Chapter Four
"Naruto?"
"Yes."
"Naruto? Are you serious?"
"Yes. I don't understand what the problem is."
"Who the hell named him that?"
"I did."
"After that idiot in your book?"
"My mind was blank! Give me a break here! It was years ago!"
"Fine… I'll give you a break… Ten days. Bring the boy to me in ten days."
"Where?"
"The Marching Fields."
"…Okay."
Thunder shook the cavernous walls deep beneath the earth. The sound of rain hadn't ceased for a long time now. The only sound in this deep place of the world was the sound of rain and thunder. Footsteps began to echo as a sole figure walked along the dark pathways. He turned the corner and walked through a large room. It was too dark to tell what was in the room but ominous sounds could be heard all around. The figure was unchanged by these sounds and silently continued forward. They eventually entered a large bedchamber. The room was beautiful even in the darkness. What little light there was shimmered off the marble furniture, paling in comparison to the shimmer various crystals, embedded in the marble, made. The figure sat down by the bed and lightly shook the sleeping figure.
"Sir… I have news."
"W-What?" The sleeping man asked, pushing himself to an upright position, groggily.
"You've received this… from them. " The first figure said. He handed a package to the man in bed. The one in bed opened it and looked over the contents. It was mostly a letter and a vial of something. The man cursed under his breath as he read.
"… Is something wrong?" Asked the other man. "I can't… read it."
"Of course you can't, idiot! You can't see in the dark."
"I'm sorry, Orochimaru."
"That fool's dead." Orochimaru spat. "He couldn't do one simple thing."
"Who?"
"Kabuto, wake Sasuke."
"Yes sir… may I ask why?"
"We're leaving. God wants to meet with me."
"Na-Naruto?" Tsunade asked. She almost didn't recognize the boy before her. His hair wasn't spiked but fell over his eyes. He wore a blindfold over his eyes, underneath a Konoha forehead protector. The cloth was stained with blood. His outfit was a bloodstained white and black outfit. It was torn in various places, though the boy showed now trace of injury. He wore simple black boots that had straps instead of laces. A necklace hung from the boy's neck, a piece of evidence towards his identity. It was the same one that Tsunade had given to him. He had a single bag attached to his belt and on his face were three marks that almost looked like bloody whiskers. His nails were of decent length and seemed to have been sharpened to a point. The same could be said about his teeth.
"Yeah…" He replied simply.
"W-Why… how… when?" Tsunade muttered.
"The door was unlocked. I just made myself some ramen." Naruto replied simply. "As for when, an hour or two ago. And why? … You can't expect me not to come home."
"You…you're wanted… by everyone." Tsunade struggled to get words out. "Why would you…? What went through your head when…? … Why did you kill…him…?" She slid to her knees, a million questions running through her mind.
"Everyone? News gets out faster than I remembered…" Naruto muttered. He stood up and walked over towards Tsunade. She flinched but realized he was only extending a hand after a second passed. Slowly she grabbed his hand weakly. His grip was firm as he pulled her up to her feet.
"I need you to listen to me." Naruto said, escorting her to her bed. He set her down on it and sat down next to her.
"Jiraiya… you killed Jiraiya… or… was that a lie?!" She grabbed his arm in hope that it was a lie. That Jiraiya was hiding preparing to play a prank on her.
"Jiraiya's dead." Naruto responded. He pulled what looked like a manuscript out of his bag. "Here's the last Icha Icha if you don't believe me." He set it down on the bed. "Unfinished of course… but that can't be helped."
Tsunade touched the manuscript on the bed and picked it up. She suddenly realized what Naruto was saying and leapt to her feet.
"Naruto!" She cried. "If you mean that…"
"Then you want to arrest me." Naruto waved dismissingly at her words. "Everyone does."
"Why are you so calm?!" Tsunade asked. She was falling to pieces and Naruto was without a hint of regret, saying he had killed Jiraiya.
"I have some bad news." Naruto said. "The only question is, will you listen calmly with an open mind… or with the intention of locking me up over your lost friend?"
"What?" Tsunade asked. Her mind was going in circles. Normally she could handle this kind of a situation but today was different.
"Jiraiya betrayed us." Naruto said. "He's dead because he betrayed Konoha. And because he betrayed me."
