A/N: Thank you all for your reviews, they make my day! And to everybody reading / following / lurking; hope you're enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it :)
Here's as short chapter from Jiraiya's perspective.
Beta: Linux-Ginny
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter
PS. I've started a new SI/OC Naruto Fic called Madness Rides on Moonlight that's in its beginning stages, have a look if you're interested!
PPS. While I do have a basic outline for my story, feel free to review or PM with plot points if y'all get any fun ideas.
Lots of love to you folks, Keep Safe!
Chapter 5: The Path Worth Taking
The path worth taking,
Should I choose, lies in the woods,
Between mind and heart.
-Stephanie Zhong
The mist was thick with chakra. It would be a miracle if he could even see his own hand. Kami bless all that is the Sage Arts and the accompanying ability to sense the living. The resounding sound of a water jutsu hit on his right and his comrade was flung back into a rock behind them. He watched in horror as scalding water caused the skin on his friend's neck to bubble and hiss. Itsumo wailed in agony. Jiraiya did not have the time to rush back and help him but he did it anyway. Flitting out of the way of another water jutsu, his hands sped through the seals only to ram his right hand into the ground in front of him.
Earth Release: Earth Style Wall
He watched with grim satisfaction as an earth barricade was raised out of the ground blocking further attacks. "Cover me!" Jiraiya quickly picked up his friend bridal style and rushed back to the bunker 5 yards away. Flying into the medical tent, he pushed Itsumo on to the medic.
"Boiling water," he spat out before hurrying back into the fray, leaving his friend to the mercy of the iryo-nin. There was an ominous whistling sound of a scalding rock hurtling at him, which he jumped away from at the last possible second; the ground next to him imploded.
"Fuck", he grumbled under his breath. The aerial attack cleared the air, and for a moment he could see through the mist. He spotted Sakumo almost immediately, some ten kilometers to his right. As heavy hitters, they were supposed to take out this wave attack and they were doing well. Sakumo was battling the Shibuki wielder with a smile on his face. His own chakra-sabre was a gleaming a sharp white, blinding to anyone who looked towards it when angled just so. Explosions lit around them and Sakumo flit around the man with the kind of elegance that made Jiraiya jealous. He sighed, punching a man in the throat, settling back into his rhythm. Feint, Dodge, Attack, Repeat. They might be doing well but it was not as comfortable as fighting alongside his own teammates.
Jiraiya balked at a sudden wind jutsu flung in his face. He really needed to wrap this up quickly, Ma and Pa on his shoulders were tiring out and his sage mode was flickering.
"Ma! Pa!" he called.
"We are ready," Fukasaku said from his right shoulder.
"Now!"
Sage Art: Goemon
Oil, Wind and Fire. The front was immersed in an inferno incinerating everything in sight. The weak were burnt to crisp, the strong leap out of the way and so the enemy finally retreated, if only for a while.
Sakumo sunshin-ed next to him and clapped his back.
"You drove my enemy away, Jiraiya-kun," Sakumo pouted, making Jiraiya grin. "I was having so much fun too! It is not often I get to push my kenjutsu to the limits."
"Yeah yeah.," Jiraiya chuckled. "You'll get your chance yet, don't worry."
He scanned the area. Most of their people survived the encounter; he had made sure his attack was directed at their enemies.
"Pull back!" Sakumo yelled, coming to the same conclusion he had. It was time to retreat and recuperate before the net wave hit; they just had to hold the border at the coast.
"Alright then Jiraiya-kun, we are off," Ma muttered exhaustedly from his shoulder as the elder toads popped back into their realm. Jiraiya sighed in relief as he powered down from the Sage Mode.
It was the first time Jiraiya had used the Sage Mode in battle and he could not maintain it for more than 2 minutes; thankfully, it was enough to subdue the forces. He gently lifted an injured comrade onto his shoulder and headed back to the bunker to drop him off at the medical tent. Laying the man down, he checked on Itsumo, who seemed to be on the mend, before making his way to collapse on a futon next to Sakumo.
