Chapter 25

Animosity boils over

Both had barely taken their stances before Jiraiya flew through hand seals. "Katon: Endan," (Fire Release: Flame Bullet) shooting a fireball towards Tri who as before simply stood there. Only moving to the side at the last moment, this was repeated multiple times as Jiraiya shot fireballs and Tri dodged them. Deciding Jiraiya had stood still for too long Tri weaved his opening hand seals at incredible speed, "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu" (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique) releasing another torrent of water from his mouth that coalesced into a dragon that charged towards Jiraiya.

The dragon slammed into the arena wall throwing water and a now shattered log through the air. Jiraiya was now behind Tri, the Sannin rushed forward attempting to begin a Taijutsu exchange. Unfortunately for him Tri didn't want to play ball as he simply vanished, reappearing behind Jiraiya, the toad sage turning to find a dozen shuriken flying towards him, then Tri's voice reached him "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu", and those twelve shuriken became twelve dozen. Jiraiya quickly knelt down before replying with "Kebari Senbon", hundreds of sharpened hairs smashing against the shuriken either stopping them or re-directing them off target.

The sharpened hairs kept coming straight towards Tri, the Kebari Senbon was the fastest technique Jiraiya had. Tri decided that dodging was a risk, even for him so blocking became the answer. A few hand seals later, "Fūton: Ressenpu" (Wind Release: Violent Whirlwind), using the wind stream from his mouth he directed the hair into the ground in front of him. Seeing Jiraiya coming towards him again, he Shunshined away up the sidewall to the opposite side of the arena, he'd only just gotten away, Jiraiya's fist had been less than a foot from his face.

Surveying the battlefield, taking into account Jiraiya's strengths and weaknesses. He came up with a plan of action, 'That should work, not enough water though'. He channelled chakra into a storage seal on his arm retrieving the storage scroll he'd placed there only minutes earlier. Opening the scroll he cast it into the air as the water came pouring out. With water spraying everywhere Tri formed the Ram seal, channelling chakra to his lungs.

"Shakuton: Kanetsujouki," (Scorch Release: Superheated Vapour) this time he directed the jet of super-hot air directly at the water streaming out of the scroll. The results were immediate as the sound of hissing water drowned out everything else as the liquid was quickly turned to steam.

Jiraiya was troubled, when Tri opened the storage scroll he was expecting him to use an additional Suiton Jutsu or perhaps Fūton, using Shakuton to turn water into steam caught him off-guard. And it was painful, his exposed skin was already starting to burn but it meant he couldn't see Tri. He had to wait until the mist cooled and became water again. With the mist hiding him he knelt down and placing his hands on the ground, he whispered his Jutsu, "Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu" (Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique). With the techniques release he sank into the ground, leaving no identifying mark that would give him away.

It took several minutes for the steam to condense back to water but finally the fog began to clear, the crowd could finally see in again. They found that Tri hadn't moved, still attached to the vertical wall surrounding the arena floor but Jiraiya, however, was nowhere to be seen.

'Hiding from me are you Jiraiya?'

Naruto shook his head disapprovingly, "What are you doing Jiraiya? Are you taking this seriously at all?" he muttered. "Distance and Pacing?" Shizune iterated, remembering Itachi's words of advice to Asuma. "Distance and pacing," Naruto repeated with a nod.

Vision to the arena floor may have returned but still Jiraiya had not. 'Let's force the issue.' Tri declared to himself, he Shunshined to the centre of the arena floor and waited for the Sannin to show himself. He didn't have to wait long until he was suddenly jerked into the ground. The crowd gasped, it had happened in moments, from standing on the ground to being buried up to the upper arm.

Behind him a hole appeared in the ground, slowly and silently Jiraiya rose behind the young Uzumaki. He pulled a kunai and held it against Tri's throat. "Too bad Gaki, you've gone and embarrassed yourself trying the whole noble thing, you're a good Shinobi for your age sure, but you can't beat me." By the time Jiraiya had finished talking Tri had a wide grin on his face and was shaking his head.

"Ah, Jiraiya. Can I tell you something?" Tri said, desperately trying to contain the laughter. "Sure Gaki?" his reply, he still hadn't noticed.

"I'm not the real one," the now revealed clone admitted. Then it began glowing, a bright white light that Jiraiya recognised. Wide-eyed, he jumped back trying to get as much distance as possible.

*BOOM!*

Less than a second later the clone detonated in a huge explosion that catapulted Jiraiya into the wall, hard. The explosion also tore a huge crater out of the ground as hundreds of kilos of earth were thrown into the air only to hit the Fūinjutsu barrier and fall back down, landing across the remnants of the arena floor

Jiraiya stirred, groaning as his pain receptors started working again. He had burns on his hands and feet, his ears rang. The debris thrown into the air had thankfully missed him but his clothing was scorched and he was struggling to see straight. Looking up around the arena, he could see smoke, rubble, water and confusingly the briefest flash of red as he tried to stand up. A small piece of rubble drew his attention as it fell off the wall and hit him on the back of the shoulder, finding it irritating more than painful.

