Chapter 50
Naruto and the nine-tailed fox stared at each other for a while before Naruto got annoyed.
"I'm waiting." Naruto said.
"Why don't you come closer if you're so brave brat?"
"Because a, I'm not stupid and b, I remembered the last time we did this." Naruto spat. It was a meeting that did not last long. After Jiraiya nagged him, Naruto attempted to contact the fox. He managed to find his way into his mind and made his way to the ominous feeling. He arrived at the same gate where the fox showed just his eyes and teeth. The fox beckoned him closer only for the fox to try and skewer him with his fang. This did not sit well with Naruto who retaliated with a recent Water Style jutsu he learned. He launched his attack and struck the fox in the eye. The fox howled in pain before ejecting Naruto out of his mind.
The second time, he was forced to deal with the fox after Jiraiya tossed him into a ravine. At first, the reunion was nothing more than a shouting match, but they quickly got over it for the fox to give Naruto his chakra in order to learn the Summoning Jutsu. Since then, the two did not converse at all.
"Maybe next time don't shoot me in the freaking eye!" the fox exclaimed.
"Hey, you started it! I didn't ask for you to be sealed within me so don't take your shit out on me!" Naruto shouted. The two would glare at each other for a few moments before the nine-tails relented.
"Anyway, I wanted to issue you a warning. It about the Uchiha." The fox said.
"Are you talking about Itachi?"
"No, not him. I am talking about the one who threaten your life. You must be wary of him. Should he grow in strength, it could be dangerous."
"Okay, I'm kind of confused as to why you're concerned about Sasuke. Yeah, I froze up, but it won't happen again. I can promise you that." Naruto explained. The fox snorted at that and that just made Naruto curious. "Okay fox, what has you so concerned about Sasuke?"
"I'm not concerned about him."
"Bullshit. If you were not worried, I wouldn't have asked. I can hear it in your tone." The fox mentally cursed at how the boy picked up on that. He liked it better when the blond was dim-witted.
"If you must know, I worry because that boy has the potential to awaken his Sharingan to a level that could spell doom to everyone you care about. Seeing that I am stuck in you for the foreseeable future, I would rather you be prepared than caught unaware." The nine-tails explained. Naruto looked at the fox for a minute. He knew that the fox was playing him but there was a bit of truth in his words. Could Sasuke really be that big of a threat?
"Alright, I'll be on alert. Happy?"
"Thrilled. You may go now." The dismissal was not well received by Naruto, but he decided to let it go. Naruto just closed his eyes. He opened them up again, he was staring at the ceiling of his room. It was still dark outside. Jiraiya was snoring right next to him as always. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before thinking about his conversation with the fox. It was weird that a demon was concerned with Sasuke. Or was it the Sharingan he was concerned with? Did he encounter the Sharingan at some point?
Naruto just sighed and laid back down. These were questions that he would have to ask at another time. He would rather focus on learning the Rasengan and getting this Tsunade woman. It was his mission after all.
XXX
The pain was intense. He had not felt such pain since the war. He hated it and he hated the person who caused it. What he hated most was the fact that he had failed in his tasked. Destroying the Hidden Leaf should have been easy and simple. They should not have been able to repel his assault. He had planned everything perfectly only to have his plans unraveled by a bunch of brats.
Another wave of pain hit him in the arms, making him wince. He had to get his jutsu back and fast. He was weaker than he ever was. It would only be a matter of time before his enemies attacked him. He could always use that jutsu, but he was saving it for a much richer prize. That left him with the option of seeking out his old teammate. With her expertise, she could heal his arms and bring him back to full strength. She just needed to be found.
"Lord Orochimaru," he turned to see Kabuto standing in his doorway. "We've located her."
"Good. Let's prepare for travel. It's time to have a reunion with my old teammate." Orochimaru said with a smile.
XXX
Jiraiya was smirking as he looked at the stunned look on Naruto's face. He was showing the blond the final form of the Rasengan and the power of the jutsu. It was fun to finally surprise the brat. He sometimes saw a bit of his father in him when it came learning things. Still, he was his mother's son through and through. He focused on Naruto and began to speak.
"This is the third step. It's all about containment. You must rotate your chakra plus increase your power and contain it into a sphere. The best example I can give you is the rubber ball." Jiraiya held the rubber ball out for Naruto to see. The blond noticed that nothing was happening, but he quickly caught on, which the sage noticed. "I see that you understand."
"Man, this is one hard jutsu. I can see why it took the Fourth three years to master." Naruto said.
"That it did. You can practice as we move. I got a lead on Tsunade." Jiraiya said.
"Really? How did that happen? It's been almost two weeks since you had a lead." Naruto said.
"Tsunade is really elusive. She's… avoiding some unsavory characters." He explained.
"Are you talking about enemies from her past or a 'super' pervert who doesn't take no for an answer?" Naruto asked, the latter mockingly.
"Hey, if you saw what she grew into, you would chase her too." Jiraiya spat. "Anyway, Tsunade has racked up quite a debt due to her gambling. She really bad at it and quickly runs when collectors come for what they owe." Naruto looked at Jiraiya with wide eyes when he explained that.
