Later that night, after Naruto had seen to it that the Kazekage and
his entire escort had been given a place to stay, he himself lay in his
room, staring up at the ceiling. He was, of course, in nothing but his
boxer shirts. Even if he was Hokage, he wouldn't sleep dressed in a special
uniform.
Anyway, Naruto lay deep in thought, trying to wonder what was getting the nine-tailed fox so riled up. So far he had only told Gaara, but he thought he may need to call Sasuke or Shikamaru back to discuss it with them.. no, no, that wouldn't do. They were both doing very important missions.. Sakura, yes, Sakura could help. She was a teacher at the academy, a Chuunin. She wasn't actually a teacher.. she was more like Iruka's helper, but she was a big help to Iruka. He'd talk to her first, then he'd go and track down Jiraiya and ask for his counsel. Tsunade too, but after Ero-Sennin and Sakura.
As he decided on that, he let his eyes close and he began nodding off to sleep. It was a few moments afterwards that he came to him; Kyuubi. It had happened before, when Naruto was almost unconscious. Kyuubi sometimes spoke to him, and he was doing it again. This time however, Naruto was drawn to him, in that deep, dark dungeon in the back of his head.
"Brat," came the kitsune's growl.
"Bastard fox," came the young Hokage's response.
"You already know something's about to go on.. but do you know what?"
"Hell no, that's why I've been so troubled all day!"
A deep chuckle came from behind the bars; the deep red eyes of Kyuubi began glowing.
"Hehehe.. Ahh, Hokage now, just like Obito. I remember that night that I was cast inside of this hell. We don't get the chance to talk much anymore.. I think the last time we spoke like this was after the incident in the second Chuunin exams."
"URUSEI! Tell me what you know right now!"
"Ahhh.. Well, I'll tell you later. I hate to spoil surprises. I can tell you that Shukaku's getting very anxious. He sensed it before I did. The demon from Kaminari's on his way too.. Ahh, poor kid, we beat him good. He'll be able to tell you more than I can. But, you're right. It's got to do with that group."
"Wait! How did you kn-" Naruto was cut off as Kyuubi pushed him out of his subconscious state and sent him sitting upright in his bed. Sweat rolled down his forehead; he was breathing hard. Keitaro knew something.. something besides Kyuubi told him something ominous was about to happen.
He closed his eyes, as he began remembering his first real encounter with Keitaro...
Cue flashback..
Naruto's hands clasped together before him; he used them as a focus point for calling up Kyuubi's chakra. He felt its warm power spread throughout his body, enabling him to operate at levels not even Neji could match now. He should be able to keep up with Sasuke's extreme speed this way. He grinned to himself. There was no way Sasuke could beat him now!
Sasuke, not one to be showed up, decided that he'd let it slide once and activate the curse seal. Just as the purple chakra began spiraling around him and the curse marks were spreading across his body, a bloody heap fell between the two. On it was the mask of an Anbu; one that happened to be fashioned after a fox.
Naruto and Sasuke both dispelled the chakra they were calling on, as another form landed next to the fallen Anbu. He grinned, and even from afar you could make out his pupils, which were spasming between green and blue. He held his glaive out, which now had three spikes as opposed to one, then swept it out towards the Anbu's body. The long braid he kept his hair in swept up into the air, flowing with the arc of the young man's swing of the body before it crushed into a wall and left a huge blood streak.
Sasuke recognized who it was immediately; he'd beaten him in the preliminary matches for the third round. Keitaro of Kaminari. He'd been hard, but this was breaking rules.. he shouldn't be here.
"Kyuubi... I'm here for my fight."
End flashback..
Naruto winced, remembering the battle all too well.. He didn't want to delve into his memory any further, so he closed his eyes and forced himself to nod off to sleep.
---
Naruto sighed as he slipped from the window of his office and hopped onto a roof. He should've known that Ero-Sennin wouldn't come to his office after a messenger told him to. He'd have to hunt him down himself.
With this in mind, Naruto knew exactly where to go: the onsen. The hotsprings had actually been remodeled within the past two years, and were constantly being expanded upon. This, of course, had NOTHING to do with Jiraiya's influence on Naruto . . .
On Rokudaime's trip to the onsen, the blond mentally went over Sakura's advice from just an hour ago. She had advised Naruto to let things play out, but to also be prepared - this meant all of the powerful Jounin were to be called back immediately to stay on the safe side of things. This especially meant Sasuke, because he'd want to be here if ANYTHING Akatsuki related were going on in Konoha.
