Chapter 20

Konan stared out at the rain that served as the one and only backdrop for Amegakure. She stood dry beneath the coverage of an awning set up just outside her partner's dwelling. The highly-decorated man had been high-strung as of late and there was no question as to why. The defeat of the Sanbi had intrigued him, the Ichibi was a cause for concern, and by the time the Nibi was eliminated Pein showed the first signs of worry that she had seen on him in many years.

His presence, especially edgy this afternoon, materialized besides her and she couldn't help but ask: "So he destroyed the Gobi as well?"

She took his silence for a yes.

"Don't you think it's time we removed this Wind Runner from the picture? I would have thought you'd have killed him after the Sanbi."

Pein didn't look at her when he answered, "I do not believe killing him is an option right now."

"This is getting ridiculous," Konan said with mild annoyance, "You have planned this out for years; what happened to creating the ultimate weapon to end all wars?"

"It's Uzumaki," he stated. His voice was quiet with solid finality. The paper wielder's eyes widened a fraction.

"How can that be?" she asked, the only thing that came to mind at the name was the horrific end the boy had met in the depths of Hell.

Pein didn't seem to care for her shock, "The only creature who can have that much power is the Kyuubi. And to have that power being wielded by a humanoid body can only mean that our flighty little friend has returned to us from Hell."

"This means our entire operation is endangered," she said with a frown defacing her porcelain features, "if he's learned to fully control that power then he can invalidate our entire cause."

"It means the Kyuubi's power is back in our reach," he corrected her, ever the optimist when it came to his own plans. He could see that she was not convinced that there was anything good about their situation.

"I cannot deny that I've grown a bit desperate in these last few weeks..." he started, "In fact, I have already enlisted in the help of the church; some of Hidan's old Jashin associates were good enough to give me some insight on the more...offensive aspects of religion."

Konan knew her partner, and she knew these associates of Hidan had most likely not given up any information of their free will.

"I am sure that you've thought of some way to use this information to exploit any weaknesses on Uzumaki's part," she stated, her own voice lacking any curiosity, "Have you come up with a new plan?"

"Of course. We must send him to the Isetaibyou," A twisted smile emerged from the once stoic face and Konan was starting to see where this was going.

"The Grand Shrines of Ise," she murmured, "The priests there are supposed to be ruthless. You are sending him there because these priests will kill him for his demonic powers even if he is using them to help people."

Pein grinned even wider.

"These priests will only see him as the lesser of two evils. They show no mercy for such a being."

"And how do you suppose we get the boy there. I'm sure you've realized that is an area in which he would not willingly seek out."

"We use the Rokubi to lure him there of course; I think it's high time our little flying friend was grounded."

"You're sending the Rokubi to Isetaibyou?" she asked dryly.

"Of course not," he replied while, thankfully, ignoring her tone, "we're sending it to attack the village nearest to Isetaibyou."

The answer led Konan to believe that Pein had not thought this through enough.

"But that can't be right; the only village in that area is—"

"Exactly," he cut her off, "By choosing to fight the Rokubi in this location we will learn exactly what kind of man Uzumaki Naruto has become—if he the kind that we can easily take advantage of."

Konan liked this plan even less.

"And if he defeats this too? We'll be down to three bijuu."

Pein smiled, a certain calm returning to his body with the knowledge that his plans could be back on track.

"And we will have one easy capture for the Kyuubi."

0o0oo

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"How is he doing?"

Naruto looked up from where he was petting the small cat on his lap. The two-tailed kitten was sleeping soundly, subconsciously purring as a product from the attention his fur was receiving. The woman, Mai, who had cared for him and Harry after battling the Gobi, had entered the small room they had stayed in for the last two days.

"He's making a full recovery thanks to you," Naruto replied with a sincere smile. The fight with the Gobi had been their toughest yet, especially when it turned out that the creature had an affinity for just about every element—including fire, the one element that made his wind based attacks nearly useless. While Naruto had suffered multiple burns most of them had healed within the day. Harry had been injured far worse; the dog-demon had taken a large bite out of his back, rendering him immobile and causing significant blood loss. Naruto, furious, had managed to kill the Gobi with the added incentive, but was afterwards left exhausted, injured, and with next to no medical knowledge that could help Harry.

