Disclaimer: Hey, welcome back. Oh, what's that? I don't own Naruto still? What a shame.

Seriously, I should stop writing disclaimers. There's no point. If I owned fucking Naruto do you think I would still be writing fanfiction? Nah, I would probably be sniffing coke off some bitches' backs.

A Nugget Of Advice, Chapter 12

So, yesterday sucked, Naruto noted to himself as he ate breakfast in his house. Filling himself with his cereal and milk, he reflected on what happened yesterday to him and his team.

They had to do a sucky C-rank mission, which gave out not so great pay and then got attacked by two missing-nins who pretty much beat their asses – especially Sasuke. Oh, poor Sasuke. Didn't he just get out of the hospital?

Right after his trip to the Hokage's office, he went to see Sasuke, who was in the ER part of the hospital, again, and Sakura, who was given a check-up, but said that she was fine, just a little shaken up. She stated she would be out by the end of the day, which was good and the only silver lining of this situation. Then, Kakashi-sensei ended up there as well.

He quite literally walked out of the building, only to see Kakashi-sensei being frantically moved into the hospital on a stretcher by two medical-nins. When he asked them what happened, they stated he had several bone injuries and was in a coma. Itachi and Kisame did all of this, and Sasuke wanted to fight his brother alone? He was suicidal. He had to be. Nobody on that team was strong enough to beat Itachi.

Naruto felt horrible. Out of everyone on his team, he was the one who came relatively unscathed from the battle, and it was like everything he did in that battle was useless. Sasuke still ended up hurt; he couldn't save Sakura; even Kakashi-sensei got hurt. What if his teacher never woke up from that coma? Oh, and they were on such bad terms too. The blond would never forgive himself if the man never woke up.

Naruto slammed his fists on his kitchen table. He had to get stronger. He had to, and he had to do it quickly, because next time – and oh yeah, there would damn sure be one – he wouldn't have the luck of being saved.

At 2 pm was he slated to meet the Hokage.

After a solemn lunch at Ramen Ichiraku, Naruto walked to the Academy and went inside the building. Walking up the flight of stairs to head towards the Hokage Suite, talked to the secretary at the desk who nodded at him and directed him to the door, he knocked once and was gained access into the room. Naruto walked inside, coughing a little awkward. "Good afternoon, uh, sir."

The Godaime Hokage addressed him with a wave of his hand, telling him, "Sit down. I got to finish the last of these papers for a moment. Give me a minute or so."

"Er, okay," Naruto said, and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. He felt like he was nine again, being sent to the Principal's office in the Academy for being caught pranking people again. He put his hands on his knees, hummed awkwardly, and tried waiting patiently for what the Hokage wanted with him today.

Finally, the leader of the village sighed in relief, and turned to him, dropping his pen on the table. "So, I heard you want to become the next Hokage."

"Ah, yeah, I do."

"Hmm, Hokage. That's a hell of a job to aspire for. You sure you can handle it?"

"Well, I won't know until I try, right?" Naruto countered, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Jiraiya grinned. "Indeed, indeed. Well, I was just asking. It's good to know. So," The Hokage stretched. "Let's get down to business."

"I'm ready, Hokage-sama," the young chūnin said determinedly.

"Good. You came here on time like I asked to you also. That's great."

"So, Sarutobi-jiji wants me to receive training from you, the Hokage."

"Yep. You know exactly what you wield inside you, right?"

Naruto grunted in annoyance. "Yeah, I know."

"Have you read what the Sandaime has written in his letter to you about 'them?'"

"Yeah, I did."

"So you know how important this is."

"Yeah. So, there are people actually trying to capture me because of the bijū inside me? So… Itachi and Kisame are a part of that group?"

Jiraiya nodded solemnly. "Yes. They are called the Akatsuki, by the way. These people are some of the world's most dangerous missing-nins and are suspected all to be beyond the level of mere jōnin. Intel suggests that the leader was strong enough to take out the leader of Amegakure – the leader was once seen on the level of other five Kage of the continent."

