Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.

Bodyguard of Azula

Chapter 69: Loss and Resolution

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Bijū/spirit talking"

"Bijū/spirit thinking"

(Location: Team Paragon)

"Well, that was a bit of a bust." Naruto stated as he and the rest of his team made their way through the forest. It had been three weeks since Sasuke had been brought back to Konoha. Once they had knew that Sasuke was going to be fine (even though he would be staying in the hospital for an extended time), they had gone back onto missions like usual. Like before, they were looking for information, but this time they were looking for the location of the Akatsuki (having concluded that Amegakure was just way too obvious).

"That would depend on your definition of a bust, gaki." Jiraiya said in response. They had gone to one of the neighboring countries surrounding the Land of Fire looking for information. They found information, but it wasn't what some of the team were looking for.

"All we got was a name and a possible country. I'd call that a bit of a bust." The blonde replied.

"We got something, didn't we?" Sokka asked. The Tribesman looked vaguely annoyed at his teammate's attitude.

"I said a bit." He retorted, offended that it sounded like he had thought it was all for nothing.

"And that's a point to him." Azula remarked, earning herself a grin from her boyfriend and making her blush slightly in return, having seen that grin the last time they were in the bedroom, just before he had pinned her to the wall and took her there. Ever since that night, they had frequently danced the bedroom tango (although, not as frequently as Sokka and Suki). At first, they tried to keep it a secret, but were found out by Jiraiya (surprisingly enough, he didn't ask for any details).

"Still, something is better than nothing." June said from atop of Nyla, leading the way.

"But where is this Mountains' Graveyard?" Suki asked. "A possible country isn't much to go on. We could be going on a dead-end chase."

"Kinda makes ya wish for the old days." Sokka mused aloud.

Naruto looked over at him with a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about, 'the old days'?" He asked. "We're teenagers, Sokka. We are too young to have old days."

"I was talking about during the war." The Water Paragon replied easily. "You know, the one where we went around our side of the planet with you, Azula, and Zuko coming after us?"

"And that's a point to him." June commented. Nyla seemed to hiss in agreement.

"Things were much simpler then." Sokka continued. "Go here, learn this, talk to this person, and above all, defeat the Fire Lord. It was much simpler, see?" They could see his point.

"They always do in hindsight." Jiraiya told him. "Odds are in a few years, maybe even a decade, what we do now, we'll consider the old days."

"Except for you." said Azula. "You already have old days, so you already have a lead on us." While the Toad Sage scowled, everyone else laughed.

"In any case, how long before we get back to the village?" Suki asked.

"We're close." The Toad Sage answered her, glad to be moving on from the dig at him. "I'd say we're about one, two hours away." He cast a look over at Naruto. He wasn't sure if the Kotoamatsukami working or not, but the Toad Sage had seen the blonde grow more and more cordial with the Konoha Eleven and the village in general. It was going quicker than before, but not completely. And there were times when Naruto would look a little confused after a talk, like he had no idea what he had just said. While that did give Jiraiya hope, it was inconsistent. But with any luck, the little surprise that was waiting for them back at the village would help somehow.

"Good, I could use some sleep." Naruto said, mostly to himself. Despite what the Kyūbi and his parents had urged him to do, he was still unsure of telling his team (and most definitely Azula) about what was in his head. It also didn't help the fact that he could still hear the voice speaking, trying to urge him to do something or say something that would make him even more loyal to the village. But even though he kept refusing, sometimes it would get through and he would do whatever it wanted him to do. And even though the fox had knew about the voice, in the three weeks after that day, he still had no luck catching the voice.

"Are you sure you're thinking of something else?" June asked him with a suggestive smirk on her lips.

"For the love of Kami, June," He said with a light blush on his cheeks (which Azula had the same). "I actually want to sleep. Who do you take me for, Sokka?" The blush vanished from their faces and appeared on Sokka's and Suki's faces.

"Hm, you have a point there. Besides, with that supposed 'surprise' F.S.-sensei has been telling us about, they're the only ones who could." She acknowledged before laughing aloud. Everyone else, with the exception of Sokka and Suki, joined in the laughter (the Water and Earth Paragon tried to not join the laughter, but the fact that what Naruto said was true and the laughter was infectious, made them join in soon).

But in that brief moment of laughter, they had unconsciously dropped their guard. And it was taken advantage of. "Shinra Tensei." A voice familiar to the blonde spoke from the forest. Everyone, with the exception of Naruto and Jiraiya, was suddenly thrown into the forest opposite of where the voice came from.

Both the blonde and the Toad Sage heard their shouts fill the air before being silenced by hitting trees. And all the while, Naruto felt a cold chill go down his back. "Oh, Kami save me. It's them." He realized with a deep sense of dread.

