-June 18th, 347 NE-
-3:00 PM-
-Hokage's Office-
After dropping off Naruto, Jiraiya quickly began trying to convince the Hokage to allow him to reveal Naruto's parentage, at least to Naruto himself. So far the Hokage was holding firm in his refusal.
"Not until he's a chuunin, at least," Sarutobi said. "Once he knows he's going to have to assume a lot of responsibilities, and I'd prefer to hold off on that until he has a lot more experience under his belt. He can't claim any of his family's properties until then anyway, and we still haven't managed to undo that blood seal."
"He doesn't have to do any of that crap right away," Jiraiya countered. "I just need to let him sign the Toad Contract, and I can hardly have him try 'Namikaze' without tipping him off as to who his father is. The Chuunin Exams are coming up soon anyway, and even I can tell he's already more than qualified. It'll be, what, less than two months early?"
Sarutobi massaged his temples for a moment. Jiraiya needed to pass on the contract before he accepted the Toad's offer and Naruto was both the best candidate and the most appropriate for a variety of reasons. He hadn't expected these sorts of problems, although given that it was Naruto he shouldn't be surprised; nothing ever went exactly as planned where Naruto was concerned.
"How certain are you that his real name is the issue here?"
"What else could it be?"
"Have you tried asking the Toads directly?"
"Well... no."
"Why don't you do that then before we go any further?"
A quick summoning jutsu later and the Keeper of the Contract had joined them in the Hokage's office. This toad's sole duty was to maintain the true copy of the contract and oversee all ceremonies related to it – the scroll Jiraiya carried around was a copy that was linked to the true scroll kept in Myobokuzan.
"While the prospective summoner's true name is required in order to sign the contract, that is not the only problem in this case. The one known as Naruto Uzumaki is ineligible," the toad replied flatly.
"What?" cried Sarutobi and Jiraiya.
"The one known as Naruto Uzumaki is ineligible," the toad repeated.
"Why?" Jiraiya demanded.
"You are both aware of the true purpose of the contract, correct?" the toad asked, getting terse nods in reply. "Due to his... condition, we are unable to utilize Naruto Uzumaki's chakra in the necessary manner. It is quite likely that allowing him to sign the contract and perform the summoning jutsu will cause irreparable damage to the Toad Tribe," the toad explained.
"Because of the tailed beast's chakra?" Sarutobi asked curiously.
"... essentially correct," the toad replied after a long moment.
Jiraiya cursed. If Naruto would never be able to sign, then most of his plans for the apprenticeship were shot, not to mention that he now had to find another candidate to inherit the Toad Contract.
Sarutobi continued to probe the matter further, however. "Do you have any other objections to working with Naruto? For instance, if Jiraiya summoned one of you and asked you to assist Naruto in battle, would you be willing to do so?"
The toad eyed Sarutobi for a long moment before answering carefully. "As long as the request does not represent a danger to the toad's life or the Toad Tribe as a whole, we are bound by the terms of the contract to fulfill any request made of us. It is up to the individual toad's discretion should they choose to go above and beyond the terms of the contract, as Gamabunta-sama did in battling the Nine-tailed... beast."
Sarutobi frowned thoughtfully, noting that the Toad had not directly answered the question. "I see," he said, and turned back to Jiraiya. "I have no further questions at the moment. Do you, Jiraiya?" When Jiraiya replied in the negative, they thanked the toad for his time and allowed him to return to Myobokuzan.
"Though Naruto will not be able to sign the contract, I assume you will still be teaching him the Rasengan?" Sarutobi asked after a moment.
Jiraiya signed and nodded. "Yeah. He also seemed really excited to learn seals from me, though I hadn't really given that any thought until now."
Sarutobi chuckled. "Ah yes, I should have known. Naruto has devoured sealing knowledge even more quickly than he did medical training, and has submitted requests at least once a week for more advanced sealing instruction. He has already exhausted all the knowledge the other practitioners in Konoha possess, it seems."
"Oh? I hadn't paid that much attention to his progress... has he really gotten that far?"
"I'm no expert, but he already knows more than I do. He's been very conscientious about not experimenting above what is allowed, but he probably has a solid grasp on the theory of just about every seal Konoha knows B-Rank and below."
"That's pretty impressive. I'll have to test him myself, but that should serve as an excellent base for what I can teach him. That still leaves the problem of the Toad Contract, however."