It was a middle aged woman who had tended to them in her modest living quarters. Her husband was a ninja who was killed in battle a little over two months ago, leaving her with her two sons, Daisuke and Yuuta.

Mai could not believe her luck; the Wind Runner was in her home and seeking her aid. She was shocked by how young the boy was; he was just a teenager, his body built but slight, making it impossible to imagine that it contained so much power. It didn't bother her in the least that there were subtle differences about him that made it clear that he wasn't quite human. The sharp fangs, long pupils, and claws were a dead give away, not to mention the deep lines carved into his cheeks, but she felt it only helped explain his unique power. As long as he was using this power to protect people, she had nothing to complain about.

Her two sons were elated when their hero had entered their home, not caring for the fact that he was burnt and bloodied and holding a suffering animal in his arms. They wanted to ask him a million questions, to shake his hand, to get his autograph but their mother shooed them away, telling them that they had to wait until he was well again.

"I've brought you some stew," she said, placing the steaming bowl on the small table in front of the boy. She looked at the adorable little cat on his lap, once again amazed that such a huge creature could become so compact. "I didn't know what he would eat. I'm sorry it's all I have right now—"

"No, no, don't apologize," Naruto grinned to ease her worry, he almost felt bad about how nervous she seemed around him, "This is better than I usually get, believe me. And he eats people food, so if he wakes up he can just have some of this."

He looked back down at Harry, a pang of guilt gripping his chest. The cat's back was fully healed thanks to a combination of his demonic healing abilities and Mai's care, but that didn't stop Naruto from replaying the battle over and over in his mind, finding a different way that Harry could have been spared each time. As if he could sense Naruto's train of thought, Harry began to stir on the blonde's lap. Mai almost squealed with how adorable the little cat looked as he blinked his eyes sleepily and showed off his miniature fangs in a wide yawn.

"Hey sleeping beauty, you're finally awake," Naruto chuckled with a forced smile. "How are you feeling?"

Harry looked up at him and then to the woman standing before them and then all around the simply decorated room and back at Naruto.

"The Gobi's dead," Naruto explained to him though his voice betrayed the lack of excitement at the report, "And besides the Yonbi we're only going up from here."

Mai almost flinched at the apprehensiveness laced within that statement; the savoir of the shinobi world seemed more like a boy at that moment than ever before.

Harry stood on Naruto's thighs and stretched his front legs before leaping off and onto the table. He sniffed at the bowl of stew, his tiny nose twitching a couple times, and then looked at the older woman who happened to be dying to cuddle him.

"Harry, this is Mai," Naruto introduced, "she took care of you when you were out."

Harry faced the woman and gave a grateful meow. Mai's self-control snapped; she kneeled down besides the table and began to pet the once fearsome beast. Harry leaned into her touch, stumbling around against her hand and purring at full volume.

"Well he sure is friendly isn't he?" she said with delight. Naruto nearly laughed, thinking he would never, ever hear that said about the Harry Potter he knew.

"Believe it or not, he usually isn't. He must really like you—that or he got hit harder than I thought."

Harry seemed to snap out of his kitty-euphoria and hopped away from Mai's fingers, growling at Naruto.

"Yeah, you're definitely fine," Naruto deadpanned, not bothered in the least by Harry's ire. Mai laughed a little at the pair's interaction and was impressed by Harry's intelligence. She knew before that he wasn't a normal cat by any standards from his tails and transformations, but his behavior made him seem almost human-like.

Harry's next course of action was to fill his empty tummy—healing took a lot of energy after all. He pranced over to Naruto's bowl of stew and began lapping up at the tasty both, occasionally pausing to chew up a piece of meat or vegetable that seemed to be the same size as his whole mouth.

"Thief!" Naruto accused as he watched his food be pilfered by something the size of his foot.

Mai giggled at their antics, "I'll just bring you another bowl. He looks like he needs that more."

Naruto waved off her offer.

"Thank you but we really have to be going. No telling when the next bijuu will pop up," he said heedlessly, as if he were talking about when a tax collector was due.

"Are you sure?" Mai asked, not bothering to hide her disappointment. But who could blame her when she had the Wind Runner himself in her home, and eating her food no less? Naruto stood from the small sleeping arrangement he had occupied for the last two days, popping his back and loosening his muscles. He was one hundred percent healed.

