"To Keep a Promise" – Chapter 3

Summary: Well, Chapter 3 is out (duh!). In this installment of the "To Keep a Promise" series, the team meets Jiraiya and learns of his involvement in Naruto's growth, as well as information regarding where Naruto may be! Will they meet up with him before someone else does? Just start reading already!

The sun had risen to its highest point as the newly-formed team of Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, and Kakashi set out, already delayed 20 minutes due to impromptu preparation. They had already planned out the stops they would make in order to gather information on Naruto's whereabouts. While this list had a number of places Naruto could be, the first stop was his home, though they didn't expect to find much.

Kakashi had picked Naruto's lock in a matter of seconds, and the team slowly entered Naruto's shabby apartment. Despite its small size compared to many of Konoha's similar structures, Naruto's apartment was, after all, only meant to accommodate one person, and the team's search of it for potential clues was quick. Nothing was out of place or seemed as if it had been disturbed recently, and a thin layer of dust covered the kitchen table, where, as expected of Naruto, a carton of milk was found, warm and unbelievable smelly.

The team quickly left Naruto's apartment, although not before Sakura used an exploding tag on the carton of milk several meters away from the building. They all pretty much knew that Naruto hadn't come home since his battle with Sasuke, but checking his house first was simply a formality to which they had to adhere.

"Kakashi-sensei", Sakura started. "Next on our list of stops is Ichiraku, Naruto's favorite place to eat. Do you really think he went there since he returned to Konoha?"

"Not really", Kakashi answered. "But, you know as well as I do that we must check all possible locations where he could have potentially gone before we start to 'what if' anything. Besides, Naruto still may have gone there to… how should I say… 'honor' what happened earlier that day."

It was a little childish how Kakashi-sensei was acting, although the reasoning behind it was flawless. By not throwing the events that occurred at the Valley of the End back into Sasuke's face, he was effectively evading another attempt of flight from Sasuke.

As they arrived at Ichiraku, several customers were already seated and enjoying hot bowls of ramen. The smells that emanated from the shop were almost enough to make the group stay for lunch, but their current mission was too important to waste time eating. A meal they could go without, but a missing boy with a powerful demon inside of him was a completely other matter. Jiraiya had already informed Kakashi about a special organization known as Akatsuki, who had been seeking the bijuu for some unknown purpose, but the rest of the team, except Sasuke, was well unaware of them.

Despite his immense urge to inform everyone else in the group of the true reasons for the search, Kakashi had to resist it as best as he could. This information was only to be revealed on a need-to-know basis. The chances of them running into this group of powerful shinobi, one of whom was Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi, was small, but it was a risk that must be avoided at any cost. Even if this group of four ninja encountered Itachi alone, it still would not be enough to overpower him. Naruto definitely had to be found, and soon, if any encounter with Itachi or any of his fellow Akatsuki members was to be avoided.

Kakashi had already finished speaking with the owner of Ichiraku when a familiar white-haired man appeared before the team. Kakashi already knew who this ninja was, and Sakura had met him once before, but to Sasuke and Ino, he was a complete stranger. They had neither been around nor heard of this man, despite his legendary stature of being one of the Sannin under the tutelage of the Sandaime. Although Jiraiya had already begun to speak, Kakashi had not heard him, or at least acted like he did not, and began to introduce his team to Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama, I am sure you already know the three shinobi behind me, but, I am going to introduce them anyways, just to be formal. The one with the black hair is Sasuke, although I do believe you two both know each other already, from the reports I have heard; the one with the pink hair is Sakura, and I am sure that she met you that time when you moved Tsunade's things into her new office; and last but not least, the blonde-haired girl is Ino, who I am not quite sure whether or not she has heard of you."

All three of the just-introduced shinobi responded with a simple nod of their heads when Kakashi called out their names.

"Yeah, yeah, Kakashi hurry it up we don't have all day for introductions", Jiraiya stated hotly. "I sought you out to give you some leads as to Naruto's whereabouts and you go off and start introducing me to people I already know!"

"Yes, but, they do not know who you truly are." He looked towards the rest of his team. "Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, this man here is one of the three legendary Sannin who were trained under the Sandaime." He looked back to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, the real reason I wanted to introduce these shinobi to you was not for your benefit, but for theirs instead. For this we can delay the search for Naruto a bit."

"All right Kakashi", Jiraiya responded in a much more serious tone. "Just make it quick."