Naruto sighed, feeling not very surprised at that. Instead, he felt annoyed. "There are people that freakishly strong like Itachi and Kisame – and they're coming from me."

"Not just you, but the few others who share your 'circumstance.'"

"You mean being a jinchūriki," Naruto stated, wincing.

"Yes. That is the biggest part of our training together." Jiraiya leaned forward and folded his hands together, his face serious. "It goes without saying, but despite how you feel about your 'inner tenant,' it will help you out during battles."

"I know," Naruto stated, still irritated by it. "So, what? Are you going to train me how to use that power?"

"Get a little more excited about it, kid. This power is what others could only dream of. Probably why those criminals are coming after people like you." Jiraiya smiled slightly.

"Can that power even be controlled?"

"Yep. It can be controlled. You're not the only jinchūriki in the world, you know. Others have learned how to control that power. In your life, you will have to rely on that power, like the other jinchūriki. You have already met a jinchūriki who relied on it."

"I have…?" Naruto scratched his head, thinking back on it.

"Hint: Sunagakure."

Naruto blinked. "Oh, you're… talking about Gaara, right?"

"I am."

"But it didn't seem like he was much in control of that power. He seemed like a loose cannon to me."

"Only because of his demon's sealing. Whoever did the sealing for that boy was rushing badly to do it, or wasn't nearly as good as a fūinjutsu expert as our Yondaime was. Then again, the Yondaime's fūinjutsu was top-notch – second to yours truly, of course." Jiraiya boasted with a smirk, pointing at himself.

Naruto then remembered something involving the Yondaime and Jiraiya. "So, wait, you were the Yondaime's teacher, right?"

"Yep. I taught the man nearly everything he knew before he became the Hokage. Now I'm the man taking over his job. If things were different, he would be here instead of me." Jiraiya said. His smile becoming saddened, Naruto noticed, and Naruto couldn't help but feel the same for some reason. The Yondaime Hokage was beloved by many, but it seemed like Jiraiya felt more than the man being his student.

Jiraiya coughed, and his sad expression disappeared. "Well, anyway, yes, I was his teacher – and now I will be your teacher. So, you best show me your full attention, kid. I'll be taking my time out to teach you. If you're not serious about this, well, this will be a waste of both our time."

Naruto nodded. He was definitely going to take this seriously. Getting training from the Hokage was already big, but this guy was the teacher of the Hokage he mostly idolized. That was a hell of a deal. Oh, hell yeah. He was going to take advantage of this. This was a one-time-only offer he was not going to screw up.

Besides that, he needed to become strong enough to kick anyone's ass and protect those he needed to protect.

"I'm ready for anything."

"A good attitude to have, kid. I'll let you know though, that training you to use the Kyūbi's power isn't the only objective of me training you. Besides the training on how to use your bijū's power, I will teach you other techniques that you will find will come in handy during your career as shinobi."

"That sounds cool," Naruto said, grinning a bit. "So, when does this training start, Hokage-sama?"

"Today, actually. Here will be our schedule for this training. Twice a week – if you are not assigned to a mission, of course – you will see me around this time, and we will train. Every time – unless I instruct you differently – come here exactly at 2 pm and see me first, and then we will head to the training ground I have chosen for us. So, with that, come along now. Let's head for the training ground." Jiraiya stated, starting to get up from his desk.

Naruto nodded and got up as well from his seat.

The two men walked into a building Naruto recognized as the Hokage Residence: a big circular mansion nearby both the Academy and the Hokage Rock monument. Jiraiya and him, however, walked around it, and to the large backyard of the mansion. The backyard was itself the training ground they would be using.

In the middle of the grounds, Naruto saw a single ANBU soldier standing. Along with the standard outfit of ANBU, the ANBU soldier appeared to be a tall male with spiky brown hair, and a red and green cat-like mask on his face. Jiraiya walked over with a smile, and the man immediately went on one knee and bowed. "My lord."

"At ease. Naruto, meet the man who will be helping us with your training: Operative Tenzō," Jiraiya stated, introducing the ANBU who stood again.

