Sum of our Parts
The Shadows Lengthen
***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***
"Are you sure that was the best decision Lady Tsunade? I know that Jiraiya-Sama is very skilled and the best spymaster Konoha has ever produced but still…"
"Shizune you worry too much, besides he knows that if gets caught doing something stupid he will have to suffer the consequences of an enraged Hokage beating his sorry ass."
"I don't understand why you can't be nicer to your teammate… sure he is a bit eccentric and perverted but he seems to genuinely care for you."
The Hokage let out a deep sigh before closing her eyes in concentration.
"I know that, it's just that… I can't really see us ever being as close as he wants to be."
"So Jiraiya-Sama does have feelings for you?" The younger woman replied with a bit of a smirk, having forced the information out of her teacher.
"Yes he does, he has for years now."
"What!? If that's true why haven't you…"
"Why haven't I what Shizune? Confessed my undying love for the man? Maybe that's because I don't feel that way towards him. Maybe it's because I don't care about him as anything more than just teammates."
The dark haired Kunoichi shook her head in defeat.
"I don't know who you are trying to lie to, me or yourself… but be careful you don't end up regretting the chance you have Lady Tsunade." The girl replied before leaving the woman's office.
The Senju just snorted.
Like that would ever happen.
***SooP***
Days later the Fifth Hokage would come to regret this decision.
A flash of red light alerted the woman, and the ANBU stationed in the room, to an unexpected arrival.
Looking up, and stealthily preparing herself for a fight, the village leader gaped at the sight before her.
Akane stood holding Jiraiya's arm over her should and keeping the bloody and beaten man upright as best she could.
It was clear though that he was in a critical condition.
"Wha…"
"Hold on"
With that that redhead reached out and grabbed the woman's arm, before the three vanished once more, leaving a room full of confused ANBU.
Seconds later Tsunade shook off the slight nausea from the technique and noticed that they were in a secure hospital room.
Apparently the Uzumaki had prepared even more extensively than anyone believed.
"Lay him on the bed face down go grab Shizune and Hinata I am goin…"
Before the blonde could finish her order the girl had vanished once more. Leaving the woman to hit a nearby panic button and summoning hospitals with emergency carts within minutes.
Shizune arrived a moment later, before Akane once more vanished.
***SooP***
"Natsuko-chan, do you know where your sister… eep!" the Hyuga began before a flash of red light startled her from behind and the girl in question put a hand on both her sister and Hinata's shoulders.
"Onee-chan what is…"
"Jiraiya is badly wounded, Tsunade needs help. Don't forget to breathe."
"What do you…." The pale eyed girl started, before finding herself coughing and in a hospital room.
"It will pass, just breathe…"
Hinata followed the recommendation before gasping at the bloody form of the white haired Sanin on the hospital bed, already surrounded by doctors and machines.
"Hinata you are here, good. We already started a blood transfusion, I need to you start checking for any critical broken bones and then any internal bleeding we might have missed." The Hokage commanded while she and her first student were busy slowly removing large spear like devices and healing the wounds afterwards.
"Of course"
The Byakugan blazed into action as the Kunoichi's face took on a deadly serious gaze.
"What can we do?" the redhead Uzumaki inquired.
"Go find Kakashi and tell him to assemble the council for an emergency situation. Until then have him lock down the village and recall all nearby teams. No one is to leave until we figure out what happened."
Akane nodded, and glanced over at her sister who was still staring at the man's injured body.
"Stay here with them Natsuko, I will be back shortly."
The normally chipper girl merely nodded before slowly sitting down in a corner chair.
***SooP***
"Ah Akane-chan what can I do for…"
"Jiraiya is in critical condition and the Hokage is trying to save him. You are to lock down the village and assemble the council as per orders."
Team seven looked a bit startled as the redhead had appeared in the middle of their training field.
What was even more shocking was how their sensei reacted.
Gone was the eye smiling and silly goof off they had all grown to love.
In his place was a man who had seen war, a former ANBU of the highest level, and a genius who had graduated the academy earlier than most had even started it.
The three Ninja were reminded of something that the man had once told them.
'There is no such thing as a former ANBU.'
Kakashi's voice rang out in a stern commanding tone. A tone reserved for giving orders that were to be followed without question.
