I don't own Naruto and I never have, probably never will. Can never tell for sure though.
Nightfall!
Chapter 21: Ninja Training.
Naruto, Jiraiya and Fuu exited the gravity made tunnel a short time after they escaped Taki undetected. But Jiraiya was fast to point out that just because they are outside of the village does not make them safe. Both jinchuuriki agreed completely and the three ninja took off at top speeds heading back towards the Land of Fire.
They ran in silence for about half an hour before Jiraiya eventually slowed. "We should be safe now, they will take awhile to find out your missing Fuu, and even then, Taki's trackers will loose your trail when we entered the tunnel that Naruto made" Jiraiya said.
"How long do you think we have before they catch on?" Fuu asked.
"It's hard to tell, it all depends on how fast they discover that you are no longer in the village. But even then I would say we have at least a day. They will also be looking for Naruto considering that he took out four of their jounin" Jiraiya said.
"So we will be long gone before they even find out you have been able to escape the village" Naruto added.
"I still cant believe I am actually out of that place. It's impossible to describe how happy I am" Fuu said smiling widely.
"Well it's good to have you with us" Jiraiya said.
"Yeah you will fit in easily with everyone else. The whole group has a troubled past and I guess we are all just looking for a place to belong" Naruto said.
"A place to belong... I like that" Fuu replied.
"Well I hope that we can give that to you" Naruto said.
"I already feel more accepted than I have ever been so I wouldn't worry about that" Fuu said.
(Taki)
Two men stood over the dead body of a Taki chunin as the looked down over the village. "This place has changed a lot since I was last here" said a tall man who had bright green eyes and wore a white hood and face mask to hide his other features behind his Akatsuki robe.
His partner looked to be more plant than man. Two separate halves of his body were black and the other white. Around him was a large venus fly trap like plant. "The village seems to be busy at the moment. There are ninja running around everywhere. Perhaps it would be best to come back later Kakuzu" the plant like man said in two separate voices, a different voice for the white and black halves.
"No, we are here now. Let's find this damn jinchuuriki so I can get back to making money. I don't know why you are here anyway Zetsu?" Kakuzu said.
"Because Pein-sama ordered me to join you in locating the Nanabi, he thought you might need some help. And he has to look for a new partner for you, after you killed the last one" Zetsu answered.
"Why would I need help? I already know where the Nanabi is, the leaders of Taki haven't allowed it to exit this village in almost one hundred years" Kakuzu said.
"Still a fight with a jinchuuriki is rarely easy" the White half of Zetsu said.
"Just shut up and go make yourself useful by finding out why all of the shinobi are running around the village like headless chickens" Kakuzu ordered.
"Alright that sounds easy enough" the Black half said before Zetsu dissolved into the ground.
It was about fifteen minutes before Zetsu returned. "I have found out why the village is on high alert" the white side of Zetsu informed Kakuzu.
Kakuzu waited a moment but Zetsu didn't say anything. "Well Tell me what it is! Before I kill you!" he ordered.
"It seems they cannot locate the Nanabi jinchuuriki. She had a seal on her that let the ninja of Taki locate her, but it disappeared a few hours ago. They also haven't been able to find her yet but all paths into and out of the village are were secure" Zetsu answered.
"So we have a jinchuuriki somewhere alone. We need to find the Nanabi immediately, if we can get to her now we wont have to deal with any Taki ninja" Kakuzu said.
"I will begin my search, it might be for the best if you wait here. With a whole village of ninja searching for the jinchuuriki we don't don't want to be spotted" Zetsu replied.
"Fine just get going" Kakuzu grumbled.
Zetsu once again dissolved into the ground. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours, but still no sign of the plan like Zetsu's return. It was dusk when the ground warped and Zetsu returned.
"Did you find the Nanabi?" Kakuzu asked.
"No, the jinchuuriki is certainly not in the village. I am certain of it" Zetsu replied.
"Then there is no point in us being here, lets look around outside for a trail" Kakuzu said as the pair turned around leaving Taki and the people to their search.
(The Next Day)
"Well here we are" Naruto said as they entered the Yoinokuchi hideout in the Land of Fire.
"This pace is huge! But why do you live underground?" Fuu asked.
"Well we have to stay hidden, a large number of our organization are missing ninja much like yourself. We live underground so that it will be much harder for any trackers to find us, although we are pretty well hidden with Itachi's genjutsu's and Jiraiya sensei's seals keeping people away" Naruto said.
