Chapter 6: Voices of Reassurance

Torture & Interrogation Headquarters, Konohagakure no Sato (1457 hours September 22, 7 AK)

Naruto awoke abruptly, holding tightly to the blanket that covered his small stature. He placed his palm over the temple of his head in an attempt to stave off the annoying headache that plagued him since yesterday evening. However, the headache held firm defiantly, irritating him with a pain that was practically unbearable. While he massaged his temples, he struggled to remember the events of last night, but all he was drawing was a blank. He could only remember snippets here and there, nothing clear and coherent to guide his mind. He recalled brief flashes of the bullies; a group of tough-looking boys who surrounded him and his friend, a young girl wearing a red shirt with beautiful sepia hair-

"SUZU!" Naruto shouted after realizing who the girl of his memories was. Everything came back to him quickly, and he knew where he was and what exactly occurred last night. He remembered vividly the image of Suzu on top of one of the bullies and he remembered the bloodcurdling screams. The screams that took refuge in his mind despite his earnest desires to banish them entirely.

Little Suzu's face had splats of blood from the initial insertion of her thumb into the bully's eye. Naruto would never have thought that his first true friend was so bloodthirsty and malicious. The grin on her face as she pushed her thumb deeper and squeezed harder…she only grinned like that when they were having fun together. Her unnatural glee at the suffering of the bullies unnerved the usually blithe blonde. He was worried about her state of being, more so than the condition of the boy who had just previously ridiculed the two.

Suzu…was that really Suzu? Yes, Naruto knew Suzu closely. But, in all honesty, they've only known each other for a little over ten days. During those ten days, Suzu did not share much information about herself. The most he got out of her was that she was an amnesiac, which implied there was more to the enigmatic young girl that even she does not fully realize.

From what he knew, Suzu was a brave, adventurous girl who was not afraid straying beyond the norm. She valued Naruto's friendship more than anything she knew in her short life, and she would do anything for him. She paid no mind to the glares she gained when she held his hands, and would always stick her tongue out on those that had the gall to vocally criticize their friendship. She was deeply interested in his life, from his hobbies to his Academy stories, and never judged him in the same way as everyone else in the village.

To see her so…emotionless…shook Naruto to the core. Despite the smile plastered on her face indicating the bliss she felt as the blood gushed down the bully's head, her eyes were completely void of life. When Naruto begged her to stop, when he saw that sole tear roll down her face, it was as though Suzu could not even recognize him. Her eyes, once vibrant with life, were cold and without remorse.

Suzu did not care about her own safety, nor did she take into account the wellbeing of others when she attacked the bullies. They were outnumbered, 5 to 2, so it seemed ridiculous to even take on those odds. Yet Suzu braved the unknown nonetheless, with the ruthless wrath of a demon. Naruto would never intentionally compare kind little Suzu to such horrible creatures, but there was nothing else that could even come close.

Nevertheless, in spite of the cruel way she handled the boys, Naruto could never judge her. She never once hated or feared him, so it would be cruel to go back on the bond they've built over the course of the last couple of days.

Naruto knew all about Suzu's asocial life style. She told him all about the stares she would get, and how her attempts to make friends always ended up in awkward situations. She talked about how all the girls avoided her because of her active and dynamic personality. She mentioned how, every time she approached people, they would huddle together and scurry away hurriedly. Suzu only had herself to rely on, much like Naruto. But instead of seeking friendships, like Naruto tried to do, she closed herself off completely. She only recently opened up to Naruto because she saw a kindred spirit in her fellow loner.

Ultimately, he was touched that she truly thought of him as a good friend. He was grateful to her for defending him against people that actively sought to undermine him. He was happy that she thought of his jolly nature as golden and precious. In his years of loneliness, he never felt the same compassion that Suzu shared upon him from anyone else (with the exception of Hokage-jiji and the Ichiraku family).