The youma-boy blinked, noticing Jiraiya just before it was too late. If he'd gone a little further, he would have noticed him and probably run off. Yep... There he was, peeping through the bushes like always.
"Ooi, Ero-Sennnniiiiiin..." Naruto called out quietly, as he appeared behind the old man, grabbing him from underneath the shoulders. He locked his arms then, and held Jiraiya in place. "I called you to my office half an hour ago, and the scout reported back... You're coming NOW."
"GACKKK!!" Jiraiya gasped out, then quickly covered his mouth. He had been too loud. If they didn't get out of there now...
Naruto, fully aware of the danger by now, was already dragging Gama- Sennin behind a wall, as a huge storm of angry women rushed the spot they had been in just moments ago. Their screams ended a few minutes later, when they finally calmed down and went back into the bath after finding no peeping tom.
About twenty minutes later, after literally dragging the old man into his office, Jiraiya stood before Naruto, immersed in deep thought.
"Aa.. So, you're telling me that Shukaku told Gaara something big was afoot, and Kyuubi told you last night that it had to with Akatsuki. Those nine shinobi.. hmm, I wonder what they're planning."
"Jiraiya-sama," said Naruto, dropping his favorite nickname for the old man and all of his childhood naivity with it, "We need you to use all of your resources and tell us what you can before the week's up and the festival begins. If they plan on hitting us, it'll be during the festival, and I won't let them harm my people. I know this is going be mean of me, but I want you to go as soon as possible and do some REAL data gathering. This is very important.. please."
Jiraiya grimaced. He didn't want to have to do something so tedious, but he didn't have any other choice. He didn't particularly like the idea of tracking the Akatsuki down either, but he'd do what he could. "I'll do it, kid. But when this is over or if this turns out to be a false alarm, you're going to owe me big. Especially if this is just a waste of my time."
"Iya, it won't be a waste of time... I can assure you. You'll leave in two hours, I've already got arrangements made for a team of four Anbu to join you. I hope they can keep up... You can leave now to make any and all preparations necessary." Naruto really sighed. These formalities just weren't his style...
"Hai, Rokudaime-sama." Jiraiya grinned to himself. Naruto looked just like Obito had. Even if his former pupil was now officially his superior, Gama-Sennin couldn't help but feel pride in the strength of their nation.
"Maa.. Jiraiya-sensei, thank you."
"Yeah."
---
Naruto knew that any day now the other leaders would be here. Tsuchikage-dono and Mizukage-dono would probably show, but he hoped with all his heart that Raikage-dono would appear first so that he, Naruto and Gaara could discuss things privately without causing suspicion. Of course, the other leaders would be told about the danger, but the three youma- possessed leaders needed to speak first in his mind.
So caught up in thoughts such as this that Naruto didn't notice his former silver-haired teacher walk into his office. Raising a hand to his masked mouth, the former Anbu coughed twice. "Ooi, Naruto-kun."
Snapped out of his deep thoughts, Naruto looked up to see Kakashi- sensei, who still looked the same, surprisingly. "Ooi, Kakashi-sensei! You know why I called you, hai?"
"Hai. I'm going to take Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee with me. Neji's Anbu squad will temporarily need a new captain, and Lee's team 8 will need a new Jounin."
"Hmm.. tell Gai-sensei to take over for Lee, and withdraw Inuzuka Kiba's Anbu team from the border. We'll temporarily combine Neji's forces with Kiba's. I'm sure he can handle it. I'll have missions for both teams ready tomorrow."
"Hai hai, Rokudaime-sama." Just as Kakashi was about to leave, however, he turned around and looked questioningly to Naruto. "Yoo.. Naruto- kun, how'd the meeting with Kazekage go?"
"It was as I expected. If you hear word of anyone coming to the village, particularly Raikage-dono or another leader, send word back immediately. Also, if you hear about Akatsuki, forward all news to Jiraiya- sama. He'll be able to find you if send word to me."
"Hai." Kakashi turned around to leave again, but Naruto caught him with a final comment.
"Kakashi-sensei.. bring Sasuke back without telling him about the current situation. I'll tell him myself when he returns."
---
Oiii.. I'm not entirely pleased with this at all, but I actually put out another chapter. I wasn't planning on it. I wonder if I'll finish this story...
If you have any ideas, you can leave them in a review, or you can drop me a line with contact info from my profile page.
Also, as a side note, I'm the information writer over at www.narutonation.com so when that site gets up, that'll all be my work. For the Rpers out there, we may be hosting our own RP so you can check that out. I'll also probably be the maintainer of that.
God bless free advertising.
