I have returned, and I bring gifts! Well, one gift, the twenty fifth chapter of Kage no Naruto! You can shower me with praise and thanks later, in a review, but in the meantime enjoy the chapter.
Note, I know that this chapter took a while, by my standards at least, but what can you do? I got stuck like halfway through this chapter and had to wait for inspiration to strike for me to continue. I just couldn't get into the writing zone, what can I say? Anyway, inspiration found me and thus here is the chapter. ENJOY!
Disclaimer: If I really owned Naruto, do you think that Sasori would have been killed by that pink haired wench? I think not, even I don't write bullshit like that.
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Summary of last chapter
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There was once a twenty-fourth chapter and filler was his name-o.
Konoha picks up the pieces after the invasion, lamenting on what became of their friend and determined to find out why. Jiraiya concentrated on getting his wounds healed so that he could find Tsunade and convince her to become the Godaime Hokage, and the Council fucked things up, big shock right there.
Naruto prepared to find Orochimaru and Tsunade and sent out Haruka, Yukino, and Absalom to do the job. What shall happen when these forces collide? Read and find out, don't waste your time here!
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Gobi's former lair, Naruto's current lair
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Naruto woke up, with Perona clinging to his side again, just like just about every other morning. What was funny was that Haku knew that she did this and you could hear her teeth grating from though the walls.
Naruto looked around, and pulled a small portrait from the bedside table with his right arm, the only one he could move. He said to the zombie sealed inside "Have Yukino and the others returned yet?"
The portrait just said "No, Naruto-sama."
Naruto frowned before putting the picture down again and then went back to sleep as Perona cuddled into him some more. He hated waking up early, the only reason he did it before in Konoha was because he had places to be. Though he did hope that those three got back with the information soon.
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Konohagakure, hospital
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Jiraiya walked out of the hospital and stretched his arms. It felt good to be out of those damn hospital clothes and back into his normal garb. No open back, and no cheap fabric either.
He returned his arms to his sides and put his mind to the job at hand. Finding Tsunade and somehow convince her to return to Konoha and take up the mantle of Hokage before those council morons could do some kind of irreparable harm.
He took a look around, observing the damage that the Suna and Oto forces had managed to do during the invasion which he was too wounded to stop. He felt some regret for the lives that were lost simply because he wasn't a hundred percent at the time.
Then he felt a sudden twinge in his side which he put his hand to, he still wasn't a hundred percent. Those weird guys were pretty tough and they managed to do quite the number on him. He was functional but it wouldn't be wise to go fighting any Jounin or Kage level ninja for a while. That slash in his side was really deep, but he had no other choice at the time.
The toad sage suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke as he headed toward the agreed upon location for him to meet the team that was to go with him. Due to his condition the all knowing council decided to order a few ninja to go with him to assist him in coercing Tsunade as well as guard him while he was a bit vulnerable.
He wondered who he would get as he arrived at the agreed upon training ground. There were a bunch of possible choices for who would assist him, but he didn't expect something like this.
First off, there wasn't one team, there were two. Second, they were fucking Gennin teams. Team eight and Team Gai to be specific. The miniature clone known as Rock Lee shouted out "Finally Jiraiya-sama has arrived! Now we can begin our mission!"
Jiraiya just brought the two Jounin, Gai and Kurenai, over to one side as he asked "What the hell are Gennin doing here? This isn't going to be kid stuff, if we run into enemies it will be more than they can handle."
Gai just said, serious for once, "The council ordered it. It was originally just going to be my team, but due to the issue with Naruto, they ordered Kurenai's team to come with us as well."
Jiraiya sighed and said "Yes, I get that, but why Gennin at all? Why not the Jounin, or better yet ANBU who would normally handle a job like this?"
Kurenai sighed and said "It's the invasion. Most of the ANBU and Jounin are handling high paying missions that are crucial to keep the village economy stable and keep relations with other nations and villages stable while we pick up the pieces from the attack. As a result they stuck Gennin on a mission like this."