For all the things she had done for him, it was now his turn to return the favor. He understood that he was in a holding cell, from what he gathered on the appearance of the room (as well as all the movies he saw after sneaking into theaters unnoticed). He assumed that Suzu would be in a similar place, probably more fortified, because of her actions. If everything went like the movies, some mean people would walk into the cell and question him on the events of last night. That's where he would staunchly and prejudicially defend Suzu's actions. They may not agree with his thoughts (hell, nobody would agree with him after seeing what he saw), but he needed to be adamant about his defense. Maybe then, Suzu would probably get off with a light punishment.

So Naruto thought over and over again on what to say to his captors. He devised stories after stories in an attempt to create a convincing account that would shed light on Suzu's predicament and advocate leniency on her eventual punishment. However, his underdeveloped 6 year old mind was incapable of such sophisticated thought processes, and every ill-conceived story turned out to be horrendously outlandish and absurdly far-fetched.

Truth be told, Naruto himself did not condone Suzu's selfless yet violent actions. Though he felt that the bullies got their just desserts, he wished that no harm befell anyone. He was open-minded in a sagacious manner, and was willing to overlook the behavior of the bullies if it meant that they would leave him and Suzu in peace. Suzu's actions were outrageous and totally uncalled for, no matter how much the blonde cared about his first and closest friend. The bullies did not deserve such unfair brutalization.

Naruto began to pace around the room in desperation. He did not want his best friend to get in trouble, but he knew deep down inside that she needed to atone for her actions. His frustrations at the predicament were mounting rapidly, and the headache that plagued him when he first awoke returned to haunt him.

As his headache reached a climax, the door to his cell was abruptly opened. In came Sarutobi Hiruzen, Naruto's beloved grandfather figure.

"Jiji-chan!" Naruto exclaimed in glee as he ran up to Hiruzen and embraced him in a close-knit hug. Hiruzen smiled and returned the hug. He knew that, for Naruto to have as positive of a life as he could, any form of affection given to the young boy would be welcomed graciously. The embrace lasted for several seconds before Hiruzen had to let go. He was the Hokage, and he was pressed for time. Such was the fate of a leader.

"So Naruto, what did you do this time?" He asked, feigning ignorance. He knew full and well what had occurred yesterday evening from the reports of his ANBU, as well as eyewitness reports from people interviewed at the scene of crime. He came to get the story from Naruto so that he could finalize his decision of the fate of poor little Suzu.

"I-It wasn't Suzu-chan's fault!" Naruto screamed, finally settling on a plea of forgiveness. "They were the ones who started it! We were just minding our own business, and then they came over and started messing with us!"

As Naruto continued, a man that he never saw before entered the room. He had half of his face covered in bandages, and his right arm was in a cast. He gave off an aura of creepiness that frightened the boy.

"Oh, Naruto-kun. This is Shimura Danzō-san." Hiruzen introduced. "He is with me as we investigate the events that led to your incarceration."

Danzō gave a cold glance at Naruto before turning to Hiruzen. The man was definitely a 10 out of 10 on the creep scale.

"This incident does not warrant an investigation, Hiruzen. The girl is clearly guilty of her crimes. There is insurmountable evidence for her actions and eyewitness accounts that proved that she committed the atrocities with malicious intent, and without the concern of those near her. She is a threat to the village and needs to be dealt with accordingly." Danzō judged.

Danzō's statements angered the young Naruto. He couldn't understand the bulk of what he had just said, but he knew that it somehow was meant to make Suzu look bad.

"HEY!" Naruto screamed at Danzō, who looked at him uninterestedly with his sole eye. "Don't talk about Suzu-chan like that! You don't even know her! She's the nicest, kindest girl and she would never hurt anyone on purpose!"

"Oh?" Danzō said in feigned surprise. "And what would you know-"

"Danzō." Hiruzen called with authority, sending a faint wave of killing intent to the bandaged man. It was faint enough to be undetected by Naruto, who was at a volatile stage of his youthful development, but just enough so that Danzō could get the message. Danzō indeed received the veiled threat and decided that there was no use in this pointless babble. Naruto was only 6. He couldn't possibly understand the complications of politics and running a village.

