Prodigal Son
Chapter 5
Naruto took a draw on his cigarette and glanced down the road from his spot under a shady oak tree parallel to the road. The sun beat down on the road mercilessly, effectively chasing away the cool morning fog that the blonde had enjoyed mere minutes earlier.
He had left the city early in the morning and until the sun had come out; the trip had been pleasant.
"Too damn hot," he murmured to himself, finishing his cigarette.
Sighing loudly, Naruto ground his cigarette into the dirt and hauled himself back onto his feet. Removing the outer part of his kimono and slinging it over his shoulder; Naruto stepped out from under the shade and continued his trek down the road.
As he walked down the path, Naruto reflected on his destination. In truth, the blonde had no real idea of just how he was going to find a "hidden" village, but instead of pondering his dilemma, had opted to just head further south and trust fate to lead his feet. However, the further from the city he got, the more road conditions worsened and he began seeing fewer travelers.
About another two hours down the road, Naruto came across a roadside tavern. The establishment was simple, boasting a covered eating area with tables and a small building to serve as a kitchen. There were various similar rest places throughout the countryside, but Naruto couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive as he approached the establishment.
'Why would anyone have a restaurant on such a rural road?' he pondered to himself.
As he stepped under the covered area, Naruto set himself at one of the tables and glanced around the empty area. There were two other customers that relaxed at one of the tables against the wall; both men wore large straw hats and whispered quietly over their drinks. They glanced at him as he entered, but soon lost interest and turned back to their hushed conversation.
Naruto didn't have to wait long before an elderly man came out of the building and shuffled over to his table.
"Well hello weary traveler! What can I get you?" the old man chirped in a cheery tone.
Naruto wiped sweat from his brow and looked the man over, "Something cold."
"Anything else? Maybe some food to replenish your strength?"
"No, Just the drink is all."
The old man nodded and hobbled back to the building, mumbling something under his breath. Naruto snorted and shook his head; he wasn't really in the mood to eat. The heat was giving him a headache and the uncomfortable feeling coming from the rest stop made him want to just leave and continue on his way. He ran his tongue around his parched mouth and decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea to continue traveling without getting some liquids and cooling himself off.
The old man returned a few minutes later and set a large mug in front of Naruto, before sidling over to the other side of the table and seating himself across from the blonde.
"So, young man, where might you be heading? This place is a bit far from civilization if I must say so myself," The old man queried, giving Naruto a weary grin.
Naruto took a deep drink from the mug and sighed as the cool liquid saturated his parched throat, "Ah, yes. That hits the spot.."
The old man cackled and slapped a gnarled hand on the table, "Hee heee! It is a scorcher out there, eh?"
"Yes, it is much too hot. As to my destination; I am just headed south is all," Naruto divulged, taking another swig from the cup.
"South? There isn't much to the south of here, son. Any place in particular?"
Naruto set his now empty mug on the table and looked up at the old man, "Why would you care?"
The old man frowned and held his hand up in the air; Naruto tensed, expecting some sort of attack. The man snapped his fingers and the two men in the corner stood up and came up to stand behind him, their straw hats concealing their features.
"So, that is how it is, huh?" Naruto drawled, sighing tiredly.
The old man shook his head and brought his hand down to rest on the table, "A traveler this far to the south could only be headed to two places. The port town to the south-east or..another, more clandestine location. Tell us, traveler, are you planning on seeing the sea?"
Naruto chuckled and leaned back in his chair, looking between the old man and his subordinates, "And what if I'm not looking for water? You three will kill me? Konoha dogs.."
"Hee hee! Traveler, you shouldn't be so cocky in the current situation. We are merely keeping undesirables from going somewhere they shouldn't," the old man cackled, his eyes squinting in mirth.
"And why would I be an undesirable? Thats pretty rude, old man," Naruto asked, tapping the sword hilt behind his back.
The old man chuckled and tapped his nose, "Don't play stupid. You are yakuza. I can smell bad eggs from a mile away and you are a bad egg. I am never wrong."
"Is that so?" Naruto asked looking bored, "Regardless, your thugs won't be getting in my way."