Gai nodded and said "That pretty much covers it. Besides Jiraiya-sama, this is just supposed to be a retrieval, it shouldn't be difficult since we are just bringing back Tsunade-sama. The only reason this mission would be dangerous is the possibility of powerful enemies that are as likely to appear as they are to not appear."
Jiraiya sighed again and said "Exactly, however if enemies do show up then this mission will jump from C-rank to A-rank borderline S-rank depending on who it is. There is a very real chance of somebody powerful like Orochimaru showing up on this one."
Kurenai frowned and asked "What makes you think that Orochimaru will show up on this mission?"
Jiraiya glanced at the Gennin to make sure they weren't being eavesdropped on and said "Listen, Sarutobi-sensei was killed by Orochimaru, but he went down fighting. He left certain wounds that only a very powerful medic could hope to heal. Tsunade is one of three or four people in the world that would be able to do it and of them, one is in Suna which Orochimaru recently betrayed, and the other two are either dead or in hiding. If he is going to attempt to heal himself then he has no choice but to turn to Tsunade. That is why I requested Jounin for this mission."
Jiraiya sighed before he went on "But it doesn't matter does it? The council ordered you two and your teams to come with me and as long as there isn't a Hokage nobody can stop them from doing whatever they want unless the Daimyo takes notice. Get your Gennin in line, this isn't going to be an easy job, either finding her or getting her to come with us, so we can't waste any time."
The two Jounin nodded and went to get their teams ready to leave. Jiraiya looked at the memorial stone and thought 'Minato, see what your stupidity has done? I told you not to do the seal yourself, to let me or Sarutobi-sensei do it, but you ignored me and now look what became of your son. You moron, if you hadn't done that, the invasion a week ago wouldn't have even happened. Hell, there's a good chance that Orochimaru and Naruto wouldn't have gone rogue. You fucking idiot, doing dumb stuff right until the end when I thought I had beat it out of you.'
He was broken from his mental ramblings as Kurenai said "We're ready to go Jiraiya-sama."
The old man nodded and said to them all "Right, I'm not sure how long this mission will take, but we have to try and get it over with as quickly as possible. Failure isn't an option, we HAVE to find her. So let's stop wasting time and get going." They all nodded and Jiraiya led them at a quick pace out of the village, to the next town where they would begin their search for Tsunade, and attempt to get her to become Hokage.
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Some random clearing
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Yukino, Haruka, and Absalom were currently using Yukino's unique abilities to find the two targets. Yukino was watching the multiple mirrors, each showing a different image every few seconds. It was completely amazing that she was able to keep track of them all.
However, keeping track of all of that information takes an inhuman amount of focus, normal people wouldn't have a prayer. The Rokubi Jinchuuriki dealt with this by entering a trance-like state, completely shutting out all outside stimuli, focusing solely on her work, being able to do little more than speak and if she really concentrated, to write a map, though that seriously pushed her focus. The downside of this was that it left her completely open to attack. Hence, she needed to be guarded during the vulnerable time that she was searching for the target, a protection that her good, and only friend, Haruka was more than happy to provide.
Haruka was searching around the forest near the clearing, looking for any possible enemies that would take advantage of Yukino while she was unable to defend herself. In another section of the forest, Absalom was doing the same. Yukino was without a doubt the best tracking ninja alive, if they were anywhere in her extremely extensive range, she could find them. You would have to be at least a country away before you could believe that she wouldn't be able to find you.
They had been at this for over an hour now, Hi no Kuni was a pretty big country, and full of large trees that obstructed the view, not to mention the fact that they were on the far side of it. It would be a while for the shy Jinchuuriki to comb through the miles and miles of forests in search of two specific people.
Haruka sighed as she looked over at her friend, sitting in the grass as numerous tentacles of plant material swayed around her like a mass of seaweed. The tendrils could be used for attacking or defending but the numerous pods that were released from the tendrils would be destroyed immediately, Yukino needed to move each one individually, mentally giving it commands, and they were very fragile. If her concentration broke, they would fall, break, and disintegrate back into chakra.
