Hey. Here's the next chapter of Legends of Two Jinchuriki. Mostly, it's just a fun filler chapter. Sorry.
I've received some questions about when they'll return to Konoha. Sorry to say, no time soon. There will be time skips, but it'll be quite a while before we reach that point.
Edited 8/11/13: I realized that one month was way too fast for them to write a full length novel. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that, so I upped it to eight months. Because of this, I had to change my plans for the next arc, as what I was planning for them wouldn't be too much of a challenge after an additional seven months of training.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Naruto sat on the limb of a tree at the edge of a clearing, his left leg hanging down off the branch as he rested his head in his hands, staring up through the forest canopy at the clear skies above. It was nearing midday as he relaxed, waiting for his sensei to finish packing up camp.
He craned his neck to look into the clearing where their camp lied. Jiraiya, who had slept in a bit today, was just about finished packing up his futon, rolling it up and pulling out a scroll to seal it into on the other side of the camp.
At the center of what had minutes ago been their campsite, sitting on a stone at their extinguished fire, was Fuu, her expression neutral as she read a black covered book, the sight of which caused Naruto's face to twist slightly in annoyance.
As he'd promised, Jiraiya had delivered a special edition, hard covered, author signed black version of the latest Icha Icha novel: Icha Icha Violence. He recalled when he'd given her the book, her face lighting up at the sight of a special edition novel, knowing how much harder they usually were to find, not to mention more expensive. Jiraiya, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, had eagerly asked her to give it a read over and tell him what she thought of it, and despite Naruto's warnings, Fuu had agreed spending all her free time when they weren't either training or travelling reading the novel.
However, aside from the fact that she continued to read the adult novel, there had been no hint as to her opinion. Apparently, she didn't like giving an opinion on anything she read until she actually read the whole thing and once she started a book, she'd always finish it. Naruto thought that that might be an excuse and she really was a pervert deep down, although the fact that her expression had always been pretty much blank, focused when looking through its pages didn't give him any clues as to what she actually thought.
On the other hand, his jonin sensei, Kakashi usually had a similarly neutral expression when reading. Then again, he always looked that way.
He shrugged and sat back, relaxing as he waited for the perverted sage to finish packing up so they could get a move on.
He turned and looked slightly surprised when the sound of a book being slammed shut reached his ears. Fuu, her eyes closed, had apparently finished with it. Jiraiya's expression lit up the sound as he spun on his heel to have his hopes confirmed.
Jiraiya walked over to her, crossing his arms with a smug grin on his face. Finally! At long last he'd found a female who appreciated his work! He couldn't wait to hear her singing his praises.
Nearly every other girl he met had scorned his work, throwing it away after the first chapter, with a few exceptions like Anko back in Konoha. He really struck gold when he met his latest student. He'd finally found one who knew quality literature when she saw it, she was the perfect pupil!
"Oh ho, finished it already, have you?" Jiraiya questioned, causing Fuu to look to him. "So, what'd you think? Amazing right?"
"Well…" Fuu began, closing her eyes and holding the book up with one hand as she began her appraisal. "It's definitely well written. The dialogue flowed very well, you avoided the use of repetitive words or sentences and I liked the humor, all the hallmarks of a good book…"
Jiraiya nodded with a self satisfied-smirk, once again thankful to have a student that appreciated true art. He eagerly waited to hear what she thought of the sex scenes. "But…" She continued, and he felt a slight sense of trepidation at her utterance of that word, which was almost always a bad sign.
His fears were confirmed when she once again looked at him, giving him a deadpan look. "I think that next time we make camp, we should throw it in the fire."
All hints of smugness, joy, and light in general faded from Jiraiya's expression. His entire body shifted white, his eyes completely blank as his jaw hit the ground.
Up in his tree, Naruto jerked in surprise from her sudden shift in demeanor before letting out a series of loud cackles, placing a hand on his stomach. The look on his sensei's face was priceless!
