I'm glad to say i've not completely forgotten Sakura. this chapter's longer than usual, it came to about 13 and a half pages, although it's understandable. This is a definite marker of my progress, now things are going to get intense. This is a massive POP (Point Of Progression), I want to know what you think about it.
Disclaimer: Still can't believe it about Johnny Bosch. i mean the guy was a Power Ranger for crying out loud.
The kit leaves for the hunt…
Naruto made his way home, his hands in his pockets and an uncharacteristic frown on his face. He had managed to fool the four Oto nin, but what they said had really gotten to him. If Orochimaru wanted to help him… did that mean Madara was experiencing some sort of trouble? Being a Sannin, if Orochimaru were to train him, then he would definitely become stronger. But what would be the cost? Leaving the village for one thing… and Sakura.
"What would Sakura do if I decided to go to Orochimaru?" he thought, "Of course, she would come with me. She doesn't really have a-"
Naruto stopped, his mouth hanging open. Whatever Naruto did, wherever he went, Sakura would have to follow. Her life depended on it. Naruto's head lowered till he was looking down at the ground. Sakura had no choice but to stay with him. Was it just luck that their relationship was like this? If she had never felt the way she did, how would she react to this situation?
"You shouldn't think about that."
"Huh?"
"I saw her eyes. I have no doubt in my mind of her feelings for you. She would follow you anywhere."
Naruto nodded slowly. He'd forgotten that the Kyubi had met Sakura. And from what he understood, the Kyubi had thought nothing of it. He wasn't sure how that made him feel.
He walked into his apartment and kicked off his sandals, before dropping down onto his bed. He lay there, arms folded behind his head and one leg resting on the other. He glanced down at the floor as Zenko's fur changed from a dull shade back to its usual brilliant shade of red. It looked like they'd managed to escape after all. That was something, to say the least.
"So… Orochimaru wants me to join him." he thought, "What's your take on that?"
"Hm… actually, it would seem he's been rather cunning. It's obvious that it is a trap, in fact, it's too obvious. It almost makes his offer believable, because if he really were trying to capture you, his plan would be much more intricate than simply asking you to come along."
"So you think he's legit?" Naruto thought.
"No, I definitely think it's a trap. By using a story like that, he's trying to make you lower your guard. I think he believes that you'll either see it as an obvious trap and decide to spring it, or that you actually believe his story and will willingly join him."
"So what should I do?" Naruto thought.
"In the end, it comes down to your own choice. If he is being honest, then you would have to decide between him and Jiraiya. Jiraiya will definitely train you, but he may also try to cut you off from my chakra. There's no guarantee of Orochimaru training you, but if he does, then it will be without restrictions."
"Without restrictions huh?" Naruto thought, "…In that case, the decision's easy."
"What are you thinking Naruto?"
"You can't guess?" Naruto asked aloud.
"You know I can't. you are unpredictable after all."
"Yeah… I am…"
* * * * *
"I have to say, I'm impressed with your progress." Kakashi said, looking at his students approvingly, "Even you Sakura, you've improved well."
Sakura smiled to herself. While it was true she'd gotten better, it was nothing compared to how far Naruto and Sasuke had come.
"So when's our next mission?" Naruto asked, with a tired face. Kakashi gazed away, a distant look his eye.
"Probably the day after tomorrow." he replied, "Hokage-sama wishes me to report the changes in your abilities, she wants to be kept up to date on these things. So rest up and make sure you have all your equipment, we're going to be busy for a while."
"Sure thing Kaka-sensei!" Sakura said brightly, "See you later!"
Kakashi waved as the three of them turned and wandered off, each of them feeling tired, but in a good mood nonetheless.
They walked at a slow pace, heading in no general direction. They didn't say much, the area was quiet and so they were as well. The three of them were looking very relaxed, Sakura held her hands behind her back, Naruto had his in his pockets and Sasuke's were behind his head. Due to their exhaustion from training, none of them could even figure out what they wanted to do for the day, seeing as they had it to themselves. Sakura glanced at Naruto. He seemed to have even less energy than her or Sasuke, he walked with his eyes on the ground. Sakura compared him with Sasuke, who was looking up at the sky. It was a strange image, to see these two personalities acting so out of the norm. she almost had a suspicion that Naruto was using that weird Henge Jutsu of his.
