Hazy light shimmered down to the forest floor in vague, green shifts of brightened color. The forest hummed with raw, untouched life. Creatures of the trees and air whirled in colorful shifts of feathers and freedom. Below them, roaming herds of white-tailed deer stalked gracefully between the elderly tree trunks. A stag gazed protectively over his herd while a wildcat crouched in wait nearby. Half a league away, a hog and her piglets ran rampant through the woods while butterflies danced in a light summer breeze.

This was Takai Mountain. Humans did not dare wander its wild depths. Instead, they nestled their town in the surrounding valley and held the mountain in fearful resentfulness. For they knew what truly dwelled beneath the old Chinese oak tree. More dangerous than any big cat, the apex predator of Takai Mountain slithered stealthily across its territory in jealous and uncontrollable aggression.

"Oi, Ero-Sennin!" The noisy call echoed down a street of wares as a blond young man ran up to a white-haired elder. The boy wore orange while the old man wore his spiky, white hair long with red over wear and green traditional clothes underneath. Two red lines ran down his face in a way not dissimilar to tear streaks.

"What, brat?" The white-haired man barked in annoyance.

"What are we doing here? I though we were supposed to be heading back to Konoha?" The blond 'brat' asked inquisitively. He hopped from foot to foot impatiently.

"We will, but I wanted to check something here first, Naruto. We might have an… item, to take back with us." The old man's eyes shifted to look at the looming figure of Takai Mountain.

"Huh? What could you possibly want here? Six-inch woven sandals?" The boy, Naruto, gestured jokingly to a nearby stall. True to his word, many colorful sandals littered the old woman's booth. Most of them were normal, flat grass sandals with painted flowers. Among them however, were odd specimens of raised heel sandals… these seemed somewhat reminiscent of some of Orochimaru's torture devices…

The elder huffed out a laugh. "Not quite, kid." The man opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted by a call from down the street.

"Jiraiya-sama! You're here," A wrinkled old man hobbled towards the two. He held a cane in one hand and his back in the other. The top of his head was bald while he had somehow managed to keep a long rat tail of braided hair that dangled down his back. His clothing was clean but simple traditional robes. "For a bit, I didn't think you'd bother to come!"

"And miss out on visiting my old drinking buddy? Not a chance!" Jiraiya exclaimed. He hurried forward and clapped a surprisingly gentle hand on the old man's shoulder. Meanwhile, Naruto gazed at the pair in growing anger.

"You delayed our return to Konoha just to meet up with your old drinking buddy?" Naruto asked in outrage. Jiraiya grinned shamelessly.

"Of course, me 'n ole Shiro go wayyyy back! Now come on, brat! We've got some catching up to do!" Jiraiya turned away from Naruto and began sauntering down the road with Shiro. Naruto gaped at the retreating pair for a moment.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Naruto called. He hurried after them while muttering under his breath about perverts and drunks.

It was well after midnight when the two old men finally got down to business. Naruto felt as if they had only waited that long to annoy him, but knew it was likely just to throw off spies or eavesdroppers.

Either way, Naruto had been very eagerly awaiting Jiraiya's last sip of wine.

"So. What did you really call me here for, Parrot? You haven't sent news of any sort to Konoha since retiring. What has you desperate enough to risk your retirement?" Jiraiya finally asked as he set down his still full glass. Naruto blinked at the animal name and filed it away for later. It appeared the old man had been ANBU when still on duty. Impressive.

The elderly man across from the two Konoha ninja shifted uncomfortably before looking down at his own glass in longing.

"You're right. Under normal circumstances, I would never write home. It'd be too much risk to my grandkids." Shiro nodded to a few of the pictures on the wall. Naruto had glanced and them when he came in and knew they contained three smiling kids. Two boys and what appeared to be little tomboy constantly putting the boys in their place. In several pictures the boys appeared harassed by the much shorter girl.

"But?" Jiraiya prompted after a few moments of silence. Shiro heaved a sigh.

"The villagers have grown restless, especially as of late. There have been a few disappearances recently. Now, some of its natural. The baker's daughter ran off with the shepherd boy, Lady Nanami fired a few more servants… same old, same old."

"So? What's the problem then? Why'd you call us out here?" Naruto interrupted impatiently. Jiraiya rapped him on the head.

"Owch!"

"Don't be so impatient, brat. The most important things in a ninja's life can only be achieved by waiting for the right moment." Jiraiya reprimanded his student. Naruto muttered some choice words under his breath. "Don't mind my student, Parrot. Continue your report." Shiro glanced between the two of them oddly before he began to speak again.

"This year, there are more; many more. If I had to put a number, I'd say our town is missing about fifteen people that can't be accounted for by the usual. Takiyaki isn't the only town either. Tsunuma and Rentaro are also reporting worrying numbers of leaving or missing people. Their numbers are greater than ours. Of course, normally, we'd just report to the daimyo and be done with it. He'd either hire Konoha ninja or some foreign ones if the rates are right. This time however… there are whispers." Once more, the elderly ex-ANBU looked distinctly uncomfortable. For a split second, the man's navy-blue eyes flickered to Naruto's sky bright ones.

