AN:
Citan: I felt the same way. Everyone knows the power of a single, solid bloodline but what if you, say, make the water muddy? As for Kumiko's age, I'll reveal it eventually. But think of this, she is a member of the Seven Swordsmen and knew Zabuza and Kisame when they were still loyal to Mist and went on missions with them too. And no, this isn't yaoi. I put this under Action/Adventure/Drama, not Romance. Simple reason: they're thirteen! And if I expand the story after my designated end I won't make it anyways. There is no evidence in the Naruto storyline to hint at any yaoi tendencies so I won't put any in.
Naruto's POV
"Wake up, the Mizukage wants to see you," I groggily sit up. There as a Mist Chuunin in the room I wake up in. He nods, recognizing I'm up and leaves. I get up, quickly change, and make my way to the Mizukage's audience room. Entering, I see Jiraiya and the Mizukage hunched over his desk writing. On a perch nearby there are five beautiful eagles. I make my way over to them. They analogize my presence and I gently pet their feathers. A door opens behind me and a very tired looking John. Jiraiya and the Mizukage finally realize I'm in the room.
"Ok, good you two could get here quickly, we're leaving," I look at Jiraiya. "The situation has changed and we have to leave Mufun immediately."
"What happened? We normally stay in one place for at least a week before leaving!" I protest.
"This situation is different. The Akatsuki know where we are but it seems that John is still being pursued. Itachi and Kisame themselves recommended that I take the two of you and leave immediately." My jaw dropped. Itachi… "Get your things, we leave now." Jiraiya left with John and the Mizukage. I return to my room and quickly pack up. I check to make sure I have a full set of shrunkens and kunai before heading letting a chuunin lead me towards the appropriate exit to the village.
Jiraiya's POV
I quickly rushed around town. Thankfully all the shop owners were former shinobi so when Shimizu ordered it, they got up and opened. If I was going to train John to be a ninja, I needed to get him a few sets of training shrunkens and kunai, along with his own clothing. Also, after noticing it, I grabbed two sets of weight harnesses and a few bags of adjustable weights. Shimizu insisted on paying for everything.
"Thanks for all of this. I'll pay you back when I'm not in such a rush, alright?" I say, while walking towards the location where Naruto and John were waiting for me.
"Forget about it. I understand that, because of current circumstances you won't be able to produce the next issue, just when you do I want a signed copy, alright?" I grin at him as Naruto waves from the gate.
"Consider it done, old friend. If you don't mind, I have a country to leave." He nods as I collect my apprentices. I hand a pack to a just awakening John. I quickly summon a travel frog and instruct Naruto to keep a hold of John while in transit.
"Umm, Ero-sennin, if we're leaving the country, could we make a quick stop before we leave?" I glance over at Naruto. I chuckle at how comical John is clinging to Naruto as the frog bounds. "I want to visit Zabuza and Haku's graves." I look at the sadness in his eyes.
"I understand. It's on the way to our destination so it shouldn't be a problem." Naruto smiles slightly and sits down on the frog. I look forwards again issuing the slight direction change to the frog.
Naruto's POV
I feel a gentle shaking. I sit up and open my eyes. Jiraiya is kneeling next to me. I hear happy squeals coming from my left. I look over to see John jumping around excited, throwing rocks into the water from a huge bridge. He sees me and waves, running. I stand up and brush myself off.
"This bridge is great! I've never seen anything like it! And it's named after you, nii-san!" John picks up another rock and runs back onto the bridge.
"He's been doing that since we've arrived. I'm not sure if it's the bridge, the water, or that it's named after his 'brother,'" Jiraiya chuckled, patting my shoulder.
"So, what really happened to him?" I ask, looking over my shoulder at Jiraiya.
"He has been given life by some kind of kinjutsu. Beyond that, I don't know. John, come over here for a second." John looks up, smiling. He runs towards us. "Ok, I need you to close your eyes for a moment and picture the eyes you want to have. We can't have people seeing you with your black and white irises. You stand out to much that way." John nodded, closing his eyes. Jiraiya preformed a few quick seals. His palm glowed a bit. He gently placed his palm over both of John's eyes, one at a time. They glowed for a moment then the glow faded. "Alright, you can open your eyes now, John."
