Naruto groaned as he slowly ebbed himself towards consciousness, the incessant beeping of hospital machines helped the blonde boy realize where he was, he felt pain all over his body as he tried to move. Naruto knew it had something to do with his battle against Orochimaru at Tenchi Bridge, he slowly moved his head to the left, trying his best to ignore the pain that followed each slight movement of his neck. Naruto shifted his gaze down and saw that he was wrapped up in bandages, resembling a mummy more-so than a ninja. Naruto looked up at he saw a familiar nurse enter the room, quite shocked that the blonde boy was awake.
"Sorry Naruto. I'm just here to check your injuries." The platinum blonde spoke as she carefully undid his bandaging, "I-Ino?" Naruto rasped out quietly as he saw the girl inspect his slightly red skin that had looked to be peeling slightly, "Hm, you're healing way faster than expected." Ino said with a smile as she re-bandaged the burnt skin of the Uzumaki. "Ino…" Naruto rasped out once more, getting Ino's attention. Ino giggled slightly at the blondes attempts to talk, she reached down a grabbed the cup of water placed at his bedside table, Ino moved the cup to his mouth and allowed him to get a few good gulps of the clear liquid before she removed it from his mouth.
"Better?" Ino said, smiling at the boy who was coughing slightly, "Y-Yeah.' Naruto paused as he coughed once more, "Thanks." He said quietly as the room fell silent once more, "How'd I get here?" Naruto asked as his blue eyes met Ino's, "Well, Sakura and Kakashi arrived at the main gate with you on Kakashi's back. You looked like you were in terrible shape, they brought you in here and wrapped you up in all these bandages and have been letting you sleep for the last couple days." Ino said as refilled his water cup. "I see…" Naruto responded as he looked down at the floor, Ino saw the sadness on her fellow blonde's face and felt her heart sink a bit at the defeated look in his eyes. "I bet everyone's going to be really happy you're ok Naruto!" Ino said cheerily, trying to brighten the blonde's mood to no avail, "Naruto, are you feeling ok?" Ino asked as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to the boy and looked at him with concern on her face.
"Y-Yeah Ino, just… Is it okay if I have some time alone to think?" Naruto uttered out quietly as he looked at the blonde with a slight pleading look in his blue eyes. Ino nodded, she didn't want to pry, she knew that something was troubling Naruto but it wasn't her place to play detective with his life. "Sure, take all the time you need. I'll call Tsunade-sama and tell her that you're awake." Ino said as she got up to leave the room. "Ino…" Naruto called out before the blonde left the room, making her turn her turn around to face the bandaged blonde. Naruto looked up from the ground and locked his gaze with the platinum blonde standing in the doorway. "Thank you." He said gently, giving her a small smile. Ino smiled and nodded at the boy as she proceeded out the doorway, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.
"Are you sure?" Tsunade asked desperately as she eyed the small frog that was standing on his hind legs, with a small staff supporting his weight. "I'm afraid so, he showed great determination and heart before his passing." The frog said, bowing his head in sadness. Tsunade smashed her hands on the desk as she openly wept in front of the frog, "That idiot…" Tsunade choked out as she buried her head in her arms. "He wrote down a message on my back, I'm unsure of what it means as I've yet to let anyone see it." The frog said as he removed his cloak, showing the Hokage a view of his back which had a varying amount of numbers written on it.
"I can't make heads or tails of it." Tsunade admitted as she wiped away the remaining tears, trying desperately to regain her composure. "I'll have a scribe come in later and write down the numbers on your back, I'd ask that you remain here for a small time before heading back to Mount Myoboku, Fukasaku." The Hokage ordered gently, not wishing to argue right now. "I understand dear." Fukasaku said quietly as he sat down and began meditating on the table, only to be disturbed by a blonde who rudely came in without announcing her presence.
"Tsunade-sama, Naruto has woken up." Ino said, panting. Tsunade's eyes reflected pain within them as the Hokage realized what she would have to tell Naruto. "I see, let's head over there at once." Tsunade said as she stood up, the Hokage gazed at Ino who was staring at the meditating frog, "I'll fill you in as we go, come on." Tsunade said as she gestured for the platinum blonde girl to follow her back to the hospital.
