Here we are, the first chapter of 2022, and boy did I have some trouble getting this one off the ground. As I mentioned several chapters ago, I had to restructure this entire arc. This chapter ended up taking the brunt of that blow, which is why it's been so long since I posted. This is actually a Frankenstein-esque combination of elements from four different chapters that I have welded together because I feel they fit better after the events of Ilum. Hopefully the stitching doesn't show too badly.

Before we start, though, a clarification. Both Naruto and Jiraiya were in a sort of dissociated state from the moment they first enter the caves up to the moment they're last vision ends. Their perception of reality was altered at every stage, not just during the visons proper. I got the idea for Naruto building his lightsaber while in a trance from the Legends account of when Anakin builds his first lightsaber. In that book he has a vision of Darth Maul, and he ends up fighting him. When he wins, Maul tosses Anakin his lightsaber. When Anakin wakes up from the vision, he's holding the lightsaber that Maul tossed him, which turns out to be the lightsaber he built.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Naruto, and it's too late at night for me to try to make a disclaimer funny.

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Chapter 19

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself kneeling in the same cave he had just fought in. The first thing he noticed was that the Force felt different. It was as though something had been tugging at his presence, and had now stopped. The remarkable ease he had experienced in connecting to the Force earlier had vanished. For a moment he was disappointed, until something occurred to him.

'If the Force is back to normal, then maybe…'

Tentatively, Naruto tried to draw his Force presence back into his body and mix it with his physical energy. He was nervous about what might happen if it failed again. The thought of living without chakra was enough to send cold shivers running up his spine.

To his immense relief, his chakra formed exactly as it usually did. He sagged as that weight lifted from his shoulders. The first time he could not make chakra had been one of the most terrifying experiences of his entire life. Had he not been in such a serious fight, he probably would have broken down and cried. As it was, he reveled in the old, familiar feel of his chakra before reconnecting to the Force.

A quick glance around the cave gave him some idea of what had happened. The stalagmites were all intact, and there was no blood splattered on the floor or the walls. Everything was exactly as it had been before Rocky had shown up. The only difference was that he could now see several tunnels leading out of the round cavern. Clearly, no epic battle had taken place here. Additionally, his mask was back on his face, and his kunai pouch was back on his leg.

'It must have all been some sort of Force vision,' he thought. 'That's probably why I couldn't make any chakra. The Force nexus in the cave wouldn't let me. I wonder who those weirdos at the end were though. They didn't seem like the rest of the vision.'

At the thought of the Force nexus, he remembered why he was in the cave in the first place. He looked down and saw that he was holding a lightsaber. Not just any lightsaber, but the same lightsaber that Rocky had tossed to him right before he had blacked out.

The hilt was a little under 30 cm long. It was mostly made of a copper duranium alloy, with thin, raised bands spiraling down its length. They formed a slightly ridged, ergonomic grip for his hands. Towards the base of the hilt, the two strands of durasteel merged into one, and together, they formed the Uzumaki clan symbol on the butt of the weapon. He had carved the activator switch with the symbol of Konoha, just like his forehead protector. It tapered slightly towards the emitter, lending a sleek, flowing look. The dials that controlled the blade's length and power settings were recessed slightly into the handle, out of the way of his hands.

The crown jewel of the lightsaber, though, were the carvings on the hilt. They began directly below the emitter, and spiraled down the hilt, following the ridges. The first was a snarling fox with nine tails. After that was an empty swing, then a wrinkled monkey eating fish with a small companion. A Konoha headband was next, followed by an image of a dog corralling three young puppies as they snapped at each other. Next was a bridge, and a monolithic sword placed above two graves. Then there were the same three puppies from before, but now grown somewhat and fighting a snake. Following that, there was an old toad writing a book, then a fox fighting a tanuki. From there, a snake biting a monkey even as the monkey strangled the snake. Then the same snake, only this time it was fighting a slug and a toad. After that was a sword made of lightning, and then a snowflake melting into a flower. Then the snake from before appeared again, this time with one of the young dogs in its mouth. Next was a young toad battling the dog, with a lightning bolt piercing its chest. After that was an image of the older toad walking with the younger toad on his back.

On and on the carvings went. The two toads both weeping around a fire, them standing in a ruined village, them fighting monsters with two sword wielding allies at their backs. Next, the two toads stood before the Jedi Temple, and then within it, now clothed in Jedi robes. Following that was an image of the smaller toad falling through the air with a cat and a young girl. The next section of the mural showed the three companions as they battled monsters, climbed out of a pit, and rescued a group of prisoners from their chains. Finally, the last carving showed the two toads standing side by side, each now holding a sword.

Each carving was tiny, though highly detailed, and together they wove around the hilt like a tapestry. Less than a third of the hilt was engraved, however, with plenty of room left for future carvings. Naruto smiled as he looked at the mural of his life, now etched on his new weapon. All told, the lightsaber was beautiful.

It was also clearly his. Even leaving aside the memories he had etched onto the hilt, Naruto could feel the connection he had with the lightsaber. He could feel his crystal buried within it, pulsing like a tiny heart. He could also, strangely enough, remember building it. Even though he had been in the midst of a vision, he had also been assembling his lightsaber, and the memories were there. He recalled finding the crystal at the peak of one of the stalagmites. He recalled carefully using the Force to arrange all the components before slotting them all together with micrometric precision. He even recalled letting the Force guide him as he engraved the story of who he was onto the hilt, its guidance granting him far greater artistic skill than he normally possessed. It was altogether similar to the way his clones gave him memories. While strange, he didn't want to dwell on it. He had something more important to do. As held his new lightsaber out in front of him, he thumbed the activator.

Snap-hiss.

"Whoa."

A meter long shaft of bright orange plasma burst from the emitter and lit the whole cave like a sunrise. The orange light especially reflected off of the copper in the hilt, making it practically glow. The effect was enhanced as the engravings lit up with the same brilliant orange glow as the blade. Altogether, it made it appear as if he were wielding a shaft of pure sunset light.

Naruto swiftly adjusted the length down to better suit his height. Once he was satisfied, he gave the blade a few practice swings before running through a brief kata. When he had finished, there was only one thing he could think of.

'It's perfect.'

