Welcome to the next chapter!
joharasbel; Thanks!
Morregen; Thank you! She did yeah, seems like she wasn't happy with Itachi's appearance. Perhaps it was a bit of a foreshadow hehe~ He can yeah, he's got his own technique he's going to develop. Tsunade and Ryouta will meet very soon. Izumi surely can~
dreadix; You never know, she could be.
ShadowUzumaki55; Glad you liked it. Yeah, she wasn't happy with Itachi huh. She seemed to use some kind of attack yeah. Yeah, it's going to be quite the destructive power~ They'll do their best to find her yeah~ Yukine will try her hardest with Orochimaru yeah.
Silver crow; Thanks. This time she didn't yeah. He did yeah. He could do. Because she wanted to take them back to when they first met, that's why he was a child. Itachi had a rough time with her. Well, nearly all of the times they've met, she's either tried to take him over, or drained his chakra to the point he'd not be able to do anything, so he's going to be quite cautious of anything she'd try to do. She might have picked up something about Satsuki. Ryouta and Satsuki did their best, and managed to damage Itachi with their combined efforts. Most space time abilities in Naruto have some stuff in common, but also have differences as well, like Izumi's and Tobi's. Jiraiya did yeah. Karin seems to have noticed something. Ryouta and Satsuki did yeah. Jiraiya saw the power of it yeah. We'll see what he develops with the Jutsu. As it does develop more, Ryouta will go more blind until he gains Shisui's eyes. Yeah, she has one like that. Thanks for the the harem suggestions. They'll have some moments together. They wont meet this chapter, next chapter they will. Maybe Mei is.
Guest 1; She could be yeah.
Guest 2; He is yeah, he's going to do his best to grow even stronger! Yeah, it could be like that.
Guest 3; Yeah, Itachi learned the hard way about not messing with this woman. Itachi would have changed it for Ryouta since he realized he was going to be hit by it, but he didn't get the chance to do that. Yeah, it's made its appearance, and he's showing his true power now! It is a cool name yeah. Yeah, that wouldn't be the completed version, that would be the upgrade to it. I've always thought the idea of combining Jutsu's like that is pretty cool. Yeah, Izumi showed some of her stuff. Jiraiya's got some reasons for it yeah~ Tsunade and Ryouta will be meeting very soon. Thanks very much! Thanks for the harem suggestions. Yeah, his dream is to become a teacher, so he'd work for that time to time when he's not doing his own missions. It would be cool yeah~ They do share a mindscape yeah. Yeah, it would be quite like that.
Skull Flame; Seems so~ Guy surely is yeah~ Ryouta's doing his best to create many strong powers.
Kylo Ren; Yeah, it could do.
Kdidier; Yeah, I could do either, I've got a few ideas for Bleach.
Guest 4; I'm glad you like that story.
TheGreatGodzillal; Yeah, Ryouta's along for the ride. I can't say about his fate, would be spoilers. Yes, I remember them. I guess they'd try them before saying if they'd like them or not. I can't say about that arc either, it's going to be something that develops characters, is all I can say without giving major spoilers away. Thanks for the harem suggestions. They could probably stop Tayuya without much problem. They haven't because they've had no opportunity to meet yet, that will happen when it does.
Kenjifan; Well, we'll see when it ends, and how it ends, I'd aim for that in many stories I do.
Hinata fan; She seemingly was yeah. Glad you liked it. He is yeah. They'll meet very soon.
Guest 5; They will yeah.
With those reviews out of the way, it's time to start the chapter!
Search for Tsunade!
The day after the events with the Akatsuki, Ryouta woke up in the hotel room. He saw that Satsuki was just outside of the window, perched on a pole with her eyes facing out towards the newly repaired town.
Because of the destruction that occurred, Mikoto and the others managed to have the town repaired relatively quickly. Even the hotel that Naruko and the others were fighting in, had been repaired, it seemed the owner was very grateful to the Ninja for that.
He smiled, but then his vision went a bit blurry once more.
He looked to the mirror at the right hand side, and saw for a few moments, his vision was shaking side to side. However, it soon stabilized, he was still sure of why this was happening in the first place.
Overusing the Mangekyou was going to cause blindness eventually.
Though thankfully he wasn't blind enough that it truly hindered his vision. It still was a cause for concern. He knew if he kept using it, then he'd eventually lose the light within his eyes, and end up blind.
"I have to become stronger...if I do go blind, then I'll have to work around such things...maybe there could be other techniques to help me in my goals...I have to be ready and prepared for anything that could happen..."
Ryouta wanted to become even stronger, to that end he was going to practice his new technique even more.
First however, as he got out of bed, he got dressed quickly into his standard outfit.
Then he walked towards the window, and peered out of it, seeing that Satsuki was staring out over the town they were in. Thoughts of Itachi were probably still within her mind, that's what he thought anyway.
"Satsuki-chan."
She turned towards him, and tilted her head.
"What is it?"
"How are you feeling?"
Ryouta asked with concern.
He knew that experiencing such a thing like Itachi was going to play on her mind.
The first time in a long time seeing him.
Even he was trying to wrap his head around it, he didn't even know how Satsuki would feel right now. If it was Shisui that had done what Itachi did to everyone...it would have been truly difficult in trying to contemplate such things.
"I should be asking you that, your eyes, you strained them yesterday, right?"
Ryouta confirmed it with a nod and continued explaining.
"I did, but don't worry, I've still got my sight."
Satsuki looked relieved, her eyes going back over the town they were in.
"You wouldn't have thought that a battle took place here yesterday...with everything that's going on...I, I certainly haven't wrapped my head around everything."
Ryouta understood that, so he pulled out a kunai, and pointed it towards her.
