Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I hope you had a good meal and enjoyed the time with your families. I know I did. It wasn't a massively stressful day filled with way too many things to do and a bunch of people who I only see twice a year, honest. I didn't eat my feelings, not at all.

Joking aside, I'm glad that this chapter is finally ready to put out there. This arc took way too long to set up, but the payoff, or at least the start of the payoff, is here. Most of you who sent me guesses regarding the cliffhanger from the last chapter were fairly close. I went back and forth on how to do Jiraiya's section a lot, though. I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, but I think it's as close as I can get to the idea in my head.

I also posted a poll on my profile. It doesn't have anything to do with the content of this story, but I'm still curious as to the responses. Check it out if you can.

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Chapter 17

"Isn't it obvious," Sakura repeated. "Jiraiya-sama left you down here. He must not have wanted to deal with you anymore."

Naruto just stood there dumbly, staring at someone he knew to be long dead. Every neuron in his brain seemed to have seized up. He barely even registered her words. Joy, sorrow, and confusion all welled up within him at once, paralyzing his thoughts. After a minute of staring at her, however, he forced himself to form words.

"S-Sakura-chan? Wha-? How are you here?" He stuttered. "You're dead. You died 50,000 years ago."

His voice broke as he said this. Just seeing Sakura again was like taking a scouring pad to his emotions, leaving them raw and exposed. All the progress he had made moving on from the loss of Konoha seemed worthless now as he stared at someone he had never thought to see again. Someone he had once professed to love.

"Wow, have you somehow gotten dumber?" She sneered. "Do I look dead to you?"

"Now Sakura, don't be cruel," another familiar voice said. "It's only to be expected. You know Naruto's always been a little slow."

For the second time in as many minutes, the sight of a dead person striding into view struck Naruto dumb. The last time he had seen that shock of silver hair had been shortly after he got out of the hospital following his fight with Sasuke.

"Kakashi-sensei! But you- you're dead too!" By now Naruto had passed beyond shock and was into the numb desserts that lay on the other side. His brain simply refused to process what was happening.

"Ok, what the fuck is this? Why are you guys here? How are you guys here? And where is Jiraiya?"

"Oh Naruto, you still never listen," Kakashi said and shook his head. "Didn't you hear Sakura? Jiraiya's gone. He left you down here."

Naruto recoiled as if burned. What Kakashi was saying made no sense. He refused to believe it. That just wasn't possible.

"No. He wouldn't do that," Naruto shouted. "Why would you say that?"

"Why wouldn't he do that?" Sakura asked, her green eyes pinning him in place. "After all, why would he want a student who breaks his promises?"

Kakashi spoke up now, his one eye burning with contempt. Naruto shrank under that gaze, one he never thought to see from his beloved sensei.

"Look at you. I trusted you with my legacy, with my clan's legacy. I practically adopted you into my family. All because I believed in you and your promises. And what did you do?"

Naruto desperately wanted to cover his ears, but his hands were glued to his sides. He knew what Kakashi and Sakura were going to say. He'd said it to himself plenty of times. Hearing it from his teacher and his first crush was so much worse, though. His vision blurred as tears filmed his eyes.

"You vanished. You broke your word." Kakashi's voice cut like a frozen sword. He reached out and tore the mask from Naruto's face, fast as blinking. "You never became Hokage. You never surpassed your father. And worst of all-"

"You never brought Sasuke back," Sakura finished with a murderous sneer. "You promised me you would bring him back. You promised! And you lied."

"I- I didn't-"

"You abandoned us!" She shrieked. "I was counting on you. Sasuke was counting on you."

Naruto opened his mouth to defend himself, to deny the accusations that bit so deep. Before he could speak, though, a third voice sounded behind him.

"I suppose that's what happens when you rely on a dobe like him," the voice said. The casual arrogance, the hated nickname, all of it combined to send Naruto spinning around, glaring harshly.