"Hello," Naruto greeted at the taller man in front of him.

The man nodded. "Greetings, Naruto Uzumaki. I am Tenzō. I am assigned to help you with your bijū along with Hokage-sama."

"Today, we will start slowly in the summoning of your bijū's chakra," Jiraiya picked up the conversation from where the ANBU soldier left off at. "This requires you being able to meditate. You know how to meditate, kid?"

"Er… No." Naruto admitted, and it didn't sound fun already.

"Well, I'll teach you," Jiraiya said. Jiraiya removed his white Hokage robes from his person, leaving his red haori, kimono, and green pants on, and sat on the floor. He sat with his legs crossed, back straight, and his eyes closed. "Alright, do what I do: sit down and close your eyes."

"Right…" Naruto sat down on the ground, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. A silence began between the two for a few seconds. "…Now what?"

"Make yourself comfortable. Forget about everything, and just… let yourself go. Let go of things troubling you; let go of things here. Just focus on your breathing, letting yourself breath it naturally. Don't try to control it; just let yourself breathe naturally. Soon, you will leave this world to go inside your own self."

Naruto attempted to do so, and for a moment, he didn't think he could get it done. Nothing seemed to be happening.

Until he appeared in a sewer-like place, a dim yellow light hanging over him to light up the otherwise dark place. Water shifted and moved under him, and before he knew it, he stared up in front of a metal cage, with sky-high metal bars holding whatever was in inside him.

The den of the Kyūbi was right in front of him.

This place, this "sewer" was his subconscious.

He could hear the beast inside breathing, the monster inside his seal. First, there was darkness, then red glowing eyes and teeth that looked like they could chew and grind the bars into metallic dust in a second. A booming voice began. "And so, you come to visit me finally. Welcome, welcome to my den of revulsion. This place, this sewer is much like you, human."

"The Kyūbi." Naruto gaped.

"And you, the Uzumaki. Another Uzumaki I have been sealed into. Fate is truly funny." Naruto immediately jumped in fear as the monster suddenly slammed against the bars, and revealed its monster face. Falling to his butt, he peered up and looked at the beast inside him.

Orange fur, vicious red snake-like eyes, and teeth that looked bigger than his entire body came to complete view. The Nine-Tailed Fox was in its full glory as it roared at Naruto. "IF ONLY I COULD DEVOUR YOU HERE, I WOULD GRIND YOU AGAINST MY TEETH, AND DRAIN BLOOD FROM YOU LIKE WATER FROM A JUG! Alas," The beast calmed down, as Naruto's heart was pumping through his chest. "That is impossible with my circumstance. How fortuitous for you."

"A-Ah…." Did he…? Oh. Yep. He did piss his pants. How did that work? Was his head about to leak piss after he got out of here? Or was this all metaphorical? Was that the right word-

"Well, whelp? What are you here for, you foolhardy, pathetic child? Speak." The red monster interrupted his thoughts; a hard stare unnerving Naruto further.

Naruto stood up, face clammy and red. He was utterly humiliated. It had been years since he cowered from something or something had made him fearful like that. The monster's killing intent was enough to make him want to run.

But he didn't. No, something stopped him from doing so. The monster seemed to grin down at him, arrogantly. It knew what exactly it could do to scare him. It lived inside him, so it had to know that would make him nearly piss his pants. Slamming against its prison had made him afraid indeed. However, it was still in its cage. It could not leave that cage.

Fear became confidence when he backtracked on the words the monster had said to him. Even if he knew the beast could crush him if it wanted to, destroy it if it wanted to, Naruto knew it could not. The seal kept it at bay, and it could do nothing.

Naruto smirked back at it. "How is life behind that shitty cage, you monster?"

The Kyūbi's smirk disappeared and it growled hatefully at the blond. "Horrid. Seeing the world through your eyes is sickening. Though I suppose it has its benefits." A mocking sneer came upon the monster's lips. "After all, seeing you struggle through your life helplessly, seeing you be scorned and hated by your own people have amused me for a while. Humans are disgusting creatures."