"Want to have a practice battle? Get those feelings out?"
Satsuki adopted a very tiny smile on her face.
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Though maybe when you get back to the village, we could do." Satsuki turned her eyes back towards Ryouta, and gave a semi sad look to her face. "Ryou, that technique of yours, pretty cool. Have to admit, I didn't see that coming. The power of the Jutsu together with Chidori...we even managed to hurt Itachi."
"Yeah...together, we are quite the team Satsuki-chan~ Our Jutsu's showed as much."
Ryouta gave a cheerful voice, hoping that it would make Satsuki feel a bit better.
While she did show a small smile, he could see that Satsuki's mind was on Itachi and the confrontation. What he had said to her, and what he had done. Ryouta knew that Itachi was still very strong, and that he wished to become even stronger than ever to become able to stop Itachi should he come back.
A small time later, now rested up and ready for the adventure to begin once more, Ryouta with Naruko and Jiraiya stand together, as Satsuki along with Mikoto, Karin and Guy all begin to part ways.
"Be safe on your journey you all."
Mikoto began, with Naruko nodding, and flashing her signature smile.
"Yeah! Leave it to me Mikoto-san! I'll bring back this Tsunade!"
Mikoto giggles.
"I have no doubt that you will. Just remember to eat right, and sleep, rest is very important."
Naruko rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Haha, I know~ Don't worry about it, I'll do my best!"
Naruko gave a loud cheer, one filled with an abundance of energy and peppiness that most expected from her.
However, one member of the group was very excited to see how excited Naruko was.
Guy, impressed with what Naruko said, pulls out a jumpsuit that looked suspiciously like his and Lee's one.
"Such dedication and youthful energy! Here you go Naruko! I'm sure it will come in handy!"
Ryouta looked at Naruko, seeing that she had shiny diamond like eyes, something that Ryouta didn't share as he wasn't into the same fashion that Lee and Guy clearly were into, remembering a time Lee had offered him one of the jumpsuits, but politely declined it. But at least Naruko seemed to be happy enough.
"Really? This is just for me?!"
"Yes, that's right Naruko! I'm sure that you'll make good use of it!"
"I will! Thanks!"
"No problem!"
Ryouta and Jiraiya exchanged a small look, glancing at Naruko briefly to see her swaying the jumpsuit side to side. Neither were exactly thrilled about Naruko having it, but she was and they guessed that's all that mattered.
Karin waves her hand, wading into the conversation.
"When you find her, tell her that I said hey or something, kay? I'm sure that she'll...I don't know, she's an odd one, I guess she'll be happy. She can be difficult after all."
Ryouta found it cute how Karin really wanted to say that she was happy to see Tsunade, but she didn't know how to say it.
She also explained some stuff that she wanted Ryouta to say to Tsunade when they met up with one another, which Ryouta was more than happy to pass on for her.
"Yes, leave it with us Karin-san, I'll tell her. We'll bring her back for everyone."
Satsuki hadn't said anything, and instead kept her eyes on Ryouta.
Without exchanging words, he knew what she was feeling, so he offered a small smile in her direction, which in its own way was able to calm the rapidness within her heart beats.
"Don't worry about what happened, in time it will be dealt with. We just have to become stronger."
Satsuki understood that he was trying to be in her corner, and cheer her up.
She really did appreciate it.
"Yeah, I know. Until then, I'll see you later."
Ryouta nods a single time, showing a small smile on his face, and a quick but loving kiss between him, and Satsuki, then between him and Karin as she wished to have one as well, something Jiraiya noted, and laughed while Naruko looked on with a few emotions bubbling up inside of her.
With those words exchanged, the groups depart from one another, and go on their adventure.
Travelling together, Naruko, Ryouta and Jiraiya begin walking across the desolate road. With only dirt before them and some trees scattered around the area, the trio walk a good distance, before Naruko turns towards Jiraiya with perplexity.
"Say Pervy Sage why did those Akatsuki guys want me anyway?"
Ryouta took a glance at Jiraiya who rubbed under his nose.
"Because of the Nine Tails, right Jiraiya-san?"
"That's right kid, you also know of the Nine Tails."
Ryouta nods.
"But what could they want with the Nine Tails? Besides the obvious power and what not. They must have another reason for it, the way that they came after Naruko-chan, it seemed to be for something more. Though I could be wrong, that's the impression that I got."
Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders.
"I couldn't possibly say right now, though maybe you're right." Jiraiya paused, and looks towards Ryouta. "By the way, did you have any contact with that girl?"
"Izumi-chan?"
Ryouta asked, but Jiraiya shook his head a single time.
"No, the other."
Ryouta wondered why he was interested in that, having not been around when Konan was discussed with Jiraiya.
"Konan-san...yeah, we fought briefly. She wanted me to go with her to the Akatsuki."
Jiraiya wondered why they'd want that.
As far as he was aware, Ryouta was indeed a member of the Uchiha and there were two confirmed members to Jiraiya, but Konan of all people wished for Ryouta to go towards the Akatsuki
So he partly wondered, from the information they have on Ryouta and what he saw of Ryouta's capabilities, it wouldn't hurt to have someone else with the Mangekyou Sharingan on their side together with Itachi and Izumi, and someone as young as Ryouta, being there, would give him even more of a development in the way that the Akatsuki could potentially want.
As he thought about it, Naruko looked rather stunned all of a sudden.
"Geez, you too?" Naruko asks, Ryouta nods, so Naruko tilts her head side to side. "Why did they want you? You don't have a Tailed Beast or anything like that."
"She refused to tell me much of anything really. But with what she implied, and how I read her body language at certain questions, I've got some ideas, but I don't know about the full details. Best guess would be my eyes or some knowledge that I have. Other than that, I couldn't tell you why."