"Naruto… that was the boy he spoke of, was it not?" Fukasaku thought as he returned to his peaceful meditation.
Sakura smiled as she helped Mika pick out some more vegetables to place in her shopping bag, Sakura winced as she grazed her hand over the mark on her face, this didn't go unnoticed by the brunette who looked at the girl with a worried look before speaking up, "So, you said that Naruto-kun did this to you?" Mika said, looking at the girl who froze up slightly in realization of what Mika was referencing. She nodded her head faintly in response before replying to the woman, "Naruto snapped after Orochimaru's constant tormenting and let 'it' take over." Sakura said as she looked around, making sure none of the civilians were paying attention to her and Mika's conversation, "He… He looked like a beast but deep down, I knew Naruto-kun was still in there. I approached the thing that was in control of Naruto-kun and it whipped me with its tail in defence, that's how I got this." Sakura said, gesturing to the scar above her cheek.
"Will it heal?" Mika asked as she placed some carrots into her bag, "Yeah, but there's no way to speed it up with any healing jutsu. Something about the chakra laced in the wound won't let mine or anyone else's chakra affect it." Sakura said as she placed some more vegetables and fruits into her bag. "I'm just glad you're both alright." Mika said with a gentle smile on her face, "Thank you Mika-sama." Sakura said with a smile as they two woman proceeded to go pay for the food they had collected.
"You have a funny habit of always ending up here." Tsunade said she entered the room and examined the boy's medical chart. "Yeah." Naruto said quietly as his gaze faced downwards, Tsunade was quite perplexed at Naruto's response, normally she'd expect him to fire back with some smart-ass comment but he seemed like he was completely out of it. "How are you feeling?" Tsunade said as she sat down and examined the bandages; the peeled skin seemed to have already been healed, most likely due to the fox. "Fine." Naruto quietly muttered as he examined the skin on his arm, noticing it was looking a lot better than when Ino had come to examine him.
"The fox's healing has really gone into overdrive this time, this is amazing…" Tsunade said as she ran her hand across the boys exposed arm, she looked up and saw that Naruto was not even paying attention her, it was like he was off in his own world. "Naruto?" Tsunade asked as she called out to the blonde, getting his attention. "Sorry, I must've spaced out." Naruto said as he re-focused his gaze on the blonde Hokage.
"Tell me what's bothering you." Tsunade said, giving Naruto a gaze that clearly said 'you're not leaving until you tell me the truth'. The blonde Uzumaki sighed before speaking up, "I let the fox take control of me, I should've known better." Naruto said as he balled his fists tightly making the Hokage look at him with a glint of sadness in her eyes, "I'm not going to tell you it wasn't a stupid decision, because it was." Tsunade scolded, making the blonde gaze down sadly, Tsunade sighed as she lifted Naruto's head by his chin so that his gaze was locked with hers, she flashed him a gentle smile before she continued to speak, "We all make stupid decisions sometimes Naruto, it's just part of being human. The smartest thing to do is to forgive ourselves." She said sweetly as she pinched his cheeks, making him flash a small smile at the gesture
"Can you stand up on your own?" Tsunade asked as she looked up at the blonde who moved to the side of the bed and managed to stand up all on his own and even walk around without the support of the Hokage. "Well, I guess you've healed extraordinarily fast this time." Tsunade said as she observed the mummy-like Naruto walk around the room. "Sakura came by and delivered some clothes you could change into." Tsunade said as she handed the boy a change of clothes, "Do you need help getting the bandages off?" Tsunade asked as she looked at the blonde boy who was already walking off into the change room, "I'll be fine." Naruto replied as he exited the room. "Will you, Naruto?" Tsunade asked quietly as she looked at the scroll in her hand that he had given her.
A few minutes passed before Naruto emerged again, dressed up in his usual attire with a slight tinge of sunburn red to his skin. Tsunade smiled at the boy, he looked much better in ninja gear than bandages. "Is there any pain?" Tsunade asked as she inspected the boy who was stretching slightly. "Some, but it's nothing noteworthy." Naruto said as he sat down on the bed.
