Disclaimer: The world of Naruto isn't mine, if it was Naruto wouldn't be just a three trick pony with Shadow Clones, Rasengan (plus variants) and Fox Mode. I mean come on. Neither is anything from the video game Assassin's Creed, though the new game looks awesome.
"The sky weeps like the village," Naruto muttered as he walked alongside Sakura and Sasuke toward the Hokage Tower for the funerals of the dozens of ninja that had given their lives in defense of the village. Most notably of these heroes was the Sandiame Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who died when he sealed both the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages by using the same sealing jutsu that Naruto's father used to seal the Kyuubi into Naruto. The Sandaime was able to seal Orochimaru's arms using the jutsu as well, but the Snake Sannin managed to escape with his life. Naruto felt the Kyuubi stir as he thought of the Hebi-teme. He vowed that the Hebi-teme would pay for what he had done.
Team Seven arrived at the Hokage Tower and was led up to the roof where the memorial was being held. Naruto saw most of the ninja core already there lined up in rows. Naruto found a spot at the front next to Konohamaru and Iruka. The younger boy was struggling to keep his tears from streaming down his face. Naruto knelt down next to Konohamaru and put his arm around the boy's shoulders.
"It's all right Kono, let it out," Naruto whispered. Konohamaru looked at his adoptive brother with large eyes before burying his face into Naruto's chest, his sobs muffled. Naruto gently rubbed Konohamaru's back as the younger boy's tears soaked his shirt. "It's all right, it's ok."
Many of the other ninja watched as the hated 'demon' brat comforted the 'Honorable Grandson' of the Hokage. They were confused; they were looking at the action of a human, not some demon.
"Thanks, Naruto-niichan," Konohamaru mumbled against Naruto's shirt.
"It's fine ototo," Naruto answered. "It's fine to cry in times like this but don't ever forget that we're here for you and that your grandfather loved you. He loved the whole village, and showed it by giving his life for it. What we need to do now, is not waste the precious gift that he has given to us."
"Very true Naruto," Iruka said. "Remember Konohamaru, those who die never truly leave us unless we let them. Always cherish the memory of your grandfather, hold on to it and live everyday of your life the way he wouldn't have wanted you too. Live for the future, not in the past. Remember those who came before us, but never forget to keep going forward."
Naruto smiled at his former Academy sensei, as did Konohamaru. "Thanks sensei," the younger boy said.
After the memorial had finished, Naruto found himself at the memorial stone, staring at the etched names of his parents.
"Hey Tou-san, Kaa-chan," Naruto muttered. "How's it going?" Naruto snorted at this. "I'm sure you know this already but we were attacked by the Sound and Sand, though Suna was tricked into attacking by Orochimaru. I'm sure Jiji has already told you all about this and I hope that you'd be proud of me for how I dealt with Gaara. I'm afraid that if it wasn't for Jiji and Iruka-sensei, I would have ended up just like him: angry, crazy, pretty much a killing machine. Hopefully, I got through to Gaara. No one deserves to be alone in his or her lives they just need someone to be there for them, acknowledge them, to tell them that they are not alone." Naruto took a deep breath and continued. "Tou-san, Kaa-chan, Jiji, I hope that you don't think badly of me for this, but I swear that that Hebi-teme will pay for what he did to you, Jiji, and the village. I know that revenge is never that answer but he's caused so much pain to my precious people, that he has to be stopped," Naruto said. "And I will stop him…I better get going, it's getting late. I'll be back soon enough, I love and miss you all."
The next morning Naruto was on his way to meet with his team as Kakashi had called them together to talk with them about their future missions.
"Hey gaki, there you are," a voice called out. It was Jiraiya. "I've been looking for you all morning."
"What do you want Ero-Sennin?" Naruto asked not looking around.
"I'm going out of the village on a mission and I want you to come with," Jiraiya said.
"What's the mission?" Naruto asked skeptically.
"I need to find my teammate, Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "Sensei named her in his will."
"Ok, when do we leave?"
"Tomorrow, meet me at the gate at 8am," Jiraiya said.
"Fine but you owe me some jutsus because I know that you're just going to run off and peep on women while we're outside the village."
Jiraiya frowned. "Deal, I'll teach you one of your father's jutsus while we look for Tsunade."
Naruto's eyes lit up but before he could say anything, Jiraiya vanished in a puff of smoke. Frowning, Naruto leapt off toward Training Ground 7. Sakura and Sasuke were already there, waiting for him, and Kakashi wasn't in sight.
"Hey Sakura-chan, Sasuke, any sign of Kakashi-sensei?" he asked. Sasuke just ignored him.
"No Naruto, though I'm not surprised," Sakura said. "It's sensei."
Naruto nodded.
"Say, Naruto, I just wanted to…um…"
"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, eyeing his teammate whose face was quickly turning red.
"I just wanted to thank you Naruto."
"For what?"
"Sasuke told me that it was you that save me from Gaara," Sakura whispered, a fierce blush covering her entire face now, matching her hair. "And I wanted to say thank you." Naruto froze as Sakura leant forward and quickly kissed his cheek. Both Naruto and Sakura's faces bloomed into spectacular blushes. Sasuke was watching and frowned as something stirred in his chest.
"It's fine Sakura-chan, you're one of my precious people and I promised that I wouldn't let you get hurt," Naruto said. "But I failed, you still got hurt, I'm sorry Sakura-chan."
"No Naruto, you did as best you could. I made the decision to get involved in the fight," Sakura said. "You aren't in fault for me not being strong enough to help."
"You're plenty strong Sakura-chan, you faced off against Gaara even though you were scared, that's true strength," Naruto said. "You wanted to make sure that me and Sasuke were safe, you were trying to protect us. And you gave me the strength to beat Gaara, I didn't want him to hurt you or anyone else." Sakura's blush returned full force at the sincerity of Naruto's words. "Are you all right Sakura-chan? Your face is really red, are you sick?"
"Baka," Sakura cried as she punched Naruto in the back of the head, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Oww Sakura-chan, what was that for?" Naruto whined as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Gomen Naruto, you just surprised me there and I overreacted," Sakura apologized.