Jiraiya slowly nods, as Naruko sways side to side.
"Still, I heard you fought off Itachi! That must have been hard!"
Ryouta laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yes, Itachi is a very powerful opponent, stronger than Orochimaru."
Jiraiya's ears perked.
"You think so?"
Jiraiya was intrigued, he never had the chance to brawl with Itachi fully.
But he knew Ryouta had, so for him to say it with absolute certainty, would place Itachi on a pedestal that wouldn't be easily knocked off from.
"I fought both of them, and I could feel Itachi's power being more than Orochimaru's. Ignoring the special abilities of his eyes which added would put him above Orochimaru pretty well. Itachi was fast, and the power behind his attacks as well. Orochimaru had some strong abilities and Jutsu's on his side with that replacement Jutsu of his, but the way Itachi fought, he is a very powerful opponent that someone I'd put above Orochimaru, even then Orochimaru is still a very deadly opponent of course."
Jiraiya listened to his words deeply, and could understand what he was saying.
But then Naruko moved forward, placing her hands together.
"Pervy Sage, when am I gonna learn this Jutsu huh? If those guys are after me, I wanna be prepared!"
Jiraiya gave a small laugh.
"Simmer down, simmer down, don't worry about it Naruko. We have to find Tsunade still, but it doesn't mean I wont be training you in the meantime. Though finding Tsunade will be hard, we might be at this for a little while."
Naruko gave a fist pump to the air, and began putting on the suit she got from Guy.
Both Ryouta and Jiraiya looked on, seeing the determined young girls eyes.
"Are you really going to wear that?"
Jiraiya nods his head in agreement.
"Yeah, that's not necessary."
Naruko tilts her head side to side.
"Eeh? But why not?"
"Because..erm, no never mind Naruko-chan~"
Ryouta didn't have the heart to tell her anything, and simply kept his thoughts to himself for the time being.
Naruko excitedly threw on the outfit, Ryouta turned away and placed his hand to his mouth, letting out a small laugh from his mouth, something that Naruko caught.
"Something wrong?"
Ryouta looked back, seeing Naruko's outfit, and the bright smile on her face, so he ended up shaking his head.
"No, it's nothing at all."
"You like my outfit, right?"
Ryouta sweat dropped, looking towards Jiraiya who began whistling and walking away to the irritation of the Uchiha.
"Er...yeah, it's really good."
Naruko felt happy with his words, Ryouta adopted a small smile, and then they continued on.
As that was going on, Orochimaru felt the immense pain running through his arms. His eyes looked to be in massive amounts of pain, his eyes pulsating and his body weakening thanks to what Yukine and Hiruzen managed to do.
His sanity also was being brought into question as Yukine forever stayed with him, and gave him jabs that irritated his soul.
"So..."
"Shut up and leave me alone!"
Orochimaru with bags under his eyes yelled at the ghostly Yukine who sniffled with a giggle.
"Geez, I didn't even get to say anything. You really should watch your temper."
Orochimaru's tired and angry eyes shot for the smiling Yukine.
"You've done enough, haven't you? I don't need to hear anymore from you. So if you have any kindness about you, then please shut up and leave me alone in peace!"
Yukine tilts her head, and even just the act of staring at Orochimaru was more than enough for his anger to shoot through the roof, and if he could, then he would have moved his arms to take a swing for her.
However, for the moment, all he could do was produce a snake out of his mouth, and have it shoot through her form.
"You do know that you can't hit me, right? I'm literally like a ghost~"
Orochimaru bit his lower lip, to control his rage from boiling over.
"Tsunade will help me get rid of you!"
Yukine crinkled her brow, as Orochimaru gave a wild look to his face.
"I've said it like a million times, I can't leave until you're dead, and you're not dead yet. She can't help you with this, we're stuck together until your death. Besides, do you really think Tsunade will help you anyway?"
"She will if I give her what she wants! You know she'll be tempted!"
"There's nothing tempting about you Orochimaru."
"Quiet!" Yukine snickered as Kabuto entered the room, Orochimaru's vision blocked by Yukine's form so he couldn't see Kabuto as he continued yelling. "I can't wait to make sure you're gone for good!"
Kabuto looked stunned and even felt some fear enter him from the wild ways of a very angry and sadistic looking Orochimaru, while Yukine placed a hand to her mouth.
"That's not nice, Kabuto's only trying to help you."
Orochimaru snarled as she stepped aside, revealing Kabuto.
Orochimaru thrusted his head down to his chest, his eyes scathingly looking towards Kabuto.
"What do you want?"
He hissed out darkly, tired, and feeling anxious as he could see Yukine giving him a wave.
Kabuto felt threatened by the deteriorating state of Orochimaru's mind, not sure where and what he was going to do next. If he was going to even turn on his own subordinates or not, he truly didn't know.
"Ah, about Tsunade..."
"Have you found her?!"
He yelled rapidly, almost losing control of his feelings.
Kabuto inhaled deeply.
"Well, Well I have found a lead about her, in a quiet town called Tanzaku. Though conflicting reports have said that she may be there, it seems to be the best account of what I could gather. Orochimaru-sama, shall we prepare to leave towards Tanzaku town?"
"Tanzaku..." As he spoke, Yukine said something that made Orochimaru rage. "Get out!"
Kabuto flinched at the raised voice, and immediately left, leaving Orochimaru alone, who rocked back and forth as Yukine stared at him curiously.
"Don't worry Orochimaru, the pain shall soon be over. Then you can join me, in death."
"No...I wont die…!"
He vigorously said while shaking side to side.
"We'll see, wont we Sensei?"
