I don't own Naruto.

Hello everybody, how are you all doing. Yes, I'm back from my trip to Japan and it was great. I had a wonderful time with some old friends and met lot's of new friends as well. I would have stayed longer but I was out of money lol. Japan truly is a great country and Japanese people are simply some of the best friends a person can have. I hope that those of you who are interested in Japan have the chance to go there once in your life, it's an experience you'll never forget or regret.

I feel like I owe everyone an apology for not posting this chapter before I left for Japan. The truth is that I had so many things to take care of that I didn't find the time to finish the chapter in a decent way. I preferred not to post a chapter that didn't satisfy me, so I could work on it. To be honest I had a difficult time writing this chapter, especially the fight between Kabuto and Naruto. I tried to come up with a good battle scene but it was harder that I thought. Anyway I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and let me know how you feel about it.

Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 25: A fight long due

Seconds past quickly but to the people involved they seemed like hours slowly ticking away. Each of them were staring at each other trying to find a lapse in concentration to exploit with an attack. So far none of them had moved an inch but things would change soon. It was impossible for fighters of this caliber to remain in a status quo. Naruto was glaring at Kabuto ready for anything the man could throw at him. With Shizune protecting Tsunade he was confident she would be fine, if only she could get rid of her fear of blood.

Jiraiya too was glaring at his opponent, his one time friend although he realized that the friendship he thought they had was purely one-sided. Orochimaru had never considered him a friend, let alone a best friend. Jiraiya wondered why he didn't see it before but he guessed it had to do with being young. He still remembered the day he confronted Orochimaru after he fled from the village, he was unable to stop him at that time because he refused to give up on his teammate and fellow Sannin. Allowing him to get away was one of his biggest mistakes and he regretted it ever since. If he had stopped him there and then the present would have been very different.

Shizune was worried about her mentor, she had known about the fear of blood for a long time. It had started after Tsunade was unable to save her boyfriend Dan on the battlefield during the war. Dan had been ambushed by the enemy and not even Tsunade herself was able to heal his wounds. Even she had limits and when Dan finally passed away Tsunade went into shock covered in her lovers blood, ever since that day she froze at the mere sight of blood. Not soon after that the war ended in favor of Konoha and Tsunade left the village unable to stay in the place that had taken away almost every person she loved. Over the years Tsunade had tried to get rid of her fears but was fairly unsuccessful in her attempts. When they needed money the two of them would work as doctors but Shizune would deal with injuries where blood was present. Tsunade herself took care of anything else, it was a good arrangement and it gave them the necessary financial support they needed.

"Naruto-kun, it would be wise to step aside and let me deal with Tsunade."

"You should know by now that I don't abandon my friends Kabuto. There is no way I'm letting you get passed me."

"Do you really think you can stop me? I'll admit that you're strong but I'm way above your level. If I had to compare then I would be around Kakashi's level."

"So? It wouldn't be the first time I defeat an opponent stronger than myself. Didn't your research tell you that?"

"So be it then, don't come crying to me when you're about to die."

Kabuto ran forward starting the fight and Naruto responded in the same way. While running towards his adversary Naruto quickly made some Kage Bunshin and together they launched an attack. Kabuto smirked seeing the Bunshins and just destroyed them while still running forward. After disposing of the last Bunshin he started an attack of his own. Kabuto was a medic nin who didn't rely on pure taijutsu like other shinobi, he used a version of the chakra scalpel trying to cut muscles and tendons. This allowed him to deal with opponent in a fast and efficient way, if he cut through the muscles in the legs they would be helpless and unable to move. If he cut the muscles in the arms it would be impossible to move them and make seals for jutsu. It was a very fast and effective way to deal with opponent but not everyone could fight this way seeing it demanded a near perfect chakra control at all time. To most shinobi that was impossible to attain so this spoke highly of Kabuto and his skills.

Naruto ducked under a punch before throwing an uppercut at Kabuto's jaw who leaned back slightly causing the punch to hit nothing but air. Kabuto retaliated by trying to cut the muscles in Naruto's lifted arm but missed due to a kick coming from his right side aimed for his knee. He back flipped over the kick and took some distance trying to analyze Naruto's fighting style. Naruto was doing the same and came to the conclusion that Kabuto was not only fast but he had good combat instincts as well.

