Kakashi was currently sitting down next to Kioshi who was having a staring contest with Naruto. Kioshi was in the upper world because Kakashi couldn't leave Naruto unprotected and although they couldn't train due to the enormity of their jutsus, they made sure to see each other at least once a week. The second Kioshi appeared Naruto started badgering her with questions, which lead to some yelling, which led to this pointless staring contest.
Ignoring both of them, Kakashi opted to continue his work on seals taking advantage of the silence. Although Kakashi knew he'd never use seals as his main form of fighting like his sensei, he was now knowledgeable enough to use seals of all kinds ranging from storage seals, suppression seals, containment seals and protective seals.
A strong gust of wind suddenly blew and the book in Kakashi's hand closed shut, "Why would you do that?" he muttered in annoyance trying to find the page he was on.
"I win," Kioshi smirked at Naruto who had closed his eyes when the wind hit him full blast in the face.
"That's not fair, you cheated!" Naruto yelled accusingly.
"Isn't it a part of a ninja's life style to cheat?" she countered. Considering that Naruto's first test in the chunin exams was to cheat, he couldn't find a viable comeback and just grumbled. "As much as I enjoy heckling your student, Kakashi, I need to be getting back."
"Sure, take care," Kakashi replied and Kioshi disappeared.
"I'll win next time," Naruto scowled.
"Yes because staring contests are such a great way to determine one's skill," Kakashi said sarcastically "the winner must feel quite proud."
"Like you're one to talk," Naruto exclaimed "You have those silly contests with Gai sensei all the time!"
"I sort of have no choice in the matter," Kakashi shrugged "Besides, I never cared for winning or losing them, I just go with it."
"Then why don't you just let him win?" Naruto accused.
"Tried that but he caught on and became even more obsessed," Kakashi shuddered dramatically "So it's easier to just get them over with, although some of them are quite fun."
"I kind of feel sorry for you," Naruto chuckled.
"As you should," Kakashi agreed "But I would trust Gai with anything."
"I understand," Naruto nodded "It's like Shino, Kiba and Neji, they annoy me a lot sometimes but I still trust them to come through for me in a pinch."
"I can understand Neji and Kiba, but Shino?" Kakashi questioned.
"It's the way he talks," Naruto verified "and his sulking whenever I do something he doesn't like."
"Like forgetting who he is?" Kakashi laughed "Kurenai told me."
"It's not my fault!" Naruto yelled.
"Sure it's not," Kakashi said as he turned back to his book "Now why don't you go do something productive and give me some peace?"
"I'll work on adding wind to the Rasengan again," Naruto replied.
"Not without Yamato here you're not," Kakashi reminded him.
"I do it with Ero Sennin all the time, just less clones," Naruto informed him.
"Well Jiraya isn't here as well so no," Kakashi stood by his decision.
"You're here," Naruto noted "Can't you stop the Kyuubi?"
"Nope," Kakashi answered "I don't understand the seal Minato sensei used on you so I won't risk it."
"Fine, I'll work on some frog collaboration jutsus," Naruto accepted defeat.
"That sounds fine, just don't go too far," Kakashi nodded already getting back to his book.
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Akio stopped at the base of a long pine tree and gazed up towards the peak of the mountain he was climbing. Kurami Mountain, the tallest mountain in the O'ozu Island stood in all its glory, the peak surrounded by clouds of white. It was a long trek to the top and the area was dangerous that none dared to venture higher than the 1000 meters. After the 1000 meter mark, the road became unstable, the rocks around the terrain would roll down on the unsuspecting at any time and the wind became so fierce that it wasn't uncommon for people to blow off from the mountain and plummet to their deaths.
Akio, however, was a ninja and thus the trek was not strenuous at all. Nonetheless, since the O'ozu Island didn't have ninja, Akio found himself walking up in complete silence without a single human to keep him company.
This is where the claw, which he had found stuck to the door back at the burned village, led him to. According to the villagers, the claw Akio had found belonged to large ferocious eagle that rarely descend from Kurami Mountain and according to them, it was a great sign of luck to have found it.
Akio agreed that the claw brought him luck, but not in the form of a charm as the villagers claimed, rather, it is probably the lead to the 'Sea of Death'. Akio couldn't wait to destroy the man that had caused so much misery and dread for the Island. He couldn't believe his sources hadn't picked up on the scam before, but after dwelling on it he realized that his focus was the five elemental nations and surrounding countries and thus he neglected his duty towards the rest of the world. Akio was determined to set things right and finally bring peace back to the island once more.
