Chapter 22: Bunny on Board
Naruto was expecting a speedy departure especially since he had gone on a rampage while he was under the influence of the seal and his darkness. He figured the toads would want nothing to do with him, but as it seems, they were very forgiving. He had even gotten a new sage cloak that was identical to his previous one since his was apparently missing. Gamabunta had personally threatened/promised some pain in the near future, and Gamaken blamed his own "gracelessness." The Great Toad Sage even personally called for Naruto for a special reason.
Naruto stood before the large, elder toad impatiently. He didn't try to conceal his displeasure at not being able to leave like he had wanted.
"I already apologized about the rampage, so what the hell else do you want with me?" Naruto questioned, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the sage toad before him. "If you got a complaint, take it up with me later when I don't have better things to do."
"Show some respect, brat." Jiraiya scolded with a frown. Naruto scoffed in response, but remained quiet nonetheless, slightly perturbed by the odd gaze the toad sage was currently fixing him with.
"Who are you, again?" The Great Toad Sage questioned in genuine confusion, eyes closed and smile unwavering.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "I'm outta here." He muttered as he turned on his heels and started walking away. Jiraiya grabbed his arm, pulled him back, and quietly informed him of the Great Toad Sage's forgetfulness.
"Ah, yes. You are Naruto Uzumaki, are you not?" The toad asked for confirmation. Naruto nodded and the sage continued, "I have seen your future. It is one of a powerful, strong-willed fox with a strange sense of honor."
Naruto listened halfheartedly to the prediction. 'Of course I'm a fucking fox in the old toad's prediction.'
"The fox's nature is very ambiguous and he struggles to find his purpose." The toad said with his eyes closed and his perpetual smile in place, "The fox possesses the power to destroy and the power to protect."
"Wanna stop wasting my time and tell me something I don't already know?" Naruto quickly added. The Great Toad Sage seemed to find amusement in Naruto's impatience.
"The fox is reluctant to place his faith in anyone, and yet, he has people who truly care about him...I see a rhinoceros beetle...and a bunny." The Great Toad Sage informed.
Naruto stared at the large toad owlishly. "What in the literal fuck?" He muttered under his breath. 'Bunny...? Is that supposed to be Kazumi?' Naruto considered the idea as he tried to make sense of the prediction. The rhinoceros beetle, though, Naruto had no clue about. He didn't even know what a rhinoceros beetle was.
"In many upcoming battles against a snake and its followers and red clouds, they will be the fox's most trusted allies...and his only chance for survival." The Great Toad Sage said apprehensively. Naruto's eyes narrowed in response, but he remained quiet as the the elder toad continued. "An untimely death is inevitable, nevertheless."
"Thought you said my allies are my only chance, yet you also say death is unavoidable." Naruto recounted, "So, which one is it? Am I a dead man walking, or do I have a fighting chance?" He questioned. His curious expression morphed into a scowl when it seemed the Great Toad Sage had no intention of answering.
"I see a very large-scale battle in a place where rain is nearly always immanent. The fox will become this world's reluctant savior and combat a man with powerful eyes." The Great Toad Sage frowned before continuing. "The outcome is not very favorable."
Naruto's scowl deepened at that statement. "As much as I love hearing about my shitty luck, I've got better things to do." He said as he made his way for the door. Naruto hated to admit it, but the prediction was starting to get to him. The direction of the prediction seemed to leading to his unfortunate, untimely demise in a rainy battle. Naruto hated rain.
'How fucking wonderful.' He thought sarcastically as he immediately sought out Fukasaku.
Naruto pushed the prediction to the back of his mind, and the red seal that was still very much apparent on his throat took its place. The presence of the seal told the tale. Naruto's victory was a only temporary solution. With no knowledge of what would set the seal off or how to remove the damned thing, Naruto was walking on theoretical eggshells.
Naruto was snapped out of his musings by the sound of footsteps behind him. He stopped walking and glanced over his shoulder.
