I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
Time went by after Naruto and Temari visited the Land of Ancestors where they discovered a bit about Kaguya and they both trained really hard so far. It's only been three months, but each of them grew a lot so far and Ra predicted Naruto would be done with his training in two more months. Temari was being trained by Catalina who was teaching her how to use water and fire ninjutsu to give her a more diverse arsenal. While Temari was focusing on learning her water and fire ninjutsu, Naruto taught her the shadow clone jutsu to help her speed up her training a bit. Temari also signed the dragon contract, but she was unable to use the draconic chakra as her body rejected the chakra. She was able to learn some moves, but not the ones Naruto knew that required the draconic chakra. Temari's familiar was none other than Skyress who personally chose to become her familiar when it was discussed about her signing the contract.
Natsumi over the last three months has been on missions non-stop since Naruto was off doing his training and she's been learning more from Jiraiya. While she was doing missions, she managed to kill Kakuzu of the akatsuki with her new ninjutsu that she called Wind Style: Rasenshuriken and his partner Hidan was killed by Shikamaru. After using the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, Natsumi immediately got to work on making a water version of the jutsu and she had some success creating it, but she couldn't keep it stable enough just yet.
Naruto so far over the past three months did grow, but he had a lot on his mind and most of it was due to him finding out Kaguya a bit. While he didn't agree with how she wanted to enslave the world for peace he couldn't help but think that there was a lot more to her story than her being some evil tyrant. Although he didn't hope it would happen, Naruto decided if Kaguya was reborn then he would somehow talk to her about her actions and why she came here. He brought this up to Temari once and she said he was crazy for even thinking about attempting something so reckless, but she would support him. His training with Ra has paid off quite a bit as he was now faster and had more power behind his punches. He was also learning how to finally do the Hiraishin since he had time and thanks to his understanding of fuinjutsu, he was picking it up very easily.
While Naruto was training with Ra, he gained even better control over his draconic chakra to the point that it was almost second nature to him and his body didn't strain as much as before. While training, Naruto managed to combine his rasengan with his draconic chakra and created the rasengan-flash which had enough power to destroy anything in its path up to 2 miles. He was mainly focused on learning the dragon techniques while he was there except for the Hiraishin and different types of the Rasengan because he had a pretty good or great portion of ninjutsu at his disposal. He was currently sitting under a waterfall meditating while Temari and Comet watched him.
"How long has he been like this?" Temari asked
"Like ten hours. It's funny because he should've ran out of draconic chakra by now." Comet said
"Maybe his reserves grew. He's always had large chakra reserves and only Natsumi had more chakra than him in his village." Temari said
"I understand that, but from what I was told, every time somebody does the ritual their draconic chakra reserves don't grow or at least they shouldn't grow." Comet said
"Naruto didn't go through any ritual." Temari said
"That's impossible. He has the draconic chakra." Comet said
"Actually, it's not impossible." Catalina said, as she landed next to them
"What do you mean?" Comet asked
"The reason why Naruto was born with the draconic chakra is because his mother went through the ritual when she was at least 4 weeks pregnant. The draconic chakra must've been absorbed into him as well before he was born. It's the only logical explanation that myself, Drago and Ra could come up with." Catalina said
"So if he were to have kids, would they be born with the draconic chakra as well?" Comet asked
"No." Catalina said
"He's a rare case then." Temari said and Catalina nodded
"Correct." Catalina said and they heard the water explode
"Where'd he go?" Comet asked
"He's quite fast on his own if I can't even see him move. I don't even want to think about how fast he's going to be when he completes the Hiraishin." Catalina thought
"What are you all doing here?" Naruto asked, as he appeared next to Temari
"We were watching you." Temari said
"Right. Anyway, do any of you mind explaining something to me?" Naruto asked
"What is it?" Catalina asked
"During my meditation I kept seeing me vs Iwaji and I pictured combining the Chidori with the Rasengan. Did that really happen?" Naruto asked and they were all silent until Catalina spoke up
"Yes, but it was Dumir when he took over your body. It nearly destroyed the entire chunin exam stadium." Catalina said
"I see." Naruto said
"You're thinking about combining them now, aren't you?" Temari asked
"It wouldn't hurt to try." Naruto said and Temari rolled her eyes
"What is it with you and Natsumi about destructive jutsus?" Temari asked and he shrugged
"I got it from my mother and she must get it from hers." Naruto said and Drago landed next to Naruto
"Ah. Yes. Sayuri was quite destructive indeed. In fact the volcano that we have was caused by her." Drago said
"How?" Temari asked
"Yeah. As far as I know my mother didn't have an earth chakra nature to even create lava." Naruto said
"There are many things your mother could do and creating lava was one of them. Now, she didn't have the lava kekkei genkai like you think, but she did have a very powerful earth chakra nature and one day she was going through her hormonal stages due to pregnancy. She requested a fight with me and she's the reason I have this scar over my eye. I nearly hit her stomach on accident and she went full rage mode on me. The result of her rage was the creation of that volcano." Drago said
"Okay. I understand she had a strong earth chakra nature, but that doesn't explain making lava without any fire." Comet said
"Lava is basically melted rock beneath the earth's surface. That's why people with the lava kekkei genkai need fire and earth because the fire essentially melts the earth's chakra nature." Naruto said
"I knew that. I was just making sure you knew." Comet said
