Alright guys, this will be the last chapter before we enter cannon. So Buckle up and enjoy the ride! (or well, story. Either way you're probably sitting while reading...)

I still don't own Naruto, but a girl can dream right?

TheBeauty: Thank you! ^_^ I try, tee hee!~

K: Thanks Potassium (okay, sorry for the cheesy chemistry pun) hahaha! xD

PrincessAnime08: Sorry my friend but my lips are sealed~ anyways thanks for the review again, I appreciate it :)

NeitherSaneNorInsane: I know, it pained me to wright him as the bad guy Dx next to Deidara hes one of my favorite Akatsuki members. And thank you for the review!

Magix-Daislen10: Awe shucks thanks! I'll do my best to keep the story going good. Thanks for the review! :D

Naruko-ナルコ-

Chapter 6

Jiraiya the Toad Sage

"I see," Jiraiya sighed after hearing the young child's tale "You've lived quite an interesting life,"

"Really?" she chuckled softly in disbelief. She wasn't expecting that as a reaction "I was expecting you to take pity, or feel sad like most adults probably would."

"Well I do. But then again, when you've been a ninja for as long as I have things like this don't faze you as much." Throughout his time as a ninja he had seen many go off the wrong path, lots of causalities, several broken down by corruption and power, and a hand full of comrades he had failed to save. It amazed the sage that the young girl was still sane.

"... Mr. Jiraiya?"

"Whoa! No need for the surnames. I'm not that old yet," he told her. If anyone (specifically female) were to hear that it could hurt his chances with the ladies. And how he was viewed by the lovely ladies was very, very important to him.

"Oh uh, okay then... Jiraiya-sensei?" Naruko said, in more of a question.

Jiraiya cupped his chin in amusement "Sensei huh. Its been awhile since I've heard that..."

"You don't like it? I'd feel weird if I just called you by your first name." From what she could tell, this man was an amazing shinobi who deserved respect.

"No, no. I just wasn't expecting it. Sensei it is."

"Okay," she smiled "So Jiraiya-sensei. Now you know my story. Whats yours?"

"What would you like to know?" he asked with an amused smirk. If he wasn't mistaken, he had just gotten himself a little fangirl.

"Well, who are you? I mean, for Itachi to back away without a fight must mean you're a super strong ninja."

"You're pretty observant kid. Well I'll tell ya," as he got up from his chair Jiraiya rolled his neck and stretched his arms out in a pose "I am Jiraiya the Toad Sage! The most handsome and powerful ninja of all the land! I have women from all corners of the planet beckoning for me at the mere mention of my name!"

As the sage continued through his unusual introduction Naruko wasn't sure if she was supposed to be laughing or praising him. But after a few seconds of awkward silence she laughed, or at least attempted to laugh.

"Uhm, that was, uhh. Great?" Jiraiya sweat-dropped at the obvious lie "...But uhm, sensei?"

"Yeah, whats up?"

"Now that Itachi is gone, would you be able to take me back to the Leaf Village?" Jiraiya slightly frowned. It was only a matter of time till she asked him. And after hearing her story, he knew the child would not like what he had to say. Though he supposed it would be better to get it out into the air now.

"I could," he spoke vaguely, unsure of if he should say more or not.

She was confused by his answer "What do you mean?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. In no way do I want to hold you hostage. But you have to understand that you're a target. Not just to Itachi, but to Orochimaru as well. Not exactly people you want to have on your back. If you were to go back, well then you'd might as well be walking right back into Itachi's hands."

Naruko didn't want to admit it, but he had a point. No, his words were facts. She wasn't dealing with regular crooks, they were S-rank criminals. They knew she wanted to escape since day one. And where would be the first place she would run to? The answer was obvious, even to the sage who she had just met.

Her heart felt heavy and her face felt numb from all the emotions. If she hadn't cried so much earlier she would've have cried now. It had already been three years. Naruko wondered, just how much longer would she have to wait till she could go home. She pondered about how her brother was doing, if Hinata was okay, and Sasuke...She wasn't even sure if he was alive. Did Itachi kill him too? She had no idea of knowing. Whenever she asked him anything relating to what happened that day he would always reply with a question or vague answer. Either way, she'd get the truth one day. The reason behind Itachi's brutal actions.