With a bit of effort he was able to pull himself to his feet, seeing his back was close to the wall he decided to stay put until all his senses returned to him. The ringing would subside and his eyesight stabilised so he decided to get moving, hugging the arena wall to limit the number of ways Tri could come at him, although it also limited the number of movement options he had. Not to mention he was conceding almost the entire battlefield to the Gaki.

As he continued moving he kept thinking, the Gaki had been in control from the get-go, he'd completely disregarded Asuma's fight, he'd literally shown him how to combat Tri, he growled in irritation at his own arrogance, if this were a true fight Jiraiya might already be dead.

Even when he was on the offensive his actions were being subtly manipulated, he needed to start using his more powerful techniques, he had to get Tri properly on the defensive. He was still close to the wall and he'd walked around nearly half the arena, his senses had almost fully returned.

"How much longer until he notices?" Naruto asked looking down at the arena floor, Jiraiya had been walking around the floors circumference but at a slight angle, he'd been walked slowly towards the centre of the arena, away from the wall. Meanwhile Tri had reappeared and was standing atop the highest piece of rubble, just observing.

"I'm surprised to see Tri-kun properly use visual based Genjutsu, his abilities with it have always been.. hit and miss. But it shouldn't be too long now, plus he's yet to notice the seal," Itachi said.

Back with Jiraiya something seemed off, the airflow around him didn't feel right. He was next to the wall and the wall was colder than the air around it. So the air should be condensing and falling around him, but it was the opposite, it was rising which meant... He was no longer by the wall. Bringing one of his hands in front of his face he formed a half Ram seal. "Kai," he said forcing his chakra flow to change momentarily. The wall next to him vanished and he indeed found himself in the middle of the arena Tri looking down at him from atop the rubble.

"Welcome back, Jiraiya," Tri said mockingly, getting an irked look from his aged opponent. Thinking back, wondering when Tri had snared him in the Genjutsu he figured it out.

"That flash of red, your Sharingan I presume." Tri nodded. "The Kori Shinchū no Jutsu (Sly Mind Affect Technique) and the Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Jutsu).

This confused Jiraiya, he'd dispelled the Genjutsu already, but Tri's statement would imply three separate elements, 'what did the third part entail?' he thought, re-running the events since the clone explosion launched him into the wall. The only part that stood out was that piece of debris that landed on his shoulder, he looked over his right shoulder and there sat a small Fūinjutsu seal, 'A Genjutsu to apply a seal, very clever' he admitted to himself, his irritation growing a little more.

Examining the seal, wondering as to its purpose he noticed his breathing was a little heavier than it should have been. He hadn't used that much chakra then it clicked. He didn't have time to figure out how to break it, it was a relatively complex design and Tri was possibly better than him at Fūinjutsu now despite their massive age difference.

"Well, he's noticed the seal, but what does he do. He doesn't have the time to break it, he'll run out of chakra long before he deciphers it." Naruto commentated to those around him. "The longer this continues, the worse a situation Jiraiya will find himself in," Itachi added.

'I can't believe this teenager has forced me to go this far. He hasn't been troubled at all, until now that is,' Jiraiya smirked as he bit into his thumb before slamming his open palm into the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu".

"He's pushed you that far Sensei." Minato noted, jogging Tsunade's and Kushina's memories. "He's going to use that on Tri-kun?" Kushina added, her words sounded worried but piqued Naruto and Itachi's interest.

The cloud of smoke cleared and next to Jiraiya were two small toads. One was male in appearance and had green skin with large white eyebrows, a tuft of white hair and a small white goatee with a greyish cloak worn over the shoulders. The second was half purple and feminine in appearance. Tri tilted his head slightly, intrigued by the events unfolding in front of him.

"Jiraiya boy, why have you summoned us here?" One of them asked. "My apologies Lord Fukasaku, Lady Shima, I find myself backed into a corner and I'm not particularly fond of the idea of losing right now." Both toad sages looked around, seeing they were in a fairly large stadium, some of the faces in the crowd they recognised as well as spotting the barrier seal that had been erected over the top of them and finally the strewn earth and rubble with a lone figure atop the highest point.

"I take it that's your opponent then? Shima said, "Who are they?" Fukasaku added. "Yes, he is my opponent and his name is Uzumaki Tri, he's the boy Minato and Kushina adopted. And I summoned you here because he's placed a chakra drain seal on me so I need to end this quickly for which I need you both." Jiraiya explained.

Both toads gave him a weird look, "How did he get a seal on you?" they queried. Jiraiya instead of answering the question looked away bashfully, he really didn't want to tell them that he hadn't been taking his opponent seriously.

"I can see he's highly capable despite his young years. What'd ya say ma? It's been a while since we've let loose."
"Fine," she relented after a moments thought. "We'll help but keep in mind this is an incredibly trivial thing to call us for." Shima scolded him. Fukasaku nodded, "She's right Jiraiya boy. Do not make a habit of this," he bluntly added.

Both jumped on Jiraiya's shoulders. "Ok, Genjutsu is of no use, he has a Sharingan. He has the Shakuton Kekkei Genkai. But his greatest asset is his speed, let's see how he matches up against Sage mode. You'll need to keep the chakra balance in check for me, that drain seal complicates things massively," Jiraiya informed them, a slight smirk on his face. "All right Gaki, I'll admit you've done well so far. But that ends here, no more games."

