Well, having idea is one thing, but turning it into a story is a completely different matter, you know.
But anyway, I'm back with Chapter 21! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; that right belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 21: A New… Old Mission!?
"So, our target is Tsunade-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin, just like you?"
Jiraiya nodded to answer Sasuke's question. "Yes."
"Wow, that's incredible," Sakura said in awe. "To think a kunoichi can match the power of someone like you…"
"You will be surprised, little girl," Jiraiya smirked. "Tsunade is one of the most powerful kunoichi in the entire world. Her power must be on par with, if not exceed, the power of the Mizukage. During battle, she usually doesn't bother using flashy ninjutsu or genjutsu, although I assure you she is perfectly capable of utilizing both; just a punch of hers is enough to reduce the whole battlefield into debris. She is also the best medical ninja across the whole Elemental Continent; healing people who were cut in half is just a child's game to her. Some people even rumored that she had reached immortality herself."
"Wew," Naruto whistled, feigning impressed. "A legendary medic with power to shatter enemies in a single punch… Sounds really like your style, Sakura. Maybe you should ask to be her apprentice when we meet her…"
Sakura blushed slightly, but smiled nonetheless. Because she herself was thinking that too.
"Good luck with that," Jiraiya snorted. "Strong as she might be, she is still incredibly stubborn. Since the day she was promoted to jonin, she has only taken one kunoichi as her apprentice, who is now traveling together with her. Not to mention that the apprentice is someone very close to her too."
"But the reason for us to bring her back is not simply to cure Hinata. There must be something else behind the Hokage's decision to so easily assign us this mission right upon Naruto's request, am I right?" Sasuke asked sharply, and Naruto had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes.
Just leave it to Sasuke to figure out the true meaning behind everything.
"Sometimes you are just too sharp for your own good, Sasuke," Jiraiya shook his head. "Yes, Hiruzen-sensei and the council also want Tsunade to go back to the village to act as the Head of Konoha Medical Corp. After the invasion, Konoha, while winning decisively, still suffered from a drastic decrease in political position. Tsunade is too great of an asset to Konohagakure; bringing her back to the village will improve the power of the village a lot."
Then suddenly he giggled. "And she is incredibly hot, too…"
"So that's the main reason you want to bring her back, huh," Sasuke scoffed in disgust. Jiraiya raised his hands in defense.
"Hey, hey, brat. You will soon need to learn about the beauty of the female body if you want to revive the Uchiha clan someday. Why not trying it now?"
"Don't poison Sasuke-kun's mind with your filthy thoughts!" Sakura yelled, and kicked Jiraiya in the balls. The two other males winced.
This girl is too brutal for her own good…
"Anyway… Where are we going to go to find her?" Naruto questioned. The last time, they had found Tsunade in Tanzaku, a small town not far from Konohagakure.
Jiraiya, now having managed to stand back up, answered. "Well, according to my source, right now she is in Tanzaku Town, but she is going to leave there this morning to Takigakure."
Naruto blinked. That was new.
"Takigakure?" Sakura pondered. "Isn't that the village almost no one knows exactly its whereabout? Why is she going there?"
Jiraiya nodded. "It is true. However, I don't think her destination is Takigakure itself. There is a small town near the village named Takayama, which is famous for the greatest sake brewery in the whole Elemental Continent. And the first brew of the year is coming in a few days. I don't think Tsunade wants to miss that."
"But isn't Tanzaku Town the biggest gambling district in the Land of Fire?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is she doing there anyway?"
"Well, Tsunade is not only well known as a legendary medic; she is also known as the worst gambler in the world," Jiraiya scratched his head. "Her luck in gambling is so abysmal she can lose even with a four of a kind. Sadly, she likes gambling, and…"
"… So the so-called Legendary Sannin consists of a pervert, a homosexual pedophile and a sucky gambler who likes to get drunk," Sasuke remarked dryly. "I lost every bit of respect I used to have for you, if there was any."
"Ouch, burn," Naruto winced.
"Somehow I suddenly have an irresistible urge to punch something," a blonde busty woman muttered in her breath.
After three days of walking nonstop, the team finally arrived at Takayama Town.
They had decided to go straight to Tsunade's next destination without following her trails. After all, even if they tried to go after her, they wouldn't be able to catch up with her like that, considering she had had half a day of headstart before them.
"Wow, this town is not the same as I thought."
Naruto marveled when they took their first steps into the town. Anyone who saw it would have realized it's not a mere town; the fresh and clean air of the coast, the beautiful beaches with snow white sand, the old historical buildings, together with its famous brand of sake, made the rather small town a great tourist attraction. No wonder why there were so many people here.
"Well, by taking the shortcut here, we are already one day ahead of Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "If my calculation is right, she will arrive here tomorrow morning. We will have a day to rest and prepare ourselves. I doubt the talk with Tsunade tomorrow will be an easy conversation."
A tense silence followed these words. Then, Sakura raised her voice.
"Um, Jiraiya-sama… We're here to find Tsunade-sama, but we haven't met her before. How can we find her if we don't know what she looks like?"
Jiraiya scratch his head. "Well, she is blonde, and beautiful… Oh well, the best way to know is to show you what she looks like. Here."
He pulled out a photo from inside his pouch. The three children stared at the square piece of paper.
"This is Tsunade?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.
"She is so… young," Sakura agreed. "I thought she was of your age, Jiraiya-sama?"
"She is of my age, but…" Jiraiya answered with a wince. "Well, let's just say as a legendary medic, she possesses a jutsu that allows her to change her appearance to be younger than her age shows. That's why she looks like that."
"Sounds too much like a vain woman who cannot accept that she is old," Sasuke snorted.
