Chapter 37: Jiji's Responsibility
"Primordial chaos gives way to Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang give way to the five elements and the myriad forms of nature. From the myriad forms, we can return to the elements. Then Yin and Yang, combining, and finally primordial chaos. A cycle of creation and destruction. But this is the weakest of all these. The easiest path, and one that leaves no trace. In a weak world, a guardian of primordial chaos is a god. In the World Tree Clan, there are many such gods. Such a guardian can only choose to become one with nature. I only hope our world is never reduced to such a tragic state…"
# # #
Naruto smiled to himself, Orochimaru had come at an invaluable time. That ritual would have been difficult for sure otherwise. This doubled his determination to have everything together in time. When he finished wind, he would have all the releases. Yin, Yang, and the five elements. Even with shadow clones, it will have taken him years. In real-time, he didn't want to think about it.
"Kid, you're crazy!" Jiraya yelled from on top of a cliff he had made with earth jutsu, rocks lined up.
Naruto stood below the cliff, many Narutos actually. With Jiraya there, he didn't worry as much about the Fox getting out of control.
"Drop them!"
"Come on perv, get a move on!"
"Let's goooooo old man!"
Jiraya stomped his foot, causing all of the rocks to tumble down below onto the Narutos. "Take the rocks then brat! Why couldn't you be relaxed like your father?!" Jiraya's eyes went white with comedic anger.
Hundreds of rocks fell down the cliff, landing on the clones all at once.
*Pop* *Pop* *Pop* *Boom* *Boom*
Many of the clones popped, some of them survived the hit. Naruto grimaced, this way of training earth was costly but effective. Orochimaru hadn't given him a timeline. It was also doubtful Orochimaru had come for just him. Tsunade's medical prowess would have been the bigger draw, and a known entity. Since she hadn't said anything, was she considering a deal as well? If she figured out a way to heal Orochimaru before he could make a deal…
Unlikely. Still, Naruto wasn't in a position to buy time. He needed his sensei back, and he had a way to trick the snake ninja. He couldn't just give Orochimaru the technique though.
"Ready for the next one then? Hmm? Or maybe we could go back and-"
"AGAIN!" Naruto yelled.
# # #
Uchiha Obito was confused. Madara's elaborate plan, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, had a splinter in it? Itachi's motivations were all over the place since the massacre, to the point where Obito wasn't sure where exactly that man stood. If he had received Madara's training… But it was too late. Uchiha Itachi was a dark pool that could never be relied upon, and then there was his disease. It remained to be seen if his brother might be a useful chess piece—Itachi's sentimentality would come back to bite him.
Now Itachi was saying the kyubi jinchuriki was a problem. Could it be trusted? Thinking of Itachi as a dying man biding his time, could it be a mistake? He was sure Itachi wouldn't do a thing until he smoked the rabbit from the bushes.
Obito sat on Madara's throne, a mask covering his whole face but for one sharingan eye. He tapped his fingers loudly on the arm of the chair in thought. It echoed out into the depths of the stone room.
Zetsu reconstituted from a black pool in the ground in front of him. "Itachi's words need clarification. I heard from Kisame, that event was the result of using the Tsukuyomi on the Fox."
Obito paused. Sensei… "The Yondaime must have made plans against the sharingan. If he thought I was Madara—Itachi should have gotten caught up in that trap. Maybe he wants me to fall into it as well?"
"Itachi is not that impatient, he would find an opportunity, not make a huge play. It should be a trap, but also true," Black Zetsu added, grinning.
Obito thought to himself. It was early, not everything was in place. Sending out the Akatsuki against the nine-tails so early would make the process that much more difficult. Not to mention with Jiraya and whatever plans sensei made, they might lose a few. Pushing back plans that far and out of the shadows… He couldn't end up like Madara, barely holding onto life and relying on another to act out his plan. Nagato would also become suspicious. In the worst case, Madara's eyes would be destroyed.
"I don't believe anyone could guess at the Moon's Eye Plan. The Yondaime was clueless, whatever he figured out at the last minute could not reach from beyond the grave," Obito asserted confidently. "Let Itachi recover, however long it takes. The kyubi was the last on the list in any case. If there is a trap, we'll send Itachi back into it."
# # #
"He says to recover and make another attempt," Kisame said. "If you wanted him to make a move, you should tell me what you saw."
Itachi coughed up some reddish fluid. This injury had weakened him to the point of giving the disease further purchase. His recovery would take longer—Had his intentions been discovered? That man calling himself Madara would not be taken out so easily.