"You may not be able to have Naruto himself sign, but have you considered one of his friends or teammates? All of them are quite promising, and their close association would still allow Naruto to interact with the Toads on a regular basis."
"... I'll think about it. Knowing you, you already have someone in mind though, don't you?"
Sarutobi just chuckled. "That I do, but I won't try to influence you. As a fellow contract holder I understand just how important that relationship is. It should be your decision, not mine."
-June 19th, 347 NE-
-Konoha Training Grounds-
"Sorry brat, but looks like you won't be able to sign the contract after all, thanks to the beast stuck in your gut," Jiraiya said apologetically.
"I can't sign the contract because I'm a jinchuuriki?" Naruto asked quietly, sounding subdued.
"That's what they told me."
"That's... unfortunate. I was really looking forward to summoning the toads."
"Yeah, I'm rather bummed about it myself, but I still have plenty of other stuff I can teach you. I've gotten an update on your sealing knowledge and we'll figure out where we can start there, but first...," Jiraiya said, holding up his hand with the palm facings upwards. A ball of swirling blue chakra appeared in his hand. "This is one of the Fourth Hokage's personal techniques: the Rasengan, or Spiraling Sphere."
-June 27th, 347 NE-
-Sunagakure-
"… we're supposed to do what?" Temari shouted at their jounin sensei, Baki.
"Kazekage-sama was very clear. During the exams you are to kill any Konoha genin you can, preferably without allowing the matter to be traced back to you. Failing that, allow Gaara to make the kills."
"What the hell is he thinking? There is no way we could possibly get away with that! Has he not heard what they did to that guy from Kumo?"
Baki blanched – everyone had heard about what happened to Kaito Miyazaki. That incident may have strained relations between Konoha and Kumo, but it also bolstered Konoha's reputation as a village to be feared.
Still, he was a jounin of Suna and his Kage had given him orders. "It is not our place to question Kazekage-sama's plans. Our time would be better spent focusing on how to accomplish this task without getting caught. The requirements for the exam state that at least one test must pit the teams against each other in a battle royale of sorts, usually with both an offensive and defensive objective. Killing is still discouraged, but it does happen and is within the rules. Even if we did get caught, they would be unable to do anything officially."
"I'm sure that Kumo guy thought the same thing," Temari snapped bitterly.
Kankuro winced, but started off the discussion. "I have a variety of poisons I could employ. If I use the more generic types there's no way they could prove it was us. Some of them may have acquired resistance to those poisons, but certainly not all of them."
Baki nodded gratefully at Kankuro. "Good, good. That will help tremendously. What about you Tem-"
"I'll just crush them all," Gaara said blandly, not even bothering to turn his head away from the window to look at the group.
Baki looked like he wanted to object, but kept his mouth shut. He'd had a couple of close calls in the past and knew that whatever protection Gaara afforded his siblings did not extend to him. He turned a pleading eye to Temari.
Temari moved over to stand next to Gaara. Her hand lifted hesitantly as if to grasp his shoulder, but the sand around Gaara's feet twitched and she swiftly withdrew it.
"Gaara… you have to be very careful about who you kill and when. If the Konoha-nin catch you, they won't just let you go," Temari pleaded.
"Yeah, man," Kankuro added. "You'll have to wait until that battle royale thing starts."
"They won't be able to stop me," Gaara said dismissively.
"Gaara, please, listen to me. It won't be like it is here, they won't just let it drop. If you do kill the wrong person or kill someone at the wrong time, they'll try to arrest you or even kill you," Temari said.
Her brother finally turned away from the window to look at Temari. His eyes had widened slightly and he had a manic grin on his face. "Do you think they could?" he asked.
Temari actually felt her heart stop beating for a long moment. His voice was filled with energy and he sounded eager. He was excited at the thought that someone could kill him. She just shook her head in denial, unable to force any words past the lump that had formed in her throat. Kankuro and Baki both had stunned expressions on their faces.
Gaara's grin slowly faded as he misinterpreted Temari's reaction. "I guess not," he said quietly. He turned and began walking away.
Temari just watched him leave, still paralyzed by what she had just heard. She couldn't have heard that right. She refused to believe that.
-July 1st, 347 NE-
-Amegakure-
"You three are to take your genin teams to the exams in Konoha. They have earned the right to represent Ame for this exam, and I am sure they will do our village proud."
"Thank you, Commander."