"Hmm, it seems I misjudged the range." The voice of Pain spoke. "I had intended to make all but the Jinchūriki unconscious." All six of the Pains stepped out from behind the surrounding trees, making their presence known to both Naruto and Jiraiya. "But it will still be easier now, and much less time-consuming."

When he saw the spiky-haired Pain, Jiraiya's eyes went wide in shock and surprise. "Is that you, Yahiko?" He demanded.

The Pain in question tilted his head, like he was a dog listening to an odd sound. "You see Yahiko in this Pain? Interesting, but you were his sensei after all."

"What's going on here?" The Toad Sage almost shouted. "Konan said you were dead!"

"You know this guy, F.S.-sensei?" Naruto demanded, gesturing with his head at the spiky-haired Pain.

"He was one of my former students, a kid named Yahiko. I met him, Konan, and another kid during the Second Shinobi World War." He stopped and looked more closely at the Pain he knew. "What happened to Nagato, Yahiko? Why do you and these other five people have the Rinnegan?"

"This body is not Yahiko, Jiraiya-sensei, we are now Pain." The spiky-haired Pain gestured to the other Pains surrounding the two. "As for Nagato, Konan was correct. He is dead." There was no hint of emotion in his voice. He sounded like he was just stating facts. If the blonde and the Toad Sage were being honest with themselves, it was a little unnerving.

"Where is Konan?" Naruto asked as he looked around. He was trying to stall for time, hoping that his teammates would get back up and help even the odds.

"She is not here." The bald Pain said, swinging the attention over to him. "We do not need for her to watch over everything that we do. This is something that does not require her." And without saying anything more, the bald Pain charged straight at them. He was going for Jiraiya, who saw him coming and stood ready. When he got close, the Toad Sage attacked first with a kick, forcing the Pain onto the defensive.

The spiky-haired Pain lifted his hand and pointed in the two combatants' direction. Naruto realized what he was trying to do and immediately threw two kunai at him. He saw the incoming projectiles and swung his hand in their direction. "Shinra Tensei." He spoke, sending them flying away.

"Keep an eye on that one." Naruto shouted at Jiraiya as he leapt for the chubby Pain. "He's like a magnet, able to draw or repel things with a jutsu!"

"Is it continuous?" He asked back as he ducked under a punch and tried to sweep the bald Pain's legs out from under him. It didn't work, but the bald Pain was forced to back off a little, allowing him to continue pressing the attack.

"No, but the delay between uses is only five seconds. Now cover your eyes!" The blonde ordered as he pulled out a few smoke bombs and threw them to the ground, covering the area in smoke. As the Pains just stood there, waiting for the smoke to clear, Naruto and Jiraiya regrouped.

"What was that all about?" The Toad Sage demanded as they hid in a nearby tree. A quick look past the trunk of the tree told them that their teammates were still unconscious.

"They can all see what one sees." Naruto hurriedly explained. "You can't fight one when all of them can see you, otherwise they can see what you're doing from every possible angle and act accordingly. You have to fight them one-on-one."

"That's going to be difficult." He admitted. Even he would have trouble against that kind of ability to see the battlefield. But he could see a way around it. "You could counter it with your Kage Bunshin."

"I was thinking the same thing. Overwhelm them and then isolate them." The blonde agreed with a nod of his head. If they isolated each of the Pains, their ability to see what the others saw would be greatly hampered, if not completely voided.

"Okay, when the smoke clears, you take the lead." Jiraiya ordered. "Isolate the Pains. I'll take care of the bald one."

"Alright, but be careful. Whatever that bald Pain, it isn't a normal person."

"What do you mean?"

Before he could answer, the sound of a tree snapping filled the air and their ears. "Shinra Tensei." Pain spoke. The tree began to fall, crashing into the ground. The entire forest shook from the impact of the fallen tree and yet, the other members of Team Paragon would not stir.

"You okay, gaki?" The Toad Sage demanded. When the tree had begun to fall, he had leapt clear of it and landed safely. But he hadn't kept track of Naruto.

"I'm pinned!" The blonde answered. He hadn't been so lucky or quick in getting off of the tree. The end result was he had his arm caught by a tangle of branches and it was hard to get it out.

"You know, Jiraiya-sensei, you really should try to learn to keep your voice down when you discuss strategy." Pain's voice idly commented as the pony-tailed one came into view. "It rendered the smoke cover moot."

"That one can use summons!" Naruto informed Jiraiya as he tried to get his hand free.

"What kind of summons?" He asked back, staying between the blonde and the member of the Akatsuki.

"I don't know. He summoned something when he went after Bee, that's all I can really tell you."

"How helpful," He muttered to himself as he refocused his attention back on the Pain in front of him. When it looked like he was about to clasp his hands together, the Toad Sage leapt into combat, flipping through the handseals. "Ranjishigami no Jutsu!" He cried, his hair lengthening and taking the shape of a lion's mouth.