"Sasuke go find your brother and inform him that 'the shadows grow long', then inform your mother of an emergency council meeting. Sakura I want you to go and locate Team ten, have the students assemble at the Academy and tell Asuma the same code. Kiba go and do the same with Team nine. Akane find Kurenai and Anko and…"
He didn't need to finish before the girl was gone in a flash.
Kakashi disappeared with a Sunshin moments later.
The remaining members of Team seven glanced curiously at each other before leaping off to accomplish their individual tasks.
***SooP***
Sasuke recognized the reaction of his teacher. He had seen the same change in his brother and now was able to bear witness to it again.
The change in persona from a normal, if a bit slightly odd, Ninja to a stone cold killing machine was something that to this day sent chills down his spine.
Itachi had given the slightest nod at the command, his face already becoming deadly serious, before vanishing with a burst of speed.
His mother had been tending to the Uchiha estate when he had found her.
She gave a panicked confirmation before setting off, and telling him to go to the academy for further instructions.
***SooP***
Less than an hour later the various Ninja assembled at the academy as per instructions while the council assembled elsewhere.
"So what's going on exactly? I am not a fan of being summoned by a Chunin who smells like he bathes with his dog."
"I do bathe with Akamaru you ass what's wrong with that?"
"The fact that you even need to ask what is wrong with this situation is telling enough kibbles."
"What did you say to me teme? Maybe we should have a quick spar while we are waiting for everyone to get here."
"I don't know, have you practiced getting thrown to the ground enough lately? I would hate for you to be out of practice and pull something before I start tossing you around like a child."
"Listen jackass just because you get lucky most of the time doesn't mean that…"
"Kiba you haven't beaten Sasuke-Kun in a spar once yet." The pinkette reminded the boy in an annoyed tone.
"Yeah well there's a first time for everything right guys?"
The other members of their graduating class seemed to have lost interest, and instead were talking amongst themselves at this point.
"Seriously… man I hate my friends…"
"Would you two quit bickering like children and get over here, now is not the time." Neji commanded in a stern voice.
The various members of the Konoha thirteen gathered around in a circle, missing only those from Team seven, before Sasuke broke the silence.
"We were asked to gather you all here due to a potential attack on the village. The council has been summoned to an emergency meeting, Jiraiya-Sama was severely injured, and the Hokage is currently working on healing him. My guess is this has something to do with the Akatsuki."
"That would make sense they are currently the largest threat not only to the various nations but also to his godchildren. Speaking of which where are Natsuko, Akane, and Hinata?" Tenten questioned.
"Hinata would most likely be at the hospital helping Hokage-Sama. If Jiraiya-Sama is indeed injured then I can only imagine the two Uzumaki sisters are with him." Sakura chimed in.
The conversation paused as the various Ninja fell into silence to consider the facts, before it was Choji who spoke up, "So what are we going to do? I mean we were gathered here for a reason right? It can't be just to sit around and wait for our parents to make a decision."
"No, I would think it is to keep us out of trouble. Kakashi-Sama was the one who ordered us to gather correct?" The Uchiha nodded towards the Nara heir's assumption. "Then undoubtedly they know we would try and do something stupid and reckless, especially considering some of our members…"
"HEY! I am not reckless at all and I take offense to that!" The Inuzuka clan heir shouted out.
'I wonder if he realizes what he just admitted to…' the rest of the Ninja pondered before shaking their heads.
"You charged an S-Rank Ninja head on…" the pinkette reminded the boy with a smack to the back of his head.
"So if this guy who beat up Jiraiya-Sama knows where Akane and Natsuko are then…" Ino mumbled out, allowing Lee to finish the statement for her.
"THEN HE IS COMING TO EXTINGUISH THEIR FLAMES OF YOUTH!"
"He can try… there is no chance I am going to stand by and let that happen though."
Surprisingly it was the Aburame of the group who made such a declaration, a faint buzzing being heard from him as he did so.
"Shino is right, they have protected us enough already… it is time that this village protects them for once." The Akimichi agreed, punching his fists together for emphasis.
"Before we go any further I think everyone needs to know the stakes here… most likely if we pursue this course of action we will be punished for it later on, up to removal of rank. Then there is the fact that our parents will probably kill us assuming that this man, who defeated a Sanin by the way, doesn't do it first. So I think we should make this statement now, if anyone does not wish to continue you may bow out and not have any consequences towards you." Sasuke called out, forcing the others silent as the glanced around.
