Chapter 12 New Recognition

Sakura sighed and decided to speak first, "Tsunade-sama told you that I know about Naruto's…situation didn't she." Jiraiya was caught off guard with that one and his eyes widened slightly, but soon changed back to normal and he smirked.

"Very perceptive. Yes, before you guys got here, Tsunade sent a message back using one of her messenger slugs and updated me on your…understandings of Naruto." Jiraiya unconsciously scratched the back of his head. "None the less, that makes things a little easier. There has been a little bit of a setback to the original planned schedule to my searching."

Sakura blinked a few times and started worrying. Before she would start overreacting though, Jiraiya eased her concern, "It's nothing major, it's just that I have been informed of another outpost being spotted, which I will be travelling to as well, meaning I will not return for an additional week, maybe even two." He heard Sakura's relieved sigh, and then decided to add. "You don't need to worry about the Akatsuki making a move on him for more than half a year at least, and to my understanding they require the Kyuubi to be…extracted last for some reason. So Naruto is perfectly safe."

Sakura frowned, "Yes I know Jiraiya-sama…but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to worry about what will happen to Naruto." Sakura said, getting quickly agitated.

'Heh, she really has created a miniature, pink haired version of herself, Naruto better watch out, something tells me her temper isn't the only 'inherited' trait she learnt from you, Tsunade.' Jiraiya mused. Sensing danger though if he didn't tread lightly, Jiraiya quickly apologized and continued.

"I am truly glad you know about all this though." Sakura was taken aback by that, and Jiraiya shook his head, deciding to voice his hopeless attempts for the entire time of their training.

"I tried getting the Gaki to tell you guys about the Kyuubi all the way back from when you entered the chuunin exams. Being the typical stubborn brat he is, he refused to tell anybody. I'm sure you have come to your own reasons as to why."

Sakura nodded and broke her gaze with the toad sage, she had already known about his before from her talk with Tsunade, "He thought we would treat him like all the villagers treat him, he was afraid of what would happen if we knew...and he wanted to protect us." Sakura unconsciously clenched her hand into a tight fist.

'Well, she hit the nail right on the head with that one.' Jiraiya thought, feeling similar traces of annoyance towards his student.

"While I cannot speak for Sasuke-kun, I myself would never see Naruto as a monster…I may hit him, I may constantly scold him, I may even insult him… " Sakura honestly had no idea why her face was suddenly damp, but refused to break down at that point and continued in more of a half shout.

"But calling him a monster is the last thing I would EVER accuse him of being. Monsters do not care for others, monsters do not help people that treat them like crap, and monsters enjoy hurting people. If anything, the villagers that show hate to him fit more in the category of monster before I would even consider Naruto as anything else other than who is truly is, and that is Uzumaki Naruto!"

Sakura sniffled, and rubbed her sore eyes. She then felt a comforting hand placed on her shoulder and looked up to see a Jiraiya giving a warm smile, "And that, is why I always pressure the fool to trust his friends." Sakura finally gave a soft smile while murmuring a silent 'thank you'

Jiraiya let out a sigh, and looked at the girl in pity. While he did not want to dump more responsibility on the girl's shoulders, he knew that he didn't really have any other option. He waited until Sakura appeared more calmed down before he spoke again.

"Unfortunately, I have more information to tell you." He ignored Sakura's surprised gasp and walked over to a public bench and gestured her to follow, this conversation was probably going to last a while.

'More information?! What else is there that I don't know?!' Sakura mused, while following his prompt to sit next to him as he began.

"As you know a jinkuriki-" He stopped talking when he noticed Sakura tense and heard the wood of the seat her hand was gripping give a loud crack, sending chips of wood flying around in a blur.

"Please Jiraiya-sama, don't use 'that' word...please." Sakura said above a whisper, staring at the ground.

"Sorry. As you know people with... tenants are linked via their chakra coils and depending on the complexity of their seals. From your experience with Gaara and his Bijuu tenant, the Shukaku, you can understand that the person can use specific abilities granted to them from the Bijuu sealed within them."

Sakura winced at the memory of the once crazed Gaara, and his strange abilities such as the control of sand, and his transformation. She nodded. Jiraiya thought his words through carefully and continued, "Naruto as well is granted abilities from his tenant, some you are familiar with, such as amazing stamina and faster healing compared to others...those are not the only abilities he is granted however. Did you ever notice a time where there was red chakra surrounding Naruto?"

