Chapter Twenty One: The search for Tsunade, New techniques, Akatsuki appears
"You guys ready?" Jiraiya asked as he stood up from his spot on the ground, throwing on his backpack.
Chunnin Squad 7 nodded in unison before declaring, "Hai Ero-sensei!"
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched in frustration, "Don't call me that brats!" he yelled as he huffed and marched off down the road, beginning the search for Tsunade.
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It was twelve hours since Squad Seven and Jiraiya left Konoha, they were just making camp for their first night on their way to Tsunade's last known location.
"Please?"
"No."
Naruto and Jiraiya had been having this debate for twenty minutes.
"Pleease?" Naruto said.
"No." Jiraiya replied.
"Pleeeeeeeease?"
"No."
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"No."
Naruto pouted, "One last chance, before you regret it." he threatened.
Jiraiya turned to Naruto with a raised brow, "You threatening me? Ha, that's rich." He said before turning back to his tent.
Naruto smiled and pulled a small packet of seeds from his pocket, they were the seeds of a Thorny Rose bush.
Naruto jumped into jiraiya's back, "HAAA!" he yelled as if he was playfully attacking.
Jiraiya reached up and pulled Naruto off of him easily, "Brat, you will learn your jutsus on the way back from finding Tsunade. Not a moment earlier or later. Got it?" he said in a scolding tone as he dropped Naruto on his ass.
Naruto smirked, "How bout this, I make your life torture or you teach us our jutsu."
Sasuke and Sakura looked up from their place next to the fire, "Don't drag us into this." Sasuke said with a frown.
Jiraiya just laughed, "Are you serious brat? What could you do?" he said.
Naruto smirked and held a hand sign, "Wood style: Sudden Growth!" he announced.
The seed that Naruto put down the back of Jiraiya's shirt grew thorny vines, they grew up his back and stabbed a little thorns all over his upper back between his shoulder blades. Jiraiya froze as he felt them stick.
Naruto smirked, "I could, and will, make the thorns venture into your pants. Now promise to teach us our jutsu."
Sakura smiled, "Well Naruto won this argument, I agree with him. Sensei! Teach us our jutsu!" she ordered with a chuckle.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, "My teammates are right, I can tell if you lie sensei." He said with a smirk.
Jiraiya frowned, "You guys suck, you ruin all the surprises." Jiraiya said with a sigh, "Fine, I'll teach you each the start of the techniques." He promised.
Naruto looked to Sasuke and he nodded, Naruto pulled his chakra from the seed, returning it back to being just a seed. "Let's get started sensei!" he said.
Jiraiya pulled the seed out of his shirt and smirked, "I said I'd teach you it, I didn't specify now or later. I choose later." Jiraiya said cheekily.
Naruto sputtered, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" he yelled angrily.
Jiraiya patted Naruto's head, forcefully shutting him up. "I'll teach you all the first stages tomorrow morning. I need supplies from town to teach you so you will have to wait. Ok?" he said with a small smile.
Naruto smiled up at him, "Thanks Ero-sensei!" he said before turning and hovering over to the fire.
Jiraiya sighed, "Look kids, I know you want to stay up but we really need get going early in the morning." He said.
Sakura and Naruto frowned at him while Sasuke nodded, "He's right, we should all turn in."
Naruto was about to disagree when Sasuke spoke again, "Otouto, don't you want Hinata to be better?"
Naruto's eyes widened and suddenly he was in on the other side of the clearing, "Wood Style: Traveller's Den!" he yelled as he finished his hand signs, suddenly a small single story house popped up out of the ground. "Goodnight everyone!" he said as he opened the door and walked in, carrying his sleeping bag with him.
Sasuke and Sakura blinked in shock before following after him.
Jiraiya looked between his tent then the house, "Screw that." He muttered as he left his tent behind and entered the hut.
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The Four entered town early in the morning, around seven o'clock. "Alright everyone, there is a casino in this town called 'Jackpot 911', this was Tsunade's last known location. If you really want to learn these jutsu, go find it. We will meet back here at ten, got it?" Jiraiya asked.
Team seven nodded, and entered the town.
Sasuke took lead, "Alright, so since we are looking for a casino, we will most likely find the most information at either a Red Light district, Central district or a Tourism centre." He said as he glanced at the different shops surrounding the three.
Sakura cupped her chin in thought, "Well, wouldn't a tourism centre be near the entrance to the town?" she asked.
Sasuke nodded, "Yep, but as you can see there are none here." He said.
Naruto hovered next to the two, "Well we did kinda take a ninja's path here, let's find the civilian gate." He said.
Sasuke stopped walking, "Alright, Naruto, you are to go to the civilian's entrance and see if there are any tourism centres. You can find us by scent easily enough; i will go to the red light district and search for the casino there, as Sakura may get harassed by a creep or two. Sakura, you go ask around at the central district, Naruto and I will find you when we're done. Got it everyone?" he asked as he turned to his team.
Naruto blinked, "Wow, you really are good at hunting things down." He said.
Sasuke smirked, "Move out." He said as he leapt on to a nearby building and began looking for the Red Light district.
Sakura smiled softly and just began to follow the flow of people traffic, 'I'll pass through the village center soon enough.' She thought.
Naruto flew straight up into the air, startling many of the people who noticed him.
He hovered as he looked around the small city, "Ah crap," he said as he glanced to the four sides of the square city, "There's four other gates!" he said with a frown.
He began drifting towards the one in the east, "Guess I'll look over here." He muttered.
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"Hey Sakura-chan, Did you find anything?" Sasuke asked as he arrived at the town square, having followed Sakura's chakra signature with his Sharingan.
She sighed, "Not really, but did get these!" she said as she held up a small book of coupons.
Sasuke raised a brow, "Why would we need coupons?" he asked.
Sakura shrugged, "I dunno, but the guy giving them out said I was cute and gave me one for free!" she said excitedly.
Sasuke frowned, "Looks like a made the right decision in going to the red light district instead of you, imagine all the 'free things' you would've been offered.
Sakura blinked twice before flushing red, "I would've said no to THOSE things Sasuke-kun!" she said.
"Hey guys!"
The two turned to see Naruto walking down the road, three bags in one hand, each about the size of his head, and some food in the other, "Guys! The casino is so fun! I won so much money, and some nice girl asked me to have an early lunch with her, I told her about Hinata-chan so of course I said no, but it was nice of her anyway!" he said as he took a bite from his stick of food.
Sasuke frowned, "You found the casino?" he asked.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, the first tourism center I went to told me where it was, so I went to find it and confirm before finding you guys. I put a coin I found on the floor into one of the machines out the front and won a minor jackpot!" he said with a smile.
The other two of team seven sighed. Then Sakura said, "That looks like more than a 'minor' jackpot." She said as she looked at the bags.