The blond felt his anger rising, as he spat just as venomously back, "And yet, here you are: sealed into a 'pathetic' human with no freedom to call upon your own. No way to see the outside world or experience it. Nothing but a dark place and a shitty cage? How's that working out for ya, furball?"

The creature didn't like that one bit. It slammed against the cage again, and although Naruto winced, he didn't make a sound this time around. "Silence! Get to why you are here already."

"You know what I want. I want to be able to use your power when I need to do so."

The Kyūbi scoffed. "And why should I give you the power to do that? There is nothing for me to gain."

"There is. You know about 'them,' right? The people who are coming for me in order to get you? Would you want to be captured by a bunch of other shinobi? You're stuck in me, sure, but wouldn't it suck to be released, only to be used by people again? If people are actively seeking you out, then wouldn't that mean they have the means to control you?"

The beast paused, glaring at the blond before laughing loudly. "Ho ho ho! How brave for you to come here, and demand something out of me. Brave and stupid. How lucky for you that I rather stay here than to be taken into someone else and used against my will."

"Let's make a deal. I can use your power when I need to, and you get to stay safe and sound inside me. Think of it as giving me rent money for staying here."

"Fine." The monster then glowed, and energy poured off its body. Red tendrils of power leaped out to Naruto, who looked fearful.

Naruto groaned as the power started to fill him. The beast smiled at him again, as Naruto's vision turned red. "Here. You can have an iota of my power. Let us see if you can handle it, whelp. Hahaha!"

The sewer place disappeared, and instead, the bright world that he had known for 13 years appeared. Naruto's shoulder was being held by the ANBU soldier, and the Hokage peered over him with a smile. "Well, I can see that the Kyūbi was kind enough to give you some of its power. You look wild, kid. How do you feel?"

"Feel?" Naruto noticed the difference in his voice. It sounded strangely deeper, more… guttural.

"You know, what does the power feel like?"

Naruto looked down and blinked. "Like… I feel warm, stronger. Like, I could run laps around the village and not break a sweat."

"Do you feel like you want to hurt anyone?" Jiraiya asked, seriously.

Naruto thought about it for a second, before shaking his head. "I don't. There's no one here I want to hurt."

"Good, good. From what I heard of this state of power from other jinchūriki of this world, this is what is called a jinchūriki 'Initial Form.' Not quite worth a tail, but somewhere in between using your normal chakra and your tailed beast's chakra. You lack the demon fox cloak and the swinging tail."

"…What?"

"Okay, sorry, I'm getting too much into it. My bad." Jiraiya sheepishly rubbed his head. "Moving on: let's concentrate on using this power for a bit. You said you feel stronger than you were before, and you could move around the village without breaking a sweat, right? Try to move around the compound using your new power as fast as you can. Jump, run – all that jazz. Don't stop moving until I say 'Stop.'" Jiraiya suggested, moving away from the boy, as did the ANBU. "We'll stop when I think it's time to do so."

Naruto nodded and got up from his meditating pose. He stretched and saw the bursting energy of orange-red pouring off him. He bounced a bit on the balls of his feet. Naruto felt light on his feet. Incredibly light on his feet. Why, he could probably jump super high, and reach the skies themselves, he felt.

And so, he attempted it. He crouched as low as he could, and jumped as high as he could, and pretty soon, he was watching the two older men around him from above. He had jumped as high as the tree in the battlegrounds itself. "Whoa…" He then felt himself falling, and a small panic began in him until he landed, and he felt… nothing. There was no pain, no hurt in his legs or knees.

Nothing.

…

Naruto smirked, and started to jump, and jump, and jump until he was sure there was nothing going to happen to him because of his actions. Then, he stopped, and ran, and ran, and ran. He ran to the building of the mansion, to the walls of the compound, and back to the mansion again with a speed he did not possess before. A second he was at one point of the compound; another second and he was at a newer point.

"Kid, come over, and do something for me!" Jiraiya yelled at Naruto from his place in the middle of the training ground.