Finally close to the peak, Akio masked his chakra and ran upwards, hoping that all this would end here. The ground beneath him was evening out so Akio dashed behind a large rock and took a look at his surroundings. True to the villagers' words, five large eagles were lounging around the top while one stood on a branch gazing down at the mountain. The tree that one eagle was standing on was one of the few at the peak, the rest was gravel and dry earth.
A small hut was what drew Akio's attention, it was haphazardly made out of wood and smoke was coming out of a makeshift chimney of rubble. Akio reached out in an attempt to sense the chakra of the dweller and could make out a sinister chakra emitting from whoever was inside. Akio smirked in satisfaction and drew closer to the hut without alerting the eagles.
Akio took out a bomb strapped kunai and threw it at the opposite side from the eagles, making them to flee without causing them any damage. He drew a satisfied smirk when he heard the man inside swear loudly in shock and bolt outside, looking for the intruder.
The man was tall, about 6.3 feet, and he had a dark completion. He was definitely on the brawny side if the muscles protruding all around his body where any indicator. His long unkempt black hair ran down to his back in sharp spikes. He was wearing no top and long brown pants and didn't seem affected at all by the cold.
His dark grey eyes darted left and right and his eyes soon fell on the remains of the kunai Akio had used. Akio simply watched the man trying to find him, enjoying the sweat that was now falling down his face. The man knew that since he couldn't locate Akio, whoever his enemy was is strong. Akio felt that the man deserved to feel the worry and anxiety he caused for once.
Feeling that he had dragged this long enough, Akio finally showed himself, "Are you the Sea of Death?" he asked, his eyes boring into the man's own grey eyes.
"Who wants to know?" the man asked with a smirk.
"I do," Akio answered "So, are you him?"
"What of it?" the man smirked.
"I'm asking the questions, it's a simple yes or no answer, are you the Sea of Death?" Akio repeated coldly.
"No," the man replied smiling wickedly "I am a divine being that is reminding those poor people to stay on the right path."
Akio glared at the man, "You just invited your death," Akio stated voice laced with venom.
"I wouldn't be so sure," the man replied "You see, I have big friends, if you kill me; they'll kill everyone you care about. But seeing that I am a merciful deity I am willing to let this slide and allow you to leave unscathed. But I warn you, I may not be good at your fancy stealth work, yet, I won't lose in a battle."
"You signed your own death sentence when you preyed on the villagers," Akio stated "I'll be the one to pay you back."
"You aren't the first person to say those words, and you won't be the last!" the man yelled letting out a large burst of chakra at once. "Come at me at any time! I'll make you suffer!"
Akio narrowed his eyes and approached him slowly, "What is your given name?"
"Huh?" the man faltered.
"I would like to know the name of the person I'm about to kill," Akio told him.
"I can't wait to rip you to shreds," the man growled and charged at Akio looking to kill.
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"Jiraya, I have big news," a small ordinary looking told Jiraya.
"Gira, what's Orochimaru up to?" Jiraya asked immediately. Gira was one of Jiraya's summons that was spying for Jiraya in the Sound Village. He played a major role in helping Jiraya keep track of Orochimaru's movements.
"Orochimaru…." Gira began "I don't know how to say this, but… he's dead."
Jiraya froze in shock; it couldn't be, "How?"
"From what I heard, Uchiha Sasuke killed him," Gira replied.
"How sure are you?" Jiraya asked.
"A hundred percent, I heard the news a few days ago but I didn't want to tell you until I was absolutely sure," Gira said gravely.
"Thank you, Gira, I'm sorry for asking so much of you over the years," Jiraya said gratefully.
"I'll always be around if you need anything," Gira replied "I'll see you later, take care."
"Orochimaru is dead," Jiraya thought "For years I thought those words would bring me comfort, relief that I won't have to keep chasing after him. But now, all I feel is a dull ache. I'm not worried that Sasuke killed him; Orochimaru didn't have his ninjutsu, so Sasuke is still nowhere near his level. On the other hand, this means that Sasuke is now free to hunt Kakashi as he wishes. I have no luck with Zetsu so I should return, Zetsu can wait." Jiraya thought.
Mind made up, Jiraya abandoned his search for Zetsu and rushed back to the pools.
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Tsunade was currently in her private studies cursing at another failed experiment. Shizune was sitting close by with a large book in hand, yet at Tsunade's words, she let the book fall, her eyes full of tears.
"You'll find an answer soon, Tsunade sama," Shizune said
"It's over, Shizune," Tsunade said quietly and she made to exit the lab.
"Tsunade same, you shouldn't give up!" Shizune yelled after her.
"Don't be blinded because this is personal," Tsunade replied sternly "Being objective is one of the first things I taught you as a medic."
"Tsunade sama…" Shizune trailed off quietly with tears in her eyes as she watched her mentor walk away "I'm sorry but I can't help it, I don't want you to die."
