Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Kishimoto Masashi does…

"spoken"

"as spoken by the Bijyuu"

-thought-

-as thought by Kyuubi-

Awakening of the Slumbering Beast

Chapter 8: The Longest Journey

Naruto relaxed his concentration and the flattened water balloon began to resume its original shape. He stared at the damn thing and sighed while listening to his travelling companion's almost incessant giggling. Casting a sidelong glance at the 'Great' Jiraiya he snorted and pondered what really was setting the white haired Sannin into his obviously perverted state of mind. Naruto smirked -Like he needs anything to set him into that… I bet he was born like that. Why, he probably even tried to grope the delivery staff when he was born.-

Showing aside his musing about Ero-sennin's obvious pervertedness and the occasional thought of a certain pale eyed girl, he sighed and focused again on the damnable balloon. It had taken perhaps an hour to get the chakra to spin the water in the balloon, after that it had been a 'simple' task of adding more chakra to make the water spin faster. The only problem was that the balloon wouldn't pop but instead flattened as the water began to spin faster and faster… The blonde surmised that he didn't use enough chakra and tried to push out more and then more. Finally he was pulling out considerable amount of Kyuubi's chakra and as a result the balloon was as flat as a pancake… but the damn thing still didn't blow up.

"OI! Ero-Sennin… what's the deal with this damn balloon anyway? This is some sort of trick balloon right?" The furious scribbling and the accompanied giggling ceased momentarily as Jiraiya glanced at his student, then the old man's eyes widened almost impossibly. What he saw was Naruto looking rather annoyed and a flattened balloon that was roughly thirty centimetres in diameter… a balloon that was clearly near its breaking point. The white haired man stepped quickly next to Naruto and grabbed his hand just as the balloon exploded with a loud pop…

Both Naruto and Jiraiya sweat dropped as they examined the damage the swirling water had caused, there was a deep gouge in the ground only a hairs breadth away from Jiraiya's geta (Wooden sandals he wears). There was a moment of quiet peace until Jiraiya's screaming drove nearby birds into the air. After a good few minutes of yelling at Naruto, for being such a baka, Jiraiya managed to calm down and return from the brink of an impending heart attack… few more minutes later Naruto was grinning widely, he might have the makings of a new technique here after all.

"…so do you understand why that thing you did with the balloon is useless?" After receiving a nod of confirmation Jiraiya produced another water balloon from his sleeve and filled it with water. "Now observe, I'll show this to you only once more so you better pay attention brat." Again Naruto only nodded and watched carefully as the balloon began to vibrate, then blew up with a splash. He let out a contemplative 'hmmh' before looking at the perverted old man. "Do it again… I think I got it now…"

Jiraiya just smirked and pulled out another balloon, filled it with water and then stated "No!" before throwing the balloon at Naruto, completely soaking him. "I already told you, I'll show it only once. Now get to it!" The blonde began to yell but was completely ignored by the white haired Sannin who was already scribbling something with a furious pace and had even begun to giggle oddly. Naruto sighed and began to curse the old man silently only to be interrupted by Kyuubi who politely asked if Naruto was a crybaby who couldn't do anything on his own.

Swallowing his complaints the Jinchuuriki decided to think back to Jiraiya's demonstration. -The water didn't only spin, it was more like the water was spinning every which way. But it would require me to create several chakra spins that would move independently… sounds like this jutsu needs a ton of control and then some. Lucky for me I have just that.-

Jiraiya was smiling while writing his newest masterpiece. The brat had certainly amazed him and would probably pass the first stage within few months, possibly even before they found Tsunade. He briefly scratched Akai who was perched in his spiky hair and then pondered how long his young charge would take to master the Rasengan. -Hmmph if he takes after Arashi-kun I'd say a year or so, especially since he can practice at least two or three times more in a day than normal people… Now where was I? Right 'The foxboy was unable to tear his eyes of the visage of beauty that was bathing in his favourite pond…'- The giggling returned in full force while Naruto was grunting from exertion.

Jiraiya had just finished a particularly juicy part dealing with bathing scenes and all that when a splash and a loud yell of "YESSS!" disrupted his blessed creativity. The old man looked at Naruto who was holding an empty hand towards him and grinning madly… needles to say the Sannin was floored by this, only few hours and the brat had passed stage one. After quickly recovering Jiraiya simply produced another balloon, filled it with water and tossed it to the boy who deftly caught it from the air. "Now show me… I seriously doubt you actually managed to pass stage one."

The blonde's face became a mask of concentration and the balloon in his hand began to bounce madly before quickly exploding in a brief burst of water. Jiraiya's jaw hung loose while Naruto again grinned like a madman. "I figured I need to spin my chakra into multiple different directions to make it spin 'madly' enough to break the balloon… after I got the hang of it was easy." At this the perverted Sannin plummeted to the ground. -Easy he says... I've created a monster. Well there's still the stage two, but then it's only about power… still it might slow him down for a week or two, then again if he passes it in only a few days it'll be a pain. I won't be able to concentrate on my precious book if I have him hanging on me and begging for more cool techniques.-

Jiraiya came back from his reverie to find Naruto poking him and babbling incessantly about how he was now a step closer to mastering the Rasengan. As the older man gathered himself from the ground he smirked at the eager expression on the boy's face, an expression that was mollified somewhat when he tossed a rubber ball at the boy. "Here's stage two then brat. The first was to spin your chakra, now you add the power to it…" While he was talking, Jiraiya fished another rubber ball from his robes and then promptly made it explode in his hand. "This is only about a hundred times harder than the previous step, so don't get too frustrated if you don't get it anytime soon." There was a slight pause before the old man added "And absolutely NO Kyuubi chakra… use your own."

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Hinata was fidgeting nervously while standing outside her father's study. It was rare that Hiashi would summon his 'weak' daughter to an audience and when he did it was never good. Far too soon, in her opinion, she was admitted into the presence of the head of the prestigious Hyuuga-clan, Hyuuga Hiashi. After a motion to sit down and a stern "Sit Hinata." she quietly shuffled over and took a seat on one of the cushions arranged near the wall of the room.

