DISCLAIMER: Naruto is Property of Masashi Kishimoto
A/N
Hello, how've you been?
Yes, I'm very late, I know. I have a list of excuses prepared but I shan't waste your time with a single one of them. This is the sequel to the Leaves of the Tree, please read that first and only then come back here. A little important information: this will be alternating between different points of view. I'm clarifying this in case chapter 17 of the Leaves wasn't enough of a hint: we've hit deep AU waters, ladies and gents. The ranking is a solid M, because violence, gore and hormonal teenagers do not mix.
The first few chapters may seem a little bit too fast paced, too short, too messy – it's intentional, please bear with me.
Also, come follow me on Instagram, at shefallsisme. I've cute pets, am not consistent with updates but do give snippets when I've the time.
Without further ado, this is it.
Edited: 14/04/2021
Whirlpools by the Shore
1.
Sakura was unconscious for six hours when the window to the cramped hospital room occupied by Team 7 opened and Jiraiya snuck in, stomping all over Kakashi as he went, without a second's hesitation. Sasuke was the only one who reacted to his appearance – he whipped out two kunai faster than Naruto could blink, activated his sharingan and Naruto would swear for days that he felt a fire jutsu brewing in his teammate's mouth without any sort of preparation for it. An altogether classic Uchiha reaction that Jiraiya could see coming from miles away.
"Put them down, brat," Jiraiya hissed. "You'll poke someone's eyes out."
"Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi muttered coldly. "What brings you here?"
"Take a wild guess, kid."
Jiraiya shuffled over to the bed, where Naruto was curled up next to Sakura, and took a seat on the little space available. It was a pitiful sight, really. Both of them were pale, one unmoving and the other shaking. He'd expected it, of course, but nothing prepared Jiraiya for the sheer wrongness of a quiet Naruto and Sakura. It was the most unnatural thing he'd seen in the last few hours, and he'd seen a lot.
"Naruto," Jiraiya lowered his voice, making sure none of the civilians around could hear them. His words were for Team 7 alone. "Pay attention."
Naruto frowned, clutched Sakura's arm closer to his chest ad focused on Jiraiya without protest – another sign of how shaken the boy was.
"You're going to get up," Jiraiya instructed firmly, "get Sakura on you and tdo whatever Kakashi tells you quietly. No arguments. Got it?"
"Why?"
'Ah,' Jiraiya almost smiled. 'Mistrust, never thought I'd be glad to be on the receiving end of it.'
"Shit's hit the fan," Jiraiya shrugged. "We're hauling ass outta here, boy."
That got everyone's attention. Sasuke - who really looked too much like lil' Mikoto-chan for Jiraiya's comfort – shuffled over to glare at him from up close. He was still holding onto his weapons and his devil eyes were still spinning menacingly, but he looked more wary than anything. Apparently he recognized Jiraiya from their very brief encounter during the third round… earlier that day. Kakashi-brat put himself firmly on the other side of the bed, covering the three genin with his body, and pulled his tattered hitai-ate away from his own stolen sharingan. He was all business now, awake and attentive, the perfect ANBU killing machine Jiraiya hated remembering and invoking – but that was what he needed him to be now.
Now that Konoha was gone.
"Shikaku is handling evacuations," Jiraiya murmured while maintaining an expression and pose that would only express worry over the unconscious girl. "It'll take time, maybe a month. You need to get out first, Kakashi."
Kakashi frowned and his eyes flickered over to Naruto. Jiraiya nodded and looked at Sasuke for a brief moment, too. Much to his surprise, both boys noticed the exchange.
"Why do we need to leave?" Sasuke grunted, keeping his voice lowered to the point it required chakra to be heard. Smart.
"Your eyes," Jiraiya drawled. "Or did you not get the memo?"
"That's me," Sasuke insisted. "What about Naruto? Or Sakura?"
Jiraiya did not like the way the brt said his pinkie's name, not at all. The tone was much too soft, the pronunciation lingered inappropriately, and the boy had no business shuddering on the syllables as if they tasted sweet – he shouldn't even be aware of such things, he was what, fourteen? Thirteen? By the way Naruto stiffened and Kakashi blinked, Jiraiya knew they noticed and – if the blaze in Kakashi's eyes and Naruto's scowl were any indication – didn't approve of it, either.
"Naruto's got tricks," Jiraiya replied without missing a beat. "And Sakura's sitting pretty on a goldmine the size of Fire Country. Also, look up here, Uchiha. Don't you eye up my student."
Sasuke blanched, then blushed, then settled on glaring at Jiraiya with a sort of scandalized horror that was purely Fugaku. It nearly made him shudder.
"Your what?" Kakashi asked, momentarily distracted.
"I'm keeping her," Jiraiya said flippantly. "Girl can punch a hole in a building – you ain't never getting her back. It's a whole hoot."
"Oi, you can't take Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested, finally reacting to the conversation around him.
"I'm keeping your rude ass, too, calm down."
"Oh, okay then."
"It's not okay at all –"
"Kakashi," Jiraiya interrupted, using the same tone he did on Minato whenever his orders had to be obeyed. The same tone Minato learned to copy perfectly and dubbed his 'Hokage voice'. The tone Kakashi grew up listening to without question.
It worked like magic. Kakashi settled down, shoved whatever distracted him aside and became a world-class butcher – also known as an elite jonin of the Hidden Leaf. Almost as if they fed off their genin instructor, Sasuke and Naruto sobered up, too. Naruto stood up, pulled Sakura onto his back and let Sasuke tie her in place with ninja wire without making a fuss about his abilities being doubted. They fussed over her in absolute silence for another minute or two, making sure the girl's position on Naruto's back wasn't awkward or unsafe before finally settling down.
"Get them to Wind," Jiraiya instructed. "You need to make it in less than forty hours."
"It's a seventy hour trip," Kakashi murmured. "They have the chakra to speed it up, but the control –"
"When Sakura wakes up have her control it for them."
"They will still have to take turns –"
"No," Jiraiya snapped. "Both of them, simultaneously. She will handle it."
Kakashi looked at him like he was insane and opened his mouth to argue. It only proved how important the pretty brat was to him, not ot mention the two idiot boys, if Kakashi was being so stubborn.
"Forty hours, Kakashi," Jiraiya ordered. "Go."
Kakashi closed his mouth with an audible snap. He nodded, sighed and bent over to whisper instructions into the two boys' ears. It wasn't anything unusual: muffle your chakra as much as you can, make no sound, stick to the shadows and follow his lead. Watch each other's back. Mind Sakura until she woke up.
"Don't stop to get supplies, it'll be suspicious."
Jiraiya handed Kakashi a wallet stuffed to the brim with money. It wasn't his, not was it Kakashi's. Shiranui Genma, the absolute brat, liberated it from one of Councilman Shimura's drawers during the chaos that was still going on under the surface. Kakashi took the offering without another word and leapt out the window, followed closely by his confused students.
"Damn," Jiraiya sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Everything's gone to shit and old man Hiruzen's body ain't properly cooled off yet."
He really needed to find Tsunade.