Chapter Sixteen: Unexpected detour
"Let's get going guys." Neji said as he knocked on Sasuke and Naruto's door.
He walked over to Sakura and Ino's room as the two guys of squad seven came out, "Where are we heading Sempai?" Naruto asked with a smile.
Neji knocked as he turned to the two of them, "The letter said we'd meet up with someone in the lobby." Neji said as he stepped back, allowing the girls' door to open.
Ino stuck her head out, "Hey guys, Sakura-chan is in the shower, she'll be a few minutes." She said with a soft smile.
Sasuke and Neji nodded while Naruto glanced at the scar on Ino's head, "How's the head Ino-chan?" he asked.
Ino stepped aside while waving the boys into the room, "Just a little itchy, you reckon I can get rid of this scarring eventually?" she asked.
Naruto tilted his head in thought, "If you want me to have a look, lie down on the couch." He said as he walked into the room in front of Neji and Sasuke.
Ino nodded, "Well, alright then." She agreed as she closed the door behind them and walked over to the couch, she lay down as Naruto sat on the coffee table facing her.
Naruto placed a glowing green hand over the scar, "This is unfortunate, the cut is on a cross angle so the skin doesn't meet up. So in theory the scar only has the possibility of getting worse." Naruto said as he pulled his hand back and began forming more hand seals.
Ino looked up at him, obviously worried, "But," he started, "That is only theory, do you mind having a tender forehead for a while?" he asked, receiving the green light from Ino.
"Go ahead Doctor Uzumaki." She said with a smile.
Naruto chuckled as he placed his hands on her forehead, "MEDIC NINJA ART: CELL REJUVENATION!" Naruto said as he channelled his chakra.
Ino hissed in a deep breath as Naruto took some of the old near-dead cells and used his own energy to reanimate them, causing the large scar to start minimising before it was nothing more than a small inch long line just below her hairline.
Naruto pulled his hands away with a smile, "There we go." He said as he stood.
Ino sat up and pulled out a small hand mirror from her ninja pouch, "Wow, It's barely there at all now!" she said with a grin.
Naruto nodded just as the bedroom door opened, "Hey guys! Ready to go?" Sakura asked.
Naruto stood as Neji spoke, "Sakura, you're the one we're waiting on." He said with his arms crossed.
Sakura grinned, "What are you talking about? I'm already in the lobby." She said before disappearing in a leaf shunshin.
Sasuke chuckled before fading in his mirage shunshin while Naruto seemed to dissipate into mist. Causing Neji to sigh, "It's times like this I wish I just did the next few months of ANBU." He muttered before using his own shunshin to leave Ino alone.
##########
The ANBU led Neji, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura across the roof tops and along the mountain plateaus on their way to the Raikage's house, which apparently wasn't in the village itself.
The ANBU came to a stop about halfway up a large staircase, "This stairwell leads to Raikage-sama's house. Please move quickly as you are nearly late." The ANBU said before leaving in a lightning shunshin.
The ninjas walked at a quick pace to climb the stairs, Naruto asked a question, "So Neji, if he really does want to talk politics about joining the alliance, what do we say? Cause we are far from qualified to talk about that stuff."
Neji glanced over his shoulder and pointed to Sasuke, "Last Uchiha." He said before pointing to Naruto, "Last Uzumaki/Namikaze." He said before looking forward.
Naruto frowned before opening his mouth to say something else when Sakura cut in, "You forget, great-great-great grandson of the First Hokage." She said while nudging Naruto's shoulder with her own.
Sasuke chuckled, "And Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, seriously otouto, you have all the bases loaded." He said with a smirk.
Naruto tilted his head in thought, "Huh, I'm surprised I'm not more famous or something." He mumbled.
Sasuke chuckled while Sakura giggled before Neji spoke up, "There it is."
Squad seven looked up and Naruto grinned as he hovered ahead, "Hey! Octo-pops!" Naruto yelled before kicking his feet, pushing himself up with a big pulse to land in front of Killer B.
Killer B turned with a grin from his place just at the door, "Yo Naruto, you feelin up for some grub bro?" he said as he offered his hand in a hand shake.
Naruto took the hand before the two bumped fists, "You know it!" Naruto said with a grin.
He and Killer B chuckled before Neji, Sasuke and Sakura arrived, looking up at the large house in appreciation, "You live here B-san?" Neji asked.
Killer B nodded, "Yeah man, my bro and I moved in years back, since then his girl and one of my team has grooved back."
Sasuke raised a brow, "Grooved back?" he asked as Killer B turned to the door.
Said Jinchuuriki grinned over his shoulder, "Dats da fact jack. Samui needed a place to stay, so this place became her home away." He rapped as he opened the door for them to enter through.
Neji led the way with an appreciative look in his eyes as he glanced around the large but modest lounge room, his eyes turned forward as Mabui walked into the room, "Hello everyone, welcome to our house! Sorry for the mess." She said with a kind smile as she picked up a pillow from the couch and flicked off some miniscule pieces of lint.
Naruto stood at the back of the group next to Killer B, glancing around the room with a raised brow, 'There's pretty much no mess anywhere.' He thought as he followed the group down a large hallway.
They entered a large dining room just as Samui walked in from another door, glancing at the approaching group before taking her seat, "Morning." She said, not offering anything else in welcome.
Neji's eyebrow twitched as he began sweating, "G-good Morning S-Samui-san." he said with a small stutter.
Samui looked up at him and smirked, causing Naruto to grin, 'She sooo knows he likes her.' Naruto thought as Mabui walked around the table.
Mabui spoke up, "B, take your seat." she said.
While B walked around and sat to the right of Samui, Mabui waved towards the seats opposite the three of them, "Squad Seven, please have a seat." She said with a smile before sitting to Killer B's right.