Much to Hinata's surprise she wasn't scolded over, rather her father stood up and came to sit on the cushions near her. Hiashi regarded his fidgeting daughter with emotionless eyes before speaking. "I have read a report of your actions during the defence of the academy. After that I asked Neji for an assessment on your performance during the fight." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You would have died, was it not for Uzumaki-san's interference." Hinata lowered her head and began to mumble apologies only to have them overridden by her father's voice. "Not before single-handedly removing a Chuunin and putting up a fight against a clearly superior Jounin enemy…"

Hinata's head snapped up at this and she, a rare occurrence, stared her father straight in the eyes in amazement and nearly missed the following statement. "In fact, Neji's testimony gives me a reason to believe you have been letting up on your sister during your matches." Hiashi's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he registered a flash of something pass his daughter's eyes. "Regardless… I have decided that it's time you begin your training in advanced forms of the Jyuken…"

Hinata gasped slightly, this was certainly not something she had been expecting. She would never have expected Neji of all people to praise her skills, nor that she was put up for advanced training. Hiashi's voice cut through her musings. "Now Hinata… As I'm sure you remember, I placed a wager with Uzumaki-san riding upon his fight with Neji. I would ask you to invite him over so that we might discuss our little bet."

Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of Naruto's name, along with a flood of very recent memories that caused large amount of blood to flow to her facial veins. She instinctively dropped her gaze to the ground in an attempt to hide the excessive blush, before muttering. "Ano… Otou-san, Naruto-kun is on a mission…" Feeling the unasked question in the air she continued. "He left with Jiraiya-sama this afternoon and is expected to return in a few months time."

Even without the Byakugan active she could feel her father's surprise at the news. And indeed, Hiashi was surprised. -So… the 'Great' Jiraiya has taken another apprentice.- If he hadn't been surprised by then, he would have been even more so when Hinata's milky eyes met his in an almost steely gaze. "Otou-san… I… After Naruto-kun returns, I would go out with him." Hiashi simply raised an eyebrow at the tone, it almost indicated an unspoken. 'Whether you like it or not…'

Hinata was feeling a mixture of dread and pride. Pride because she had managed to indicate that she would be seeing Naruto unless explicitly told not to, and even then she would fight tooth and nail for just that. And dread due the fact that his father was yet to say anything, positive or negative as to the matter. He was still calmly observing Hinata while running possible scenarios regarding the request in his mind…

The current heir of the Hyuuga clan almost had her young heart burst from her throat when her father voiced his decision. "Very well… After young Uzumaki returns from his mission you are to invite him for a formal dinner so that I may evaluate his… suitability and discuss certain… rules." Before Hinata could embarrass herself by squeaking out in joy he continued. "Now if there is nothing else…"

It was a clear dismissal and Hiashi was caught off guard when there was a soft. "Ano… I had a question." Another raised eyebrow was only indication given that Hinata should proceed. "What would happen if one would pierce a tenketsu point with a senbon needle?" Hiashi mentally blinked at the unexpected question, his daughter being one surprise after another that day.

After considering the almost eager expression his daughter he simply said. "Nothing… the tenketsu wouldn't be affected unless the senbon was laced with chakra, a feat that has never been accomplished by the Hyuuga or we would certainly have deployed as a form of long range Jyuken. Why did you want to know?"

Hinata began to fidget anew and finally mumbled out a confirmation to Hiashi's guess… Uzumaki Naruto. Seeing Hinata's composure begin to crumble, he decided to continue. "However… there are several critical nerve junctions and pressure points located right under several tenketsus. Piercing those points would cause various effects, pain, paralysis… even death."

Again he had Hinata's full attention, to a point that she was actually looking him in the eye. "I'll see that the book containing the complete list is delivered to your quarters later today." There was a near invisible flick of Hiashi's wrist that was a clear signal for dismissal, a signal that Hinata didn't miss. As she was about to reach for the door her father spoke again. "To master throwing senbons requires great amount of practice and for them to be precisely imbedded in to a moving opponent to produce the effects desired would require more than passing knowledge about chakra string manipulation."

There was a moment of silence and then. "This new training will not impede your Jyuken training, I do in fact expect your performance to improve drastically since your byakugan will need training in order for you to utilize those needles." With that Hinata opened the door and offered a parting bow before she left the room followed by Hiashi's "I will see you at dinner."

Hinata managed to reach her room before collapsing in a heap. She'd been under more emotional pressure, excluding her recent escapades with a certain blonde, than she'd ever been in her young life. She hadn't been berated, but almost praised by her father, who had apparently even accepted Naruto... and she'd been given a chance to get stronger and if she worked hard at it could possibly bring her another step closer to her own secret ambition of being an accomplished med-nin. She was still in a daze when there was a knock on her door and moments later she was face to face with her cousin who simply said. "Hinata-sama… it's time for your training."

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Elsewhere in Konoha, a certain mask wearing Jounin was leaning on a post outside a small teashop when he spotted a pair of familiar people coming his way. In a teasing tone he called out. "Hey you two, you look good together… you guys out on a date?" The tone caused Yuuhi Kurenai to blush before she grumbled something about Anko and sweets and hardly fazed Asuma who pointed at the vacant seats and then ordered some tea for three. Kakashi shrugged and sat down on the table, he had time since he was actually early for his meeting with Sasuke, and besides it wouldn't matter if he was late… it was expected after all.

After the three Jounin received their teas the talk turned to their Genin charges… or more specifically, Naruto. Kakashi, in answer to the demanding questions of "What the hell did you do to that kid anyway, he failed the academy exam and now he won the finals?" and "Yeah, how did you do it, or have you been holding out on us?" simply smiled little under his mask, a visible sign of this only being his eye curving slightly.

Kakashi's eye curved a little more at the accusation of holding out… if they only knew. "Well… about that holding out. You really aren't the one to talk are you Kurenai." Kurenai, taken back by the sudden reversal of the situation and completely perplexed by the remark was trying to regain her composure when the obviously amused Jounin continued. "I mean you always go on and on about how your little Hinata-chan is too shy for her own good… A blatant lie if I ever have heard one."

