Inn: Hallway

For a few moments, everything was silent and still

The only thing that broke this silence was Naruto who turned and pointed at Jiraiya clearly annoyed. "Don't give me any of that! One wink from a pretty girl was all it took for you to turn into a mountain of mush! You fell for it like a ton of bricks Pervy Sage!"

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head. "I really wish you wouldn't call me that in front of other people."

Daichi sighed. "Guys, in case you haven't noticed, there's something far more pressing."

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head once more. "That's right."

Kisame chuckled. "I must say, you're a bit of a disappointment Master Jiraiya. It's hard to believe you're one of the 4 legendary Yonnin. At least you were capable of dispelling the Genjutsu we placed on her."

Jiraiya was not amused as he set the woman against the wall. "What kind of coward would use his Sharingan on an innocent woman? All so they could separate me from Naruto and Daichi."

Naruto thought, "Separate us, but why?"

"I just can't peg this down." Daichi thought, "I know they want Naruto; however, why do they want me dead? They mentioned something about Kenshi, but I got nothing."

"I know about your goals." Jiraiya stated. "You want to capture people like Naruto and kill anyone like Daichi if they are unwilling to join you."

"That explains how Kakashi knew." Itachi stated. "You are right on both accounts."

The frog went back home and Jiraiya stood. "If you want to get at either of them, you'll have to get by me first."

Itachi said, "I suppose we will."

Jiraiya walked forward. "Actually, this is convenient because now I can eliminate you both."

"Stay out of this." Sasuke slowly rose to his feet. "The only one…. who's going to eliminate him…. Is me!"

"Go away. You don't interest me now." Itachi calmly stated.

Sasuke clenched his fist and ran straight at Itachi. "Get interested!"

Itachi kicked Sasuke sending him flying into a wall.

"You lousy…" Naruto began.

Daichi and Naruto both ran at Itachi until Sasuke spoke up. "No, stop!" Sasuke was now standing. "I've lived my whole life for this day. This moment." He activated his Sharingan. "This fight is mine!"

The Uchiha ran at his brother screaming and attempting to punch Itachi. The Akatsuki member grabbed his brother's arm before chopping him in the back of the neck knocking Sasuke down the hall.

Sasuke was clearly in pain, but he got to his feet building his Chakra. "I'm not finished yet." He was panting. "Gate of Opening, open! I will defeat you. "Gate of Healing, open!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "So be it."

Jiraiya tried to move in to save Sasuke, but he was stopped by Kisame placing his sword before him. "You heard him old man. This fight is none of our business. Let them sort it out."

Sasuke booked it back down the hall heading for Itachi, but the older Uchiha simply grabbed his brother by the neck before slamming a fist into the younger Uchiha's gut. Blood fell from the sides of Sasuke's mouth.

"How?" Sasuke was utterly shocked and in pain. "I've come so far only for it to mean nothing."

Itachi combed with another chop to Sasuke's neck, and a knee to his mid-section. Daichi and Naruto were gritting their teeth in anger as Itachi continued beating their teammate.

"Damn it! There must be something I can do to help Sasuke. There has to be something I can do to help my friend." Daichi thought.

"It's been years, yet nothing has changed." Sasuke fell to the ground defeated. "What have I been doing all this time? Was it… Was it all for this?"

Itachi picked Sasuke up and shoved him against the wall. "You're still too weak. You don't have enough hate, and you never will."

"Sasuke's not weak!" White Chakra was starting to emanate from Daichi.

Itachi used the Tsukuyomi on Sasuke forcing him to relieve every aspect of the Uchiha Massacre. This caused Sasuke to scream and fall unconscious.

"Leave him alone!" Daichi screamed as the Chakra formed around him.

Naruto looked at Daichi as he charged straight for Itachi. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Itachi kicked Daichi as hard as he could knocking the Fusion member back, but he managed to flip in the air landing on the ground.

The white Chakra began to flicker around the Fusion member, and he could feel himself weakening. Kisame made his move charging the Fusion member, but he was stopped as the hall began to turn into a toad's mouth trapping the Akatsuki members.

Naruto looked around. "What is this?"

Jiraiya said, "Ninja Art: Toad Mouth Trap." Sasuke's body sank into the walls. "You've both been swallowed by the mountain toad. Welcome my friends to the belly of the beast. He has a sensitive digestive track, so be careful not to upset him. Not the most glorious way to die, is it?"

"Whoa, I'm not liking this at all." Naruto stated in shock

Daichi was equally as shocked. "This is weird."

"Stay calm and still boys." Jiraiya stated. "Trust in my Jutsu."

Itachi looked at his partner. "Kisame, come."

Kisame broke free and ran after Itachi.

"It's useless!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "There hasn't been a ninja born who can survive this stomach."