After he spent a few more minutes getting a feel for his saber, Naruto somewhat reluctantly deactivated it. He blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the sudden gloom. Without the warm light his blade cast, the cave looked cold and lifeless. Even deactivated, he could still feel the comforting glow of his crystal in his mind. Now that he had one of his own, Naruto finally understood why the Jedi were so dead set against labeling their lightsabers as mere weapons. Naruto had carried plenty of weapons in his life. The word didn't even begin to encompass what his lightsaber was to him. Everything about it just belonged, as if it were filling a slot in his life he had never known was empty. The hardships he had gone through to get it only made it more significant.

As he reflected on his visions, his thoughts soured. The second one had been bad enough, but it was the first one that he found truly troubling. Hearing his friends say such cruel things, even if it hadn't truly been them, was incredibly painful. It reminded him of his childhood, when only Hokage-jiji and old man Teuchi had had any kind words for him.

'Stop it,' he told himself. 'It wasn't really them. It was just a vision. It wasn't real. It wasn't!'

Even so, he couldn't get the thought out of his head. What if they had been telling the truth? What if Orochimaru really had taken over Sasuke's body? It wasn't like it was completely implausible. Even if they had been visions, what if they had been telling him what had really happened?

'No! I won't believe that. I just won't,' he thought, and he pushed the dilemma to the back of his mind, resolving not to think about it. That little niggling question didn't quite go away, though.

Once he had affixed his lightsaber securely to his belt, he turned his attention towards the next major task at hand; finding his godfather and getting out of the cave. Hopefully, Jiraiya had found his own crystal in the time they had been separated. Naruto was eager to leave the crystal caves. Though they didn't seem as eerie as they had earlier, there was still the air of cold remoteness to the Force in the cave. As powerfully as this place may have shone in the light, it was not somewhere he wanted to spend more time than necessary.

He reached out with his senses through the Force in order to find Jiraiya. It took some time as he sorted through the swirl of power that permeated the caves, but eventually he got a vague idea of where his godfather was. Once he was sure, Naruto set off out of the cave and down the tunnel that led towards Jiraiya.

It seemed they had both had the same idea, because he felt Jiraiya heading towards him as well. It took nearly half an hour, as they were fairly far apart, but eventually they met up. Jiraiya immediately gave Naruto a hug.

"Damn brat, I was worried about you," he said. "You just up and vanished on me. What happened?"

"Me?" Naruto replied. "You're the one that just disappeared. One minute we're walking together, the next you're just gone. I looked for you, but everything went crazy."

Jiraiya nodded and frowned.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this place was messing with our heads the whole time," he said. "It doesn't matter now, though. Did you get your crystal?"

"Of course I did, Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto said as he held up his new blade and turned it on. "I made my lightsaber too. What about you?"

Jiraiya showed him his own newly made lightsaber. He had constructed the main body of the hilt out of a gnarled tree branch. Through careful artistry, he had subtly disguised all of the controls as knots in the wood. At the end of the branch perched a toad carved from polished durasteel, its mouth closed tight. At Naruto's questioning look, Jiraiya held his lightsaber off to one side and activated it. Instantly, the toad's mouth snapped open and a bright green blade emerged to light up the cave.

"Well that's definitely… unique," Naruto said. Jiraiya rolled his eyes at the faint praise.

"Aww, you just don't have any sense of style, brat," he said as he put his lightsaber away. "An orange lightsaber? Really? What is it with you and that freaking color?"

"Hey, screw you, sensei," Naruto said. "Orange is awesome. You're just jealous."

"Whatever you say, brat," Jiraiya said with a chuckle. "What's with the fancy engraving? I didn't figure you for the artistic type."

Naruto hesitated for a few seconds before answering, in order to find the right words. It was not a simple concept to explain, but it was important to him that Jiraiya understood why he had etched his lightsaber as he had.

"Those carvings, they're me," he said. "They're everything that's made me who I am until now. If I'm going to carry a lightsaber and be a Jedi, I want to make sure I always know who I am and why I keep going. This way, every time I use my blade, I'm not just fighting with a weapon, I'm fighting with everything and everyone that makes me, well, me. Does that make sense?"

Jiraiya looked at him with an odd expression, one Naruto could not identify. He shifted a little beneath the intense stare.

"What? What's with the look?"

Jiraiya just shook his head and gave Naruto a pat on the shoulder. "Oh, nothing kid. I just realized that you're growing up. Now let's get going. It's fucking freezing down here. I want to leave before my balls retreat any further. Besides, I need to ask Luminara if having an orange lightsaber is a sign of madness."

As his godfather set off down the tunnel, Naruto followed him, grumbling all the while. He just couldn't understand why some people didn't appreciate orange. It was the greatest color ever. That was just a fact.

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Master Luminara Unduli had been meditating for hours now. She often passed the time by meditating, but this time she had a purpose beyond merely whiling away the day. She was trying to sort through her reaction from when Jiraiya had shut down during their earlier conversation on the ship. For some unaccountable reason, it had hurt when he had shut her out. Even more unusually, it still stung when she thought about it.

This wasn't like her. She was a Jedi Master, one well used to being in control of her emotions. Yes, she considered Jiraiya a friend. A good friend, even. Yes, it was only natural for it to hurt when her friends wouldn't talk to her, but she normally would be able to easily release such emotions into the Force. So why was this time different?

As she examined what exactly it was that she was feeling, she came to a startling conclusion. It wasn't just Jiraiya's reticence that she found painful. It was the look she had seen in his eyes as he had ended their talk. Right before the mask of lazy indifference slid back into place, she had seen a flash of pain in his eyes. Pain and grief. Something about seeing him in pain, especially when he looked at her, had stung.

Before she could ponder the implications of that, the feel of two people emerging from the depths of the cave pulled her from her meditation. Their Force signatures shone bright and familiar. It appeared Naruto and Jiraiya had both finally passed whatever tests the Force had sent their way.

A few minutes later, she saw the wall of ice that covered the exit glow. Steam hissed out in great billowing clouds before freezing into snow in the frigid air. Melt water pooled around the steps and drained into unseen cisterns. As she watched, two figures, each holding lit lightsabers, emerged from the fog.

Naruto stepped out first, his signature eye smile in place. She suppressed a smirk at the sight of his orange lightsaber. It was an unusual color, and one she felt suited such an unusual Padawan.

