I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
A couple of months have gone by since Naruto started training with Jiraiya again and he found out just how tough Jiraiya is when he takes training seriously. The rookie 9 came to some of their training sessions and even Lee had to admit that he wouldn't survive training with Jiraiya. He made sure Naruto's taijutsu was solid and what that means is, Jiraiya exploited every gap in Naruto's defense when they had a taijutsu only spar. Each time Jiraiya would get through his defence, he would stop the taijutsu spar and make Naruto start all over again until Jiraiya was unable to get through his defence.
Ninjutsu wise Jiraiya made him go through every single ninjutsu he knew until he could do them in the middle of battle without losing his momentum. Jiraiya's fire and earth chakra natures were a perfect match for Naruto who needed to work on his wind and water jutsus. Jiraiya told him his lightning chakra nature was just fine and was even stronger than Kakashi and Sasuke's lightning chakra natures. Other than the wind style: rasengan, Naruto also learned wind style: wind dragon jutsu, wind style: air cutter, wind style: vacuum wave, wind style: air slash and wind style: verdant mountain gale which was a jutsu Asuma would use.
Jiraiya also worked on his kekkei genkai after he got Naruto to use the right amount of water and wind chakra. Naruto was able to learn a few of the jutsus his mother left him and they were awesome in his book. Ice Style: Black Dragon Blizzard, Ice Style: Blizzard, Ice Style: Ice Dragon Jutsu, Ice Style: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors and his personal favorite Ice Style: Ice Clone. He learned two more ninjutsu that were Asuma's as well. Chakra blade: Straight line and Flying swallow. He didn't just learn them without asking though. During one of his visits with Kurenai, he asked for her permission and she told him yes, but he would have to teach it to their daughter when she is born and if she wants to become a ninja.
Genjutsu wise, Jiraiya made sure that after Naruto completed the waterfall walking exercise, that he would be able to break out of some A-rank genjutsu. Jiraiya wasn't kidding when he told Naruto he'd train him seriously he went over every single thing with Naruto. Fuinjutsu was a shocker because when Jiraiya said he would teach Naruto about it, Naruto told him he already knew fuinjutsu from the scrolls Jiraiya kept with him. After an hour of showing Jiraiya what he could do, Jiraiya officially named Naruto a seal master. Jiraiya was impressed with the medical seal and anti-rape seal he created.
He worked on his Wind Style: Rasenshuriken with his shadow clones and they were making some decent progress, but they were not close to completing it. His biggest breakthrough however was when he managed to combine lighting chakra with the rasengan. The rasengan would vanish, but it would surprise the enemy once they are hit with it. The best part about this rasengan, was that he could throw it and increase its size to inflict more damage to the opponent.
Another thing that happened was Jiraiya gave Naruto the key to his seal after summoning a toad who kept it safe. Naruto asked him why and Jiraiya simply told him that he's ready now and it's time for him to master the nine tails chakra. Jiraiya was out of the village so he could meet up with one of his contacts and currently Naruto was on his way to Tsunade's office after she sent Sakura to get him as she needed to talk to them.
"YOU'RE LATE. Why did it take you two so long to get here?" Tsunade asked
"Forgive us lady Tsunade. Naruto was eating lunch for breakfast." Sakura said
"Now, now, Tsunade." Jiraiya said trying to relax her as Naruto came into the room
"Whoa. No way. Pervy sage? You're back in town again?" Naruto asked as he saw Jiraiya in the office
"It's been a while, Naruto. Hasn't it?" Jiraiya asked
"It sure has. Why didn't you tell me that you were back here? I have so much to tell you about." Naruto said
"So I hear. Well, at least the gist of it, not the details. But I understand you played a big role in recent events." Jiraiya said talking about a mission Naruto had to try and seal the three tails away that failed
"That's for sure. Don't I always. Oh and that little project I've been working on, I finally got it down. Oh and I got my collaboration jutsu down with Gamatatsu." Naruto said
"You did? That's fantastic." Jiraiya said
"What do you say? Wanna see my new jutsus?" Naruto asked
"Well, since I'm here, how could I ever pass up that offer?" Jiraiya asked
"Awesome. Of course after that we better go eat at Ichiraku ramen, right?" Naruto asked
"Sure! Tell you what. It'll be my treat." Jiraiya said
"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto said
"Your new jutsu, huh? I can't wait!" Jiraiya said as he and Naruto were about to leave completely forgetting about Sakura and Tsunade who were also in the room
"Hey!" Tsunade and Sakura said then punched them both in the head
"Tsunade. Why'd you hit me?" Jiraiya whined
"Oh shut up. You know that didn't hurt." Tsunade said and then Sakura noticed a book was where Naruto was supposed to be
"Hey, where'd Naruto go?" Sakura asked
"I'm up here." Naruto said upside down on the ceiling
"So, what did you want to tell us, lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked and Naruto came down from the ceiling then Tsunade was silent
"Well, what is it? Don't leave us hanging. Do you have something to talk to us about or what?" Naruto asked
"Yes, I do. It's just that we've been seeing some intel flying around multiple channels. That's what I need to talk to you about." Tsunade said
"Some intel?" Sakura asked
"What?" Naruto asked
"That Orochimaru is dead. Sasuke Uchiha killed him." Tsunade said
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked
"Yeah. That's the story we've heard. We believe it's true. It comes from a reliable source." Jiraiya said
"Then that means." Sakura said
"It means nothing." Naruto said
"Yes it does. It means Sasuke is coming back." Sakura said
"No it doesn't. The only way Sasuke is coming back to this village is if he's dead or brought back kicking and screaming. They said he killed Orochimaru, not Itachi. Orochimaru was weakened anyway. It's not like it was a healthy fight. Orochimaru is strong enough to face four tails of the nine tails chakra and I can easily beat Sasuke if I used four tails. That and Orochimaru will somehow come back to life anyway. I have a feeling he isn't really dead." Naruto said
"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked
"The curse mark. I looked at Anko's and one of the layers on the seal is a portion of Orochimaru. He can easily come back to life from somebody he has the curse mark on. It won't be Anko's because hers is sealed off so the next best thing is one of the people he also gave the curse mark to. Sasuke still has the curse mark so if he slips up, somebody can release that part of Orochimaru and he'll be back alive." Naruto said
"That does make sense. When did you look at Anko's curse mark?" Jiraiya asked
"When she was sleeping." Naruto said and Jiraiya started giggling perversely as a pin and notebook appeared in his hands
"Tell me, what does she look like naked?" Jiraiya asked
"She wasn't completely naked, pervy-sage. She was leaning on Kurenai's shoulder and I took the chance to examine the curse mark to see if I can remove it for her." Naruto said
"Can you?" Jiraiya asked
"Aren't you the seal master? If you can't do it, what makes you think Naruto can?" Sakura asked
"Because before I left I tested him and he even has some seals that I never thought of. He's a seal master himself." Jiraiya said
"So can you remove it?" Tsunade asked
"It's possible, but I'll need some time. Maybe in a few weeks or a month I'll be able to remove it." Naruto said
"It's just a simple seal. How hard can it be?" Sakura asked and everyone just looked at her
"This is why most people only use exploding tags." Naruto said
"Why would it take so long until you can remove it?" Shizune asked
"Because I'll have to tweak the soul-body separation sealing method, use the evil releasing un-sealing method and then I have to come up with a way to destroy the rest of the seal that doesn't involve Orochimaru's soul." Naruto said and Jiraiya whistled