"Tou-san, care to explain to the rest of us that are lagging behind," Naruto asked. Minato simply responded with, "Senjutsu." Naruto went wide-eyed, he had learnt bits and pieces about Senjutsu but had never seen it in person. He knew however that it was a very powerful art, "Is Senjutsu seriously necessary? That's too far surely?"

Tri watched on as Jiraiya's face started to change, his nose bloating, sprouted warts on his cheeks, grew a goatee and the iris' of his eyes changing to closely resemble that of a toad. Using his Sharingan he could see that the two toads were transferring a strange chakra into Jiraiya, he knew the basics of Senjutsu. Enough to know this was about to get very serious.

Jiraiya blinked first, the brief stand-off between them broken. He surged forward at frightening speed. In an instant he was on the opposite side of the arena and driving his fist into the side of Tri's head, the teenager was sent straight into a large mound of upturned earth, smashing straight through it and sliding along the ground, finally grinding to a halt nearly ten feet later.

The ringing in Tri's ears as he tried to stand was near deafening, his Sharingan meant at least one of his eyes could see clearly. The punch had busted open his head, the blood steadily flowing down his right cheek.

"Katon: Dai Endan" (Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet) Jiraiya shouted before spraying a huge fireball towards Tri. Able to see the power behind the Jutsu thanks to his Sharingan he took no chances and Kawarimied out of the way, the fireball struck some of the still present standing water resulting in a huge explosion of steam.

Having known that Tri would be forced to dodge Jiraiya had moved the instance Tri couldn't see him, he was in a way guessing where Tri would end up but he'd closer than if he stood still. Jiraiya thought his fortunes were turning because Tri suddenly appeared in front of him, before he could dodge again Jiraiya pulled back a fist and let fly with a second punch catching him full in the face launching him into the wall opposite.

A cloud of dust obscured Tri from everyone, allowing him a moment to collect himself. 'Urghh, only Tsunade's capable of hitting me harder than that, kami my head hurts'. Whilst still shrouded in dust Tri activated the mystic palm technique and held the hand against his head, his knowledge of Medical Ninjutsu was limited but he had to stem the blood flow. The dust cover cleared before he could finish however, Jiraiya saw the green glow around his hand, "Katon: Dai Endan" he repeated, firing another huge fireball towards Tri.

Even though his healing wasn't yet finished, Tri decided dodging again was not the best idea, he instead wove hand seals and took a deep breath. In the crowd Itachi could see the seals being made, "Hokage-sama, you may want to consider ending this before one of them gets seriously injured," Itachi recommended although he was unsure if his words were heard never mind heeded.

Minato had heard Itachi's words and was caught in two minds, he didn't want to see his son in a hospital bed for weeks on end, but yet he wanted to see how he truly stood against sage mode, even if only the incomplete variant. Before he could make a decision however.

"Shakuton: Kami Hi Kaze no Jutsu," (Scorch Release: Divine Fire Wind) Tri released a huge firestorm. It soon clashed and totally enveloped Jiraiya's fireball and rushed towards the three of them. "Jiraiya boy, Ma, the strongest defensive Suiton Jutsu you know," Fukasaku said quickly already weaving hand seals for his.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu."
"Suiton: Suijinheki."
"Suiton: Suijinheki."

Fukasaku's water Dragon was able to blunt the encroaching firestorm enough so the two vast walls of water could stop it. But the resulting explosion was huge throwing all three of them back into the wall. They were soon covered in clouds of steam as the fire flash boiled most of it.

Again it took a couple minutes for visibility to return, the crowd growing increasingly anxious as to the fate of the combatants; Were they ok? Were they hurt? Were they still alive? The concern on Kushina's face very apparent and is only relieved by Itachi telling them all that Tri was relatively unharmed. Finally the cloud cleared. Jiraiya, both toads still on his shoulders stood in the middle of the arena while Tri had again taken the highest point available.

Jiraiya could sense he wouldn't be able to maintain sage mode for much longer, it was becoming more difficult to hold his chakra in balance even with Fukasaku's and Shima's aid. He had one more big move left in him and he was going to go big. The words Itachi had spoken earlier rung through his mind 'So long as it's only frustration, not anger.' "Is that all Gaki, I expected more from a Jūnishi." The comment got him an irritated look. "Jiraiya, what are you doing?" Shima whispered in his ear. "Apparently the Gaki has an angry streak."
"Is that entirely wise?"
"Only one way to find out Shima-sama."

"Come on then Gaki, you wanted this fight, remember?" Again his comment only got a look of irritation in return. "What is Jiraiya doing?" Kushina asked aloud. "He's trying to wind Tri-kun up," Naruto replied, "Which is a terrible idea," Itachi added somewhat ominously.

"What's the matter? Scared you'll lose, scared you'll fail." Itachi and Naruto shared a nervous look, both had an idea where Jiraiya was going. "Jiraiya, please, please don't say what I think you're about to," Naruto quietly pleaded.