"Oh yeah? How about you say that to my face, teme," he yelled before he could even think about it, the words forming with scarcely any conscious input. Sure enough, behind him stood Sasuke, duck butt haircut and all. There was something wrong, though. Even more wrong than three dead people showing up on an alien planet to insult and torment him.

Sasuke's skin had never been this pale. His eyes, once the black of volcanic glass, were now a sickly yellow, with slits for pupils. Twin purple stripes extended from the inside corners of his eyes down his nose. Gone was the look of cool indifference, now replaced by a disturbing grin. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. Horror bubbled up in his gut.

"You're not Sasuke," he whispered.

"Kukukuku. Very good, Naruto-kun," the not-Sasuke said. "I guess there really is a brain in there, buried deep down. Do you recognize me?"

"Orochimaru," Naruto said, his voice a low growl. "What have you done with Sasuke, you snake bastard?"

"Why I did exactly what he asked me to do, of course. I gave him power. Power those fools in Konoha so selfishly denied him."

"Liar! You took over his body!" Naruto roared.

"Yes, I suppose the poor boy was rather shocked when it came time for him to pay my price. He fought well, but in the end, no one came to rescue him."

With a howl like a wounded animal, Naruto leapt forward. His fist barreled straight for Orochimaru's jaw.

"Give Sasuke back, you sick fuck!" He roared. Orochimaru's grin widened, and he bent out of the way of Naruto's punch with his trademark inhuman flexibility. His retaliatory kick, delivered with casual nonchalance, sent Naruto slamming into a stalagmite. Spittle flew from his mouth when his back crashed into the unyielding rock.

He shook off the impact and climbed to his feet. With a clenched fist, he pointed at Orochimaru.

"I told you to give him back. I'm gonna kick your ass until you do, ya hear me."

"Such spirit," Orochimaru said, his smile not fading an iota. "But it's far too late, Naruto-kun. Sasuke is long gone. You already failed."

"Shut up!" Naruto flew back at his opponent, swinging wildly. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Each scream was emphasized by a blow. Each blow missed, speeding past the Snake Sannin's leering face. Naruto had never felt so useless. Even Jiraiya struggled to dodge all of his blows with such ease. How was this freak avoiding his strikes so easily?

A glance at Orochimaru's eyes gave him his answer. Where before they had been yellow and slitted, the eyes of a snake, now they glowed a ruby red. Three black tomoe spun in each scarlet orb. The Sharingan. Orochimaru's whole reason for marking Sasuke and driving him to defect.

Seeing his friend's eyes being used by that madman stoked Naruto's rage to new heights. For the first time in months, he felt the Kyuubi stir within him, its power a mere thought away from his grasp.

'I can feel your anger, ningen,' the beast whispered in his mind. 'Take my power. Use it. Destroy your enemies.'

Naruto shook his head, trying desperately to ignore the demon's offer. It was tempting, oh so tempting, to take the Kyuubi's power and lay waste to Orochimaru. To watch the monster who had killed his grandfather and destroyed his team burn to ashes. But he couldn't. He was stronger than that. He had promised never to use that power again.

'Shut up, you stupid fox,' he yelled in his own mind. 'I'd rather die than use your power again.'

'We will see,' the fox chuckled, its presence retreating to the depths of the seal. Naruto returned his focus to the fight, but his moment of distraction cost him. Orochimaru slithered past his latest punch, closing the distance between them in an instant. Naruto didn't even see the blow that hit him. All he felt was a surge of pain all over his body as his vision flashed white and then red. When he came back to himself, he was clear on the other side of the cavern, a trail of smashed icicles and broken stalagmites marking the path he had traveled.

"There he goes again, always charging in like an ox, getting his ass handed to him," Sakura said to Kakashi before she turned to address him. "It's a little late for heroics now, isn't it Naruto? Maybe if you'd been so determined when you fought Sasuke back when Orochimaru took him, you would have saved him. But you just had to go and disappear, didn't you?"

