Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Actually, I'm not really sure who does.
A/N: Thank you for all the reviews you've all left. I hope I was able to answer some of your concerns. If I didn't I'll keep trying. =)
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An Apprentice to a Sage
Secrets
...
Mei Terumi, a survivor of the civil war that is still raging on at the Land of Water, sighed. She's been tossing and turning inside her dark tent, seemingly unable to sleep. She exhaled again, blowing away the long bangs that fell on her face. She stared at the point where the flexible poles that support the tent up intersect, while thoughts swirled in her mind.
It's been a week since they left Shukabu village, heading towards the land of the waves. There, they're going to get on a boat that will take them across the sea to Kiri. However, right now, their travel isn't what was bothering her.
'This is stupid.' She thought. 'Why can't I sleep?' She asked, even though deep down she knew the answer. 'Those two...'
Mei hated shinobis. Ever since that tragic night, she's always hated them, cold, heartless and uncaring killing machines...
'Shinobis.' She spat the word like it was the most disgusting thing to ever exist.
Although, there was just something about their two travel companions -
'Travel companions because apparently, they're now doing this job for free... so it'd be wrong to call them hired company. Right?' She thought.
Anyways, they had something that contradicted everything she knew about shinobis. She couldn't figure it out until the dinner they had tonight.
"Jiraiya-sama, how come both of you aren't wearing your hitai-ites? Aren't you Konoha ninjas?" Taeko-chan asked the white haired man putting skewers of fish beside their campfire, to cook.
The man turned and smiled. "Good observational skills Taeko-chan." He praised, before sitting down cross-legged on the ground. "I don't wear one because... you could say I'm a special ninja for the village. I'm not even really part of the village anymore. I do special favors for the Hokage because I owe him, but other than that? No."He answered. "Don't get me wrong. I love that village it's just... the things that tied me down to that place are gone." He said uncharacteristically solemn with pained eyes.
"What about him?" Mei asked, pointing at the whiskered boy doing calligraphy off to the side.
"Naruto?" Jiraiya asked with a small smile. "He's not one." He said, giving everyone a skewer of freshly cooked fish.
"He sure trains like one." Taeko said watching the boy.
"He's my apprentice." He stated, before taking a big bite off his dinner. "I'm training him so he can achieve his dreams." The toad sannin told them after he swallowed a mouthful of fish.
"Which is?" The sisters both asked at the same time, their interests piqued.
"To become the Hokage and get everyone to acknowledge me." Naruto answered grinning, paintbrush in his hands.
"This dobe?" Mei asked the sannin incredulously. "Like hell he is! He'd be the worst Hokage ever. I swear he's the loudest, most perverted kid in the world!" She yelled, pointing her skewered fish at the said boy, who dropped his brush.
"No I'm not!" He yelled back.
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not! That's Ero-sennin!"
"Hey-"
"Yes you are! I saw you peeking at Taeko-chan when she was taking a bath at the river today!"
"He was?"
"Yes Gaki!"
"No I wasn't! Shut up Ero-sennin! Taeko-chan, I was just watching your butt- I mean your back just in case something happens."
"You liar! You said butt!" Mei yelled before throwing a rock at the boy's head.
Mei smiled at the memory, shaking her head in the darkness. 'They're not shinobis... which is good.' She thought. Her nose suddenly crinkled 'But there's one thing I hate more than shinobis. Perverts.' She told herself with a small smile.
'And those two are definitely perverts. At least the boy isn't as bad as his master.' She said glaring up at the tent's ceiling. Suddenly, she sat up frowning. 'Speaking of which, where are those two?' She thought after she noticed that the annoying sound of those two's snores were nonexistent.
She turned to her sleeping sister, watching her as she slowly and silently snuck out of their tent. She looked around their campsite bathed in moonlight. The campfire have long since died, leaving tiny embers, struggling to keep themselves from fading out of existence. She looked at the two empty sleeping bags owned by their 'escorts' and frowned. She looked around at the quiet forest and noticed a small orange glow deep within the forest with sounds of battle coming from a distance.
She silently stalked towards the sound, cursing under her breath from time to time as she got little nicks here and there from things protruding from the forest floor. "Whatever could possibly be happening at this ungodly hour?" She whispered harshly to no one.
She pushed through a rather big bush and gasped. She came across a small clearing, the ground filled with small craters and small brush fires here and there. Mei scanned the area and saw Jiraiya standing with an injured Naruto in the middle, surrounded by three masked men with varying degrees of injuries.
On cue, the two parties suddenly moved, Jiraiya taking two masked men while Naruto battled against the other.
