Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto the anime or manga. This story is based off the world of Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 25 – The Exchange Program

New Konoha Grand Council Auditorium

Hokage Mountain Heart Chambers

The room was silent. The end of the meeting was at hand. It was a good thing as well, there were some eager souls that wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"So, let us repeat the missions that will go ahead today," Homura said. "The first will be taken by Jiraiya, and he will be finding the next Hokage candidate. The second is a mission for the exchange of hostages on Kannabi bridge. Jiraiya, you will have an ANBU team help you."

Jiraiya, who was sitting in the front laughed. "I don't need them. They would only annoy me, I have someone else in mind who will make the trip more worthwhile," he said.

"Who do you want then to accompany you?" Koharu said.

Jiraiya leaned forward in his chair and smiled. "I want Uzumaki Naruto to come with me," he said. "No one else will do."

In a further row of seats, Kotaro could hear the grumbling of many once the name was mentioned. He shook it off, usually he got angry, but now he was just sad.

His talk with Naruto that happened the day before helped his resolve to make the village love Naruto and him. All of this was for Naruto's dream, it was important to him, but he wouldn't mind a bit of the love for himself as well.

"That child?" Homura asked. "Wouldn't an ANBU team be better suited for tracking rather than a highly accomplished Genin?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "The tracking isn't a problem," he said. "And anyway, Naruto has something special that will solve my problems. He's the only one I want."

Kotaro smiled as he heard what Jiraiya said. It was true, the kid had a special talent for solving the strangest of problems. Only question Kotaro had was what was the problem Jiraiya had.

Homura nodded and then looked down to his scroll. "The second mission is the hostage exchange on Kannabi bridge. We have chosen a team that are fit from the ninja roster. This will be a high priority mission, so we could only leave it to our best. The will consist of Shiranui Genma, Namiashi Raidō, Tatami Iwashi and Uzumaki Kotaro," he said. "You will depart at Noon. You have two hours to prepare for your trip."

Kotaro nodded at the advisors. "Good. I wanted to some fresh air anyway," he said.

There were grumbles throughout the auditorium. It seemed that the events from the last meeting left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. To Kotaro, it looked like some of his fellow villagers didn't want him to go on this mission. They however didn't speak out, they knew they had no influence or power when it came to shinobi matters such as missions.

Koharu sighed. "Uzumaki Kotaro. You will be handling the Tsuchikage's granddaughter and her squad. We shouldn't need to say this, but this exchange can bring us to peace with Iwa. That is most important here. Get Uchiha Sasuke back and get that peace treaty, we already exchanged letters. The peace treaty is on the table," she said.

"Understood," Kotaro said with a wry smile. "Don't expect anything less than a perfect score."

Shikaku, who was sitting beside Kotaro again, chuckled to himself. Only two days ago did Kotaro start to internally break down, losing all confidence. Now he's oozing it out. Maybe things were finally back to normal? The thought was certainly running through his head.

The sound of scrolls and folders closing up were heard. "That concludes today's meeting. The next one will be when the new Hokage is put into power and we have an issue to discuss that involves everyone here," Homura said.

People left their seats and went for the door. Kotaro noticed from the very start of the meeting that Danzō wasn't there. He wondered where the intolerable man could be.

There was a mass shuffling and pushing to the exit, the noise and chatter filled the large space. Kotaro got out of his seat and cracked his back. He then felt a hand pat his shoulder. He looked and saw Kakashi. The worry was noticeable despite Kakashi's attempt to hide it. His heavy eye showed it all.

"Be careful," Kakashi warned.

"Huh?" Kotaro questioned with a surprised face. "Be careful of what exactly?"

"Of that bridge. Just be careful that you don't get caught in any traps they might set up," Kakashi warned. "I would hate to lose another friend because of that place."

Kotaro narrowed his eyes but then quickly laughed. "Come on, I thought you thought of me highly. We'll be fine," he reassured, wrapping his arm around Kakashi's shoulders. "You just keep the village safe. Maybe give Sakura a one-on-one lesson, I think she would appreciate it."

Kakashi groaned and looked up to the ceiling. "Sakura… I actually talked to her mother Mebuki about her. She hasn't left her house since the funeral. With the attack and Sasuke missing, she doesn't want to go outside," he said.

Kotaro whistled loudly. "Wow… Just wow. Well, I think you'll need to drag her out even if she's kicking and screaming. Some fresh air and training would definitely clear up her mind," he said. "And if she becomes stronger, she would be a great asset to both Naruto and Sasuke. That's what Konoha is all about, supporting each other and working as a team."

"Kotaro."

Kotaro turned to his right and saw Jiraiya standing before him. "What? Kakashi and I were talking."

Jiraiya chuckled and scratched his cheek. "I saw that. Since I'm staying in the spare room of your house, and most of my stuff is on the floor… I mean in the room in a neat fashion. I would appreciate it if we went to your house to pack. You need to get ready yourself as well," he said.

Kotaro groaned and nodded. This whole morning annoyed him, but he shouldn't let it out on those around him. "Damn, you're right," he said. "Alright, Kakashi, I'll keep that warning close to me. Don't get rusty while Naruto and I are gone."

Kakashi nodded his head. "Don't worry, I won't."

Kotaro moved his way towards the exit of the Konoha auditorium. "Come on Jiraiya you slowpoke. Getting old? Maybe you should retire and live in the corner of a brothel for the rest of your miserable life," he said.

Jiraiya laughed loudly and then slapped the back of Kotaro's head with some force. "Wow, the Uzumaki clan sure love to make fun out of anything," he said. "Kushina was the same."

Kotaro lightly laughed while rubbing the back of his head. It was some slap Jiraiya gave him. "Fond memories? Oh look! There's Shikaku, Inoichi and Chōza. Let's join up with them."

"Wait!" Jiraiya said, making Kotaro stop in his tracks. "Here have this."

Kotaro was handed a slip of paper with intricate seal markings on it. It wasn't a seal he was familiar with, but the pattern did rock up in his memories.

"This looks like the markings that come out when Jiji used the Summoning Jutsu," Kotaro said. "What does this thing do?"

Jiraiya walked ahead with a chuckle. "You're just going have to wait and find out."

Yamanaka Flower shop

"Ah, this is nice," the voice of Naruto said. "Good weather, peace in the village. Yummy breakfast in the belly, I couldn't ask for much better."

"The sky is clear. There's no clouds to stare at," Shikamaru said, lying down on the ground beside Naruto as they both looked up.

As they relaxed and breathed in the fresh air, both boys felt great tranquillity within themselves. However, like everything as of late, it wasn't going to last exceptionally long.

The sound of a packet of crisps opened close by, Naruto turned his head in an awkward way to see Chōji beginning to much down on the snack. Naruto knew the flavour, it was the classic of salt and vinegar.

"Oi Chōji, give me one," Naruto said. "I need to chew on something."