"Is something up?" she asked, tilting her head so she could see his face.
"Huh? No, I'm alright." Naruto replied, smiling weakly. Sasuke glanced at him, but didn't comment.
"Come on." he said, taking a turn, "We'll go to my place."
Neither Naruto or Sakura had any objections to that, so they followed him.
"Wait a minute, why am I following him?" Naruto wondered, "I've lived in that building a lot longer than he has!"
But he didn't say anything. After all, with Sasuke ahead of them it was almost like it was just Naruto and Sakura who were out. Although that made Naruto feel a little guilty, it seemed like he was pushing Sasuke away. However, he also felt strangely awkward when it was the three of them hanging out, like he couldn't act in the same way he would if it was just Sakura and him. Maybe that was because of how Sakura used to feel about Sasuke, or something like that.
They walked up the stairs to the apartment, Sasuke taking out his keys as he went. They reached his floor, his and Naruto's, and he unlocked his door, walking in.
The first thing he did after walking into his room was turn around and fall onto his bed, so he was looking up at the ceiling. Sakura walked over to his desk and sat on the chair while Naruto opened the window and leant on the sill. It was silent for a while, it almost looked like Sasuke was taking a nap. It was strange how easy it could be to compare him to Shikamaru.
"So I was studying the scroll." Sasuke said, causing Naruto and Sakura to sweat drop. They hadn't expected to just be 'hanging out', but maybe they should have expected that he would bring something dark like that up.
"What about it?" Naruto asked. Sakura looked at him, surprised.
"You know about it?" she asked, passing the scroll over to Sasuke, who was gesturing for it.
"Yeah, I heard Sasuke and Itachi talking about it."
"What?!" Sakura exclaimed, "You mean you two have met Itachi?!"
"Deal with that later!" Sasuke replied, waving his hand in the air. He unravelled the scroll with one hand, looking it over lazily, "Itachi told me a long time ago that to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, you'd have to kill your best friend. I thought about that, but it didn't make sense to me. I could only reason that breaking his strongest bond would be the self inflicted kind of trauma that would cause the part of his brain that has access to the Mangekyou to open up."
"Wha?" Naruto exhaled, very much confused.
"I think it means that killing your best friend takes a lot of emotional effort." Sakura explained, "And that doing so kind of warps your mind, is that right?"
"Something like that." Sasuke replied, "But that didn't work for me. See, the person Itachi killed to gain Mangekyou was his best friend, Uchiha Shisui. But the thing is, Shisui wasn't Itachi's strongest bond."
"You think it was you?" Sakura asked, tilting her head. Sasuke shrugged.
"Maybe, but the person I' thinking of had a… different kind of bond with Itachi. It was definitely stronger, but she died during the massacre, so that can't be the method."
"Sasuke, are you sure you should be talking like this?" Sakura asked, "All these things your brother did, aren't they painful to think about?"
"Shisui was one of the Shinobi working under my father, so I couldn't care less about him."
He then glanced up at Naruto and Sakura, a strange look on his face.
"By the way, after I found out what my father did, I've decided to screw the whole dark hair and eyes thing, so if you know anyone who'd be interested, let me know."
Naruto and Sakura stared at Sasuke, both there eyes bugging out and their mouths sealed shut. That was… off topic to say the least.
"That's too bad." Naruto replied, his expression unchanging, "Cos Tsunade's assistant Shizune fits that description perfectly."
Sakura gave Naruto an even weirder look. Just what the hell had she missed?!
"Anyway." Sasuke said, scratching his neck, "The way I see it, there's more to the Mangekyou than meets the eye."
"You got any ideas?" Naruto asked, his face returning to normal. Sasuke nodded, his brow creasing.