"Did it work?" John asked, opening his eyes. I look at his eyes and see a startling blue color. "Do I have Naruto-nii-san's eyes?" Jiraiya laughs while I wrinkle my nose in confusion.
"Yep, it certainly worked. So our story of you two being brothers might actually work now. Your hair is still a dead giveaway for who you are. The jutsu I used is a form of genjutsu invented by the Hyuuga clan to mask their eyes during missions. It's a rather easy jutsu so when you learn how to control your own chakra you can perform it yourself. Until then I'll have to apply it every day, understood?" John nodded.
"Ok, if that's everything, I want to go to the graves then," Jiraiya nodded and John gave a sad smile. I headed across the bridge. They stayed back. Which I was glad for; this was something I needed to do alone. I reached the other side then went to the side towards a fenced off bluff. I easily jumped over it and landed.
Sakura planted flowers around the graves and they were in full bloom. I smiled, it was a good thought. I walked between the graves and kneeled down. I looked Zabuza's sword and Haku's mask.
"Hey guys, its Naruto," I wiped away a tear forming in the corner of my eye. "I'm sorry. I lost one of my precious people. Sasuke…he fled to Orochimaru looking for power. I tried to stop him, I really did," I stand up. "But I'll bring him back. I'll defeat Orochimaru and bring Sasuke back to his senses…" I kneel back down. "I have a new important person though. He doesn't have a name yet but…I want to protect him." I sit back and listen to the breeze through the trees.
Jiraiya's POV
"So, you understand that bit, John? Now I want you to focus your chakra alright?" I watch as John fumbles to make a tiger seal. I reach over and put his hands into a proper form. He smiles at me and closes his eyes. I step back, not wanting to disturb him. His brow furrows. I watch as a faint blue aura forms around him.
"I feel it, Jiraiya-sensei."
"Good, keep focusing on it, pull out as much as you can." He nods and continues to draw out chakra. The chakra aura gets a little brighter before fading completely. John drops to his hands and knees.
"Jiraiya-sama, aren't you supposed to teach focus before you first instruct how to pull out chakra?" I turn around. Kumiko walks up behind me with a young girl behind her.
"What brings you here, Kumiko-chan? And who is this lovely young lady you're with?" I ask as I help John to stand.
"Well, I'm here because I have a delivery for you from Tsunade-sama. And this is Miharu-chan. Her team is recently…deceased. Due to the particular nature of her last mission and who she is she was sent with me. Our orders from Mizukage-sama were to join you, Naruto, and John. I was asked to instruct John on the basics of being a shinobi and to teach Miharu a handful of special Mist jutsus. He has asked you to give her similar training to what you gave Naruto. Mizukage-sama has talked to you about her I believe?" I nodded. So, this little girl was the container of the Five-Tails. Shimizu probably wants me to protect her from the Akatsuki as well.
"I understand. And all I was doing with John was to see how much control of his chakra he has. He will need some work on that so if you could help him. I would recommend starting him on learning some of the basics of taijutsu though." Kumiko nodded and took John from me to another nearby clearing. I kneeled down and looked over at Miharu.
"What…what did I do that Mizukage-sama wants me to train with one of the Legendary Sennin of Leaf?" Miharu looked away from me. "I just…"
"Don't worry about it. I think I understand what's going on. During your last mission, did you feel the presence of a different chakra inside you…?"
Naruto's POV
"Stupid Ero-sennin," I throw a weight at Jiraiya. He catches it and throws it back at me along with another set.
"You should know better, Naruto. Put this set in too," He chuckles turning back around. I grumble as I add the weights to my harness. I struggle to stand.
"Why are you making me wear this again? I'm currently wandering with twice my weight here!"
"Well, you did tell me that Rock Lee wear's weights, right? It's to improve your speed and stamina," I grumble. Stupid Lee. I look over the desert. We've been here for three days so far and I can't deal with the sandstorms. How does anyone stand this!
"Jiraiya-sensei, could you tell me how to do it again? It doesn't seem to be working." I look over at Miharu. Jiraiya had been giving her some kind of special training for the last couple of couple of weeks. This might be the perfect opportunity to figure it out.