Without warning, Naruto kicked backwards against the table, knocking it into the three men across from him while propelling him over backwards. He swiftly rolled backwards out of the chair and up on to his feet, drawing his sword in the blink of an eye.
The three men didn't expect such a reaction and were caught off guard; the old man crashing to the floor, while the other two men stumbled back. The surprise didn't last long however, as the old man got to his feet and his men tore off their hats.
Naruto smirked when both men were revealed to be wearing headbands, the Konoha leaf symbol emblazoned on a shiny metal bar sewn into the cloth.
"Mmm. That is why I had a funky feeling about this place. It seems I am going in the right direction after all," Naruto stated, pointing at one of the men's forehead.
The old man scowled and stepped behind his men, putting a little distance between himself and Naruto, "You will not be leaving this place, yakuza. You are a confirmed threat to the village and will be dealt with."
Naruto snorted pointed his sword at his opponents, "You talk a lot."
Within milliseconds one of the ninja produced a handful of needles from within his clothing and flung them expertly in the blonde's direction. The thin, steel points whistled as they shot through the air too fast for the eye to see, but just as they were about to hit their target, Naruto slashed at the needles, knocking the projectiles aside into a nearby table, where they stuck and quivered angrily.
The two men hesitated a little bit at that, perplexed at the speed Naruto had reacted to the flying weapons.
"What's wrong, boys? Not used to having your toys deflected like that?" Naruto teased, beckoning the two shinobi with one hand.
Both men charged across the room at him, leaping over tables and chairs to get at the blonde. The first man drew a short knife and swung viciously at Naruto, bringing the short blade in a downward arc. Naruto deflected the attack and kicked the ninja in the chest, sending the man careening over one of the tables.
Another handful of projectiles whistled through the air towards him and Naruto had to duck and roll to avoid the missiles, barely avoiding them as they impacted into the dirt floor where he had been standing. Jumping to his feet, Naruto sprinted across the room and leapt outside as another handful of needles flew past him.
By that time the first ninja had gotten back to his feet and both men followed him outside, with the old man shouting from behind them, "Get him! Hurry!"
Naruto backed out into the open road, smirking roguishly at the two ninjas, "So boys, since you are both going to die here; you want to tell me the names of the men I'm about to kill?"
Neither of the men replied, instead opting to circle the blonde swordsman like sharks around a small boat, just waiting for a chance to strike. The needle thrower was the first to act, producing two needles in his hand and rushing at Naruto, intending to use the needles as a crude claw.
Naruto intercepted the needle-using ninja halfway, pushing a little chakra into his legs before leaping into the air and twisting mid-air so he came down behind the ninja.
Bringing his sword down and around in a crossways slash, Naruto nearly cut the man in two, and were it not for the ninja's quick reflexes the attack would have done just that. The man desperately leapt away from the seeking blade at the last moment, crying out as the blade bit into the flesh of his back, avoiding a a death blow from Naruto's blade.
Naruto raised an eyebrow and watched the injured man try to staunch the blood flowing out of the jagged wound in his back, "Didn't expect me to use chakra, eh?"
He didn't have time to gloat however, as the other ninja began running through a series of hand signals. Obviously the two ninja had thought Naruto would be an easy kill, and thus didn't warrant the use of chakra techniques. The second they saw him use chakra however, the plan changed and Naruto could somehow feel energy being gathered for a jutsu.
"No you don't!" Naruto bellowed, crossing the distance between the two in an instant.
Fortunately, the ninja didn't have enough time to finish his jutsu, and barely avoided Naruto's katana as it whistled through the air towards him. The man rolled away from the attack and drew a knife in one smooth motion, getting back on his feet and turning to face the blonde swordsman.
The two men clashed in a flash of sparks, black metal ringing against purest steel as the two danced around each other, exchanging and receiving blows. Naruto was mildly impressed as he battled the knife-wielding ninja. To use a knife in combat against a long blade made the man stupid, arrogant, or insanely brave, but Naruto couldn't place which his opponent was. Shirking his thoughts, Naruto smirked as the ninja tried to sweep his feet out from under him with a low-kick. The blonde saw the kick coming however, and leapt into the air, bringing his leg around to crash into the side of his opponent's head.