Jiraiya had the stomach close in on them as they took off down the hall. It wasn't long until the group heard someone smashing through something. They ran around the corner and saw that a hole had been made allowing the Akatsuki members to escape.

"They both got away." Naruto stated.

Some Time Later…

Jiraiya had just finished sealing the black fire when Daichi asked, "What happened to me during that fight? What was it, Toad Sage?"

"I don't have every answer, but that white Chakra was Kenshi. No doubt in my mind. Whatever or whoever it is, they're sealed in your body. Not in the normal way as you, like your father, were born with it." Jiraiya calmly explained.

Naruto was listening to the explanation as carefully as Daichi was. "How come Daichi never knew he had this Chakra sealed inside of him?"

"Daichi's grandfather, Hisashi, worked out a law with the Hokage where no one could speak of it. Only those who possess it have the right to talk about it. Of course, this situation is different as your father isn't here meaning it can be discussed should you ask." Jiraiya explained.

Daichi was now a jumbled combination of emotions. Confusion over everything, sadness that his dad couldn't explain this, and understanding because of what he knew about Naruto.

In the end, the Fusion member could only smile. "It seems Naruto and I are similar."

Naruto smiled. "It seems we are."

Jiraiya stood up and pocketed the scroll. "Now, we really should tend to Sasuke."

Sasuke came out of the wall and Naruto caught him. Jiraiya then stomped his foot causing the mouth to dispel. Naruto then leaned Sasuke against the wall. Both teammates noticed he wasn't responsive. Before anyone could say anything, a kunai sailed into the hallway.

This was followed by Guy kicking Jiraiya in the face. "Dynamic Entry!"

Some Time Later…

Jiraiya was not happy as Guy rubbed his head in shame. "Guess I was a little overexcited. I-I was trying to hurry and couldn't see clearly. I used my head band to survey the situation, but all it showed me were three, shadowy figures. I jumped in without really thinking."

Jiraiya was just barley containing his anger. "If this is your way of saying sorry, it stinks."

"I'm sorry." Guy apologized. "It was just a simple misunderstanding."

"Simple minded is more like it, but never mind that now." Jiraiya stated. "We have to get Sasuke to the medical core at once. He's beaten, his arm is broken, and he's been knocked out by that Jutsu Itachi used."

Naruto worriedly asked, "He's going to be okay, right?"

Jiraiya said, "Physically yes, but I'm worried about what might have been done to his mind."

This prompted Naruto and Daichi to think back to the fight between the two brothers. Naruto was physically shaking while Daichi was angry he couldn't do anything.

"This isn't right." Daichi stated. "Sasuke didn't deserve this."

Naruto clenched his fist determined. "Okay Pervy Sage, It's time for a new game plan. I admit, I let those goons scare me but that's over. No more running. After all, it's me they're after, so it's time I give them what they want."

Daichi nodded. "I second that."

Jiraiya said, "It's a nice thought, but even if you worked together, using your combined abilities, you wouldn't be in their league."

Naruto angrily shouted, "What do you expect us to do?! Do we just sit here waiting for them to hit us again!" What kind of strategy is that?!"

"Just be quiet!" Jiraiya shouted. "You haven't earned the right."

Naruto looked at the ground while Daichi placed a hand on his should.

Jiraiya turned to address the Jonin. "I'm sorry Guy. I wanted Sasuke to fight his own battle." He sighed. "I see now I should have intervened earlier."

"This is obviously the same Jutsu Kakashi was hit with." Guy stated. "We don't know when he'll come out of it."

The two Genin looked at Guy in shock.

Daichi said, "You're telling us that Kakashi Sensei was hit with the same Jutsu?!"

Guy closed his eyes. "The medical core has done everything possible to cure Kakashi, yet none of it has worked. What we need is a medical specialist. A master of healing arts."

Jiraiya slightly smiled. "Then it's a good thing the Third's already sent us on a mission to find such a specialist."

"Do you mean…" Guy began.

Jiraiya chuckled. "That's right, another of the legendary Yonnin. The Queen of Elixirs and Slugs. The Gambling Fool and Mistress of the Healing Arts. Lady Tsunade."

Edge of the Town, Some Time Later…

Guy had Sasuke on his back. "Master Jiraiya, find Lady Tsunade and bring her back to us."

"You can count on us. We'll have her back in the village in no time." Naruto stated determined.

Daichi nodded. "If any group has a chance of finding her, it's us."

"You both have guts, and nothing impresses me more than guts. That is why I want to give you two something." He dug around in his pack. "Lee got stronger wearing this."

Naruto eagerly asked, "What is it?"

Guy pulled out two training suits like the ones he and Lee wear. "Check it out!" Daichi and Jiraiya were less than enthused, but Naruto was overjoyed. "It's breathable, retains moisture, and offers freedom of movement. If you wear it, you'll notice a difference immediately."