The quad went to sit down before Samui spoke up, "A-sama wants Naruto to sit at the foot of the table." She said with a bored look.
Everyone's eyebrows shot up at that, "Me? Why me?" Naruto asked.
"Because as Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, you have the strongest reason to want the villages to band together so that we can take down this Akatsuki menace." The Raikage said as he marched into the room, sitting at the head of the table.
The Konoha ninjas quickly took their seats, Neji sitting opposite Samui, Sasuke sitting opposite B and Sakura sitting closest to the Raikage, opposite Mabui. Naruto sat opposite the Raikage, feeling a bit out of place as he used to sitting to Sasuke's side in situations like this.
The Konoha ninjas sat in an awkward silence, for a few seconds until A turned to look to the side of the room, "Hey, dinner ready yet?" he yelled out.
Not a second later, people began carrying out plates of food for the eight people at the table, within moments the table was full and the people left, leaving only the chef who bowed to the group before leaving himself.
A spoke up almost immediately, "So, tell me who Tobi and Deidara are." He ordered as he began cutting up some bacon.
The Konoha ninjas' eyes widened before Neji began to speak, "What do yo-"
"Not you." A said harshly before staring at Naruto dangerously, "You." he said before eating a mouthful.
Samui began to eat, not really caring about what was going on inside the room, while Mabui followed with a polite smile on her face. Sakura followed their example nervously until she tasted the food, "Hmm, this is really good." She said before holding some up for Sasuke.
With Sasuke's mouth full Naruto began talking, "Umm, I'm not sure who you're referring to, there was a kid back in Konoha whose name was Tobi, but I don't know why a toddler is so important to you." Naruto said, trying to seem nonchalant.
A chuckled as he stuffed his mouth full, not caring as some food dripped from his mouth when he spoke, "You guys should really pay attention to your surroundings. My ninjas overheard you at the café yesterday afternoon." The Raikage said with a smirk, "There is no point in lying to me."
Neji glanced at Naruto as the blonde looked at him, Neji nodded, giving Naruto permission to talk. So, Naruto turned to face the Raikage again, "Fine. Deidara is a missing ninja from the stone village, Deidara The Bomber." Naruto began, getting the Raikage's attention.
"Deidara joined the Akatsuki right out of his village, right after Itachi Uchiha from our village joined them. And we have pretty much proof that he's in this exam." Naruto said seriously.
The Raikage nodded, "So, it was the rain team." He said before looking over to a smirking Samui, "You were right I guess." He said.
Naruto looked to Samui in shock, "What made you suspect?" he asked.
Samui chewed until she finished her mouthful before speaking, "One of them is Itachi Uchiha." She said.
Sasuke's eyes snapped to Samui, "No." he said solidly.
Killer B sniggered, "Maaan don't dis my girl Samui. She's the best info specialist on mah team." He kinda-rapped.
"Shut up B." the Raikage said before looking at Sasuke, "Samui has pretty much solid evidence. The one I assume you didn't name is probably Itachi."
Sakura and Neji stared at Sasuke in shock as he shook his head, "It is not my brother." He practically growled.
Samui looked down her nose at Sasuke, "And what makes you say that Uchiha?" she asked, obviously sure that she was right.
Sasuke glared at Samui with his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, "I have my brother's eyes," he started as he looked over the other ninjas before locking eyes with the Raikage, "I killed him with my own two hands." Sasuke asserted.
Naruto took over again, slipping into a leant over position as his leading instincts from Hashirama took over him, "I buried the body. And before you get started, I agree with some of Samui's observation. Let me talk." He said just as everyone was about to put in their own piece of mind.
Naruto took a deep breath, "I guess your spy decided not to stick around for long, because the three people in the team from the hidden rain village are Deidara, Tobi and Orochimaru." Naruto said with a frown.
The Raikage scowled, "So who is Tobi?" he asked.
Naruto looked at Sasuke, "I'm sorry Sasuke, but I am almost one hundred percent positive that Tobi is from the Uchiha clan. He used his Sharingan to put me in a Genjutsu at but a glance, and he used the Uchiha clan's Grand Fireball to its maximum potential. Above it all, his movements were somewhat similar to your fighting style, the intercepting fist." Naruto said seriously before eating some food.
The room was silent until Samui spoke, "I also fought this man during the survival exam, I saw his Sharingan when I cut the mask on his face. He tried to kill me soon after, but I barely escaped." She said with a cold look on her face.
Sasuke seemed to drop into autopilot as his body relaxed, he began eating as his Sharingan span slowly, seeming to let his mind wander as he tuned out of the conversation.
The Raikage spoke slowly, "So, we got two guys from your village in the Akatsuki and a single crazy bomber from the stone…" he mumbled before glancing at Killer B, "What do you think?" he asked.
B was about to talk when A cut him off, "No rapping, we need you to be serious." A said.
B sighed before sitting back, "Yeah yeah, I get it. As much as I hate to admit it, they're probably here for me. It's a coincidence that Naruto is in town." B said.
The Raikage nodded, "Alright then, we'll continue with the exams normally." He said.
Neji shot to his feet, "What?! But your own brother will be in danger!" he said.
Killer B, Naruto and the Raikage chuckled, then Killer B spoke, "Let em try, I can take them all." He said confidently.
*CRASH*
"DAMMIT B THIS IS SERIOUS!" A yelled as B fell to the ground, holding his face in pain as A's plate had crashed into it, shattering the shards over the floor.
The Konoha ninjas stared in shock at the exchange, while Naruto stood, "He won't be alone A-sama. In the second round I'll be up against Orochimaru. I'll take him down while B fights off his attackers. I'm hoping you'll be there as well Raikage?" Naruto asked with a grin.
The Raikage laughed, as if he hadn't just caused his brother to fall to the ground in pain, "I sure will be! And so will the Kages of the Leaf, Stone and Rain." He said with a grin.
