Sum of our Parts

Battle for a Legacy

***I do not make any $$$ on Naruto. ***

"Le gasp!" normal talking

'das fuken?' normal thinking

"set-you-on-fire-no-jutsu" Jutsu and other techniques

"I will murder you!" Tailed beast talking

***SooP***

The two seasoned killers sat in silence as the white haired sage poured two glasses of sake and handed the one to his target.

"A toast, to the one who walks out of this alive, may he be worthy of the life he continues"

The blonde nodded, and downed the alcohol, immediately leaping backwards from the kunai that the other had drawn.

"Awww come on not this again… I swear I am going to put a 'no Shinobi' sign on the door." The bartender cried as he took cover from the hail of thrown projectiles and powerful winds that erupted throughout the, thankfully empty, bar.

As the weapons were reversed midair Jiraiya leapt behind a nearby table, kicking it up onto its side and using that as a temporary shield.

"Pretty fast for an old man, I'm impressed." Arashi called out with a slight smirk, earning an invisible glare from the other man.

'I'll show you old…'

The toad summoner leapt over the table and closed the distance between the two combatants in an instance, only to disappear in a puff of smoke when a blade of wind tore through him.

"Kage Bunshin, figures…" The criminal muttered out, before dodging backwards out of the path of a powerful Rasengan that tore up from under the floor.

This time Jiraiya would not allow the man any breathing space as he immediately charged forward and engaged his opponent in close ranged combat, denying the Akatsuki member anytime to retaliate or mold Chakra for a ranged attack.

The Kamikaze was not praised just for his Wind control, however, as he began battling the sage to a standstill with raw Taijutsu.

Seeing an opening the blonde delivered a powerful kick, launching the other man backwards and allowing him to following up with a powerful burst of wind, damaging the wall that Jiraiya impacted even further.

As the white haired man collapsed to the ground, and lay motionless afterwards, his opponent cautiously approached. The Namikaze couldn't believe that such an attack would put down someone as powerful as a Sanin but truth be told he had never encountered on in direct combat before.

The rumor was that they were getting on in years so perhaps they were finally getting to the point of retirement, and thus their bodies finally catching up to them.

Just as he reached the man's prone Jiraiya leapt up from the ground in a surprising show of agility and speed.

The blonde barely had time to glimpse the man's change in appearance, now being far more toad-like than previously.

Even with this increase in physical ability the Namikaze had no concern about dodging the man's attacks, a combination of godly reflexes and sensing movements from any direction made it quite difficult to lay a single blow after all.

Just as he dodged the fist he was shocked as the blow still landed, tossing him across the room and into the bar, thus shattering all of the sake bottles and earning a pitiful cry from the owner of the establishment.

A split second later the Kamikaze used his control over the wind to propel him along the floor, narrowly dodging the direct impact of the enhanced Chakra sphere which tore apart where he had been previously laying.

It had not been fast enough to dodge the aftershock though, and thus he was once more thrown across the room from the shockwave, earning a few more bruises for his efforts.

Pushing up off the floor the wind master spun around in midair and launched a series of powerful slashes towards his adversary, who responded by activating his hair shield and retaliated with a hail of needles.

Growling in annoyance, and producing a cyclonic barrier to neutralize the attack, the criminal took stock of his situation.

His early on advantage was quickly falling apart and if the battle continued as it was now the outcome would be far more up to luck than he was willing to accept.

Not only that but there was a chance that this would draw in forces allied to the man, even assuming that he had come alone.

Muttering something along the lines of a rematch later the blonde sprinted towards the door, only to have an amphibian fist smash into his face from a large toad that was currently acting as a bouncer and guard.

"Where do you think you're going asshole? Master Jiraiya told us not to get involved unless you tried chickening out like a wuss."

'Great now even if I do get past the damn Sanin I have another opponent already lined up.'

Movement from his flank caught the man's attention, as another volley of kunai flew towards him.

Directing his attention towards the newest threat the man hadn't caught the Bunshin that the white haired sage had formed, allowing him to move through the back room and crash through the wall with a Odama Rasengan fully formed.