Naruto took his and got into an odd smiling match with Guy.

Daichi just gave Guy a fake smile and waved his hands. "Sorry Guy Sensei, but that's not in line with what the Fusion Clan wears. Got to respect those that came before me, you know?"

"I understand." Guy nodded before running off. "Now, it's time for me to get going."

Naruto turned to his companions "Pretty cool, don't you think guys?"

"Don't even think about it, Naruto." Daichi stated.

"I agree." Jiraiya nodded. "I mean, look at him. That is just goofy."

On the Road, Some Time Later…

The group had been on the road for awhile now; however, Naruto stopped walking causing the others to stop as well. "Pervy Sage, what did those guys really want with me?"

"It's not you they want, but the Nine Tailed Fox inside of you." Jiraiya explained. "As for what they want with the fox, I haven't found that out myself."

"Does that mean that there's more than one beast?" Naruto inquired. "Gaara had a One Tailed Tanuki inside himself. For that matter, how does Daichi fit into this?"

"I suppose we should start at the beginning. Long ago there were 9 Tailed Beast made of pure Chakra. The Tailed Beast have appeared all throughout the ages and still exist to this day. Most, if not all, become bound to a host. My best guess is that they want your beast for their own.

As for Daichi, he's not the only one with Chakra not linked to the Tailed Beast. At any given time, there could be three more like him. Either way, they won't be able to touch either of you with me around." Jiraiya firmly stated.

"With these people after us, Daichi and I will just have to get stronger." Naruto stated.

"Training is important but let us not forget our mission." Jiraiya stated.

The group walked on and Daichi looked at Jiraiya. "Hey Toad Sage, Tsunade's a Yonnin like you and Kazamae, so what can you tell us about her?"

"What can I tell ya? For one thing, she's kind of unpleasant. Plus, she's known far and wide as a diehard gambler." Jiraiya explained.

Naruto happily stated, "This should be easy if she's known as well as you say she is."

"She's well known all right. She's known as the Legendary Sucker. Though I doubt, even with how well she's known, that she's going to be all that easy to find."

"What makes you say that?" Daichi asked.

"Tsunade was never one to grow old gracefully. She's a skilled Medic and has a Jutsu that can mask her age. Right now, she most likely looks like she did when she was 20. Even then, that's no guarantee. From what I've heard, she's been transforming on the fly to cut out on any money lenders she's in too deep with." Jiraiya explained with a bit of nostalgia.

Naruto asked, "Then what's our plan for finding her?"

"We're going to have our work cut out for us, but I'm sure we can figure something out." Jiraiya replied. "In the meantime, we will focus on teaching you two the new Jutsu."

A Town with a Festival, Some Time Later…

The group was in the middle of a crowd. There were stands offering food and games. Naruto and Daichi were taking it in because they had never gone to a festival before. Naruto hadn't been welcomed at the ones in Konoha and Daichi had lived in the woods with a small town nearby.

"Man, this is going to be great." Naruto happily stated. "I've never seen anything like this before in my life."

Jiraiya said, "Downtime is important, so you two have some fun before we begin your training. This festival will be going on for a while. We'll hunker down here for a time and begin your training until getting on with our search."

"Alright!" Naruto and Daichi exclaimed together.

Naruto pulled out his frog wallet causing Jiraiya to happily exclaim, "Oh baby, that is one fat frog you got! You're filthy rich!"

Naruto rubbed his face against his wallet. "Yeah, I've been saving up bit by bit from my missions."

"I brought some money along as well." Daichi happily commented. "This should be fun."

Jiraiya said, "Maybe I should hold onto your wallets for you."

Naruto was about to turn around until Daichi put his arm over his friend's shoulder. "Naruto, hold on to your wallet."

Naruto did as his friend said and they both turned to face Jiraiya. "Toad Sage, I know you aren't about to take our money."

"I need to gather information, so I…" Jiraiya began until Daichi pulled out 200 Ryo and passed it to him. "What?! 200 Ryo is nowhere near enough for me to gather information!"

Daichi shrugged. "We both know you'll just spend our money on girls."

"That's why you wanted our money?!" Naruto angrily shouted. "Pervy Sage!"

Daichi and Naruto waked away.

"We'll come find you later Toad Sage." Daichi called back.

Jiraiya hung his head. "Kazamae, I know you warned your student about me. You never let me have any fun."

Once they were in the crowd, Naruto said, "Man, you really saved my money Daichi"

Daichi said, "Actually, you should be thanking Kazamae Sensei. He was the one who warned me about Jiraiya. Now, what should we do first?

In response, Naruto's stomach growled. "Let's see what there is to eat."

The two Genin went from booth to booth getting servings of everything.