"I did everything I could," Naruto wheezed, unable to move. "I was going to bring him back, I swear."

Orochimaru laughed, high and cold and cruel. He crossed the cave to where Naruto lay, still struggling to get to his feet. He said nothing, merely grabbed Naruto by the throat and lifted him off the ground. He studied the blonde's face for a moment, before throwing him hard into a wall. Cracks spider-webbed across the stone, and Naruto groaned weakly as he slid down the wall.

"Now Naruto, don't lie to your sensei," Kakashi said, looking down at him. "You abandoned us. You abandoned your promises, you know you did."

"No, I swear!" Naruto cried, the tears streaming down his face. "It wasn't my fault. I didn't- urrk!"

Orochimaru stuck again, this time planting a brutal kick straight into Naruto's stomach. The young shinobi tried to scream from the pain, but all that came out was a mix of blood and bile. He curled into a ball, puking onto the cold stone of the ground. Orochimaru just watched and waited until the retching subsided.

"Not your fault? Who else's fault could it have been Naruto-kun?" the pale-skinned abomination finally said. "After all, you were Sasuke's friend. His comrade. You never shut up about it."

He kneeled down and punched Naruto across the face. Blood and saliva sprayed across the ground, adding to the mess that was already there. Naruto coughed and tried to fight back, but his body wouldn't listen to his brain. The pain was like a poison, sapping his strength and seizing his muscles. All he managed was a feeble twitch. Meanwhile, Sakura walked up to them.

"You remember the first real lesson that Kakashi-sensei taught us, right Naruto-baka?" She asked. "I guess not, since you left! Sasuke! To! Die!"

With each word her voice rose, until it became an inhuman shriek of rage and hate. She stomped on his chest and stomach, sending further waves of pain through Naruto's broken body. He curled into a ball, desperate to shield himself. He didn't want to hear these things. He didn't want to fight his friends. His thoughts just kept circling round and round, going nowhere. Why were they doing this? Orochimaru he could understand, but Sakura? Kakashi? They would never do something like this. Right?

His former sensei's voice interrupted his thoughts, as the silver haired cyclops stepped forward.

"Since you've obviously forgotten my teachings, let me remind you," he said. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."

The masked Jonin drew a kunai from his pouch and raised it above his head. As Naruto watched it descend towards his face, time seemed to slow to a crawl. The knife crept towards him, and dread filled his heart. He was going to die down here, killed by his friends, a failure.

As the kunai inched closer to his face, a spark of defiance kindled inside of him. He didn't want to die alone in a frozen cave. He didn't want to die, period. So he had to do something about it. Sure, he was outnumbered, outmatched, badly beaten, and exhausted, but he was Naruto Uzumaki. He always had a trick up his sleeve, and in the last year he had learned some pretty impressive tricks.

He focused past the pain that gripped his body, past the ache of his friends' harsh words, even past the fear of his imminent death via kunai to the eye socket. He pushed past all of those things. They were just useless distractions. Instead, he focused on the Force, on its soothing ebb and flow. He was down here to take the next step in becoming a Jedi, and that's exactly what he was going to do. So he used that determination, gathered the Force to himself, and pushed outwards with all his might.

"I didn't abandon you!" he screamed as Kakashi, Sakura, and Orochimaru went flying back, tumbling through the air. They each twisted around and land on their feet looking no worse for wear, but at least he wasn't dead.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked. Naruto blinked at her tone. It wasn't as hateful and biting as before. Now it almost seemed pleading. As if she wanted him to do something but couldn't say what it was. Something about what he'd said had gotten a reaction from her, one other than anger or accusations. As he thought about it, the answer seemed to click into place in his mind.

"I didn't abandon you," Naruto repeated, more confident this time. "I never abandoned you. I left with Jiraiya-sensei so I could get stronger. Strong enough to keep my promises."