"Scared you'll fail like you failed her." The change in facial expression was instant, from irritated, perhaps annoyed to nothing. His lips were flat, The glimmer in his emerald green eye was gone, as if it were greyed out, even the red of the Sharingan seemed duller in colour.

Naruto had his head in his hands, "Jiraiya, you fucking idiot," he hissed under his breath. Itachi had managed to maintain the placid look on his face; Tsunade, however, hadn't and she was clearly angry. Both Minato and Kushina looked glum while Hiruzen shook his head in disappointment at Jiraiya's actions.

Then the killing intent hit them.

It hit Jiraiya first and it felt like a flood as the waves of emotionally charged energy washed over him. The civilians and young Genin in the crowd visibly recoiled, even many of the older, more experienced Shinobi shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. Minusha clung to Kushina in terror, the Uzumaki matriarch placing a comforting hand around her youngest child's shoulders.

"There we go, there's all that bottled up and repressed anger Gaki," Jiraiya jeered in triumph. "Jiraiya boy, was this entirely wise? That is a lot of killing Intent for one still so young," Fukasaku said harshly under his breath. The Sannin dismissed his concerns with a scoff as he held out his right hand, the chakra quickly beginning to swirl around in his palm.

The chakra, blue in colour coalesced into a sphere and began growing, soon it was as big as Jiraiya's hand, then bigger than his head. In only seconds it was nearly ten feet in diameter.

Tri, while he had been watching Jiraiya create the giant Rasengan in his hand, his mind was replaying that day over and over again. The anger, the unbridled fury he'd felt resurfaced. 'Use it!' a quiet but dark voice at the back of his mind said. Tri looking on, a menacing grin stretching across his face. He slowly lifted his left arm out to his side, palm open facing down as a ball of chakra began growing under his palm.

The stance was familiar to Naruto and Itachi and it set off the alarm bells in the minds. "Tou-san, end this now, please," Naruto pleaded. Minato turned his head to face his son, he saw the look of deep concern etched on his face, the wide as saucer eyes, his face had slightly pale. A quick glance at Itachi saw him looking much the same. "Why?" he asked.

Naruto looked apprehensive to tell him but another glance down at the arena floor made him spill. "Because he has managed what no one else has. He's combined both transformation types to the Rasengan." Minato was floored by the revelation but before he could speak Naruto continued. "But it's highly unstable, he could only control it for about five seconds before it destabilised. The explosion almost killed him, he's never attempted it since, he's scared of it," he hurriedly explained.

"So why is he…"

Minato's question was cut off as a swirling blue mass of chakra sparked into life quickly growing in size. It was still smaller than Jiraiya's but the colour it held was a darker, deeper blue then Tri lifted his arm above his head.

"Itachi.."
"I know."
"He's going to…"
"I know."

"Tou-san, please! The explosion will consume the entire arena," Naruto begged as the light it gave off became luminous enough to make people look away in discomfort but bizarrely the sphere didn't expand as more and more chakra was pouring into it, it instead shrank. Something that worried Itachi greatly, 'He's condensing the chakra,' "Hokage-sama, please! Intervene before somebody dies!"

The deep blue orb then began to shift, the brightness intensified further and the colour changed to a deep blood red as the volume levels rose. It looked like a small sun, the incredibly luminous red light radiating across the arena and the noise was still rising, formerly silent to near deafening. It sounded like a blast furnace.

It took a moment, but both acknowledged and began withdrawing the chakra they'd put into their respective techniques.

Minato saw he simply had to act, with a nod from Kushina they quickly dropping the barrier and he appearing between the two combatants, "This match is over," he loudly declared, "Both of you, my office, one hour," Minato barked, the displeasure at the risk both were willing to run over a sparring match coming through in his voice before he returned to the stand.

It took a moment for either to acknowledge their Hokage's orders but Jiraiya responded quickest, allowing the chakra to bleed out of his technique. Tri took a moment longer before snapping out the anger fuelled veil that clouded his judgement. His head snapped up and his expression shifted to one of fear, he immediately clamped his right hand around his left wrist as he desperately tried to maintain control.

Jiraiya The two toads jumped off of Jiraiya's shoulders allowing the Sannin's face to return to normal as he sat on the ground, his chakra now running very low. "You understand the power that went into that Jutsu Jiraiya?" Fukasaku asked, both he and Shima looking at Tri as he continued to let his Jutsu bleed away as quickly as he dared.

"Yeah, I noticed." Jiraiya dryly replied as Naruto dropped down behind him, a brush in hand. With a quick flick of the brush and a hand seal Naruto broke the seal on his shoulder. "I hope you realise how lucky you were Jiraiya. You've not seen how devastating that Jutsu is." Naruto bluntly put to him, he just grunted, eyes still on Tri as the red ball in his hand finally extinguished.

Tri was frozen, he'd allowed anger to cloud his mind and thusly attempted to use a Jutsu that could have potentially killed everyone watching, his comrades, his friends, his siblings, his parents. All might have died because he couldn't control his emotions. He didn't Shunshin away like Jiraiya did, he slowly and dejectedly trudged across the arena floor and walked straight up the wall.