The ninja crashed into the dirt, but rolled away as Naruto tried to impale him with his sword. The blonde didn't have time for another attack however, as two needles struck him in the arm. He cursed and rolled away as three more needles followed, barely missing him. Quickly pulling the projectiles from his flesh, Naruto could only hope they weren't poisoned.
Apparently the needle-thrower was back in the fight, and Naruto watched as the two men regrouped and began circling him again.
Naruto watched as the needle-thrower shuffled around him, leaving small patches of blood behind him as his wound bled freely down his leg, 'Time to finish that one off..'
Not waiting for the two to make their move; Naruto leapt at the wounded man, but was intercepted by his partner. The ninja pushed his wounded comrade out of the way and blocked Naruto's katana with his knife, "Koji get the fuck out of the way!"
The wounded ninja, Koji, grunted in reply and fell to the ground, his wounds obviously beginning to take effect.
Naruto backed away and brought his sword to his side, earning a suspicious glance from still as-of-yet unknown ninja.
"Look after your friend; he is going to bleed to death if that cut isn't tended to quickly," Naruto drawled, glancing at the still form of Koji.
The ninja glared and brought his knife in front of him defensively, "You will attack me."
"No, I won't," Naruto answered, "I have already killed too many men this week."
The ninja went to his friend and hunched down, keeping his eyes riveted on Naruto's sword. After a few seconds he inspected his friend's wound and grimaced; the wound was, apparently, deeper than it had looked. Casting another cautious glance at Naruto, the ninja sheathed his knife and picked up his friend, tossing the unconscious man over his shoulders.
Naruto sighed and wiped his sword on his pant leg before sheathing it with a metallic click, "Before you haul him off; I need some information."
The ninja looked skeptical, but knew that he was in some form of debt to the blonde swordsman, "What is it?"
"If I follow this road," Naruto pointed down the southward leading path, "..will it take me to Konohakagure?"
The ninja didn't answer, but nodded quickly and took off towards the rest stop, bellowing for the old man to bring medical aid for his partner. Naruto saw the old man point at him and bellow a few obscenities at the ninja, but complied and hurried off to get whatever was needed.
Naruto headed off down the road, checking himself for wounds as he walked. He lifted up his arm and pulled back his fishnet shirt, searching for the needle wounds he had received earlier. Apart from a little caked blood, there was no sign of injury whatsoever; the wounds had completely healed over in a matter of minutes.
He frowned at the lack of wound and chalked it up as yet another unexplained thing he didn't know about his body. All his life he had never suffered any long-lasting injuries. At one time he had even broken the majority of his ribs in a bar fight, but was completely healed within a week. Boss Nakamori had hired a professional doctor to give him a full physical examination after that incident, but the doctor couldn't come up with any feasible answer. It didn't sit well with him then, and it still didn't to the day. He couldn't complain about surviving wounds that would a normal man out for months, but it was still something he didn't understand, and if there was one thing Naruto couldn't stand, it was being left in the dark.
"Fuckin' weird body of mine," Naruto mumbled to himself as he walked. It would be a few hours before he realized that he had left the top of his kimono lying on the table at the rest stop.
Back at the rest stop, Koji was finally safe from bleeding to death. His partner and the old man had patched him up quite well and he had drifted into a comfortable sleep as they watched over him.
"Saito, why did you let that yakuza get away?" the old man scolded, wagging an admonishing finger at the younger man.
"Uh because he would've killed me had I tried to stop him? Besides, he won't be able to get past the village gates, much less see through the genjutsu around it," Saito answered, sighing and rubbing his neck.
"Still, we do not run this post just to let people pass by so easily."
Saito growled and pointed at the older man, "You didn't do anything! And did you not see that guy move? I swear that guy is some kind of master swordsman. I haven't seen anyone short of a samurai flow with a blade like that."
"So use a damn jutsu, knucklehead!" the old man scolded, not impressed by the young man's excuses.
"I tried! He wouldn't fuckin' let me!"
"Useless!"
"You know what? He had to have had some chakra training to jump over Koji like he did," Saito mused, looking off into space.
"Who?" a voice asked from the front of the covered dining area.