"Oh ok Sakura-chan, no permanent damage done," Naruto chuckled. "I probably shouldn't have gotten so close to you anyway, I'm sorry."
Before Sakura could respond, Sasuke interrupted. "Dobe, teach me that jutsu that you used against Gaara!" he demanded. "That ball of chakra one."
Sakura looked at Naruto, whose face had grown stony and cold. It was extremely noticeable in his eyes; they had changed from bright blue to cold, stormy and steely.
"Hell no teme, that jutsu is a family jutsu," Naruto said forcefully. "It would be like me asking you to teach me those Uchiha Katon jutsus."
"Never, those are my family's jutsus," Sasuke shouted. "It doesn't matter about you, I need that jutsu to kill that man."
"No Sasuke, I will not teach you my family's jutsus and don't even think of trying to go whining to the Council. You might be their golden boy, but they won't go against the clans' laws about jutsus."
"Dobe, you don't have a family! Now teach me that…" Sasuke froze as Naruto emitted a truly monstrous KI at the Uchiha. Sasuke dropped to his knees as the pressure increased rolling off of Naruto in waves. Sakura was struggling to breathe under the KI but as Naruto was focused on Sasuke, she wasn't receiving a full dose.
"I believe we have already had this discussion," Naruto growled, his eyes glowing with rage. "I might not have a family right now, but that doesn't mean I didn't at one point just like you did. Now I will not teach you my family's jutsus."
"What's going on here?" Kakashi cried as he suddenly appeared in front of the team.
"Sasuke was trying to get Naruto to teach him a family jutsu and when Naruto said no, Sasuke taunted him about not having a family," Sakura quickly explained. Kakashi looked over at the two male members of his team. Naruto had cut off his KI the moment that Kakashi had showed up. Sasuke was struggling to his feet, and sweat was pouring off his face. Kakashi hid a grin at the Uchiha, inwardly praising Naruto for putting Sasuke in his place.
"Look, we don't have time for this," Kakashi said. "Our team is going to be broken up for some time since we don't have enough senior ninja to take the higher-ranking missions that the village receives, so I'm going to be away for a while and we won't be taking many missions. The village can't turn these missions away because it would make us look weak and other villages could take advantage."
"Is that all sensei?" Naruto asked.
"Yes Naruto, though Sasuke, you and I need to have a talk," Kakashi said flatly, looking down at the dark-haired boy with a steely eye. He put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and the pair vanished in a swirl of leaves.
"Hopefully sensei can get through to Sasuke," Sakura said softly.
"I don't know Sakura-chan, Sasuke is getting darker and darker, and I don't know if anyone can get through to him," Naruto said. "Oh, I just remembered. I'm leaving the village tomorrow on a mission with Ero-Sennin, we're supposed to go find this Tsunade woman and bring her back to the village."
"Tsunade of the Sannin, the greatest medical ninja of all time," Sakura gushed. "Wow Naruto, she's like one of the greatest kunoichi in history. Maybe I could become a medical ninja, I'm not the best fighter and I don't have that much chakra but if I could use medical ninjutsu I wouldn't feel like such deadweight when we're on missions."
"Come on Sakura-chan, don't be like that," Naruto said. "You're plenty strong but if you want to be a medical ninja, go for it. I'm sure you'll become the best one there is."
Sakura blushed. "Thank you Naruto…who's Ero-Sennin?" she asked.
"He's this white-haired old man with red stripes on his face and wears this really weird costume," Naruto said. "I think his actual name is Jiraiya."
"Jiraiya! Of the Sannin, Naruto what are you doing calling one of the strongest ninja in the village something like that?" Sakura scolded.
"But Sakura-chan, he's a huge pervert," Naruto whined. "He admitted it when I first met him before the Finals. He calls himself a 'super pervert'! He's the one who wrote those books that Kakashi-sensei allows reads."
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Oh really, well then Naruto, you better not come back and be a pervert yourself, or I will have to hurt you," she said with a sweet smile that sent shivers up Naruto's spine.
"Hai Sakura-chan," Naruto said.
The next day Naruto was waiting for Jiraiya at the main gates. 'Where is Ero-Sennin? He said to meet here at 8am, he's probably gone off and peeping at the hot springs. Why do I even bother with him, even if he's my godfather?'
"What you looking for gaki?" a voice asked from behind Naruto.
"KUSO!" Naruto cursed as he leapt into the air and spun around, a kunai appearing in his hand. It was Jiraiya, who was looking down at him with a smug and amused grin. "Damn you Ero-Sennin, what was that for?"
"Just seeing if you were paying attention, a ninja must always be aware of his surroundings," Jiraiya lectured. "Now come on, let's get moving. We're burning daylight."
"So where are we going to look for this Tsunade?" Naruto asked as they walked down the path leading away from the village.
"Well, she is a big gambler, and my contacts have heard of a woman who's been hitting it big in Tanzaku Town, so we'll check there first."
"Fine, now what's that jutsu of my father's that you're going to teach me?" Naruto asked.
"Behold," Jiraiya said. He stuck out his hand and a swirling ball of chakra appeared. Jiraiya gave Naruto a smug grin but that grin vanished when Naruto looked unimpressed. "What gives gaki? I just show you an awesome…" Jiraiya trailed off as Naruto created his own Rasengan. "What the!"
"I learned the Rasengan before the Chunnin Exams, I found it in my dad's scrolls and have been working on it since my mission to the Wave," Naruto said. "So is that all you have to show me, if it is then I'm heading back to the village."
"Now hold on gaki, I have some jutsu scrolls that you can have," Jiraiya said. "I was planning on teaching you the Rasengan on this trip but since that's a moot point, you can use this trip as some more worldly experience outside the village." Jiraiya tossed Naruto two scrolls. "Those are a Futon and a Raiton scroll, I don't know any Suiton jutsus but I'm sure that when we get back, you can talk to Kakashi about some."
Naruto just opened the Futon scroll and began reading it, ignoring the older man. It took the pair a day and a half to reach the gambling center of Tanzaku Town. Jiraiya had Naruto rent a room for the pair of them at a local motel before jetting off in search of his teammate. Naruto went to the nearby forest to train his new jutsus. As night began to fall, Jiraiya appeared and the pair went off to get some dinner.