"I'm sure," he said, "I can't thank you enough for your hospitality. I'm sorry for any inconvenience—"

"Oh don't you dare go apologizing!" Mai exclaimed, sounding scandalized at the very thought, "It's the least I can do after what you're going through for all of us. You have no idea what this means to my village, or any village for that matter, that someone would protect us even when you have no ties and no obligations to do so."

Naruto smiled at her praise, "Thank you, really. You ready Harry?"

The black kitten looked up from the bowl (which, in such a short amount of time, had surprisingly been reduced by half its contents) with droplets of broth clinging to his whiskers. He licked at his face a few times before jumping off the table and trotting along behind Naruto.

"Goodbye, thank you again," Naruto called back as he turned to wave. Harry gave his parting meow.

"Take care of yourself, and good luck!" she replied. It was too bad her sons were back at the academy that morning; they would have liked to see him off.

Naruto and Harry exited the village at a steady walking pace, mostly for Harry's sake since Naruto wasn't sure how his partner was feeling. The scenery soon changed from farmland to forest and they were given some privacy in the thickness of the trees.

"You're okay, really?" Naruto asked, glancing down at the cat who seemed as fit as a fiddle toddling along by his side.

Harry mewed, and if a cat could sound exasperated that would have been it.

"Are you sure?"

Naruto received a hiss this time.

"Okay, okay. Geez, you try and show a little concern..."

Harry made a swift, easy leap from the ground to his shoulder and gave his ear a good biffing. That day Naruto had learned that even a tiny paw can cause a significant amount of pain.

0o0o0o

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One week later of sleeping in tree branches and eating off the land found Naruto training atop a small river just along the boarder of Fire Country and Waterfall Country. Just because he had begun his bijuu-slaying journey by no means meant that he could slack off on his training, especially when each bijuu became more powerful and dangerous.

The training Naruto was doing now was neither straining nor was it impressive to anyone who chanced upon him lying flat-backed on the rushing water, one arm resting on his stomach while the other stretched strait above to the sky, twirling and pointing at the clouds.

It was in the clouds that the real wonders lie. If one were to take the time and look they would notice the clouds shifting from one recognizable form to another; first it was fox, then a pumpkin, then a pair of chopsticks, and then a bowl with stringy-like clouds coming out of it. It wouldn't take a genius to realize that the boy was manipulating the wind from his place on the ground miles below.

Not too far off on the bank of the river was Harry, his miniature form laying on its side and soaking up the warm sun that was granted on that cool January afternoon.

"So, what do you think? North, South, East, or West?" Naruto asked languidly, his voice carrying over the trickle of the river. Harry didn't even look at him; he thumped his tails on the ground a couple times and gave a low meow.

"Well I haven't sensed any chakra signals either but you know I can't be stationary for so long. There hasn't been any hint of activity for a while...you think the Akatsuki have caught on?"

Another meow.

"Yeah...me too..."

As if by some chance of fate, an in-human amount of chakra flickered into existence in the far east, sending both human and feline to their feet in a flash. There was no doubt in either mind that it was demonic, and that it was the next bijuu for them to eradicate from the face of the Earth.

Naruto looked down at Harry.

Harry looked up at Naruto.

"Well that was freaky..." Naruto mumbled, barely registering that Harry had transformed himself into his larger, fighting appearance. The Hell-cat took three steps forwards in the direction of the calamity before realizing that Naruto had made no movement to follow. He looked back at the teenager who had a grave, calculating look on his face as he stared towards their destination.

Harry's green eyes bored into Naruto's, conveying his message clearly through legilimency. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed before he explained his hesitance.

"It's coming from Sound..."

Harry either didn't understand the significance of this or just didn't care because he pawed impatiently at the ground with a complimentary angry cat noise. Naruto couldn't stop the half-smile from taking hold of his lips.

"Well of course I'm still going! It's just...damn; sometimes I really hate being a do-gooder!"

There was no mistaking it: the nekomata laughed.

