A/N: Here is the next chapter, I tried to make it not so tedious or boring but I may not have succeeded. Just know that this is build up for the plot, I did however give a sneak peak into the beginning of a beautiful friendship so I hope you enjoy. I thank all of you who fav/followed and left wonderful comments.

Disclaimer: As per usual I don't own Naruto no matter how much I wish I did.

Chapter 15

Two Konoha shinobi leisurely made their way to the next town; Jiraiya watched Naruto from the corner of his eye as he got lost in thought. After some time it looked as if he had come to some sort of decision and stopped walking. He looked over his shoulder at the boy, "What is it?"

"Itachi is part of a group called Akatsuki right?"

He turned to face Naruto, "Right."

"And they're after me?"

"They're not so much after you as they are after what's inside you." Jiraiya was expecting this line of questioning so it was easy enough to answer but what he didn't expect was the reply he got.

"That doesn't make sense." He said with a confused look.

"What do you mean? There are a lot of people who would love to get their hands on you for what you carry."

Naruto folded his hands behind the back of his head and tipped his head to the sky. His thoughts briefly flitted to Shikamaru when he saw the sky full of fluffy white clouds before he answered the question. "Well, Itachi was the one to wipe out the Uchiha clan and I'm assuming that he went to the Akatsuki when he left the village, right?" He waited for confirmation then continued. "He was part of the ANBU assigned to watch me when I was little so he knew about the Kyuubi, he knew where I lived and all of my habits. I saw him the night it happened and he asked me to look after Sasuke. He was upset. So things aren't quite adding up to me."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. This was something he was going to have to think over but he needed to get the whole story because he had a gut feeling that wasn't all Naruto knew. He turned back in the direction they had been heading and motioned for Naruto to walk with him. "Start from the beginning because there sounds like you've left a lot out of that story and I'll need to hear it all in order to let you know my opinion."

They resumed their leisurely pace, "Well it happened like this…"

…

By the time they reached the large bustling town Naruto had given Jiraiya enough to ponder over and left him to his thoughts for the time being. He did want to know what the pervert knew about this organization and why they could possibly want him or the Kyuubi as the case may be.

Jiraiya on the other hand couldn't help the fact that his thoughts were stuck on how Naruto now knew everything but it hadn't hindered him at all. In fact the information seemed to make him all the more determined to learn and evened his temperament somewhat. He would have to talk to Kakashi when they got back to the village but Naruto was doing well with what he knew and keeping to himself as he should be.

Once he got past that train of thought though he became worried. What Naruto had told him about his ANBU watcher, the night of the Uchiha massacre and Itachi Uchiha had him concerned and he conceded that his Godson was correct, something was not adding up and this was something he would have to discuss with the next Hokage; he only hoped they could convince Tsunade to take the hat.

Jiraiya ruffled the blonde's messy hair and entered the town heading to the nearest inn, Naruto following close behind. Once inside the room they laid the packs down and he motioned for the boy to sit on the bed across from him. "I need some time to gather information about what you've told me so just be patient. In the meantime I'm assuming that Kakashi has told you some about your Dad?"

Naruto swallowed and averted his eyes, "A little but I try not to push, he always looks so sad when he talks about Mom and Dad."

"Well, first I must apologize for not being there for you until now."

Naruto shook his head interrupting the older man. "It's okay. Kakashi explained a bit about you, my Godmother and the Council so I understand...Just please don't" He ducked his head; embarrassment warring with anger in his mind and he didn't continue. Don't leave me alone again was what he wanted to say but to be honest he wasn't alone anymore but this was different. Jiraiya wasn't his teammate like Sasuke and Sakura; he wasn't a close friend or confidant or support like Haku; and he wasn't family like Kakashi, even though he knew just as much if not more about his life and his parents. He was more than all of that and he didn't look at him with contempt or pity or unending sadness and so he said nothing for fear of looking childish or weak in front of him.

Jiraiya reached over and ruffled Naruto's blonde spikes and answered the unasked question. "You're stuck with me now kid. Minato and Kushina would probably kick my ass if I didn't teach you everything I knew and we are going to start now so follow me." The older man stood and heard Naruto scramble to keep up with Jiraiya as he left the room and led the boy to just outside the town walls.