"I see, uh is Jiraiya... the Jiraiya-sama, one of the legendary three ninja of Konoha?" Fuu asked eagerly as they both walked down to where the bedrooms were.
"Yeah, he retired from Konoha's military shortly after he found me in the Land of Forests" Naruto said.
"I never thought I would have a chance to meat a famous ninja like him. This is great" Fuu said.
"This is a dangerous life Fuu, I should have told you earlier but we work as a mercenary group. Right now we are in the middle of arrangements to go to the Land of Water and end the bloodline wars. If you don't want to be involved with that you don't have to, you can even stay here as long as you want, but you need to know that we may be seen as criminals and we could soon find ourselves in the bingo books of all of the elemental nations. In the end it doesn't matter however, because we put our lives on the line to do what we think is right. Now knowing this, are you willing to fight with us?" Naruto said.
"Well, you saved me from a life that was like a living hell. The and I swore that I would repay you one day, so the very least that I can do is join you and I will fight with you until I die, I promise!" Fuu said.
"I'm glad to hear that, but first we need to start your training to be a proper ninja and not just a weapon. So once you find your room, return to the main area. I'm going to be your sensei until we get to the Land of Water" Naruto said.
Half an hour later Naruto was standing in a field alone. 'Looks like she is starting to get the hang of picking decent hiding places, but she hasn't learned to suppress her chakra signature yet' Naruto thought as he tossed a small rock into a tall tree causing Fuu to jump out rubbing her head.
"How did you find me that time? I was perfectly hidden" Fuu pouted.
"Actually your positioning was perfect, but your chakra signature gave you away, at close range even non sensor types would have found you. Still you found a good place to hide. It was in a good position out of the way and let you see and hear everything in the area. In the ninja world if you pick a bad location for an ambush or if you are found eavesdropping on a conversation it could lead to your death. Also it could cause false information that gets a large group of allies killed" Naruto informed the mint haired kunoichi.
"Next we have to work on your stealth. To do that I want you to try and get past me and back home without me noticing. To help you out, I will not be looking for your chakra signature. When ever you fail you go back to the start which will be this spot here. Now lets begin shall we" Naruto said before jumping off back in the direction of the Yoinokuchi hideout.
(Taki)
"It appears that Fuu has indeed left the village. There is no sign of her or the young boy that the team watching her mentioned. If I may Shibuki-sama but I think this was an attack on the village from Konoha the head adviser and jounin commander said.
"Konoha? Why do you say that?" Shibuki asked.
"Well as you know, Konoha lost their jinchuuriki five years ago. Maybe they came here to capture the Nanabi as a replacement" the Jounin said.
"That may be a motive but there is certainly no evidence to suggest this" Shibuki replied.
"Yes I suppose you are right, also we have still found nothing in terms of how they escaped the village" the jounin replied..
"Well, begin searching outside the village. Is there anything else you need to report?" Shibuki asked.
"Uh yes Shibuki-sama, the high eastern ninja escape tunnel didn't report in this morning. We sent a team to investigate, they should be back shortly" the Jounin said.
"Very well, you are dismissed" Shibuki said before turning around to face the window.
(Outside Taki)
"Did you find any tracks?" Kakuzu asked.
"I did, but they didn't last long, they used the river to wash off there sent. Looks like we are going to have to tell Pein sama we don't know where the Nanabi is. All I was able to tell was that they were heading towards the Land of Fire and that there were three of them" Zetsu said.
"Just great, all that work and we came up empty, I could have collected several bounties in the time I have been looking for jinchuuriki. This trip has cost me money" Kakuzu said angrily.
"I think Pein-sama will be more concerned with the fact that there are now three Bijuu that we cannot locate. The Ichibi, Kyuubi and now the Nanabi" Zetsu replied.
"Ah forget this, I am going to the nearest bounty office to collect a target" Kakuzu said before storming off"
"You know, I don't think we will ever find a partner that he wont kill" Black Zetsu said.
"Yes I am just glad it isn't our job to find one" white replied.
(Yoinokuchi Hideout)
The sun had set before Fuu eventually made it past Naruto and she was starving. "You did good today Fuu, I know it took you awhile to get past me, but the fact still remains that you did" Naruto said.
"Yes I am rather proud of myself" Fuu said happily as they sat down to eat a meal that Jiraiya had prepared for them while they were training.
"It will be another few days before the others return and we are told what our next moves are. But until then I think we should keep training together, unless you would prefer to train alone?" Naruto asked.
"No I would love to continue to train with you, I have improved so much just after one day but I want to learn more, your a really good sensei" Fuu said.