The pony-tailed Pain just watched in silence as the hair of the Toad Sage came flying at him. When it got into striking distance, he simply jumped out of the way. But the jutsu wouldn't let him go that easily (and neither would its user). It curved back into the air and went after him. Wherever he would land, the hair of Jiraiya would be right behind him. It ended when the Pain stumbled slightly. It was enough for the jutsu to catch him. As Jiraiya concentrated, two strands of hair rose up and began to wrap around the Pain's neck.

"Look out on your left!" Naruto suddenly warned him. He cast an eye over to his left and saw the long-haired Pain coming straight at him with a hand raised. Not sure if it was the same as the ability as the spiky-haired Pain (he would figure out if that was Yahiko or not later, much later), he stayed out of reach and also directed some of his hair at him too. "No, don't do that!" His student told him as the hair flew at the intended target.

"What? Why?" Jiraiya demanded. He got his answer when the pudgy Pain leapt in front of the long-haired Pain and held his hands.

"That's why. That Pain can absorb jutsus!" True to Naruto's words, there was a brief flash of light as a barrier appeared between the chubby Pain and the Toad Sage's hair. When the hair struck the barrier, it recoiled like it had been stung by something. It fell lifelessly to the ground and returned to its normal length. The hair holding the pony-tailed Pain also fell to the ground and returned to the normal length, allowing the person it had been holding to get free.

Without saying a word, the three began to attack Jiraiya. "Come on, arm." Naruto snarled as he tried to get it free. "Get out already." He craned his neck to look over at the rest of Team Paragon. Hope rose in his chest as he saw that they were beginning to stir. "They're coming around." He thought with relief. "We just need to hold on."

Meanwhile, the Toad Sage was barely able to hold his own against three of the Pains. He was using just about every trick and method of fighting he knew to stay alive. His three opponents were working in perfect unison against him. He was forced to keep the pony-tailed Pain from trying to summon anything while also keeping the long-haired Pain out of touching distance, all the while fighting the bald Pain.

If his opponents were having any difficulty, they did not show it. Instead, they kept blank expressions on their faces. As they fought, the other three Pains appeared. But they didn't join the fight. Instead, they just hung back and observed. "Try to break free from your fight, F.S.-sensei!" Naruto shouted when he saw the other three. "Go for the bulky-looking one."

"Why would I do that?" Jiraiya asked as he danced away from the long-haired Pain while also simultaneously throwing a kunai at the pony-tailed Pain, forcing him to catch it and keeping his hands apart, and planting a foot in the bald Pain's torso, sending him stumbling to the ground. His cloak got caught on a nearby rock and was torn off, revealing his additional arms and blade-tail.

"He can revive the other Pains! If he's taken out, they stay down for good." He explained hurriedly. Hearing a groan, he looked over and Sokka sitting up. "Sokka, help me get free!" The blonde shouted at the Tribesman.

"What?" Sokka asked in return, a little dazed. As his vision cleared and he saw how his teammate was trapped, he immediately drew his Zanpakutō and rushed over. When he was by Naruto's side, he began to hack at the trapping branches.

Suki and Azula had also come to at that point, along with Akela and Nyla. The wolf automatically to Sokka's side and tried to help free Naruto. Suki went after the pudgy Pain, her fans out and ready to use. She attempted to use them to distract the pudgy Pain's sight, with only marginal success. Azula attacked the long-haired Pain with a flying spin kick, bending fire at him and sending him back. The only one who didn't really move was Nyla, who was attempting to wake June up.

"Hurry up!" Naruto urged Sokka.

"I'm working on it!" He replied, hacking away at the branches. Akela was gnawing at a different branch in the tangle, trying to get the blonde free in another way. Naruto could his arm getting free, but it was a slow process.

Jiraiya, now free of two opponents, was able to attack the bald Pain more freely. Drawing a kunai that seemed to glisten somehow, he approached the bald Pain and struck quickly. The bald Pain tried to move out of the way, but the kunai was still able to shallowly pierce his side. When he saw the blood fly, the Toad Sage grinned and kicked the bald Pain away. "Now for the next one," He declared silently, moving directly for the bulky Pain.

What happened next would be etched into Team Paragon's memories for the rest of their lives. Just as June was finally coming to, Jiraiya was charging at the bulky Pain, the kunai at the ready. But just as he reached the intended Pain, the spiky-haired Pain, who everyone had forgotten about, stepped in between the two, raised his hand, and said "Shinra Tensei."

Silence seemed to engulf them all as Jiraiya backwards into the air, only to end with a sickening sound, like bloody meat being skewered, as he was impaled on the blade-tail of the bald Pain.

"NO!" Naruto screamed as the Toad Sage slipped off the blade-tail and fell face-first into the ground. The blonde began to struggle even more fiercely to get free.