"You've got your work cut out for you on that one, Naruto." Jiraiya said
"I know. It's a good thing I've been studying Juinjutsu a lot lately." Naruto said causing Tsunade and Jiraiya to get serious
"How do you know about Juinjutsu?" Jiraiya asked then Naruto looked at Sakura and Tsunade got the hint
"Sakura, you're dismissed." Tsunade said
"Yes, M'lady." Sakura said and left after bowing then Jiraiya sealed the room
"Talk." Tsunade said
"When I was maybe 8 or 9, I found one of Orochimaru's bases in the forest and he had notes on Juinjutsu, but at the time I didn't know what it was. I kept it because it seemed useful in the future so I kept them." Naruto said
"Is that base still there? I want to check it out." Jiraya asked
"No. I told the old man about it and when I showed it to him, he destroyed the base without even looking into anything." Naruto said
"You mean to tell me he destroyed more evidence on Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked
"I was there. He thought I went home, but I hid in a tree and watched him destroy it myself. You can have Inoichi check my mind if you think I'm lying." Naruto said
"Dammit! What the hell was sensei thinking?!" Tsunade said
"Do you remember anything you saw?" Jiraiya asked
"Somewhat. He had a bunch of D.N.A samples in there from animals to humans. I'm guessing it was for his curse mark. He even had my D.N.A somehow, but mine had a gigantic red X on it. I'm guessing he tried to use it for something, but thanks to the nine tails chakra that is basically a part of me now, it was destroyed or nearly killed him. He had Senju D.N.A as well, but we know that's how Yamato was able to get the wood style. I didn't see anything else because it smelt like rotten flesh in there and I wanted to get out as soon as possible." Naruto said
"It's nothing we can do about it now. Sakura! Come back in here!" Tsunade said as Jiraiya unsealed the room and Sakura came back in
"I have a question." Sakura said
"What is it?" Tsunade asked
"Why is it that I have to leave the room everytime Naruto is in here?" Sakura asked
"That is an S-Rank secret that you do not need to know." Tsunade said
"Okay. Now, what is Sasuke thinking?! If Orochimaru is dead, then why won't Sasuke come back to the village?!" Sakura asked
"She's still a fan girl." Naruto thought
"Sasuke is completely obsessed with vengeance. We believe he intends to approach the akatsuki in order to kill his older brother, Itachi." Jiraiya said
"Of course he is." Naruto said
"We have to move fast then! Operation track akatsuki is still going on, right?" Sakura asked
"It is." Tsunade said
"Then the plan is simple." Naruto said
"What plan?" Tsunade asked
"Since Sakura won't stop thinking about Sasuke, we go after Itachi. We find Itachi and then we find Sakura's wet dream." Naruto said and Jiraiya giggled then wrote something down
"Finding Itachi won't be easy." Jiraiya said
"I know." Naruto said
"I'm sending you out on a mission with team 8. You are to find Itachi and bring him back here to the village." Tsunade said
"When do we leave?" Sakura asked
"You have two days. I'll inform Kakashi and team 8. Dismissed." Tsunade said and Sakura left
"You have another reason for this mission, don't you?" Jiraiya asked and Naruto sealed the room
"Yeah. I want this mission because I need to talk to Itachi and this is the only way I can do it. We all know Itachi is your akatsuki source, so it's fine." Naruto said
"He's difficult to find." Jiraya said
"I know. That's why he'll find me instead." Naruto said
"Are you sure he won't harm you? He was sent to capture you." Shizune said
"If Itachi wanted to capture me then he would've done it by now. The akatsuki have been around since the third hokage was in office, possibly before that and the village security sucked until granny Tsunade took over. Itachi could have easily captured me when I was younger and when he showed up when we were looking for you." Naruto said
"That is true." Shizune said
"Since you have two days, how about we head over to the hot springs?" Jiraiya said giggling
"Nope. I have company coming over." Naruto said
"Is it a girl?" Jiraiya asked
"Yes." Naruto said
"A nice little fling before the mission. That's what I did back in the day." Jiraiya said
"It's not a fling. She's my girlfriend." Naruto said
"Girlfriend? How long have you two been dating?" Jiraiya asked
"3 years. We started dating after the chunin exams and invasion." Naruto said
"You two must be really good at hiding it. I mean I know, but we never see you two together in the village. Does anybody else know?" Shizune asked
"Yeah. Granny Tsunade, her father, her mother and I'm sure Anko and Kurenai also know, but haven't said anything." Naruto said
"Who's the lucky lady?" Jiraiya said
"Ino." Naruto said
"Seriously? I never would have guessed." Jiraiya said
"Nobody would've guessed it. Not even us." Naruto said
"She's quite the looker." Jiraiya said
"You try anything and I'll beat you worse than the time you peeped on me in the hot springs." Tsunade said
"I would never peek on a couple." Jiraiya said
"Yeah. So I'm guessing Nimato and Ushinak aren't based off of my parents one night?" Naruto asked and Jiraiya quickly left the room
"JIRAIYA." Tsunade yelled
"I'll see you later." Naruto said and vanished
Training ground
Naruto arrived at the training ground he used for making the Rasenshuriken and he found Ino laying on the ground. He figured she must've been training hard as there was kunai and shuriken everywhere and she had a few cuts on her with her clothes torn up a bit. He landed next to her and she sprang up quickly and looked at him.
"Hey." Naruto said
"Hi." Ino said and smiled when he gave her a kiss on the cheek
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked
"Training. I'm trying to create a close range jutsu. I need something just in case the next person I go up against keeps me in close range." Ino said
"I have an idea." Naruto said and unsealed a balloon then filled it with water
"A balloon?" Ino asked as Naruto gave it to her
"Pop the balloon." Naruto said
"Okay." Ino said and pulled out a kunai, but Naruto stopped her
"Pop it with your chakra." Naruto said and Ino tried, but failed
"What the? How come it didn't work?" Ino asked
"There's a trick to popping it. You'll have to figure out the secret on your own. This is the easy part. The second step is harder." Naruto said
"What am I doing this for?" Ino asked
"A close range jutsu." Naruto said
"Fine. Can I do it later? I just want to relax with my boyfriend and cuddle. You've been off training with Master Jiraiya so much that I haven't gotten any time with you." Ino said and wrapped her arms around his neck
"Sure." Naruto said and picked her up bridal style making her giggle
"You keep treating me like a princess and you'll get a lot more than cuddling." Ino said
"That's the plan." Naruto said and vanished
Two days later
"Alright, listen closely. Starting now, our main objective is to find Itachi and take him into custody. The akatsuki is rounding up tailed beasts and we believe that they already have the three tails. According to the intel gathered by lord Jiraiya, it's possible that they've infiltrated the land of fire and are looking for Naruto. Remember, Itachi is originally from the hidden leaf village, three years ago he came searching for Naruto." Kakashi said
"He's probably headed back to the leaf village as we speak." Shino said
"Sasuke is probably close by too, following Itachi." Sakura said
"If Sasuke is close then I'll be more than ready." Naruto said
"We better just take it one step at a time for now guys." Yamato said
"Here's the search protocol. We'll use this as our center point and search a five kilometer radius in all directions. If we don't find anything, we'll move the center point and search the next 5 kilometer radius. We'll keep repeating this strategy until it works." Kakashi said
"5 kilometers? If we spread out that much we won't be able to use our wireless com units and if we all split up like that it could be very dangerous. Rules dictate a minimum of two man squads for patrols so if an enemy..."