"They're from konoha..." Mei whispered as the man Naruto was fighting with, landed near her, enough for her to see their insignias. However, before she could try to figure out what was going on, the said man suddenly turned his masked face towards her.
"What- Mei?" Naruto asked, panicked at the sight of the girl. "Shit!"
Hearing this, Jiraiya quickly looked at his apprentice and noticed where he was running towards. 'I guess I better end this quick.'
Mei watched in horror as the man suddenly appeared in front of her. She vaguely noticed Naruto running towards her, as her instincts yelled for her to scream. Though, before she could, the man suddenly turned around, his hands moving quickly. "Chakra Kyuuin no jutsu!" She heard him yell before disappearing and capturing the injured boy in a headlock, his hands glowing.
Naruto struggled, his strength leaving him as he tried to breath. He locked eyes with the young terrified girl, bright blue to sea-foam green. "Mei-chan... run..." He whispered before passing out.
The masked man sighed, before quickly turning around. "I've got him, let's go!" He yelled before he was hit hard on the side of the head, making him drop the unconscious boy.
The masked man struggled to get up, and look around. He noticed his two teammates downed not too far from where he landed. "What-" He wasn't able to do anything more as a frowning sannin suddenly appeared in front of him, punching him hard in the gut, expelling all the air from his lungs.
"Say hello to Danzo-sama for me." Jiraiya spat before kneeing the masked man at the side of his head, effectively knocking him out.
The crazy haired sannin, picked up his unconscious apprentice before walking towards the bush where Mei was petrified. "Are you alright Mei-chan?" He asked. The terrified young girl could only nod in response. "Come, let's go back."
.
"Ugh..." Naruto groaned. "Why do I always get knocked out?" He asked no one in particular.
"Good morning Naruto-kun." Someone greeted, which he realized to be Taeko-chan as his vision cleared.
"Morning." He responded lifelessly as he found his bearings. He realized he was lying in the back of the cart, boxes moved to the side to make room for him to lie down and Taeko-chan's beautiful face hovering over him, making him blush.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"Like shit." He answered honestly as he sat up and cradled his head with his hands. "Where are we?" He asked, noticing that the sun was almost at its peak and that his arm was covered in bandages.
"We're just about to enter the city of the waves." Jiraiya, who was at the front, impressively pulling the heavy cart with one hand, answered.
"What happened? Where's Mei-chan?" He asked, his voice panicky.
"It's Mei-san to you!" A voice yelled from the front of the cart.
Naruto quickly stood up, steadying himself on the moving cart with chakra, and sighed in relief. "Sorry, Mei-san." He answered jokingly, relief evident in his voice.
"You suffered from chakra exhaustion last night." Jiraiya told him. "Naruto, we really need to work on your speed."
"Yes... I know..." He said softly, before jumping off the cart.
"Naruto! You should be taking it easy!" Taeko yelled in concern as she crawled towards the front of the cart.
"Don't worry Taeko Nee-chan. I'm fine." He said and started to walk beside his master.
"Naruto I've got something to help you build your speed, but it'll be bothersome." Jiraiya said, fishing through his pack.
"Whatever ero-sensei, bring it on." The boy responded as he grabbed the handle bar of the cart and started to pull.
Jiraiya took out four orange wristbands with seals on them. "Put two of them on your wrists and two around your ankles." He instructed.
Noticing that the cart stopped, Taeko and Mei watched while Naruto took off his sandals and placed the bands around his ankles and wrists.
"What are those?" Mei asked. "They look stupid."
"These are training devices that I've created. If I apply chakra on the seals, those things get heavier." Demonstrating as he answered. "I'm putting about five pounds of weight on each of them for you Naruto, and we'll gradually increase it the stronger you get."
Naruto nodded as he slowly got up, awkwardly testing his arms and legs before he smiled. "I'll get strong quick." He said, striking a victory pose.
"Alright, now do your job." Jiraiya said as he took out a map and left Naruto to pull the cart.
It was well past noon when they finally arrived at the port city. They quickly went to the docks and bought tickets for the cheapest and earliest crossing ship, before grabbing a quick lunch at a nearby eatery, as a couple of Naruto's clones looked after their cart and luggage.
"Jiraiya-sama, why did those guys attack you last night?" The little girl eating dango asked.
Jiraiya looked at her, then at her curious sister before sighing. "I can't really say much about the subject for it is Naruto's secret to keep." He looked at his apprentice who finished his meal quickly and is currently outside, awkwardly practicing katas because of the weights. "Let's just say someone wants to bring Naruto back to Konoha, willingly or not."