Chōji pulled back his crisp packet and guarded them with his whole body. He then glared at Naruto. "No," he said fiercely. "We are still low on food at home and I need to keep myself from getting hungry. I'm not giving you anything Naruto."

Naruto growled. "What!? You have like five packets with you. Come on, just give me one of them," he said. "I thought we were friends."

Chōji grabbed the bottom of the crisp packet and then shoved all the content into his mouth. He then munched hard and swallowed it all in one go. It was a disgusting sight.

"There," Chōji said with a huff. "Now there's no more for any of us."

Naruto sat up from the ground and growled. "Chōji, what the hell you bastard!? You just ate the whole thing!" he shouted.

Footsteps were heard coming close to the group of friends.

"You guys are really something else."

Naruto turned his head to see that Ino had come and joined them. He then slumped his shoulders and went back down to resting on the ground.

"I hope you mean that in a good way," Shikamaru said.

Ino shook her head and then stomped her foot. "No! I asked you guys to come and help me move stuff, so the flower shop can get repaired quicker. Shikamaru, you even said you would get Naruto to help out. But all you three have done is laze around and just watch the clouds," she complained. "I'm doing all the work here."

Naruto put his hands behind his head and went back to lying on the ground. "I never said I would help you guys. I had enough stuff to deal with yesterday, all I want is to relax," he said.

Ino walked over towards Naruto and stood directly above his head. She rested her hands on her hips and leaned down. "What was this stuff you had to deal with?" she asked. "You, the boy with unlimited energy taking a break is weird to see."

Naruto groaned. "It's none of your business. I'm tired, alright?"

Ino raised her hands in a surrender gesture and began to walk off. "Oops, sorry Naruto," she said sarcastically. "Just when you say stuff like that, you come off as mysterious."

Naruto sighed. "Mysterious huh? Is that a good or bad thing?" he asked himself. He then shook his head and stood up. "What time is it?" he asked the others.

The three other Genin shrugged their shoulders. They didn't know.

"It's just half past ten Naruto."

Naruto turned his heels and saw the scarred face of Shikaku walk up to him. Shikaku then ruffled Naruto's hair with a small smile on his face. "Why are you wondering?" he asked.

Naruto yawned and rubbed his belly. "I was full, but now I feel hungry again. I'm thinking of getting a bowl of ramen or something," he admitted, even acting out the motions of eating from a ramen bowl. "You want to come with me Shikaku-ojisan?" he asked afterwards.

Shikaku laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm fine. But I don't think you have enough time to have a bowl," he said.

"What?" Naruto said with some confusion. "Is there something going on?"

Shikamaru got up from the ground and dusted himself off. "We didn't do something to piss off Kaa-san again, right?" he asked. "She can be an annoying woman."

Shikaku sighed. "No, but don't let her hear you say that, or she will show you how annoying she really is. Naruto, you're going on a mission. Go back to your house so you could meet up with Jiraiya-sama and your brother," he told him.

"A mission?" Naruto asked. "What kind of mission?"

"It'll be better if you find out from Jiraiya-sama. Chōji, Chōza told me that food shipments have finally come to the Akimichi clan grounds and he wants you to help move the food before your fellow clansmen eat it," Shikaku said. "Inoichi is coming this way Ino, he's going to help you soon enough."

Ino smiled. "Finally, my good hard-working Tou-san will appear and help me. Unlike you three tools," she spat out.

Naruto grunted and started to walk towards his house. "See you later Shikamaru, Chōji, Ino-pig," he said while sticking out his tongue to them. "I'll catch you later."

Ino growled and stomped her foot to the ground again. "That idiot. That's what Forehead girls calls me and now he does it. Oh, he's going to pay next time I see him," she said as she started to crack her knuckles.

Shikamaru stepped away from Ino and moved close to his father. "Oyaji, we have to get out of here. Ino is acting up," he said.

Shikaku nodded, not wasting any time as he grabbed Shikamaru and walked away quickly from the scene. He didn't care, Inoichi could take care of his moody daughter himself.

Uzumaki Residence

ZIP!

"Is that everything?" the voice of Kotaro asked. "You don't know how long you will be gone for. Tsunade might not be in this country. And even she is, the Land of Fire is a big place."

Naruto exhaled and sat on his bed. He looked to his bulky bag, which included all sorts of things. Most it was stored in storage scrolls, but that didn't mean the scrolls didn't take up a lot of room.

Naruto was also thinking of the same thing. He had no idea how long he was going to be gone for. It could be well over a month if things don't go their way.

"I think I'll be fine," Naruto said, patting his bag. "What about you?"

Kotaro nodded with a smile. "Unfortunately. I have to pack very lightly. Each team member will have a hostage and it would be a pain in the ass to carry whoever and a bulky backpack, ya know," he said. "This little one will do just fine. Besides, the Hostage team has to move for long periods of time. We're going to get little sleep in the next few days."

Naruto played with his fingers, they were waiting for Jiraiya to finish up before they all left together for the main gates. "Which one are you bringing?" Naruto asked.

Kotaro rested on Naruto's desk and crossed his arms. "Those Iwa ninja that you and Shikamaru had taken care of. I don't know who'll I get though. I just hope that this trip ends with that peace treaty," he said.

Naruto hummed in agreement. "Me too. But, it's just Sasuke they have, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Kotaro asked.

Naruto stood up and started to walk around his room, thinking. "You could…"

"I could?"

"You could to suck them dry when it comes to the actual trade," Naruto said. "It'll be hard, but you have the advantage. Taking away Sasuke from Konoha... it really makes me mad. We have to make them pay!"

Kotaro focused on Naruto, he wanted to hear more. He had his own game plan already to go around this sticky issue, however his little brother always produced ideas, good and ridiculous ones.

"Go on," Kotaro said. "What's this advantage?"

"You have four of the Iwa hostages, or at least you should," Naruto said. "Even though it's Sasuke, he's the only one on their side. Both he and the girl had bloodline limits. She is also the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage. So, she's more valuable."

Kotaro laughed lightly. "I thought you wouldn't say such a thing. Sasuke is your friend," he said. "But, you're completely right. There is one thing that has been bugging me since this whole… thing happened."

"And what's that Nii-chan?" Naruto asked.

Kotaro stood up and went to the door. "How they even got inside the village without disrupting or breaking the barrier. That's the main question. Hopefully I'll find out, but we better go. Jiraiya is at the front door," he said. "You know, your thirteenth birthday is coming up soon."

Naruto groaned as he heard it. "Do we really have to do that?" he asked. "It sounds really painful," he complained afterwards. His hands went into the air to show his annoyance.

Kotaro nodded with a wry smile on his face. "It has been tradition for every boy in the main family of the Uzumaki clan once they become thirteen. Our ancestors suffered through it and so will you. I had mine done nearly seven years ago, so don't complain about it," he said.