Sakura raised a brow, "Umm, the Kage of the village the Akatsuki are pretending to be from? Is that really the best idea?" she asked.
Mabui's eyes widened, "Do you think the Kage of rain will know that it isn't his ninja?" she asked.
Samui laughed openly, not noticing as Neji smiled at the sound, "This'll be interesting, why not invite the Leader of the rain village? Let him meet Orochimaru in disguise." She said before going back to the last of her meal.
Sasuke scowled, "That's way too simple. The Akatsuki would have planned for this." He muttered.
Naruto and the Raikage nodded at the same time until Sakura spoke, "So, why don't we go directly there?" she asked.
Killer B laughed, "And how exactly will anyone get there in the next two days?" he asked.
Sakura glanced at Naruto and the blonde swallowed deeply before looking to the Raikage, "Give me an hour, I'll have a solution by then." Naruto said as he stood, walking from the room immediately.
Everyone other than Sakura watched him in confusion when Killer B stood, "I'll follow him bro, so don't worry bout Naruto." B rapped as he followed after Naruto.
Within a few minutes, B opened the door to find Naruto standing on the upstairs balcony, looking out over the mountains of the Land of Lightning, "Hey Naruto, what you thinkin yo?" B asked.
Naruto turned to B seriously, "Octo-pops, cover for me," he said as he formed a wood clone, "Don't tell anyone about this." Naruto said.
Killer B raised a brow, "Whatcha mean?"
Naruto just smiled, "If my cover wasn't blown before, it is now."
*FLASH*
##########
Tsunade Senju, Kakashi Hatake, Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Himura, Mayoshi Haruno, Dan Higurashi, Shikaku Naara, Hiashi and Hinata Hyuuga made their way calmly through stone plains of the lower Land of Lightning.
The group was happy that the people they cared about had made it to the tournament in the exams, but that thought process was brought to a sudden stop when Jiraiya's head snapped up.
*FLASH*
The group stared in shock as Naruto appeared back to back with Jiraiya, "Orochimaru is in the Jonin exams as an agent for Akatsuki. The Raikage is about to contact all of the Kages who have a ninja who has made it to the final stage, we need information on the Kage of Rain." Naruto said seriously.
The group stared as Jiraiya pulled out Naruto's kunai that he had in his pouch, he passed it to Tsunade, "Hold this." The sannin said.
Naruto looked over everyone in the group before his eyes locked onto Hinata's, "I'll explain later." he said as she was about to speak. Naruto glanced at Danzo, "It's time Danzo." he said as he held out a hand while placing his other on Jiraiya's shoulder.
Tsunade looked over the three men in shock, "Naruto? Jiraiya? What's going-"
*FLASH*
"-on?" Tsunade asked to blank air.
The group was quiet for a moment until the sickly looking Hiruzen spoke up, "We must get to A-dono's house as soon as po-" he said before having a small coughing fit.
Tsunade stood behind Hiruzen and placed her hands on his back, activating a medical jutsu seallessly "We're moving to the cloud village at full speed now!" she said while waving her arm.
The Hokage's ANBU squad and Aerial ANBU squad one dropped into view, "Tanuki, take Sarutobi-sensei. Bug, take Mayoshi-san. Let's move out!" she ordered.
Within seconds the majority of the ninjas in the group were leaping from tree to tree while the ANBU Tanuki lifted Hiruzen with his sand and Bug picked up Mayoshi with her flying beetles before the two flew off, carrying the less-abled men in front of them.
##########
*FLASH*
Jiraiya looked around in confusion as Naruto and Danzo got to work, "Where the hell are we?" Jiraiya asked.
The three of them had appeared next to one of Naruto's kunai inside a darkly lit laboratory that Jiraiya had only seen the likes of twice before when he worked with Orochimaru. Danzo sat in a chair at a switchboard desk that was looking through a large window into another room where Naruto just entered from a steel door to Jiraiya's right.
The door slammed shut behind Naruto as Danzo smirked over his shoulder at Jiraiya, "You think Orochimaru's old labs just disappeared once Hiruzen made them illegal?" he said before he hit a big button.
Lights turned on as Naruto walked into the center of the observation room. Danzo hit another button before turning to Jiraiya, "Who will you need to infiltrate the Hidden Rain Village? We only got one chance at this so choose well." Danzo said with a serious look in his eye.
Jiraiya was too stunned, staring at Naruto through the glass as the blonde was taking some kunai he had sitting along the wall in a circle around the center of the room, "A chance at what? When did you two set this up? What IS this?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto lay down the last kunai in the pattern before looking up and talking, "This is the machine that Orochimaru was using to try and imitate the Hirashin. I've had Danzo modify it so it now sort of works. But only if I activate because it's my blood you need." Naruto said, his voice carrying through a speaker into the room Jiraiya and Danzo were in.
Jiraiya shook his head, "How?" he asked.
Danzo looked at Jiraiya harshly, "Do you want to ask questions that you can have answered later? Or do you want to stop Orochimaru and the Akatsuki from whatever it is they're planning in the Lightning village?" he asked.
Jiraiya stepped back in shock at Danzo's words, when Naruto talked, "Ero-sensei, who do you need to infiltrate the Rain village? I'm not letting you go by yourself, but you can only pick one person." Naruto asked.
Jiraiya looked down for a moment in thought before looking at Naruto, "I'll need Sasuke." He decided.
Naruto nodded with a smirk, "Now that's easy." Naruto said before creating a wood clone, making it walk from the observation room before dispelling it.
##########
Naruto's wood clone suddenly looked up, interrupting Killer B's question, "Sorry Octo-pops, gimme a sec." it said before running inside.
It came down the stairs of the Raikage's house only to come to a sudden stop as everyone sat in the living room staring at it. The Raikage stood, "Naruto Uzumaki! What is it that you and B are doing up there?" he demanded to know.