Haruka was broken from her thoughts when she sensed a chakra signature nearing the clearing, about five miles away and heading straight for them. 'No wait, not just one, multiple signatures, and at least one is large enough to warrant a retreat, while the other two I could probably handle with Absalom's help. A number of smaller ones too. A few Gennin squads maybe? But who are they?' She shook her head and banished the unnecessary questions. Right now, she had to get them out of there. Someone powerful was coming and she didn't want to fight them, not with Yukino in the line of fire.
She turned and jumped into the clearing as Yukino smiled and jotted down a few lines of print onto the paper before her before dispelling the mirrors as the plant material vanished into the ground. She turned to her friend and said "I found them both. Tsunade is in a town called Tanzaku-Gai, and it looks like she'll be there for a while. Orochimaru is inside a small compound in Hi no Kuni, but it looks like he'll be moving toward her very soon. Haruka-chan, what's wrong?"
Haruka was nervous, those chakra signals were getting closer way too fast for her liking. She said "Yukino, a group of ninja are coming here, and fast. We need to get going immediately."
Absalom jumped from the trees and landed heavily nearby. He growled "What's the problem? We're not here to fight anyway, we just need to get out of here and get the information to Naruto-sama."
Haruka looked at the beast man in shock as he said the one thing that they were ordered not to say, the name of their master, especially with enemies so close by.
Her fears were enhanced when they heard a voice in the trees yell "What do you people know of Naruto-kun?"
They looked up to the trees and saw a large amount of people, led by two Jounin and Jiraiya of the Sannin, arranged on the branches of several trees. The one who yelled was a boy wearing a green spandex jumpsuit.
Absalom recognized the member of the Sannin and of his current weakness. He growled "Nothing that would concern you boy, you couldn't hope to match us in any case. Move along or we'll have to reorganize your entrails."
The Hyuuga boy with them scoffed and said "You fools, you will give us your information on our teammate or you will die here, it is fate. WE have Jiraiya of the Sannin with us, you cannot hope to win."
Haruka frowned and Yukino looked up a bit worried at said ninja. They both knew that running wouldn't do much good, they couldn't escape on foot from Jiraiya, at least not with the Jounin helping him. There was the option of using the crystals that Naruto gave them, but those took some time to use. The Kage Hokou technique wasn't anything simple, darkness is connected but it's corrosive, it requires an expenditure of well controlled chakra to protect oneself from the darkness on the way. Naruto had done it so often that it was made second nature to him long ago, but to them, it would take a little while to force the chakra to mold in the correct way.
The bottom line was, that they would have to fight long enough and buy some time for them to get out of there. If it was Jiraiya alone, they would have gone for the victory since he was wounded, but with two Jounin with him, victory was extremely unlikely.
Haruka smirked a bit as she said "You're the fools here, kid. We know that Jiraiya is wounded, not at his full strength. We could probably take you all down without much effort. I don't know why you would bother with Naruto-san anyway, it's not like you could get him to come with you."
The spandex clad boy yelled "You're wrong! Naruto-kun didn't leave of his own will, he couldn't have! He loves Konoha, and always has! There must be some reason behind him leaving that we are not yet aware of, it is the only explanation!"
Absalom smiled, revealing his large, sharp teeth which frightened the Hyuuga girl a bit. Then he said "Standards truly have fallen, and fallen far when it comes to a warrior's mindset. Do any of them realize how the world works? Of course not, they aren't ready for it yet, it would shatter them wouldn't it, shatter the weak minds of your students. You will obviously not leave us in peace so we shall have to leave you a parting gift. Haruka, Yukino, let's show these children what true warriors can do."
Haruka pulled out two kunai, holding one in each hand as she smiled and said "Lead on Absalom, I'm right behind you."
Yukino trembled a little as she pulled out a kunai of her own. She didn't like it when Haruka got bloodthirsty like that, nor did she like fighting. Then she hardened her heart and stared at her opponents. She didn't like fighting much, but she would do what she had to do, to protect herself and more importantly, protect Haruka.
