Sorry this chapter took so long, but I've had a lot of other story ideas on my mind and couldn't focus on this one as much as I wanted to. Hopefully this makes up for it. Plus you're all in for one heck of a surprise regarding a certain Toad Sage. It's something I know you guys will find to be a bit of a shocker. Especially with how he's been portrayed in earlier chapters.
*I still don't own RWBY or Naruto. Kishimoto owns Naruto, and Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum still own RWBY… No, no, it's fine, it's fine. It doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me… It bothers me, it bothers me a lot, (watches Yang getting turned against in Volume 3 again) AND THAT ONE'S STILL GREEN!*
Dialogue Key
"To be the Hokage! That is my dream!" = Talking
"COME OVER HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!" = YELLING
'Where is that pesky light switch?' = Thinking
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Jutsu!) = Jutsu/Demon & Summon Talking
'Stupid humans! Bunch of hairless apes!' = Demon/Summon Thinking
"DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?!" = DEMON & SUMMON YELLING
Explanations & A Biju's Plans
In the mindscape of Yagura, the current Mizukage, we find ourselves in a barred cage with a tag that has the kanji for Seal written on it slapped over the part of the door where the lock would be. Within that cage is a massive creature that looks like a cross between a turtle and a crab with three shrimp-like tails, blue, coral-like armor with spikes all over covering most of its body, and red flesh underneath it. The left eye remains closed due to heavy scarring, leaving only one visible yellow eye. Most of its face and head is covered by a spiky shell that resembles a pair of jaws, and it has human arms and hands with no hind legs.
This creature is Isobu, the Sanbi no Kyodaigame (Three-Tailed Giant Turtle) and one of the nine Biju.
Though, right now, he's nothing but a prisoner in his own Jinchuriki.
"Blast that masked Uchiha and his wretched Mangekyo Sharingan! Had it not been for him, Yagura wouldn't have ordered these disgusting bloodline purges, and Mizugakure no Sato would be well on its way toward an era of peace! He's even modified the seal with his infernal Sharingan so I can't send out my Chakra to dispel the Genjutsu my container is under!" Isobu ranted in rage.
He roared and thrashed about in his cage in hopes of somehow weakening the seal enough to escape, or at least send out enough chakra to break the Genjutsu. He kicked up many waves in his aquatic environment, but the seal held strong. Isobu stopped his thrashing, panting hard as he tried to regain his breath. Taking a moment to rest, the Biju started to use a more rational way of thinking in order to find a way out of this terrible situation.
So he began to expand his senses outside of the seal. An agreement he and Yagura came to early on that, thankfully, remained unaffected by the modified seal. He sensed early on that Gyuki, the Eight-Tails, was destroyed in combat and his power absorbed by a Cobra Snake summon that fought back in self defense a few years ago. This in turn turned into the new Hachibi: the Yamata no Orochi. Maybe Isobu can do something similar with another creature. Preferably one from the sea.
It took a few minutes, but Isobu managed to find something that will work perfectly.
A lone Hammerhead Shark pup that was born very weak. And from what the giant turtle is sensing, the shark pup is on its last legs.
Closing his lone eye, Isobu began to focus as he sent out miniscule amounts of chakra towards the shark pup. The pup actually started to heal and grow stronger as it slowly absorbed the power being sent out by the Sanbi. The Sanbi shed a few tears though, as he knows that even though a new Sanbi will be born, he will kill himself in the process. And by extension, Yagura.
"I'm sorry, Yagura-Kun. You were a good friend to me." Isobu said with regret. "But this must be done. I only hope you find it in your heart to forgive me when we meet again in the next life."
Having said what may very well be his last words, Isobu turned all of his focus toward the task at hand. He's got a new Sanbi to create.
...Back in Konoha...
Sitting in his office, Hiruzen was waiting for Orochimaru to arrive at his office with the current rookies and the traitor. He witnessed the battle against Mizuki through the crystal ball that every Kage has in their office for village surveillance purposes, and already has a punishment in mind for Sasuke, but he can't be too harsh right now since the boy is still in critical condition. It's likely the group will drop him off at the hospital before coming to the office to submit a mission report. If he's being honest, Hiruzen is glad that these kids didn't have to kill anyone just yet.
Being as old a shinobi as he is, the aged Hokage knows what it's like to have to take a life in the name of the village. It never really gets any easier to deal with the guilt of all the lives one ends. This is why many shinobi and kunoichi, no matter what village they come from, end up developing strange personality quirks as coping mechanisms.