Now the red eyed Jounin was completely stupefied while even Asuma was slightly shocked, one couldn't spend even half a second in the presence of the young Hyuuga and not notice that she was extremely shy… if one even noticed her. Kakashi, enjoying every moment continued. "Or if she is shy then you really need to give her a stern talk… Because she was either trying to kill my student by a technique that involved suffocating him by showing her tongue down his throat or she was… making out with him."

Kurenai's eyes red eyes widened almost impossibly while her jaw hung loose. While Kakashi was shaken from his mirth by a lecherous "Making out you say?" from Asuma.

Kakashi nodded sagely before saying. "It was just like Daisuke-kun and Yuka-chan in volume three, on their first meeting… there was a tree and everything." Asuma's eyes widened as he recalled the said scene before beginning to mumble silently.

After a moment of mumbling he then suddenly remembered how the 'meeting' had ended and quickly glanced at the still shocked Kurenai before leaning towards Kakashi and whispering. "They went all the way?"

The masked Jounin shook his head wistfully shook his head before responding. "They were stopped by Jiraiya before they reached paragraph seven line four. If he hadn't started chuckling they might have gone a lot longer." Kakashi then feigned a sad tone into his voice. "Ah they grow up so fast these days… and soon they will have reached the end of that particular chapter…"

He got no further when a fist impacted with the top of his skull while another slammed Asuma face first into the table. Yuuhi kurenai was visibly trembling and then began to shout. "You, you perverts…" She then grabbed Kakashi by the throat and pulled him close before continuing in a threatening tone. "If your Naruto has become some sort of depraved sexual predator because of your perversion and has forced Hinata-chan into something indecent I'll remove certain parts of his anatomy… along with yours."

Both the male Jounin and several other males who were within hearing distance sweated heavily because of the sinister threat. In an attempt to placate the fuming Kurenai, Kakashi proceeded to describe what had happened… from how he had noticed a suspicious looking Jiraiya tailing someone and had decided to check it out. Of course the mere mention of Jiraiya aggravated the female Jounin even further, making her mumble about the 'evil grandmaster of all perverts' and such.

She calmed down somewhat after the explanation, nothing had happened after all. Frowning to herself she cast a suspicious look at Kakashi before silently vowing to give Hinata a stern talk about hormones, responsibility and all that. Then she frowned again before thinking -On a second thought… I better give that baka Naruto the same talk. The Kami only know what kind of crap that sex fiend Jiraiya will try to imprint on him… hmm, maybe some creative intimidation too. Oh well, at least Hinata had her dream come true…-

Asuma, while interested in the budding affair among their 'little' and 'kawaii' Genin, was also interested in Naruto particularly. By all accounts the blonde should not have made it to the finals, let alone win them. As such he decided to press Kakashi again on the subject.

Kakashi let out a contemplative 'hmmm' and leaned back. Just as his colleagues were about to question him further his visible open fixed them both with a wistful look. "No one ever paid attention to him, not in the academy… not in the team, not until his 'bloodline' emerged." Both of the other shinobi were shocked at the remorseful tone of Kakashi's voice. "You know he almost landed a punch on me during my little bell test after they graduated…"

He now certainly had their attention. "He's loud, acts foolishly and yet he can pull off intricate plans seemingly out of nowhere. He failed to learn how to make a Bunshin in the academy, yet pretty much mastered the creation of Kage Bunshins, and from a scroll no less, in only few hours. If it wasn't for his 'bloodline' he would have been dubbed a genius before his first year in the academy was over." Kakashi scratched his mask covered chin before continuing. "But as for me… I didn't really do much to him, gave him a few nudges towards working on his chakra control, few technique scrolls that would suit him well and… I put him under Gai's 'youthful' taijutsu tutelage."

Kakashi then let out another 'mmmh' and lazily pulled out his book and quipped over the upper edge of the book. "Also I suppose it helps if you have his stamina, not to mention the stubbornness… I just wonder how he will grow when he's under Jiraiya's for a month or two." His eye focused on the book, signalling the other two that the conversation was over for the moment.

None of the Jounin present had noticed the eavesdropper who left while quivering with rage. The brooding figure began to stalk towards the Ichiraku's ramen stand in the intent of finding a certain blonde. -They are giving him power… power that I should have, not some dobe. I'll find him and I'll squeeze your secrets out from you. Just you wait Naruto… and if you try to hold me back you'll pay.-

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Naruto grumbled while he waited the bathtub to fill with water. Jiraiya had ditched him and gone skirt chasing… and worse yet he'd forbidden Naruto from practicing the second step of the Rasengan. The blonde had spent a good three hours trying to pump more force into the spin, up to the point where his entire right hand was visibly shaking from the exertion. This had prompted Jiraiya to examine his hand and then whack him for overdoing it… Naruto had several chakra burns in his hand and the strain to his chakra coils made it hard for him to use the arm properly.

Yet, it wasn't a total loss as he had managed to make the rubber ball wobble quite violently. And after he'd been banned from Rasengan practice, Ero-Sennin had given him a package from Kakashi. A book of Katon jutsus labelled 'Obito's book of Katon Jutsus', and a note that threatened him with all sorts of horrors should something happen to the said book were in the package. The book itself covered Katon techniques from academy level fire breathing technique to the more formidable Katon: Karyo Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet) along with commentary from Obito on the jutsus, several creative names for Kakashi and few doodles that depicted a masked guy jumping around with his pants on flames.

The blonde let out a satisfied sigh when he lowered himself into the tub, letting the warmth of the water to seep into his hand and relax its aching… only to yelp in surprise as a ball of orange fur jumped into the tub, splashing water over Naruto. After a while of luxurious soaking Akai demanded to be lifted off the tub, then shook herself clear off excess water and decided to dry off on Jiraiya's pillow… it was conveniently placed under an open window after all.

Naruto on the other hand stayed in the tub and began to run through the basic fire jutsus he'd memorized from Obito's book. He had just managed to create a steady, if very narrow, stream of fire that made a nice hissing sound when it hit the water when his concentration was interrupted by a loud knocking sound causing him to lose control of his jutsu and nearly incinerate his hair in the process. Wrapping a towel around himself the cursing, and sopping wet, blonde walked to the door and yanked it open none too gently.