Naruto smiled and passed a bag to both Sasuke and Sakura, "Actually, I didn't know what to do with the money, so I went up to this spinning thing called 'Roulette' and I picked number 1, I placed the entire winning on it and I won again!" he said with a smile.
Sasuke looked in his bag and noticed it wasn't money, but scrolls. "Otouto, whats with the scrolls if you won so much?"
Naruto pulled a scroll out and unsealed it, suddenly thousands of clamps of twenty 1000 ryo notes filled the street, "I was bet buy some guy that I couldn't win in the bigger games, so I took his bet and followed him up stairs…"
Flashback
Naruto was led up a hidden set of stairs and came to a stop in front of two body guards, they nodded to the scrawny man called 'Even Steven' as the two walked though the guarded door.
Naruto looked at the other five people sitting at the cards table in front of him, they all seemed important. "Hey everyone! My name's Naruto!" he said with a smile.
They all stopped and turned to stare at him, a big guy in a white gold tee and jeans spoke up, "Oi Even Steven, I thought you said you'd find a gambler, not some kid." He said as he licked his gold tooth.
Steven smiled, "Well Fat Toni, this kid just won a shit tonne and he's only been here ten minutes."
Another player turned, her blonde hair in two pig tails and she wore a green jacket with the kanji for 'gamble' on it, she appraised Naruto's outfit and noticed his headband, "That's probably cause little Naruto is a ninja."
The others at the table stiffened as Steven smiled, "Hey I know chakra use when I see it, he wasn't using any. Am I right kid?"
Naruto blinked owlishly, "Huh? You can use chakra to play?" he asked.
The people at the table laughed and Toni pulled out a chair, "Have seat Naruto, let's get started."
"…and I won the first three hands, lost a couple then the blonde lady and some fatty with a cowboy hat went 'all in' so I did too, apparently I won!" Naruto said with a smile.
Sasuke smirked, "Do you even know what you were playing Naruto?" he asked.
Naruto thought hard, "It was kinda like go fish." He said.
'idiot.' The Kyuubi muttered in his mind.
Naruto ignored him as Sakura's brow furrowed, "Then what happened?" she asked.
Naruto frowned, "the blonde lady bankrupted so she left, I won another 'all in' thing so they voted for me to leave, everyone didn't like me winning except for Toni, he was nice, he actually said that he 'owed me one' for such an entertaining bout of 'Poke-her'." Naruto said, finishing with a smile.
Sasuke sighed, "it's Poker Naruto, not Poke-her." He said.
Naruto raised a brow, "What does poking someone have to do with anything Sasuke?" he asked.
Sasuke sighed again, "Nothing, forget I said anything." He muttered as he turned to walk away, bag of money still in hand.
Sakura and Naruto ran to catch up to him, none of them noticing the massive fight that was happening over the clips of money…
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"YOU PLAYED POKER WITH A MAFIA BOSS AND HE NOW 'OWES YOU ONE'?!" Jiraiya yelled in shock as he dropped the large sack he held.
Naruto smiled, "Umm, if you mean Toni then yeah." He said.
Jiraiya stood with his jaw on the floor as the team continued talking, "So who else played Naruto? This Toni, the fat cowboy, the blonde lady, you. I thought you said there were four other people at the table?"Sakura asked.
Jiraiya snapped out of his daze when Sakura said 'blonde lady', "Wait, Naruto, tell me about this blonde lady." He ordered.
Naruto nodded as he passed Sasuke another scroll, which he proceeded to seal into a much more advanced seal, which he had painted onto the inside of Naruto's Chunnin vest. "Well, if I was anything like you Ero-sensei I probably would've asked her out, I mean she looked about thirty at the most but she had HUGE boobs." He said as he remembered the lady, "She sucked at gambling though; she left just before I was asked to leave."
Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and shook him, "YOU MORON THAT WAS TSUNADE!" he yelled.
Naruto was being shaken so Sakura spoke for him, "But Naru-nii said they kept calling her 'The Legendary Sucker'."
Jiraiya stopped shaking Naruto as he turned to Sakura, "That's her nickname in the gambling world! Naruto, do you remember her scent?" he asked.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, it smelled similar to Shodaime-sama mixed with alcohol and smoke." He said as he stood back on his feet.
Sasuke smirked, "We got her then!" he said in victory.
Jiraiya nodded, "I certainly hope so, although knowing her, she bolted from this town since she's always on the run from debt collectors." He said with a sigh.
Sakura tapped Naruto's shoulder, "Well quick let's go find her!" she said loudly.
Sasuke finished sealing the last scroll into the seal, "Alright, I'm done here." He said with a smirk.
Naruto threw his vest back on but left it open this time, "Follow me!" he cheered as he hovered a foot off the ground and headed towards the casino at a fast running pace, the others kept up easily.
Thirty minutes later, the four were standing in front of the casino with Naruto sniffing heavily, "I think I got it!" he announced.
Jiraiya quickly said, "Well follow it!"
Everyone slowed so that Naruto could follow the scent, it took an hour to trail properly and it led to a hotel in the northern sector of the city.
Jiraiya ran up to the front desk, "Excuse me, has a blonde superbly endowed woman been here lately? Her name is Tsunade."
The guy behind the desk chuckled, "Yeah man, she checked out this morning along with her little friend. Said she was planning to hit up one last casino before heading to Tanzaku Town." He paused as he realised he gave out private information of a customer, "and you didn't hear it from me." He added as an afterthought.
Jiraiya nodded, "Sure thing, Tanzaku town, got it." he panted as he ran back outside to the waiting Chuunin.
Sakura asked as he approached, "So what's the news sensei?"
Jiraiya smiled, "She's on her way to Tanzaku town, it's a week's journey on foot from here, three days ninja style." He said.
Naruto raised the question, "Will she be travelling Ninja style?" he asked.
Jiraiya frowned, "Probably, but she'll go through one of the five outpost towns so she can get some more cash. So it'll take her six days anyway." He said.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, "Since she's using chakra to tree hop, we can follow the trail with my Sharingan." He said.
Jiraiya was about to agree when he paused, "well, personally I don't mind either way. But think about this, if we walked for the first five days normally, that means you guys can train in the use of these jutsus. Then we can kick it into high gear and arrive at Tanzaku at about the same time as her. What do you think?" he asked.
The three Chunnin paused, "I like jutsu." Naruto said.
Sakura nodded, "Well at least this way we'll be learning things and not wasting time waiting for her." She said.
Sasuke nodded, "Alright, techniques it is." He said.
Jiraiya smiled, "In that case, we'll start moving to the next town. We'll be there by sundown so we can get a room in a hotel, I'll teach on the move." Jiraiya said with a smile.
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Jiraiya talked as the team moved down the road at a normal walking pace, "Now, out of the three of you I'm pretty sure Sakura will have it the easiest."