Yukine snickered, which only enraged Orochimaru even more, who ended up throwing his head back and forth, trying to keep his mind calm but to no avail, this was something that even he was finding truly difficult.
A small time later, Ryouta, Naruko and Jiraiya enter a town together, to gather information on Tsunade. The bright lights, and the celebrations going on, told Ryouta that some kind of festival was going on.
Naruko had starry eyes, swaying side to side, pulling out a purse that had a frog design. Ryouta thought it fit her rather well, while Jiraiya saw the size of the wallet, understanding a certain something.
"Wow, there's so much here to see! So much to do! Hahaha! This is so freaking awesome! I wanna go everywhere! I've saved up my money for a good long time now, so I wanna go and explore everywhere! Come on Ryou, lets-"
"Hold on a second there." Jiraiya took the purse off of Naruko, Ryouta noticing a gleam within his eyes. "A Ninja has to remember to not over indulge in materialistic things within this world. You have to remember to be patient, and cherish the things that you do have." Jiraiya took a small amount of money out from the purse, and gave it to Naruko. "There, remember to not spend it all in one place~"
Naruko seemed slightly disappointed, but seeing Jiraiya's facial expressions being quite positive, the young girl gave a bright grin on her face.
"Aah, right Pervy Sage!"
Ryouta on the other hand looked unconvincingly towards Jiraiya.
"So, you're going to keep the money?"
Ryouta asks, Jiraiya nods, trying and failing to hide his ulterior motive from Ryouta's Sharingan eyes. He could see the subtlest of changes that made Ryouta know that he was going to begin preparing to lie.
"That's right~ I have to teach my student that money is no object, and that it is good to save~"
Ryouta remained unconvinced.
"If that's the case, I'll hold onto it for you Jiraiya-san, so you don't lose it while investigating Tsunade-sans location."
Jiraiya's face dropped.
"No, no~ Don't worry, I've got my eyes on this for sure!"
Ryouta raised a brow.
He could see past Jiraiya's façade, and though he didn't know Jiraiya as much as Naruko, he had some assumptions based on how Jiraiya had acted, and what Naruko told Ryouta about the legendary Sannin.
"So, you weren't planning to spend it on alcohol and women?"
Jiraiya's face fell so much that his jaw nearly hit the floor.
He looked towards Ryouta, and tried to keep a straight face, but was having difficulty in doing so.
"N-No!" He yelled, unconvincingly. "I-I wouldn't do that with my students money!"
Ryouta remained unconvinced, he could see the subtle movements with his Sharingan that indicated that he was lying.
"Then, how about I hold onto it for you then? So you aren't, lets say, tempted."
Jiraiya's bottom lip trembled slightly, Naruko nodding and snatched the purse from Jiraiya, giving it to Ryouta.
"Yeah, I think Ryou's right, you'll probably do such things with my money. I trust Ryou wont spend my money~"
Jiraiya, turning away, murmured "Thanks kid." with dejection on his face.
Ryouta smiled "You're welcome Jiraiya-san~" as Jiraiya walked off, leaving the pair of them alone.
Ryouta turned towards Naruko.
"Well, shall we?"
Naruko became giddy and wrapped her arms around Ryouta's arm, before dragging him into the city itself.
They went to different areas of the city, and did different festival activities.
"Yeah! Fire it Ryou!"
"Haha, that's good Naruko-chan~"
Naruko watched Ryouta use Water Release to shoot it like a water gun to hit different targets, Naruko used some expert throwing skills to knock down different things to win prizes.
Ryouta managed to win a giant teddy that he gave to Naruko, Naruko herself won what looked to be a fox stuffed toy that she gave to Ryouta, which they both found to be rather sweet.
They continued through the area together, managing to get some dumplings, while Naruko cocked her head to the side.
"Say, do you think Pervy Sage is doing what he should be doing? Like searching for this Tsunade?"
Ryouta inclines his neck a single time.
"I'm sure that he is yeah. He's just as determined to get her back to the village as others are. There are still people back in the village that need her help, plus with her being the next candidate for the Hokage position, it is going to be quite the sight to behold."
Naruko wondered more and more what this Tsunade was going to be like.
She couldn't help but hope that she was really cool, as she originally wanted to be the first female Hokage. Now, she was determined to simply be the greatest Hokage, still it was something that she wondered about.
Naruko threw her hands up into the air.
"I hope he begins training me soon. I wanna become strong..."
Sensing the somewhat worried tone, he tried to reassure her.
"Because of what happened with those Akatsuki guys? Try not to worry, it seems they've gone for the time being, and if they do show up, I'll do my best to make sure they can't get their hands on you Naruko-chan."
Naruko appreciated his words, and how he truly would do his best to protect her.
But she wished to become strong as well, and do her best, along with another reason she felt strongly about.
"I hope I can become strong...I don't want to fall behind Satsuki..."
Ryouta raised a brow.
"You and Satsuki-chan have quite the rivalry between you. Say, can I ask, how do you view Satsuki-chan? You've only ever told me certain stuff...so I was curious."
"...Well, it's a bit embarrassing...but, I kind of relate to her...a bit. I mean, she is irritating with that smirk of hers!" Ryouta stifled a laugh as she continued. "But...I get when she's lonely...she's my...someone...eeh, it's hard to say…!"
Ryouta waved his hand.
"Don't worry, I think I understand."
"Yeah?"
Ryouta nods.
"Yes, I understand. I think that you and Satsuki-chan are more alike than either of you realizes. You both have...a quality about you that I can see even now."
"Eeh! I'm nothing like her!"
Ryouta could see that despite the bravado that she had, and how she was being rather distant from the idea, he could tell that Naruko and Satsuki had a certain bond together, that others might not fully be aware of. Beyond simply being a rival, they had a certain understanding with one another.