No one budged.
"Well then I guess we are in this for the long haul… alright genius what can you come up with?"
"Well I think the answer is obvious, we find the bastard and punch him in his bitch face!" Kiba declared, thinking that his teammate had been talking about him.
"He means Shikamaru… seriously how the hell are you a Chunin when the two sisters are still Genin?" Tenten inquired with a face palm.
"Well, since we don't know much about the maniac we will need to make general preparations for defeating a wide range of opponents. Obviously the most important strategy is to take him out as fast as possible, this negates any time he or she might have to adapt to the situation or start some kind of crazy Jutsu." The actual genius began.
"What happens if he isn't alone? We already know about three other members who are alive as well…" Sakura inquired.
"If we end up facing a Kage level Ninja, two immortals, and someone who can defeat a Sanin… we might as well go down in a blaze of glory, as troublesome as that is. I doubt Konoha would be able to remain standing in the face of that kind of power." The Nara finished, before pulling out a piece of paper and beginning some rough tactical sketches.
"Alright first we can try having Kiba and Neji rush in like this…"
***SooP***
This was bad.
This was very bad.
Itachi continued leaping across rooftops until he finally emerged at ANBU headquarters, ready for his emergency assignment.
Very few things could make this situation any worse that it already was.
Jiraiya was critically injured.
The Hokage and Hinata were busy healing him.
Anko, Gai, Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai still hadn't fully recovered from their encounters with the Akatsuki.
A Ninja powerful enough to gravely injure a Sanin was currently headed towards the village.
There were only three Biju still free from the Akatsuki's influence, and one was currently housed between two sisters he had grown quite fond of, meaning that they were going to be an even bigger target then before.
The council had been temporarily given power over the village.
His brother was most likely off doing something horrendously stupid and reckless.
Yes it was shaping up to be a very large catastrophe.
The ANBU could only hope that his brothers and sisters in arms would be prepared for this situation that they could scramble their forces, along with whatever else the village could scrape together, and form an attack unit strong enough to stop the oncoming psychopath.
Hopefully it was just the leader of the Akatsuki and not all of their remaining members.
Itachi wasn't sure that Konoha could stand against eight S-Ranked criminals, at least one of whom was a Kage level Ninja who had effortlessly defeated no less than three Jonin.
***SooP***
Jiraiya found himself attached to no less than a dozen machines and several bags of fluid being fed into his arms.
Of course nothing compared to the overall pain he felt from every inch of his body, the man had experienced near death states before but none quite like this.
Moments later his former teammate entered the room to check on him, and gave a small smile.
"Good to see you are awake Jiraiya."
"How long have I been out?"
"Just over a day." A voice called out from the corner of the room, revealing the two Uzumaki sisters sitting patiently.
"Wh-what happened? I remember fighting against Pein and…"
"Which we will be talking about after you are recovered by the way. What part of 'Don't go after any of them by yourself' don't you understand?"
"Well one thing lead to another and… wait how did I get back here then?"
"Onee-chan rescued you silly."
The Sage's reaction was not one any of them had expected.
"What the hell were you thinking!? You could have been captured! I expected better from you!"
The redhead's eyes widened as she leaned away slightly in shock from the man.
"Jiraiya that's enough! She saved your…"
"No it's not! She put everyone in danger just to save one person's life that is not what being a Ninja is about! What if she hadn't been fast enough in retreating? What if Pein had captured and extracted the Kyubi from her huh?"
"Ero-Sensei please…" Natsuko started, tears already forming in her eyes.
"No, not this time, she made a serious mistake in going there and she needs to understand that. Mistakes like that could cost missions and lives in the future."
"I… understand. If that is all Hokage-San I wish to leave and continue my training."
The Senju woman barely had time to nod before the redhead vanished from the room.
Natsuko ran out moments later, trying to hide her tears from the two Sanin.
"What the hell is wrong with you Jiraiya! She saved your life you dumbass and then you go and tell her she was wrong?"
"She was wrong, she should have…"
"Left you there to die? Lost one of the few people she cares about in the world? Damaged the spy network beyond repair? Allowed one of the most powerful Ninja we have to be killed in an unauthorized mission?"
"Would it really matter if I died? It's not like everything I care about isn't going to be taken from me anyway."
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
The white haired man snorted in response before replying.