"Naruto-kun!" Sakura said as she ran into the room past the Hokage and hugged the boy tightly, Tsunade smiled as the two embraced each other in tight hugs, "You're clear to go Naruto…" Tsunade paused as she looked down sadly; remembering what the frog sage had told her, "Meet me in my office after you have become re-acquainted. I need to speak with you both." Tsunade said as she exited the room, leaving the two shinobi alone with each other.
Naruto eyes widened as he saw the scar across Sakura's cheek, he ran his hand across it and froze up slightly when he felt her wince in pain. "Are you okay?" Naruto asked, concerned over the pink-haired kunoichi. Sakura giggled at the blonde's antics, "You're the one that's been cooped up in the hospital, dummy. I should be asking you that." Sakura said as she gently kissed the blonde's cheek. "Who did that to you?" Naruto asked, his gaze fixated on Sakura. "I swear to god if that bastard Kabuto laid a f-"
"Naruto, it was you." Sakura interrupted quietly before gripping the blonde's hand, hoping not too startle him too much. "Me?" Naruto paused with wide eyes as she saw his jaw clench slightly, Sakura knew he was having a hard time processing this. "How?" Naruto asked as he looked at the scar on her cheek, Sakura sighed as she sat down in the bed next to him. "You weren't in control of yourself; I tried to snap you out of it and… one of those tails flung forward and lashed at me." Sakura said feeling sadness overcome her as she looked at the guilty expression that plagued Naruto's face.
"So it's my fault then…" Naruto uttered out quietly as he looked down towards the ground, the blonde was slightly shocked when he felt a gentle hand caress his whiskered cheek. "Remember what I said a long time ago? I told you that you are Naruto Uzumaki, not the Nine-Tailed Fox." Sakura said as she looked at him with determination in her eyes, "The Nine-Tailed fox did this to me, not Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki is a kind man that probably won't let me out of his sight now that he's seen this injury." Sakura giggled as she leaned her forehead against his. "Naruto Uzumaki thinks you're still beautiful no matter what, Sakura-chan." Naruto said, making Sakura blush lightly as she pressed her lips to his gently. "Come on, we need to go see what Tsunade-sama wants." Sakura said as she gripped Naruto's hand as they left the room, together.
"I'm done using your power fox; I'm going to get strong on my own. I'll never let you hurt the ones I love ever again!" Naruto thought as he shut the door to his hospital room.
Fukasaku and Tsunade glanced at the two ninjas entered the room, Naruto and Sakura looked perplexed at the toad who was sat at the table with his legs crossed but decided not to ask questions. "So, what's the big deal Baa-chan?" Naruto said with his hands in his pockets, "That's no way to speak to your Hokage, you fo-" Fukasaku tried to shout at the rude boy but the frog sage was cut off by Tsunade, "Naruto, please atleast try to keep your manners in check in front of the Elder Sage of the Toads." Tsunade said as she gestured to Fukasaku. "No way! So you're the one Pervy-sage used to talk about when we were travelling!" Naruto said with a smile that would quickly fade. "Pervy-sage? That's quite the nickname for Jiraya-boy. I'm sure he would've loved that one." Fukasaku said, chuckling slightly.
Naruto's eyes widened slightly, "Why are you talking like something's happened to him?" Naruto said, fear and worry made his voice waver slightly. Fukasaku sighed as he stood up and used his staff for support, he looked over at Tsunade who nodded, giving Fukasaku permission to tell Naruto of the events that had transpired. "Come on, tell me what's happening!" Naruto said, a bit more loudly than before, fear evident in his tone of voice.
"Naruto, I'm afraid that Jiraya-boy has died in battle." Fukasaku uttered out, silencing the room.
"W-What…" Naruto uttered out quietly with wide eyes as he stepped back a few steps, Sakura looked at the pained expression on her boyfriend's face and felt her heart sink into her stomach, "Jiraya-boy fought to the bitter end an-" Fukasaku was interrupted by the blonde boy who sprinted out of the room, leaving a small trail of tears in his wake.