The blonde reacted instantly, spinning much like a Hyuga would and creating a massive whirlwind that consumed the interior of the building, tearing the entire area to pieces in a torrent of debris and shrapnel.

Once the winds died down it revealed that his attack had only been partially successful.

Jiraiya stood, bloody and no longer in his fabled Sage Mode.

His attack had in fact connected, thus ripping into the opposing man's back and arm, creating heavy damage on him as well.

Both men looked ready to collapse at any given moment, yet both refused to yield holding themselves up on sheer will alone.

A falling bottle started the next phase of the encounter, which was progressively slower and less flashy than the others.

It quickly resembled what many would refer to as a "bar fight" in which both Shinobi proceeded to simply beat the ever loving hell out of the other.

Punches were exchanged and blocked.

Arashi would strike several times, kicking his opponent into a wall before being tackled to the ground and receiving a series of punches for his efforts.

Any items not destroyed became improvised weapons as bottles were smashed into body parts and the remains of chairs were broken over backs and chests.

Finally, the fighting subsided, both men too far from each other to mount any type of offense and too exhausted and injured to move any closer.

***SooP***

"Hey Pa you think they are done in there?" The door guard inquired of the elder toad sitting across from him while he studied his hand.

The toads that had been summoned were told to stay out of the fight and just asked to keep bystanders from interfering.

Which meant they were currently sitting at a table outside of the front entrance playing cards.

"Sounds like it but we should probably give them a few more minutes just in case, got any threes?"

"Go fish."

The older toad scowled in annoyance, sometimes he truly hated playing these games.

***SooP***

"Do you realize how much I hated you?"

Arashi Namikaze glanced up towards the white haired man seated across the room from him amidst a pile of rubble.

"Considering we only met today, I find that hard to believe."

"It's true though, I hated you so much because of how he talked about you."

"Who?"

"Minato, your son"

"I was under the impression he never knew who I was."

"He didn't"

Now the blonde was thoroughly confused, how the hell could this man talk about him and yet not know him at all.

"Every week it was a different story. One time you were a famous samurai who took an oath not to kill after single handedly destroying a village of bandits. The next you were a Shinobi so powerful that you were not allowed to become a Kage. Hell I remember one time you were a farmer, but even then you were so important in his eyes that you provided food directly to the Daimyos. But even with how rich and powerful you were every month you would still donate food anonymously to orphanages because you were that incredible."

The Sage chuckled humorlessly at the other man's surprised expression.

"No matter what role you took on Minato always remained confident that you were the best at it, that you were the most important person ever… and I hated you for that. I would have given anything for him to, just once, look at me with the same wonder and amazement in his eyes that he had when talking about you. I would have killed just to have him think of me as something more than just a teacher. Hell I would have faced a horde of angry Iwa Ninja just to have him think of me as an uncle, even just one time."

The Kamikaze remained silent, he could sense the man's hostilities throughout the battle and knew it was more than just revenge for his actions against Konoha, or even his students. It was far more personal than just that.

"But you couldn't just stop there could you? No you had to actually live up to the stories. You just had to be a Kage level Ninja of legendary proportions. You, the man who had been given everything I ever wanted in life. The son I always wish I had, the grandchildren I would die for in a heartbeat, and the love of the woman I have admired since I was a child."

The blonde's eyes widened in shock at the last statement. Apparently his opponent had been in love with the woman he had just so happened to have had a one-night stand, and thus a child, with.

"I have longed to be with her, hell to even be acknowledged as anything more than just a loser teammate, for decades. But you… you were able to just waltz in and she fell for you instantly. Some wandering asshole who isn't even loyal enough to stay with a village. She chooses you to have a child with after one night but refuses to even consider a date with me after forty years of pining for her."

The criminal stared down at the floor, a bit ashamed at having taken everything from a man he had never even met until today.

"I can only assume that you will just walk into Konoha and declare yourself their grandfather, then start teaching them and take the only thing I have left away. Of course they would be lucky to have you as their teacher. I am sure they would forget about me in a week or less if you truly put effort into it."

"I think you underestimate yourself Jiraiya of the Sanin, not many people can have claimed to push me this far in combat, especially having never encountered me before. From what I have heard about you there is nothing for you to be ashamed about concerning your life. The greatest spymaster who ever lived, Sensei to the Fourth Hokage, one of the three Legendary Sanin and the only one who stuck with his village throughout everything. That is not the career of a loser or a second place throw off Ninja."

