Another chapter is here!

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"Sensei, you got that mission for Naruto?" Jiraiya asked as he entered the Hokage's Office.

"Yes, I have it here," Hiruzen Sarutobi said as he finished looking over the mission requirements for the scroll in his hand before rolling it back up and handing it off to his disciple. "It should keep him occupied until you get back and the two accompanying him are seasoned Chuunin as well. Not that I'm expecting trouble, but one can never be too careful."

The mission itself was a simple one, a standard mission from the Land of Honey to help cull the numbers of honey badgers. The normally small creatures were known for their attitude and viciousness and resilience, but in the Land of Honey the long-lived ones often grew to a much larger size than typical, with some of them being as large as bears. Between a hide resistant to blades, a fierce attitude, and limbs large enough to crush bone with a swing, these larger ones often necessitated being eliminated before they could plunder the hives or harm the local population.

That being said, normally only a couple would come out from hiding every year. This year was an exception. There had been at least a dozen sightings and ten casualties, not to mention the number of beehives that got cleaned out by them could damage their economy in the long-term if not stopped.

"Thanks," Jiraiya said, slipping it into a pocket. Then he noticed the weary look on the elderly shinobi's face. "What's wrong? Not sleeping?"

"There was a minor skirmish with shinobi from Stone by the border that was repelled," he said. "I believe they were prying to see if it was possible to take advantage of recent events. All-in-all, it's nothing too major or unsurprising from Onoki, but I'm hoping he won't press this further. "

Jiraiya found himself frowning pensively at that. It wasn't unexpected, but with the issue of dealing with Sand and the fallout of Sound could spread their forces thin from a military perspective. "Do you think that it'll cause problems later on?"

"Onoki is no fool," Hiruzen said. "As long as the Leaf remains strong and the matter with Sand is dealt with quickly, he will not push his luck. After all, a prolonged conflict will only serve to leave his own borders open to an assault given the past grievances the other villages have with his own. "

Their reputation among the major Hidden Villages was well-earned for a reason after all. Virtually every alliance that they'd had turned sour as they backstabbed one village after another to the extent that should a war break out, they'd have enemies attacking them on every side. Then again Cloud was no better things, and the only reason Mist was less of a factor was because they were across sea and had more ground to cover if they wanted to attempt something.

And that was only covering the major villages, not the minor ones like with Sound had proven. It only served as another reminder that, despite this supposing to be a time of peace, every nation was just looking for an opening…

Then again, was the Leaf better than them by a large margin? He'd done things that he wasn't proud of in the past. Things that wouldn't wash away no matter how much time passed. Just about every shinobi involved in warfare had, building grudges that would carry on—a hero in one village was dreaded in the other.

He hated it. Jiraiya hated that from the perspective of a Hidden Village, every other village was an enemy in the grand scheme of things. Even while things were considerably better than they were in the past, they were still far off from a world of peace. Still, he had hope that, by the time he was as old as his sensei, they would make some more headway.

Pushing that aside, Jiraiya turned his attention to a more cheerful topic. "Then that just leaves the subject of the masks that are in the Sealing R & D's possession."

"Yes yes. I've already discussed that with the necessary parties," he grumbled. "You have made Miss Tsuda a very happy woman, for the record. She's looking forward to learning of what capabilities the rest of the masks have, as well as their origins if possible."

That woman was occasionally far more enthusiastic than even Jiraiya was comfortable with, but she was the most qualified for the task. It's a shame that none of Kushina's sealing ciphers or primers had survived the destruction of their home during the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage. She'd probably be a sealing master herself in due time, at least academically speaking. Practical use was a different story, and she seemed to prefer studying lost arts to recreate them rather than combat use.

"Then I'll go give this to Naruto and be on my way to Sand," Jiraiya said. "That way we can sort this mess out once and for all. Hang tight until then."

"Be quick, Jiraiya."

Leaving the office after bidding his mentor farewell, he made headway to Naruto's apartment and knocked on the door. When the boy answered, Jiraiya noticed Naruto looked a bit slack with his eyes slightly droopy and he had a bandage on his head. "Now why do you look so tired? You're normally all-but bouncing around."

"I tried to do what we practiced with Yang chakra and spent all night working on it…" Naruto covered his mouth as he yawned. "It's really tiring since it uses a lot of stamina and takes a bit of time to boost myself up to it, plus I kind of overshot and hit a tree because I wasn't used to the sudden shift. It's a lot different from when I use the fox."

"That's probably because you're relying on your own chakra and instincts while its chakra carries its influence and instincts. But if you get it down properly, it'll make you a lot faster and stronger without relying solely on the fox." He pulled out and handed over the mission scroll for him to take. "Anyway, here's a mission from the Old Man. You leave out tomorrow for the Land of Honey."

