"Talking"

"Demon Talking"

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 20: The Godson

Sarutobi was having another long day in the office.

It started with some civilians barging into his office and demanding that shinobi stopped roof-hopping on their apartment at night. Was it really that hard to understand that shinobi needed to be deployed at all times of the day?

Then, an Academy teacher complained to him about how Class 3-B's worst student was causing trouble… again. He brushed it off, telling the chuunin that it was his responsibility to prepare the future shinobi of Konoha. Didn't these teachers understand that he had better things to do than listen to their worries about shinobi-in-training who would probably fail if placed in the field?

Next was a full day in the mission assignment room. The typical genin complaining that they wanted a harder mission and the chuunin who were always requesting a break from border patrol were going to drive him slightly insane. Every day was the same annoying requests to not catch Tora or not have to spend a week in the woods. They were ninja for goodness sakes.

Now, he finally had some time to himself. He never thought paperwork would be as much comfort as it was at this moment. It was the scapegoat to allow him such uninterrupted peace and quiet. It also helped that it was also close to 0100 hours and that most of the village was asleep. He hadn't even realized he had locked himself up in his office that long.

A tap on his window alerted him that his silence was coming to an end. He allowed his student to climb through the window before the Sannin burst out with another annoyance to his day.

.

Jiraiya was having a terribly long day in the village.

It started with the realization that the Chuunin Finals were tomorrow. It was such a shame that his godson wasn't participating this time around. He wasn't even able to pester Kakashi about Naruto since the Hatake had to go off and train the little Uchiha for the exams. Not that he didn't think helping your students succeed wasn't important, but couldn't the jounin spare just an hour to tell him more about Minato's son before he abruptly departed?

Then, to keep his worries off of his mind, he proceeded to conduct some research. Of course, it was very informative, but it hadn't felt the same ever since that day almost a month ago. That was a frightening realization that he hadn't caught a whiff of Naruto since stepping foot in the village.

Hence, he now found himself gracefully entering his sensei's office to glean any information on his godson again.

"It's been almost a month Sensei!"

His sensei sighed, reached for his pipe, lit it, and took a deep breath.

"I'm not micromanaging my shinobi Jiraiya. There are thousands of them, and I don't see the need to watch a single one more than the rest."

Annoyance bubbled up in Jiraiya. How could he say that? Couldn't he see that this was an important matter to Jiraiya, his only loyal student (Tsunade might have counted if she wasn't so resentful of the village). "There is a need when that shinobi is Minato's son and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki!"

Not getting a direct response, the Sannin watched the elder man take another long drag on his pipe. "Like I said-" Suddenly, he and his sensei were alert as another presence entered the office. It was the brat ANBU from that day – the day he found out about his godson being alive.

The fox ANBU knelt respectfully but did not hesitate to speak. "Please excuse the interruption, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama."

The Hokage's demeanor lightened up, and Jiraiya was sure that he was just glad for a change of subject. "Ah, Kodanuki-kun, at ease." The brat proceeded to stand. "I see you have returned from your mission."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Pulling a scroll out of who knows where, he placed it on the desk. "It has been completed. It is not dangerous to open, but I would not recommend that you open it."

Cringing, his sensei fingered the scroll before deciding to put it aside. "Probably best that I don't." What could be in the scroll that sensei was so nervous to open it? There was a plethora of reasons Jiraiya could think of. Maybe it was a body that was too gruesome to look at and the brat was being polite. Or maybe it was something that will spill out and take too much time to clean. Whatever it was, it must have been unpleasant for even the Hokage to hesitate when it seemed so important.

That's when he remembered what the brat was assigned to do. He had gone to investigate the wayward Sannin Orochimaru. Was it possible that the scroll contained something more than just unpleasant?

He was jolted from his thoughts when his sensei spoke up again. "Is there anything else to report?"

"Yes, but first, how soon until the Finals?" the brat asked.

"Tomorrow," replied the Hokage, and Jiraiya could tell that the normally trained body of the ANBU couldn't help but stiffen.

"Tomorrow… That's not much time then. What are the security measures for keeping bystanders safe during the matches?"

Sarutobi explained, and the room seemed to get tenser. There was a pause from the brat before the air returned to its former state.

"There are two sources of concern. One is the jinchuuriki. I have no doubt that he will be seeking blood if my last meeting with him was anything to go by. He is highly unstable, and his seal will need to be repaired. The second is that spy. He is supposedly his right-hand man. From what I gathered he is planning on casting a wide range genjutsu on the entire stadium to signal the start of war. I am uncertain if he is aware of what I have done. If you would like, I could summon him here, and we could handle it once and for all."

It was now the elder man's turn to pause as he considered the information that was given to him. Jiraiya felt tense watching his sensei try and come to a decision about the two pieces of information given to him. The Sannin understood the risks of allowing Suna to continue to participate, especially with the Ichibi jinchuuriki and the looming attack. However, if there was some way that this spy could be eliminated, then war might never come.

Seemingly, Sarutobi came to a similar conclusion. "With you back, I know we can handle the Ichibi. I assume your trip allowed you to garner some useful intel on the seal. As for the spy, I'll have Lion handle it right away. He will surely take care of him."

