Chapter 7: The Enemy Within
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you." Friedrich Nietzsche.
Morning dawn chilly, and raw with rain showers soaking the ground. Grey clouds blocked out any light from the already risen sun. This could be a day off for the ninjas in training, a day to rest their aching muscles, heal bruised knuckles and scrapes, but they knew better than to get their hopes up.
By ten that morning the clouds broke apart and the first rays of sunlight streaked across the village signaling it was time to get down to D-rank missions. Hopefully this is the day they avoid catching Tora the demon cat, painting someone's fence, or clearing out their garden, maybe they'd be lucky and get an inside task where they can avoid the showers that were behind the patch of clear sky.
"Wonder what Kakashi-sensei will have us do for missions this time around." Kiba wondered as he and Akamaru did some warn up exercises.
"Hello Kiba, Akamaru. How are you today?" Hinata asked the two as she approached them.
"We're good, just waiting on everyone else to get here." Kiba responded, happy to see his shy teammate, but apparently not as much as Akamaru, who ran to the quiet girl as soon as he got loose from Kiba's jacket.
"I see that we're all here," Shino said making his presence known, "all we need is our wayward sensei to show up."
"He is right here, let's go get ourselves a mission or two." With that they followed him to the mission office.
Later that day, Kakashi watched the two on one battle between his genin with a critical eye. At times tempted to just pull out his little orange book, but thought better of it since he promised do things different if he finally passed a team. At the moment it was Shino and Kiba against Hinata to test how well she could perform the gentle fist sixty-four palms against long and mid-range opponents in battle.
For the past three months Kakashi has been assisting the Hyuga with her chakra strings technique she was creating in hopes of being able to reel an opponent into her. So far, she's been able to use it on Kiba with some effect.
"Okay guys, time to switch. Shino against two with taijutsu only for the first part then you can add jutsu. Ready? Begin."
His team may be trackers but they were very skilled in taijutsu, ninjutsu and were working on genjutsu. Kakashi had drill them in hand signals for when talking was not optional, he also had them learn to track in different types of weather. They were given scenarios to work through.
"Case in point…" Kakashi began as he led them into the forest after their spars, "…you've been assigned a mission to track and locate a group of bandits terrorizing a village. How do you find them without giving yourself away and letting the bandits know their being hunted?"
"Akamaru and I can track anyone once we pick up their smell. We would then trail them back to their camp from there."
"How would you know which scent belonged to the bandits? For all we know it could be a rainy area." Kakashi was aware of how good the Inuzuka and his ninken were but the boy was missing a few steps from his thought process.
"We could go to the village and observe when they attack and then trail them back to their base of operations. That way Kiba would have their scent and Hinata can determine whether any have shinobi training." Shino was logical thinker in the team, he did nothing that was not logic based.
"I agree with Shino, if we track them that way, we stand a better chance of catching all of them off-guard and avoid them retaliating if we only apprehend some."
"Good thinking, once the bandits do not threaten life it's always best to let them take their loot and exit the village." Kakashi was more than satisfied with how his students approach any task given them. "It avoids any escalation is violence."
After this they were assigned missions that required them to track down persons within the village.
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Life for Naruto was relatively smooth, he got along with his teammates and sensei, kept out of the villagers' line of sight as much as was possible to do. He had friends that treated him like a human being and it made him content with his life. However, not everyone was pleased with how his life was proceeding.
The third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a frown on his brows every time he thought of Naruto or the boy stood before him for mission briefings. He lamented how he was unable to mold Naruto the way he needed and wanted him to be.
To this day he was highly displeased with that foolish, idealistic student of his for interfering with his plans for the Jinchūriki. His interference caused them greatly. Jiraiya's guilty conscience swept away years of conditioning that had gone into the boy. Had the foolish man stayed away like he was supposed to, Naruto would be the idiot in love with the position of Hokage, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.
Hiruzen believed the boy's life was forfeited the moment the Yondaime sealed the beast into him making him a sacrifice for the benefit of the village. That Naruto's life had no meaning, but to protect the village from all who would seek to do it harm.
Getting up from his desk, he began to pace his office as the matter weighted heavily on his mind. He continued his internal monologue as his Anbu guards looked on in silence.
Hiruzen's P.O.V.
'Too think that Jiraiya thought so little of me, as if I could be Danzo's puppet, when in fact I was the one pulling the man's strings. Danzo did nothing except I allowed it, but of course the old decrepit fool had to over reach his boundaries and gain the attention Jiraiya, knowing how the man felt about him.
But I'm not called the professor for nothing, Danzo may have fought and waged physical battles for all to see, but me. But I wage psychological battles and get others to fight them for me. If I wanted to make someone, whose been mistreated or ignored by this very village, be loyal to a fault, willing if needed, lay down their life without question or hesitation, then I get I done no questions asked.
One only need choose the subject carefully and I've had practice, just look at Iruka Umino. Despite how much this village ignored him after the death of his parents, all that was required for his unwavering loyalty was to show him a little affection.
Unfortunately, he's outlived his usefulness to me. The idiot couldn't put his feeling aside to befriend one little boy. He didn't even realize Mizuki hated and played him for the fool he was. Because of his shortsightedness, he didn't know that Mizuki also hate Naruto and wanted to kill him. Had he been aware he would have had the perfect opportunity to help the boy against Mizuki and get into the boy's good graces, to be counted among the people Naruto trusted.