The various ninja before them tensed up as Absalom raised one hand, facing his palm towards them. Then before they could do anything else, he yelled "DEAD MAN'S HAND!" and the trees were engulfed in fire.
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Naruto's cave, formerly part of the Hokage Mountains
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Naruto was talking to Hogback in the doctor's lab. Naruto, who had gotten up about half an hour before, was discussing the results of some tests that the aged doctor had performed on Anko regarding the Curse Seal.
"So Hogback, you're saying that the reason behind the transformation, the power boost, and everything is completely separate from the elements that give Orochimaru control over the subject."
Hogback nodded, excited a bit by some of the implications. "Yes Naruto-sama. The transformation of the body and discoloration of the skin is caused by a separate agent than the controlling element. Judging by some of the mixtures in the blood, it is probably some kind of enzyme. What the enzyme is comprised of and where Orochimaru obtains it from however, I do not know."
Naruto nodded and asked "So what gives Orochimaru the control over the person?"
Hogback flipped a page in the report he was holding and said "I'm not quite sure. Whatever it is, it probably isn't anything medical, more than likely something caused by Ninjutsu than anything else. Whatever it is, it is probably safe to remove it from the host body, there aren't likely to be any reprisals."
Naruto nodded, and asked "So what about the enzyme? Is it possible to remove that?"
Hogback looked at the young man and said "I don't think so. Whatever is in the enzyme that creates the seal bonds with the person on a minute scale. It is theoretically possible to find a way to remove it all, and therefore remove the seal but that wouldn't be a good idea. The enzyme bonds with several important systems in the body, including but not excluded to the digestive system, the nervous system, the circulatory system and the skeletal system. Removing the enzyme would cause these systems to weaken severely, more likely than not the shock would kill the subject outright. Even if it didn't kill them, it would probably leave them crippled. I'm sorry Naruto-sama, but removing the seal is far too dangerous to be plausible, even if we found a way to do it."
Naruto nodded and stayed silent, thinking for a moment before saying "Well, if we can't remove Anko's Curse Seal, then we can still remove the element that allows Orochimaru to harm or control the person right?"
The doctor nodded "Yes, Naruto-sama, that should be possible, though it would take me some time to find out what that element is, if I am able to find it at all."
Naruto nodded and said "Do so, as quickly as possible. I don't intend for Orochimaru to have any control over someone close to me, especially not someone as strong as Anko."
Hogback looked at him a bit shocked "You think that she could defeat you?"
Naruto chuckled a bit and said "Hogback, of course not, I know that she couldn't beat me, but she could cause a lot of damage before she goes down if it came to that. Anyway, try and find out what it is about the Curse Seal that allows Orochimaru to control them, after that we'll work together on a way to remove that element."
Hogback nodded before turning to some nearby equipment to get back to work, calling for his assistant Kagerou to get some tissue sample for him.
Naruto left the lab and left the doctor to his work.
He walked into the dining room and found that most everybody was still missing. Hogback was at work obviously, Haruka, Yukino, and Absalom were still out on that scouting mission and to be honest he was starting to get worried. He might have to send someone else out to find those three.
The only ones that were there were Perona, Haku, and Anko. Temari was probably in her room. She had been staying there a lot, though everyone still saw her. Naruto put it down to the shock of her father and brother betraying her, and leaving her village. It just took a little while to sink in, the severity of the changes that happened in one day. He was planning to talk to her soon and get her to snap out of it. But first, he had breakfast to eat, well it was closer to noon so brunch, but whatever, it was the thought behind it damn it.
Naruto sat down at the head of the table as usual. Whenever Haku and Perona were in the same room there was bound to be tension, and it was here in spades. He was pretty sure that there was more than one catfight when nobody was around to stop them. It would explain why Perona's bedroom was covered in ice that one time and why Haku had to have a gash in her arm stitched up.