"I'll help you, Miharu. If I've learned anything from Ero-sennin it's nothing. The last thing he ever does is tell you how you do something," I expected that I would feel his angry gaze at me but I felt nothing. I turned to look at him and saw a sly grin instead.
"That's actually a good idea. Naruto, show her the ability that allowed you to defeat Neji at the Chuunin Exam."
"What!"
"What ability, Naruto-kun?" I look at Miharu. Why does Ero-sennin want me to summon the Kyuubi's chakra? Did he tell her? "Please, Naruto-kun. Until I can do this, Jiraiya-sensei won't teach me anything else."
"I guess, just…don't be scared, ok?" I watched as Miharu's faces contorted into one of confusion. I sighed and closed my eyes. I felt down towards my curse. Something was different though. I felt water star to flood around my legs. "Dumb Fox!" I open my eyes to see Miharu standing before me, between me and the huge doors where the Kyuubi was sealed.
"Umm, Naruto-kun…where are we? And what is that?" She points behind me.
"Wait, what are you doing here?" I look at her when suddenly two white, cat-like eyes open before me. Miharu screams, still looking behind me. I turn around to see the Kyuubi's eyes and smile. "Stupid fox, first you bring me here but you could have left Miharu out of it.
"It wasn't my choice," his voice echoed. "She came because of her." I turn around to see a similar smile. I notice that the writing on the paper sealing the gate is different.
"Kyuubi-sama, I had no idea you were trapped as in this world as well." A feminine voice echoed. Miharu turns just in response.
"Naruto-kun, what's going on?" She shuffles next to me. "What are these voices?"
"Stupid fox, what's the meaning of this!" I shout at the Kyuubi. He laughs.
"You were within the presence of another sealed bijuu, kit. And unlike Ichibi, Gobi isn't insane." I turn to Miharu.
"You…have a demon…sealed inside you too?" I watch as Miharu's eyes light up.
"What do you mean?"
"When you channel chakra, is there a seal around your belly button?" Miharu blushes surprised, covering her mouth.
"How did you know?" I close my eyes. She knows what I go through.
"I'm not surprised my container doesn't know. Until her last mission she's never even heard of me." I look up at Miharu's prisoner. It dawns on me that Jiraiya knew and wanted me to show Miharu how to control the beast's chakra.
"You, Gobi or whatever your name is. I demand that you give Miharu access to your chakra whenever she wants!" I yell through the bars. She laughs at me.
"You really think I would relinquish my power to her?"
"Gobi, I would listen to the kit. At first I only agreed because he was about to die bringing me with him. But then, ever time I come out I learn more and more about this world. It seems there is an organization of people who are after our power. I would recommend that you relinquish your power to your container, for no other reason than to protect yourself in the process. If this, Akatsuki gets a hold of us, who knows what they will do to our greatness. If we help our containers, we will have the prestige we deserve through them." Miharu looks at me, fearful look gone now just curious. I shrug.
"If you say so, Kyuubi-sama. Miharu, I hereby grant you the ability to summon my power whenever you desire. But I require something in return."
"Umm, what do you…require, Gobi-sama?" Miharu quietly asks. Kyuubi laughs.
"Lucky you, Gobi. Your container shows you the respect you deserve. All I have is this brat of a kit." I turn and glare at him.
"Stupid fox."
"Gee and I was about to show you how to call upon my Chakra Form. Remember, I granted it to you during your fight with Sasuke?" I looked over at him. "I see you remember, kit. Start showing me the respect I deserve or I won't teach you how to summon it."
"Fine…fox. I'll try. Just don't expect the change to be immediate and don't berate me if, when during a fight, I don't slip, alright?"
"Done, kit done. Now then, on to other matters…"
"Kyuubi-sama, you aren't…"
"Exactly. We are going to train our containers."
Jiraiya's POV
I walk into the room. Naruto and Miharu are exactly where they have been for the last week. I didn't think Naruto's summoning of the Kyuubi's chakra would cause them to both go into a coma. I looked and saw John between them. I sigh. He is here everyday after his studying. His chakra control is still abysmal but he's picking up the basic taijutsu styles easily enough.
"Come on John, it's late. You need to go to bed." He looks up at me sadly
"I know. I just…why? What happened to them?"