"Not bad Naruto-kun but if that's all you're capable of then I'm afraid you won't be able to defeat me."

"What is it with you bad guys? Each and everyone I fought seemed either so confident in their skills to a point of being arrogant or they're boosting about their strength from the very beginning."

"It's not boosting or arrogant when it is the truth."

"Yeah well, tell me that after I kicked your ass."

Naruto rushed forward and tried to kick Kabuto but missed due to Kabuto leaning back letting Naruto's foot harmlessly pass over him. Naruto turned a full 360 degrees before trying to nail Kabuto with an uppercut to the jaw. Kabuto saw the punch coming but with the accelerated speed from the spin Naruto was a bit faster just gazing him on the tip of his chin. Kabuto's brain was knocked around in his skull affecting his balance and legs who refused to move for just a few seconds. Naruto who thought that Kabuto evaded saw his opponent freezing for a moment and didn't need to be told twice to take advantage of it. Faster than lighting he put his hand on the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it before slashing at Kabuto. The sword cut deeply into Kabuto's chest and a large wound appeared running horizontally from left to right. Kabuto who regained the use of his legs jumped backward not wanting to deal with another attack of Naruto's sword. Naruto let Kabuto retreat seeing he had landed an attack and looked at his opponent. The cut made into his chest was deep but not life threatening, it would however cause him some pain and discomfort. When Kabuto started to laugh Naruto narrowed his eyes not knowing why he was laughing about.

"Very good Naruto-kun, I'm impressed that you succeeded in landing a hit on me. Unfortunately it won't help you into winning this fight."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kabuto didn't reply instead he removed his hand from the wound and to Naruto's surprise the cut made by his sword was completely gone. The only thing indicating he could have been hurt was the fact that his clothes had a large cut and were stained with blood.

"It doesn't matter what wound I suffer, as long as I have enough chakra left I can heal myself completely. Do you see now how futile our fight is? There is no way for you to win."

"So you have a healing ability as well huh? Guess that put us on even ground in that aspect of the fight."

"Off course, I heard all about the Kyuubi and how you received a healing power as well. I wonder which one is more powerful, yours or mine?"

"I don't care so you'll excuse me if I not to enthusiastic about it."

Naruto stared at Kabuto daring him to attack again but it seemed that Kabuto was waiting for him to attack first. For a second it seemed both of them were hesitant to attack but all of the sudden both of them jumped forward and they met right in the middle. Naruto who was still holding his sword, brought it down on Kabuto who blocked it with a kunai of his own. Naruto tried to overpower Kabuto but it seemed his opponent wouldn't budge even an inch. Kabuto too was trying to push Naruto back and to his surprise he had a hard time, it seemed he had made some miscalculations about Naruto's strength after all.

Seeing neither of two would let the other take the upper hand they fell back a few feet before rushing back forward filling the place with the sounds of metal meeting metal. They were moving so fast that Shizune was having trouble to follow the fight. She was after all trained as a medic nin so she wasn't really good at combat. Her job was to support and heal the fallen shinobi during the battle, she was fast enough to evade most attacks because Tsunade had trained her. According to Tsunade the most important skill of a medic nin next to the obvious medical expertise was being able to avoid getting hurt themselves. Shizune understood that part very well, if a medic nin got hurt or killed they were unable to heal injuries. She truly hoped that Naruto could deal with Kabuto but she could see that Kabuto was much more skilled than she first thought. If necessary she would interfere and give Naruto a hand but she was mostly afraid that if she left Tsunade's side that Kabuto would find a way to attack her.

Tsunade on the other hand was on her knees shaking as a leaf. The sight of Orochimaru slicing his arm and the blood that sprayed out of the wound was replaying in her head time and time again. Ever since that faithful day she was deadly afraid of blood. Even the slightest sight of it was enough to make her freeze and Orochimaru knew this all too well. Over the years she had tried to get rid of this fear but she hadn't succeeded even with the help of Shizune. However now she was a changed woman, a woman who had made a promise to become the Godaime Hokage and protect her village in the stead of her little brother and the man she loved more than anyone. She would not let them down now she told herself.