"Jiraiya, do you have any idea how to get this thing off me?" Naruto questioned, pointing to the seal on his throat for clarification.
Jiraiya shook his head. "The best I could do for you is to seal it." He responded.
"Sealing a seal? Pardon me if that sounds stupid as hell." Naruto scoffed. Then, he sighed as he rubbed the seal on his throat as if scratching an itch. "If it'll help, I might as well."
Danzo was a ridiculously difficult person to find when needed. It was like finding a shadow in the dark, Homura mused. Telling that particular comparison to Danzo would probably make his day, considering his prefered methods. That aside, Homura and Koharu relearned a valuable lesson that day: You don't find Danzo. Danzo finds you.
That sentiment was reinforced when he actually appeared before them in a particularly barren section of Konoha. They had been searching areas like that, hoping to find one of his Root hideouts. Root's existence was fairly well-known to higher-ups in Konoha, whereas their hideouts were not.
"Koharu, Homura." Danzo greeted politely with a nod to each of them. "You two have been searching for me for a good reason, I presume?"
Koharu nodded in response. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the Kyuubi jinchuuriki's sudden departure. His immediate capture and return is what we've sought you out for you."
Danzo considered the information as well the jinchuuriki in question. Koharu didn't tell him anything he wasn't already aware of. In fact, Danzo was a lot more knowledgeable about Naruto than one would assume him to be, and that was saying a hell of a lot.
The fact that Danzo maintained an organization called Root in the shadows wasn't a very well-kept secret. Hiruzen was aware of its existence, yet he didn't order its termination. Root took up Konoha's more clandestine operations, and this was something Hiruzen took advantage of.
Earlier in Naruto's childhood, around the time his and a portion of the Kyuubi's chakra fused, Danzo had an interest in the boy. He had hoped to one day recruit Naruto into Root and train him to be Konoha's indestructible weapon. The problem was that Naruto, being a jinchuuriki, was far too much of a high-profile figure in the village to be suddenly recruited.
Naruto's recruitment would have required a drastic change in his mindset; a change that would have been noticed fairly easily. Danzo had known that the boy had no desire to protect Konoha, so his mindset would have had to have been completely manipulated. With the negatives severely outweighing the positives, Danzo had given up on the fruitless venture.
'His most recent actions are a testament to his lack of attachment to the village.' Danzo mused. 'That boy is too much of a wild card.'
"He is too valuable to let loose." Danzo agreed. Just because Naruto couldn't be recruited into Root without dire consequences doesn't mean that he is completely exempt from his role as Konoha's ace. "Trust that he will be found." With that said, Danzo departed. Very slight shifts in the trees and bushes signified Danzo's Root operatives departure as well.
Homura and Koharu nodded their approval. With Danzo handling the issue, they were confident Naruto would be back in Konoha soon.
Out of habit, Hiruzen left his window open for when Kazumi arrived. He forgot that she was actually one of the well-mannered shinobi that used the door as it was meant. Now, she stood before his desk as he signed a document of authorization.
"You called?" Kazumi questioned, lazily toying with her scarf.
Hiruzen blinked. Bored was a new look on Kazumi. "Here," Hiruzen said as he handed Kazumi the document he just finished preparing. "This is the important mission I called you for."
Kazumi glanced up at Hiruzen with an unusually bored expression before reading the document in her hands. Gradually, her eyes brightened and her expression morphed into one of confusion.
"A training trip?" Kazumi asked. "Naruto trains like a junkie, so I'm sure that wherever he is he's doing plenty of it, but-" She cut herself off. Kazumi had to assume that Hiruzen knew what Naruto was actually doing. "Training trip, my foot." She said with amusement.
Hiruzen smiled, "Yes, well, I needed some way to protect Naruto." His smile faded as he became more solemn. "This is the only other way I can think of to aid him. I can't send out too many shinobi without arousing suspicion."
