Sorry it took me awhile, but like I said I am really busy right now. So get off my back! Also, if you want more updates then review. If you don't review then my feelings get hurt.
Well for all of you following the manga, this latest chapter shed some light on how Danzo had been winning lately. I mean first he's picked as the next Hokage and then the leader of the alliance. I mean he had just won those titles too easily and I was right! Also, it looks like Kiri has been doing a little bit of transplanting themselves. May Danzo die a slow and painful death that leaves him screaming for his mommy!
Let's rock!
-x-
"Welcome back Jiraiya-sama," said the head monk who greeted the two at the front of the temple. He then looked over at the spiky haired blond standing next to him who looked a bit odd. Maybe it was because of the two red dots on his forehead or the fact that he was looking around like an idiot. "And who is your companion?"
"This gaki is Uzumaki Naruto," replied the sage. A moment later, however, he was hit in the back of the head. Jiraiya turned around to see Naruto standing behind him with a bone club in his hand. Tick marks appeared all over the older man's face as he saw the satisfied look on his pupils face. "What the hell was that for?"
"What do you think?!" snapped Naruto as he pointed an accusing finger at Jiraiya. "What kind of introduction is that? You could have said it nicer!"
"A gaki is a gaki so I'll call you a gaki as much as I like," responded Jiraiya.
"Excuse me," said the monk as he tried to get their attention. In a way he got what he wanted because the pair turned their heads towards him.
"What?!" yelled the two. A moment later they remembered where they were and who had been standing in front of them the whole time. Both of them lowered their heads and sweat dropped at their own actions. Now that the monk had their attention, he turned around so that his back was facing them.
"Please follow me to your rooms," he said. "And please be quiet." Jiraiya turned his head to look at Naruto and was about to say something, but the monk somehow foresaw this and spoke up again. "Both of you. There are others who are in meditation right now who need to focus."
As they walked down the halls, Naruto began to remember some of the things that had happened recently. The two of them had come to this temple where one of Jiraiya's informants was supposed to meet him. This place was just one of hundreds that Jiraiya had picked so that it would be harder for the enemy to see any real pattern.
The timing of this trip was perfect. Rin was right now continuing her training under Tsunade. Haku was visiting Zabuza while Tsunami was in the hospital after giving birth to a baby boy. Also, Anko and Iruka were on their honeymoon.
The wedding had been nice. Well, as nice as a wedding could be with a very pregnant kunoichi who was going through mood swings left and right. Hell, she nearly killed a guest for coughing during the ceremony. Then, after they pulled her off the poor bastard, she began to cry about how her wedding was ruined. Then she became happy again and said that it wasn't a total mess before she growled at the audience not to screw it up. Naruto, who was the best man, felt sorry for Rin who had been the maid of honor.
Of course, Naruto had an idea of what she was going through. His kaa-san was in the same boat as Anko. When he wasn't out on missions, he was at home making sure she didn't strain herself. When he needed to train, he left her a couple of clones to take care of her.
The timing of this trip was also good because teams 8, 10, and Gai were also leaving for Suna. It was time for the chunin exams and they felt more confident in their skills. To fill in for Shikamaru, Team 10 had Kin who had become skilled in the art of genjutsu. As for Shikamaru, he was getting his ass kicked by Tayuya. Again.
The monk led the two Konoha-nins to their room where they would be staying while they were there. It was small and almost completely bare. It had one window which showed a tree in the courtyard, two small mats, and a table. Monk gave them a short bow and then left without saying a word.
"Well," said Jiraiya as he turned to leave. "I better get to work on your training. Wait here, I'll be back in an hour or so." And before Naruto could say anything, the old pervert had left the room.
"Thanks a lot Ero-sennin," Naruto muttered as he crossed his arms. The blond knew Jiraiya well enough that whatever 'training' was involved, he would try to also include some of his 'research'. Perhaps there was a hot spring nearby. Naruto imagined being put through some half baked trained exercise while Jiraiya peeked on women. Yet, there was a part of Naruto's mind that said otherwise. Jiraiya had helped him in the past with his training, even when he didn't seem like he was. Perhaps Jiraiya just needed to get a few things together.
Then, without any warning, Naruto found himself standing in front of Kyuubi's cage.
"What the hell?" roared Naruto. While all Naruto could see were the eyes and sharp canine teeth of the Kyuubi, it was still easy to see the smug look on the fur ball's face. Smugness and amusement.
"It is time that I helped you in your…training," said Kyuubi. Naruto blinked.
"You're going to train me?" asked Naruto. "With what?" Kyuubi narrowed his eyes.