The sisters also turned to watch the boy thoughtfully, knowing that the questions forming in their heads won't be answered easily.
Mei squinted her eyes as she studied him. 'I wonder what secret he's hiding?'
Naruto was in the middle of the air, about to perform a round house kick when memories of his clone suddenly bombarded his mind. This made him lose his balance, making him fall face first on the ground. This was made worst when he noticed, Mei laughing hysterically at him, through the restaurant's window.
Grumbling about 'stupid brats', he entered the place. "My clone said that the ship is about to leave."
The group quickly made it to the pier where Naruto's clone told them that their luggage are already onboard before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. They got on the modest sized ship and watched as other passengers clambered on, carrying an array of luggage, big and small. The four retired to their cabin as soon as the ship departed from the port towards the setting sun. The four shared a room, to lessen their travel cost; the sisters taking the beds while the men took out their sleeping bags. Once settled, they ate dinner which was to Naruto's delight, cup ramens before getting ready for bed. Well, the sisters got ready for bed, while the master and apprentice moved to the deck to do some light training and sparring with Naruto's weights on.
.
Both Taeko and Mei quickly sat up, suddenly awakened by a huge explosion that reverberated through the boat. They both looked at the spot where their escorts were supposed to be sleeping, only to realize that the sleeping bags were devoid of life. Quickly putting on a robe, Taeko rushed out of the room with Mei in her heels.
They dodged through panicking passengers and went out on the deck. There they saw Jiraiya and a bunch of Naruto's fighting a group of ninjas.
"Naruto-kun! Watch out!" Taeko-chan yelled, as she saw another ninja coming from behind the blond boy.
He quickly ducked under a kunai swipe that would've decapitated him, and gave the surprised shinobi a kick on the chin, sending him flying off the deck. The other ninjas turned towards their beaten comrade then at the sisters, and their eyes widened.
"The targets have been located!" Yelled one.
"Confirmed! The Terumi survivors are on board, proceed with the assassination mission!" The ninja who seemed to be the leader, commanded. Naruto's opponent disengaged from him and quickly moved towards the said targets.
Taeko's eyes widened when she saw the ninja's hitai-ite. "Kirigakure." She whispered, terrified. "They've found us."
"Naruto!" Jiraiya yelled, taking on several opponents single-handedly.
"Hai! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled, forming a circle around the two girls that are on the deck, with his clones.
"As if I'm going to let you touch them!" The Naruto clones all yelled at the same time, peppering the advancing ninja with shurikens.
"Out of the way brat! Suiton: Mizurappa!" The Kiri ninja yelled, summoning a giant wave of water which took out Naruto's clones, flooded the deck and threw the sisters against the cabin wall.
"Shit!" Naruto spat, as he struggled to get up, soaked from the water attack.
Taeko swallowed thickly, struggling to breath, as the Kiri ninja held her against the wall by her neck, with a cold, merciless smirk on his face. "Looks like our intel was correct. You are the sole survivors of the Terumi clan." He whispered, looking her body up and down. "It sucks that I have to kill you. It's such a waste, but maybe we could have some fun before I do that." He whispered in her ear, before he licked her tear stained cheeks.
"Don't touch her!" Mei yelled, rushing the ninja and throwing punches, only to be kicked hard in the head, knocking her out.
"Shit! Mei-chan!" Jiraiya yelled, ducking under a vicious punch and countering. He quickly turned and ran towards the girls, only to be blocked by two more Kiri ninjas already forming seals with their hands. "Naruto! Take off the weights!" He yelled before dodging two water dragons who tried to swallow him.
"M-Mei." The older brunette choked out, her vision swimming in and out of consciousness.
The ninja smirked before ripping her robe off. "Those are nice." He praised her exposed chest, before swiftly jumping off the choking girl, dodging several kunais that struck the floor he was standing on.
Naruto landed in front of the exposed girl, before taking off his scarf and shirt and giving it to her to cover herself. "Don't worry Taeko-chan. I'll take care of him. I'll definitely make him pay." He said, taking off the weights around his wrist and ankles.
"Don't make me laugh boy. What can you do?" He taunted. "You don't even have a hitai-ite. You're a just a brat playing ninja!" He yelled before attacking, only to reel back as a hard jab stunned him. "What the-" He didn't have time to finish his train of thought as another kick which seemingly came out of nowhere connected with his gut, sending him flying off the ship.
The Kiri shinobi struggled to get up on the surface of the water, panting to catch his breath from the blindingly fast attack which pushed the air out of his lungs. He straightened up and growled at the boy with cold eyes, who landed on the water, calmly walking towards him, his shadow clones rushing towards him with kunais in each hand.