Kakashi Hatake, even as an ANBU, has become perpetually late to everything unless it's a mission of B-Rank or higher. He and his son, Asuma Sarutobi, took up smoking as a way to cope with the guilt of killing. Even the three Sannin had developed odd quirks. Tsunade became a drunken gambler, Jiraiya turned into a pervert who began writing porn (especially after his first book, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja, didn't sell very well), and Orochimaru has become something of a workaholic. Really, the life of a ninja is never an easy one. It still astonishes the old man how so many people keep saying that becoming a ninja grants one fame, glamor, and respect.
Well, they're not entirely wrong. Highly skilled shinobi are in fact respected by their villages and the people they save, but the life of fame and glamor is totally wrong.
'Sasuke Uchiha has proven to be mentally unstable tonight, and his actions further backup that thought. How and why was he allowed to become a Shinobi?' Sarutobi thought to himself before he remembered. 'Oh, that's right. Our village was, and is, low on militant manpower right now and we need to rebuild our forces. Damn arrogant Civilian Council and their blatant favoritism! With the exceptions of Mebuki, Oichi, and Mitsuhide, of course.'
Sarutobi was startled out of his thoughts when a small POOF of smoke appeared in his office on his desk. Despite being caught off guard, the aged Hokage was still plenty ready to defend himself if this was an enemy attack.
He relaxed, however, when the smoke cleared to reveal a dark green toad that has the appearance of an old man, complete with some white hair on his head, and a small, white beard. The only clothing this toad is wearing is a dark blue cloak like a sage.
"Hokage-Sama. I come bearing news about Jiraiya-Boya's sudden behavioral change." the toad said.
"Please, tell me everything you know, Fukasaku-Dono." Hiruzen said, his eyes narrowed.
He was quite curious as to just how his student became the villain that he is, especially with his murdering of a majority of the Uchiha Clan, and just why he would commit such atrocities. I mean, one minute he's just a super pervert who writes an equally perverted book series, the next minute he's gone mad in an attempt to gain power for himself. And it happened out of the blue, too. Nothing about his actions made any sense. But now, it looks like some things are about to be cleared up.
The elderly toad, Fukusaku, exhaled through his nose as he sensed all of the approaching chakra signatures. Especially those of the two Jinchurikis. And seeing no point in leaving them out of the loop, he came to a decision.
"Let's wait for Orochimaru and the rest of our guests to arrive first. Our remaining Sannin needs to know this as well, and I see no reason to leave everyone else out of the loop at the moment."
Hiruzen simply nodded in agreement and lit some tobacco in his trusty pipe. He has a feeling the smoke will help him keep calm enough to not blow up. It's a minor curse among the Sarutobi clan. Like how the men in the Nara clan are known for being notoriously lazy geniuses, men from the Sarutobi clan more often than not become chronic smokers. It's a trait he hopes didn't get passed on to his grandson.
Within minutes, Orochimaru and the entire retrieval team entered Sarutobi's office with a practically brain dead Mizuki being dragged behind Chouji, and the Forbidden Scroll of Seals being carried by Orochimaru. The Hebi Sannin and the group of newly minted Genin (sans Sasuke) saluted as they presented their objectives.
"Mission to retrieve the Forbidden Scroll and capture the traitors complete, Hokage-Sama." reported Orochimaru.
"Excellent. I will expect a full report on the mission on my desk from each of you in three days time, and you will all receive payment for the completion of a B-Rank mission." Hiruzen said.
"Hey, Jiji, what's with the bearded frog on your desk?" Naruto asked rather impulsively.
Unfortunately for the blonde, spiky haired Jinchuriki, he didn't realize that this so-called 'frog' is armed. And as a result, he got hit over the head with a metal staff for his insolence, much to the amusement of the more immature members of the group such as Kiba and Chouji.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLIN' A FROG, WIPPER SNAPPER? I'M A TOAD! THERE'S A DIFFERENCE!" Fukasaku shouted in anger.
But his announcing that he's a toad instantly put Jaune on guard as he readied what remains of his lance and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan in case of a fight.
"Stand down, Genin Uchiha! This is no ordinary Toad summon. He is Fukasaku-Sama, one of the Toad Elders of Mount Myobokuzan." Hiruzen ordered while explaining the toad.
Sadly, it did nothing to calm Jaune any, as so many bad memories were being forced to the surface by the mere presence of this creature. Orochimaru and those who know Jaune and Naruto are surprised that the two have held themselves back as long as they have. If it were any other time, they certainly would have attacked with the intent to kill without hesitation. And yet here they are, neither moving a muscle except to narrow their eyes as they glared harder at the dark green amphibian.
"And what's one of Jiraiya-Teme's toad summons doing here of all places?" Naruto growled as he asked his question.
"I would have assumed that the toads would not be welcomed in this village after Jiraiya's betrayal of the village. So why is this old wart bringer here in your office, Hokage-Sama? What business has he with you?" Jaune asked with heavy amounts of venom in his voice.