"Sakura try not to be so worried." Yamato said
"Look." Kakashi said and summoned his ninja hounds
"Our voices are able to reach farther than any com unit. Also our noses can detect danger. We'll protect you." Pakkun said
"Alright. Let me explain the team rosters for our patrol. To be safe, I'm assigning two ninja hounds to each team member." Kakashi said
"Uhh, that might not be the best thing for me." Naruto said
"Right. I forgot about Kinto. Well, since you're a jinchuriki and a target. To protect you from a potential akatsuki attack, you'll be escorted by Yamato's and Hinata." Kakashi said
"I-It's good to work with you, N-Naruto." Hinata said
"Yeah." Naruto said
"Being a ninja hound user, Kiba and I will each have one dog. Listen, all of you. Your highest priority is to track Itachi and Sasuke's scents. If you do encounter either one, simply verify their location and return here to the central pole. Especially you, Naruto. Don't go running off." Kakashi said
"Yeah, Yeah. Tell that to the fan girl. She'll chase after Sasuke the moment she sees him. Whenever he's around, her brain just stops working and she follows him around like a lost puppy. No offense." Naruto said
"None taken." Pakkun said
"Alright. Let's go." Kakashi said and everyone scattered
Naruto, Yamato & Hinata
"Naruto, Hinata. You know what to do?" Yamato asked
"Yes sir." Hinata said
"I already knew he was there. He's been following us for quite some time." Naruto said and Yamato threw some shuriken and the person jumped out from behind the tree
"So, you sensed me coming, did you?" The person asked
"Kabuto Yakushi. It's pretty brash of you to voluntarily approach us like this." Yamato said
"I just wanted to have a little chat with Naruto." Yamato said
"You won't escape. We're taking you in." Yamato said
"What do you want, Kabuto? They said Sasuke killed Orochimaru. Is it true?" Naruto asked
"Yeah, it's true alright. More importantly I brought you a present. A little thing I thought you might like." Kabuto said and pulled out a black book
"What's that?" Naruto asked
"Intelligence our organization managed to gather regarding the akatsuki. It's yours now. You can have it all." Kabuto said
"Orochimaru's dead now. You're trying to negotiate a deal with the leaf village, is that it?" Yamato asked
"No. I'm not so foolish as to think the hidden leaf would be willing to negotiate with the likes of me." Kabuto said
"Then explain. The akatsuki are an ally to you. So why would you help us against them?" Yamato asked
"It's merely a gift for Naruto. A token of my gratitude. After all, the akatsuki is pursuing you." Kabuto said
"Your gratitude, huh?" Naruto asked
"Yes. When lord Orochimaru died, I lost sense of my identity again. Who I was. I never knew my parents or homeland. The enemy took me into their custody when I was very little. I was used as a spy since I was a child. Moving around from country to country. Village to village. For a long time the idea of home was alien to me until I became lord Orochimaru's disciple and now, it's gone again." Kabuto said and tossed the book at Naruto's feet before continuing
"The pain of not knowing who I am, being without an identity, you understand it well, don't you Naruto?" Kabuto asked
"Something like that. A question that I asked myself everyday growing up was am I Naruto Uzumaki or am I the nine tailed fox. Shunned and despised in the past made me question my identity and who I was meant to be, but I had faith in my strength and told myself that I'm Naruto Uzumaki and the nine tails is a seperate being. I forged my own identity. In doing so, I was able to overcome the cold stares meant for the nine tails." Naruto said
"What are they talking about?" Hinata asked Yamato
"I don't know." Yamato said
"That's why you're confident. That's why you have no doubts about your identity and why you found friends who will accept you so readily. My story's different. Instead of reaching beyond lord Orochimaru, I stubbornly kept clinging to his power. Now I have a much better idea of how you must've felt, Naruto. You made me see and so I decided that I would be like you. That's why my path's clear to me. I'm going to use what I was able to absorb from Orochimaru and become a better, stronger Kabuto Yakushi. I will find a new identity and you've given me a clue as to how. That's why I'm so grateful to you, Naruto. Lord Orochimaru is a symbol of renewal. He will live as a reminder of what I must overcome." Kabuto said as he revealed part of his face was like Orochimaru's
"You absorbed that guy?" Naruto asked
"That's right. I took a part of Lord Orochimaru's corpse after Sasuke defeated him and then I simply grafted that piece right onto my own body. Since then, you won't believe the life force it's given me. Everyday I can feel that it's consuming my entire body. It's amazing." Kabuto said
"It's unbelievable." Yamato said
"Wait a minute. It's already taken over one third of his body." Hinata said, as she activated her Byakugan to look at him
"I have to fight desperately just to avoid being completely subsumed by it. Everyday I feel my will to surpass Lord Orochimaru reaffirmed to me!" Kabuto said
"Is that everything you have to say?" Naruto asked
"In time I will be able to gain complete control over all of Lord Orochimaru's powers and abilities. When that happens, I'll fight you, Naruto. That's later. My priority is to avenge him. My priority is Sasuke Uchiha. Until next time." Kabuto said and vanished then a huge shape appeared in the sky then exploded
"What do you think is happening?" Hinata asked Naruto
"Let's go check it out." Naruto said
"You're right." Yamato said and they went to the explosion sight
Explosion sight
"Naruto." Sakura said
"Looks like that explosion caught everyone's attention." Yamato said
"There's evidence Sasuke was here just before we arrived." Sakura said
"I know." Naruto said
"How do you know? You just got here." Sakura said
"Sasuke was fighting an akatsuki member here. Judging by the size of the explosion I know which one it was." Naruto said
"Why didn't you say anything?!" Yamato asked
"We had our own problems to deal with. Besides, Sasuke isn't my main objective in this mission." Naruto said
"You could've saved Sasuke!" Sakura said
"Will you shut up? He's not dead. His chakra signature left the area as if he was summoned away." Naruto said
"Thought so. As I suspected one of the other scents is identical to the one I detected in the city. Sasuke isn't traveling by himself anymore. He has three companions with him as well. They must be his accomplices." A ninja hound said
"Then, in the town." Sakura said
"Yes. Sasuke's probably put together a team. All I know is that one of the five scents here belongs to Deidara." Kakashi said
"Wasn't he the one who self destructed and was sent to another dimension by your jutsu?" Sakura asked
"No. He was just a clone. The real Deidara was underground hiding." Naruto said
"Is that why you had me make that hole in the ground?" Sakura asked
"Yeah. After you all left I hit him with a lightning jutsu to let him know that I wasn't fooled one bit." Naruto said
"The akatsuki operate in two man teams so there should be three left and Sasuke is in a four person team." Kakashi said
"I don't care how many there are. Let's get moving and track Sasuke's scent!" Sakura said
"Sorry. I'm afraid we can't do that." Pakkun said
"Why not?" Sakura asked
"The scent goes cold here." Kakashi said
"What does that mean?" Sakura asked
"Sasuke used the transportation jutsu to escape." Yamato said
"I made my nose sharper than a ninja hound. I think I found Sasuke." Kiba said
"A nose sharper than a ninja hound. Impressive. Just what I'd expect from the Inuzuka clan." Kakashi thought
"Right, Kiba. Show us the way." Sakura said and Kiba ran off
"It's this way! I'm sure. From his scent I can tell that he stopped moving. I think that he's resting after his battle." Kiba said with everyone following him
"This is our chance." Kakashi said
"Sasuke." Sakura thought
"Looks like our paths are going to cross again, Sasuke." Naruto thought
"Kiba. What's the story?" Sakura asked
"Sasuke's scent is faint and fading. Shut up and stop distracting me." Kiba said
"Something's wrong." Naruto thought
"Sasuke's on the move now. His scent is scattering out in every direction at the same time." Kiba said
"Figures. Everyone stop!" Naruto said
"Why?! We're getting closer to Sasuke!" Sakura said
"No, we aren't. He has a sensor on his team and whoever it is can sense all forms of chakra signatures even in animals like I can. They must be using the surrounding animals to lure us away from him. The ninja hounds are being used to their advantage." Naruto said
"Naruto, create some shadow clones. Have them search the entire area." Kakashi said
"Fine." Naruto said and created a lot of shadow clones that split off in every direction, but he left as well leaving as he split off from the group
Naruto
Naruto was hopping through trees and then sensed a certain chakra signature behind him. He turned around and saw a pair of sharingan eyes staring at him so he didn't bother to hide.