"Naruto-kun." Hiruzen said, turning his attention back to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, I am going to be honest with you. This is not the only time Suzu-chan has acted up."

Hiruzen knew he was breaching fine line when he hinted at Suzu's other crime. But Naruto needed to understand the severity of Suzu's actions. This coming hour was going to determine the fate of the young girl. There was not going to be a third time, and that was Hiruzen's finality.

Naruto was shocked at the revelation. He was afraid that she may actually be violently inclined to commit these acts. He did not want to believe that, but Hiruzen did not have any reason to lie to Naruto. Naruto slumped his shoulders and stared at the floor with resigned sorrow.

"Suzu-chan is in deep trouble. This is the second time that she's done something of this sort. As Hokage, I cannot allow her to continue hurting other people. You understand, right Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked up, horrified at what Hiruzen was implying. "No Hokage-jiji, don't do this!" He pleaded. "She didn't do this on purpose! Honest! She was…she was…"

Hiruzen placed a palm on Naruto's shoulder and smiled at the young boy. "I know. She was only trying to protect her precious person. While that, in itself, is not wrong, harming citizens of Konohagakure is frowned upon and must be punished, no matter who committed the act. As leader of this village it is my duty to impartially cast judgment on her deed and bring about justice for the party most affected by her action."

Naruto expression sunk even further as he stared at the floor with an impassioned gaze. His worst fears were being realized; not even his Jiji-chan can stop Suzu's punishment. It wasn't far to Naruto. It wasn't fair at all!

Hiruzen looked at the downhearted young boy. Though he wanted to be impartial and unbiased, he knew that if he killed Naruto's only friend in this world, he would not grow up and enjoy the village like Minato wanted him to. Naruto emotional state-of-being would be exposed to exploitation by the conniving Danzō, which bode ill for his growth. So Hiruzen came up with a compromise. A reasonable one at that, he figured. All he needed now was to prove to Danzō that Suzu's actions were not premeditated. Not that Danzō could do anything openly against his absolute orders, but he would rather not be bothered by his attempts to derail his efforts and seize power.

"…I could come up with something." Hiruzen said, caressing his beard. He stared at Naruto via his peripheral and saw the boy lighting up in glee upon that announcement. "But you got to tell me everything. Everything that occurred on that day."

Naruto explained away. He told Hiruzen of Suzu's plan to publicize their friendship. She had planned it half way through their relationship, during a day where the cafeteria would be the most occupied. She knew that kids enjoyed eating Udon noodles, and recently the orphanage had received a surplus of noodles. There was more of an incentive for kids to eat dinner when extras were being served. With more children in the cafeteria when the two made their debut entry, more kids would know that Naruto really isn't that bad of a person to not have any friends. That was the idea, anyways.

Unfortunately, people just wanted to spite the blond regardless. Some people took a sadistic pleasure in bullying Naruto regularly, filling them with self-worth to bully someone so "weak." They thought that, now that he had a new friend, they could persecute with the new person so badly that she would never desire to be with Naruto again. That would hurt him the most, and provide the bullies with a vindication they sought after for so long. Suzu, however, was not to be trifled with, as the bullies would soon learn.

As Naruto continued his story, Hiruzen confirmed Suzu mentality in his mind. She acted out in defense of a person she held closest to her. She did premeditate an attack on the bullies as a warning to those who would think to harm Naruto. This fact agrees with the testimony of Suzu, Naruto, and some of the staff that were located in the lunchroom at that time. Of course the bullies all had different stories, trying to cast more guilt on an already judged young girl. Add a little pressure, however, and the truth will eventually reveal itself.