"Yeah." her said, "I think it was Madara."
Naruto shot to his feet, all signs of tiredness gone.
"Are you serious?!" he exclaimed, "Madara gave Itachi Mangekyou?!"
"We both know Itachi met with Madara before the massacre." Sasuke replied, "I think Madara did something without Itachi's knowing."
Naruto sat back down on the sill. His excitement at hearing Madara's name tended to make him overreact, it would seem.
"So what you're saying is you can't get Mangekyou?" he asked.
"Pretty much." Sasuke replied, "I was counting on it to make me stronger, but looks like I'll have to make do with what I have."
The three of them fell silent. This was the first time they'd openly talked about Madara in a while.
"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura said, looking over to him, "There's something I've been wondering about."
"What is it?"
"Well, you've never met Madara, yet every time he's brought up you get really worked up." she said. Naruto nodded, leaning forward slightly.
"Yeah, I know what you're getting at." he replied, "That's why I've been asking around about him. It's the reason I left to find Itachi and Kisame."
Sakura stared at him. She had no idea what he was talking about.
"So that's what that was about." Sasuke said, "So what'd you find out?"
"Well, he was the Mizukage of Kirigakure for a while." Naruto replied, "From what Zabuza and Kisame told me, he was a pretty well rounded Kage. he built strong forces, but focused on protecting the land. To be honest, it's not at all how I pictured him."
"I guess that's a good reason to investigate him." Sakura said, "If you found all this out later, it might make things more difficult for you. At least this way you've got more options."
Naruto tensed slightly at her words, his head lowering.
"…yeah, you're right." he said. Then he stepped out of the window and put his hands in his pockets, "I'm gonna go give Zenko and Yako a bath."
Sakura gasped.
"No way, can I help?" she asked, excitedly. Naruto looked at her, he was hoping to get some time to himself, but he couldn't refuse her when she had that look.
"Yeah, sure." he said, "See you later Sasuke."
"See ya." Sasuke said, waving. Sakura climbed out after Naruto, smiling back at Sasuke.
"Bye!" she said, before following Naruto in through his window. As she climbed in, she noticed Zenko was jumping up at Naruto, climbing up his jacket.
And Yako was nowhere to be seen.
Instinctively, she ducked. But when she didn't hear the sound of anything flying over head, she cautiously looked up. Just as she did that, she felt something hit her rear, pushing her face first onto Naruto's bed.
"I guess I walked into that one." she muttered, looking up. She'd barely got room to breath before a wet nose shoved itself into her face.
Sakura blinked a couple of times. Yako was right in her face, his nose pressed against hers and his eyes fixed to her own. He yipped, before licking her nose and jumping onto her back. He nearly leapt out the window, but Naruto grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"Oh no you don't." he said, lifting him into the air, "You're not getting out of this one."
Sakura sat up, smiling as Yako struggled to get free. She should have figured Yako would hate baths, he didn't seem the type to sit still for a long while. Even when he slept he fidgeted a lot.
Naruto walked into the bathroom, Yako in hand and Zenko on shoulder. Sakura followed him in, wondering what this was going to be like. Naruto dropped Yako into the bath, Zenko jumped in. he then reached up for the shower head and took it in his hand. He reached under his sink and pulled out a couple of bottles of what Sakura guessed was shampoo for dogs, or something like that. He handed one to Sakura, it was different form the one he was holding.
"You take Zenko, he just needs regular." Naruto explained, "This hyper guy needs stronger stuff though, cos he's always running around and getting dirty."
Sakura nodded, smiling. Naruto reached up and turned the shower on, testing the water before aiming it at the little foxes. Yako barked reproachfully, Zenko was batting at his own face with his paws, as if trying to get the water off him. After several seconds of this, Naruto put the shower down and rolled up his sleeves, before picking up the bottle and opening it. Sakura did the same, squeezing some of the shampoo onto her hands. It wasn't particularly strong smelling, at least, not compared to the scent coming from the bottle Naruto had. She smiled as she rubbed the stuff into Zenko's fur, who had his eyes squeezed shut. He was making it a lot easier for her than Yako was for Naruto, but for some reason, Naruto seemed strangely calm. He almost seemed to be enjoying this task, like he was glad of the quiet to think about stuff. Of course, Sakura was curious.
