It had been 8 months since Kanna decided to become Jiraiya's apprentice. During that time, they mostly traveled between lands looking for leads on Orochimaru, Kanna started training under the Sannin and last but not least they gathered research for the upcoming release of Jiraiya's new book (activities that Kanna recoiled to each and every time). Despite having to endure the humiliation of being seen with a creep, Kanna had become quite close to Jiraiya, they bonded immensely in the time they spent together and he sort of became a father figure to her, although sometimes she'd be the one doing the parenting. Dependending on her mood, she would go from being his accomplice and help him sneak into Hot Springs to editing his stories and critiquing his literary work, though other times if she was feeling mischievous she would prank him into getting caught by the women he was spying on and getting him chased off by an angry mob and in return, he would retaliate and get back at her in some other humorous way.

The dynamic the two had fallen into truly seemed like that of a father/ daughter relationship, one that Kanna had unconsciously yearned for ever since leaving her land and for the first time in a long time, she felt like the kid she should have always been, she cherished feeling safe around him and not having to be constantly fearing for her life. She was amused by his odd habits and his vulnerability into falling for her pranks. But most importantly, he had become someone precious to her whom she knew would give his life to protect her and vice versa, she acknowledged his immense strength and wisdom, and yet, she still hadn't shared with him her past and the reasons she had fled the Land of Roses.

She grew very fond of the old Sannin and trusted him to the point of becoming her most loyal pupil and correspondingly, being able to gain her trust was an accomplishment the old man was very proud of. The bond they developed only deepened when he confined in her his life mission of finding Orochimaru and promising her the justice she was seeking. It certainly had been hard for him to come to terms with Kanna's hate towards his old comrade, but he knew his friend had become a stranger consumed by his thirst for power and greed. Ever since the day Kanna confessed about her encounter with the snake man, Jiraiya felt a need to protect the lonely girl even if she did not need protecting. He was impressed by how long she had managed to survive on her own, he sensed strong power radiating from her and her audacious personality only made her more of a force to be reckoned with and yet, everytime he looked into her eyes he could see the sadness in her and he didn't know how to get her away from the darkness. She was still haunted by her nightmares at night, he could see the fear in her face as she yelped, tossed and turned while she slept and the helplessness washed over him as he was unable to help her. Those moments only intensified his concern about her past and so he began her ninja training thinking that gaining some insight on her Kunoichi talents would give him any clues about her traumatic life. After all, gathering information was Jiraiya's specialty whether is was information for his books or intel from enemy villages.

When the training had first started, Jiraiya suspected that Kanna had received some sort of special training on her early childhood judging from the stealth skills she showcased back when they had first met at the Hot Springs village although he had yet to see her in combat. So, when the legendary Sannin first started training her, he was astonished by her swift moves and her effortless wielding of weapons. She is truly talented and must have occupied an essential role in her village Jiraiya contemplated as he evaluated her skills.

=Flashback to their first training =

"Kanna, you are truly talented but how did you come to be so highly skilled for a petty thief?" The snarky comment landed him a punch on the face and the fact that Kanna was left handed caught him off guard each time she tried to land a hit.

"..."

"Ow!...You don't have to hit so hard or you'll end up with no master and then who will publish the latest Icha Icha book in the series?!"

Kanna stared at him with disdain as she disappeared and attempted to sneak up on him, but Jiraiya intercepted the second blow she had aimed towards him.

They continued sparring until he finally managed to trick her into submission. Jiraiya had decided to test her strengths before coaching her on ninjutsus. He needed to see what Kanna had to offer and hone those abilities before the training could get serious.

"If you don't get serious and show me what you got I'll make you go into the Hot Springs and do some research on the men's area for my latest book idea -5O Shades of Icha Icha-" This one snarky comment finally caught her off guard, causing her to miss a step and stumble backwards.

"RASENGAN"

She heard him say as she was suspended in the air and let out a small cry with fear expecting him to use it on her. She felt her back touch the ground and saw him standing over her, the sunlight shining behind him casting an aura behind his silhouette and darkening the front of his body. She tightly closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, but after hearing Jiraiya cackle she snapped them back open and watched as he slowly guided a mini Rasengan towards her stomach and when it finally made contact the only thing she felt was but a mere tickle. Jiraiya kept snickering and teasing her for having lost the battle after she had almost managed to beat him. She was mildly annoyed by his childish reaction but he had won the battle fair and square after all.