"No you didn't." Naruto said
"Anyway, is the volcano still active?" Temari asked
"Only on Sayuri's birthday. That's the one time a year it is active and we all gather to celebrate or pay our respects to her on her birthday. You may have heard rumors of her being so strong that she was almost as strong as the fourth hokage." Catalina said
"I did." Naruto said
"Those rumors are true. I know for a fact she could go toe to toe with Tsunade and survive. She might have even won. Your mother was actually the first Uchiha candidate for the position of Hokage, but she declined the offer and Fugaku was selected as a candidate, but ultimately lost to your father." Catalina said
"So if Naruto was to face his mother right now, who do you think would win?" Temari asked
"Naruto would easily win. Heck, he could take on Lady Tsunade right now and win if wanted to, but that's only if he fights seriously." Drago said
"Have you ever fought seriously?" Comet asked
"Only against Drago and Ra." Naruto said
"You mean to tell me that you've been kicking my ass and you weren't even serious?" Comet asked
"Pretty much." Naruto said
"I hate you." Comet said
"Sure you do." Naruto said
"If you can do that I wonder how strong Natsumi is. It's like the two of you are always neck and neck. When one of you grows stronger, so does the other." Temari said
"Natsumi should be stronger than Tsunade as well, but weaker than me. If she knew sage mode then she'd be on equal terms or stronger than me." Naruto said
"So can you defeat the pervert?" Temari asked
"Possibly. He knows how to use sage mode, so I don't know. It might come down to a tie between us." Naruto said
"If this sage mode is so powerful, why is it that so few people know it?" Temari asked
"Because sage mode requires very large chakra reserves and your body still needs to be able to handle the increase in power. There's also the risk of turning into a stone statue of the animal you're learning from if you absorb too much natural energy. Sage mode is all about balance between your own chakra and natural energy. There's only been a handful of sage users in shinobi history starting with the Sage of six paths." Drago said
"Wow. Who are the other users of sage mode?" Temari asked
"Jiraiya of the Sannin, Minato Namikaze and Hashirama Senju. There's only been four users of sage mode with Natsumi potentially being the fifth person." Catalina said
"So, is there a dragon sage mode?" Temari asked
"No. We dragons do not use sage mode as it is not necessary. Our draconic chakra can easily match a sage mode user since it basically gives us the same advantages of sage mode." Drago said and then a spy dragon appeared in front of them
"Did you find anything, Kaze?" Naruto asked
"I have discovered something, yes. I was able to keep myself attached to Deidara as he returned to the base and their leader is going after Natsumi soon." Kaze said
"How soon?" Naruto asked
"Most likely whenever they get word that you're not in the village. As far as they're concerned, you're still around and you're a threat to them. However, there's something off about the leader's eyes." Kaze said
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked
"I can feel a lot of power radiating from them, but they're different. His eyes were purple with a ripple pattern inside of them." Kaze said
"Are you absolutely sure that's what you saw?" Drago asked
"Yes. I don't know what it is, but I can tell Natsumi will have her work cut out for her." Kaze said
"Kaze, go to the hidden leaf village and tell Tsunade that Natsumi needs to begin her sage training immediately." Drago said
"Of course. Oh and Itachi will be looking for you soon, Naruto." Kaze said and went up in smoke
"What was that about?" Temari asked
"Catalina, take Temari and start the last portion of her training. Naruto, come with me." Drago said and Naruto jumped on his head
"Are these eyes really that powerful?" Naruto asked, as Drago flew away
"Powerful is an understatement. These eyes are the most powerful dojutsu to ever exist and if they're back, then things just got even more complicated." Drago said
"Complicated how?" Naruto asked
"Ra will be able to explain it better than I will." Drago said and landed at the temple where Naruto trains
"Drago, Naruto. I was not expecting you for a few more days." Ra said
"Change of plans. Those eyes have returned." Drago said
"Which eyes?" Ra asked
"Purple eyes with a ripple pattern." Drago said
"I see." Ra said
"What eyes are you talking about?" Naruto asked
"The rinnegan." Ra said
"What is that? I've never heard of that dojutsu." Naruto said
"That's because like the sage of six paths, it was also a myth. The sage of sixth paths was the first person to ever have this dojutsu on earth. It is said that in times of disorder, the one who wields the rinnegan will become a god of creation to calm the world or a god of destruction who will reduce everything to nothing." Ra said
"So, this person who supposedly has the rinnegan is basically like a god or something?" Naruto asked
"Yes. I'll explain more throughout your training, but for now it's time for me to teach you the final two techniques from us dragons." Ra said
"Are you sure he's ready for those?" Drago asked
"Yes. He's more than ready." Ra said
"Ready for what?" Naruto asked
"The final two techniques I will be teaching you are called Dragon thunder and Dragon fist. There's two months left on your vacation, but I'm sure you can get the two of them down in less time even without your shadow clones. Your control over the draconic chakra is now on par with that of an actual dragon. Now, let us begin." Ra said
Konoha
The leaf village was on high alert with the threat of the akatsuki around and then learned that the akatsuki had nearly captured all of the tailed beasts. Tsunade sent out a team to search for any akatsuki members in the land of fire. After detailing the events of the mission Tsunade gave the team a few days off. Natsumi opted not to spend as much time with Hiroshi because she was feeling strange. Not strange in a way that something was wrong with her or anything like that, but she just had a feeling something wasn't right. She hasn't seen Jiraiya since he came back and as far as she knew, Jiraiya didn't have anything planned. She was just laying in her bed with her face buried in her pillow and then there was a knock on her window. She looked to the right and it was none other than Kakashi.