The spiky-haired Pain saw his reaction and how he tried to get free. "We are done here." He declared. The other Pains all grouped around him (those who had combatants were able to disengage easily as their opponents were staring at the body of Jiraiya in stunned shock). They leapt away, leaving the team alone in the forest.

"There!" Sokka cried as he finally cut through the branch. Naruto pulled his arm out and raced over to Jiraiya, rolling his body over.

The Toad Sage was still as he faced the sky. "…Ow…" He breathed out, blood seeping out of the wound. "I guess…one was the only one I… could get."

"Just stay still, F.S.-sensei." The blonde told him. He tried to pull some medical supplies out, only to have a hand grab his, stopping him.

"Don't bother…gaki." He said, gently admonishing. "This…is it for me."

"No. No it's not. You are going to live, do you hear me? You're not going to die." He refused to believe that Jiraiya was going to die.

"Yes…I am. I only wish I…could've gotten more one of the Pains."

"What are you talking about?" Sokka asked him.

He held the kunai up for a brief moment, letting everyone see the glistening on it. "One of…Orochimaru's poisons," He explained. "It targets…the chakra, making the user…lose control, weakens, and eventually…dies of chakra poisoning. There's no antidote…or cure for it."

"How long have you had that?" Suki asked.

"A…while," He admitted with a wheeze. His breathing began to slow down and the blood seemed to seep out faster.

"Come on, you perverted bastard. Just hold on until we get back to the village." Naruto begged him, his tone taking on a pleading tone. "Tsunade will fix you right back up and you'll be fine."

He gave a weak smile in return. "We both…know I wouldn't make it…to the gate alive. Still, at least…I didn't die a…meaningless death. I lived…long and well." He turned his head to the side and spat the blood that was filling his mouth. The blood didn't fly far as he had probably had intended. It only went a few inches from his mouth. "…Hey, Naruto," He said, his voice getting weaker.

"Yes?" The blonde replied.

"Whatever…you decide to do…about Konoha, I won't…judge you. It's…your choice." The Toad Sage promised.

He smiled sadly at those words. "How would you be able to do that if you're going to be dead like you think you are? Do you know some way to come back from the grave?" Everyone smiled at that small jab. Even though it wasn't a good one, they knew it was probably going to be the last one between the two.

Jiraiya could grin very weakly at that. "Fair point," He conceded. "Well, at least…promise me something." His voice was getting quieter and weaker with every word he spoke.

"What?"

"Promise…me…that you'll…keep…writing. I…think…it's…time I put…my…pen…down…" That last word seemed to disappear halfway past his lips as his breathing stilled and the life finally went out from his eyes. Thus, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Konohagakure, did die.

As Naruto stared at the body of his sensei, it finally seemed like the fact had reached him. As he realized it, that small voice in his mind tried to make its move, taking the opportunity to try and make the blonde more loyal to Konoha with the death of Jiraiya. But that was a fatal mistake, as the Kyūbi, who had been chasing that voice ever since he learned about it, had been waiting in wait. "Hello there." The fox said with a savage grin as he grabbed hold of the voice and everything it represented. "I believe you have been doing something that neither my Jinchūriki nor I agree with. It's going to stop now."

Four days later, Jiraiya's funeral was held, and every single person in Konoha attended. Shops and hotels were closed and drinking establishments would be the same until nightfall (where they would open with incredibly low prices for drinks, so that people could raise a cup to the memory of Jiraiya. It was a time-honored tradition of Konoha). The Academy and other schools in the village had the day canceled. The Fire Daimyo had even declared that the day was to be one of mourning. The Land of Fire, and Konoha most of all, had lost one of their heroes.

As everyone in the village filled the streets, bowing their heads in remembrance as the funeral bells rang, those who were of high rank in the village and those who knew the man personally stood before his grave in the cemetery. Tsunade stood in front of the headstone, facing everyone else. "We are…" She began to speak, her voice choked and filled with emotions she tried to shove back down. It was hard to speak like a leader speaking of a subordinate when said subordinate had been her teammate and friend. "We are here to remember and honor the life of Jiraiya, the Toad Sage." She started again, trying to keep her voice level. "He had served the village faithfully throughout his years, even when I had lost faith and Orochimaru had betrayed it. He was the kind of shinobi other shinobi worth their kunai should have strived to be. And although some of his habits may have been considered weird, odd, or downright perverted, he was a good man." A small smile came upon her face as she looked back at the grave. "And he was a good friend too."