"However, while you are there, you and your teams will have a secondary mission. In this bag you will find three stones. Distribute them to your teams and make sure they keep the stones with them at all times. As you move about the village, they are to note when and where they vibrate, and who is in the area at the time. When you return I will expect a comprehensive report on their findings."
"Understood, Commander. If I may ask, what will the stones be reacting to?"
"It is better if you do not know at this time. Rest assured that you will be no in no danger because of the stones or what they react to; simply consider this a somewhat unusual scouting mission."
"Very well, Commander."
"And make sure they do not let the stones out of their possession. They are quite difficult to make and I will be most… displeased if one is lost."
"Understood, Commander."
-July 12th, 347 NE-
-12:15 PM-
-Ichiraku's Ramen Stand-
Ino watched as Naruto continued to rapidly consume yet another bowl of ramen. Ever since the first time they had eaten here on the day of the team assignments, Naruto had insisted on coming back as often as possible. Fortunately, Hinata had helped her persuade Naruto to limit their visits to twice a week as a team, though Ino had the feeling that Naruto visited much more often on his own.
Ino had also noticed that the bar had a lot of new fixtures and that Teuchi seemed to have a permanent grin whenever Naruto was in sight.
"Say, Ichiraku-san," Ino called out to the stand owner. "You seem to be buying a lot of new equipment. I think everything in the stand has been replaced," Ino observed.
Teuchi just nodded eagerly. "Naruto-sama's patronage has proven to be a great boon to my business. Once word spread that he liked the food here, we have had more customers than we can handle. The Akimichi approached me about working in one of their restaurants, but with Naruto-sama's help I was able to convince them to loan me enough funds to open a full-sized restaurant."
"... seriously?" Ino asked, turning to look at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. He didn't even dignify her question with a response, instead slurping the broth out of the bowl loudly.
Teuchi nodded rapidly, his grin growing even wider. "The grand opening is next week. Ayame-chan is actually over there right now making sure everything is set up."
Ino just shook her head, deciding not to think about why Naruto would spend that much time and effort securing his source of ramen. She was about to ask for a refill on her water when Naruto's head whipped up and he dropped the bowl of ramen he had been eating.
"Naruto?" Ino asked, not liking the stunned expression on his face. Teuchi also appeared concerned, asking if something was wrong with the ramen, but Naruto just waved him off and darted out of the stand.
Ino gaped at him and stood to chase after him before realizing that they had yet to pay. She turned to look at Teuchi, reaching for her wallet, but he just waved her off with a concerned expression. "Don't worry about it," he told her, "I know Naruto-sama will return; just make sure he's alright."
Ino shouted her thanks behind her as she ran after Naruto. He seemed to be running full tilt towards the western gate.
-Same Day-
-12:20 PM-
-Konoha's Western Gate-
Temari shifted nervously as the gate guards reviewed their travel papers. The other teams from Suna had already arrived, none of them willing to travel together with her team or, more specifically, Gaara. She hated it, but was forced to admit they had probably been wise to do so. Gaara had started acting odd – well, odd for Gaara – as they approached Konoha. She was worried that he was going to start lashing out at anyone nearby and that he would end up killing someone before they even entered the city. The sooner they had secured their hotel room and she had a chance to talk to him the better.
She noticed a small disturbance beyond the gates but couldn't make it out at this distance. Her attention was diverted to Gaara who suddenly staggered and fell to his knees.
"It stopped," he said, his voice soft. He sat back on his heels and raised a trembling hand to his temple. "It stopped."
Temari gulped nervously as she noticed that everyone in the area was staring at Gaara. Time to run damage control, fast.
"Heh...," she began, her voice trembling slightly, "Gaara, I'm glad your headache is gone, but there's no need to be so dramatic about it. Why don't we go to our hotel and you can relax, hmm?" She wanted to say something more, but she was interrupted.
A young teenager skidded to a halt near Gaara, his blue eyes – and Temari did a double-take, because his eyes had slits for pupils – focused solely on Gaara. The boy's hair was a bright blond and he wore loose black pants along with a tight black shirt that showed off his well-muscled frame. He had a few pouches strapped to his body and a Konoha headband tied around his forehead. He also had six lines across his face, some sort of tattoo or clan marking perhaps. An Inuzuka maybe? She had heard that they had animalistic qualities and tattoos on their cheeks.
Gaara raised his head to look at the newcomer and stumbled to his feet. He moved towards the boy and stretched out his hands, grabbing hold of the boy's shirt.
"It's you," he said, his voice slowly growing louder. "You made it stop. How? Tell me how!"