'That's because she is one,' Naruto rolled his eyes, thinking.
Jiraiya winced again. "Don't say that to her face if you don't want to get punched into the sky, brat."
"This is stupid," the Uchiha complained. "Why should we waste our time chasing after someone like that? I should have stayed at home and trained!"
"This is a team mission, and you have accepted it," Jiraiya glared at Sasuke; there was no trace of the goofiness from before on his face. "If you go back now, the mission will be considered a failure. You don't want your first mission as a chuunin to fail, do you?"
"Ugh…" Sasuke winced. The man's words had struck right through his heart. He really didn't want to fail the very first mission he took as a chuunin.
"Fine," he spat out. "I'll go book the hotel rooms."
Then he threw a nasty glare at Naruto and walked away.
"Hey, don't glare at me!" Naruto called after him. "It is you who insisted on joining this mission!"
"Fuck you, Naruto!"
Naruto was strolling through the forest at the border of the town.
After Sasuke went back to the hotel, Sakura also left, saying that she had some supply to stock up. And Jiraiya also ditched him for his "research" at the local hot spring.
So it left Naruto with nothing to do, and he decided to take a stroll around the town.
And obviously, after such a long walking, he was tired.
Naruto sat down on the bark of a tree. He pulled out his father's kunai, stared at it and scowled lightly. He had a feeling that the seal on the knife was staring back at him as if mocking him.
He had never seen any seal so complex before. Well, he had, when fighting together with his Dad during the last War, but still… Sure, Pervy Sage had taught him a few things about fuinjutsu during his trip, but how can they expect him to break such an incredible workmanship by himself with such limited knowledge?
Gyuuki's attitude towards this didn't help him a little bit. When he showed the ox-topus the kunai, he just stared at it for a few seconds, and suddenly burst out laughing.
"Don't worry Naruto. You will understand it, sooner or later."
Yeah, that's exactly what he had said.
The problem is, how?
'It is easy Naruto. It's just that you don't have enough knowledge to understand it yet.' He heard Gyuuki speaking from inside his head.
'Yeah, very helpful,' he snarked. 'You are the grandmaster of sealing; of course everything is easy to you!'
'Well, since you're asking, I'll give you a hint. Looking at the seal itself won't help you; you have to look underneath the underneath. Think outside the box.'
'What kind of hint is that? That's not helping at all!'
Suddenly he heard a noise. He jumped up in alert, his hand immediately raised the kunai out of instinct, but it didn't seem there was any enemy at all. The noise sounded like… splashing sound. Like someone was doing the water walking exercise on a stream.
Curiousity took over Naruto's mind. He stood up and took off towards the direction of the sound.
'Uh, Naru-kun, I don't think that's a good idea…'
'Come on, Chomei-chan! I'll just take a look! What can happen?'
Tempting fate is never a smart thing to do, Naruto.
A few seconds of tree hopping led Naruto to a small waterfall in a clearing. It reminded him of the waterfall he used to train in when he was home: clean and clear; the water rolling down making a small pond at the foot of the cliff. It was just like the waterfall site in his village, except without the girls running and playing in the water.
Wait a second…
There was a girl here. She was dipping in the pond; her small, delicate right hand was trailing across the smooth skin of her left arm. Her soft, mint-colored hair seemed to glitter in the sunlight.
And she was completely naked.
'That is Fuu-chan!' Naruto heard Chomei yelling inside his head.
'Your jinchuriki?' Naruto asked in panic. He had wanted to meet another jinchuriki, but not in this situation!
'Now is not the time! Run!'
'What…?'
Right at that time, the girl turned her head. Her eyes met Naruto's.
Ooh, orange!
The pretty orange eyes narrowed, and she raised her hand.
'Uh oh, not good…'
"LIGHTNING STYLE: PERVERT BLASTER!"
And everything went flying.
"Why do I have the feeling that Naruto is doing something that makes me feel really proud of him?" Jiraiya suddenly lifted his eyes off his "research" and muttered.
"Kyaaaaaa! Pervert!"
"Well, damn."
"Ugh… what hit me?" Naruto groaned and opened his eyes. The last thing he could remember doing was staring at a naked green haired girl in a pond, then getting blasted in the face by an orange beam of lightning.
How can lightning be orange, anyway?
"Well, I hit you. Now give me a reason why I shouldn't blast you into oblivion for peeping on me while I'm bathing."
Naruto shot up upon hearing the voice looming over him.
Fuu was glaring down at him with an annoyed expression on her face. Thankfully for him, she was fully dressed now.
"I'm really sorry!" Naruto bolted up on his feet. "I didn't know you were bathing over there; I just thought that there was someone here and I needed to check!"
"Uh huh," Fuu raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced.
'Fuu-chan tends to get very violent when someone peeps on her,' Chomei quipped from inside Naruto's head.
'Oh, yeah, thank you very much,' Naruto shot back; his voice was full of sarcasm. 'Why didn't you mention that before she blasted me with lightning?'
'Ehehe… oopsie?' Chomei chuckled nervously.
"Oy, don't ignore me like that, Ero-kun."
Naruto blinked, and realized Fuu's face was just an inch from his own. He yelped and rolled away, his face burning red.
"D-don't do that! And my name is not Ero-kun; it's Naruto, believe it!"
"Oh, then, my name is Fuu, Naruto-ero-kun," the girl answered him with a giggle, and Naruto groaned.
Then Fuu noticed Naruto's headband. "Oh, you are a Konoha shinobi."
"And you're from Taki, aren't you?" Naruto answered her, pointing at her neck, where her hitai-ate was tied neatly. The two shinobi looked at each other, and suddenly broke out laughing.
