Legend:

DISCLAIMER: Nope, still don't own Naruto. I have an orange shirt; does that count for anything?

A/N: Ok, I think the results of the poll are obvious. NaruHina it is. Thanks to everyone who voted!

"Speaking"

Thoughts / Speaking to inner demon

Sealed demon speaking / Inner personality

"Jutsu"

Chapter 3: Finding the Toad

The sound of rain on the roof of his hotel woke Naruto earlier than normal. For a moment, he didn't realize where he was; nothing nearby felt familiar. Then the memories of the past forty-eight hours came crashing home. Well, it's been quite the ride…almost died twice, betrayed by two people I considered friends, found a true friend, went AWOL from Konoha, and then trained my ninjutsu, taijutsu and kenjutsu until I almost passed out from exhaustion.

He checked the clock. 5 in the morning?! How lame is that?

He rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep.

About three hours journey from where Naruto was resting, Hinata was awakened by the rain as well. Similarly to her blond crush, the events of the past couple of days ran through her mind. To her, though, more important than the events themselves was the lesson she had taken away from them. Naruto had always been her role model; with his strength, positivity, and determination it was hard not to look up to him. Always, though, he had followed the rules. In her attempts to emulate him, this meant following all of the clan laws, and obeying her father in everything. When she was unable to obey her father's orders, that meant she wasn't able to act like Naruto. But ever since he left, breaking free from the bonds that held him, Hinata felt a strange sense of peace. Maybe it was ok to stand up for herself. Maybe she could be strong, too.

Hinata had felt far more confident ever since Naruto had left; a feeling that helped her deal with the pain of his leaving coupled with the anger at his treatment.

Nearby, a young girl with pink hair was not awakened by the rain. She was already awake, having been unable to sleep. Tsunade had revealed to the village what Sakura had done; as a result, she had obtained near-celebrity status with the majority of the civilians, and some few of the ninja. Her friends, 

however, would have nothing to do with her. The only time this changed was during group training; if they were told to pair up and spar, Sakura became very popular.

She winced. Moving hurt. Not only had she been denied healing after Hinata beat the crap out of her, but then she had been ordered to spar. The remaining members of the Rookie Nine, plus Team Gai, had almost come to blows over who would be allowed to partner with her. Gai had stepped in and settled it with a coin toss tournament, which he insisted was "the most youthful way to proceed!"

Chouji had won. Good old Chouji, one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet, provided you didn't comment on his weight.

Sakura sniffled. Chouji had been merciless. She had attempted to give up a few minutes into the match; everyone had completely ignored her. Only after he had beaten her across the field and back did Kakashi step in to stop the match. He then healed her just enough so that she could walk home without assistance.

Her sensei had walked the first portion of the way home with her.

Flashback Begin

"Sakura… you cannot even begin to understand how disappointed I am in you. On your very first day, what lesson did you learn?"

She thought back. "Teamwork?"

"More specifically."

"Those who disobey the rules are trash…?"

"Continue."

"…but those who betray a comrade are worse than trash."

"I assume you understand my point."

She could only nod dumbly.

"Good. Get some rest, tomorrow we're back at it!"

She could almost taste the sarcasm dripping off of his false enthusiasm.

Flashback End

Sakura lay still, and thought about the events of the previous two days.

Meanwhile, a blonde, young-appearing Hokage was sound asleep with her head on her desk. After the amount of sake she had consumed the previous night, it was a wonder her liver hadn't failed.

She too, though, was reflecting on the events of the recent past, albeit in dreams. The boy she considered her little brother was gone; driven off by intolerant ninja, ignorant civilians, and one girl who should have known better. And to think, she had contemplated taking the brat on as an apprentice.

Moisture beaded at the corners of her eyes. She didn't know where Naruto was, if he was safe, warm, well-fed… he could be dead already. With the only reliable hunter-nin absent from the village because she sent them after the Uchiha renegade, there was no one she felt comfortable sending after the boy; too many of her ninja would see a mission to find Naruto as a mission to eliminate the fox demon.

She prayed to all the gods she could think of that the curse of the necklace hadn't struck again.

Naruto woke up later that morning. He was pleased to see that the rain had stopped, and the sun was beginning to peek out from behind the clouds.

He rolled over, and then groaned. He was still sore from yesterday's training, having gone all out.

Flashback Begin

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Five hundred Naruto clones appeared.

"Alright! You hundred on the far left; Rasengan practice. It isn't nearly versatile enough yet. I want to be able to make one in each hand, without assistance. For now, pair off and start working. Go work over there in the forest."