Naruto begged and pleaded to know what they were doing the whole way but when Jiraiya refused to tell him he pouted sullenly until they finally stopped. Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet while waiting anxiously for Jiraiya to start his explanation. Instead he held his hand out in front of him with his palm facing the sky. Naruto cocked his head; his eyes darting between Jiraiya's hand and his face. Just as he was about to start questioning the older man again something happened. Jiraiya's chakra became visible, Naruto's eyes widened in awe as the chakra was formed into a tightly compressed bright blue ball and with a speed that belied the man's height and bulk, Jiraiya flashed to the nearest tree and thrust it into the trunk.

With a loud crack the ball went through the tree leaving a perfectly round hole on one side and when Naruto walked around to the other side he goggled at destruction left behind. He lifted his eyes to Jiraiya's smirking face. "Please tell me you're gonna teach me that and that you are not just showing off?" Naruto screeched.

Jiraiya threw his head back and laughed loudly, when he finally quieted he looked down at his little protege; mirth shining in his eyes. "I had always planned to teach you the Rasengan but now that you know who your parents are I can tell you why." He pointed at the hole in the tree, "That was called the Rasengan and your Father is the one who created it."

"So cool." Naruto looked up at his mentor, his eyes just a little misty. "What about mom?"

Jiraiya rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, "Your mother never created a Jutsu but she did have something specific to the Uzumaki female line called Chakra Chains and not every female inherited them. I do have what's left of her personal Fuuinjutsu books so I'll make you a deal; once you have mastered the Rasengan I will give you the first book so that you can start learning the theory and some of the most basic seals."

Naruto grinned wide and bright; he ran forward to squeeze the older man around his middle, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Jiraiya chuckled and ruffled the unruly sunny blonde hair. "Now ready to get started?"

Naruto listened carefully to Jiraiya's explanation of the three steps needed to form the Rasengan and paid close attention to the demonstration of the first step. It was when he grabbed a water balloon that he noticed the large bag of them resting at Jiraiya's feet, before he handed over a water balloon for Naruto to start with.

The two spent the rest of the day traveling to the next small town all the while Naruto kept repeating the first step in his head and trying to replicate it with the balloon. It was slow and difficult going and by the time they made it to the next Inn, Naruto had made very little progress and went to be slightly dejected but still determined.

He lay awake that night wishing Haku had been with them, the older boy had a way of explaining thing to Naruto during their training that made everything much easier.

…

Naruto woke as he usually did early in the morning before Jiraiya who was still snoring away. He made sure to be quiet enough that he didn't wake the man and left to room to take care of his morning ablutions. Watching the water swirl down the drain while washing his hands gave him an idea and he quickly left the bathroom to get dressed a back to training.

Jiraiya found him a few hours later standing in a clearing. Naruto had figure out how to get his chakra to rotate just moments before Jiraiya showed up, "Ero Sennin, I did it. I got the water to spin." Naruto shouted out excitedly.

"That's great. Now I think I'll take a little nap." Jiraiya declared.

Naruto gaped at the man, "How could you take a nap now?" He shook his head in exasperation. Jiraiya ignored Naruto and went to lay down in the shade of a tree and promptly fell asleep.

A pervert and lazy, Naruto thought. He focused back on the water balloon - he may have completed one step but he was far from finished.

An hour later, Naruto was becoming frustrated. He shouted at the balloon in aggravation and woke up Jiraiya accidently. Naruto had forgotten he was even there.

"How are you doing?" Naruto looked over his shoulder at him, his frustration clear. Jiraiya pouted at the boy. "Seems I won't be getting that nap." He stood up stretching and approached Naruto.

"Since you're awake can you tell me how to get this to break?" Naruto asked holding out the balloon.

"I can't give you a full explanation until you break that…" He peered at Naruto intently then chuckled lightly. "I understand. You're a hands on learner; normally you'd go through trial and error until you figured it out on your own." The older man rubbed his hands together, "Let's see; maintain the spin of the water."

Naruto focused on the balloon once again until the water began spinning inside. "Yes?"

"Now visualize, right or left. Which way is it rotating?"

"Only to the left."

"Good, you're coming along nicely." Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair. "For this lesson, spin the water in the balloon in the opposite direction of your own rotation using energy. The chakra flow will be disrupted when it's not in harmony with the rotation."