Next, her gaze landed on Jiraiya. She noted his lightsaber with its interesting hilt design, but her focus was more drawn to his overall bearing. He seemed lighter, less weighed down than before. The subtle sense of melancholy that had so often permeated his countenance had finally left him. For reasons she didn't fully understand, she felt relieved to see him so unburdened. She was tempted to dismiss the feeling as smacking of attachment, but at the last second, she changed her mind. She tried following Jiraiya's advice, at least this once, to see where it led her. Rather than release her feelings into the Force, she allowed them to rest in her mind, and turned her attention to the two new Padawans who had just cleared the steam and mist.

"Congratulations, you two," she said. "I see you've both passed the test. How was it?"

Naruto frowned when he heard her question.

"It… really sucked, Master Unduli," he said. Jiraiya just nodded in agreement.

Luminara laughed a little at their frank answers. Most Initiates, upon completing their Gathering, would try to impress their guide by trying to find deeper meaning in whatever challenges they had faced. Failing that, they would usually try to downplay their ordeal. It was refreshing to hear such an unvarnished assessment of the Crystal cave.

"Yes, the caves are rarely a pleasant experience," she said. "I encourage you to reflect on what you experienced while in there. The trials you face often have greater significance than you might expect."

She noticed Naruto frowning at that, and a look of trepidation appeared in his eyes before he schooled his features. He said nothing though, and merely bowed his head in acknowledgement. She shot a curious glance at Jiraiya, but he just gave a minute shake of his head. Clearly, whatever Naruto found troubling, he had not yet shared it with his godfather.

She resolved to question the boy about it, but later. Right now, she decided, the best thing they could do was get back to the ship. When she said as much, both Naruto and Jiraiya gave sighs of relief.

"Finally," Naruto said as he made for the exit. "I've almost forgotten what it's like to have feeling in my feet."

Luminara frowned internally at his tone as they walked back to the ship. It was superficially cheerful, but beneath that thin veneer, she could detect a disturbing level of turmoil. Whatever he had experienced in the cave had clearly been unsettling. While she would normally question him on it, she didn't want to do so just yet. Luminara felt that, as he was now a Padawan, she should give Naruto the chance to work through this on his own. He had earned at least that much of her trust by now.

Nevertheless, she felt an obligation to help him process whatever weighed on him. With an ordinary Padawan, she might recommend meditation, or perhaps a text from the archives that had some bearing on the matter. With Naruto, however, she needed something different, something he would engage with. By the time they had reached the ship, Luminara had decided on her course of action.

"Naruto, please come up to the cockpit with me," she said once they had all taken off their cold weather gear. Naruto dutifully followed her to the cockpit, his curiosity crystal clear through the Force. It transformed into cautious excitement when he saw her get in the copilot's chair.

"Master, are you letting me..?" He trailed off

"You do know how to pilot this sort of ship, no?" She asked. Naruto just nodded dumbly as he sat in the pilot's chair.

"You may take off and get us into hyperspace," she said. "I'll take over once we reach the Coruscant sector. You're not quite ready for spacelanes that are that busy."

Even her tacit slight against Naruto's capabilities wasn't enough to quell his good cheer. He ran through the preflight checks, scanned the local weather for a clear flight path, and launched.

The first sign Luminara had that she may have made a mistake was that Naruto did not immediately angle the ship into an ascent. Instead, once he was a hundred or so meters above the ground, he stayed level. The second sign she had was when she saw him dial the inertial dampers down as low as was safely possible. The third, and perhaps most worrying sign, was the undisguised gleam of mischief in his eyes.

"Naruto, who was it who taught you to fly again?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"Anakin did, Master" Naruto answered. Luminara's eyes widened, but it was too late. Naruto gunned the engines and took the shuttle from level flight to a vertical climb more or less instantly. All Luminara could do was brace herself against her seat as she felt her skin try to peel off her skull. She distantly heard a startled yelp that sounded a lot like Jiraiya, followed by a crash and lots of swearing. She was too busy feeling her stomach drop into oblivion to pay him much mind, though. All the while, Naruto was laughing and whooping like a maniac.

Finally, after what felt like about ten years of vertical acceleration, Luminara felt the ship settle into a constant speed. She glanced out the viewport and saw that they had cleared the planet's atmosphere. She also saw her own reflection, which looked a little greener than normal. She frowned at Naruto, who somehow contrived to look as innocent as a child. Specifically, a child that was trying to look innocent. Still, something behind that facade spoke to such pure, unbridled joy that she couldn't find it in herself to scold him. She settled for shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Well, I see Skywalker has passed on his penchant for aerial lunacy to you," she said. "Please refrain from any more stunts like that. I'm not sure the ship could take them."

"Yes Master," Naruto said, suitably mollified. He dialed the inertial dampers back to 100 percent and began plotting a course for their first hyperspace jump. Once she was sure that he would not send them crashing into a star at 2000 times the speed of light, Luminara stood up and made to leave. Naruto would work through his issues best while alone with his thoughts, and she needed to talk to Jiraiya. And also make sure he was still alive.

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Jiraiya had survived Naruto's enthusiastic takeoff, though he swore his head had left a dent in the bulkhead. His irritation at being tossed around the ship like a rag doll was short-lived, however, as he agreed with Luminara's reasons for letting Naruto fly the ship. Though he couldn't tell her exactly what was troubling his godson, he figured that letting him spend some time mulling it over was probably for the best.

It had been several hours since they entered hyperspace, and Jiraiya had spent most of that time talking with Luminara. After the rather trying day he had had in the cave, it felt nice to simply relax with a friend.

"You seem… different," she noted. "Less troubled."

Jiraiya nodded. "I let something go that I don't need to carry anymore, and I've accepted something that I've been denying for far too long."

"Oh?" Luminara gestured, inviting him to continue.

Jiraiya paused and tried to order his thoughts. He wasn't ready to talk about letting go of Tsunade just yet, especially not to Luminara. At the same time, he wasn't about to shut her out entirely.

"I let go of my past, you might say; or at least a part of it that was weighing me down," he said. "I also accepted that I am a failure."

Luminara blinked in shock. She looked at him with concern.

"Jiraiya, what do you mean?" She asked. "You aren't a failure. Look at what-"

Jiraiya raised a hand to pause her.

"I should have put that better," he said. "What I meant was I have accepted that my failures in the past don't matter. I will not be limited by them. I've let them define me for decades now, but no more."

Luminara nodded as he spoke.

"I'm happy to hear that," she said with a small smile.