"You're funny to talk with, Naruto-ero-kun," Finally, Fuu said between laughters and tears.
"I thought I told you not to call me that…" Naruto pouted.
"All right," Fuu grinned, ignoring him. "Since you've already got a peek on my body, I think it will be fair if you have to take… responsibility for that."
Upon hearing those words, Naruto's face immediately went pale; his body cringed up, and he crouched down and held his head as if there was a giant blade going to decapitate him from behind.
"What are you doing?" Fuu raised an eyebrow seeing the boy's strange reaction.
"Sorry," Naruto mumbled when he saw that there was no Kubikiribocho trying to off his head. "My friend likes to say things like that to tease people, and her father tends to get kinda… violent when he hears those words."
"Ahh," Fuu nodded in understanding. "Nah, don't worry, it's not like I want to kill you or anything. But you must go on a date with me!"
Naruto felt as if there had just been a bullet wheezing across his ear.
"What," was the only smart word he could utter.
"You heard me," Fuu winked at him with a giggle. "I'll pick you up at five tonight! And don't you dare run away, because I will know, ero-kun, and I will drag you back!"
And she disappeared in a swirl of dust, still giggling like crazy.
"…what the heck just happened?"
'That's my Fuu-chan, all right,' Chomei giggled inside his head. 'Now you have a date to prepare for, Naru-kun!'
Naruto groaned.
One of the many key factors shinobi have to remember when going on missions is mobility. They usually have to move quickly from place to place in order to track down targets, and also have to keep the agility necessary for battles.
Therefore, they usually don't pack much when preparing for missions. They tend to just pack some important equipment such as weapons and first aid kit, and stock up the rest at the nearest town possible.
That's the reason why Sakura had to go to the drugstore so hurriedly right after they reached the town. She forgot to include a… well… rather crucial equipment for girls on puberty in her luggage.
Sakura walked out of the store with a rather glum expression. It was embarrassing for her to forget something like that at home. At least she's still lucky; had they been late for one day only…
"Well, at least I'm fine now…"
Deliberately, she walked step by step on the street leading back to the hotel Sasuke-kun had booked. The meeting was tomorrow, there was still a lot of time to spend…
Her eyes met a small shop at the corner of the road.
The shop was old and dusty. The sign at the front of the door had a faded symbol of an anvil engraved on it. Getting closer and looking through the window, Sakura could see swords, armor sets, knives and many other things hanging on the wall.
A weapon shop, in the middle of a tourism town. No wonder why the shop was empty.
Her heart fluttered a bit. She had always wanted a weapon for herself. Sasuke-kun had his katana, and was very talented in using it. Naruto… well, he didn't use weapons much, but his Rasenshuriken jutsu might count as one, and it was destructive as hell.
There was not much hope for her to find a good weapon in a place like this, though… but still…
Sakura pushed the door. The wooden structure opened with a creak, and a chime of a bell could be heard somewhere deep inside the shop. She stepped into the store and looked around.
Standing inside the shop made the space seem to be even smaller. The ground was littered with anvils, hammers and other forging tools, all covered in a thin layer of dust. The weapons hanging on the walls had gathered a considerable amount of dust on them, too. The forge seemed cold, as if there hadn't been anyone using it for a long time.
"What do you want?"
Sakura's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She snapped her head back, and launched a punch at the source of the voice behind her.
And to her horror, her fist was caught in midair.
Standing in front of her was a man. She didn't know when the hell he had arrived.
The man was exactly what Sakura would imagine about a blacksmith. His chest and arms were hidden inside a long-sleeved shirt, but even with that, Sakura could literally see all the powerful muscles bulging up on his body. His skin was dark; Sakura didn't know it was because of lengthy exposure to heat and flame, or of the coal dust from the forge, or even both. His spiky hair was mainly white, sparing some strands of red among it. And strangely, even though he was not a ninja, Sakura could still feel an incredible aura of power around him.
The man released Sakura's fist, and she stumbled back.
"I… uh… I want to buy a weapon!" she said, stuttering a bit.
The man snorted.
"What?" the girl asked, a little bit offended. "Can't someone like me use a weapon?"
The man snorted again. "No. I just want to ask what you are doing here. You are, or at least have been training to be, a hand-to-hand combat specialist, not a weapon user, so why wasting your time here?"
Sakura gaped. "How did you know that?"
"Anyone who has a good look at your body can say that," the blacksmith answered curtly. "That tight shirt you're wearing cannot hide the developing muscles on the upper part of your body, including on your shoulders, your upper torso and your flat chest," he pointed at Sakura's A-cup breasts, making her blush in embarrassment and anger. "And the muscles on your biceps and forearms are more developed than the other parts of your body, which means you mainly use your fists in battle, but they seem to be a little bit weaker than they should have been, considering the power of the punch you tried to deliver on my face earlier. And your movement doesn't have the elegance of a swordsman, and your reaction before when touched suddenly was punching the opponent, not reaching for the hilt of a sword. All those evidences led me to the conclusion that you are a hand-to-hand combat practitioner, but you have stopped training for a while due to some reasons I don't know. Am I right?"
Sakura's mouth nearly dropped to the ground now. "How did you know all of that?" she repeated the question from before, and the man smirked.
"I am a professional blacksmith; that's in my blood."
"Does that mean I cannot use a weapon?" Sakura looked at the ground dejectedly. The blacksmith raised an eyebrow.
"When did I say that? Yeah, you really don't have compatibility for swords and things like those, but who stops you from trying other kinds of weapons? Luckily for you, I have a selection of weapons for hand-to-hand users. Come with me."
