Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Enjoy. – laydee kai
A Son's Path: the Last Namikaze
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Information
The walk to Konoha was an uneventful one, which to all members of the party, was more than okay. Karei had begun to tire from the walk, so she decided that it might be a good idea to take Naruto up on his offer for a toad to carry her.
"Naruto-san? Is that offer still open… for the toad ride?" she asked.
"Of course Karei-san." He replied.
Naruto nipped his finger and flew the signs. Once the smoke cleared, Karei climbed on to the horse sized toad's back. She had to admit to herself that she wished she would have taken him up on that offer sooner. However, she hadn't realized that not having her sister attached to her would affect her that way.
"It shouldn't be much longer until we get to Konoha." Jiraiya said.
"Okay… honestly, I am in no rush. I am still nervous as too what will happen to us once we get there." Karei stated.
"That's understandable Karei-san. But Tsunade shouldn't be too harsh if you provide us with some help. However, you will have to do something to make amends more than likely."
"I know. I think I am more scared for my sister… let's just say she has never been an easy person to get along with."
"I kind of picked up on that." Naruto said with a grin.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. It wasn't long until they approached the large gates of Konoha.
The vibrations of the two toads seemed to have alerted the guards a little bit before they reached the gate, because they stood ready and waiting to see what all the noise was about.
"Naruto! Jiraiya-sama! We thought you two would have been gone longer!" the first guard said, obviously surprised to see them.
"We should have known that the slight tremors were caused by you." He said walking around the two large toads. "I see you brought home some strays."
"That is not very nice!" Karei snapped.
"Oh! Feisty…" the second guard countered. "State your name and reason for visiting the Leaf."
Karei opened her mouth to answer and before she could, Naruto spoke up.
"This is Karei-san, and her sister…" he pointed to the other toad "…Kedamono-san. As of now they aren't really visitors but more so prisoners. We found them on our mission and Karei-san has offered to lend us some much needed help."
"They are under our supervision for now." Jiraiya spoke up. "However, if you would summon Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura and a few ANBU and have them meet us at the hospital, we would appreciate it. They are in need of medical treatment first."
"Hai" the both said in unison.
The two guards bowed to Jiraiya and Naruto as they made their way through the gates and towards the hospital. The guards looked at each other and shrugged.
"They always keep the oddest company… she smelled. Like she hadn't bathed in weeks."
"You are one to talk… you smell like that now." The second guard said.
"What do you mean now? I showered this morning!" the first replied, slightly offended.
"Sure you did. Look stinky… I will go and notify the Hokage. I don't want your odor to offend her." The second guard said laughing as he took off before the other could reply.
The first guard stood there alone for a minute. His eyes scanned the area to make sure that there was no one around. Once he was satisfied that he was indeed alone, he did a quick smell check.
"Huh! I do not stink!" he sniffed again "Much… I mean it is hot out here and you do sweat…" he mumbled as he walked back into the small guard stand.
- - xXxXx - -
The guard knocked on the Hokage's door as he cracked it open.
"Hokage-sama?" he said as he poked his head in when he received no answer.
He paled at the sight of the sleeping Hokage. He had heard stories of what happen to the majority of those who had tried to wake the sleeping blonde. He stood in front of her desk, nervously wringing his hands. He was about to speak up when he heard the door open behind him. He quickly turned, relived to find Shizune.
"Shizune-san!" he said. "Naruto and Jiraiya have returned and request that You, Hokage-sama and Sakura-san meet them at the hospital."
"At the hospital? Were they injured?" she asked, worried.
"No. But they brought home two kunoichis who seemed to be in need of medical treatment. It seemed urgent. Jiraiya-sama also requests a few ANBU guards for the two women."
"Alright. I will handle it. Thank you… you may return to your post."
"Hai." The guard said as he bowed and quickly vanished. He really didn't want to be in the room when Shizune tried to wake up the Hokage.
Shizune sighed and walked up to the sleeping blonde. She cleared her throat.
"Lady Tsunade!" she yelled.
The Hokage nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Shizune. She turned and glared at the woman standing next to her.
"Don't even try to fuss at me! You know that you have things to do and you are here sleeping!"
"Well, I didn't get much sleep last night." Tsunade whined.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have stayed up all night drinking! I swear… would you please start acting like you are the Hokage for Kami's sake!"
Tsunade looked at her and sighed.
"So why did you wake me up?" she groaned.
"Naruto and Jiraiya are back. They want you and me to meet them at the hospital… and no they weren't hurt. They picked up someone who needed help. Sakura is already at the hospital on her shift and I will summon two ANBU for guards."