"Naruto Uzumaki." Itachi said
"Seriously? My last name. I thought we were past the last name stage. Are you here to capture me?" Naruto asked
"No. I'm not. Right now I'm only here to talk to you, Naruto." Itachi said
"Good. I need to talk to you as well." Naruto said and then the world changed
Genjutsu
"You're already under my genjutsu. This way we can talk without being interrupted." Itachi said
"Good. What I need to tell you shouldn't be heard by anybody else." Naruto said
"What would that be?" Itachi asked
"Danzo no longer has Shisui's eye. I took it from him and destroyed it." Naruto said
"You fought him?" Itachi asked
"No. He tried to give out evidence on our anbu to Orochimaru and after I found out, he tried to place a genjutsu on me with Shisui's eye, but I ripped it out and destroyed it." Naruto said
"I see." Itachi said
"What did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked
"You want to bring Sasuke back, right? If it doesn't go the way you wanted it to, what would you do?" Itachi asked
"I don't know how I want it to go. The thing is, Sasuke isn't a child anymore and knows exactly what he's doing. I probably should have beaten him at the valley of end when he defected, but I chose not to. As I told Sakura, Tsunade and Pervy-sage, I'll give him one last chance to come back peacefully." Naruto said
"Would you be able to do it by force? If Sasuke would come with you back to the village willingly, that would be fine, but if the total opposite were to happen, what would you do?" Itachi asked
"I would do what I have to. We both know there's a chance that Sasuke won't stop after getting what he wants. After you, he'll most likely come after the leaf village and I will stop anything that harms my home." Naruto said
"Even if you had to kill him?" Itachi asked
"If it came down to it, then yes." Naruto said
"You've grown. You now understand that a shinobi must sometimes make harsh decisions. No matter how unpopular they may be." Itachi said
"Someone else told me the exact same thing. I'll do my best to save your brother from darkness, but as I said before, he gets one more chance to come back peacefully." Naruto said and Itachi smiled then a crow shoved its way down Naruto's throat
"I have given you some of my powers. I hope the day you have to use them never comes." Itachi said
"I guess it's that time now." Naruto said
"I must be going. I have an important matter to handle." Itachi said and ended the genjutsu
Real world
"I hope you know what you're doing, Itachi." Naruto said to himself as he stood up
"Damn. No luck with this scent. You okay, Naruto? You are the real Naruto, right?" Kiba asked
"Yeah." Naruto said
"Did something happen?" Kakashi asked
"I just tripped. That's all. Nevermind that. Kiba, get on the next scent." Naruto said
Naruto started hopping through the trees thinking about the mission and what just happened between him and Itachi. As he was jumping, he felt like something grabbed his shoulder so he stopped. The area where he stopped had light shining down on him from the sky and when he looked behind him, nothing was there.
Naruto clone
One of Naruto's remaining clones was jumping through trees when he spotted Sasuke coming right at him. Sasuke tried to hit the clone with a Chidori, but it was put out by a gust of wind by the clone so they all landed.
"Sasuke." Naruto said
"Naruto." Sasuke said
"Who're your friends?" Naruto asked
"Out of my way. I have something to do." Sasuke said
"I know. I just want to have a little chit chat. I'm supposed to capture you, but since I'm a clone I can't really do that." Naruto said
"I'm not coming back to the leaf village." Sasuke said
"Okay. So, who are you guys? My name's Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said and he saw the girl widen her eyes a little bit
"Uzumaki." The redhead thought
"Well, I'm Suigetsu. The big buff guy is Jugo and the redhead is Karin." Suigetsu said
"Nice. I take it you went to Zabuza's grave to get the sword." Naruto said
"I did." Suigetsu said
"Hope you paid your respects." Naruto said
"Shut up. I have somewhere to be and you're in my way." Sasuke said and created another Chidori
"Right. We'll see each other again." Naruto said and went up in smoke
"Let's go." Sasuke said
"He's an Uzumaki? He has blonde hair though." Karin thought
Naruto
"I found Sasuke." Naruto said
"Good job. Where to?" Kiba asked
"This way." Naruto said and jumped to the right
"I see you've met my clone already. We most certainly will meet again, Sasuke." Naruto thought
Few hours later
"Howdyyyyy. How's it going there and there and there. Imagine running into hidden leaf folks in a place like this and it's two, four, six, seven against one. What bad luck." A masked akatsuki member said, showing up right in front of Naruto and everyone stopped
"His chakra. It seems familiar." Naruto thought
"That's him. The fake Madara Uchiha." The nine tails said
"Come to think of it, his chakra feels like the guy from the Uchiha massacre that was helping Itachi kill the clan. This guy is no joke and he has Senju chakra for some reason." Naruto thought
"Wait, those robes. You're a member of the Akatsuki too." Yamato said
"Although, he wasn't on that roster Kabuto gave us." Kakashi said
"I'm kind of new here. Nice to meet you." The masked man said
"You think you're funny, huh? Look buddy, don't waste our time." Kiba said
"Don't be rash. We need to wait and see. Study the situation first. We do have a numbers advantage." Kakashi said
"Oh dear. Am I being underestimated by you guys? Wait, where's the blonde one?" The akatsuki member asked and then he was stabbed in the back by something
"Right behind you." Naruto said and then appeared back with the group
"The jinchuriki is fast. If I had my sharingan activated I would have been able to see him move. He's improved better than we all thought. The fact that nobody was able to tell he disappeared speaks volumes of his skills." The masked guy thought
"Why didn't you kill him?" The nine tails asked
"I just took some chakra and blood from him. I'm not risking anything yet. I want to find out who this guy is." Naruto thought
"Should we attack him?" Sakura asked
"No. He's here to distract us." Naruto said
"What? No I'm not." The guy said
"Let me guess, Sasuke's fighting Itachi and you don't want us to interfere." Naruto said
"Who's Sasuke? I've never heard of him." The guy said
"Right. So, what's your name?" Naruto asked
"Me? I'm Tobi and Tobi is a good boy." Tobi said
"I'm sure you are." Kakashi said
"Come on already! Let's just take this guy out!" Kiba said
"No. Naruto's right." Kakashi said and Venus trap came from the tree
"Well?" Tobi asked
"It's over." The plant like creature said
"What is that?" Sakura asked
"He was on the akatsuki roster that Kabuto gave us." Kakashi said
"Sasuke triumphed in the battle. Itachi Uchiha is now dead." The plant like creature said
"What?! I don't believe it! Kidding. It's just as I expected." Tobi said as his voice went from childlike to dead serious
"What? Sasuke killed Itachi." Sakura said
"Sasuke is down right now too. So what's next? I think he's in pretty bad shape." The plant like creature said
"Hey, you up there! Spiky aloe guy. Tell us where Sasuke is right now!" Sakura said
"What do you mean by aloe?" The white half of the creature asked
"Ignore her." The darker half said and Kakashi saw a sharingan appear in Tobi's eye
"We're just going to have to finish this some other time." Tobi said
"That's a sharingan. Who in the world is he?" Kakashi said out loud
"Later." Tobi said and slowly disappeared
"We've got to find Sasuke before they do." Kakashi said and ran off to the treetops
"Hinata! Check out four o'clock." Kakashi said
"Right! Byakugan. About ten kilometers ahead. A strong chakra is spread across a wide area. Also, for some reason the forest is on fire and it's burning with black flames." Hinata said
"Amaterasu." Naruto thought
"That's it! Everyone follow me!" Kakashi said and they started running
"Huh? I've detected their scent. They've already reached Sasuke's location." Kiba said
"So that's the Amaterasu. I've never seen it before." Kakashi thought
"No way. What is all that?" Sakura asked as she was looking at the burning black flames
"I know what that is. It's one of Itachi's jutsus." Naruto said
"Careful. That fire won't go out until it completely incinerates everything in its path. Yamato!" Kakashi ssid
"Right. I'm on it." Yamato said and went through hand signs
Earth style: planet splitter
The forest in front of them started to rise up from the ground and then it split in half.
"Go on. You can proceed now." Yamato said
"Alright. Everyone else follow me." Kakashi said and as he ran off he activates his Mangekyou sharingan
Fighting area
"Oh man. What do you think happened here? I mean what kind of battle could cause this kind of destruction?" Kiba asked
"Two welders of the sharingan. Are all battles between the members of the Uchiha clan this intense?" Kakashi thought
"They're gone. We were too late." Naruto said
"He's right. I don't detect any other chakra near here. Aside from us, there's no other chakra in the area." Hinata said
"There's still a faint trace of scent left." Kiba said
"We're too late." Kakashi said
"This spot is where Itachi died." Naruto said looking at a spot on the ground
"How can you tell?" Sakura asked
"I just know." Naruto said
"Kakashi." Yamato said
"If even the faintest scent still lingers from what Sasuke was here, we'll just keep searching until we can't find any trace of his scent." Kakashi said
"This sucks. I guess we'll never have our true one on one fight like I wanted." Naruto said
"Sasuke's still alive. You can still fight him Naruto." Kiba said
"I'm not talking about Sasuke. I'm talking about Itachi. When I was younger, I knew Itachi better than anyone else other than his family and Shisui. I told him one day that I wanted a fight with him and he told me that we would fight when I became stronger. The only chance I had at finally fighting him was when he came to capture me, but I couldn't because he had Kisame with him and none of my teachers actually bothered to train me properly. I'll never get that chance again." Naruto said
He was looking up at the sky and when he looked at them his eyes were purple with two full circles around them and two circles overlapping around the pupil. (Google search Fuyugan for an actual picture of it.)