"Jiraiya would never do such a thing!" Tsunade spat. "Never!"
"He did." Naruto responded calmly. "And it turns out Akatsuki are children."
"… You're insane." Tsunade responded. "I don't want to hear this."
"Not literally children." Naruto continued on as if she hadn't said anything. "But they're weak. The weakest rung on the ladder."
"We haven't been able to catch Akatsuki for years! They're not weak!" Tsunade shouted.
"If anything that only shows why we haven't caught the real bad guys, Granny." Tsunade clenched her fists. He was trying to pick a fight with her!
"I won't hear any more of this."
"Not until I'm safely behind bars." Naruto spat. "I don't intend to be arrested Tsunade."
"Then why did you come here?"
"To reveal the truth. The truth you don't want to hear. The truth you'll be forced to accept before the end."
"JIRAIYA WAS NOT A TRAITOR!" Tsunade roared, she grabbed the closest object to her and threw it as hard as she could at Naruto. But in a split second he was standing behind her. She gasped and turned only to be shoved onto the floor.
"Lie. Lie to yourself more. Make yourself feel good." Naruto smirked. "I don't care what you do with the information I gave you." He strode over to the door and pulled it open.
"You'll wish you'd listened." He walked out and shut the door behind him. Tsunade sat there dumbfounded. Everything had flown by. She heard a jingling sound on the doorknob outside. Slowly she got up and made her way towards the door and opened it. Hanging on the knob was the necklace.
"Naruto…" she muttered. She grabbed it and took off. She flew up the stairs intending to see if she could spot him from the mountaintop. She reached the roof and found him sitting on the edge of it looking out at the village.
"… It only takes a moment Granny…" Naruto muttered. "What if I was gone?" Tsunade didn't answer him.
"I didn't want to believe it either." Naruto continued. "But it happened. It was terrifying. One minute I was anticipating more training. The next I'm being knocked senseless by the perverted sage. After that he was making negotiations with someone."
"Negotiations?"
"He was selling me." Naruto was swinging a kunai with his index finger slowly over the edge of the building, staring at it as he spoke. "Selling me to this group. Said it was his last mission for them. That he wanted to settle down and finish Icha Icha and write something else entirely."
"How… how could he get away with this kind of an act?!" Tsunade asked. "We'd learn of it sooner or later!"
"He had a plan." Naruto muttered. "From what I picked up, he's been selling various secrets for years. Some kind of code in each book he wrote. And he sells the map to figure it out or something to the highest bidder. I'm not sure how it all worked. It seems he was planning to sell out this organization to make up for it."
They sat in silence in the dark for some time.
"Naruto…" Tsunade broke the silence but trailed off.
"How did he die?" Naruto asked. Tsunade nodded slowly.
"I won't tell you that." Naruto said. "You don't want to know. But ... he died the way he wanted to... He let me kill him."
"Let you?" Tsunade asked. Naruto shook his head. They sat in silence again. Tsunade didn't know what to say. This wasn't the reunion anyone was expecting.
"They're big." Naruto finally said. "Look through Jiraiya's last book. He has the latest code explained to himself so he can write it properly."
"What does it say?" Tsunade asked.
"Basically it tells of the organization." Naruto sighed and leaned back, looking up at the stars. "Akatsuki is the weakest section of it. There are three lower sections. Akatsuki, Shougi, and Kiseki. Then a lower-middle called Zodiac with twelve members. A second lower-middle called C with four. After that even Jiraiya doesn't know. Only that there is only one middle section, two upper-middle Three lower top two middle top and then a single man who runs the show. But with Jiraiya out of the loop, there could be more."
"How could they be undetected so long?" Tsunade questioned.
"It reflects on our skills when you think about it." Naruto sighed.
"I suppose it does…" Tsunade sighed. "What happens now?"
"We move on." Naruto replied bluntly. "We move on and hope we can do enough."
"How would you expect to go after such an organization?"
"Carefully." Naruto replied. "Step … by… step."
"You're different." Tsunade muttered. "The Naruto I remember would have said something about beating them and charging in."
"It only takes a moment."
There was silence between them again.
"Granny Tsunade…"
"Yes?"
"I still want to retrieve Sasuke."