A/N: As usual thank you all so much, both for your attention to the story and for your patience during November. Over 200 alerts and 180 favorites! Make's me smile just looking at the stats page!We should be returning to a two-update per month minimum for now on, starting with today the sixth of December.
the DragonBard: You and I know that, but Naruto is still putting things in perspective between his old timeline and the past as a child again, and in the context in-story he simply chose the first of the old sensei's that came to him.
Crystalzap, Lunatic Pandora1: Henh. Jiraiya's a wild card, we'll have to see if that wound is a fatal as it may have been intended to be. Remember though, time-travels not a straight-forward thing. You can't have nothing but good unfold without some unfortunate side effects cropping up here and there...
"Guest" reviewer: Hahah thanks :)
wannabwriter14: Wow. Definitely, thank you for adding so much to your lists :D
I would also like to make a note on the AU that Naruto has found himself in. Unless otherwise stated, most things have remained the same but some characters are more efficient than they would be in canon, and especially so for the time period.
With a soft rush of air Jiraiya landed on his knees again within Mount Myoboku, and almost diagonally to his left Orochimaru too reappeared still holding his Sword of Kusanagi. The blade sank through Jiraiya's left shoulder and into his ribcage painfully, but the wound had missed the intended area- his heart.
Throwing his right hand around suddenly the Toad Sage managed to grip Orochimaru's pale hand in his own and squeeze down tightly, and in that instant yank the sword from his body and thrust the hilt back into the wielders chest.
Orochimaru absorbed the blow easily enough and danced back further to avoid anything else his former team-mate might have in store, giving a brief once-over to the gaping wounds in Jiraiya's body with a critical eye. "Tsk, tsk, Toad Sage..." he chided in an almost disappointed tone. "I was expecting better of you. To lead such a vicious foe right into your heartland? To become yourself so gravely injured?" he questioned.
Jiraiya breathed in and out sharply as his blood gushed from the two wounds, but with the red came a thick yellow from his shoulder as the former snake summons venom leaked out and away from his heart.
Orochimaru carefully looked the surroundings over and listened for any sound of movement, taking note of the fountain of murky liquid behind him and the multitude of stone statues about. "Nothing to say to that, Toad Sage?" he questioned again. "What a pity. I had believed you capable of enduring such a wound better... but Manda's venom works so efficiently these days, it seems. Goodbye, Jiraiya-san." he stated and let go of the weapon.
It hung in the air of it owns will as a pale blue glow enshrouded the blade, quivering in anticipation. In the moment between the sword rushing at Jiraiya's head his eyes blinked open and his good hand descended to wrap up with the wounded one, driving through a set of hand-seals in remarkable speed and fluidity.
Orochimaru tsked again even as he silently commended his fellow Sannin member on the last ditch effort. "Too late!" he stated and with that Kusanagi cut across the distance to strike.
"Hello again, Naruto. Let's take a walk, shall we?" Sarutobi greeted with false cheer, his smile just a little too thin around the edges. The boy in question swallowed the last few noodles in his bowl before turning with a nod toward the shop owner and dropping down to the ground.
"What's up, old man Hokage?" he returned quietly. Sarutobi nearly grimaced as he walked around and placed one hand onto his shoulder firmly, gesturing for them to start off on the route leading toward the civilian district.
"Sticking your paws into another fate already, Naruto?" he asked equally quietly once they were well away from any well-intentioned but troublesome ears. The jinchuriki shrugged uncomfortably as he realized where this was going.
"I was only doing what was best for her. That hack instructor wasn't even trying, and she admitted as much! I know Sakura has the talent inside of her, it's just a matter of finding it." Naruto protested the forthcoming argument and delivered his counter to it. "You're already making exceptions for Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei, so why not help out Sakura as well?" he concluded.
Sarutobi remained silent for a time in consideration. At length he answered. "... Kakashi has, perhaps, the most free time among the Jounin now that his ANBU days are over. There are too few instructors to be found that could give Sakura enough training like Sasuke has been getting, and even then his status is what is primarily at fault for that." he stated with a note of tiredness to his tone.
Naruto made to argue and the Hokage held up a hand to forestall it. "I did not say it was impossible. If you were to help on the off days, the instructor I've chosen would be able to adjust to taking Sakura under her wing more easily." Sarutobi finished, leaving the choice to fall onto Naruto's shoulders.
"Seriously? That's all?" he asked before smiling widely. "Of course I'll help! That's the whole point of changing things!" his excitement slowed as another thing came to mind. "How much do you think I should show her? I mean, she already knows I've mastered a variant on the basic taijutsu style."
"That will depend on what the instructor chooses to begin with. Simply help your team-mate grow in those predefined areas without revealing just how far along you truly are." the Hokage answered. Naruto nodded his head.
"Now, onto another subject: What did you tell Jiraiya?" Sarutobi questioned warily.