The boy blinked twice before he began to yell. "Sasuke-teme… What the hell are you doing here and why the hell did you have to interrupt my bath?" Before his visitor had even the chance to reply he continued. "Sheesh don't just stand there, get in and close the door before someone sees me like this." With that he grabbed the other boy by collar and pulled him in the room before slamming the door shut. After a moment of silence Naruto just shrugged and quickly got dressed while trying to coax any response from the silent Uchiha. Finally, as he was tying his Hitai-ate on, the other boy answered his question with a simple. "Fight me!"

The blonde just stared before stuttering a startled. "What? Teme… did you come out here just for that, seriously you need to lighten up. Besides I don't have time for that now, I'm on a mission and all that." Sasuke just glared at the denial, causing Naruto to ponder exactly what was wrong with his team mate. -He's acting all weird again, just like in the tower after I told Hokage-ojisan about the curse seal.-

Sasuke continued to glare at the blonde and then finally bit out. "They are giving you power… I want to know why. Why are you so special, you have no goal in life except a silly and unachievable dream of becoming a Hokage…" This naturally pissed the blonde off and he was all but ready to give Sasuke the beating he clearly needed to knock himself back to his senses. Before he had a chance to act on his anger he was once again interrupted by loud pounding of the door.

Naruto opened the door, took one look of the person standing there and then whipped his head around to confirm that Sasuke was indeed in the room behind him and not in the hallway. He then turned at the newcomer only to hear a hiss of drawn breath and a whisper of "Itachi…" from Sasuke and a cold "It's been a while Sasuke…" Before Naruto could process what was happening Sasuke already leaped forwards, his Sharingan blazing, only to be slammed against the hallway wall by Itachi who added insult to the injury by coldly remarking. "Pathetic little brother, go away and leave me conduct my business with Uzumaki-san here."

Sasuke just growled and flashed through several hands seals and charged forward again, Sharingan still active and a newly formed Chidori in his left hand. The charge ended almost before it started when Itachi turned the attack aside and slammed Sasuke's Chidori into the nearby wall before, in a cool and collected manner, snapping Sasuke's wrist as if it was a stick. The older Uchiha then grabbed the younger by the throat and pressed him against the wall while staring into his eyes. Sasuke began to scream in terror as Itachi whispered. "You will relive that day… for a day."

While Naruto wasn't exactly fond of Sasuke's recent behaviour he still considered him a friend and this guy, Itachi, was the bastard who'd turned Sasuke into the cold bastard he was. That, and then there was the nagging feeling he'd gotten when he first met Gaara, although the feeling was emanating from Itachi's partner. Naruto drew himself into a defensive posture and tapped into Kyuubi's chakra and readied himself, only to see Itachi's baleful Sharingan eyes lock with his. He barely registered Itachi's partner say with a smirk. "That's the Mangekyo Sharigan… you would have been better off if Itachi had let me just cut you a bit. Enjoy the pain and insanity brat…"

Naruto blinked, he'd been standing in the hotel hallway and was now in someplace that closely resembled Kyuubi's corner of his mind. Itachi was there also, and although Naruto didn't quite notice it, looking perplexed. -Did the Tsukiyomi fail… no, that's not it. But where the hell are we and why am I here?- The blonde's train of thought ran on the same lines as Itachi's… until a chilling chuckling sound shook both males from their respective thoughts. There, grinning demonically was the Kyuubi no Yoko in all her demonic glory, her crimson eyes blazing with rage and killer intent so fierce that it almost froze Naruto to the spot.

"Uchiha Itachi… You and all the Akatsuki will meet your death, but you do so delight me by coming here so that I may kill you personally. I was already resigned to a role of bystander… Now die insect!" With that last growl a massive paw came slamming on, the now visibly shaken, Itachi making him scream out in terror. Then there was even more terrifying growl as the paw was repulsed with a crackle of energy as the seal placed on Kyuubi forced her furious attacks back causing the great demon roar in outrage.

And just as suddenly Naruto was back in the hallway and watched as a whimpering Itachi fell backwards and began frantically to crawl away from the blonde. There was a whoosh when a large sword was swung through the air by Itachi's companion who grinned at the boy menacingly. "Never seen Itachi like that, must be the power of the nine-tails… but all the better, now I get to cut you brat." The large man swung his sword with unexpected swiftness and brought it down to the place Naruto had vacated just a split second earlier. "My Samehada will drink your blood…"

The blonde Jinchuuriki quickly removed the genjutsu from his training bracers when the guy, he had dubbed him 'Fishy' due his shark like appearance, stopped to laugh. "That's quite the menacing chakra you are putting out brat. Come! Let my Samehada feed on your chakra and then I'll cut your limbs off…" Naruto was now wary, even more so when Kyuubi began to yell in his mind. "Beware kit… that chakra, it has to be. It's Isonade 'The Devourer'… This human is a Jinchuuriki like you. You have to break that sword or we are dead."

Naruto cursed inward while dodging another lazy sweep of the giant sword. "How the hell am I supposed to break that thing if it eats my chakra?" There was a moment of silence in his mind and he was forced to dodge yet another blow before Kyuubi answered. "Well… it's a double or nothing thing. Pull out all my chakra you can without losing control, grab the sword with your tails and slam a Chidori into the flat of the blade. Or… you could just try running away."

Naruto cursed again and somersaulted away from the sword that threatened to cut his legs from under him. Continuing his motion he performed a few backflips to gain some distance and flashed through the monkey, hare and ox seals necessary to perform the Chidori and making 'Fishy' to laugh in disdain. "Come nine-tails brat… come and let my sword feast on your chakra…"

At this the younger Jinchuuriki began to laugh evilly while red chakra began to visibly glow around the boy. "As you wish fish-face…" With that Naruto sprang into action, with the Chidori dragging behind him and tearing up the hallway with its force. Three blazing tails of crimson shot out from behind the boy and grabbed the large sword that was descending towards him, the sword easily cutting through the first but stopped by the second and third tail. With a wicked grin the blonde yelled out "Say Sayonara to your toy fishy… Take this! CHIDORI!" before slamming the crimson condensation of chakra into the side of the large sword.