"Don't play with me! I'm a damn Kiri jounin! Don't think you can stop me from killing those bitches!" He yelled making seals with his hands. He dodged the thrown kunais before shouting, "Suiton: Suiryuuben!" A huge blob of water formed above him, with tentacles shooting out and impaling the clones, systematically taking them out.
Naruto's opponent continued to run around on top of the water with the help of chakra, his giant blob of water following him, dodging the blond boy's attacks.
'Shit, he's good, but as long as he's underestimating me, I have a chance against him. Time to use what I've learned for the past year.' Naruto thought as a plan formed in his head.
The laboriously breathing Kiri ninja, cancelled the water jutsu after he took out the last clone. 'That jutsu sure takes a lot of chakra.' He thought. He looked at the blond, shirtless boy who was calculatingly watching him, and spat. 'Who is this fucking kid?' He wondered, before quickly dropping into a defensive stance as he noticed the boy moving.
He watched the boy let a smoke bomb go off, and smirked. 'Amateur.' He thought as he watched the boy rush towards him from the smoke, impressively closing their distance. 'That's obviously a clone' he said, as he noticed the original in the air above him. 'He used this clone to distract me by attacking me head on while he performs a sneak attack from above. Might've worked against a genin, but not me!' He roared in his head, running towards the one who was rushing towards him.
'His taijutsu is pretty impressive, but that's all he has.' The ninja thought as he ducked under a roundhouse kick. He noticed that he was slightly struggling to block the combinations the clone was throwing at him, but he was confident the boy wasn't going to land a hit. He continued to dodge and block until he saw an opening and took out the clone.
He quickly looked up and cursed. "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" He heard the boy yell. Above him, a huge, black mass looked to be getting bigger as hundreds of multiplied ninja stars quickly descended down on him.
Hastily, he made a chain of seals and yelled. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" A huge wave formed over him both covering him from the hundreds of projectiles, and also dealing damage to his young opponent. He watched as the boy landed on top of the water with a splash. Suddenly, the said boy 'POOFED' out of existence, surprising him.
"Shit-" His feet were suddenly grabbed from underwater, making him unable to move. He had time to look down, before he was lifted off the ground by an uppercut.
"U-"
"Zu-"
"Ma-"
"Ki-"
"Naruto Rendan!" Naruto yelled, plowing the surprised ninja face first into the water, creating a massive splash that sent waves slapping against the side of the ship.
Naruto slowly stood up and watched the body of the bleeding ninja, sink below him. He slowly made his way onto the ship, wincing as his weary muscles opposed him with every move. He clambered on board and his eyes widened as soon as he saw the big hole in the middle of the deck.
Before he could continue his observations on the state of the ship, he was tackled to the ground by a sobbing, Taeko, who was wearing his shirt, way too tight for her.
"Thank god you're alright!" She yelled through, happy tears.
Naruto tried to keep his young, curious eyes at her face and smiled. "I told you I'd make him pay." He said. "Ummm... Taeko-chan, it's kind of hard to breath with you on top of me." He explained, wincing as the well endowed, beautiful brunette got off of him. "How's Mei-chan?" He asked.
"She's fine. Jiraiya-sama is taking care of her right now." Pointing at the young brunette girl leaning against the cabin wall, with the white haired sannin running his glowing hands over her, while a small crowd of passengers gathered around them.
Naruto nodded and gingerly stood up with Taeko-chan's help, and made their way through the crowd.
"How is she?" The boy asked his master, as Taeko-chan knelt beside her sister.
"She's fine, just shocked into unconsciousness." He answered, before smiling at him. "I saw your fight. You've impressed me gaki."
"He was underestimating me." Naruto simply stated. "If I was stronger, Taeko-chan and Mei-chan wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Jiraiya didn't contradict him, but just nodded before picking up the unconscious little girl. "Let's get back to our room. You look like you're ready to drop."
Naruto simply nodded and tiredly made his way through the whispering passengers, who parted to let the group pass.
"Is the ship still functional?"
"Who were those ninjas?"
"It looked like Kiri shinobis."
"Why would they attack us?"
"Who knows?"
"Good thing they were here to protect us."
"Yeah, but this is bad. Crazy things have been happening in Kirigakure."
"It's because of that fucking Mizukage."
"Shhh... don't let anyone hear you say that. You just might get killed."
These were some of the things he heard them whispering about, but was too weary to care at the moment.
Jiraiya watched his apprentice pass out as soon as he touched his sleeping bag, before he deposited the sleeping girl in his arms, on her bed. He noticed that Taeko-chan changed into a plain white shirt and short shorts before putting on a bathrobe.