He walked passed everyone without a word and sat in an empty seat.

Itachi was the first to speak, "I thought we'd discussed your using that," Tri sighed, "I know." Shizune gasped as she saw Tri's left hand, it was covered in scorch marks and shallow cuts and was twitching slightly. Rushing forward, she sat in the seat next to him before placing both of her already glowing green hands around his, surveying the self-inflicted damage. "Thank you Shizune-chan," he spoke softly, thanking one of his oldest friends and teachers.

It was then he noticed something, "Shizune-chan, I can't feel anything in my left arm." She looked up in alarm before shifting her attention elsewhere on his arm. She allowed her chakra to seep into his arm feeling for the nerves and chakra pathways, what she found troubled her deeply. "Tsunade-sama, I need your help," she asked of her Sensei.

"With what?" the blonde Sannin inquired. "Because repairing chakra pathways that are this damaged is beyond me." That grabbed Tsunade's full attention as she knelt down in front of him, her hands replacing Shizune's.

"BAKA!" Tri heard Kushina shout before her hand slammed down on his head causing him to wince, his head still hurt thanks to Jiraiya's punches. He sighed again, "I'm sorry, Kaa-chan," he said mutely, not daring to make eye contact lest she clip him around the head again. "Don't Kaa-chan me, I know a Kinjutsu when I see one," only getting a glum nod in return. Her anger quickly subsiding as she wrapped her arms around his head pulling him into a hug, "Baka," she said again. Tri finally lifted his head enough to look at those around him, Shizune and Tsunade were focused on his arm, Hiruzen wore a neutral expression. Naruto and Itachi looked un-impressed while Rezano and Minusha looked a little scared.

Tri sighed again.

Word had spread like wildfire around the village, the details of the fight between Tri and Jiraiya spreading. The descriptions of the two great Rasengans moments from clashing, only halted by the Hokage's personal intervention.

The two instigators were both lined up in the centre of the Hokage's office. Minato sat behind his desk, Fukasaku and Shima were both sat atop it. The blonde haired Hokage was flanked on his left by Kushina, Hiruzen on his right. Shizune, Tsunade and Kakashi were against one wall; Naruto and Itachi against the other. Everyone was under no illusions and were expecting Tri and Jiraiya to get a serious dressing down for their actions.

And that's exactly what they were about to get. "Would either of you care to explain?" Minato asked. "I told you I wouldn't be held responsible for what happens," Jiraiya replied to which Minato immediately snapped back. "To the both of you, not for endangering the crowd. The fact that you were willing to use such powerful Rasengans are a testament to that. And as for you," he declared turning his gaze upon Tri.

"Naruto, you know the Jutsu your brother was about to use?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Then explain." Naruto nodded before stepping forward. "As I mentioned earlier, it's a Rasengan with both nature and shape transformation added, I've only seen it attempted once, that was enough. However I'm not able to explain the advanced mechanics behind the creation of and control of it." Minato nodding as he listened, "Very well, thank you Naruto-kun, Tri-kun continue," Minato replied.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Tri spoke, stepping forward as Naruto stepped back. "What would you like to know?" He asked his father. "How did you incorporate Katon chakra into the Rasengan?" Tri nodded before speaking.

"Firstly, it's not Katon chakra, I use Shakuton chakra." It took all of Minato's willpower to keep his jaw from dropping as well as pulling his hair out in frustration. There were similar battles around the room. "So you attempted what no one else is capable off, not with a regular chakra nature but instead a Kekkai Genkai, Correct?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
"Continue," he said through clenched teeth.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Combining my Shakuton chakra with the Rasengan wasn't the hard part, it was containing it. That much volatile chakra in so small a confine, it wants to fly apart. So to contain it I place a layer of Fūton chakra around it."
"Explains why his arm is cut to ribbons," Tsunade remarked.

"What happens if you don't use the layer of Fūton chakra lad?" Fukasaku asked. "The Shakuton chakra overwhelms the confines of the Rasengan and all shape is lost, he answered."

"What would have happened if you had lost control of your Jutsu before you could allow it to bleed away?" Minato continued his questioning.

Tri's reply was blunt and to the point, "The arena would likely have been flattened with a substantial loss of life." Jiraiya scoffed at his estimation only for Itachi to shoot the Sannin down. "He's not embellishing Jiraiya-san. Last time the crater left behind was nearly thirty feet wide and that had far less chakra involved." Jiraiya was going to retort but decided against it at the last moment.

"Tsunade-san, what do you make of the damage done to Tri'-kun's arm?"

"The damage is all self-inflicted. Tri-san has utterly overwhelmed and near destroyed the Chakra network in his left arm simply by the amount of chakra he's forced through it. That in turn has severely damaged the nerve bundles which is why he can't feel anything. All this damage I can repair but it will take time."
"How long?"
"I would estimate a month of daily sessions to repair the damage, another month for physical therapy and perhaps an entire year before he displays the same level of control in the arm."

Minato sighed, "Very well, Tsunade-san, thank you." He shut his eyes and started thinking about what the appropriate punishment would be. Truthfully there was only really one punishment that was, he opened his eyes again.