Jiraiya smiled back. They sat there for a few seconds, just enjoying each other's company, before his smile turned into a sly smirk.

"So what about you?" He asked. Luminara glanced up in surprise.

"What about me?"

"I'm not the only one who's acting different," he said. "Ever since we got to the ship, you've been more… open. Less reserved. I've seen you smile more in the past few hours than I usually do in a week. Hell, you even laughed out loud a little bit ago. What's up?"

Now it was Luminara's turn to pause and collect her thoughts. Jiraiya just sat patiently and waited. He knew he could be almost unreasonably private, but there were times when Luminara could give him a run for his money in that department. If he was going to get an insight into what was going on in her head, then he was perfectly willing to wait for it. Soon enough, his patience paid dividends.

"I have decided to give your approach to emotions a try," she said. "I have been allowing myself to experience some of my more positive emotions rather than dismissing them or releasing them into the Force."

Jiraiya felt his jaw drop. This was perhaps the last thing he had expected of her. Despite her continued willingness to hear him out on his philosophy, Luminara had always struck him as being incredibly reserved, even for a Jedi Master. Sure, she had a dry wit, and even a decent, if subtle, sense of humor, but to hear her openly say she was embracing her emotions was like hearing Naruto swear off ramen. He would have guessed that Obi Wan or even Plo Koon would give his way a try before her. To compound his shock, he saw her smirking at the undoubtedly stupid expression on his face.

"Wh-what brought this on?" He asked. "I thought my ideas were 'too dangerous and impractical' for Jedi to put them into practice."

Once more, Luminara paused before answering. Once more, Jiraiya waited patiently. Once more, after a minute, his patience paid off.

"When we first met," she said, "I didn't think there was any possibility of you succeeding as a Jedi. Don't get me wrong, I thought you were an excellent warrior and a good man; but after you told me about your beliefs, I thought you would leave the Order within months. That it would be impossible for you to be a Jedi."

"So what changed your mind?" He asked. He wasn't mad at her. He had actually considered leaving the Order several times in those early months. If it hadn't been for Naruto, he probably would have.

"It started after I helped you rescue Naruto and Ahsoka from those Black Sun slavers," she said. "When Naruto used the Force to shield Ahsoka, he fueled his actions with emotions, and yet they did not corrupt him. Instead, they lent him a power I have never seen before in one so young."

"Don't let him hear you say that," Jiraiya said. "His ego needs no more inflation."

Luminara smirked at his joke before becoming serious again.

"After that, despite what I had expected, you didn't leave the Order," she said. "Instead, you stayed, you taught us a whole new way of using the Force, and now you've passed the trials of Ilum and built your own lightsaber. All while drawing strength from your emotions rather than being hindered by them. I've decided to see if perhaps you might have a point after all."

Jiraiya thought about what she had said for a minute and then grinned broadly. He laughed and pointed a thumb at himself.

"So what you're saying is that my sheer awesomeness brought you around," he said. Luminara just gave him a deadpan stare.

"Then again, perhaps I was wrong, and you are merely a buffoon," she said.

Jiraiya just snorted. "Of course I'm a buffoon. It's part of my immense personal charm," he said, and Luminara rolled her eyes.

"Does it trouble you to constantly aim for humor and yet miss so dramatically?" She quipped.

"Nah, I'm used to it," Jiraiya said, waving off her playful insult. "But in all seriousness, I'm happy to hear that you're giving my way a try. It's not the easiest thing in the world, but I think it beats the hell out of trying to be completely detached."

"Just to be clear, I'm still not convinced you're right about this," she said. "I'm just willing to try things your way and see how it goes. I also still don't agree with your views on attachments."

Jiraiya chuckled once again. "Well, baby steps, I suppose. After all, who knows what would happen if you didn't disagree with me on something. We wouldn't have anything to talk about. I'd get bored. The galaxy might end. Worst of all, I wouldn't have an excuse to see you nearly as often."

Luminara shook her head and laughed at his antics. As usual, she made no comment on his flirtation, no doubt seeing it as another joke. If he were completely honest with himself, Jiraiya wasn't entirely sure himself.

"You should get some rest," she said as she stood up. "You've had a long day, and you should be fresh when we get to the Temple. I'll relieve Naruto."

Jiraiya nodded and thanked her as she left. It took her a few minutes to pry Naruto from the ship's controls, but in the end she managed it. It helped that, once in hyperspace, there was very little for a pilot to do but twiddle their thumbs and stare at the nothing streaking by. Naruto was still quiet when he went to bed, but he fell asleep almost immediately, so Jiraiya decided not to worry. Not about his godson, at least. He had other things on his mind just then; things that kept him awake, staring at the ceiling in thought. Namely, his growing feelings for Luminara.

While he had come to several realizations in the cave, one stood out to him at the moment. He knew, as surely as he had ever known anything, that ignoring his feelings for her was not a viable solution to anything. His determination to do so earlier had been born as much out of a fear of his own past failures as it had been of the obstacles that lay in the path of any such romance. As he had told Luminara earlier, he refused to let such fears define him any longer.

That didn't remove those obstacles, though. The first, and most obvious one, that any such relationship would be against the Jedi Code, was not really a concern to him. The Code would change, of that he was certain. Jiraiya had certainly taken on greater challenges than disabusing the Jedi Council of their absurd misconceptions on attachments. He was already making progress on that front, glacial though it was. Such progress would only become easier as he rose in the ranks and proved that he wasn't some fluke or madman. Even if he somehow failed to change their minds, he was hardly opposed to the idea of going behind their backs on this particular. If anything, the thought of a secret, forbidden relationship appealed to the writer within him. It was a romantic drama at its finest.

Of far greater import were Luminara's own views on the subject. First and foremost, she, unlike him, gave significant weight to those parts of the Jedi Code. True, she was trying to experience her emotions now, and that gave him hope, but she was still against attachment. Even if she came around fully to his way of thinking, there was still no guarantee that she would share his feelings. Hell, he didn't even know what his feelings were exactly. All he knew was that the last woman he had felt this way for had been Tsunade, almost forty years ago, when they first became teammates. He remembered how that had gone.

'Still, I'd better not kid myself,' he thought. 'There's only one thing to do.'

He would get both her and the rest of the Jedi to pull the sticks out of their collective asses, and then he would woo her with all the passion and romance he had within his soul. If she didn't return his affection, then he stood by what he had said to that Nadeshiko kunoichi all those years ago. He would devote himself to her happiness, no matter if that happiness involved loving him.