From what he had seen, Jiraiya knew that the brat had some knowledge in sealing, but to leave him in charge of a bijuu that may go wild in Konoha was ridiculous. The brat couldn't be older than 14. There was no way he could take on the Ichibi by himself.

"Sir, I'd like to handle the spy myself if you will allow it." The Hokage granted him the permission he asked for. "Thank you Hokage-sama." The brat then turned and addressed Jiraiya. "If I may sir, I would like your assurance."

"About what brat?"

"That when the Ichibi is released, you will put up a barrier strong enough to protect Konoha. I have no guarantees that I will be able to suppress the bijuu, but I know that you sir, as a loyal Konoha shinobi, have the ability to keep the village, our village, safe."

The brat had a point but was seriously mistaken. The Sannin had no obligation to attend the Finals. Although, he did want to find his godson, who would probably attend to support his Uchiha teammate. It wouldn't be bad to use this opportunity to hit two birds with one stone.

Yet, he wasn't going to agree just because some ANBU brat, who probably hadn't hit puberty yet, was asking him. "And why should I listen to a brat like you?"

"Because you care about keeping this village standing." Jiraiya scoffed. That wasn't a good enough reason. "And you care about finding your godson."

He froze. The brat had hit a sore spot for him. How did he know that Jiraiya hadn't been able to find the boy when the brat had been out of the village and had just returned? The brat knew who Naruto was. If he helped the ANBU and the village, would the brat help him find his godson at long last?

A voice cut through like a dagger. "I'll do you one better. I'll let you meet him right now."

If Jiraiya had been paying attention, he would have noticed the surprise that flickered over his sensei's face before being replaced with something attune to approval. However, he was too busy gaping at the brat before he found his composure and glared.

"If I haven't found him for a month, there's no way you could bring him here right now in the middle of the night."

"I can, and I will. But first, your assurance." He felt like an ice-cold glare was piercing his being.

He shrugged it off. "Fine, I'll put up a barrier." He mumbled, "Whatever good that might do."

The ANBU seemed to relax, but the piercing glare didn't feel like it was stopping anytime soon. "Good enough. I'll probably handle the Ichibi fine anyways."

"Now, about Naruto…" Jiraiya wouldn't admit that he was a bit nervous. Thinking about meeting Naruto and actually meeting Naruto were completely different. How would the boy react? Would he accept him as his godfather? Would he reject him because he had been away for twelve years? Each thought felt like a pit in the Sannin's stomach that he couldn't quite rid himself of.

A hand reached up. Was the brat going to do some sort of jutsu? The hand grabbed onto the fox mask. Okay, probably not a jutsu. And the hand pulled the mask away. Wait, what?

The face that now stared back at him was slightly different yet the same. It was the same round face of Kushina coupled with the cute whisker marks. A hand touched behind an ear, and the strange colors that made the face slightly different retracted. Blond replaced black and cerulean replaced violet.

Jiraiya sucked in a breath. He looked just like Minato, more so in person than from the photograph.

Stumbling forward, the Sannin reached out his arm, but before he could reach where his godson was, a clawed hand was wrapped around his neck and another was ready to gut him.

The redheaded man in front of him was nothing like Naruto. Where had he come from? His piercing, red eyes glared at him strongly, and Jiraiya realized then and there that this was where the cold, piercing stare originated from. The aura wasn't friendly either.

"You don't get to touch him." The hand wrapped a little tighter, and the claws dug a little deeper. He wouldn't say that he was panicking, but his guard had been down, and now a man, who no one seemed to be stopping, was about rip his throat out.

Finally, a voice spoke up. It was different from the voice of the ANBU, more lighthearted, playful, and innocent. "Kurama, don't kill him."

The man's eyes turned away from Jiraiya's and looked behind. "You don't need him. You have me."

"Kurama. Put. Him. Down." Besides the man about to kill him, Jiraiya was very confused as he heard the stern voice of the ANBU again. How was his godson both a genin and an ANBU?

"Fine. But don't say I didn't offer you this chance." The man let him go, walked away, and stood like a parent next to the brat – 'Naruto', he reminded himself.

Turning his head, the blond gave a playful glare to the strange man. "When did you get so possessive?"

The redhead snorted. "You only need one godfather, and it's definitely not him."

"Kurama, I can have as many godfathers as I want. Thank you very much."

An appendage materialized out of nowhere. Jiraiya could have sworn his eyeballs popped out of its sockets because it was a long, red tail. The limb smacked his godson behind the head, and the boy was now glaring daggers once again at the man.

"Don't be rude Kit. It's unbecoming."

The clearing of a throat caused everyone in the room to freeze and turn their eyes to the man behind the desk. Jiraiya could have smacked himself. He had been so distracted with the idea of meeting Naruto that he had forgotten that they were in his sensei's office. Wait, why hadn't his sensei saved him when he was clearly about to die from claws to the throat?

Smiling tensely, the Hokage turned to the foreign man and addressed him. "Kyuubi I presume?"

And that's when the Sannin's eyes turned to the man once more, and Jiraiya's jaw dropped wide open.

Updated: 4/5/20