'Come on Tsunade, get a grip. You promised to Nawaki, to Dan and to Naruto that you would be strong. You can beat this fear, you're stronger than that.' Tsunade was furiously thinking. She wouldn't give up this time, she would overcome her fear and fight alongside with Naruto and Jiraiya and together they would show them that they can't mess with Konoha and its people.

Naruto was getting tired of Kabuto's constant evading and blocking his attacks. The young man was obviously very skilled and Naruto had already escaped some very dangerous attempts at his life. Kabuto was a pro with the chakra scalpel capable of cutting through muscles without any wound at the exterior. While Naruto could also use the chakra scalpel to some degree, it was nothing compared to this. If this continued he would lose this fight and that was unacceptable in his eyes. He wouldn't let Tsunade-Baachan get hurt because he was too weak to defeat one opponent no matter how skilled he was. He decided that a change of tactics was in order so before his sword met Kabuto's kunai he focused some chakra in the seal and use one of his original techniques. Bringing his sword down a large amount of chakra was released and the 'Tengoku Saidan Kaze No Jutsu' created by the force of the sword going down. Kabuto saw the attack coming and just jumped to the side letting the attack pass him harmlessly.

"That won't work Naruto-kun. I already saw that attack during your fight with Gaara."

Naruto kept silent and just sheathed his sword before using 'Kage Bunshin No Jutsu' to make several dozen clones. The clones surrounded Kabuto who looked bored and not impressed or threatened in the least. Naruto disappeared in the crowd of clones and ordered them to attack. The clones attacked in small groups trying to catch Kabuto of guard but this proved to be much harder than Naruto thought although he should have known. Clone after clone attacked, some of them using Taijutsu while others used some weapons or a small Ninjutsu. After that the first wave of clones were defeated none of them had succeeded in landing a blow on Kabuto.

"Naruto-kun, I hope you have other jutsu or techniques at your disposal because this is getting boring."

The clones just smirked at Kabuto before a new group of them started attacking again. Kabuto ducked and blocked the clone's attack and disposed of them by using his chakra scalpel. One after the other the clones went up in smoke until only one of them remained. Kabuto thinking this was the original wasted no time and raced forward hoping to put an end to this fight. He hit Naruto right in the chest causing him to cough up blood and falling down. Kabuto started laughing loudly before turning to Shizune and Tsunade in victory. Shizune was horrified to see Naruto get hit by Kabuto and started to blame herself for not helping her new friend. When she heard Kabuto laugh she almost lost it and attacked him but she knew that she needed to stay close to Tsunade to protect her.

Kabuto was about ready to make his way over to the two women when he felt two pair of hands grab his arms. Surprised he looked at his sides and saw two clones flanking him at both sides. He looked back at were the original Naruto should be lying but to his shock that Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke as well. The clones grinned evilly and started spinning around while holding Kabuto firmly by his arms. After several high speed rotations they released him sending him sailing across the field while he tried to regain balance and stop the world from spinning in his head. Just when he was about to crash into the ground he noticed a small rock change into a clone, when he passed over it, the clone kicked him right in the back sending him upward in the sky. Kabuto felt his spine taking a bone-breaking kick and hoped his spine wasn't broken. The pain was enough to force him to close his eyes which proved to be a big mistake. If he had his eyes open he would see a clone jumping from a tree to just above him. Kabuto still in pain from the first kick almost lost consciousness when the clone clasped his hands together and delivered a devastating punch right on his chest bone sending him back down to the ground.

He slammed into the ground so hard that a large crater was formed. Kabuto couldn't believe he had been so careless to get caught. He had turned his back on an enemy that although hurt was still alive. Not only that he had been fooled in thinking that this was the real Naruto by the fact that the clone had bled before falling to the ground. Kabuto tried to get up but the pain in his back was still too big even with his healing ability, he would have to focus a lot of chakra to both his back and his chest if he wanted to get well enough to fight. Before he could even start to use his chakra however some new Naruto clones landed beside him. For a second Kabuto wondered what was going to happen next but then the clones began glowing, he realized what was going to happen and if wanted to survive he needed to get out of there right that instant. A giant explosion completely destroyed the surroundings and shrouded everything in thick smoke.