The blacksmith led Sakura to a smaller room at the back of the store.
The room was more like a warehouse than a showroom of a shop. It was filled to the brim with not only the normal weapons Sakura usually saw, but also some strange kinds she had never seen anyone using before.
Seriously, who would use a flute in a battle?
Somewhere else, a red haired girl suddenly sneezed violently.
"These weapons are the best ones my family has ever made," the man explained while leading Sakura through a line of shelves. "They range from weapons made by my great-great-grandfather to things I made myself… although I won't say that I can be as good as my predecessors."
"Wow," Sakura said as she looked around. "But if they're so good, why are they sitting back here gathering dust?"
"What do you think?" the blacksmith scoffed. "Since this became a tourist town, people haven't found a need for weapons anymore. The only people who want to buy weapons here are yakuza family members, or sometimes bandits; I don't want to give these good weapons to them to harm people. That will just tarnish the name of my family."
Sakura blinked. This was the first time she heard about a vendor who didn't want to sell his goods. But she thought it would be the best not to ask him about it any further.
Instead, she asked. "Why are you selling them to me?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Are Konoha ninja a bunch of heartless bastards who like murdering people for fun, raping defenseless women, robbing poor farmers who just accidently cross their path?"
"What… Of course not!" Sakura retorted; she didn't like hearing her own village insulted like that. The blacksmith just shrugged.
"Then what is the reason for me not to sell you the weapons? So long as you don't use it to shame the face of its creators, it's fine to me. Our weapons aren't created for evil. And you don't look like the type of person who likes doing evil deeds to me."
Sakura just stood there, dumbfounded upon the unreasonable trust the man had given her.
Sometimes, people are just… weird.
The two stopped in front of a small shelf at the back of the warehouse.
"Here you go. This is where we store our equipments for hand-to-hand combat users. Feel free to check and choose."
Sakura looked at the shelf. There were not many things here; after all, with a taijutsu user, his body was already his greatest weapon. Instead, the shelf was filled with equipments to support the body, such as body armors, shoulder protectors, gauntlets, or even the weight sets Lee and Gai-sensei like to use.
But Sakura still couldn't find anything good for her. She didn't need armor; her fighting style focused mainly on flexible and quick movements, and a thick armor would just slow her down. A set of weight would be nice, but her body was still recovering, and they could be found very easily in Konoha anyway.
Then something caught her eyes.
At the deepest corner of the shelf lay a pair of gauntlets which looked completely different from the other ones lying on the shelf. They consisted of a pair of black leather gloves with steel reinforcement and red gems engraved as built-in knuckle dusters. At each wrist, a bracelet made of an unknown golden metal served as the protector, and purple armored plates covered half of the user's forearm. But what attracted Sakura the most were the red crystal fit in a slot on each cuff. Even though they were lying at the deepest part of the shelf, there was absolutely no trace of dust on the gauntlets. When Sakura took them off the shelf, she was surprised that despite the bulky design, the two gauntlets felt incredibly light.
"Ah, I see you have finally found them."
Mesmerized by the beauty of the weapons on her hands, Sakura completely forgot about the existence of their owner. So it wasn't a surprise that she nearly jumped to the ceiling when his voice rose right next to her ears.
"This is the masterpiece of my great-great-grandfather, the first owner of the shop. Incredible weapon designed for people who like to finish battles with one decisive hit. They have many unique functions too… but since my great-great-grandfather created it, none has been able to afford them, or worthy enough to even touch them."
"Um… how much are they?" Sakura asked in thrill, but the price the blacksmith gave her nearly made her fainted at spot.
"No less than one million ryo."
One million ryo… All of her life, Sakura couldn't even dream of owning such a huge amount of money. It was like, the payment for at least twenty S-rank missions. She knew that the pair of gauntlets was definitely worth the price, but how in the world could she find so much money?
"Sorry, but I don't think I can afford it," she said sadly, putting the gauntlets back on the shelf. "And thank you for helping me, sir," she bowed politely and started walking out of the store. Her eyes lingered on the weapons another time before she closed the door behind her back.
"Sakura?"
She blinked. Naruto was standing right in front of her, with his trademark foxy smile on his face.
"You didn't need to do this for me…" Sakura mumbled, looking at the pair of gauntlets on her arms which Naruto had just bought for her. They fit snugly on her, as if they were designed specially for her.
The blonde jinchuriki answered her with a grin. "Don't worry; you won't receive another birthday present from me in the next twenty years."
Sakura smiled. No matter what happened, Naruto was still Naruto. "That would be fine. Thanks, Naruto."
The two walked side by side in silence for a while. Then Sakura asked.
"So what happened earlier Naruto?"
Naruto shrugged. "Nothing much. I met the Nanabi's jinchuriki, though."
Sakura stopped dead on her track. "Eh?"
"Well, it was like this…"
"WHAAAAAAAAT!?"
Naruto winced. "Geez, Sakura, don't be so loud! Everyone would hear you!"
"So let me get this straight," Sakura said with a strained voice, her eyebrow twitching. "You accidentally peeped on the jinchuriki of the Nanabi, who turns out to be a cute girl from Takigakure, and after blasting you in the face, she forced you to go on a date with her tonight?"
"Uh… yeah, basically that," Naruto scratched his head nervously.
Sakura's eyebrow twitched even harder. "Can I punch you Naruto? Because I really want to punch something right now."
"Please, don't."
"Ugh," Sakura groaned exasperatedly. "We're on a mission, Naruto! You can't just go date people from the middle of nowhere like that! What if she is an enemy?"
"I don't know. She doesn't feel evil to me. I can sense emotions, remember?" Naruto shrugged.