"Well I do my best, Jiraiya and Itachi are a lot better than I am. And I would say Zabuza is as well, he trained Haku after all and she is one of the best people at remaining hidden and silently stalking that I have come across. That is why I am hoping that he will train you during our time in the Land of Water" Naruto said.
"What's he like?" she asked eagerly.
"He's your everyday run of the mill mass murdering psychopath" Naruto answered.
"Oh" Fuu said slightly shocked and less enthusiastic about the idea.
Naruto burst into laughter at this. "I'm just kidding he's not a bad guy at all really" Naruto said.
"Oh so hes not a mass murdering psychopath then?" She said with a sigh of relief.
"No he is, he just isn't that bad of a person once you get to know him. He wouldn't be alive today if he wasn't. He graduated from the academy in the bloody mist after all" Naruto said.
"I'm not sure if I like that or not" Fuu said confused about the mixed signals she was receiving about Zabuza.
"That's exactly how I feel about him" Naruto said with a smile.
"But aren't you worried about having him around?" Fuu asked tentatively.
"Nah not really, he is a loyal enough guy, he only became a missing ninja and tried to kill off the Mizukage and the water daimyo, because of the bloodline purges. So he is basically a good man who has done horrible things. Like the man who decided to make the last princess gale movie... It was horrible" Naruto said.
Fuu broke out laughing. "Are you really comparing Zabuza to a movie producer?" she chuckled.
"You're right I am being far too hash on Zabuza. That movie was far worse than anything the demon of the bloody mist has ever done. You could shove that man in a room with Orochimaru and he would still be the most evil thing in the room" Naruto joked with a smile causing Fuu to break out in another fit of laughter.
"I have never laughed like that before. Thank you" Fuu said.
"I figured you could use a laugh after all that has happened to you. I'm glad I could help" Naruto said.
"You have done enough already" she said.
"Nah you can never do to much to help out a friend" Naruto replied.
Fuu didn't answer at first and could only smile in response but eventually her composure returned. "It's weird not having to live in the branches of that massive tree. And I think today has been the first day of my life where I went the whole day without being called demon or having someone glare at me" she said.
"Well I could do that for you if you miss it so much" Naruto joked.
"Don't you dare!" she replied with a smile. "I'm really glad I met you" she added.
"You know so am I, it's always good to make some new friends and the more the merrier in our group" Naruto said.
"Yeah you have mentioned others, but where are they?" Fuu asked.
"Well Itachi sensei and Zabuza are helping the resistance in the Land of Water. And the others are out on a mission, they should be back in a few days. I think you will really like Akimi and Haku, there kunoichi around our age, although Haku is two years older. Gaara is a jinchuuriki like us. And Akaru is a really nice guy" Naruto said.
"Another jinchuuriki, which one dose he carry?" Fuu asked.
"Gaara carries the Ichibi, he was treated badly just like us, but Gaara's father the Kazekage declared him a failure as a host and tried to have him executed. So in many ways Gaara has had it worse than we have" Naruto said.
"I never knew my parents, that's why it was so easy to pick me as the host. The Nanabi host died and my parents died capturing it again after it reformed" Fuu explained.
"I never knew my parents either. All I know is they died the night I was born, the night Kyuubi attacked Konoha" Naruto said sadly.
"Looks like we have a few things in common" Fuu said.
"Yeah we do. Anyway, I am going to get in some personal training before going to bed. I'll see you in the morning. Night Fuu" Naruto said as he stood up.
"Goodnight Naruto" She said happily before he left the room going upstairs to his room. After he left Fuu also decided that it would be best for an early night a she knew that training with Naruto would not be easy.
(Unknown Location)
Nine projections of people stood on the large hands of a massive statue that had nine eyes all closed.
"Have you found anything?" a man with Rinnegan eyes asked authoritatively.
"No, sorry Pein-sama. The Nanabi jinchuuriki seems to have escaped Taki before we could get there. With the help of at least two others I believe" Zetsu said.
"I see, this is rather disturbing news. Deidara, how well are the jinchuuriki in the Land of Earth protected?" the man called Pein asked.
"They aren't, capturing them will be rather easy. The old man Oonoki never really liked jinchuuriki and saw them as a liability. They are both just wandering around somewhere in the Land of Earth" A young man with long blond hair tied up in a ponytail with a bang covering his left eye replied.
"And Sasori, what of the Ichibi?" Pein asked.
"There are no sightings of him, I have almost all of my spys looking into it, but he hasn't turned up anywhere" Sasori said.