He kept his vision and their implications to himself, Kisame could not be trusted with that level of information. Old Sasuke mentioned Hinata, one of his team members. Time travel? Or hallucination? Sasuke was his will, Itachi planned to leave everything to his brother. If a future Sasuke had plans for Uzumaki Naruto, he would assist them as best he could. Another encounter with the blonde child was exactly in his plans.
# # #
For almost a week now, Jiraya assisted Naruto with his nature transformation training. Disgusting, that's how he would describe the training. He, a Sannin, had been exhausted just helping Naruto with the rocks, and then eventually boulders. It felt like they were approaching a deadline. Tsunade had stuck around mysteriously, refusing to heed the call to become the Godaime.
"Earth is… finished," Naruto said with a faraway expression.
What was wrong with the kid? Even by the standards of Kage, he had already achieved most of what he needed. The last one was wind, the one he had an affinity for. Was it Tsunade?
"You should be celebrating! Come on Naruto, what's with the face kid?" Jiraya teased.
Naruto's face scrunched up. "I wanted to show Jiji."
Oh. Right. Sensei was gone. He was no good at this stuff. Dammit. After so many battlefields, was he even human anymore? He'd rather tell the kid about the birds and the bees.
"Sensei would have been very happy." What else could he say?
"I said so many horrible things to him, but I remember how excited and patient he was to see my progress as a ninja." Tears fell down Naruto's face. "I can't barge in on him anymore, can I?"
"No, Naruto," Jiraya replied softly. Sometimes he forgot how much the kid was still a kid.
"I won't forget… Jiji…" Naruto wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve and frowned. "Jiraya-ojisan, I have to do something. Please don't interfere."
# # #
Tsunade sat at a table, drinking her life away. Since she needed to stick around for Jiraya and Orochimaru, gambling was out of the question. They'd run her out of town. At least the sake was on Jiraya's dime.
"Tsunade-sama, is there some reason we're sticking around?" Shizune asked weakly, until perking up. "Are you considering the Godaime position? You know our finances are-"
"No." Tsunade's sake cup clacked against the table. It was enticing, but she knew that trap. She wasn't right for the village, and she couldn't go back. It would haunt her. She'd end up drinking herself to death at a quicker rate. And when they relied on her… They'd die too.
"SENJU TSUNADE! COME AND GET WHAT'S COMING TO YOU!" the brat's voice rang through the establishment.
"Ugh… What does he want? I thought he was training?"
"COME OUT YOU OLD HAG! WORTHLESS DRUNKARD OLD HAG!"
Shizune's face went white, her hand to her chest in shock. Nobody talked to Tsunade Senju that way unless they wanted a few bones broken. Tsunade hadn't seen that expression on Shizune in a while. It had been a long time.
Tsunade clenched her fist, she felt her temple throbbing with anger. "Don't interfere Shizune, this brat needs some manners!"
# # #
Naruto waited outside Tsunade's haunt. He didn't care anymore. Tsunade could become Hokage and destroy his prospects for Hokage. It needed to be done right! This woman wasn't qualified! Her heritage and Jiji's babying may make her a Hokage in the elder council's minds, but he couldn't allow this to go on. They ran Jiji into the ground. No more!
A blur came through the door as it had the last time.
Naruto ducked, Tsunade's foot came at him at Asuma's speed. This was a terrible idea. He needed to break that fucking old woman.
*Pop* the air snapped with the pressure as a fist missed just above his head.
Naruto knew this wasn't the place, even if he could track her movements. The street cleared up around them. People screamed and ran out of the way. A few steps away, Tsunade took heaving breaths out of anger. She cracked her knuckles, a threatening gleam in her eyes.
"I'm going to teach you brat. You've been nothing but disrespectful…"
Naruto got into a taijutsu stance and beckoned. "I'm going to correct one of Jiji's mistakes! Even if I'm not strong enough, I'm going to beat your ass in his place! He babied you and let you leave the village. He let his students get away with so much, and demanded EVERYTHING from others. Even when it hurt the village!" Making a ram seal, Naruto undid all of his restrictions. The fox chakra, the training seals, everything. He only barely resisted forming a tail with the fox chakra. "NO MORE!"
Tsunade stomped and charged him. Instead of facing head-on, Naruto went to the rooftops, escaping to outside the town.
Right as he landed on a roof tile, Tsunade was there, another fist blur headed for his face!