Ryouta let out a small laugh, and continued on his day with Naruko, visiting various places, and being able to relax, and have a good time together.
As that was going on, Izumi and the others were beginning to part ways with Konan. Because their mission had ended for the time being, with what they set out to accomplish either being achieved in the case of going to Konoha to check out what was going on, or the fact that they didn't get the Nine Tails for the time being.
"So, you're going back to Pain-sama?"
Izumi asked, with Konan inclining her head.
"I have one more task to do, but yes I shall be returning to Pain-sama. You all have your orders, please carry them out. For the time being, we shall leave the Nine Tails, we can always come back for that Tailed Beast once we have the others."
Izumi wasn't ever comfortable with the idea of doing this to the Tailed Beasts hosts in the first place. Even if she didn't know them, she wasn't thrilled with the idea of taking their lives, so while she kept up her usual stoic nature, she also had a good deal of emotions inside of her.
"Yes, we understand." Itachi continued after a brief pause. "Kisame let us go."
"Aah, yeah lets go. I hope there's a good fight in this new mission. Though the idea of fighting that kid again is something that is making me excited. I wouldn't mind having a fight with that kid in the future. Itachi, you wont get in my way, will you?"
"I'll try, it depends on how the situation would play out."
Izumi gave an odd stare at their dynamics.
But she found them endearing as she pulled closer towards Konan.
"Be safe Konan-chan, whatever it is that you do now. Whatever mission that Pain-sama has you go on."
"Yes, you as well, Izumi-chan. Keep yourself safe, and prepared."
"Of course, I'll be safe."
She nods a single time, as Konan turns around, and begins walking away.
As she did, she thought "One last place I need to visit." before she disappeared, her paper wings attaching to her back, lifting her through the area as easy as a sheet of paper fluttering in the wind.
Izumi looked on, wondering what was going on, before she heard Kisame yell "Best friend! Come on, we've got stuff to do!" so she turned to Kisame, waved, and walked over towards him.
But her eyes went back, wondering what Konan was going to be doing now.
The next day, with the leads not having gone anywhere, Ryouta watched from a tree as Jiraiya placed down several balloons filled with water. Naruko looked perplexed, as Jiraiya held out his hand to show Naruko something.
"Watch this, I'm going to show you the power of the Rasengan!"
Jiraiya proclaimed, with chakra began to swirl within his hand, and began a sphere of chakra. Intrigued by it, Naruko watched as Jiraiya slammed the sphere into a tree.
Naruko was eager to see even more than ever before.
"That was awesome Pervy Sage!"
Jiraiya laughed to himself, and rubbed under his nose.
"Haha, I told you I had a powerful Jutsu! Now, let me begin training you! First, you have to pop these." Jiraiya pulled out a basket of water balloons, putting them down before Naruko. "The idea is to spin your chakra around until they pop."
"Right! Leave it to me Pervy Sage!"
Naruko took the water balloon, and held it with one hand, concentrating her chakra, and allowed it begin spinning. Though Ryouta could see that it wasn't going to the way that she had wished, and ended up not working.
So Ryouta watched on, as for a day she couldn't do it in the end. She tried hard, and she was doing her best. Ryouta could see that the more she tried, the little more she got in the ways of progressing, but determination, while not the deciding factor here, Ryouta did have to give her credit that she was doing her own stuff pretty well.
Though eventually, Jiraiya did give her some advice about it. Doing it through visual as well as speaking about it, Jiraiya showed her how he was able to spin the water with his chakra alone. Because of that, Naruko did get some ideas on how she would be capable of doing it.
"...So, that's it huh Pervy Sage?"
"Yeah, do that, and it should help you spin your chakra."
"Right! Then I'll do it, and master the Rasengan within three days!"
Naruko proclaimed, with Jiraiya holding up a single finger.
"Three days huh? I'm not sure about that."
"Why not? Don't you think I can?"
"It's not that, but the creator of the Rasengan, the Fourth Hokage, took years to create, and truly Master this. So keep going! I've got to head back to town to search for Tsunade, the Uchiha kid will be here to watch over you, so there should be no worries, right?"
Naruko groaned, and bowed her head, beginning to try and make the water balloon pop by having the chakra spin.
She tried hard, and Ryouta watched with intrigue, as he also did his own training.
She glanced at him, and saw him produce the purple orb of chakra, and smash it into a tree, she saw the tree being obliterated by the technique, and saw the fragments being consumed by the incredible power of the Jutsu.
Naruko whistled.
"That's really cool!"
Ryouta paused, and looked towards Naruko.
"Hehe, thanks. It's still something that I want to perfect completely."
"That's not perfected? I don't get it."
Naruko asked, and wondered at the same time.
She couldn't see why it wouldn't be complete. She could see the tree completely destroyed.
"Well, it is in a sense that it is useable as a technique. I'm just getting the time down and making it quicker to come out, and some other things I want to perfect on it to make the power really shine. So, how's the Rasengan training coming?"
Naruko laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head.
"Eeh...honestly, I don't know fully. I mean...I'm trying, and I can begin spinning the water...but, I don't know, it isn't popping the way that I want it to pop. Like, how Pervy Sage showed me. But I'm..."
"You're not Jiraiya-san, you don't have to fully do it his way, you know?"
Naruko tilts her head.
"I don't?"
Ryouta let out a small laugh, shaking his head a few times.
"No, of course not. They're guidelines sure, but you can adapt it to how you think is best."
"Hmmm..." Naruko looked at what remains of the tree that had been destroyed, and wondered more about Ryouta's own Jutsu. "...say Ryou, how did you come up with that technique?"
Ryouta thought about it for a few moments.