"We both know that you still care for the Namikaze and not me, and once he sees the error of his ways he will come and be their grandfather. I will lose the only three things I care about in this world again. She should have just left me there to die as a Shinobi. My last act would have been giving you the key to defea…"
The slap that followed echoed through the room.
"How… dare you! You have no right to assume who I do and do not care about. As for those two girls… are you really so blind that you don't see the way they love you? You are the father figure they never had, the family they always wanted. Now you are throwing it away because you think some Akatsuki jerk is going to waltz in and they will instantly discard you? Does that sound like either of them to you?"
"It sounds like the way my life has always been…"
Tsunade could only stare in shock at the man's defeated tone, the way he stared off to the side and avoided her gaze.
This was not the Jiraiya she had been partnered with, had grown up with.
This was not the man she secretly admired and even cared for… maybe more than she wanted to admit.
"Whenever Jiraiya of the Sanin wishes to come back to us and leave this pathetic excuse of a person behind you let me know. I need to speak to him about quite a few things."
With that the woman made one final check on the machines before leaving the room.
***SooP***
"What can we do about this situation? Whoever it was seriously injured one of the most powerful Ninjas in the village and now we are virtually blind without the spy network." One of the council members fretted out.
"Amazing how much we can come to rely on one thing and not even realize it until it has been taken away. Konoha has survived without Jiraiya in the past and we will do so again. For now though actions must be taken against the Akatsuki." Shikaku replied out, glancing around the table at those assembled.
"We know that they are targeting Jinchuriki correct, why not just let them have the brats?" One civilian cried out, hoping to sway the others as well.
"Indeed! For too long have we 'put up with' their existence defiling our perfect village. Now we have the perfect reason to finally be rid of them once and for all!" Another agreed, and earned nods from several others.
"So let me get this straight… in your infinite wisdom and knowledge of Ninja affairs you want to rid the village of its two Jinchuriki. Thereby significantly weakening our military power as well as exiling two of the most promising Ninja we have ever had. Along with this you are going to degrade our relations with Suna, who are basically our allies because of the two girls." Asuma pointed out, sarcasm oozing from his voice.
Most of the members had the decency to look defeated, save for one or two rather stupid individuals who continued nodding, as if their goals made perfect sense.
"Part of me wonders why the hell we even have a joint council on these sorts of topics…" Tsume muttered out in annoyance.
"The solution is simple we need to strike at the Akatsuki… hard." Kakashi, who had been the stand in for the Hokage, declared in a no nonsense voice.
"How exactly do you want to do that Kakashi? It's not like we have the power to find and attack them right now and keep up a strong front to the other villages." Inoichi reminded the former ANBU.
"Then we get the other villages into a temporary truce, at least until the situation is sorted out. If they have been losing Jinchuriki like our intel suggests then they can't afford to attack us either right now." The silver haired man reminded those assembled.
"Then it's decided, once Jiraiya is recovered and we are able to locate one of those maniacs… we begin eliminating them with extreme prejudice." Shikaku ordered, earning nods from the other council members.
***SooP***
"What do you think we should do onee-chan?"
The redhead glanced towards her, still upset, sister and gave her a small comforting smile.
"The man definitely recognized me, which means there is a chance he is coming after us next. We need to keep the others out of this. If he was able to defeat Jiraiya then he poses a serious threat to anyone else. So let's see what we can learn from this." At her last statement the redhead pulled out one of the weapons that had been lodged in the Sanin's back and handed it to her sister, who entered Sage Mode a moment later to try and unravel some of its mysteries.
***SooP***
"We have a situation"
"Obviously, I have received word that your leader is making his way towards Konoha."
"He is, more worrisome though is the fact that Jiraiya appears to have survived their battle. While he will not be healthy enough to participate in any kind of defense I have no doubt that he will pass on information to the other Ninjas and give them a fighting chance against Pein."
"So what do you intend to do?"
"For now nothing, if he falls we will need to recover his remains though."
"What will happen to the Akatsuki after that?"
"I will take command obviously. That is one of the reasons I called this meeting."
"Oh? Do tell."
"I wish to make an agreement with you."
"What kind of agreement?"
The masked man paused for a moment, considering his options before continuing on.
"You wish to have the vengeance that was denied to you. You wish to see Konoha burn. I can grant you both of these in exchange for your aid."