Fuu gave Jiraiya a reproachful stare as he stood frozen from having his expectations of praise dashed like glass upon cold, hard stone. She wasn't exaggerating either, to her; bad books were a disgrace to all the other forms of wonderful literature that graced the world and should be wiped from the earth. Part of her wanted to tear it to pieces and purge it with flame before giving the ashes to a priest to purify.
Let it be known she took her literature as seriously as Naruto did ramen.
The laughing blond swung his leg around, fully facing his teammates. "Ha! See, told you the old perv's books were trash!"
That insult to his work seemed to snap Jiraiya out of his stupor. The man shot forward, snatching his book out of Fuu's hand, who didn't seem the least bit upset to be rid of it, before shouting at her, his expression twisted in indignant fury, "What the hell!? What's the matter with you!? My books are a work of art adored throughout the continent!"
Fuu met her sensei's fierce glare with her own as she shot back, "They're garbage fit only to be used as scrap paper!"
Jiraiya stood up straight and crossed his arms. Already guessing what the girl's problem was. "Ha, yeah right! You just can't handle seductive pleasures detailed within its pages. Don't worry, you're just a kid, you'll…"
"Please, I've read more enticing scenes then what's in that filth you have the nerve call art." Fuu replied in a perfectly serious deadpan, causing both males to jerk and freeze, both their minds coming to a dead stop at her words as they stared at her with identical looks of pure shock, eyes wide and mouths agape.
"Wha- what, but, that's, you…" Jiraiya stammered before glaring hotly. "Then what's wrong with my work!? How can you insult my work when you enjoy the perverted delights I've described here!?"
Fuu gave the perverted sage an annoyed look as she replied, "I said I've read better sex scenes then what you've written, I never said I went looking for them." Fuu closed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Sensei, your literature's, if you can even call it that, sole appeal is sex, but the thing about that is that you can't sacrifice the quality of the book for the sake of it." Raising her right hand level to her chest and extending her index finger to the sky, she explained, "The most vital aspects of a book are, of course, the quality of writing, how well it all flows, its ability to draw the readers in and, most importantly, the characters and the story. Sex can be used to spice up a book, but it's still secondary to everything else. It should only be used sparingly and it's best used as a climactic point in the relationship of two characters or to show a character's development. Most importantly, as I said, it's just a spice added to the heavenly delicacy that is a good book. If you're going to write a book with sex in it, it has to be almost or just as good without it." As soon as those words left her mouth, she turned to Jiraiya and pointed an accusing finger his way, causing him to step back as if struck as she finished her condemning evaluation. "That, Ero-sensei, is why your book is, to any real lover of literature, a complete failure! All the character's defining trait is that each and every one of them is a whore who either scores if they're a protagonist or tries to steal one of the partners if they're not! What little plot there is exists solely to justify the main character's lusty escapades! It's smut that no one but a pervert would like!"
Jiraiya simply stared down at the mint haired girl, shocked speechless at her words. While it was true, he'd written his books mainly around sex, he was also quite confident in his work. She couldn't be right… could she? Sure, his works weren't exactly well received prior to the Icha Icha series, but he was still a masterful writer… right?
Understanding dawned on Naruto's face as he looked down at the pair. One moment she said something that made him think she was a pervert, the next the opposite. Now, he knew. It wasn't that she was a pervert, she just loved to read so much she'd read anything as long as the story and writing were good.
Jiraiya shook his head as if to clear it before bending forward and pointing at Fuu, "You don't know what you're talking about! My books are renowned throughout every country!"
"There are perverts in every country." Fuu responded dryly with a deadpan look.
"And what would a kid like you know?"
Fuu met his glare with her own and replied, "Oh I don't know. I'd say someone who spent most their childhood in the library might know what they're talking about, wouldn't you?"
"Then why have all my works been best sellers?"