"When is this going to end?" he complained. The older man swatted his head.
"What are you even complaining about? It's not like you have a child waiting for you," Sakumo said obnoxiously and a sly smile appeared on his face. "Unless-"
"No don't say it"
"-there's a princess waiting for you."
"You bastard," Jiraiya flew to cover the man's laughing mouth with his hands, surreptitiously looking around him as if said princess would pop out from the floor.
He slowly let go of his friend who was succumbing to rambunctious laughter.
"Yeah, yeah laugh it up," he muttered, the tips of his ears red.
"Mah., Jiraiya-kun… you're so easy to tease. Seriously though," Sakumo wiped the tears from his eyes. "You should confess to her soon. We are ninja. There is no point regretting it later, life is short especially with the war and all."
"Yeah," Jiraiya said somberly, remembering the man's late wife who died at child birth. It never ceased to amaze him how this man could be so positive, even after he lost the love of his life. Yes, it had been two years and he doted on his son… but still. If it were him- No. Never mind that. No point thinking of things that were not meant to be.
"It's unlikely that she hasn't caught on anyway. I mean the way you moon- What the fuck!"
Jiraiya was instantly alert, ready to pounce- oh.
"I swear to God your teammate, Jiraiya" Then Sakumo blushed. "You're not mentioning this to anyone."
Jiraiya giggled replaying the high the squeal from the manly Hatake and rolled his eyes.
"Come here, sweetheart" he said to coiled, green snake;
it's venomous, isn't it? Jiraiya snorted. It slithered to him languidly and hissed, then it opened its mouth wide to vomit out a scroll.
"Ugh", Sakumo said, succinctly.
"Eloquent as ever,"
Sakumo threw a shoe at him.
"Your summons are dogs, Sakumo-kun" Jiraiya drawled, perusing the scroll rapidly. Understanding the seriousness of the situation from the look on Jiraiya's face, Sakumo swallowed his rebuttal and waited for his verdict.
"Would you look at that...," Jiraiya said. "We've been summoned by the Snake himself."
"Where to?"
"Wave, we need to be there by noon tomorrow. Seizing land and acquiring assets." The snake vanished back to its realm.
"Hmm. And when we are done?"
"Sensei is sending a platoon to guard the islands" Jiraiya said, making his way back to his bedroll. He plopped on it, exhausted.
"Hmm… doesn't sound like they want to maintain it." Sakumo said settling down.
"No, but it will help with the coming negotiations."
"Of course." Sakumo nodded. "We leave after breakfast then?"
"Yep." Jiraiya was asleep as soon his eyes shut.
Jiraiya would not admit it to a single soul but he was getting really excited to meet his teammate. Two whole months away from his makeshift family at the frontlines really took a toll on a person.
Don't get him wrong, Sakumo and Itsumo were splendid company, more like him in ways his teammates never were: loud, positive with the best kind of humor and really, it surprised him the most that he would miss Orochimaru's wit or Tsunade's clobbering. He even missed the old man's mothering. Sakumo couldn't fill their absence, just like he couldn't take the place of the little Hatake tyke.
He sped up a little, and Sakumo gave him a sidelong look as they shot through the trees.
He sighed, at least it seemed like the war was coming to end. The missive from the previous evening said the five major nations were preparing for an armistice, weary to their bones. As long as they did this properly, through the correct channels, the peace might just last. Taking wave was just wrapping up loose ends, so that they wouldn't need to compromise more than they have to during the negotiations.
If only it was as easy when it came to the negotiations up north.
This reminded Jiraiya of the second part of the missive.
"Jiraiya-kun, did they say anything about the kind of assets we are procuring?" Sakumo said, interrupting his thoughts. Ah, at least they were on the same wavelength.