'For now though, one step at a time,' he thought as he finally drifted off. 'And my next step is becoming a Jedi. I wonder who my Master will be. And Naruto's? Whoever takes him on will be on for one hell of a ride.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

For Naruto, it was a relief when they finally arrived at Coruscant. Sure, he complained about Master Luminara not letting him pilot the ship to the Temple, but it was mostly for show. Even his self-confidence was not up to the task of deluding him into believing he could handle Coruscant's legendary traffic. Mostly, he was just eager to report to the Council. He had questions he needed to ask, and they were the only ones who he thought might have answers.

Unfortunately for him, answers would have to wait. As soon as the ship docked at the Temple, Luminara received a communique from the Council. Several of its members, including Master Yoda, had responded to a request to mediate a treaty dispute with the Hapes Cluster, and would likely not be back for several days. Despite his disappointment at the delay, Naruto giggled a bit to see a few remnants of his prank still adorning the walls. It seemed the cleaning droids hadn't gotten it all yet.

"Laugh it up brat," Jiraiya said. "My room had better not still be doubling as a traffic alert."

"It's odd that the cleaning droids haven't removed this all yet," Luminara commented. Naruto just smirked behind his mask.

"I know. It's almost as if someone sliced the droids and programmed them to ignore certain colors of paint," he said, his voice deadpan. "I wonder who could have done that."

Luminara scolded him for slicing the droids, but her heart did not seem to be in it. Naruto almost would have believed that she was trying to contain her amusement at the situation, but that was impossible. This was Master Luminara, a paragon of Jedi reserve and dignity. She would never find a prank funny, even one as genius as one of his. It defied the natural order of things.

'Still, she was a bit different on the trip back,' Naruto thought. 'She seemed less stuffy. I think she might even have smiled a few times. Weird.'

In the end, though, he put it out of his mind. It was nearing time for dinner, he was hungry, and he could already sense Ahsoka in the dining hall. He could always sense her easily, and she him, ever since their time in Coruscant's undercity. If she was in the dining hall, then that meant that the rest of the clan was probably there, too. He made his excuses to Jiraiya and Luminara and rushed through the halls to get dinner.

As he had expected, the rest of the clan was in the dining hall, already eating their food. While they all smiled and waved in greeting, with Ahsoka being especially enthusiastic, that was the extent of their reunion for the moment. Master Leem had long since instilled in them the knowledge that the dining hall was not a place for being loud, and none of them dared risk her displeasure. Ahsoka mouthed 'later', and he nodded before sitting down to eat.

To his surprise, before he was even halfway done with his food, Anakin walked into the dining hall, grabbed a plate, and sat down next to him. While Naruto was not about to pass up an opportunity to eat dinner with his mentor/older brother, as far as he knew, Anakin rarely ate in this dining hall. When he shot him a curious glance, the older boy smirked and leaned in to whisper.

"So, you built your lightsaber then," he said with a smile, gesturing to the engraved copper and silver cylinder hanging at Naruto's side. "I guess miracles really can happen."

Naruto snorted in mock derision. "What, you thought some silly little visions would stop me?"

"Nah, I figured you would get past the visions. I just thought you would get lost trying to find your way out."

Naruto responded with a rude gesture beneath the table, before both of them grinned and laughed. Anakin clapped him on the shoulder and pulled him into a side embrace. Naruto couldn't help but sigh in contentment at the one-armed hug. He could feel the pride and happiness pouring off of Anakin, and it warmed him to know that he had a sibling, informal or not. For a boy who had spent most of his life isolated and bereft of both friends and family, the sudden reminder that he now had both in spades had him fighting down tears of joy.

"I can't stay too long," Anakin said, shaking him from his thoughts. "I have to get back to Obi-Wan soon. I just wanted to tell you, my mom is having you and Jiraiya over for dinner tomorrow night, to celebrate you guys becoming Padawans. We'll meet at the usual spot half an hour after your curfew."

"Can I invite Ahsoka?" Naruto asked. "She really likes your mom. Besides, I want to celebrate with her, too."

Anakin nodded. "Sure, if she wants. Just be sure to be there on time, or my mom will skin me for not teaching you proper manners."

Both of them had to laugh at the idea of anyone expecting Anakin of all people to give lessons in manners. Once they had composed themselves, and Naruto had given an apologetic nod to Master Leem, Anakin inhaled the rest of his food and left. Naruto finished his own meal shortly thereafter and left with the rest of his clan back to the crèche.

As soon as they got back to the crèche and Master Leem had gone to her office, with a warning not to be too loud, his clan mates swarmed him, all of them eager to congratulate him and see his new lightsaber. He showed all of them the hilt, and explained some of the carvings, though he kept the meaning of many of them to himself. Some memories were still too raw and painful to tell to others. He also refused, point blank, to ignite the blade in the crèche. There was a collected sigh of disappointment, but they moved on quickly enough. The past year had forged strong friendships between Naruto and all of his peers in the Clawmouse clan, and those bonds showed in how everyone was anxious to congratulate him. He was simply too likeable, too magnetic, and too friendly for anything else to be the case.

Some of them were sad to learn that he would soon leave the crèche. Viir, the youngest of the clan, was chief amongst these. While she had sufficient Jedi bearing to avoid actual tears, her eyes were noticeably damp, and her voice somewhat wobbly as she congratulated Naruto. He had been one of the few older kids who didn't talk down to her because of her relative youth. That alone had immediately endeared him to her, and his exciting stories and hilarious pranks had firmly cemented him as "cool older brother figure" to the young human girl.

Naruto, for his part, kneeled down in front of the short, mousy-haired girl, and enveloped her in a warm hug. "It'll be okay, Viir. You'll still see me. Who else is going to teach you how to use chakra, or speak Nihongo, or pull pranks, huh? I promised you I would do all of that, and I always keep my promises."

The 11-year-old didn't reply, instead opting to burrow further into his hug and wrap her own thin arms around him. Still, he felt her sadness ease somewhat, and when they separated, her eyes were not as teary.

