Chapter 35
Kiba entered his home after being let out of the Forest of Death. He was tired and wanted some shut eye before he got into his training. From the small meeting that he had with Kurenai and the others, Kurenai was going to offer her services should they need it. She was somewhat at a lost on who to really focus on due to their opponents. They all let her know that they would ask for help should they need it.
As he made his way to his room, he heard the voice of his mother and sister. Making his way to the common room, he saw the two sitting there talking.
"Hi guys, what were you talking about?" Kiba asked.
"Nothing important. Your sister is just a little cranky because security is being tighten a little. It isn't like she has a social life to complain about." Tsume said, a little smirk appearing on her face due to Hana's glare.
"Well, they do have a good reason for that. Some major stuff happened during the second part of the exams. Those exams are no joke." Kiba said.
"Really? Well, I will find out later as the Hokage has called everyone in. In fact, I should get going." Tsume said and stood up. She congratulated Kiba on passing and walked out of the home. Hana turned her attention to her brother.
"So squirt, what are your plans for training? Who are you facing in the finals?" she asked.
"Hinata's cousin, Neji. She told me about him and how he was last year's Rookie of the Year and a first rate prick. I don't know much about how he fights but I bet I can take him." Kiba boasted.
"Really? You think you can take a Hyuga on? If I remember clearly, you're on a team with a Hyuga and she has beaten you how many times?" Hana asked with smirk. Kiba gave her a dirty look before making his way to his room. Maybe he should plan this out some more.
XXX
Chōza looked for his son when he returned from the council meeting. He wanted to make sure that he was okay after hearing about how his son's team uncovered the spy. He had the security increased just in case the spy decided to get him. He found his son practicing his Bo forms and let out a sigh of relief. He walked up to his son and got his attention.
"You are improving in your stance and wielding." Chōza said with a smile. His face then changed, becoming serious. "I was informed about your time in the forest. I am glad that you are safe and I am proud that you helped in revealing a break in our security."
"Thanks dad, although, it was Shikamaru who guessed that stuff. I just helped when I could." Choji said with a little embarrassment.
"Do not sell yourself short son. It was the same way for my team as well. Shikaku was always the brains and I was always the muscle. You did your part in keeping your team safe. Now, what do you plan on doing for the finals? I believe that you are fighting Might Guy's kunoichi." Chōza said.
"Yeah but I have no information on her. Still, I do have a plan but I don't know if I can do it within the month without help." Choji said.
"Well, we better get busy huh?" Chōza asked, smiling at his son. Choji smiled back and hugged his father.
XXX
Shikamaru was looking at the night sky from inside his home. He was confined there even if his father said he wasn't. If he knew that calling out a spy was going to get him grounded, he would have left it alone. If that wasn't bad enough, he was actually thinking about the upcoming match with Shino. Shikamaru was not one to think about competition. He didn't care for it and he wasn't a fight nut like Naruto or Kiba. Still, he felt kind of excited about his match with Shino.
In a way, he and Shino were kind of alike. They were loners, they didn't like too much interaction, they liked 'go' and they were pretty intelligent. To go up against Shino would most like turn into one of their 'go' matches and he was, surprisingly, looking forward to that.
"I can't believe it." Shikamaru muttered in aggravation. "They managed to turn me into one of them." He growled lowly and turned his head into his pillow. He had to get some rest before he got up to train.
XXX
The next morning found Naruto waiting for his teacher for the month. The old man wasn't too specific on who would be his sensei. He only smiled and said that he would know him when he saw him. Naruto turned his attention when he heard someone entered the training ground. Seeing the tall man with white hair, he also noticed that looked kind of burnt.
"Are you Jiraiya? What happened to you?" Naruto asked. The man glared at Naruto.
"This would because of your little security measure at the hot springs, brat." Jiraiya spat. He didn't know how but he could not break the genin's security system that he placed around there. He had gone after a small talk with Hiruzen to conduct his research. However, when he got within the hot springs, there was a flash of light and then he found himself being hit with surges of electricity. While a normal man would have taken the hint, Jiraiya was a pervert who needed research for his readers. He pushed forward to peek only to be knocked out half way there.
Naruto looked confused until he put it together. The security that he was talking about was the one he made for the women of the village. They were getting sick of the perverts peeking on them so they came to him. He created a beauty of the array that would shock any one not female. The female population was very happy to have their privacy while the perverts cursed Naruto's name. He gave Jiraiya a dirty look.
"Oh great, the old man saddled me up with a pervert." Naruto muttered.
"Hey! I am not a pervert!" Jiraiya bellowed. He then got a big grin on his face. "I am the great toad sage and sexy ladies' man, the Gallant Jiraiya! And, I am a super pervert!" Naruto looked at him with disbelief. He then sighed and groaned.
"The old man hates me." Naruto stated. Jiraiya just chuckled at him.
"Trust me kid, I'm as bit as strong as advertised. The old man wouldn't just saddle you up with just any one. Besides, being the former teammate of Orochimaru, I think I can keep you safe and make you strong. Unlike that old man Homura, I'm of greater skill when it comes to sealing. From what the old man said, you might be prodigy." He said. Naruto didn't really want to train with the old pervert but being the former teammate of Orochimaru did make it interesting. Also, he could learn a bit more sealing from him.
"Alright then," Naruto said with a sigh. "What are you going to teach me, Pervy Sage?" Jiraiya frowned at the nickname. The smug smirk on Naruto's face did not help either. He then grinned at the blond.