"Oh. It's you. Hey, Kakashi-sensei." Natsumi said
"Lady Tsunade has summoned you." Kakashi said
Hokage Tower
"Chief toad and Gamakichi? What gives?" Natsumi asked
"Yo! What's up Natsumi?" Gamakichi asked
"What are you guys doing here? What, did something happen?" Natsumi asked
"Well actually uhh..."
"Gamakichi keep your trap shut. Let the boss and Tsunade handle it. They know what they're doing." Gamabunta said
"That's weird. What's going on here?" Natsumi asked
"Don't worry. Let's go." Kakashi said
Tsunade's office
Natsumi and Kakashi arrived at the office and after knocking, they heard Tsunade tell them to come in. Natsumi entered and closed the door, then saw Sakura, Shizune and four other toads in the office.
"So this is Jiraiya boy's student, is it?" A green toad asked
"This is Natsumi Uzumaki-Namikaze. The child of prophecy you spoke of." Tsunade said
"What's with the geezer frog? Who is he?" Natsumi asked
"Pipe down. Watch your mouth, Natsumi. He is one of the two great sages of Mount Myoboku, lord Fukasaku. He traveled all the way here just so he could speak with you." Tsunade said
"Well to be more accurate, I'm a great sage toad, but nevermind that. It doesn't matter. Answer me this. Are you really Jiraiya boy's student or aren't you?" Fukasaku asked
"Jiraiya boy? Boy?! Dont treat the pervy-sage like a kid! Who does this geezer frog think he is anyway?" Natsumi asked
"I told you already. Watch your mouth." Tsunade said
"Natsumi. He's the one who taught the Sage jutsu to lord Jiraiya. He's Jiraiya's master." Shizune said and Fukasaku started to laugh
"So you call him the Pervy-Sage? I've never heard a more fitting name for Jiraiya boy." Fukasaku said
"What does this geezer Sage want? What did he come so far to talk to me about?" Natsumi asked
"I'm not exactly sure where to begin. Let me see. I suppose the most important thing is...I'm afraid Jiraiya boy has died in battle." Fukasaku said and Natsumi's heart sank
"What?" Natsumi asked
"I know that this is very sudden. So I understand if you don't believe me. For some time now rumors have been circulating that the leader of the akatsuki was operating out of the village hidden in the rain, so Jiraiya boy went there in person to verify whether these rumors were true. Jiraiya boy encountered Pain, the leader of the akatsuki. However, Pain was a former student of Jiraiya boys from many many years ago." Fukasaku said
"He was his student. What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked
"I don't know the particulars, but Jiraiya boy called him Nagato." Fukasaku said
"That goes way back to a time during the chaos of the third great ninja war. The hidden rain village became a battlefield. Jiraiya took some war orphans under his wing. Who would've imagined those kids." Tsunade said
"But to defeat a shinobi as powerful as Jiraiya. How did this pain accomplish such a feat?" Kakashi asked
"It was because Pain possesses the rinnegan." Fukasaku said
"What did you say?" Kakashi asked
"Rinnegan?" Sakura asked
"It's an ocular jutsu said to have been possessed by the father of all shinobi, the Sage of six paths, but I believed that it was nothing more than a legend." Shizune said
"The fabled ocular jutsu, the rinnegan. Its power is supposedly beyond anything you could imagine, but there's more. There were 6 of them that possessed that ocular jutsu." Fukasaku said
"There were six of them with the rinnegan. How can that even be possible?" Kakashi asked
"I don't know. Perhaps there's some trick behind it. I believe that Jiraiya boy discovered the secret behind the six of them in that final terrible battle. Even after he had been finished by Pain and he knew the end was near, Jiraiya boy left a message before collapsing. This is his message." Fukasaku said and removed his robe revealing a code on his back
"It's a code." Shizune said
"I'm sure he did this to prevent Pain from catching on. That's everything I know about Jiraiya boys' efforts." Fukasaku said
"I wonder what he was trying to tell us. Maybe we could decode this. Then hopefully we'll understand." Tsunade said
"You let him go. Is that right, mom?" Natsumi asked
"That's right." Tsunade said
"Why would you ever let him do something so risky?! You knew Pervy-Sage better than anybody, mom! How could you send him somewhere so dangerous alone?!" Natsumi asked
"Stop it, Natsumi. You of all people ought to know Lady Tsunade's feelings." Kakashi said and Tsunade thought about her last time seeing Jiraiya
Flashback
"It's too dangerous." Tsunade said
"I'm one of the legendary Sannin. You know what that means just as much as I do. You were so beautiful back then and now you're a fifty something granny, but it does pain me to see how you hold all the memories of your lost friends and loved ones inside that ample bus son of yours. As you know, the number will only continue to rise. Well then, we'll simply have to keep our emotions in check. The job we must give to ourselves now is to set examples and aid the next generation, Tsunade. To achieve that I'd gladly risk my life. Wisdom is the one thing that makes growing old worth it." Jiraiya said
End flashback
"Dammit." Natsumi said and started to leave
"Natsumi, wait. Where are you going?" Sakura asked
"If the pervy-Sage had been the hokage, he wouldn't have let you take a risk like that. Never. If you really loved him as much as you claim you do, then you would have tried harder to keep him from going….I hate you." Natsumi said and slammed the door
"Natsumi." Sakura said
"Enough, Sakura. Don't. Just let her be for now." Tsunade said
"But, M'lady." Sakura said
"My apologies, lord Fukusaku. I'll arrange for Natsumi to..."
