Chapter Four
Edited 3/15/09
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The Hokage should have been tense…or angry…or pensive given the meeting that was about to happen. Instead he felt like giggling.
He just couldn't get the previous morning out of his head. What had happened when Uzumaki Naruto became Namikaze Naruto.
At least the boy had his first date before all this fame business was thrown at him. Sarutobi had expected quite a reaction to the news of a surviving Namikaze…but this was extreme. Naruto was already begging to take out of town missions with Team Yamanaka – or to leave on a training mission with Jiraiya.
The girls…who knew the girls could become rabid over such a sliver of news. One pink haired girl, a Haruno, had begun screaming, "Naruto, I'll go on a date with you!" Someone else threw panties at the young blonde ninja. Naruto had the dignity to blush…and the good sense not to pick them up.
Naruto had holed up in his apartment after that…and refused to answer the door.
Sarutobi giggled just a bit – and imagined that Jiraiya would have a bawdy parody of the whole thing in his next book. The Toad Sannin had been 'scribbling notes' like a madman, after all.
When the door opened and the second person walked into this conference room, Sarutobi returned to his rather sour, dour standard look for diplomatic gatherings.
He didn't know the man who walked into the room – nor did he recognize the man's guards who took up position outside the open door. But Sarutobi had seen those robes on other people in his rather long lifetime: they were the Lightning Daimyo's most formal ceremonial robes.
Apparently begging for mercy at a peace conference merited his most awe-inspiring robes. The man was wearing cloth and jewels that were equal in value to a year's earnings for an entire civilian village.
Sarutobi hated the gesture. He had been prepared to offer a sliver of mercy to this Daimyo if he was at all convincing in shifting the blame for Kumo's actions entirely onto the Raikage. But now…this flaunting of wealth. It just irritated the Sandaime Hokage.
The smug bastard had enough pearls embroidered to his arms to have kept divers busy for twenty years.
Sarutobi vowed to humble this man. Turning over that robe would be just one of the requirements for a formal peace. Sarutobi would make a public display of having craftsmen tear it apart to recover the gold threads, the inevitable chunks of chakra absorbing metals sewn into special pockets as a weak kind of anti-ninja armor, and the gems and stones making the thing look more like a chandelier than a piece of clothing.
"Good day to you, Hokage."
"Welcome, Daimyo."
"I hear whispers of some unusual happenings in your village. A lost lamb has reclaimed his patrimony…."
"My word, the spies are getting better…and faster. I hadn't thought it wise to tip your hand in such a way…."
The Daimyo tried to shrug, but the added bulk of his padded robes made it hard to tell. "You know I have spies. Why shouldn't I admit such a thing?"
This man was an idiot, Sarutobi realized. Such an admission – tantamount to saying 'I now have something you treasure…and I can hurt it if I wish' – ensured that Sarutobi would absolutely destroy Lightning and Hidden Cloud's abilities to dabble in foreign intrigues for a long time to come.
The Hokage was relieved of the necessity of responding when the conference room door opened again. The Wind Daimyo entered. He looked abject and angry at the same time.
"Hokage."
"Daimyo."
The tall, thin, heavily tanned man wore a simple robe. He sat down in his chair and said nothing. His mind was obviously elsewhere.
Sarutobi hated to do it…but Wind would have to be broken. This man was wise enough that he probably knew it, too. While he likely had no foreknowledge of what Hidden Sand was going to do…his little budgetary games with his ninja force had brought this to pass. Hidden Sand would pay…and the Wind Lord would pay, too.
Within the next few minutes, the room filled.
The youngest person in the room was a terrified looking teenager – the Rice Daimyo. He was the fourth person to hold the position in the last seven years. Orochimaru had promised to bring wealth and prominence to Rice Country…and he had, for a time. But he had also handled his disagreements with various Rice Daimyos by killing them.
The young man was probably safer sitting in this room than even having a 'friendly' meal with the former head of Hidden Sound.
The oldest person here was an Acting Kazekage. He was one of the few Hidden Sand Council members who hadn't been sent on the invasion…since he was far too old to be an active ninja.
The Raikage, a man who was about the age Minato would have been if not for the Kyuubi, just sat and smiled an odd little smile…like he had a secret.
This man's behavior wasn't proof by any means, but it led Sarutobi to believe he had something to do with the young Hyuuga girl who had recently been brought back to the Hidden Leaf Village.
The Fire Lord had wanted to attend, but Sarutobi asked him not to bother. He had a plan in mind for handling all this…and a civilian in the room might make it a challenge. All of this was carefully scripted.
The meeting's location was scrupulously neutral: a resort community in Grass Country. The rules were simple: each figure could bring five bodyguards, only one of whom could sit outside the meeting room. The only people allowed inside this room were Kages and Daimyos.
The room fell into silence. As the victor in the recent attempted invasion, Sarutobi began the meeting. "Thank you for coming. I hope we will all be able to come to an agreement this day. Many things have lead to this situation, so I realize it won't be easy to deal with so many issues…."
"There is only issue," the Raikage interrupted. "What will it cost me for the return of my ninja…assuming they are still alive."
"Of the captured ninja, only the Hidden Leaf Missing Ninja Orochimaru has been executed. All the ninja who belong to foreign forces have been healed up and well treated…."
"And even permitted to participate in the Chuunin Exams, I understand," the Acting Kazekage said. "Very crafty of you, keeping all of this confined to rumor and hearsay. It gives you a lot of leverage in this, you crafty old monkey."