"Tri-kun, your Hitai-ate," while his words earned winces from several in the room, Tri wasn't one of them as he calmly removed it from his forehead. He handed it over to Minato's outstretched hand. "You are hereby suspended from Konohagakure's Shinobi forces effective immediately, only to be reinstated when you are medically fit to do so."

"I understand, Hokage-sama," he quietly stated.

"All but Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiruzen and Kushina leave," Minato stated, everyone else began to filter out. Whilst doing so Tri's eyes meet Itachi's, Itachi nodded slightly to his long-time friend.

Their conversation was brief and quickly it was only Minato and Jiraiya left and the Sannin was already making moves to leave via the window as he normally did. "Oh, Jiraiya, one more thing," Minato suddenly said. "Mock him like that again and I'll make sure you regret it. You of all people should understand how it feels to fail someone," he snarled.

Tri closed the front door, slipping off his sandals. It had been several hours since he'd left the Hokage's office and he'd passed the time just wondering aimlessly around the village. From the Hokage monument to the markets and from one end of the wall to the other.

He'd seen the scared look on his sisters face earlier, it was tearing at him mentally. It was why he'd accepted his suspension without question.

Kushina was sat at the table with her youngest sat next to her, Minusha wasn't due to start at the Academy for another two years but they'd recently introduced her to basic Fūinjutsu amongst a few other subjects. She'd heard the front door but raised her head as the door from the hall to the dining room opened.

"Evening, Tri-kun," Kushina welcomed her son. "Kaa-chan," he replied, both of them saw Minusha tense as he spoke. Deciding to deal with it immediately Tri walked around the table.

"Minusha-chan, can I talk to you," Tri softly asked his youngest sibling. Minusha only stood from her seat after receiving a reassuring squeeze on the back of her neck from her Kaa-chan. Leaving the table to stand in front of her brother as he squatted down in front of her, bring them face to face although Minusha was looking at the floor.

He took her hands in his. "Minusha-chan, I'm sorry if I scared you today." She lifted her face to look at him, he could see she was on the brink of crying as a single tear ran down her face. "Please don't cry Minusha-chan," he said wiping the tear away. He lent his head forward, bringing their foreheads together.

"Minusha-chan, I would never do anything to hurt you." That proved to be too much as Minusha broke into tears and rushed forward, wrapping her arms around his neck she nearly bowling them both over. He just wrapped his arms around her in return and held her close as she quietly sobbed into his shoulder. Kushina had to wipe away a tear of her own watching two of her children.

She may not have carried Tri in her for nine months and he may have been five when he entered her life but he was as much a son to her as Naruto and Rezano.

While his display a few hours prior had alarmed her, she was proud of how strong Tri had become, of how strong all her children were becoming. Rezano was beginning to show himself as one of the most talented in his year, Minusha had begun to display a mature intelligence for her age. Naruto, only hours earlier had displayed the most revered of Kekkai Genkai on top of his already known substantial ability.

Picking her up in his arms he asked, "What were you working on Minusha-chan?" having noticed the scrolls and brushes on the table. "Kaa-chan is teaching me about seals," she replied rubbing her now red eyes. "Seals huh, Fūinjutsu's quickly reasserting itself as the family trademark, eh Kaa-chan," getting a smile out of the red-haired woman as he walked back to the table. Depositing Minusha back in her chair he channelling chakra into a storage seal on his right bicep six little handbooks popped into his hand, one of which he handed to Minusha. Putting the books down as he pulled a chair out sitting down next to Minusha who's attention was fully focussed on the little green book in her hands.

Having sat down, he picked up the first and handed it to Minusha who happily opened it. "You're really good at seals aren't you Onii-chan?".

"One of the best Minusha-chan," Kushina answered, she too looking at the book, reading over her daughter's shoulder. Each page was laid out similar to an entry in a Bingo book. There was a picture of a seal, its name at the top of the page. The rest of the page was split between instructions for drawing, the seals uses and in bold at the bottom of the page was a number.

Kushina however didn't recognise any of the seals she saw as Minusha flicked through the pages. "Tri-chan, are these seals your own designs?" He nodded, handing her a book from the bottom of the pile. Letting it fall open in her hand, she read looking through the book.

She flicked through several pages, some pages were completely filled out, others with only bits and pieces. "Not all of them are finished as you can tell, I have an idea, I write it down and explore the viability of the idea, some work, some don't. Some are from my imagination, others born of necessity, page 37 for example."

Flicking forward the few more pages brought her to the title 'Anti-Rape Seal'. "That mission?" Kushina sombrely asked. He nodded, "It's not just me, Naruto has numerous personal protection seals that serve similar purposes. We both simply refused to do nothing about it following that disaster so we put our heads together and both came up with a prevention seal. His is finished, mine however isn't."

Seeing that he now had his mother's undivided attention. "Naruto's design is choice based, it activates when the Kunoichi channels chakra into it. Mine is intention based, whether it activates or not is dependent on whether the penetration is consensual or forced. I've not yet figured out a way for the seal to differentiate between the two. I also wanted to simplify the seal design to the point where you didn't need more than a level 2 or 3 knowledge of Fūinjutsu to apply it. And you know that when you simplify a seal you make it far more complex to design."