"My revenge against the village has already been taken. Hiruzen is dead and…"
"But the redhead who prevented his fall lives…"
The pale Sanin paused, before a sickening smile fell over his face.
"Go on…"
"We will deliver Akane Uzumaki's body to you as proof of her demise, along with this I will aid you in obtaining what was denied by her sister… a living Uchiha."
Orochimaru's grin grew even wider.
"Once her sister is dead the remaining Uzumaki will be hopelessly distraught. We will be able to extract the remaining portion of the Kyubi from her and then give you her remains as well for your studies. All we ask for in return is for you to utilize your contact in Konoha to separate the two sisters and send them out of the village, away from their protection."
"This seems quite one sided in my favor… what is the catch?"
"I want your Edo Tensei army that you have been preparing… all of it."
The snake summoner glared in annoyance, the man projected in front of him knew far more than he should, far more than even Jiraiya knew.
Still… the chance at having the pristine remains of a Mokuton user, along with his vengeance against the redheaded bitch and a living Uchiha to transfer into…
Orochimaru would have given virtually anything for such a prize.
"Deal, I shall contact my… friend… in Konoha shortly and promise him something ridiculous in return for his aid. There is one more thing I want though… once you have your army I want you to use it to destroy Konoha once and for all."
"Do not worry about that… nothing shall remain of that forsaken place." The voice faded out as the image projected by the Akatsuki ring vanished.
The Sanin knew it had been wise to hang onto it after his departure from the group.
***SooP***
Jiraiya bolted upright in his hospital bed, sweat pouring down his face.
Sometime in the last few days most of the machines had been removed due to his recovery and his wounds had healed enough for him to be able to at least function.
"Pein… he's here…" The white haired man muttered out as he pushed himself off the bed and made his way to the door only to encounter Tsunade as she was coming in to check on his status.
The two former teammates locked eyes for a moment, before Jiraiya broke the stare down and glanced downwards apologetically.
"Hime… those things I said… I'm…"
"It's about time you got off your lazy ass you pervert. Now tell me what happened so that we can formulate a strategy."
"No time… he is approaching the village."
The Hokage's eyes widened in shock as she turned to one of her ANBU guards, "Find all the Jonin and ANBU still in the village. Then get the two Uzumaki sisters to the bunker under the tower, I don't care if you have to drag them there."
The masked man nodded before disappearing in a blur of Sunshin.
"If something happens to them…"
"It won't, don't worry Jiraiya we have this covered. You have been recovering for two days. Do you really think we have been sitting around reading smut like Kakashi wanted? We already have a strate…"
Her statement was interrupted by another ANBU appearing in the doorway.
"Hokage-Sama, the forces you requested are gathering but… the two Uzumaki sisters are nowhere to be found. Word is that they left the village several hours ago."
"Oh no…"
***Omake***
"So Natsuko-Chan, what is this I hear about you dating someone?" Ino, not so subtly, inquired.
The other members of their class perked up immediately. Ino was a bit too gossipy most of the time but none of them could say that she wasn't at least entertaining some of the time.
"Oh yeah Kyu-chan is the best!"
The others blinked in confusion.
"Uh is that short for something Natsuko? I haven't heard of any other Ninja named 'Kyu'… unless you are dating a civilian?" Tenten inquired, while the others cringed slightly at the thought of dating a non-Ninja.
Sure there was nothing inherently wrong with it, but trying to balance a life of constant death and danger with a peaceful existing one was normally impossible.
"Yep it stands for 'Kyuubi" the blonde happily answered as if nothing were wrong.
The shocked expressions on the other Chunin and Jonin's faces said otherwise.
"Wh-what the hell do you mean you're dating the Kyuubi!? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!?" Kiba roared out.
"Well it's a bit difficult sometimes since she can't leave my body but I can change my 'mindscape' at will so it's really fun."
"What do you mean 'mindscape'?" Neji inquired, ignoring the Inuzuka's stammering.
"Well she exists in my soul and mind… kinda… so like I can change the setting to whatever I want. We went to the beach one day and then a mountain resort another. Then there was skiing and swimming under the oceans, and that day we just flew around in the air for the entire time."
"Wait you can fly!?" Kiba once again interrupted.
"No you moron… Kami how did you become a Chunin... If it is in her mind then she can alter whatever she sees fit, hence the flying." Sasuke responded, earning a glare from his teammate.