"Heh. And then you disappeared," Sakura said, her gaze accusing. Naruto closed his eyes and pain clouded his features for a moment. He took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes, all the uncertainty had vanished. He met Sakura's gaze without flinching, sure of his words.

"That wasn't my fault," he said, his voice calm and steady. "I blamed myself for a long time, but that wasn't my fault. Something dragged Jiraiya-sensei and I into the future, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. That's the truth. And that's not all."

None of the three ghosts from his past moved. Sakura looked at him, her eyes now peaceful, perhaps even pleased. Kakashi was as inscrutable as a mountain stone, but that was hardly unusual for him. Orochimaru seemed frozen, neither twitching nor blinking. His stillness would have bothered Naruto had he not already realized the reality of the situation.

"None of you are real," Naruto said. His voice cracked as he spoke, and tears once more blurred his vision, but he soldiered on regardless. As painful as it was, he needed to say this. He could not explain why, but in that moment, he felt it as clear as his need to breathe.

"You're dead, all of you. You all died 50,000 years ago on another planet. This is just one of those tests Master Luminara and Master Yoda mentioned, isn't it? You're just a vision conjured by the Cave for me to overcome."

Silence reigned unchallenged in the cave for a long minute. Naruto didn't move, not even to wipe away the tears that were even now trickling down his cheeks. The ghosts, his ghosts he realized now, merely looked at him calmly, no trace of their former aggression now apparent. For a time, it appeared they would all stand there in the frozen cavern silently until they became part of the cave themselves. At last, however, Sakura, or at least the thing that looked and sounded like Sakura, broke the silence.

"I guess you can still surprise me, Naruto," she (it?) said. "You really are the most unpredictable shinobi ever."

"So wait, I was right?" Naruto asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Kakashi and Sakura both face vaulted at that.

"You were just guessing?" Sakura roared. Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, maybe? I mean, I was pretty sure, but not 100%. I just went for it."

Kakashi sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Only you, Naruto. Only you," he said, before brightening. "Still, I'm very proud of you. It takes guts to go with your instincts like that."

Naruto smiled at the compliment. It was good to know that he could still surprise his old sensei, even if it was just some sort of Force illusion.

"So, does that mean I passed?" He asked.

"What do you think, dobe? It should be obvious, even to you," someone said from behind him. Naruto turned and saw who it was.

"Sasuke," he said, surprise written all over his face. And it was Sasuke, Sasuke as he had been before Orochimaru poisoned his mind with the curse mark and seduced him with promises of power and vengeance. Gone was the pasty white skin, the purple clan markings, and the vile snake eyes. Also gone was the glint of madness and hatred that Naruto had seen burning in his friend's eyes when last they had met.

After a few seconds, Naruto got over his shock and old instincts kicked in. Sasuke had just insulted him. Force illusion meant to test his mettle or not, Sasuke had just called him out. This called for a response, lest others think he was losing his edge.

"If I knew what to think I wouldn't have asked the question, you damn teme," he yelled. "If you know something I don't, how about you spit it out."

"Hn," came Sasuke's response. Naruto's left eye twitched when he hears his friend's signature monosyllabic comeback.

"Don't you 'Hn' me, you emo jerk. I've got stuff to do. I don't have time for your bullshit."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. Anyone would think he had had to deal with this sort of thing before.

"Sheesh dobe, don't be so loud," he said. "You want to know if you passed the test?"

"That's what I said," Naruto replied, his impatience growing.

Sasuke looked him dead in the eye and walked up to him.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to find out," he said. Before Naruto could ask what he meant, Sasuke gave him a firm push backwards. Naruto tried to take a step back to regain his balance, only to find that the ground behind him had vanished. With a shocked yelp, he fell into the newly formed void.