The real Naruto emerged from the ground next to Shizune hoping that his explosive clones had dealt with his opponent. The damage and destruction was enormous and the attack had cost him a lot of chakra especially the Kage Bunshin Kabuto had hit. To make it withstand a hit like that he had been forced to push a significant amount of chakra into it but the plan had worked perfectly. The exploding clones were charged with enough chakra to level a building so even with his healing ability he would been hard pressed to survive. When the smoke finally cleared Naruto looked for a sign of Kabuto but didn't find any trace of him at all. Naruto frowned and immediately raised his guard and informed Shizune that the fight wasn't over just yet.

While Naruto was looking for him Kabuto was hiding a little further trying to gather enough chakra to heal his wounds. While he had survived the blast by using 'Shunshin No Jutsu' at the very last moment he had been burned quite a lot and the pain in his back was killing him. Thanks to his training as a medic nin he had been able to reduce the damage to a degree that he could move but he couldn't heal it fully otherwise he wouldn't have enough chakra left to fight. Slowly coming out of his hiding place he addressed Naruto.

"Well done Naruto-kun. Orochimaru-sama told me not to underestimate you but I tried to ignore his advice. I doubt I can beat you now but I will get my revenge."

"If you think I will let you get away you must be crazy. You betrayed Konoha and for that you will be executed after being questioned."

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun but I can't allow that to happen."

With his last strength Kabuto once again used 'Shunshin No Jutsu' to move himself to Tsunade where he quickly kicked Shizune in the gut knocking the wind out of her. He tried to stab Tsunade with his kunai but before he could even get close to his victim he got hit in the jaw by a powerful punch. Kabuto was send spiraling back to where he came from into the surrounding trees crashing through several of them before coming to a stop completely knocked out. Naruto and Shizune wondered what had happened and after following Kabuto's trajectory back he saw Tsunade standing there in a punching position.

"Naruto, Shizune thanks for buying me some time to get over myself."

"Tsunade-sama, are you ok? What about the blood?"

"I'm fine Shizune, while you and Naruto were protecting me I forced myself to get over my fears. I won't break the promise I made to my precious people."

"Alright way to go Tsunade-Baachan!"

"Watch it you, don't think for one minute I'll allow you to call me that every time. I'm your Hokage so you better start calling me 'Hokage-sama'"

"Whatever Baachan."

"Gaki, if you don't want to spend the next few months doing D-rank missions you'll show me some respect right here right now."

"You can't do that! That's abuse of power!"

"Guess what Gaki, that's one of the benefits of being Hokage."

"Euh excuse me but shouldn't we go help Jiraiya-sama?"

"Oh yeah good thinking Shizune. Gaki, this isn't over but for now I'll let it slide."

"You're damn right this isn't over but fine let's go see how Ero-sennin is doing." Just then they saw Orochimaru and Jiraiya standing there both wounded and bleeding. They had just arrived in time to see Kabuto getting hit by Tsunade sending him flying into the trees.

Jiraiya saw Naruto and Shizune take their positions in front of Tsunade and he was satisfied that she would be protected. He had absolute faith in Shizune and even more in Naruto. There was no way Naruto would allow Tsunade to get hurt, he could see just how much Naruto liked her. He knew from the Sandaime that Naruto had always admired them thanks to the stories Sandaime had told when Naruto was younger. He looked up to both of them and when he had seen the state Tsunade was in he couldn't help himself and he tried to help her just like the Sandaime had said he would.

Tsunade too had gotten attached to the young son of the Yondaime, while at first she thought of him as an annoying little brat he knew that she admired him as well. Not only for how he took on the burden of carrying the Kyuubi but also his determination and his refusal to give up no matter what the odds. He wished he had remembered to tell Naruto of Tsunade's fear of blood, that had been a major error on his part but there was nothing he could do about that right now. He turned his head back to his other ex-teammate, the one who had betrayed their friendship, their sensei and their village. The fact that he didn't succeed in convincing or returning Orochimaru was one of Jiraiya's biggest shame and regrets. He couldn't believe how Orochimaru had everyone fooled until that day and that day he had let his friendship get in the way with his duty but today would be very different. Orochimaru wouldn't leave this place alive if he could help it.

"It has been a while since we had our last spar hasn't it Jiraiya-kun."

"Stop with the act Orochimaru, you don't fool anyone."