Then an idea hit him. "Wait a sec… You are not jealous, are you?"
The next thing he knew was that he was sprawling on the ground, a painful bump on his head, and Sakura stomping away with her face beet red.
'Yup, she is jealous,' Matatabi commented.
"Yeah… that's right… a little bit more… heeheehee…"
"Jiraiya, can I talk to you for a while?"
The aforementioned pervert scoffed in annoyance, his eyes didn't move from the girls he was "researching"on. "What now, Naruto? Can I do my research once without your rude interruption?"
"I'm not Naruto."
Jiraiya turned, and saw Sasuke standing behind him.
"Sasuke?" he raised an eyebrow. "What do you want from me?"
"Can you take me as your apprentice?"
The Uchiha's sudden request had the power to made Jiraiya stand up.
"Why do you want me to train you?" he asked, his eyes bore into the Sasuke's own eyes. Sasuke very calmly received the gaze of the Sage, not even faltering a bit.
"I have chosen my path," he said. "The way of thinking of my clan is wrong, and it is my duty to atone for the sin of the clan. Sooner or later I will have to face the real person who was responsible for everything that happened, the man even Itachi is afraid of. So I need to become stronger."
Jiraiya's eyes drilled into the Uchiha's hazel orbs calculatingly for a while. Then he said.
"One lesson for you, Sasuke Uchiha, is that when you want to ask people for a favor, don't ever lie or hide anything from them. I doubt the reason you said was the only reason you asked me for help."
The serious gaze of Jiraiya sent a chill down Sasuke's spine. He sighed, his shoulders slumped down.
"You are right. The truth is… Well, what I told you is one reason, but… I'm also afraid of Naruto, to be honest. He has grown up… in a rate so incredible it scares me. He has completely surpassed me, even when I have the power of the Sharingan. When we were in the academy, he was the one who always tried and failed to catch up with me, but now I'm the one who has to struggle to keep up with him. If I can have such a good teacher as you…"
Interesting. So that's the reason…
"So basically, you come to me just because you're desperate to surpass Naruto, aren't you? You're jealous of him being stronger than you in just a short time."
Sasuke lowered his head. "Well, yes… but… no, not quite. I am jealous, but… Strong as Naruto is, there is no way his level can compare to the monster even Itachi is afraid of. He was the one who unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha. Someone with the power of that scale… There is no way… If I cannot become stronger than Naruto, there is no way I can face him. And to think of that… he is also an Uchiha. It is a clan matter. It must be me who will face him. I cannot pull anyone else into danger just because of someone in my clan," he finished with a bitter tone.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. Naruto has really changed this boy. I can't believe I will live to see the day an Uchiha find the courage to accept that he is weaker than other people. And an Uchiha who could frankly admit that he cares for other people, too. There might be hope for him yet…
"Sorry Sasuke, I cannot help you. I already accepted Naruto as my apprentice, and I cannot have two at once."
Sasuke's eyes hardened in anger and sadness. "I see…"
"However, that doesn't mean I cannot give you an advice. Remember," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "after all, the Legendary Sannin are not the strongest shinobi of Konohagakure."
Jiraiya didn't say anything else, but Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened. "You mean…"
"You know what I mean, boy," the Toad Sage answered him with a smirk.
"I understand," Sasuke nodded. The scowl on his face had disappeared, replaced by a slight smile. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."
He didn't realize he had just used an honorific, what he had never done before.
Naruto fidgeted awkwardly.
In his whole life, both in the past… well, his past, and at present, he had asked Sakura for a date countless times. But this was the first time someone else asked him for a date.
A complete stranger to him, nonetheless.
Well, not a complete stranger, considering he had fought her zombie body to the death in the past, but still…
'That doesn't count, you know,' Isobu said. 'Fighting a zombified body of someone doesn't mean knowing her.'
'Well, that's true, but…'
"So you really are waiting for me, teehee."
Naruto blinked, and realized Fuu's face was hanging upside down right in front of his nose.
"Uwaaaaaah! Where did you come from?!" he shrieked, not unlike Sakura when she was still Sasuke's crazy fangirl.
Then he realized. "Wait a second, how did you find where I am staying? I know for sure that I didn't tell you anything about it!"
Fuu answered him with a wink. "That's a girl's secret~!"
'It's the bug on your hair.'
'Huh?'
'Fuu-chan had hidden a little bug in your hair when you first met her,' Chomei answered with a giggle. 'She exudes some kind of unique pheromone which can only be smelled by me and Fuu-chan, and that's why Fuu-chan could get here without even asking you for the address, teehee!'
'Why didn't you tell me that before?'
'Uh… Because it's so cute seeing you and Fuu-chan going on a date?' the bug chuckled nervously.
'You disregarded all of my personal space so that you can set me up on a DATE!?' Naruto screamed mentally, and Chomei let out a meek "eep" in response.
"Oi, why is it that whenever you talk to me, you have to zone out at least once like that?"
Naruto blinked, and saw Fuu, now standing firmly on the ground, pouting at him in annoyance.
Well, she is kinda cute like that… What the fuck am I thinking!? I'm being corrupted!
Inside his head, giggles rose.
'Stop laughing, damn it!'
"All right, so if you're done, let's go for our date~!"
With those words, Fuu grabbed Naruto's collar and dragged him away, an incredibly cheerful expression on her face.
Why must I be in a bad written fanfiction with an author who doesn't know a shit about romance…?
Turns out, their date was nothing different from dates of other normal couples.
They walked around the town hand in hand, had dinner, played games at game booths, things like those.
They didn't kiss, though. Their relationship was just not deep enough for them to do that this early. Besides, Naruto had a feeling that if he did that, he would be murdered tonight in his sleep by at least two people.
