Disclaimer:
This is my twist on the Naruto Franchise. I do not and have not ever owned the rights to Naruto, or any of the Characters. Mashashi Kishimoto is the rightful owner of Naruto. Please support the official release.
Chapter One: Fallout
The soft sounds of beeping filled his ears, as the boy slowly regained consciousness. With a start his eyes began to flutter open. Instantly, he was assaulted with the blinding, sterile, white walls of the hospital room. He gasped, as he felt the sharp stinging feeling in his chest. "What the hell…?" He groaned, as his fingers rapidly shot to the aching area. He felt the soft bandages, which seemed to be covering his whole torso. His bright, ocean, blue eyes shot down and saw that he was indeed covered in thick bandages.
When he tried to remove himself from the bed, he noticed something heavy on his leg. His eyes instantly darted down, and he felt as if his heart was about to race right out of his chest. Fast asleep on his leg, was none other than the girl he was, and will always be in love with. Her beautiful pink hair lay messily covering her face. She looked very exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in days. He bit back the urge to softly brush her hair, as he watched her continue to sleep soundly.
There was a soft scraping of pages turning, as his eyes darted over towards the wall. There, a tall man with spiky silver hair leaned, quietly reading his favorite orange book. As if feeling the boy's gaze, the man looked up from his book. His face was covered in a black mask, and one of his eyes was hidden behind his forehead protector. The man's one visible eye seemed to turn up into a smile, as he looked over at the boy. "Ma, Ma. Look who's finally awake." He said, as he gently shut his book with a slight snap.
"Ka...Kas..." The boy tried to speak, but found his throat terribly dry. The man just motioned toward the boy's bedside table. The boy turned his head to see a large pitcher of water with a glass cup. He quickly leaned over and hungrily grabbed the cup. Within seconds, the boy had drunk almost half the pitcher. Feeling better now, the boy turned back to the man. "What happened, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked, as his eyes darted around the unfamiliar room.
The man let out a low sigh, before he began to speak. "What's the last thing you remember, Naruto?" He asked with a heavy voice, as he carefully watched the boy.
"I was sent on a mission by granny... to... to... bring back Sasuke!" The boy said, as he leaped up in his bed, completely forgetting about the sleeping girl. "Where's Sasuke?" He yelled, as he began to try and climb out of bed. Before he could get very far, a fist went smashing into his face.
"Idiot!" A sharp scream echoed throughout the room, as the boy was sent back into his mattress. The pink haired girl was standing over him with flames in her eyes, as she sharply cracked her knuckles. "Just what the hell, do you think you are doing?" She bellowed at the stunned boy. "Just look at the state you are in! Now's not the time to be doing anything stupid." She continued, as her emerald green eyes began to shimmer with tears.
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto started weakly, but was cut off before he could protest. The pink haired girl had flung her arms around him, causing the boy to freeze. "Idiot..." She mumbled softly, as she embraced the boy. After a few minutes, Sakura finally let him go. She sniffed her nose awkwardly, as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. For a few moments, there was only the sound of her soft sniffles.
Kakashi silently stood there reading his book, while his two remaining students had their moment. "Next time, we will go together." Sakura said softly, as she slowly got to her feet. She sent Naruto a weak smile, as she turned to leave. "I am going to get stronger, so we can bring him back together. Just wait Naruto." She called back, as she left the room, leaving an awestruck blonde behind her.
Naruto just sat there dazed, as he stared at the door Sakura had left from. "What was that about?" He whispered softly, after a few minutes had passed. A sharp snap of a book, brought Naruto back from his daze. "Ma, Ma. Welcome back." Kakashi said as the blonde jerked his head towards him. Kakashi gave him an eye smile, as he began speaking once more. "She has been here for the past two days, waiting for you to wake up. She hasn't left your side once." Kakashi paused to allow Naruto to absorb the information.
"Two days..?" Naruto repeated softly, as he began to process this. Suddenly, his eyes widened, as he realized what that meant. "Wait! What about Sasuke? Where is he? What happened? What happened to the others? How did I get here?" He asked rapidly, his voice rising with each question.
"Wow! Easy there Naruto." Kakashi responded by raising his hand in a calming motion. The boy, who had almost plunged off his bed, slowly began to sink back down, as his sensei began to fill him in on what he had missed. "Okay." Kakashi began again, seeing that the boy had calmed down. "Your first few questions can be answered very easily. As you probably remember, Sasuke and you fought. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it in time. So he managed to get away. He is no doubt already with Orochimaru." Kakashi paused for a moment, as he saw the look of despair cross his student's face. "Naruto," He began more gently this time. "I want you to know, you did an excellent job. Regardless of the outcome, you went after your teammate and tried to return him. That's admirable. You and the others all went above and beyond the call of duty for a fellow Leaf Shinobi. It may not have gone the way we all hoped but you did a great job." He said, as he walked over towards the bed and sat down next to the blonde.
Seeing how the boy was having a quiet debate with himself, he decided to continue. "As for the rest of your friends, most of them only had mild chakra exhaustion and slight wounds. Both Neji Hyyuga and Chouji Akimichi suffered from serious injuries. However, Lady Tsunade was able to successfully treat both of them. As for how you got here, I managed to arrive at the Valley of the End in time to get you back, before your wounds became too severe." Kakashi said, as he slightly patted the boy on his head.