"No need. That's quite alright, but about that child of prophecy vision I mentioned earlier. I can see that this child truly loved and admired Jiraiya boy. It makes me hope more than anything that she is the child of prophecy." Fukusaku said
Natsumi
As Natsumi was walking aimlessly through the village she started to think back on her times with Jiraiya. She stopped walking when he heard the noise of a popsicle breaking in half. She looked up and leaves blew past her face and into the sky. She sighed and just went to the training grounds. She sat down and then started to cry. She felt like everything was just ripped from her since Jiraiya was gone. She didn't know how much time passed as he sat there, but it was now dark outside and she showed no signs of moving. She sat on the ground staring at nothing as her eyes were a dull violet instead of her vibrant violet as they usually were.
Eventually she stood up and started to go through her frog kumite stances that Jiraiya showed her unaware that Tsunade had arrived to talk to her. The further into her stances she got, the more tears fell down from her face as well as Tsunade's who saw a ghost of Jiraiya appear next to Natsumi and start going through the stances with her. Natsumi did this until she passed out from exhaustion and Tsunade watched her the entire time.
Few days later
"I have to admit, Natsumi-girl, I wasn't expecting to hear from you for a few more days.." Fukasaku said
"I know. Let's just say I've had some clarity about recent events.." Natsumi said
"I see. So, what is it that you need?" Fukasaku asked, but already knew what she needed
"I think you already know why I summoned you. It's time I trained with the toads like Pervy-Sage. If I'm going to beat whoever it is that the akatsuki send after me, then I'll need to be as strong as him or stronger. So I'm asking you. Please, will you train me like you did Pervy-Sage?" Natsumi asked
"No. I will train you better than I did Jiraiya-boy. My training was not good enough for him to win his battle so I must train you even harder. I can tell you are close to his level in strength already and that you're stronger than Tsunade. With my training, you will surpass Jiraiya-boy and defeat the one known as Pain." Fukasaku said
"I can't believe she's already surpassed me. It wasn't that long ago when she surpassed Kakashi." Tsunade thought and Natsumi summoned a small red toad
"Kōsuke, you'll be staying here with granny Tsunade to relay any message only if I need to come back." Natsumi said
"No problem, Natsumi." Kosuke said
"Well, young tadpole. Are you ready to begin your training?" Fukasaku said
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't ready." Natsumi said and Fukasaku laughed
"That's exactly what Jiraiya-boy said to me when he first started to train under me." Fukasaku said
"Natsumi, I know I don't need to tell you this, but listen to everything Fukasaku says and don't let your Uzumaki temper get the best of you." Tsunade said
"You've got nothing to worry about. This is me we're talking about." Natsumi said
"Yeah and that's what worries me. You may have matured a lot, but you still do have your moments when your temper gets the best of you." Tsunade said
"Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence." Natsumi mumbled and Tsunade laughed
"Don't you want to say goodbye to Hiroshi?" Tsunade asked
"We said goodbye to each other for 6 hours last night." Natsumi said and Tsunade's jaw dropped
"Natsumi-girl, it's time to train." Fukasaku said and Natsumi nodded
"I'll see you when I get back mom. Make sure the village stays in one piece while I'm gone." Natsumi said and then went up in smoke
"Good luck, Natsumi." Tsunade said
Mount Myōboku
"Whoa. What is this place?" Natsumi asked
"This is Mount Myōboku. The home of the toads and where you will be training." Fukasaku told him
"So, what exactly are we training in?" Natsumi asked
"I will train you to become the next toad Sage. You will learn how to properly use nature chakra and cooperate it into your attacks. First, has Jiraiya-boy taught you anything that belongs to the toads?" Fukasaku asked
"Over the last few months of training he had me meditate a lot. He taught me the taijutsu form he uses." Natsumi said and did the forms Jiraiya showed her
"The frog kumite. That's good. You're already ahead of training so the sparing part should be a bit easier. Now, in order to achieve sage mode, you must remain absolutely still in order to be one with nature and balance the natural energy with your own physical and spiritual energies. This training will be the hardest you have ever done. I'll apply some oil to your body so your body can passively start gathering natural energy so you can get a taste of how it feels. After that we will begin training in gathering nature chakra on your own. If you gather too much natural energy, then you will turn into a toad statue." Fukasaku said and pointed to toad statues around them
"I suddenly don't want to do this." Natsumi said
"Don't worry. I have a special staff that I'll hit you with to knock the nature chakra out of you if you're gathering too much. It will reverse any transformations before they become permanent and you turn to stone." Fukasaku said
"Alright. Let's get started." Natsumi said
"First, you see that waterfall over there?" Fukasaku asked
"Yeah. What about it?" Natsumi asked
"I want you to go over there and meditate in front of it. You still have anger and hatred in your heart. I do not want anything holding you back, so you must release that anger and once you do, we will begin training." Fukasaku said
Natsumi didn't say anything and just nodded. She walked over to the waterfall and just sat down to begin his meditation. She knew she would have to deal with the anger and hatred in her heart one day since she can't become hokage if she hates the village. Fukasaku watched on as Natsumi easily relaxed and started to meditate. This brought a smile onto his face since no one has ever been able to get meditation down so easily.