There is however, still time to turn the affection of the Jinchūriki toward the village, to make him want the position and for him learn what his duties truly entail. That is, he was and always has been a human sacrifice for the protection of this village.
End of P.O.V.
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The evening sun cast long shadows in the ground. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky. Naruto gazed at this scene from his bedroom window happy to see such a beautiful sight.
Having only returned two days ago from their three C-rank mission, he had confined himself to him apartment for their mandatory days off to not only catch up on some good sleep but his fuinjutsu training he'd missed out on while away.
Tonight however, he'd promised to meet up with his friends for a movie and dinner. After not seeming them in so long, he was glad for the opportunity to catch up them and find out how their lives and training were going.
Seated at the grill Naruto helped himself to the last piece of meat before Choji could.
Belching loud and long he patted his stomach in satisfaction. "Man, I'm stuffed, I ate like a pig tonight."
Laughter followed his statement as his friend watched his extended stomach cause his button to almost pop.
"I know what you mean Naruto, I am right there with you my friend." Choji admitted.
"Yes Choji, we can see how much you and Naruto love to put down." Kiba teased with Akamaru giving commentary as well.
"As good as this has been, we have training in the morning unlike Naruto." Added Shino in his usual kill the mood tone.
"What a drag, can't believe I have to get up from my spot." Shikamaru drawled.
"Damn, you really are a lazy ass Shikamaru."
"Now Kiba, no need to insult Shikamaru, after all we're tired as well. Tonight, has been a very relaxing time for all of us, can't say I blame him for not wanting to move." Hinata
They all eventually got up and left the restaurant after paying their bill.
"We'll I had a good time, thanks for inviting me and I'll see you guys around. My bed is calling." Naruto said as he prepared to part ways with them.
Returning the sentiments, they bid each other farewell and went their separate way.
As he walked to his apartment he took in the ambience and noted that a pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky. The areas were extremely quiet, unusually so for the time of night and that set off warning bells in his mind.
'What happened to that old drunk and his friends? They are usually out making a fool of themselves.' As he continued to walk a tingle was felt in his left arm, but he did not slow his pace or paused. 'Genjutsu! Who would cast an area wide jutsu, and for what reason?' These questions occupied his mind for short while before he chose to dispel it.
"I know you're there, so you might as well come out and face me like real ninjas." Naruto challenged, already sensing that there were about three of them hiding around him.
'He's a sensor as well, no one said anything about this. How are we supposed to take him off guard if he can sense us? Damn it! I hate working off faulty info.'
"Well, look what we have here. The Jinchūriki has spunk."
"Yeah, I thought they said he was a little shrimp."
"Who are you and what do you want with me?"
"Well, we heard an Uzumaki lived in this village and we thought you'd fetch a high price up in Kumo, but imagine our surprise when the villagers whispered you were the demon container."
"Yeah, that means we'll fetch an even great pay day from you. Now come quietly or we'll be force to subdue you."
"Well, then you better get ready to do so because I'm not leaving with you." Naruto replied trying to stall the men from advancing, but his mind was in turmoil as he wondered why the usual patrolling Anbu were absent.
Jikoro made to grab Naruto, but got a kunai embedded in his hand for his troubles. Naruto then threw a punch at the other guy nearby then ducking out of reach.
"Ah! The little bastard stabbed me." he screamed, pulling the knife out and ignoring the gush of blood as he attempted to kick Naruto in the gut.
Blocking the kick, Naruto dodged a fist from another of the villains.
"Well seems like he's got some fight, let's see how long he can hold out."
"I wouldn't worry too much, he's an inexperienced kid. Grab him!"
Knowing he couldn't take on all four and hope to win, but at the same time wanting to alert someone that he was in trouble, Naruto decided to fire up one of his flashier jutsu.
'Boar – ram – snake – horse – dragon. Lightning style: electromagnetic murder.' he mentally shouted his technique.
He managed to shock two of the men, but the other two dodged out of the range.
'Where is every one?' Naruto thought to himself.
"Tetsu! That knock out jutsu of yours would be good right about now." Hidaki prompted taking a step to the side trying to get behind Naruto.
The men were angry. Naruto was in his stance, body vibrating with adrenalin coursing through him, but deep down he was scared.
'Somebody, anybody, please help!'
The masked men made their escape, moving through the forest surrounding the village hoping to make it to the border of Fire Country before anyone realize what they'd done. Whatever head start they could get will not be nearly enough because of the weight they were carrying, but if will have to do for now.
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Chinami returned late from her mission dead tired and stumbled into the apartment ready to collapse. Closing the door behind her, she started for her room, but it was the eerie silence that stopped her dead in her tracks.
Not hearing the usual snoring that was part of Naruto's sleep, she peered into the boy's bedroom only to see an empty bed that was still made.
'That's strange. Naruto-kun does not stay out late; he's always strict about bedtime. I know he returned to the village from his missions, so where could he be.' She wondered to herself as worry start to creep into her mind.
As tired as she was this was important, Naruto was important so she called upon her summon and sent it to find Kakashi. In the meantime, she would go out looking for the wayward blond.
Sometime later Kakashi caught up with her and inquired about her reason for needing him.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice."