"Oi Kanna! Kanna! Are you ticklish? Did my lethal Rasengan get you this time?!" His pettiness was not over just yet.

"..."

"Kaaaaaaanna… Why are you so quiet all the sudden? Why are you MAD?" She rolled her eyes as his mockery continued. Sure, sometimes her wise, strong and powerful master would irritate her, but seeing his sheepish smile made her happy and his infectious laughter was highly contagious.

"You know…" He said more serious now, "If you had grown up in Konoha, you would have grown up to be invincible. Konoha offers the most skilled shinobis in all the land of fire and surrounding areas" He stated with his chest sticking out proudly.

"..Kono..what?..What is even Konoha?!" She retorted bluntly rolling her eyes aiming to hurt his pride. She knew this was the land he had come from but vaguely heard of it in the land of roses since it was a faraway land.

"WHAAT?! YOU MUST BE LIVING UNDER A ROCK IF YOU DON'T KNOW KONOHA!" He yelled in disbelief his face turning red and horror reflecting over his eyes.

"You see this? This is what proves you are a shinobi in Konoha, every accomplished Ninja wears one of this" The Sannin pointed at his forehead protector smiling from ear to ear proudly.

"I'm stronger than any other shinobi living there" She pouted condescendingly. "But I don't have anything to show for my accomplishments" She whispered lowering her head, the confidence evaporating as she said the last words.

They sat under a tree to have some lunch and take a break from training and discuss their strategies to find Orochimaru. The conversation continued on:

"So, I see that you are very skilled in combat..Do you have any jutsus as well?" He looked at her switching the topic after he made a mental note of what she had just mentioned.

"I...I have a few that I could show you.. Also, there is one that I am supposed to hide from everyone. I've kept it a secret from everyone for so long, but you are my Sensei and I wish for you to know about it so you can help me perfect it" She looked at him warily.

"Just promise you won't tell anyone"

Kanna looked around to find just what she was looking for to demonstrate her secret jutsu: The one that had caused her deep conflict in her family back in the Land of Roses. She stood up from her spot and slowly walked towards a dead tree not to far from where she had been sitting with Jiraiya. He gave her a puzzled look but didn't say a word and continued to study her every movement. He almost choked on his food as his eyes were popping out. Suddenly, everything made sense and he understood Orochimaru's reasons for attacking the Land of Roses and going after Kanna. Jiraiya had just witnessed Kanna perform a pure reanimation jutsu on the dead tree that now looked as vibrant and green as it had ever been. Jiraiya could not make sense of what he had just seen Kanna do, this jutsu was one he had never known to exist until now.

She came closer to him and looked at him expectantly as if waiting for him to react. Her legs felt weak all the sudden and she could only hope that he wouldn't change his mind about training her after finding out her biggest secret. They made eye contact and Jiraiya crossed his arms and closed his eyes, it was something he did often in order to think and focus on different matters; the only thing Kanna could do was wait as the uncertainty of what would happen next as she felt her heart pounding out of her chest.

"I now understand why Orochimaru went all the way to the Land of Roses" He started still deep in thought.

"You often mentioned that you thought it was just an attack to your village and that you had thought your father had been their main target until Orochimaru attacked you. He has always been obsessed with finding the secret of immortality, I have vague memories of him talking about it while were out in missions. My theory is that he was trying to seek you out and study your reanimation Jutsu since it doesn't seem to be anything like the one he created, but how he find out about you and your jutsu is still a mystery". Understanding washed all over the Kunoichi as she analyzed every word her Sensei said.

"He left this mark on me after he bit me and he cursed me with it...NOW I HAVE MORE OF A REASON TO PURSUE THIS EVIL MAN" She said pointing at the curse mark she bore on her neck and suddenly standing up with confidence.

Jiraiya glanced at the mark and remembered Anko from konoha. He thought of placing the same seal the Hokage had placed on her but stopped as he started to think of the possibility that maybe since Kanna had a Reanimation Jutsu she would be able to purify the mark instead of sealing it.