As Kotaro walked, Naruto followed after his brother while strapping on his backpack. Wrapping it securely around him, he went downstairs and left his house. He watched as Kotaro closed the door and pulsed his chakra into the door after forming the Horse and Monkey hand seals.

"What did that do?" Jiraiya asked. "Those seal marks in that pattern looked like they belonged to a lock seal, or a security seal."

Kotaro nodded. "Correct. Since neither Naruto and I aren't going to be here for a while, I locked the door and house. Shikaku, Kakashi and Asuma have access to the house in cases of emergency, but nothing will happen when we're away," he said. "They don't need to come in and steal our food."

"You have confidence in that system?" Jiraiya asked. "You have a lot of valuable, rare stuff in there. Someone could try and steal that instead of your food."

"No one will be able to," Naruto said, interrupting the conversation. "We have seals all around the place. That seal Nii-chan turned on activated all of them. No one will be able to get in or out, even if they tried to jump in from Hokage mountain."

Jiraiya's eyebrows rose with surprise. "A linked system? That's impressive, but I expect nothing else from the Uzumaki," he said.

Naruto started walking towards the main gate with a tight grip on his back pack. "Come on. I don't have all day," he said, moving out of their sight with his quick walking.

Jiraiya rested his hands on his hips and sighed. "The youth today have no respect, right Kotaro?"

"Naruto wait up. Don't leave me with the pervert!" Kotaro shouted as he ran after Naruto.

Jiraiya growled and looked to the ground. "Sensei, what did I do to deserve this?" he asked himself. "I'll just have to catch up to them now."

Jiraiya didn't bother to run after them, but instead used the body-flicker technique multiple times until he reached the gates. It didn't take him long to make it and see Naruto waiting beside the guard hut, talking to Kotestu and Izumo.

In the distance, he saw Kotaro talking to the Hokage Guard squad. Genma, Raidō and Iwashi were all in good spirits if their smiles were to say anything.

Jiraiya made his way to the Jōnin with his notebook in hand, taking notes for a new scene in his next book. He bit his lip as he already started to write down some musings, he needed a woman around to help visualise his character, but he had no such luck.

"Damn," Jiraiya said. "It's a damn sausage fest."

All four heads looked his way. "Jiraiya-sama!" the three Hokage Guard squad members said in surprise.

Kotaro focused on Jiraiya with a frown on his face. He clicked his finger before pointing it at the man. "Jiraiya, what the hell are you doing with that pen? You better not be using me as one of your characters," he said.

Jiraiya whistled as he saw the fierceness in Kotaro's eyes. It was amusing for the man. He shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Don't worry Kotaro. You don't fit the necessary criteria to be one of my characters. Maybe a background character, but not the lead," he said. Shrugging his shoulders with a smirk, Jiraiya focused on Kotaro. "You would have to pay me to be in one of my books. They're bestsellers. All the women would be hounding you for your attention. Maybe some men would even look up to you."

Kotaro slumped his shoulders and sighed heavily. "I can't argue with that. You make both men and women weak in the knees," he said depressingly. His bitter and weak laugh made the scene glum. "When are those hostages coming?" he then asked, trying to change the subject quickly.

"Are they still not here?" the voice of Naruto asked as he came to the scene. "I thought you said ANBU were bringing them."

Genma chuckled and looked at Kotaro. "How much stuff do you tell him? He must be the most informed Genin in Konoha," he said.

Kotaro scratched the back of his head, he stuck his tongue out while moving his head away from the group and ignoring eye contact with any of them. "Ah now, I don't tell him that much," he said.

Naruto laughed as he shook his head. "Genma, you should have heard him yesterday. He wouldn't stop talking ttebayo. I had to give him the ol' one-two so I could get some peace and quiet," he said.

The group all laughed at Kotaro's expense. Jiraiya started to slap Kotaro's back with his laughs. However, all good things did not last forever.

Kotaro clenched his fists and closed his eyes. He emitted his chakra all over his body slowly, it was a cold silver blue. He then raised his head and cracked his knuckles; his eyes were glaring at them all.

"I don't quite get the joke," Kotaro said. "Would one of you mind explaining it to me?" he asked, cracking his knuckles even more.

Naruto stopped laughing and tried to find some way to lighten up the mood. He didn't need to at the end. As soon as the laughter died, a squad of four ANBU appeared with one Iwa ninja each. Naruto only recognised one, Kurotsuchi.

Kotaro looked around his group. Smiling devilishly, he pointed his finger at Kurotsuchi as quickly as he could. "I'm taking her. No questions," he said. "You three can take the men."

The others sighed and moaned. "Why did you want her?" Jiraiya asked. "Oh? You're just like me, you can't resist a beautiful woman when you see one, right?" he said.

Kotaro shook his head, but he still had a smile on his face. "I don't want to carry heavy luggage. The girl here is obviously the lightest one out of the four, Jiraiya," he said. "Though, I'll let your dirty mind think of its creations. This whole thing could be used for one of your stories."

Looking down to the young woman, Kotaro knelt to the ground and investigated. He looked from the top of her head to the tips of her toes with focused eyes.

He then smiled and had a happy expression on his face. "Good. You look healthy considering the circumstances. No signs of harm or malnutrition anywhere," Kotaro said. "That's good."

Kurotsuchi glared at Kotaro, her eyes were full of hate. "I finally get to see you, Crimson Scum," she said heatedly. "You have a lot to pay for the shit you pulled."

Konoha clapped his hands, his eyes were the opposite of hers, they were full of excitement. "Oh!? We're giving each other nicknames already. Kurotsuchi-chan, this is clearly moving too fast. But you want this. Alright, your nickname shall be… Pebble-chan," he said with a smile.

Kurotsuchi growled and her eyes darkened. She leaned back and then shot forward. In the process of that, she spat out as much spit as she could. Where it landed was all over Kotaro's face.

Kotaro stood up slowly and wiped it off with disgust. "Damn, and here I thought you were a well-mannered young lady," he said. "Don't worry though Kurotsuchi-chan. By the end of this trip, you will be home back in Iwagakure and we would have become the best of friends!"

Kurotsuchi scoffs at the words and glares at him once more. "As if I would become friends with a ninja like you. Konoha scum, Crimson scum. It makes my skin crawl," she barked out. She even attempted to kick Kotaro, but ultimately failed since she was heavily tied up. A chakra sealing tag also prevented her from utilising her full power of the Lava release.

Having enough of this, Naruto lightly punched Kotaro's leg, making the latter look to him. "Nii-chan, stop making her mad. It's only going to bite you in the ass later on," he said. "You don't need any more trouble, especially after what we talked about yesterday."

Kotaro saw the seriousness and worry behind Naruto's eyes, he could even hear it in the words. It was strange, but he knew it was the deep potential within Naruto to become a great leader.

"You're right," Kotaro said. "I'll be nice to her from now on Naruto."