"Do you remember when we talked about the various types of energies?" he asked. Naruto crossed his arms and assumed a thinking pose. Then, after several minutes, he shook his head no. "BAKA! Fine, we'll have a quick recap. All beings are born with physical and spiritual energies that combine to create chakra. However, there are other types of energies out there that can be combined with your chakra." Kyuubi stopped as Naruto raised his hand. Being stuck in Naruto for so long, and having been around since the dawn of time, Kyuubi knew that Naruto wanted to ask a question. He only hoped it wasn't stupid. "What is it?"
"Uh, why would someone need to add other energies to their chakra?" asked Naruto as he lowered his hand. "I mean, why not increase the amount of chakra you have so that you can outlast your opponent?"
"Not a completely stupid question," muttered Kyuubi. "I'll put this in a way I know you will understand. Your body is like a bowl. Your physical energy is like ramen noodles and your spiritual energy is like the broth. That's you in a nutshell. Now the other energies are like the meats and other toppings that are added to increase the flavor."
"Now I get it1" said Naruto as he whipped away the droll.
"I thought you might," said Kyuubi. "Each energy will affect you differently. Some will upgrade you physical abilities while other will allow you to use certain types of jutsus that cannot be done unless you can tap into that specific energy. I will be starting you on the only one you are really ready for and that is causality energy."
"What will that do?" asked Naruto eagerly. He imagined himself swatting away millions of kunai with a single swipe of his hand or using a super powerful jutsu.
"Causality energy will allow you to see into the future," said Kyuubi.
"Nani?!" yelled Naruto. "Why can't we start with something cooler?"
"Because it's the safest," yelled Kyuubi. "There are serious risks involved in learning the other types of energies and that's why aren't widely practiced. Only a few have the chakra amount and the guts needed to even attempt learning them. You have a lot of chakra, but not enough for most of them. Now, if you use causality energy correctly, you will be able to see into the future a few seconds which is a great help in battle."
Naruto nodded. It did make sense. If he knew what his opponent was going to do before hand, he could more easily dodge or counter the attack. Then, a thought came into his head.
"Sounds like the Sharingan," said Naruto.
"It is similar," replied Kyuubi. "Yet, it is not the same thing. Seeing into the future and using the Sharingan to predict your opponent's next moves are different. With causality energy, you are looking into what they will do several seconds before even they know what they will do. The Sharingan allows the user to see subtle differences in the movements of the opponent and, as it evolves, will allow the user some level of predictive powers. However, Sharingan users are surprised from time to time.
"Now then, let's get to work on drawing in causality energy. In order to draw it into you, you must work on your awareness. Start by sitting in front of the window and studying that tree in the courtyard. Keep watching it until you are able to tell when a leaf will fall and how it falls. Know beforehand when it twists and turns."
"And then what?" asked Naruto. Kyuubi just laughed and the next thing Naruto knew was he was back in the room the monks had given him.
It was about an hour later when Jiraiya had returned with a couple of scrolls under his arm. He had managed to get his hands on some scrolls that had been used to train another wind user you had visited this temple. The first was Fūton: Jūha Shō which was like a flying blade of wind. The second was Fūton: Jūha Reppū Shō which was similar to the first but took on the form of a giant claw.
Jiraiya opened the door and saw something that made him sweat drop…big time! Naruto was yelling angrily at a tree and pointing at it.
"I said left you stupid leaf!" yelled Naruto. "Hey, don't fall yet! Go right then left! Don't spin!"
-x-
Meanwhile, in an unknown location, a figure stood before a large steel door. The bald man wore what seemed to be a silver colored spandex attire and his eyes seemed to glow a light blue color. He was tall and muscular, but not too muscular like those professional body builders. He was more of the slim kind. As for the door, it covered an entire wall. He had tried time after time to open it yet nothing had worked. There were claw marks here and there as well as some skeletons that looked like they had died trying to enter this room. And whatever was inside of it, he wanted it!
The room me was in was part of an old complex. He had found it, buried for hundreds of years. It lay underground, buried from sight and history for no one knew anything about it but him and those that served him. Painted on the walls were symbols and words like "United Empire of America" and "In Bush We Trust". Scary, isn't it? Machines and devises lay all around the room that seemed to be more advanced than the current level of technology. One of them, a communication device, was active.
"Sir," said a shadowy figure on the screen. "We have located the second key."
"And the owner?" asked that man.
"We offered her the money in the hopes of doing this peacefully," replied the other. "However, she refused to part with it. Now she no longer has any need for it or anything else in this world." The man nodded. He would have preferred not to have had to take such actions for they might alert the Kages. However, what they were going to do required the three keys made of a special mineral that couldn't be found anywhere else. Having the owners of these keys refuse them was…unacceptable.