"So did you find her?" Naruto asked as the pair of Konoha shinobi made their way down Tanzaku's main street.
"Not yet, I have a feeling that she's here in town," Jiraiya said.
"What does Tsunade look like?" Naruto asked.
"Well, if my information is correct, the disguise she's using is of a 20-25 year old woman, with blonde hair and a diamond shaped tattoo on her forehead," Jiraiya said. "She's probably traveling with her assistant Shizune, who's roughly the same age as Tsunade's disguise with black hair and eyes, and she carries a pig that has a pearl necklace."
"You mean like that," Naruto said pointing across the street to an open bar, where two women were sitting in a booth. One had golden blonde hair and the other dark hair and was holding a squirming pig in her arms. Jiraiya's eyes almost fell out of their sockets as he stared at the pair of women.
"Tsunade!" the Sannin called out as he rushed across the street to the bar. The blonde-haired woman looked up and Naruto saw her eyes widen.
"Jiraiya!" the woman shouted. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What, can't an old teammate show up out of the blue to see you," Jiraiya said.
"Don't give me that excuse you old fool," Tsunade snapped. "Now what are you doing here?"
"You've been recalled back to the village, sensei was killed and you were named in his will," Jiraiya said. "And he named you his successor." Tsunade's eyes widened slightly, as her assistant gasped.
"Forget it, I swore that I'd never set foot in that place again," Tsunade growled.
"So you're just a coward then?" Naruto asked, stunning Tsunade, Shizune and Jiraiya.
"What did you say brat?" Tsunade snarled.
"You heard me, I read all about you," Naruto said. "You've been running your entire life, I'm sorry your brother and boyfriend died buy that doesn't give you an excuse for being a coward."
"I dare you to say that again," Tsunade growled, grabbing the front of Naruto's jacket.
"You're a coward, just running away from your problems," Naruto said, calmly looking into Tsunade's furious eyes. "You think that just because you've lost someone close to you gives you the right to run away. Jiji wanted you to come home, though I don't know why he would want a coward like you to come back to the village."
"That's it, I don't have to take this from a brat like you," Tsunade snapped. "Let's take this outside."
"Tsunade, you do know who this is don't you?" Jiraiya asked.
"No, and I don't care. He could be Kami himself, no one calls me a coward," Tsunade snarled.
"Let's go then, let's see how strong Tsunade of the Sannin really is?" Naruto said, getting up from his seat and walking out to the street. Tsunade followed him with Shizune and Jiraiya following close behind. The street was empty as Naruto stood roughly twenty feet from Tsunade.
"I can't believe I'm even doing this," Tsunade scoffed. "You're just a punk, one finger is all I'm going to need," she said raising a single finger.
"We'll see," Naruto said softly. "Kai!" Naruto suddenly vanished from Tsunade's vision. "Looking for me," a voice whispered behind her. Tsunade whirled around but no one was there. "How can you think of beating me with a single finger, if you can't even see me?"
"Show yourself you little brat!" Tsunade shouted. She reared a fist back and punched the ground in front of her, shattering it and creating a massive fissure.
"So you have some massive strength, that's it?" Naruto's voice mocked from around the female Sannin. "Let's see how you handle this."
Tsunade whirled around in time to see Naruto standing behind her, holding a swirling ball of blue chakra.
"RASENGAN!" Naruto roared, throwing his arm forward toward Tsunade. She quickly leapt backward just as Naruto slammed the ball of chakra into the ground where her feet had been a second earlier.
"Jiraiya, what the hell were you thinking teaching him the Rasengan!" Tsunade cried, pointing an accusatory finger at her former teammate.
"It's his heritage and I didn't teach it to him, he learned it on his own," Jiraiya said. Tsunade spun around looking at Naruto in shock.
"I know everything daibo (Godmother)," Naruto growled. "Who my parents were, what my father did, who my godparents are. At least Ero-Sennin had a legitimate excuse to be absent, what about you?" Naruto accused. Tsunade flinched, while Shizune looked at her master in shock. "Come on Ero-Sennin, let's go. She's obviously too much of a coward to face her problems and come home."
"Stop calling me that gaki," Jiraiya growled. "Well, Tsunade, you have a week to decide what you'll do. And know that if you don't decide to come back, the next Hokage might just name you and Shizune nuke-nin and send hunters after you."
Jiraiya and Naruto walked off, leaving Tsunade standing in the middle of the street shivering with Shizune looking at her master in stunned confusion.
"Where are you going gaki?" Jiraiya asked the next morning as Naruto made to leave their motel room.
"I'm going back to that forest to train," Naruto answered. "Just because this mission is a failure doesn't mean I can't do some training." The blonde vanished out the window leaving Jiraiya watching with an arched eyebrow.
Naruto made his way to the clearing that he had found the previous day while training. He created 50 clones and had each work on one of the jutsus from the scrolls that Jiraiya had given him. Each hour Naruto would dispel the clones, take a 30-minute break before starting over. It was nearly dark when Naruto decided it was time to head back to the motel.
"What do we have here?" a voice chuckled from the treetops as Naruto neared the edge of the forest. Naruto looked up to see two men, wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. The taller one also had something wrapped in bandages on his back with what looked like a sword hilt sticking over his shoulder.
"Hello there Naruto-kun, you're going to have to come with us now," the shorter man said, his voice emotionless. The mad lifted his straw hat to revel two glowing red eyes with three blacks spots in them.
'The Sharingan!' Naruto realized. "Who are you two?" he asked, trying to stall for time.
"Who we are doesn't matter Naruto-kun, come along quietly," the red-eyed man said softly.
"Oh come Itachi, let me cut his legs off," the taller man said. He reached up to his back and grasped the sword hilt. "Leader-sama says all we need to do is bring him in alive, and besides if he doesn't have legs, the brat can't run away."
"No Kisame," Itachi said. Naruto's eyes widened. 'This is Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother and the man who killed his own clan,' Naruto thought. 'I've got to get out of here, I can't fight Itachi, let alone whoever this blue faced guy is.'
"Sorry but my parents told me never to go anywhere with strangers," Naruto said. "And besides, I don't want to go anywhere with you Weasel-san," Naruto added. Itachi's eyes widened slightly.