The Hokage smiled. "You have no idea how much leverage I actually have in this. No idea at all…but like I said, there are many issues to deal with. Why don't we go around the room and see where we are on terms. As the Raikage suggests, why don't we begin with the price to be paid for the safe return of hostages?"
The brusque Hidden Cloud ninja pursed his lips. "I will offer…twenty thousand ryo for each hostage, provided they are still in fighting condition."
Sarutobi said nothing. The Lightning Daimyo – he of the bejeweled robe – did not contradict his counterpart.
The Acting Kazekage was next. "My situation is more complicated. I would actually prefer not to have one of the hostages returned…."
"Gaara?" Sarutobi asked.
The old Suna ninja nodded, a bit hesitant.
"Fine. What is your offer?"
"With our impoverished state, we can afford eight thousand ryo per ninja."
Sarutobi's eyes turned to the Rice Daimyo. Both he and the young man knew why there was no acting leader of Hidden Sound. "My country has been devastated by a man who promised to make us wealthy and powerful. My predecessors drained our treasuries at his demand. To be honest, I would prefer for the Hidden Sound to have never existed…and I will pay Hidden Leaf two hundred thousand ryo to handle the ninja from Sound they captured. I do not want them."
That surprised everyone in the room save for Sarutobi. A Daimyo giving up on military power? It was unprecedented.
This person was the youngest in the room, but he had the best sense of reality of anyone here. He realized and admitted that his country was going to be vastly changed as a result of this.
"Other comments?"
"What will you accept, old monkey?" That was the Acting Kazekage.
"I remind you to observe the formalities, Acting Kazekage. I will accept none of these proposals as presented. But it is interesting to hear what…."
"No. Enough. I am here because my Daimyo forced me," the Raikage said. "I only care to get my ninja back. Twenty thousand ryo per person is more than double what Hidden Sand is offering. You just can't squeeze blood from a rock. Hidden Leaf is the wealthy village, not us…."
Sarutobi just nodded. "Oh, I think the monetary portion of your offer is not far off the mark…once we factor in the contribution that will be required from your Daimyo…."
"What!" the gaudy man said.
"…for not supervising his military force more carefully. But none of you has touched on the key issue. You offer ryo…which is a start…but you offer no promises of security to me or the Fire Country. I cannot just return your ninja and leave you in a position to do this again in a few years. No…."
"What do you mean by security, Hokage?" the Wind Daimyo inquired.
"Obviously I will require that the total compensation from all three forces fully repay the cost of our precautions…and I will require more than just a piece of paper saying you won't do this again. For example, I will require hostages of appropriate rank…."
"No one has said anything about hostages," the Lightning Daimyo said, suddenly a bit nervous. He had thought confidence would protect him from paying any price. Fool.
Sarutobi leaned forward. "I said 'hostages.' I plan to say 'technique libraries.' I will say 'summoning contracts.' I have a lot to say…."
"This is outrageous!" the Raikage bellowed, standing up. He was at the door before anyone could blink. But he could not open it. "What sort of trick is this?"
"Insurance," Sarutobi said. "No one will leave this room until I permit it."
"How?" the Rice Daimyo asked.
"I had thirty minutes here by myself. I am not a sealing master by any means, but I know more than anyone in this room. No one will leave without my consent."
That just served as a dare to prove Sarutobi wrong. It took twenty minutes – and more than a few threats directed at the Hokage – before people accepted the truth of what he'd said.
"Shall we resume?"
The Raikage sat like a petulant child. "Keep them, then. I can rebuild my ninja forces. If your cost will destroy the uniqueness of my Hidden Village, I will let them rot in your jails and force you the expense of keeping them…."
"I see. And you, Acting Kazekage?"
"I must have at least the members of our most prominent clans ransomed. Perhaps we can negotiate?"
Sarutobi wondered how deluded these people really were. Only the Rice Daimyo still seemed to understand that his independent status as a ruler was over.
"Let me explain one detail that you seem to have overlooked. I have had your jounin, your black ops specialists, the best of your villages in my custody for two months now. I said they were all in good health, but that does not mean they haven't been interrogated. I have your most recent secrets in my possession as we speak. Do I need to spread a few dirty items around to prove this claim?"
No one looked at all interested in having this happen.
"Now…let's be serious. I am not signing any treaty – or unlocking this room – until you are all unable, legally and otherwise, to make war on my Hidden Village. Some of you were duped by Orochimaru, but that does not leave you blameless. Some of you were squeezed by unfortunate politics with your Daimyo…and that does not excuse you. Some of you just love to make war…and that makes me even less forgiving, even if your people just set a blockade to support the invasion."
That set things off again. Sarutobi held more cards than he'd revealed so far. He had five opponents in front of him. One was ready to sign almost anything Sarutobi presented to him…but the other four needed to be humbled.
Eventually the Wind Daimyo silenced the others. "You have some strong opinions. What will it take? What do you want?"
"As price for returning the ninja who I should rightfully try and execute? As payment for an attempt at slaughtering my people? I demand that each of your richest ninja clans pay eighty percent of their wealth, plus a hostage. I demand that each noble family or member of the Daimyo's court pay fifty percent of their wealth, plus two hostages. I demand an additional payment of twenty thousand ryo per ninja from the Hidden Village each of my prisoners works for. I demand that Rice Country sign an annexation…and that Fire Country have the right of vetoing any Raikage or Kazekage or Daimyo candidate for the next fifty years. I demand all the summoning contracts held by your ninja clans; all the techniques that are not in common circulation. I intend to ruin your ability to make war against us…but to leave you all able to continue to take missions for clients. If I wanted to destroy you utterly, I could…."