"Wha- you bastard!" He yelled as he tumbled into the darkness. The last things he saw were his friend's faces looking down at him before the inky blackness swallowed them whole.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Damnit, where is that kid?" Jiraiya swore. He had been searching for Naruto for nearly ten minutes now. They had been meandering through the caves until Jiraiya had decided to try to sense his crystal through the Force. He had gotten a sense for it and Naruto had chosen to tag along with him while he looked for the elusive thing. As they were walking along though, Jiraiya had suddenly found himself alone in the caves, with no sign of where Naruto had gotten to.

He had, naturally enough, immediately gone into a frenzy of searching. The last time Naruto had gone missing he had ended up trekking through the monster-infested bowels of Coruscant's undercity, before running afoul of a ring of slavers. Jiraiya didn't even want to consider the sort of trouble his errant godson might get up to in an ancient Force nexus, surrounded by Kyber crystals, with all the tools needed to build a lightsaber. Words like "blast radius" and "apocalyptic" sprang unbidden to his mind. He shivered and quickened his pace, redoubling his efforts to find Naruto.

"That's it," he grumbled. "As soon as I find him, the first thing I'm doing is slapping a tracking seal on the brat."

Despite all his formidable skills as a tracker, he could find no trace of where Naruto might have gone, or even that he had been following him at all. What was worse, he could swear that the caves seemed to shift about. There were passages in the walls that he was certain had not been there earlier, and turns where once there had been a straight path. The bare stone and ancient ice did not offer any footprints, and the Force was so strong and vibrant down in the caves that it made sensing Naruto's location effectively impossible. Furthermore, Jiraiya was wary of trusting any of his senses in this place, be they physical or spiritual. He had done some research of his own into the Crystal Cave, and a common thread throughout the various reports of Jedi who had visited it was that the Cave messed with your mind. Distance and direction were often impossible to determine, and visions were a near universal guarantee for any Force sensitive being who entered the tunnels in search of a crystal. Given all that, he could not even be certain of when he and Naruto had been separated, or if he was looking in the right direction.

"Damn, it's like being in a fucking genjutsu," he swore. "I can't track him if I can't even tell what's real or not."

He wasn't willing to summon a toad to help him here. For one, none of the smaller toads did well in cold weather, and the tracking toads were usually small. For another, Jiraiya had no real desire to find out what would happen if he tried to rip open a hole in space-time and summon a Force sensitive creature from another dimension while in the middle of a powerful Force nexus that was almost certainly messing with his head. As he had tried, and often failed, to explain to Naruto, summoning was dangerous and had to be performed with caution. As he tried to think of a solution to his dilemma, Jiraiya recalled Luminara's final words before they had gone into the caves. He stopped and tried to remember her exact words.

'Focus on finding your crystals and remember what you have been taught, it will guide you to your goal,' he thought. As he thought about her advice now, it seemed to be more significant than he had first thought. He cast his mind back to the last year of training he had gone through.

'The most common piece of advice I got was always "trust the Force" or something like it,' he thought. 'Master Yoda must have said that at least once a day for six months, usually more.'

With no other options that he could see, Jiraiya decided to follow Yoda's and Luminara's advice. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his mind, eliminating all distractions. It wasn't easy. His concern for Naruto coupled with his lingering confusion over his feelings for Luminara was not something easily dismissed. It was at times like this that he was actually grateful for all the Jedi training on dismissing emotions and finding serenity. While he found their near obsession with it somewhat disquieting, Jiraiya could freely admit it was a useful skill to have in many situations.

Once he had successfully calmed his mind, he allowed himself to slip into a meditative trance. Much like Naruto, he still found divining the will of the Force a difficult proposition, and one best undertaken while meditating. After a minute or two of this, he felt his mind brush up against the currents of the Force. Unlike earlier, where he had specifically been searching for his crystal, this time Jiraiya merely opened himself up to the Force and waited to see what guidance it would provide.

Nothing.

He waited some more.

Still nothing.

He tried focusing on Naruto, hoping that the more limited scope of his search would yield answers.

