Here's a new update. Hope everybody enjoys. Pls review.
I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.
CATCHING UP
Jiraiya had been laying down for about half an hour when he decided enough was enough. He took out his telescope and searched the landscape for his new team. He found them quickly enough. He looked at his watched and saw they still had fifteen minutes to go. He decided to go and meet them about halfway. He had been bored for long enough it was time to move on. He put up his telescope and stretched his limbs. After he finished stretching out he rolled up his sleeve and bit his thumb he formed a few seals and summoned a huge toad. The toad he summoned was much larger than the ones he usually rode. It was about three times his height. It looked down at Jiraiya and in a deep voice asked. "Why have you summoned me."
Jiraiya pointed off the cliff in the direction of team eight's whereabouts and said "I need to get there as soon as possible. I may also need your help in battle. Though I doubt it." The frog nodded and bent lower to the ground so Jiraiya could easily climb onto his back. Jiraiya stepped on the frogs sword hilt and onto its back. The frog was wearing a sleeveless vest and bandages around his midsection with a sword hilt in the same manner as Gammabunta. Once on his back Jiraiya grabbed the collar of the vest and told the frog. "Ready for lift off." The frog edged closer to the edge of the cliff. Jiraiya communicated a mental picture into the frog's mind so it knew exactly where to go. Once the frog had the location in it's mind it set its feet and prepared to jump. Jiraiya grabbed the vest tighter and then the frog leaped off the edge of the cliff. It's powerful legs propelled it through the air at an amazing velocity. In one leap it was going to cover the distance of almost two miles. Jiraiya let out a yell of enjoyment.
Shino, Kiba, and Hinata had been following Jiraiyas trail for a while now. Always stopping to scout ahead to make sure there were no traps. Kiba had talked about his observation. "There haven't been any traps up to this point and more than likely the old geezer was to lazy to put them up." Hinata agreed with him, not the lazy part, that it was unlikely that Jiraiya had layed traps for them. However she did not voice this.
"It is always wise to see where you are going before you get there." Shino said. Kiba wanted to argue, but he didn't see the point. He was sure they were nearer to their target now. The smell was growing stronger very quickly. He was about to start walking again when he heard a yell. He asked Shino if he heard it but Shino shook his head. Kiba heard the yell keep going an was sure it was not his imagination. He looked around quickly and saw nothing. Maybe he was hearing things he thought. He heard the yell again and louder he looked up to see the source and saw an huge figure flying through the air directly to where they were standing.
He pointed up and yelled. "It's coming right at us!" Shino and Hinata followed his finger and saw what he was talking about immediately. They quickly ran back the way they had come to avoid being crushed. The frog landed directly in front of them with a deafening crash. From the top of the frog Jiraiya looked down at them. Good aim, he thought to himself.
Kiba was the first to raise his head and see Jiraiya. He quickly started yelling at him. "What the hell is your problem you old bastard! Are you trying to kill us or something." Hinata and Shino were getting up wondering the same thing. A deep rumbling laughter came from the frog.
"Are these the ones you said you might need help fighting Jiraiya-sama? You always were a joker." The frog continued laughing. It's giant belly rumbling as the laughter flowed out . A giant sweat drop was on all of the Team eight members foreheads.
Jiraiya saw this and leaned close to the frog and whispered to him. "You don't need to laugh so much, these guys are pretty good." The frog cleared it's throat and became serious once again looking down at his diminutive opponents. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino had never been faced with this kind of challenge, however they weren't about to back down now. They all took their fighting stance. Jiraiya saw this and let out a laugh. "You guys only have ten minutes left. Let's see if you can capture me." Jiraiya said. He then whispered to the frog. "Jump about five miles away I want to see how fast they reach us." The frog nodded and gathered himself. Team eight had no idea what the frog was going to do so they took a defensive stance. However the frog had other plans it pushed itself off the ground using all it's power this time and getting full extension. It jumped clear over them. Team eight was once again left to chase Jiraiya. Where the frog had been there were now it's footprints.
Kiba was totally pissed off. "This asshole is just toying with us." He yelled throwing punches at the air to try and release some steam. Hinata and Shino both looked at each other.
It seemed they had no need to really talk about this and Hinata was the one who told Kiba. "Umm...Kiba-kun, I really hate to tell you this, but seeing as how you got us into this without discussing it with us. We think it would be only fair that you pay for Jiraiya-sama's meals." Hinata said in a calm demeanor. Kiba's jaw dropped to the ground. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was about to protest when Hinata continued. "Demo, Kiba-kun, but if you had just waited we're sure we would not be in this situation. Jiraiya only wanted to test us and I'm sure he would have done so with or without the added incentive." Kiba's jaw dropped again.
Kiba was about to start pleading with Hinata when Shino walked past him and kept going. Hinata followed leaving Akamaru and Kiba standing there. "Let's go Kiba we only have a few more minutes before we finish this and can move on.