The Raikage, calmer now than he had been for quite some time, said, "I have heard enough. I will do nothing of what you demand. Indeed, I shall lower my bid to two thousand ryo per prisoner. I think you overplay your hand, elderly ninja…and I will not weaken my village for a fool like you."
The Acting Kazekage bit his lips, then began to talk. "I must concur. You are too…kind hearted to follow through on these threats. To demand such things from us, you must be prepared to destroy our villages in retribution. The Leaf is powerful in body, but weak in mind."
The Rice Daimyo, speaking for Hidden Sound, said, "I will agree to the annexation. As weak as we are at this time, I expect an invasion within the year from any one of our neighbors. The monetary conditions are severe as our treasuries are almost non-existent. Might we enter into negotiations on that point?"
Sarutobi nodded. Everyone else in the room looked murderous. They were jockeying for position, trying to bargain down the Hokage…and this teenager had just destroyed the illusion of false strength they were trying to create.
"You are wise, Daimyo. As you have seen with your own eyes, my ninja have occupied the former bases of the Hidden Sound. After those facilities are emptied and destroyed, we will use our ninja to protect your nation until the annexation is complete. I think we can come to terms…but, the rest of you, my terms will grow harsher. As Cloud and Sand reduce their bids, I increase my demands. The Lightning Daimyo will not walk out of this room with that robe on. It is garish and foolish to bring such a thing to a meeting of supplication. That useless wealth will be broken down and put to use!"
"I've never," the fat man said.
The Raikage looked at the Hokage with questioning eyes. He didn't know what the old ninja was up to, but he didn't care for it.
"Shut up, Keruto," the Raikage said to his Daimyo. "You were stupid about that ceremonial robe. We were here to beg and prove our poverty, but you had to dress up. You have so little sense, someone must remind you not to drown when you bathe!
"But I wonder what the Hokage has yet to tell us. He has our ninja prisoners; he has some of our secrets; what else do you have? What makes you so confident this day?"
The Hokage nodded a few times. "Very perceptive, Raikage. Very good. You seem to finally be paying attention. Well, the main point…is that six hours ago Hidden Cloud and Hidden Sand were infiltrated by special teams. As we speak, your summoning contracts, your hidden stashes of cash, your armories, and your reserved technique libraries…they belong to the Leaf. Within two hours, your banks will be stormed and robbed by other teams. All of your wealth will flow away. In the capital cities of these three countries, my teams have done at least that much. You will sign the treaties if you wish to see even a sliver of this wealth return. If I do not walk out of this room with signed treaties by eight o'clock this evening…my armies will invade all three countries. If I am still here by eight tomorrow morning, then we execute all the prisoners we have. And beyond that…there is one final provision. I do not think any of you care for a full-time military occupation…as that will lead to a destruction of all that you hold dear."
The room went up in shock and screaming for quite a long time. "This conference was a trick!" "You lured us here to lull us into calm…." "You have betrayed us!"
These were the kind of negotiations that Sarutobi liked. Yes, Sarutobi had the upper hand because he had betrayed these men…he had attacked them when their strongest ninja were away…just as they had proposed to do to his village while it was in the middle of hosting an important international event.
Did they think Sarutobi a fool? Did they think him old and doddering? They should realize soon that they were wrong.
Even if one of the two other ninja managed to kill him…then their countries, their soldiers, and everything they valued would fall before any of these people could manage to break down the sealing arrays inside this room.
And if Sarutobi did not emerge with them by a set time…then his ninja had orders to kill everyone here. He had left it to the rather odd jounin named Maito Gai to do this. The man was to rig up a few hundred exploding notes in the rooms bordering on this one…to cover the four walls, ceiling, and floor. The ninja was a bit strange in the head, but he had never failed to execute an order.
It was a Doomsday type scenario…but Sarutobi was done playing games. He played to win!
These people would capitulate or their countries and villages would fall…and Sarutobi wouldn't have to worry about picking another successor.
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The small, desolate girl looked up when someone came into her hospital room. She'd had a lot of people come to speak with her.
The eyes.
This person was like her. Hyuuga.
The young woman looked at Hinata for a few moments before smiling. "I am called Miki."
"Hinata."
"I knew your father and your mother."
Hinata just nodded. "How are you alive? The bad people told me I was the last one alive."
A shake of the head answered the question. "I was one of eleven Hyuuga who remained in this village, the Hidden Leaf, when everyone else left."
"My father…he never said anything."
"He did not wish for us to remain – and tried to convince us to leave. He likely considered it yet another failure for the clan. Few people willingly own up to their failings."
The room fell silent.
"I would like for you to come and stay with me and my husband, after you're healed…."
"Why?"
"Because you should stay with family…."
The impassive Hinata became even colder. "I killed three people. Did they tell you that? I have had two babies; one is dead and I don't know where the other one is. I haven't talked to anyone but a…captor in seven years. Do you really want me to stay?"
The girl was certainly blunt, Miki's surprised look said. "Yes."
"Can I meet your husband? Before I decide?"
"Of course. He'll be back from our store after six."
"Store?"
"Grocery store. Vegetables, rice, meat, and the like."
"You and he aren't ninja, then?"
"No. That was the only reason your father didn't force me and the others to leave with them. Civilians through and through. But the children who stayed behind, all three of them, have become ninja."
"I want to be a ninja," Hinata said.
That surprised Miki. "Why?"
"I will never be weak again. Never."
By the shock on Miki's face, this was the first bit of information that had her rethinking her offer to Hinata. But…her face eased.
"Well, I will help you as much as I can, even if it's just making sure you get plenty to eat."
"Thank you," Hinata said.