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Jiraiya arrived in the nick of time to see the still shaking Uchiha Itachi trying to stand while leaning on the wall and Naruto slam a crimson Chidori into the large sword wielded by Itachi's accomplice Hoshigaki Kisame, only to be blown off his feet, along with everyone else when the sword exploded. There was an earsplitting scream of terror from Kisame who was staring in shock at the rapidly disintegrating remains of his sword. Everyone, sans Kisame who seemed to be rooted on his spot, began to back away from the scene. The energy flowing from the remains of the sword began to form, first into a large shark with three dorsal fins and then a moment later it began to coalesce into a form of a man.

Itachi chose this opportune moment to flee the scene, dealing with one Jinchuuriki was enough but to deal with a hostile Bijyuu alone was not even a remote possibility. Jiraiya noticed his hasty exit but was busy trying to find a way for himself and Naruto to hightail it. He was about to make a grab for Naruto and run for it when the three-tails suddenly moved and grabbed the blonde in question by his throat. "Mwahahaa… vessel of the Kyuubi, you have set me free from my imprisonment and I'll pay you back. I'll make sure your death will be quick after I release her from within you."

Naruto, who found it hard to remain calm despite encouraging words from Kyuubi, managed to stutter out. "Impossible… that's what she says anyway." The imposing human figure of the Sanbi (Three tails) narrowed his emotionless black eyes before bellowing in laughter. "Nice try brat… there is no way the Queen of Foxes would willingly surrender to a seal crafted by a mere mortal."

The blonde swallowed and then said in a tiny voice. "Uh… the thing is I sort of… she was asleep for years and the seal worked during that time. And uh…" Any further explanations were cut off when the demon shook him, lifted his shirt to observe the seal and then bit him on the arm. Both Jiraiya and Naruto watched in horror as the creature then slowly bared impressive set of triangular teeth that were dripping with blood. Without saying anything he then dropped Naruto like a sack of rice and snarled. "Your blood… her power is in your blood brat. I will spare you then and I thank you for my freedom."

The demon then hoisted the horrified Kisame up and was about to leave when Naruto managed to find his voice. "Wait…" This caused the demon to turn around and glare at the boy and made Jiraiya to wave his hands in hushing gestures. "He has information. I… we need that information to extract our vengeance against the Akatsuki."

Isonade seemed to considerer what the boy was saying and while doing so leisurely grabbed Kisame's hand and bit off one of his fingers. The Sanbi then grinned, a rather unnerving sight since all his teeth were bloodied, before nodding. "Very well… I will find out all this wretch knows, it will be delightful." He pointedly ignored Kisame, who was babbling about the Akatsuki and how they would kill him if he talked. "Silence you worm! You are already dead, once you get too far away from me you will die because I am no longer part of your pitiful existence. The question here is how long it will take for you to die." The monster grinned again before turning to Naruto and roaring in laughter. "When I'm done with him he'll be able to tell me where and when his bitch of a grandmother lost her virginity…"

At that the demon roared in laughter again before performing a long series of hand seals with blinding speed and vanishing from sight in a puff of energy. Naruto decided that now was a good time to freak out and promptly passed out on the floor, only to be caught by the awed Jiraiya.

The white haired Sannin had only a moment to examine his student, Sasuke or ponder the weird turn of events when a Kunai whizzed past him and the yell of "Dainamikku Entori" (Dynamic Entry… eh-he-he) split the air before a green blur impacted, foot first, into his head. Moments later three more ninja rushed in to find a sweatdropping Jiraiya listening to Gai's explanation of using his Hitai-ate as a mirror and not making out the target quite well.

Kakashi, completely ignoring Gai's speech quickly rushed to check on Naruto while Kurenai and Asuma checked on Sasuke. After seeing that Naruto was not in any life threatening danger, aside from the bite mark on his arm he seemed to be physically fine, he turned to the Sannin to ask what had happened. Jiraiya, who still wasn't completely out of shock himself just blinked before saying. "Well… Naruto released a bijyuu and…" He got no further before a collective yell of "KYUUBI?" came from all the other adults present.

Jiraiya just shook his head. "Nope… it was Isonade I suppose. Uchiha Itachi's partner Hoshikagi Kisame of the Mist was a Jinchuuriki. Apparently he had somehow sealed the thing into his sword and Naruto broke it, releasing the beast. Then it apparently wanted to kill Naruto to release Kyuubi but he managed to convince it not to… and then uh it promised to torture information regarding the Akatsuki from Kisame and… well I'm not really sure but I think Gai kicked me on the head after that."

Everyone stared at the Sannin like he had just grown extra head or two. There was no sound until a soft snort and a mumbled "Mmmhh Hinata-chan… Rameenn" released the tension and made Jiraiya let out a lecherous snort before demanding to know how the Konoha Shinobi had gotten there.

A Konoha ANBU unit had spotted Kisame and Itachi and had engaged the two, only to barely escape without fatalities. That coupled with the fact that Uchiha Sasuke had missed his meeting with Kakashi and was nowhere to be found had led the four Jounin into an impromptu tracking operation. They had been on the outskirts of the town when they had felt a massive release of demonic chakra and had decided to investigate.

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Naruto woke later to the delicious smell of instant ramen that was waved under his nose, not one to question when there was ramen to be had he made a grab for the cup only to hear a familiar chuckle. "Damn Ero-sennin, did I fall asleep in the tub or what, since I had the weirdest dream…" his voice faded away as he took stock of his surroundings, a crackling fire and a forest clearing. Not to mention that it was, judging from the position of the moon, near midnight. Naruto blinked and looked at the Sannin. "It wasn't a dream was it?"

Jiraiya just shook his head and watched Naruto gobble down a cup of ramen and handed him another when the first one was demolished. "We are few hours of ninja walk from that town, Sasuke is already in Konoha… he's in hospital from suffering some sort of mental breakdown. Itachi has flown to who knows where and I suspect Kisame is effective eliminated." He then pushed yet another cup of ramen to Naruto before patting the blonde on the head. "You did hell of a job there brat, Arashi would be proud of you."

Naruto blushed at the praise only to groan out loud when the aged ninja continued. "And since you have slept half the day you have the first watch… wake me few hours before dawn." There was a moment of silence that was only broken by a few slurping sounds of ramen being demolished before Jiraiya's thunderous snoring began to echo on the clearing. The blonde winced and then cursed 'Stupid lecherous old men' under his breath before doing the handseals required for Kuchiyose no Jutsu.