"Did I have a choice?"
"Not really, but this is serious. I can't find Naruto, he's not at home and I doubt he went back out on a mission after being gone so long."
"Have you checked his training ground?"
"Besides the fact it's two in the morning? Yes, I did and just like I thought he wasn't there. However, I stumbled onto what looked like the scene of a fight; there was blood and a found this kunai. It belongs to Naruto, see this small inscription, it's a seal that allows him to recall his weapons."
Flaring his chakra like he's done a million times brought a purple headed Anbu to his location.
"Sempai, you called?"
"Yes Neko, I need you to rose the Hokage immediately, let him know we have an emergency."
After the Anbu left Kakashi summoned his ninken and had them scour for traces of who could have attacked and taken Naruto.
It did not take long for the Neko to reappear with the Hokage. "Kakashi, what is the meaning of this?"
"Hokage-sama, it would appear someone has kidnap Naruto."
"What! When did it happen and why am I only now hearing about this?"
"Sir, I came home about an hour ago and found the apartment empty, his bed hadn't been slept in. I sent to call Kakashi while I search, but there is no trace of him in the village."
The Hokage flared his chakra, but instead of one Anbu, four appeared kneeling before him. "Fan out and search for Uzumaki Naruto, I want him found. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Kakashi, I want Naruto's sensei, teammates and any friends he may have brought before me this instance." The Hokage commanded his voice full of authority.
While Kakashi saw to the Hokage's orders, Chinami sent out her summon a second time, but this message was long distance to her master and Naruto's godfather.
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"Damn it Tetsu, this mission was supposed to be a simple grab and snatch, no one said anything about the kid being this good." Hidaki said, furious about being struck by the kid's jutsu.
"I know okay, the information was outdated, but we got it down so no need to worry." Tetsu responded.
"You're right, I'm just glad he didn't know how to tap into his Biju's power or we'd probably be dead. How long is that jutsu going to last by the way?" Hidaki
"About four hours give or take, which should give us time to take short naps and be ready to leave before dawn." Tetsu responded.
They were held up on the out skirts of a small village within Fire Country, since it took several days journey to reach the Land of Hot Waters borders. It will be even longer before they arrive in the Land of Lightning and the Village Hidden in the Clouds.
"I wouldn't worry too much, by the time they realize the kid is missing, we'd have about twelve hours or more head start on them. I say we take a two-hour break then hit the road again that way we don't give away our advantage. Jakoro assured them.
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As requested, most of the required individuals were assembled before the Hokage. Included in that crowd were the Hokage's Advisors, the Jonin Commander Shikaku Nara and the Anbu Commander.
"This is so troublesome; I was sleeping you know." Shikamaru complained about being woken and literally dragged from his bed.
"Would you stop complaining, you lazy ass. We're in the Hokage's office." Kiba reprimanded his friend.
"I'm afraid I must agree with Kiba this time. Why?" Shino declared ever so calmly. "Because it must be extremely important, if we're called before the Hokage at this hour of the night."
The door opened to reveal Hinata accompanied by Neji.
"Hinata-chan, they called you as well?"
"Yes Choji-Kun, but I do not know why. No one has said anything outside of I'm summoned by the Hokage."
"I hope none of you have gotten Lady Hinata into any trouble." Neji more or less accused. His arms folded as he stared them down for good measure.
"What! We did no such thing. By the way who are you anyway?"
"I'm her cousin and protector." Neji replied.
Hinata was dying of embarrassment, since Neji's promotion to Chunin he's become insufferable at times with his need to protect her from all things outside the Hyuga compound. No matter how she tried to assure him, there was just to letting up on his duties.
"Alright listen everyone," the Hokage spoke, his voice clear with authority, "we need to know the last time any of you saw Naruto."
Daisuke was the first to answer. "Not since we returned from our mission. Sensei gave us the week off so we stayed home. Sorry."
"That's okay, you don't need to apologize you haven't done anything"
"Hakage-sama," this time it was Shikamaru who spoke up, "we saw Naruto."
"Please explain Shikamaru-kun."
"Well we went out to a movie, then had dinner. We all left the restaurant together, said our goodbyes and went our separate routes home." He relayed their activities hoping that would be of some help.
"What time would that have been?" The Hokage inquired, trying to establish a time line to work from.
"About eight-thirty Sir." Shikamaru replied with others nodding in agreement.
"Did any of you notice anything out of the ordinary or anyone hanging around that looked suspicious?"
"No Hokage-sama, we were just happy he was back from his missions so we took him out." Hinata answered.
"Is something wrong with Naruto-kun, Sir?" Shino inquired, dread creeping into his mind.
"I'm afraid that your friend has gone missing." He broke the news to them now was not the time to keep secrets if he wanted their full cooperation.
"What! So why are we just standing around?" Kiba demand seemingly forgetting his place and who he was talking to.
"Kiba, you're speaking with the Hokage." Hinata reprimanded.
"Hokage-sama, please tell us what happened, we want to help as much as possible. Naruto is our friend and very special to us." Hinata pleaded on behalf of all.
"At the moment we only know that there was a fight on the route to his apartment and that someone was injured. It would appear the perpetrators escaped the village with him."
Hearing that, Shikamaru turned to his dad, his eyes pleadingly to please do something, anything just find his friend.