The room fell back into silence. Miki left, after waving, left without saying another word.
Hinata responded, after the door closed, by smiling.
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Hoshigaki Kisame and Tobi stood in the forest outside the Hidden Leaf.
"Tobi thinks the wall is very tall…."
"Why did Leader make me bring you along?"
"Tobi is strongest ninja in Akatsuki!"
"Not getting hit by Samehada isn't the same thing as strength. Dodging is just one skill, you damned muppet."
"Tobi thinks that Kisame is not a happy ninja. Tobi thinks that Kisame needs to eat some seaweed!"
Kisame went to punch the idiot, but his fist went right through Tobi. Figures. "I am going to kill you. Just as soon as we deal with the intelligence. A too powerful genin in the last place the Kyuubi was known to be…the 'missing' child of the man who sealed away the Kyuubi. The stars have lined up."
"Tobi likes stars. Tobi counts them at night, but always stops at ten. Tobi wished he had more fingers!"
Kisame said nothing. He just watched and waited. Eventually he got a clue as to the location of their target.
Female voices carried on the wind told him what he needed to go: "It's true, he was at training ground 21. My sister just ran back and told me!"
"Oh! I want to see the last Namikaze!"
Kisame looked down the orange-masked muppet. "Tobi knows! Tobi has been inside every Hidden Village. Let's go."
Tobi began to skip.
Kisame had to make an effort not to kill his 'partner.'
By the time they penetrated the village and found the correct training ground, Kisame had imagined – and discarded – nineteen different ways to kill Tobi. None of the methods were harsh or painful enough.
All those thoughts disappeared when he set eyes on a shock of blonde hair attached to a fairly small young man. Said young man was practicing taijutsu against a training log. But each time he struck the log, a gouge appeared. On one strike, a deep slice penetrated the log and a small portion fell off.
The ninja wasn't fast enough to keep up with either Tobi – who, despite being an idiot, did seem to have some skill – or Kisame. But…a young ninja able to channel chakra like that while in a hand-to-hand mode.
Someone had given this kid some kind of training.
These attacks would fail against Samehada, of course. But it was exciting. The gaki might actually have some merit.
"Tobi thinks the boy knows we're here!" Tobi tried to whisper, but the words came out rather loud.
The young blonde ninja hadn't turned around, but his hands seemed to be moving in some type of ninjutsu.
Kisame only had a moment to detect something…chakra flaring up near him. "Move," he hissed to Tobi.
Kisame dove…Tobi hopped up and down a bit…and then a deep crater formed where Kisame had stood…and Tobi seemed to be almost floating over the gaping hole.
"Tobi likes that! Tobi thinks explosions are the best! Master Kisame must find out how the boy makes his explosions. They feel different from what Master Deidara does…."
The little muppet kept babbling happily…but Kisame had to agree about how different that explosion was.
"Yes. Yes! Tobi must know!"
"I won't be telling you anything," the blonde ninja said. He was closer than Kisame would have liked.
"Fine by me," Kisame said. "You just need to come with us. If you're who we think you are, we definitely have a use for you."
"You expect me to politely walk away with…Nukenin, one of whom looks like a jumping diseased grapefruit on tiny legs and the other looks like he sat in a freezer overnight sharpening his teeth?"
"Oh, Tobi thinks he's funny. Funny, funny!"
"Does he always shout that much?" The blonde haired ninja said.
"Unfortunately," Kisame admitted. "So…it seems I need to get rough with you. Please meet Samehada, my most very special sword."
"I know that name. Ahh, one of the swords used by the Seven Swordsmen in Mist, before it was disbanded."
"Very good!" Kisame swung and saw the boy get into taijutsu form, without even a kunai in his hand. It looked like he was going to use that chakra enhancement he'd been practicing earlier on that mangled training log.
The boy's fist shot out for a punch, but it wavered when it got close to Sameheda. A moment later, the boy disappeared into smoke.
"Wha…."
"Tobi really likes this boy now! Makes explosions and dissolves into smoke. How can Tobi be as cool as him?"
Kisame was on his guard. Was it an odd type of kawarimi…no, it couldn't be…but it was proof of a corporeal clone, like a Shadow Clone.
"Well, that's another piece of evidence. The boy is a chakra monster. There's no way a new chuunin should be able to perform that jutsu, let alone have it performing jutsu like whatever that explosion was. We need to leave now…the memories of what happened here have already been sent."
"Tobi's sad. Kisame promised a great fight. Tobi wants to see it!"
"If you don't start moving, I'll figure out just how to make Samehada eat your chakra!"
"Tobi's going. Don't hurt Tobi."
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"Well…the taller guy, he was…blue. Carried a big sword."
The real Naruto had been in his weekly lesson with Sarutobi when his eyes went wide…which caused his first spar against Enma to end badly for him.
"Blue?"
"And the shorter guy…wore an orange, swirling mask."
The Hokage seemed to wilt a bit. "Inside our walls and no one detected it until they 'found' you. Do you always send decoys out now?"
"Before I have to leave my apartment? You better believe it. I send out a Shadow Clone to train or buy food or something. Then I leave, under henge. It's kinda funny when I get the Shadow Clone's memories, especially if it was dispelled accidentally by an aggressive fan girl…but if I had to deal with it, I think the Finger of God would get a workout!"
Sarutobi was glad that his student – and Jiraiya's student, now, as well – was as paranoid as he was. It had just saved the boy from what could have been a horrible confrontation.
"The blue man sounds like a ninja called Hoshigaki Kisame. He's a swordsman of some renown, but his special talents lay in Water Style attacks. He is known for having inexplicably large chakra reserves. The orange mask…it brings no one to mind. You say he survived a direct strike from the Fist of God?"