"Nii-chan, can you show me how to use some of these?" Their attention was drawn back to the young girl between them, "Sure Minusha-chan, but you'll need to have learnt enough about Fūinjutsu to use them safely. The big number at the bottom of each page tells you what level of Fūinjutsu you need to be at to learn too."
"Ok Nii-chan, could you help teach me too?"
"Of Course, if your Kaa-chan and Tou-san are too busy and I'm around, you only need to ask," he said. "Besides I suddenly have an awful lot of free time…" he sombrely added, making sure he was quiet enough so no one heard him. "Yay," Minusha cheers as she picked up the brush she'd been using and went back to practising.

Unseen by all them, out in the hallway Minato was peering in at them, the door slightly ajar. He was a relieved man. He knew that retrospective action was needed following Tri's actions. But his black and red haired son had accepted his suspension, almost like he'd expected it, perhaps he had. And to now just hours later see Tri display the presence of mind to alleviate the concerns of others put a smile on his face.

Minato wasn't the only one who worried about the events of today. Fugaku was made anxious by what he'd seen only hours before.

"Fugaku-sama, we can't delay any longer. Bringing down Minato and Kushina would have been difficult enough but for their firstborn to display Mokuton changes everything. Every day we wait is another day for him to get stronger," a member of the Uchiha clan shouted out.

Pretty much the entire clan was assembled, they'd all subconsciously made their way to the Uchiha's secret meeting place, no one had called them but they knew there was much to be discussed.

"Not to mention their half-breed abomination possesses the Sharingan, the eye cannot be allowed to exist outside of the clan!" another shouted. The majority of those assembled were arguing amongst themselves, it meant the room was a cacophony of noise.

To push the plan forward meant losing nearly six months, half a year that could be used to plan, train and scheme but six months of openly training with Mokuton might mean Naruto learnt how to suppress the Kyūbi's chakra. If that happened then he might be able to prevent its escape and if that happened they'd likely be soundly defeated.

The plan to release the Kyūbi from within Minato's youngest son was one known to very few, only he, a few close confidants and the clan elders knew of it but it formed the lynchpin of their coup.

One of the clan elders who had up to this point been sat silently next to Fugaku spoke. "If the plan is to be brought forward then there is an opportune time on the horizon." His words grabbed Fugaku's attention and he leaned over slightly in his chair.

"The Iwa delegation arrives in a fortnight or so, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter Kurotsuchi will be among them. While they are here the Hokage's attention will be focussed on ensuring their talks go well and the boy Naruto made a lot of noise about being her liaison so he'll be occupied too. It'll be much easier to get to the youngest son."

Fugaku nodded in agreement, it met their newly discovered criteria and presented the best opportunity they were likely to get. With that he stood from his cushion and the gathered clan members silenced in moments.

"Today's events have made it clear that we cannot delay, the plan must be brought forward…"

Fugaku laid out the basis of their new timescale, the details of the plan remained relatively unchanged. As he spoke, unseen at the back of the room hidden in a dark corner was one Uchiha who wasn't grinning from ear to ear.

Itachi listened as his father continued talking, while he was a gentle soul he couldn't stop the anger from simmering away in his gut, the three tomoe of his Sharingan spinning menacingly.

'This I will not allow to come to pass,' he silently declared as the tomoe slowly morphed into the three-pointed pinwheel.

And thus another mini-ark comes to an end. You can probably tell what the next arc is. And as a heads up, I'm going away next weekend (25th-28th) so if the next chapter is finished in time then I'll publish it on the Thursday (24th), if not then it'll be the following Friday (1st June).

Also have another Omake.

Omake Entry Two:

The Prodigal Trio meet Gai's Trio part 1 – Naruto

Naruto walked between the trees trailing his fingers along the broad leaves of the bushes or the bark of the trees. He paid little attention to the goings-on around him, he zoned out the chirping of the birds, the rustle of forest critter scurrying in the undergrowth.

He'd been walking for nearly half an hour now, he was heading for an old foe, one he hadn't seen since before he left to join the Jūnishi. He was fully decked out in his Shinobi gear, his recently awarded Jōnin vest over his chest.

He was pulled back to reality by the sound of voices just up ahead. He made them out as Shinobi judging by the chakra signatures he could faintly detect besides civilians didn't come out here, it was easy to get lost in the endless sea of trees.

Who it might be intrigued Naruto, not many knew of this place and even fewer actually came here.

"YOSH!" he heard in the distance.

'Well that's a giveaway.'

He pushed through the final batch of bushes and wild hedges and broke into the large clearing. A circular clearing with flat grassy ground flanked on three sides by trees with a vast cliff face flanking the fourth at the back.

The clearing, usually empty today wasn't. Sat on the grass were three young pre-teen Genin, two with their Hitai-ate's around their foreheads, the third had it wrapped around their waist. 'That one bears far too great a resemblance to Gai-kun,' Naruto worriedly though, one Gai was more than enough. 'He's wearing the same green jumpsuit, the same arm and leg warmers and.. wait are those the same eyebrows…'

Speaking of Gai, the man himself was enthusiastically explaining his Genin's soon to be long-term task, albeit only one of the three were still listening to him, the other two had turned their attention to Naruto who silently stood against a tree so as not to disturb Gai.