Enough to make Manda, the boss of the Snake Summons, proud. And the collosal snake summon did in fact feel very proud for reasons he doesn't yet know. And that confuses the mighty serpent.
Now everyone KNOWS the boy is close to snapping. He only ever calls the Hokage by his title when the situation is an immensely serious one. Any other time, and he'd just call the elderly village leader by a less formal name like Hokage-Ojisan or Jii-Chan. Much like Naruto does.
"Now, cool your jets there, Jaune-Boyo. I know that Jiraiya-Boyo has done a great evil by attempting to wipe your clan from existence and take the Sharingan for himself, but trust me when I say that not all is as it seems with the Toad Sennin." Fukasaku explained calmly.
"What do you know?" Jaune growled, lowering his lance while keeping his guard up.
"Jiraiya-Boyo's mind has been deeply twisted by a former branch of the Amphibian Summoning Scroll: a Summon Contract that would allow the summoner to call upon any species of amphibious creature to fight with them. Toads, Frogs, Salamanders, if it's an amphibian then the summoner could summon it. It's a species known as the Kane Toads." Fukusaku began to explain through a history lesson. "The Kane Toads are a venomous species of toad that, when squeezed to a certain point, can release a toxic cocktail of chemicals from their pores. If a predator tries to take a bite out of a Kane Toad, then they'd die soon afterwards. And believe me when I say that it's not a quick and painless death."
"Okay, so the old toad was brainwashed by a branch of your own people. We're all with you so far." said Shikamaru as he began to use that big brain of his.
"The Kane Toads are also a forbidden summon branch to us toads because, unlike us normal toads who use chakra and Senjutsu to fight our enemies, Kane Toads use dark arts such as sorcery to destroy their foes. They used their magic to totally warp Jiraiya-Boyo's mind until it he became a depraved mad man bent on turning a prophecy to his favor and rebuilding the Shinobi world in his image." Fukusaku further explained.
"Then why not just strike him from the Toad Contract?" Sakura asked. "If he really is that sick in the head, you should take away his ability to summon any toads until we can get him some much needed help. Maybe even turn him back to who he once was."
Fukasaku looked down, saddened by a certain fact that was about to be made known.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, child." he said. "The Kane Toads have broken off from the Toad Contract and created their own with Jiraiya-Boyo as their first and only summoner. We couldn't take away his ability to summon now even if we wanted to. The best we can do for now is continue to keep tabs on Jiraiya and the Kane Toads' movements while searching for a new summoner. One who can restore the honor of the once proud toads of Konoha. For even though our kind are completely loyal to Konoha, the village's people's trust in us has been near shattered. Were it not for the fact that the Yondaime was our previous and most recent summoner before his death, they'd likely be demanding we leave Konoha forever."
"Ohhh… Where am I?" groaned Mizuki as he woke up from his Tsukoyomi enduced coma.
Only to be hit in the face and knocked out by Naruto, who used a random shovel to do so. Everyone else looked shocked to see what Naruto had done, and even Orochimaru hadn't been expecting something like that to happen.
"What? I didn't feel like dealing with him again."
"Let's just hope you didn't give him amnesia. We still need to interrogate him." Orochimaru said as he saw a large lump developing on Mizuki's head.
"If he does, I've got the cure right here." Naruto said nonchalantly as he spun the shovel in his hand.
"Where did you get that shovel anyway?" Ino asked.
Naruto looked at Ino, then to the shovel, back to the Yamanaka heiress, and back to the shovel again. He looked confused until he just shrugged.
"I have no idea." he said honestly.
"In any case, I think it would be best if we all go home and rest for now. It's been a long and eventful night for all of us, and I think we could all use some rest. Especially after such drastic news." Shino suggested.
"You are correct, Shino-San. Orochimaru, take Mizuki to the Konoha I&T Department and let Ibiki and Anko have free reign with him. I want to know exactly what drove him to try and steal the Forbidden Scroll like he did. And why he enlisted the help of Sasuke in doing so." Hiruzen ordered. "The rest of you go home and rest up. You are to report to the Academy in three days time for your team placements."
Not needing to be told twice, the large group of young ninjas, plus one old, bowed to the Hokage and began to leave his office. But Jaune didn't leave before he put that strange Uchiha artifact on Hiruzen's desk on his way out.
*To Be Continued…*
Still shorter than two of my previous chapters, I know. But I just hope that this chapter is well recieved by you guys and the explanation for Jiraiya's sudden turning evil makes sense to you all. In all honesty, it really was the best I could come up with, sadly.
Thank you guys so much for reading. Please don't forget to vote on the poll I have on my profile. May the Force be with you, and have a great day, my Jedi and Sith friends.