The boy's expression was odd, shifting between elation and confusion. "Made what stop?" he asked after a moment.
"The screaming! You made the screaming stop! Tell me- no!" Gaara suddenly shouted, his hands releasing the boy and clutching at his temples. "Nononononono! Stop! I don't understand!"
"The... screaming?" the boy growled. Temari shuddered; it must have been her imagination but she would have sworn his voice changed, becoming far deeper and rumbling in a way that no human voice should ever be capable of.
Gaara didn't appear to hear the question. "Stop! What is Kuushou? I don't understand! Just stop!" Gaara threw his head back and let out a loud scream, filled with rage and frustration and grief and a dozen other emotions all at once. He then disappeared, sand slowly swirling and settling to the ground where he had stood a moment ago.
In the stunned silence that followed a girl ran up to them, panting lightly as she stopped next to the boy. "Naruto... what the hell is going on?" she asked.
The boy – Naruto, apparently – slowly turned to face the girl, his face frozen into an expressionless mask. "We need to talk," he said, and grabbed the girl before disappearing in his own shunshin.
Temari just stared in bewilderment before she felt a hand settle firmly on her shoulder. She looked up and paled as she saw the animal mask of one of Konoha's ANBU. Two more were standing next to Kankuro and Baki, and a fourth appeared to be talking to the gate guards.
"Please come with us," the ANBU said in that creepy distorted voice. She looked at Baki, but he just nodded, a resigned expression on his face.
-Same Day-
-12:30 PM-
-Konoha Training Grounds-
"What the hell is going on?" Ino said again as she recovered from the unexpected shunshin. The sudden acceleration was a little tough on her stomach when she wasn't braced for it, not to mention that Naruto's shunshin was faster and much more abrupt than her own. "Why was that guy yelling like that?"
"That guy was the jinchuuriki for my brother, Ryuudo," Naruto said, his voice tense and his fists clenched. He was pacing around the clearing and Ino could see small tendrils of his youki curling off his body. Not good then, he was really, really pissed if he was losing control like that.
"That's the... One-Tail, right?" Ino said, recalling what Naruto had told her of his family.
"Yes," Naruto replied tersely.
"Well, that's good then, right? You've finally found one of them, so... why are you so angry?"
"Because his container said that I had stopped the screaming," Naruto growled.
"What screaming? I didn't hear any- oh. Fuck."
"Yes. Fuck. He didn't say yelling, or shouting, or cursing – he said screaming. Whatever that seal is doing to my brother he's in a lot of pain, and has been for the last one hundred YEARS." He turned and lashed out at a nearby tree, a claw forming out of youki and smashing into it. Several more trees suffered the same fate before Naruto finally relented, standing in the middle of the clearing and panting.
Ino shuddered at that thought. She couldn't even imagine what it would take to make a Bijuu feel pain, much less enough pain to make them scream.
"Well, then we just have to fix it," Ino said firmly. Naruto turned to stare at her for a long moment before nodding slowly.
"Right. Yes, we can fix it. I don't know enough to work with seals of that level yet, though," he said quietly. His eyes widened and he smiled grimly. "But Jiraiya does."
He turned and looked as if he was about to charge out of the clearing that very moment, but Ino shouted at him before he could leave.
"Wait! You can't just go charging in like that. That whole scene with the jinchuuriki kid had to have set off all kinds of alarms, and if you go charging in on the Hokage or Jiraiya and demand that they 'fix' the seal it's not going to go well. Not to mention that you're still leaking youki."
Naruto glanced down; sure enough, small tendrils of red energy were still curling off of his body. Naruto growled but stayed in the clearing. "What would you suggest then?"
-Same Day-
-12:45 PM-
-Forest Outside of Konoha-
Two squads of ANBU were keeping watch on Gaara as he rampaged through the forests outside of Konoha, using sand he had acquired from somewhere – there was far more being flung about at the moment that he could possibly hold in that gourd on his back – to smash trees or rip them from the earth and throw them about. His ranting had devolved into incoherent screams and shouts.
Jiraiya soon arrived and calmly observed the swath of destruction Gaara had left in his wake. He had a sheet of paper and a brush in his hand, and he was slowly crafting a seal as he watched.
"Anything to report?" Jiraiya asked Bear.
"All he's been doing is ripping up trees and shouting. We haven't been able to make out anything of importance," the ANBU replied. After a moment of hesitation, Bear asked, "This is Suna's jinchuuriki, isn't it? I've heard reports about the sand usage from the Second and Third Wars."