"I see Naruto-kun, you do recognize me," Itachi said with a miniscule smile. "However, you still need to come with us."
"I don't believe that you went all crazy and killed your clan just to gain more power Itachi, so I'm thinking you were forced to do it whether it be because you were ordered too or something happened that made you do it. I don't think Jiji would have given an order to wipe out an entire clan unless he had no other choice, or someone else went over Jiji's head."
"Itachi, let's just get the gaki, he's obviously trying to stall us," Kisame barked as Itachi was starring at Naruto. "That's it!" Kisame pulled his sword from his back and swiped it at Naruto, who leapt backward though he felt something pull at him as he pushed his chakra into his legs to jump away.
"You're not getting away that easily gaki," Kisame chuckled darkly.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin!" Naruto cried and suddenly the clearing was filled with Narutos.
"Kisame, he's trying to confuse us," Itachi barked. "We have to get rid of these clones quickly or he's going to escape."
"Right. Suiton: Tsunami Bakufuu!" Kisame shouted. (Water Release: Tidal Wave Blast). A massive amount of water spewed from Kisame's mouth and built up into a giant wall of water that flooded the clearing, dispelling the clones. The water finally receded and Itachi and Kisame looked around to see that Naruto was nowhere in sight.
"Kisame, we're retreating," Itachi ordered. Kisame looked ready to argue but stopped by a glance from Itachi. "Naruto-kun is less than a mile from the town. By the time we catch him Jiraiya will have found him. We can't fight one of the Sannin, least of all Jiraiya."
"There you are Ero-Sennin!" Naruto cried as he crashed into motel that that pair had been staying at. "Care to tell me why Uchiha Itachi is after me?"
Jiraiya paled. "What?" he asked weakly.
"Itachi and this blue fish-like guy showed up as I was getting ready to come back and demanded that I come with them," Naruto said. "So care to tell me why an S-rank nuke nin is after me?"
Jiraiya sighed. "Come on Naruto, this information shouldn't be reveled where everyone can hear it," he said. The pair retreated to their room where Jiraiya set up several seals.
"Ok look, I didn't want to have to tell you this until you were ready but recently I've come into some information that there is a group of very powerful ninja out there that are attempting to gather all the biju," Jiraiya said. "Itachi is one of them, though I don't know what their purpose is. Also, the blue man, did he look like a shark?" Naruto nodded. "That's Hoshigaki Kisame, a former Swordsman of the Mist and an S-rank nuke nin in his own right."
"So they're after the fox," Naruto said. Jiraiya nodded.
"Orochimaru was once a member of this organization, called Akatsuki," Jiraiya said. Naruto's eyes narrowed at the name of the Snake-Sannin. "But fled after being beaten by Itachi."
"I'm going to kill that Hebi-teme one day," Naruto growled. "He's going to pay for what he did."
"Gaki, you're years away from even coming close to defeating Orochimaru, and besides," Jiraiya said, his face unusually serious. "Killing the snake is my job. Anyway, how in the hell did you get away from Itachi and Kisame?"
"I made a ton of Kage Bunshin and then scattered them to confuse them," Naruto said. "I got lucky that they underestimated me."
Jiraiya nodded. "You're right, you did get lucky to get away from them," he said. "While I don't think they'll try to get you again, from now on I'll be taking a closer look into your training."
"So how have you been coming with those new jutsus I taught you?" Jiraiya asked, four days later.
"What do you mean 'taught' me?" Naruto scoffed. "All you've done is given me two scrolls, I've had to learn everything for myself."
"Point but Naruto, you're not a kid anymore," Jiraiya said. "You get just get everything you want handed to you, you have to earn and learn for yourself." Naruto nodded at this, he didn't want to be like Sasuke just thinking everything must be given to him. "So how have they been coming?"
"Pretty good, I've nearly got them both down," Naruto said. "I actually have been wondering if you'd think it would be a good idea for me to get a weapon, like a sword. Maybe something I could channel my chakra through since I have wind and lighting as my elements?"
Jiraiya looked thoughtful. "You know, that's not that bad of an idea. Maybe a tanto or a ninjato, I think there's a weapons shop in town that you can check out. Go ahead and check that out, I'm going to find Tsunade."
Naruto nodded and leapt off into town. Jiraiya sighed as he headed into town. He had a feeling where Tsunade would be at this time of day, and made his way through the crowd to a local bar, where sure enough he spotted the golden-blonde head of Tsunade.
"You know, I remember once upon a time, you would have never touched a drop of sake," Jiraiya said as he sat down next to Tsunade.
Tsunade scoffed. "That was a long time ago," she muttered. "And you know why."
"Yeah, then I guess that the gaki was right," Jiraiya said. "We're both cowards." Tsunade looked at Jiraiya in shock. "We both made a promise to Minato and Kushina to look after Naruto but we failed. We both ran off to deal with our own problems and left Naruto to fend for himself in a village that despised and feared him for something that he didn't have any control over. I went after Orochimaru, thinking I could bring my best friend back, and you tried to drown your misery in sake and gambling."
Tsunade looked both angry and shamed. "You know why I can't go back there, after all that place has taken from me," she whispered.
"You think you're the only one who has had someone special die before their time," Jiraiya growled. "I saw my student, who I thought of as a son, die alongside his wife, who I thought of as a daughter, well before their time. I watched as my best friend succumb to the darkness in his heart and then kill our sensei. I suppose you heard about the invasion a couple weeks ago." Tsunade nodded. "Orochimaru was the one who killed him, the snake used the Edo Tensei to revive your grandfather and grand-uncle. Sensei used the same jutsu that Minato used to sacrifice himself to stop them. The village is weak right now, Iwa has been looking for an opportunity like this ever since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, and I'm surprised that they haven't already made moves. Do you really want someone like Danzo to become Hokage?" Tsunade growled at the name of the bandaged Elder. "We need someone to take up the mantle."
"No, I already told you that I would never return to the village after what happened," Tsunade snapped. "What about you? You could become Hokage."
"Me," Jiraiya laughed. "No, I'm not suited for the hat, and besides with my spy network I can't stay in the village for long periods of time. And I don't have the pedigree either."