"Naruto. Your eyes." Kakashi said
"I know." Naruto said
"What is it? I've never seen anything like it." Kakashi said
"It's called the Fuyugan. It increases the power of my ice kekkei genkai attacks, automatically tripling the chakra for the attacks so they have much more force behind them." Naruto said
"We'll discuss it later. We need to track Sasuke's scent." Kakashi said
"Naruto, didn't Kinto follow you? Maybe we could track him with his nose as well." Sakura said
"Kinto hates the rain. He went back to the village as soon as he smelled it coming. We should just head back. We aren't going to find Sasuke if the akatsuki have him." Naruto said
"What do you think, Kakashi?" Yamato asked
"He's right. We've done all we could. The rain is washing away his scent as we speak. It's best that we just go back to the hidden leaf." Kakashi said
"Sasuke." Sakura sadly thought
Konoha
After detailing the events of the mission Tsunade gave the team a few days off. Naruto opted not to spend as much time with Ino because he was feeling strange. Not strange in a way that something was wrong with him or anything like that, but he just had a feeling something wasn't right. He hasn't seen Jiraiya since he came back and as far as he knew, Jiraiya didn't have anything planned. He was just laying in his bed with his face buried in his pillow and then there was a knock on his window. He looked to the right and it was none other than Kakashi.
"Oh. It's you. Hey, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said
"Lady Tsunade has summoned you." Kakashi said
Hokage Tower
"Chief toad and Gamakichi? What gives?" Naruto asked
"Yo! What's up Naruto?" Gamakichi asked
"What are you guys doing here? What, did something happen?" Naruto asked
"Well actually uhh..."
"Gamakichi keep your trap shut. Let the boss and Tsunade handle it. They know what they're doing." Gamabunta said
"That's weird. What's going on here?" Naruto asked
"Don't worry. Let's go." Kakashi said
Tsunade's office
Naruto and Kakashi arrived at the office and after knocking, they heard Tsunade tell them to come in. Naruto entered and closed the door then saw Sakura, Shizune and four other toads in the office.
"So this is Jiraiya boys student, is it?" A green toad asked
"This is Naruto Uzumaki. The child of prophecy you spoke of." Tsunade said
"What's with the geezer frog? Who is he?" Naruto asked
"Pipe down. Watch your mouth, Naruto. He is one of the two great sages of Mount Myoboku, lord Fukasaku. He traveled all the way here just so he could speak with you." Tsunade said
"Well to be more accurate, I'm a great sage toad, but nevermind that. It doesn't matter. Answer me this. Are you really Jiraiya-boys student or aren't you?" Fukasaku asked
"Jiraiya boy? Boy?! Dont treat the pervy-sage like a kid! Who does this geezer frog think he is anyway?" Naruto asked
"I told you already. Watch your mouth." Tsunade said
"Naruto. He's the one who taught the Sage jutsu to lord Jiraiya. He's Jiraiya's master." Shizune said and Fukasaku started to laugh
"So you call him the Pervy-Sage? I've never heard a more fitting name for Jiraiya-boy." Fukasaku said
"What does this geezer Sage want? What did he come so far to talk to me about?" Naruto asked
"I'm not exactly sure where to begin this. Let me see. I suppose the most important thing is...I'm afraid Jiraiya-boy has died in battle." Fukasaku said
"W-What are you talking about?" Naruto asked
"I know that this is very sudden. So I understand if you don't believe me. For some time now rumors have been circulating that the leader of the akatsuki was operating out of the village hidden in the rain, so Jiraiya-boy went there in person to verify whether these rumors were true. Jiraiya-boy encountered Pain, the leader of the akatsuki. However, Pain was a former student of Jiraiya-boys from many many years ago." Fukasaku said
"He was his student. What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked
"I don't know the particulars, but Jiraiya-boy called him Nagato." Fukasaku said
"That goes way back to a time during the chaos of the third great ninja war. The hidden rain village became a battlefield. Jiraiya took some war orphans under his wing. Who would've imagined those kids." Tsunade said
"But to defeat a shinobi as powerful as Jiraiya. How did this pain accomplish such a feat?" Kakashi asked
"It was because Pain possesses the rinnegan." Fukasaku said
"What did you say?" Kakashi asked
"Rinnegan?" Sakura asked
"It's an ocular jutsu said to have been possessed by the father of all shinobi, the Sage of six paths, but I believed that it was nothing more than a legend." Shizune said
"The fabled ocular jutsu, the rinnegan. Its power is supposedly beyond anything you could imagine, but there's more. There were 6 of them that possessed that ocular jutsu." Fukasaku said
"There were six of them with the rinnegan. How can that even be possible?" Kakashi asked
"I don't know. Perhaps there's some trick behind it. I believe that Jiraiya-boy discovered the secret behind the six of them in that final terrible battle. Even after he had been finished by Pain and he knew the end was near, Jiraiya-boy left a message before collapsing. This is his message." Fukasaku said and removed his robe revealing a code on his back
"It's a code." Shizune said
"I'm sure he did this to prevent Pain from catching on. That's everything I know about Jiraiya-boys efforts." Fukasaku said
"I wonder what he was trying to tell us. Maybe we could decode this. Then hopefully we'll understand." Tsunade said
"You let him go. Is that right, granny?" Naruto asked
"That's right." Tsunade said
"Why would you ever let him do something so risky?! You knew Pervy-Sage better than anybody, granny! How could you send him somewhere so dangerous alone?!" Naruto asked
"Stop it, Naruto. You of all people ought to know lady Tsunade's feelings." Kakashi said and Tsunade thought about her last time seeing Jiraiya
Flashback
"It's too dangerous." Tsunade said
"I'm one of the leafs legendary Sannin. You know what that means just as much as I do. You were so beautiful back then and now you're a fifty something granny, but it does pain me to see how you hold all the memories of your lost friends and loved ones inside that ample bus son of yours. As you know, the number will only continue to rise. Well then, we'll simply have to keep our emotions in check. The job we must give to ourselves now is to set examples and aid the next generation, Tsunade. To achieve that I'd gladly risk my life. Wisdom is the one thing that makes growing old worth it." Jiraiya said
End flashback
"Dammit." Naruto said and started to leave
"Naruto, wait. Where are you going?" Sakura asked
"If the pervy-Sage had been the hokage, he wouldn't have let granny Tsunade take a risk like that. Never." Naruto said and slammed the door
"Naruto." Sakura said
"Enough, Sakura. Don't. Just let him be for now." Tsunade said
"But, M'lady." Sakura said
"My apologies, lord Fukusaku. I'll arrange for Naruto to..."
"No need. That's quite alright, but about that child of prophecy vision I mentioned earlier. I can see that this child truly loved and admired Jiraiya-boy. It makes me hope more than anything that he is the child of prophecy." Fukusaku said
Naruto
As Naruto was walking aimlessly through the village he started to think back on his times with Jiraiya.