The clone blinked, "Umm, I'm just a clone." It said before walking up next to Sasuke, "Aniki? Ero-sensei wants you." it said.
Sasuke frowned, "Alright then." He said as he stood before turning to the Raikage and bowing, "I apologise Raikage-sama, but I will have to pull out of this tournament." He said before straitening up and placing a hand on the clone's shoulder.
The Raikage fell back into his chair with a scowl as Sasuke and Naruto faded away in Sasuke's Mirage Shunshin, "What the hell is with you Leaf ninjas? I'm taking a big risk trusting you and your all just running around." he said with a grunt.
Sasuke and the wood clone appeared in front of B, and the clone formed another wood clone, the new clone put it's hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "So long!" it said.
*FLASH*
##########
*FLASH*
"Here ya go!" the wood clone said before flashing away, leaving Sasuke to look around in awe at the laboratory from his spot behind Jiraiya, "This the teleport Otouto?" Sasuke asked as he stepped forward.
Jiraiya turned to Sasuke, "Teleport?" he asked.
Naruto waved to Sasuke through the window, "Aniki! Ero-sensei! Get in here!" Naruto yelled, his voice reverberating through the speaker.
Sasuke confidently walked forward while Jiraiya followed, from the inside of the room they couldn't see Danzo behind the glass, but they heard his voice through another speaker, "Naruto, are you ready?"
Naruto nodded as he ushered Jiraiya and Sasuke into the center of the circle, "Now Ero-sensei, I need some of your blood." Naruto said as he pulled a lever on the wall.
A small circular plate rose up from the ground, stopping right in front of the confused Jiraiya's stomach, "You want some blood on here?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto nodded, "Aniki, stand back to back with him. Ero-sensei, get moving, we have less than four hours until the Kage of Rain will receive the notification letter. We can't let his invitation to the exams arrive." Naruto said.
Jiraiya bit his thumb before letting some blood drip onto the plate, Naruto nodded as he stood between the window and the two ninjas in the circle, "Okay, this is gonna hurt." Naruto said as he morphed his nature chakra.
Using Juugo's power, Naruto's wrist turned grey before it opened up, making a hole straight to Naruto's vain.
Jiraiya and Sasuke watched as Naruto quickly circled them, letting the flow of blood drop directly from his wrist onto the circle of kunai, connecting them with his blood. He finished the circle before closing himself back up and focussing healing chakra to the area as he talked, "Now Ero-sensei, what's the strongest memory you have within running distance to the Hidden Rain Village?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya raised a brow, "Why do you ask?" he asked as his mind wandered to three little rain gennin.
Naruto answered in a rush, "This Hirashin teleport will feed off of your memory, it will take you to the place you're thinking of without the need of a kunai. But it'll only work on the way there. You'll have to make your own way back because these kunai are gonna be lost as nothing more than particles during the teleport." Naruto explained, before locking eyes with Jiraiya, "Now focus on that place." He ordered.
Jiraiya looked up, "So once we get there, we destroy the letter about the Jonin exams then we look for any and all information concerning the Akatsuki. This may take longer than a couple of days." Jiraiya said.
Naruto nodded, "I know, that's why Aniki pulled out of the tournament." Naruto said as he stopped channelling his medical chakra to his arm.
Jiraiya nodded before he closed his eyes and smiled a little, 'Our little home away from home, the hut that the four of us stayed in.' he thought as he remembered turning the little frog picture to signal his return.
Naruto formed hand seals as he channelled his chakra, "Danzo! Now!"
Danzo clicked a button as Naruto pulsed his chakra into each of the kunai, they all rose into the air thanks to Naruto's chakra before the machine sparked with energy and the kunai all shot inwards.
*FLASH*
The kunai, the blood, Jiraiya and Sasuke were gone on their way to the rain village.
Naruto turned and exited the room, Danzo opened the door for him then caught him as he stumbled, "How are you feeling Naruto?" Danzo asked.
Naruto smirked up at Danzo, "Don't pretend you care that much. We both know you're only in this position for yourself." Naruto said as he let Danzo help Naruto into the chair.
Danzo chuckled, "And if you die then I will no longer be the stand in for your clan now will I?" he rhetorically asked.
Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm fine, it's just that that technique literally took the equivalent of a high level Jonin's reserves maxed out. Gimme a few seconds and I'll be good." He said.
Danzo nodded, "A quick question, how do you plan to get back to the cloud village?" he asked.
Naruto raised a brow, "Hirashin seems to be the obvious answer." He said.
Danzo nodded, "Yes, but you were forbidden to bring any kunai to the exams. There are none at the village." He said with a frown.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Oh shit. Well what do we do?" He asked in annoyance as he stood up.
Danzo stood as well, "Is there anyone in Lightning country who would be in possession of a kunai of yours?" he asked as the two left the room through the stairwell.
Naruto shook his head, "Not that I can…Oh!" he said in realisation as he turned to the mummy, "Didn't Ero-sensei give his to Baa-chan before we left?" he asked.
Danzo smirked as he nodded, "That he did. Good thinking." He said as he held out an arm.
Naruto locked arms with Danzo as he mirrored Danzo's smirk, "If they were so amazed at this one experiment, imagine their reactions to the other's we've been working on!" Naruto said with a chuckle.
Danzo nodded, "Konoha will prosper." He said.
*FLASH*
##########
*FLASH*
Naruto and Danzo appeared just to the side of Tsunade, but they didn't know that she was tree hopping.
Naruto appeared just in time to hit a tree face first and Danzo was lucky enough to by swung around by the impact and land on Gaara's sand cloud behind Hiruzen.
The group of ninjas stopped and looked at the two in confusion before realisation hit them like a ton of bricks, "You two! What's going on?!" Hiashi demanded.