"Hokage-sama, I'm offering the assistance of the Hyuga clan. Anything to help find Naruto-kun and bring him home."
"Lady Hinata, is that wise? Lord Hiashi might not agree to such actions." Neji cautioned his cousin, knowing that Hiashi might very well take offence to her actions.
"Thank you for your offer, but I do not wish to put you at odds with your father young lady."
"It's a risk I am willing to take Hokage-sama, if it means that we bring Naruto-kun back save and sound." Hinata responded, unbending in her stance.
"Hinata-chan is right; I'll talk to mom as well. The Inuzuka clan is good at tracking and I want to help find him as well."
"The Aburame will lend assistance as well Sir. Why? We value our allies and Naruto-kun is my first friend."
Before the Hokage could offer a response Kakashi burst through the doors to his office followed closely by Yamato, Pakkun and Chinami.
"Sorry for the rushed entrance, but we have a lead sir. They have several hours head start, but we suspect they are headed east by north east. My ninken are still tracking. We need to move soon.
With the focus shifted towards the new arrivals, no one noticed that the Hyuga, Aburame and Inuzuka had left the officer.
Arriving home Hinata and Neji were met by Hiashi in the court yard. "Hinata, what did the Hokage require of you this hour of the night?"
"Uzumaki Naruto has been abducted from the village, and as one of the last persons to see him, Hakage-sama wanted to know if we saw anything suspicious while we were out."
"Am I to assume that since you have returned home that you are no longer needed?" Her father asked
"Not really father, I offered the clan's assistance in the search and returned to inform you of the decision." She answered, trying her best to meet his eyes and to hold her nerves in front of him.
"That was not a call for you to make, but since it has been done there is no way to retract it without looking foolish in the eyes of others. I will grant you the use of two branch members." His look and tone clearing
"Thank you, father." Hinata said clearly relieved he did not flat out deny her request. Grabbing Neji they left to retrieve the two members so they could return to the Hokage's office before it was too late.
Arriving back at the tower, they were met by her teammates, Choji and Naruto's teammates had returned home seeing that they didn't have much to contribute, but Shikamaru was assisting his dad with analyzing the incoming information.
"Listen up everyone, they latest information indicate the perpetrators fled towards Land of Hot Waters, we also believe that one or two maybe injured." Shikaku relayed to the gathered ninjas.
"It is therefore possible they stopped at one of the small villages within Fire country. How long they will be there is an uncertainty, but if we deploy now there is a good chance, we could cut them off before they get to the Land of Lightning, were we can't enter."
"Alright everyone if you have a communicator let's move out."
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Across the miles in the Land of Frost is where the summons found the toad sage, sitting in a shady establishment with his arms around two women, drinking his life and sorrows away. Upon seeing the animal and recognizing it, he immediately sobered, dismissing the ladies hanging off him.
"Ladies I'm sorry to say this, but the party is over." Rising from his seat, Jiraiya threw down a few paper notes as payment and walked out.
Stepping outside and far from prying eyes he confronted the summons.
"What is it this time?"
"Naruto has been taken from the village."
"What! By who and when?!"
"We are not sure. It is believed that there were about four perpetrators, but Naruto put up a fight, but was overpowered."
"Any idea where they were headed?"
"Not at the time I was given the message."
"Okay you can go."
Breathing off in frustration, he returned to the inn he was staying and gathered his belongings. 'If I set off now, I could make it to the Land of Hot Waters in a day, if I use one of the toads. The problem is I don't know which direction those men are travelling; I'll have to wait anyone message from Chinami. However, I'll send a few of my message toads to the different agents in the network to see if they've heard anything.'
Performing the summoning jutsu quickly, he got four small messenger toads which he sent out. He then summoned a large toad to take him to his destination.
Meanwhile, Chinami's summon has returned to her and relayed Jiraiya's location and his queries about Naruto's abduction. She relayed to the ferret the new information and asked that it returned to Jiraiya.
Having covered good grounds in their pursuit of the perpetrators, Kakashi received word from his ninken on the exact village the men were held up.
"They've been found, let's pick up the pace." Kakashi yelled out for all to hear.
"Kakashi, I sent Jiraiya an update, so he should be closing in from the opposite direction." Chinami informed him.
"Great, there will be no way for them to escape us. Good thinking."
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Back at the village, team eight along with Shikamaru lament how helpless they felt in the situation.
"We should gather all the rookies together and let them know what has happed to Naruto." Shikamaru suggested.
"Yeah, we can all probably stick together for the day and train, keep ourselves occupied." Shino agreed.
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Nearing the border for Hot Water, they were surprised to see a huge toad in their path, a white head man sitting atop its head.
"Oi, you have something that belongs to me, you can give it back nicely and live or refuse and die. What's it going to be?"
"Get out of our way you crazy old man; we got nothing that belongs to you."
"You idiot, that's Jiraiya of the Sannin."
"Yeah, but he doesn't have to know that I know that."
"Aaaaaaar!" One of the men screamed as he fell to the ground.
"What the hell just happened?" Asked Jikoro, as he bent to check his companion. "He's dead."
"Now, do I have your attention?" Asked Jiraiya in a no-nonsense tone. Every eye turned towards him. "Good, now hand over the boy and no one else has to die."