"Excellent", Kakashi simply responded. He looked towards the rest of his team. "Okay, now I am going to explain to you three just what exactly has been going on these past few weeks. You probably won't be surprised to hear that a man named Orochimaru, another of the Sannin, had been planning the destruction of Konoha for quite some time now, lurking in the shadows, waiting for his opportunity to strike. What will probably surprise you two, Sakura and Ino, is that another group was lurking in the same shadows as Orochimaru, although their objectives differed slightly. While Orochimaru wanted to destroy Konoha and eliminate all of its power, this other organization known only as 'Akatsuki' wanted to strip Konoha of its most powerful being… that of… the Kyuubi."

And as Kakashi's words slowly sank into the deep recesses of their minds, Sakura, Sasuke, and Ino slowly began to realize what he had really said.

The stone in front of Naruto felt cold and rough, even though the sun had been shining for the better part of the day. The writing on this stone was just barely faded around the edges, having the same grayish texture that similar stones had. The words on the stone brought back memories to Naruto, both good and bad.

Why did it have to be like this? Naruto asked himself. Why did I do it? Why did I sacrifice the only remaining thing I could call my own in order to save someone who lives only to kill his brother? Why…why…why…?

Naruto's thoughts were all of regret. He was second-guessing his decision back at the Valley of the End, trying to understand what compelled him to give up his own humanity for the sake of someone who still didn't recognize him for who he was… a hero, right?

Sandaime, you gave your life to protect this village. You fought and died by the hand of one you had hoped would succeed you, and, in turn, your sacrifice saved the village. That makes you a hero… right? If that's what it takes, am I considered a hero as well?

Even though I didn't die protecting what I hold dear, as you did, am I still considered a hero to be praised?

Even though my deed did nothing more than bring me regret, while it brought others happiness beyond belief, can I still be proud for what I have done?

His fists clenched tightly, and his eyes began to water.

Even though I… sacrificed my humanity for something I thought was right at the time… can I… still be considered human?

These thoughts coursed through Naruto's mind as he silently reflected at the monument dedicated to past Hokages, the men whom he had both hated and looked up to for the same reason: they were Hokages of Konoha. Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage was very much alive at that time, despite how he acted in the academy and on missions. This misbehavior was just a mask covering the real side of Naruto, the one where he was serious and undaunted by the remarks others had concerning his dream.

Now, what was that dream? It was just a pile of ash, smoldering in the corner, burning weakly like a small ember flickering in the wind. His dreams… how could they be completed now? He was no longer a human. He and the Kyuubi had become one in the same; two minds occupying one body; two wills battling one battle; two instincts… trying to survive in a world full of hate, one wanting to destroy all who impede, the other wishing only to surpass them.

It had started to rain, as Naruto knelt there, next to the monument, on the muddy earth. The rain didn't bother him, however. In a way, the world was crying at a time when he could not, for the world was the only true witness to what he had gone through up to this point. Nobody else paid attention, let alone cared, about "that failure over there". Even when he saved his teammates half a dozen times from situations where they would otherwise have been killed, he received no notice from any of them, excluding of course the half-hearted "thank you" he received from them afterwards; and even then, those never had any real emotion in them. Even when he brought Sasuke back, Sakura was more concerned about Sasuke's health and welfare than thanking him for doing something she said "nobody else could do". How is that for a "thank you"?

But he had already spent enough time mulling over the thoughts in his head. It had been well over 24 hours since he had gone to retrieve Sasuke, and by now Tsunade had ordered a search for him, thinking that he was grievously injured or something. He was fine, however, except for the after-effects of his sacrifice. He now had nine blonde tails that seemed to be poking out of his ass, and on his head rose two triangular fox ears. The worst part of it all was that he would be permanently stuck with these "extra limbs". The only way to get rid of them was to use the "Henge no Jutsu", although the immense amount of chakra it would take to hold it for the rest of his life would be unrealistically large; and there was no point in using shadow clones to do everything he wanted, because then he would only know their experiences, when he wanted to do the stuff himself.

The rain was coming harder now, and Naruto decided it was about time he returned to his temporary place of living, where he could quietly sift through his thoughts and feeling without interruption. It was, after all, the place he had first learned the "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu", and only him, Iruka-sensei, the Sandaime, and a criminal named Mizuki knew of its importance.

And it was with these thoughts that Naruto headed towards the place he made his unconscious vows, to protect his friends like the family he never had, and to constantly improve despite hardship. But little did he know, that this place wasn't only memorable for him; a small, white-haired ninja, right around Naruto's age at the time, once frequented that place long ago, and made some memories of his own there too…

"… And so, you can all see why this mission is so important."