"Well, I had a few inspirations for it, but I guess the most obvious one was that I was thinking about was the Rasengan, but also something else as well. Kakashi-sensei showed it me, it is a strong techique, but I thought of different ways it could go, and eventually developed this. So don't sweat it if you don't get it right away, it is a difficult Jutsu to master. Think about it from a different angle, everyone's different after all."
Naruko nods slowly, and continues her work.
She watches Ryouta practising, and how he was able to dance around the flames, as he concentrated, and seemed to be moving his blade. Giving it left and right, the blade flawlessly swayed through the air, the light caught the blade, and reflected all around, something that Naruko thought was a dazzling thing to see.
Watching the dance of his fighting style, she saw him use the Body Flicker, and appear at two places at once. Seeing how he could move around so elegantly, flowing like water…
Something came to her.
She thought that maybe it could work.
"Aah! Yeah, maybe that would work!"
Ryouta paused, cocking his head as he looked towards her.
"Huh?"
Naruko began concentrating on rotation. The more she did, the more Ryouta saw the water balloon beginning to swish around before his very eyes.
Ryouta watched with keen interest, as the water balloon popped before his eyes.
He was impressed to see Naruko was able to do it, showing that she did indeed have the talent for this, and he could see that she might be able to master this Jutsu at a good time.
"Ryou! Get Pervy Sage! I've got it!"
Ryouta wondered if she did, but did as she asked, made a clone and sent it to get Jiraiya.
When Jiraiya returned, Naruko excitedly yelled "Look at this Pervy Sage! I've got it!" with Jiraiya raising a brow.
"Is that so? Show me."
"Alright then! Be prepared to be dazzled!"
Naruko began showing Jiraiya how she could pop the ballon with the rotation aspect with two hands.
Ryouta watches on as Jiraiya smirks.
"Alright then, it seems that you have. Not exactly orthodox, but it is your unique way. So good job Naruko."
Naruko gains a fox like grin on her face.
"Yeah! Now, what's next Pervy Sage?"
Seeing her eager face, Jiraiya didn't see why he couldn't proceed with the next one, so that's what he did.
"Right, right. Now it's time for the second. It's similar to the first way. However, instead of popping water balloons this time, it's going to be popping a rubber ball."
"Eh? Isn't it the same?"
Naruko asks, only for Jiraiya to shake his head.
"Not entirely. A rubber ball is sturdier, you will need to improve the strength of your technique to pop the rubber ball." Jiraiya explained, as Naruko takes the ball, and places it between both of her hands. "Alright then, lets see what you can do."
Naruko nods, and concentrates hard.
Ryouta watches from a distance as the chakra swirled around within the ball. Going faster and faster, Ryouta could see that the strength and shape hadn't taken a hold yet, so he saw that Naruko was only able to produce a small hole out of one of the corners of the ball.
Jiraiya looked on, satisfied that she had managed to get that far, took out a pen and draw a circle on Naruko's palm. Naruko seemed to be perplexed by this, while Ryouta believed he understood what Jiraiya was trying to do.
"This will help be a focal point for your chakra output. Rather than it being over a larger area, get it?"
Naruko looked down at the circle on her palm, and drew a blank.
Jiraiya releases a breath, and utters "Practice it, I'm sure you'll get it down." before taking off once more to find some more information about Tsunade. Naruko was left beside Ryouta, who looked towards the young girl to see that she wasn't having the best of times.
Ryouta stood to the side, and watched Naruko beginning to train with the rubber ball, but wasn't having any luck.
However, just then, Ryouta saw something fluttering down to the ground.
It was a paper flower.
"No...have the Akatsuki..."
Ryouta looked around for any member of the Akatsuki.
If Itachi, Izumi or Kisame had come with the obvious Konan.
He couldn't see anything, but he wasn't going to be stupid either, so he summoned some Shadow Clones, and had them go towards Naruko as she practiced.
But what he saw next was rather surprising.
He saw that simple paper flower petals began to fall down to the ground.
Like she was calling him towards her, he wondered if it was a mere trick to try and bring him away from Naruko so she could get to him.
So he first sent a Shadow Clone to see what was going on, while also sending off another to go and get Jiraiya to make sure that if the Akatsuki were attacking, then everything would point to Naruko being safe and sound.
He stayed behind and waited with Naruko, making sure no Akatsuki would attack.
Agonizing moments passed by, he hoped that it was only Konan. If it was, then he was sure that he'd be able to at least keep her at a distance, until Jiraiya arrived.
When the clone disappeared, Ryouta retained the information and found out what he was dealing with.
So he took this chance to make sure that Konan didn't approach Naruko, and to bide time in case Jiraiya could show and help them out.
When Ryouta got a good distance away, he saw that Konan was floating in the air. His eyes looked on, and then he let out a breath.
"My eyes tell me you're a clone."
"Your eyes are very perceptive."
Konan replied in her usual stoic manner.
"You've come back for Naruko-chan? If this is a ploy, then don't bother as she's protected right now. Also, if Itachi is with you..."
Konan paused him when she moved her hand.
He thought that she was going to attack.
But he saw that she simply was producing a flower.
Similar to the one that he already had.
"What's the flower for?"
"It's a gift."
Ryouta gave quizzing eyes.
"For what exactly?"
"For what happened back in Konoha and I getting to understand a little more about you. I think that I understand more about you now than I have experienced the lengths of where you'd go for those that you care for. It is...refreshing, in my group you don't see people like that often."
"Because it is an evil organization?"
Konan surprisingly nods her head.
"Sometimes, better things come at costs."
"They come at costs of hurting and killing others?"
Ryouta questioned, with Konan pausing briefly.
"I'm sure that you also know of this worlds pain."