Jiraiya gave the man a small thankful smile before shifting slightly and letting out a groaning of pain.

"Don't you think you could have spared my ribs just a little?"

Arashi chuckled, before wincing slightly himself.

"Speak for yourself, do you know how sore I am going to be tomorrow? I am not as young as I used to be you know."

"Yeah I hear that, getting old sucks doesn't it?"

The Akatsuki member nodded before finally pulling himself up to his feet.

"Listen… despite the fact that we are on different sides I don't want to see the two girls hurt. I saw in them something that is rare in this day and age."

"And that is?"

The blonde paused for a moment before answering, "The ability to change the world. There are still eight members of the Akatsuki left including me, which means that they will be going after them again. Despite how powerful I am our leader is even more powerful. He is a self proclaimed 'God' and wields a Dojutsu that I have never seen before."

Jiraiya thought for a moment on what was said before making an inquiry of his own, "Where can I find him?"

"He lives in Amegakure, but I will warn you now do not go after him. He is dangerous Jiraiya and if what I have heard is correct those two godchildren of yours have lost enough family members for one life time."

The white haired sage nodded as the other man slowly stood and made his way to the door, before it was slowly opened and the older toad stuck his head in.

"You done yet boy? It looks like you two have caused enough damage but I wouldn't want to interfere with your pissing contest."

The sage chuckled and nodded his head, "Yeah we're done, you can let him pass Pa thanks."

The tiny creature nodded, before glaring slightly up at the considerably larger man and stood aside to let him limp away.

"So now what?"

"Now… I am going to rest up for a few days and then head to Amegakure. If this guy is as scary as I keep hearing, then we are going to need as much information on him as possible."

***SooP***

The various members of the 'Konoha Thirteen', minus the two Uzumaki sisters, sat around a table in a dimly lit restaurant.

They had gathered at the request of the girls' teammate, Hinata Hyuga, and were presently waiting for their meals to arrive.

"Th-thank you all for coming, as I am sure all of you are well aware by now there is a group known as the 'Akatsuki' that is currently hunting down Jinchuriki. This includes my two teammates."

The others nodded in understand as they focused on the Kunoichi, who was having a slightly difficult time with all the attention she was now receiving.

"Th-this means that they are in danger, and we need to help them."

"Agreed, but what can we do? It's not like these are just some random assholes that we can punch in the face and then move on. Three of them almost killed three of our teams along with a Kage." Kiba pointed out in a rare moment of intellect.

It of course earned jaw dropping stares from the others.

"What? I can be smart… whatever screw you guys too."

"Kiba is, and I can't believe I am saying this, correct. These are all S-Ranked Ninja or higher and even all of us together stand no chance against more than one at a time. Hell I would even argue that all of us facing one would be a difficult fight without backup or the Uzumaki sisters' aid." Sasuke threw in.

"Troublesome and I am guessing you want to do something about this without our Sensei's or you would have included them in this meeting."

The pale eyed girl nodded in confirmation towards the Nara who closed his eyes in a thinking pose.

"If that's the case then we are going to need more information on them. My dad always said that information is the key to winning battles and wars. So what do we know about the remaining members?" The blonde member of Team ten inquired.

"One of them is a Kage level Ninja known as the Kamikaze. He also appears to be Akane and Natsuko's grandfather from what I can tell. He was the one who basically defeated all three of our Sensei's within minutes." Sakura listed.

"Then there were the two we faced. Both claimed, and appeared, to be immortal to all harm no matter what we hit them with. Hidan wields a scythe and some sort of strange damage transference Jutsu and Kakuzu has a body that is completely biologically altered, from what I can tell he steals the hearts of other individuals in order to give him access to their affinities." The stoic voice of the Aburame filled in the silence a moment later.

"Half… we only know what half of them are capable of. How are we supposed to devise a strategy based on that?" Tenten groaned.