Suzu was an inoffensive girl. She was genuinely concerned for Naruto, though that clouded her ability to distinguish between socially acceptable behaviors. Maybe she was naturally unable to tell right from wrong. She did prefer to go nude back in the hospital, according to reports from doctors. She refused to join cliques during her time at the orphanage, and she staunchly rejected the standards of femininity, preferring the relative freedoms of a tomboyish life. All this points to eventual growth of antisocial behavior, instead of simply asocial, and that would definitely be a detriment for her career path as a shinobi. While asocial behaviors were tolerable and manageable (as some shinobi cannot work well with others), antisocial behaviors could potential cause schisms to form among comrades, not to mention physically and emotionally harm other individuals.

Shinobi worked in squads of four, if only to ensure team survival in the mission. If Suzu became antisocial, she would threaten the flow of the mission and compromise her compatriots. Such a problem will not stand. Potentially antisocial shinobi are routed out using psychiatric evaluations to determine the mental state of mind of an individual. They are either sent to reeducation facilities (i.e. mental wards, rehabilitation, etc.) or, depending on the severity of their actions, have their personalities rearranged by Yamanaka experts. Of course, Yamanaka mind techniques are not infallible, as Suzu has demonstrated a slight reversion to her previous state of mind, but it is a "last resort" maneuver before serious corporal punishment is applied.

Hiruzen did not wish to see Suzu lashing out against her comrades or future teammates. But he could not forcibly subdue Suzu in an effort to promote social interaction. Though he wished otherwise, an asocial, introverted Suzu was much, much preferable to an antisocial, sociopathic Suzu. In such a fragile period of her development, if Hiruzen did not tread carefully, he could potential alter Suzu's path to that of a mass murderer. Then he would really have to subdue her, against the wishes of her parents.

Hiruzen thought long and hard. Finally, after some contemplation, he came up with a reasonable punishment. One that will (hopefully) deter Suzu from attacking Konoha citizens. She may not like it, but it was for her own good.

"Alright Naruto-kun, I've come to a decision." Hiruzen said.

Naruto lit up with that statement. To say that he was excited about the prospect of Suzu being let off easy was a severe understatement.

"You and Suzu must remain in your cells for one more evening, though." Hiruzen said, bringing Naruto's spirits down. "Now, as I am a very busy person, I must bid you adieu for the moment. ANBU will escort the both of you to my office at 1200 hours, where I will inform you of my decision. For now, rest easy Naruto-kun. And please, don't let this happen again."

Naruto nodded, understanding a little of what Hiruzen was saying. So tomorrow morning is when his and Suzu's fates would be decided. He was a little nervous, especially considering how something so trivial evolved into a hectic affair. But he believed in the Suzu he's come to know. And he believes in himself as well. He has to, if nobody else was going to. He knew that Suzu would believe in him no matter where she was at, but Naruto needed more strength. He needed more support than what he already has.

Naruto made up his mind on that point, watching Hiruzen and that jerk Danzō leave. He'll be there for Suzu in any way he could. And he won't be weak anymore. He won't allow Suzu to be his knight in shining armor. He'll find the confidence in himself to grow stronger.

And he will be the one to defend Suzu from her ghosts.

Torture & Interrogation Headquarters, Konohagakure no Sato (1734 hours September 22, 7 AK)

"It is prudent that we rid ourselves of the Fujibayashi menace at the earliest possible convenience, Hiruzen." Danzō told Hiruzen as they exited from Naruto's cell. "I am certain that you and your misguided sense of morality will once again select the most disastrous course of action."

"Do not patronize me, Danzō." Hiruzen said in a slightly irritated fashion. Possibly the worst aspect of his job is Danzō's continued insinuations that his peace-minded methods were impractical and idealistic to a fault. That Hiruzen's methods would lead Konoha to the eventual ruin of the village he's held so dear in his heart. Never mind the fact that Hiruzen has led the village for well over 40 years, through two Shinobi World Wars, and through the Kyuubi calamity. "It's for exactly this reason that I do not consult with you when it comes to the village affairs. You know nothing of the compassion necessary of a leader to make these sorts of decisions."