"Wait a minute, the person who we are looking for to be Hokage is the 'Legendary Sucker'?" the blond asked. It was not Jiraiya's turn to be surprised.
"Now I know that's something they would not teach you in the academy. How did you know about that name?"
"Well, before I met the Inuzuka family, I use to walk around the seeder parts of the village. I played a few games with dice and I was lucky, winning a lot. One of the guys muttered about wishing he were playing the 'Legendary Sucker' instead of me. He explained who that person was, and it made me laugh. I didn't know that it was your old teammate." Jiraiya began to laugh hard at what he heard. It took him two minutes before he regained control of himself.
"Oh man, that's great. I wouldn't mention that to her when we meet up, but I am going to remember that."
"Still though, do we really want some one who is horrible with money as Hokage? Just because she has the pedigree, doesn't instantly make her Hokage material." Naruto said.
"It's who we need right now Naruto. With Tsunade at the helm, it would keep the other villages in line." Jiraiya stated. The conversation ended there and the two went to gather their things.
XXX
Ino refused to look at Asuma in the eye. Her wrist was heavily bandaged as were her shins. The doctor told her that she would not be able to do any hard training for a while. It did not make her happy and she was planning to continue her training any way. However, her parents were not happy when they were informed of the training and immediately stopped her. That's when Asuma, who was just released from the hospital, came to find her. He was not happy as well.
"So, your father gave me your training regimen. What you were doing was idiotic and the risk outweighs the reward. What were you thinking?" Asuma asked.
"I was just getting stronger. I don't understand why everyone is acting like I did something wrong." Ino said.
"You didn't even consult with me and your father about it. If you continued with this, the doctor says that you would have torn ligaments, ending your ninja career." He stated.
"I was being careful." She argued.
"This is not the time for your insubordination genin!" Ino straighten up at that and looked at Asuma who was looking at her with an angry face. "I am your sensei and it is my job to make sure that you are strong enough to handle the outside world. I refuse to allow you to weaken yourself and our team with your reckless behavior. Am I understood?" he demanded.
"Y-Yes sensei." Ino said meekly.
"You will heal up as the doctor told you. When you are cleared, we will work on a training method that will catch you up to the others. If I hear otherwise Ino, the consequences you will not enjoy. Dismissed." Ino slowly and carefully walked away from her sensei. Once she was gone, Asuma let out a sigh. He wasn't the type to come down hard on his charges, but this needed to be dealt with. Lucky for him, her parents were one board with him and gave him the okay to be tough with her. He would protect the girl, even from herself.
XXX
Naruto continued to work on the Rasengan while they were on the move. This jutsu was difficult and he had to use both of his hands to try and contain his chakra. It worked but only for a few seconds before it would explode in his face. It looked like he would have to think of another way to contain the jutsu.
'Humph, a pale imitation of my attack. Damn that Fourth. Even in death, he mocks me.' A voice for within spat. Naruto was confused by it and looked around to find no one around. He was standing outside a gambling den while Jiraiya spoke to the owner. It took him a while to figure out where the voice came from.
"Fox? Is that you?" Naruto whispered.
'Of course, it's me.' The nine-tails answered. Naruto was about to shout but realized that he was out in the open. He didn't want the people walking around to think that he was crazy.
'What the hell? Did you enter my brain or something?' Naruto asked mentally.
'For someone whose mind is sharp, you are still just a fool.' The nine-tails said mockingly.
'Screw you! Anyway, what the hell did you just say about the Fourth?'
'That jutsu you're learning, it's a pale imitation to the Tailed Beast ball that I can do. I guess that your Fourth witnessed it and decided to create something similar. I would be impressed if he didn't seal me within you.'
'Yeah, like I asked for you to rampage the village.' Naruto decided to stop the conversation there and continued to work on the Rasengan until Jiraiya was done.
XXX
A fair-skinned woman with brown eyes and straight blond hair tapped her foot impatiently. She annoyingly moved her bangs away from her brown eyes. She wore dark bluish-grey pants and a grey, kimono-style blouse that was cover by a grass-green haori. A dark bluish-grey obi was tied around her waist and her arms was folded under her very sizeable bust. Her eyes just glared at the back of the woman she was with.
"Shizune, have you had your fun? We need to get going, now." She said with an edge. The young woman looked back her, holding a pot-belly pig. She was also fair skinned with onyx eyes and jet-black hair. She wore a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings that was tied by a white obi. The woman frowned at her.
"Lady Tsunade, why are you so worried? You actually won this time. We should be celebrating." Shizune said. Tsunade was about to reply to her but she was cut off when the temple they were just standing in front of suddenly collapsed. The two were shocked by this and wondered what the hell was going on. That's when a large snake shot out from the rubble. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at who she saw on the top.
"Tsunade, it's bee a long time." Orochimaru said. Tsunade just narrowed her eyes at him. She knew she should have left sooner.
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Authors' Notes
Two chapter today. Enjoy.
