Konan, Yahiko and Nagato are back at Ichiraku Ramen. The ramen is the absolute best they have ever tasted and they want more. While they are there and Nagato is scarfing down his fifth or sixth bowl, a bespectacled girl with red hair and red eyes drags in a woman with short red hair and brown eyes.
"I'm fine, Karin!" the woman insists.
"You still need to have lunch," says the girl.
"Oh, hello!" Konan greets the pair.
"Who..?" the woman looks at Konan in surprise. Then she smiles. "Oh, you're that chick who took off with Wind, Rain and Turtle."
Konan laughs. "My name is Konan."
"I am Okami Uzumaki. But you may call me Kami."
Nagato drops his head to the counter in sorrow. He now knows why he felt an impenetrable wall between him and and the so-called god-complex Yahiko accused him of having one time.
"Um, Nagato?" asks Yahiko, staring at Nagato in surprise. "What's the matter?"
"It's your fault." mumbles Nagato. Because it is, really. "If you hadn't accused me of having a god complex that time I would never have noticed that I literally cannot develop one."
"What, why not?" asks Yahiko, desperately.
"Because she stole it!" whines Nagato, pointing at Okami. "Only one Uzumaki at a time can have a god-complex and she stole it!"
"Do not accuse me of theft!" snaps Okami, slapping Nagato over the back of the head. "I am your QUEEN!"
Nagato sits up and turns to stare at Okami. "For real? No joke?"
Okami pulls up her sleeves, showing the latticework of bite marks that proves her lineage.
Nagato stands and bows. One always bows to the Queen.
"This is the next step," says Pervy Sage, holding out a rubber ball. "Power. This ball is a lot harder to pop than a balloon, and it has air inside it instead of water. Instead of water, you are moving air. Instead of a thin layer of rubber, you must break a thick layer of rubber." The rubber ball in Pervy Sage's hand bursts.
Naruto tries to break his, but nothing happens.
"You're going to need more power than that," says Pervy Sage. Then he turns and walks off, waving his hand in farewell. "I'm going to follow a lead I stumbled on yesterday. Keep practicing."
So Naruto practices. And practices. But all he manages to do is make the ball rock a bit.
They travel around, following Pervy Sage's leads, and Naruto practices on the way. He barely sleeps because he must practice. He tries to burst the ball as he and Pervy Sage walk from one town to the next. Three days pass, and still Naruto cannot burst the ball.
"There has to be some trick to it," says Naruto, staring at the ball in his hands. The moon is high in the sky like it was when he and Sasuke finally mastered the tree climbing. It is the fourth day since they left the Hidden Leaf, and Naruto is starting to worry. The training takes his mind off his worry, though. So he trains.
If Sasuke can learn a jutsu like Chidori, then Naruto can learn Rasengan.
Right?
His hands are shaking.
Naruto tries again, but it hurts so much and it's hard to focus when he's shaking so much. Naruto feels dizzy. He's so low on chakra, and his hands hurt so much...
Naruto wakes up in the inn they are staying at. Pervy Sage is snoring loudly, his mouth wide open and his quilt half on the floor. Naruto rolls off his fuuton and staggers to the window. The sun is just rising. It is now their fifth day away from Konoha. Only nine days left to find Tsunade.
"I need more power," growls Naruto. "Maybe if I can build up more chakra...Maybe if I put everything I have into it...But it hurts so much...I'll just have to work through the pain."
Naruto builds up all the chakra he can muster and channels it into the rubber ball. The ball wobbles, then it gets bumpy as the air inside it spins with increasing violence. The ball pops, letting out all the air inside it with a hiss as it deflates.
"Wow!" says Pervy Sage. Naruto didn't even realize he was there. "It looks like you've made some progress!"
Naruto turns and frowns at Pervy Sage. "But I only made a little hole in it, I didn't make it explode like you did."
"Progress is still progress," says Pervy Sage. "Now how about you take a break, huh? Here," he holds out a blue ice block.