Naruto sped back over to Jiraiya and Tenzō. Still not tired. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Seems like you're feeling great and all with all that running and jumping around. Looking at you is making me exhausted." Jiraiya jested. "Well, I want you do lift this small boulder up. You think you can handle it?"

Naruto smirked. "Watch me." Naruto grabbed the bottom of the boulder, and lifted it with two hands, looking like he hadn't even broken a sweat. Hell, he started to even do squats while holding the boulder, amusing Jiraiya greatly. "Where do you want me to put it?"

"Put it back down from where you put it," Jiraiya chuckled. "Gently now. I don't need you to scar up the place."

"You got it." Naruto stated, and put the boulder back on the ground.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Well, it seems my knowledge on the jinchūriki is correct. You seemed to have increased speed, strength, and I'm willing to bet – even without testing out – increased healing. This power will be like a trump card for you. Rely on it like any sort of tool or weapon to increase your chances of winning in a battle, or as a tool to help you escape the battle. Your current state of power has given you speed that many chūnin and even some jōnin wouldn't dream of having."

"Awesome."

"Indeed. Okay, I think that's enough for today about your jinchūriki powers. I want you to cut the link between you and the Kyūbi's chakra now."

Naruto blinked. "And how do I do that?"

"Just like how you stop channeling chakra, just cut the link from there. If you have problems, don't worry: we got Captain Tenzō to help you with that." Jiraiya stated confidently, looking back at the ANBU who nodded. "Just try it. Hey, maybe even ask the Kyūbi to do so if you can't do it alone."

Naruto nodded, and concentrated, closing his eyes. He squeezed them and he thought to himself, 'Come on work… Work.'

Time passed, and Naruto felt no different. He still felt the same, believing he still was channeling his inner beast's chakra.

Finally, he got what he wanted. "…" He opened his eyes. Gone was the red vision, gone was the power that made him feel stronger. Instead, he felt less energetic. Not quite tired, but getting there. "Ah, I think I did it."

"Hmm. You are going to have to work on the time of releasing the link between you and the Kyūbi's chakra. That took about a minute. A minute is a lot on the battlefield. In fact, it took you two minutes to channel the power of the fox. I think I have an idea what we're going to do next time we meet. Okay then. This session is over. Quite a bit we covered day. Good job kid." Jiraiya congratulated, clapping his hand over Naruto's shoulder boisterously.

"Thanks, Hokage-sama."

"Hmm… For training sessions like these, you can call me Jiraiya-sensei. Everywhere else, sure, you can refer to me as the Hokage. When we're training, or we're off the clock, just Jiraiya or Jiraiya-sensei is just fine." Jiraiya instructed the youth in front of him.

"Ah, okay then, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya smiled. "You did good, Naruto. Well done. Okay, now, I would keep you here to teach you something more, but I think I will save that for later in the week when we meet. Alright then. Meet with me again in the next four days, okay? You're dismissed." Jiraiya turned to the ANBU. "Tenzō, please escort Naruto off the premises, and return to your duties for today."

"Right away, Hokage-sama."

"See ya then, Sensei." Naruto said back to Jiraiya, who merely waved, and disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Moments Later…

Jiraiya reappeared back in his office's lounging room. The enjoyment of having seen his godson was gone; Jiraiya's smile was replaced with a stern line on his face.

"Welcome back, my lord," Homura stated.

"I assume you have spoken with the boy," Koharu uttered, her question more like a statement.

"Yes." Jiraiya merely said, returning to his seat as his advisers stepped to theirs. Jiraiya realized how much he liked the silence that came from not having Koharu or Homura around. However, that was over with now, with them back in the village.

Between the two constantly bickering with him, and trying to tell him what to do, he wondered why his sensei didn't take them off his council. They questioned his motives so much, it was almost on the lies of insubordination. While, yes, their experience as war veterans and former jōnin of the village was to be lauded, they were just that: former jōnin. They haven't been active shinobi in years, instead, they were advisers to the Hokage. And they acted like they were more than that.