"Looks like it," Jiraiya replied, focusing on a particularly tricky section of the seal he was crafting.
"Naruto could have turned out like that, couldn't he?"
Jiraiya's head snapped up and he looked at the ANBU for a long moment. "… possibly, yeah. If we had used a different seal, if we had treated him differently… yeah, he could have."
"Thank Kami for you and Yondaime-sama then," Bear said fervently. "So how are you going to stop him?"
"A combination chakra suppressing seal and sleep seal."
"Won't suppressing his chakra kill him? I saw the medical reports on Naruto…"
"A normal one could, maybe – hard to say how similar his condition is to Naruto's. But this ain't a normal chakra suppressing seal, not by a long-shot. Watch and learn, kiddo."
Jiraiya finished the seal with a flourish then put away the brush. He tucked the paper with the seal into his sleeve and observed Gaara's progress for a few moments. His hands formed two quick handsigns before he leaned backwards and fell off the branch he had been standing on. He fell headfirst with one hand stretched out.
"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!" he shouted, intentionally drawing Gaara's attention. His leading hand made contact with the ground and sank straight into it, the rest of his body following until he had completely submerged. From the point of impact the ground began turning a dark, murky brown. The technique's effect reached Gaara's position within moments and he stumbled to his knees with a splash as the ground beneath him suddenly turned into muck.
Gaara wanted to lash out, but the strange white-haired man had disappeared immediately after using this technique. His sand was also getting heavier, weighed down by the water he was in. He cast about for another target, but was suddenly hit from behind by a heavy stream of water that stripped the Sand Armor from his body and further weighed down his sand.
He whipped around as quickly as he could, pulling the small bits of sand that remained dry into a spear to attack with, but a sheet of paper suddenly blocked his vision. He felt a hand pressing against his forehead and a surge of chakra, then nothing.
Jiraiya smirked to himself as Gaara crumpled at his feet. A quick scan confirmed that the seal was working as intended and that his organs were still functioning properly.
"Damn I'm good," he said smugly. He picked up the jinchuuriki and threw him over his shoulder, then began tree-hopping back to Konoha.
-Same Day-
-3:00 PM-
-ANBU Prison-
Baki, Temari, and Kankuro were currently sitting on one side of a small table, shoved together uncomfortably in three chairs. An ANBU stood in each corner of the room, watching them with those expressionless masks – none of them had said a word since they entered the room. Temari knew it was an intimidation tactic, but she also knew it was working.
The three of them had been escorted "politely" to this room where they had waited for nearly an hour before a man with a heavily scarred face had entered the room. He had smiled "politely" and asked them "politely" what had happened to their teammate at the gates and what could have triggered such a response. Baki had handled all the questions so far, signaling his genin to keep their mouths shut; Kankuro and Temari had no trouble complying with that request. The Konoha ninja had so far not even laid a hand on them, but all of them couldn't help but think of Gaara's murderous tendencies and the mission the Kazekage had given them.
The scarred man had left after thirty minutes and the ninja from Suna had been left to wait – uncomfortable, hungry, and thirsty – with the ANBU still staring at them silently.
Temari shuddered slightly. It was definitely working.
The door opened again, and Temari felt the blood drain from her face as two men she recognized very, very well entered the room. The taller and younger of the pair had a large mane of white hair and very distinctive red lines starting under his eyes and running all the way down his face – Jiraiya of the Sannin. The older of the pair wore a simple white robe and matching hat with the symbol for "fire" written in large, bold strokes upon the hat – Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage of Konoha and the "God of Shinobi."
She had heard that the Hokage liked to project a kind, grandfatherly image, but she saw no evidence of that here. His face was a grim stone mask, and he moved with purposeful strides as he swept into the room and stood across the table from them, his eyes sharp and piercing.
"Sakamoto-jounin, I would like to thank you for your cooperation in this matter," the Hokage began, his tone even. "Technically speaking, your team has not committed any crime and you could have easily demanded to be released immediately."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I understand how this situation must look and in light of Suna's alliance with Konoha I am willing to endure this small inconvenience for the sake of continued good relations," Baki replied smoothly. Baki was one of Suna's most experienced jounin, but ultimately he had been selected to lead the team which held all three of the Kazekage's children because of his political acumen and diplomatic cunning.
"Indeed," the Hokage said slowly, drawing out the word. "In light of our... alliance, I would ask that you explain something for me.