"Do you need to clean your ears out or something? I told you, because there are perverts in every country! And if they're so great, then why is it mostly men who buy your books?" She smirked when he jerked back a bit. "Struck a nerve, huh? Face it, those books are nothing but perverted garbage."
Jiraiya growled and the two began arguing over the perverted Sannin's abilities as a writer, causing Naruto to chuckle as he listened. It was a bit funny to watch the two gradually get more and more worked up, the mint haired girl standing up and getting in her sensei's face as they continued to fight over Jiraiya's books.
After a few moments, he adjusted himself so that his right leg once again rested on the branch, sat back, and relaxed as the two continued their dispute.
"Please! Your books are complete crap! I bet Naruto or I could write something hundreds of times better than those wastes of paper!" Fuu shouted, throwing her arm out.
That got Naruto's attention. He suddenly sat up and twisted his body, staring in shock at the duo. "Hang on, say what now?"
"Oh yeah? Then how about you put your money where your mouth is!?" Jiraiya ground out through gritted teeth.
"Just name the stakes!"
"Fine. If and when your books flop and it becomes clear my writing is superior, you'll have to cough up whatever royalties you two make AND refer to me as Master Jiraiya" Jiraiya seemed to think for a moment before adding with a dark glint in his eye, "As well as help me with my research!" He stood up with a smug grin and crossed his arms, "You'll have go around and scout out the best hiding spots for me to observe and lull my targets into a false sense of security. And when you're older, you'll have to model for me."
Fuu seemed a little stunned by the thought of having to help with his peeping, before a dark grin spread across her face. Interrupting Naruto's cry of, 'Now wait just a minute!' as he appeared at their side, she responded with a sly look, "Why would you want us to help? I thought you liked it when they caught you peeping on them and chased you down."
All traces of self-satisfaction vanished from Jiraiya's face as his expression twisted into a look of rage. "Damn it, brat! I am not a masochist!"
Deciding to get back on track, Fuu placed her hands on her hips stated, "Fine then, Ero-sensei! But if either of our books outsell yours, you'll have to go a year without doing any of your research or anything else perverted! And of course, we keep all the royalties, so don't even think of mooching off of us!"
"But-"
Jiraiya coughed slightly at that, taken aback by her wager and slightly worried despite himself. The thought of going a years without the pleasure of looking at or touching a woman was anathema to him. "You sure that's what you want?"
"What's wrong, scared?" Fuu asked with a smirk, arching a mint colored brow at her sensei.
"They're not even listening to me…" Naruto commented with a look of despair.
Incensed by her prodding, Jiraiya's fierce stare returned, "All right, you've got yourself a bet! Just don't blame me when you lose!"
"That's my line. Try not to cry when we win and prove that you're a lousy writer!" Fuu replied, meeting his glare for a few moments before both turned away and walked off.
Naruto looked back and forth between one and the other before he threw his arms out. "What the hell just happened!? Don't I get any say in this at all!?"
Apparently, he did not.
"Oh, come on!" Naruto complained as the trio walked under the rows of massive, gray torii gates that served as the town's entrance. "I don't want to be a part of this stupid bet! It was Fuu's idea, why do I have to go along with it?"
"Eh, what can I say? Tough break, kid." Jiraiya replied with a shrug. "The deals already been made, so just grin and bear it."
"This is ridiculous." Naruto growled, running his hands through his hair in exasperation. "Why the hell would I want to write a book?"
"Geez, kid, suck it up. It's not like it's the end of the world." Jiraiya commented as he eyed the genin, who sighed in response.
Fuu stepped up along side the blond and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him a bright smile. "Don't be that way. Think about it, wouldn't you like to put this old pervert in his place?" She asked, jabbing her thumb in Jiraiya's direction. "Besides, just think, if we win, he'll have to go an entire year without doing his research."