Naruto quietly began to retain all the information. At least his friends were safe, but they still failed the mission. His and Shikamaru's first mission as Chuunin, and they had failed. Naruto let out a low sigh, as he looked up at his sensei. "I failed. She put all her faith in me and I failed." He whispered, as tears began to well up in his cerulean eyes. "I wasn't strong enough." He continued, as his voice began to crack.
Kakashi looked down towards his student, with a somber expression. "Yes." He said in a low tone, as he continued to pat his head. "You did fail this time, but it's not the end of the world. It's not the failure that defines you; it's what you do about it. You have two options here. One, you can wallow in self pity and blame yourself for everything that went wrong. Or you can use this to push yourself forward, and learn from your mistakes. It's your choice Naruto, but I'll be here when you're ready to get back to work." He said with an eye smile, as he vanished in a shunshin, leaving the boy to contemplate.
On the outskirts of the Land of Fire
A burly white hair man sat hidden in the shadows of a tree, overlooking an outdoor hot spring. He was silently giggling to himself, as he peeped into the women's side. The soft sound of scribbles could be heard between the man's giggles. "That's right. Oh who's a naughty girl...?" The man began to comment, but was interrupted by a sudden puff of smoke. He quickly turned away from the hot spring to see a small slug. The slug was white with two blue streaks running down its back.
The man looked over at the slug with a raised eyebrow, as he spoke quietly. "Lady Katsuyu, what are you doing here?" The man asked curiously, wondering why his teammate's personal summon was here. "Master Jiraiya, I bring terrible news. Lady Tsunade has sent for you. Naruto has bee-"
At the mention of his godson's name, Jiraiya lost any calm he had before. "What happened to Naruto?" He yelled, as he began to hastily shove away his things. He then reached over and placed the slug on his shoulder, as he began to rush back towards the Hidden Leaf. "Tell me, along the way."
Jiraiya had been running at full speed, for almost two hours, when he came across the Valley of the End. Granted it had rained hard, after the boy's battle, but the after effects could still be seen. "Kami..." He said, as he looked around at the destruction. "Two children did this..." Although, he knew neither of the two were typical children. But to have scarredthe lands to such a degree at their age was ridiculous.
Jiraiya leaped up to the stone head of Madara Uchiha, and looked down somberly at the left-over blood stains. "Kami, that boy's lucky to be still alive." Jiraiya raised his head towards the sky, as a tear began to stream down his face. "I'm sorry Minato, from now on. I'll take better care of your boy." He said in a low whisper, as he headed towards the forest.
Jiraiya had only been hopping between trees for several minutes before he came across another battleground. Trees were uprooted, and blown asunder. Overhead carrier birds could be seen flocking. Having his curiosity peaked, Jaraiya began to move closer. As he edged closer to the destruction the smell of blood filled his nostrils. He let out a heavy sigh, as he closed the distance. Whatever awaited him was probably a grim scene.
The closer he got, the more he could hear what seemed like yelling. "You bastard! I don't need your help anyway! Fucking disgusting pedophile! I hope you choke on that silver haired fuckers dick!" The vulgar sounds of swearing reverberated throughout the clearing. Jiraiya paused for a moment, as he noticed a frail looking red haired girl pinned underneath several large trees.
"How on earth is this kid still alive? Half her body has to be crushed by all that weight." He thought to himself, as he stared down at the girl with pity. "It might be more merciful to just put her out of her misery." Jiraiya was about to reach for a kunai, when the girl's eyes locked onto him. The moment his eyes meant with her honey, brown ones, he was overcome with emotion. Her eyes reminded him of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on just who it could be. "Oi! What are you looking at fucker? Are you another fucking pedophile?" She rounded on him furiously.
Jiraiya was taken aback by her sudden accusations, but only briefly. Within seconds he puffed out his chest proudly, went into one of his poses. "Jiraiya the gallant, the toad sage may be a super pervert, but he never looks at those under aged!" He said boisterously.
The girl just stared blankly at him for a moment, before she started speaking again. "You're Jiraiya? The Jiraiya?" She said in an awestruck voice. "You gotta be fucking shitty me. You hear that you pedo snake fucker!" She shouted the last part towards the sky, as if yelling at some invisible force.
Jiraiya raised his eyebrow at this questioningly. There was only one person, who she could be referring to. "I take it, that you know my old bastard of a teammate?" He asked, carefully eying the girl.
The girl turned back on him; her eyes filled with anger. "Yeah, I know that fucker. He only kidnapped me and made me do all his damn dirty work. Then he put this fucking, shitty, ass mark on my neck, which pretty much makes me his fucking slave. But yeah sure, I fucking know him. Swell fucking guy!" She spat at him angrily, as she continued to try and escape the trees. "And if I ever get out of this, I will skin the bastard alive!" She screamed, as tears began to trail down her cheeks.
Jiraiya looked down at the girl, who could've been no older than twelve, with a mixture of sorrow and interest. "I could help you, but I would need a really good reason." He offered, as he began to formulate a plan. If he could somehow convince this girl to help, he could no doubt gather valuable intel on his treacherous, old friend. She could become a valuable asset to the Leaf as well.