As she spoke, Naruto glanced over at the people standing by him and his team. As it turned out, the little surprise Jiraiya had told Team Paragon was supposed to be a visit from Team Avatar. He had been planning it for a week before his death and they had only arrived that day. They had waited at the gate along with Tsunade (who was there to keep an eye on them) to surprise Team Paragon, only to see them coming up to the gate with a body on their shoulders, walking like they were in a funeral march. And now, they stood quietly beside him, wearing white clothes (which Team Paragon, with the exception of Naruto, also wore) as opposed to the black that everyone else was wearing. "Would anyone like to share something about him one last time?" Tsunade asked, getting Naruto's attention again. Everyone there could tell she wanted to say something, but as the Hokage, she had to let someone else start.

"I would." Kakashi said aloud as he stepped forward. "It was a bad time after the Kyūbi attacked. Minato-sensei had been killed along with his wife. I tried to bury myself in work to try and ignore the thought that I had failed them and the pain that came with it. But it didn't work and I was slowly falling into a depression. That was when Lord Jiraiya found me. He told me he knew a surefire way to cheer me up and get me out my depression. I told him that nothing could do that. He just grinned, handed me a copy of the first Icha-Icha book and said 'Get back to me when you're done with that and see if you think it still won't help.' So I read the book and in the end, he had been right. It's thanks to Lord Jiraiya that I was able to serve the village to my full capacity again and that I became a fan of Icha-Icha." No one said a word about what he said as he stepped back. In all honesty, no one had really heard that story before. Suddenly, Kakashi's habit of reading the series in public made a lot more sense to a lot of them.

Zuko was the one who stepped forward next. He had grown his hair out a little since Naruto and his team had seen him last and was a little brawnier too, although his clothes hid the fact. "I remember this one day in Ba Sing Se." He began. "Jiraiya had been going around the city, and I went after him to make sure he didn't cause any incidents. I eventually found him sitting at a table in a marketplace, writing in a small book. It had been so odd to see him like that, not chasing after every single beautiful woman that crossed his path, so I stayed silent and watched. It was later I learned that he had been writing down observations about the people he saw and was creating characters from what he saw. It was one of those things that would make a person realize that Jiraiya was a far more complex man then you would originally think."

"There was this one time, when my father brought me into the council room when I was a mere Genin." Hiashi said, stepping forward as Zuko stepped back. "Both the clan heads and the Civilian council had been arguing about who would succeed the Sandaime as Hokage, with both Tsunade and Orochimaru as the favorites. After a few minutes watching silently, I joined the argument. It had soon left the council room and went to a drinking establishment where the Sannin were. Both Tsunade and Orochimaru soon joined the argument, each for their own side. When someone had suggested Jiraiya for a candidate, the man himself spat out the sake he had been drinking and asked that someone if he was and I quote, 'Out of his fucking mind?' He then began to list off the reasons why he shouldn't be Hokage or even let close to it. After that, he berated everyone there for the argument, saying that the Sandaime wasn't dead yet and had plenty of years left. He also told us that we should also look at the next generation, not just our own. He said, 'For all we know, the next Hokage could be a student of mine.' To this day, I am still convinced that Lord Jiraiya knew exactly who the Yondaime Hokage would be." The shinobi there shared a small chuckle at those words. In that sense, Jiraiya had been a bit of prophet, as his student did become the Hokage.

"I remember that day as well." Tsunade said with a smile on her face as well. "What I can always remember the clearest was the look on Orochimaru's face when the sake was sprayed onto his face." It wasn't something she was going to forget. "But what I can remember even more clearly was the when we found that Jiraiya was going to be a father for the first time. Everyone in the village knew about his habits and how he kept sleeping around. So when he first heard the news, we all thought he was going to ignore the situation for as long as he could and even try to avoid the girl. But Jiraiya surprised us by stepping up and accepting responsibility, even going as far as offering to marry her. All through the nine months of her pregnancy, he was nervous and uncertain, not sure he would be a good father even when both I and Orochimaru, and even Sarutobi-sensei had assured him that he would be. But when his firstborn was a stillborn and the mother had died in childbirth, he broke down and wept. I always remember that day, because it reminded me that no matter what he would do or cause, Jiraiya was still a man who wanted a family and always cried when he was denied the chance."

One by one, someone stepped up and told a story they knew about Jiraiya, how the man helped them or influenced their choices. No matter what kind of story it was, they told it and they always had something positive to say about the Toad Sage. Finally, when the last person had finished their story, they all looked at Naruto. "Your turn, kit," The Kyūbi quietly urged him.

He stepped forward in silence and turned to face the crowd, just like the others had before him. "The first time I met F.S.-sensei was when he had been peeking on the women's side of the hot springs." He began. "I called him a pervert for it and he objected, declaring that he was a Super Pervert instead. And that was just one of the many things I was proven wrong about him." He was silent for a moment before continuing. "When it came to training someone, he was a sadist. But he also demanded perfection, or something close to it. He acted like a buffoon and yet, there were times when he seemed to look directly at the being of someone. And though what he wrote may not have been the most celebrated of books, he knew how to write a story. He was a friend, he was a comrade, he was a father-figure, but above all, he was a shinobi. And he will be missed." He turned to face the headstone, so no one could see the tears that threatened to fall down his face. "I will miss him."