Naruto yanked his face free of the tree as Danzo spoke, "Naruto-san teleported Jiraiya and Sasuke close to the Hidden Rain Village so that they can intercept the exam notification. Then the two of them will look for any signs that the village is connected to the Akatsuki." Danzo reported.
Tsunade turned to Naruto in shock as Hinata landed next to him, "What gives you the right to decide this? As the Hokage this should have been run by me!" she said with disapproval covering her tone.
Naruto raised a brow, "Really? I thought it was the best thing to do given our options…" he muttered with a frown.
Hinata pulled Naruto to his feet, "Naruto-kun, let's get going." She said before turning to Tsunade, "Tsunade-sama, we really don't have time for this do we?" she asked timidly.
Tsunade ground her teeth together, 'Jiraiya-kun, you better come back safe.' She thought before shaking off the thought, "Alright, let's move! I want us moving at full speed! We should arrive by midday!" she said before dropping to the ground and using her adamantine strength to run extremely fast.
Naruto held Hinata bridal style and shot forward with his wind funnels, flying next to ANBU Bug. But Naruto tilted his head in thought, 'How is everyone going to keep up with Baa-chan and I?' he thought before looking over his shoulder.
To his surprise, nearly everyone was flying behind him a some of his patented chakra armour, the wings carrying through the air at high speeds. Naruto smiled, 'Oh yeah!' he thought in pride before flying higher and looking ahead at their path, 'And there's the border!' he thought with a grin before flying down to Tsunade's side.
"Baa-chan." Naruto said as he came close.
She looked at him with a soft smile, "Yes Naruto?" she asked.
His face took on a regretful look, "Sorry, y'know, for not running it by you first and everything." He said.
Hinata decided to stay quiet as she watched the two interact, "It's alright Naruto, it probably is the best course of action. So, did you end up revealing yourselves as your alias'?" she asked.
Naruto nodded, "There was this portion of the exam where no one knew who each other was, so I thought it's be cool anyways. But apparently they were watching us, the Raikage and those closest to him are the only ones who know of us though and by the look of things he's using it as leverage so that we'll agree to help protect his brother from the Akatsuki." Naruto informed.
Tsunade raised a brow as she began running across a river, "His brother?" she asked.
Naruto nodded, "The Eight Tails Jinchuuriki." He said.
"Tsunade-sama!"
She looked back to see Gaara who gestured upwards, "Falcon sees a small group of bandits up ahead, they have traps set up." He reported.
Hiashi activated his Byakugan, "Twenty in total." He reported.
Tsunade scoffed, "So?" she asked.
Naruto smirked and flew up to Gaara's sand cloud, placing Hinata on it next to Hiruzen, "Danzo, let's go!" Naruto yelled.
Danzo flew forward as well with his armour, "Plan?" he asked.
Naruto grinned, "We don't have time to stop, so let's burn our way through! There's nothing around here that'll catch on fire." Naruto said.
Danzo scanned the environment, seeing that the majority of it was rock or river, "Alright, bring the fire!" he yelled.
Hiruzen looked up as he recognised the order from when he and Danzo used to work together, 'Naruto? You've managed to reign in Danzo as a true ally?' he thought.
Tsunade yelled out, "What are you two doing?!" she asked with wide eyes.
Naruto pulled his hands to his side, a rasengan forming, "RAAASEEEEEEN!" he started, the rasengan turning red in his hands.
Danzo formed six one handed seals, "WIND STYLE: GIANT WIND BULLET!" he yelled as he launched the wide sphere forward.
Naruto thrust his hand forward, "NOVAAA!" he yelled as he launched the burning beam of flames forward, letting it spread it's fire through Danzo's attack just in time to obliterate the bandits and their setup.
The Konoha ninjas moved through the area harmlessly, Naruto grinned over his shoulder, "Let's go!" he yelled as he began flying faster, the others doing their best to keep up.
##########
*FLASH*
Jiraiya fell to the ground, coughing up a storm as every pore on his body seemed to suddenly open up, 'Woah, is this how Naruto feels?' he thought as he rolled into a sitting position.
He looked up to see Sasuke looking at him in the same position, "You good Ero-sensei?" Sasuke asked as he slowly got to his feet.
Jiraiya nodded as he stood, "Geez, that was weird." He said as he looked around the room.
Sasuke raised a brow as he looked over the place, "Where are we?" Sasuke asked.
Jiraiya took a few steps and picked up a small tile that Sasuke couldn't see, "My…home away from home, I guess…" the old sannin said as he put the tile back next to three others.
Sasuke's eyes squinted as he tried to read Jiraiya's mood, but before he could Jiraiya turned back to him, "Alright, let's get moving," Jiraiya said as he stepped to the door and opened it, stepping out into the rain, "We don't have much time."
Sasuke followed after Jiraiya into the rain, unsealing his umbrella in a simple puff of smoke and sitting it on his shoulder, "Plan sensei?" Sasuke asked.
Jiraiya swallowed deeply before looking off to their left, "The village is about an hour that way. The letter should be about three hours from here. We need to infiltrate the village and get to their receiving post for mail." Jiraiya said before forming hand seals as he began running.
Sasuke followed after him, using his umbrella to stop the rain while he activated his Sharingan, his eyes widened, "Sensei…there's something wrong with this rain." He said as he stopped.
Jiraiya paused in his hand seals, "What?" he asked as he turned back.
Sasuke looked up, as did Jiraiya, "Sensei…something is very, very wrong." Sasuke said with wide eyes.
Jiraiya looked up as well, "The hell are you talking about? It's just rain, it always rains here." Here he said with a chuckle.
Jiraiya didn't hear a response, so he looked to Sasuke, only to see the Uchiha wasn't there anymore.
Jiraiya turned in a circle and spotted Sasuke, using his board to ride away towards the rain village, "Sasuke! Stop!" he yelled.