"Shit! You get me out of here, and I'll do whatever you want." The girl said, as she stared up at him with pleading eyes.
"Alright. Stay perfectly still, this might feel a little uncomfortable." Jiraiya said, as he bit down on his thumb. Having drawn blood, he quickly flew through hand signs and slammed his palm down on the ground, from his hand placement a pattern of intrigued patterns formed. From the pattern a large bloom of smoke, out came a man sized toad. The toad was a dark orange, with blue flame designs over his skin. "Ah, Gama. It's good to see you, my friend." Jiraiya began, as he greeted the toad. "Could you please free our young friend from her current situation?" He asked, with a slight bow towards the trapped girl.
The toad let out a soft croak, as he quickly shot out his tongue. His tongue began to wrap around trees one after another, and he tossed them aside like nothing. After a few minutes the girl was completely free, and Gama turned back towards Jiraiya, with a soft croak. "Yes, thank you Gama." He said, as he tossed the toad a small parcel. "Take that for your trouble, my friend. I hope you enjoy it." With what sounded like a happy croak, the toad then disappeared in another bloom of smoke.
Jiraiya then walked closer towards the young girl. The closer he got, he noticed how badly wounded she was, her legs were crushed and badly bruised. He let out a low sigh, as he knelt down closer to her. He had never seen damage this bad; it was truly amazing she was even still conscious. He looked up towards the girl, who had been watching him suspiciously. "I'm sorry dear, but I can do nothing for your legs. However, I know someone who may be able to help. You must be in incredible amounts of pain." He said with a sorrowful voice.
"No shi-" The girl began to respond, but suddenly was knocked unconscious by Jiraiya. He quickly tapped her head, with a greenish blue chakra coated hand. "That's enough, rest." He said, as he leaned down and picked up the wounded girl. She was light, extremely light. He let out a sigh, as he began to head back towards the village. He carried the girl, like a princess, in his arms trying not to cause her anymore harm.
Naruto quietly sat in his hospital room scribbling on some paper. He had been doing a lot of thinking about what Kakashi-sensei had said. He was right. Starting from this point onward, he was going to take his shinobi career seriously. Starting with this blasted mission report. He had been trying to fill out the report, when his door was kicked open. He barely even acknowledged the intruder, as he continued to finish up his report.
A beautiful blonde woman walked into his room with a sour look on her face. Well until, she looked over at her fellow blonde. She was very confused, by the sight before her. The usually hyperactive boy was calmly sitting on his bed, filling out what looked to be a scroll of some sort. She raised an eyebrow at the silent boy; this was not what she expected to see. She had figured the boy would either have fled the hospital, or would be pouting over his defeat. But instead, here he was doing neither. In fact, it seemed that the boy was finally taking his career seriously. "Brat." She said in a way of greeting towards Naruto, as she moved into his room, closely followed by her pretty assistant. "How are you feeling?"
Naruto looked up with a small smile on his face. "Hello Granny, I feel much better." He said, as his eyes returned to his paperwork. After a few seconds of silence, he rolled up the scroll and handed it towards the older blonde. "My mission report." He said, as the older blonde took the scroll and handed it to her assistant.
"Alright brat." She said, after handing her assistant the scroll, she returned her gaze towards him. "Your debriefing can wait after you recover." She said, as she walked over and hit him hard on his head. "Just what were you thinking? Don't ever do that again!" She yelled, as her hands began to glow green with chakra. The elder blonde slowly, began to examine his wounds. "You're very lucky, you have that damn fox, or else your wounds would've probably killed you." She continued with tears shining in her eyes. "You're always so reckless, just like that damn Jiraiya!"
Naruto reached his hand up, and softly grabbed hers. "I'm sorry Granny Tsunade." He said with a small smile. "But I'm okay. It will take more than that bastard to do me in." He continued confidently, as he released her hand and patted his stomach. "The fuzz ball likes me too much to let me die. Although, he'll never admit it."
Tsunade just shook her head at the boy's bravado. "Be that as it may, you are still recovering. So, for the next month, you will be removed from active duty." She said sternly, as she straightened up. "Think of it as a punishment for making me worry so much." She said with a smirk, at his whines of protest.
"Granny! What am I supposed to do for a whole month?" Naruto whined loudly, at the older blonde, as her and her assistant began to giggle at his misfortune. Naruto shot his eyes towards her pretty black-haired assistant, and gave her puppy dog eyes. "Not you too, Shizune-chan?" He pleaded loudly at her.
"Sorry Naruto-kun," she said, placing a delicate hand comfortingly on the boy's cheek. "But I agree with Tsunade-sama. Sometime off, might do you wonders." She said with a soft smile, as she removed her hand. With that, the two women turned to leave the room. However, before they could manage to leave, a rather frazzled looking nurse came running in. "Lady Tsunade..." She called breathlessly, as she clutched the door for support. "Lord Jiraiya has returned with someone in grave condition. He is requesting you immediately."
"Well, we will talk later Naruto." She called back towards the boy, as she and the two others left his room. Naruto just watched them leave wordlessly, as he heard his window open. He turned his eyes towards his window, only to see his silver haired sensei.