Sakura didn't need to think long to recall a time, as she had over a year to ponder with herself about the mystery between Naruto and the Kyuubi, she was able to put certain things together, "Yes, during the chuunin exam in Naruto's match against Hyuuga Neji. I honestly lost all hope for Naruto's victory when Neji had sealed all of his Tenketsu...only now do I understand just how impossible it was for him to stand back up from such a severe injury...the wound should have even killed him if it wasn't for the Kyuubi."

Realising she was trailing off, she quickly got back to the question, "Soon after though, Naruto called forth red chakra, I heard many people in the crowd around me sort of start to panic, until they heard Naruto talk and give his traditional smile. The chakra though...it felt so evil....That was the Kyuubi's chakra Naruto called upon that time wasn't it?"

Jiraiya was astounded at the amount of knowledge Sakura knew so far, even though she was left in the dark for so long, "I see you really have had a lot of time to give this thought."

Sakura shrugged, "I respected the fact that Naruto wanted to keep it quiet, so I haven't been able to discuss it with anybody until yesterday."

Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding and then continued, "Yes, that is correct, Naruto can call upon the Kyuubi's chakra at his own will. There is however, a slight complication with that." Sakura's eyes widened and had a look of concern again, Jiraiya didn't want to leave her in suspense and continued.

"Yondaime designed the seal so that over time, Naruto is granted more access to the Kyuubi's chakra. In doing so, the Kyuubi slowly weakens over time, until it will reach a point where the Kyuubi will disappear forever, leaving nothing but a very large addition to Naruto's chakra pool. The problem with that is there is a bit of an unwanted side affect with that. Sometimes the chakra can be called out without his will. When this happens, he gains animalistic features such as sharpened nails, more defined whiskers, and most noticeably the bright Red eyes of the Kyuubi. When in this form, Naruto is granted enhanced strength, quicker regeneration, but originally had an attitude of a berserker."

Sakura's sudden gasp caused Jiraiya to wait, "T-That...that explains the time... during our time in the chuunin exams, when...Orochimaru came to mark Sasuke-kun with the cursed seal."

Jiraiya frowned, but didn't interrupt her recollecting thoughts, "Naruto went berserk when Sasuke-kun attempted to hand over our scroll in a desperate attempt to save us. He started attacking Orochimaru like crazy, but he was so strong...So strong that he was knocking a giant snake summon off balance, and even was able to hold it back from attempting to attack us...the Kyuubi made him do that?!"

Jiraiya nodded to the gaping and shocked girl, "I have discovered that Naruto unconsciously draws out the Kyuubi's chakra against his will when he gets extremely angry, probably some link formed with the Kyuubi's personality... I'm honestly not sure why. Fortunately, he is still completely himself, and is more in control and calmer now when that form happens." Sakura released the very long breath she was holding in relief. But raised an eyebrow when Jiraiya sighed, sounding somewhat disappointed

"I honestly wish to say 'that is all, now go see the gaki' but I'm sorry, that isn't the only limit of that state."

Sakura's body stiffened, but she urged Jiraiya to continue, "As Naruto's temper rises, the Kyuubi can flow more chakra throughout Naruto. It eventually becomes so much that it gets to a point, where the red chakra becomes visible to the ordinary eye, and a red layer of chakra forms around Naruto's body. The chakra acts independent to Naruto's body, and the chakra shapes itself in the form of a miniature Kyuubi with the inclusion of a 'chakra tail', that appears behind Naruto."

Quickly seeing if Sakura was still with him, he tried to cheer the now very inanimate girl up, "The good news though, is Naruto is still completely in control in this state and can easily remain calm."

He was confused though when Sakura's body language didn't change however, "…T-That's the second time you have said 'still in control'…please tell me it doesn't get worse." She whispered, no, begged Jiraiya.

Jiraiya inwardly cursed himself for his poor choice of words, "I am truly sorry Sakura…but now it gets worse."

Jiraiya honestly felt like taking on all of Akatsuki AND Orochimaru when he saw the already shocked girl begin to silently cry, with no trace of emotion on her face, "F-Forgive me, I don't even know why I'm crying, continue, please."

Jiraiya knew that if he kept going at this rate, he would have to explain to Tsunade why her apprentice experienced a nervous breakdown and had to return to Konoha, so he chose to smoothen out the razor sharp edges for the already bleeding to death girl.

"More tails grow over time as Naruto temper increases even more, each time a new tail is formed, the more control the Kyuubi gets over Naruto. While willpower helps with the second tail, it cannot hold the Kyuubi back for long when the third tail is formed, and Naruto has trouble distinguishing friend from foe...."

Jiraiya had to think very hard what words to use for the last form, "After the fourth tail is formed…..the boy that we all have come to know as Uzumaki Naruto, loses control completely...Naruto goes unconscious…and all that remains is the Kyuubi."