Flashback series
"First I'm gonna show ya how it's done. Now, watch me carefully." Jiraiya said and then he was thrown into the ravine and forced to summon Gamabunta. Then the flashback changed
"What no way?! Come on. Why do I have to go along with you while you do research for another one of your pervy books?" Naruto asked
"Look kid, this isn't just another research trip. See there's this woman I have to find. A very remarkable woman." Jiraiya said the the scene changed
"Come on! Come on. Come on. Why'd you choose me, huh?" Naruto asked
"Well, the truth is kid, a long time ago the fourth hokage used to be a disciple of mine and you bare such a striking resemblance to the fourth that it's almost laughable." Jiraiya said and then another moment appeared
"Not a moment will be wasted. All of our time on the road will be solely devoted to you, Naruto." Jiraiya said
"But how come?" Naruto asked
"We've gotta get you stronger! Time to train!" Jiraiya said
Flashback end
Naruto was still walking with a dull look on his face and then stopped when he heard the noise of a popsicle breaking in half. He looked up and leaves blew past his face and into the sky. He sighed and just went to the training grounds.
"I can't believe he's dead. He was like a father to me." Naruto said
He sat down and then started to cry. He felt like everything was just ripped from him since Jiraiya was gone. He didn't know how much time passed as he sat there, but it was now dark outside and he showed no signs of moving. He sat on the ground staring at nothing as his eyes were a dull blue instead of his vibrant blue as they usually were. He then felt somebody place a hand on his shoulder and shrugged it off, but it remained.
"Whoever you are, just leave me alone." Naruto said
"Now, that's no way to speak to your sensei." A voice said and Naruto's eyes went wide
"Pervy-Sage!" Naruto said and turned around to see none other than Jiraiya standing there, but he was a ghostly figure
"What's with the tears and gloomy look? It doesn't fit you." Jiraiya said
"My sensei is dead after fighting the akatsuki leader. How can I not be sad?" Naruto asked
"Don't be sad, Naruto. It won't change anything. I've reached the end of my road." Jiraiya said
"Then what can I do! I'm not strong enough to beat somebody who was able to defeat you! I'm nowhere near your level of strength! Me fighting him would just be an instant death. What's the point I'm even trying?" Naruto asked
"The point is you have a lovely girlfriend that depends on you to return to the village after every mission and protect her if need be. You still have your dream of becoming hokage and bringing peace to the world. Tsunade will need you more than ever now since I'm dead. As for you not being close to my level, you're actually closer than you think. During our training, I was going all out against you except for using one technique that would've made me instantly win. I'd say you are close to the level of Orochimaru when he's fully healthy. That also means you're stronger than Tsunade." Jiraiya said
"But how will I train without anybody able to push me past my limits?" Naruto said
"Train with lord Fukasaku. I'm sure you've met him already." Jiraiya said
"I did. He's the one who told me you died." Naruto said
"Good. He's the one responsible for getting me to where I was at. Ask him to train you and you'll easily surpass me. Now, get up and copy my moves." Jiraiya said and got in a stance
"Why?" Naruto asked
"Think of it as one more day of training. This will help you when you start your training under lord Fukasaku." Jiraiya said and Naruto got up then mimicked his moves
"Pervy-Sage, what does the code mean that you left us?" Naruto asked
"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? It's in my books that I made you read." Jiraiya said
"You left us your favorite scene from a book?" Naruto asked
"No. I didn't force you to read those books just for fun. I leave messages in my books for my spy network. Use your photographic memory and figure it out. You've spent enough time around me to know if something is a hidden message or not. I mainly left it for you. The deciphering team won't get it and neither will the smartest person in Konoha." Jiraiya said and then Naruto thought hard about it while shifting his stance with Jiraiya
"I got it! The real one's not among them. What does it mean?" Naruto asked
"You'll have to figure it out on your own. My time is up." Jiraiya said as he started to fade away
"Wait, we aren't done." Naruto said and Jiraiya just put his hand on Naruto's head
"Don't worry. Fukasaku will teach you everything you need to know." Jiraiya said
"Will you talk to granny-Tsunade?" Naruto asked
"It wouldn't be best for her to see me leave again. Do me a favor. That scroll I told you not to open, give it to her. It has something in there that I wanted to give to her had she given me the chance. Also, finish my last book for me. I figured I'd leave my fellow perverts with one last gift to remember me by. Remember, I'll always be watching over you. Oh and when you do go train with the toads, make sure you bring more than enough food or they'll feed you bugs until you leave." Jiraiya said and disappeared as he was walking away
Naruto stared in the direction Jiraiya walked and a small smile came onto his face. He thought about the message Jiraiya left behind and started to go through the moves Jiraiya showed him again. As all of this was going on, Tsunade arrived and saw him practicing the moves and she smiled fondly at him since he looked exactly like Jiraiya in this moment. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder making him stop.
"Can I help you?" Naruto asked
"I have a peace offering." Tsunade said and held up half of a blue popsicle as she broke one in half
"Pervy-Sage told you about this, didn't he?" Naruto asked as they sat down against a tree and enjoyed their popsicles
"No. It's just something I decided to do." Tsunade said
"Well, this is what we did when he was teaching me the rasengan after I managed to get past the second step. We did it again during our training recently. Split a popsicle and just enjoy nature. It's one of the things I'll miss the most about him." Naruto said
"Funny, I'll miss when he tried to peep in the women's bathhouse. I know he was a pervert, but sometimes I get the feeling he did that to put a smile on my face when I was angry. His constant failed attempts at flirting always managed to lighten the mood. Even his boisterous laugh is something you can't help but miss." Tsunade said
"Can I ask you a question?" Naruto asked
"Sure." Tsunade said
"Why didn't you give him a chance? On our trip he said that if he had you in his life then he wouldn't be such a pervert and wouldn't need to peek in the girls bathhouses. He said that you would've been more than enough inspiration for him." Naruto said
"I was still grieving the death of my boyfriend Dan at the time. I know Jiraiya has always loved me, but when he asked me out after our one night together, I thought it was him trying to get me while I was down trying to take advantage of me and rejected him rather harshly. I'll never forget the look on his face after I said those harsh words to him. That was the last time I saw him until the day you two came after me. Looking back on it, I probably should have given him a chance. Maybe he'd be alive right now instead of who knows where his body is." Tsunade said and pulled out a bottle of saki
"I guess team 7 was the same after all. Only difference is that I managed to find love in someone else instead of pining after a girl who didn't feel the same way or just refused to admit she felt the same way." Naruto said
"I guess you're right. I still can't believe you and Ino are a couple. I had my money on you and Hinata getting together." Tsunade said
"I'm sure everyone did. Don't get me wrong, Hinata is a nice girl, but she's just not the girl for me." Naruto said
"I see." Tsunade said
"Why'd you let him go alone?" Naruto asked
"I didn't want to. I really didn't. I was going to go with him, but he wanted me to stay in the village since I was the leader and he didn't want anything happening to me. Then I decided I was going to send a squad of our best anbu with him, but he was gone without a trace. When he died, a toad sailed away in the river and that's how I know he was gone." Tsunade said as wiped her tears away
"When we were on our last mission, I felt something touch my shoulder, but when I turned around nothing or nobody was there. I guess that was his spirit contacting me." Naruto said
"I guess he'll never get the dream he wanted. Peace amongst the shinobi world." Tsunade said
"I'll carry on his dream. He passed it onto me during our training trip and I promised I'd do it." Naruto said
"Well, if there's anybody who can do it then it's you, Naruto." Tsunade said
"Did you love him?" Naruto asked
"Yeah, but before I got the chance to tell him, this happened. I even bet on him dying since I have terrible luck, but I guess the world just wants me to suffer since he was killed. I figured I'd give him a chance to impress me when he got back, but that can't happen now." Tsunade said
"What if he wanted to marry you?" Naruto asked
"Maybe. If he would have impressed me then I would've said yes. Sadly, I'll never know how he would've been." Tsunade said
"The way he talked about you when he was drunk seemed so pure and full of love. I mean you two weren't together and he still just wanted to see you smile everyday and make you happy. He even treated you like the most important thing in his life." Naruto said