"Well first, I need to get a good look at your skill. Lucky for you, I ran into someone who was more than glad to help me with that. You will be sparring with her." Jiraiya said.
"Her?" Naruto asked confused.
"Revenge!" Naruto turned to the shout only to be tackled by Anko who was no longer under his seal. Jiraiya just pulled out a notepad and sat on a nearby rock. He ignored Naruto's screams and calls for help while he tussled with Anko, who was raining punches down on him. He just kept taking notes as this would be really good for his book.
XXX
Kakashi looked on as Sasuke ran through the obstacle course. It would be the sixth time today. The boy was determined to beat Itachi's time through that course. While the drive was impressive, he felt that this obsession would consume the time that they had to train. Besides, in the years since his defection, no ANBU has been able to beat Itachi's time.
Speaking of the ANBU, Kakashi knew that they were outside the compound. He knew that they were not there to protect Sasuke in the slightest. They were there to keep an eye on Sasuke due to his actions. He did not agree with Sasuke's actions toward his teammates or the Hokage. He wanted to put all this on the Curse Mark Orochimaru put on him but he knew that was just another excuse he was making. Sasuke was a flight risk and he would jump at the chance to get the power he needed.
It was why he was trying to form a bond with Sasuke. He wanted Sasuke to see that he needed people to help him in his quest. He thought that Naruto and Sakura would form the bonds he thought about but they disappointed him in that aspect. Now it was up to him to form that bond with Sasuke or lose him forever to the darkness that plagued his heart.
Sasuke finished the course and he stopped the watch. He knew Sasuke was looking at him and all he could do is shake his head in the negative. This upset Sasuke and he was about to make his way back to the beginning but Kakashi stopped him.
"You can do that later Sasuke. We need to get to some training if you are going to compete with Naruto." He said. Sasuke nodded and made his way over to start their training.
XXX
Hiruzen, Homaru and Koharu looked at Ibiki and several other shinobi. Their faces grim and stern.
"So, do we believe that this is the work of Kabuto?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yes, this is his work. While it was difficult, the coroner was able to find cuts within the body. From what we were able to find out, he was the adopted son of Nono Yakushi. She was skilled in her own right and could have passed her skills on." The name did ring some bells but as they remembered, she was reported missing years ago. They decided to focus on the deaths.
"Do you have the names of the deceased?" Hiruzen asked. Ibiki took out a piece of paper and looked at it.
"A Special Jonin named Sabiru, a female named Ame and a receptionist named Miyo." Ibiki read.
"Three spies right under our nose. Sabiru was someone who knew our entire security system. He might also be linked to Kisuke's and his wife's death. He was in charge of our security system." Koharu said with some anger. Hiruzen was not happy about this and it showed. He looked at Ibiki with a hard glance.
"I want that team broken Ibiki. Take off the gloves." Ibiki nodded and left his office
XXX
Jiraiya opened the door to Naruto's apartment. He made his way over to the couch where he dumped Naruto on. The blond let out a groan before fixing Jiraiya with a glare.
"I would flip you off if I had the energy." Naruto grumbled.
"Well, I must say that I was impressed. You managed to last longer against Anko than I thought. Was that the God Style I saw you using? It's the style of the first Hokage, isn't it?" Jiraiya asked.
"Yeah, Ibiki showed it to me through a manual. It works for me because the Inuzuka fighting style didn't suit me." Naruto explained.
"That's pretty smart, for a brat. Though I'm surprised that you didn't…" Jiraiya was cut off when he heard a scream that could shatter windows. He turned back to Naruto who was smiling at him. "Do I even want to know?"
"Let's just say that she's going to be home for the next week or so. She wouldn't want to go out in public looking like a pumpkin." He explained. Jiraiya could help but laugh at what Naruto did.
"Kid, we are going to have so much fun this month."
XXX
Dosu was forced into the seat. Ibiki got in front of him and gave him a hard look.
"The games are over kid. Your time is up. If you don't tell what I want to know, I going to send you to where I sent your teammates. If you won't give me the information willingly, I will take it from you by force." Ibiki growled. Dosu looked at him with his lone eye.
"What do you want to know?" he asked seriously. Ibiki nodded in appreciation. Out of the three, Dosu he could see wanted to pay Orochimaru back. He saw that he refused to be used like a pawn. He wanted to make him pay for using him.
"Good choice. Now, what do you know? What was the mission?" Ibiki asked.
"Our mission was to kill Sasuke but you know that is not true." Dosu answered.
"Did you know about Kabuto?"
"Kabuto? You mean the genin with the glasses? I didn't know he was working for Orochimaru. Our contact was some woman who was working in the Hokage tower. I didn't get a name nor did I care. She gave us all the information about Sasuke and his team or what she could." Dosu explained.
"Do you know anything else?"
"I know that Orochimaru is planning something big. You should also be concerned about the ninja from the Sand. We were told to assist them for some reason."
"The Sand? What do they," Ibiki was cut off by an explosion that rocked the room. He threw open the door and looked at the Leaf ninja at the door. "What the hell is going on?!"
"There was an explosion on the west side of the building! Men have been sent there now!" he answered. Ibiki narrowed his eyes at that. He turned toward the men in the room.
"Keep him under guard." Ibiki ordered. He exited the room and looked at another guard. "Get some men and come with me. We need to get those other two under protection, now!"
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Authors' Notes: Hi there. Sorry about the updates but you know, life. Anyway, here's the new chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