Nothing again.

As he grew frustrated, Jiraiya realized that wasn't quite right. While the Force had shown him nothing new, the pull towards his crystal was now stronger than ever. Just as the thought occurred to him, the dull awareness of the distant Kyber shard became tinged with a sense of… something. Urgency, perhaps? Maybe insistence? Whatever it was, Jiraiya was certain of one thing. The Force wanted him to find his crystal. Even when he once again focused on Naruto, seeking his location in the Force, all he got was a stronger and stronger urge to find the crystal. Whether doing so would lead him to Naruto or was simply that much more important than finding him, Jiraiya did not know. That said, he had no better ideas.

"Well, looks like I'm going rock hunting," he said to himself ruefully. "You'd better be alright, Naruto. I'm trusting you to be alright."

Jiraiya hesitated, though, and stared for a long moment down the tunnel where he thought he had last seen Naruto. After nearly a minute of standing stock still, frozen in indecision, he abruptly shook his head, as if dislodging a fly.

"Ah, what am I saying? Of course he'll be alright," he said cheerfully. "Damn kid has got the luck of Kami, and my training on top of that. He'll be fine."

His mind made up, Jiraiya set off back down the arrow straight tunnel, following the pull of his crystal. His pace was swift, nearing a run. If finding Naruto meant finding this crystal, then he was damn well going to find it as fast as he could.

After perhaps ten minutes of walking, jogging really, Jiraiya heard a sound he had not expected to come across in the subterranean bowels of a frozen planet like Ilum. Water. Specifically the gentle gurgle of water flowing over rocks, as if an underground stream lay ahead.

As he emerged from the tunnel into a wider cavern, he found that was exactly the case. Cutting through the rock and ice of the cave floor, a small river flowed through the room. The water was clear as glass, making it near impossible to judge depth. From the bubbling cracks he could see on the river bed, Jiraiya guessed natural hot springs warmed the water. The stream was perhaps five meters wide at the most, flowing slowly enough that the surface of the water had scarcely a ripple marring its polished surface.

The overall effect was undeniably beautiful. The water cast rippling shadows and dappled the walls and ceiling with ever shifting patterns of light and dark. Despite his haste, Jiraiya found himself transfixed by the ethereal wonder of the sight before him. He paused, gaping at the shimmering vista, just soaking it in. As a Sage he always found the beauty of nature especially touching, and this? This moved him to his core.

As he took in the view, he spotted a figure sitting on the bank of the river. Suspicious, he moved in closer to get a better look. There should have been no one in the caves aside from him and Naruto. When he got close enough to actually see the figure clearly, though, he froze. The breath stalled in his lungs, and he could have been carved from stone for all the movement he exhibited.

The figure was a human woman, and a familiar one at that. An impossible one. Someone Jiraiya would have bet his life he would never have seen again. Golden blonde hair, honey-colored eyes, perfect breasts whose dimensions he could even now recite to the nearest millimeter. Every aspect of her, from her face to her body to her clothes, was exactly as he recalled it.

"Tsunade," he breathed, once he recalled how to form words. "You're- this is impossible."

The thing that looked like Tsunade frowned at him. He instinctively gulped in apprehension. Whatever this was, it had Tsunade's signature death glare down to a tee.

"You're dead," he continued. "This is just a Force vision. I've just got to-"

Thwack

"Ouch!"

Apparently fed up with his babbling, the Tsunade phantom had smacked him upside the head. It evidently had Tsunade's monstrous strength and legendary temper as well. Jiraiya blinked the stars out of his vision, a familiar feeling lump already rising on the back of his head.

"Is that anyway to greet your old teammate?" Tsunade roared. "Did that feel like some hallucination to you?"

"Aggh, dammit! I forgot how much that hurt," Jiraiya complained loudly, before he refocused on Tsunade. "What was that for, hime? I didn't even say anything perverted."