Jiraiya smirked, "These techniques I'll be teaching you, all of you will be learning techniques made by the Fourth Hokage himself that pertain to your chosen specialities." Jiraiya explained.
The three Chunnin's jaws hit the floor, "The Fourth/My Dad?" the three muttered in unison.
Jiraiya nodded and held a hand sign, "Shadow clone jutsu!" he announced as two other versions of him popped in to existence.
Jiraiya called Sasuke over to himself and sent a clone to Naruto and Sakura respectively…
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"Alright Naruto, this is a technique created by your father, it requires no hand signs, just pure control. I'll give you a demonstration first." Jiraiya's clone said as it walked to the left of the foot path.
Naruto nodded with a smile on his face, 'I've read about many techniques my dad used, I wonder if it's one I know?' he thought.
Jiraiya lifted his hand and a blue sphere formed in it, "RASENGAN!" he said as he pushed the ball into a tree as they passed by it.
The jutsu drilled through the tree easily, not weakening in the slightest.
Naruto smiled widely, "That's the jutsu you managed to stop my Wind Missile with." He said happily.
Jiraiya nodded, "Yes it is, now watch me closely, this is step one." Jiraiya said as he pulled a water balloon out of the sack he held.
Naruto's eyes widened as the ball became lumpy for a moment before exploding, "How'd you do that?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya smirked, "You have to figure it out yourself, or you could get help from your old man's diary? I know you keep it on you at all times." Jiraiya said.
Naruto smiled and nodded, "Ok! I'll take it from here sensei." Naruto said as he grabbed the bag of water balloons from the clone.
It nodded, "Good luck brat." It said before dispelling.
Naruto made a wood clone to hold the bag while he took a look at his father's journal, which Naruto had on the inside pocket of his vest. "Okay, I just gotta find his training notes on the Rasengan…" he muttered as he began flicking through his father's late Jonin years…
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"Alright Sakura, like you the Fourth Hokage was a speed demon, thus he earned the nickname, 'The Yellow Flash'. So, he made a Taijutsu style based solely on that speed, which is what I'm giving to you along with his strongest combination moves." The Jiraiya clone said as it passed Naruto two scrolls.
Sakura smiled and held the scrolls, she read the titles aloud, "'The Hummingbird Style' and 'The Four Flash Combos'. Thanks sensei!" she said happily.
Jiraiya smiled, "Before you can learn the Flash combinations, you must have at least the first three stances of the Hummingbird perfected."
She nodded, "No problem.
Jiraiya chuckled, "And when I saw perfected, I mean able to do the three in a perfect flow in any order in less than ten seconds. Just like he did." Jiraiya said with a smirk.
Sakura's eyes were wide open, "Umm, can I start off learning with Radical Good Speed?" she asked hopefully.
Jiraiya shrugged, "It's up to you how you learn it. I just want it done." He said before dispelling.
Sakura looked at the scrolls in hand and opened the first one, "Okay, so it at least begins like mine…and it relies on slashes of a kunai and swift kicks, lucky me! I got claws and power boots!" she said with a smile as she continued reading while walking.
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(A/N: Before anyone freaks out about what Jiraiya is teaching Sasuke, let me just tell you that the Uchiha CAN'T learn the *technique*, but he might be able to unravel the seal, that's what Jiraiya is aiming at.)
The real Jiraiya stood next to Sasuke, "Now Sasuke, I trust you to tell no one but your teammates of this technique. It is the secret to the Fourth's amazing power." He said, absolutely serious.
Sasuke nodded, "Yes Jiraiya-Sensei," he agreed.
Jiraiya pulled out a scroll and unsealed it's contents; a tri-pronged kunai, a piece of paper with a sealing formula written on it and another scroll. "This is the 'Flying Thunder God Jutsu' or, the '*Hirashin*'." Jiraiya said with a smirk.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, analysing the seal. "…This will take a while." He muttered as he realised he could almost see what was done, but couldn't tell where one sealing array ended and another began.
Jiraiya smiled and walked ahead of the three Chunnin who stood behind him, all three of them reading something in front of them intently.
Jiraiya sighed, 'Finally some quiet.' He thought as the four continued their slow trek down the road.
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"Here's your key sir, and this is your room number," the desk clerk said as he pointed to the information sheet.
Jiraiya nodded, "Thank you." He said as he turned and walked towards squad seven.
Jiraiya passed the key to Naruto, "You guys go settle in, I've got some..research to do." Jiraiya said with a perverted giggle as he watched an attractive young lady wave to him from across the lobby.
Squad seven watched Jiraiya follow after the woman in disbelief, "Damn Ero-sensei," Naruto muttered.
Sakura snatched the key, "Let's go already! I need to read up on the manoeuvres in this style." She said as she ran up the stairs.
Naruto and Sasuke followed quickly as they didn't want to get lost.
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Two cloaked figures watched as Jiraiya walked away from the hotel, following after a young lady.
The taller one spoke, "Hey, Itachi. That was him right? So that means the Kyuubi brat is alone in the hotel now?" he asked as he looked up, showing his face was an odd shade of blue.
The shorter one, Itachi nodded, "Naruto came on this journey with Jiraiya-sama." Was all he said.
The tall guy sighed, "You really like bugging me don't ya? I never get a straight answer out of you." He mumbled.
Itachi turned to look at his partner in crime, "The Jinchuuriki is in the hotel. Jiraiya is not, we act now Kisame." Itachi said as dropped from the roof he was on into a nearby alleyway.
Kisame smirked, "Heh, what a weirdo." He said as he too jumped off, the roof.
The two approached the hotel, their black cloaks with red clouds billowing in the wind.
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Naruto sat on the ceiling above the door as he continued to read his father's journal, ''…maybe if I add more chakra strings to the rotation it will be more powerful?' I thought, I later discovered my theory was correct.' Naruto read in his head as he held a water balloon in his other hand.
Naruto paused in his reading and looked at the water balloon, "So…multiple chakra strings…" he thought aloud as he was about to channel the swirling chakra.
*Knock Knock*
Sasuke looked up from his seal work, he had multiple seals surrounding him as he sat in the centre of the floor. "I'll get it." he muttered as he stood and cracked his back.
Sakura was laying on her bed as she read her scroll, "Hm? It's probably just sensei." She mumbled.
Sasuke paused before turning the door handle, "…What if it isn't?" he mumbled before activating his Sharingan and putting himself on guard as he turned the doorhandle.
He pulled it open to come face-to-face with another pair of Sharingan eyes. Sasuke stared in shock as Itachi returned the stare with an almost unnoticeable frown. "Itachi?" Sasuke mumbled as he bared his teeth in rage.
Naruto, from his position heard Sasuke's whisper and he instantly sprung into action, 'An S-ranked Elite Missing-nin? We gotta get out of here!' he thought as he stood upside down, now facing the duo in the hallway with his palms right in the off-guard Itachi's face.