"He's cleared. Whatever you have to tell me, its okay if he hears. He's my apprentice: he'll need to know it anyway." Jiraiya assured. Naruto blinked. Briefly he wondered just how deeply Ero-sennin and Shiro-san knew each other to be able to read one another at a glance. Maybe they had fought in a war together? Fighting together often had a way of bringing people together in weird ways.

"The village thinks a demon is living on Mount Takai and it's the cause of the disappearances."

"A demon?"

"Hai. As you know, Mount Takai sits right in the middle of Takiyaki, Tsunuma, and Rentaro. Because the disappearances appear to be centered on the mountain, the villagers have assumed that the missing people can be intrinsically linked to the mountain. Ordinarily, this wouldn't really matter in the long run. A mountain is an inanimate object. If the villagers distrust it, they'll just call it cursed and move away." Shiro shrugged his shoulders in apathy. The old man grimaced at Jiraiya's next statement however.

"There's someone living on the mountain, isn't there? And this person is being blamed."

"Yes. Again, ordinarily this would never cause me enough concern to write home. But… the person being blamed… they aren't normal. What they are, I am not sure. I have only been able to gather intel through rumors and second-hand gossip." The former ANBU gave a depreciating chuckle and slapped his knees. "I'm afraid I'm not as nearly as spry as I used to be, old friend. I am unable to climb the mountain to check the truthfulness of the rumors. However, what I have heard is rather alarming. An old farmer in Tsunuma claims to have stumbled across a snake demon."

"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked warily. Naruto's eyes widened. That snake teme was abducting more people now?

"It'd almost be a relief if it was. At least then you'd like have an idea of what you're dealing with."

"If its not Orochimaru, why are you so worried? Just send word to the Daimyo like normal. He'll send a request for some Jounin or some ANBU and they'll deal with it." Jiraiya frown at his friend. Naruto could see the disbelief as well as the concern written in the miniscule folds of his sensei's face.

"Because I doubt this 'demon' is the one responsible. At least for the disappearances."

"What do you mean? You said it yourself, Mount Takai is the center of the attacks."

"Then why not before? The farmer supposedly encountered this demon three years ago. If it's been on Mount Takai that long, why only strike now? No, I'm quite sure the missing people case is either bandits or Orochimaru taking a few more lab rats before moving on again. What has me concerned is the description the farmer keeps giving to anyone who will listen."

"But why? If they guy living up there isn't bothering anyone, well, isn't that a good thing?" Naruto asked. He tilted his head inquisitively to the side as he tried to work out Shiro's angle. What could some poor, apparently ugly hermit matter? He wasn't doing anything… just scaring farmers apparently.

"Naruto, if you can't sit quietly I'll send you outside." Jiraiya threatened. Naruto gulped. He didn't want to miss the next bit of the old man's juicy info. "Please continue, Parrot."

"The 'demon' as he has been called, was at that point a child of academy age, six, seven, perhaps even a little younger. It has been three years since then. At the oldest he could be ten. From the description I managed to wring out of the farmer, the child has pale skin, black hair, snake like marks around his eyes, and snake like pupils. He also has a forked tongue. The only dissimilarity between himself and Orochimaru would be that he is green eyed, instead of yellow or amber. As you know Jiraiya, all ninja have their vices and desires. While Orochimaru may be meticulous in almost everything else, I believe that in this instance he made a mistake." Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what the retired ninja was trying to get at.

"Wait! You mean-Ow!" Naruto gasped as Jiraiya bonked him on the head. Shiro chuckled a little at the sight of master and student give each other death glares. Oh, to be young and getting into trouble…

However, the tense atmosphere returned when Jiraiya returned his attention to his once-again informant.

"Yes, I believe this child to be Orochimaru's offspring. Either because he escaped or because the man himself never knew, the child has been living peacefully on Mount Takai. Now," Shiro's eyes hardened into a glare. "In no way would I ordinarily give this information to you. I am retired and served well. I owe you nothing. That child is guiltless and deserves a life free of his father's mistakes. Unfortunately, I believe his peace and freedom will soon come to an end regardless of my interference. Due to the farmer, the child's presence has reached the common knowledge of the masses in the land around Mount Takai. I do not know how far the rumor has spread, but with the likelihood of Orochimaru's henchmen in the area, it doesn't need to spread far. If the two of you do not find and take the child, someone else will. And should someone else take that child, I fear for his wellbeing."

Its finished! Mwahahaha! I hope you guys like it. Sorry there's no Harry in this chapter, but hey, this chappie went over important plot stuff so I hope you paid attention!

Anyway, Have a fun summer!

~Blitza