And now, they were sitting on a grassy hill at the edge of the town, staring at the beautiful starry sky and relaxing.
"You are weird, do you know that, Fuu-chan?"
Fuu answered him with a (too) cheerful giggle. "Yes, I know. Everyone told me that."
"But this is kinda ridiculous, you know? Why are you so sure that I would accept this date with you?"
Fuu grinned mischievously. "Because I will beat you to a pulp if you don't. And that's not a threat; that's a fact."
Naruto winced. Another violent girl in his life…
"So basically, you forced me into this because you want a date."
"Yep," Fuu nodded, still smiling cheekily. "But it was because you're kinda cute too."
Naruto blushed upon the comment.
He stared into the sky again. "It's so beautiful. The stars."
Fuu dropped her body on the grass. "Yeah. No matter what happens, no matter how long, they will always stay together on the sky… just like best friends…"
Naruto couldn't help noticing her voice getting a hint of sadness. This was the first time since he had met her that there was sadness in her voice.
"What's wrong Fuu-chan?" he looked into her eyes. "Is there anything bad?"
Fuu turned her head away. "No, it's nothing… Just forget it." Then her cheery smile returned to her face. "Let's go do something else; my strength has already recovered!"
She jumped up, but suddenly she felt her body being pulled down. Naruto was holding her detached sleeve with his hand.
"Ahh…"
"You don't have to push yourself like that, Fuu-chan," he pulled her sit down again, then wiped her eyes with his finger. She didn't even realize that tears had rolled down her cheeks. "If you have something in your mind, you can just tell me. Maybe I can help you…"
"You can't. There is nothing you can help…"
The words choked in her throat when she saw Naruto's eyes.
Those eyes… she had never seen anyone with eyes like those. Whenever someone got close to her, they would just give her glares of disdain, because of the Tailed Beast sealed inside her. She couldn't even understand why people would do that; Chomei is not a bad person… well, beast, but whatever; how can someone who is always so happy, so cheerful be an evil monster who only knows how to destroy?
But this boy… This is the first time someone looks at her with those caring eyes. This is the first time someone dares looking at her with those eyes. And it made her feel happy. For a moment, she felt that maybe if she opened up to him, he might…
"How can you say that if you don't even tell me the reason? I am your friend, right?"
But…
I am your friend, right?
"I'm sorry, I got to go."
She jumped up on her feet. On her shoulders, a pair of orange insect wings sprouted out, and with a quick leap, she soared into the sky.
"Fuu-chan…"
Naruto mumbled sadly, looking at the back of the girl which was disappearing into the forest. He could still feel the damp and the heat of her tears on his hand, which felt like seeping through his skin, right into his heart.
That night, Naruto couldn't even get a glimpse of sleep.
After 2 hours rolling around without being able to calm his mind down, Naruto bolted up from his bed, and entered his mindscape.
"Chomei-chan, are you awake?"
"Huh…?" Chomei lifted her head up sleepily. Seeing a giant bug like her doing that was kinda weird. "What's wrong, Naru-kun? It's midnight already…"
"Can you tell me something about Fuu-chan? After all, you have stayed with her for a very long time…"
The air became heavy. For the first time, Naruto could feel sadness in Chomei's voice.
"Fuu-chan was burdened with me since she was a baby, just like you, Naru-kun," she said. "And also like you, everyone in her village was scared of her, except for the village leader and his son, and I was her only friend. But despite everything, Fuu-chan had always shown a face full of happiness and joy, as you has seen when you first met her, Naru-kun."
"Mm-hmm," Naruto nodded. "It's hard not to feel happy when you're with her, right?"
"Yeah… but even so… well, she didn't admit it, but 'friend' is kinda a taboo word to Fuu-chan. She was always jealous with people who have friends surrounding them, as no one except for two other people wants to even go near her. She didn't even have a genin team; accompanying her to missions was always two jonin whose sole task was preventing her from going out of control. She desperately wanted a friend; that's why she always acts like a stupidly cheerful girl to get people's attention. But… even with that, no one would bother sparing a glance at her. To them, she is just a monster who is trying to trick people with her smiles and happy talk."
Naruto winced. "Ouch. It was just the same as me. It must have left a very deep scar in her mind."
"Yeah," the beast agreed. "Maybe that's why she reacted like that in your date; you said that you were her friend, and it was the first time for her, and… well… I think she was shocked, and scared too. It was too sudden, and I don't think the heart of a person who was isolated half of her life can take it that easily. And maybe… maybe she thought if you knew she was a jinchuriki, you might abandon her in fear, just like other people in her life."
Naruto suddenly punched the sakura tree. He was just a midget comparing to the height of the tree, but somehow, his punch managed to shake it dangerously.
"Goddamnit," he growled. "This is not fair! This is not fair at all! I have been a jinchuriki all my life… fighting through wars… but I still…! Why are jinchuriki everywhere always treated like monsters? Even those who don't even have any intention to do harm to people… Those like Fuu-chan, who only wants the life of a normal girl… Even ones like B were just tools for war… When I finally unite the world, I will make sure that all jinchuriki are treated as normal people, have friends and aren't used for wars any more…"
"You think it's that easy? Can't believe that someone like you can still be that hopelessly naïve."
Naruto snapped his head back. Shukaku, of all people, was sitting right next to him since who knows when.
"When did you come here?"
"A while ago," the tanuki grumbled. "How can anyone sleep with you two talking so loudly like that?"
"What do you mean I'm naïve?" Naruto demanded, looking at the beast.
Shukaku answered Naruto with a question. "Do you know the reason why the villages seal us inside jinchuriki?"