"When the Kazekage informed me that you and your team would be attending the exams, he also assured me that, despite any reports we might have heard to the contrary, Gaara had overcome the problems caused by his status as the jinchuuriki of the One-Tailed beast and was quite stable, almost docile," the Hokage said, his tone still even and calm.
Baki gulped quietly. They were finally getting to the heart of the matter.
"Why, then, did Gaara have what appears to have been, for all intents and purposes, a psychotic break before he even managed to step through the gates of my village?"
"I do not know, Hokage-sama. I have observed Gaara for many years now and have never known him to act in this manner. He seemed to fixate on that young genin, however. May I ask who that was? It is possible there is something unique to him that caused this reaction," Baki replied, doing his best to sound calm and reasonable. It was much harder when the Hokage's eyes narrowed even further when he asked about the young boy.
Instead of answering, the Hokage turned to look at Jiraiya. The Toad Sage stepped forward and began asking his own questions.
"Who designed the seal holding back the One-Tailed beast?" he asked.
Baki blinked, surprised at the question. He considered his reply carefully, but finally decided that there was no risk in answering.
"My understanding is that it is the same seal used since Suna first captured the One-Tailed beast. Chiyo-sama was and is Suna's best sealing expert and applied the seal herself."
Jiraiya sighed quietly. "Did anyone verify that the seal was applied properly? Did anyone actually examine the seal design?"
"Kazekage-sama himself examined and approved the seal," Baki said.
"Did he request any special changes be made to the seal?" Jiraiya pressed.
Baki slowly sat back in his chair, considering Jiraiya carefully. He knew Jiraiya was a seal master, one of the few in all of the Elemental Nations. Baki himself only knew enough about seals to craft the common storage seal and exploding tags, but he didn't feel comfortable answering anymore questions. Just because he didn't see the significance doesn't mean that Jiraiya couldn't pull something of value out of seemingly innocuous information. He had only said as much as he had because it was common knowledge as far as Suna was concerned.
"May I ask why you are so interested in the seal?" Baki finally asked.
Jiraiya shook his head in disgust. "Because whoever wrote that seal on Gaara is either grossly incompetent and damn lucky or wasn't particularly interested in the jinchuuriki's well-being."
"What?" Temari cried out, jumping to her feet and slamming her hands on the table. She gulped and quickly sat back down when everyone in the room turned to focus on her.
Baki quickly spoke up, diverting the attention in the room back to himself. "Am I to understand that you have managed to locate Gaara and that he allowed you to examine his seal?" he asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"'Allowed' is such a strong word. I just snuck a quick peek while he was napping," Jiraiya said offhandedly.
All three Suna ninja surged to their feet, shouting in outrage.
"What have you done to my brother?" Temari cried.
"If you hurt him I swear to Kami I'll-" started Kankuro.
"Hokage-sama I must protest this violation of-" Baki began.
"Shut up!" yelled Jiraiya, his voice ringing loudly within the confined space. "What the hell is wrong with you people? He's asleep, I haven't done anything to him," he explained.
"That's bullshit!" shouted Temari, more concerned about Gaara's safety than her own at this point. "If you killed him I'll, I'll-"
Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he turned to focus on Temari. "Easy there little lady. Why is that 'bullshit'?"
Baki pushed Temari and Kankuro back into their seats and answered in their stead. "Gaara-sama can't be asleep. He has never once slept since he was sealed."
Both Jiraiya and the Hokage stared at Baki, and even the ANBU shifted slightly in their positions.
"Never," repeated Jiraiya slowly. "You're trying to tell me that little shrimp has been awake from the moment he had the tailed beast stuck in him?"
Baki just nodded solemnly. "As I'm sure you've heard, he complained of the 'screaming' during his... episode earlier. He says that he has heard that screaming nearly every moment of his life and it keeps him awake. No one has ever been able to get a calming or sleeping jutsu to stick on him either – whenever such a jutsu is applied his sand lashes out indiscriminately and he wakes within a matter of minutes anyway."
The Hokage glanced sharply at Jiraiya, but the seal master just waved him off. "Well he's getting a long overdue rest right now, then," he said.
Temari stared at him for a long moment, tears beginning to gather in her eyes. "Really? He's really... asleep? He's ok?" she asked in a trembling voice.
Jiraiya grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "As if I would ever lie to a lady!"
Temari just sniffled, quickly wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Thank you," she said, her voice thick. "Thank you."