"You've groomed a fine pupil, Jiraiya-boy. I'll do everything I can to make sure she continues down the right path." Fukasaku thought
"Hey, geezer toad-sage. How long is this sage mode training going to take?" Natsumi asked
"It shouldn't take long. We're going to speed up your progress a lot faster with the oil and then once you're able to absorb natural energy for sage mode, I'll teach you how to properly use the frog kumite and how to incorporate sage chakra into your ninjutsu. Are you in a rush to get back?" Fukasaku asked
"Sort of. I mean Naruto is basically M.I.A and we're the strongest in the village. Not that I'm doubting anybody else, but I just feel a lot better if one of us were in the village. I don't want the akatsuki to show up while we're not there." Natsumi said
"If the akatsuki show up, Kosuke will return to deliver the message for your return." Fukasaku said
"I guess, but still. Mom is always stuck behind the desk, bushy brows sensei is gone on a mission, Kakashi is there and those are the next three after me and Naruto." Natsumi said
"Everything will be fine. Just finish your meditation and then we will begin." Fukasaku said
"If you say so." Natsumi said and started meditating again
Two months later
The sage training for Natsumi began and it wasn't hard for her to be able to see the natural energy. She was close to mastering sage mode after 2 weeks, but she couldn't properly balance the natural energy, so Fukasaku had to constantly hit her with his special staff that she quickly learned hurt a lot. The hardest part other than the balancing of natural energy was when Natsumi had to meditate on a board while it was on top of a pointy rock. It took her three days to finally get it down.
Currently she is still balancing while gathering natural energy. Fukasaku could see and feel the natural energy going into Natsumi and knew she was going to master it now. After a few seconds a large amount of natural energy went into Natsumi and she managed to keep it well balanced. Her appearance changed around his eye. She has yellow irides and toad-like pupils, with orange pigmentation around her eyes. A bird landed on her shoulder and caused her to lose her balance on the board, sending her crashing to the ground, but she realized it didn't hurt that much.
"That actually didn't really hurt." Natsumi said and Fukasaku landed in front of her
"Exactly. That's because of sage mode. Your body has become activated in a whole new way. Now that you've mastered sage mode and natural energy, we have come to one final step." Fukasaku said
"We're not done yet? I've been here for like two months already." Natsumi said
"No. It's a type of sparring that sages perform using sage jutsu chakra. Now, I will pick up where Jiraiya-boy left off and teach you how to properly use frog kumite. When using frog kumite, the natural energy you've gathered to create senjutsu chakra will surround you in an aura of that same natural energy. This aura will act as an extension of your body and cannot be seen by anyone other than those who have trained in senjutsu. By utilizing the aura, you will be able to extend the range and force of your physical attacks. Strikes that seemingly or would normally miss will actually make contact with the target. Only users of Sage Mode can see or sense this aura's extension. Nothing else, not even the Rinnegan can see it. It's how Jiraiya-boy was able to fend himself off against Pain." Fukasaku said
"So this is a spar using only what Pervy-Sage started to teach me?" Naruto asked
"Precisely and since you already know quite a bit about frog kumite, it shouldn't take us that long. By the end of the day you'll be completely finished with your sage training." Fukasaku said
Natsumi and Fukasaku both got into the same stance and after a brief stare off, they jumped into action. It was clear from the start that Natsumi was still relatively new at the taijutsu style, but she slowly got the hang of it and managed to knock Fukasaku down a few times. They spared like this for the rest of the day from sunrise to sunset. Natsumi also trained on her own and made great progress. Her Rasenshuriken was finally complete and she could now throw it. She worked on incorporating sage chakra into her jutsus and she made them more destructive than what they originally were. She also found out that while she was in sage mode, her wood kekkei genkai was a thousand times more powerful than it usually is. Currently she was in the middle of eating dinner with Fukasaku after a long day of training.