I miss them so much...

"So...what do you suggest?"she asked.

"The decision is yours," he stated as he walked to the door "You can either go back home, or if you want I'll let you tag along with me for awhile."

"Are you saying...You'd train me?" she replied in shock. Jiraiya nodded his head and smirked.

"Once I'm done with you, those goons won't know whats coming to them."

"Jiraiya-sensei?" she spoke, as her voice cracked "As much as I appreciate all that you've done for me, I have to ask, why are you being so nice to me? We just met, and already my life is in debt to you."

"...Its because you remind me of a student I once had," the sage sighed as memories of his former student flooded his mind. She was the spitting image of Minato no doubt. In a way, he was glad. At least the child didn't have her mother's temper.

"Who?"

Jiraiya just shook his head "Lets save that story for another day. Anyways, get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yes," Naruko didn't argue. She was too exhausted to after everything that had happened.

"Now if you excuse me, I have some research to do."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei," Naruko said just as Jiraiya left the room.

...Guess he was right. I am a crybaby, Naruko couldn't help but smile sadly as the water works turned on again. As difficult as it was for her to accept the facts, she wouldn't be going home just yet.

"Alright, you ready kiddo?" Jiraiya asked. After finding searching for a good half an hour they were able to find a nice clearing on the outskirts of town. Perfect for their first day of training.

"Uh huh!" Naruko nodded her head eagerly "Just tell me what do to and I'll do it!"

"Okay...I want you to try to kill me," Jiraiya says in a joking tone.

"Sensei," Naruko says with warning "You shouldn't underestimate your opponent."

Jiraiya just laughed "Hahaha! Seriously kid, did you forget who I am?" Naruko couldn't tell if he was joking, or not. Either way, she had to admit she was a little ticked "Well come on, the faster we get this over with the more time I'll have time-"

"For your research?" Naruko finished as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a familiar red book "I may not have understood everything but I'm pretty sure I have a good idea about what your research consists of."

"What?! Where'd you get that!" Jiraiya shouted pointing to the novel.

"You forget it on your way out last night," Naruko replied "For being an amazing shinobi you sure are forgetful."

"Give it back!" he shouted like a child.

"Alright," Naruko smirks. Within seconds she disappears from his view.

Sneaking behind her sensei, Naruko attempts to cut Jiraiya with a kunai knife. But with ease the giant flicks the weapon out of the young girls hand. Before allowing him to make a counter attack Naruko vanishes from his view and reappears behind him in the air.

"Fire Style: Inferno Waltz!" As flames gather around her leg, Naruko sends her foot slamming down gracefully against the sage's head only to discover she had attacked a shadow clone.

So she uses fire style jutsus huh. Jiraiya couldn't say he was surprised. Her previous teacher was an Uchiha after all. And Uchihas were known for their power fire style ninjutsus. Though what had piqued his interest was the young kunoichi's speed. It was that of a chunins already.

The white haired man decided to make a move and test her defenses. Boosting his speed he charges at the petite girl and jabs her in the stomach, but before he does damage Naruko uses the replacement jutsu and backs away to gain distance. The Toad Sage wastes no time and heads straight to her, testing her taijutsu. What seemed like hours were only mere seconds as she managed to dodge every punch and kick he threw at her.

The Sage's speed taxed Naruko's body. She began to hyperventilate just to catch her breathe. Just as Naruko went to dodge another of Jiraiya's punches, pain strikes her neck and she was went flying.

"Ah!" after rolling across the grass she curls her body in pain as she held her neck. Immediately Naruko became confused and worried. She didn't know what was happening to her body until she saw the familiar flame markings spread across her body.

It burns! she shouted mentally as she tried to make the pain go away.

"How long have you had that curse mark?" Jiraiya asks.

"I...I got it the day before yesterday," she replies quickly, trying to ignore the pain.

Jiraiya bent down to get a closer look. No doubt about it, this is Orochimaru's doing.

"Naruko," he began as he watched her struggle to sit up "Listen to me. Under no circumstances are you to rely on the curse mark."

"But why? Orochimaru said it would make me stronger," she replied with pain on her voice.

Jiraiya shook his head "In the short-term yes, but over time. The curse mark will begin to corrode from the inside out. And the more you use it, the faster the process will be."

