Across the burning, blistering sands, moving so fast that he was but a blur against the background, Kakashi Hatake ran north.
Elsewhere, in a similar burst of desperation, Naruto Uzumaki soared through the trees that surrounded his home, not even bothering to stop as he reached the gates of the mighty village of Konoha. The two chuunin guards posted at the gates saw nothing but an orange blur as the shinobi rushed by them.
(What they heard was a somewhat rushed shouting that sounded like "hiimbackandimgoingtoseethehokagedonttellthepervwhereiwent".)
(When it came to Naruto, this sort of behavior wasn't necessarily unusual.)
The energy of the Kyuubi still pulsed through Naruto as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Naruto didn't think he'd ever channeled the fox this long before, but it had served him well, as he hadn't needed to stop once during his day and a half long sprint. Hunger, exhaustion, thirst, none of those had meant anything with the Fox's power fueling him.
Of course, Naruto wasn't exactly sure how he was going to slow down. He'd been running for so long that he didn't know if he could convince his legs to stop. (And he didn't know how far behind him Jiraiya was, stopping at all could lead to his immediate capture.)
So Naruto, having probably done worse property damage in the past, said "fuck it" and catapulted himself through the window of the Hokage's office.
He slammed into the back wall of the room, narrowly missing a screaming Shizune. Only a couple of seconds passed before Tsunade's guards had kunai pointed at him, and Tsunade herself had even jumped up, fists at the ready.
Naruto gave her a sloppy grin as he rubbed his head. "Sorry, Granny. I didn't know how to throw on the breaks."
He wasn't surprised when Tsunade starting yelling at him. He was surprised at the profanities intermixed into the lecture; usually Tsunade was pretty good at keeping her words tame, but he had come through her window. Naruto didn't mind the lecture. As far as he was concerned, he'd won. Even if Jiraiya caught up to him now, he could still talk with Tsunade, still do what he came here to do. And, most importantly, he'd learned that he was fast enough to outrun a Sannin.
"I swear to God Naruto if you ever pull a stunt like this again I will string you up by your ankles and drop you off the Hokage monume-"
"Hey Granny, I'm sorry about the window, but I really need to talk to you like right now."
Tsunade paused. Naruto realized that he was rarely ever this serious about anything, and maybe it had been something in the tone of his voice, or the startling nature of his arrival, but Tsunade sat back down at her desk and took a deep breath.
"Everyone else out." She ordered. "And someone put in a request to have that damn window fixed."
With a rush of movement, the room emptied and Naruto was alone with the Hokage.
"I heard that Sakura left." He began.
"Figures." Tsunade replied. "I would have thought you'd have tried to go after her."
"I thought about it." Naruto admitted. "But it didn't exactly work out very well the last time I tried it, so I thought this time I might try something else."
"That's… uncharacteristic of you."
"Jiraiya told me I was a fool, for still wanting to believe that Sasuke could come back. And maybe I'm still a fool because I want to think Sakura could come back too. But the truth is, I wasn't here for either of them. I especially wasn't here for Sakura, and now it's just me. And it's just me because I left the village without thinking about the friends I left behind. So… so I can't bring myself to leave again, even if it's training to get stronger. Even if it's keeping me safe from those Akatsuki guys. Maybe it's selfish, but if I'm going to be Hokage one day, I need to be able to be there for the people I care about, and the village I care about. So please, Granny, I…" Naruto took a deep breath, straightening up for his request. "Please let me stay and be your apprentice too!"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she considered his request. And maybe it was as stupid as it had first sounded in Naruto's head when he'd thought of it, but Tsunade was the Hokage, who else would better teach him how to be Hokage? Jiraiya was a strong shinobi but…
Jiraiya was the one who'd told him to give up. And Jiraiya wasn't the one wearing the Hokage's hat at the end of the day. Naruto could learn power from Jiraiya, but power hadn't been enough to bring Sasuke back, and Sasuke's search for power led to the cascade of events that had no doubt convinced Sakura to leave as well.
He couldn't seek power and keep his friends together at the same time. He'd have to choose one way or the other, and Naruto knew now that his choice was never ever going to change.
"You're going to have to learn about paperwork." Tsunade's words startled him from his thoughts. "You're going to have to study. Learn all about the laws that govern Konoha, why these systems were set up the way they are. You'll have to sit quietly in meetings and suck up to people who you definitely won't like. And I will still require you to mentor under Jiraiya."