Both Saito and the old man turned around to face the newcomer, a pretty brunette in a simple black kimono. Flanking her were an older man, a busty blonde, and a pig.
It took Saito a few minutes to place the newcomers' faces but when he did, his eyes widened and he bowed respectfully, "Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama!"
Shizune smiled at the young ninja's reaction at recognizing two of the Legendary Sannin, but returned to her question, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you were saying something about a man using chakra to attack you and your friend?"
"Yes ma'am, I don't believe he was a ninja, but I am positive he used chakra to defeat my partner," Saito stammered, pointing at Koji's sleeping form.
"And you apprehended him?" Tsunade questioned, taking a seat at one of the tables.
"N-no, he defeated us and continued his journey down the road to the south."
"Towards Konoha?" Jiraiya asked, a suspicious look crossing his features.
Saito nodded embarrassedly and the old man got up to take Tsunade's order. Jiraiya looked between the injured ninja and Saito for a few seconds then walked over and studied Koji's sleeping form.
"Tell me exactly what happened, young man."
Saito chuckled nervously and shrugged, "Not much to tell. The old fart found out he was yakuza so we attempted to apprehend him and failed. He cut open Koji, my partner's, back and then told me to help him. Then he left and I came back here and bandaged my friend up as best I could."
Tsunade ordered Shizune over to check on Koji's wounds, while Jiraiya took Saito aside, putting an arm over the younger man's shoulders and whispering so the others wouldn't hear, "Did he ask how to find the village?"
"Not exactly, sir. He asked if this road would eventually lead him there. Rather than fight and possibly let Koji die; I nodded my head and he took off without another word. Was I wrong in doing so, sir?" Saito asked, his eyes showing worry.
"No, not at all! You saved your comrade's life and survived an encounter with a master swordsman; you have nothing to be ashamed of," Jiraiya assured him, clapping Saito on the back.
"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."
"Don't mention it. One other thing though, tell me what you know of the man; what did he look like, did he use any strange jutsu?"
Saito exhaled in relief and picked his brain for details, "Umm, he was tall, light haired, pretty well built, and wore black clothing. He had a strange, customized sword, and had this huge, black dragon tattoo across his back. The old man said that was what marked him as yakuza, something about ranks in gangs or something. Anyways, he didn't use any jutsu whatsoever, but I am pretty sure he used chakra when he leapt over my friend and slashed him. Other than that..I don't have anything else to tell you; he didn't give us a name or anything."
Jiraiya took in the information and painted a picture in his head, 'It couldn't be..'
A commotion could be heard, and both men turned to see Tsunade overturn a table, while Shizune held something black in her outstretched hand.
"What is going on?" Jiraiya asked, glancing between the two women.
Shizune unfolded the black fabric and revealed it to be the top part of a kimono, "Jiraiya-sama. I would recognize this kimono anywhere.."
"Oh? I wouldn't presume that you tore this off of a handsome, young renegade last night, did you?" Jiraiya teased, earning a blush from Shizune and a scowl from Tsunade.
"It's Naruto's.." Shizune admitted, folding the fabric and putting it away in her traveling bag.
Tsunade huffed in frustration, and then snatched Shizune's arm before bolting out the door. "Let's go!"
The two women exited the building and started to make their way down the dirt path, but stopped when they realized Jiraiya wasn't with them.
"Jiraiya! Get your ass out here!" Tsunade bellowed, but stopped when her fellow Sannin exited the building in a slow shuffle, obviously deep in thought.
Jiraiya wandered over slowly and finally looked up at the two women, a broad grin plastered across his face, "We are getting old, Tsunade"
"What? How dare you call me old!" she retorted, glaring at Jiraiya.
"Oh? Then tell me how come we didn't recognize Naruto when we first met him?" he asked.
Tsunade and Shizune looked between one another and then back at the Toad sage.
"Blonde spiky hair, whisker marks, chakra that he barely knows how to use, fiery attitude, and wants to find Konoha. If that doesn't give it away; think about his name, Naruto, a little rare don't you think?" Jiraiya continued.
Both Sannin looked at eachother and Tsunade was the first to speak aloud, "Konoha's pariah. Minato's son. Vessel of..Kyuubi.."