Kurotsuchi looked between the two Uzumaki with keen eyes. "Nii-chan?" she repeated until she finally gasped the situation. "You two are brothers!? I'm going to kill you both with my bare hands if I need to. Embarrassing me like this, I'll be the laughing stock of my village," she threatened, she ended it with a long growl.

Kotaro sighed and lightly ruffled her hair. "Don't think like that. You're not going to be an embarrassment. You're granddaughter of the Tsuchikage for Goodness sake. Ōnoki and Kitsuchi would seriously go out of their way to try to kill me at every turn if I don't return you to Iwagakure… untouched," he said. "You're lucky that we're not like some people, like in those mass gang organisations. I know what they do to captives. A vile act that scars a man or woman for life."

Kurotsuchi started to shiver from the inclination. She full well knew what Kotaro was implying.

Naruto felt uncomfortable when the words were said. The memories of the Wave mission came back to him when one of Gatō's henchman, Waraji, threatened to do the same to Tsunami.

"But I won't let that happen to you. I'll make sure that you and the other three are the most protected individuals in the world until we reach Kannabi bridge. We might have a few threats try to intersect us on the way there, but with myself and these guys, they'll be a piece of cake," Kotaro said.

"Nii-chan," Naruto said, raising his fist out to him. "Good luck on your mission."

Kotaro smiled and fist bumped Naruto. "You too Naruto. Make sure not to get killed," he said. Kotaro then picked up Kurotsuchi's bindings and then put her on his back. He then tied one rope around his waist and hers, so she wouldn't fly off. "This is awkward but good enough. Alright you guys, let's fly," he ordered.

"Understood," Genma, Raidō and Iwashi all said.

All four Jōnin with their own hostage jumped out and into the forest, leaving the village and moving in the direction of North West.

Jiraiya hummed at the spot the Jōnin left. "It's astounding how much respect they have for someone who only came three years ago. It reminds me of the time after I got the status of being a 'legendary member of the Sannin', those were good days," he said, with a wistful smile plastered on his face.

Naruto popped to his side. "What are you talking about Ero-sennin?" he asked with his own smile. "You look really happy," he said.

Jiraiya turned to look at Naruto properly, and then ruffled Naruto's hair. "That's cause I am. The village treated us like royalty after we returned from our fight with Hanzō. Becoming S-ranked shinobi in skill, power and class. It was just surreal at the time," he said. "Your brother has been a S-ranked shinobi for just over two years now. Even though it has garnered him a lot of fame and respect. It has destroyed his reputation here with the recent events of the Iwa attack."

Naruto nodded sadly as it was completely true. "I don't understand it," he said. "In the past, they didn't mind him. Some actually liked him, of course some didn't like him because of me. But now everyone hates him."

"Well, not everyone," Jiraiya said. "You love him with all your heart, right?

Naruto got out of his downpour and smiled brightly. "Yeah, I love my Nii-chan!" he said.

"That's the spirit," Jiraiya said with a lewd grin growing. "Now, can you tell me any of his dirty secrets for some of my research?" he asked.

Naruto stepped back with his eyes widened. His disgust was written all over his face. "Ero-sennin, just no," he said. "Let's get on our way and find this old hag. And since you asked for Nii-chan's secrets behind his back. You owe me a new jutsu ttebayo," he shouted as he made his way out of Konoha through the main gates.

Jiraiya clicked his tongue and crossed his arms in a sulk. Following in the footsteps of the cheeky blond, Jiraiya sighed heavily. "Damn brat doesn't know his place. Owe you a jutsu? Get your head out of your ass Naruto," he muttered under his breath.

Naruto waved at Jiraiya in the distance. "Come on Ero-sennin. She might get away from us if we don't hurry," he said loudly.

Jiraiya grumbled to himself before exhaling and putting on a huge smile. "Of course, Naruto. My wonderful apprentice. Let's go to the Onsen town nearby first."

Outside Konoha Territory, Land of Fire

The forest was quiet. It has been some time since Jiraiya has left Naruto to his own musings. The man went into the Onsen town to "gather information" for the search for the Hokage candidate, Senju Tsunade.

Naruto, already tried and failed on his attempt to find any source of knowledge on her whereabouts, went into the nearby forest to get some alone time.

It was already the middle of July, the sun was beating down hard across the lands and many plants were bearing their fruits. The birds were singing, and the fish were jumping out of the water.

Naruto was ignoring everything around him. His eyes were staring down to the ground. In front of him were two opened scrolls. One was filled with text, from the top to the bottom, nothing but writing with small diagrams.

The scroll was about chakra theory and chakra control for advanced levels. It was a scroll recommended to Jōnin or ninja training in the arts of healing. Naruto wanted to improve this skill even further than he currently was. Even though he has amazing reserves of chakra within him, there's nothing but benefits if he can improve his chakra control even further.

First, he had to learn and understand how these things work with the exercises listed in the scroll. He was sure if he did this, his results would be exponentially better. However, reading was a bore.

The other scroll was a detailed map of the Land of Fire.

The map included the different regions and the major towns within those regions, by in large it included every important location in the Land of Fire.

As of that moment, Naruto and Jiraiya were at Gero Onsen, a hot spring town south of the Capital, North of Konoha.

Looking at the map, Naruto saw that in the Himeji region in the north west section of the Land of Fire, it was mainly consisted of farm towns. Such farm towns that provided a large bulk of arable goods for many across the country.

The only notable location was the only major town in the Himeji region. Tanzaku Gai, the large mini-city was a haven for gambling and beautiful women. It was a popular tourist spot for its large and impressive castle complex. It would need a large and strong army of brave men to take it down. That, or a horrifying beast of massive size.

The only reason why he vividly remembered that name and all his focus was on its location was because of the bartender in the Land of Waves he talked to when he was trying to gather information about Gatō and Spades. He remembered he lied to the bartender, so he could spill the beans on the location of Spades. He only heard of the town by name but didn't know what or where it actually was.

Having enough of his study session, Naruto leaned back against the tree he was sitting beside and looked across the forest. It was only him and the animals. It was so serene, so peaceful.

'When is Ero-sennin coming back?' Naruto thought while chewing his lower lip. 'He better have not got himself trapped with big boobed bimbo like he did a month ago. She swindled all the money he stole from Gama-chan. I'm glad I sealed Gama-chan up, so he couldn't do it again. It's my hard earned cash!'

There was quiet ruffling close by to Naruto's spot. Naruto focused on the source of the noise, assuming it to be an animal. However, the sound of the footsteps were odd. Not like an animals at all.

Naruto quickly took out his kunai and threw it at the tree closest to the source of the noise. It flew through the air with ease.

It dug itself into the bark of the tree. The loud noise made the singing birds stop and fly away in swarms. The wonderful scene has come to an end.

"Who's there?" Naruto said loudly, making himself known. His hands started to form into the cross hand seal by instinct. If things came to the worst case scenario, he was going to ditch his resting spot and runaway, leaving a shadow clone in his place.

A hand emerged from the trees and grabbed the kunai.