"I gave up that life long ago," Tsuande said.
"Then I guess Naruto was right, you are just running away from your problems. To think that the woman that I feel in love with is a coward," Jiraiya said as he stood up. Tsuande froze and slowly turned to face her teammate. "Arigato Hime, I hope that you find what you're looking for. And more importantly, I hope that you can live with your decisions."
Tsunade watched Jiraiya leave the bar without another word. When she lost sight of him, she turned back to her dish and was surprised to see several ripples in the sake dish. Then she realized that she was crying.
"Kabuto, have you found her?" Orochimaru hissed out of the darkness.
"Yes Orochimaru-sama, she's in Tanzaku Town," Kabuto said. "Though she's not alone. It seems that Konoha has some plan for Tsunade as well. Jiraiya is in town as well. Along with Naruto-kun."
"Interesting," Orochimaru hissed. "Though it is nothing you should concern yourself with, Tsuande will heal my arms as I know her weakness and just the thing to convince her."
"What will you do?"
"I will grant her fondest wish," Orochimaru cackled. The Snake's laughter filled the chamber, echoing all around the pair.
"What can I do for you young man?" an older man asked as Naruto entered Tanzaku Town's weapons shop. Naruto immediately sized up the man, who looked to be roughly the same age as Jiraiya but with brown hair and eyes, as well as a scar crossing the majority of his face. Naruto could tell that the man was a former ninja by the way he carried himself, graceful and aloof yet always alert.
"I'm looking for a weapon, possibly a sword or something similar," Naruto said. "I want something that my opponents wouldn't be expecting."
"Well, we have plenty of swords in all different forms, so why don't you take a look around and see if anything catches your eye," the man said. Naruto nodded and walked away from the counter in search of his weapon.
'A sword would be cool and I would make sure it is able to channel chakra though it,' Naruto thought. 'I don't know if a sword would work for me though, I'm fast and agile and I'm more of a close combat, in your face type of fighter. So a sword might not be the best, maybe something like claws. They would increase my reach and if I get them with the right metal they could channel chakra, that reach could be even more.'
Then out of the corner of his eye, Naruto spotted a pair of arm bracers of dark gray. They looked much like what Naruto had seen ANBU members wear whenever he caught them watching him or returning from missions. He walked over and picked up one of the bracers and slid it onto his forearm. The bracer was a little loose, though it had straps that would allow him to tighten the bracer to his forearm. (A/N: Picture the forearm weapons from Assassin's Creed)
"Oh I see that you found something," the weapon's smith said. "Now that's interesting, those have been around for a very long time and yet no one has even taken a glance at them for some reason."
"Why? They look like arm bracers that ANBU wear, shouldn't they be in the armor department?" Naruto asked.
"Normally, you'd be right but these are special," the man said. "They have a hidden blade in them that can be released from them to surprise your opponents."
Naruto's eyes widened as a twelve-inch blade shot out of the gauntlet. 'Awesome!' Naruto thought. 'This could be want I'm looking for.' "How much?" he asked.
"For the pair, 70,000 ryo," the man said. Naruto blinked. 'That will nearly drain Gama-chan but then…'
"Deal. I do have a question though," Naruto asked. "Are these blades able to conduct chakra?"
The weapons smith grinned. "No but the blades can be removed and replaced with ones that can. Though it will cost extra," he said.
"I think that I'll just take the gauntlets for now, I don't have enough to get the chakra conducting blades as well," Naruto said. The man nodded. Naruto pulled out his wallet and paid for the bracers before leaving the weapons store. He felt that he could get new blades for his new equipment back in Konoha. As he made his way back to the hotel, Naruto practiced releasing and retracting the blades as well as getting used to the new weight on his arms.
The next morning, Naruto showed Jiraiya his new acquisition to which the Sannin smirked and nodded. He then handed Naruto several more scrolls for Naruto to work on. Naruto created 100 clones and spilt them up into four groups; 25 working on the Kage Shuriken Bunshin, 25 working on Raiton: Tenkakatto (Lighting Release: Lighting Cut), 25 working on Suiton: Kiriateru (Water Release: Slash) and the final 25 were sent to work on Futon: Shinkuukennai (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere). The original Naruto worked on using his new bracers and hidden blades in conjunction with his taijutsu style.
"So what are we going to do about the Old Hag?" Naruto asked as he took a break from training for lunch.
"Don't call her that," Jiraiya snapped before he sighed. "But I'm not sure."
"How long have you been in love with her?" Naruto asked.
"For as long as I can remember," the older man answered without hesitation. "But she never cared for me the way I do for her."
"Let me guess, she fawned over the cool, quiet genius and would blow you off anytime you tried to do something to impress her."
Jiraiya gave a dry chuckle. "No Tsunade didn't have those type of feelings for Orochimaru, but she did always compare me to him. And I never seemed to measure up."
"I know how that feels. Sakura-chan did the same between Sasuke-teme and me during the Academy and when we first became a team but I think she's starting to see him for what he is and has stopped comparing me to him."
The rest of the week passed without much incident, as Jiraiya met with Tsunade each night trying to convince her to return to the village but every night Tsunade would reject him and storm off with Shizune trailing after her.
"So now what are we going to do? We gave the Old Hag until today to make up her mind and she has just blown us off," Naruto said. "Are we going to head home now?"
"No, let me try one more time and then we'll head back to the village," Jiraiya said. "Come on, let's find her."
Suddenly an enormous explosion rent the air. Naruto and Jiraiya spun around and saw a pillar of smoke rising from the other side of the village. They looked at each other before leaping off. The scene that they came upon was one of destruction and fear. Tsunade and Shizune were starring down at two easily recognizable figures. Roughly fifty feet from the two women were Orochimaru and Kabuto. Naruto and Jiraiya watched as Orochimaru and Kabuto sped toward Tsunade and Shizune.
"Kage Shuriken Bunshin!" Naruto roared, throwing several shuriken between the two groups. The five shuriken multiplied into over one hundred. Orochimaru and Kabuto spilt apart and leapt backward to avoid the deadly hail of spiraling metal. Naruto and Jiraiya leapt down and landed next to Tsunade and Shizune.
