different villages and all of them are rumored to be at least S-Rank or higher. Until a few years ago, they performed all sorts of missions ranging from guarding to assassinating someone. But, a while ago I received word from one of contacts that they will be hunting down the bijuus that are scattered across the Elemental Nations." Jiraiya explained calmly.

Naruto remained silent as his mind processed what Jiraiya had told now. However, as realization dawned on him as to what Jiraiya meant, he felt a cold shiver run through his spine.

"Collecting bijuus…? Wouldn't that mean they are also after the jinchu…" Naruto mumbled softly with lowered gaze. Jiraiya placed his hand Naruto's arms to garner his attention. Upon feeling the contact, Naruto looked up at Jiraiya with a tinge of fear evident in his blue eyes.

"Yes, that is true Naruto. You and the other jinchurikis are not safe. But, you don't have to worry yet. It will be some time before they come after you. The reason you need to get stronger is, so you can defend yourself against powerful enemies. Your mother and I will protect you when the time comes, but we won't always be close to you. You are already powerful shinobi. With more years of training and experience, I'm certain you will be among the most powerful shinobi ever." Jiraiya spoke with admiration.

"How can you… be so sure of me oji-chan?" Naruto asked, unsure of himself.

"You must believe in yourself Naruto. So long as you believe in yourself and have hope, there is nothing that can escape the grasp of your hands." Jiraiya stated wisely with a small smile. Seeing the look on his mother's and oji-chan's face, Naruto felt an extremely strong emotion bubbling inside of himself. At this point, Tsunade noticed how the trees and flowers in the Senju Compound looked so fresh, colorful, just like the time when her grandfather was alive. In fact, the entirety of Konoha was blanketed by such a calm feeling, that almost everyone could feel it unconsciously.

Flashback End

"Naruto! Come down for breakfast!" Naruto heard his mother call from downstairs. Realizing what day today is, he smiled widely and jumped from his bed to the ground. He had been waiting for this day for a long time now. Moving closer to his windows, he opened the curtains, and the entire room was immediately bathed in the warm sunlight. Seeing the lush green field from his room and hearing the birds chirping in the morning, always made him smile and feel at peace.

Getting to the bathroom, he quickly brushed his teeth and took a shower to fresh himself up. As he stepped outside the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist, his widened dramatically upon seeing who was standing in his room.

Hinata's cheeks began turning bright red as her eyes studied Naruto standing only with a towel wrapped around him. She could clearly see the results of Naruto's physical training over the years. Even at his young age, he had well-defined chest and abs in the making which might put some of the grown men to shame. Her innocent white eyes roamed around his upper body and muscular arms and as her gaze lowered below slowly, her cheeks turned the brightest shade of red. Before she or Naruto could utter anything, she fainted promptly and fell on the ground with a blissful look on her face.

Naruto simply stood in his place with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Though it had been only a few seconds, to him it felt like an eternity when he realized she was staring at him.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled as his mind registered the fact that Hinata had fainted.

Both Tsunade and Shizune ran upstairs on hearing Naruto's voice. Worried that something may have happened to Naruto and Hinata, both ran quickly. Soon as they reached Naruto's room, Tsunade hurriedly opened the door only to come across a situation that would remain etched in her mind for a long time.

"Kaa-chan, Shizune nee-chan! She wouldn't wake up. She suddenly fainted. Is she okay?" Naruto cried out with confusion written across his face. One moment he saw Hinata staring at him and the next second he knew, she fainted and fell.

"It's a good thing Jiraiya isn't here to see this..." Tsunade said, laughing at the current predicament and how oblivious her son was as to why Hinata had fainted. She playfully slapped Shizune at the back, who too amused at the situation.

"Shizune, take Hinata downstairs and give her some water." Tsunade asked her student eventually. She really hoped Jiraiya did not pop out of anywhere. She was certain her perverted friend would have tried to indulge her son in the idiotic stories he wrote. Meanwhile, Naruto simply sat beside his friend with a perplexed look on his face as his mother and older sister laughed as if nothing had happened.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama". Shizune replied heartily, as she finally calmed down a little. She then proceeded to gently pick up the girl and walked out to the living room. Once Shizune was gone, Tsunade walked towards Naruto and knelt beside him.

"She's okay Naruto. You shouldn't worry about her. Shizune will look after her, okay?" Tsunade said in a motherly tone.

"Why did she faint suddenly, Kaa-chan? Is she sick?" Naruto asked yet again, uncertain about what was going on.

"No, no. She's fine. I told you not worry about it Naru. Now, get ready and come down okay?" Tsunade stated getting up. Naruto dumbly nodded, not really understanding what happened in the past few minutes. Just as Naruto turned around to get his clothes, he felt his mother hug him amiably from behind.

"Happy Birthday, Naru-chan…" she whispered tenderly. Her eyes moistened a little upon remembering the little baby she had held for the first time, eleven years ago.

Author Notes- It's been a very long time since I updated this story and I truly apologize for the long wait. I would have updated it sooner, but I got side tracked with other things. But, I will finish all the stories that I have started as of yet. I will try keeping the updates more frequent from now.

The next chapter will also be quite small. Chapter 15 will also feature a time skip of two years which will show Naruto and his classmates graduating the academy. Then, once the missions start, I will give Sasuke a little more focus and his relation with Naruto. As I had shown earlier that Zetsu made contact with Sasuke, the choice of how or from whom he gains power, will be soon presented to him. Now, I wont be following the missions exactly as in went in the anime or manga, but it will be similar in most aspects.

Do follow, favorite and review the story if you come to like work!

Until next time!