Jiraiya landed close to five miles away. His hair was more messed up than usual and he was a little disgruntled. "I wasn't ready yet you crazy toad." He slid of the frog and when he got down on the ground he patted his companion and said. "Thanks for the ride. I'll wait for them here now." The frog bowed his head and disappeared in a giant cloud of smoke. Jiraiya checked the time and looked around him. He knew they weren't going to make it so he set down his scroll and took out his pack. He started setting up camp for them so they could eat. He had some sushi he hoped they would enjoy. No more ramen for him now that he was away from Naruto. Three years of seeing Naruto eat nothing but ramen was enough for him. He shook his head shaking off the memories. Once the dishes were set and he felt comfortable with the setup he sat on his scroll and took out his notes. He planned to talk with them about their evaluation after they ate.
Jiraiya was finishing up arranging his notes when Kiba walked towards him and started yelling at him. "I'm not paying jack. That deal was unfair you had no right to do that you bastard. So I am not going to pay." Hinata and Shino had caught up with their team mate and they were both looking down at the food. They looked at Jiraiya who was holding a large jug in his hands and was looking at Kiba with a baffled expression which quickly disappeared as a glint of anger appeared in his eyes.
Jiraiya put down the jug and got up crossing his arms. "Look here boy. A deal is a deal and if you don't pay your team mates will." Jiraya saw they were both shaking their heads behind Kiba. "If you're a real man you would accept you're loss and take responsibility. I did not make you take the bet, you chose to do so." Jiraiya saw Kiba was still looking pissed off. "If you don't want to do so then you can leave. If you do though your team fails the mission. I will not travel with someone that is dishonorable. Think it over. I expect an answer before we leave." Jiraiya saw no point in making a big deal out of it so he sat down and took out sushi plates. He motioned for Hinata and Shino to join him. Kiba was still pouting so he didn't see this. Instead he walked away with Akamaru. Jiraiya saw this and before they were to far away he called out. "Hey Akamaru." Akamaru turned around. His belly growling as he did so and Jiraiya tossed a large piece of a sushi roll to him. Akamaru grabbed it out of the air and then continued to follow a skulking Kiba. He then told Shino and Hinata to help themselves to the variety of sushi he had laid out for them. Hinata asked for chop sticks which he promptly handed her while Shino used his hands. Like a real man would Jiraiya thought to himself. During the first part of the meal they ate in silence. Kiba came back after a while as well and joined them without saying a word. Jiraiya finished his meal pretty quickly and told them a little bit about their mission. "We will travel near the village of the mist for this mission. There shouldn't be any problems and I'll give you more details as we get closer. Let me know when you are ready to leave we have a long journey ahead of us. We can cover a good distance before nightfall." As they ate he decided against going over his notes with them after the meal. He reasoned it would be better to wait until they were away from the village. He now planned to do it individually. Once he saw they finished eating he asked his question to Kiba. "So will you pay or do you three fail this mission?" He asked waiting for his answer, he had not been playing about leaving them behind.
Kiba had hoped not to be called out like this, but the teams mission had to be completed. He hung his head and sullenly said. "Yeah, I, we'll pay." Shino and Hinata wanted to correct them, but they stopped themselves. Now was not the time.
Shino looked at Jiraiya and asked his question very interested in the reply. "So what did you come away with as far as evaluating us?" Hinata and Kiba both now focused on Jiraiya also curious.
Jiraiya didn't feel like going into such a long discussion so he generalized it. "I see there is a good order within the group. I liked when you came together to decide your next move. Even though you Shino took it upon yourself to try and find me before you went to Hinata. Nothing wrong with that, over all though I hope I have a very accurate assessment of your skills. On our journey I will discuss my findings with each of you individually and we can work together to strengthen our abilities." Shino was shocked he had no idea Jiraiya had monitored them so easily. It was then that Jiraiya's level of skill hit him. All that chakra expended all those techniques and yet this guy hadn't even broken a sweat. He gave them all a challenge and watched as it unfolded. Kiba and Hinata were both impressed as well, but they did not share Shino's appreciation for what they had witnessed.
Hinata also asked a question. "Jiraiya-sama... about your clones. I hit the clone yet it did not disappear Naruto's always disappeared when hit hard enough. Are you using the same technique?" She asked. Kiba also noted this because he had sunk his teeth into a clone with no result. He had not paid attention at the time, but now that he looked at it, it was curious.
Jiraiya smiled at the question. So they finally appreciate my skills he thought and then went on to explain. "Yes, it is the same technique that Naruto used. However you have to take into account that Naruto's technique was not the true technique. Remember, this is after all a forbidden technique and not many know it. You all are lucky to have seen it. Naruto taught himself from a scroll so of course he missed some details of it, but now I have shown him the technique and I'll tell you why it's forbidden. In it's true form the clone can only disappear if the creator stops feeding it chakra. So the only one present who could stand a chance at beating my clone is Shino with his bugs." Jiraiya had puffed up as he explained it hoping they understood. He waited for the question he knew was coming.
Kiba was the one who asked it eagerly. "Can you teach us?"
Jiraiya considered it for a moment and then replied. "I'll think about it. If I did teach you three I would be in trouble because it is a forbidden technique. I was only able to teach Naruto because he was already familiar with it." Kiba and Hinata looked a little disappointed. "Don't worry though there are a lot of other techniques I can teach you all." He said. He got up and said "It's time we should start moving. Like I said I want to cover some ground before nightfall." With that they all began preparing for their journey and after a little while were on their way.