"I do, I know of many things this world has to offer. Sometimes, it can be a cruel and horrible existence, a place where I wouldn't wish anyone to be apart of. I'm sure that you have also lost someone, seeing it in your eyes is a giveaway for me."
Konan turned her head to the side, not either confirming or denying what he said.
But some stuff that he said, did make her pause, and think about the goals of the Akatsuki.
"Regardless of what the outcome was, I am pleased that we got to meet. I was under the assumption that I wouldn't feel much, if anything, for this. But, because I have learned a thing or two about your desires, and the lengths you'd go for others, consider this a gift." Konan floated the flower down towards him. "Open it."
Ryouta tilted his head.
But did as she had asked.
What he found inside, was a model of Izumi, in paper form.
It was so detailed that even he had to take a moments pause.
"...Why're you giving me this?"
"Izumi-chan and I, do have a friendship. She is...one of the kindest people I've met, I don't know the full circumstances of why she's truly within Akatsuki, though I have some theories, I do know it is a place that she shouldn't have to be in. Also, I know of how she looks at you and whart you think about her."
Hearing what he did, Ryouta wondered how close they truly are.
"...So you and Izumi-chan, are close?"
Konan gave a semi bashful look, something that Ryouta thought was rather cute.
"We have a certain understanding and appreciation for the other. We have teamed up on many missions, I have seen that she isn't like any other Akatsuki member. She isn't someone out for herself, she doesn't revel in the killing of others. She is someone that has a compassionate heart."
"She does...but you don't know why she's with the Akatsuki?"
"No, but I do know that she would go to the ends of the earth for those she cares for. Whatever reason she has, I'm sure she'd wish to tell you this herself, but continue becoming stronger, and from the compassion I've seen from you, it reminds me of Izumi-chan."
"...So when you said I reminded you of someone..."
Ryouta began surmising, with Konan filling in the dots.
"Yes, that's right, it was her." Konan took higher into the air, with her body beginning to turn into sheets of paper. "My time has come to depart. When we meet again, I expect to see you having become stronger than you were beforehand."
"...Yes, Konan-san. Also, about Jiraiya-san...want me to say anything to him?"
Konan gave a stone cold look, shaking her head.
"No, I don't have any words for him."
As she said it, Konan's form fluttered away into different sheets of paper. The papers scattered all over the area, with Ryouta looking down at the paper statue of Izumi. Seeing her like this, almost made him feel like he was looking towards the real Izumi.
A small time later, Ryouta explained what happened with Konan to Jiraiya who didn't speak much at first, but then simply nodded.
"So, that's how it is. Strange...but it seems she's had her reasons. Actually, now while we're alone, that Jutsu of yours, mind showing it me again?"
Ryouta shrugged, and placed his hand out, creating the dark purple sphere above his palm, something Jiraiya was intrigued by.
"This okay Jiraiya-san?"
Jiraiya nods his head.
"The chakra control to create this is quite amazing, it seems to be similar, but also different to the Rasengan."
"Chakra control helps with Medical Ninjutsu, I learned some from Izumi-chan when I was a kid, and it's helped me in my training ever since."
"That girl Izumi huh. Yeah, I understand. Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you use that on any object around, so I can see it up close the destructive power it has."
"Of course, though it isn't complete yet."
"That's fine, I'd still like to see."
Jiraiya watches as Ryoiuta slams the sphere down into the ground, and causes it to rupture out around him, breaking the earth into several chunks the further the power went, and the ground below him was reduced into broken dirt, a large hole formed underneath him.
Jiraiya even felt the earth shake when he used it, quite impressed.
"Amazing, it's quite the powerful Jutsu. Thanks for showing me. Though may I ask, that Jutsu, learned Rasengan from Kakashi, yes?"
"I can produce a normal Rasengan yes, and he did show me the Jutsu, Kakashi-sensei thought I'd benefit from it." Ryouta demonstrated it for Jiraiya's eyes. "It's a great Jutsu, I thought about some ways it could be become something unique for me to use, so I applied some different techniques and tricks to test it out, eventually developing this Jutsu. Also about Naruko-chan, she's progressing very well. I am happy to see that she's improving in her own ways."
"She is, I'm impressed. Doing things rather differently than I'd have thought she would."
"Haha, she does things her way, and it works for her."
Jiraiya nodded, as he saw the destructive force of Ryouta's Jutsu, and definitely was impressed with how far he took it, and changed its properties enough that he'd class it as something different but similar to the Rasengan.
The next day, Ryouta continued watching Naruko, who stared at the mark on her hand intensely. Jiraiya was back off looking for any clues about Tsunade, while he was on guard duty once more, which he didn't mind.
But seeing Naruko growing in frustrations made sense to him, as she was doing her best, but the results weren't coming as fast as they should do. Though Ryouta thought that she had progressed really well for a Jutsu that took the Fourth Hokage years to make and master, it showed that she was progressing rather well.
"Ugh! I can't get it..."
Naruko complained, the frustration building on her face.
Ryouta watched her for a few more moments, before hopping down towards her.
"Naruko-chan, I'm sure that you will get it in time, it can be frustrating learning such things. But remember, to do it your way. Jiraiya-sans way works for him. Find a way that it will work for you. Maybe change the shape of the mark on your hand. Maybe think of other things in your life that could help you concentrate more. That's what it seems to be right now, concentration is the key to mastering this next step."
Ryouta offered her the best words that he could do.
Naruko took what he said to heart, and began thinking of ways that she would be able to do this.
She looked around the area they were in to see if anything could jog her memory into something that would help her.
The ground, the water nearby, the balls themselves to see if anything would help her.
But nothing came to mind for her at that moment.
However, as she was thinking, a leaf fell by her face.
The leaf fell down towards the ground after brushing against her forehead protector.