"What?!" she gasped "How do I take it off?"

"Hmm..." moving Naruko's hand away from the curse mark Jiraiya observed it with his onyx, black eyes. It amazed him that she was able to survive, considering the ten percent survival rate.

This isn't an ordinary curse mark, Jiraiya noticed. During his travels he had come across a few corpses with similar curse marks, however the girl's was different. Unlike the usual three tomoe (comma) design, her seal held six. It made him think, was Orochimaru planning to make her a vessel? It was a possibility. If he couldn't have Itachi's body, Naruko would have been a back up. The sage decided to waste no time and picked up the nearest stick.

"Sensei?" Naruko whispered while watching her sensei draw symbols around her.

"Hold still," he told her as he finished writing the symbols in a circle " Evil Sealing Method!" As he brought the palm of his hand to Naruko's neck pain ran through her body. It was a familiar pain, similar to when she had the curse mark put on her. However unlike before the pain was sharp and quick. When Jiraiya finished she could barley move an inch of her body.

"This seal will last for as long as you have the willpower to hold it," Jiraiya stated "Understand?" Naruko just nodded her head.

"Guess we'll have to end training early today," sighed Jiraiya. Even if Naruko wanted to continue training she knew that she wouldn't be able to. The seal made her body incredibly tired. Though Jiraiya didn't mind much, it meant more time to research for him. As he went to pick up his student he found his novel not too far, and luckily without a scratch.

At least I won't have to give her the talk anytime soon.

"Sensei..." mumured Naruko weakly.

"What?" he asked, amused that she still had the strength to speak.

"Do...the two main characters fall in love?"

"Huh? Ohohoho, so you liked the story?" Jiraiya smiled. Even though the young girl was too young to even be reading his novels he was still proud of himself for earning another fan.

Naruko nodded her head slowly "It was a little graphic, but the story was good."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. But I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait awhile to find out what happens."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Because I haven't written the sequel yet and you're not eighteen."

"Huh?" she knew patience was a virtue, but for so long? The suspense killed her, "I have to wait eight more years?"

"Sorry kid, thats the rules. But if you want, I'll let you read the first book I wrote. Its called, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja."

Two 1/2 years Later

It had been over two years since Naruko's travels with the sage began. Two years of training and keeping Jiraiya out of legal trouble (from the numerous amount of times he had gotten caught for 'research'), along with becoming his secretary since his novel Make-Out Paradise became extremely famous. It was tiring and at times really stressful, but she enjoyed every minuet of it. Since the two were constantly in foreign land, nobody recognized her as 'the demon' or 'monster'. She was treated as a human being for once with kindness and respect. And that was almost all she could have asked for...

"Sensei," Naruko began "The Hidden Sand Village is east from here, shouldn't we turn back around?"

"Not yet, theres somewhere we have to head first." Usually that 'somewhere' translated into hot-springs for the white haired shinobi.

"Jiraiya sensei, I'm sure the Hidden Sand Village has a hot springs somewhere." At this rate, they would be late for Jiraiya's book signing. And Naruko didn't want to have to do odd jobs again just to bail Jiraiya out of jail for trespassing again.

"No its not a hot springs were stopping at."

"Where are we going?" she asked. She could only wonder what was going through his mind. Was there a new bar opening he wanted to visit? Or a recent sighting of the Akatsuki or Orochimaru?

"You'll see."

"...Alright fine," Naruko knew if she tried to ask Jiraiya wouldn't answer. All she could do was guess.

Lets see, the area is really dense. Like we're entering a forest. Maybe he found one of Orochimaru's hideouts? As they followed the dirt road for another hour Naruko kept guessing and hypothesizing about where Jiraiya was so eager to go. Most times she would suspect it had to do something with women and alcohol but this time was different. Jiraiya wasn't having his usual perverted nose-bleed. And he seemed way to calm about the whole situation.

Once she heard her sensei's footsteps come to a pause, she jerked her head up "Why'd you sto..." Naruko's eyes widened in shock. She felt stupid for not realizing where they were heading sooner. The dense forest, Jiraiya's odd behavior. It all made sense now.

"It...Its..." her eyes began quiver. After nearly half a decade, her long journey finally ended.

"Welcome home Naruko."