He waited for her to put a blanket over her sister before he cleared his throat, capturing her attention. "Taeko-chan. We need to talk." He said in a tone the brook no arguements.
She sighed, looking at her sister then at Naruto before nodding. "Yes, I know." She whispered, and inclined for him to continue.
"Why did those Kiri ninjas want to kill you?" He asked bluntly.
Taeko looked out at the dusk sky. She was silent for some time, thankful that the sannin didn't immediately press for answers. She finally looked back at the patiently waiting man and smiled sadly. "We are the sole survivors of the Terumi clan. A powerful shinobi clan that was kept secret by Kirigakure." She whispered. "We were feared because of our control over two Kekkai Genkais." She explained. "About five years ago, the Bloodline purges started in Kiri, ordered by the current Mizukage."
The sannin nodded. "Yes I've heard of that. It's what brought upon the current civil war."
"Yes. Well, as one of the most powerful Kekkai Genkai holders, our clan was targeted. Despite the army of shinobis who attacked us, they were beaten, thanks to our clan's powers." She said proudly. "However, we, the main family, didn't know that the branch families made a pact with the Mizukage, hoping that their lives will be spared. They betrayed us and we were overran by the Kiri forces." She said sadly. "The rest, I already told you after dinner at Shukabu village."
"What happened to the branch families?" Jiraiya asked, curious.
"Last I heard, the Mizukage had them all executed." She answered coldly.
The two were silent after her revelations, lost in their thoughts. They idly noticed the ship moving once again as they continued to work through some of the thoughts swirling in their minds. Finally, Jiraiya broke the silence.
"What is your real purpose for going back to Kiri?" He asked, looking her right in the eye, daring her to lie.
"I'm going to join the rebel group fighting against the Mizukage." She answered.
"And Mei?" He asked.
"She's free to join me, but if she refuses, I'm hoping you'd take her with you." She answered, her eyes showing fear.
Jiriaya continued to stare her in the eyes, before suddenly smiling. "Thank you for answering me honestly." He said. "If you lied I would've grabbed Naruto and left the two of you." He explained. He got up, walked up to the window, and looked out to the sea. Idly noticing that the sun was about to break through the horizon, he said. "We'll accompany you to Kiri." He then turned with a gentle smile on his face. "And if Mei wants to come with us, I'll take her with me."
Tears started to fall from Taeko's eyes as she hugged the surprised sannin. "Thank you, Jiraiya-dono, Densetsu no sannin of Konohagakure." She said, before giving him a kiss on the cheek, much to the surprise and delight of the Pervy Sage.
He pulled away from the hug, his cheeks a little colored and smiled. "No problem. Helping beautiful girls such as yourself, is what I was destined to do." He said, making her laugh.
"I should at least pay you now that you know that this isn't just a simple escort job." She insisted.
"No no, Naruto would never allow it." Jiraiya said, waving his hands in front of him.
"Why are YOU willing to do this for free? Please tell me honestly." Taeko asked softly.
He sighed. "I used to know this girl..." He looked away, smiling at the memories he remembered. "Anyways, you two remind me so much of her." He said facing her. "And I wanted to go to Kiri anyways." He added.
Taeko nodded, accepting his reason. "Thank you." She said softly.
He smiled, waving her gratitude dismissively. "You should go get some rest. I'll wake you up when we arrive at the port of Kiri."
Jiraiya watched as the beautiful, teary-eyed brunette nodded, before going over to her bed. She took off her robe, exposing her barely covered butt, before quickly going under the covers.
He mirthfully shook his head as he quickly took out his notebook from inside his vest and proceeded to write, a lecherous smile stuck on his face. After he was done, he replaced the notebook in the inside pocket of his red vest and turned to his sleeping apprentice.
He smiled before he went back to looking out to the sparkling sea. 'Minato, looks like I'm going to have to start teaching him some ninjutsu. He's definitely going to need it soon.' He said as he scratched his head before his smile got even wider 'And... I wonder what cup size Taeko-chan is?' Jiraiya, Mount Miyoboku's Holy sennin and author of the popular Icha Icha series, thought as he tapped his notebook through his vest.
.
Jutsu list
Chakra Kyuuin no jutsu - Chakra Absorption Technique
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shadow Clone Technique
Suiton: Mizurappa - Water Element: Violent Water Wave
Suiton: Suiryuuben - Water Element: Water Dragon Whip
Kage Shuriken no Jutsu - Shadow Shuriken Technique
A/N: PHEW! That was a challenging chapter... What did you guys think? Leave your thoughts in the review section. =)