"Looks like you are chasing a ghost huh Sasori-sama" Deidara said.
"We don't have it any better, we have been everywhere in search of the Kyuubi but he hasn't surfaced" Kisame said.
"The Land of lightning was easy, both jinchuuriki live inside the village are are relatively happy, but capturing them will be difficult" Hiruko said.
"We also can't get near Kiri while the Bloodline Wars are going on so we will have to wait, the last two months things have started looking good for the Kekkei Genkai side. They have been winning quite a few battles" Kisame said.
"If we interfere in the war we could end it and hunt the jinchuuriki at the same time" Hiruko suggested.
"No for now let them be, we are not ready to seal the jinchuuriki yet so when the time comes we will hunt them. If the war is still going it will only serve to distract Kiri allowing us to take the Mizukage with less difficulty" Pein said.
"The Gedo Mezo wont be ready to have anything sealed in it for another three and half years. We have time to wait. Until then keep your eyes out for the missing jinchuuriki, and if possible capture them. Now we are going to need money for this so I want you all to start collecting bounties and missions from any bounty office. Only take on the highest paying jobs" Pein said.
"Yes Pein-sama" they all chorused before the projections faded away. Leaving only the man with the Rinnegan eyes and a kunoichi with a flower in her hair.
"That's three jinchuuriki that have gone missing. Do you think that there could be someone else out there looking for them?" she asked.
"It's unlikely, but not impossible. But if they were being captured what purpose would it have. No I think they all left of there own free will. Those three jinchuuriki were all disliked to the extremes in their villages at least that's what the information from our early scouting reports told us. They probably fled there homes first chance they got" Pein replied.
"But Zetsu said that there were two people that helped the Nanabi escape" the woman said.
"Then I think they offered the host a better life. Perhaps that is indeed where the others are. But we wont know for sure until we find the Nanabi" Pein replied before he too faded away.
Over the next few days news spread over the elemental nations that the Nanabi jinchuuriki had gone missing. Taki placed a reward of then million ryo for her safe return to the village. And a further ten million for the deaths of the two unknown ninja that 'Kidnapped' her from the village.
Naruto just stared at the book with wide eyes when Jiraiya showed it to him. "Does this make us criminals now? Naruto asked.
"Hm not really as we are not mentioned by name. And Fuu is only wanted because we was supposedly kidnapped. So the only people who are considered official criminals in our organization are Itachi and Zabuza" Jiraiya said.
"Well that's good I guess" Naruto said.
"Yes not being wanted men is usually a good thing" Jiraiya chuckled.
Fuu was a little worried when she saw the Bingo Book entry but if she was honest with herself she didn't care. The last few days she had spent training with Naruto were the best of her life. At times she even found herself absentmindedly staring at Naruto and even she didn't know why. In the end she just thought it was because she had been learning so much from him that she wanted to see how he held himself as a person.
Naruto for his part enjoyed the time he spent training Fuu, she was a little more reserved than Akimi in that she didn't try and turn everything into a game and would do what ever it was that Naruto asked her to do while training without procrastinating by attacking Naruto in a mock ambush rather than complete the task. But at the same time she was more lighthearted than Haku who was always cool calm and collected.
Naruto and Fuu were just getting ready to go out and train when the entrance to the hideout opened and in walked Akimi and her brother followed by Gaara and lastly Haku.
"Hey, I see you have been creating havoc in the ninja world again" Akimi said the moment she saw Naruto.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked rhetorically.
"I mean you kidnapping the Nanabi jinchuuriki" Akimi chuckled.
"He didn't kidnap me, I chose to go with him" Fuu said defensively.
"I know, Naruto wouldn't kidnap someone. He's too much of a softy" Akimi said as she walked over to Fuu. "Hi I'm Akimi Hayaku, and you must be the new girl"
"My name is Fuu. I'm an orphan and I was never told what my last name was, so I don't have one. It's nice to meet you Akimi" Fuu replied.
Naruto went around the group introducing Fuu to everyone else before Jiraiya entered the room. "Oh good your all here. Sit down, we don't have much time, and I still need to fix Gaara's seal" the Toad Sage said.
"What don't we have much time for?" Akaru asked.
"We have to leave, Itachi is organizing a boat to Land of water in two days. It will only take three hours to get to the port but, fixing Gaara's seal could take almost a day" Jiraiya said.
End Chapter!
Okay little bit of fluff, and some reactions to Fuu going missing. Nothing Major happened. Things should pick up again in a chapter or two.