The leaf, began to jog a memory for her.
A memory of Iruka, and how at the time, she didn't take to heart what he said, about concentrating by putting a leaf to her forehead.
"Ryou, do you have a pen?"
Ryouta cocked his head, before nodding.
He tossed her a pen, with Naruko catching it, and began drawing on the leaf that she visualized within her mind onto her hand. Changing Jiraiya's symbol to a leaf, it helped Naruko find the concentration that she had been missed.
Ryouta was keen to see this, so he looked over and watched as she placed the rubber ball on her hand. With the mark of the leaf at the centre, she began concentrating. More and more, Ryouta saw the ball beginning to move in different directions.
Unlike before, this trick seemed to work for her.
Because of that, she was finally able to concentrate enough chakra, and have the rubber ball burst from her chakra, rather than punch a hole in it like her other attempts had done beforehand.
"R-Ryou! I did it! I actually did it!"
She rushed over, and hugged him tightly.
He smiled at the sight, and hugged her back.
"It seems so, we should get Jiraiya-san and tell him the good news. Looks like you'll be able to move onto the third and I believe final part. Though it means more hard work, ready Naruko-chan?"
Naruko thrusts her fist to the sky, and gives an energetic "Yeah! I'm ready!" to which Ryouta smiled at. He was glad for her, that she was able to begin mastering these moves pretty well, and doing it in her own unique way.
He even had to admit that he couldn't help but wonder how long it truly would take her to master the Rasengan.
As that was going on, Tsunade herself was currently in a casino within Tanzaku town. Travelling together with her faithful apprentice Shizune, Tsunade went into the casino with confidence, though she usually was a bad gambler herself, so what she saw next, did surprise her.
She...began to win.
Usually, that would be a cause for celebration and even Shizune thought that it was, but something didn't feel right about it.
That was the fact that...she began to win.
The more she won, the more she was surprised.
She looked down at the necklace around her neck, something that was precious and also a sense of dread as well, for her.
"Tsunade-sama, you're winning. Wow, you've already won five in a row."
Shizune let out happily, with Tsunade not being as eager as she was.
She didn't take this as a good sign.
If anything, it felt like a bad omen.
"Come Shizune, we're leaving at once."
Tsunade stood up from her position and began walking to the door.
However, Shizune moves closer.
"Tsunade-sama, what's wrong?"
"We're leaving, that's all there is to it."
"But, we haven't been here all that long. Why don't we go and visit some tourist attractions? Maybe we could even send something to Karin-san?"
Tsunade pauses in her tracks.
She then turns towards Shizune briefly.
"Always using Karin against me, aren't you?"
Shizune adopts a soft smile on her lips, as Tsunade looks away from her once more.
"I wouldn't say that exactly, Tsunade-sama. But you also wish to get her something, right? We can send it back to Konoha. Speaking of, I've heard some bad rumours recently about Konoha, I hope everyone is okay."
Tsunade glanced at Shizune, seeing that she did have some concern on her face.
Tsunade turns away, and simply nods.
"Fine, we can look around for a little while, but then we're leaving."
"Yes Tsunade-sama, come along Tonton."
A small pig popped out of Shizune's kimono, and oinked.
They then began going around various places, Tsunade was unable to shake this feeling inside of her. Like something was wrong, and that she didn't know what she was going to do with this feeling inside of her.
Though thankfully, they didn't go to many places, and the last place was that of a large castle like building. The huge building filled Tsunade's eyes, Shizune admired it while Tsunade seemed to be at least a little happy to see it, but mostly she wished to leave the city before her feelings were founded to be true.
She couldn't shake the feeling that the reason why she would feel like this. The fact that she won was a bad sign to her.
When she was thinking of it, suddenly the entire castle like building before them began to crumble down to the ground. Both Tsunade and Shizune gasp at the sight, with the former tightening her hand, believing that this was the bad omen that she had.
"So my feelings were true...damn it..."
She thought as she saw dust come up from the collapsing of the building.
Then, emerging from the collapsing building, who emerged from it, was Orochimaru himself, together with Kabuto who looked towards Orochimaru as he swayed side to side, his arms were hanging by his side, and the constant pain Orochimaru went through was self evident on his face.
However, Tsunade noticed something was wrong.
Beyond the bandaged arms, his eyes displayed a level of unhinge that she didn't expect at all.
"Tsunade..." As Orochimaru began, Yukine appeared behind Tsunade, and gave a small wave. "Don't you dare!"
Tsunade backed up, shocked that Orochimaru would yell like that.
It felt like it wouldn't be an Orochimaru thing to do, unless he had been driven to the brink.
Whatever was going on, it seemed that with this unhinged Orochimaru, there was more to this than met the eye, and that she, and Shizune both would have to be careful, or else Orochimaru would try something that wouldn't end well for any of them.
End chapter!
So this chapter was a relaxing breather before the next fights begin soon with some Naruko and Ryouta moments sprinkled through as with him helping her the best he could with training.
He also had another run in with Konan, even if only a paper clone, who gave him a paper statue of Izumi, and shared that Konan and Izumi are indeed friends, giving Ryouta more hope that one day he'd be able to reunite with her.
He even showed Jiraiya his Jutsu, and even connected a bit with him as well, having some banter between them.
Finally, Orochimaru seems to be going more mad with Yukine depriving him of sleep and other things.
Still, he's made his way to Tsunade, who's now back in the story, so we'll see where it goes from here!
Well, until next time, thanks for reading!
Ryouta; Satsuki, Sakura, Naruko, Hinata, Gaara (fem), Ino, Haku (fem), Kurotsuchi, Karin, Konan, Mei, Anko, Samui, Hanabi, Mabui, Temari, Pakura,