"It seems that something is bothering you. What could that possibly be? Perhaps you're afraid of losing your new apprentice?"

"I know what you're trying to do but it won't work. Naruto is stronger than you can possibly imagine, you should know this since he injured you."

"Yes, because of him my revenge against the old fool failed and I had to retreat. I still have to repay him for almost destroying my arms. Even Kabuto was unable to heal them completely."

"I will stop you and your ambitions today Orochimaru. After today the legendary Sannin will be one short, you'll pay for the crimes and atrocities you have commit."

"You haven't changed have you Jiraiya? Still the naïve and clueless fool you were back then, when will you understand that what I did would have made Konoha the strongest village to ever exist. My work could have changed the shinobi world forever but like the old man you refused to see the truth."

"Stop deluding yourself Orochimaru, you didn't care about the village back then. All you cared about is becoming the strongest shinobi and to learn every Ninjutsu in the world."

"And I will succeed in that and you won't stop me. I will become the ultimate shinobi and learn every single jutsu in the world."

"You still don't get what being a shinobi is truly about. A shinobi isn't strong because he knows every jutsu in the world. A shinobi is strong when he or she fights to protect something or someone they love. That is the true power of a shinobi but that's not something you'd understand. Sensei taught us that all those years ago and yet even after all this time you still refuse to listen."

"The old man and his pathetic speeches don't interest me. It is you who's the fool. But I guess this is a matter of opinions. That's one of the reasons I left the village as well. It sickened me to see Konoha being reduced to a society used to peace and tranquility. People became lazy and forgot what it was like to suffer, they forgot the horrors of war as soon as the peace was achieved. It was pathetic. Konoha should have crushed Iwa and destroyed it but instead it became allies of some sort."

"Sensei was right in accepting Iwa's surrender, if he continued to fight even more shinobi would have been lost on both sides. It would have meant the end of the village if he continued fighting so that's why he accepted the peace offer so quickly. "

"If the old fool had given me the title of Hokage I would have made the village great but instead he choose your blasted apprentice. I'll never forget the humiliation I had to suffer because of that."

"It was exactly because of your ambition that Sensei didn't choose you as his successor, he knew that you would lead the village into another war. He wanted peace for the village after fighting Iwa and Kumo for so long, that's why he choose Minato."

"Enough of this, I grow tired of your babbling. I'll deal with you right now."

Orochimaru extended his neck and tried to bite Jiraiya in the throat but Jiraiya easily evaded the attack by twisting his body. He tried to hit Orochimaru at the base of his skull but the body of Orochimaru had followed the head and aimed a kick at Jiraiya's lower body. Quickly jumping to the side while grabbing the Orochimaru's leg he started spinning before letting go sending Orochimaru flying. Without wasting time he started doing some handseals and used 'Katon: Karyuu Endan no Jutsu' sending a large fire dragon towards the Snake Sannin. Orochimaru who finally regained control of his body saw the attack heading straight for him and quickly did some seals of his own. He slammed his hands into the ground and a huge slap of earth shot up successfully blocking the fire dragon. Orochimaru however winced at the pain he felt in his arms. Even though Kabuto had been able to heal them to a certain extent, any use of chakra or brusque movement earned him a large amount of pain. Not for the first time he cursed Naruto for giving him such a injury. He vowed to destroy the boy if Kabuto hadn't killed him already.

Jiraiya seeing that his attack had been blocked cursed as well. He hadn't expected that Orochimaru would be able to use his arms and jutsu's, that Kabuto character had to been better than he thought. He briefly wondered if Naruto was alright but shook his head knowing that he couldn't afford to get distracted or careless. The man he was fighting wouldn't hesitate to exploit his lack of concentration to end the fight. He forced some chakra into his legs and shot forward closing the distance between him and Orochimaru. Before the latter could react Jiraiya planted his elbow in his face knocking his head backwards, the following kick to the chest area was avoided by using the 'Kawarimi no Jutsu' with a nearby branch. Orochimaru wasn't the kind of man who would let his opponent hit him without retaliating and he used one of his signature jutsu called 'Senei Jashuu' and dozens of snake shot out of his sleeves wrapping them around the Toad Sennin. Trapped by the snakes Jiraiya couldn't avoid being hit in the face forcing him to step back a little.