The voice belonged to Kakashi, and he had just finished explaining the true purpose of their mission to Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino. The looks on their face mimicked the thoughts in their minds, for they couldn't believe what Kakashi had said. It was one thing when he had said it was Jiraiya-sama that had been training Naruto since the Chuunin exam finals began, but it was quite another to say that Naruto had a demon sealed inside him and that was why he was both a great threat, and a great ally, to Konoha.

Despite the fact that Sasuke had already experienced first-hand what Naruto's demon powers had given him, he still seemed a little stricken at what Kakashi had just explained, even if his face didn't quite show it.

"Kakashi-sensei", Sakura began after the long pause that followed Kakashi last words. "Does this mean that… ever since he was in the academy… so he couldn't control himself because…" The words would not come out. What she had wanted to say, she couldn't. But, before she could continue, Kakashi had finished her statement.

"Yes, Sakura, ever since Naruto was but a couple days old, he had been alone, with no mother or father to love and care for him. Ever since that day the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto, Naruto had been shunned for what the Yondaime said he should be praised for: having the Kyuubi inside of him. After that time, the Sandaime issued an order to the villagers that under no circumstances would they mention Naruto's secret, on penalty of death should they ignore the command. Although the command banned the speaking of Naruto's secret, it didn't prohibit silent actions, and thus, the older ninja began to shun him for what they thought he really was: a demon. The main reason for the Hokage's command was so that Naruto could grow up an ordinary kid, and make friends like one too. Unfortunately, the children of these older ninja copied their parent's feelings toward Naruto and shunned him as well, making that quite impossible. That is the true story behind the shinobi you three know as Uzumaki Naruto."

The things Kakashi had just stated had struck them all. Naruto wasn't born a failure; he was changed and altered by the presence inside him. It wasn't his fault he couldn't mold chakra correctly or perform simply justsus easily; it was the Kyuubi inside him that impeded his progress. But for him to come so far having this limit set on him, maybe he was more than everyone thought he was?

"But, now is not the time to regret the things we may have said or done to Naruto; we have to find him as Hokage-sama ordered us, before somebody else does so first."

As Kakashi finished these last words, Jiraiya stepped forward. He took out a scroll and unbound its casing, then removed and spread it out in his hands.

"Kakashi", Jiraiya began. "Now that your history lesson on my pupil is finished, let me inform you of some things I have overheard and discovered during the past few hours."

He pointed to a small opening on the map. "This is the training center, where I overheard a woman saying an odd-looking kid in an orange jumpsuit was just staring at three large, wooden poles for the better part of an hour, and then suddenly got up and left."

He pointed to another location on the map. "This place is where another woman said she saw a similar kid sitting in a tree, not moving or anything. She said she went over to inspect the kid and saw he had plenty of cuts and bruises on his face, but not much blood. When I asked about anything strange she may have noticed regarding this kid she saw, she only replied that he appeared to be wearing some costume, as if he had just been to some party, which would explain his immense need for sleep."

He pointed to a spot on the map that was circled in red ink. "This is the place where I used to spend my time improving my jutsus as a young ninja. While I was revisiting this place of my childhood, I recognized a certain scent in the air, a very familiar scent if you understand my meaning. I think Naruto was hiding from me while I was there, but I didn't realize this until I went back again and saw a shred of orange cloth that had ripped on a nearby bush. This cloth confirmed my suspicions that Naruto is in that general area."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama", Kakashi said. "We will skip over our next couple of destinations and head there. If Naruto's scent is still lingering in the area, we will find him, even though the rain may hinder our progress a little."

It was after Kakashi said this that he bit his finger and went through the "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" hand signs in an almost lightning-quick gesture. In the cloud of smoke that followed the jutsu, the shadow of a small dog could be seen. This dog, Sakura and Sasuke both knew, was Pakkun, Kakashi's best tracking dog.

"Pakkun, we are looking for Naruto, the blonde-headed ninja we sent you on a mission with before. I will tell you our current situation along the way." He turned to the three shinobi behind him, and then said, "Everyone, let's go!"

And off they went, Kakashi and Pakkun, followed by Sasuke and Sakura, with Ino taking the rear guard, to the place Jiraiya had marked on the map, hoping their search was finally coming to an end…

(AN) Note that Sasuke and Ino don't speak at all! Hehehehehe... ;D