"DECAPITATING AIRWAVES!"
Itachi ducked under the shot with apparent ease and Kisame stepped aside, letting the attack gouge scars in the opposite wall.
Sasuke dove forward right at Itachi, a kunai in hand as he plunged it at his chest, Itachi disappeared in a burst of speed, Sasuke's Sharingan managed to follow Itachi's movement but he wasn't even close to actually doing anything about it.
Sasuke stumbled as Kisame stepped forward, a smirk on his lips, "Looks like we get a small battle after all!" he said as he swung samahada at Sasuke's off balance form.
*CLANG*
Kisame's smile widened as he was blocked by Naruto's blade, "Well, if it isn't Kubikiri Bocho? What a surprise." He said as he easily side-stepped Naruto's next swing, "That's some impressive strength you got, but your majorly lacking in speed." Kisame taunted as he parried Naruto's next attack and swung at his legs.
Naruto barely jumped over the attack before he was suddenly pulled back into the hotel room by one of Sakura's extended claws, Sasuke was yanked in by the other.
She closed the door and spat a mud wall to hold the two S-ranked criminals off. "Grab everything! We have to find Ero-sensei!" she yelled before Kisame's swords stabbed through the door and the earth wall.
Sasuke snapped out of his rage, "She's right, there is no way we can beat those two. Naruto! Emergency clean up!" he ordered.
Naruto held his palms forward and Kisame ripped the door away from the earth wall, "WIND STYLE: SUCTION!" he yelled.
Every loose object in the room was pulled towards Naruto instantly, Sasuke held a seal between Naruto's hands and the oncoming items, "SEALING ART: INSTANT STORAGE SEAL!" Sasuke yelled as what appeared to be a small black hole opened up.
All the items of squad seven and a lot of the hotel's things were sealed in a second and Sasuke put the seal in his pouch as Kisame wrenched the earth wall to pieces. "You really think that would stop us?" Kisame said with a sneer.
Squad seven turned to jump out the window, only to come face-to-face with Itachi, who stood calmly as he watched them move.
There was a tense silence as Itachi spoke, "Naruto, you are needed to fulfil the goal of the Akatsuki. Come with us and we won't hurt your teammates."
Naruto's eyes widened, "What do you want with me?" Naruto said.
Kisame spoke up, "Hey Itachi, let me just shred off their legs aye? It's not like they need em." He said with an evil smirk.
Sasuke glared at Itachi with hatred, 'Naruto? He came for Naruto? He acts like he doesn't even notice me!' he thought angrily.
Sakura smirked and activated RGS, causing Kisame and Itachi to hesitate in their movements.
"SHOCKING FIRST BULLET!" she yelled as she stomped the ground below them as hard as she could.
The floor gave out and squad seven fell to the floor below, Naruto caught onto her idea as he used the holes in his hands to propel his just below the other two, he swung a punch at the ground.
"HAA!" he yelled as he channelled what used to be Hashirama's strength.
The floor broke away and the trio continued to fall, though Sasuke was glaring up at Itachi the whole time, 'He wants to take my Otouto, I won't let him harm my new family.' He thought as he saw Itachi and Kisame jump down towards them.
Sasuke pulled out two seal tags and threw them to two opposite walls as team seven fell through the third floor, "SEALING ART: LIGHTENING BARRIER!" he yelled.
The barrier of electricity appeared in Itachi and Kisame's path, Kisame wasn't fast enough to dodge but Itachi was already moving. He kicked Kisame lightly in the chest, pushing the two away from each other and letting them grip onto the walls with their chakra.
"TSUUGA!"
Sasuke looked back down to see Naruto digging through the last two floors on an angle, his pathway opened up into the lobby.
Sakura and Sasuke slid down the steep hole after him and came out into the lobby, Naruto threw two scrolls of cash behind the countertop to pay for damages as the three turned to run out the door, only to come face-to-face with Itachi once again.
Itachi stood perfectly calm, "This is your last chance, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi." Itachi said as he took a slow step forward.
"TOAD SAGE ART: TOAD MOUTH BIND!"
The lobby was suddenly replaced with the inside of a toad's stomach as Jiraiya stood in front of Squad seven, "So, the Akatsuki strike already hey?" Jiraiya said with a smirk as he focussed on Itachi's chest, avoiding eye-contact but proving he knows how to handle an Uchiha.
Itachi paused in his stride as Jiraiya appeared, Kisame landed next to him. "I think we could still take him, what do you say Itachi?" he said with a smirk on his fish-face.
Itachi shook his head, "No, we take our leave Kisame, there will be a time when Jiraiya cannot look after the boy. We'll strike then." Itachi said as he turned for the hallway to his right and ran, Kisame close behind him.
Jiraiya slammed his hands on to the ground, "You think I'll let you!?" he yelled as he used his chakra to send flesh after the two.
*BOOM*
Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock as he de-activated his jutsu and ran around the corner, "What the hell?" he mumbled as he looked at the hole in the wall and the black flames that had burnt through.
Jiraiya approached the flames and looked closely, "Sasuke, seal this up so that we can analyse it." Jiraiya ordered.
Sasuke nodded, still in shock at running into his brother after all this time, 'I will kill you some day Itachi.' He thought as he wrote a sealing formula onto one of his blank tags, "Sealing art: Flame seal." He muttered as he finished writing the seal.
Jiraiya nodded in approval as all the black flames disappeared into the seal.
Jiraiya sighed, "Everyone, change of plans, we'll use full speed to arrive at Tanzaku town tomorrow morning, you can rest and train when we get there. Understood?" he asked.
The squad nodded in unison, "Hai sensei." They said seriously.
The four exited through the hole and went to move on their way when a blur entered Sasuke's vision, "Sensei!" he yelled, alerting everyone to the oncoming threat.
Naruto leapt forward, using his super strength to block the kick of… "Gai?" Jiraiya asked.
The green beast halted his attack and immediately stood in his 'nice guy' pose, "Ah! Forgive me Jiraiya-sama! I thought you were an enemy!" he said.
Jiraiya frowned, "You knew about the other two then?" he asked.
Gai nodded, becoming serious for once, "They infiltrated the leaf and captured one of the Chunnin that handle mission assignments, Asuma and myself just happened to be there at the time and we found out they were looking for Naruto, unfortunately the Chunnin had already said that Naruto had gone on a mission with you." He said.
Jiraiya nodded, "Well, thanks I guess." Jiraiya said before turning, wanting to leave before anything else happened.
Gai once again smiled, "I guess I should be on my way back to the Leaf now! Good luck on your mission and may your YOUTH EXPLODE!" He yelled before disappearing in a burst of speed towards home.