But her plea did not reach the Fifth Hokage's ears, that was because Tsunade had already started another mission, she needed to find a new Hokage before her time was up.
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"Ero Sennin! What are you doing here?!" Naruto asked when he saw his master approach them.
"How's it going Naruto," Jiraya smiled "I see you are working on your frog collaboration jutsu!"
"Ahh, we have the timing down now!" Naruto replied enthusiastically, "Are you here for a while, I want to train on adding wind to my Rasengan! Kakashi sensei says I can't do it without you or Yamato taichou here."
"He's right," Jiraya nodded "We'll do that tomorrow then."
"Really?!" Naruto exclaimed happily "Alright!"
"By the way," Jiraya asked "Where is Kakashi?"
"He's working on sealing jutsu over there," Naruto replied as he extended his hand in the direction Kakashi was at.
Jiraya walked over and Kakashi looked up from the scroll when Jiraya was close enough and shot him a questioning look.
"I need to tell you two something," Jiraya stated looking down at Kakashi who went back to the scroll.
"If you want to talk to Kakashi he's inside," he said.
"Kage Bunshin?" Jiraya questioned and the clone nodded.
"I didn't even notice!" Naruto exclaimed studying the clone closely. Jiraya left the clone and continued towards Kakashi and Akio's room, opened the door and found Kakashi meditating deeply on the bed.
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"So are you just going to sit here again?" the White Wolf asked. He was staring at Kakashi who was lying comfortably against one of the tree branches around the area.
"Yes," Kakashi shrugged staring back the massive wolf unflinchingly.
"Your point being…?" the White Wolf asked curiously. Kakashi had been coming here every day and would just sit there doing nothing. It drove the wolf mad trying to figure out what Kakashi was up to. He had never spoken to Kakashi when he had come, but now, his curiosity won over his patience.
"I distinctly remember you saying something along the lines that you knew better than I knew myself," Kakashi replied smirking "You don't you tell me."
The White Wolf growled in annoyance and decided to ignore Kakashi once more. He crossed his paws in front of him and relaxed his head on them. Kakashi sighed and looked at the mature dark forest in front of him. Since Kakashi couldn't work on controlling the White Wolf's chakra, he decided to at least come here for an hour every day. He didn't know what he was looking for but it was the only thing he could do. Now that he had irritated the Wolf, Kakashi decided to ask it some questions. Hopefully, the Wolf would be irritated and let out information by mistake.
"What's your name?" Kakashi asked looking back at the White Wolf. At the question, the Wolf snapped his eyes towards Kakashi and narrowed them dangerously. "Don't be like that," Kakashi said calmly "It's just that I am tired of calling you Wolf. Besides, you know my name so it's only fair."
"You haven't earned the right to know," the White Wolf snorted.
"The right?" Kakashi was puzzled "What must I do to gain that right?"
"It doesn't really matter because I'm going to take over you in the end," the White Wolf shrugged.
"Well in that case, it's only common courtesy to tell the person you are about to kill your name," Kakashi commented undeterred.
"Fine then," the Wolf leered "I'll tell you right before I destroy you. You won't have to wait long."
"You're really unfriendly," Kakashi sighed dramatically.
"I wonder why?" the Wolf replied sarcastically "Maybe it's because I've been sealed for centuries. No, that can't be right, must be the splinter stuck under my paw."
"It's probably the later," Kakashi nodded seriously "Splinters can be a down-right pain."
The Wolf smirked in a twisted sort of way, "It won't work."
"What won't?" Kakashi asked.
"If you're trying to make me like you so I won't destroy you, it won't work," the Wolf replied.
"That's not my goal," Kakashi stated. The wolf was about to reply but before it could, Kakashi was thrust back into the real word. Kakashi immediately jumped into a defensive stance but when he saw it was Jiraya, he relaxed. "Jiraya sama? What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked putting his hands in his pockets and glancing at Naruto.
"I need to tell you something," Jiraya said gravely.
"One second," Kakashi nodded and closed his eyes. Although he was no longer at the seal, he could still communicate with the White Wolf if he chose to. "What were you saying?"
"Doesn't matter," came the Wolf's reply after a moment of hesitation "Don't bother me so soon after I got rid you!"
Kakashi sighed but pushed the Wolf to the back of his mind for now and gave Jiraya his full attention. "So, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Kakashi asked.
"Orochimaru is dead," Jiraya stated.
Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise where as Naruto yelled, "Seriously?"
"My frog reported it the news with a hundred percent validity," Jiraya nodded.
"But how?" Kakashi asked dumbfounded.