"I don't know kid, I don't know." John stands up and walks over to me. I usher him out the door. As I'm about to close the door I hear movement inside the room. I quickly open the door to see both Naruto and Miharu slowly sitting up. John bursts through the door and tackles Naruto. I walk inside as Kumiko appears in the door.
"I heard a racket what…you're awake!" She vanishes suddenly to appear next to Miharu.
"All right, you two have some explaining to do. What happened, Naruto?" He shifts his eyes to look at me.
"Well, you see…" he glanced over at John and stopped talking.
"Just tell him, he's worried more for you than anyone else. The last person you should keep this from is your little brother. And Kumiko knows about Miharu so you should worry about her feeling any different about you." Naruto nodded sadly. John looked between us curiously. Realization was evident on Kumiko's face. Naruto looked over at Miharu. She nodded with a small smile. He looked back more confident in himself.
"Ok, let me get right down to it. Miharu and I have sealed inside us two bijuu. They are legendary demons. Miharu has the Gobi, or Five-Tails Demon Tiger. I have the Kyuubi, or the Nine-Tails Demon Fox." Kumiko's jaw dropped. John just looked on, more curious.
"So…what does that mean?" I had to hold back a laugh. Naruto was afraid of John, a boy who doesn't know anything about history, to be frightened that he has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. Naruto actually did laugh. He stood up and walked over to him.
"It means I have all the power I could ever need to protect my little brother, alright?" he wrapped his arms around John. Miharu stood up and walked up next to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, remember what we promised we'd do. We don't want to disappoint Gobi-sama and Kyuubi-sama." Naruto released John and nodded. They headed outside. John eagerly followed. I walked over to Kumiko.
"You ok?" I ask, looking at her. "Don't let this affect your relationship with Naruto. That's why he doesn't tell people. He is afraid that they will hate him because of it."
"No, for me, that revelation changes everything." Uh oh, she figured it out. "I always thought he looked like Arashi-kun. But…Mizukage-sama said my child died during the sealing!" She looked at me. "He lied to me. You all lied to me! Even after the way everyone in Konoha treated him! Why?"
"Arashi wanted to tell you," I sighed. "But you should know better than anyone how much of an optimistic dreamer Arashi was. He wanted Konoha to honor and respect Naruto for the sacrifice he made for their sakes. Unfortunately, they couldn't see past the death of their loved ones at the hands of the Kyuubi. Thankfully Naruto didn't fall as far as Gaara did. He has inherited Arashi's ability to change people. That's the strength I saw in him. That's why I chose him to be my successor, now that Arashi is no longer with us. He…he holds the key to our future."
Naruto's POV
"Ok, this looks like a good enough place." I look up at the sky. The stars were out and partially obstructed by a few clouds. Miharu and John approached me from behind. "Now, we need to be somewhere no one else can see us."
"Oh, I can help but I want to see what you're doing though." I look over at John. "I been wanting to show you this for a week, Naruto-nii-san!"
"A week, how long have we been out?" Miharu asked.
"Two weeks. Jiraiya-sensei and Kumiko-sensei say I have been improving by leaps and bounds. Well, sort of actually. If it doesn't have anything to do with my bloodline or taijutsu I have almost no control over my chakra. Jiraiya-sensei has wanted to go somewhere else so I can practice tree climbing. The rocks around here aren't sturdy enough or flat enough to work."
"Ok, ok. I know you're excited to show us this new jutsu. And sure, you can watch. Let's just get this done." John nodded and stood between Miharu and me. He formed a horse seal and closed his eyes.
"Mirage no Jutsu!" I looked around. Nothing happened.
"I'm sorry, John. It didn't work." He grinned and shook head.
"Nope, it worked, watch." He wandered over to a rock and stuck his hand into it.
"John-kun? What does that jutsu do?" Miharu asked. "It seems like genjutsu but it also seems like a ninjutsu."