Reviews help, especially with critiques, and I'll take flames too since I flame from time to time. But really, any ideas, send 'em my way, because I'm sorta bullshitting this with a basic idea in mind.
Anyway, Naruto lay deep in thought, trying to wonder what was getting the nine-tailed fox so riled up. So far he had only told Gaara, but he thought he may need to call Sasuke or Shikamaru back to discuss it with them.. no, no, that wouldn't do. They were both doing very important missions.. Sakura, yes, Sakura could help. She was a teacher at the academy, a Chuunin. She wasn't actually a teacher.. she was more like Iruka's helper, but she was a big help to Iruka. He'd talk to her first, then he'd go and track down Jiraiya and ask for his counsel. Tsunade too, but after Ero-Sennin and Sakura.
As he decided on that, he let his eyes close and he began nodding off to sleep. It was a few moments afterwards that he came to him; Kyuubi. It had happened before, when Naruto was almost unconscious. Kyuubi sometimes spoke to him, and he was doing it again. This time however, Naruto was drawn to him, in that deep, dark dungeon in the back of his head.
"Brat," came the kitsune's growl.
"Bastard fox," came the young Hokage's response.
"You already know something's about to go on.. but do you know what?"
"Hell no, that's why I've been so troubled all day!"
A deep chuckle came from behind the bars; the deep red eyes of Kyuubi began glowing.
"Hehehe.. Ahh, Hokage now, just like Obito. I remember that night that I was cast inside of this hell. We don't get the chance to talk much anymore.. I think the last time we spoke like this was after the incident in the second Chuunin exams."
"URUSEI! Tell me what you know right now!"
"Ahhh.. Well, I'll tell you later. I hate to spoil surprises. I can tell you that Shukaku's getting very anxious. He sensed it before I did. The demon from Kaminari's on his way too.. Ahh, poor kid, we beat him good. He'll be able to tell you more than I can. But, you're right. It's got to do with that group."
"Wait! How did you kn-" Naruto was cut off as Kyuubi pushed him out of his subconscious state and sent him sitting upright in his bed. Sweat rolled down his forehead; he was breathing hard. Keitaro knew something.. something besides Kyuubi told him something ominous was about to happen.
He closed his eyes, as he began remembering his first real encounter with Keitaro...
Cue flashback..
Naruto's hands clasped together before him; he used them as a focus point for calling up Kyuubi's chakra. He felt its warm power spread throughout his body, enabling him to operate at levels not even Neji could match now. He should be able to keep up with Sasuke's extreme speed this way. He grinned to himself. There was no way Sasuke could beat him now!
Sasuke, not one to be showed up, decided that he'd let it slide once and activate the curse seal. Just as the purple chakra began spiraling around him and the curse marks were spreading across his body, a bloody heap fell between the two. On it was the mask of an Anbu; one that happened to be fashioned after a fox.
Naruto and Sasuke both dispelled the chakra they were calling on, as another form landed next to the fallen Anbu. He grinned, and even from afar you could make out his pupils, which were spasming between green and blue. He held his glaive out, which now had three spikes as opposed to one, then swept it out towards the Anbu's body. The long braid he kept his hair in swept up into the air, flowing with the arc of the young man's swing of the body before it crushed into a wall and left a huge blood streak.
Sasuke recognized who it was immediately; he'd beaten him in the preliminary matches for the third round. Keitaro of Kaminari. He'd been hard, but this was breaking rules.. he shouldn't be here.
"Kyuubi... I'm here for my fight."
End flashback..
Naruto winced, remembering the battle all too well.. He didn't want to delve into his memory any further, so he closed his eyes and forced himself to nod off to sleep.
---
Naruto sighed as he slipped from the window of his office and hopped onto a roof. He should've known that Ero-Sennin wouldn't come to his office after a messenger told him to. He'd have to hunt him down himself.
With this in mind, Naruto knew exactly where to go: the onsen. The hotsprings had actually been remodeled within the past two years, and were constantly being expanded upon. This, of course, had NOTHING to do with Jiraiya's influence on Naruto . . .
On Rokudaime's trip to the onsen, the blond mentally went over Sakura's advice from just an hour ago. She had advised Naruto to let things play out, but to also be prepared - this meant all of the powerful Jounin were to be called back immediately to stay on the safe side of things. This especially meant Sasuke, because he'd want to be here if ANYTHING Akatsuki related were going on in Konoha.
The youma-boy blinked, noticing Jiraiya just before it was too late. If he'd gone a little further, he would have noticed him and probably run off. Yep... There he was, peeping through the bushes like always.