"Natsumi-girl. You're able to manipulate senjutsu chakra and have mastered the basics of frog kumite in the sage arts. Now, I have one final thing I must tell you." Fukasaku said
"What would that be?" Natsumi asked
"This is about the risks of using sage mode. Once you grasp the risks that are involved with it, then you can exploit sage mode to its fullest extent. As you've already figured out, you can't use sage mode for long periods of time. 5 minutes is the most you can use it for. Also, to gather the amount of natural energy needed for sage mode, you must stay completely still and that makes it useless when you're already in the heat of battle." Fukasaku said
"I'm sure you have a solution to this already. I mean you wouldn't teach something like this if you didn't have a way to eliminate the risks." Natsumi said
"Right again my girl. All that you and I would have to do is merge our bodies together, then it'll be fine." Fukasaku said and jumped on her shoulder, but he was sent flying off of her
"What the hell was that?" Natsumi asked
"It seems as if the nine tails is keeping me from merging with your body. If we cannot merge our bodies together, then you will not be able to use sage mode to its fullest extent." Fukasaku said and Natsumi sighed before she perked up
"I have an idea." Natsumi said
"What would that be?" Fukasaku asked
"My shadow clones. I can leave some around during a fight and have them gather nature energy. Once my sage mode ends, I can release a shadow clone and instantly enter sage mode from the nature chakra they gathered." Natsumi said
"That can work. However, we need to know the exact amount of shadow clones you can maintain while fighting as they gather natural energy." Fukasaku said
"Then let's have a spar. I'll create some shadow clones to start collecting natural energy as we fight and I'll increase the number of shadow clones after every spar. I'll increase them until I've reached my limit." Natsumi said
Fukasaku nodded and after Natsumi created a shadow clone, they began the spar. Natsumi kept on surprising Fukasaku each time they fought because she would just get better each time. They spared for over an hour and discovered Natsumi had a limit of 6 shadow clones she could use to gather nature energy while she's fighting. As they were sparring, two akatsuki members were preparing to face their opponents very soon.
Dragons den
Two months went by and Naruto managed to learn both jutsus that Ra wanted to teach got the down quickly, but he realized at his current level in or for him to use the dragon fist, he would have to use up every ounce of draconic chakra that he had in his body so if he was in a fight and he knew he would need the dragon fist, he'd have to use his regular chakra until he's ready to use the dragon fist. The dragon thunder mainly worked if somebody appeared behind him as it allowed him to grow spikes made of chakra from his back and electrocute them with his lightning chakra. His Hiraishin training was complete, but it was not ready to be used in battle like Minato and Tobirama Senju were able to.
Naruto's training with Ra caused him to put on a bit more muscle and due to him not keeping up with it, his hair grew so long that it stopped just under his shoulder blades. Temari wasn't a fan of his long hair and constantly asked him to cut it short, but he always said he'd do it once his training was over. Temari's training with Catalina also made her skills grow tremendously especially her close range skills since Catalina always fought up close when she switched to her human form. In terms of skill, Temari could possibly take on an entire squad of anbu and still have some more fight left in her which is a huge step considering where she was before Catalina started to train her.
"Naruto, come here." Temari said and twirled a kunai on her finger
"What is it?" Naruto asked
"Sit down." Temari said and forced him to the ground
"Not that I'm against it, but shouldn't we do this somewhere more private?" Naruto asked and her face turned red
"THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS IS." Temari yelled
"Then what's the problem?" Naruto asked and she grabbed his hair
"I'm tired of seeing your hair like this. I'm cutting it back to how you usually have it." Temari said and started cutting his hair
"I don't get why you hate my long hair. It hasn't done anything to you." Naruto said
"Because it doesn't fit you." Temari said
"Doesn't stop you from playing it in." Naruto mumbled
"What was that?!" Temari asked
"You heard me." Naruto said and her eye twitched
"Can you at least pretend to be scared of me just once?" Temari asked
"Why would I do that?" Naruto asked and she sighed
"Nevermind. How do you think Natsumi is doing right now?" Temari asked
"Depends on where she's at. If she's on a mission she's probably in her Hokage mode as she calls it and if she's in the village then she's either shopping, with Tsunade and Shizune or she has Hiroshi over spending some quality time together." Naruto said
"I just noticed something. Natsumi tends to call Tsunade her mother, but you don't. Why is that?" Temari asked
"Because Natsumi never had a mother figure in her life and Tsunade is our godmother. It's only fitting that Natsumi calls her that. As for me, I already know who my mother is and I can't see myself calling somebody else mom." Naruto said
"Then why don't you ever hangout with them? I'm sure they do little family gatherings." Temari said
"I do, but it's very rare. I've never been one for get-togethers or anything like that." Naruto said
"I know that, but I still think you should spend more time with them and get to know them." Temari said