"What're you thinking about?" she asked, rubbing shampoo onto Zenko's belly. Naruto looked up at her, a small smile on his face.
"I guess it's just cool to know that after all the crazy stuff there is, there's still the normal stuff going on in the world." he replied, "It's nice to be reminded of what we're working for."
Sakura raised her brow. She'd never though of it that way. But then again, protecting people was practically a theme for Naruto, she wasn't sure what he would be like without it.
Once they'd finished, and Naruto had dried the two off, he and Sakura went into his room. Naruto sat down on Naruto's bed and Sakura leant on the wall next to the window, wiping some sweat from her brow.
"That was fun." she said, smiling.
"Glad you liked it, maybe we'll do it again sometime." Naruto replied, his expression showing that he hadn't enjoyed it as much. Sakura giggled.
"I'd like that." she said. Naruto smiled at her, but it fell after a couple of seconds.
"Uh, how have you been?" he asked, nervously, "You know, with…"
"yeah, it's been fine." Sakura replied, slightly downhearted, "It did take a month and a half for it to get like that, so I should be ok for a few weeks."
Naruto nodded, a sad look on his face. Sakura looked at him worriedly, this was really hitting him hard.
"I've actually been thinking about it." Naruto said, staring at the floor, "I really am sorry Sakura. Now that you're like this, you have to stay near me. You don't really have a choice."
Sakura listened to him silently.
"You know, you can hate me if you want." Naruto said, "I don't mind, I swear."
Naruto kept his eyes fixed firmly to the ground. He then heard Sakura's footsteps, and saw by her legs that she was in front of him. Slowly, he looked up at her.
His eyes widened in shock. His cheek stung. Sakura glared at him, her right hand held to her left side.
"Is that really who you think I am?!" she demanded, angrily, "Do you think I'm just being nice to you for my own sake? Do you really think I'm that kind of person?!"
Naruto stared at her. He'd never seen her this angry.
"Sakura-"
"I know I was cruel before." Sakura said, her voice softening just a little, and her glare dropping a fraction, "I know I was mean to you, but I'm not like that anymore. I changed. I really thought you knew that."
Naruto stared up at her, stunned. He then lowered his head back to the ground.
"You're right." he said, quietly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"Yeah, you shouldn't have." Sakura replied. But her glare was gone and her voice had softened again, "Have faith in me Naruto, I really need that from you."
Naruto's eyes widened once more. Have faith…
Before Sakura could react, Naruto got to his feet and put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
"Forgive me." he said, "… and thank you."
Sakura blinked in surprise. But before she could reply, Naruto let her go and jumped out the window, running off.
"Naruto!" Sakura cried, leaning out his window. But he was already gone, running off in some unknown direction.
Naruto ran as fast as he could. He knew very clearly where he was going, to find them.
"Sakura, forgive me for this." he thought, as he raced to find the Oto nin.
* * * * *
"So you came." Sakon said, smirking.
"What made you change your mind?" Kidomaru asked, leaning against a tree.
"What you think idiot, he wants power!" Tayuya said, her brow creased in annoyance. Jirobo sighed, but said nothing. Naruto stood before them with an expressionless face.
"I've made my decision." he said, "Orochimaru…"
Sakon raised his brow, smiling to himself.
"Very well then-" he began.
"-is gonna die." Naruto finished. The four nin stared at him, their expressions of surprise.
"You approach us so you can threaten Orochimaru-sama?" Sakon asked incredulously.
"I'm not gonna kill him." Naruto replied, lips curling into a smile, "That's my friends, job. He'll kill Orochimaru. But you guys are fair game."
"You're threatening us?!" Tayuya asked, glaring. Naruto let out a quiet chuckle, looking at them with a confident smirk.