"Of course I know!" Naruto answered angrily. "They want to use your power as weapons; what else?"
"Yes, but that's only the tip of the iceberg," Shukaku snorted. "The true reason, and the more important one, is that humans are full of greed and hypocrisy. All those things, sealing us into jinchuriki, blah blah blah, only originate from a mere fact that they cannot accept that we have power they cannot control.
"Since the day the old man unveiled the secret of chakra, the first thing they've ever thought about is how to use it as weapon for wars. When they discovered that we're beings made of chakra, born from the Juubi itself, their first thought was 'Oh god, they're too powerful! They will destroy us!' They used that excuse to imprison us into things like kettles, pots, like what I had been imprisoned inside before I was sealed into Gaara. And then, after they finally achieved something, they tried to imitate our father, sealing us into people to make us weapons. Everything they did, they gave it the name of 'for the greater good'. Disgusting."
"You think I don't know that?" Naruto growled. "That's why I'm going to make everything right after…"
"What you don't know is," Shukaku cut him short, "greed, hypocrisy, lust, and everything, they are in the blood of human. They lie within the very instinct that makes them humans. There is no way you can purge them out of their blood with just with a few empty words. I will tell you this: your wish to unite people under your idealistic peace is just a naïve illusion. Unless people can truly learn to think, to care about others, you will not, ever, be able to make them change!"
Naruto felt like Shukaku had just punched him in the face.
"Shuki-chan!" Chomei exclaimed in horror. "How could you say that?"
"What? All I've said was the truth. If Naruto cannot handle the truth about the ones he was trying to save, he doesn't deserve our help. Because he will never be able to do anything after all if he continues thinking in that naïve way."
Naruto suddenly bolted up and disappeared from his mindscape without a word.
"Shuki-chan! Why did you do that?" Chomei yelled at Shukaku. The tanuki shrugged.
"Why shouldn't I? I didn't say anything wrong."
"Of course you did! That was too harsh on him! He didn't do anything to deserve that!"
"Oh, I think he more than deserves that," Shukaku snorted. "Am I right, Kurama?"
Chomei's head snapped back at where Kurama was lying. The fox's eyes were now open, and were now staring at the two other beasts, her tails waving around.
"Kura-neechan! Surely you cannot mean that, can you?"
Kurama didn't say anything for a while. Then, when she finally said something, it was this.
"Well, Shukaku is right, but at the same time, she is wrong."
Both Tailed Beasts were taken aback. "What?" Shukaku growled angrily.
"What Shukaku said was true, indeed," the kitsune continued. "Everything about human's sins, the darkness… yeah, you won't be able to find a human without them in this world. Even Naruto himself isn't exempted from them; if I have to say, he is one of the most flawed people in this world. His past, together with everything he had suffered during his life, well… he doesn't show it, but he is actually full of hatred and despair inside his heart."
"Ha! So I'm right!" Shukaku smirked triumphantly.
"Yes, but this is where you're wrong, Shukaku. When he decided to embrace his dark side into him, he already accepted that getting rid of the darkness completely was impossible. That's what made him different from other humans: others might either succumb to the darkness and let it take over their minds, or abuse the darkness to gain power and let it grow further inside their hearts, and soon are consumed by it. Naruto is different. By accepting that the darkness is always inside him, he already understood that darkness is not a toy, and because of that, he doesn't stray into the path of darkness, like the Uchiha boy had done. Naruto is the very proof that humans can change themselves."
"Hmph," Shukaku snorted. "Well, let's just assume that humans can change themselves like you have just said. But also as you said, Naruto is different from other humans. Not every human can accept that they are flawed and full of darkness in their hearts. And not every human can be willingly ready to change like our little brat here."
Kurama sighed. "Well, that's the problem..."
Skip. Skip. Skip. Splash.
Naruto stared at the bouncing stone on the water surface and sighed.
It's not like he didn't understand what Shukaku had said. It's not like he hated her for saying that to his face, either.
It's just… even if everything was true, he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to accept it.
Yes, it was ironic. When he went training with Jiraiya, he had learnt about his dream for peace, and since then, he had inherited the old sage's dream as his dream. He had dreamt about making a peaceful world where there are no more wars, where everyone was treated as equal, where everyone would live together in love and happiness.
But the problem is… even if he knows what true peace is… what can he do to achieve it?
Now that he had time to think about it, Nagato and Obito's methods might be extreme, but at least they had both found a way. But Naruto… his idea might sounds good, but if what Shukaku said was true… then it is really an impossible naïve dream.
How can he change something that is already in the blood of every human?
"Naruto? Why didn't you sleep?"
Naruto nearly jumped hearing Jiraiya's voice behind him.
"Geez, Pervy Sage! Don't scare me like that!"
"You know what?" the Toad Sage scowled. "I won't tell you not to call me with that name again another time; it's already annoying enough."
Then he changed his tone. "So why are you sitting here all alone, in the middle of the night like this? I doubt someone like you can lose sleep if there isn't a particular reason."
For a moment, Naruto had wanted to say: "I'm fine."
But then he found out he couldn't say anything like that. Before he could know it, words had flown out of his mouth like a stream, more than he had talked during the day – about the meeting with Fuu, about the sudden date she had forced him into, about her reaction when he said he wanted to be her friend, and….
"…and then Shukaku told me that, and now I feel… empty. Is my way of thinking, my ideals, wrong? Is it true that there is no way for humans to live together in peace?"
Jiraiya had let Naruto talk himself into silence without interruption. And when he finally opened his mouth, it was like this.
"Well, who knows?"