"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. The man just smiled over at him, and raised a hand in greeting. "Yo." He called over happily. "I couldn't help, but overhear that you have been put on leave. So, I have decided to let you in on a little secret. As a general rule of thumb. Knowledge is power, the more you know the better. What would you say is your weakest area of expertise right now?" He asked still with an eye smile.
Naruto sat there embarrassed for a moment, as he absent-mindedly rubbed the back of his head. "Honestly," He began, feeling a bit disappointed in himself. "There's too many to count. I would say I'm not particularly good at anything. My taijutsu is probably my best, but even that was nothing compared to Sasuke. I really only have the basic academy jutsu along with my shadow clones and rasengan. My chakra control is also not that great. I am terrible at genjutsu, and my academic skills are also bad." He said lowering his head a bit. He really was pathetic; no wonder he wasn't able to bring Sasuke back. It's actually amazing; he was even promoted in the first place.
Kakashi walked over and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "That was an excellent self examination. As a Shinobi, it's important to be able to identify our own weaknesses. It's how we are able to address problems and fix what we need too. You might not be the strongest ninja out there; however, you probably have the most untapped potential. For the next month, I want you to focus solely on improving in the areas you are the most lacking. You lack knowledge, so go to the library and read. Read everything, not just pertaining to shinobi life. Study the bingo books, and become familiar with all the missing Nin, not just the high bounty ones. A ninja who knows tons of flashy ninjutsu may be strong, but a ninja who knows how to use even the most basic ninjutsu perfectly is deadly. Think about the late Third, he was known as the Professor and the God of Shinobi. Not just because he knew tons of jutsu, but because he had a keen mind. The second, but just as important thing to work on is your chakra control. Practice doing both the tree walking and water walking exercises, while also sticking leaves all over yourself. After you are able to do both, add another element to your training, do this while fighting off and even dodging projectiles from your clones. Lastly, once you are able to do that, I will personally be training you in a new taijutsu form that I feel will be perfect for you." Kakashi said, looking down happily at his student.
Naruto squinted up his eyes in confusion. "How the hell, am I supposed to do all this in a month...? That sounds like it could take months to be able to do that, if not years?" He asked, his annoyance beginning to rise. He looked up at his sensei incredulously, as he awaited a response.
Kakashi just let out a small chuckle. "Ma, Ma. For any normal shinobi, it would indeed take quite a while. However, you are no normal shinobi." He continued with a twinkle in his visible eye. "What sets you apart from other Shinobi?" He asked in a teasing tone, as he watched the boy piece together his riddle.
Naruto looked up pondering his sensei's words, as the gears in his mind slowly began to turn. "The nine tails…" He said softly, as he began to think about how that could help. "But how can that help me learn anything?" He questioned, not fully understanding what his sensei meant.
Kakashi got up from the bed and stood in front of the boy. "That's part of it, but you have one more advantage over other shinobi." He continued leading the boy down the right path. "What else are you able to do that others cannot?" He asked, as he saw the boy's eyes light up. He smiled under his mask, as he saw the boy finally understand.
"Shadow Clones. But how will being able to make hundreds of myself help? I get that I will be able to do more, but they don't really..." He trailed off, as he began to think about it. How did he not realize this before...? He looked up at his sensei questioningly, as he spoke the next words. "Do they retain information? I mean, I never thought about it before, and I certainly never paid that much attention. Is that possible?" He continued becoming more excited by the minute at the possibilities.
"And there it is." Kakashi said with a slight laugh. "Yes, they do indeed. There was a reason, that it was kinjutsu. For someone without your advanced healing abilities, the feedback from the clones could overload the user's brain. However, that being said do not go overboard with this training method. I would say no more than sixty clones at first, just to make sure you don't suffer any ill side effects. And when you dispel them, only do it in groups of five. Also, so you don't draw too much suspicion to yourself use a henge on the clones in the library. So they look like different individuals. "Kakashi said sagely, as he turned back towards the window. "Oh and Naruto, good luck." He said, as he shunshin'd away once more.
Naruto sat there once again, as he quietly thought over all the information his sensei had given him. He slowly began to formulate a plan on how to best use this month to better himself. "Next time, I will bring your ass back Sasuke!" He vowed to himself quietly.
With Jiraiya and Tsunade
Tsunade quickly followed behind the fleeing nurse, leading her to her teammate. "Just what the hell, did the idiot get himself into this time?" She thought worriedly to herself, as they busted through an emergency room. She let out a deep gasp, as she saw the frail girl on the examination table. Her eyes hardened, as she saw the state of her legs.
"Jiraiya, what the hell happened to this girl?" She asked with an uneasy voice, as her mind was assaulted with the memories of Dan, Nawaki, and the most recent Chouji, Neji, and Naruto. Just what the hell type of world do they live in, where children are meant to suffer like this? She tried to steady her breathing, as she moved closer to the girl. Her hands began to blaze with bright green chakra, as she began to examine her mangled legs.
"Sorry Princess, there wasn't anything I could do for her." Jiraiya responded to her, his voice full of concern. "From what I gathered, she worked for Orochimaru. Although, it seems not by choice. She said she was taken, I'm not sure when or how. But she is willing to give information. I know that she will need cleared, but this girl has gone through enough. I wanted to at least give her a chance for salvation." He said with a cast fallen expression.