Jiraiya had been dreaming about the 'Icha Icha Foxboy' and its various characters when a delicious smell penetrated his dreams dispelling the visage of a busty blonde miko. Due this he wasn't quite happy when he finally woke up, even less so when he saw his blonde pupil happily snoring with Akai-chan in his arms and a large brown fox curled around him for warmth. A angry yell of "YOU CALL THIS KEEPING THE WATCH?" cut the chilly morning air and made the blonde yawn languidly before cracking one eye open and making a 'shhh' sound.

About half an hour later Naruto was walking behind a grumpy Jiraiya who was muttering curses about obnoxious 'fox-boys', 'second rate two-bit' summons and lack of respect for his character. He hadn't even been placated by the roasted rabbit he had devoured for breakfast, or Naruto's explanation that he'd had his summons stand guard and hunt for breakfast during the night. Mostly Jiraiya was upset because it had been rather chilly during the night. -Damn brat… surrounding himself with fur like that. Well, I'll just confiscate his sleeping bag then… see how he likes to summon those beasts every day. HA… that'll teach him to underestimate the great Jiraiya-sama. Now where was I in my writing?-

After the Sannin got over the bout of his moodiness they fell into a rhythm that repeated itself over the next few days. Naruto would practice the Rasengan and periodically rest his hand by memorizing, or practicing if they were following a river, the fire jutsus and listening Jiraiya and Kyyubi create an intricate theory that would allow him to send people to Kyuubi without the seal interfering with her potential for violence. Jiraiya was almost as interested in the freak occurrence with Itachi as Kyuubi was and was quite forthcoming with suggestions… that is, when he wasn't scribbling something into his notebook and giggling in obvious hentai manner.

It was nearing sunset on the fourth day and they were on a lookout for a good camping site when Naruto suddenly yelled out "Yatta! I did it!" Jiraiya whipped his head around to see totally shred remnants of a rubber ball falling towards the ground… so shocked was the author of the best selling adult book series that he actually let his newest, and about half done, masterpiece fall from his limp fingers. Naruto, walking over to his sensei waved his hand before the petrified old man and jumped around in glee before noticing the book on the ground and reached for it…

The white haired man, driven by his survival instinct, dove for the book but was outmanoeuvred by Naruto who used a tail of chakra to slow the old man and grabbed the notebook. Noting the sudden paling of the older man he smirked. "So Ero-sennin… what's this?" There was no coherent reply as Jiraiya began to back away from Naruto, who opened the first page and read out loud. "Icha Icha Foxboy." There was a moment of oppressive silence, then the sound of a random page turning while Naruto growled. "If this is a perverted book about me I'll kill you."

The blonde scanned a random paragraph and read a random sentence, then read it again and looked at his perverted teacher, perplexed. He then turned another random page and read on, his confusion mounting. -I thought this was some sort of dirty book… but 'He greedily lapped her dripping peach…' and 'With delicate finger he probed her silken sheath…' Sheesh…- He then looked at the trembling sennin and asked "This is about fruits and clothing?" causing the old man fall face first into the ground. For some reason Kyuubi burst out in fits of uncontrollable laughter at that, making Naruto feel like he was being left out on a joke…

After Jiraiya had recovered from his shock he tried desperately to get his precious book back before Naruto could read more but the youth declined, stating that it was probably something perverted… only written in code to throw him off guard. The toad sennin just shrugged and decided that he needed his sleep and turned in for the night.

Next morning the sun rose to reveal an interesting sight. Naruto, drenched in blood and apparently agitated was pacing about while sweating excessively. He had, on Kyyubi's prompting read a 'little' more of Jiraiya's masterpiece and it had dawned to him that the book had nothing to do with fruits or clothing, unless the latter were being removed that is. Apparently Naruto had just happened to read parts where the pervert had used more 'artistic' metaphors to substitute for the actual thing.

Thoughts were running rampart in his mind, he wanted to kill the pervert but what if he had copies? He'd seen that in a movie once… So killing Ero-sennin was out of the question. Even more disturbing were the mental images that the writings had imprinted into his mind, how would he ever be able to face Hinata without being overrun by ecchi and impure images. -Gah… Hinata-chan, she'd skin me alive if she knew about this. And shut up you stupid fox you are no help at all.- The fox was indeed being a pest… she had, after all, witnessed Naruto read the whole thing after initial reluctance and some dozen or so massive nosebleeds.

After a few more moments of pacing, Naruto finally decided on his chosen course of action. He placed the book in the middle of the clearing, walked over the snoring Sannin and kicked him awake and directed his attention towards the book before performing an impressive Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu that completely incinerated the book and much of the surrounding terrain.

Jiraiya's cries were silenced by a menacing glare and even more menacing tone that Naruto used when he said. "I burned that and if I ever see another 'Icha Icha Foxboy'… you will suffer…" The sennin put on a face of falsely accused saint but Naruto would have none of it as he ground out in barely civil tones. "Now I'm going to wash up… make breakfast." He shot one last parting glare at 'St. Jiraiya' before turning around and heading for the river.

On the campsite Jiraiya let out a breath he had been holding before smiling in obvious glee. -So you read it and obviously liked it brat… I'm not a super-pervert for nothing.- He then let out a small laugh and began to think. -Well your wanton destruction of my literary masterpiece is only a temporary setback… still it's better I don't try and rewrite the beginning right now… hmm might just as well do the Tsunade-the-miko scenes now…- He cast his thoughts on to a vision of busty beauty that he saw in his younger days and chuckled out loud as a small drop of blood made its way from his nose. -Oh yes Tsunade-chan… I can still remember every detail. Photographic memory such a useful trait in my… err ninja profession.-

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Meanwhile in Konoha a certain silver haired Jounin was looking around in a semi messy apartment. After few hours of working with borderline laziness the said Jounin decided that he really didn't want to move all this stuff by himself and decided that, yes it was enough that he had packed Naruto's underwear and thrown away the hopelessly old milk. Whipping out an orange book he proceeded towards the Hokage tower to order a mission.