Jiraiya nodded seriously, "Alright, let's move out. And I mean really kick it into high gear." Jiraiya said as he summoned a toad and the two hopped away at an extremely fast pace.
Naruto flew next to Jiraiya, towing an anti-gravity sealed weightless Sasuke behind him, and Sakura ran alongside them all easily, her skating ability activated.
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Jiraiya and squad seven walked heavily into the hotel lobby, they all looked extremely tired from their fifteen hour full speed journey.
Jiraiya left the team to rest in some chairs in the lobby while he went to get the room key.
There were no problems, and within twenty minutes, everyone was asleep in a comfy bed.
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It was three days until Tsunade arrived in Tanzaku town, and squad seven stood in a hidden field just outside of town, Jiraiya stood in front of them as he began with his questions. "So, have any of you made any progress in what I gave you?" Jiraiya asked with a smile.
Naruto held out the water balloon in front of him and thought of how his father described the first stage, 'Multiple chakra strings, rotating at high speeds.' He thought as he began to channel the needed chakra.
Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock when he saw the balloon get very bumpy very quickly, it stretched out widely, then just before it broke, it collapsed in on itself, returning to normal.
Naruto frowned while Jiraiya laughed, "Haha! That was a pretty good effort brat! Looks like you need to rotate much faster though, otherwise the water will slow itself down naturally." Jiraiya explained to the disgruntled Naruto.
Sasuke pulled out a sealing tag, "I have discovered how the Hirashin works, but I have yet to make a variant that I can use. The tag is similar to a reverse-summoning seal, but about fifty times more complicated." He explained with a frown.
Jiraiya nodded, "I wish I could help Sasuke but this one is entirely on you." He said, "And you Sakura?" he asked.
She smirked, "I've memorized the stances, now I just need to get my flow going right." She said with a smile.
Jiraiya smirked, "Once again the only girl of the team is in the lead, you guys gonna let this stand?" Jiraiya asked with his smirk widening.
Naruto held his water balloon in a loose fist, "Don't worry sensei! No matter who learns this stuff first, we'll perfect it in no time!" Naruto promised.
Sasuke grunted in agreement, the ever present Uchiha smirk on his face.
Jiraiya's smirk turned into a grin, "Get cracking then! I'll be back this afternoon to check on your progress, good luck." Jiraiya said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Sasuke sat down and took out his sealing equipment, activating his Sharingan, he groaned "It feels like I've made no progress other than identifying one of the eighteen seals involved for this technique." He mumbled as he started to try and decipher the rest of the seal.
Naruto stood behind Sasuke and focused his chakra, the balloon became bumpy but only about half as bumpy as Jiraiya's looked. 'Hmm, maybe I need more chakra strings?' he thought as he tried adding more, it was a difficult task to say the least.
Sakura was slowly moving between the stances, trying to teach her muscles to memorize each movement perfectly, 'This is gonna take a while, but it'll be worth it!' she thought as she entered the second stance.
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Jiraiya walked up the hill and into the clearing, seeing a smiling Naruto, a tired but happy Sakura swinging a high kick, and a scowling Sasuke with six more pages of personal notes on the Hirashin seal.
"Hey guys! How far did ya get?" Jiraiya asked as he placed four small bags on the ground in front of him, not really expecting anyone other than Sakura to make any progress.
Sakura finished her kata, panting heavily she said, "I can confidently say I've mastered the first stances, I've just begun the second." She said with a smile.
Sasuke grunted, "I was wrong about the sealing array. I had to start again to accommodate for my mistake." He said.
Naruto lifted a balloon in the air and held it between his two hands, the balloon became bumpy for a moment before exploding violently, "What's stage two sensei?" he asked with a confident smirk.
Jiraiya balked at Naruto, "You got the first stage after only a day of practical training?!" he rhetorically asked in surprise.
Naruto's smirk widened into a huge grin, "Yep! But I have to use two hands, It's just hard to spin that many strings in a single direction at once!" he announced.
Jiraiya paused in his shock, "Did you say a single direction?" he asked.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, why?"
Jiraiya chuckled, "I know why you're finding it so hard, you're focussing on this 'single direction' stuff, when in actual fact it's meant to be in multiple directions at once." Jiraiya explained.
Naruto frowned, "But shouldn't that be harder?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya shook his head, "Not necessarily, because for you to have busted the balloon by only spinning the chakra in one direction, you would have been using more than thirty times the necessary amount of chakra strings. Also, for the second step you need maximum power output, you can't do that unless you're spinning in more than one direction." He explained.
Naruto picked up another balloon, in between his two hands "Okay, so multiple directions, less strings." He mumbled as he began practicing again.
Jiraiya walked over to Sakura and watched her complete her first training in the second kata, "Looks like a good start, but I want to see you do the first set again. I will tell you if you've mastered it." Jiraiya said with a nod.
She nodded and stood in her first stance, similar to Rock Lee's stance but instead of having a hand behind her back, she had it crossing over her torso towards her opposite hip, her other hand was held parallel to her chest and her fingers pointed out as a claw. She began the Kata.
Jiraiya watched her steps and the flows between each position, 'Very good, but she seems to hesitate before using the jumping manoeuvres, I wonder why.' He thought.
Sakura landed in the final stance, spinning to a stop with a reverse kick and an upwards swipe of her 'claw'. "So how'd I do sensei?" she asked while panting.
"Very good, I'm amazed at the rate your learning this new style, although I am curious about something." Jiraiya said.
Sakura raised a brow, "What is it?" she asked.
"Before moving into the air strike stances and the jumping swoop kick, I noticed you hesitate. Is there a reason you feel uncomfortable with those manoeuvres?" he asked.
She frowned lightly before nodding, "Yeah, I don't feel comfortable leaving the ground." She muttered.
Jiraiya nodded, "Thought so, it's because you rely on your speed across the ground. There is nothing for you to push off in the air." He said.
Sakura blushed as Jiraiya read her like a book, "Umm, yeah." She muttered.
Jiraiya smiled, "That's alright, the first of the more advanced techniques in the Flash Combinations will solve that problem quickly. Once you master the second stances to the same level you've mastered the first, then I'll let you learn the first Flash combo. It'll make it easier, alright?" he explained with a grin.
She grinned in return, "Sounds great sensei!" she said before returning to her training with much vigour.
Jiraiya chuckled at her enthusiasm before turning to Sasuke, he crouched next to Sasuke and looked over the many different components that he had deciphered from the original seal, "Well aren't you hard at work." Jiraiya said.
Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, the one tiny mistake I made at the beginning was overlooking what I thought was a single advanced sealing array, I discovered when I looked over it again that it was seventy two basic seals connected on a reverse summoning seal. Therefore, I can deduce that it is a high powered reverse summoning accompanied by instant transmission and a clarity filter for the movement as well as something for the flash and a whole bunch of other random things." Sasuke said without skipping a beat with his brush.