Jiraiya bobbed his head, "He is the right age and fits the description to the letter!"
Tsunade didn't wait for any more words to be said; she grabbed Shizune and Jiraiya by their clothes and bolted down the road, her companions struggling to keep from being dragged in her wake.
Even Shizune knew the tale of Konoha's shame and pride; the Village Hidden in the Leaf had lost their greatest weapon and greatest curse nearly a decade ago and no one had heard from him in all that time. If her master and Jiraiya were correct about who Naruto really was, then she had, just one night ago, slept with the most dangerous being in known existence; The vessel of the Demon Lord, Kyuubi no Kitsune.
Shizune made a mental note to write about it in her diary.
Naruto was getting frustrated. Not only had he been walking for hours, but the scenery never changed; the road seemed to go on and on forever.
As he walked he started noticing various trees and landmarks that he could've sworn he had already passed. Growling under his breath, Naruto walked over to a large oak and used his boot knife to carve a large X into it. Satisfied that the symbol was big enough to be seen from the road; he began walking down the road again.
Several minutes passed and he began looking at the trees lining the path, looking for anything strange on them. After finding nothing out of place, Naruto began to scold himself for thinking up something as naïve as marking his path. However, when he rounded a corner in the road; he cast a bored glance at one of the larger trees and his breath caught in his throat.
Carved into the tree was a large X, clearly visible against the other unmarked trees. Naruto fell to his knees and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He knew that something was very wrong, but couldn't make himself believe that he had been walking in circles for such a long time.
"What the fuck!" the blonde bellowed out loud, pointing an accusing finger at the marked tree.
Naruto swung his head around and took in his surroundings: the road that never ended, the same deep forest, and the eerily, marked tree. Shaking his head and pounding his palm against his forehead, Naruto began to curse and vent his frustration into the wind. 'What is wrong with this place? I swear I've been traveling for hours!'
The blonde continued to rant for a few minutes, before he ran out of breath and tried to calm himself. Regulating his breath, Naruto stood up and closed his eyes, extending his other senses. He felt the wind caress his face and heard the leaves on the trees rustle. He smelt the dirt path and the scents carried on the breeze. Most importantly however, Naruto could "feel" something wrong with the area, something his eyes couldn't see and his fingers couldn't touch.
Reaching out subconsciously with his chakra, he could feel the atmosphere react to the energy he put out, surrounding it and trying to absorb it. This intrigued the blonde and he poured a little more chakra outwards, somehow feeling the atmosphere absorb it and change it.
Naruto chuckled at the weird sensation; chakra was so strange to him. Asides from using it to augment his speed or jumping capability; the blonde had never experimented much with the weird energy inside him. He could feel it within him and move it around his body as he wished, but didn't really understand where it came from or what it was capable of. Of course he had heard of ninja using it to do strange "magic spells", but had never really thought of trying such a thing himself. So, as he pumped chakra out of his body and watched in amazement at the "ripple effect" it had on the area; Naruto could only marvel at the strange sensation that unfolded before him.
Whenever he released chakra from his body it would pulse and cause the strange aura around him to react to it. Time and time again, the aura would absorb the foreign energy and stop the "ripples" his chakra caused, returning the area to a calm state within a few seconds.
Smirking slyly, Naruto opened his eyes and began releasing more chakra into the air. The landscape would fade a little as his chakra was released, but after a few seconds, would absorb his chakra and returned the landscape to normal.
"Interesting.." the blonde mused to himself, grinning like a child about to do something naughty.
Closing his eyes again, Naruto began pouring releasing more and more chakra into the area, feeling the ripples increase in size while trying to resist being absorbed. Naruto, oblivious to just how much chakra he might possess, kept the chakra coming, releasing as much of the energy as he could. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, the blonde released the floodgate and pumped all the chakra he could, outwards, turning the "ripples" into a wave of chakra that splashed outwards into the surrounding area.