"How do you know that's how he talks about me?" Tsunade asked
"Because it's how I talk about Ino." Naruto said and smiled
"You really love her, don't you?" Tsunade asked
"Yeah. She means everything to me." Naruto said
"I see. So, care to tell me why Ino is going around the village blowing up balloons and holding them in her hand?" Tsunade asked
"Oh shit! I completely forgot! Here, this is for you. Pervy-Sage wanted you to have it. I have to go find Ino." Naruto said and gave Tsunade a scroll
"I think she's at your apartment." Tsunade said
"Thanks!" Naruto said and vanished
Naruto's apartment
"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?! I WAS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU." Ino yelled as Naruto came into his apartment
"I went out for a walk." Naruto said and sat down
"I was looking for you. I heard what happened. I just wanted to be there for you like you were with me when Asuma-sensei died." Ino said
"I know. I just needed to be alone." Naruto said
"How are you feeling?" Ino said and put her head on his shoulder
"I'm alright. Yeah it hurts that he's gone, but he doesn't want me to mope around all day. I'm going to finish his final book he was writing and publish it for his fans." Naruto said
"I swear if you start peeking on the women's side of the hot spring, I'm ending this relationship." Ino said and had a blank face on
"I'm not going to peep. I have all the inspiration I need in front of me." Naruto said and gave her a kiss
"Usually it's me who gives the kisses, but I'm not complaining. However, you're not getting any inspiration tonight." Ino said
"What? Why not?" Naruto asked
"You left me walking around with a balloon for months trying to combine the first and second steps to my jutsu and once I finally did it, nothing happened." Ino sai and Naruto unsealed a balloon then blew it up
"Combine the steps." Naruto said and gave her the balloon
"Why?" Ino asked
"Just do it." Naruto said and once Ino started to combine the steps he popped the balloon
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Ino yelled
"Combine the steps." Naruto said
"Give me a balloon." Ino said
"No. Combine the steps." Naruto said
"I can't combine the steps without the balloon. Here just let me blow this one up and..." Ino was stopped when Naruto cut the balloon
"Forget the balloon." Naruto said
"You're starting to piss me off. I can't combine the steps if I don't have the damn balloon!" Ino said
"If you can't combine the steps without the balloon then I wasted my time. I wonder if somebody else would want this jutsu. I guess Hinata would like it, but that's if she can stay awake while I teach her." Naruto said and Ino was furious
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? SERIOUSLY? YOU'RE GOING TO BRING HER UP WHEN WE'RE ALONE? I CAN'T COMBINE THE STEPS. YOU WANT TO SEE THEN FINE. LOOK. IT'S NOT DOING ANYTHING." Ino yelled and perfectly combined the steps, but she was too angry to see it
"Congratulations." Naruto said
"CONGRATULATIONS WHAT?" Ino yelled
"Look at your hand." Naruto said and Ino gasped as she saw her jutsu
"Is this what I think it is?" Ino asked
"Yup. That's the rasengan. Took you longer than what it took me to do, but at least you got it." Naruto said
"Awesome. Why would you teach me this?" Ino asked
"Because I love you and I wanted you to have something special. I'm not really good at the romantic stuff, but I figured this is the next best thing I could do for you." Naruto said and Ino gave him a kiss
"Thank you. So, how does it feel knowing your girlfriend can make this with one hand and you can't?" Ino asked and Naruto smirked before creating a rasengan in his hand
"You were saying?" Naruto asked
"Shut up. It still took you longer to make it with one hand." Ino said
"That's because my chakra control was horrible. Now, the next step is increasing its size and I don't recommend you do that without supervision." Naruto said
"Why not?" Ino asked
"Because if it's unstable it could explode and do serious damage to you." Naruto said
"Can I add my chakra nature to it like you can?" Ino asked
"Maybe your fire chakra nature, but you won't be able to form a Rasenshuriken like I can." Naruto said
"That's okay with me." Ino said
"You'll need lots of training for that." Naruto said
"I guess you're right, but maybe you should teach me the shadow clone jutsu. That way I'll be able to cut down time on the training like you did." Ino said
"How much chakra do you have?" Naruto asked
"I have high-jonin level reserves since I've been training non stop to get stronger." Ino said
"Then you should be able to make at least 20-30 shadow clones since you have great chakra control, but they won't be as strong as mine." Naruto said
"Well that sucks." Ino said
"Not really. I doubt anybody from the rookie nine would be able to make that many. Sakura still can't learn the jutsu since her reserves are too small. That's actually pretty good since the average jonin is only able to make like 4 of them. You have great chakra control on your side so you'll be fine." Naruto said
"Great. So when can we start training?" Ino asked
"When I get back." Naruto said
"What do you mean? Where are you going?" Ino asked
"I'm going to train with somebody to help me get stronger and push me to my limits and beyond. Pervy-Sage told me who he trained with, so I should train with them since they're the reason he was so strong and he thinks that I'll surpass him after I'm done training." Naruto said
"Who are you training with?" Ino asked
"Not telling. It's better that way." Naruto said and Ino sighed
"When do you leave?" Ino asked
"I'll try to leave out early tomorrow. The person who killed Pervy-Sage will undoubtedly come after me, so I need to be ready." Naruto said
"What if he comes while you're not here?" Ino asked
"I'll leave behind a messenger toad to contact me immediately. If he comes, promise me that you'll be safe." Naruto said
"I promise, but I also have a duty as a kunoichi of this village to protect it from danger." Ino said
"I know. Just be careful." Naruto said
"I will." Ino said and he gave her a kiss
"Thank you." Naruto said
"Oh yeah. Lady Tsunade was looking for you earlier." Ino said
"She found me." Naruto said
"Did you both talk?" Ino asked
"Yeah we talked. Had a moment between the two of us." Naruto said
"Good. You two are close and it's never good when you're not talking to her. We have to deal with her wrath. Why is she so attached to you anyway?" Ino asked
"She's my godmother. I know I call her granny, but that was before I found out. Actually looking at things now, I guess you can say she's my mother. I know who my real mother is, but she's dead and Tsunade filled that role when I met her." Naruto said
"Who's your real mother?" Ino asked
"Her name is Kushina Uzumaki. She died protecting me from the nine tails." Naruto said
"Kushina Uzumaki? Wait! Your mother is the famous Red Hot-Blooded Habanero?!" Ino asked and had stars in her eyes
"I'm guessing you've heard of her." Naruto said
"Of course! I just didn't know her last name was Uzumaki! She was so great that it was rumored she could go toe to toe with lady Tsunade! I wish I could've met her." Ino said
"Me too. She's the reason I have the ice kekkei genkai. I wish I had a picture of her." Naruto said
"You don't have one? Just look in the Konoha ninja registry." Ino said
"I can't. The third hokage had her name and pictures wiped out from the ninja registry after she died so nobody would make the connection that I was her son. He couldn't do it for the fourth hokage because his face was literally everywhere and it's on the hokage mountain." Naruto said
"Well that sucks. I can't believe he got rid of every single picture of her." Ino said and then Naruto had an idea
"Maybe he didn't." Naruto said
"What do you mean?" Ino asked
"I talked to Pervy-Sage about my parents a lot during my training before he died and he said she was best friends with Mikoto Uchiha. Mikoto must have some pictures of my mom in her house." Naruto said
"Wasn't everything from the Uchiha compound confiscated after the Uchiha massacre?" Ino asked
"No. The third hokage just placed the compound under heavy surveillance and kept it locked down. Nothing was taken from the compound so everything should be left how it was that night." Naruto said
"What are you saying?" Ino asked
"I'm going to sneak into the Uchiha compound and look for a picture of my mom." Naruto said
"Naruto, the Uchiha compound like you said, is under heavy surveillance and locked down. You can't sneak in there. Plus, how do you even know where Mikoto lived?" Ino asked
"I was trained by the best spy master known. I painted the hokage monument in broad daylight while wearing a bright orange jumpsuit and only got caught because I wanted to. I think I can sneak into the Uchiha compound undetected." Naruto said
"Fair point, but you still don't know where this Mikoto lived exactly in the Uchiha compound." Ino said
"Yes I do. She's Sasuke's mom. That means all I have to do is go to the clan head house and look for a picture of my mom. Wanna come with me?" Naruto asked
"Well, it took you long enough to ask!" Ino said
"Let's go." Naruto said
Uchiha compound
Naruto and Ino finally made it to the Uchiha compound after an hour of getting ready. It took so long because Ino decided to find an all black outfit despite Naruto telling her it wasn't needed. To make his point, Naruto wore the brightest orange outfit he could find and Ino was shocked that he wasn't even caught.