Jiraiya chuckled as he looked over the notes, "Kid, you truly are amazing." He said as he stood back up straight.
Jiraiya went back over to the bags he brought and opened one; it had four bento boxes in it. "Break time guys, come have some dinner." He said as he placed the boxes in front of him.
The three Chunnin sat by their sensei and the four talked about their techniques and the plan for convincing Tsunade to join the leaf village…
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It was the morning of the day Jiraiya expected Tsunade to arrive in town.
The training progressed extremely well for Sakura and Naruto, and although Sasuke now understood each individual seal, he was making no progress to actually learning the technique.
Sakura has perfected the first four katas from the Hummingbird Taijutsu scroll and she is capable of using the first two of the Flash combos.
The first of the combos teaches how to focus chakra through a person's body so they can 'Chakra Hop'. This is a technique that with the right level of control, a person can actually push off of the air as if it was solid ground. Knowing this technique gave Sakura much confidence and a whole new spectrum of Taijutsu tricks.
The second technique taught her how to use the 'Streak'. This technique was similar to her skating technique, but it's concentrated into a single thrust of chakra that slides a person forward up to ten metres in the blink of an eye. It was Sakura's new go-to move.
Naruto managed to complete the first stage after only three tries once he had heard Jiraiya's advice. He managed to do the second step with both hands before he tried to return to the first step and perfect it properly. He could now do the first and second stages of learning the rasengan one handed, and he was almost done mastering the jutsu with two hands.
Sasuke had dismantled the Hirashin sealing array into its basic seals, which Jiraiya had estimated to be around fifty. But Sasuke soon discovered that Jiraiya was wrong, he managed to take the seal to it's most basic levels and counted a total of one-hundred and eighty-two seals interconnected to form the result.
Jiraiya called for a meeting at midday at the local ramen bar…
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Jiraiya swallowed his mouthful of noodles and turned to his team of Chunnin, "Alright guys, as you know we expect for Tsunade to be arriving today at some point, and if I know Tsunade like I think I do, the first thing she'll want is a strong drink." Jiraiya said with a smirk.
Naruto paused between bowls and raised a brow, "Y'know, Aniki and I could find her the second she arrives." He said.
Jiraiya scoffed, "And how are you gonna do that?" he asked sarcastically, "You don't even know which gate she'll be entering from."
Naruto smiled as he was passed his fifth bowl, "I can carry Sasuke up high enough to see all three entrance gates, and even though he may not be able to see any specific faces from the height, with his Sharingan he could easily see chakra signatures, ain't that right?" Naruto said turning towards his brother.
Sasuke just nodded as he continued to eat his meal.
Jiraiya nodded with a frown, "Okay, I guess that'll work. But remember to wait for me before trying to talk to her, alright?" he asked.
Sasuke nodded, "Obviously." He said as he rolled his eyes.
Jiraiya smiled, "When you finish that bowl you two better get started, if we're unlucky then she might already be here and we'll have to find her the old fashioned way." He said with a chuckle.
Naruto quickly downed the contents of his bowl and stood with a burp, "Thanks for the meal old man!" Naruto yelled to the old chef, who smiled and waved.
"Come back anytime!"
Sasuke stood as well and activated one of his many anti-gravity seals, "Let's go Otouto." he said.
Sasuke wrapped his chain around the handle of Naruto's sword and Naruto lifted into the air, lifting the feather light Sasuke along with him, Sasuke looked down, "Sakura-chan, I'll activate my new pulse seal to notify you when we find her, so keep it with you." He said as the duo rose above the buildings and high into the air.
Naruto stopped when they were above triple the height of all the buildings in the town, "Can you see all the gates Aniki?" Naruto asked as he looked down.
Sasuke was sitting on the weight of his weapon, using it as a makeshift chair, he activated his Sharingan, "Yeah I can see the people walking through the gates, you know anything that might give me a clue as to what her chakra signature is like?" Sasuke asked as the two hovered.
Naruto frowned, "Umm, well she's the granddaughter of the Shodaime, so her chakra should have a relative frequency to what mine looks like when I use wood style jutsu." Naruto said, sounding confused as to what he just said.
Sasuke looked up with a raised brow, "Where'd that explanation come from?" he asked.
Naruto grinned foxily, "My inbuilt team of specialists." He said cheekily.
Sasuke looked back to the gates and kept watch, "We could be here for a while." He said.
Naruto nodded and pulled out a balloon, he blew it up and held it in his hand, "In that case I'm gonna practice my control." Naruto said as he tried to complete step three of the Rasengan in his two hands.
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Sasuke swung lightly as he saw two chakra signatures enter through the eastern gate, two hours later than Jiraiya estimated, "I think I found her Naruto." He said as he maximised his sight.
By straining his Sharingan, Sasuke could see that the chakra signatures came from someone with similar chakra to Naruto's wood chakra, and a person who was obviously leaning towards medical ninja status because of the healing chakra in her system.
Naruto stopped messing with his training, dropping the remains of the fifteenth balloon he had accidentally exploded with only one hand. "Well let's go say hi!" Naruto said with a cheer as he began to slowly float towards the gate.
Sasuke sighed and activated his pulse seal, thus the seal Sakura held echoed the pulse. "She'll know we found Tsunade now." he said as he was towed along towards the Medical sannin.
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Jiraiya swung a punch at the airborne Sakura's unprotected back, she used her chakra to instinctively 'hop' higher into the air.
She turned and hopped again, this time pushing towards him, she began swiping with a claw.
Jiraiya barely ducked under the swipe and leapt back as he felt a small pulse of chakra that wasn't Sakura's. "Is that the tag?" he asked.
Sakura landed and pulled the tag out of her pouch, it was lighting up blue in the bottom right corner. "Yep, by the looks of it Tsunade is entering from the east gate." She said as she turned to catch the two teammates of hers.
Jiraiya followed thinking, 'I wonder why she took so long, knowing Tsunade it would only be if either a debt collector found her or someone stopped her… who would try to stop and angry overpowered drunk woman?' Jiraiya frowned in thought as the two high tailed it to Sasuke's position.
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Naruto and Sasuke sat on top of a building stealthily, they were observing Tsunade and her apprentice while waiting for Jiraiya and Sakura. "Why can't we just talk to her aniki?" Naruto said for the hundredth time.
Sasuke sighed, "Because sensei told us not to draw her attention to us," he then saw the woman pause in her walking and look directly at the sign they were hiding behind, "then again it might be a moot point." He said as he stood up into direct sight.
Tsunade looked at him while her assisted looked in the general direction, trying to find what she was looking at. Sasuke bowed in respect to show he was no threat as Naruto stepped out next to him and waved.
Tsunade stood, observing the two for a moment, she then waved them down with a 'come here', gesture.