"Always the optimist." Tsunade said with a weak smile. She loved that about him, somehow in a world as terrible as this; he still manages to hold on to the light. "This isn't good…" Tsunade said as her inner musings, where drawn onto the girl. "I can heal the external damage no problem, but her bones... Her bones are splintered beyond recognition, almost like dust. What happened to her?" She continued, as she tried her best to piece together the girl'sbones.
Jiraiya let out a low sigh, as he began to speak. "When I found her, she was buried underneath at least five trees. It looked, as if a high-powered wind jutsu cleared half the forest. It was a complete mess. You claimed you only sent children after the boy. From what I saw, these kids are absolutely ridiculous." He said, as he walked towards the examination table. "Is there anyway to help her?" He asked, as he looked down at the girl sadly.
"At the moment, this is all I can do for her. She'll have to be resigned to a wheelchair. Until or if ever, I can come up with a solution." Tsunade frowned down at the girl. To have your ability to walk taken from you at such a young age. This world is truly unfair. Tsunade turned her eyes towards her oldest friend and comrade. "You said this girl was taken? Do you have any idea from where?" She asked her eyes shinning with tears. They both knew the pain of losing a child, although they never spoke about it. It was the final nail in the coffin, for her. The straw that broke the already broken back of the camel. When they lost their child, she ran. And she didn't stop running, until he and a certain blonde boy finally caught her.
Jiraiya on the other hand, pushed himself further into his work. Whether it be his research, or gathering information from his spy network. He never stopped working. It was part of the reason he couldn't be there for Naruto. He lost his child, he lost the love of his life, and then to top it all off he lost his prized student and son like figure of Minato. There lives haven't been easy, although a shinobi life is never easy. But theirs have been unbearable.
The two of them locked eyes for a moment, both saying the unspoken words. It their child had lived; they would be around the age of this girl and Naruto. Maybe that's why the blonde wormed his way deep into both their hearts.They broke eye contact, and looked down at the girl with somber eyes. Jiraiya was the first to break the uneasy silence, which hung over the room. "Sorry Princess, she didn't say much, or rather couldn't. I imagine she was barely holding on, by the time I happened across her. From the sounds of it, even Orochimaru marked her as dead. My guess is he cut off the healing and power boost the curse mark gave her. He always was a shrewd bastard like that. Once something loses it uses, he caststhem aside." He said as he turned his eyes away from the girl.
Tsunade reached out and unconsciously grabbed his hand. "We will do everything we can for her. I will have them draw some blood, and look into matches for her DNA. If she has family here; we will find them. And we will find away for her to walk again. She will have a better life." She said gripping firmly on his hand, as she strengthened her own resolve. "You should go see the brat. There isn't much more, that can be done here. She will need rest. I will place her down in the secure section, and have round the clock anbu place at her door. I will have Inoichi perform the interrogation, once she recovers. Then we can start making plans for her afterwards." She said, as she gave his hand one last squeeze.
Jiraiya nodded quietly, as he turned to leave. "Take care of her, Princess." He said, as he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Tsunade turned towards Shizune, and began to speak. "Shizune, gather up Naruto's belongings and allow him to leave. Once your done, please start securing that room. We will use that, as her temporary home. Have a fuinjutsu specialist make the necessary seals." Tsunade said, as she turned her attention back towards the girl. Her hands blazed once more with green chakra, as she went back to work.
Naruto's Hospital Room
The sky had begun to darken into a swirl of oranges, reds, and pinks, as the evening began to creep in. Naruto had moved from his bed, and sat perched on his window. The cool evening air blew gently through his golden locks, as he stared up into the beautiful evening sky. His mind was buzzing with thoughts, as he gazed mesmerized into the heavens. He hadn't even noticed Jiraiya come into his room.
Jiraiya stood leaning against the doorframe, silently watching his youngest student. "Look at that, he's even starting to act like you now, Minato." He thought to himself, with a small smile on his face."I didn't thinkyou knew, how to sit still." His voice broke through the silence, as he grinned when the boy shot him an incredulously look. "I'm just saying." He said, as he raised his hands in defense. "What's got you thinking, so hard brat?" He continued, as he walked into the room proper.
The blonde slid off his window sill, and moved toward his bed. He hopped on, and sat crossed legged in front of his Sensei. "Well Kakashi-sensei told me about the shadow clones. And I was thinking about, how I should use them for training.He promised a new taijutsu style, after I completed chakra training and improving my general knowledge. So, I'll probably have at least twenty clones live in the library for the next month, or something like that. Anyway, what brings you back Pervy Sage?" He stated, while looking up at Jiraiya curiously.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at his student, as he began in a gruff voice. "What, I can't stop by to see my most unpredictable student? Especially, after he decides to take the business end of achidori to the chest, courtesy of the last Uchiha?" He squinted his eyes down at Naruto, as he continued. "Although, it doesn't look like it is hindering you too much. But then again looks can be deceiving." He said, as he quickly sliced at the boy's bandages. The bandages fell revealing a rather gruesome injury. The wound was deep, and seemed to be taking awhile to heal over. "That's what I thought," Jiraiya muttered, as he leaned closer over the boy. "I take it; the boy hit you with a curse empowered chidori?" He asked, as he moved a hand shrouded in blueish green chakra over the wound. "Corrupted nature chakra." He thought to himself, as he studied the wound closer. "That will take sometime to heal, even with the fox's help. Purifying that much nature chakra is no easy task. So, this is why Tsunade removed him from active duty, which mean he will need to avoid doing too much extensive training. Kakashi, you sly dog. Kill two birds with one stone, and bait him with a new taijutsu style as well." Jiraiya thought to himself, with a slight smile.