Others, such as Ferren Barr, were more accepting of his imminent departure. Not that the Iktotchi boy wasn't fond of Naruto, for he was. However, he also understood that Naruto wasn't vanishing into a black hole. He was simply taking the next step in his journey as a Jedi, a step all of them would take at one point or another. He was under no illusions that the Clawmouse clan would stick together forever, and he was accepting of this. He and Naruto shook hands and traded jokes, remembering some of the funnier times they had had over the last year.

After spending a few minutes talking and joking with the rest of his friends, Naruto extricated himself from the small crowd and go over to where Ahsoka and Barriss were waiting for him. Ahsoka, always the more outgoing of the two, immediately wrapped him in a tight hug, a wide smile on her face.

"Congratulations Naruto," she said. "I knew you would do it."

"Thanks Ahsoka," Naruto said, returning her hug.

"So, you get to be the first one of our clan to become a Padawan," Ahsoka said. "Don't think I won't catch up, though. I'm still going to beat you to becoming a master."

"Wanna bet?" Naruto shot back. Barriss rolled her eyes at the familiar banter between her two best friends.

"I'll never understand how you two can be so competitive," she said, before she gave Naruto a small smile. "I am happy for you though, Naruto. It is very impressive to be made a Padawan after only a year at the Temple. I don't know if it's ever happened before, aside from Padawan Skywalker, that is."

"Thanks Barriss," Naruto said, before giving her a quick hug as well. She stiffened in surprise for a moment, but quickly returned the embrace. Her Jedi reserve soon reasserted itself, though, and she pulled away after a couple of seconds. She seemed to struggle to find her next words before settling on simplicity.

"I will miss you," she said. "Thank you for being my friend."

"I'll miss you too," Naruto said. "Both of you. But I'm sure you'll both be Padawans in no time."

"Ha! You bet we will," Ahsoka said, determination glowing in her eyes. Barriss said nothing, but she nodded firmly.

After a few more minutes of small talk, Barriss excused herself, saying that she needed to study some more. Naruto offered to lend her a Kage Bushin to help, but she politely declined, saying that she did not wish to be a burden. The previous day's events notwithstanding, Barriss was loath to ask for or accept help. Naruto protested that it wouldn't be a problem, but she stayed firm. Writing it off as just one of her quirks, Naruto and Ahsoka wished her good luck.

"You know, it hardly seems real," Ahsoka said after Barriss had left. "You leaving, I mean. It'll be weird not having you around here."

"It'll be weird not being around here," Naruto said ruefully, before shaking off his brief melancholy. "What are all of you going to do without my awesomeness around?"

"I'm pretty sure we'll manage," Ahsoka said, giggling at her friend's absurdity. "I generate plenty of awesomeness by myself, thank you very much."

Naruto snorted skeptically, and Ahsoka smacked him on the shoulder. They sat silently for a moment, just enjoying each other's company. Ever since their misadventure in the undercity, the two of them had been close to inseparable. There was nothing like life threatening peril for forging strong friendships, and Naruto could say with near total confidence that Ahsoka was the closest friend he had ever had. After a few moments, though, something crossed his mind.

"Oh hey, I just remembered something," Naruto said, looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. "Anakin invited me and Jiraiya to have dinner with his mom to celebrate tomorrow night. Do you want to come?"

"I-uh, are you sure?" she asked, suddenly uncertain.

"Of course I'm sure," Naruto declared, giving her a Kakashi-worthy eye-smile. "It would mean a lot to me to have you there. You're my best friend. There's no one I'd rather celebrate with than you."

Ahsoka grinned at that. Even after a year of knowing him, she still sometimes found herself caught off guard at how open and warm Naruto could be. He was so earnest and forthright with his feelings, especially with those he considered friends. When he said that there was no one he would rather celebrate with than her, she knew he was telling her the truth. She felt a swell of warmth and affection in her chest at his words, and the feelings of rightness and belonging that went with them.

"Well then, I'd love to come," she said. Naruto pumped his fist in the air once, thrilled that she had agreed to go. After sharing the details of where and when they were meeting, he spent the time until curfew enjoying the presence of his friends. While he knew he would soon leave the clan behind, for now he was going to make every second he could spend with them count.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

When Anakin got back from the dining hall, he found his master sitting on the sofa, apparently meditating. As soon as the door shut, however, Obi-Wan's eyes opened, and he fixed Anakin with a knowing gaze.

"So, what sort of celebration are you planning for Naruto and Jiraiya?" he asked mildly, as if inquiring about the weather. Anakin could only gape in shock at his master's apparent omniscience. He knew there was no way Obi-Wan could have overheard him talking with Naruto. The man hadn't even been in the same part of the Temple, much less the same room.

"I-how did you-" Anakin stammered out.

"How did I know you were planning something with those two?" Obi-Wan asked rhetorically. "It wasn't hard to work out. I heard that they both returned from Ilum with new lightsabers, which means they are to become Padawans. Seeing as Naruto is your friend, and through him Jiraiya, I knew that would be important to you; it would be something you would want to celebrate. Finally, when you left for the dining hall, you turned towards the east hall, where the Clawmouse clan eats."

"… oh," Anakin said, secretly impressed that his master could deduce so much from so little. "We were going to have dinner at my mother's apartment. Knowing Naruto, he'll probably bring Ahsoka too."

"Ahsoka?"

"Ahsoka Tano. She's one of the other younglings in Naruto's clan, and probably his best friend. They do everything together."

"I see," Obi-Wan said, his voice still mild. Anakin wasn't sure how to handle this. Obi-Wan had given him implicit permission to do more or less this exact sort of thing several months ago. It had marked a turning point in their relationship, and it had given Anakin a much needed emotional support in the form of his mother.

Acting on impulse, as he so often did, Anakin went with the first thing that came to mind.

"You could come too, master," he blurted out suddenly. This, finally, broke the unflappable mask of calm that Obi-Wan wore. Shock spread across his face, and he stared speechless for several seconds.

"Anakin, I am honored that you would ask me, but it would not be appropriate," Obi-Wan said carefully, after he had regained the powers of speech. "This is something to celebrate Naruto and Jiraiya, and I hardly have a place there."

"That's nonsense, master," Anakin protested. "You're the closest thing I have to a father. You always have a place with me and my mom."

For the second time in less than a minute, the famously loquacious Obi-Wan found himself speechless. This time, though, it was less from shock and more from a sudden surge of love and affection for the young man standing across from him. While Obi-Wan knew that their relationship had improved significantly over the last eight months, to have Anakin basically declare that he saw him as part of his family was still immensely touching.