"Return to base," commanded the man. "I have traced the third and final keys location. It was recently passed down to a weaker owner, but still a Konoha shinobi owns it. Sadly, the information I have is limited. I know that he or she is young, most likely a genin and skilled. There is a high chance that this genin is in Suna for the chunin exam."
"Suna is along the way," said the figure. "I could pick that key up and deliver both keys if you wish it."
"No," said the man. "I, the Haitekukage, have already sent Fusenmei and Nikuya to obtain the key." The figure on the scene was taken aback by this. Of all the Haiteku-nins, they were extremely violent and lacked any subtlety. In fact, they were better at…
"I see," said the figure. "You plan to have them killed and have Suna take the blame for it." The Haitekukage grinned.
"It won't be the first time that they betrayed their allies," he said. "As long as they don't know about us, we can complete my plans without any worries of the main villages. Once we get the last key, even combined they won't be able to stop us. But until then we do not have the power or the backing we need to take on even one. Now return to base."
"As you wish my Kage," said the figure as he gave a bow. A moment later, the device went dead.
-x-
Elsewhere, with two very familiar members of the Akatsuki…
"Come on everyone," said the zoo tour guide. "We are almost to our final exhibit." The tour group followed the tour guide like sheep. However, in the back, were wolves.
"I can't wait to see the shark exhibit," said Kisame who was excited as a child on Christmas Eve. In both hands he carried his camera with excitement and there was a look of child like gleam in his normally murderous eyes. "They have every shark in the world in this exhibit and I have been waiting two years to see this!"
Itachi said nothing. He didn't really want to be here. Especially since the weasel exhibit had 'that' song playing. But they had agreed that this time they would do something Kisame wanted to do first for their vacation. After that, Itachi could pick where they went to next. Best part was that it was a paid vacation.
As the group entered a blue colored building, Kisame closed his eyes and held his breath. As he walked, he could smell the fish in the air and the salt water. He could feel the cold moister in the air as it assaulted his skin. It was finally happening. He would finally see all the sharks of the world in one day. And, if he was lucky, they would let him feed a great white. Oh, who was he kidding? He'd feed them anyways even if he had to throw the entire group into the tank just to see a great white sink its teeth into flesh.
"And here's the penguin exhibit," said the guide. Kisame's eyes opened faster than lightning when he heard that. In front of him was a window that allowed them to look into an artificial habitat made for these flightless birds. It was mostly ice with water surrounding it so the penguins could swim. Said birds looked over in their direction and began to wave at them or slide around on their bellies.
"W-What happened to the sharks?" asked a teary eyed Kisame.
"Oh, we got rid of them last year," explained the guide with a smile.
"Will you be alright?" asked Itachi. He only asked because he didn't want Kisame to make a big scene like he did last year. That was when they went on vacation to the beach and Kisame was forbidden to go into the water on the account that he was scaring all the families. That and that he was humming the 'Jaws' theme music.
"I…hate…PENGUINS!" roared the shark man. As the shark man burst through the glass and into the tank, he was filled with the memories he had the led him to his hatred of penguins. He had been five when his family had gone to a petting zoo and he had been allowed to feed a baby penguin. However, the baby's mother had been spooked by his appearance and began to peck the once kind hearted boy who just wanted to feed a baby animal. Ever since that day, he became a violent killed who above all hated penguins. Well, he also had an odd dream where Itachi had replaced him with a penguin that also shot him.
As Kisame's feet hit the icy ground, the birds stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Then, one of them walked over to Kisame with a fish in its mouth and then dropped the fish right in front of the shark man. The penguin then looked up and gave Kisame the puppy dog pout look. However, Kisame was immune to that look thanks to all the training he had with his niece. With an insane grin that showed his teeth, Kisame reached back for his sword.
Yet, the moment his hand touched the grip, the penguins had pulled out all kinds of automatic guns and missile launchers. Hell, one even had a flame thrower! The boss, who had approached Kisame, now had on a military cap and had a corncob pipe in its beak. The leader pointed a wing at Kisame and ordered the attack. The next thing anyone knew was that Kisame was running for his life.
"Just say you love them," yelled the guide.
"Where did they come from?" asked Itachi. "And more importantly, where did they get that military hardware?"
"Well, they used to belong to Potter-san who trained penguins as performers," explained the guide. "He also trained them to defend themselves after an unfortunate sea lion attack. Sadly, he forgot to train them in self control. He realized this after they lost a movie deal to a killer whale named Willy and they went on a killing spree. Apparently, when they don't feel loved, they kill everything in the surrounding area."
"I'll never say I love those bastards!" yelled Kisame!