Grassy Area within the Town

The two boys had just finished eating and were having a walk around the festival grounds.

"I think I ate too much." Naruto commented

Daichi wiped his mouth. "I tried to warn you about how large your servings were."

Naruto looked at Daichi as his mind turned back to their home. "How do you think everyone's doing?"

"I think they're doing as okay as can be expected." Daichi nodded. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure, but we should make sure we train hard while looking for Tsunade. That way we can come back to them stronger than when we left."

"I agree." Naruto nodded. "Considering we are at a festival; we should have some fun first."

Daichi smiled. "I can't argue with that."

Festival Grounds

They walked around the festival playing various games. They eventually came to a fish grabbing game where they saw a little girl trying to get a fish. It was clear by the number of broken, paper nets that she wasn't having much luck.

"Oh, tough luck." The booth guy declared. "You could always try again."

Daichi stepped forward an knelt next to the little girl. "You seem to really want a fish. Would you like me to take a shot for ya?"

The girl looked at Daichi. "Mister, you can win me a fish?"

Daichi smiled. "I think I can."

"Then please try mister." The girl begged

Daichi nodded before giving the man money. In return, he was given a paper net. The Fusion member took a deep breath and waited patiently observing the fish. When the moment was right, he scoped a fish out with great speed. The net was only slightly damp and holding.

"Impressive." The man was amazed. "You win the fish."

The man bagged the fish and gave it to Daichi who then gave it to the girl.

"Thanks mister! "The girl had a big smile on her face. "I promise to take good care of him."

The girl ran off. With that game down, Daichi and Naruto continued to make their way around the festival. Eventually, they stopped by a mask stand and bought one each with Daichi putting his on his head. Naruto put his mask on his face.

Before he could walk off, The Fusion member stopped him. "Naruto, can you see where you're going?"

Naruto stopped. "Good call." He put it on his head. "How about we hit one more stand before trying to find Pervy Sage?"

Daichi nodded. "Sounds good."

Naruto led them to a grilled octopus stand. "Hey, how's it going?" He was looking at the food. "I'd like to get three grilled squid please and make one of them big enough for a grown up."

The man was in a cheery mood. "Coming right up. You two got sent on a squid run, huh? Well tell you what, I'll throw in one of the kid sizes for free."

"Really, thanks a lot mister." Naruto cheerfully commented. "You're the man."

"It's amazing how well Naruto can get a long with people." Daichi thought. "If the villagers were more willing to give him a chance, they'd see that."

"You think so, huh?" The man happily asked. "Well, you're getting half price on those other squids as well."

"Thanks." Naruto and Daichi happily stated.

Some Time Later…

Daichi and Naruto were walking down the street when they spotted Jiraiya standing outside a building moping. "I ran out of money on hand so fast. It's just not fair."

Naruto ran forward with the squids. "Hey, Pervy Sage! I bought you a…"

The Genin tripped, and a squid went flying. It landed and bounced off a man's white suit.

One of the man's friends, a guy in a black suit, angrily said, "Look what you did punk!" Naruto got to his feet. "You stained the boss' designer suit. You'll pay for that. 100,000 large."

Naruto was completely shocked. "What?! You're telling me that suit's worth 100,000!"

Daichi had his hand on his sword ready to move at a moment's notice until Jiraiya stepped forward. "That seems like a bit of a stretch fellas. You expect us to believe that monkey suit's worth that much?"

The man in white said, "You looking for trouble old man? You should shut your yap if you know what's good for you."

The black suited man said, "The boss used to be a Chunin of The Village Hidden in the Stones. The Legendary Dark Ninja. Feared across the land."

Jiraiya crossed his arm amused. "Ah, this should be interesting. The legendary what now?"

"You're asking for it pal! Just keep pushing!" the man angrily shouted.

"This is perfect timing." Jiraiya began to form his Rasengan. "Now I can show you boys the new Jutsu I'm going to teach ya. Pay close attention."

The man charged at Jiraiya who had already formed the Rasengan. The Toad Sage thrust the Jutsu into the man's stomach sending him flying into his henchman. The whole group was then knocked into a stand destroying it.

Naruto was amazed. "That was awesome!"

Daichi was impressed. "That was a powerful Jutsu."

Jiraiya walked up to the men. The only one still conscious was the Chunin who recognized the Toad Sage and gave him money to take care of the stand because he was scared. Jiraiya took it and bought every water balloon the owner of the stand had.

Flame Wolfe(28):Karin's to stay in the Leaf Village, and she may join Team 10. I have ideas on how that's going to be settled, but I won't be able to make a decision until I get to that point.

Flame Wolfe(29):I just thought, Sasuke wouldn't remain idle while Daichi and Naruto got their own summons. Without knowing many with contracts that can keep up w with them, he needed one of his own. I already know what I'm dong with Sasuke.