"Yep! Anyway since Kyu-Chan has lived a long time she has all kinds of fun experiences and memories that we can use."
The others nodded, ignoring the shock from their friend dating a centuries old demon for the time being.
"So how exactly did you start dating?" Sakura asked, always a bit curious about romantic couples.
"Well Ero-Sensei was working with onee-chan that day and I was left to work on some Jutsu when I realized that if I was feeling a bit lonely then she must have been as well. So I went into my mind like I have been doing since I was young and spent a few hours talking to her."
"WAIT HER!?"
"Kiba if you don't let the poor girl finish one complete thought I will gut you like a trout." The Hyuga muttered out in annoyance, before gesturing the Genin to continue.
"Well after I saw how happy it made her to have some company I just started spending a few hours every day doing that and it just sort of happened."
"How can you date something so evil though?" the feral boy mumbled in anger.
"She is not evil. Sure she attacked Konoha but someone else was manipulating her and besides Ninja attack other villages all the time without remorse so why should it be any different for her?"
The others stopped and thought for a moment. The blonde raised a good point. Ninja were almost constantly in a war like state and did far more despicable things than just targeting enemy villages. Why was it that there was so much hatred towards Biju when they did the same?
"HOW INCREDIBLY YOUTHFUL NATSUKO-CHAN! TELL US WHEN WE COULD MEET THIS YOUTHFUL WOMAN!?"
The others looked back in horror at the boy before the blonde happily giggled before closing her eyes briefly.
"You can meet me right now Lee."
Several of the Ninja promptly fainted.
***Omake 2***
"Excuse me Akane-chan may I have a word with you?"
The redhead paused, glancing back at the older Uchiha with a curious look and shrugged before nodding.
"It has come to my attention that the Hokage is worried about your… social development and wishes for you to form closer relationships with others in the village."
"That's correct"
"I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner tonight."
The redhead looked a bit confused for a moment, before opening her mouth to respond.
Fortunately Natsuko beat her to it.
"Onee-chan would love to! I assume you would like to pick her up from baa-chan's house?"
"That would be fine."
"Good how about around six?" the blonde continued, not allowing her sister to respond for herself.
"Very good I will see you then Akane-chan."
With that the Uchiha departed, leaving a stunned, and still silent, redhead behind.
"Natsuko… what was that? You know I am currently spending time with Hinata."
"Oh I know onee-chan, don't you worry about that though this is just a date. It's not like you have to marry the guy or Hinata-chan… or both."
Akane shook her head before continuing on towards their home, while her sister lingered back glancing to the alleyway she knew their other teammate had ducked into when she overheard the conversation.
"I'm sorry Hinata-chan, I know you care about my sister but… she needs to form more friendships. I worry about her you know…"
The pale eyed girl emerged, forcing back the tears from escaping and giving a slight nod.
"Yes… I know. I want her to have more friends too I guess I am just… being selfish."
"No you're not you are too nice for that. Tell you what Hinata-chan how about we go out tonight? That way you and Akane-chan are even."
In that moment a plan burst into Hinata's mind. If she could continue dating Akane, and somehow begin dating Natsuko as well it would only be a matter of time until she could 'suggest' that they go on dates with just the three of them. She knew Akane would never connect with the Uchiha on the same level as they could. After all, the redhead had too many bad experiences with men and Hinata was one of the few people that the two sisters did trust.
Those private dates would lead to quiet evenings at the Senju compound, after all Hinata was still training with Tsunade.
This would turn into slumber parties which would eventually become…
Hinata forced herself not to pass out at the images that now flowed through her mind.
"I would like that very much Natsuko-chan, how about I pick you up at six as well?"
'Maybe I can even make Akane-chan a bit jealous at the same time.'
"It's a date Hinata-chan!" the blonde proclaimed before happily skipping off after her sister.
"Oh it is indeed Natsuko-chan… it is indeed."
***A/N***
This chapter was a lot harder for me than I would like to admit, I finished it really early but it was really short and then I had trouble coming up with what else to add in.
That's one of the reasons there are two Omakes rather than just one, I didn't want to cheat my readers out of my normal chapter length.
All in all though I am fairly happy with the way it all turned out, sure Jiraiya was a bit of an ass but I feel like he might be with all the stress going on in his life.
Next chapter will be the long awaited Pein battle, and I hope to make it the most exciting fight yet!
Hope everyone enjoyed!