-x-
The three teams from Konoha were walking back from Suna together. They had gone to the exam without their senseis since they had missions to complete. Out of all of them, Neji had done the best. While he had given up in the last match of the finals, he knew he had made the rank of chunin. However, he was disappointed that he never had the chance to fight Gaara for the red haired nin had already been promoted. It wasn't about revenge or anything of that nature. Neji simply wanted to see how well he could do against an opponent who had pushed Naruto so much during the invasion.
Out of everyone who went, Kiba had done second best until he was defeated in the second round of the third part of the exam. Sadly for Kiba, he had gone up against Neji thinking he had a shot. Everyone else of their teams had a much harder time. Shino had gotten into a fight with a Suna-nin who deep fried his bugs and Hinata had gone against Neji in the first round. Lee and Tenten had been put against each other and somehow it ended in a draw. Neji still couldn't believe it and he had been there. That had been a match that you just had to see in order to believe!
As for Ino and her team, they didn't even make it past the second part of the exam. Enough said.
Everyone was walking back together when all of a sudden Akamaru began to sniff. A moment later the dog began to growl. Both Kiba and Neji stopped which caused everyone else to stop. The two genins exchanged glances, knowing that when the dog growled, something was wrong. Very wrong. Neji activated his Byakugan and then with eyes widened in horror at what he saw.
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" he yelled. Without hesitating, everyone followed his orders and got to the ground. Meer seconds later, an object that looked like a spiked cannon ball flew over their head and then stopped, yes stopped, in midair above them. It spun around slowly as sparks danced wildly around it. Then, as quickly as it had appeared it shot back in the direction it had come from.
But it didn't go very far.
"Not bad," said a gruff voice. Everyone looked up and gasped in horror at what they saw. He looked like a combination of giant and machine. He stood almost like a gorilla with arms twice as long and thick as a normal human which seemed to be made of silver like metal. But only one arm had a hand on it, even though it was more like a metallic claw. The other held the same spiked ball that had been shot at them. This man had no hair and both of his eyes were a milky white. His legs also seemed to be thicker and metallic. His chest seemed to be more normal than the rest of his body except for the tubes that seemed to be coming out from his limbs and into his chest. "You managed to evade your death for the moment. But how long will it last?"
"Whocareswhocares?" said a new voice. A moment later this new person appeared in front of the bigger one. For Neji, he had literally appeared because one moment he wasn't there and the next he was. Like his ally, this one seemed to be a mix of man and machine. But that was where the similarities. This one spoke quicker, in a squeaky sounding voice. He was smaller too, maybe around Neji's height with limbs that seemed to be far bonier than was normal. They seemed to be made of a golden like metal, similar to that of the first one. This new enemies head was covered by a helmet with a visor that concealed the upper part of his head.
"Tell me Nikuya, who has the final key?" asked the giant. "I do not want to tell our leader that it was I who destroyed the key." Neji kept his eyes on Nikuya, watching to see what his powers were. However, all Neji saw was a moment where he flickered for barely a moment.
"Nonehaveit! NonehaveitFusenmei!" said Nikuya which confused Neji greatly. Nikuya hadn't done anything. How could he find out what they had on anyone? That was when Neji noticed the ground around their opponent or, more specifically, the footsteps in the sand. They looked like someone had raced over to them and searched them before they had even noticed. Now Neji was afraid, very afraid.
"Then there is no reason for them to live," said Fusenmei as he raised his weapon hand at the group.
-x-
Back in Suna, Gaara suddenly looked up.
"Is something wrong Gaara?" asked Tamari.
"Yes, something is very wrong," answered Gaara as he narrowed his eyes.
-x-x-x-
Omake
As the Naruto from the Mist village carried Hinata in his arms, he had begun to notice that something was wrong. First of all, no one seemed to notice or care. It was like it was usual for them to see him and Hinata. And that was wrong! This village hates him and believes that he was a demon and that Hinata was a traitor. Something weird was going on here!
"N-Naruto-kun," came a soft voice belonging to Hinata. Naruto looked down into her eyes and had a thought. The amount of trouble he would get into with this one would be grave. Hell, it might even start a war, which he was ok with.
"Hey Hinata-chan, do you want to do it in your father's room?" he asked. Hinata's face went bright red and before she reply or faint Naruto moved over to avoid a kunai.
"What the hell are you doing with Hinata-chan?!" yelled a voice from above. Mist Naruto and Hinata looked up to see…Naruto?! He was flying in the air with Anko in his arms
"What the hell is going on?" demanded Anko. "Now there's two gakis! Am I drunk again?"
"I don't even want to know what that's like," muttered the Mist Naruto. He then looked at his look alike. "I don't know what's going on, but I'll assume that we'll have to fight one way or another."
"You got that right!" yelled the Kaze-shu. "Let's have some fun!"