The next day not one, but five Kunoichi converged at an address only one of them recognized. Hyuuga Hinata stared the door in wonder. -We're moving Naruto-kun's things… what's going on here?- She was also surprised that Sakura didn't seem to notice that they were in Naruto's apartment… but unsurprisingly, stayed quiet while Kakashi, in a bored tone explained their mission. With a wink that made Hinata blush, Kakashi made her pack the personal stuff that might be left over from previous night while making the rest of the Genin start carrying the boxes to the waiting cart.

Only an hour later the process was reversed at their destination. Hinata's eyes were wide since she certainly recognized the neighbourhood… her own clan house was only a stones throw from the place, in fact it was just next down the street. Not that the others were any better, every one of the kunoichis had her eyes open wide as they looked at the place.

Working in reverse this time the girls quickly emptied the cart into the house and then proceeded as per Kakashi's orders to clean up the place. The task wasn't tremendous as the place was certainly cleaned regularly despite Kakashi's warning that no one had lived in the house for over a decade.

During the cleaning the girls naturally gossiped, or rather Ino and Sakura gossiped and the others listened, with Tenten occasionally offering something to the conversation. Temari wasn't much into gossip and she wasn't local so most of the subjects were totally lost on her anyway. And Hinata, well she just was too shy to take part in the conversation… besides why would she want to gossip about boys when she already had a boyfriend.

Speaking of which, as the subject was on boys Sakura began to tease Ino on how she'd taken on calling a certain blonde Naruto-kun. This caused Hinata to stiffen a little and Tenten who noticed the Hyuuga kunoichi's posture to begin inching away from her. Ino, totally oblivious to her impending doom began to make starry eyes at the mention of Naruto and proclaimed in a loud voice. "Well… why shouldn't I? After all Naruto-kun isn't cold and heartless like some shinobi I know. Besides he's the strongest and the coolest of the Genin, why forehead-girl your Uchiha is so yesterday."

Tenten was now in full retreat and placed herself strategically behind Temari who was now watching things with interest, she had to admit that Naruto was rather pleasant to watch but there was something about that timid pale-eyed girl…

Sakura began berating Ino for being so shallow and then remembered Hinata. "What about Hinata-chan… she's had a crush on Naruto for ages and… uh…" As she spoke Sakura had cast a glance at the girl and decided that hiding behind Ino would be a good idea.

Ino, perplexed at this odd behaviour turned to Hinata with a charming and completely fake smile she reserved to her competitors. -Heh competition… she's too shy to say anything to Naruto-kun so I'll just swoop in and show him that I'm the best kunoichi around…- Her words, that would have completely contradicted her thoughts, dried up in her throat when she met the eyes of her competition.

Hyuuga Hinata was smiling at Ino, a completely friendly and slightly nervous smile. The thing was that her smile never reached her eyes and while seemingly non-threatening it sent shivers running through all the other girls. Hinata simply held Ino's eyes for a moment longer before saying in a quiet and rather timid voice. "Ano… Ino-san, it's no wonder you might feel drawn to Naruto-kun… he is after all a great person." Having said that she added "I just didn't need him to win the finals to know that…"

Ino was nearly frothing from her mouth when Hinata gave her an angelic smile before turning back to her cleaning duties, causing Temari and Tenten recoil away from her and then stammer apologies when she asked if there was something wrong. There was a collective thought among Tenten, Temari and Sakura and that was… -Scary…-

Hinata was quite ecstatic, this was the first time ever she had managed to utilize a very old intimidation trick of the Hyuuga's. Most people were unnerved when being stared by pupilless eyes, add to that a small smile where they would expect a frown and keep cool with just hint of killer intent added to the mix, not enough to be noticeable as anything but a slight tingling. According to her teachers it should work better than outright threatening. Oh she had been quite tempted to activate the Byakugan and beat the silly and shallow girl into oblivion but had restrained herself and decided to take a more roundabout route. She smiled to herself, causing Sakura who noticed it flinch. -Maybe I overdid it… nah at least now they'll stay away from Naruto-kun, my Naruto-kun.-

Rest of the cleaning was conducted while the conversation stayed in safe topics like the girls asking Temari about Sunakagure and she, in turn asking things about Konoha. They also spent some time marvelling at the house in general…

-------

Few more weeks followed as the pair, along with Akai-chan, searched for the elusive 'Legendary Sucker'. Jiraiya wrote his book and earned bumps on his head for spending Naruto's money on sake and women or for being an absolute pervert. Naruto practiced the Rasengan and was able to perform the third stage Rasengan when using both hands… but, being himself, he kept at it and swore that he would have the one handed version down to pat before they returned to Konoha.

They were following a lead on Tsunade's whereabouts when they came onto something that filled them both with giddy anticipation, a destroyed castle and a panicking villager who was yelling about a demon snake that toppled the castle at once. Still, the pair was too late… but Jiraiya was confident that they could find a definite lead on Tsunade. And as things would have it they accidentally made their way to a local bar where the said blonde was drinking sake with the intent of getting plastered as soon as possible.

When Jiraiya and Naruto made their way towards the seats Naruto really had to wonder if Tsunade really was the same age as Jiraiya, she really didn't look older than twenty… tops. As the two sat down Jiraiya's former team mate demanded, none too politely, what they wanted. The white-haired Sannin wasn't fazed though and replied evenly. "Well… Konohagakure no Sato has issued a request that you become the Godaime Hokage…" Naruto nearly choked on the fish he was eating at this, but Jiraiya ignored him. "Sandaime is…"

This time he was interrupted by Tsunade. "I know… Orochimaru killed him, he told me…" There was a sudden growl that interrupted Tsunade before she could go any further. The boy who had come in with Jiraiya flashed her with a wicked grin before all but growling. "Told you what? That he put Hokage-ojisan to the hospital or what? And by the way… how were his arms?"

Both of the kunoichis were surprised by this statement while Jiraiya simply chuckled at the mention of Orochimaru's arms. Tsunade fixed him with a slight stare and then motioned towards Naruto and asked. "Who's the kid?" At the mention of the boy's name her eyes narrowed and turned to the blonde who was obviously sizing her up while she thought -So this is the Kyuubi kid…-

Jiraiya was watching Naruto from the corner of his eye, surprisingly the brat hadn't exploded on the spot when he'd asked Tsunade to become the Hokage. Still he had a job to do, Tsunade to convince, or those morons from the council wouldn't leave him alone. He turned back to his former team mate, who was still looking at Naruto, and said. "So Tsunade… what is your answer? Will you become the Godaime Hokage?"