Naruto looked at the hand, and then the body once the person revealed themselves. Naruto sighed and stood up, dusting his bum in the motions. "Ero-sennin, we were supposed to meet up an hour ago," Naruto complained, glaring at Jiraiya. "It's already three o'clock!"

Jiraiya laughed after he let out belch. "Sorry there Naruto," he said. "Just was… yeah I was gathering information. Doesn't look like you had any luck either."

Naruto crossed his arms and shook his head sluggishly. "Nothing. I got absolutely nothing. But what could I do? All you told me was that she was a good looking woman, she has big boobs and blonde hair. I don't think many people would be able to help with just that," he said. "In the next town, give me something more to work with."

Jiraiya yawned. His afternoon drinking has made him a bit tired. He wouldn't mind going for a nap right now, but he needed to find her before it was too late.

Danzō was already gunning down for the position and Jiraiya was convinced it would take a couple of miracles to make Kakashi Hokage instead. Jiraiya knew Konoha would be in an even worse place if that man became their leader. Not only do most of the ninja don't trust him, but neither does the rest of the world.

"Well I don't what else could help you," Jiraiya said. "She only stays in places that are known for their gambling. She has a nickname because of it."

"Oh?" Naruto said, coming closer to the man with his interest peaked. "What's this nickname then Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya laughed and slapped Naruto's shoulder once the boy was close enough. "Well, Tsunade has terrible luck. Always had and always will until the day she dies. Since she keeps losing in her gambling, she has to borrow money from all sorts of people. And guess what!? She never pays them back. So, because of this, he fame has spread across the Mainland. She's known as the Legendary Sucker," he said with a lewd smile. "I just wish she would put her skills to other uses hehe."

Naruto frowned once he saw Jiraiya whip out his notebook and lashed down his ideas onto the paper. It was insane how quickly the man was writing. Every passing second, his tongue would stick out further and further with his cheeks growing to a bright red. It was a horrifying image.

"Legendary Sucker huh?" Naruto repeated. "I heard that name way too many times."

And finally, the cherry on top. The infamous 'Legendary sucker' has escaped her money collectors yet again. That has been going on for years, yet I keep getting news on it. Makes me laugh.

She's here! The Legendary Sucker? Lucky for her that she doesn't owe me money, but it's nice to know the woman has a fine taste in dining.

The words of the Spades and Niko were heard from his memories. It seemed that Tsunade wasn't doing the best job from keeping herself hidden. Especially if she was casually dining in one of the Capital's restaurants.

It all clicked for Naruto, and he then grinned like a madman off his knocker.

Jiraiya noticed the shift in emotion and expression. He focused his eyes on Naruto, slightly furrowing his brows before talking. His curiosity has been peaked.

"What's that look on your face for?" Jiraiya asked, crossing his arms while leaning on a nearby tree for support.

Naruto stood up and waved Jiraiya off. "Just that I know what we should do next. But… I don't want to do it," he said wistfully.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes with a heavy sigh. Naruto wanted something, and he knew from experience that a bowl of ramen wasn't going to cut it. Well, not anymore at least.

"Naruto. What do you want?" Jiraiya asked. "The longer we mess around here, the more likely she will get away from us."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "You know, I want a jutsu that is better than Sasuke and Kakashi's Chidori. If I'm going to be the best Hokage, I'm going to need to have some of the strongest jutsu to back myself up with," he said.

Jiraiya exhaled heavily through his nose and then reached into one of his pouches. "I didn't think I would be teaching this to you so soon. You might be a bit young for it. But, Kakashi did develop his jutsu at the same age as you. And your fellow student Sasuke has a good grasp on it as well. Alright, I'll teach you the ultimate technique that will put the Chidori to shame," he said as he moved his way to the river.

Naruto's eyes widened after he heard the words. His heart started to beat faster, his excitement grew tenfold.

"What is it then!?" Naruto asked with shaking, clenched fists.

Jiraiya wagged his finger and pulled out something from his pouch, his hand kept it hidden. He then dipped his hands in the water, staying there while his eyes kept to the waters. He whistled to pass the time. The tune was cheerful.

Jiraiya eventually stood up and had two water balloons in his hands. He walked over to Naruto and threw one of them to him.

Naruto caught it and looked down to it with scrutinizing eyes. "What's this for ttebayo?" he asked with a hint of a bite.

Jiraiya laughed heartedly, his chest expanded from his large intakes of air. "Just wait and prepare yourself before your mind is blown," he said with a smile.

With his right hand, Jiraiya focused his chakra, he kept his eyes on the tree in front of him, staring down at one spot.

Naruto's eyes were shocked once he saw a blue ball of chakra form and then expand until it was the same size as the balloons Jiraiya just filled. He then thrusted the ball of chakra forward, his smile never faded.

The bark started to shred with the rotation of the ball of chakra. A complete blitz of wood sprayed in all directions, the spray followed a clockwise rotation.

Digging into the thick tree, Jiraiya stopped his thrusting and looked to Naruto. "Now let's go to the deep end!" he said with too much excitement.

Jiraiya thrusted the ball of chakra forward with more force then before, and just at the end, he turned his wrist, making the ball completely destroy the tree.

"What the hell...?" Naruto murmured. His breath was taken away. The ball of rotating chakra was just that memorising. He has never seen anything like it before.

Jiraiya moved his hand and showed off the ball of chakra to Naruto. If his face suggested anything, it was that he was chuffed with himself in impressing the young ninja.

"Do you like it?" Jiraiya said. "It's called the Rasengan. The Yondaime Hokage created this jutsu. It is certainly better than that flashy Chidori."

"Oh?" Naruto said, his eyes were darting all around Jiraiya's Rasengan. "I love it. Teach me it!"

Jiraiya released the Rasengan and it disappeared. "Alright. Naruto, to do this jutsu, you will need to master three main steps. Let's just start with the first one, rotation. It sounds simple, believe me I know, but damn it's hard to grasp at first. However, it is the easiest of the three stages and should take the least amount of time," he said.

Naruto nodded with glee. He was getting more and more eager. There was however a question on his mind.

"How much harder are the other steps compared to this one?" Naruto asked. "It can't be that much harder, right Ero-sennin? Sasuke learnt the Chidori in less than four weeks."

Jiraiya shook his head with the look of disappointment on his face. "It doesn't matter how long it took Sasuke to learn the Chidori. This is a different jutsu. The Yondaime took three years to create this jutsu. Kakashi made his in less than a year. Now, watch me."

Jiraiya showed his water balloon which was in his left hand. The balloon went ballistic, forming bumps all around.

POP!

"Woah… What did you do?" Naruto asked. "One second it was fine and then BANG! It's gone," he said.

Jiraiya bit his lower lip before he asked his question. "Were you even watching? You should have some idea on what to do," he said.