Orochimaru seeing that Jiraiya was taking a few steps back tried to close the distance so he could finish the fight up close and personally. Just when he was about to reach him Jiraiya used one of his own original techniques called 'Ninpou: Harijizou' which made his hair grow and strengthening it into sharp and strong spikes ripping through the snakes. Orochimaru just managed to dodge the spikes by jumping to the side narrowly avoiding being stabbed by Jiraiya's hair. The attack wasn't finished however and the long white hair followed the snake Sannin until it managed to grab him. Orochimaru cursed loudly when he felt the spikes catch him around the body and holding him in place cutting him all over his body. Jiraiya tried to finish the fight by forming a Rasengan in his hand and aimed it straight at Orochimaru who at the last moment opened his mouth and fired the famous and legendary 'Kusanagi' swords at his incoming opponent. Jiraiya couldn't dodge the sword completely and it cut him deeply into the right arm just above the elbow. Instantly he could feel the venom ,that was on the blade, starting to work and he tried to shrug it off but without success. He wasn't really afraid since Tsunade was there to heal him back to full health later on. Still the poison would slow him down and his right arm was almost useless now.

Suddenly a huge explosion rocked the place and both Orochimaru and Jiraiya turned their head to see what had happened. They saw smoke coming from the direction where Naruto and Kabuto were fighting and Orochimaru scolded knowing that Kabuto didn't use explosive attacks or jutsu's so he figured it was the blonde who had created the explosion. Jiraiya too had come to this conclusion and smirked at Orochimaru.

"Seems like Naruto is dealing with your companion pretty well don't you think?

Orochimaru didn't bother to respond but inwardly he was seething mad. He still had need for Kabuto so it would mean trouble if he allowed Kabuto to get killed. He grinned and disappeared into the ground intent on dealing with Tsunade and the blonde nuisance called Uzumaki Naruto. Jiraiya immediately made his way over to his companions as well hoping he would make it in time. The look on Orochimaru's face told him that things would go very wrong if he let him have his way.

Emerging out of the ground Orochimaru never expected to see his young henchman getting hit by a fully cured Tsunade. Even he winced when he heard Kabuto's jaw shattering in pieces and then crashing into the trees. Orochimaru knew that even Kabuto with his amazing healing factor would have to spend several days resting after such a brutal attack. No matter how much of a healing ability you had, a punch from Tsunade was devastatingly painful and shattered bones instead of breaking them. Orochimaru felt Jiraiya arrive and knew that if he wanted to survive he would have to retreat. Even he was no match for two Sannin, quickly he used 'Shunshin no Jutsu' next to Kabuto's unconscious body and disappeared into the ground leaving Naruto and the rest alone in the clearing. He swore to have his revenge on them as he was furious that he had to flee for the second time in not even two months.

"Shit, he got away! We should have stopped him while we had the chance."

"Let it be Naruto, we'll get another chance don't worry."

"But Ero-sennin, if we got rid of him now we would have one less thing to worry about."

"Be that as it may Naruto, it's too late now to chase him. Who knows where he is by now. Besides we have more important things to do. Alright pervert show me your wounds so I can heal them."

"Thanks Tsunade, the poison from the Kusanagi sword is troublesome to say the least. It's taking all my strength to stay standing right now."

After healing Jiraiya and resting for a bit they decided that they would spend the night there and make their way back to Konoha the next day. Naruto agreed grudgingly since he wanted to be back at Konoha as fast as possible. Jiraiya joked that he missed Anko too much to which he replied that 'of course he wanted to be with his super-sexy girlfriend that he hadn't seen for almost a month'. The smirk on Jiraiya's face disappeared after the word 'super-sexy' and a perverted grin settled on his face. Naturally that was enough for Tsunade to punch his lights out making Naruto laugh loudly at Ero-sennin's foolishness. Little did they know that they were being observed from afar.

"So, should we attack?"

"Don't be foolish Kisame. Naruto is accompanied by two Sannin, attacking him now would be pure suicide. There will be other chances soon so for now we retreat as well."

"Fine, it's a shame they didn't dispose of that traitor Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru is no threat to us at this moment. We'll deal with him when the time comes."