They stealthily made it to the Uchiha clan head house and carefully went around the security seals placed on the house thanks to Naruto's skills in fuinjutsu. They walked all over the house checking everything thoroughly until they came up to what appeared to be the main bedroom. After looking around, Naruto accidentally picked up a woman's pair of panties and then felt like death was staring at him. He turned around and saw Ino standing there with a murdering glare on her face and he sheepishly smiled before putting them back.
They looked more until Ino found a box tucked away that seemed important. They opened the box and it was filled with pictures. Now, Naruto didn't know what his mother looked like, but he was thankful for the pictures that had names written on the back of them. They found multiple pictures of Uchiha clan members as usual and even some pictures of Sasuke when he was a different person.
After searching for a while, Naruto finally came across a picture of a beautiful fair-skinned woman with violet eyes and red hair. Her hair was straight and reached her thighs with shoulder-length strands that framed both sides of her face and a black clip that parted her hair to the left. On the back of the picture it read Kushina Uzumaki. Naruto smiled and Ino was amazed that this was what Naruto's mother looked like.
"She's beautiful." Ino said
"I know. I thought both my parents were blondes, but apparently I was wrong." Naruto said
"I wonder how you'd look with red hair. Anyway, this folder is filled with pictures of her and your dad. We should take this and leave. It's late and you said you wanted to leave to train early in the morning." Ino said
"I know." Naruto said
"Boy. There's something odd about this place." The nine tails said
"What do you mean?" Naruto thought
"You need to get rid of the girl and follow my instructions." The nine tails said
"Why should I trust you?" Naruto thought
"You have no reason not to. It's not like I can do anything with this seal keeping me locked up." The nine tails said
"I guess you're right." Naruto thought and that's when he felt Ino slap him
"Ow." Naruto said
"I've been calling your name for 5 minutes! What the hell were you thinking about?" Ino asked
"Nothing. Listen, I need to check something out. Go back to my apartment and I'll be there in an hour." Naruto said
"No. You told me I could come with you and I'm staying here." Ino said and Naruto sighed
"Do you remember when we got together and we both agreed that if one of us needed space that we would agree and not argue?" Naruto asked
"Yes, but that was mainly for me." Ino said
"Well, now it's for me. I need you to go back to the house and give me some alone time. I need to check something out." Naruto said
"What's so important that I can't come with you?" Ino asked
"The Fox." Naruto said
"Oh? Oh! Okay. I'll see you in an hour and nothing more. If you're not back in an hour, then I'm dragging your ass back to your apartment." Ino said
"I know." Naruto said and gave her a kiss
"Hurry up." Ino said and quietly left
"Okay, fox. Where to?" Naruto thought
"Follow my instructions." The nine tails said
Naka shrine
"You made me come down here just to look at a stone with writing on it? I thought it was something important." Naruto thought
"You idiot. This stone was written by a very important person. However, it seems to have been tampered with over the years." The nine tails said and then his eyes went wide
"This is not good. Whoever has been tampering with this tablet is trying to end the world." The nine tails thought
"Well, I can't read it." Naruto thought
"Of course you can't read it. You were never taught to read this language and you do not have the sharingan to decipher it." The nine tails said
"Then tell me what it says." Naruto thought
"No." The nine tails said and went to sleep
"Fine. Be that way. Stupid furball." Naruto thought and vanished
Next day
"I have to admit, Naruto-boy. I was not expecting to hear from you so soon." Fukasaku said
"I know. Let's just say I've had some clarity about recent events and I won't go into detail right now." Naruto said
"I see. So, what is it that you need?" Fukasaku asked, but already knew what he needed
"I think you already know why I summoned you. It's time I trained with the toads like Pervy-Sage. If I'm going to beat whoever it is the akatsuki sends after me, then I'll need to be as strong as him or stronger. So I'm asking you. Please, will you train me like you did Pervy-Sage?" Naruto asked
"No. I will train you better than I did Jiraiya-boy. My training was not good enough for him to win his battle so I must train you even harder. I can tell you are close to his level in strength already and that you're stronger than Tsunade. With my training, you will surpass Jiraiya-boy and defeat the one known as Pain." Fukasaku said
"I can't believe he's already surpassed me. It wasn't that long ago when he surpassed Kakashi." Tsunade thought
"Kōsuke, you'll be staying here with granny Tsunade to relay any message on if I need to come back." Naruto said
"No problem, Naruto." Kosuke said
"Well, young tadpole. Are you ready to begin your training?" Fukasaku asked
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't ready." Naruto said and Fukasaku laughed
"That's exactly what Jiraiya-boy said to me when he first started to train under me." Fukasaku said
"Naruto, I know I don't need to tell you this, but listen to everything Fukasaku says and don't let your Uzumaki temper get the best of you." Tsunade said
"You've got nothing to worry about. This is me we're talking about." Naruto said
"Yeah and that's what worries me. You may have matured a lot, but you still do have your moments when your temper gets the best of you." Tsunade said
"Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence." Naruto mumbled and Tsunade laughed
"Don't you want to say goodbye to Ino?" Tsunade asked
"We said goodbye to each other for 4 hours last night. It's why she's not here. She's sleeping still." Naruto said
"Naruto-boy, it's time to train." Fukasaku said and Naruto nodded
"I'll see you when I get back granny. Make sure the village stays in one piece while I'm gone." Naruto said and then went up in smoke
"Good luck, Naruto." Tsunade said and Shizune came into the room
"Lady Tsunade, the council is waiting for you." Shizune said
"I'll be there shortly." Tsunade said and Shizune nodded
Mount Myōboku
"Whoa. What is this place?" Naruto asked
"This is Mount Myōboku. The home of the toads and where you will be training." Fukasaku told him
"So, what exactly are we training in?" Naruto asked
"I will train you to become the next toad Sage. You will learn how to properly use nature chakra and cooperate it into your attacks. First, has Jiraiya-boy taught you anything that belongs to the toads?" Fukasaku asked
"Over the last few months of training he had me meditate a lot. He recently taught me the taijutsu form he uses." Naruto said and did the forms Jiraiya showed him
"The frog kumite. That's good. You're already ahead of training so the sparing part should be a bit easier. Now, in order to achieve sage mode, you must remain absolutely still in order to be one with nature and balance the natural energy with your own physical and spiritual energies. This training will be the hardest you have ever done. I'll apply some oil to your body so your body can passively start gathering nature energy so you can get a taste of how it feels. After that we will begin training in gathering nature chakra on your own. If you gather too much nature chakra, then you will turn into a toad statue." Fukasaku said and pointed to toad statues around them
"I suddenly don't want to do this." Naruto said
"Don't worry. I have a special staff that I'll hit you with to knock the nature chakra out of you if you're gathering too much. It will reverse any transformations before they become permanent and you turn to stone." Fukasaku said
"Alright. Let's get started." Naruto said
"First, you see that waterfall over there?" Fukasaku asked
"Yeah. What about it?" Naruto asked
"I want you to go meditate in front of it. You still have anger and hatred in your heart. I do not want anything holding you back, so you must defeat the anger and once you do, we will begin training." Fukasaku said
Naruto didn't say anything and just nodded. He walked over to the waterfall and just sat down to begin his meditation. He knew he would have to deal with the anger and hatred in his heart one day since he can't become hokage if he hates the village. Fukasaku watched on as Naruto easily relaxed and started to meditate. This brought a smile onto his face since no one has ever been able to get meditation down so easily.
That smile turned into worry as Naruto's nine tails cloak activated and he sprouted four tails. Fukasaku was about to stop him, but then the cloak only took over half of his body before it came to a stop. He kept his guard up just in case as he realized this would be harder than he thought it would be. As he took a closer look at Naruto he could see tears falling down his face and could only wonder what was going on.