Naruto thought about what he was told, "So you're saying I need to use the energy of right rotation for the spin and it won't work without that type of energy."

"Correct. All you need to do is a jutsu without the sign. Gather chakra like you would if you were going to use a jutsu but don't do it, just the chakra is enough."

Naruto nodded, he only understood about half of what Jiraiya said but he'd try it anyway. "How long did it take dad to master this?" He asked as an afterthought.

"Three years." Jiraiya told him seriously.

Naruto looked down to the balloon in his hand. Three years, he couldn't help thinking to himself and he couldn't help wonder if it took his dad, a man proclaimed to be a genius, three years to master this jutsu; just how long would it take him.

Jiraiya startled Naruto from his thoughts, "Well I'm going back to the Inn."

"I'll stay here for a while longer."

Jiraiya threw a wave over his shoulder, "Well then, don't overexert yourself."

…

Naruto spent the rest of the day and well into the night trying to break the balloon with no success. He lay in bed pondering once again over what he was doing and what he needed to do until he fell asleep.

He woke up the next morning and found the Inn's cat pawing at one of the balloons. He watched the cat, absentmindedly and still half asleep, bat the balloon back and forth between its paws. It had been three days and he still hadn't gotten the balloon to break, if he had been anyone else the daunting task of learning a jutsu that had taken a genius 3 years to master, would have had him giving up; but he was Naruto Uzumaki and giving up was not in his nature.

A pop and loud meow shook Naruto from his stupor, the cat darted off down the hall while Naruto's eyes widened in realization. Like the prankster he was, Naruto turned and ran back into his and Jiraiya's shared room yelling for the pervert to wake up; and when that didn't work like he knew it wouldn't. Naruto held a full water balloon over Jiraiya's sleeping face and proceeded to use his chakra to break it.

Jiraiya woke with a loud spluttering cough, "First stage cleared." Naruto told his bleary eyed mentor gleefully.

…

Haku wandered the halls of the hospital sedately making his way to the Uchiha's room to check his vitals and wondered when Naruto was due to return. The blonde had only been gone a few days and already it was too quiet without him around.

The teen slide the door to Sasuke's room open and paused in the doorway when he caught sight of Shikamaru sitting at his bedside, book in hand.

When Shikamaru looked up Haku bowed his head in greeting and closed the door behind him. The room was silent while Haku checked Sasuke's vitals and noted them in his chart. He hung the chart back in its place and moved to the opposite side of the bed. "Where is Sakura? She's usually the one here about this time."

Shikamaru shifted in his chair laying the book in his lap and leaning back to get more comfortable. Haku glanced down at Shikamaru's hands resting on the book, then back up into curious brown eyes.

"She was heading back home for lunch. I met her in the hall on her way out." He replied his tone just as lazy as usual.

Haku nodded and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, noting the Nara following his every move. "May I ask you a question?"

Shikamaru smirked at the obvious reply but said nothing, only nodding his assent.

"From what I've heard and observed, you are not a friend of Sasuke's so I'm a little curious about why you are here at his bedside."

"I've never really had a conversation with him."Shikamaru confirmed. "It would have been too troublesome to go out of my way to see how he was doing but Choji is here once again so I was here visiting. I just stopped by so that I could give Naruto an update when he gets back. Sasuke is not my friend but he is Naruto's." He let out a gusty sigh, as if speaking so much exhausted him.

Haku smiled, knowing the lazy ninja, it probably had. "Do you have any idea when Naruto might be back?"

"According to my Father; a couple weeks at most. The village can't go too long without a Hokage. From what I understand though, Tsunade may prove to be a bit of trouble since she left and has refused to ever come back to the village." Shikamaru stood and approached Haku.

Haku huffed in amusement. "If anyone can get her to come back it would be Naruto."

Shikamaru smiled a bit more genuinely. "My shift is over, why don't I treat you to lunch. I seem to be craving ramen all of a sudden." Haku said, smiling back at the Nara.

Shikamaru chuckled but followed the teen out of the hospital. The way he figured it, this was the person Naruto was closest to now and it might be a good idea to get to know him a bit better. Even if just for Naruto. Troublesome blonde.