"Thank you, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, eventually. "That means a great deal to me. I suppose I could go as well. If only to make sure your poor mother's apartment doesn't get accidentally burned down."

Anakin's grin could have lit up the Senate chamber.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next day, after he had completed his daily training routine, Jiraiya found that, for once, he had only one thing on his schedule. Without the daily lessons from Yoda and the others, his only responsibility was the class he taught on how to use chakra. As such, he now found himself in one of the Temple's many group meditation rooms, overseeing his new students as they practiced generating chakra in their bodies. There were four of them, two Masters and two Knights. Master Kit Fisto and Master Shaak Ti sat in the rear, while Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos sat in front. Luminara was also normally a part of the group, but she had been caught in a Senate meeting and was running late. He idly wondered if she had heard anything more about when the Council would get back to Coruscant. She had promised to keep him informed on the subject.

Even as he wondered about her, Luminara walked into the room. He gave her an inquisitive glance, but her face was carefully inscrutable. He saw a faint trace of amusement in her expression, though, and he rolled his eyes. A quick glance told him that everyone else had their eyes closed, so he gave her a comical pout, eliciting a slight smirk from her.

One thing he had learned about Master Unduli, or Luminara, as she insisted he refer to her during their talks, was that she had a deeply buried but dry and clever sense of humor. Over the past few months, she had begun to occasionally show him glimpses of it, of the person behind the serene Jedi mask. He doubted she was even truly aware that she was doing it, at least not until the last few days. With her newfound decision to embrace some of her emotions, hesitant and cautious though she was being about it, she had been noticeably more open and expressive since they had left Ilum. Her smile, once a fleeting sight, vanishingly rare and difficult to spot, had transformed into something he now saw several times a day. It was still short-lived and subtle, but it was there, and a warm feeling bloomed in his chest whenever he saw it. It gave him hope that one day, maybe, she might return his feelings.

He ruthlessly buried that thought for the moment, though. It did no good dwelling on vague futures. For now, he had not even told her of his feelings for her, and he had no plans to do so anytime soon. She was new to her emotions, and he could tell that they still made her uneasy. For now, he would content himself with her friendship, and count himself lucky at that.

As he refocused on the other Jedi in the room, he could feel the change in their Force signatures as they each in turn channeled the Force through their bodies to create chakra. Shaak Ti got it first, a mere ten seconds after beginning her meditation. Her instinctive grasp of the intricacies of the Force allowed her to more easily blend it with her physical energy than most could manage yet.

Next was Luminara, as he had expected. Their frequent discussions often began or ended with him giving her tips on using chakra. Those tips were paying dividends now, as Luminara had technically generated chakra faster even than Shaak, having started meditating after her. Less than thirty seconds later, on her left, Kit Fisto also generated a pool of chakra within his body.

Their quick success did not shock Jiraiya. Despite being young by the standards of Jedi masters, the two were rising stars in the Order. He had also been teaching them for nearly eight months, ever since Plo Koon and Yoda had proposed this little class to the rest of the Council.

Obi-Wan managed it next, only a few seconds behind Kit. It was a sign of his skill that he could so nearly match masters who both had several years more experience than he did.

Ironically, despite being the most physically inclined of all the Jedi in the room, Quinlan was the last to successfully merge his Force presence with his physical body to generate chakra. The reason was fairly simple. As a tracker and an investigator, most of his talents in the Force lay in connecting to and sensing the world around him. Isolating himself by creating chakra was antithetical to his entire skillset.

"That's good Quinlan," Jiraiya said. "You're getting quicker at switching to chakra. How does it feel?"

"Like crap," Quinlan answered flatly, earning him a reproving snort from Obi-Wan and a twitch from Shaak, though of disapproval or amusement it was impossible to say. "I feel like I'm blinding myself every time I do this."

Jiraiya nodded, unsurprised. In teaching the group how to use chakra, he had discovered something interesting. Whenever he, or any other Force user, channeled the Force as chakra, they lost many of the advanced senses that the Jedi were used to relying on. Their vague, ever present awareness of the immediate future and their connection to the surrounding minds faded into nothing when they used chakra.

"We're all still making a binary switch," Jiraiya said. "Either fully using the Force like a Jedi, or fully channeling it into chakra. Maybe when we figure out how to strike a balance, it won't be so bad."

"I suspect that will be the case," Shaak Ti said. "As I focus on creating chakra, it is a smooth transition, not a sudden loss. If we can create just enough chakra to do what we need, perhaps we will not lose so much awareness. We must simply have patience."

"Maybe," Quinlan admitted, before grimacing slightly. His senses were normally amongst the most attuned in the entire Order. As such, it was particularly unpleasant for him to lose his supernatural awareness. "Still isn't fun, though. Let's get to training. What are we working on today?"

"We're going to continue with the henge," Jiraiya said. "I want to see how much progress you all have made in the past few days. We'll start off with a quick recap."

Jiraiya showed them once again how to perform the basic henge, starting with the proper hand seals; Dog, Boar, Ram. He moved on from there to recapping how to mold chakra to form the illusion.

"Remember, create a shell around your body first," he said. "Picture what you want to henge into with as much detail as possible. Then compress the chakra into that shape. Try keeping it very simple at first. Just change your hairstyle or your skin color."

As he had expected, they had made some progress, but not much without him there to act as a guide. As the Jedi summoned up the chakra, formed the hand seals, and attempted the jutsu, Jiraiya walked around, giving corrections to each of them in turn.

"Obi Wan, you need to use more chakra. This is more intensive than the leaf sticking exercise."

"Master Fisto, you aren't picturing your desired appearance with enough detail. You need to incorporate the changes into a complete image."

"Master Unduli, you haven't compressed your chakra enough. You need to squeeze that chakra shell until it's nearly solid."

This continued for the better part of two hours. Surprisingly enough, it was Obi Wan who first made significant progress on performing the technique. As the smoke from his latest attempt cleared, Jiraiya could see that his beard had apparently turned partially translucent. It was still clearly visible, but it now appeared to be a hologram rather than a physical beard.

"Nice job, Obi Wan," Jiraiya said, smiling at the younger man's success. "You still need to use more chakra, though. That's why your henge is transparent."

"Man Kenobi, keep the beard," Quinlan said, teasing his old friend. "You barely look older than your Padawan without it."