"Awesome!" Naruto said with a bright grin, even before he opened the scroll. "My second mission as a Chuunin. I bet it's something like infiltrating a hideout or something like that."

"It's nothing like that. You've still got less than a year under your belt, and outside of wartime we leave that sort of thing to more experienced candidates." Jiraiya then proceeded to give the overview of the mission in question, rehashing the discussion that he had with the Old Man. "So it's not all that hard, but it gives you a chance to explore outside the village and learn about different types of missions first-hand."

"It sounds simple enough," Naruto said, less enthusiastic than before as he looked over the details. "Still, second mission as a Chuunin. I should buy some souvenirs to bring back for everyone else."

"You can get some gourmet honey snacks there for a decent price if you know where to look," Jiraiya said sagely. "In my travels, I've found that many women appreciate sweets and their honey-soaked lemon slices, honey cake, and honey rice crackers were excellent gifts."

"Sakura-chan and Karin-chan might like those, I think. Not sure about the others though."

"You got everything you need already?" Jiraiya asked, getting back on topic. "No need for spare kunai, sealing scrolls, things like that? It's important to be prepared even if the mission is simple."

"Yeah, I got everything." He rolled up the mission scroll and set it down before going over to where his flak jacket was and opening the pouches. "See, I packed them into the scrolls ahead of time since I don't know when I'll be called into action."

Jiraiya took a look at the scrolls in the jacket pockets. Because they were small, the scrolls in question were only able to store a few things in comparison to a larger scroll. Space and volume mattered when it came to the subject of storage, as well as the formula depending on what was to be the contents of the script. You wouldn't use the same formula to store water as you would your equipment.

"I'd suggest not having everything put away in a scroll," Jiraiya advised him after checking over his equipment. "The time it takes for you get them out can be fatal. But other than that, you're good to go."

Then he rose to his feet. He had to be on his way after all. "Once I get back we'll stop by the Sealing R & D and then go out to celebrate your mission success and talk about your father. Do a good job and listen to your seniors on the mission, you might learn something."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto said. "See you when you get back."

[0-0-0]

Sasuke arrived at home later that evening, after training. His mind hurt more than his body, a mental fatigue that made his brain pulse within his skull. It was an unpleasant feeling in a different way than he was used to, and he took poorly to the fact that Kakashi's single eye had managed to get him to do something as outrageous as balancing a scroll on his nose like he was some kind of trained animal.

True to his word, Kakashi had begun teaching him the use of his Sharingan to a greater degree. And he was starting with the use of the Eye of Hypnotism aspect that he utilized on Zabuza, working on the ability to inflict subtle suggestions that can influence an opponent. Or outright control them if the user was skilled enough, as Kakashi had proven.

The eyes acted as a lens in that case, but there was a subtle art to it that didn't come easily to Sasuke as the Eye of Insight aspect did. He would actually rather work on reading techniques and learning to mold his chakra to the appropriate affinity so that he could utilize it, expanding his arsenal to new heights. But Kakashi, the man known to have copied over a thousand techniques, refused on the notion that ironing out the flaws in his suggestibility and shoring up his ability to handle genjutsu would be more important in the long run. Sasuke begrudgingly had to agree with him there—more so after he showed him the photo he took of the previous mentioned balancing act, which Sasuke promptly burned to ashes.

Of course, no matter how hard his head was pounding, he immediately flung a kunai on reflex the moment that he sensed a presence that didn't belong in his home. The sharpened point disappeared with a meaty sound and then a wooden thunk, going through the body and pinning itself into the floorboards beneath it. He turned on the light afterwards to find that it was merely an albino snake, with the kunai having pierced it through the skull for an instant kill.

At least, he thought it was an instant kill before the flesh began to bulge and then slink from the rear towards the wound made by the kunai, where a smaller snake broke through it and then slithered out. It was decidedly creepy, even by his standards. He readied another kunai just for the revulsion factor.

Only the sound of a familiar voice stopped him from throwing it. "I would appreciate it if you didn't slay my relay serpents, Sasuke-kun. They are quite difficult to produce."

"You're Kabuto, aren't you?" he asked, to which the serpent bobbed its head. Sasuke couldn't help but scowl. "What are you doing in my home?"

"My apologies. However, I wished to discreetly contact you and it was the most efficient method that I could use." The serpent's beady red eyes looked him up and down before fixing its gaze on where his seal was located. "I have come to collect you so that we can advance the Cursed Seal that Lord Orochimaru gifted you."