Ducking his head down toward the ground to avoid the blow Jiraiya's hands were filled with a trio of thin scrolls, each baring the kanji for Seal upon them in pale red. The sword halted in mid motion a foot past him and rotated around to rush for the back of his exposed neck.
Between that moment and the next the Toad Sage slapped two of the scrolls to his ribcage and along the underside of the arm where the holes were bleeding, gritting his teeth as the trigger holding the flames within was activated.
Two of the three wounds were cauterized shut as the scrolls hung to his skin leaving only the original entry point toward the top of his left shoulder, where the muscles within were still damaged and the bone cracked.
Kusanagi descended upon him as the necessary chakra finished flowing through his hair and several strands of it rushed upward to encircle the length from tip to hilt a scant few millimeters from Jiraiya's neck. A short distance away Orochimaru's yellow eye's narrowed to thin slits and he brought his own hands forward.
Pressing the third seal scroll to his shoulder Jiraiya's left hand sank a small portion of his chakra down into his enemies shadow in time for the other Sannin member to fade from his sight. Damn. Genjutsu- again. he thought.
Enshrouding himself in a protective field of extended hair he paused to gather his energy and take a few moments to rest. The after effects of the poison were still screwing up his concentration from moment to moment and the blood loss was nothing to laugh about it, but he had survived worse situations than this.
The biggest problem was that he just didn't have the time to sit around and do nothing. Orochimaru could be waiting to attack him again, and in all probability was actually attacking while he was trapped in some illusion just like earlier in the day. But if his former team-mate was giving him the slip in order to invade the rest of Mount Myoboku...
It was difficult to be sure, but he needed to do this while he was still capable of it. Remaining still as could be while keeping the the union of Needle Jizo and Wild Lion's Mane Technique active for defense, Jiraiya focused and dug into the well of slumbering strength at his core and brought forth the third balance to spiritual and physical chakra.
The Toad Sage drew upon Senjutsu chakra even as he felt the errors he still hadn't corrected manifest for it.
Sarutobi pressed the warm sake glass to his forehead in hope of alleviating the headache growing there. After talking with Naruto and learning that he had indeed revealed himself to Jiraiya-san and even gone so far as to coerce the elder shinobi into revisiting certain 'critically flawed formations of assault and defense', whatever that meant to the jinchuriki, he had returned to his office in time to find the other two members of the Council in wait.
The vanishing of Danzo Shimura could be ignored no longer, nor could the assignments of a former ANBU member to raise up the last Uchiha or the way in which he was apparently being trained.
Two hours unfolded during the 'debate' and his decisions questioned from different angles more than once when he refused to answer certain pointed demands. At most he revealed that Danzo had acted outside of his authority and done the very thing the Uchiha massacre had been meant to prevent with the hidden Root at the heart of it all, and that keeping a proper eye on Sasuke was required to keep him from becoming unstable.
The Sannin's names may have been raised and dragged into the arguments as one point to draw any potential attention away from how Naruto was involved, and in the end when at last Koharu and Homura let up with a wary note of dissatisfaction, Sarutobi brought up his journal.
'The recent events are starting to task even my strength of spirit. Naruto said I would live for at least several more years, but once more I can not help but be reminded that his arrival here in what may not even be his home dimension may influence things for the better or worse.'
'The strain of ordering the Uchiha massacre go through, coupled with concern for Naruto's actions- and beyond that, his life, regardless of the experience he has- is making my body grow ill in ways I have not felt since Minato and Kushina's sacrifice almost nine years ago.'
'I must begin making preparations. Naruto thinks that only he can change the world around him for the better in the years to come... but just what will occur when the changes turn sour? His insufferable positivity does not seem willing to accept such outcomes, and I fear it will crush him should someone he wishes to protect is undone.'
'It is possible that before he graduates as a chunin, before the point where Orochimaru would have once attacked, that my life will expire. And if it does so... who then will step into the reigns of Hokage in my place? And what if his actions merely trigger certain events to unfold sooner than they would have otherwise?'
Jogging lightly that morning the four-some of eternal rivals had entered the next stage of the training, as even Sasuke and Lee were expected to keep apace with their teachers. The difference came with the removal of the weighted backpacks altogether to test out their stamina.
For Sasuke, it was startling to feel how light weight his body felt along the first lap. He had become warily accustomed to the heavy pack and the regular breaks along the way, and this change of pace was remarkable indeed.
He wouldn't admit it to Lee and maybe not even to Kakashi-sensei, but he actually felt good like this. He wasn't lagging behind everyone else, he wasn't panting with exhaustion. He was striding forward quickly and easily and his breathing was almost even despite the brisker pace being set.
As they neared the end of the third lap he still wasn't feeling very fatigued, though Lee beside him looked fresher than ever. Is Guy-sensei's training really that different that he can handle this so well? the youngest Uchiha thought with a hint of dismay. I'm still not tired but he doesn't even look like he's breaking a sweat!