Before Tetsu could respond, or Hidaki could get off his fire jutsu Jiraiya disappeared from the toad's head and re-appeared behind them. A chop, to the back of Tetsu and Hidaki's neck, rendered them unconscious. This left Jikoro frozen when the kunai appeared at his neck.
Having tied the four together, he inspected his godson ensuring the boy was still breathing. Satisfied, he made his way toward Konoha, knowing he'd meet with the approaching team.
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Arriving back in the village, Jiraiya headed straight for the hospital to get Naruto checked out. The boy had not woken since being rescued and it was beginning to worry everyone.
The three perpetrators were taken to Ibiki for questioning.
Inside the seal dimension Kyuubi and Naruto was having a heated argument over whose fault it was that the boy got captured.
"Oh, will you stop that incessant pacing, you're making me dizzy, flea bag."
"Well close your eyes and don't look."
"I wouldn't have to look, if you hadn't gotten yourself kidnapped and put under some jutsu you can't escape from."
"That was not my fault you know, I tried to fight them off and get the attention of Anbu or someone else, but no one came. There were four of them, you know. Furthermore, why the hell am I here?"
"Well if you were as strong as you claimed, then you wouldn't be in this mess no matter how you twist and turn it." Kyuubi continued to complain ignoring the question asked at the end of Naruto's ramble.
"Whatever, you don't even care if I live or die. All you want to do is escape the seal."
"Damn right I want out. Considering you look half dead, just die already!" He shouted at Naruto.
"Not before you."
"You little impotent flea bag, I am the Kyuubi, made of nothing but chakra and cannot die. I'm immortal you fool."
If looks could kill, Kyuubi would be dead from the one Naruto was giving him.
In the room the doctor informed Jiraiya and others that they couldn't find anything wrong with the boy and asked that they be allowed to run some tests.
Exiting, they were met by Naruto's teammates and several of his friends.
"How is he Jiraiya-sama?" Akaran asked worriedly.
He released a heavy sigh, feeling as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, he bowed and shook his head indicating nothing had changed.
"This is definitely not looking good; if he doesn't wake soon, we may need to try something."
"Are we sure it's not a genjutsu that they used on him?"
"We're sure it's not that, but what it is, we do not know."
"Can I take a look at him?" Hinata asked
"Yes, you can, why didn't I think of that before. Your eyes can do an internal check, especially of his chakra flow."
"Neji-nii-san please come with me; two sets of eyes will be better." They entered Naruto's room and immediately activated their byakugan and were shocked to see what was causing the problem.
Upon exiting it was Neji who spoke, his tone somber. "They slowed his chakra flow."
"They what! How is that even possible?" Exclaimed Shikamaru, who had quickly grasped the implications of Neji's statement.
"Not sure, but we need the one who cast the jutsu to tell us how to undo it." Replied the Hyuga prodigy.
"We don't need them to tell us, just get Inoichi to look at his mind and extract the information." Kakashi stated frankly, leaving no room for a counter.
Sometime later, the information was relayed and the jutsu undone. However, it took a while before Naruto slowly opened his eyes, indicating that his chakra flow had returned to normal.
"Naruto, welcome back, you had us scared there for a while." Kakashi's voice sounded muffled in his hazy state.
"W-Where am I?" His throat felt like ash had been pour down it.
"You're in the hospital kid." Jiraiya said quietly, trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him at seeing the kid open his very familiar eyes.
Recognizing the sound of the voice, he turned his head to look at his godfather standing on the other side of his bed.
"Raiya!" He shouted throwing himself at the man. "You came to get me." He said excitedly as tears streaked down his face happy at seeing the large man.
Chuckling at the Naruto's antics, he rubbed the boy's back allowing him to take comfort in his presence as he too took comfort in knowing that the boy is safe and back home where he belongs.
"There are a few people waiting to say hello to you." He whispered to Naruto while trying to coax him to sit back on the bed.
"You won't leave me, will you?" Naruto asked, a pleading sound to his voice and a scared look in his eyes.
"No, I'm just going to call them." Jiraiya assured as he opened the door and step out.
"Here Naruto, sip this slowly." Kakashi offered him a glass of water, noticing his voice sounded scratchy.
"Thanks, Kakashi."
Just then the door opened and a head appeared with a pineapple shaped ponytail, the boy stepped into the room followed by Naruto's teammates, team eight members and his own teammate Choji.
"Hey Naruto, I brought you a fruit basket." Choji offered as he placed his gift on the table.
"Thanks, Choji, we'll eat it together later, okay."
"Troublesome blond, could you not try to give me any more stress than I already have."
"Sorry Shikamaru, didn't mean to worry you guys."
"Don't sweat it Naruto, team eight is just glad you're okay and back home." Kiba said while Akamaru yapped his agreement, Shino and Hinata nodding along.
"Hey guys." He greeted his teammates
"Hey Naruto, we were really worried for you. We're glad you're okay." Daisuke said as he and Akaran waved back.
"Thanks everyone, it means a lot to me that you all care so much."
"So, Naruto did the kidnappers say anything to you?" Shikamaru wasted no time trying to get information so that he could solve the puzzle plaguing his mind. However, Kakashi was quick to intercept the inquisition.
"Alright everyone, he needs to rest so you can come back and see him tomorrow." Kakashi told them.