Still, Anko was a bit happier than normal. He and Hogback had taken tissue and blood samples from her to form some tests on the Curse Seal's affect on the body and she was told that she would be getting some results today. She was very happy at the thought of removing the seal once and for all.
"So" she chirped, obviously in a good mood "How did those tests turn out Naruto-kun?"
Naruto looked at the woman as he poured himself some tea and said "Good news and bad news Anko-chan."
Anko was taken aback a bit and asked "So what's the bad news?"
Naruto frowned a bit before saying "The Curse Seal itself cannot be removed. There might be a way, but it would probably end up killing you even if we did it right."
Anko frowned a bit at that, she was rather sad and angry at the thought that the snake still had some kind of power over her even after all this time. Then she asked, more sullen then before "So what's the good news?"
Naruto smiled as he added sugar to the cup of liquid and said "The good news is that there is a way to remove Orochimaru's control of you through the seal. We just have to find out the exact method. It might take some time, but you'll probably be free of Orochimaru before long."
Anko was stunned, she might still have the mark, but she would be free of Orochimaru? That was the best she could have hoped for after hearing that first bit of news. And it put a complete one eighty on her mood.
She jumped across the table and clamped her arms around his neck shouting "Thankyouthankyouthankyou Naruto-kun!" Then she kissed him right on the lips before letting go suddenly and blushing a bit at her own actions.
"I um-I uh, Ihavesomewheretobebye." Then she vanished into the nearby hallway.
Naruto looked at the open door before saying "Well, apparently she's having a good morning. Never expected Anko to be so friendly, huh what do you know?"
The two girls were just glaring at the open door, thinking something along the lines of 'How dare that harlot kiss MY Naruto-kun!'
Naruto got up from the chair and said "Right, well I am going to check on those three that I sent out yesterday. They should have been back by now and I'm starting to worry. See you later Perona-chan, Haku-chan."
Then he kissed each of them on the cheek before leaving the room, snagging a bagel on the way out, leaving the two women on their own.
Perona just sighed before turning her attention to the ice user before her. Haku just glared right back at her competition.
Perona just said "Why don't you just give up already!? Naruto-kun is mine and always will be!"
Haku smiled a bit as she said "We'll see about that. He had to feel at least something for him to save me from death that day, and he'll eventually realize that I'm better for him than you."
Perona frowned a little before saying, quietly, seriously "Just why do you care for him so much anyway?"
Haku frowned a bit at that, Perona was never asked important questions like that. She thought for a minute and said "I'm not really sure. I just feel this deep urge to be near him, to make him happy. Maybe it's a feeling of debt, that I want to help him because he saved me or something like that. Maybe it's because he gave me a reason to live after Zabuza died. I don't know." Then she paused for a second before continuing "I don't know why I feel the way I do but I know this much, I care for Naruto-kun deeply, and I won't let you stand in my way. I don't care if it takes me centuries to win him, but I will never give up."
Perona was quiet for a minute before saying "Do you really, really care for him so much, are you really that determined, or are you just saying that?"
Haku said, very seriously "I mean that, every last word."
Perona was silent for a moment, weighing her option. She was afraid that she would have to do this, but this would probably be the best decision in the long term. "Fine then, if you really care for him that much, then I have a solution to both of our problems."
Haku was a bit curious, she had never seen Perona like this before "What do you mean by that? The only solution here is for one of us to give up on him. I know that I'll never do that, and I know that, as much as I hate to say it, you feel the same way about him. There's nothing for it except to attempt to outdo each other in an attempt to make him like one of us and forget the other. The only solution you could possibly have is to just give up on him. At least, that's the only solution that I can see."
Perona sighed again before saying "Dear, sad Haku-chan, so selfish. You're thinking only of yourself, not caring at all about Naruto-kun's feelings for either of us. It's been growing more and more obvious over the last few months that he's been growing fond of you, enough so that you're encouraged to take my place at his side. However, it is clear, to me at least, that he cares for us equally, more or less."
Haku wasn't quite sure what to make of this. She asked "Just what are you getting at Perona?"