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The only sound in the Hokage's office was the deep, even breaths of sleep and the long string of scratching from vigorous note-taking. Jiraiya had a look of pure perversion on his face; his cheeks stained red, a stupid grin on his face and a small trickle of blood falling from his nose. He sat in a chair directly in front of the snoozing Hokage, her breasts, which were pressed against the wooden desk from the weight of her body, were practically popping out of her shirt with each rise and fall of her shoulders. The worn pen flew back and forth across the pad of paper held in his hand with jumpy excitement, recording more data for the next great novel of the Toad Sannin.

With one, loud, unladylike snort the Godaime of Konohagakure began to stir. Her ninja senses telling her that someone non-threatening was nearby. She looked up blearily at her teammate who seemed to be frozen with wariness at her cognizance.

"Eh, heh heh...Oh Tsunade, you're finally awake, huh?"

The woman sat up, straitened her blouse and caught Jiraiya's delayed reaction of hiding his notebook behind his back. It took her less than a second to figure out what was going on a moment ago. Her face contorted into an expression that Jiraiya was very familiar with and feared with good reason.

"You lecher!"

"Tsunade wait! I—"

The rest was cut off as he was sent through the wall courtesy of a chakra-enhanced punch to the stomach. It didn't take long before the man was struggling to pull himself back through the human-shaped hole with plaster settling into his white hair like snow.

"What do you want?" the pig-tailed woman asked in an irritated voice, completely unsympathetic towards the wincing and stomach rubbing her teammate was doing as he reseated himself.

"I came to tell you about some Intel I received regarding the Akatsuki's next movement."

Blonde eyebrows rose in question, "I thought your contact for them was found and killed."

"Who do you think you're talking to, woman?" he laughed in that boisterous manner which he shared with his pupil, "Easily replaceable."

"So what did you find out?" Tsunade pressed with her hands set up in a steeple in front of her mouth.

"The next bijuu attack, and where."

Tsunade sucked in a breath, "Are you serious?"

"Always questioning my capabilities, aren't you?"

"Jiraiya, this is serious," she said in a hard tone.

"Yes, I'm serious, though I don't know if you'll be willing to act on it..." he trailed. She sent him an impatient look and he relented, "the next bijuu—and I don't know which—is being sent to Otogakure."

"Ah..." an unrevealing sound of understanding was the only response the Hokage could muster at the time. Otogakure was not their ally, no matter that Kabuto had arrived to discuss actions of defense and no matter that the Akatsuki was their enemy as well as Konoha's because in truth the enemy of an enemy is not a friend.

But at the same time, they couldn't not act on this. Of the five great shinobi nations, Konoha was looked up to above all and that gave her a sense of responsibility for the wellbeing of the entirely of their culture. Receiving information such as this and then doing nothing was as good as sending the bijuu there themselves.

And then they had to take into account which bijuu was being sent. It was guaranteed that it wasn't going to be as strong as the Kyuubi, but that alone didn't offer much comfort at all. They couldn't afford to get in over their head, no matter what outside support the received.

"This Wind Runner...he was injured in the last fight against the Gobi wasn't he?" Tsunade asked rhetorically; she hadn't even noticed how her voice had softened instinctively, "He may meet his match with this one, and it's high time the shinobi nations started to fight back rather than rely on one boy."

Jiraiya was staring at his hands; he had heard the way she spoke of the baffling hero as if she knew him, and knew him fondly at that.

"You think it's him, don't you?" he uttered. It was a topic the two had consciously avoided, not wanting to instill false hope and not wanting to chance any misinformed rumors.

"And you don't?" she countered, keeping her glare at the window. It was too damn bright and cheery for her liking; the sky shouldn't be so clear when she felt nothing but cloudy confusion within her. Her eyes widened when Jiraiya stood abruptly, his temporary staid manner was cracked by the bright sparkle in his dark eyes.

"Heh, I don't know what that brat's planning, but if he won't come to us, we'll just come to him," the hermit said with a communicative grin. Tsunade responded with a close-mouthed smile and hummed in approval.

"I suppose the answer is obvious. If we know about this then there's no doubt that he does, and he will be there," she concluded.

"Yeah," Jiraiya grumbled, "I still don't understand how he can know where the demons are every time..."

"I'm sure there are a lot of things we don't understand about him now," she said wistfully. She did miss her adoptive little brother far more than she let on. Even after all this time she would catch herself fantasizing about him kicking open her door and calling her Baa-chan. "So now we choose a team; this will be an S-class mission."