Taking the flower in his hands, he placed down on the grave. As he stepped back, others began to walk forward, placing the flowers on the grave. Once they had had done so, they began to trickle away. From a distance, it looked like a crowd that slowly began to disappear into the street. When the cemetery had only Tsunade and Naruto left, they stared in silence at the grave. It was finally the Hokage who spoke. "We need to get going."

He didn't say anything in response; he just followed her out of the cemetery. The few people who were still in the street bowed their heads to Tsunade. They knew that she would personally be moaning for the loss of Jiraiya. They didn't pay any attention to Naruto and he didn't pay any attention to them. The two of them just kept on walking, entering the Hokage building. They made their way through the building until they entered her office, with the rest of the clan heads waiting for them.

Tsunade walked around to the other side of her desk and faced the rest of the people in the room. "As most of you are aware, Jiraiya left me his last will and testament. It has been revised as of last week and was given to me with the instructions of being read after his funeral." Her voice thickened with the last word. But she cleared her voice and began to read the will aloud:

This is the last will and testament of Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Konohagakure.

In the event of my death, I bequeath the following items to the following people:

To the Inuzuka clan, I give the deed to the forest areas to the south and southwest of the village, as I know you all have been using it for years for tracking exercises, even without my permission.

To the Akimichi clan, I give you all the right to build on any building in the village I own. I only ask that one of them be rebuilt as a restaurant that has my name somewhere on the sign.

To the Yamanaka clan, I give the right to access any greenhouses I have used and own in the village, as there are many rare plants and flowers in them that you will be able to use.

To the Nara clan, I give my notebooks of different medical applications and techniques I have seen in my travels. With any luck, there are some that you haven't found and will record properly in your medicine books.

To the village of Konohagakure, I give the sum of two billion ryō and half of my investments, to be used wisely.

To my teammate and friend Tsunade, I give my collection of rare and vintage sake, with the request that the first one to be opened is used to toast me. I also give you the other half of my investments, in the hope that you'll finally pay off your debts.

To my student and godson Naruto, I give the original manuscripts of the entire Icha-Icha collection, along with first draft details of characters and rough sketches, as you are the only person I trust enough to not burn them. I ask that you published the last book of the series if I have not done so before my death. I also give to you, the remainder of my money, with the request that you first use it to help create the fifth country of the Bending Countries.

It is my wish that these terms be given to the correct people, and that they will stop once in a while to remember me.

Jiraiya the Toad Sage, of Konohagakure

She lowered the will and looked at the clan heads. "Are there any objections to what was stated in the will?" She asked them.

They all shook their heads in the negative. "The Hyūga clan will help the Civilian council with the proper use of Lord Jiraiya's given investments." Hiashi told her. The Toad Sage had made many investments over the years and most of them had kept him well funded. To be given half would be a great boon to the village, if they were used correctly.

"Thank you." She replied. "If there are no further problems, I would like to speak with Naruto alone." The clan heads took that as the invitation to leave. Soon, the room only had the two blondes left. "…Are you going to do what he asked of you?" She asked him after a moment of silence.

"Yes." He answered shortly.

"Will you do it from the village, or—"

"I know what you would want me to say, Tsunade." He said, cutting her off. "It's not happening. As soon as the job we have here is done, we're gone." Ever since the Kyūbi had destroyed the voice inside his head, having torn it apart, the blonde had a sense of clarity he hadn't realized he lost. He now remembered and knew where his loyalties belonged, no ifs or buts about it. Quite frankly, he wondered how he could be so doubtful in the first place.

"I see." She said quietly. She now knew his stance and opinion were firm. While she was glad the Kotoamatsukami was broken, it sadden her to see him make his choice.

His gaze, which had been hardened since the will was read, soften somewhat. "I'll leave you alone." He told her, walking to the door and leaving the office. She did nothing for a couple of seconds before finally engaging the Silence Seal. Once she knew it was active, she broke down and cried like a baby. The next morning, Shizune would find her at the desk, sleeping but still crying.

(Location: Naruto)

He was alone in the house. Azula and the others, along Aang and the rest of Team Avatar, had all gone to a nearby bar to raise a cup to Jiraiya. But he stood in front of the safe that was in the house. He had said that he would take a look at it when he and the clones had been cleaning the place but a mixture of being busy all the time and some shape of an idea that he should keep away prevented him opening it.

But with the death of Jiraiya, he was done. He could hear Tobi's words echoing in his head as he stared at the safe.

"The next time we meet will be the one where you give us yourself voluntarily."