"Nice job gaki," Jiraiya said, not taking his eyes from the two Sound ninja. "Looks like my training has been paying off."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever Ero-Sennin." He turned to Tsunade and Shizune. "What the hell are you two doing talking with this Hebi-teme?" he asked. "Don't you know he was the one who attacked your home and killed the Sandiame?" Both Tsunade and Shizune flinched at this.
"Kukuku, well hello there Naruto-kun," Orochimaru hissed. "I see that you have grown since we last met."
"You look uglier than ever Hebi-teme, tell me how's your stomach after I hit you with that Rasengan?" Naruto taunted. "You've got a lot to answer for, you and your little boy-toy sidekick!" Jiraiya and Tsunade had to hide grins at Naruto's comments. "You do seem to like younger men, the four-eyed bastard and Sasuke-teme. Hey Kabuto, did Hebi-rorikon give you a nice hickey as well? Does he do that to all the boys he likes?"
Kabuto frowned at the blonde. "Now then Naruto-kun, what's with the face? Or are you all talk like at the Chunin Exams?" the glasses wearing man chided.
"Quiet you traitor, I thought that there was something slimy about you back then," Naruto growled. "You knew too much to just be a genin. So how long have you been playing with Hebi-teme's kunai?"
Jiraiya snorted but then paled as a flash of Orochimaru and Kabuto playing with each other's kunai burst into his head. "Kuso gaki, don't even think about that," he shuddered.
"Orochimaru-sama is extremely wise and powerful, I am honored to be his subordinate," Kabuto said proudly.
"Whatever floats your boat, but unfortunately you are both traitors to Konoha and are going to die," Naruto snarled. "Especially you Hebi-teme, I'm going to make you pay for killing my grandfather."
"No gaki, both of these two are well out of your league. I know you're strong for your age but the snake is one of the Sannin, and four-eyes is equal to Kakashi," Jiraiya said. "The snake is mine, Tsunade, you and Shizune take Kabuto."
Naruto growled but stepped back. A sharp breeze flew across the area, almost as if nature itself was gearing up for battle. Suddenly Jiraiya surged forward with blinding speed and launched a devastating spin kick to Orochimaru's head. The Snake Sannin managed to duck under the kick but wasn't able to evade the snap kick that caught him in the chest sending him flying away. Kabuto dove toward Jiraiya, his hands glowing blue. However, Shizune appeared in front of him and spat several senbon needles at the gray-haired youth, forcing him to leap backward to avoid being hit.
"You're mine Orochimaru!" Jiraiya roared as he flew at his former teammate. Naruto watched in awe as the two Sannin did battle, even if Orochimaru was weakened due to the Sandaime's jutsu that took away his arms, the Snake Sannin was like a cockroach. He just seemed un-killable, able to evade any mortal blow that Jiraiya. A cry of pain brought Naruto out of his trance. He turned to see Kabuto standing over Shizune with a vicious and bloodthirsty grin on his face. Kabuto raised a curved kunai, ready to strike down and end the dark-haired woman's life. Tsunade was shivering not feet from her assistant; her face spattered with blood though it looked like it wasn't hers.
"ENOUGH!" Naruto roared. "KAI!" He released his gravity seals and sped off toward Kabuto.
CLANG!
The sound of metal slamming against metal rang through the clearing. Kabuto was stunned at the sight of Naruto suddenly appearing in front of him, blocking his kunai strike with a blade that had sprung from a gauntlet on Naruto's arm.
"Sorry you traitorous scum but I won't let you hurt anyone else," Naruto growled as he pushed Kabuto back. The older man disengaged and leapt back.
"Well Naruto-kun, those are some interesting weapons you have there?" Kabuto sneered. "But, do you have the ability to wield them in combat?"
"Time to find out," Naruto growled, flicking his wrist and deploying the left hand blade from its hidden sheath. "Back off four-eyes, I might not like the Old Hag (Tsunade's vein twitched) but jiji wanted her to become Hokage. Though I don't know why jiji would want a coward to succeed him but he had his reasons, so I can't let you hurt her."
"You're out of your league Naruto-kun, you'll never become Hokage if you die here."
"That doesn't matter. I live by my word, and I never go back on it. So I will not die before I become Hokage but if you think you can prove me wrong, bring it," Naruto growled.
"Silly Naruto-kun, throwing away your life so easily. Well if you're so willing to meet the Shimigami, I will oblige," Kabuto snarled, drawing another curved kunai.
"You first." Naruto vanished and Kabuto gasped in pain. Looking down he saw a thin blade sticking out of his stomach. Looking over his shoulder, Kabuto saw Naruto behind him with his right arm and hidden blade extended. "Enjoy Hell," Naruto whispered as he pulled the blade from Kabuto's back. Flicking the blade to clean it, Naruto sheathed the blade and began walking toward Tsunade and Shizune, both looked stunned at the ease and efficiency in which Naruto took down his opponent.
"Where are you going Naruto-kun, we're not done yet," a very smug voice chuckled from behind Naruto. The blonde spun around and saw Kabuto slowly get to his feet, holding his stomach, his hands glowing green. "Did you really think that you could kill me so easily?"
Naruto shuddered as flashbacks to the bridge in Nami came back to him, and the ease in which he cut down the thugs and mercenaries on Gatou's payroll. He still had nightmares about that day.
"How did you survive that? I know Naruto hit a vital point," Shizune asked.
"I'm not just useful to Orochimaru-sama as a spy but also for my medical ninjutsu and recuperative abilities," Kabuto gloated. "I can heal nearly any injury with enough chakra."
"I see, well then it seems I have to kick things up a notch," Naruto goaded, while inwardly sweating. 'Kuso, this is going to be much harder than I thought. I was hoping that that blow would kill him. I got lucky and he underestimated me like Itachi and fish-face but he won't anymore,' Naruto thought. 'I need to finish this quick. Kabuto might not have as much chakra as I do but he's much more experienced and probably is holding back somewhat.'
Kabuto surged forward, a kunai extended in front of him. Slashing downward to end the fight quickly, the grey-haired youth was not surprised to find his strike blocked by a kunai of Naruto's. The older teen pushed down on the smaller teen, wanting to use his greater height and strength to force Naruto to submit.