Naruto gaped. "What? But…"
Jiraiya shrugged. "You heard me. You're not the only one who has ever thought about peace, Naruto. Many older, smarter shinobi than you, including your father of course, have dreamt about creating a peaceful world where there is no war, no fighting, and people can live happily ever after with each other. And despite that, no one could ever find a clear answer for that question, even your old badass, handsome legendary master here," – Naruto snorted at this – "so yeah Naruto, how can I give you the answer for a question even I don't have the answer?"
Naruto's shoulder slumped. "Yeah, I know. I understand that it was too much to ask…"
"But Naruto, somehow I got a feeling that you are taking things too seriously," the Sage continued. "Try to relax, liven things up a bit first, will you? Being like this is in no way healthy for you."
"What?" Naruto stared at Jiraiya in disbelief. "You understand how dangerous Madara is, don't you? I cannot relax now, what if-"
"Yes, but I am not talking about that. From what I have learnt while staying with you, and from what Kakashi had told me, you have become kinda… what to say… obsessed with peace, Naruto. The only thing you would say these days is 'peace', 'peace', 'peace'. Are you still Naruto, or have you become a robot who can only speak about peace?"
Naruto opened his mouth to protest, and realized he couldn't make a sound.
"Naruto," Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "Peace is no doubt a good dream. But if you become too obsessed with it, doing everything and anything just to achieve it, you will just become a chessmaster, a manipulator. You will be no different from Madara. So there, don't try to force everything to change by force, or try to force it to become like it was in your future. A little push for people to become better is fine, but don't let yourself become a control freak. That's not good for you, or for anyone."
What the sage had just said sent Naruto into a deep thought.
He had never thought about that before, actually. When he first came back, his first reaction had been panic. The thought of having to do everything again, once more, was thrilling to him, but at the same time, it was also an idea that made him scared. And of course, the first idea he had come up with was doing something to make this world better, just like his… world…
Oh. Oh.
He was stupid. His timeline was like shit. If he really wanted a better future for this world, the last thing he should do was forcing it to become like his world.
At least Naruto could finally understand what Jiraiya had wanted to say to him. Sometimes, the best way to do things is not to do them.
The two shinobi sat next to each other in silence for a while. Then Naruto asked.
"Pervy Sage, have you ever thought of a way to bring peace to the world?"
Jiraiya answered him with an ear-splitting grin. "Of course I did! What do you think I created the Icha Icha series for?"
Naruto's brain stopped. "What."
"That's right!" the sage answered cheerfully. "There is no better way than to unite humankind in a world of perverts!"
"…I shouldn't have asked," Naruto deadpanned.
"Oh, chill out, brat," Jiraiya smirked and giggled. "Next time you and that jinchuriki girl go on a date again, call me. I will need you two for my… research… hehehe…"
"Screw you, pervert!"
'Why did you run away like that, Fuu-chan?'
Chomei (the other Chomei) complained inside Fuu's head. Right now, the girl was curling up into a ball on top of a tree, and for some reason, she was shivering like crazy, despite the fact that the weather was pretty warm.
'I… I don't know, Chomei-chan,' Fuu stammered. 'I'm… I'm scared. This happened so suddenly… I don't know…'
'You are contradicting yourself, Fuu-chan,' Chomei deadpanned. 'Haven't you been trying to find a friend your whole life?'
'But… no one has ever come to me and told me that I am his friend before! What if…' Fuu's eyes widened, and she wailed in panic. 'What if he is someone… someone sent here to trick me… and to kill me?'
Had Chomei been in her human form right now, we could have seen her rubbing her forehead in annoyance.
'Oh, quit it with those paranoid thoughts, Fuu-chan! Have you forgotten that positive emotions are my specialty? I could sense that he was sincere. At least give him a chance, will you? This is a chance for you to have another friend beside me!'
Friend, huh…
Come to think of it, it was kinda true. Despite craving for friendship for a very long time, she had never known what having a real friend would feel like. No one would even look at her when she tried to befriend them; they would glare at her with fear and walk away. And now, when someone finally accepted her and wanted to be friends with her, she freaked out and walked away… just like other people did to her.
Maybe Chomei was right. Everything has its first time. Maybe she should just try it…
But there was only one thing…
'Why are you so insisted on making me Naruto-kun's friend? I doubt it's not only for me to have a friend.'
'Uh… Hey look, it's late! Better go sleep! See ya later Fuu-chan!'
'Oi! Hey! I haven't finished with you yet! Come back here, Chomei-chaaaaaaaaan!'
"Ahh… this first brew of Takayama's famous sake is always the best, isn't it, Shizune?"
A blonde, busty woman slammed her saucer down the table with a loud sigh of satisfaction. Her partner and apprentice, a younger… well, not younger-looking, black haired woman complained.
"Tsunade-sama! You have already drunk too much! If this goes on, even the store won't have anything else to sell you!"
"Oh, chill out, Shizune…" the blonde woman answered with a slightly slurred voice. "We have more than enough money to buy all the sake in this store, aren't we?"
"Yes, but if you continue to get yourself drunker and drunker, you will soon scare all the customers of the store away, Tsunade."
The two women snapped their heads back, and saw a middle-aged man with white long hair standing right behind them, together with three teenagers wearing Konohagakure hitai-ate.
The man grinned, waving at them.
"Long time no see, Princess."
And...
The old mission, with many unexpected changes.
A new friend for Naruto. And in case anyone is wondering, I haven't watched the anime, so if there is something inconsistent in her personality and things... please don't flame me.
Sakura got herself a new weapon suit for her style of fighting.
Sasuke got some advices from Jiraiya.
What will happen, now that they have met Tsunade?
Stay tuned! And please review!