"Compassion is for the weak-minded, Hiruzen." Danzō rebutted. "Especially in this cruel world of ours. Shinobi prosper through the death of others. Everything, from our culture to our economy is deep-rooted in the blood of our foes. We cannot afford to dillydally in such idle frivolities."

"We cannot simply forsake our humanity, though." Hiruzen replied. "We were born with the capability to love. We have the ability to display sympathy and empathy. We should not just disregard these important emotions in an attempt to 'kill our hearts' as the shinobi code dictate. The perfect shinobi is even more of an implausible ideal than my own methods."

"Yet the perfect shinobi is does not contain the intricate flaws of human emotion, Hiruzen." Danzō said "A shinobi that kills their heart does not have clouded judgment caused by conflicting sentiments. Genocides and purges have occurred because of the concept of love. Likewise, countries and nations have been salvaged, and civilizations molded in direct correlation with hatred."

Hiruzen pinched his brow. Conversations with Danzō always ended up as circular arguments with neither relenting nor nothing resolved. Danzō was, quite literally, Hiruzen polar opposite when it came to everything. Even their elemental affinities were in direct contrast with each other. Danzō was indeed the perfect shadow for Hiruzen. Despite that, it was not Hiruzen's desire to cast his shadow over the path of his children.

"I'm afraid this is where your involvement with the case comes to an end." Hiruzen said, finally getting back to the subject at end. "I believe in Suzu-chan. Anyone who is able to see Naruto for who he is cannot be inherently evil. I will not make her punishment severe."

Danzō just eyed Hiruzen as if he was in incompetent. However, he did not do anything further. While he did not approve of Hiruzen's decisions, he was still the Hokage, and his word was still law. Danzō could not openly express his disagreements without fear of potential repercussions.

"However, I am not so foolhardy to just continuously forgive Suzu for every transgression she commits." Hiruzen clarified. "She is on her third strike, Danzō. If she harms another member of our village, than I will make take preventive measures against her sociopathic tendencies…permanently. I cherish Shiina-chan and Mumei-kun deeply but I must protect my beloved village at all costs."

Danzō nodded. Now that is something they can both agree on.

Torture & Interrogation Headquarters, Konohagakure no Sato (0012 hours, September 23, 7 AK)

Kill Them.

Suzu tossed and turned around her prison bed, trying to ease herself of the thoughts that were slowly creeping into her mind. Voices, to be more exact.

Kill Them All.

The voices begged her.

Those That Would Hurt Naruto. Kill Them All.

She was tempted by the voices. They made sense. Yes. Everyone that would dare try to hurt her Naruto, she'll show no mercy. Even Jiji-chan. Nobody was going to hurt her precious Naruto.

Show Them All. Teach Them All The Consequences Of Hurting Your Precious Naruto.

Suzu got up from her bed. She walked to where the voice was, her bare feet making not a wince of sound as she stepped on the soft material of the room. Suzu was in the nude, as she enjoyed every waking moment being naked. As such, the visible goose bumps sent shivers of excitement up her spine. She felt like the voices were more reasonable than Jiji-chan and that horrible old man.

She stopped. The voices were still telling her to kill everyone that tried to hurt Naruto, but they were no longer prevailing in her mind. The thought was replaced with something else: her parents.

The mean old man told her that she was the one that killed her parents. She did not know what to think following that announcement. It seemed so mindboggling, but something deep down inside Suzu told her that he spoke nothing but the truth. If her inner thoughts were not enough to compel her to believe, her absolute apathy towards the news would convince her otherwise. Instead of breaking down and crying, or staunchly denying the deed, she stared blankly at Danzō. Danzō managed to maintain a poker face, but she could tell that he was at least somewhat surprised at her lack of response.

She did not know why, but the prospect of her killing her own parents did not frighten her in the slightest. Since she did not know who they were, she did not miss them as much as she thought she would, try as she might. Rather, she was asking herself why would she go about and commit the deed. Maybe she really was a murderer. Maybe they should kill her now, while they still had the chance. She didn't know what she would do if they allowed her to run rampant.