"We only know half… but I highly doubt that the first target of the group was the Kazekage… they would have gone after non Kage level Jinchuriki first in order to keep a lower profile. Once you hit such a big target you risk war with an entire nation for that. This means that the other nations might have information on them." Shikamaru pointed out, opening his eyes to reveal a calculating gaze.

"So all we need to do is get into Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri and politely ask for the information, and when they don't give us what we want we bash some faces in. I like the plan!"

No one could tell if Kiba was being sarcastic or perfectly serious… which was very worrisome to all those assembled.

"Maybe we should take a more delicate approach instead? I don't think that creating an international incident would be the best way to deal with this situation even if it would work. Plus I don't know about you but I really doubt Konoha is going to let me just leave without supervision and go into a neighboring country without any kind of explanation." The Uchiha pointed out, earning a nervous chuckle from his teammate.

Apparently he had been serious…

"What about the Hokage?" Neji spoke up for the first time.

Those seated at the table turned to the Clan heir in curiosity.

"Whatever this group's agenda is it clearly affects all of the other nations as well. So why not ask her to try and do some diplomacy? She and the other Kages could exchange notes and share information to help all of us." The boy finished.

"YOSH! A great idea Neji! MAY YOUR YOUTH SOAR EVER…"

"Lee! What did I say about shouting that stuff in a restaurant that we haven't been kicked out of yet?"

"Umm… don't? Sorry Tenten-chan but I get a bit excited sometimes…"

'Sometimes?' the rest of the collected Ninja sweat dropped at the statement before Sakura turned toward the Hyuga Kunoichi.

"So umm… Hinata-chan, do you think you could talk to Hokage-Sama about this? You are her student after all."

Hinata noted the jealousy in her voice before nodding slightly.

"I suppose I could at least try to convince her."

"In the meantime I think it is time to start some hard core training. Obviously if we are going to be trying to protect them like they have protected us then we all need to get stronger." Shino noted, with many of those present glancing in a not so discreet manner towards the Inuzuka.

"What? HEY IM STRONG! Whatever screw you guys…."

***SooP***

"Hokage-Sama"

"Ah Hinata come in. I understand you wanted to speak with me about something?"

"Yes, I have a request for you."

"And that is?"

"I would like to ask for you to call a meeting with the other Kages in order to share information about the Akatsuki. Thus far we only know the capabilities of half their numbers, which means we are unable to prepare a strategy to protect my teammates and any other remaining Jinchuriki. Since this obviously affects all the major villages I am sure that the other Kages would be more than willing to share information."

"You are hm? Well it is a good plan and I will certainly take it into consideration but there is more than just 'protecting the Jinchuriki' going on right now. Politics are a difficult maze to navigate and one must be careful, especially when representing an entire village."

"I understand Hokage-Sama."

"So… I hear that you and Akane are 'pretend dating' right now…"

The Hyuga developed a very deep blush and chose to stare at the floor rather than face her teacher and the teasing.

"I-I thought this w-would be good for her… you know t-to take her mind off of th-things and h-help her socialize."

"And the fact that you wouldn't mind spending some more 'quality alone time' with her has nothing to do with it right?"

Hinata tried to reply but it came out as sputtering and nonsense rather than actual words.

"Relax Hinata, I have no problem with this as long as everyone is happy. Personally I think it is a good thing that she is doing something more than just Ninja work… even if it is her teammate that she is doing."

The poor girl almost passed out at this statement.

"I do have a question though, how far have you gotten with my granddaughter?" The teasing in the woman's voice was now mixed with something else, a seriousness that told the pale eyed girl that she would be answering this question.

"W-we have been g-going out t-to eat. N-nothing ph-ph-physical…"

"…yet?" Tsunade finished the statement with a knowing smirk.

Hinata nodded, apparently the fact that she was interested in far more was no longer a secret between her and the woman she had come to view as a third mother, the second being Kurenai.

"Just… take things slow alright? I know I suggested having a one night stand to the girl but quite frankly I don't think it would be a good idea for her to rush into that sort of thing. She has reluctance towards physical contact that I am sure you have noticed and I don't want to cause issues in what is possibly my most powerful Ninja team just because two of them are dating."

Hinata nodded before being excused and running off to calm down her emotions.