Naruto grins and takes it, feeling immensely happy. This is the first time his godfather has given him something in person.
Kimiko is so tired. She has been walking all day every day since her mother died. Well, she stuck around for the memorial, but once all her mother's friends started discussing what to do with Kimiko, she announced that she was going to find her father - that's what her mother told her to do in the unlikely event of her death. She even has a letter to give her father. Kimiko's mother thought ahead. Kimiko wonders if her mother knew she might die.
So tired…
Kimiko stumbles and stops to sit under a tree. The sun is so hot! She takes off her backpack and her jacket and wonders what her Daddy will be like. Her Mummy never talked about him much. But this is the only thing Kimiko can do - her mother's friends are not nice people. They are always mean to Kimiko when her mother isn't looking, and she is too scared of them to say anything. She wonders if her daddy's friends will be nice to her. Kimiko pulls her water bottle out of her backpack and takes a long drink. She is nearly out. Hopefully she will reach a town soon. The last person she asked for directions didn't say how far it was to the next town.
Kimiko puts on her backpack and goes back to trudging along in the general direction of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She stays in the shade of the trees and carries her jacket over one shoulder, though. She does not want to overheat. She needs her water to last until the next town. The rivers might not be safe.
Then joy fills Kimiko as she she rounds a corner and sees a huge gate ahead of her. She speeds up, wondering what kind of village it is. Then she stops. This is the gateway to the Hidden Leaf. She made it!
Suddenly Kimiko is scared. What if her daddy doesn't want her? What if he doesn't remember her mum and doesn't believe the letter? What if he's a bad man? Kimiko nearly turns around and runs away.
No. Kimiko has come too far to turn back now. Besides, if her Daddy doesn't want her, there is an orphanage in Konoha. Kimiko frowns in determination and marches forward, through the gates of the Hidden Leaf.
"Hey kid!" one of the men sitting at the desk by the gate waves to her. "What are you doing wandering about on your own?"
Kimiko stares at him in fright. "Um...um…"
"You're scaring her, Kotetsu," says the other man. "I'm Izumo," he says, gently. "This is my friend Kotetsu. We're here to make sure all visitors to the Hidden Leaf have a pleasant stay." He smiles so widely that Kimiko can't help smiling back. "That's better," Izumo says. "Now, what brings you here?"
"I'm looking for my Daddy," whispers Kimiko, shyly.
"What's that?" asks Izumo, leaning forward. "I didn't hear you."
"She said she's looking for her dad," says Kotetsu. "Who's your dad?"
Kimiko fidgets nervously. "Jiraiya of the Sannin," she whispers.
"No way!" Kotetsu falls off his chair in surprise.
"What? What did she say?" asks Izumo.
"She said Lord Jiraiya is her father!" Kotetsu says, picking himself up off the ground.
Kimiko is scared and tired and lonely and only eight years old. All this comes crashing down on her all at once and she bursts into tears.
"Woah! Don't cry!" says Izumo, dashing out from behind the desk and kneeling down beside Kimiko. He pats her on the head awkwardly and adds, "Jiraiya's not in the village right now, but I'll take you to the Hokage. He'll know what to do with you until Jiraiya gets back."
Kimiko rubs her eyes, trying to stop the tears.
"Come on," says Izumo, standing up and beckoning for her to follow him.
Kimiko follows, dragging her feet in weariness. She is too shy to ask Izumo to slow down, so she does her best to keep up. Then Izumo notices Kimiko is having trouble keeping up and slows down considerably. All the same, Kimiko is about ready to collapse by the time they reach their destination: the Hokage's office.
Izumo knocks and a voice calls out for him to enter. Izumo pushes Kimiko into the office ahead of him, so she has no choice but to go in. Kimiko stares at the huge desk with the tower of paperwork on it. Behind the desk is an old man in a funny hat.
The old man smiles at Kimiko then asks Izumo, "Who's this?"
"Lord Hokage, this little girl says she is Jiraiya's child."