Naruto's face paled, as he looked up at his teacher terrified. "Yeah, but I'm okay right..?" He asked nervously, as he watched the older man. "I mean yeah, that bastard used the curse mark and changed into some freaky thing with giant hand wings." He said with a shudder, remembering the grotesque form of his rival.
Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh at the concern of his student. "You'll be fine brat. But expect that to hurt, like something fierce. You will need to limit your training to simple things in the mean time. Nothing too strenuous. Besides, you could really use with some smartening up. I would focus mainly on learning whatever you can at the moment. For starters history, not just our own but all the hidden villages. This will make it easier, to predict tactics in the future. Which, that brings us to the second area, I would strongly recommend researching; Tactics. For obvious reasons, this is a must. Along with theory of ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, and I would even suggest starting to learn fuinjutsu. It is a rather difficult art to master, and many shinobi overlook it's usefulness. However, a master can be the difference between a successful mission and a failure. Once you have learned the basics, I will personally teach you everything I know on the subject. And who knows, you may even be as great as the Fourth someday." Jiraiya said, as he baited his student with the mention of the boy's idol. He wasn't disappointed, because as predicted the boy's eyes shined brightly at the mention of his father.
"Really! You believe that I could be like the Fourth? Where do I begin?" Naruto couldn't contain his excitement as he quite literally began to bounce. He decided right then, that no matter how boring and dull it may be he would do whatever it took. Even if that meant spending countless hours reading book, after book in some dingy old library. Even if he had to spend the next month, only working on his horrendous chakra control. He would grit his teeth and get it done, and he never goes back on his word, that's his ninja way! Believe it!
Jiraiya smiled down at his young student, as he was reminded of another blonde, almost a life time ago. "Just like you, Minato. With a bit of the fiery Kushina mixed in for good measure. He will do wondrousthings." He thought to himself, as he reached out and patted the boy's head. "First, you need to get out of this hospital. But don't be in such a rush, brat. I am probably going to be in the village for awhile. I have a feeling that, thePrincess will be needed my help. So, I will come by and check up one you once anwhile to see how your training is commencing." He said, with a soft smile, as he began to make towards the door.
Just as Jiraiya was about to leave, there came a slight knock at the door. Jiraiya opened the door quietly and smiled when he saw the new comer. "Ah, little Shizune." He said in a soft voice. "What brings someone, as lovely as you to see my hopeless student?" He asked sending Naruto, a devilish smirk.
Shizune just smiled up at the old pervert, and softly began. "Tsunade-sama is releasing him. I came by to do the final check up and return his belongings." She said, as she held up his tattered, bloodied clothing. On top of the pile, was his standard issued flak jacket, which had suffered greatly from the battle. Underneath her arm rested a brand new one as well. "Tsunade-sama figured he would want to keep these, but I also brought some moreappropriategarments." She said, as she revealed the standard black leaf attire underneath the orange mess.
"Hopefully, the boy will finally give up his obsession with the color orange." Jiraiya said, as he shook his head a bit. "But that probably won't happen, until he meets a decent woman, who forces him to." He continued smirking, at that thought of the brat finding someone like his mother. "Oh, that would be perfect!" He thought to himself with an evil smirk. "Anyway Shizune, I was just leaving. The brat is all yours." He said as he pushed passed the young woman, leaving her with a confused looking Naruto.
Naruto looked over at her, with a raised eyebrow. "Hello Shizune-chan, what brings you back?" He asked, as he watch her curiously. She just returned this with a simple smile, as she moved closer to the boy. She placed down his ruined clothing, then gently handed him the new garments. After which, she began to examine his body with one of her glowing green hands. When her eyes fell on his uncovered wound, her lips pressed together in displeasure.
"Why is your chest unbandage?" She asked with an edge to her voice. "That could lead to an infection, which would mean a longer stay." She continued scolding him, as her eyes softened with concern for her sudo little brother. She stopped the examination, and walked toward a cabinet and removed some fresh bandages. She then returned to his side, and motioned for him to raise his arms. Silently, she cut off the remaining bandages, and deftly began reapplying new ones. "You will need to come back in a few days for another checkup, until then please don't remove those." She said, as she looked sternly at the boy. "You're being released, so please change into your new clothing. We don't need you running around the village looking as if you had been attacked." She said, as she gestured from the new clothes on his lap towards the bloodied orange tattered ones. "We also recovered this." She continued, as she pulled out a rather battle warned forehead protector, with a long gash through the leaf symbol. "I assumed it, was Sasuke's. I figured you would want to hold onto it." She said, as she gently placed the forehead protector on his ruined clothing. "Also, you new flak jacket, since your other one has also been ruined." She said with a slight shake of her head, placing the new jacket unto the pile of clothes in his lap, and pointing towards the other on the bottom of the ruined pile. "Try not to ruin this one so quickly or Tsunade-sama might murder you herself." She said, as she softly hugged the boy, before leaving the room.