Sasuke got under the cover of a large tree before he stopped, still holding his umbrella over his head as he hid.
Jiraiya skidded to a stop a few seconds later, "Sasuke? What's wrong?" he asked.
Sasuke looked up at Jiraiya, "There is chakra in this rain, no matter what it hits it dissolves into the air once it lands. Unless the thing it hits has a chakra system." Sasuke said.
Jiraiya stepped closer to Sasuke, standing underneath the umbrella with him, "So, as long as we're undercover, we should be good." He muttered before turning to Sasuke, "How did you get that so quickly?" he asked.
Sasuke shook his head, "They're obviously using this system to keep track of all the people within a certain distance to the village. So who cares how I deduced it? You're the one who trained me to do so!" Sasuke said, feeling uncomfortable at the closeness of the two of them.
Jiraiya nodded, "So, we just gotta stay undercover until we're in the village. Yeah?" he asked.
Sasuke nodded, "I guess so," he said before sweeping a hand past his sealing belt.
*POOF*
"Take this." Sasuke said as he passed Jiraiya his Lightning Shield.
Jiraiya grinned as he pulled it onto his arm in the right position, he lifted it over his head as he stepped out from Sasuke's umbrella, "Alright then! Let's get this show on the road!" Jiraiya yelled in excitement before the two of them began walking down the road, hoping that they weren't being sensed.
##########
An Hour Later…
##########
"There's the village Naruto-kun!" Hinata said from her place on Naruto's back.
He grinned and nodded as he squinted, seeing the base of the main mountain of the village, "Yeah! I see it!" he said before turning to the others, "Baa-chan! What's the plan?!" he yelled back.
Tsunade leapt high into the air, landing on cushion of sand so that she could talk to Naruto, "We follow proper protocol! Enter through the gate and arouse no suspicion!" she ordered.
Shikaku spoke up, "Can't do that Tsunade-sama, they already think Naruto is in the village."
Tsunade scowled, "Alright Naruto, go back to the Raikage's house, and do NOT get caught breaking into the village. Got it?" she asked.
Naruto nodded a little nervously until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to the side to see Hiashi, "Naruto. The Cloud has an electrical chakra field around their village, the ANBU captain can feel any active chakra in the area. That means that until you are sure your within the village's limits, you cannot use chakra starting from the moment we pass that." Hiashi said while pointing to the entrance gate.
Naruto nodded and looked over his shoulder, "Fuu-chan! Can you please take Hinata-chan?!" he yelled.
The Bug ANBU swooped down and picked up Hinata with the cloud of bugs she had, landing Hinata behind Mayoshi and his wheelchair.
Naruto kissed the two of them quickly, "I'm off! See you all on the inside!" he yelled as he flew up high into the air.
Danzo looked up with a smirk, making quick eye contact with his Naruto using his hidden Sharingan eye.
Naruto returned the smirk and nodded before he flew straight up, disappearing into nothing more than a dot above the clouds within moments before becoming completely unseeable.
After a few moments, Naruto came to a stop as he shivered, "D-d-d-damn i-it-tsss, c-cold." He said while shivering, chuckling a little as he saw frost on the tips of his hair.
"Ya damn brat! Get down now before you freeze yourself!"
Naruto chuckled, 'Sorry Kurama, this was the only way to make sure I wouldn't be using chakra when I entered the barrier field, how should I know how high it goes aye?' he thought before cutting off his chakra completely.
Naruto fell, slowly at first before picking up speed, it was a full minute before Naruto began to see the clouds again, "Okay, this ANBU captain can't possibly sense Nature chakra right?!" Naruto yelled to the fox.
"Obviously, otherwise he'd have to send out people all the time just in case! Is that what Danzo communicated to you?" the fox asked.
Naruto shook his head, "Nah! Just had to make sure! What's something which feels like lightning chakra, looks like lightning chakra and conducts like lightning chakra?!" Naruto yelled.
He could almost feel the Kyuubi's bewilderment, "What?"
Naruto grinned as he began falling through the highest nimbus clouds, "LIGHTNING CHAKRA YOU MORON!" he yelled as he formed a single hand seal.
"LIGHTNING ARMOUR!" he yelled as he used only sage chakra to create lightning around him, thus even when he would hit the barrier, the lightning in it would only carry through his armour, thus making it seem as though there was nothing entering.
Naruto got eyesight of the first buildings when he felt himself fall through something thicker than air for a moment before the feeling stopped, "That was the barrier!"
Naruto quickly threw his feet and hand down, pointing them at the ground, "TRUE WIND STYLE: FOUR GREAT BREAKTHROUGHS!" Naruto yelled.
Naruto pushed huge amounts of chakra through the funnels in his arms and legs, but he couldn't find himself slowing down enough.
Naruto yelled as his eyes turned red, his funnels burned as Kurama's chakra was channelled into the technique.
Naruto closed his eyes as he realised he was still going to hit with a large amount of force, "Shit!" he yelled just as he came within view of the staircase leading to the Raikage's house.
##########
A kicked open the door to the top balcony, causing Naruto's wood clone and Killer B to look up startled, "Just because you're my brother! Doesn't mean that..you.. What the hell is that?" he asked as he looked over their shoulders.
B and Clone turned only for their eyes to widen as they saw Naruto plummeting downwards, "Boss!" the clone yelled as it leapt forward at full speed, maximising it's intake of sage chakra, 'What the hell was he thinking?! Even if he slows down he could die from the impact!' the clone thought as it skidded to a stop underneath Naruto.
The clone was slammed onto it's back from the huge amounts of wind pressure being smacked into it, but it managed to bring up it's arms, just barely in time as the dot that was it's creator started to become distinguishable, "SAGE ART: WIND STYLE: WIND BULLET!" the clone yelled as it started to revert to wood, using all of it's chakra and more to launch the jutsu.