There was a moment of tense silence before blonde kunoichi snorted. "Impossible… I decline!"

Jiraiya just raised an eyebrow, glanced at Naruto and began counting in his mind. He didn't reach five when Naruto suddenly shot up and began to yell. "I thought we were here to get her to come and check up on the old man, and now Sasuke… And here you go begging her to be the Hokage and she even throws it at your face, Sheesh."

Tsunade just smirked at the scene of Jiraiya explaining to Naruto that the shinobi council had elected her to take over the duties of a Hokage and how he would have nothing to say in the matter. She then decided to pick a little fun on the brat's expense by remarking. "Jiraiya, this gaki seems to be worse than your previous apprentice, in terms of looks, speech and intelligence." Naruto's right eye began to twitch while Kyuubi was roaring in laughter.

The more than slightly intoxicated kunoichi continued. "But even he died quickly… all the Hokages have died, or will die for their village." She didn't notice the twitching escalate but rather continued. "Being a Hokage is a shit job… only a fool would voluntarily be one." There was a loud cracking sound when a piece of the table was crushed in Naruto's grip and surely enough the blonde boy charged over the table towards the older blonde. Or would have had Jiraiya not grabbed the back of his shirt and stopped him with a whisper of "We're in a bar now moron…"

Tsunade was amused at the sight of a short blonde standing on a table… until the blonde opened his mouth that is. Slamming his fist against the palm of his hand the said blonde declared in a loud voice. "I don't care if she's an old woman…" Now it was Tsunade's turn to develop a twitch. "…but I'll forgive no-one who slanders the old man or the Yondaime… I'll kick your ass till you learn some respect you hag."

Jiraiya was barely concealing his mirth while Tsunade was visibly pissed and barely restrained by Shizune who also reminded the older blonde that they were, indeed in a bar. As a result Tsunade regained her composure and stood up to be on eyelevel with Naruto before saying. "All right shrimp… let's take this outside."

They all moved outside with Shizune trying to broker a peace between the enraged blondes and Jiraiya completely enjoying the whole situation. -Tsunade-chan seems to be a little shaken in her faith to Konoha… well, if anyone can rekindle that flame it's Naruto. The brat just rubs onto everyone in a good way.- His musings were interrupted by the now very agitated medic ninja who was trying to prevent, what she surmised as bloodbath. Jiraiya just smiled in a charming way and inquired about Orochimaru's arms.

Shizune was perplexed but described the damage, stating that one arm had been torn completely off while the other had been burned from inside somehow and then inquired exactly why would he want to know about such things and again implored Jiraiya to intervene. The sennin just smirked and pointed at the two blondes facing of at the middle of the street before saying. "Don't underestimate him… he's the most surprising ninja I have ever seen. Tsunade is going to win but I bet that the brat is going to knock some wind out of her sails."

This certainly surprised the black haired ninja and she turned at the two combatants just as Tsunade finished stating that she'd finish Naruto off with one finger. Naruto smirked as his eyes turned blood red and an eerie distortion appeared behind him and then he charged. A quick feint with several shuriken to force opponent to dodge and a quick straightforward blow with a fist didn't quite produce the result Naruto was looking for. Tsunade dodged yes, only she did so twice… neatly ducking under the extended arm and inside Naruto's guard.

The younger blonde's eyes widened as something hit him under the chin, bobbing his head backwards and then forward giving him only the time to mutter "Oh shit." as a fist filled his vision a second before a powerful flick of a finger sent him flying. Incidentally the older blonde's eyes widened when the younger was sent flying and she was suddenly wrenched with the flying boy… held fast by eerie distortions that were all but invisible in the night.

Shizune sweatdropped as the Legendary Tsunade-hime landed unceremoniously in a heap on top of a blonde kid who, by all accounts should be lucky to be alive. Jiraiya, on the other hand, chuckled in his perverted way as he observed Naruto trying to squirm his way from under Tsunade's impressive bosom. Finally the two combatants managed to get clear and stood facing each other. Tsunade, now more wary was staring at Naruto who was pointing a finger at her. Jiraiya collapsed in fits of laughter, Rivulets of sweat began to roll from Shizune and Tsunade began to twitch uncontrollably as Naruto yelled in a voice that was probably heard around half of the town. "AAAH STOP TRYING TO MOLEST ME HENTAI-BABAA!"

TBC… (The next chapter will come… dundundundun… read the A/N)

Author's rant

Haha… I promised that this chapter would came faster than the previous one and guess what… it did. I just didn't post it since I'm a mean and evil bastard. That is to say I decided that I would finish the whole story, beta read it, gamma read it and then make few other people to read it as to find the most glaring errors.

However these are trying times my dear readers, enemies are at the gates and all that.

I received several rather abusive emails from certain people who, among other things called me with very bad names and all that. Interestingly I should not write other crap like my recent venture into the Inuyasha fandom that I wrote because I needed to get my mind of this story...

However… this chapter is not out because of people like that. No it's because people who politely, luckily these were the majority, have asked if and when a new chapter would be out… And to an extent to explain exactly why there haven't been updates recently.

As for the next update... I suppose I might put out another chapter if real life keeps me from completing the fic before the end of the summer... if it doens't then the next chap will be up when the fic is finished. Anyway they are seriously coming together whenever I have the motivation and/or free time to write.

But seriously, as for what's going to happen in the fic.

Well…

Icha Icha Foxboy will return with a vengeance…

Jiraiya will get pranked, Tsunade will get pranked and the evil blackmailing Chuunin will get pranked and possibly spanked as well J

Let's just say that the Akatsuki are going to be handled in away I, personally, haven't seen before. And no… they won't chop up Zetsu (The plant guy), dry him and then smoke him with pipes and discover peace and love eternal (Although I haven't seen that before either).

And Kiba is still going to be rejected by hmm… about half a dozen or so girls. Also Kakashi will gain a stalker fangirl… mwahahahahaaaa

Until the next time...