Kazumi glanced at the document in her hand once more. It was an official un-ranked mission to aid in Naruto's training however possible. Obviously, that was just the surface meaning. The underlying purpose was to aid Naruto in his self-assigned suicide mission and make it less suicidal. If the mission was given a rank it would definitely be S-rank.
"I'm sending you because you're the one Naruto trusts the most." Hiruzen must have been making quite the assumption that Kazumi already knew about the whole issue. "That coupled with your formidable combat prowess makes you the best candidate for this."
Kazumi grinned, twirling a lock of her hair excitedly. "I was starting to miss fox-boy."
"Then, do you accept this mission and all the risks it entails?" Hiruzen questioned, concealing his smile with his hands.
Kazumi's grin widened as she placed her Anbu mask on. "I think the answer is pretty obvious, don't you?"
Information spread around the village in an odd manner, Kakashi noted as he stood before memorial stone of his fallen comrades. The fact that Naruto left the village was common knowledge at this point. The reason why he left became a jumbled mess of far-fetched rumors; each sounding incredibly illogical and un-Naruto-like.
By far the most interesting string of rumors was that Naruto had met a woman, rumors generally agree that the woman had green hair, had a night of sexy-fun time and wound up getting the woman pregnant. The rumors go on to explain that Naruto, seeing a golden opportunity laid out before him, left the village to raise the child to be a vicious, fox-eared monster that despises Konoha.
Some of the villagers are actually dreading the day that Naruto and Naruto Jr. make it rain blood over Konoha.
Kakashi had actually attempted to convince Sasuke and Sakura that that was the reason Naruto left. Neither of the two chunin believed him, but Kakashi certainly got some enjoyment from Sasuke's owlish expression and Sakura's bug-eyed disbelief.
With a sigh, Kakashi pondered what the real reason for Naruto's sudden departure might have been. 'It would certainly be hilarious if Naruto left because he got someone pregnant. With Jiraiya as his teacher, it isn't too crazy.' He thought to himself. With the thought firmly trapped in his mind, Kakashi began laughing.
That was how Kazumi found him that day; standing by the Memorial Stone, laughing his ass off. Since she had no earthly idea where Naruto was, Kazumi decided to ask Kakashi for help. He had a summoning contract with excellent tracking ninja hounds, so Kazumi figured with their keen senses, one could help her find Naruto.
"My ultimate plan has succeeded!" Kazumi exclaimed with a dramatically evil tone, "Laughing gas is a go-go, and my first victim: Kakashi Hatake!" She finished the mock-evil monologue with manic laughter.
Kakashi stiffened visibly. He straightened up in an attempt to preserve his dignity, because being caught laughing in front of the Memorial Stone was a seriously odd picture, suspicious even.
"Caught ya slipping, Kakashi." Kazumi said as she walked to the masked-ninja's side. "Tell me what's so funny. I like laughing."
Kakashi sighed. Well, it wouldn't hurt to tell her.
By the end of Kakashi's explanation, Kazumi was holding her stomach and doing her best to stay upright while laughing, sputtering, and coughing.
'I'm definitely telling Naruto that one when I find him.' Kazumi thought to herself.
"Anyway," Kazumi started, having calmed down to a reasonable degree. "I came to ask for some help. I need to track someone down, but I really have no clue where he could be. Can you summon one of your ninja dogs to help me out?"
Kakashi was about to ask for details, but Kazumi quickly cut him off. "I kinda need to keep things on the hush-up. Anbu business and what not."
Kakashi could understand that. Most Anbu missions were operated under a need-to-know basis. Having been in the Anbu program he was very familiar with that. That was also where he met Kazumi in passing. They never actually worked together on missions, but both had developed respectable names for themselves, so they were at least familiar with each other.
With that reasoning, Kakashi quickly summoned one of his more trusted dogs, Pakkun. The little pug lazily glanced around before his eyes landed on Kakashi and Kazumi.
"Sup, Kakashi." Pakkun greeted casually. He focused his eyes solely on Kazumi, "Who's this?"