"He was just floating there and started shouting about how much he loved explosions."
The Hokage made up his mind then. "I will not risk ANBU on this. Kisame once killed a Daimyo and all his seasoned bodyguards. The man is very strong, although I do not know why his skin is blue like that."
All of a sudden, Jiraiya – who was supposedly out of the village – popped in through a window.
"What the hell did you do to the Raikage, Sensei? The rumors I heard…."
After he was in and speaking he noticed his newest student nursing a large bruise on his forehead. "And what's up with the gaki? You abusing the chuunin now? Batting them around with your bo work?"
"Shut it," Naruto said. "The Akatsuki were just here and tried to kidnap my Shadow Clone."
"Damn!"
Sarutobi let the room get quiet before he turned to look at his white-haired former student. "The treaty talks went well…for the Hidden Leaf. As for the Raikage, if he could have killed me that day, he would have. Let's just say that their attempted stunt cost all of them – even the 'innocent' Lords who 'knew nothing' of what their military counterparts were doing – a lot more than they expected…and far more than they could afford. We'll begin returning Sand and Cloud ninja in a week just as soon as the names of all the permanent hostages are worked out…and begin the trials for the Sound ninja the week after that…."
"Why not just kill them?" Jiraiya asked.
"Political cover. Each one will face a tribunal: a ninja, a civilian judge from the Daimyo's court, and a monk from one of the temples."
Jiraiya nodded. Politics usually bored him, so the Hokage wasn't surprised.
"So…the Akatsuki," Jiraiya said. "They've finally sniffed out Naruto. I told you this 'revealing the last Namikaze' business would have consequences!"
"I didn't realize they'd be this bad," the Hokage said.
"I don't know which is worse: the shark looking guy or the damned girls squealing whenever they see my clone in the street. I can see why Momuru was such a stuck up bastard…the frequencies their voices hit, it's like someone stabbing me with senbon."
Jiraiya rolled his eyes.
"Enough, Naruto. The question is: how do we handle this? I can't go and take back the announcement," the Hokage said.
"I'm not blaming you, Sensei," Naruto said. "I agreed when you asked me if you should make my status public. I guess I'll get to test my skills a lot earlier than I had expected. But I also need to get stronger. I have no good way of dealing with a swordsman…and that particular sword did something to disrupt the shadow clone before it even struck."
"Fine. It's time for Naruto to go on a training trip…."
"Absolutely not, Jiraiya," the Hokage said.
"…like I took Minato on about a year after he made chuunin. It's where he made his greatest strides as a ninja. He was so intrigued with the Summoning Technique that he began research that led to his most famous technique. He already played around with seals. He spent three years, off and on, playing with chakra extrusion which culminated in the development of the Rasengan…then he began to delve into sealing at a high level, for which I still somewhat blame myself, as it permitted him to create a powerful demon sealing ritual when the time came…and let's not forget that he badmouthed my earliest raunchy novel so much that I wrote a serious piece of fiction, the protagonist of which eventually lent our Naruto here his name…."
"That. Sounds. Awesome!" Naruto shouted.
The Hokage shot withering looks at both of his students. "I forbid it!"
"Well," Jiraiya continued on, not minding his Sensei, "I think Naruto's further along developing his style…but he has a long ways to go. Wind techniques, if developed correctly, could make him the equal of any Kage…but I think we haven't thought about this enough. There's more to dig in and discover. You have a few original power techniques…how about using wind for subtlety or evasion…or to move very quickly…or…I guess the possibilities are endless. If you know what you're doing, and that Wrath Shield thingie sounds like you do, then wind trumps everything else. Fire can't overwhelm your wind…if it can't touch you to hurt you."
"Jiraiya, listen to me. Naruto is a powerful young ninja, but he is not strong enough in this dangerous time to go traipsing about the world while you go and visit every brothel you stumble across."
"I don't have to pay, old man. I'm the Legendary Jiraiya!"
Sarutobi's face tightened into a scowl. "I will revoke the apprenticeship, Toad Sannin! I will continue to instruct Naruto myself."
"Why?" Naruto asked. "Wouldn't I be safer where no one expects me to be?"
Sarutobi frowned. It was a good question, but Sarutobi's knee jerk response was to shout 'No,' again. Why was he resisting this so much?
"He asks a fair question. What has you so…agitated about this?"
"I have calmed down a bit. I was just trying to figure that out myself. I am not, normally, quite so irrational."
"You sound like a parent breaking down when he has to send his first child to the Academy!" Naruto said.
The Hokage had no reaction at that point. But his mind began to spin. Was it so simple? Just a knee jerk reaction to permitting Naruto to leave, to exit the village walls for an indeterminate amount of time.
"It is possible, Naruto. But I can't help but feel that sending you out of the village is a mistake. I would propose an alternative. I will step down as Hokage…."
"Oh no, not this again," Jiraiya said. "Stop looking at me to step behind that desk!"
"…and I will become your full-time instructor, Naruto. I have trained three powerful ninja already, with you as the fourth. You already outstrip me as a wind practitioner, but I am a master of technique envisioning and creation. I can continue to help you grow and to become well rounded."
Naruto nodded and scrunched up his face, trying to think this through.
"I think this is a mistake, Sensei," Jiraiya said. "Well rounded is all well and fine, but the strongest ninja – leaving you and Orochimaru aside, as both of you believed in different versions of 'well roundedness' – are always lop-sided. Naruto has to get massively powerful as quickly as possible. I have suggested…and realize why it was vetoed…training him in the Kyuubi chakra. Keeping him a secret still holds, even if Akatsuki has guessed at the secret. We don't want Naruto targeted by even more foes than just those bastards. But…that means he'll need to be an S-rank ninja very shortly.