After they left Jiraiya re-entered the room. "Hey kid, how you really feeling?"
"I'm not sure to be honest."
"It will take some time, but hopefully you'll feel better."
Naruto just turned his head the other way without responding. This cause Jiraiya and Kakashi to look on worriedly before sharing a look between them.
"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but we need to know. Did they say anything to you, about why they want you in particular?"
"They said that they heard there was an Uzumaki in the village and that Kumo would pay good money for me. Also, that it got better when the villages let slip, I was the nine-tailed fox."
"There's no need to worry about that anymore, they can't harm you."
Again, Naruto became silent and it was really worrying them.
"What is it Naruto, what's really troubling you?" Jiraiya asked, hoping to get the boy to open up and not keep things bottled up inside him.
Naruto brought his hands to his face; his body began to shake as he sobbed bitterly. He was pulled into Jiraiya's comforting embrace.
"There, there, it's okay now. You're here with both Kakashi and myself, no one's going to hurt you."
Jumbled sounds were all he got from Naruto as the boy spoke into his clothes. Easing him back he asked for a repeat.
"Why didn't anyone come to my rescue in the village? I tried to hold them off and to draw awareness to what was happening by spiking my chakra." He paused to catch his breath and to give them a chance to answer, but when none came, so he continued. "I even did a lightning jutsu that should have been seen. Where were the Anbu, which should have been patrolling?"
How do you convince a child that has trust issues, that he wasn't deliberately denied help in his hour of need? That the people in his village didn't try to get rid of him.
"I'm sorry that no one came to help, but we'll look into what you said." Kakashi reassured. To which Naruto nodded.
Raising himself from the bed, Jiraiya bid Naruto goodbye. "Get some sleep brat and we'll see you in the morning." Not liking what he heard, Jiraiya was willing to hold his tongue until he could speak away from Naruto.
"See you later Naruto." Kakashi was reluctant to leave him alone, but the Hokage had already stationed Anbu outside the window and door to ensure his safety.
"Bye."
Upon exiting the room Jiraiya indicated for Kakashi to follow him. Making their way to Naruto's apartment where it's safe to talk, Kakashi could see the anger that Jiraiya had been keeping in check earlier. The minute they entered the apartment he let go.
"What the hell is going on in this village? No one should be able to just waltz in, take one of our citizen let alone Naruto, then leave without setting off alarms." He made to punch the wall, but thought better of it at the last second.
"I know Jiraiya, it makes no sense," Kakashi was pacing as he spoke, "also what he said about no Anbu being in the area or coming to his defense even after he spiked his chakra is unheard of." Stopping his pacing he stared at Jiraiya as realize hits him. "All Anbu know Naruto's chakra signature, we're supposed to know where he is at all times." It was one thing to no longer need Anbu to babysit him, but once Naruto was out of his caretaker's sight; his every move was to be shadowed.
"Then someone either ordered their absence or their attention was drawn elsewhere, it's the only thing that would explain this mess." Jiraiya didn't want to believe anyone would actively seek the removal of his godson from the village, but that was the direction his mind was taking him.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, even if it takes us some time. I still have a few contacts within the ranks that I know hold no ill will towards Naruto, so give me some time to talk with them." Kakashi was willing to bet his novels that someone knew what when down, they just needed the right person of confide in.
Waiting until Kakashi left to speak with Jiraiya, Chinami exited her room and sat around the table.
"What's on your mind Chinami?"
"Something doesn't add up Jiraiya, Naruto has gone by Uzumaki from birth, has left this village multiple times on missions. You'd think that if those men were after him, they'd wait until he was outside the village."
"I know what you mean and I share your view, but we'll just have to be more vigilant. Until Naruto can fully defend himself against high ranking ninjas, we'll have to take his training up a notch."
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A week after his release from the hospital, Naruto was back with his team for team development and D-rank missions. However, instead of just Yamato for individual training, he also had Jiraiya.
He was hardly seen outside his apartment unless he was with someone from his inner circle. Not that anyone thought his behavior strange; they welcomed his company as they too felt the need to keep him close.
While they were all ninjas and trained to control their emotions, it didn't stop them from being humans or being affected by the situations they found themselves thrust into.
"Naruto, let's take a break, I want to introduce you to some friends of mine." Jiraiya quickly performed the summoning jutsu.
The smoke cleared to reveal two miniature toads that look bewildered. "Jiraiya boy, what's the meaning of calling us here, is there something wrong?"
"No Ma and Pa; there isn't any trouble. I wanted to introduce you to my godson Naruto Uzumaki."
One look at the boy and they knew whose child he was. "Hello Naruto, it's a pleasure to meet you, my boy." Shima greeted the boy in her friendliest manner. "Jiraiya has kept you a secret from us." Fukasaku nodded in agreement.
"I want Naruto to sign the toad contract, that way he can call on you for help when he's in trouble."
"That's a good idea Jiraiya boy, we'd be happy to have Naruto-chan be our summoner." Fukasaku could sense the boy's massive chakra reserves and therefore, had no qualms agreeing to the request.
Producing the scroll, Jiraiya indicated where he needed Naruto to sign his name in blood. Once that was finished, he had him attempt the technique. Naruto smeared blood on his hand then ran through the hand seals, he slammed his hand on the ground and once the smoke cleared it revealed a large greenish toad.