The specified clones nodded and ran off.

"Next! You hundred on the far right are extra lucky! Meditation time! Work on the opposite side as the Rasengan clones; I have a feeling they're gonna be noisy."

This batch of clones groaned, and walked off instead of running. They never enjoyed meditation.

"Next hundred, on the left; Fuuinjutsu for you guys. Take these scrolls and practice drawing the patterns in the dirt. Memorize all of them; if I can figure these out then I can make my own storage scrolls instead of having to buy them. Head off near where the meditation squad is, but don't bother them."

This order was greeted with as much enthusiasm as the last one. As they sauntered off, he turned to the hundred on the right.

"You guys are a bit luckier. I hated watching Sasuke-teme tossing around those Katon jutsus like he was hot stuff…so I want to be able to counter. I found these two scrolls on Suiton jutsus four days ago…most of them seem pretty basic, so start with those. It looks like some of them are considerably more interesting though…how does 'Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu' sound? Oh, or this one, the 'Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu'?"

There were appreciative murmurs from the clones; Water Dragons and Water Explosions sounded like fun.

"There's a river about forty minutes that way" – he pointed in the direction of Konoha – "I remember it from when we arrived. So go practice there."

"Next…on the left. Follow the last batch, then head slightly upstream. I want you to spar while water-walking…that should bring my control up fast, and as a bonus I can get in some Taijutsu training.

You last batch are with me. Kenjutsu. The fifty closest to me work on Hummingbird, and the fifty furthest work on Snapper. No sparring, just go through the katas. As for me, I'm going to work with the Hummingbird group. The merchant was right; I gotta build up muscle mass if I want to use kenjutsu in combat."

And with that, Naruto launched himself into his training, stopping only once in order to eat. He and his clones worked well past sunset.

Flashback End

Naruto climbed out of bed, wincing a little. He had pulled a couple of muscles yesterday.

Oi fox, are you gonna heal me or what?

Sure thing kit.

…Just like that? No bargaining, no cursing me and my insignificant human frame?

No response, other than the distinctive red chakra appearing around him. After a moment the pain was gone.

Great, thanks fox.

Any time.

All right, who are you and what have you done with Kyuubi? The bastard fox isn't compliant, or nice, or anything.

Maybe I didn't want to hear you complain?

Hey!

Naruto dropped the subject for the moment, but he certainly wasn't finished. He wanted an explanation for the fox's change of heart. He had learned an important lesson during his time as a Jinchuuriki; never trust a demon. If one gives you a gift, look for the poisoned needle. He knew that Kyuubi was up to something…but he didn't know what.

He wanted to grab a bite to eat – there was a little stand a few blocks away, and their ramen was pretty good (not Ichiraku calibre unfortunately) – and then head back to training. The clones had made modest progress, especially the ones he sent to work on Suiton jutsus. They hadn't mastered any, but had half-

completed two techniques, an E-rank that could create miniature whirlpools (useless for combat, but great for an intro to Suiton style) and a D-rank that was similar to Kawarimi, but was able to use mere water as a replacement instead of a solid. He had made very little progress with the Rasengan… it was slightly easier for him to create one of the swirling balls, but he still needed a clone to help him. Making two simultaneously was beyond him; the control required was far greater his level.

Actually, it's beyond most people's level…that much chakra being used for two separate form manipulation jutsus? I can't think of many people who would even attempt that.

Naruto had a quick shower and then got dressed. Today he was wearing longer black pants and a fishnet shirt under a grey jacket, with the picture completed by his weapons pouch on his right thigh, a pouch for scrolls on his left thigh, and his blades secured on his back, with both hilts protruding over his right shoulder (1). He gave himself a quick glance in the mirror and then headed out onto the street.

Almost immediately there was a shrill scream. Naruto's instincts took over and he bolted towards the source of the noise. The screaming grew louder, and other voices joined in.

Suddenly Naruto stopped, and frowned. He was standing in front of a hot spring, and a certain chakra signature inside felt very familiar.

Sure enough, after standing there for a few moments, an older man with long white hair came flying out of the hot spring with blood dripping from his nose and a huge grin on his face. Even as he ran, he was writing in a little notebook. No more than three seconds afterwards, eleven women of various ages came running after him, clad only in towels. The screams of "Die, pervert!" continued on for a moment, before the women realized they were nearly naked in front of the gathering crowd. With yet more shrill screams, all of them darted back into the safety of the bathhouse.

While hardly surprised to find the lecherous old man peeping on the innocent again, Naruto's gaze followed Jiraiya as the Toad Sage raced away. Some distance down the street, the perverted hermit ducked into the very ramen stand Naruto had been intending to visit.