Naruto gasped, and then instantly growled. "Not all this again Ero-sennin! When we were training, you would say something after the beating the life outta me in our spar, then go off and treat yourself to some bimbo woman," he said. "Come on, teach me one-on-one!"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Idiot. Figuring it out is part of the puzzle, but let me check one thing," he said before he grabbed Naruto's head and looked at it from a bird's eye view.

"AH! What the hell are you doing!?" Naruto shouted out. "That's my hair!"

Jiraiya released Naruto after humming to himself contently. "Your hair grows in a clockwise direction. When you practice, think like the clock turning from six to twelve. That should help you out," he said.

Naruto placed his balloon on his right palm and gripped it with careful fingers. He breathed in and out until his body has calmed down. He focused his chakra in his right hand. The balloon started to stretch, the water inside started to swirl. Yet, there was no sign of any damage whatsoever.

Naruto stopped and looked at Jiraiya with sad eyes. "Any tips Ero-sennin?" he asked.

Jiraiya shook his head. "I already said that you need to figure this out by yourself. Now, what was this thing that we should do next?" he asked.

Naruto played with his water balloon while looking at Jiraiya in the eyes. "We should go to the Capital. I heard that the 'Legendary Sucker' was eating there when we were training. We could find out where she went to next since there's a few casinos there," he said.

Jiraiya looked surprised as his brows were high up on his face. "The Capital? When were you there?"

Naruto scoffed. "You remember your damn trials Ero-sennin? I had to go there to find where you went," he said hastily.

Jiraiya laughed and nodded happily. "Oh yeah. You a very smart kid Naruto," he said. Jiraiya turned his body to the North and squinted his eyes. "We really ran hard and covered lots of ground when we left Konoha to get to Gero Onsen. The Capital's south gate should only be a three hour journey if we walk fast."

"It felt longer when we camped south of that forest a month ago," Naruto said.

Jiraiya nodded. "Well, it shouldn't be a surprise Naruto, but you have gotten faster since then. Now, shall we go," he said. "You can practice the first step along the way. But it's not like you will complete it anytime soon."

Naruto stared intently at his balloon. He then exhaled heavily and grinned to himself. "We'll see about that…Ero-sennin."

Capital of the Land of Fire, Southern District

Maiden's Entrance

Taking the longer route was always annoying. It meant you had to walk a further distance, and in the end, you feel more fatigued. However, in this case, Naruto was thankful for it.

Himself and Jiraiya were walking down the path that lead to the Southern District of the Capital. Naruto could already see in the distance the large engravings that surrounding the colossal gates. A beautiful woman that was famous in the City's history, it was believed she was the first to have the gardens on the roofs of buildings and encouraging others to join her, thus making the city grow large and strong. The rest was history.

Naruto moved his eyes back to the balloon on his right hand. He's been building up a sweat from all the focused work he has put in. At some points on their long journey, Naruto just wanted to throw the water balloon at the back of Jiraiya's head for giving him such a difficult task yet not giving him a good hint.

"Still having difficulty?" the voice of Jiraiya asked. "You better get rid of that balloon before we go inside the Capital. We need to put all of our energy into finding anything about Tsunade and her location."

Naruto huffed. "No. I need to pop this first!" he said. "It's been laughing in my face for the last four hours."

Jiraiya sighed. "We're arriving an hour later then we should be. If you actually walked faster, we would have been here earlier!" he complained.

Naruto ignored Jiraiya and put all his focus to the water balloon.

'Calm down Naruto. You can do this. What am I doing wrong?' he thought when he watched the balloon expand. The water was only rotating in one direction. Naruto was using his chakra to rotate it clockwise, yet it yielded no results. 'Maybe I would have better luck with the other way? Like the chakra leaf exercise Nii-chan made me do.'

Naruto felt the water in a clockwise fashion. He then focused on his chakra and changed its direction.

It was only for a moment, but the balloon had bumps appear over most its body before it resumed back to its original shape. Naruto gasped and stopped walking, making Jiraiya notice.

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, "is there something wrong?" he asked quickly.

Naruto didn't answer and smiled. 'I have to make the water collide with each other. This will be hard, but if I can make my chakra move the water in all sorts of individual different directions, it should do something right!' he thought, his tongue sticking out.

Naruto focused on his chakra once more and imagined the chakra going in different arcs within the balloon, all staying in the same sphere.

Jiraiya watched carefully on what Naruto was doing. He could see that Naruto had put all of his attention just for this.

The balloon started to move erratically to Jiraiya's surprise. It suddenly grew bumps, going in and out. Something was about to happen.

POP!

Jiraiya was speechless. As he watched the water drip from Naruto's hands, his eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"AH!" Jiraiya shouted out. "How did you do it so quickly!? That was only four hours, it should have taken you days to figure it out."

Naruto smiled and then clenched his fist. "Sweet! I did it. And I did it before we got to the Capital. Damn, I'm great. I can already hear it. Uzumaki Naruto-sama, the greatest Hokage ever to reign. Master of all ninja skills and a fierce summoner of the Toads," he said in an eccentric fashion, ending his little speech with a pose. It was somewhat similar to his companion's.

Jiraiya sighed and covered his face from embarrassment. "What the hell are you doing Naruto? People are staring at you," he said.

Naruto laughed and then pointed his finger at Jiraiya. "This is the same thing you did to me when we were in the hospital ttebayo. Don't think I just learnt this outta nowhere," he said. "Now, Ero-sennin, what's the next stage?"

Jiraiya sighed and placed his hand back into his pouch of goodies. He then took out two tough rubber balls. He threw one to Naruto and placed the other in his right hand.

"Step one was rotation. That's now complete. But the Rasengan needs to have some power behind it if it wants to be considered a strong jutsu. This is what step two is. Power. You will repeat step one, but you have to try and pop these tougher balls. It should be at least a hundred times harder than the balloon," Jiraiya told him.

Jiraiya exhaled and focused his chakra again in his right hand. The rubber ball started to vibrate sporadically.

BANG!

"Damn, that thing is loud," Naruto said when he covered his ears. "Does it always make that noise?" he asked.

Jiraiya chuckled and wiped the bottom of his nose. "Yeah, but it's not like you won't hear it anytime soon Naruto. Put that thing in your pocket and let's go inside the city," he said, moving forward while pulling on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto slapped Jiraiya's hand away and the two moved quickly into the Capital. Going through Maiden's gate, they were now on Ginkaku street which lead to the Ivory Market Plaza.

The two stopped before the plaza and saw the traders pack away their produce. Naruto looked up to Jiraiya with a question on his mind.

"What should we do now?" Naruto asked. "You decide Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya placed his hand on the bottom of his chin and thought about it for a few mere seconds. He then clicked his fingers loudly.

"We split up. It's seven o'clock right now. Let's say we will meet up around ten o'clock outside the Central Guard Tower. Just look and ask around about anything to do with Tsunade or the 'Legendary Sucker'. This city is a great of hub of information, I'm sure we'll find something out," he said.