"That's Kazumi. Pakkun, I want you to help her find someone." Kakashi explained. Pakkun may not be a combat-oriented summon, but his senses are incredibly keen even for a ninja hound.
"Sure, I got nothing better to do anyway." Pakkun said, glancing at Kakashi. He fixed his eyes on Kazumi again. "So, who are we looking for exactly?"
"I'll tell you on the way." Kazumi said as she started off with Pakkun quickly following.
"Got anything with the person's scent on it?" Pakkun questioned with a sidelong glance in Kazumi's direction.
That got her stop quickly enough. Kazumi opened her mouth to respond, but she quickly shut it before she could even think of an answer. She did that a few more times before sighing.
'Oh my God, I'm going to have to break into his apartment.' Kazumi thought to herself with a shaky grin. If Pakkun noticed her awkwardness, he didn't bother commenting on it.
"Uh, let's make a pit stop, okay?" Kazumi requested with a nervous laugh. Pakkun tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion, but followed Kazumi nonetheless.
Kazumi soon found herself standing before Naruto's apartment door. She picked the lock with ease and strode inside with Pakkun lazily lying on her shoulder.
"This is his apartment." Kazumi said, placing Pakkun on the floor. "His scent should be all over."
"Yup, I got the scent." Pakkun said after sniffing for a few seconds. He sniffed some more before a frown spread across his face. "This could be a little tricky, though. Seems the guy you're looking for didn't just walk out."
"Oh yeah!" Kazumi recalled, "He flew out of the village. Well, can you still track him?"
A moment of silence passed before Pakkun responded, "Maybe. It depends on how long he was flying before he landed. His scent will be faint, and it'll only become fainter as we go on."
"In any case, the sooner we leave the better, right?" Kazumi asked to which Pakkun nodded. "Then, let's get a move on."
"Jiraiya, do you think you could stay in Mt. Myoboku a bit longer?" Naruto requested, rubbing the now sealed cursed seal. "I'm going to be coming back here pretty soon, and there's something I want you to teach me."
Jiraiya thought about it for a moment. "Sure thing. I don't have any immediate obligations, so I guess I could humor you for a while."
The way Naruto saw it, Mt. Myoboku was something akin to a safe haven. Whenever he needed to deal with something behind the scenes, the homeland to the toads seemed like the perfect location.
Naruto started searching for one of the Two Great Toad Sages. According to Jiraiya, either one of them could send him back. He found Fukasaku in his hut eating a bowl of grass, leaves, worms and something unidentifiable.
"Yo," Naruto called out, garnering the toad's attention. "I heard you could help me get back." Naruto's eye twitched as he watched Fukasaku inhale the last bits of his grotesque meal.
"There's a portal here in Mt. Myoboku called the Distant Body Water. It links us to Konoha." Fukasaku informed.
"Think you could summon just outside of Konoha?" Naruto requested, "I'm dancing with the devil enough as it is. I seriously don't need to add another half-assed escape plot to everything else."
"I'll see what I can do, Naruto-boy." Fukasaku said, hopping out of the hut with Naruto following closely behind. He made sure to tell Shima to summon him back after he summoned Naruto.
Fukasaku hopped through the portal, and Naruto decided to wait until he was summoned. He closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned against the nearest wall.
"Naruto, I know you feel this is something you have to do, and I won't try to stop you." Naruto's eyes opened when he heard Jiraiya's voice. The sannin continued now that he had Naruto's attention, "But there's one thing I will tell you."
Jiraiya stepped closer to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, no person is a one-man show. Every decision you make will affect the people who truly love and care about you. Make sure you keep that in mind."
Naruto didn't respond; he didn't have the chance to. He closed his eyes again as he felt himself being summoned, and in an instant, he vanished from Jiraiya's sight.
'Naruto, remember that you aren't alone.' Jiraiya hoped that his thoughts could reach him.
Naruto glanced around his surroundings and saw that Fukasaku summoned him outside of Konoha just like he asked. A ghost of a smirk spread across his face.