Tsunade closed her eyes in order to hold back a wave of her own tears as she reached for the scroll under her desk, "Jiraya's final wish was that Naruto saw this scroll, please find the boy and give it to him Sakura." Tsunade said, her voice wavering slightly as she choked out the last words of her order. "Understood Tsunade-sama…" Sakura said, bowing to both the Hokage and Fukasaku before she rushing out after her boyfriend.
Once she left the Hokage building the pink-haired girl instantly looked around for any sign of the blonde haired knucklehead but it seemed that he was long gone from her view, Sakura approached one of the civilians walking along the same path as her and hesitantly uttered out her question, "Sorry to bother you, miss. Did you see Naruto Uzumaki run through here at all?" She asked as she desperately eyed the woman who scoffed at the kunoichi's question, "Why would I be paying attention to that fox brat? He's nothing but trouble, dear." The civilian said as she eyed Sakura who was clenching her jaw tightly in order to avoid any outbursts. "Thank you anyways, miss." Sakura said through gritted teeth as she continued her search for the blonde.
Sakura sighed as she sat down on the bench near where she had started her now hour-long search, she placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes as she wished for some kind of miracle to guide her back to Naruto, it must have been Sakura's lucky day. "Sakura-sama!" Sakura raised her head as she saw a panicked Mika running towards her, "Mika-sama, are you okay?" Sakura asked, worried about the brunette who was panting after her run. "I-I came as quick as I could to get the Hokage's help." Mika said as she regained some of her composure, "Why? What's wrong?" Sakura said with nervous look painted across her face. "It's Naruto-kun." Mika said, worry evident in her voice.
Sakura winced as she heard the sound of glass shattering inside the apartment, "He hasn't been responding to me when I've called out for him, I tried to get in but he's locked the doors as well and I couldn't find our key… all I can hear is him crying or breaking things and I… I can't …" Mika tried to finish her sentence but couldn't as tears began to gently fall down her face. Sakura looked sadly at the landlord who was clearly torn up by how Naruto was acting; she reached out to grip Mika's hand but was interrupted as she heard the sound of glass shattering once more.
"Go back to your apartment, Mika-sama. You've done more than enough. Thank you for everything." Sakura said as she embraced the woman tightly, Mika smiled and nodded at the girl as they broke from their hug. "Be gentle with him Sakura-sama, this is the worst I've ever seen him." Mika said as she turned around and headed back to her apartment.
"Naruto-kun! I'm coming in!" Sakura said as she put her key into the lock, gently turning the handle to open the door. Sakura's heart sank at the state she saw Naruto in; their entire apartment looked like a war-zone. Furniture had been thrown all around the room, tables had been flipped over, glassware had been thrown at the wall in what looked to be sizeable amounts and to top it all off, the blonde who would light up her would with his infectious laughter and signature smile was sat in the corner of the room with his head held up by his bleeding hands. Sakura put the pieces together and realized Naruto must have been punching the ground quite heavily, leading to the bleeding.
Sakura approached the blonde who was sobbing in the corner and sat down with him, without saying a word she wrapped her arms around her vulnerable partner and encased him in a warm embrace, Naruto shifted his head from his hands and into the crook of the pink-haired girl's neck, Naruto finally let the flood gates open as he sobbed openly in front of Sakura. Sakura said nothing; instead she ran her fingers gently through Naruto's blonde locks in an attempt to comfort him.
"It hurts, Sakura-chan." Naruto murmured through his sobs as he pointed at his heart. "I know, Naruto-kun, I know." Sakura whispered gently she continued to stroke the blondes hair, Sakura felt the fabric of her shirt drench slightly at the immeasurable amount of pain that the blonde boy was releasing unto her. They laid together on the wood floor for what seemed like an hour, Sakura continued to whisper gentle musings into the blonde's ear, trying calm in down. Naruto slid his arms around her and pressed her closer to him in order to reassure himself that she would not leave him as well.