If there was a word that could describe Haruno Sakura at this point, the most fitting term was 'the living dead'. The girl's glassy eyes were fixed to the ground. She was not moving the slightest muscle, she could honestly compete with the Statues to their right. The only signs of any motion were the slow streams of tears running down her soft pale skin, and dripping down onto to turning muddy ground.

Jiraiya looked at her with complete concern, internally cursing himself endlessly for how much he screwed up with filling her in. He secretly thanked god when he heard her sniffle to show she was still sane.

"I…" Sakura croaked but tried again.

"E-ever since I joined team 7…I-I-I felt completely useless after our first real mission….. w-w-when Sasuke-kun l-left and Naruto tried to bring him back, p-promising me…I-I never felt so pathetic and u-useless in my l-life….I-It was the main reason I went to T-Tsunade-sama to beg and b-become her apprentice…s-so I no longer just watched t-their backs, and-and be able h-h-help them…."

She shook her head rapidly, remembering the sudden dark secret she had stumbled into, "B-But n-now I see that even after all t-this time…..I-I-I-I….I c-can do nothing but c-cry. I-I can't help him with this...I-I am still u-useless!"

Jiraiya couldn't take it anymore, and knew that he wasn't going to screw up this time, or he would never, EVER write an Icha Icha book again. "You are the only person right now that can help him." Jiraiya spoke loud, giving a warm smile to the girl that slowly turned her head to meet his firm gaze.

"I-I'm the only person who can h-help Naruto?" Sakura whispered, her emerald orbs showing an emotion Jiraiya was thankful for seeing.

Hope.

"That's right. Naruto no longer is alone amongst his friends, what truly matters to Naruto more than ever are your feelings towards him, and accepting him for who he is. Until he finally sees that people will accept him regardless of his burden, you are his only hope for seeing the truth to not be afraid."

Jiraiya noticed life returning in Sakura's face, as her eyes were narrowing and gleaming like fire in understanding and determination, "And you can help Naruto as well with his problem with the Kyuubi and Akatsuki, regardless what you truly believe." He reached into his coat, and pulled out several tags with the writing 'suppress' labelled in firm black on it.

"These are seal tags I have made that suppress Bijuu chakra instantly when placed on a target. While Naruto doesn't require these with the first tail, and in most cases, the second tail. The third tail….and above, will require these tags to be used. They will knock the wind out of him, but it is much better than the alternative. Carefully place one on his forehead, and the Kyuubi's influence over Naruto will vanish."

Sakura looked hard at the thin pieces of paper that were going to allow her to help Naruto. She reached for them, held them firm in her hand, and then placed them into her weapons pouch. Unconsciously she reached for her canteen afterwards, and drank several mouths full of water to sooth her dry throat. She then poured some of the cool, soothing liquid into her free palm and splashed it on her face, helping remove the grogginess feeling. She then reached for her long disposed of back pack sitting next to her, and unzipped the front compartment where she kept a small face washer and dried herself off.

Normally Jiraiya would be furiously jotting down in his note pad for his 'research' as he watched Sakura recompose herself, but decided it was for the very best not to, giving a quick glance at the seat she partly damaged earlier on reflex, he couldn't help but wince.

'Yep…she is a miniature version of Tsunade alright…Naruto, I hope to god you don't piss this kunoichi off, or you may encounter something worse to fear other than the Akatsuki…the wrath of one very angry woman.'

He was brought out of his thought by Sakura's surprisingly strong and confident voice, "What will you do now, Jiraiya-sama?" Jiraiya stood up and stretched emitting a loud and hollow crack from his neck and back.

"I will be heading off to this outpost that was found near the border town in the fire country, then once that has been investigated, I'll move on to the next one that has is in the Lightning country." He groaned at the long journey ahead of him.

Sakura remained seated and bowed her head deep in thought. Looking ahead at her own new task and responsibility set before her.

She then looked up at Jiraiya with a strong gaze full of determination, "You have my word Jiraiya-sama, I will look after Naruto."

Jiraiya smirked and chuckled, as he began walking towards the forest their team came from earlier, "I don't doubt you will. Now you best catch up with your group before they start gathering suspicions hmm." Jiraiya hinted suggestively. Sakura had no clue what Jiraiya was implying with that, but decided to ignore it.

"Good luck with your journey, Jiraiya-sama." He waved dismissively, then disappeared into darkness of the forest, leaving behind Sakura.

She decided to sit on the bench for a few moments longer, until she picked up her pack and began her walk along the quiet bridge, more eager to meet her teammate more than ever.