"I know it's great. You both know I can manipulate fire, right? Well a few weeks ago I saw water in the desert. I asked Kumiko-sensei what it was and she said it was just a mirage created by the thin sheet of heat just off the ground reflecting the sky. I was thinking about it and that, if I can manipulate fire, maybe I could manipulate heat too. So I told Jiraiya-sensei my idea and he helped me figure out the proper seal and chakra focus. It took me a few tries but I got it. I can even adapt it to shield my eyes so Jiraiya doesn't have to do it every day! I even have it to where I can replace Henge with it!" John was jumping up and down. I couldn't help but laugh and soon, all three of us were rolling on the ground clutching our sides. After spending what felt like a year learning jutsus and the Flaming Fox combat style from the Kyuubi, the simple antics of a kid learning a new jutsu was just too much.
"John…thanks…" I pant, slowly standing. "I really needed that." Miharu nodded, agreeing.
"Ok, let's get this started Naruto-kun. I'm tired." I walk over to Miharu. We stood two arm lengths apart. We each raised our arms and together, formed two tiger seals with our hands, my left hand and her right and my right and her left. John watched quietly. I tapped my foot three times and we began. We rapidly formed an eighty one seal combo. We ended with the boar seal.
"Kyuchiyose: Yakujou Jaki no Jutsu! (Summoning: Contract Imp)" We shouted in sequence. There was a puff of smoke. It was quickly followed by a fit of coughing as a small creature wearing a suit, carrying a clipboard stumbled out and landed on John's lap.
"What the hell! I was in the middle of a very important meeting!" He stood up and looked at John. "What right do you have to interrupt me?"
"I think the right is ours, Imp," he turned to face me. The anger drained from his face and was replaced by one of absolute fear.
"Ky…Kyuubi-sama! I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect. I didn't know it was you. Yes, yes you have the right. I was confused when you vanished from our realm. If I had know you would be assuming the body of a human here I would have immediately brought your summon scroll with me. Here, have it!" There was a puff of smoke and a scroll three times the size of his body appeared in his hands. He slowly walked over to me, laying the scroll at my feet.
"I also require a scroll for my servant, Gobi." I gesture towards Miharu as the Kyuubi instructed. "I have found her here as well and I don't want to be calling you again."
"Yes, yes of course Kyuubi-sama," another puff of smoke and he laid down another scroll three times his size. "If that is all then I would…"
"No, that isn't all," I stop him. Miharu looked at me slightly frightened. This wasn't part of the plan I know but John was here I might as well secure a unique summon beast for him as well. "I have found a human who I have chosen to train. He is…unique. Chose an appropriate summon for him, present the scroll to him and be gone." I ended, trying to look as menacingly as possible.
"But…as you wish, Kyuubi-sama." He wandered back to John and walked around him scratching his chin. "Let's see…no…no…maybe…no, defiantly not…that…yes! That one works!" A scroll half the size of the others appeared in his hands. He laid it down on the ground before John and vanished. I let out the sigh and slump to the ground.
"I can't believe that worked. Well, let's sign these things so we can do the other request of our bijuu." I unroll my fox-summoning scroll and sign my name using the hand opposite to my frog-summoning hand. When I finished the scroll rolled up and vanished. I heard another poof guessing Miharu's tiger-summoning scroll just vanished. I looked over at John who had his scroll unrolled but was confused what to do.
"Umm, Naruto-nii-chan? It says to sign my name but I don't know my name yet. And I have nothing to sign it with!" Miharu giggles.
"I asked," Miharu says, sitting next to John. "If you change your name it will automatically change on your scroll. It's usually there for when women get married and take their husband's family name but it works for your situation too. You sigh in blood and put the fingerprints of the hand you want to summon the creature with. I'm sure Jiraiya, Naruto, or I can instruct you on how to summon when you are ready for it." John nodded. I watched and a tear flowed from my eye as he signed 'Uzumaki John.' After putting his right finger prints on the scroll it rolled up and vanished.
"So, John, what was your creature?" I ask, giving him a hand up. He dispelled his genjutsu and looked at me.
"I don't know, I couldn't read it. I didn't recognize the kanji. But it was some kind of bird but that's all." Miharu chose this time to collapse. John and I rushed over to her side and helped her up.
"I guess summoning the imp was more draining than I thought it would be. I guess we have to leave the other thing our bijuu asked us to do till we're both back up to full." I grinned and helped her back to her room. I walked into my own and fell into a deep sleep.