Naruto nodded and gave Jiraiya two thumbs up. "Understood Ero-sennin, I'll do my best," he said.

Jiraiya lightly laughed and ruffled Naruto's hair lightly. "You're actually a good student when you want to be," he said.

Jiraiya then reached into his back pouch and took out a piece of paper with seal markings and a thousand ryō note. "You haven't eaten since your breakfast. So, get some food and take a break. That piece of paper has a few more of those rubber balls if you lose that one or take a break from information gathering. Now, I'll stay here in the south and check out the Northern district later on. You check out the Eastern and Western Districts," he said.

Naruto walked towards the centre of the Capital and waved off Jiraiya. "Cool. I'll meet you at that Guard Tower at ten for sure. Bye Ero-sennin, don't get drunk or lose yourself to a pretty lady ttebayo," he shouted out as began to run ahead.

Naruto giggled as he could hear the fuming moans off Jiraiya. Naruto already knew where he was going. He had to go to the only woman who he knew well that lived in this ginormous city, Niko.

Naruto weaved through the crowds and was heading towards the Western District. All he remembered was that she owned a very posh restaurant close to the 'Core'. So, for starters, Naruto decided to head in the direction of the Daimyō's palace.

Naruto wished he could jump onto the high rooftops of the buildings around him. The people were in his way, as well as the fact that it would only lead Naruto into trouble if he used his chakra to enhance his speed to run through the roads. The people around him were only used to the royal guard and the samurai.

They don't utilise chakra to increase their speeds. Naruto heard a rumour in the past that a random Konoha ninja received a fine because he used his chakra in such fashion. He certainly didn't want to pay money for something he could spend on ramen.

Naruto just moved through the crowds as fast as he could. He ran through back streets and crossed a bridge joining the two districts.

After some time, he eventually made it to the centre of the Western District. Thankfully, the number of pedestrians were far lower. The only problem was that there were more samurai guards patrolling around the streets.

It made sense since it was the richest of the four districts, but Naruto didn't want their eyes all over him. Konoha ninja were always targets for the samurai guards to watch.

Naruto walked through the streets with his hands in his pockets, his right cradling the rubber ball that resided deep within. His eyes were peeled to find that mysterious restaurant.

The cool breeze brushed his skin as he turned a corner on the streets. His mood dropped when he didn't see anything to do with Niko. He even half expected to run into her guards of Toroi and Yuuto. They seemed like strong men in Naruto's eyes.

The sunset was coming, as it always did at this time of the day. The sky bleed red and orange. Everything was covered in dark colours. Naruto could feel the warmth from the evening sun, it was simply wonderful as he walked down the stone paths. It was the only thing keeping him happy now. The achievement of completing step one of the Rasengan passed fairly quickly once the task at hand initiated.

Naruto turned yet another corner. His eyes scanned his surroundings. "Is that it?" he asked himself. He walked closer to a restaurant, which its walls were partially covered in ivy. He noticed red lights come over the sign which hung over the wall. The restaurant's name was 'The Deck'.

Naruto shifted his eyes to the wall close to the door. There was a menu posted on the white and black brickwork. Naruto's eyes went straight to the appetizers, looking for one particular dish.

Naruto grinned like a madman. "Two and a half thousand ryō just for some chowder. It was some good chowder though. This is the place then," he said.

The luxury restaurant was filled with guests. The smell of food was prominent in the air. The regular menu items were available, but it seemed a special belly pork dish was the special today. Naruto found it odd that such a cheap cut of meat would be the star dish. However, he could smell the pork in the air. It was also his favourite filling for his ramen, he could sniff it out better than any Inuzuka sniffing hound.

Naruto walked in swiftly and went straight to the reception's desk. There, he saw the manager that he particularly disliked on their first meeting. The man had no respect for him whatsoever. He could tell.

Naruto's hand hovered over the service bell, it was time.

DING! DING!

"Booking a reservation? I'm sorry to disappoint but the next booking won't be until in two weeks' time on the Monday," the manager said, he then turned his head and looked down to Naruto. His face immediately soured. "Oh, it's you."

Naruto sighed with a hint of annoyance. But he liked Niko a lot, he thought she was cool and funny.

She was a woman who has her best interests in for Kotaro, for whatever reason. He honestly didn't care, it actually made him happy. The Uzumaki brothers were going through a rough patch and they need every friend they could get.

Therefore, there was no way in hell that Naruto was going to do anything whatsoever to screw up her business.

"Yo," Naruto said. "I'm looking for Niko-neechan. I'm wondering if you can help me. Has she been around here today?" he asked.

The man exhaled loudly through his nose. His eyes were squinted, aiming directly at Naruto. "The fair lady, Niko-sama, isn't here right now. Go to the park across the street and play with the dirt or do something. I don't know what kids these days do for fun anyway," he said.

Naruto resisted the urge to break this man's jaw with a slap, so he held back his tongue. Instead, he clenched his fist hard.

"I was only asking. Do you have any idea where she could be?" Naruto asked. "It's really important."

The manager shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't give a damn about your problems. I have to put all my focus on tonight's service. And you're holding me back. Scram before I call the guards," he threatened.

Naruto stepped back and turned his way to the door. "Thanks a lot asshole," Naruto cursed with his tongue sticking out, his middle finger pointing straight up at him. Something you wouldn't normally see with a young and courteous boy like Naruto, but this man already pushed him to his limits.

Naruto left the restaurant and went to the park the manager mentioned. He took out his rubber ball and sighed depressingly.

"She better come so I can find out about that old hag. Or else Ero-sennin might take Gama-chan away again. That asshole manager, I hope he gets what he deserves soon," Naruto spat out.

Naruto then calmed himself and looked down to the rubber ball. "I'll practice this power thing for a bit. Then I'll look for some ramen at the ramen bar I went to last time. Hopefully by then, Niko-nee would have come here. She's my best bet."

Land of Fire, Deep Forest

The time was half past eight in the evening. The Hostage Transport team were in deep forest land. Everywhere you looked was green and brown. Only some slits of orange light pierced between the trees. It was warm, scenic even.

The members of the Hostage team were watching over their own individual hostage to make sure none of them had a premature escape.

Genma had made a small camp fire and the team made small dinners for everyone. They couldn't make too much food or else the entire population of forest would be able to sniff them out. They also had to create a small fire. Minimising the smoke output made sure they were in safer conditions.

As soon as the meals were made, both Genma and Raidō killed the fire before they took their dishes to feed themselves and the Iwa hostages.

Making his way to his hostage, Kotaro had two bowls filled with the hot food. A simple dish of chicken scraps, beans and rice. It looked unpleasant.

Kotaro made his way to a large tree and he sat down on a fallen trunk. In front of him was Kurotsuchi sitting upright against the tree. Still tied up in ninja wire. She couldn't do a thing to escape. Even if she did, her chakra was suppressed by such a large margin that one jutsu could make her collapse to the ground, where she would be tied up again. God, she hated where she was right now.