No. You Know Exactly What You Will Do. You'll Protect Naruto With All The Power You Can Muster. You Cannot Die. Not Until All Who Threaten Naruto Are Disposed Of.

Yes. The voice was correct. Suzu sat straight up, staring at the ceiling as she continued to ponder her inner thoughts. She knew she wanted to protect Naruto with everything she had. But…but…killing was not an option.

She saw. She saw the tears in his eyes as he begged her to spare the bully. She saw him hurt emotionally, to the point where he actually broke down in tears. Suzu knew that Naruto was very open-minded and considerate of the opinions of others, even if they are negative towards his own. How would Naruto feel, then, if Suzu denied them the chance at life just because they threatened to harm her precious?

Suzu couldn't tolerate anyone trying to undermine her Naruto. But she would be broken beyond repair if she were the one to hurt Naruto. The thought of that possibility just shook her terribly. She would never want that to happen. So she needed to control her urges. If only for Naruto.

As tempting as the voices were to her, she could no longer try to subdue anyone in her village. The village that so despised her and Naruto. Her for being a "murderer" and Him for being a "demon." She hated the idea of it, but if Naruto did not wish for her to attack others, then she would not try to attack others.

That was Suzu's resolution. She would protect Naruto without straying from his wishes.

But first, she needed to know what the village itself had decided was Suzu's fate. Forming a resolution at the death's door would be a redundant waste of valuable time. Tomorrow will decide it all. Whether or not Suzu becomes a new person will be decided by the whim of her Jiji-chan.

Konoha Graveyard, Konohagakure no Sato (0845 hours, September 23, 7 AK)

He stood in front of the grave of yet another student of his. He swore that he would never have to return to this accursed graveyard after his finest student gave his life for the village. But here he was, in the graveyard, contemplating all the mistakes he's made in his life. Was he too laidback? Did he voyeur around a little too much? Was he not in the lives of his students? Why did this have to happen?

His first student was killed in a joint mission with his pregnant wife. When he heard that she went along with him, he severely criticized his teacher's wisdom in sending a pregnant kunoichi in the heat of battle. His sensei responded by reminding him of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the war they were fighting, and how they did not have enough shinobi in reserve to afford the luxuries of absentia. All shinobi were recalled from their retirements to aid in the war front; even his perpetually grieving teammate, unable to move on from the loss of her loved ones.

She was lucky. He could never be granted the opportunity to grieve the loss of his students. All three of them.

His first student's wife's body was never found. By extension, his unborn child went MIA as well. Part of the reason he developed his extensive spy network was to find information on the whereabouts of his student's spouse. That was the least he could do to make up for his blunder.

Unfortunately, Konoha had other plans for his newly found spy network, namely feeding misinformation to other shinobi villages following the Kyuubi assault to protect them from potential invasion. As much as he did not want to spend the resources on that (rather, he wanted to gather clues on the reasoning behind the Kyuubi's seemingly mysterious unsealing and subsequent unprovoked attack), he had no choice but to comply. He was a shinobi of Konoha, and duty to the village came before duty to self, as his brightest student demonstrated in his last hurrah.

So now, here he was. In front of the grave of his third student. She was unique, in that she focused on bettering her Bukijutsu rather than her taijutsu, despite her multiple elemental affinities. She did not have a kekkei genkai that allowed her to combine all of her nature transformations, but she certainly focused on utilizing her elemental affinities in her Bukijutsu. She was also adept in fuuinjutsu, and even learned how to seal her elemental chakra into cards for use in combat.

She was certainly gifted. She was not a prodigy, like his brightest who died to protect the village. She wasn't able to grasp concepts immediately like he could, nor was she able to branch out of what she learned to create newer or original techniques. But she was able to implement everything that she learned into the one thing she was good at; as a result, Ninbukijutsu (which was named Igaguri after her grandfather) was birthed and became the prominent fight style amongst her family.