Sasuke smirked, "She is amazing, I can't believe she sensed us from this distance." He muttered.
Naruto blinked, "Can we go now?" he asked with a smile.
Sasuke just grunted an affirmation and leapt off of the roof and began a short jog to the sannin's position, Naruto hovered down next to him and followed.
The two stopped in front of Tsunade and bowed in respect, "Tsunade-sama, Good afternoon." Sasuke said.
Tsunade raised a brow, "Well you're quite polite for such a young one, what do you want?" she asked as she turned to them with a frown, 'Why are leaf ninjas trying to track me? Does it have anything to do with Orochimaru's offer?' she thought.
Naruto crouched in midair, shocking the two medics, "Ero-sensei wanted us to find you so that he could talk to ya, and Hokage-Jiji says hi by the way." Naruto said with a smile.
Tsunade raised a brow at Naruto's behaviour and words, Sasuke clarified, "We call our temporary sensei and team leader Ero-sensei due to his overly perverse personality. He is your old teammate, Jiraiya. Naruto is close to the Sandaime so he refers to him as 'Jiji'."
Tsunade nodded slowly, "Ok, since when does Jiraiya teach a gennin team?" she asked.
Naruto frowned and then a voice from behind Tsunade answers, "I'd never teach a gennin team, but the strongest Rookie Chunnin squad to have existed in the last fifty years? I'm totally gonna want to have a go training them." Jiraiya said as he walked up to stand by Tsunade, with Sakura who stood next to her team, "It's good to see you Tsu-hime." He said with a wink as he placed an arm around her shoulder.
Tsunade frowned and elbowed Jiraiya 'lightly' in the stomach, he was pushed back ten metres with a grunt. "I told you no. Not until you've promised me what I want." She said as she turned to face the bent over Jiraiya.
He pulled himself to his feet, wincing at the blow he muttered in a bad impersonation of Tsunade's voice "Good to see you too Jiraiya, how are you? Wanna buy me a drink since you obviously want to talk to me?"
At the mention of 'drink' Tsunade turned to him with a smile, "Great to see you Jiraiya! Let's get that drink!" she said as she hooked her arm with his and began to tow him to the nearest dinner parlour, Squad seven and her apprentice following after them.
The apprentice turned to the trio, "Umm, hi my name is Shizune. I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice in medical arts, and this is Tonton," she said with a squeeze of the little piglet in her arms.
Sakura introduced the team, "My name is Sakura, and this is Naruto and Sasuke." She said with a gesture to the floating Naruto and Sasuke.
Shizune smiled, "It's nice to meet you all." She said brightly.
The four entered the parlour and sat down in the booth Jiraiya and Tsunade were occupying. Shizune and Sakura sat on one side with Tsunade and Sasuke and Naruto sat on the other with Jiraiya.
"…expected you to be here a few hours ago, was there a hold up? Or have you just gotten slower?" Jiraiya said with a smirk as everyone sat down.
Tsunade had almost no outward reaction to Jiraiya's words, but with Sasuke's Sharingan he saw the tightening of her muscles under her skin. Shizune outwardly gasped before pretending she saw something behind them that shocked her.
Jiraiya instantly turned serious, "So something or someone did catch you, may I ask who it was?"
Tsunade sighed, "Another debt collector." She said with a big frown.
If Jiraiya could tell she was lying, he didn't show it. He busted into laughter, "Only you would be so disgruntled about doing the right thing!" he said.
A waitress came to their booth, "Good evening everyone, can I interest you in any drinks?" she asked.
Tsunade went to order when Jiraiya placed a hand on hers, silencing her, " Get us six bottles of your finest sake, and six saucers please." He said as he handed the waitress a handful of notes.
She spluttered, "Um I'm not allowed to serve to those under age," she said glancing at the three teens.
Sasuke smirked and looked into her eyes with his Sharingan, using basic hypnosis he muttered, "It is alright, we are ninja. You are allowed to serve us this once." He spoke a soothing low voice.
The waitress nodded, "Yeah, I am allowed. Just this once." She muttered before writing the order down and walking away.
Jiraiya smirked, "You shouldn't hypnotize people unless they deserve it Sasuke." He said with a chuckle.
Tsunade smiled, "You've got a wild bunch Jiraiya," she said before sighing, "So, what is it you need to talk to me about?" she said, knowing it was inevitable.
Jiraiya nodded, "There are a few things actually. Firstly, Orochimaru attacked the leaf village during the Chunnin exams.
Shizune tried to fake shock at the same time Tsunade nodded, "I know." The two looked at each other, now knowing that on some level their cover was blown.
Once again, Jiraiya had no reaction, "Secondly, we need your medical expertise, so many ninjas were injured on extreme levels. Naruto, tell her about your girl." Jiraiya said.
Naruto nodded and pulled out a picture Shino had given him on the night of the dinner. It was the picture he took of Naruto and Hinata sleeping in a cuddled position in the Forest of Death tower. "This is my Hinata-chan, we were just becoming closer as friends when her spine was damaged. She can't walk, her dream of being the hyuuga heiress is taken from her. I will stay by her even if you don't help, but I can't heal her and I know that is one thing she truly wants at this point in life," Naruto paused as tears came to his eye and he looked at the picture himself, "it hurts, it hurts so much that I can't give her the one thing she needs." He held the picture to his chest and stared Tsunade in the eye, "if there is any chance you can heal her, I will take you there to do so. By force if I have to." Naruto promised.
Tsunade saw the pain in Naruto's heart through his eyes, "That is something I can understand, doing absolutely anything to see the one you love again, happy and standing by your side."
Jiraiya and Sakura were happy at the thought of them winning over Tsunade, but Sasuke saw with his Sharingan that something was wrong, and judging by Shizune's scared look, he was right.
The waitress appeared and noticed the serious atmosphere, "I'll leave this here." She said quietly as she placed down the ordered drinks.
Tsunade nodded, "thanks," she waited til they were alone again then turned to Naruto, "I will come heal her, give me a week and I promise I will heal her Naruto." Tsunade said as she reached over the table and held his shaking hand.
Naruto held his sobs in, but the tears flowed, "Arigatou, Tsunade-baachan." He said with a watery smile.
Tsunade was annoyed by his choice of words and was about to reprimand him for what he called her when Jiraiya's voice began. "Don't be offended Tsu-hime, these three show their care for someone through their use of familial terms. The fact that Naruto already speaks of you as family after barely knowing you means a lot." He whispered quietly.
Tsunade still frowned, "What about his actual family? I doubt they'd like him calling other people his mum and dad."
Naruto couldn't hold back his sadness in the already depressed state he was in, and the tears began to flood. Sasuke held him in a hug, "Sakura, help me with him." He ordered as Sasuke pulled Naruto onto his feet and the two escorted him out.