"Naruto-kun, don't let him touch you," Shizune cried out. "He's using Chakura no Mesa (Charka Scalpel) technique."
"The what?" Naruto shouted back.
"It's a medical ninjutsu that doctors use in surgery but if one is skilled enough, the jutsu can be used in battle to attack an opponent's inner organs," Shizune explained.
"Correct," Kabuto laughed. "So what will you do now Naruto-kun?"
"This," Naruto answered. He leapt backward, made several hand signs and shouted out, "Kage Shuriken Bunshin!" Nearly one hundred shurikens appeared in mid air and streaked toward Kabuto. The Sound ninja suddenly sunk into the ground. Naruto landed and looked around for his opponent. "AH!" Naruto cried as he felt something grab his ankles, as well as he felt something snap in his legs. Turning around, Naruto saw Kabuto rising from the ground like a ghost.
"It's over Naruto-kun, I've cut all the tendons in both of your legs," Kabuto chuckled. "The fox inside you might be able to heal you, but it will be too late." The Sound ninja raised a hand, glowing, and stabbed Naruto in the back. The blonde haired boy's eyes widened and gasped. Shizune cried out, Tsunade looked on in shock as Naruto collapsed to the ground, clutching the back of his ankles.
"Naruto!" Tsunade cried out in horror.
"What do you want, you Old Hag?" a welcome and familiar voice asked from behind Kabuto. It was Naruto.
"Kage Bunshin!" Kabuto snarled as the 'Naruto' in front of him vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Some Kiri ninja tried the same trick during the Chunin Exams, and that's one of Kakashi-sensei's favorite maneuvers," Naruto answering the unasked question. A Rasengan formed in his hand, and Naruto surged forward, slamming the Rasengan into Kabuto's back. The Sound ninja cried out in shock and pain as he was sent flying away before he slammed into a boulder, leaving a large crater.
Silence reigned over the battlefield as Naruto panted. He had put as much chakra into that Rasengan as he could and still keep it stable, just like against Gaara, to insure that Kabuto was done for good. Jiraiya grinned at his student. 'Great job gaki,' the white-haired Sannin. He then turned back to his opponent, who Jiraiya was happy to see was looking stunned.
'How could that boy defeat Kabuto?' Orochimaru thought as he looked at Naruto. 'This boy can't be allowed to survive, if he continues improving like this, he would become a very large threat to my plans. He must die even if the Akatsuki have plans for him.' Orochimaru launched himself from his perch, speeding toward Naruto who was still bent over trying to catch his breath.
"NO!" Jiraiya cried as he raced after Orochimaru. A sword extended from the Snake Sannin's mouth, dripping with something. Naruto looked up at Jiraiya's cry in time to see the sword plunge into his chest, sliding between his heart and lungs. Naruto coughed, blood flowing from his mouth as he stared into the yellow silted eyes of Orochimaru. Naruto looked down at the sword sticking out of his chest.
"So, this is the sword that killed jiji?" Naruto whispered.
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with malice. "Why yes Naruto-kun," he hissed. "This was the weapon that killed Sarutobi-sensei, how appropriate that I use the same blade that killed Konoha's Hokage to kill Konoha's greatest weapon."
"I see," Naruto gasped. "Well then let me return the favor, using the jutsu that made my father Hokage instead of you. Rasengan!" Naruto roared, slamming the swirling blue ball of chakra into the side of Orochimaru's head.
"Naruto!" Jiraiya cried out as a large explosion consumed the pair. When the smoke finally cleared, Jiraiya rushed over to see Naruto's body lying in a crater, his chest barely moving as his clothes quickly became sodden with blood. "Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted. "I need you to heal him quickly, he won't survive much longer."
"It's too late," a voice chuckled from across the crater. It was Orochimaru. "The poison in my blade will kill him before Tsunade even has a chance to use her medical ninjutsu."
"I wouldn't count Naruto out yet," Jiraiya snarled, still trying to comprehend the fact that Orochimaru was still alive after receiving a Rasengan point blank to the head. "How the hell are you still alive?"
"It was a close thing Jiraiya-kun but I have gone further than any towards the goal of immortality," Orochimaru gloated. Jiraiya then noticed that Orochimaru's face was different, it had seemingly torn to shreds and yet underneath it, a young woman's face leered out of Orochimaru's body.
"So you did it then, you completed that jutsu," Jiraiya spat disgusted. "Tsunade, I need you to take care of Naruto while I finish this pathetic excuse of a man off."
"Oh Jiraiya-kun, I am much more than a man and soon, when I acquire the Sharingan I will perfect my technique and become immortal," Orochimaru laughed.
Shizune shivered at Orochimaru's laugh as she raced over to Naruto's body and immediately set to work. However almost instantly she knew that she wouldn't be able to heal everything in time to save Naruto. She turned to her master, who was trembling like a scared puppy and starring at the injured boy. "Tsunade-sama! I need your help, I can't stop the bleeding and extract the poison at the same time," she cried. However, her master didn't seem to recognize her plea. Growing frustrated at her non-responsive master, Shizune created a Kage Bunshin and sent it over to Tsunade.
SLAP!
The sound of 'Shizune's' hand connecting with Tsunade's face echoed across the battlefield. "Lady Tsunade, get a hold of yourself!" the clone shouted. "Shizune needs your help to heal Naruto-kun, or he will die! Stop sniveling like a little girl and help your assistant save the life of your GODSON!" Tsunade looked up at the Shizune clone with wide eyes. "You know, Naruto-kun was right. You are a coward; you think that just because you've lost someone close to you gives the right to act like a spoiled child. You think I don't miss my uncle every bit as you do and I'm sure right now, he would ashamed of you, as would your brother, grandfather and great-uncle. They gave their lives for the village and what they believed in, and you are tarnishing the sacrifice they made by acting this way."
Tsunade flinched at her assistant's words. The faces of her deceased fiancé, younger brother, grandfather and great-uncle flashed in front of her eyes, all looking disappointed in her and her running away from her problems and berating anyone who called her on it. "That's enough Shizune," Tsunade whispered, though her tone had an edge of command to it. The Shizune clone blinked before stepping back as her master rose to her feet and suddenly knocked 'her' aside, dispelling the clone, before racing over to the original Shizune and Naruto.