There was a mild pulsing sensation from the Cursed Seal upon hearing that, held in place by the sealing script around it like a ring of thorns turned inwards. Sasuke brought his hand up to it before giving his answer. "I refuse."

Somehow the serpent managed to display what amounted to a surprised expression before composing itself and asking a simple question. "Are you giving up on the power of the Cursed Seal?"

"I have no intention of doing that." After all, he needed every advantage he could get if he was taking out Itachi in the future. The Cursed Seal's power was a secondary source of chakra, a booster that could heighten his physical strength, stamina, reflexes, and more. The battle against Gaara proved that much.

However, two things stopped him from accepting his offer. The first was, as mentioned before he needed to learn to use his eyes properly. "The only one who can teach me to use a Sharingan is someone who has one, and that's Kakashi. No matter what power I gain from the Cursed Seal, it won't replace being able to properly learn how to use the Sharingan from someone who has it. So until I've learned everything that he's capable of teaching me, I won't budge on that."

The second thing was that he didn't trust Kabuto as far as he could throw him. Not for a second. The man had managed to deceive them at the Chuunin Exams, and the fact that he'd done so easily enough to sucker all of Team 7 made him wary of whatever the spy had planned for him.

"And then there's the fact that one who gave me this mark is dead," Sasuke added. "He tried to take out the Hokage and failed, so what good will learning from you have in the end?"

The snake stared in him in a pensive silence after that declaration. Then it rose up slightly. "I see. So, you place the value of strength on being able to surpass one's enemies and there is no meaning in learning from one weaker than another in your presence, is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

The snake began to chuckle. "Then by that standard, there is no one greater than Lord Orochimaru and no one more suitable to teach you what you desire than him. For you see, Sasuke-kun, Lord Orochimaru has surpassed an enemy greater than the Hokage or the village or even your brother. He has surpassed death itself, thus he is by all accounts the strongest individual in this world."

Sasuke found himself contemplating his words and what the weight of them. Kabuto actually sounded like he believed that to be possible, but dead was dead. He'd seen enough of his clansmen fall that fateful night to know that much. "You're insane if you actually believe that."

The snake shook its head. "He may have lost this… skirmish with the Hokage due to the Toad Sannin appearing, but he is immortal and can merely attempt again after learning from his mistakes, so what of value was lost? I shall prove it to you in due time, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke took a step back as the snake suddenly set itself ablaze. The emerald flame was unnatural, bursting from the scales to slowly devour itself and the serpent corpse that it emerged from.

The final parting words that it uttered left a chill running down even his spine. "The next one to contact you will be Lord Orochimaru himself. Take in as much knowledge and training that you can and become a pupil worthy of Lord Orochimaru's tutelage by then, because once things begin there will be no turning back…"

The snake vanished entirely after that. It didn't even leave ashes behind, making Sasuke question just what was the point in doing that if they were so hard to make in the first place. That guy made no sense. He stared at the spot a moment longer before activating his Sharingan to ensure there was no other chakra signatures within his household before he rubbed the sealed Cursed Mark on his neck that settled down.

[0-0-0]

"I must admit, that hadn't gone as well as planned," Kabuto noted as the medium he used to speak and see through the serpent went inert. He was in a base that was in a secure location far from prying eyes and unknown to all but a few—aside from the test subjects squared away.

He had to chide himself for the momentary lack of composure after the plan went off rails, but he supposed it couldn't be helped in the end. The original plan had been to have Sasuke sign a contract with the Snakes and then use that to reverse summon him out of the Leaf without anyone being able to track him down. From there he would use him to revive Orochimaru from his seal and then use him as a vessel.

It would have been the perfect recovery in the end, denying the Leaf one of its assets and ensuring the Sharingan for his master. He'd have the perfect body, the perfect eyes, and with the Land of Sound being brought to heel, it would have been as though nothing had happened.

However, Sasuke's wariness put a delay in that plan. Oh, it was a minor setback in the grand scheme of things as long as he desired power and would eventually come around. In fact, it might be better in the end if his body was allowed to mature and his chakra reserves to fill out as well.

Still that left the matter of reviving him through Plan B, with the other candidate in Leaf that would serve for that purpose. Considering that Anko was currently watching Karin, it would be two birds with one stone—reclaiming both the young women that had abandoned his service and putting them to use. The only real question was merely how to lure them both out of the village at a suitable time and location.

Tapping his fingers on the desk for a moment as he formulated a plan, while going over some of Orochimaru's other projects that could be of use, a smirk came across his face. It would do just fine. "Let's get the greatest prison-break in the Hidden Leaf's history started."