"Ooi, Ero-Sennnniiiiiin..." Naruto called out quietly, as he appeared behind the old man, grabbing him from underneath the shoulders. He locked his arms then, and held Jiraiya in place. "I called you to my office half an hour ago, and the scout reported back... You're coming NOW."
"GACKKK!!" Jiraiya gasped out, then quickly covered his mouth. He had been too loud. If they didn't get out of there now...
Naruto, fully aware of the danger by now, was already dragging Gama- Sennin behind a wall, as a huge storm of angry women rushed the spot they had been in just moments ago. Their screams ended a few minutes later, when they finally calmed down and went back into the bath after finding no peeping tom.
About twenty minutes later, after literally dragging the old man into his office, Jiraiya stood before Naruto, immersed in deep thought.
"Aa.. So, you're telling me that Shukaku told Gaara something big was afoot, and Kyuubi told you last night that it had to with Akatsuki. Those nine shinobi.. hmm, I wonder what they're planning."
"Jiraiya-sama," said Naruto, dropping his favorite nickname for the old man and all of his childhood naivity with it, "We need you to use all of your resources and tell us what you can before the week's up and the festival begins. If they plan on hitting us, it'll be during the festival, and I won't let them harm my people. I know this is going be mean of me, but I want you to go as soon as possible and do some REAL data gathering. This is very important.. please."
Jiraiya grimaced. He didn't want to have to do something so tedious, but he didn't have any other choice. He didn't particularly like the idea of tracking the Akatsuki down either, but he'd do what he could. "I'll do it, kid. But when this is over or if this turns out to be a false alarm, you're going to owe me big. Especially if this is just a waste of my time."
"Iya, it won't be a waste of time... I can assure you. You'll leave in two hours, I've already got arrangements made for a team of four Anbu to join you. I hope they can keep up... You can leave now to make any and all preparations necessary." Naruto really sighed. These formalities just weren't his style...
"Hai, Rokudaime-sama." Jiraiya grinned to himself. Naruto looked just like Obito had. Even if his former pupil was now officially his superior, Gama-Sennin couldn't help but feel pride in the strength of their nation.
"Maa.. Jiraiya-sensei, thank you."
"Yeah."
---
Naruto knew that any day now the other leaders would be here. Tsuchikage-dono and Mizukage-dono would probably show, but he hoped with all his heart that Raikage-dono would appear first so that he, Naruto and Gaara could discuss things privately without causing suspicion. Of course, the other leaders would be told about the danger, but the three youma- possessed leaders needed to speak first in his mind.
So caught up in thoughts such as this that Naruto didn't notice his former silver-haired teacher walk into his office. Raising a hand to his masked mouth, the former Anbu coughed twice. "Ooi, Naruto-kun."
Snapped out of his deep thoughts, Naruto looked up to see Kakashi- sensei, who still looked the same, surprisingly. "Ooi, Kakashi-sensei! You know why I called you, hai?"
"Hai. I'm going to take Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee with me. Neji's Anbu squad will temporarily need a new captain, and Lee's team 8 will need a new Jounin."
"Hmm.. tell Gai-sensei to take over for Lee, and withdraw Inuzuka Kiba's Anbu team from the border. We'll temporarily combine Neji's forces with Kiba's. I'm sure he can handle it. I'll have missions for both teams ready tomorrow."
"Hai hai, Rokudaime-sama." Just as Kakashi was about to leave, however, he turned around and looked questioningly to Naruto. "Yoo.. Naruto- kun, how'd the meeting with Kazekage go?"
"It was as I expected. If you hear word of anyone coming to the village, particularly Raikage-dono or another leader, send word back immediately. Also, if you hear about Akatsuki, forward all news to Jiraiya- sama. He'll be able to find you if send word to me."
"Hai." Kakashi turned around to leave again, but Naruto caught him with a final comment.
"Kakashi-sensei.. bring Sasuke back without telling him about the current situation. I'll tell him myself when he returns."
---
Oiii.. I'm not entirely pleased with this at all, but I actually put out another chapter. I wasn't planning on it. I wonder if I'll finish this story...
If you have any ideas, you can leave them in a review, or you can drop me a line with contact info from my profile page.
Also, as a side note, I'm the information writer over at www.narutonation.com so when that site gets up, that'll all be my work. For the Rpers out there, we may be hosting our own RP so you can check that out. I'll also probably be the maintainer of that.
God bless free advertising.
Reviews help, especially with critiques, and I'll take flames too since I flame from time to time. But really, any ideas, send 'em my way, because I'm sorta bullshitting this with a basic idea in mind.