Jiraiya coughed uncomfortably and turned back to Baki. "Now that we've got that cleared up, back to what I was saying earlier. That's either the shittiest seal that still managed to function or the most malicious seal I've ever laid eyes on, and if you guys knew it was that bad for him and the Kazekage hasn't tried to have it changed or improved... I'm going with the latter."
Baki shifted uncomfortably but didn't answer the implied question. Instead he asked, "May I ask what about the seal would lead you to that conclusion?"
Jiraiya whipped out a sheet of paper and drew a circle, then divided the circle into four equal parts. "Let's say this is your standard seal," he said, motioning to the paper. The other people in the room, even the Hokage, turned to pay attention to him. Despite the circumstances a sealing master was about to hold forth on his area of expertise; this was a priceless opportunity for the ninja in the room.
Jiraiya smirked slightly as he caught the hand signals the ANBU sent each other, the two behind him complaining that they couldn't see the paper properly and demanding that the others prepare to reproduce the images later. He always loved working with an appreciative audience, and so made sure to turn the paper back and forth to allow everyone in the room a clear view.
He labeled each slice of the circle with a number, one through four. "Even the simplest of seals will have multiple parts, and they each have to be balanced against each other so that the overall seal works out properly. If this was a storage scroll, for instance, section two here would be a chakra vent that dumped excess chakra out as wasted energy, making sure that the array doesn't get overpowered. Should that happen...," he said, writing a large "X" across section two and channeling chakra into the paper. The paper began to smolder and then caught fire and was completely consumed in a matter of seconds.
"Poof."
Jiraiya pulled out another sheet of paper and drew another circle, once more dividing it into four parts. He then drew a series of smaller circles within the original one, the lines growing finer and finer until they were barely visible.
"Now we have a much, much more complicated seal, but the basic principles still apply. There's a lot more parts but it still has to balance. With Gaara's seal...," he trailed off, eying the paper critically for a moment. He laid the paper flat on the table and moved his brush rapidly, adding new lines or large blots of ink at random. Some of the lines actually went outside the circle or looped back into themselves. The original design was completely obliterated by the time he was done.
"First somebody fucked the whole thing up so bad there was no possible way to balance it cleanly," he continued, picking up the paper. He turned it this way and that, then pulled out a kunai and shredded the whole thing. He gathered up the pieces and began slapping them on the table. After a few seconds he had a roughly circular shape, but the lines didn't match up properly anywhere. He took his kunai and cut around the edge of the paper, trimming off bits here and there until the whole thing was perfectly circular again.
"Then, rather than starting fresh, they just smashed it all together until they got something that kinda sorta looked like it might work, if you were a blind idiot."
"But... it does contain the tailed beast, so surely it can't be that bad," Baki pointed out.
"You're right, which is why I have to go with malicious. It probably took even longer to get this pile of shit functioning than it would have to start with a brand new seal, but there's one particular 'benefit' to this approach that a clean seal wouldn't get you. Gaara has absolutely horrendous chakra control, doesn't he?"
All three of the Suna ninja looked ill and nodded silently.
"Thought so. His own chakra feeds into the seal just as much as the tailed beast's does, and the seal just smashes them together at random, filters the chakra, pulls it apart, compresses it, stretches it, and so on. I couldn't tell you exactly what the screaming was, but if the tailed beasts really are just pure chakra and had to go through that... it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was pure torture for the One-Tailed beast."
Baki swallowed thickly as he processed this new information. "How is that a benefit, though?"
The Hokage answered this one. "Come now, Sakamoto-jounin. I know you can't be that naive. Suna has always used their jinchuuriki as a weapon, but they have also always mistreated them and given the jinchuuriki no reason to love Suna or to feel loyal to it. As such it would behoove the village to make sure their weapon requires their support in battle if he is to be effective, and thus limit the techniques he can use to only those granted by his status as a jinchuuriki."
"Can you help him?" Temari asked in a quiet voice. Once again all eyes in the room turned towards her, but her gaze remained focused on Jiraiya.
"Maybe," he replied, his voice low, "but interfering with an active shinobi to that extent would definitely violate the terms of our alliance with Suna."
"Fuck Suna," Temari snapped.
Baki's head whipped around to look at her, but she faced his gaze with a fierce expression. "Everyone in Suna hates Gaara, and by extension us. Even you have had a lot of trouble ever since you became our teacher. And now we find out that the Kazekage did this to Gaara on purpose? Fuck him," Temari snarled.