At the Memorial Stone
Kakashi stood silently staring down at the stone, where all his closest people's names had been carved. "So, Minato-senseiI have failed my students. Sasuke chose to turn his back on the village, and willing left to head off with one of our most notorious traitors. In doing so, he nearly took the life of your son. I have failed not only them, but also you and even jeopardized your legacy." Kakashi said, as he hung his head in shame. A silent tear fell from his visible eye, as he continued to think about his many failures as a sensei.
"Yes, you may have failed this time. However, it doesn't make you a failure. It isn't failure that defines us. It's how we handle them, and what we do about them. How I see it, you have two options before you. The first, you can give up and wallowin self pity and blame yourself for everything that went wrong. The second is that you can put this behind you and learn from it, and do better next time." A voice broke him from his inner musings, as a hand gently was placed on his shoulder. "Isn't that what you told the brat?" Kakashi turned his head sideways, to see the grim smile of Jiraiya. "Its not your fault, the Uchiha went rogue.And I know for a fact that, Minato would never blame you for his son's stubbornness either. The boy gets that from both his parents. When a loved one needs saving, even if its from themselves, a Namikazi-Uzumaki will rush in without a second thought. You know the people they were kid, and that boy inherited more than just his father's looks. Which, is whyI am here. We both failed the boy as sensei, so I am going to correct this. When the boy recovers and after the other thing is taken care of, I am taking the boy on a trip. I originally intended to focus on his nine tails training, but now I plan on teaching him everything I know. He will be my legacy, as well as his father's. But I also would like you to come along, and help me train the boy. He can be a splendid shinobi, but it will take a lot of work. Work which, I cannot solely give the boy. I have to keep tabs on my spy network, as well. So, I would like you to join me and make Naruto someone his parents would be proud of." Jiraiya finished by giving the younger man's arm a reassuring squeeze.
Kakashi eye widened at the information, he was just presented. "But what of Sakura? I can't just leave her unattended." He began, but was quickly waved off by Jiraiya. "I'm sure you are aware, but it seems as if Tsunade has taken a liking to the girl. She will no doubt become her apprentice, much like Shizune. Which means she will no doubt, be consumed with the Princess's hellish training. So, you won't be seeing much of her. This way, you get to train the one you have always wanted to. Without the Council undermining your every move." Jiraiya said, as he grinned over at his student's student.
Kakashi silently nodded, this was the perfect opportunity. He could make up for his failures, by helping to shape Naruto into a splendid shinobi. This was honestly his plan from the beginning, the moment he saw him in the hospital. "Okay, I agree. When do we leave Jiraiya-sama?" He asked the man, shooting him a questioning gaze.
"No, no, that just won't do. From this moment on, it's just Jiraiya. We are colleagues now, no need to be so formal. And I am not sure of the time frame just yet. I imagine the princess is planning something, for our new guest. So, I would say, probably around six months. Also, good job on getting the brat motivated. I think during the trip, we should tell him about his parents, and maybe visit the remains of Whirlpool. I hear that it has been protected ever since the downfall. Maybe we will find some heirlooms." Jiraiya said with a shrug, as he disappeared in a small puff of smoke.
Kakashi stared at the spot, where the legendary sannin, was moments prior. He felt, asif a massive weight had just been removed from his shoulders. He would do it right this time; nothing would stop him from properly training Naruto. With a new vigor in his step, he headed back towards the village to begin planning the boy's training regiment.
Hokage Tower
Having spent the better part of the evening expending nearly all her chakra, Tsunadefoundherself passed out at her desk. The soft morning rays of light, delicately danced across her golden hair, as she slept peacefully. It had been a very long night, but she was finally able to stabilize the young girl. Although, her legs remain damaged beyond anything modern medicine could repair. So, immediately upon finishing the surgery, Tsunade locked herself in her office and began pouring overall of her medical scrolls. While also drowning herself inbottle after bottle ofsake. Ultimately, ending up in this current situation.
Jiraiya had pushed open the window, to find his beloved asleep at her desk, with scrolls and bottles littered all over. He let out a soft sigh, as he sat on the window sill, and watched her sleep. "You never do change, always willing to work yourself to death. Even though you try to hide it, you always did have a soft spot." After admiring her beauty, for few more moments, Jiraiya walked over and gently shook her awake. He had to quickly dodge, as a fist came barreling towards him.
"Ge'off!" Tsunade sleepily grunted, as she continued to yet her monstrous strikes fly. It was all Jiraiya could do, to avoid the oncoming barrage. After several minutes of this, Tsunade had finally woken enough to realize where she was, and what was happening. "Jiraiya...?" She asked, as she groggily wipe the sleep from her honey brown eyes. "When did I… wait? What time is it?" She asked urgently, as she quickly jumped to her feet.