"Let's go then." Tsunade stood and stretched. Shizune followed behind her.
The two women made their way to the room where they were being waited on. Tsunade opened the door and eyed Naruto and Jiraiya as she entered.
"That was quick." She said.
"Well, we just happened to get lucky. This is Karei-san and her sister, Kedamono-san. They were guards at the Northern Base and Karei-san here has some information that would help us."
"They both look rough. You were right to bring them here for treatment. We will let Sakura and Shizune begin with that right now." She turned to Naruto and Jiraiya. "You two go home and get some rest. I will call you when they are up to talking."
"Hai baa-chan." Naruto said with a smirk and vanished before she could say anything.
"You know sometimes I wish you two weren't so alike." Tsunade said to Jiraiya.
"And why is that?" he asked.
"Because neither one of you listens to me…and it really doesn't even do my any good to try and make you. You can both be headaches… but you are some of the best damn ninjas I have."
"Awe… hime, I'm touched."
"Get the hell out of here you old goat… I have work to do!" she said with a smirk.
"Hai… you know were to find us when you are done." With that, Jiraiya turned and simply walked out of the room.
- - xXxXx - -
Naruto hadn't realized how attached he had become to his home in the short time that he had been staying there. But he truly had missed the place. The normal warm breeze greeted him at the gates as they opened.
"It's good to be home… Mom… Dad." He said, the last part quietly.
He noticed that there was a difference in the breeze. It didn't feel quite as warm, almost as if it were a little sad. Naruto just shook his head trying not to think of his dead parents being sad.
He made his way up to his bed room and unpacked his things. Grabbing a change of clothes and a towel, he decided it was time for a shower.
Even though they had only been gone a total of two weeks, Naruto had desperately missed showering regularly. A hot shower and warm, soft bed were considered to be a luxury when he and his godfather were on the road collecting information. As he stood in the shower, he could feel his muscles relaxing from the hot water. Naruto watched as the dirt was being washed away from his body.
Naruto enjoyed the shower for other reasons. It was a place to think and to unwind. And he never just jumped in a shower unless he was in a rush, he liked to take his time when he could.
Naruto began to think about what he would have to do after Karei told them about the other two members of Hebi. He knew that her information would prove helpful, but yet that they shouldn't rely on it solely. It was that reason that he gathered as much of the information left in the lab as he could before he blew it up. He would start dealing with that soon enough.
"Before I even start with that I really need to let Yuri know that we are okay and that we found some information." He said to himself.
He stepped out of the shower and dried off. After putting on his clean clothes, he brushed his teeth and made an honest attempt at combing through his hair. But it didn't matter. No matter how many times he fixed it, it would always revert back to the blonde mess that it liked.
Naruto made his way to his father's study. With the security around the estate, he knew that this would be the safest place for him to work on the information he found. He sat down at the desk and took out a piece of paper and began to scribble a little note on it for Yuri.
Once he was finished, he placed the scrolls that he had used to seal the other documents and equipment in, on the desk and created a couple of clones.
"These scrolls contain some very important documents and such. The information is very valuable to the up coming war against Hebi. Please make sense of it and organize it for me. I would like at least two copies made, one for the Hokage and one for the Mizukage."
The clones nodded and began on the task that their master had set for them. He rose from his desk and walked to the door. He turned to them before he left.
"I am going to seal you guys in here. Until we know everything that is there, you will not stop and will not leave. No one is to know of this information that is why you along with it are being locked in here."
The clones nodded and went back to work. Naruto shut the door behind him. He nipped the end of his finger and activated the blood seals that were on the door. Once he was satisfied with the locks, he left to go outside.
If he was going to take a nap, he wanted to be outside enjoying the wonderful day. He planned to lay in the grass by the memorial for his parents. He sat down in front of the stone marker and bowed his head to say a quick prayer for his parents. After a moment of silence he opened his eyes and summoned a small toad.
"Hiya boss!" a small blue and orange toad said.
"I need you to do me a small favor."
"Sure thing… what can I do for you?"
"I need you to take this message to Yuri for me." Naruto stopped speaking when he realized that the breeze around him had gotten warmer when he mentioned Yuri's name. "She has one of your sisters with her, Ami. You should be able to find Yuri by find Ami."
"Not a problem Naruto!"
The small toad took the piece of rolled up paper from Naruto, waved to him and then disappeared. Naruto sighed and then stretched out in the grass for a small nap. He smiled to himself.
"So that's why the breeze wasn't as war before, Yuri wasn't with me. My parents must miss her too." He thought to himself. "I must be going crazy… but at the same time, I like to think that they are here in spirit."
-END-