'No... You're wrong, Jiraiya. My decisions are my own.' Naruto thought to himself.
His thoughts turned in a different direction as he started retracing the path he took when he first left the village. A hell of a lot of troubling matters happened in such a short time. Naruto discovered that Orochimaru was actively targeting him because he 'interested' him, and as a result, Naruto was now donning a cursed seal on his throat.
That led to the meeting with his parents; the meeting that practically forced him to think about all the things that could have been had it not been for the masked-man. That meeting served to fuel his desire to end the Akatsuki, preferably single-handed.
Kazumi was understandably confused. Not even two minutes into the Naruto-hunt, Pakkun slowed his rapid sniffing and turned to her.
"The guy you're searching for is very close." Pakkun said.
Kazumi blinked in bemusement. "What, has he been running circles around Konoha this whole time or something?" She asked, "How can he be close? You sure you're nose isn't busted?"
"I'll have you know that this nose-" Pakkun quickly stopped when he intercepted Kazumi's deadpan stare. "How should I know? All I do know is that he's close, but he's moving away at a rapid pace."
Kazumi shrugged. She wouldn't question why Naruto seemed to running/flying laps around the nation until she actually catches up with him.
Naruto, still Air Dashing, noticed that he was flying over the site of his battle with Orochimaru. He had noticed earlier that his scimitars were missing. Simple deduction told him his weapons were either somewhere on the battlefield or in Mt. Myoboku, where he would be heading soon.
He landed on top of one of the downed trees and scanned the ground for the black scimitars. If memory served, Naruto remembered dropping the scimitars at different times and in different spots.
Naruto scowled at the recollection. Walking along the battlefield, Naruto quickly stumbled across on the scimitars, and minutes later, he found the other.
"Well, that was a wonderful waste of time." He said sarcastically. Naruto's eyes narrowed and his head snapped straight to a certain part of the battlefield as his senses alerted him to a couple approaching presences.
'Kazumi...?' He relaxed from his previous battle-ready state. Then, his expression morphed into one of confusion. 'What the hell, is she walking a dog?'
She seemed to be alone, dog aside, so Naruto sheathed his scimitars and waited for Kazumi to catch up. And so, she did moments later.
"Why are you following me?" Naruto asked gruffly. "Hell, I even promised to come back once I finished all of this shit. Doesn't that imply you keeping your ass in Konoha?"
Kazumi stifled a giggle and settled on a bright grin. "Oh? Maybe I just got a little impatient. Sue me, fox-boy."
Naruto scoffed at the obvious joke. "So, suppose you tell me why you're really here?"
Kazumi's grin only widened. "Nothing gets passed you, huh?" She almost laughed at Naruto's mildly annoyed expression. "The hokage cares about you a lot, you know. He sent me to help you any way I can, so here I am: Kazumi the Bunny in all her greatness!" She concluded with a dramatically slow spin and a grandiose bow.
'So, there's truth to the old toad's prediction after all.' That was somewhat troubling in the long run.
Pakkun watched the exchange between the two with a hint of amusement.
Naruto allowed a small smile to spread across his face for a brief moment. "Come, then, if you can keep up. You're joining a work in progress, so try not to slow me down." With a smirk on his face, Naruto took to the air, Air Dashing to where he vaguely remembered the last place he encountered Fū.
"You must really like that guy." Kazumi glanced down when she heard Pakkun's voice. "You haven't stopped smiling since you saw him. He your boyfriend or something?"
Kazumi blinked before grinning again. "No, he's not my boyfriend." She clarified before crouching down to Pakkun's level, "Thanks for all your help, Pakkun. Tell Kakashi I said thanks the next time you see him for me, okay?"
Pakkun nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Kazumi's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Hey, Naruto, wait up!" She called out as she started sprinting to catch up with Naruto, "There's a really awesome rumor I gotta tell you about!"