Out in the desert Hirai had gone down to check on Kankarou once again. She asked the siblings if there was any new developments to which Chiyo responded. "Yes, we identified one of the ingredients used in the poison and were able to neutralize it. So we managed to slow it down a little bit and put him to sleep to buy us some more time." She took a deep sigh after saying this. "Alas we may not be able to buy enough time. We will keep working, but don't expect much." Chiyo finished. Hirai nodded her head and backed out of the room. She planned to return to her spot and sleep up there.
Gai and his team were making their way to the village of sand as quickly as they could. On the way there Rock Lee turned to Neji and asked about something that had been bugging him. "Neji-san, back at the hokage's office you seemed to recognize these seals that are a part of our mission. Could you tell us anything about it." Tenten and Gai shifted closer so they could hear Neji as they traveled.
Neji was familiar with seals so he did not find it difficult to explain."It's no secret that I am very interested in seals and I've spent much time in the Hyugaa's library researching them. The seals we are carrying I've only seen once in one book and these are not exactly the same so I don't know all the purposes they serve. However they are no doubt power suppressors of a magnitude I never thought would be necessary. In addition to that they are binding seals so if or when we use them on Naruto they will bind him. The last purpose I recognized is a strengthening seal however I didn't recognize what it was supposed to strengthen and there is also another purpose that I think is a healing seal. Again, I don't know the full purpose of the seals myself, but these seals are powerful enough that if used on a regular ninja they might paralyze them." Neji said. They all went on in silence for a while, while the information sank in.
After a little while though Gai said "We should set up camp soon so we can rest before we continued." His team nodded in agreement. "We still have some daylight to burn though so let's make the most of it."
On the same path, but much further ahead and a couple of hours later were team seven and Temari. Both Temari and Naruto were still going full speed. Sakura was having a little trouble keeping up with them. Not because of speed, but because of endurance. She had noted an urgency in Temari and Naruto that had not gone away and they hadn't slowed their pace or taken breaks. Kakashi was traveling next to her conserving his energy. "That Naruto has incredible stamina. I wonder if Temari's getting any help from adrenaline or if it's her natural conditioning. If it is then she too has incredible stamina." He looked at Sakura and seemed to smile. "It's a good thing we're going to have to take a break soon. We can't keep going like this through the night." He said. Sakura didn't respond she just nodded her head in agreement.
However inner Sakura was not okay with the situation at all. She was yelling at the top of her lungs. "What is wrong with you people. Have mercy on my lungs. Take a break already!" Sakura wasn't about to give in to inner Sakura's wishes though. After all the time she had spent training as well she was not just about to be dead weight on the team anymore. She thought back to all the times she was unable to help Naruto and Sasuke and that helped he push through it. She wanted to prove she was a part of the team. That she didn't need them taking care of her all the time and having to rescue her. She saw Naruto had grown so much in his time away and she hoped that after this mission Naruto would see her in the same way.
Kakashi's words broke into her thoughts. "I think it's time I go ahead and convince those two we have to stop for the night." He looked at her and asked. "Do you want to join me or stay back here while I talk with them."
Sakura thought this through and decided to wait. "I'll stay here." She said between breaths. With that Kakashi picked up his pace and made to catch up with Temari and Naruto.
REVIEWS
Next chapter. Dreams. That's all, let it simmer. Hehe. Til, next update.
RSO
dragonman180- How you like that I answered that question in this ch. lol. About your second question, no, Jiraiya is not one of the seven swordsmen. What I meant is that they are going to have dealing's with one on their mission. Hint hint.
crakbaby- Thanx I'll do my best.
thoushaltkill- Sorry, no Ino/Naru I know there's alot of Naru/Hina stories, but they are just the bomb. I hope to make this story good enough for everyone to consider it more than just a Naru/Hina story.
Trolly- Thanks for the review. Ummm... did you mean update soon. I don't know what you meant by review SON.
danny- Thanx for letting me know you don't like Ino/Shino, but I just don't know who else Ino should get with. Sorry Shika is already taken. I know Kankarou was poisoned a long time ago CH-wise but in Naruto time a day hasn't passed yet since he returned to the village. He'll recover tommorrow. Lol I don't know how many ch's it'll be til' tomorrow though. Oh you'll like the next ch. I think.
acrazygirlofmanynames- I might add Sasuke in the distant future. He's not in the story yet. Glad you enjoyed though oh and thanx for reviewing.
Snakeeyes12- No problem. Naruto can access 4 of the 9 tails of Kyubi. Each tail releases more of the Kyubi's chakra so when he accesses 4 tails he's wielding an incredible amount of power. So if he's not careful he can loose control of that power. I'll get more into this in later chapters, but hopefully this helps a little bit. The seals are like well I tried to explain a little bit in this chapter, but they are kind of like the seal on Neji's head, except much more powerful. I will go into more details on these later on two. Hope that helped. Can't tell you everything here, lol.