He opened his eyes curiously and chuckled as the landscape wobbled and shifted dangerously. Trees multiplied and divided themselves at random, then would jump from spot to spot. The road seemed to lengthen, then coil up on itself. It was if the world had gone completely and utterly mad. As the landscape began to swirl and coalesce into a blur, Naruto began laughing madly and raised a fist in the air triumphantly. "Ha! Fucking ninja mind-games won't work on me!"
Almost in response, the landscape disappeared from his vision, while a new landscape took its place. Naruto fell to his knees and continued laughing as he stopped releasing his chakra and took a look around.
The area hadn't changed much, but just a few hundred yards away stood the massive front gate and walls of Konohakagure, the Village Hidden in the Leaf.
" It looks like he broke the genjutsu, sir," A voice droned from behind him.
Naruto rolled away from the voice and drew his sword in one motion, jumping to his feet and spinning to face the new threat.
Arranged in a semi-circle in front of him, six figures in black body armor stood casually. Each one of them had a strange animal mask covering their face and wore identical armor, but Naruto could tell from their physiques that he was facing two females and four males. Female or not though, the blonde figured each one of the masked figures was probably dangerous and eyed them cautiously.
"Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked, bringing his sword up in front of him.
"Shouldn't we be asking you the same question?" one of the women wearing an otter mask asked.
Naruto scowled and relaxed his shoulders a bit; he had always been one to rise to a verbal challenge just as much as a physical one, "My name is Fuck You. Nice to meet you, sweet cheeks."
A few of the men chuckled behind their masks and Otter tensed visibly, her fists tightening into balls, "You're pretty funny. Why don't you come over here and repeat that!"
Naruto lowered his sword and lit a cigarette, taking a slow drag on it and appraising the half-dozen ninja that stood before him. Smoking, as always, helped him calm himself and think rationally in situations he would otherwise rush into blindly. Against a half a dozen ninja it wouldn't do much good to fight without a plan.
He knew he wouldn't be able to escape without getting injured, but other than Otter, none of the others had shown any hostility towards him. He began to wonder if they were sizing him up before making a move. He wouldn't let himself even began to think they would let him waltz off un-molested; Naruto had never been lucky.
"No thanks, I can smell your breath from her, babycakes," Naruto deadpanned through his cigarette.
This time all four of the men chuckled, the other woman giggled quietly, and Otter went rigid. Naruto imagined the female was probably not too happy about being shown up in front of her comrades, and would probably take the first chance she got to jump him. Naruto had been in enough fights to know that there was always a hot-head that took the first punch, and it was always a good idea to take that person down first. Otter, it appeared, was his hot-head.
"Anyways, you folks going to stand around, or are we going to fight? I don't think Konoha takes to kindly to unannounced visitors," Naruto drawled in a bored tone, trying to think of the best way to fight the group of ninja.
"And what a troublesome visitor you are. You don't look like shinobi to me, and yet you used wasted a massive amount of chakra to dispel that genjutsu. Tell me, who are you and why are you here?" one of the males wearing an eagle mask asked, stepping forward and eyeing him curiously.
Naruto could tell from the man's stance that he was a leader, and that suspicion was only further confirmed when Otter stepped back, her anger forgotten. He cursed inwardly when the hot-head stepped back, since it meant they would probably have some sort of group strategy rather than bum-rushing him all at once.
"Or we could arrest you and let our men find out with their own methods," Eagle added, shrugging uninterestedly.
"Am I supposed to be intimidated, Eagle-san?" Naruto asked, "Because you are doing a very poor job at being scary."
"This is a troublesome waste of my time. Take him away," Eagle ordered, turning his back on Naruto and walking towards the city.
Before Naruto could retort, one of the masked men flickered out of his view, appearing behind him in an instant. Surprised by the man's speed, Naruto couldn't dodge in time and only had time to drop his cigarette before his world went dark.
Tsunade dispelled the genjutsu that threatened to cloud her senses and wiped the beaded sweat from her brow - Konoha's gates looming before her. As she wiped the moisture on her jacket, she glanced back at her group; they were breathing just as hard as she was and Shizune looked fit to pass out. Growling in irritation, the blonde woman approached the two young shinobi that guarded the gate.
"Oi, did a blonde ruffian pass through here lately?" she asked the older looking of the two.