"I'd rather not. Most of the time it's them going to the hot springs getting massages and talking about the latest gossip. I'll pass on that one. Besides, I was close with Jiraiya so that should mean something, right?" Naruto asked
"I have never once seen you interact with Jiraiya." Temari said
"Because he's always out doing spy missions. It's usually through a messenger toad or dragon when we speak and it's just about life or stuff around the shinobi world." Naruto said
"When was the last time you spoke to him?" Temari asked
"Like 4 months ago, but that's usually how it goes. I should get a message from him within a few days or so." Naruto said
"I guess. There. All done." Temari said
"How do I look?" Naruto asked
"Like your father with darker eyes and black hair." Temari said
"I guess it can't be helped. What about your hair? It's gotten pretty long as well." Naruto said, as her hair was nearly at her waist and she tossed him the kunai
"Cut it for me." Temari said and sat down
"I don't understand why you don't like long hair." Naruto said
"Because I don't want people to pull it. I keep it long enough to do my four pigtails and that's it." Temari said
"I pull your hair all the time." Naruto said and she blushed
"That's different and you know it." Temari said
"It's still pulling your hair." Naruto said
"Whatever. Are you nervous about fighting Itachi?" Temari said
"Not really. I knew this was coming the moment Sasuke died." Naruto said
"How will you even know when and where to find him?" Temari asked
"I'm sure he already has a way to contact me when it's time." Naruto said
"I hope you didn't forget that I'm coming with you." Temari said
"I'm done and I didn't forget. You and Anko constantly remind me that you're both coming with me." Naruto said
"Just in case Kisame tries to interfere or if another akatsuki member shows up." Temari said
"You do realize that you and Anko might now be enough to handle Kisame, right?" Naruto asked and she narrowed her eyes
"Are you calling me weak?" Temari asked
"No. Kisame is known as the tailless tailed beast for a reason. That sword he has absorbs chakra and constantly gives it to Kisame. As long as he has that sword it's difficult to get to him." Naruto said
"Then all we have to do is get the sword away from him." Temari said
"Easier said than done." Naruto said
"We can do it. Anyway, let's go to sleep. We have to head back in the morning." Temari said and he helped her up
"Let's go." Naruto said and vanished
"I hate that stupid jutsu." Temari said and went up in a swirl of water
Konoha
"Lady Tsunade, it's been months since both Naruto and Natsumi have been in the village. Where are they exactly?" Shizune asked and Tsunade sighed
"You know where Natsumi is already and Naruto should be training with the dragons. He took some leave for about 5 months to finish his training and actually they should both be back soon." Tsunade said
"Do you think Natsumi is ready to face the one who took down master Jiraiya?" Shizune asked
"I believe in her. Believe it or not, when she comes back she'll possibly be even closer to Naruto. Sage mode is no joke and I highly doubt that's the only thing she's worked on in two months." Tsunade said
"What about Naruto?" Shizune asked
"I know for a fact that he's stronger than me." Tsunade said
"How can you tell?" Shizune asked
"He's a lot stronger than his mother was at his age and she wasn't that good until she reached twenty. I dare say he might be close to stepping into the same territory as my grandfather. Actually, from stories my grandfather told me, Naruto is stronger than Madara when he was his age and Natsumi isn't too far behind." Tsunade said
"I wonder why the two of them never actually fought outside of her test when they returned." Shizune said
"I don't know. I really don't want to see them fight." Tsunade said
"Why not?" Shizune asked
"Because I'd prefer if my village was left in one piece." Tsunade said and there was a knock on the door
"Were you expecting someone?" Shizune asked
"No. Come in!" Tsunade said and the door opened revealing Karin
"Karin? What are you doing here?" Shizune asked
"Um. We have a problem." Karin said
"What problem?" Tsunade asked
"The body that you wanted me to check out that Jiraiya's toads brought to us is really bad news." Karin said
"How?" Tsunade asked
"Those black rods in its body aren't just some fancy accessories. They're like transmitters and I detected some small amounts of chakra coming from them." Karin said
"Wait. This is a fake body?" Shizune asked
"Yes and I'm nearly certain that…." Karin was interrupted by a puff of smoke going off in the room
"NATSUMI IS BACK BITCHES." Natsumi yelled and everyone just looked at her
"Continue, Karin." Tsunade said and Natsumi's eye twitched
"Right. Anyway whoever was controlling that body can definitely detect where it is and they could possibly be on their way here." Karin said
"Hello?! Does anybody want to hear what I have to say?! It's really important!" Natsumi said
"What is it?" Tsunade asked
"I figured out the coded message pervy-sage left behind." Natsumi said
"What did it say?" Tsunade asked
"I said the real one isn't among them. Which goes in coalition with Karin's point that the body is being controlled. If that's one of the bodies of Pain, then pervy-sage never fought the real Pain. Whenever he or she comes to fight me, he'll probably have those same bodies he used to fight pervy-sage, but he or she would have to be close enough to control them. The only problem is that I'll have to take out the main bodies first before I find the original." Natsumi said
"How do you plan on doing that?" Shizune asked
"Leave that to me, but I will say that I'm going to leave the village soon to fight whoever is coming after me." Natsumi said