"It lends you a certain gravitas," Luminara added, her voice just innocent enough for it to pass as an idle comment. The teasing light in her eyes told a different tale, however. She rarely made jokes herself, but was not averse to joining in on one from time to time.

"Why thank you, Master Unduli. I shall curtail any plans I had to shave," Obi Wan said, his trademark sarcasm on full display.

"Nonsense," Shaak said, her grin sharp and wicked. "I'm sure we could find a mission that would require you to shave. Perhaps there is a school that needs infiltrating."

"Yes, we can all mock Obi Wan mercilessly later," Jiraiya said. "For now, keep practicing the henge."

For the next half hour, the five Jedi continued to work on the new jutsu, with varying degrees of success. Shaak and Luminara convincingly changed their skin color to a dull tan. Kit turned himself a dark blue, though the illusion wavered when he moved too fast.

Quinlan, after some early struggles, finally managed to mostly disguise his gold facial tattoo. It was imperfect though, and the mark was still visible if you looked close. Obi Wan, perhaps wary of further teasing, turned his hair black. It was a decent enough illusion, though it did not hold up very well under bright light.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

That evening, as the time for them to meet up with Anakin drew closer, Naruto made his preparations for sneaking himself and Ahsoka out of the crèche. It was something he had done so many times by now that it had become almost routine.

First, he created two Kage Bushin. One stayed as it was, merely climbing into his bed and pretending to be him. The other one henged into Ahsoka before sneaking noiselessly into the girls' sleeping bay to take her place. While Naruto knew that Master Leem probably wouldn't consider this appropriate, he figured it would be the least of his worries if she caught him and Ahsoka sneaking out. Besides, it had been Ahsoka's idea in the first place, and was much better than just stuffing a pillow under her blankets and hoping no one noticed.

A few moments later, the real Ahsoka emerged from the sleeping bay, already dressed in her daily wear. Together, with the efficiency born of experience, they quietly slipped out of the crèche and down the hall. In less than ten minutes they sneaked through the Temple hallways, avoiding the occasional guard patrol or wandering Jedi, and arrived at the meeting place. Anakin was already there. Much to their surprise, so was Obi-Wan.

"Oh. Hello Master Kenobi," Naruto said nervously, glancing at Anakin for a clue as to what was going on. "Fancy seeing you here."

Seeing only a sort of shocked happiness on Anakin's face, Naruto relaxed slightly. Evidently, Obi-Wan was not there to bust them and get them all in trouble.

"I invited Obi-Wan to come too," Anakin said.

"Okay," Naruto said cheerfully, before turning and bowing to the Jedi Knight. "It's nice to meet you."

"It is good to meet you as well, Naruto," Obi-Wan said politely. "And you, Ahsoka."

"Oh. Uh, good to meet you, Master Kenobi," Ahsoka said awkwardly. Manners were never her strong suit. Turning a baleful glare on Anakin, she stepped up to him.

"What's the big idea, bringing your master without telling us?" she berated him, causing Obi-Wan to raise an eyebrow at his Padawan's plight. "I thought he was here to get us in trouble. He scared me half to death."

"Hey, it's not my fault if you're easily scared Snips," Anakin shot back. "Besides, Naruto didn't tell me he was bringing you, but you don't see me moaning about it."

"Ugh, stop calling me Snips," Ahsoka groaned.

"Then stop being snippy," Anakin retorted.

As they bickered back and forth, Naruto and Obi-Wan looked on, Naruto with a sort of resigned boredom, and Obi Wan with curiosity and a sense of many future headaches. Suddenly, a voice whispered from right behind his left ear.

"Quite entertaining, aren't they, Kenobi?" the voice said. Obi-Wan just barely suppressed his instinct to jump, and only then because he recognized the speaker.

"That's one word for it, Jiraiya," he said dryly, before turning his attention back to the bickering duo. On a hunch, he reached out with his Force senses. His eyes widened briefly at what he sensed before he let a small smile tug at his lips. 'This should prove interesting in the future,' he thought.

For now, though, he had more immediate concerns. Such as stopping his Padawan from getting further into an argument with a youngling. An argument, Obi-Wan noted with some wry amusement, that Anakin seemed to be losing.

"That's quite enough, you two," he said firmly, shooting them a disapproving look. When Anakin made to protest, he sent a message down the bond.

"You are the elder, Anakin. Act your age."

Anakin flushed a little at that, but he restrained his protest. Obi-Wan was right, and he knew it.

"Yes master," came his somewhat embarrassed reply.

"Sorry Master Kenobi," Ahsoka said, looking utterly unrepentant. Obi-Wan gave her a stern look, before deciding that it was not worth the effort right then. Jiraiya, sensing the opportunity to move things along, cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"Alright, let's get going," he said. "I for one am starving, and I'd hate to keep Shmi waiting."

This met with generalized agreement, and so the unlikely group headed out of the Temple.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

This marks part one of a brief interlude between major arcs. The next chapter will conclude this break period, and then it will be on to the next major arc. Hopefully, I will be able to get the next chapter edited and posted within the next two weeks, but no promises. I hate promising timelines, because I'm terrible at sticking to them.

A number of people left comments or sent me messages with their ideas for Naruto and Jiraiya's lightsabers. Several of you were interested in them getting some sort of special design, such as a double-bladed saber, or else dual wielding. While I appreciate the thought behind those requests, I am going to stick with a normal, single bladed design for both of them for this story. For one, double-bladed lightsabers are, in fact, wildly impractical and borderline unusable. They compromise both offensive and defensive options without gaining any advantages at all. As for dual-wielding, while there is nothing wrong with the principle, I really do not want to write more dual-wielding action scenes than I have to.

There was also some pushback against Naruto having an orange lightsaber. I know that it's a little clichéd, but it's a cliché for a reason. No other color suits him so well. In the end, I decided that if I chose any other color, I would have to spend too much time justifying the reason behind it. Orange works, and it, along with copper material, also happens to be my go to lightsaber design in Jedi: Fallen Order. That is where I got the idea of the whole thing glowing like a bar of sunlight.

When it comes to the hilt designs themselves, Jiraiya's was actually the easiest. I had that lightsaber design in mind long before I ever started this story, and it fit his character perfectly. Naruto's was much more difficult, but I think (hope) that this fits the bill. Please let me know what you think in the review section. Your feedback helps me improve my writing, and I appreciate every review.