"They're all yours." he said, as red chakra began to envelope his body.
* * * * *
Naruto slowly opened his eyes. There was a glare above him, a blinding light. After blinking a few times, he realised it was a fluorescent light. He groaned, raising his hand to block out the painful line of light. He suddenly felt the mattress jolt slightly.
"You're awake!" Sakura exclaimed, rubbing her eyes. Naruto looked at her, then around the room. He was in the hospital, judging by the light outside it was morning.
"I am?" he asked, "When was I asleep?"
"Naruto, you've been out all night." Sakura replied, worriedly, "Jiraiya-sensei found you lying in the forest."
Something in the way she said that name made Naruto sit up. Sure enough, Jiraiya was sitting on the window sill, his back to the room.
"So you're finally up." he said, coldly.
"Aw crap." Naruto thought, "What happened?"
"What happened is that you used the Kyubi's chakra!" Jiraiya replied, looking at Naruto like he was a child, "Four tails? Was that really necessary?"
"Four tails? Wow, Kyubi must've really needed to vent."
Jiraiya grunted, before turning to face outside again.
"Why don't you take a look at yourself before you make jokes." he said, not even trying to hide the anger in his voice.
Naruto blinked, before looking himself over. His eyes fell on his hands and he quickly grabbed the water jug beside the bed, looking in his reflection.
He was covered in bandages, from head to toe.
"Going into four tails causes your skin to burn straight off." Jiraiya explained, "Do you realise how much work the medics needed to put in to keep you alive? If not for that healing ability of yours, you would have been dead a long time ago."
"Aw come on Ero-Sennin!" Naruto complained, "Is it such a bad thing that I get along with the Kyubi?"
Jiraiya sighed, lowering his head.
"I'm not gonna lie, it worries me that you can get along with him." he replied, "But the simple fact is you need to exert more control, or else it could kill you."
Naruto blinked. All his life he'd always thought the priority was defeating Madara, his own life coming second. That wasn't to say he felt the same way now, but he was used to the idea.
"But I can't take that risk." he thought, "Sakura needs me after all."
"Ok Ero-Sennin." he said, calmly, "What do I do?"
Before Jiraiya could reply, the door opened and Tsunade walked in.
"You're awake then." she said, walking over to him. She gripped the bottom of the bed, giving him a hard stare, "What the hell were you thinking using the Kyubi's chakra so close to Konoha?!"
"There were four Oto nin, I knew I couldn't take them on my own, so I let Kyubi take care of it!" Naruto replied.
"Yes, and now we can't even interrogate them!" Tsunade said, "Are you aware that you didn't just kill them, but completely disintegrated them?!"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock.
"No way." he breathed.
"This is exactly why I need to know." Jiraiya said, "Are you willing to go to any lengths to learn how to control the Kyubi's chakra?"
"Yeah, I will!" Naruto replied, determinedly. He knew the Kyubi wouldn't refuse him chakra, but having better control of that chakra would make him so much stronger. Maybe even strong enough to use Yako's abilities.
"Good." Jiraiya said, "Because I recently learned that the Akatsuki won't be making their move for another three or four years, so what I need to do is make sure you're strong enough to fight back when they come for you."
Jiraiya placed his feet on the window sill, ready to jump out.
"In three months, I'll come to take you an a three year training trip." he said, "Are you ok with that?"
"Sure thing Ero-Sennin, but- wait a minute!" Naruto cried, as Jiraiya almost leapt out the window.
"What is it?" Jiraiya asked, frowning at him. Naruto turned to Sakura, who looked worriedly at him. Then she slowly smiled, nodding. Naruto nodded back and looked at Jiraiya once more.
"I'll come, but only if Sakura can come as well!" he said, his expression showing complete seriousness. Jiraiya looked at him incredulously.
"Are you serious?" he asked, "No way am I accepting that!"
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade scolded.
"If you don't you'll never see Oroike no Jutsu again!" Naruto vowed. Tsunade looked at Naruto with a raised brow.