"Why?" Karin asked
"Do you want the village to get destroyed? I plan on going all out." Natsumi said and another puff of smoke went off
"Yo." Naruto said, as he appeared with Temari
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" Natsumi yelled
"Training." Naruto said
"Would you like a test?" Tsunade asked
"No offense, but you're not on my level." Naruto said
"Care to put your money where your mouth is?" Tsunade asked
"Sure. When I win, you have to give the title of hokage to Natsumi." Naruto said
"I like that deal! Take it!" Natsumi said and Tsunade just looked at them
"W-Well, Natsumi still has a lot of maturing to do before she can take the seat. I'll have to decline." Tsunade said
"He called my bluff." Tsunade thought and looked at Temari
"Temari, you seem to be doing well." Shizune said
"I am. It's good to see you again." Temari said
"Naruto, did you find anything on your little trip?" Tsunade asked
"No. I didn't find anything." Naruto said and a crow with a sharingan landed by the window
"Is that a crow with a sharingan?" Karin asked
"Yeah." Naruto said and his sharingan activated making the crow fly away
"What was that?" Tsunade asked
"It's time." Naruto said and summoned Tatsu
"Yo." Tatsu said
"I need you to get Anko. Bring her here and tell her it's time." Naruto said and Tatsu left
"What do you mean?" Shizune asked
"We have a problem!" Karin said
"What?" Natsumi asked
"Six identical chakra signatures are on their way here and they're moving fast. It's the same chakra I detected from the body." Karin said
"How far out are they?" Natsumi asked and closed her eyes
"10 miles." Karin said and Natsumi entered sage mode
"Sage mode." Naruto thought
"Good. I'm going. They're going to pay for what they did to pervy-sage." Natsumi said
"What did they do to him?" Naruto asked
"He's dead. He tried to fight the leader, but he was overwhelmed and the person has something called the rinnegan, uses multiple bodies to fight and now it's time for some revenge." Natsumi said
"Don't fight for revenge. Keep a clear mind through the fight and you'll be perfectly fine." Naruto said and she nodded
"Don't lose to Itachi." Natsumi said and gave him a hug before vanishing
"Maybe she should have some backup." Shizune said
"She'll be fine." Naruto said
"How can you be so sure?" Karin asked
"Because she wouldn't die before she became hokage." Naruto said and Anko appeared in the room
"I'm here." Anko said and Naruto looked at her
"Are you alright?" Naruto asked
"What do you mean?" Anko asked
"You're wearing a black t-shirt and some shinobi pants rather than your usual revealing outfit." Naruto said
"Iruka asked me to change my outfit. It's actually comfortable. So, ready to go?" Anko asked
"Yeah." Naruto said
"When we come back, Kurenai will be waiting to do the transplant." Anko said
"Alright. Let's go." Naruto said and they vanished
Naruto, Anko & Temari
"So, remind me again where we're going." Anko said
"To the Uchiha hideout." Naruto said
"Where's that?" Temari asked
"It's up in the terrace mountain area of the land of fire. It's literally built into the mountain and has forestry growing on each level." Naruto said
"Why have the fight here?" Anko asked
"Where else would you have two Uchiha clan members fight? Either way it goes, this will be either my or Itachi's last fight." Naruto said
"So, what's the game plan?" Temari asked
"There isn't one. You two will just keep an eye on Kisame while the fight happens. After that we leave." Naruto said and they nodded
"Naruto, after this fight with Itachi and Natsumi's fight with the guy with the rinnegan, what's next?" Temari asked
"Somehow find a way to free the captured tailed beasts and finish off the akatsuki members." Naruto said
"What about that thing?" Temari asked
"What thing?" Anko asked
"It's not important." Naruto said and then stopped running
"Why'd you stop?" Anko asked
"Because we're here." Naruto said and pointed up
"We have to climb up all of that?!" Anko asked and Temari summons Skyress
"Skyress, can you take us to the top of this mountain?" Temari asked
"Of course." Skyress said and they jumped on her back
"Still think we were going to climb?" Temari asked
"Shut up before I kick you off the dragon." Anko said
"Kisame is up there." Naruto said, as his sharingan was active
"How can you tell?" Anko asked
"I can zoom in and out with my sharingan. Plus I can sense him up there." Naruto said
"What's he doing?" Temari asked
"Absolutely nothing. He's just sitting there waiting for us." Naruto said, as they reached the top
"Thank you, Skyress." Temari said and Skyress went up in smoke
"Only Naruto alone may go beyond this point. Itachi's orders so that's how it's going to be. The rest of you can wait right here with me." Kisame said
"Even if you weren't here they still wouldn't come in with me." Naruto said and walked past Kisame
"Kisame Hoshigaki. Never thought I'd see you in person." Anko said
"Anko Mitarashi. Orochimaru's first apprentice and now one of Konoha's most sadistic interrogators. You've also brought along princess Temari of the hidden sand village. Quite the company I'm left with." Kisame said
"We won't make a move unless you do." Anko said and he chuckled
"You don't have to worry about that. The akatsuki as well as everybody else knows all about a battle between two Uchiha clansmen and how destructive it can be. The three of us will just sit here until the fight is over." Kisame said
While the three of them sat down waiting for the battle to begin, Natsumi was sitting down in Konoha's forest waiting for Pain to arrive. These two battles would determine the outcome of the very world and only Naruto knew that.