"Well Sakura, obviously," Jiraiya stated. Neither sannin wanted to imagine the wrath they would face if the rosette found out such a mission existed and she wasn't assigned to it. "And Sasuke—"

Tsunade shook her head, "Sasuke's on an A-ranked mission with Hinata and isn't due back until next week."

The task at hand slipped from the pervert's mind as his teammate's words took him elsewhere.

"You sent Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata on a mission together?" he asked blankly.

Tsunade nodded.

"Alone?"

Another affirmative nod.

"Together?"

"Yes, Jiraiya, I sent them on a two-person A-ranked mission alone, together," the blonde ground out, ever the short-tempered one. Jiraiya didn't seem deterred in the least by her hostility and continued on his dubious stance.

"And the counsel members didn't give you any shit about it?"

Tsunade laughed at the question, completely understanding where he was coming from.

"There's nothing going on between them," she assured him and he shrugged.

"Doesn't matter if there is or there isn't, the two have been getting closer and no one can deny that. Come on, you know how temperamental and suspicious those old traditional farts are; for a Hyuuga and Uchiha to be together—even the suggestion would put the council in an uproar for sure. I mean, there's the matter of mixing bloodlines not to mention the competition between Konoha's most powerful clans. It would be chaotic..." Jiraiya paused in his speech as he thought over the possibility. "I like it."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "So back to the mission; Hinata and Sasuke are out of the question."

"Is Kakashi around?" Jiraiya asked.

"He should be getting back from a mission later this afternoon. We'll see if he's up to it. But I will send Sai and perhaps Inuzuka Kiba as well."

"Um..." Jiraiya seemed at a loss, "I can understand that Sai kid since he works well with Sakura and is easily a special jounin at this point, but if you're picking someone from Kurenai's team wouldn't you go with the Aburame? I thought he had more skill than the dog brat."

"More skill? No. Better tactician? Yes. But this is exactly why I'm sending him; Kiba knows how to fight using his instincts rather than logic—which in the case of fighting bijuu will be the more valuable asset."

"I suppose so," he agreed. "And is that all you're sending? One four-man team to Sound against a bijuu?"

"Yes," the woman replied simply, "Things may have settled down compared to before the Wind Runner showed up, but the demands are still high and shinobi are spread thin. In addition, our shinobi aren't exactly trained to fight demons; this is a case where we will play the backup for the Wind Runner."

"I know," was all he said. Apparently that was the end of the conversation with him because he began to walk away from her. Tsunade found herself nettled by his abrupt departure; he usually at least said goodbye to her. With his habits she never knew when she'd see him next.

Despite this, there was one simple detail that she couldn't grasp about the situation.

"Aren't you going as well?"

His tall frame had stopped inches from the door—something she found strange in itself since he habitually used the window for ingress. He turned his head so that she could see his profile, but his eyes remained lowered.

"I have another lead on the Akatsuki leader that I have to act on before it's too late..." even as he said it his eyes deadened. It was an obvious choice that he didn't want to make. But Konoha needed him and his information far more than "the Wind Runner" seemed to need him now.

"You still feel guilty about not being there when Minato faced the Kyuubi, don't you?" she alleged in realization when she saw nothing but regret on his face. The corners of his mouth tightened, but otherwise made no movement.

"Sarutobi-sensei had sent me off on a trail to investigate one of Orochimaru's discovered laboratories that night," he explained in a cold murmur as memories took him back seventeen years. "It didn't have to end that way. Nothing had to end that way."

It was probably the most somber atmosphere he had ever left her in. The door had shut quietly before she even registered he was gone. She knew he felt guilt concerning the death of his prized student, but she had no idea that after all these years he was still brooding over it. And now he was leaving to retrieve even more valuable information that could save lives at the price of losing the chance to atone for past regrets.

"But he's not Minato, Jiraiya," Tsunade whispered into the empty room, "He's so much more."

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Boring transition chapter, sorry about that, but the next one is where all the real fun is. And who knows? The cloud thing, useless as it seems, may come into play later in the story.

I loved chapter 374 of the manga—Jiraiya had such a Naruto moment! Eee! I really love that man.

Thanks to strider714 for making this pretty (though he DID say I did a kick ass job grammer-wise)

Next chapter: Another bijuu fight and...something MORE!