"What's the situation?" Tsunade demanded as she knelt down next to Shizune.
"Luckily the blade passed between his heart and lung but it seems that the poison from Orochimaru's blade is taking all of the Kyubi's energy to heal and because of that, it can't heal Naruto's other injuries."
Tsunade nodded. "All right, I'm going to start removing as much of the poison as I can while you heal the sword wound," Tsunade said. "Once I've removed as much of the poison as I can, I assume that the fox will start healing the gaki itself."
"Hai Tsunade-sama," Shizune answered before turning to her task. Both women's hands glowed green as they healed the blonde jinchuriki. Color slowly returned to Naruto as the bleeding slowed. "Tsunade-sama, I can handle things from here, go help Jiraiya-sama."
Tsunade nodded and took one final look down at Naruto. She reached up and unfastened her necklace and placed it around Naruto's neck. 'Please, let this time…' Tsunade trailed off as she turned to the Sannin battle occurring between the perverted fool and the creepy and twisted genius of her team.
"It's time to end this!" Jiraiya roared. His hands flew through five hand signs before slamming his palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" There was a massive explosion of smoke and in its midst a enormous reddish-brown toad wearing a blue jacket appeared, Jiraiya standing atop its head. "Bunta, it's time we finish what sensei couldn't."
Gamabunta glared down at Orochimaru, hatred burning in the toad's eyes. "Right," the Toad Boss growled. He lifted a massive forearm and slammed it down at the Snake Sannin. However, Orochimaru proved himself worthy of the Snake Sannin title as he slithered out of harm's way. "Stay still you worm," Bunta snarled, again raising a forearm to crush the ninja.
"Orochimaru-sama," a weak and pained voice cried out. Looking over, Jiraiya was stunned to see that Kabuto was once again standing, while cradling his stomach in obvious pain. Orochimaru leapt over to his henchman, Kabuto gathered some of his blood from his mouth and swiped it across a tattoo on Orochimaru's forearm before shouting, "Summoning Jutsu!"
An enormous purple snake appeared across from Bunta and when it saw the massive toad, it hissed angrily. "Orochimaru, why have you summoned me? You know that I hate being summoned?" the massive snake snarled.
"Shizune, stay here with Naruto and watch over him," Tsunade ordered.
"Of course milady, where will you go?" Shizune asked.
"I think its time that the Sannin were reduced to just two," Tsunade snarled, cracking her knuckles. She bit her thumb, swiped it across her palm and slammed it to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" A slug equal in size to the toad and snake before it appeared.
"Hello there Katsuyu," Bunta grunted as he drew his blade not taking his eyes from the massive snake that Orochimaru and Kabuto were standing upon. "It seems that we're all together once again, however this will be the last time," Bunta growled, pointing his sword at the giant snake.
"Orochimaru, you are no longer fit to be called a Sannin," Jiraiya shouted. "After today, there will be only two Sannin left in this world."
"As the Godaime Hokage, you are both sentenced to death for the murder of the Sandiame as well as facilitating the attack of Konoha," Tsunade announced. Jiraiya looked over at his teammate with a grin.
"So, we finally wore you down?" he quipped.
Tsunade snorted. "As if, but that boy has shown me that I have been a coward and that my family would be ashamed of how I have been acting these past years," she said heavily. "But now, I will bet my life in defense of the Leaf and on the next generation of ninja."
Shizune watched in awe as her master, Jiraiya and their summons battled and battered Orochimaru to the brink of death but somehow the Snake Sannin had merged himself to another body and was able to slither away with his subordinate. Jiraiya and Tsunade dispelled their summons before approaching Shizune with a still unconscious Naruto. A/N: The fight between the Sannin is the same as the anime, I thought it was a really good fight and why mess with success.
"WHAT!" Naruto cried. "She actually agreed to become Hokage!"
Tsunade gave Naruto a smug grin across the bar table. "That's right squirt, once we get back to the village, you'll have to start calling me Hokage-sama," she said.
"Like that will ever happen, I'll obey your orders as Hokage but you are nothing like the old man," Naruto said. "I mean he wasn't a gambling addict who hid her true age and has a quick temper. I mean Ero-Sennin, do you really think she's up for the job?"
Tsunade's grin slid off her face in an instant. "What did you say your brat?" she growled, a vein popping up on her forehead.
"Come now Tsunade-sama, let's just order and eat so we can head back to the village," Shizune pleaded.
"Let's take this outside you brat," Tsunade snapped. "I'll show you to disrespect me."
"Fine then you old hag," Naruto shot back. Shizune and Jiraiya sighed and followed the two blondes out of the restaurant and into the street. They stood roughly 10 meters apart, glaring at each other, though both seemed relaxed and alert.
"Come on kid, this is pointless," Tsunade scoffed. "I'm the Hokage of Konoha, this is beneath me, fighting a snot-nosed genin. I'll only need one finger to finish this."
Naruto narrowed his eyes before pulling a kunai out of his holster and charging toward Tsunade. Tsunade ducked under the strike and flicked her finger, knocking Naruto back ten feet as well as sending his forehead protector flying into the air. Before Naruto could recover, Tsunade was on him, her finger cocked for another flick. But instead of a super-powered finger flick, Naruto felt something warm press against his forehead. Opening his eyes, he saw that Tsunade had given him a brief kiss to his exposed forehead. He blushed; it was only the second time someone had ever kissed him. His blush increased significantly when Tsunade said, "Grow up and become a good man and a brilliant Hokage."
"Hai," Naruto stammered, trying to comprehend the fact that Tsunade had acknowledged his dream and strength.
A/N: Hey everyone, well here's the newest chapter of Underneath the Underneath hope you all enjoy. There will be only 3 or 4 more chapters of this story. There will be a sequel that will cover Shippuden but I'm wondering if I should do a series of one-shots about Naruto's training with Jiraiya, also I'm trying to decide if Naruto should learn the Hirashin during the training trip. I'll be putting a poll up on my profile in the next few days so please check it out and give me your thoughts. Also please review, any constructive advice is always welcome.
Thanks
SRWMO