"To be fair," Jiraiya added, "you are a better teacher than I am, as you love it more. But I have the time and wanderlust to help the kid. You won't be able to untangle yourself from the Hokage position quickly even once you land on a successor. Minato relied on you as his senior counselor up until his untimely death. However, Naruto and I could leave today, if you permitted it."
"I would like to do this, Sensei," Naruto added, calmer now too.
"Tell me your reasons, Naruto." Sarutobi hated the idea for unknown, 'gut instinct' reasons. He needed someone to push him off his 'no.' He was willing to be drug into a different camp…but he needed a powerful reason.
"I would like to escape this blasted fame for a while…."
"That's not a good reason," the Hokage began to say.
"…which is the first reason I started joking that Jiraiya should take me away to train. I knew he'd done it before, you see. But, in the last few days, I've come to realize that I need to leave in order to train. I can't practice the wind manipulations I've theorized…not without causing massive damage to a training ground or a section of the forest outside the walls.
"I also need to see the world, I think. I need to know what's possible. You and I stumbled onto my very strong wind affinity…and you helped me to hone it. But now I need more ideas. Something Jiraiya just said made me think: how would I turn this wind affinity into more than a massive exploding note? Could I use it for spying, or thieving documents, or kidnapping targets? Could I get that kind of control over it? Or could I use it, the way my father did with seals and reverse summoning, to make me faster than any ninja before? Or…Or. I don't know what else is possible. You've both seen the world, sometimes through war, sometimes for missions, sometimes for pleasure. I'd like that chance, too."
Sarutobi sighed. The boy was being reasonable. And he did have some fair-to-middling reasons, better than Jiraiya's at any rate.
"I do not like this idea. I know both of you do, but something about this strikes fear into my heart. But, I will compromise…."
"Thank you, Sensei," Naruto said.
"…don't thank me yet. Here is the proposal. Jiraiya will take you on a mission I will assign him. It will be to a foreign nation and will last less than a month. At the time of your return, you will show me a technique of Jiraiya's that he has taught you…and an original technique of your own design. If you do this, along with completing the mission satisfactorily, then I will permit you both to leave on a training trip for…say, one year. If you fail, and I decide not to kill my white-haired student for being a moron, then Jiraiya will accept appointment to be Godaime Hokage…and I will take over as your full-time sensei, Naruto."
"What!" Jiraiya gasped.
"Okay," Naruto said.
At this, Sarutobi began to laugh. This trip was going to make Jiraiya so miserable – and so fearful – that he wouldn't enjoy himself at all. He had to actually teach. Minato had actually grown tremendously on his training trip, but it was almost all self-discovered. Minato had admitted to Sarutobi one night over drinks in his new office – and Sarutobi's old office – in the Hokage Tower that the only things Jiraiya taught him on that trip were to how cure venereal diseases and how to summon toads. He further admitted, once he was drunk enough, that he listened to and tried Jiraiya's methods of seducing women…and got a broken arm for his trouble the first time he tried Jiraiya's teaching. He owned up to developing his own techniques that worked much better for him, even on someone as fiercely independent as Uzumaki Kushina.
Naruto, like his self-motivated father, was capable of performing beautifully, of dragging himself into greatness, as Sarutobi knew from first hand experience. It would be easier, and faster, with a motivated, dedicated teacher, however. This trip would force Jiraiya to actually do something rather than sniff around the local young women and get drunk until all hours of the night.
"Do you accept, my aged student?"
Jiraiya's face was a mass of wrinkles and frowns. "Yes."
"I will expect a weekly report delivered by toad messenger. That should help to remind you of your obligations."
As Jiraiya leapt out of the room before he could get any more conditions attached to this farce, Sarutobi smiled at Naruto. "Come to the Tower tomorrow. I will select an appropriate C- or B-ranked mission."
"Yes, Sensei. Thank you."
"Prove yourself, Naruto. Make me proud."
Naruto smiled and nodded. "I know you don't want me to go, but my gut tells me I need to do this."
"Mine say the exact opposite. May the better intestines win."
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Naruto yawned. It sucked being stuck in a hotel while the Pervy Sage was out 'scouting out new operatives.' They were a day from Fire Country's capital – and to meeting the diplomat they were supposed to escort to Wave Country.
When Sensei had explained all the details of this trial training mission, it seemed like it would be…interesting. Like a secret mission with a smart guy who would just ooze knowledge. But, no, it was pretty much like Sensei had said. Jiraiya was off – Naruto was alone, stranded in a town he'd never visited before. He spent a bit of time on the road experimenting with a few wind techniques, but…It had been two days since they'd left…and Jiraiya hadn't taught him anything yet.
Maybe Naruto would just have to 'fail' to learn a new technique…just to spite the white haired bastard…force him to settle down in the Hidden Village and wear that ugly hat.
A knock on the door pulled Naruto from his anger. He spiked a bit of air chakra…a gust of air outside the door brushed up against whatever was out there. Two people, neither with the massive hair Jiraiya had. Naruto didn't have a sense of who they were…but he had one bad guess.
Naruto created a Kage Bunshin and went out the window. He walked right up to the top of the roof…it'd be easier to escape jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
Hopefully his Shadow Clone would give him time to escape.
"Goddammit, Tobi." The voice. The blue skinned ninja. Shit. "How did you know he'd go out the window?"