An idea began to form in the blonde's mind. He headed after his former sensei.

The toad master took a moment to catch his breath. He had dashed into the first building that looked like it might hide him for a few minutes, and it turned out to be a ramen stand. Well…I am a little hungry. After waving the server over, Jiraiya ordered a bowl of miso ramen. After a short wait, it was placed in front of him. Before he could pick up his chopsticks, though, a melodious female voice spoke from behind him.

"Excuse me, but are you the great Jiraiya-sama?"

The old hermit's ego swelled. Not only were men taking note of his greatness, but women as well! He turned to look at the speaker – and was blown away. The young woman was drop-dead gorgeous; lightly 

tanned skin, blonde ponytail, and a grey kimono that left very little to the imagination. He felt his nose about to explode, and quickly covered it with a napkin.

"Hello to you, Oh Beautiful Young Lady. You have guessed rightly, for I am indeed the great Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin. Wait…I know why you have come. You wish to help the great Jiraiya with his research, do you not?"

The young woman giggled. "How did you know?"

He puffed his chest out. "As the great Jiraiya-sama, I know many things that others so not."

She giggled again.

"Follow me, fair one, for my research is of the utmost importance!"

She shook her head, though. "Could you come with me, Jiraiya-sama? I know just the place for your research to be conducted."

The old lecher's head was spinning. Usually by this point, the woman he was chatting up would have slapped him silly and stalked off. Instead, this one even offered her own place for his research. He giggled slightly, then tried to hide it. "But of course, my dear, lead the way, for today it is your good fortune to be able to assist the great Jiraiya!"

She walked out of the ramen stand, turned back, and crooked a finger. The sannin followed blindly, not even noticing that his ramen had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a suspiciously empty bowl behind.

Jiraiya had been following the blonde for about twenty minutes. "How close are we, my dear?"

She giggled again. "Almost there, Jiraiya-sama."

She walked past a tree, and he momentarily lost sight of her. When he rounded the tree, she was still nowhere to be seen, though.

Before he could begin to search for her, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Classic Ero-sennin. Thinking with the wrong head again, huh?"

Jiraiya spun around to find his former pupil. Naruto stood behind him with a smirk on his face. Now that he thought about it, the woman did look a lot like Naruto's Orioke no jutsu; altered hairstyle, lack of whiskers and the presence of actual clothes were the only differences he could find.

Damned brat…getting my hopes up. At least his fashion sense has improved; my eyes watered every time I saw that jumpsuit. So much orange!

"What the hell do you want, brat?"

"Simple, ero-sennin. I want you to train me."

A large number of questions, as well as some memories, flashed through the white-haired man's mind. He voiced the most obvious of them.

"And just why would I want to train you in the first place?"

Naruto smiled. Jiraiya didn't like the smile. The brat's old smiles were filled with confidence and happiness; this one made him look crafty.

"Simple, really. If you agree, then you have to train me until I'm stronger than the Hebi-teme."

Jiraiya cut him off. "That's hardly an incentive. I think I'll leave now." He turned, only to hear the blonde speak again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You don't know what will happen if you refuse."

The hermit turned back with a disgruntled expression on his face. "Spit it out, brat. I have things to do today."

"If you refuse to train me, two things will happen. First, I will give this key to those women at the hot spring, and tell them exactly whose room it is."

Jiraiya looked at the key. It was quite plain and ordinary, but it seemed familiar somehow. Where had he seen that before…wait. His hands jumped to his pockets. With a rising panic, he felt around in his various pockets and pouches, only to discover a sad truth. Both of the keys to his hotel room were gone. Crap.

"How did you get that?!"

"Simple, really. I pick pocketed you while you were staring at my transformed Kage Bunshin. You were quite oblivious; I ate your ramen too. The miso was much better than the beef I had last night."

Shit. Time to bluff. "I'm not worried about it; I still have another key. I can run back, grab my things, and leave before you can make the handoff."

Naruto smirked again. "Oh, do you mean the key that's currently in the hands of my other clone, the one busy collecting all of your perverted little notes?"

Jiraiya's mouth moved, but no sound came out. He eventually managed a bit of a squeak. "T-t-that's prime research, brat! It took me five years to get all of those notes!"

"Well, they're in the process of being hidden very carefully. So if you ever want them back, I hope you'll reconsider your answer."

Minato, wherever you are, I just know you're laughing at me. This kid is far more manipulative than you and Kushina were combined.