"Paperwork?" Naruto made an exasperated face, but a glare from Tsunade quickly silenced him.
"Do you think I sit around here all day for my health? Being Hokage is about leading a village, not about conquering it. You have the drive but right now you do not have the experience, and if you want to be Hokage one day you are going to have to learn the ropes."
Naruto swallowed down his protest. He hated paperwork, he hated studying, but if that was what it took to be a Hokage, that was what he needed to do. So instead, he simply nodded.
"Yes ma'am."
"Well, look at you, behaving all polite." Naruto saw a small smile make its way onto Tsunade's face. "I'm not lying when I'm telling you that this is what it will take. But, like I said, it won't all be studying. You'll still be learning under Jiraiya, and...well, I suppose since you're back home, you'll have to start earning your keep again, won't you?"
"Oh, you mean missions? I can still work under Kakashi-sensei, can't I?"
"Kakashi is on an extended leave for a mission of great importance." Tsunade answered. Naruto's face wrinkled as he tried to think what sort of mission his squad leader had been sent on, and it came to him all at once.
"Oh, you mean he's-"
Tsunade put a quick finger to her lips. "It's an S-ranked mission, Naruto. There will be no more discussing it. Besides, I've been looking for an extra genin to assign to a team that's been in need of one. One of their own just got promoted to chuunin, you see, and I'd like for him to get some experience leading a three man squad."
This, Naruto figured out right away. There was only one person he knew from the chuunin exams that had gotten promoted, and he grinned as he pieced together who it was.
"You mean I'll be with Shikamaru?"
"Precisely."
It certainly wasn't the worst assignment in the world. Shikamaru was a smart dude, he'd seen as much when they'd gone to retrieve Sasuke. Ino could be scary, but Choji had always been nice. They would do until he could get Team Seven back together again.
There was a rustle of movement, and Naruto heard wheezing breaths as Jiraiya stepped into the room through the window he'd broken.
"I'm too goddamn old for this." Jiraiya complained.
"I beat ya, pervy sage!" Naruto gloated. "See, I told you I could outrun Akatsuki if they came after me! And now Granny's gonna teach me all about being Hokage!"
"And you and I are going to have a talk." Tsunade added. "Especially about how you let a thirteen year old outrun you."
"...he is a very fast thirteen year old."
"Well, you're going to have to get faster. Especially because I'm giving you a change of assignment while you're here." Tsunade pulled out some paperwork and began to write. Naruto couldn't help but peak over at it, but to his surprise, Tsunade actually gestured for him to come look. "Come on, you'll be learning what all of this is anyway. I'm putting in your official reassignment to Team 10, but there's something else we need to put together too. Team 10's jounin commander, Asuma Sarutobi, will soon be on an extended leave following his marriage. That means Team 10 will be in need of a jounin supervisor until his return. Conveniently, Naruto, you've brought a jounin back with you who's currently supposed to be keeping close watch on you." Tsunade looked to Jiraiya with a smirk. "Which he can now do as the jounin captain of Team 10."
Even Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at Jiraiya's protests.
But this...this felt right. He could train here in the village. He would learn how to be the best Hokage ever.
And when Sakura and Sasuke returned...he'd be waiting for them.
"Excuse me for not expecting him to pull up the Kyuubi's energy like a damned battery." Jiraiya huffed as settled against a nearby wall, his hair rustling in the faint breeze the nearby broken window created. "I'd taught him how to pull upon it, but not even his father was that fast. The Kyuubi is...the power might start getting out of hand, the more Naruto uses it."
"You know how he is. You should have told him about Sakura leaving, instead of him catching you off guard with it. I'm just impressed he didn't sprint off to Otogakure the first second he heard about it."
"I think he believes Sakura will be retrieved a bit more easily than Sasuke was. I would have thought she'd be back by now too. Kakashi still hasn't found her?"
"She's covered ground, and she had a head start. She might also be more capable than we'd realized, but I have faith Kakashi will find her soon." Tsunade pulled out a small scroll, handing it to Jiraiya. "This was his last report. Suna is trying to keep this under wraps, but Kakashi's got enough of a head on his shoulders that he was able to put two and two together."
"You're saying...this girl ran off with the Ichibi?"