"Wow! Calm down, Princess." Jiraiya responded, quickly wrapping firm fingers around her shoulders. "Easy there, Princess.We are currently in your office. From the looks of the place, I would say you fell asleep after searching for a cure. It's early morning now, I would guess most likely around seven. What are you so concerned about?" He asked, as he loosened her grip; seeing as Tsunade had begun to calm down. His eyes shifted towards, the messy scrolls upon her desk. She must have been working late into the night. They were all filled with complicated medical jargon, he wasn't quite unfamiliar with.
Tsunade moved back towards her desk, and collapsed exhaustedly into her chair. She then let out a deep sigh. "I did everything, I could think of Jiraiya. However, nothing seemed to work. The girl's legs remain broken. I tried infusing chakra into the fragments, to replace the messing pieces, but that is only a temporary fix. Placing any support into her legs, would impede her movement. Nothing short from some ridiculous healing bloodline would be able to regenerate her bones. I'm at a loss for what to do; I've tried everything I could think up." She said as she buried her face into the open scrolls.
Jiraiya took a seat opposite of her and began to stroke his chin thoughtfully. There was silence for awhile, and then Tsunade rose her head to look at her teammate. In that moment, Jiraiya's eyes went straight to her forehead. "That could actually work." He began, thoughtfully to himself. Tsunade raised an eyebrow in anticipation, when he didn't continue; she opened her mouth to question him. She was however, silenced by a raised hand. "What if the answer we seek is not just strictly a medical one, but also a sealing one as well? I'm sure with the both of us, we could easily duplicate your seal.Strength of Hundred Seal jutsu, isn't exactly a jutsu is it? I mean obviously, seal is in the name so you use some form of sealing. But it is essentially just a large chakra sealing matrix mixed with healing chakra. Which has been stored for extensive periods of time, which the user release throughout their body correct?"He asked, as he began to ponder. "So, theoreticallyit could be used to heal the girl's legs? I mean assuming, we can find away to fuse the sealing matrix with the required healing chakra. Not to mention finding a way to correctly apply, such a potent seal." He continued beginning to map of different potential matrices in his mind.
Tsunade's eyes widened at her teammate, as he continued to mutter to himself about different sealing methods. "Well, yes. However, there's a bit more to it. The degree of the mixture of chakra, and sealing matrix has to be exact. Even the simplest miscalculation could be disastrous. But theoretically, it could work." Tsunade responded, as her eyes narrowed. "You aren't honestly proposing we place the seal on the child? I mean it could definitely be used to rebuild her legs. However, there is no way I could convince the Council to allow it." She continued to question him, feeling more annoyed as she tried to fathom his thought. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. From the far away look on his face, she could tell he wasn't listening. She let out another sigh and slammed her hand on her desk, capturing his attention. She then continued in a low voice. "Don't you think that was one of the first things to cross my mind? It's not that it can't be remade, that can be done easily enough, with us both working together. It's the chakra consumption, wherein lays the problem. Even with us working on the seal together, and fueling it with our own chakra. The requirement to replace and rebuild her bones would be enormous. Even with us depleting our reserves, she would still need more. We do not have enough people, who would willingly supply the chakra. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. The user would have built up a large amount of their own chakra. However, the building it from scratch like this, is completely ridiculous." She said closes her eyes, as he she let out another low sigh. There is just no way to safely place the seal on her. She was about to voice this, when she heard her teammate once more
"Princess," He, said in almost a chuckle. "I think you are forgetting about a certain future Hokage." Jiraiya smiled a little, at the thought of the last words. That boy's never say die attitude really is infectious. He really has a knack for inspiring those around him to be better. "He is practically a chakra battery. All you need to do is let him get to know the girl and I'm sure he will come begging to help. You know as well as I do, the lengths he is willing to go to help those in need. Plus, he has a way of changing people for the better. Two birds' one stone." Jiraiya continued, as he gazed over at Tsunade.
Tsunade had to admit, she was planning on assigning the girl to the boy, for that very reason. If anyone could help her, it would definitely be Naruto. "Okay, let's say I agree with you. And that is a big if. We would need to go over every inch of the matrix. I am talking months of planning. Hopefully, within that time I can persuade the Council to not interfere. I don't want any mistakes. You will also need to put in safe guards, to contain the nine tails chakra. I don't want anything to happen, to either of those two. Naruto's involvement in this will be a secret of the highest level. Therefore, this will be an S-Rank of the highest level. No one other than us will be privy to this for both their protection.The last thing I need is for Danzo or the Council catching windof his involvement. Knowing them, and their need for power. They would try weaponized the girl, thinking she is a jinchuriki. Technically, I suppose she could be considered one, but no one needs to know this fact." Tsunade said looking even more exhausted than when she had first woken up. She silently wondered if this was how her sensei felt. Having to make these types of decisions really is exhausting.
"Naturally." Jiraiya responded, looking exhausted himself. "Those old bats are the last people; we need poking around. It's bad enough; they continuously try to recruit the boy into Danzo's secret root program. I will not let them find out about the girl." He said sternly, as he tightly clenched his fist.
A/N: Hello Everyone, and thank you so much for reading my story! I really hoped you enjoyed it! This is one of my favorite pairings in all of the narutoverse. This is my take on the pairing. it has been inspired by other stories about this.. If you enjoyed it please be sure to let me know. This is one of two stories I'm currently working on. If you enjoy my writing style feel free to check out my other story! Again Thank you for your time!