The man shook his head and jerked a thumb towards the village behind him, "I wouldn't know anything about blonde ruffians. We just replaced the guards from earlier."
Biting back her irritation, Tsunade adopted a fake smile and motioned for Jiraiya and Shizune to follow her, "Well, I do hope you will excuse us.."
"Once I see some identification, lady," The man droned, holding his hand towards her.
Tsunade kept her composure and Jiraiya shut his eyes, while Shizune rummaged for her own identification. The blonde woman seemed to rummage through her clothing for a moment, before reaching out and grabbing the man's wrist. With a simple squeeze, the man's wrist snapped like a dry twig and he screamed in raw agony.
"Oh god! Owww! Whhyy!?" the man bellowed, falling to the ground and clutching his injury.
"Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Tonton. Free to pass? Thanks, dumbshit," Tsunade deadpanned sweetly, batting her eyelashes.
Without another word the trio headed into town, with Shizune muttering apologies as she passed. Tsunade was prone to injuring random citizens and it was usually up to Shizune to make apologies and placations in her fiery tempered, master's wake. The unfortunate guard had chosen the wrong day to forget his village's heroes, and had received a refresher course on his history.
It took a few minutes for the group to reach the large, red building that housed the political power in the shinobi village. Inside could be found countless assemblies and offices of politicians, military leaders, and other important aristocratic big shots. It was also the headquarters of the Hokage, the village's most powerful ninja and resident overlord, Sasuke Sarutobi.
Tsunade gave little thought to the legend however, and was less than tactful when she blazed through the building, bodyguards, and secretary in a haze, bursting through the thick oak door of the old man's office like a blonde hurricane. Tsunade flew at the old man sitting at the desk, who was patiently listening to one of his men deliver a report.
The old leader sighed and looked as the trio of people stopped in front of his desk, "It's nice to see you, Tsunade."
The blonde slowed her breathing and snorted, "It was a pretty dirty trick sending my old teammate like you did, but I have more pressing matters to speak with you about."
The Sandaime raised an eyebrow and rolled his pipe around in his mouth a moment before looking over at Jiraiya, who had stayed silent the whole time, "Jiraiya, Shizune, I assume your trip was alright?"
Shizune nodded politely and set Tonton on the floor, wiping the dust from her kimono self-consciously, "It was fine, Hokage-sama, but I am afraid what we have discovered is urgent."
Jiraiya nodded his agreement and sat down in one of the chairs, winking at his former master, "You might want to hold on to your seat."
"Very well; what do you have to say, Tsunade?" the old man asked, leaning back in his chair with a groan.
"A blonde came to this village earlier today; where is he?"
Sarutobi grunted and motioned for the ninja at the back of the room to come forward, "My captain was just reporting about a blonde that he had found outside the village. Shall we let him finish his report?"
Tsunade nodded and sat down in one of the two chairs in the room, while Shizune and Tonton went to stand quietly in the corner.
The ninja came forward, clad in the typical ANBU armor and animal mask, "Thank you, Hokage-sama. Where should I begin?"
Sarutobi took a pull on his pipe and blew a lazy circle into the air, "Might as well start at the beginning, Shikamaru."
The masked man stuttered at having his real name revealed, "H-hokage-sama, are you sure you should reveal such things?"
The old man chuckled and pointed at the two Sannin sitting before him, "These two are the equivalent of Hokage in this village, son. Soon you might be working for one of them, so I figure we could let them know who you are just this once."
Tsunade was getting impatient, but gritted her teeth and nodded for the ANBU to continue with the report, 'Let's get on with it!'
Shikamaru sensed the urgency in the blonde woman's gaze and quickly gave a precise and shortened report. He told of first spying the blonde wandering aimlessly along the outerwalls, no doubt being affected by the village's genjutsu, and then of how the young man had experimented releasing chakra and watching the effects it had. Finally he came to the part where the blonde had begun releasing chakra from his body in a steady flow, enough chakra that the village's genjutsu couldnt overpower it any longer; dispelling the illusion and revealing the village to the blonde. Jiraiya asked about how much chakra the blonde released, but Shikamaru could only speculate at the amount; Jiraiya went quiet after that.