He would go to them. That much was certain. And he would go voluntarily. But he wouldn't go to give himself up. No, he was going so he could finally end it. Jiraiya's death had been the last straw. It had given him the resolve to go through with the idea. And the minute that resolve came into being, the idea that he should leave the safe alone disappeared. "It took you long enough." The voice of the skull said to him. Even though he knew it wasn't actually there, he could see it sitting on the top of the safe.

He ignored it and knelt down so that he was face-to-face with the safe, placing his hands on both sides. This was a particular kind of safe, made only in the Elemental Countries. You could spin the combination lock all you wanted but if the safe didn't acknowledge your chakra, it wouldn't open for you. But he had a feeling that it would recognize him. Without saying a word, he placed his hand on the lock and spun what he thought was the combination. The sound of the safe unlocking gave him his answer. "Thank you, Mom and Dad." He said silently. He had guessed correctly that the combination was the date of his birth.

Inside the safe was a single scroll. Attached to the scroll was a letter that said READ ME FIRST! He took the letter out, opened it, and began to read:

Naruto

If you are reading this, it means that we died before we could tell you of your heritage. It is important to know the history of what is in this safe. It has a bloody past and concerns both the Uzumaki clan and the Namikaze clan.

As you have probably already learned in the Academy, the Sage of the Six Paths had two sons, who fought each other for the rest of their lives because of what they believed in. But there's more to the story than that. When the Sage fought the Jūbi, he used a special kind of sword called a Zanpakutō, which had shattered during the battle. While he had learned how to possible repair it when initially forging it, he never felt the need to do so. And he knew that if someone were to try and successfully repair it for ill intent, it would be disastrous for the world.

So when he was on his deathbed, he entrusted the remnants of his Zanpakutō to his eldest son and the secret to forging and repairing it to his youngest son. As the years passed and the descendants of the two sons eventually became the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan, there was another rivalry happening. You probably aren't aware, Naruto, but the Uzumaki clan is distantly related to the Senju clan and the Namikaze clan can claim the same with the Uchiha clan. The Namikaze clan had possession of the remnants and the Uzumaki clan had possession of the secret.

Throughout the years, the two clans have feuded with each other. For some, it was to protect what the clan held and for others, it was to gain what the other clan had. But while the Uzumaki clan prospered through the years, the Namikaze clan was whittled down by other shinobi clans who had heard of a powerful they kept. Save for a few members of the main family, who fled with the remnants, they were finally wiped out during the First Shinobi World War. The survivors fled to Konoha and were given protection. And even then, they died out, leaving your father to be the only living Namikaze left.

And while your mother may have been trained by her uncle Kenji, who was the current keeper of the secret and was renowned as a swordsman, the secret was passed to her by the Shodaime Hokage's wife, Mito Uzumaki, who had kept the secret before Kenji (and had passed it to him), when they had heard of Uzushiogakure's destruction.

Naruto, you are now the keeper of two secrets that have been kept from each for centuries. Therefore, we plead that you do not take what is in this safe unless you truly have no other choice. We plead this for the sake of your safety and sanity. Because if you try to attempt to remake the Zanpakutō of the Sage of the Six Paths and fail, you could very well lose your mind, if not your life.

Please think carefully before you make your choice. And if you decided that there is no other way, then once you've taken remnants, go to the ruins of Uzushiogakure. Find the shrine in the clan head's house. Turn the sword you find there to our symbol. You will know where to go from there. Your instincts will guide you.

We will always love you.

Your father & mother

Minato Namikaze & Kushina Uzumaki

The way the words were written were not consistent, they altered between two different styles. If he had to guess, they took turns writing the letter. It was a warning, he could tell. But he had no other choice. He put the letter to the side and looked at the scroll itself. It wasn't elaborate or had fancy drawings on its surface. It was just a plain, almost boring scroll.

"Are you going to admire it some more or are you going to pick it up now?" The skull asked him, sounding annoyed. He glanced upward and saw the thing was still perched on the top of the safe.

Naruto didn't say anything in response. He just grabbed the scroll and closed the safe. He walked into the living room and placed the scroll in the small pack he had been packing since he had returned to the house. After double-checking that he had everything he needed, he placed the pack on his back and went for the door. He stopped and looked at the table next to the door. On it was the goggles he wore before he became a shinobi. Jiraiya had given them back to him two days after they had return from the capital. He looked at it for a moment, remembering all the memoires he associated it with. He looked away, only to suddenly realize that the top part of his vision was getting obscured by his hair. "I should find something to hold it back." He mused to himself. Looking back to the goggles, he shrugged and grabbed them. With a practiced ease that he had forgotten he had, he placed the goggles around his forehead. Now finally ready, he went out the door and closed it behind him.