***SooP***

"Hinata Hyuga"

"Itachi Uchiha"

The two Ninja stared at each other in silence, measuring one another and attempting to force the age old hatred between the two prominent Dojutsu wielding clans away from their minds.

"I understand that you have been 'pretend dating' Akane Uzumaki."

"I wouldn't call it 'pretend'."

"What would you call it then?"

"Dating"

"Ah"

The Uchiha paused for a moment, considering his next words carefully, "Many would consider this to be 'practice' for when she is involved in a real relationship."

"They would be wrong, and I do consider this a real relationship." The Hyuga responded in a monotone voice, which held just enough edge and sarcasm to get her meaning across.

The conversation was angering her.

"I see…"

"Rumor is that you are 'interested' in her as well."

The Uchiha nodded in confirmation o the girl's statement.

"I suppose this will lead to some conflict in the future then?"

"I would like to ensure that it does not turn violent or cruel for either of us. There is no need to drag her into more drama with everything else she has to deal with." Itachi stated, and earned a nod from Hinata.

"Then I suppose I should say good luck… and may the best Hyuga win." The girl smirked before doing a slight bow and turning to leave.

Itachi let out a sigh before rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

Once it got word that he had to compete with a Hyuga for the affections of a girl…

His mother would be up in arms and trying to manipulate the entire situation like always.

Even worse, Sasuke would be taunting him for the next decade.

***SooP***

This hadn't exactly how the Sanin had envisioned the mission going. He was supposed to sneak in, gather some incredibly classified and highly useful information about the leader of the Akatsuki. Then get out.

Simple

Of course he hadn't counted on being spotted by some creepy orange haired guy with facial piercings.

Neither had he counted on reinforcements showing up, in the form of several clones of the creepy orange haired guy.

Now he was facing a total of six opponents, all wielding the Rinnegan.

Of course this meant that at least one of them had to be Nagato, the only question was which was he?

The white haired Shinobi had even gone into his Sage Mode in order to battle them, but thus far it wasn't giving him any sort of real advantage.

Sure he had managed to damage a couple of them but they were slowly wearing him down, and if the fight continued…

This had to be done he had to obtain the secret behind this man's techniques before he died.

Then he could pass that knowledge on, and earn the right to call Minato his son, earn the right to truly call himself a godfather.

Godfathers are there to protect and raise those who are entrusted to them.

He had done neither of these two things.

Both Akane and Natsuko were hurt, ignored, and starved both physically and emotionally.

He had failed them too many times to leave empty handed now.

His last act would be… must be to obtain this information, to pass it on to his two godchildren so that they might use it to defeat the Akatsuki once and for all.

Then he would permit himself to leave this world if it came to that.

Simple

***SooP***

"So then I said to him 'listen jerk I don't care if you are the best chef in the entire world ramen is the gift from the Gods and nothing you say will ever change that'."

"That's incredible Natsuko-chan, it must have been amazing to journey all over the different countries and experience such new things. I would love to go traveling someday." Hinata mused wishfully.

"Maybe we will after this whole thing is over. Once the Akatsuki are removed we could always as Hokage-Sama if we could take another training vacation with Jiraiya. I am sure he would let you join us." Akane replied.

'Alone… on a training trip with Akane-chan and Natsuko-chan for an entire year…' a bit of blood dripped from Hinata's nose before she nodded her head in acceptance so fast that the two sisters feared she would get whiplash.

"That would be so much fun! We could go camping, and see new and fun places, and meet all kinds of fun people, and taste so many new kinds of ramen, and…" The blonde stopped walking as she and the Hyuga glanced back at the redhead, who had frozen mid step.

The girl's eyes were open wide in shock and she quickly shifted her body and stared off into the distance.

"Jiraiya…"

A second later she vanished in a flash of red.

***SooP***

Jiraiya fell forward, watching as the ground slowly rose to meet him. The twelve purple eyes watched on stoically from a few feet away.

The only consolation was that his message would be delivered, the note he had inscribed on Pa would be found by Tsunade and she could use it to devise a plan to defeat Pein.

The Akatsuki would be destroyed without its leader.

Akane and Natsuko would be safe.