Naruto's head whipped around. There, in the shadows. Yes, it was that guy with the sword. His Shadow Clone trick hadn't worked…somehow they'd expected it. He jumped off the roof to escape.
"Tobi thinks blonde ninja is very crafty. Blondie did just what Tobi would have done: run!"
Naruto jumped from roof to roof. He didn't have any time for mocking comments. The blue one was way above his level…and he had no idea at all what the orange-masked one could do.
When he jumped from another roof, he realized his pursuers were right behind him. He tried a bit of an experiment. He threw his arms slightly behind him and poured wind chakra through the tenketsu in his hands.
Instead of falling and landing on the next building, the added jut of power pushed Naruto over three buildings. The only problem with this 'of necessity' experiment was that he hadn't landed on top of the building, but rather had clung to the wall about halfway up it. Naruto ran up the building and then tried the whole thing again.
The second blast pushed him further. He looked like he was going to make it all the way across the wide river that bisected the town. Close. He landed on the water and his feet clung to it while he tried to think.
Where the hell was Jiraiya? How was Naruto supposed to find the worthless old bastard in a village of twenty thousand? Jiraiya bragged they had over fifty bars and clubs here. The old man could be in any of them – or none of them.
Naruto roused from his thinking when he felt the water behind him begin to…roil. Something very like a shark seemed to be forming close to him.
Naruto leapt onto the bank. All this wind chakra had bought Naruto only a few seconds.
He ran. Without a thought. He was not prepared for this, not at all.
But…if it was his time…he would not be captured. He would kill himself to deny his enemy what it desired. They seemed to know about and desire the Kyuubi. They couldn't have it. He'd protect the Hidden Leaf even if it took his death to do so.
These people did not know what they were messing with when they came after Namikaze Naruto!
The chase…became more like a herding. Any time Naruto got too close to the river, to vanish back into the larger half of the town, sharks appeared. The orange-masked ninja somehow got ahead of Naruto at one point and forced him down a particular road.
He decided on a plan.
He realized they were herding him. He couldn't exactly stop that…if he were but a single ninja.
But, if he precisely created a massive quantity of Shadow Clones, and made sure they had truly equal chakra, then Naruto might…just might be able to escape in the chaos.
"Mass Shadow Clone Technique!"
Suddenly the little alley was filled with a thousand blonde haired ninja.
The ninjas began climbing every wall possible to get out of the alley. They began dispersing almost as soon as they were created.
"God dammit. How come we never knew he could do this?"
"Tobi thinks it's pretty! So many ninja to dance for Tobi!"
"Shut it. Keep wounding them until we can find the real one."
In the confusion, they did not notice one of the blonde ninjas dropping down into the storm sewer system. While he did not like the smells down there at all…he liked the idea of dying even less.
Naruto finally heard Jiraiya arrive and take to battling the Akatsuki. He evidently drove them off, because he was soon calling out "Gaki!" over and over again.
After ten minutes of listening to it – and deciding neither the blue-skinned nor the orange-masked ninja would debase themselves that way – Naruto crawled to the surface.
"Here, Worthless Teacher!"
"Naruto…are you okay?"
The blonde ninja held up his hand and said, "Stop right there. Summon a toad or somehow prove that you're Jiraiya."
That confused the Toad Sannin for a moment, then he smiled. He performed the summoning and a small toad appeared and asked for some candy. Jiraiya threw him some and dismissed him.
"What took you so long?"
"Well…I was busy." It even seemed to sound lame to Jiraiya's pink-tinged ears. "The first clue I had was when I felt enough chakra sent up to make a couple hundred Shadow Clones…."
"A thousand or thereabouts. Three hundred got killed before those two were forced to stop hunting them."
Jiraiya nodded once, as if that were that. "Right. You're safe. Let's get our stuff from the hotel – and get on the road…."
Naruto was getting angrier the longer his Bastard Teacher spoke. He hadn't apologized. He…was late. Naruto might like the guy, and might have had high (or unrealistically high) expectations for the man who'd taught his father…but Naruto couldn't trust him. He couldn't depend upon him.
"Not one word to Sensei about this. You do that for me…and I'll teach you my Swamp of the Underworld technique."
"If I told Sensei, he'd kill you. He was against this from the beginning. And now…I have to think he was right."
Jiraiya's face fell.
"So…stop trying to bribe me. I'll give the old man a full, unvarnished report. And if you don't teach me something…Sarutobi will either kill you or make you Hokage."
"I'm not sure which is worse…." Jiraiya said under his breath.
Naruto didn't say another word until they arrived the Daimyo's Court. Even then he was barely civil.
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"I see, young Namikaze, that is a very interesting tale." The Fire Lord's ambassador was a kiss ass. And he loved to talk, wouldn't shut up. Indeed, the only way to have him stop talking was to tell a story. So long as someone was talking, he was happy.
As soon as he realized he was being escorted by a Sannin and the son of a Hokage he couldn't have become friendlier and more amenable.
Still…for Naruto's tastes…talking to the civilian kiss ass was better than talking with Jiraiya. They were one week into their trip…and it felt like Naruto had been gone for a month already.
He hadn't realized he could hold a grudge, but…it seemed he could.
He had evidently established certain expectations regarding teachers…and Jiraiya had broken them all. The Hokage was always on time; always had one or two things he would instruct Naruto to work on; would trust his student to practice on his own time. That's what Naruto thought teaching was.
It was only pure luck that Naruto was still alive right now. Jiraiya hadn't said word one about training yet, either.
He slowed his breathing and calmed himself. He was a professional on a mission; bullshit could wait until the client was safe.