"Feeling better?" Sakura asked as she separated from the blonde, looking at his ocean blue eyes that were now puffy due to the recent crying he had done, "Please don't leave, I can't lose you too." Naruto said in an almost inaudible whisper that made Sakura's heart sink slightly, "I'm not going anywhere, promise." Sakura said as she intertwined her hand to fit in his much larger one.
Naruto and Sakura moved to the bedroom after that, resuming their close embrace of one another as Naruto sought comfort in the pink-haired girl's presence. Sakura couldn't imagine the pain that Naruto was currently going through, earlier today he had found out that he unconsciously caused pain to the one he loved and now he had lost one of the most important people in his life. She pressed him closer to her as she felt him quietly drift off to sleep.
Naruto sat on the couch with Sakura silently as they looked around the destroyed living room, Naruto looked down in shame as he realized what had done to the home that they were meant to share together. "I'll clean it all, I promise." Naruto said as he expected Sakura to begin her yelling any second. Sakura shook her head at the blonde and placed her hand on top of his, "It'll be easier if we do it together." Sakura said as she smiled gently at the blonde who responded with a small smile of his own.
After the two had finished cleaning they returned to their place on the couch, Sakura moved her hand into her back pocket and pulled out the scroll, the pink-haired kunoichi examined it in her hand, this didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. "Why have you got a scroll, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked with his gaze fixed on the red and yellow outlines of the scroll. "Actually, it's for you Naruto-kun. It's from Jiraya." Sakura said as she passed the scroll over to the blonde boy.
"From Pervy-sage?" Naruto said as he took the scroll out of Sakura's hand and examined it himself, Naruto placed the scroll down on the living room table, carefully avoiding the hole he had punched in it earlier, he opened the scroll and began to read it quietly to himself, Sakura also looked down and examined the writing that was written on the scroll.
Dear Naruto,
If you've come into possession of this scroll it means that I've passed on from this world. I know you're probably sad or angry right now, maybe both. Truth be told, you have every right to be. I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my promise and continue training you further, sometimes in life you have no control of how the pieces of the puzzle align and it seems the my life was a complicated jigsaw indeed.
This letter is to inform you that it's now time for you to take the next step in your training, without me. You will need to journey to Mount Myoboku, the land of the toads. There you will meet the Elder Toad Sages Shima and Fukasaku, they will guide your training from here on out. You can reach Mount Myoboku by using the reverse summoning technique found on the other side of this scroll. Summon Gamakichi when you are ready and he will walk you through the process.
Before I conclude this letter I want to tell you personally that it was an honour to call you my student, you have not only surpassed what I believed you could be but also what every other idiot in this village believed you could be, you have indeed transformed into a splendid shinobi. You truly have the power to change how people see the world Naruto; You turned a bitter old woman who didn't care about anyone but herself into the Leaf Village's 5th Hokage, you changed Gaara from an angry monster hell-bent on inflicting pain and death onto others into a kind, caring man who now holds the title of Kazekage, and most importantly… you made a perverted old man realize that there is still some good left in the world.
I now leave the rest to you Naruto, the tale of Jiraya the Gallant has ended. However, the tale of Naruto Uzumaki: the Gusty Ninja is just beginning. Good luck, kid.
Sakura gripped the blonde's hand, expecting him to break into sobs before he started… laughing? "S-Stupid pervert, that was the first time he's ever told me he was proud of me." Naruto giggled as wiped the falling tears from his face. Sakura smiled gently as she leaned into the blonde's embrace. Naruto welcomed the pink-haired girl into his arms as they just sat on the couch, pondering over Jiraya's letter.
"So, I guess you'll be heading to Mount Myoboku then." Sakura finally spoke up, getting the attention of the blonde who sat up from the embrace, followed by Sakura. "You're not coming with?" Naruto asked, slightly saddened that the pink-haired girl wasn't putting up an argument to go with him. "I'm not going to train with some old toads." Sakura said with a small giggle, "Besides, my place is here in the village, I need to keep training with Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said, rubbing her thumb along the top of his hand.