The streets were empty, as it was now night and everyone was at home or at the drinking establishments celebrating Jiraiya's life. But he wasn't going to risk the chance of going down the main streets and be seen. He stuck to the back alleys and side lanes, where the shadows covered him and practically everything else. He moved quickly and quietly. Even though it took him longer to get to the gate, he still made good time. He walked straight ahead, not looking back.

"Planning to be gone long, Naruto?" asked the voice of Kakashi, coming from the shadows that fell over the side of the gate. It looked like he had been waiting for the blond.

He almost snarled at the frustration of being found out, but kept it down. "How did you know?" He asked in return, keeping his expression neutral.

"Would you be referring to the fact that you're sneaking out of the village, or that you plan to face Tobi alone?" The masked shinobi asked almost mildly.

"Both." He answered shortly.

"Give me some credit, Naruto." He said with an eye-smile that was barely visible in the darkness. "You may have left and you may have changed, but you were still my student. I know how you think, even if you try to deny otherwise."

The blonde stifled an annoyed growl at those words (he didn't want to think that others knew how he thought). "Are you going to try and stop me?" If that was the case, he couldn't promise he would leave the masked shinobi alive (even though he wouldn't say that aloud).

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I'm not." He answered. "You may not know, but you're like your mother when it comes to things like this. Once you've set your mind on something, it's all but impossible to change it. That's probably one of the main reasons she was able to marry Minato." He said the last bit with a chuckle, like it was an amusing memory.

"If you're not going to stop me, why are you here?" The Fire Paragon wanted to waste no time and he was being delayed by his former sensei.

"I'm here because I want you to do something for me." The masked shinobi told him, becoming a little more serious.

"And what is that?"

He reached down into a pouch at his side and pulled something out. "When you find Tobi, I want you to give this to him." He held the item for Naruto to take.

The blonde did so, taking them in his hand and examining them in the moonlight. "They're goggles." He said after looking them over. They were indeed goggles, but they weren't like the ones currently on his head. These had one giant lens for both eye that was tinted orange that were connected to something that looked like they were wore over the ears by straps. Even though it looked like they had been cared for, he could still see that they were old.

"Yes, they are." Kakashi answered. "With any luck, he will understand what they mean."

"So you do know him!" The blonde said to him with both an accusatory tone and glare, looking up from the goggles in his hand.

"Maybe, once," The masked shinobi answered cryptically, earning him a scowl instead of a glare. "Weren't you going?" He asked, deflecting the oncoming demands. He wasn't going to explain any further.

"…Yeah, I was." Naruto replied, stuffing the goggles into the pack. "Goodbye, Kakashi." He walked past the gate and out of the village.

He watched as his former student suddenly took off, running at shinobi speed down the road. "Goodbye, Naruto." He said quietly into the night air as he walked away from the gate and back into the village. "And don't worry, if there's anything left of the person I once knew, if you show him those goggles, you'll find out who he is."

End

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

And thus, we begin the last arc of this story. I only hope I will be able to write a satisfactory ending for it.

Jiraiya is dead. Did you really expect me to do otherwise? I had always planned for that to happen. It gave Naruto that push he needed to finish it. Granted, it's not exactly the same thing as it was in canon, but I think the basics were covered. Besides, his death caused that little voice in Naruto's head to finally disappear and let him think clearly again, allowing him to finally make his choice about his loyalties. I'd say that's a somewhat positive thing.

I believe that just because his friend betrayed and abandoned the village, he wouldn't be above using whatever was left behind, especially if it was useful in some way. I mean, come on, he was a shinobi, after all. He had to be practical.

Yep, Team Avatar is in the Elemental Countries. Just because they didn't come when it started, didn't mean that they wouldn't be there when it ended. Besides, I've got something planned for Aang. And before you ask me what it is, you will just have to wait and see.

If anyone has a problem with the way I did the will part, I apologize. I have never heard a will being read or have read one myself. So, I did what I thought worked. And as for the investments bit, I don't think Jiraiya was one to spend all his money needlessly. I would think he'd make good investments and they, along with his books, were what kept his checkbook fat. Although, he would probably say it was all Icha-Icha (he was proud of the series after all).

You've probably waited a while to find what and where Naruto's Zanpakutō was. But I bet that none of you were expecting to see it come in like that. It would've been too easy (and too boring) to have a fully functional and usable Zanpakutō in the safe. When done this way, it allowed me to add a little backstory to it.

Speaking of backstory, I have read so many stories about there being a third son (or daughter) of the Sage of Six Paths, that it literally got boring reading that detail in stories. A little creativity doesn't hurt people! You can try to do something different. That's what I did. The way I figured it, if the Uzumaki have blood ties to the Senju, why not have the Namikaze have the same with the Uchiha? You get both sides of the Sage's bloodline without any of the problems (Mokuton was Hashirama's thing and while the Namikaze are related to the Uchiha, it is distant enough to make sure Naruto can't get the Sharingan).

I'll see you all next chapter!