Kotaro took a spoonful of his meal, as he chewed his food, his face began to sour up. Swallowing, he wiped his mouth with a frown.

"Raidō obviously heard nothing about seasoning. This is so bland," Kotaro said quietly with despair. "Grr..."

Kotaro then placed his bowl beside him and grabbed the other with its spoon. He took a spoonful and moved the spoon towards Kurotsuchi's mouth.

"Open wide Pebble-chan," he said. "My friend made us some food. You better eat up."

Kurotsuchi turned her mouth away whilst her eyes glared at Kotaro. "I don't want this crap," she said with a hiss. She then used her head to knock the food out of the spoon. Sadly, all of it fell on the ground.

Kotaro brought back the spoon and tapped it on the edge of the metal bowl. The noise was sharp, loud to the ears.

"You should eat some," Kotaro said, the fun in his voice had vanished. "I don't want you to get hungry."

Kurotsuchi laughed to herself. "As if you actually care about me. No, you don't at all. I attacked your village, you probably want to kill me right now," she said. "Am I right?"

Kotaro shook his head and took another spoonful of the food. "No. I don't want to kill you in the slightest," he said with a monotoned voice.

Grumble!

Kotaro smiled once he heard Kurotsuchi's belly make some noise. She was hungry, it was obvious. However, he knew from the look from her eyes that she needs some convincing before she eats Raidō's bland food.

"When I was younger. Myself and my Kaa-chan got lost when we were exploring once. This happened years ago, I must have been five or six. But we got separated in this massive cave system. And, we didn't see each other for a week. I went into one area and she went to another. There was no food, we were starving. It never occurred to either of us to stay in one place or wait until the other founds us. Instead, we were idiots and wasted energy, we never stopped to think.

The only things to eat in that pitch-black cave were these insects that tasted like crap. I couldn't eat more than one at a time, they were that bad.

Eventually, we found each other and then left that blasted cave. We never got the herb that Kaa-chan was looking for. We lost a lot of weight in that one week. Our stomachs roared and roared for any food, good or bad. It was just a space that needed to be filled.

I made sure that Kaa-chan ate plenty once we made it to the nearby town. As you know, men can survive with a lower level of bodyfat. I didn't know that as a kid, but I wanted her to be healthy. Plus... before that she went through something no mother ever wants to go through. No mother should ever go through."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kurotsuchi asked. "What you said was really... personal."

Kotaro scratched his cheek with his free hand. "Well... I don't like the fact that you won't let me feed you, that's all. Maybe if we got to know each other better, you won't be so stubborn," he said. "So? Are you still not going to eat this fresh meal?"

Grumble!

Kurotsuchi sighed and then nodded. "Fine," she said. Opening her mouth, she waited for her bite.

Kotaro spoon-fed the Iwa girl with a smile. Kurotsuchi chewed on the food and swallowed it quickly.

"Tasteless and gritty, but it's better than nothing I suppose," Kurotsuchi said with narrowed eyes. "Come on. Feed me the rest. I'm sure your Kaa-chan is proud of you."

Kotaro lightly laughed. "I hope she is. She's dead."

The conversation died. Kurotsuchi didn't want to talk now since she opened up an old wound. She could tell from the shift in his eyes. The nostalgic shine they had disappeared and now they were dull. She opened her mouth to receive her next spoonful, just hoping that the awkwardness will end after her dinner.

As the bowl's contents emptied quickly. Kotaro used a napkin to clean up Kurotsuchi's mouth before throwing it in the bowl. It will be cleaned later. He stood up and looked down to her.

"I'll be back with a blanket. I have to keep you warm for the night," Kotaro said, his body changing direction to the centre of the camp.

"I'm a disappointment to my village. Me a Jōnin, taken out by a mere Genin," Kurotsuchi said.

Kotaro turned to see her face. Her eyes were growing puffy, the pink irises were shining in the evening sun.

Kotaro chuckled, making her look up to him. "I wouldn't say that now. Imagine how worried Kitsuchi is over you. I wouldn't be surprised if he cries himself to bed every night ever since he found out about your situation. Don't forget, one of Konoha's prodigies was kidnapped as well. Sasuke already has the strength to be a great Chūnin. Has the potential to be a fantastic Jōnin very soon. With that and Konoha's condition, you're not the only one who should feel embarrassed," he said.

Kotaro heard Kurotsuchi giggle for the first time. It was strange to hear. Such a fierce and brash girl. Who would have thought she could make such an adorable noise?

"Tou-san would never cry. I've never seen him cry in my whole life. I just hope he doesn't think I'm a weak kunoichi," Kurotsuchi admitted.

Kotaro turned back to Kurotsuchi and knelt in front of her. "Let me tell you something straight. If this was any other situation, I would kill you. Not out of malice or hate. Not because I'm still angry at your village for attacking me all those years ago or what you guys did to Konoha. No, it's because you are a threat.

You are an extraordinarily strong kunoichi. Never forget that, Pebble-chan!" he said. Kotaro had to jump back quickly before Kurotsuchi tried to headbutt him. The man had learnt that she would resort to violence, it was all part of his plan.

Kurotsuchi went back to resting on her tree, and there was a small smile on her face. "Thanks for saying that," she said.

Kotaro gave her a thumbs up and went back to the camp. "We're still a bit away from Kannabi bridge. I wonder how those two are holding up?"

Unknown Location, Konoha, ROOT Headquarters

Sitting on his mat in peace, Danzō was deep within his thoughts. The results from the previous meeting in the Konoha Courts stirred up trouble. It was good, but clearly not good enough.

Hoping to trigger the emotional bomb that was Uzumaki Kotaro, he wanted to see the elder Uzumaki go in a complete outrage, causing a scene. Destroying the village and potentially harming the people.

That would've been a chance to kill the young man. A chance to move forward with his master plan.

Not many things unsettle Shimura Danzō, but he does. He, and the younger brother. Both are heathens that need to be taken care of. Bringing Senju Tsunade into Konoha, a woman who would take their side over his would cause even more problems.

Danzō needs the problem taken care of. And of course, it needs to be done as soon as possible, in a quick and efficient manner. Like he would.

"Fū. Torune," Danzō called out into the large and cold open space.

Two figures draped in cloaks appeared in front of their leader, their faces covered with porcelain masks.

"What is your request Danzō-sama?" they both said together.

Exhaling heavily, Danzō tightened both his grip and his sight. Looking down to his subjects he said.

"It is time to begin Operation: Konoha's Rebirth. Mission objective is to neutralise Uzumaki Kotaro and disrupt the escort team's mission, make sure the girl doesn't go back to her village, the others are expendable. Do so by any means, failure is not an option. I will send out multiple squads to assist. Sacrifices are to be made for Konoha, and this is no different."

Fū and Torune nodded and vanished from their spots. Their master did not like them wasting time.

The hunt was now on.

~ 0 ~