By the sixth lap Sasuke's shirt was gathering sweat and his hair lay matted to his forehead by it. Lee had finally begun to show some hint of weariness by a slightly lowered brow and more concentrated expression, but his breathing hadn't altered, unlike the other boy's who was breathing sharply in and out of his nose.
He began to channel chakra down into his feet and legs to help relieve the burn of his muscles and push himself forward quicker, taking the lead away from his eternal rival. Lee's eyes widened in surprise as Sasuke got a full foot ahead and stayed there with a stronger jog. Breathing deeper he began to dig down into the dirt path harder on each step and made up the distance after several paces.
Behind them Kakashi and Guy watched the true trial of stamina and endurance begin. To them it was only a matter of time before pride motivated one to take the lead and that same pride got his fellow shinobi moving, entering a wearying cycle.
"Should we go through with the sparring afterward?" Kakashi questioned quietly, regarding the prospective plan they had devised roughly a month previous when all of this began. Guy answered after a few moments of watching the duo ahead and mentally comparing their respective levels between yesterday and today.
"Hn, yes, yes. They must learn to walk on all surfaces during combat! Let the trees test their final reserves at the end of the day!" the other Jounin confirmed. Kakashi flicked his hitai-ate out of the way and scanned their pathways with his Sharingan and smiled at the corner of his lips.
"They're finally using their chakra more fully. Sasuke's concentration of it along his muscles and the bending point of the joints is letting him absorb his strides for the most part, while Lee-san is putting what control he has over it into the soles and lower ankle." he commented.
Guy merely nodded his head, satisfied that while his apprentice showed no skill in the ninjutsu attempts so far tried, he wasn't as bad off as to be unable to use his chakra at all when it was required. It meant the prospect that all of this was leading toward one day might just be possible to realize.
An explosion of sharpened points of hair ran the area around Jiraiya and he rose to his feet, right hand reached up and wrapping around the hilt of Kusanagi tightly. A spray of blood atop one of the statues betrayed Orochimaru's location as well as the dozen or so brown diamond-weaved cobras that erupted from his sleeves at the same time.
Thick red lines ran across Jiraiya's face and left his eyes, just above his upper lip, and spiking into his hairline covered in it. Around the top of each eye however were flares of orange, and the pupils themselves slanted toward horizontal without fully reaching it.
As was to be expected his nose had grown and become almost entirely toad-like, and the thick white beard that formed was closer to one of the statues around him. Seeing the blood appear in mid air Jiraiya shunshined forward and loosed another volley of the Hell Needles from his hair, and the speed at which he moved took his fellow Sannin by surprise.
Reacting to the next appearance of blood the Toad Sage slashed with Kusanagi in the general range and was satisfied to hear the sharp intake of breath. I can hear you, Orochimaru. Your breath is like the rush and flow of a churning river. Ducking beneath the next volley of poisoned snakes he shunshined around to what he took to be his invisible foes back and struck with his left hand, carving a pale seal into the back of the neck.
Kusanagi tugged against his grip and Jiraiya let it go, hands meeting together again as he gathered up oil within his mouth and released it just as quickly as he heard the next row of furious serpents being volleyed. A wall of flame erupted between the two Sannin and the Toad Sage wasted little of that time to react.
He stepped around it even before the technique had reached the first row of vipers and released another two to Orochimaru's left, cutting off part of his escape path before halting right beside the other shinobi.
At such close range Kusanagi was spun toward him as Orochimaru prepared one of his ninjutsu assaults and found another set of seals carved into his flesh before he could finished either motion, and like the one on his neck it was not nearly a clean cut.
Jiraiya caught the sword as it was freely controlled again and twisted it back around in time to shear off Orochimaru's four rightmost fingers, deriving a howl of pain and anger in the process. The last seal was cut into his forehead in that moment and the hidden Sannin faded back into view, face contorted with rage.
"You failed, Orochimaru. The Chakra Suppression won't fade until well after our return to Konoha." Jiraiya told him flatly, his voice somewhat deeper from the transformation, and in the next moment released the senjutsu chakra.
His fatigue was nearly overwhelming, and standing on the edge of the statue he swayed a few times. Orochimaru hissed and thrust his left hand forward to tear the sword out of the other shinobi's grasp, and in that instant slashed across Jiraiya's throat just as he lost his footing and collapsed to the ground from chakra exhaustion.
Pale blood ran out from the left front-side of the Toad Sage's neck and soaked the statues feet in crimson. "Damn you, Jiraiya, damn you thrice over for these wounds...!" above him Orochimaru approached the edge when the sounds of nearby voices reached him.
Sparing one terrible look to his former team-mate the snake Sannin threw himself to the edge of the clearing with what energy he had left and retreated to recover while he still could.
End Chapter Fifteen.