Eventually the two looking at him, a girl and a boy turned back to their Sensei. The girl he didn't recognise at all but the boy had the look of a Hyūga, the traditional clothing, the blank yet still somehow sour look on his face and obviously the almost totally white eyes.

"Do you understand, my youthful students!"
"Hai, Gai-sensei," mini-Gai as Naruto would now nickname him replied, mini-Gai's two teammates only nodding in silence.

"Gai-sensei?" mini-Gai asked, "Who is that?" he said pointing at Naruto. Gai followed his raised arm and finally noticed Naruto. In an instant Gai had grabbed Naruto into a big hug that lifted him off his feet. "Naruto-kun!" he jubilantly shouted much to the distress of Naruto's ears. He was more concerned, however, that Gai's hug might fracture some of his ribs. "Nice to see you too, Gai-kun," he wheezed.

Gai finally released him allowing him to draw in a much-needed lungful of air. "This my students is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, son of the Hokage. I used to help with his training before he joined the Academy and recently returned from a multi-year stint with the Shugonin Jūnishi. Naruto-kun, these are my three youthful Genin, Tenten, Hyūga Neji and Rock Lee," he proudly introduced.

Naruto gave the trio a two finger wave but was nearly jerked off his feet moments later as Gai pulled him by the arm towards the cliff. "You arrival is most opportune, I have just introduced my Genin to the same cliff-face challenge I set you and your former teammates."

"Well funnily enough Gai-kun, that's why I'm here," Naruto admitted.

At his admittance Gai stopped trying to pull his arm out of its socket. "Most excellent, even after becoming a Jūnishi you remember the challenges I set you. YOUR YOUTH STILL BURNS STRONG!" he loudly declared, his voice actually echoing once or twice.

"One arm, one hour, no chakra was it?" Naruto asked. "It is indeed Naruto-kun," Gai confirmed. The blonde rolled his shoulders, feeling his two blades strapped to his back move as well. "Best take these off," he said as he withdrew them, sheath and all.

He heard a female voice gasp behind him. He turned to face the young girl, her eyes not veering from the twin blades he now held in his hands. "Weapons mistress?" he guessed/ inquired of Gai, "Yes, she doesn't specialise in any particular weapon per say but she practises constantly with pretty much every kind of weapon she can get her hands on."

Naruto walked towards the girl and sat down in front of her, "Am I able to leave these in your care while I do this?" he asked her, the look she gave him made Naruto laugh. To Tenten it was as if her birthday had come early.

He held out the shorter of the two, "Kagizume," he said as she took it in her hands, one on the scabbard, the other on the hilt, "May I?" she hopefully asked, elated when he nodded, "Just watch the Tsuba (Crossguard), they're sharpened," he warned. She slowly pulled the twelve-inch blade from its wooden scabbard. She looked at the weapon in wonder, the extremely intricate detailing travelling the length of the blade.

"Can you feel the small metal bumps protruding from the Sa-Me (Stingray skin) between the Ito? (Cloth Bindings)." She nodded. "Push some of your chakra into through them," he said with a grin. She did as he asked and went wide-eyed in amazement as the blade began glowing azure blue.

"Chakra metal," Neji said to nobody in particular. "They are," Naruto confirmed, nodding. "Aren't chakra metal swords expensive?" Lee asked. "They are," a dreamy-eyed Tenten said, "the chakra metal kunai my dad makes cost 1000 Ryo each and they only have a coating of chakra metal. I dread to think how much these two cost."
"A lot," Naruto bluntly answered. "Both are completely chakra metal all the way through, all together Kagizume (Talons) cost around 500,000 Ryo while Kuchibashi (Beak) here cost just over 900,000 Ryo.

There was an awful lot of silence following the revealing of their prices. "Naruto-kun, I know the Jūnishi get paid a lot but surely even your salary wouldn't stretch that far," Gai said. "While that may be true Gai-kun, I didn't pay for them. They were a gift."

"You were gifted a pair of swords worth nearly one and a half million Ryo? Who on earth can afford to dispense such expensive gifts?" a disbelieving Neji questioned. "The Daimyō of Hi No Kuni can," Naruto answered, "All Jūnishi are given a gift when their service comes to an end. These were his gift to me."

Tenten sheathed Kagizume as Naruto held out Kuchibashi, she was surprised by heavy the longer blade was. "Heavy ain't it," Naruto said as she placed both blades across her lap. Naruto stood once more and walked back towards the stone wall that towered over him. He looked up, from this close he struggled to make out the top.

"Gai-kun, what's your best time on this?"
"38 minutes and 12 seconds, why?"
"Just wondering," he said with a smile and with that he leapt to grasp his first-handhold.

End Chapter

BalthazarTheAngel / EeveeTheImmortal: As tempting as it was to have Tri beat Jiraiya there was no way for him to realistically do so, hopefully you enjoyed the compromise.