If only he could have seen them one more time, said his last goodbyes before…

Well it didn't matter much now. He could feel his life slipping away as the world slowed around him, as if giving him time to make his mental farewells.

Just as the darkness consumed his vision and he lost consciousness the sage swore he felt an arm gently catch him.

***SooP***

"Where did she…"

One of the paths muttered out, as the six creations gazed at the young redheaded girl now standing before them, holding the white haired Sanin up with one arm while glaring at them in turn.

If looks could kill he was sure that all six of them would be in hell once more.

A split second later he recognized her from the reports.

She was a Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails.

She was a target.

The Preta Path immediately leapt forward, closing the distance in seconds, and threw a punch to engage the Kunoichi and stop her from rescuing the man.

Just as his fist was about to come into contact she vanished, a flash of red being the only indication of her departure or arrival.

More worrisome was the fact that Jiraiya was gone as well, meaning that the secret was in jeopardy.

Perhaps it was time to pay Konoha a visit, and show them the consequences for angering a God.

***Omake***

"So Jiraiya I have been meaning to ask you something."

"And what would that be hime?"

Tsunade paused for a moment, considering the wording of her question carefully before continuing on, "Are both Uzumaki sisters… lesbians?"

Jiraiya spit out the tea he had just taken a sip of in shock.

"What!? No! Where the hell did this come from?"

The Hokage shot him a 'are you serious' look before replying, "Akane is currently 'dating' Hinata and you said that Natsuko is dating the Kyubi… who is a female…"

"Well technically the Kyubi isn't really a female per se."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"The Biju are creatures of pure Chakra given form so they don't really have a gender."

"How the hell can you date or… um… get anywhere further with something that has no gender?"

"No you misunderstand, as pure Chakra the Biju take on whatever form that they want to. That's why the Kyubi can appear as a mountain sized fox in one moment and a normal sized person the next. Obviously she can change her form at will… which means she can change the attributes of that form as well."

Tsunade sat back in her chair, trying to catch the hidden meaning behind the statement.

"So the Kyubi could take on the form of a man if Natsuko wanted it to?"

"As far as I understand it yes, though she prefers the feminine shape instead, she could just as easily… uh… modify it to add in… extra… fun…"

Jiraiya's eyes glazed over for a moment, and the Kunoichi was starting to worry before he leapt up, tears rolling down his face in joy.

"THIS IS THE BEST IDEA FOR A STORY EVER! Imagine it hime… 'Icha Icha the Forbidden Futa'! I WILL BE RICH! I can already see the plot in my head! Two beautiful, young, and powerful sisters tempted by a demon that appears as a female and then grows… MY GOD IT WILL BE MY GREATEST WORK EEEEEVVVVVVAAAAAARRRRRRR!"

Tsunade could only twitch in annoyance as she listened, and watched, her former teammate excited pull out a small book and begin writing down notes at a blinding pace.

"Jiraiya…"

The man didn't answer, too lost in his own perversions.

"Jiraiya…"

Still he didn't look up.

"JIRAIYA!"

"Hm? Oh you say something hime?"

The Kage fought the urge to paint the walls with the man's face.

"How exactly are you going to explain this to them once they hear about it?"

Suddenly the Sanin paled in fear as his mind went to being hunted down by two enraged Jinchuriki and the Biju dwelling within them.

"I'm sure Natsuko wouldn't let them kill me… right?"

The blonde face palmed in exasperation.

***A/N***

Sorry to anyone who was waiting for the Jiraiya vs. Pein fight, I hope the one I included instead was satisfactory.

So Jiraiya appears to be alive, another fun departure from canon, and Pein is pissed, wonder what this will lead to eh?

I wanted to put in a bit of 'romance' scenes just to have some deviation from "fight fight fight, fight some more and then fight a couple more times." This marks the beginning of a lot of combat chapters so I am trying to throw in a bit of other fluff to compensate.

As many can tell the two most popular 'pairings' are either Itachi or Hinata. I still haven't really decided which I like more yet, since both work so damn well.

As for the Omake… this was actually my original plan for the Natsuko solo story, aka she was going to date a Kyubi that could change forms and thus introduce some Futanari goodness that normally isn't included in anything except for a pure smut story.

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and the battles, I know I did.