"Sasuke killed him," Jiraya replied and Kakashi's eyes grew even wider at that piece of news. Naruto froze at the news not knowing what to make of it "He was only able to kill him because Orochimaru didn't have access to his hands or ninjutsu," Jiraya continued "It doesn't matter anyway, fact is Orochimaru is dead, and now that Itachi is dead, Sasuke is sure to target you."
"It would've come to this whether I killed Itachi or not," Kakashi shrugged "It's my duty to bring him back to Konoha."
"And mine!" Naruto added loudly "I'll definitely bring Sasuke back!"
"And if you can't?" Jiraya asked.
"I will," Kakashi responded resolutely. Naruto nodded in agreement.
"Sasuke is after your blood," Jiraya stated "Tell me again how you intend to return a revenge psychopath when you are the target?"
"You just worry about Akatsuki," Kakashi replied "Leave Sasuke to us."
"Kakashi, I recall the Third saying the exact same thing and look where that lead to," Jiraya said solemnly "I won't stand by and see the same mistake happen again."
"He's my responsibility," Kakashi was adamant staring hard at Jiraya, his eyes determined.
"You won't be able to bring him back," Jiraya replied seriously "He's already gone, the only to end this matter once and for all is to kill him!"
"You can't be serious, Ero Sennin!" Naruto yelled "You don't have to kill Sasuke!"
"If it needs to come to that then I will," Kakashi replied hands clenched in a fist "But I won't go off and butcher him without trying to make up for my mistakes first."
"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto shouted not believing what his sensei was saying "You can't kill Sasuke, I promised Sakura chan, he's my friend, do you hear what you are saying!"
"Naruto, if he becomes a threat to Konoha, then we must. It's not your fault," Jiraya said consolingly "He left because it meant more power, people like that only care about themselves. It's hopeless. I told you before, only a fool will keep chasing after a person like that."
"And I told you I would rather be a fool all my life than give up on Sasuke!" Naruto was determined "I'll fix it, just leave it to me!"
"I knew he was lost and I tried to fix it but I couldn't," Kakashi replied before Jiraya could say anything else "But that doesn't mean it was hopeless, it means I failed."
"So are you saying it's the Third's fault as well for how Orochimaru turned out?" Jiraya argued.
"Yes I do," Kakashi replied "Not entirely of course, but if we paid more attention, done more, then maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way."
"That's not true and you know it!" Jiraya shot back.
"Isn't it?" Kakashi questioned "I know it's true. After my father died I blamed the villagers. My father gave up everything for them, his time, his skills, his life and his family. He was barely home, and at times I wouldn't see him for months. But then he made one mistake, one. That was all it took for the villagers to turn their backs on him and forget everything he has done for them. They simply cast him away. It drove him to the brink of despair. When I found him, lying on the floor with his saber in his gut, I didn't feel as much sadness as I did anger, anger towards my father who let them do this to him and anger at the villagers for causing it to reach such a point. I thought about running away and getting revenge on Konoha all the time. I hated Konoha. But then, Minato sensei became my teacher, and he cared about me. He didn't see me as my father, or a disgrace nor a dangerous weapon. He saw me for me and that's why at that moment, I was able to endure and give Konoha another chance. Minato sensei saved me, but I couldn't save Sasuke. That's how I know it's my fault, that's why I am the one that needs to set it right."
Jiraya didn't know how to reply. He knew that Kakashi was an angry child but he never knew the extent of it. But now, after hearing that Kakashi could've ended up like Orochimaru, shocked him.
"Me too," Naruto said sadly "there was a time when I hated the villagers. But then I met Iruka sensei and you and Kakashi sensei and Sakura chan and Sasuke. And I wasn't alone anymore. I could've easily been Sasuke; our roles could've been reversed. If that happened, would you kill me?"
"Do as you wish," Jiraya sighed knowing there was no way to convince them. He hoped, however, that when they realized that it was hopeless, they wouldn't feel helpless the way he was feeling now. Even after all these years of Orochimaru going rouge, Jiraya still felt sadness at the thought that he once teammate was dead. Jiraya didn't know how things will turn out, but he hoped that it would end differently, for Naruto's sake.
The electricity went out due to a snow blizzard so I finished up the chapter on paper before copying it here. It was a lot of fun. It was nice to write on a piece of paper, makes writing the story more personal if the makes sense :P Anyway I wanted to thank everybody for being patient! Also, if you noticed this chapter has a lot of transitions. I did that because things are reaching the climax and I wanted the atmosphere to feel a bit chaotic in order to project the mood of the story. Did you think it was good or did it just feel rushed? I'd like to know so I can do better in the future. Next time, Akio VS the Sea of Death! I'm looking forward to writing that since last time he was Jiraya so his full power didn't show =D
Wishing you the Best Always! And Have a Merry Christmas everyone =D