Hiruzen had reasonably good foresight invested in his decision to send Kazumi rather than some other shinobi, Naruto noted. He, and apparently Hiruzen, knew that had the elderly hokage sent anyone else, Naruto would have sent the shinobi running back home in fear and few injuries. Instead, Hiruzen sent Kazumi: The capable Anbu operative who, notoriously, earned herself a place in Naruto's incredibly exclusive good graces.
As he Air Dashed through the sky, Naruto was beginning to doubt that he would find Fū in the cave where he last saw her. Chances were that she took off immediately after Naruto was summoned to Mt. Myoboku. The cave would only serve as a lead to find her again.
Kazumi hadn't bothered asking what Naruto's general plan of action was. She suspected Naruto was playing a reactionary game despite his claims of taking matters into his own hands. Since Naruto didn't have much intel on the Akatsuki, there wasn't much action he could take in that regard. Kazumi also suspected that would change once Naruto does get his hands on vital information.
Given how Naruto was flying with purpose, Kazumi felt that she could safely assume that Naruto had some sort of plan in mind, be it short-termed or otherwise.
Naruto's mind was on something else while he flew; namely, the rumor of which Kazumi had so excitedly informed him. Though he didn't outwardly show it beyond a slight raising of the eyebrows and a twitch of the eye, Naruto did get a certain kick out of hearing the part about the sexy-fun time with a green-haired girl. It was fairly humorous to learn that Konoha villagers believed that when Naruto wasn't being a frightful presence in their village, he was getting it on. This was made even funnier since Fū had green hair.
That particular thought got Naruto to land in front of Kazumi who stopped once she saw Naruto stop.
"Kazumi, we're on our way right now to meet a green-haired girl- Calm down, and let me finish, alright?" Naruto said with a slight scowl when he saw Kazumi's eyes widen comically. "That rumor's bullshit, and you know it."
"You sure, fox-boy?" Kazumi questioned, stroking her chin in an inquisitive manner. "Looks to me like you're just trying to cover it up. Didn't know you were such a deviant, you naughty boy."
Naruto scoffed in mild annoyance before taking to the air again, Air Dashing to his previously set destination. Kazumi's boisterous laughter continuing to ring in his ears told him that she was following closely behind.
Fū's orange eyes opened slowly as the faint sound of laughter reached her ears. She groggily rubbed her eyes, and clutched the black cloak in her hands as she stood. Fū winced slightly as she stretched. "Sleeping while sitting up right," The green-haired jinchuuriki muttered while continuing to stretch, "Su~cks."
Fū quickly remembered what exactly woke her, so she became increasingly defensive as the sound of laughter got even closer.
"How about shutting the hell up? You've been laughing like an idiot for like three damn minutes."
Fū relaxed slightly as she recognized the voice to be Naruto's. Though, unless he had a ridiculously feminine laugh and an odd habit of yelling at himself, Naruto wasn't alone.
Moments later, Naruto landed in front of the cave entrance where Fū was standing slightly on guard. That was understandable, considering the last time she saw Naruto, he wasn't himself and he was literally seconds away from killing her. Honestly, Naruto would have questioned Fū's sanity if she were perfectly relaxed.
"Yo," Naruto greeted simply. "You've been in this crappy place all along?" Naruto briefly noticed the black cloak in Fū's hands. "And I see you were warming up my sage cloak for me."
Fū was certainly glad to see Naruto not in a psychotic fit. "Good to see you not all freaky and scary." She said, tossing the sage cloak to Naruto who caught it reflexively. In return, Naruto tossed the cloak behind him without even so much as glance.
"You said you wanted one before? Here's your wish." Naruto said offhandedly.
Fū became tense as Kazumi finally showed up, grabbing the sage cloak out of the air as she smiled. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he noticed Fū stiffen so suddenly.
'She doesn't trust Kazumi.' He quickly realized that the closer Kazumi got, the more tense Fū became. Naruto caught onto it rather quickly because he was the same, just less noticeable.