"Oroike no Jutsu?" she repeated, questioningly. Naruto glanced at Jiraiya, a mischievous glint in his eye that made the Sannin's heart stop.
"It's this Jutsu Ero-Sennin taught me!" Naruto replied, smiling innocently, "Watch!"
"I- ah- don't think that's necessary!" Jiraiya said hurriedly, grabbing Naruto's arms before he could make the hand sign. Tsunade's brow twitched in anger.
"Jiraiya, I don't wanna know what crude tricks you've been teaching this boy." she said, in as calm a voice as she could muster, "But I read the Sandaime's reports. He believed that Sakura should be trained to back Naruto up, and I agree with him wholeheartedly. Take her along with you and train her for that purpose."
Jiraiya sighed, his hands dropping to his sides.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." he admitted, "Fine, I'll take her along as well."
"Thank you Jiraiya-sensei!" Sakura said happily. Jiraiya smirked, scratching his chin.
"I gotta say, it'll be nice to have a female student again." he muttered.
"Just train them, you did a good job with Minato, do it again." Tsunade said, turning and leaving. Jiraiya watched as the door closed, before sighing again and turning to the two of them.
"All right, I guess both of you should prepare yourselves." he said, "We leave in three months, pack only the essentials. Things like new clothing can be bought later."
"Hai!" Naruto and Sakura replied simultaneously. Jiraiya nodded to them both, before turning and jumping out the window. When he was gone, Naruto looked at Sakura, who was still giving him a worried look.
"Did I scare you?" he asked.
"I was terrified!" Sakura cried, "When they wouldn't let me see you, I thought you were dead!"
Naruto grinned at her.
"You know I'm not gonna die!" he said.
"Naruto!" Sakura complained, putting her arms around him, "I was worried about you!"
"I'm sorry." he replied, hugging her, "So, are you ok with this?"
"The training trip?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm going to miss everyone, but I'm really glad about it." Sakura replied, sitting back down onto her chair, "I've been worried because I feel like I've been falling behind, but being able to train with a Sannin is a once in a lifetime opportunity, how can I turn that down?"
Naruto grinned at her, "Is that the only reason?"
"You know it isn't!" Sakura cried, hugging him again, "Quit teasing me!"
Naruto laughed.
* * * * *
Those three months past in a wave of preparation. Despite what Jiraiya had said, Sakura had to make sure she had at least enough clothes so she was ready for any weather. She also needed to talk to her friends and family, her mother nearly fainted when she told her and her father almost forbade her, until she asked about his recent winnings.
Naruto had also been working hard. After all, how could he let all his instant ramen go to waste?
They'd told Sasuke first, seeing as he was their team mate and best friend. They didn't need to tell Kakashi, Jiraiya had handled that. Naruto had already spoken to Shikamaru and the others, so he was good. There was just one more person left.
"So you two will be gone for a while huh?" Iruka asked, lowering the chopsticks into his ramen, "It's not gonna be the same without you."
"We'll miss you Iruka-sensei!" Sakura promise, smiling warmly.
"Yeah, and you won't even recognise us when we get back!" Naruto added, grinning.
"Oh I doubt that." Iruka replied, tousling Naruto's hair, to his annoyance, "Knowing you, I'll hear you before I see you."
"We'll be nice and strong by the time we return!" Naruto said. Iruka smiled.
"I'd prefer it if you return nice and safe." he replied, "Don't get yourself hurt, ok?"
"I won't!"
"The same goes for you Sakura-chan, don't push yourself too hard, I don't like it when you overdo it."
"I promise Iruka-sensei!"
The veil behind them was lifted as Jiraiya poked his head through.
"Come on you two, lets get a move on." he said.
"Hai!" Naruto and Sakura replied. Naruto downed the rest of his ramen and got to his feet, Zenko and Yako jumping to theirs.
"See ya Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called, running out after Jiraiya.
"Bye Iruka-sensei!" Sakura called, running out after Naruto.