The larger one shrugged and followed his partner into the darkness of the forest. He knew that he couldn't go against his orders, he was strong but even he would have trouble against the genius of the Uchiha clan. He shook his head thinking at how Itachi had slaughtered his entire clan except his little brother. Not even he was that cold and he had done some terrible things in his life as well. Once again shrugging he kept following his partner in silence leaving for their headquarters to retire for the night as well.

The next morning Naruto was awake much earlier than the rest and after bothering Jiraiya enough to get up both of them had a quick spar though Jiraiya didn't hold back any punches this time hoping that Naruto would learn not to wake him this early in the morning. After breakfast they departed again for Konoha using high speed travel, Naruto insisted that they would run as long as possible since he wanted to reach Konoha that night or early the next morning.

"So Gaki, what are you going to do when we arrive at Konoha?"

"First I'll go find Anko-chan and then I'll tell her everything that happened while having some ramen and dango. After that maybe I'll go find the rest of the gang and spend some time together. I wonder if they got stronger over the past month?"

"Anko-chan huh? From what I hear you seem to love her very much."

"Of course I love her! She means everything to me, she's the one who trained me after my graduation. Without her I would still be the dead last and I would probably still be a loud and annoying immature kid."

"Remind me to thank her then. If you were even more annoying than you are now then I shudder to imaging how you were before."

"Thanks a lot Baa-chan."

"What did I tell you about calling me that?"

"Euh not to?"

"Then remember it you damn Gaki!"

Laughter filled the forest as Naruto started evading Tsunade's punches while laughing loudly making Jiraiya and Shizune laugh as well at their silly behavior. Both of them could see that Naruto and Tsunade had accepted each other as precious people and both of them would do anything to make sure the other was safe and happy. Even if that meant to annoy each other once in a while.

In the village everything had been going fairly well, Konoha shinobi were doing mission after mission and the evidence of the attack was almost completely cleared up as well. Of course some minor problems had come up here and there but nothing that couldn't be dealt with. Beginning Genin and Academy students were ordered to clean up the debris from the destroyed buildings while older genin took care of the D-rank missions and even C-rank missions as well. Chuunin and Jounin were being deployed for higher ranked missions, it wouldn't do for Konoha to show any weakness since the other villages like Iwa or Kumo wouldn't hesitate to use the opportunity to promote their village and try to steal some of Konoha's clients. The village depended on the missions they received after all.

When the shinobi weren't busy doing missions they trained hard so that they would be ready if another attack would occur even though they knew such a thing was unlikely. Nevertheless, it was better being safe than sorry. One team took this saying very seriously. Team 8 had been training as hard as possible, they practically lived on the training field leaving only for missions and to return home to get some rest. Anko and Kurenai had been spending the day with Kiba and Shino, who wanted to work on their new techniques for a while.

"Alright that's enough for today. Well done everyone."

"But Anko-sensei we can still go on a little longer."

"No Kiba, your body needs time to rest as well. Training is good but if you push your body too much you'll do more harm than good."

"Anko is right Kiba-kun. You guys are doing great, there's no need to get hasty or impatient."

"But Naruto is getting stronger and stronger by the day. I need to train harder if I want to catch up to him."

"Kiba, listen to me. I understand that you want to get stronger and that's a good thing. But you and Naruto are different people. Naruto is Naruto and you are you. Don't focus on Naruto in your quest on becoming stronger. Become strong for yourself not for someone else. Use the rivalry you have yes but don't let it rule your life."

"So, you're saying that I should quit trying to surpass Naruto. Do you think that I'll never become as strong as Naruto, is that it?"

"No Kiba, that's not what I'm saying. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll be one of the strongest shinobi Konoha will ever have. And I know that Naruto thinks that as well. As a matter of fact I believe that all of you can become the strongest but sometimes we have to admit that there are people in the world that surpass the rest of us. Naruto is such a person but that doesn't stop any of you to train hard and become just as strong."

"Anko-sensei is right Kiba. Naruto is destined for things that are beyond us. We both knew that didn't we? Does that change anything? No it doesn't. we always said that we would become strong so we can protect those we love and the village and not for petty reasons like rivalry."

"I guess you're right Shino but still…."