Tsunade watched with tears in her eyes at the pain Naruto held on his face that she got a glimpse of, "Wha-what just…?" her question trailed off as Sasuke stormed back towards the table as Sakura and Naruto left.
Sasuke slammed his hands on the table and glared at Tsunade with his Sharingan burning into her, "If we didn't need you, I'd kill you for hurting my Otouto." He said heatedly as his killing intent poured over the dinner parlour.
Jiraiya placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and forcefully suppressed the killing intent with his chakra, "Stop Sasuke, she didn't know. I haven't even been able to tell her all the news yet, take some sake, he might want it." Jiraiya ordered.
Sasuke took a few deep breaths to calm himself, "Sorry sensei," he murmured before grabbing two off the six sake bottles and turning away, "We'll be at the hotel, trying to put him back together." Sasuke said as he left.
Shizune turned to her master, "May I please go check on them? He seemed really hurt." She asked hopefully.
Tsunade nodded, "By all means, take Sakura's bottle with you." Tsunade said with a frown.
Shizune grabbed her own bottle and Sakura's and left quickly with a bow, running to catch up to the Chunnin squad.
The two sannin sat in silence for a few minutes, Tsunade thinking over what just happened, and Jiraiya counting down the minutes in his head before he knew Naruto would be focussed again.
Tsunade broke the silence and turned back to Jiraiya, "I don't understand, what did I say?"
Jiraiya looked at Tsunade with a small frown, "Do you know what his name is?" Jiraiya asked.
Tsunade nodded and looked at Jiraiya confused, "he introduced himself as Naruto," she said.
Jiraiya nodded, "Naruto Uzumaki." Jiraiya said.
Tsunade froze and stared at her bottle of sake, "He's Minato's boy." She said with quiet realisation.
Jiraiya nodded, "He's finally found love in his life, a real family." Jiraiya said quietly.
Tsunade stood, angry and confused, "Don't you get it?! if he's Kushina and Minato's child then he IS my grandson!" Tsunade yelled with tears in her eyes.
Jiraiya nodded, a confused and disappointed look on his face, "Yeah, and you left him in the leaf when he was a baby, all alone." Jiraiya said with a frown.
Tsunade's face was angered, "Jiraiya," she said oddly quiet. "Is there any chance that you are lying?" she said.
Jiraiya looked at her sceptically, "What? No, that was Naruto Uzumaki, your grandson thanks to Minato. What's with the questions and the anger?" he asked, obviously confused.
Tsunade took a chug from her bottle of sake before walking out, "The council told me he died in the sealing, I have to see him." She said with tears in her eyes as she walked out.
Jiraiya sat in shock, 'the council…?' he thought in confusion before grabbing the left over drinks and running out after her, "Tsunade, the hotel is this way!" he yelled. Tsunade nodded before running up to him, the two walked at a fast pace to the hotel at the same time the Naruto squad and Shizune sat in his and Sasuke's room.
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Naruto lay with his head resting on Sakura's lap, "It's okay Naru-nii, remember what we talked about? They'll never truly leave you, Minato-sama is always present." She said as she rubbed his head.
Sasuke sat next to Naruto and patted the journal, which Naruto was holding to his chest, "She's right, as long as you have his journal; you have a link to him." Sasuke said comfortingly.
Shizune sat on the bed next to the three, "Tsunade-sama didn't mean to be harsh or hurtful, you know that right Naruto?"
Naruto just nodded quietly as his tears finally subsided, "I know, I shouldn't have broken down like that. I'm such a moron." He said as he tried to sit up.
Sakura pulled him back down and continued massaging his head, now sending medical chakra to her hand and began simulating relaxation. "Rest Naruto, have a sleep."
Naruto knew what she was doing, and just nodded, "'Kay Nee-chan." He mumbled as he drifted into a light sleep.
The other three sat in silence for a moment as Sakura pushed Naruto further into sleep, he was now so far out of it, it would take a punch to the face to wake him up.
Shizune sighed, "I'm sorry for what happened, could you tell me what happened to his parents so that I may understand?"
Sasuke nodded and took the journal from Naruto's grasp. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki, his birth was on the day of the Kyuubi attack." Sasuke said.
Recognition came to shizune's face, "So, he's Minato-kun's boy? He's my second cousin?" she said in shock, revealing her relation to Naruto.
Sakura took her hands away from Naruto's face. "His what?!" she said wide eyed as Sasuke stared at Shizune along with her.
Shizune blinked in shock at their reaction, "Oh, umm I thought he was Kushina and Minato's son. Minato was my cousin since Tsunade was my aunt-in law" Shizune explained.
Sasuke quickly pieced together what she was saying, "So, Tsunade was Minato-sama's Mother?" he asked.
Shizune nodded, "I have a feeling you didn't know that then…" she mumbled as the three sat in silence.
The room's door opened, revealing a teary Tsunade and a confused Jiraiya.
Tsunade walked to the end of Naruto's bed, watching him sleep.
Jiraiya coughed, gaining the attention of the others, "Will you three come with me outside? I have some things to explain." Jiraiya said.
The four of them left the room, leaving Tsunade to stare at the sleeping Naruto in awe, "Little Naru-chan," she muttered as she came to accept who he was.
Naruto's face formed a scared look in his sleep and he rolled onto his side, muttering things and breathing heavily as though he was having a nightmare.
Tsunade walked over and sat next to him on the bed and patted his forehead, his muttering stopped but he still frowned as he rolled back to the middle of the bed.
Tsunade sat with her back to the headboard and hugged Naruto to her side; he took a deep breath before calming in his sleep. She smiled as she watched his peaceful face.
Tsunade sat in silence and stroked circles on her lost grandson's back, "I'll never leave you again," she muttered quietly.
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It was midnight when Jiraiya finished his explanation of what Tsunade told him and what he personally thought. The four of them stayed in Jiraiya's room that night so that Tsunade and Naruto could rest. Tomorrow is another day after all.
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Chapter end.
*****OKAY So many reviewers have given up on this story when they got to the point of Sasuke potentially learning the Hirashin. THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. for the sake of the story i won't give what he actually achieves at this point thanks to studying an SS-rank seal, but trust me, he doesn't learn the Hirashin like Minato********
Thanx for reading again everyone! Just wanted to tell you a little about the future of part one of this story.
The major stepping stones in the story line are as follows once the search for Tsunade arc follows. I won't give too much information.
Establishing Uzumaki clan,
Naruto's first mission as chunnin leader: Idate's racing mission,
Sasuke get's first mission as Chunnin: Solo mission, City defence.
Sakura's first mission as team leader: Leading Shikamaru and Lee on a mission.
At the time as ^that^: Snow Mission.
Sound Five Appears
3 Year training trip: End of Part 1 of my 3 part story.
And as an end note i plan to be updating every Sunday at the minimum.
R&R!