Naruto felt himself suddenly slow down dramatically, he squinted as he saw his clone saving him, 'Ha! I thought I could count on me!' he thought as he let Juugo's ability cover him in unbreakable armour while he let Naomi's ability protect his insides from any damage.
The clone and the real Naruto stared as time seemed to slow down between the last five meters of the fall, Naruto had slowed enough that even a civilian might survive, if they were very lucky.
*BOOM*
Not a minute later, Sakura, Killer B, A, Mabui and Samui were standing around the little crater his crash had made.
The lightning country inhabitants looked at Sakura for an explanation, she blinked widely, "Ummm, guess he just felt like jumping?" she said with a slightly forced chuckle.
A scowled as he went to yell for a proper explanation, but B cut him off, "Yo yo! Naruto! That's always how you seem to flow!" he rapped.
A raised an eyebrow, 'This is how he normally acts? This kid might not be as bright as I thought he was.' A thought with a scowl.
Mabui slid down into the small crater, coming to a stop next to Naruto's side, "Naruto-san? Are you okay?" she asked while shaking his shoulder.
He rolled onto his back as his skin turned normal again, "Yeah, I'm alright." He said with a groan as he sat up before looking at his leggings, seeing a rip over his now scraped knee.
Mabui raised a brow as Naruto pouted, "Oh man, I really liked this outfit." He complained as he shakily stood up, his arms and legs throbbing from the massive chakra output they were just forced through.
Near instantly, Sakura was by his side with Scouter Sight active, "Nii-baka, what did you do to your arms?" she asked as he stumbled, "And legs?" she asked again with a scowl of disapproval.
Naruto waved her off with a twinge at the movement, "Nothin important, anyways Raikage-sama, Hokage-Baa-chan is on her way into the village along with her escort, she know about it all and has guaranteed a mission from our village so that you guys don't get involved. Right at this moment Jiraiya of the Sannin and his Sealing apprentice are infiltrating the Rain village." Naruto said with a grin.
The Raikage's eyes widened, "What?! How?" he asked.
Everyone looked at Naruto for an answer, "Well…I'm not sure of the details…" Naruto said with a sheepish smile.
The Raikage sighed, "Alright, everyone inside except Samui-chan, can you go get the arriving Leaf ninjas for me? But only bring the people who are involved with these three or the Hokage." He said.
Samui nodded before disappearing in a lightning shunshin, that was when Mabui pointed out something rather obvious, "Excuse me Neji-san, but where did Sasuke-san go?" she asked.
Neji blinked as he realised that Sasuke wasn't there, since everyone was looking at him, they didn't see Naruto standing at the back of the group waving his arms in miming gestures.
Neji watched Naruto out of the corner of his eyes as he explained, "Well you see…"
Naruto squatted like a toad and hopped before running his fingers down his face.
"Sasuke went with Jiraiya-sama…"
Naruto pretended to open a letter before crushing it and throwing it away.
"To destroy a letter?" Neji said, not realising he said it as a question.
A nodded, "So! Jiraiya's plan is to destroy the invitation for the Kage of rain to come and watch the finalists? Very smart." he asked with a grin.
Naruto gave a thumbs up as Neji smirked, "Yes sir he did."
That's when Mabui spoke, "But what about the exams? Were gonna have to reorganise the battle order." She said.
Neji looked at Naruto for more advice as they arrived at the house, but Naruto shrugged, "Well, Sasuke already got the confirmation for a Tokubetsu, now he just has to show to Hokage-sama that he is worthy of being a full Jonin." He said, trying to act casual.
A held his chin in thought, "Well, I guess we can just copy what they did last year and do the three way battles instead. On the plus side the tournament will be finished a day early, and it'll force the Akatsuki's hand thus hopefully making them unprepared…" A said, showing that he was in fact more than just a big lump of muscle.
B nodded, "Dayum! That Uchiha's fly! He's got something that I can't even rhyme! Fools ya foo-"
*BAM*
"SHUT THE HELL UP B!"
The leaf ninjas and remaining cloud ninjas followed the Raikage back inside his house as Naruto caught the airborne B before the two of them followed after.
B looked at Naruto, "Yo Naruto, Sasuke and Jiraiya are infiltratin, but since yo' Kage is here, who will they report to?" he whispered seriously.
Naruto shrugged, "Noone, we just gotta hope they make it back to the village safely." Naruto said as the two closed the door behind them before walking to the lounge room, B sitting down in his chair while Naruto squatted in midair.
Naruto smirked slightly as he saw that people in the room were more relaxed, Sakura was talking calmly with Mabui while Neji was subtly bringing up the Cloud village's past relationships with other ninja villages with A.
Naruto glanced at B, "So, just a question. If these guys are after you, whose gonna attack you directly since Orochimaru will be in the arena?" He asked.
Killer B grinned, "I want a go at Deidara yo, I'll see his art compete with mine, and then see whose got the better rhymes." He rapped.
Naruto chuckled as he mirrored B's grin, "So you get Deidara and I get Orochimaru, I guess that Tobi will be left to the ninjas of the village yeah?" he asked.
"There is one person you're forgetting."
Everyone in the room turned as Samui led in Tsunade, who had just spoken, "Every team that came to these exams need a Jonin escort, therefore there is one more ninja, possibly of the Akatsuki." Tsunade said as she walked into the room and stood at it's center with her hands on her hips.
The Raikage smiled as he stood, "The Legendary Sucker," he said with a chuckle, "You still owe me from last time ya hear?" he said while gesturing for money.
Tsunade rolled her eyes and turned to Naruto, "Hey brat, it's tax time for all the stupid stuff I let you get away with." She said with a smirk.
Naruto frowned, "What stuff? I stopped pulling my pranks a while ago." He said as he 'stood', still technically hovering a few centimetres off the ground.