"..and that's when I had my men haul him off to the ANBU prison." he finished, shrugging at the assembled people.
Tsunade waited for the man to end before standing up and slamming her hands on the polished, hardwood desk, "We need to get him out! We need to get him out before he harbors even MORE resentment towards this place!"
Sandaime frowned and looked over at Jiraiya, "You two make it sound like I should know this yakuza."
Jiraiya chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, "You really are becoming senile, old man. You can't tell me you don't recognize the lad's name?"
Sarutobi frowned and started to shake his head, but stopped, his eyes widening and the pipe dropping from his lips, "This yakuza is THAT Naruto?"
Tsunade smacked her forehead and groaned, "How many blonde men do you know, that are named after a ramen topping!?"
Jiraiya coughed to get everyone's attention and blushed embarrassedly, "Tsunade? We didn't recognize him until we were almost here.."
"Shut up! I know that! You can't blame me though; I wasn't around when he was a boy.." she retorted.
"True.." Jiraiya admitted.
Sarutobi groaned and waved his arms to silence the two comrades, "It seems we all have sunk so far as to have forgotten Minato's legacy, so let us not point fingers. For Naruto-kun to wander under our noses without us thinking twice about it is a sin against the Yondaime's memory in its own way.."
Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and even Tsunade went silent, each showing sadness in their own ways. Each one of the legendary ninja had some sort of connection to the late Yondaime and felt the long-repressed memory of their friend play through their minds.
Jiraiya had trained the Yondaime from a boy, not only shaping the rowdy, blonde boy into a powerful ninja, but had shared a close father/son relationship with the blonde as well. Sarutobi had been a mentor to the blonde as he grew up, and would later choose Minato as his eventual successor, forever earning himself the late blonde's affection.
Lastly, Tsunade, a woman who wasn't prone to forging connections with anyone after the death of her fiancé, Dan, had forged a strange relationship with the Yondaime. Minato, being the constantly cheerful and most importantly, considerate man that he was had constantly tried to break the blonde woman's tough outer shell. Not to say that he didn't get hurt in the process, but he never relented, and eventually earned a grudging respect and admiration from the Slug Princess.
All the older ninja were shaken from their thoughts when Shizune coughed loudly from the corner, "Naruto is still in prison, you know.."
Sarutobi nodded his head and turned to Shikimaru, who still stood in the corner, unsure of what to do with himself, "Shikamaru, release the prisoner and escort him here. We will receive him in this office."
Everyone in the room settled down to wait, and Tsunade sent Shizune off to find some refreshments, ignoring Sarutobi's offer to have his secretary go instead, "Thank you, old man, but we have other things to discuss while we wait. Things I would rather we kept between us three."
"Very well. Shizune, there is a delightful little tea shop a few blocks from here. Ask my secretary for directions on your way out," Sarutobi called out as the brunette began heading out the door.
No one noticed the Shikamaru hadn't left yet, and were a little surprised when he seemingly approached the desk from thin air.
"Shikamaru! You surely do have a way with those shadows! I thought you had left; why are you still here?" Sarutobi asked, jumping a little as the ANBU appeared from the darkening room; the sun was setting rather quickly, throwing long shadows across the office.
"I apologize, sir, but I think you should probably send medical aid to fetch the prisoner. He has been with Morino Ibiki for a good two hours now, if my guess is correct," Shikamaru whispered, fidgeting uncomfortably as he gave the information.
Sarutobi smacked his forehead and pointed a gnarled finger at the door, "You have my permission to request anyone from the hospital you want, but make it quick! Oh jeez..this couldn't get any more hectic.."
Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha's Interrogation and Torture Tactics unit, was not a man to be trifled with. It was rumored that the scarred, monster of a man could make a mute man talk, and Sarutobi was inclined to believe it. The man was known for his natural talent at torture methods and information gathering, and if Naruto had been with the torture specialist for an hour, not to mention two; Sarutobi wasn't quite sure just what shape the blonde prisoner would be in when he showed up.
Did I pack this chapter with too much? What do you guys think? Shorter chapters from now on, or is this length alright?
Also, I will be adding a translation list of all the jutsu I use in my story, and will post it on my profile.
Thanks for reading!