Perona sighed in irritation before looking the ice girl in the eye and saying "He cares for us equally, so if one of us eventually wins him and nabs him for themselves, he'll be sad because the one who didn't get him will be sad, and if you feel the same way that I do, then that will make you sad by extension because you don't want to see him unhappy. That's how I feel at least."
Haku sighed before saying "Once again, what are you getting at?"
Perona said "The only way for everyone to be happy is if he's happy, and the only way that it will happen is if I am happy and you are happy in whatever relationship occurs. However, we both want the same person, him, so even if one of us gets him, the other will be unhappy and drag the other two with her. Therefore neither of us can have him to ourselves for everyone to be happy and content. Are you starting to get what I am suggesting here?"
Haku thought about it for a second before her face lit up at the implication. "A-a-are you suggesting that we…that we share him?"
Perona nodded slowly.
Haku's embarrassment went into overdrive "But wouldn't that mean that we would all be in bed…together…naked." Her face flushed even more at the thought of the three of them doing…things.
Perona smiled and said "What? Is little Haku-chan afraid that I would outdo her in the bedroom? You don't have to worry about that, it will happen whether you worry or not, but I don't think that he'll like you any less for it."
Haku tried to find a way out of the embarrassing compromise and still salvage a bit of pride "B-but why would you even suggest such a thing?"
Perona looked at the girl in irritation "Didn't I just spell it out? If either of us hogs him, nobody wins, but if we share him, everyone wins. It's the best solution." Then Perona's face got a little red as she stuttered over this next bit "P-plus I've… well I've always wondered what it will be like with…with another…girl you know? Doesn't everyone think like that at least once?"
Haku looked at the blushing Perona and said "Aww, does little Perona-chan think that I will be too much for her? Or do you think that I'll shoot down your little three-way fantasy?" She paused to take in one of the rare moments that Perona blushed before saying "Well, I do have a little secret to tell about that sort of thing."
Perona was a bit curious at that "What do you mean?"
Haku blushed a bit more before saying "Well, when I was pretending to be a boy, and I said I liked girls, I wasn't really lying. It might have been an acquired taste to complete my disguise but I found myself liking girls as much as boys one day, so the thought of sharing him isn't repulsive, just a little…weird." Then she thought 'Not to mention hot as hell, what Perona-chan's chest looks like out of that shirt…NO! Must not have a nosebleed!'
Looking on as Haku reigned in her inner pervert she said "So we have a deal? We share him and stop all this fighting?" Then held out her hand.
Haku managed to suppress a bloody nose and said "Yeah, we have a deal." Then shook the hand of the Ghost Princess.
Far away, a pig took flight and hell froze over, the impossible just happened.
Naruto just finished his bagel as he listened to the conversation from behind the door. He didn't look it, but he was happy. Who wouldn't be happy after hearing that two hot girls decided to share him? He just thought 'Top that you old perv' before walking off.
Inside the room Perona said "Now, we have to deal with another problem."
Haku looked at her new…girlfriend, she almost blushed at the thought and said "Anko and Temari right?"
Perona nodded and said "Exactly, I don't want to share Naruto-kun more than I have to, so I think we should put any hopes they might have to bed right now. Nip it in the bud."
Haku nodded and said "For once you're talking sense. But before then, let's just eat."
Perona nodded and ate one of the eggs "Wow, you're really a good cook Haku-chan."
Haku prevented herself from blushing at the comment and said "Hey, Rei-chan helped you know."
And it went on for the rest of the day like that. But Naruto sent out four soldier zombies led by Gomorrah in search of the missing trio of ninja. They rushed out towards where the three should be, in search of their allies, and any possible foes.
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FILLER, CLIFFHANGERS, AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! NO ACTION HERE HAH!
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, if you did then review and tell me so. Haku and Perona finally make amends and are in agreement for once, that Anko and Temari must never get close to Naruto, and what shall become of Absalom, Haruka, and Yukino? Where the fuck are Orochimaru and Tsunade? Find out, WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT!
Until the next update,
Artful Lounger