"I know that it's hard sometime to see others progress at a faster pace than yourself but that's why we have each other. We're a team and we'll get strong together, the four of us will become strong."

Kiba stared at his silent friend for a second before nodding his head. He had been training very hard over the past few months but when he saw the difference between Naruto and himself he couldn't help but feel weak in comparison. While he wouldn't call it jealousy he still felt something when he thought about those feelings. Maybe he had gotten of the right track a bit while focusing on Naruto and the difference between them. Like Anko-sensei said they were two different people and there was no reason for him to feel weak and inadequate, he was strong and would only be getting stronger in time.

"You're right. I shouldn't be fixated on Naruto but I should concentrate on getting stronger for myself and for my dreams. Thanks guys, I guess I needed to hear that."

"No problem Kiba-kun, that's why we're here for. To guide and help you."

"Thank you Kurenai-sensei. Well Shino are you up for finding our third teammate?"

Shino and Kiba bid their goodbye's to Anko and Kurenai and left to find Hinata who was currently helping Sakura and Ino. Seeing their students leave for the day Anko and Kurenai went home as well. They walked through the village greeting their friends and talking to each other. When the passed the main road that started at the front gate Anko couldn't help but look at the horizon to see if Naruto wasn't approaching. She missed him very much, after a year of being together she was used to his presence and company but most of all she missed how he held her in his arms while they slept. She hated waking up alone without him next to her.

"Don't worry Anko, he'll be back soon enough."

"I know but I just miss him. I hope everything went well. And then there's also Akatsuki to worry about."

"I'm sure Naruto-kun is safe, he's with Jiraiya-sama after all. Not many shinobi can stand against one of the Sannin."

"That pervert had better not corrupted Naruto or else I'll introduce him to my newly sharpened kunai."

Kurenai chuckled as Anko went on a tirade about how she would deal with the self proclaimed super-pervert. Sometimes she wondered how Anko came up with those punishments but then she remembered that she was part of the interrogation squad and she had been working with Ibiki for a very long time as well. People who worked with the head of the interrogation section tended to get a little crazy.

Kiba and Shino arrived at the training field where the three girls trained. Every day, after their team training they would train together, helping each other getting stronger and stronger. The results had been showing as both former fan-girls had been complimented by their Jounin sensei several times over the past few weeks. It had been an amazing feeling for Sakura and Ino to be acknowledged by their teacher and fellow shinobi so both of them promised that they would do everything in their power to never disappoint them again.

"Hey girls, how's it going?"

"Hey Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, thing are going great. Sakura has mastered the first of those medical jutsu's and she's now starting on the second one. Ino has been working on her Taijutsu and family jutsu and made some great progress as well."

"Ah Hinata, you're flattering us. We're still weak compared to you and the rest."

"That's not true Ino-san. We all have our specialties and talents so don't sell yourself short. Remember that believing in yourself is just as important as training. You're only weak when you give up and you vowed to never do that."

"Oh I'm not giving up Shino but the truth is that we still have much work to do if we want to catch up to you guys."

"Well, enough training for today. Do you girls want to join me and Shino to get some food? Maybe we can round up the rest of group as well."

"Great idea Kiba, let's go."

The five of them went in search of the rest of the group and after rounding everyone up they made their way to one of the many restaurants in Konoha. The group hadn't seen much of each other lately as all of them were getting some extra training from their Jounin sensei. Shikamaru also had to deal with his Chuunin duty's as well so he was extra busy compared to the rest. They had a great time together and promised to meet again soon and all of them hoped that by then Naruto would be back as well.

So, how was it? I tried to make the fight realistic and hope that the conversation between Jiraiya and Orochimaru felt somewhat natural. I know some people said that Jiraiya should kill Orochimaru since he wasn't poisoned like in canon but unfortunately Orochimaru still has a purpose in the story so I can't kill him off. Don't worry though he'll get what's coming to him in due time. I liked writing the interaction between Naruto and Tsunade, you'll notice that when they argue Naruto seems to become less serious and act a bit like he used to be. I did this because Naruto can't be serious all the time and he needed someone with who he can act like that. Plus it brings a little laughter into the story.

Anyway thanks for waiting for this chapter and thanks for reading. I hope to see you all next week for the next chapter in this story. See you all on Sunday 27th of July. Ja ne.