"Orochimaru didn't say much… defecting mist-nin, maybe?" Jiraiya wondered thoughtfully. "We'll be briefed once we get there I suppose."
Sakumo gave a shrug, his curiosity apparent.
Well, there's no point thinking about it when we can get there and find out.
Before long, a blurry haze showed on the horizon and they stopped to gauge the distance.
"We run it?" Sakumo asked. "Doesn't look too far..." He trailed off, squinting.
"Yeah, our entry point is cliff-wards, to the south, and we need to maintain a genjutsu."
Sakumo looked at him funny. "Can't do it?"
All things considered; it must seem odd that he couldn't pull off an hour of water walking.
"I'm not the best at genjutsu," he explained as he rubbed his nose sheepishly.
"Huh… what do you know? Don't worry about it, I've got it," Sakumo shrugged.
"Remember there is at least one ship to the south."
"Aa, I remember."
An hour was exactly how long it took. They reached a sandy beach adjacent to a cliff and peered around cautiously. A light glinted off the top of the cliff making him look up. It glinted in a quick pattern.
"He's one of ours," Jiraiya grunted, recognizing it as one of Leaf's morse codes.
He began moving towards the cliff, when Sakumo stopped him.
"There are people arguing in the forest," He nodded to the right. "We should go check that out."
"Damned canine hearing," Jiraiya joked as they stealthily made their way into the foliage. Sakumo grinned.
They peered from the top of a branch that overlooked a clearing. An angry, young masculine voice with an accent drifted to them.
"-you have no idea what I'm capable of-"
"No, I don't. But from what I've seen you can't even defend yourself, let alone attack."
Jiraiya groaned audibly, easily recognizing the familiar voice on the smirking face.
"Why. Why must he goad everybody? We are on a mission! That requires stealth! Since when am I the voice of reason," His eyes widened in horror and he buried his face in his hands.
Sakumo chuckled lowly. "I don't know… this looks entertaining. How long do you think, before the kid breaks?"
"I hope he's used seals, or everyone will know we are here and that really just-"
Jiraiya must've missed a part of the conversation because the young man with dark hair did snap.
He pulled out a… stick. His sniggering was cut off when he hissed.
"Fiendfyre!"
"Beautiful" he heard Orochimaru whisper.
Chakra that screamed predator, dense and heavy coated the air, infusing into his skin. Sakumo straightened next to him and the air on his arms stood on end.
They watched as the violent chakra molded itself into a dragon made of fire.
Orochimaru's hands were already moving.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique
Of course, the bastard won't defend. Jiraiya, thought almost fondly. Look at them, having a pissing contest, it's almost cute!
The dragons met between them and clashed with a roar; a pulse emanated from the detonation.
"Alright, that's quite enough" Sakumo muttered. He sunshin-ed next to Orochimaru when the technique died. The boy's fire seems to live on, though, Jiraiya thought as he appeared next to Orochimaru's right.
They watched as his eyes flickered to them and he wrestled the rampant fire back into his control.
"Back up?" he asked lightly, and Jiraiya was impressed at how casually blank his expression was after the impressive scowl he displayed earlier.
"Asset?" he questioned Orochimaru in return.
"Hmm… one of them," Orochimaru chuckled. He really hated it when Oro-teme was in this mood, he thought despondently. Like they were the punchline to a joke they didn't know.
Sakumo however seemed to have other plans.
"Hey there beautiful, what's your name?"
Jiraiya's jaw dropped.
"What." The boy intoned, flatly. "Orochimaru, is this a joke?"
Sakumo snickered and there was a glint of calculation in his eye. Orochimaru however, wasn't acting like how he thought he would. Instead of dry amusement, he barked with a scowl. "Sakumo, this is Voldemo-san. Voldemo-san, these are nin from my village, Jiraiya and Sakumo."
Jiraiya exchanged a look with Sakumo, dazed. What?! A smirk grew on the other man's face.
Well.. well.. well.. isn't this getting interesting.