"Wow! Good job Naruto-chan, you've summoned Gamahiro. He's one of many battle toads you can call on to assistant in a fight."
"Great to meet you Gamahiro, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
"It's a pleasure as well Naruto-chan." Gamahiro was always glad to be in the human world and now that they had a new summoner, he looked forward to being called more.
They chatted for a while longer before returning to their realm.
Later that night Jiraiya presented Naruto three sample seals to study. They were his original work, but he had hit a block in his thought progress and had placed them aside.
A few days later when Jiraiya checked on Naruto he was surprised to see what the boy had done.
"Naruto, how are you doing with the seals I asked you to look at?"
"Well, I broke down the components of the seals to better understand the mechanics of what you intended and then reformatted them."
Jiraiya was quite impressed at what he was seeing, but he was not surprised, after all fuinjutsu ran in Naruto's DNA. While he'd like to say the boy was just like his father in this regard, he knew better. Minato was good at altering a seal to improve its efficiency, but he'd never created something new from an existing one or done a seal from scratch.
No one understood seals quite like the Uzumaki clan, they may have been unrefined in their methods, but they were geniuses. He had learned that from watching Kushina teach Minato or creating her own seals. Kushina would decide that she want a seal to keep her house clean and would create it in no time. At first it had surprised Jiraiya until she had informed him that Mito Uzumaki was her teacher.
"You never indicated what your intended purposes were, so I crafted seals that allow what gets written on one scroll to appear on another no matter the distance. Then I have another set that work together, one absorbs water and the other will let it out wherever you need it to go."
Jiraiya listened attentively to Naruto as he explained what his seals did and he was astounded at the boy's brilliance in fuinjutsu. It seemed that his Uzumaki heritage was stronger than first thought.
"There is also this one, it's also a set that allows for you to transport large groups of people from one location to another. You place this one at the point you want to leave from and this one at the exit point."
"I have other ideas, but nothing completed so far. I like this one that can be used to destroy a body without leaving any DNA behind."
"I can assure you none of my seal ideas were to produce any of what you just showed me. You've done a great job brat, I'm proud of you." Jiraiya had a goofy smile on his face at seeing his godson blush embarrassingly.
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Life was mostly back to normal; Naruto was training, gardening and working on a new book. What was not back to normal was him going out alone, he especially never went out at night by himself anymore. Not because he was a coward or simply afraid, but because he still felt betrayed and unsure that anyone outside his group of friends would come to his aide. Until he was certain he could adequately protect himself, he felt it best to err on the side of caution.
What made him thankful was that his friends understood him enough to keep him company especially in secluded areas like the training grounds he frequented. That Jiraiya had taken to training him without having to be asked because even if he didn't show it, his godfather was worried for him. They may have caught the kidnappers, but the mastermind behind it was still unknown, out there, free to try again and again until he or she succeeded.
However, this week while Jiraiya was busy with his work and 'research', Asuma and Yamato finally decided to get their teams together for a training session. However, Kakashi found out and wanted in, then before they knew it teams seven and six were asking to participate as well. The genins were informed that all teams would be meeting in training ground five at six the next morning and that it would continue for the entire week.
As usual team nine arrived at their grounds first and got into their warm up routine of laps, push-ups, pull-ups and then sparring, soon enough teams eight and seven arrived, after a minute joined team nine. Twenty minutes or so later teams six and ten arrived and were told to warm up by Naruto. When Yamato arrived at the appointed time, he was surprised to see all the teams were in different stages of warm up. He decided to allow them to finish which would give the other sensei time to arrive or stop hiding like his sempai was currently doing.
Just as the last team completed their warm up, Kurenai, Asuma and Hayate step out from behind the trees and Kakashi shushin into the area. "Alright everyone, glad to see you all took the initiative and warmed up," Asuma spoke up, his booming voice filling the grounds, "we are here to see how well each of you and by extension your team has advanced since leaving the academy."
"First up will be team against team taijutsu battle with the senseis as the evaluators, at the end we will give you a breakdown of your strengths and weaknesses for you to work on." Kakashi explained while surveying the faces of the genins. "Does this sound agreeable to all?"
"Yes Kakashi-sensei." Came their reply, not like they were going to disagree with him.
"Good to hear because the first teams are," Kurenai paused to reach into the bag she was holding and pull out scrap pieces of paper, "six and ten followed by seven and eight."
"The rules of engagement are simple, no ninjutsu or genjutsu; you can however, use weapons." This time it was Yamato who addressed them in his usual no nonsense tone. "Also, you are not allowed to inflict any deadly wounds on your comrades. Got it?"
"Yes Yamato-sensei."
"Man, Naruto your sensei is really scary, when serious." Kiba whispered to team nine.
"Please, when is he never serious, that's just the way he is." Akaran responded trying to mimic his sensei's tone, but failed. "I think serious is coded to his DNA."
Hayate took up from his position as proctor for the matches as one after another; each team fought the other four teams.
On day two, each student was given the opportunity to demonstrate any ninjutsu they had learned or to get assistance with one they were learning and had difficulty with. Team six demonstrated their effectiveness with the three academy ones in combat, Sakura then performed her Earth Style: Mud Wave; Deichi was learning Water Style: Gunshot, but had difficulty getting distance, Yamato offered his assistance; Unagi was just learning the fireball jutsu and was told to speak with Sasuke.