"Shit-" The fist felt like a hammer blow as he got clipped in the side. Naruto's whole body shook as this one connected, though a glancing blow. He rocketed out in the direction he had been escaping towards, out beyond the gates of the town. His ribs ached, but held up. He was midair, looking down over the scenery, and a big drop down a mountain.
Mid-air, he performed a jutsu, "Doton! Mudslide!" *THWACK* Instead of rolling down the hill and injuring himself, he flopped into the mud at a speed enough to leave a bruise in itself. His fox form helped prevent, and then healed it.
"Want to get serious?!" Tsunade flashed next to him, her leg raised in the air, ready to chop down like an executioner's axe right into his face.
Naruto grinned, he used the mud to pull her towards him, sending her flying on her butt. It interrupted her kick, but now he was getting in close range to a taijutsu fighter, grappling was never her style though, the fox chakra would hurt her. He needed to prevent those blows.
"If I was serious, I'd use a weapon, you washed up hag!" he taunted. Using her arms to flip herself back up, she prepared another punch. Naruto could feel the pressure of the chakra gathering. But he prepared his chakra on his feet, where the mud had solidified around him into stone. "Telegraphed!" a foot encased in stone smashed into her chin, countering her right as she tried to connect.
*BOOM* Tsunade smashed back into the town wall with a grunt. Instead of pursuing, he slid down the mountain into the rolling hills of grass below.
# # #
Ino ate heaping mouthfuls of her mother's cooking without a word. The feeling of ants crawling over her skin when she had briefed Danzo and the elder's council still remained. She watched her mother calmly take small, elegant bites and embarrassment rushed through her cheeks. Hungry and tired though, Ino knew her mom wouldn't say anything until later.
"Where's dad?" Ino asked finally. She needed to see him before she was sent out again. For his advice, and maybe some more obscure intelligence jutsu. After seeing the lengths Taka was forced to go to even with his sensory ability, she knew if there was any chance of being part of the Danzo resistance, she would need those skills. And she did… Seeing the warmongering going on beneath the surface, she immediately knew she had to be a part of this.
"You're unusually cerebral today, Ino," her mother remarked, "Do you need your father for something important?"
"Shinobi secrets mom."
Her mother sighed. "And so it begins." The sound of the front door closing echoed out. "Well, here's your father. Just come to me for advice on everything else?" she winked.
Ino nodded. Thinking about things she could mention… Wait, should she mention what happened with Naruto? That was just a prank. Did it count as the kind of thing she would- Ino put her hands on her cheeks.
"I saw that!" Her mom hugged her. "Another time."
"What's another time?" Inoichi asked walking into the kitchen. "Ino! Your first mission as squad leader! I'm so proud. I didn't think you'd be back so soon, or we would have prepared something!"
"Inoichi, I'm going to let you two talk," said Ino's mother. Then she whispered something Ino didn't catch.
"Sato-" her father responded, only to be silenced by a gesture from her mom as she left.
Ino watched her father grimace and sat down. "We did say you couldn't date until you became a Chunin Ino, but we didn't expect- has your relationship with Naruto progressed that far?"
"Wha-wha-what? NO! Dad?! It was only-"
"Just teasing!" Inoichi poured himself some tea and took a sip. "I know it's important business… Wait what?"
"Nothing!" Ino cried out, closing her eyes in embarrassment. "I really do need your help with something important. Something crazy happened…" She gulped. "Dad, the roots grow longer."
Inoichi took a long drink before slamming his teacup on the table. "Not in my house they do not! Tell me you are not wrapped up in the darker half of Konoha! Ino, the whole reason I wanted you out of Intelligence was so you could come into it later without Danzo's stink! When did you get involved?"
Ino pulled back. That was why? "I'm not. But you said-"
Her father glared at her from across the table. "So that's what you encountered, huh? Shit. Most Chunin aren't aware… how? No—don't tell me. Keep it to yourself Ino. The clan elders are split on this."
"I don't like it, daddy. We almost started a war; we might have started a war. Why are the elders okay with this?"
"Power," he spat. "Root has a great many uses for our clan's skills. The more we're needed, the more our clan grows in strength. I'm glad you agree with me. I wanted to let you make up your own mind, but I'm relieved." Inoichi took a long breath out of his nose. "The Sandaime thought Root a necessary evil at times, and that's why I have countenanced their presence in the clan. But without his counterbalance, I fear the worst."
Ino could have cried tears of joy. After her last disappointment with her parents over Naruto, she half expected the worst. "Dad, will you teach me some jutsu?"
# # #
Thank you for the running commentary Yamajiji. :) Also almost 100 favorites! W000! Celebrate!