This force, however, ran into a concrete wall in the form of her daughter. The sensei couldn't comprehend why she would kill her own mother. Why would she deliberately end a legacy with her own hands? He did not know whether or not he should hate her, or if he should be angry with her for all of the lament she brought upon him. But he knew that hatred would solve nothing, and if he were to fall to the temptation of hatred, his hypocrisy would do nothing to end the cycle he so despised. So he begrudgingly set aside his emotions to focus on mourning the loss of his final student and her husband, vowing to protect their daughter.

That very reasoning was what brought him to Konoha that day. He wanted to bring the legacies of the remaining children of his students under his tutelage, so that he can better protect them and keep their Will of Fire burning.

The Sandaime Hokage walked into the graveyard, ready to meet with his distraught student. The Hokage knew the pain of losing one of his beloved students; his most wayward student abandoned his Will of Fire in pursuit of delusional dreams of grandeur. Yet, in spite of that one loss, Sandaime was at a loss for words. In all his years of experience, The Hokage had met with many Jounin sensei who lost their entire team of Genin in a botched missions or skirmishes. It never occurred to him that such misfortune would hit so close to home.

"Jiraiya-kun…" Hiruzen started, unsure of what to say at the moment.

"Save it, Sarutobi." Jiraiya responded, neglecting the honorific he usually refers to his sensei as. "This is the world that we live in. There's no use in moping over things we have no control over, right?"

"But they were still your students…" Hiruzen tried to reassure.

"Yes, and they still are." Jiraiya retorted. "They'll always live on in my heart. That's why it is my sole responsibility to take care of the legacies they left behind."

Jiraiya turned to face his sensei. The one who taught him everything he knew about being a shinobi. The person that molded him up from the most inept clay to form a magnificent sculpture. He turned and stared at him with the eyes of a hardened battle veteran. With his resolution rooted deeply within himself, Jiraiya prepared himself for the worse.

"Please. Take me to person responsible for Shiina-chan's death."

Hey Y'all!

Here's the next chapter of Phact Phantasia. This chapter was written about 9 months ago, but I lost the motivation to continue writing fan fiction. So, imagine all the editing I did to this chapter after 9 months of inactivity!

Allow me to explain a few things. Jiraiya's genin team was not disclosed in the slightest throughout the manga and the anime. The only known member of Jiraiya's genin team is Minato. This allows me some leeway when it comes to creating original characters to be Jiraiya's team. Granted, I had to work with the only available photograph, but their backstory and abilities are mine to tinker with as I please.

So Fujibayashi Shiina, the mother of Fujibayashi Suzu, was one of the genin in Jiraiya's team. She became an accomplished shinobi in her own right and created her own branch of ninjutsu called Ninbukijutsu. Ninbukijutsu will borrow heavily from the artes of both Sheena Fujibayashi and Suzu Fujibayashi from Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Phantasia respectively. In fact, Suzu repertoire of abilities will come solely from the games and not from jutsu of the Narutoverse.

Jiraiya's unknown third student was killed off during the Third Shinobi World War, and his wife and unborn child went MIA. In this story, locating his student's spouse was his motivation for finding his extensive spy network. Now, its pretty much used to advance the interest of Konoha, but Jiraiya still hopes that one day some of the dirt behind the MIAs will finally surface. Hope you guys enjoyed that tasty bit of information, because I will not be revealing more until much later.

Next chapter, we find out what Hiruzen has in store for the two children. Their lives will forever be changed with his decision, so be anxious for what Hiruzen's ultimatum is. Also, I plan on explaining my thoughts on the Academy for next week's Author's Note. It's necessary to understand it, as my fan fiction has a heavy emphasis on time.

Update on story stats: 8 Reviews, 7 Favorites, 14 Followers, 0 Communities, and 711 Hits.

This is a massive boost from the 9 months ago, when I barely made 300 hits. Thank you all so very much for your support, and I only ask that you continue to support me as I return to the grove of things.

See ya all next week.

-Blackrazgriz 3/26/2014 1:09 AM EST