Team seven was up next, Sasuke showed his clan's famous great fireball jutsu and the Dragon Fire Technique; Hibachi did the hiding like a mole jutsu and Akira a water whip. Team eight's turn was a bit different as Shino performed his insect clone which grossed out Sakura, Ino and Akira, Kiba did his man beast clone and Hinata performed her chakra strings which she could shape into a web.
Team nine only had one ninjutsu user in Naruto and he had about ten jutsu, Wind: Great Breakthrough, Gale Palm and Wind Dragon; Lightning: Electro-Magnetic Murder, Lightning Bolt and Lightning Surge; Water: Wild Water Wave, Water Prison and Water Fall Basin, he also showcased his headhunter jutsu. Everyone was clearly impressed by his efficiency with casting all his jutsu without calling out the names. Finally, team ten was up, Shikamaru used his clan's shadow possession jutsu, Choji his clan's expansion jutsu and Ino her clan's mind jutsu.
Day three was centered on casting, recognizing and dispelling genjutsu, this was team six's specialty and especially Sakura who had taken to the art form like fish to water. She's the quickest of her team when it came to recognizing she was in a genjutsu, so was itching to demonstrate her skills for her former classmates. However, team six's newest project was meant to trap even the most sensitive.
"Team, now would be as good a time as any to demonstrate your newest acquired skill set." Kurenai said an evil smile on her face as she regarded the others. "Let's see how good the others are at dispelling."
I think you're right sensei; this is definitely the best opportunity to practice. Sakura said gleefully, agreeing with Kurenai. Her other teammates catching on nodded as well. With that said they huddled together for a brief discussion before weaving a set of hand signs to cast their genjutsu. It took a little while for theother teams to realized what had happened but once they did most started trying to dispel what they thought was just a single genjutsu but was in fact a triple layered one.
For Naruto this was not going well, he was panicking because the genjutsu had him reliving his worst fear, that of being kidnapped and no one coming to his rescue. "No, no, not again, someone please help me." He kept calling out and couldn't see anyone but the seal on his arm kept alerting him of the genjutsu until finally he took note. Gathering as much of his chakra as possible, Naruto performed his newest clan jutsu he being keeping secret for dire times, Uzumaki Art: Spiraling Shockwave jutsu. This technique can disrupt or cancel out any jutsu or genjutsu in operation at the time of its release, hence the reason for the name, it expands the further out the chakra travels.
"Wow kid! That's a lot of chakra you expelled there." Asuma was astounded as were the others at the ability displayed by Naruto, he'd never seen anyone clear layered techniques in one go like that before. "That was amazing! Did you invent it or what?"
"No, I think it's a clan jutsu and it still needs refining." Naruto responded sheepishly but while he was still speaking Jiraiya, the Hokage and a few Anbu appeared in the grounds curious about the large chakra discharge they felt. Even some jonins like Shikaku and sensory types came as well, all wanting to know how or why all that chakra was released and if there was a problem.
"Would someone care to explain why I felt Naruto-kun's chakra all the way in my office?"
"I would like to know as well." Jiraiya said arms folded across his chest looking as intimidating as only he could with his massive height difference. A few persons stepped back from him, swallowing an invisible lump in their throats.
"Now Jiraiya-kun, don't go frightening the young ones and besides I'm sure the jonin senseis have a good explanation for us. Right?" Hiruzen was not called the professor for nothing nor was he the Hokage because of favor.
It was Yamato that spoke up first seeing as the others suddenly had stage freight. "We were working on casting, detecting and dispelling of genjutsu and team six performed a layered one on everyone. Well sir, Naruto-kun used a clan technique to dispel all three at once and what you felt was the after effects."
Surprised sounds could be heard around the grounds from those seen and unseen, disbelief that a brat had enough control to pull what was obviously a high level jutsu that probably required good control and massive amounts of chakra. "Lucky bastard." Was heard from somewhere in the distance but the speaker remained out of sight.
"Great job, but try not to use that too often Naruto-kun; I'm an old man now and too much excitement is not good for me." Hiruzen said this as he ruffled the boy's hair affectionately before addressing the others. "Everyone keep up the good work, you do your village proud."
Not wanting to be left out, Jiraiya gave Naruto two thumbs up while congratulating his godson. "Great job brat, a bit more work on your control because that pool has gained in size." Naruto nodded his head and Jiraiya bid he farewell "See you later."
As things were getting back to normal, Sasuke walked up to Naruto, a serious look etched on his face. "You really are an Uzumaki, like we discussed that day in class, aren't you?" Naruto looked at him skeptically before responding. "I'd like to think so, even if I don't have their red hair." Nodding his head at the statement, Sasuke turned to go back to his original position. "It's a great technique." He threw over his shoulder.
"You really are a troublesome blond but we wouldn't have you any other way." Shikamaru said smiling at his friend. "I think you shocked some of them into silence, which is good." Just then Naruto finally looked at Sakura who had been watching him. Raising an eye brow at her hoping she'd say something but instead she just turned away. The exercise continued until the end of day.
The rest of the week was spent on trap making, running obstacle courses and learning hand signals, it remained uneventful and ended on a high note for everyone.