Tsunade's death glare shut him up, his jaw audibly clicking shut. She kept the expression up for several moments more, before she allowed her face to soften.

"It was for being rude," she said. "We haven't seen each other for 50,000 years, and the first thing you say is that I'm not real? Forgive me for expecting a little more out of you."

Jiraiya stood up with a grunt, still eyeing her warily. He wasn't yet convinced that this was actually Tsunade. Despite that though, he still felt the urge to trust her. Perhaps it was the cave, or perhaps it was simply the joy of seeing his long time love once more, real or not. He didn't know, and he honestly didn't really care.

"Now, tell me what's been going on since you disappeared," Tsunade asked. "How's Naruto doing?"

Jiraiya sighed and motioned for her to sit down. If she was really Tsunade, then he figured he owed her an explanation of the past year of his life. If she was merely a Force vision, then according to everything he had read on the Crystal Cave he would have to actually work through whatever test she represented before he could move on. At that exact moment, he honestly didn't know which he would prefer. While actually speaking to Tsunade again would be wonderful, he was not looking forward to the pounding he would receive when he told her Naruto was currently missing.

With that mildly terrifying thought in mind, Jiraiya sat across from his old teammate on the ground. He steeled his nerves for what was to come and began his story.

He started with the night he had told Naruto the truth about his parentage and the events surrounding the Kyuubi's attack. Tsunade's face tightened upon hearing of how Naruto had cried, though she gave him a grateful smile when he related how he had helped the boy. She listened silently through the events of their time travel, as well as their finding the old site of Konoha and the ruins of the Hokage monument. A little pride shone in her eyes when he mentioned how many faces had been added over the years. Clearly their old village had prospered prior to its eventual destruction.

When he described the ship that had swooped over their heads to land in front of them, it was the first time she actually looked shocked. Her eyes widened at the idea of such a device. The look only deepened when he described Quinlan, and especially Aayla.

"Wait, you're telling me she was an alien? An actual, honest to kami space alien?" Tsunade asked, clearly still skeptical.

"Well yeah," Jiraiya replied. "She had blue skin, two tentacles instead of hair, and her looks. Her body! Oh man, it was just…"

He trailed off, lost in memory for a moment, old habits as a pervert resurfacing as he spoke to Tsunade. When a trickle of blood ran out of his nose and a perverted giggle escaped his lips, she cleared her throat loudly and flicked Jiraiya between the eyes, sending him sprawling. When he picked himself up off the ground once more, she gave him another glare.

"Focus, you pervert! I don't have time for your depravity right now!"

Jiraiya shook his head, clearing the ringing from his ears.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, yes, Aayla is an alien. A Twi'lek to be more specific."

He explained how they had fought off the Flesh Raiders, and how Naruto had nearly lost himself to the Kyuubi before Aayla saved him. Tsunade clenched her fists, the knuckles turning white and the tendons standing out as she heard of her grandson's near miss. Her look of worry turned to pride though, when Jiraiya told her how Naruto had saved Aayla's life in return. It was a pride he shared with her, that of a parent seeing their child live up to and exceed their expectations, and a teacher watching their pupil overcome adversity and apply their lessons well.

For what felt like many hours, but was in fact less than one, Jiraiya talked about their time with the Jedi. From Naruto's first misadventure with Ahsoka down in the undercity to his newfound mechanical aptitude to the recent test and their journey to Ilum, he relayed the major events of the last year to Tsunade. It was as he was describing their purpose on Ilum that she asked the question he had rather been hoping to avoid.

"Where is Naruto anyway? I thought you said you came here together?"

Jiraiya grimaced before bracing himself for what was to come.

"Well, you see, we… uhh… kind of got separated. I may not know… exactly… where he is right now."

…

…

…

"YOU WHAT!? YOU USELESS FOOL, WHERE IS NARUTO?"