"I promise I won't be gone long, I'll train super hard so I can get back quickly." Naruto said as he intertwined his hand with Sakura's, "Just promise me you won't turn into a toad." Sakura said as ran her hand along Naruto's whiskered cheek. "You've got a deal." He said, flashing the pink-haired girl a small smile as their lips met gently.
Naruto and Sakura were standing at the old Team 7 training grounds, Sakura sat under a tree as she watched Naruto prepare to use the summoning jutsu.
"Alright, here we go…" Naruto said as he rubbed his hands together vigorously before biting his thumb and doing a number of hand signs and slamming his hand down, "Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed as a plume of smoke came forth from where he had pressed his hand into the ground, Sakura watched in anticipation as the smoke cleared to reveal two toads, one green toad about the size of a boulder who looked like he had no idea what was going on in the world around him and a red toad who was around as tall as Naruto.
"Yo" The red toad said as he waved to blonde while the green toad just moaned happily, "Yo, Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. Wow, you guys got big!" Naruto said as he looked at the two large toads in front of him.
"Thanks Naruto I-" Gamakichi began to talk before the other toad, Gamatatsu decided to pipe up with quite a quirky voice, "Naruto, do you have any food?" Gamatatsu asked as he eyed the blonde with an awkward stare, "No, I don't have anything on me. Sorry Gamatatsu." Naruto said, slightly taken back by the green toads sudden question. "That's okay." Gamatatsu said as he returned to sitting in a statue-like manner. "As I was saying…" Gamakichi paused as he eyed the green toad with an annoyed gaze, "We've been training hard back at home, or atleast I have. This idiot prefers to just eat all day." Gamakichi said as his gaze shifted once again to his brother, "That's not very nice." Gamatatsu said as he continued to sit like a statue, "IT DOESN'T MATTER IF ITS NICE, IT'S TRUE! YOU BIG-"
"Guys please, calm down." Naruto called out, making the red frog stop his yelling. Sakura was impressed with Naruto's control over the toads; Jiraya must have taught him a thing or two while they were travelling. "Gamakichi, Pervy-sage said that you'd know how to execute the reverse summoning jutsu. That's why I summoned you; I need your help getting to Mount Myoboku." Naruto said as he looked up at the red toad. "I see, I guess you've heard the news about Jiraya-sama then… I'm sorry for your loss Naruto." Gamakichi paused as he looked down at the blonde who expressed his thankfulness through a curt nod. "Anyways, we'll need the scroll to make this work. Did Jiraya give it to you?" Gamakichi asked as the blonde replied with a nod, pulling out the scroll he had receive last night. He flipped it over and placed it down on the ground to reveal a seal inscribed on the entire back page of the scroll.
"Alright, we'll need to all stand in close proximity to the scroll." Gamakichi said as he pulled the green toad over to the scroll by the ear. "Now, is there anything you need to do before we leave? You won't be back for around a month or so in human-time. " Gamakichi said, shifting his gaze down to the blonde.
"Yeah, there's one thing. Hold on." Naruto said as he quickly ran over to Sakura and helped the girl to her feet, his oceanic blue eyes met her emerald ones and they both smiled as blushed crossed their faces. "I promise I'-" Naruto was interrupted as Sakura pulled the boy in by his jacket into a tender kiss. Sakura ran her hand across Naruto's whiskered cheek as they broke from their embrace, Naruto looked open his mouth but was cut off by Sakura who placed a finger on his lips "You have somewhere to be." Sakura said as she gestured to the toads who were bickering with each other. Naruto nodded and smiled at the girl, he planted one more chaste kiss to her lips before running over to join the toads.
"Alright, you ready?" Gamakichi said as he looked at the blonde boy, "You bet!" Naruto said confidently, "Gamatatsu, make sure you get this right!" Gamakichi said sternly as he looked at the green toad who gave a faint nod in response. "Naruto, it's the same process as a summoning jutsu. You do the summoning jutsu on the scroll while we place our hands down on it. Got it?" Gamakichi said to the blonde who nodded in response.
"All right, here we go!" Naruto said, biting him thumb once more, the toads placed their hands down on the scroll while Naruto slammed his hand into the middle of the scroll with force, "Reverse Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed.