Chapter 21

Jiraiya

I felt bad about stealing a moment from Jiraiya by having Arashi remove the seal from Naruto, but I felt like it would have been illogical for Arashi to just ignore it until someone else took care of it. In the grand scheme of things, it makes little difference.

Anyhoo, this chapter is going to be short. I've been a bit busier than expected this week, but I wanted to make sure we had an update of some sort this Sunday. I hope you all enjoy!

The lecher had long, white hair that stuck out in jagged spikes. Red lines extended from his eyes down his face to his jaw and on his nose was a wart. He wore a short, green kimono style shirt, matching pants, and a red haori. On his forehead, he wore an elaborate hitai-ate with the kanji for oil. She could tell that he originated from Konoha from his signature, but his lack of visible affiliation with her village made her nervous.

Naruto pulled away from her and approached the prone form of Ebisu. He lowered himself next to the man and nudged him. When he received no response, he murmured, "He's totally knocked out. He's so weak." At a loss, the boy turned his attention to the old man. "What's up with that frog? Who are you?!"

"Naruto!" she hissed, but it was too late.

The man, now given an opportunity to introduce himself, swung his hair around, struck a pose and declared, "Thank you for asking me! You may know me as the Hermit Sage of the Mount Myoboku Toads... also known as the Toad Sage."

"Sage?" Naruto repeated.

"Exactly." He jumped off the toad and released the summon in a smooth motion.

Arashi's mouth fell open. This was Jiraiya. One glance at Naruto revealed that he had no idea who he was talking to, even with that introduction. It did not surprise her.

"Hey, Pervy Safe, what're you going to do about this?" Naruto pointed to Ebisu. "He was supposed to watch my training and you knocked him out!"

"He interfered with my research." Jiraiya retorted.

"Research?" Naruto repeated. Arashi was curious, too.

"I'm a writer. I'm writing a new novel." Jiraiya replied and pulled out a copy of Icha Icha paradise. "To this!"

"Oh, that's!" Naruto pointed, recognizing the book that his sensei was seen with. The same book that was stowed inside one of Arashi's pouches, needing to be returned to its owner.

"You know it?" Jiraiya was thrilled.

"That's not much of a novel - it's a dirty book! In the first place, what research are you talking about? You're just peeking at the girls' bath, you perv!" Naruto screeched.

"F-fool, I am not just an ordinary lech! I get inspired by peeking and can write better pieces."

"Liar! No excuses." Naruto yelled. Arashi watched as they drew closer until they were in each other's faces. "More importantly, what're you going to do about my training?"

Jiraiya calmed. "You mean the walking on water technique you were doing earlier?"

"You know it?" Naruto blinked and then pointed at him. "Then take responsibility for my training."

The old man hmphed and stepped by him. "I don't care about such things."

"Hey, hey wait, Pervy Sage!" Naruto called after him. "Take over my training, you know!"

"Shut up!" Jiraiya yelled back at him. "I hate people who don't know how to talk properly and I don't like men."

Arashi was invested in the show at this point. She wondered if the man would be more accommodating if she were to ask for help on Naruto's behalf, but she had little desire to be around him. Even the most prestigious student would be considered beyond lucky to be taken on by a Sannin. They were legendary for a reason. However, his reactivity and attitude did not endear him to her. A part of her was thankful that she was seemingly invisible in the background during the confrontation.

Naruto wracked his brain. "That Icha Icha Paradise was really exciting, cool, and interesting."

"The purchase or viewing of that novel is prohibited for those younger than 18 years, you liar." Jiraiya shot his attempt at flattery down.

"The reviews that I've heard are great!" Naruto insisted.

Arashi had read it. It was obvious that men were the intended audience and she did not get much out of it. Regardless, she held her opinion and remained quiet from her spot next to Ebisu.

"It's useless to flatter me. I'm a Sannin! I'm not the type of fool who can be coaxed by a fledgling like you."

Not one to be told no easily, Naruto jumped to a new tactic. He formed a handsign and with a cloud of smoke, he transformed into a naked woman with long blond hair in pigtails. Arashi shouted in horror. Ignoring her, he asked in a teasing voice, "How do you like me now?"

Jiraiya was smitten. "I like it a lot!" He circled around to get a better view. "You're really my type of girl! What's that technique called?"

"It's my Sexy Jutsu."

"That is so wildly wrong." Arashi hissed. She was ignored.

"Oooh, what an idea. You're a genius!" Jiraiya loved it.

Seeing his opportunity, Naruto pressed, "Then you'll watch my training?"

"Sure!" Jiraiya agreed. "However, I have a condition."

"A condition?" He pouted. "What is it?"

The lech turned around and twiddled his fingers together. "You have to stay like that.. the entire time you're around me."

"He's literally a child!" Arashi yelled.

Naruto released the henge and seethed, "Inspiration, my butt! You're just a plain old pervert!"

"No, you're wrong! I am no ordinary pervert!"

"As if you didn't know!"

Jiraiya laughed maniacally. "I am a mega perv!" Arashi was ready to grab Naruto and leave when Jiraiya's tone changed. "But, all joking aside, I'll supervise your training. Kid, try that drill again."

Naruto beamed, "Yes, sir!"

"The sloshing sound is killing me. Strip down a little, Naruto-san, so we can at least let your clothes dry out some." Arashi sighed.

As directed, he stripped his jacket, shirt, pants, and sandals off. She collected them and found a place to hang them where they could start drying. With another glance at Jiraiya, Naruto stepped onto the water. This time, he did not sink.

Thrilled, he started jumping around on the water. "Whoa – this is awesome!"

Arashi noted that the seal was briefly still visible on his stomach as he channeled his chakra, but it was vague and faded in seconds. She assumed it needed to regulate itself after being tampered with. More worthy of note to her was the glint of interest in the Sannin's eyes. He had seen it.

"Alright, kid, get over here!" The man called out. "I'll teach you a super cool jutsu!"

"What is it, you know?!"

"First, before we go on, there's something you need to understand." He paused for a second to make sure Naruto was listening. "You've got two types of chakra."

"Two types?"

"Have you ever sensed a special chakra inside of you?" He prompted.

The Kyuubi. So, he knew exactly what that seal meant, I guess.

Naruto considered it for a moment. "Now that you mention it, I think there were a few times when I felt a flood of chakra and all of a sudden, I had incredible strength, but I don't really remember much about it."

At the bridge and then probably in the Forest. I'm assuming that's why Orochimaru hit him with that seal.

"But, I do remember that it felt different from the chakra that I usually manipulate. It's hard to describe, but, if I think about it as colors... if my usual chakra is yellow, this one was red or something like that."

Huh... Yellow and red? I get associating red with the demon, though.

"Good, good!" Jiraiya seemed to get the answer he wanted. Naruto was aware of the different chakra. He stepped over to Ebisu and acknowledged Arashi's presence for the first time. "Alright, it's getting late. Let's leave the fun for tomorrow. I'll take this guy to the place where I'm staying. I need you and the kid to come here again tomorrow. Okay?"

Arashi nodded. "Sure thing." She helped him scoop the unconscious man up and watched him leave. The exchange left her feeling unsettled. Jiraiya intended to teach Naruto how to use the demon's chakra. There were benefits to be had, but she had an undeniable fear that the boy would be over his head. "Well, Naruto-kun, let's go find some food and get ready for tomorrow? Food's on me."

"Woo!" He cheered. "Let's get ramen!"

Her stomach turned, but she forced herself to smile. It was a gesture she wanted to extend to him to celebrate, more or less. Jiraiya might have been sketchy, but he was a Sannin and had agreed to train Naruto. That was nothing to sniff at.

Like a scent hound, Naruto found a ramen stand and before long they had bowls of food in front of them. She picked at it and forced herself to eat. This was not what she had imagined for a meal once she was out of the hospital, but she swallowed down her complaints with the broth. What mattered was how thrilled Naruto was.

"So," She cleared her throat. "Care to give me a run down on what it the exam has been like for you so far?"

He slurped down the last of his first bowl and motioned for more. "Well, Sis, the first part was super hard. There was, like, this written exam, you know?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and the questions were pretty much impossible!" He groaned.

She laughed. "What did you think of Ibiki?"

His expression soured. "He was really scary, you know?"

"I do know." She giggled. "He was my sensei when I was a Genin."

"What?!"

"I still go to him for advice, sometimes. He's a scary guy, but I love him. You're the first person to ever pass his test without answering a single question, you know? Made him laugh. Scared the crap out of me."

Naruto laughed, sheepishly. "Well, he tried to get us to give up saying that if we failed we could never become Chuunin."

"Rank isn't as important as you'd think." Arashi commented. "There's a plenty of people in ANBU who never made it to being a Jounin. It's not a direct reflection of their skill."