Tsunade's anger was even more impressive than he had anticipated. Her glare could have bored a hole in solid steel, and her chakra flared high enough to crack the surrounding stone. She oozed killing intent in waves, enough to even make Jiraiya sweat. He grit his teeth and pushed forward anyway.

"Don't worry, he's fine," Jiraiya said, trying desperately to placate her before she did something drastic, like collapse the entire cave system. "I'd feel if he was in any real danger, and this is probably something he needs to do on his own. All I need to do is find my crystal and I'm sure I'll be able to find him."

Tsunade shook her head violently, slashing her hand through the air.

"Absolutely not. We're going to look for him right now. Follow me!"

With that, she turned around and took off at a run, following the twists and turns of the underground river. Jiraiya sighed and took off after her, sprinting to catch up. As he ran, he noticed they were heading away from where he sensed his crystal. With every step he took, he could feel the Force telling him to stop, to turn around and resume his search in the other direction. He grimaced and shouted after Tsunade.

"Dammit hime, it's not that way. I have to find the crystal first. It's the only way to find Naruto."

"Screw the crystal," Tsunade shouted back, not slowing her pace at all. "I don't care if I have to smash this entire mountain range to pieces. I'm finding Naruto. Now come on, keep up."

Jiraiya cursed under his breath. He could feel the urgency in the Force now, pushing him to turn around. It waged war with his desperate desire to follow Tsunade, to work with her once more. It was like being torn in half, but it was hardly the first time he had been faced with a tough choice. This time, just like all those other times, he knew what he had to do. The difference was, this time, he also thought he just might have the strength to do it. So, with one last curse, Jiraiya stopped in his tracks.

"No Tsunade," he said, his voice as but determined. "Not this time. I know what I have to do. Go on if you want, but the Force is telling me to find my crystal if I want to find Naruto, and that's what I intend to do."

"Dammit Jiraiya, I don't have time for some mystical crap," she yelled back. "I am your Hokage! I order you to help me."

Jiraiya went still. His hands clenched, and his shoulders trembled with tension. In his life, he had never actually disobeyed a direct order from the Hokage. Indeed, he had executed men who had. Finally though, he sighed and shook his head.

"No, you're not, Tsunade. A hundred Hokages have lived and died since you wore the hat, and Konoha is long since gone. That part of my life is over now, and I need to accept that."

Tsunade said nothing, merely looking at him. Her face was unreadable, but Jiraiya pushed on regardless. He could feel tears threatening to well up in his eyes, but he fought them down. If this truly was Tsunade's ghost, he would not let her last glimpse of him be marred with tears.

"I will always remember you fondly, Tsunade. But I have to go now. Goodbye."

With that, he turned around and set off back down the path towards his crystal. He could see the river flowing on before him, carving an arrow straight channel through the rock as it flowed to its destination, wherever that may be.

After several steps, he finally allowed the tears to fall. They traced paths of their own down his face and dripped silently onto the ground. Despite his sorrow, though, Jiraiya felt lighter by the second. His tears carried a grief and a turmoil he had not even truly been aware of anymore, and its sudden absence lifted a weight from his soul he only now could feel. As he followed the flow of the river, a smile joined the tears on his face.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

There's the first round of tests done then. Let me know what you think of them. I wanted something that would convey how much emotional turmoil Naruto and Jiraiya are carrying, even without knowing it. Most of that obviously revolves around their lost homeland, and this will serve as a big step forward in their healing. It won't be the last step though, especially for Naruto. He still has plenty of demons to deal with, both literal and metaphorical.

For those of you who may be wondering, it will only be in circumstances like this that I will include additional characters from Naruto. These were not even really those characters. As Naruto said, they were just visions, drawn from his and Jiraiya's minds and projected by the Force nexus to test them. What they said and how they acted was a product of Naruto and Jiraiya's memories, fears, and expectations rather than a portrait of reality. You will find out what exactly happened on Tython after Naruto and Jiraiya disappeared, but not for quite a while yet.