"Fū, meet Kazumi." Naruto introduced before turning to Kazumi, "Kazumi, meet Fū."
"Howdy." Kazumi greeted with a small wave and a kind smile, catching Fū, who nodded dumbly in response, off guard.
Naruto glanced between the two before sighing. "Whatever. Here's the game plan: We're going to Mt. Myoboku for a while. I'll explain everything else once we get there."
Kazumi and Fū nodded. Explanations would be greatly appreciated for Fū especially. Naruto drew his own blood, made several hand signs, and slammed his hands on the ground. Using minimal chakra, he only summoned Gama, but even that small effort took a bit of a toll on him. That was something that needed to be considered later.
"Got the summoning scroll?" Naruto questioned. When Jiraiya gave him the scroll to sign, Gama was the one in possession of it. Naruto just assumed Gama was the official keeper of the scroll.
Like clockwork, the toad opened his mouth and presented the scroll on his tongue. Kazumi and Fū watched owlishly as Naruto held the large scroll in one hand and unrolled it with the other. Then, he glanced up at both of them and dropped the scroll on the cave floor in front of them.
"Sign it." Naruto commanded, gesturing to the summoning scroll. Kazumi and Fū shared an odd look before doing as Naruto said. Kazumi, of course, signed the scroll first with Fū following shortly after. Naruto gave the scroll back to Gama and nodded to the summon. Gama returned to Mt. Myoboku and seconds later, Naruto, Kazumi, and Fū disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
The trio found themselves in the lush green scenery of Mt. Myoboku. Fū's eyes were wide open as she quickly glanced around everything her eyes could lock on to.
"What the crap? Give a girl a warning before something like that!" Fū turned to shout at Naruto who was wordlessly walking away. "Hey! Don't you freaking ignore me!"
"He wants us to follow him." Fū turned to face Kazumi when she heard her voice. Fū became increasingly defensive once she remembered that she and Naruto weren't alone. She nodded cautiously, and she and Kazumi trailed behind Naruto to wherever he was going.
Naruto quickly found Jiraiya who was staring at a bowl of mushrooms, leaves, and insects with tears stinging at his eyes. It seemed he decided to wait in Fukasaku's hut, and the elder toad sage must have offered him the chef's special.
Jiraiya's head snapped up when he heard Naruto enter the hut. "Oh, would you look at that. Naruto's back, and he needs me immediately. Looks like I won't be able to finish this lovely meal. Sorry!" Jiraiya said before jumping up, grabbing Naruto, and dashing out of the hut. As he stepped outside, he noticed Kazumi and Fū.
"You two don't look like toads." Jiraiya stated with squinted eyes.
"Uh, thanks?" Kazumi said with uncertainty. "Come on, don't tell me you don't remember me."
"I remember you, but I don't believe we've met." Jiraiya said, focusing his eyes on Fū who metaphorically shrunk under all the attention.
"You can let me go anytime you feel like." Naruto said before freeing himself from Jiraiya's grasp. "Now, everyone shut the hell up, and I'll explain it all."
It took longer than expected, but Naruto was finally able to inform everyone about the recent happenings and his current plan of action which involved some preparation in Mt. Myoboku. Fū explained her status as the Nanabi jinchuuriki, and her relationship, or lack of, with her previous home. Kazumi explained her mission to help Naruto in any way fathomable.
In light of the recent happenings, Naruto decided to learn as much as he could about Sealing Jutsu in few months which, when dealing with Shadow Clones, was a hell of a lot. Jiraiya certainly had no issue with passing on that knowledge.
Naruto also decided if Fū was going to be travelling with him in this situation, she needed to be absolutely prepared. For that, Naruto needed a decent scope on her current abilities, so he told her follow him to an open area of Mt. Myoboku.
"I want you to come at me with everything you got. Don't hold back." Naruto said, getting into a fighting stance. "I sure as hell won't."