The Hokage watched their interaction with interest, but added his own opinion to the conversation. "As strongly as you feel about the matter, Suna is our ally and that would still be a betrayal."
Kankuro cleared his throat loudly. "About that...," he said quietly. He looked at Baki and Temari with a raised eyebrow. Temari understood what he was asking quickly and nodded in reply. Baki stared at Kankuro for a long moment, then leaned back in his chair with a pensive expression on his face.
If he went through with this there would be no going back. That in mind, he considered the most likely outcome if he stopped Kankuro and Temari at this point.
First, there was Gaara to consider. There was no predicting what he would do or say, especially if Konoha offered to fix his seal in exchange for information or his loyalty. Regardless of what the Hokage claimed, Baki was certain that Konoha would be more than willing to betray Suna or at least bend the terms of the alliance if there was something of sufficient value at stake. Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Villages, and Suna the weakest – Suna actually brought very little to the alliance, merely serving as a deterrent should Iwa seek to start another war.
Then there was the likelihood that Kankuro and Temari would disobey him for Gaara's sake and inform Konoha of the nature of their mission anyway. His time as their jounin instructor had made it very clear that their loyalty was to each other far more than to their father or the village, and he couldn't really blame them for feeling that way. He wondered if the Kazekage realized just how badly he had alienated his own children, and if he would even care if he did.
Regardless, if they informed Konoha against his orders, he would be done for. Konoha would pull a Miyazaki on him or send him back to Suna to face the Kazekage's wrath for failing the mission so thoroughly and managing to lose all three of his children to Konoha – he wasn't entirely certain which he would prefer.
If he did go along with this and tell Konoha, what would be their likely reaction? Mistrust, obviously; this could just as easily be a plot to plant spies within Konoha or to discredit them in the international arena by making them betray the terms of the alliance. Baki had no doubt that the Kazekage would deny all knowledge of issuing such a mission, especially since it had all been handled as a black op; there was no record anywhere that could possibly provide evidence for this.
Still, Konoha had the Yamanaka clan who could supposedly read minds and he could provide evidence that way... which would also reveal that he had intended to go along with it. That could go either way – ninja were expected to follow orders even if they didn't personally agree with them, but he had also plotted to kill several genin from prominent clans within Konoha. Miyazaki's fate had made it very clear how Konoha would respond to such a threat, though the fact that he had no intention of acting personally might protect him there.
He was a loyal Suna ninja though, had been for over thirty years. He had started a family there, though his wife had died several years ago and his only son fallen in the line of duty a year before that. He had sacrificed much for his home and didn't intend to betray it now, even if the Kazekage seemed bound and determined to provoke Konoha into attacking them.
He frowned as he thought about that, as he had many times since he first received his orders. Why would the Kazekage order them to attack their ally like this? Suna desperately needed more missions after the Wind Daimyo cut their funding and began using his personal samurai forces to handle the missions traditionally reserved for ninja, but weakening their only ally in such a manner seemed a very poor way to attract attention. And if, Kami forbid, Konoha decided to go to war over this incident... Suna would be crushed completely and utterly.
Perhaps there was a way to help his charges and Sunagakure at the same time. He couldn't personally think of a way to turn the situation in that direction, but if he could convince the Hokage of his sincerity, perhaps he wouldn't have to think it through on his own. It seemed the only path that allowed him to survive the day intact and preserve his loyalty to Suna at the same time.
He sighed, and finally looked up. "Before we continue, I would like a guarantee of asylum for myself and my charges, and a solemn vow from Jiraiya that he will do everything in his power to help Gaara. If you can do that, you will have my full cooperation."
"And mine," echoed Kankuro and Temari.
As the Hokage's eyes narrowed suspiciously, Baki closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer to whatever deity cared to listen. He was committed to his course now. He just hoped he had made the right choice.
A/N: Hmm... not a whole lot to say on this one.
The Chuunin Exams finally start next chapter, which will get most of the way through the first exam. I've decided to mix things up (somewhat) and use a different set of tests for the First and Second phases. The Third Phase will remain in the tournament format, though that will also have changed from canon. I've just read the "quiz" test and the "gather scrolls" test too many times to want to actually write the damn things.
The plot will begin to diverge from canon even more at this point, since certain key events from canon just aren't going to happen here. Hopefully I've given you enough hints that you can predict at least some of what won't be happening.
Thanks for reading!