Tsunade laughed, "And yet you left Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon to follow in your footsteps. Also, who exactly is paying for the S-rank you just sent Jiraiya and Sasuke on hmm?" she asked with a grin, knowing she had him tied.
Naruto's brow twitched, "Aww dammit," he started as he took off his sheath, "Okay how much?" he asked.
Tsunade glanced at A who smirked, "Four Million." He said.
Naruto looked up and spluttered, "Wh-what?! How the hell does that work?!" he yelled.
Sakura, knowing how Sasuke's seals worked, reached over and unsealed a scroll, chucking it to Tsunade she said, "That's Five, we'd like change please." Sakura said with a smile directed at Naruto.
Naruto sighed as Tsunade unsealed the money and began counting it out for the Raikage, just as Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder, "Well Naruto, I'm proud of you for making it to the finals." Kakashi said with an eye-smile.
Naruto grinned, "Uncle Kakashi! Can I get your help on something important for the exams?" he asked.
Kakashi nodded, "It depends on what it is really, I can't actually interfere or anything." He answered.
Naruto grinned before Kakashi spoke again, "But first, you should go to the hotel we have all been put up at. Sandaime-sama wants to talk to you privately." Kakashi said.
The Raikage looked up, "Before you do though, I'd like to talk to him as well as you Hokage." He said, putting his game face on.
Tsunade nodded, "About the Akatsuki I assume?" she said as the two left the room.
Once they were clear, A spoke, "No actually, its about a couple of other things." He said as he marched forward, not giving her time to answer as he left the house, forcing Tsunade to follow him.
The inside of the Raikage's house was awkwardly quiet for a few seconds.
Sakura turned to Mabui again, "So, should we like, go or something?" she asked.
Samui cut off Mabui's reply, "Neji, let's go out to lunch your treat." she said as she stood, calmly walking from the room.
Neji stared in absolute shock as Samui left, "D-d-did she just-"
"Yep." Naruto said with a smirk.
Killer B stood, "Yo Neji-san! Samui and noone's –chan! She's hard to get, so you better do yo best, brah!" he rapped.
Neji instantly stood to his feet, "Y-Yes!" he stuttered out before running out after Samui.
Mabui stood, "So, I should probably get to work. Make up for A-sama not being there this morning and stuff…" she said, trailing off at the end as she looked to B.
Naruto got the message and stood, "Alright then, thanks for having us guys." He said with a grin.
Sakura nodded as she stood as well, "We'll have to catch up soon okay Mabui-chan?" she said while hugging the older woman.
Mabui seemed caught off-guard, but happy none-the-less, as she hugged Sakura back, "Yes, let's do this again some time." She said with a smile.
Killer b stood and bumped fists with Naruto, "I'll walk you out, got some stuff to talk about." He said with a wave over his shoulder to Mabui, leading out Sakura and Naruto.
##########
"Say hi to them for me yeah? And can you please make sure Shikamaru is drinking his water? We want him at full strength for the exams on Monday." Naruto said to Sakura as he walked backwards next to B.
Sakura nodded, "Yeah I will, are you gonna bring back some dinner later?" she asked.
Naruto looked up at the sky, seeing that it was nearly midday, "You bet! I'll be back by night fall I think." He said with a grin.
Sakura nodded again before turning and leaping onto a building, heading towards the hotel.
Naruto turned back to B, "So, earlier you said we got something to talk about?" he asked.
B nodded, becoming oddly serious, "Follow me, Hachibi wants to meet Kyuubi." He said before leaping off.
Naruto's eyes widened before he followed along, chasing B through the village to a large staircase which they sprinted up.
Naruto stopped behind B and looked around, "What is this place?" Naruto asked.
B grinned, "This is where I learnt to communicate, with the number eight, it should do fine, for you and nine." He rapped as he walked into the large cavern, Naruto once more following behind him with an expectant smile.
##########
A small toad jumped out of the water and hopped along the wet footpath. After a few moments it hopped between two raincoat wearing people, moving into an alleyway privately.
The toad's mouth opened widely and out stepped Jiraiya who held up his wrist to his mouth, sending chakra into the seal located there, "Sasuke, I'm at my first checkpoint. You?" he asked, as he stepped under a nearby shelter, stealth fully stealing a spare raincoat from someone nearby.
It took a few seconds, but Sasuke's voice came through from the seal, "Almost at my second sensei, I can see you down there."
Jiraiya looked up and squinted, "I don't see you." he muttered.
"Chameleon technique. I just arrived." Sasuke explained.
Jiraiya smirked as he heard this, "Okay, look around for the highest chakra signature in the area. Back to me in ten." Jiraiya said as he turned down a small tunnel.
Jiraiya walked forward through the tunnel, about nine minutes later, Sasuke's voice spoke again, "Umm…sensei, I think we're in trouble."
Jiraiya raised a brow as he lifted the seal again, "What do you mean? Has someone spotted you?" Jiraiya asked as he began walking out of the tunnel into the sunlight.
"It's not raining! But only over where you…What the hell?!"
Jiraiya covered his eyes from the sunlight, "What do you mean what the hell? What do you see Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked.
"An…Angel?"
Jiraiya's eyes seemed to focus as he looked at the Akatsuki cloak descending down towards him, "An angel…of paper?" he asked himself as he stared in shock.
The blue haired woman watched Jiraiya as she landed opposite him, "Hello Jiraiya-sensei."
Jiraiya swallowed deeply as he stared, "Konan…what are you-"
"Sensei! I found the chakra source its-"
*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*
Jiraiya looked down at the seal on his wrist in shock before it seemed to pick up another signal.
Jiraiya stared at Konan in confusion before a voice came from the seal, a voice that Jiraiya had heard from one small orange haired boy from over twenty years ago.
"Hello…Jiraiya-sensei."
##########
Chapter end.
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