Fū took a deep breath to relax herself as she called on as much of Chōmei's chakra as she could control which amounted to two tails' worth. With that, Fū charged at Naruto with impressive speed. Naruto showed no signs that he planned to move out of the way. Fū assumed he was just going to strong-arm through her attacks to see more accurately what she was capable of.
Fū threw her first punch, but before it could connect, she found herself flying back from the force of a punch that she didn't see. Fū quickly righted herself in the air with the aid of her wing-like tails.
"That was my Rapid Strike if you were wondering." Naruto said before vanishing in a black blur and appearing behind the airborne Fū. "And that was my Burst Step." He explained, quickly flashing through several hand signs, stirring up a gust of wind with the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.
"Gee, thanks for the info." Fū muttered under her breath after being forced to the ground from the power of the wind.
Naruto felt a shock course through his body each time he used his chakra. 'What the hell? I've barely even gotten started and I feel like I've been fighting for hours.' For now, Naruto decided to shake off the pain and the increasing exhaustion. 'I'll keep the chakra usage down to a bare minimum. Then, I need to find out what the hell's going on with me.'
"Come on. Time's wasting." Naruto called out and prepared himself for Fū's rush. Like clockwork, Fū charged in once again, throwing punches and kicks wherever and whenever she thought she had a legitimate chance of making contact. Naruto blocked each of her attacks with little effort. He was pleased to note that there was some serious power behind Fū's attacks.
Naruto decided it was time to move on, so he grabbed Fū's arm after one of her punches and threw her over his shoulder and onto her back.
"Your taijutsu sucks." Naruto remarked rather bluntly, causing Fū's cheeks to flush out of embarrassment and anger. "Break out some tricks if you don't want to get smacked around."
While on the ground, Fū made a single hand sign and clapped her hands together. She opened her mouth and emitted a powder from her mouth that shone blindingly bright. 'Secret Art: Scale Powder!'
With Naruto dazed and covering his eyes, Fū took the opportunity to jump from the ground and strike with one of her unique taijutsu techniques. Her feet lifted from the ground and her two wing-like tails flapped rapidly as she flew toward the still dazed Naruto. She wound back, putting all her power in her right hand, and struck at Naruto. Naruto, vision still impaired, blocked the powerful hay-maker, but he wasn't prepared to fend off the remainder of Fū's assault which amounted to a bite of all things.
Naruto winced as Fū's teeth sank into him. "What the hell?" Naruto ground out in disbelief, kicking Fū off him. "Did you seriously just fucking bite me?"
"Well..." Fū drawled as she stood from the ground, "I didn't really know what else to do when you blocked my punch, so I just...bit you."
"Way to go, Naruto. You found yourself a biter. I didn't know you were into the kinky stuff." Jiraiya commented from the sidelines. Apparently, he was watching the spar with Kazumi sitting next to him eating some sugary snack.
"Just gonna ignore that one entirely." Naruto grumbled under his breath. Then, he sighed and set his steely gaze on Fū. "You need some serious training if you want to travel with me. We'll start tomorrow."
Fū nodded in agreement. When Naruto spoke of the Akatsuki, he talked as if they could crush him with relative ease. Given that Naruto batted her around effortlessly, Fū knew she needed intensive training.
Naruto wiped some sweat from his forehead with a scowl. He turned on his heel and walked away, looking for a secluded area. 'Is it the seal? Is that why I feel like shit? There's no way I can fight like this.' Naruto thought to himself as he jumped on top of a large mushroom. 'If I get into a battle in this state, I'm as good as dead.' Naruto laid back with a heavy sigh.
"Kyuubi, you there?" Naruto waited a minute for a response, but nothing came. Thoroughly irritated, Naruto cursed out loud. "What the hell am I gonna do?" He said to himself in a whisper. "What the hell can I do?"
Sorry this chapter took so long. Yadda, yadda, excuse. Yadda, yadda, it won't happen again...
It totally fucking will. Anyway, this chapter is RAW as a live pig. It'll probably be heavily edited by the time the next chapter comes out, so look out for that.