"I told him that I'd become Hokage as a Genin if I had to." Naruto stated with some heat to his tone. "Nothing will stop me, you know!"

She laughed. "I'm sure he got a kick out of that. What about the next part of the exam?"

"It was hard." Naruto admitted.

"Start from the beginning."

Arashi listened as he told her about everything notable that happened, along with the little he remembered from fighting Orochimaru. It entailed people stealing their identities to slip into their ranks, the snake Sannin, Sakura cutting her hair, Kabuto helping them, and then the preliminary fight they had to hold to reduce their numbers. The story jumped around a lot and she knew he was leaving out a lot of details, but she appreciated the effort he put into it. His attention span was not the best and he had moments of being dense, but he was honest and she knew he was not prone to keeping things secret from her when she asked.

When he was finished, she smiled. "I'm very proud of you, Naruto-kun. You've done very well."

His eyes widened for a second and then a smile split across his face. "Thanks, Sis! Now I just have to make sure I'm ready to fight that Neji guy."

"It's awful what he did to Hinata-chan." Arashi shook her head. "There's a lot of tension in that clan. I hate that he took his frustration out on her."

"He's a jerk and I'm going to teach him a lesson." Naruto insisted.

"That's some good motivation."

Once they were done eating, Arashi walked him through some more practices meant to help him refine his chakra control. While doing that, she made sure that his seal was functioning as it should. He appreciated the company and attention, even if he did not voice it.

When Naruto was asleep, Arashi decided to seek advice and provide an update. In the cover of night, she sent out a shadow clone.

She found Hiruzen in his library. He did not react when she first entered, but she knew he was aware of her presence. His focus was on a scroll that he was writing in. There was something grim about his expression that made her hesitate.

Not wanting to interrupt, she waited quietly until he turned to address her. "It's rather late. I hope nothing is wrong?"

"I'm sorry for coming at night and I don't mean to bother you while you're busy." She apologized. "I had a concern that I wanted to run by you before the morning so I can decide what the best course of action is."

"Oh?" He turned his attention from the scroll and examined her. "What is it?"

"I've been monitoring Naruto and trying to assist him with training before his match. Well, we encountered Jiraiya and he managed to pester the man into helping him train."

Amusement creased his face. "Jiraiya? It's been quite some time since he's visited."

She was careful as she picked her words since he was the Third's student. "He seems nice, but he mentioned to Naruto that he has two different chakras. He didn't outright say anything about the Kyuubi, but he intends to teach him how to channel and use the demon's chakra. This is something that he could benefit from, but I can't help but feel like this could end up being disastrous."

"I see." Hiruzen thought for a moment before he replied, "This is an inevitable step for Naruto and I trust that Jiraiya will be able to guide him through it. It is crucial that he does learn how to control the Kyuubi so that it does not begin to control him. Be sure to stay close and ready to act if it is necessary, but I'm confident that all should be well. Naruto is resilient and the seal that Yondaime placed is a strong one."

"Yes, Sandaime-sama."

"I trust you haven't had any other interesting encounters since we last talked?"

"Nothing too exciting." She grinned. "I did get to have a conversation with Danzo-san, though. He mentioned that he was once a part of your council."

"Oh? He was, years ago."

"I'm assuming there was a falling out of sorts."

"Of sorts." Hiruzen agreed. "What did he have to say?"

"Not much. Mostly that he didn't care for the way you handled Orochimaru in the past and he was discontent with the passive approach being taken now. I think he's still hurt over no longer being a council member."

The Third laughed. "He always did take things to heart and is prone to finding error in everything that I do, but he does care for Konoha. He's always had the village's best interest in mind with his actions and motivations."

"That's a comfort." She sighed.

"He has been extreme in the past, but I trust you to make your own decisions." He shrugged. "Continue keeping your head down and be careful. I appreciate your efforts."

"Thank you, Sandaime-sama."

She released the jutsu and the clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. All of its memories rushed to Arashi and she breathed a sigh of release. It would be a new challenge, but a necessary one.

Well, that's it for this chapter. I do apologize that it's a really short chapter, but I wanted to at least update with something. Next chapter we'll jump into his training and try to progress a bit. I don't intend to write every bit of it, because then it would just be a word for word retelling of what we've seen with the anime or read with the manga.

I think I got spoiled to writing whatever I wanted with Arashi leading up to Part 3. Now I'm just busy trying to work her into canon events without it being awful. Ah well. We're getting there. I'm determined to finish this arc and move on to content that I've been pining for.