"Fine, brat. We'll play by your rules for now."

"Glad to have you onboard, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. The kid had ever once called him that before. Something was definitely up.

"Naruto…why do you need me to train you, anyway? Don't you have Kakashi for that?"

The blonde looked at the ground. "Not anymore."

Jiraiya began to worry. "Why not? What happened to Kakashi?"

Naruto gave a short laugh. It was completely absent of humour. "Kakashi-sensei is fine, Jiraiya-sensei. I left the village."

The hermit's jaw dropped. Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's number one knucklehead ninja, had gone missing-nin?! "What?!"

"It's not like I had a choice. They tried to kill me again."

Oh Kami, how did I miss this? Will you ever forgive me, Minato? "Who is 'they'?"

"The idiots who figure that I'm Kyuubi."

Great. So these are Konoha's true colours. The Yondaime trusted all of you to treat this boy with respect for the sacrifice he made, and this is how you repay him?

"Naruto…don't worry about the notes. I'll train you, for as long as you need until you can prove them wrong."

The blonde looked up, grateful that his new sensei had figured out his reason for the training trip. "Thank you…Jiraiya-sensei."

Not long after that, in Konoha two kunoichi were talking. One was wearing a tan trench coat over a fishnet shirt, while the other was dressed in typical Hyuuga Main House attire.

"Well, when you put it that way…sure. Me and Kurenai will do everything we can to help you get stronger."

Hinata gave a slight smile. "Thank you…Anko-sensei."

Much later that night, in an underground fortress in Ta no Kuni, called by some Oto no Kuni, a youth with black hair and crimson eyes sat on a stone slab. A deathly pale man and his white-haired assistant were talking to him, but he ignored them for the most part, only picking up a few words here and there. "…power…Sharingan…fools…Konoha will…last Uchiha…"

"Sasuke-kun?"

Eventually he realized something had been said that required an answer. "Thank you, Orochimaru-sensei."

(1) Not sure if anyone's actually tried drawing a sword that is sheathed on their back…but it's rather awkward unless your reach is longer than the blade length. However, it looks cool, so I'm using it anyway. Besides, this is Narutoverse, where little things like the Space-Time Continuum and the Laws of Physics are bent and/or broken on a regular basis. Check out the "46 Laws of Anime" on my profile for a bit of a laugh.

Announcement: NEW VOTE! When I fully reintroduce Sasuke, I plan on doing one of three things with him:

a) Make him an evil, twisted emo son-of-a-bitch who plans to kill Naruto for the Mangekyou Sharingan, after Orochimaru unsuccessfully possessed him (similar to the canon; not my favourite idea, but it's a possibility – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight)

b) Make him in love with Sakura (there will be NO SasuSaku pairing…it will be Sasuke longing for something he can't have – can't give reasons, but it involves Sasuke bashing and Sakura bashing; this is probably my favourite idea – will involve a Naruto vs. Sasuke fight)

c) Make him gay, and attracted to Naruto. This would never actually lead anywhere; it would be purely for humour purposes as I don't write yaoi. If you do, that's fine, but I don't. If I take this path, Sasuke will not fight Naruto; or anyone else for that matter (if this is the path taken, Sasuke will not be beaten up or anything, and will be a minor character used for comic relief)

To vote, either send me a review or else use the poll on my profile.

A/N: Found enough good websites with either a English/Japanese translator or a sizable list of jutsus to allow me to do all of my techniques in Japanese.

Next time: Yes, I'm pulling out the infamous time skip. The characters are going to be catapulted seven years into the future. While I'm not normally a fan of time skips, the idea of trying to make seven solid years of training interesting doesn't appeal to me. I could probably put together a chapter or two purely based on the events of the training arc, but it would be pretty sketchy; this happened in year one, this in year two, etc...if there's information I want you guys to know from the training arc, I'll put it in via flashback.

A/N: About Hinata's teachers: I didn't use Tsunade because I don't want Hinata as a super-strong medic-nin. That's Sakura's role from canon, and I refuse to have my Hinata be anything like her. So, I'm giving her Anko (who is decent with seals, has her own summoning contract, and is great with ninjutsu, if not at Kakashi's level) and Kurenai, the genjutsu mistress. Sakura will end up training with Tsunade, but don't hate me for giving her a good teacher, I have BIG plans for this :)

I doubt I'll be able to update before exams, but who knows? Keep the reviews coming! I love hearing about what you liked, what you didn't like, any thoughts, suggestions or anything else you want to tell me. So no threats for if you don't review this time, just a humble request from an author who hopes people like his work.

Ja ne!