"That's what Kakashi is claiming, yes."
What on Earth could it mean? The cover story about going to find Sasuke had clearly been a distraction, but for what end? It was possible Naruto would know, but Jiraiya wasn't sure he wanted to give Naruto more reason to want to pursue his friend. Kakashi would learn soon enough.
There was a small flutter of wings, and a bird landed on Tsunade's desk.
It looked more like a painting of a bird than a real one, and Jiraiya's suspicions were confirmed when it melted into a small puddle of ink after it landed. It left behind a small scroll.
Jiraiya went for it first, mostly to ensure there were no traps imbued in seals or anything else that might harm Tsunade. Then, Tsunade hesitantly opened it.
"...well?"
"It's...information." Tsunade replied, her eyes widened as she read the scroll over. "Information about Akatsuki."
"What?"
"Two members, specifically. Just a name for one, but for the other...a technique, mannerisms, religion…" Tsunade scanned the scroll again, her eyes finally resting on the name signed on the bottom. She let out a small sigh of disbelief. "And it's from Sakura Haruno."
So she'd left to get information. Even he hadn't managed to get this much on Akatsuki yet, and this young girl had managed to pull this together within a month of leaving the village.
All Jiraiya could think now was that he wasn't so sure Kakashi would be able to bring this Sakura back after all…
The unnatural dimness of Orochimaru's lair was leading Sasuke to believe that the man was training him to have night vision.
It had taken him a week to be able to walk down the halls without occasionally stumbling, and even now he had to squint to be able to make out the details of the men sitting by him. His Sharingan could eliminate this problem, sure, but his chakra reserves weren't good enough yet to maintain those eyes for longer than an hour.
He wasn't good enough. Yet. But that would change. Already he could feel himself getting stronger. Orochimaru's strict routine was building up his muscle mass, testing his endurance, and enhancing his chakra reserves even without the help of the cursed seal on his shoulder. He was exhausted, always exhausted, but power didn't come from sedentary life. Power came from pushing oneself beyond their limits, and Sasuke was doing just that.
Itachi had a head start. Itachi had been a child prodigy, Itachi had been away from the village doing who knew what years before Sasuke had even reached the status of genin. If Sasuke didn't push himself harder than anyone could be pushed, he'd never catch up. He'd never win.
"I have information that might interest the both of you." Kabuto spoke up, smiling in a way that would sometimes unnerve Sasuke more than Orochimaru's hungry gaze did. Kabuto was untrustworthy, a true snake. (And how fitting, then, that such a man worked for Orochimaru.) Sasuke could never tell if the man was truly loyal to Orochimaru or was working to serve his own ends somehow.
But he couldn't deny that Kabuto was a wealth of information.
"Someone else has abandoned the village of Konoha. And according to my reports, she's headed this way in order to join up with you, Sasuke." Kabuto chuckled. "Little Sakura has decided she loves you more than her village."
Sakura? Sasuke couldn't help but show a small bit of confusion as he took this in. Sakura...she had offered to come with him, that night he'd left the village, but he'd rebuked her. He'd told her to stay, he'd known that his path wasn't for her, that she'd only get killed serving Orochimaru's twisted ends. And still she had decided to come here?
"She must have gotten lost along the way." Kabuto continued. "It's been a few weeks since she supposedly left. Maybe she got killed by a wayward bandit."
No...she wouldn't have.
But Sasuke did not allow himself to speak up, to show any emotion. Anything that Orochimaru saw in him could be used against him. He would learn from Orochimaru...but he would not allow Orochimaru to take advantage of him. If Orochimaru could use something against him, then Itachi could. Sasuke had to purge himself of his ties to Konoha, of his ties to anyone.
Even if a small part of himself still worried for Sakura, worried that she had died along the way, worried that she hadn't and would show up here…
He couldn't allow himself to think about Sakura.
"It looks as though Sasuke couldn't care less about the girl. Don't bother him with such trivial things, Kabuto." Orochimaru silenced his subordinate. "More importantly, Sasuke, I'm disappointed in you."
Disappointed? Sasuke looked up, angry and confused.
"...you haven't touched your vegetables, Sasuke. How can you keep your body in perfect form if you do not take in the proper diet?"
Sasuke looked down at the meal in front of him. Orochimaru was always so damn picky about what Sasuke ate.
Sasuke was going to kill him one day.