He had done some research on his predecessor's history and found a trend. Often, Koharu and Homura had given missions to shinobi, sometimes with the Hokage's approval and sometimes… not. This was severely going over their boundaries as mere advisers of the Hokage, and even last week, Koharu had made a mistake. She summoned shinobi with a mere snap of her fingers, and they took her orders when instead they were supposed to take his orders. There was only one leader of this village.

Besides that, he was honestly contemplating having them around. Their expertise and advise had value he could never ignore, but when he got used to being the Hokage, would he really need them around? He himself was a war veteran, and a former jōnin, before he became the Hokage. They weren't respecting his power.

There was one thing he could find that could truly get them out of his hair.

If he got what he wanted, and found out more information on what he was trying to figure out, then getting rid of them wouldn't be very hard.

But that was for another day.

The white-haired Hokage snapped his fingers, and an ANBU was there already, setting tea, water, and snacks on the table. He poured himself a glass of water, and took a sip, before placing his drink on a wooden coaster. "Alright, let's get to the details of this meeting."

The female elder Koharu produced a white manila folder and Jiraiya took without comment. He opened it to see one file. Reading it, he listened to his other adviser.

Looking up briefly from it, he saw Homura interlock his fingers together, and place them under his chin. "A final casualty report is what you are looking at. Civilian injuries and casualties are low and few. There are many of our shinobi of all ranks – especially genin and chūnin – injured, though not as much as our casualties."

Jiraiya saw the report and shook his head at so many of those that were killed – many jōnin. "How many jōnin have been lost?"

"Around 25% of our jōnin," Koharu remarked.

The Toad Sage shook his head. "That means those who take the more dangerous missions will have to be chūnin and even our genin to make up for the lack of manpower."

"We have come to the same conclusion." The woman nodded, satisfied by Jiraiya's response.

"More casualties are estimated to increase dramatically with those suffering in the hospital from life-threatening injuries." Homura frowned. "Our medical staff is overworked."

"I gathered that." Losing those men and women were simply unacceptable. There had to be something done about this. "How is the status of Kakashi Hatake?"

"Still in his coma." Koharu's rough voice sounded even grimmer than before. "The cause is no doubt genjutsu-related, but since it was Itachi who caused this to him, the Tsukuyomi must be the main genjutsu used again Kakashi."

Jiraiya grimaced. Although his knowledge of the technique was limited, he had enough knowledge to know how dangerous the Tsukuyomi was. It was a powerful genjutsu unique to Itachi Uchiha which had the power to put the target through 72 hours of torture in the span of seconds. By merely looking into the Sharingan, Itachi's genjutsu was instant and would cause the target to faint.

"Most of the time, genjutsu that can cause comas can be broken with a day, however with how the Tsukuyomi works, I can imagine all the mental damage that comes with being tortured for 72 hours. Most ninjas' minds snap in a shorter time than that." Homura sighed, rubbing the bags under his eyes, briefly lifting his green glasses. "Our shinobi currently cannot just devote their time to heal all these injuries for one man."

Jiraiya knew that made sense but he could argue that Kakashi Hatake was not just "one man." The admission of Kakashi Hatake in the hospital had come to the shock of many in the Konoha ninja force. One of the strongest shinobi they had to offer in Konohagakure, Kakashi had been their most prestigious ninja who had a long service history. To lose him would be a great strike to the already hurting Konohagakure.

Beyond Kakashi, there were others who were superior shinobi who were suffering in the hospital. If their staff was being overworked, they would need help. Outside help. Aka, a person who was celebrated as the world's best medical ninja, and his peer.

Jiraiya leaned forward. He did not know how they were going to take what he had in mind, but he had a feeling they would not be happy. "I have a plan."

End.

A/N: And here we go. Another chappie for y'all. I hope you enjoyed reading such. And I ain't forgot our favorite gambling, buxom blonde Senju "princess."

Not bad, eh? Three chapters in one month.

Translation:

Tsukuyomi – Moon Reader (though, this shit is like the Amaterasu, Rasengan and Chidori at this point – you know what the hell this is, motherfucka!)