Naruto's eyes wandered around everything he saw. Wave Country was pretty desolate. This was prime territory for bandits and other undesirables to attempt an attack on wealthy travelers.
The Wave Daimyo's Court was another few hours away when Jiraiya called a lunch break in yet another small, rundown village.
Naruto followed the diplomat off to his choice to restaurant. Jiraiya said he'd return shortly, after taking care of some 'errands.'
The diplomat looked at each food option in the small village…and promptly rejected it. Naruto got a bit peeved. He wasn't in a big town. He could eat what they served…or he could stay hungry until they arrived at Court.
After twenty minutes of turning his nose up at what was available, the diplomat said he wasn't hungry.
Naruto kept an eye on the man while he placed an order for sushi. While in Wave Country, he could enjoy really fresh fish, right?
Jiraiya returned before Naruto claimed his order. He took one look at things, then went to a stand selling miso-glazed chicken.
Naruto watched the man sit at the counter and eat his meal…while the diplomat was simmering in anger over his self-induced hunger.
Then Naruto watched a man at the stand strike up a conversation…and Jiraiya began to smile and his voice got louder, his boasting voice.
What had got Worthless Teacher so interested? Since Naruto had turned the cold shoulder to him, the man hadn't said more than a few words – precisely the number of needed words – to anyone.
Moody bastard. He almost gets someone killed and then he pouts about it.
Naruto thanked the vendor and paid him for the sushi. Then he began to enjoy it, all the while keeping part of his attention on the silly-looking diplomat and the rest on the Jiraiya and his hand-waving conversation.
Jiraiya finished his chicken…and continued to speak with the other man. Was this a guy a fan of perverted books?
Eventually, Jiraiya got up and left. "Ready?"
"Ten minutes ago," the diplomat huffed. Naruto just nodded.
"With luck, we'll be there by nightfall."
Naruto did not see Jiraiya's 'acquaintance' get up from the chicken stand, or his henge drop, or his red and black eyes spin to a stop…leaving only black pupils.
Naruto did not know why this Uchiha was particularly interested in one of the teammates of the dead Snake Sannin. Or how he had cast a genjutsu to force Jiraiya into craving miso-glazed chicken.
Naruto couldn't predict what was going to happen in the not-too-distant future as a consequence.
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"Okay, Bastard Teacher. The mission to Wave is done. Now we have at least a week before we need to escort that annoying guy back. So…teach me something."
Jiraiya looked at his student and frowned.
"I could teach you the handsigns for a dozen jutsu…and you could make them look good…but it would not give you the experience, the wisdom of how to use them, when to deploy them. No, our training together begins with a little exercise, a training exercise."
"I'm listening." Jiraiya had expected Naruto to be indignant about not being taught a technique. Maybe this boy was more mature than he seemed.
"Alright. This country was basically conquered and broken by a 'businessman' named Gato. Rich guy owns ships and docks and warehouses and such…enough of them to basically buy the Daimyo, that useless turd. Then this Gato died in a boating accident. When his body washed up on shore, his thugs discovered that Gato's legendary billions were a myth. He'd been spending every dime he made. That's usually when things go to shit – infighting, virtual civil war, blood in the gutters. Not this time, three of them decide to carve up what Gato did…this time to make money for themselves.
"If anything, things have gotten worse for the inhabitants of this country since Gato's death…"
"That's a terrible story, Worthless Teacher. But what do you expect me to do?"
Jiraiya kept his tongue in check over the 'honorifics' Naruto now bestowed on him. "Your first training exercise is an assignment in intrigue: destoy this Gato Corporation so it can't rise from the grave again. You'll have to figure out how to do this. Get the information; figure out how to cripple it…."
"Can't you be any more specific?" Naruto asked, getting interested despite his irritation with Jiraiya.
"No. Sometimes this is all you get from a client: what the end result looks like. A lot of them don't care about methods. You may choose to kill everyone who works for Gato Corporation – a rather messy solution – or to cause a public scandal over this for the Daimyo forcing him to act or lose his position in a power struggle or maybe you'll destroy the Gato infrastructure, like the docks or the boats, that allow them to keep this place under their thumb. I can think of a dozen ways to do this…."
Jiraiya just smiled. "But this is your task. Fix it. Simple."
Naruto was nodding by the time Jiraiya was finished. It was a lesson in applied ninja skills. One could train to his heart's contentment, but if he couldn't think…he'd die in the field. This assignment was to hone Naruto's thinking capabilities…and to do a good deed.
And it seemed to be bringing the boy out of his funk.
Naruto began to walk away. Then his head whipped around: "Don't forget what Sensei said. If I don't learn one of your techniques, you'll be stuck in Hidden Leaf for life. And, as Hokage, you'll have to maintain a good image at all time. No more dirty books; no more visiting bars every place you go; no more 'dating' sixteen year old girls. You'll probably never leave the town again until you retire! Unless you cause a war or something, you Worthless Bastard."
Jiraiya frowned. Maybe Naruto wasn't out of his funk.
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A/N: Concerning this last bit, Jiraiya does not know of the Hokage's involvement in Wave Country (which he discussed a few chapters back with the Fire Lord). Jiraiya is only in town rarely, so the Sandaime doesn't tell him everything about every mission; just the highlights of the important stuff. Killing off a civilian gangster hardly rates as important to Sarutobi's mind, except for the value of the money he now has at his disposal.
Jiraiya parrots back what he's heard from the locals. Neither he nor the Hokage yet know that the Hokage's order to kill Gato made things worse in Wave Country. It seemed like an accident, which emboldened the vultures; rather than them seeing powerful ninja, as in canon, which cowed and scattered the thugs.
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