"Take care!" Iruka said, waving to them. He turned back to his ramen, smiling sadly, "Take care…"
The three of them stood at the gates, looking out onto the road ahead. Jiraiya glanced to the two of them, who both looked nervous.
"This will be the longest you've been away from the village." he said, "You ready?"
Naruto adjusted his bag on his shoulder, which was a little heavy.
"Definitely." he said, with a look of determination. Sakura nodded in agreement, her face showing the same strength.
"So you're leaving now?"
Naruto and Sakura looked back in surprise. Shikamaru, Ino and Gaara were standing behind them. It was Shikamaru who'd spoken.
"What are you three doing here?" Sakura asked, "You came to see us off?"
"Na, Choji's got indigestion again, so Hokage-sama chose Gaara-san to replace him for our mission." Shikamaru replied. Ino took a few steps forward and pulled Sakura into a hug.
"It's not gonna be the same with you gone!" she said clearly, but then whispered, "If you haven't told Naruto how you feel by the time you get back, I'm kicking your ass."
Sakura almost felt like telling her the truth, but decided against it.
"I'll try." she said, smiling. Naruto walked over to Gaara, who was looking at him expressionlessly. Naruto grinned.
"Looks like you've been getting some sleep." he said, "You've got some more colour in your face."
Gaara nodded in reply. He unfolded his arms and held out a hand to Naruto.
"I hope your training goes well." he said. Naruto blinked at him, this was a very open thing for him to say. But he grinned and shook Gaara's hand.
"If you look this healthy now, I can't wait to see you when I get back!" he said, "Don't slack off, I'll wanna see what you can do when I get back."
"The same goes to you."
Naruto smiled, before letting go of Gaara's hand. He waved to Shikamaru, who smirked at him. Then he rejoined Sakura and Jiraiya, grinning broadly.
"Shall we go then?" he asked.
Like you need to tell me that." Jiraiya replied, sighing, "Let's go."
Naruto and Sakura nodded, following him as he walked through the gates. They looked back again and waved at the three Genin behind them. Naruto's eyes wandered over the village, settling on Hokage rock, and the head of the Yondaime. His raised hand tightened into a fist, a confident look on his face.
"My goal…" he thought, "One day, I'm gonna surpass you. And then Madara is mine."
Zenko and Yako both jumped up onto his shoulders, wagging their tails and panting happily. He smiled at them, and then at Sakura, who smiled back.
"Three years." she thought, "I'll catch up to both of you, I promise."
* * * * *
"Drip…drip…drip…"
"Fzzzzzzzzzzzz."
"So we're all here then."
"How long has it been since we all met like this?"
"Seven years, since Orochimaru left."
"And that very person has made a move on the Kyubi."
"He cannot be ignored any longer."
"Relax… Orochimaru's just a frail pest. And we know how to deal with pests…un"
"Do not underestimate him, he is a Sannin after all."
"Orochimaru is not priority. We must prepare for the Jinchuriki. Now with the Ichibi in Konoha, things are more complicated. Remember our goal. Everything in this world is to be ours, but before that, we need the finances to go after the Biju."
"I am already working on that."
"Good."
* * * * *
A thousand miles away, two figures walked through a forest of dead trees. One of the figures wore a black cloak with red clouds. But this figure appeared the least human out of all his comrades, that strange head of his, like that of a deadly plant. It was a strange coincidence, as the person walking beside him really was inhuman, that mask a more suitable face than his own.
"The Kyubi Jinchuriki has gone off to train with Jiraiya of the Sannin." the plant headed one said, "And he has brought another with him, a girl."
"Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura…" Madara replied, "Those two could become very strong together. Very strong indeed."
"Do you wish for me to interfere?" Zetsu asked.
"Of course not, the stronger they become the better." Madara replied, "Now go, find out what you can about the Biju in Kumogakure."
Zetsu didn't reply, but he sank into the ground, disappearing. Madara stood, watching the spot where Zetsu had been a moment ago.
"Both of you." he said, "Become stronger, I'll be waiting."