"I completely agree with you, we must continue our search for him, it has been a long mission set upon me by Konoha and by myself as well. But first I must go to Mount Myōboku and find out if we can get rid of your curse mark. You will stay here in town until I get back and with a poof he suddenly disappeared" He stood up and towered over the young girl.

"Mount Myōboku?" The puzzled girl questions carefully as if savoring the name in her mouth.

= End of Flashback=

Ever since Jiraiya had come back from Mount Myōboku he had shifted the focus of his research from his books to the reanimation jutsu. He had brought along dozens of scrolls that him and Kanna would read with the hopes of finding something helpful and learn more about the mysterious jutsu. It had been until today that he had been able to come up with a purification jutsu based on the reanimation one that Kanna already had. She would have to try it on herself in order to purify the curse mark and hopefully deactivate it. If they were to track down Orochimaru he did not want to risk Kanna's mark activating if they encountered him.

She weaved some signs just as Jiraiya was instructing and placed her palm on her left shoulder. She closed her eyes trying to concentrate as Jiraiya's words guided her next moves; a wave of energy surrounded her body as if it was absorbing it and chakra started flowing to the spot where curse mark had been placed, she felt a cool tingly feeling much like when someone heals you with chakra washing over her shoulder and only stopped when the feeling ceased. They both looked at the curse mark changing color to a light pink and turn into a scar that looked to be healed long ago. They glanced at each other with a stunned look across their faces and gasped at the same time grinning and hugging each other celebrating their success.

"NOW I CAN GO BACK TO SPYING..RESEARCHING FEMALES IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT" He exclaimed.

Kanna's joy was short lived and her eyes squinted into two small slits in her face. She lightly punched Jiraiya in the shoulder and dragged him out of the Hotel and all the way to her favorite restaurant, the Korean BBQ across the street.

"We are NOT doing anymore research today Old Man! We are celebrating!" She growled. The pervy sage had discovered that angering Kanna could prove to be more dangerous than encountering Orochimaru himself. Therefore, he decided to comply and settle down across from her.

He made his escape just after they had finished eating. The opportunity had risen when Kanna had gotten up to go to the restroom and he told the waiter that she would pay the bill, then he made a run for it and as soon as he crossed the restaurant's treshold he set his eyes upon two lovely gals. Hmmm that one right there looks like Tsunade, He thought as he approached them.

"Hello lovely ladies" The Sage spoke gallantly and the girls looked at him with a flirtatious look painted across their faces.

"How would you two like to accompany me to th…"

"Daaaaaaad, where have you been? Why did you leave me and mommy back in the restaurant? She's mad and she's coming towards us to bring you back!" Kanna popped in between Jiraiya and the two young maidens, she looked at them as she grabbed Jiraiya's hand and she pointed at the angry lady stomping in their direction. The two girls Jiraiya approached looked at the older and rough looking lady then glanced at Jiraiya and scoffed as they walked away.

"Kanna, you evil minion! How did you manage to piss her off and play along with it? Who is she anyways and couldn't you find me a more attractive fake wife?" He lightly pulled her hair in annoyance.

The rough looking lady pulled his ear and dragged him back to the restaurant. She had turned out to be the restaurant owner and Kanna had told her that Jiraiya was trying to leave without paying. It was perfect timing, she thought: she had managed to get him in trouble for ditching her but also had managed to embarrass him and cut short his little plan of taking those women back to his hotel room. She loved to snoop around and torment him every chance she got.

After the restaurant drama, they found themselves walking down the street making their way to a yet again another Hot Spring. Jiraiya was in a better mood now, Kanna might have ruined his previous plans but he'd make her pay by taking her to his favorite spot in town. They walked side by side deep in conversation when Jiraiya froze and motioned her to stop.

"Kanna! Do you see what I am seeing?!"

"Black cloaks with red clouds...It's the Akatsuki!, didn't you say Orochimaru was part of it?!" She exclaimed, both of them hiding behind a street vendor.

"We must follow them and find out if they have any leads on Orochimaru" Jiraiya ordered forgetting about his earlier plans to head to the Hot Spring.

They went on after the Akatsuki followed them through the streets until one of them turned his head and made eye contact with the Sannin.

"They know we are after them..."