Naruto sighed again. "All right, all right." He said tiredly, waving his hand in a defeated manner. He couldn't deny he'd like to show Jiraiya just how poor those pieces of smut he called art really were. Besides, the thought of the perverted Sannin going a year without peeping was too good to pass up.
"Hn." Jiraiya crossed his arms and smirked. "Oh, this I can't wait to see."
Naruto grumbled, his eye twitching as he stared down at the open notepad before him. He'd decided to write down all his ideas for his book. Everything he could think of and then pick what he liked and try to make a story out of it. It seemed a good plan…
… Except that, after two days of alternating effort and procrastination, he came up with…
… Nothing.
The paper was as blank as it was when he started out.
Naruto clasped the sides of his head and furiously scratched at his skull in frustration. 'Why am I even doing this? How'd I let myself get roped into this mess?' He asked himself, and not for the first time since this bet began.
With a sigh, he rose to his feet. He wasn't getting anywhere. He needed to get some advice or else his book really would be a flop. While he hadn't agreed to this wager, he refused to give his sensei the satisfaction of winning, especially when he knew that if it came to that, the man would lord it over them and go on and on about how his perverted books are the best thing since noodles.
Well, considering she was the one who was so eager to make the deal and how much she loved to read, Fuu must have some advice for how to get started.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto yelled at a clearly irritated Fuu, who, as it turned out, hadn't made any progress either. They were sitting on the roof of a historical palace that lied in the center of the town. Fuu had hoped the view would give her some inspiration, but was sorely disappointed.
Fuu turned to him and rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin. "Yeah… heh heh… guess it's not as easy as it looks, huh?"
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Their eyes widened as the voice of Jiraiya reached their ears. The both turned to see him standing there, looking smug. Deciding to rub it in, he chuckled before saying, "Sounds like you guys are off to a great start. I'm sure you'll finish up in no time at all. Heh, looks like you're all set to blow my boring old Icha Icha series out of the water." He said letting out a raucous laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Ero-sensei! Just you wait, I'll make you eat those words." Fuu glared at him, but the man just kept laughing, confident in the superiority of his works over anything a pair of teens could possibly write.
Seeing that Fuu had no advice to give, Naruto decided that, as much as he didn't want to, to ask his sensei. "Hey, Pervy Sage. How do you get started? It can't all just come to you from out of the blue."
Jiraiya scoffed, shaking his head before waving his finger at the boy. "Now now, Naruto, you can't expect me to give you the keys to beating me, now can you?"
The blond Uzumaki growled and stood up, his right hand clenched into a fist. "Now listen here, you stupid pervert! I never even agreed to this bet in the first place! You two dragged me in and never gave me a choice, so the least you can do is give me a few pointers!"
Jiraiya sighed, seeing his point. After about a second of thinking it over, he raised his head and waved his hand in a defeated gesture. "All right, all right, you've got a point. Fine then, if you must know, while the bulk of my inspiration comes from my research, I usually get started by thinking about two things; what I'd like to see in a story and my own experiences."
'And that's why his books are nothing but smut…' Naruto tilted his head curiously, "You mean you base the characters and the story on your life?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Exactly. I'll admit I embellished the sex a little…" 'A lot.' both Jinchuriki thought. "… But mostly, I based it on what I'd seen and done." Suppressing a shudder, he added, "Word of warning, though. If you use someone you know as a base for a character, try to make it hard to notice the similarities and whatever you do, DON'T let the names be anything even remotely alike."
He felt a chill run down his spine when he thought back to the second Icha Icha book he'd written… he'd based it on his student; Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and his then girlfriend and eventual wife, Kushina. Like what he'd gleamed from his own experiences, he'd… embellished… quite a bit, though he did use quite a few of the things he had either seen or learned of them doing, including one time, after the loss of a friend, that Kushina stayed over Minato's home for the weekend. Needless to say, he turned that event, regardless of what actually happened, into one long sex marathon to ease her pain in his book.
Unfortunately for him, someone (Kakashi) let it slip to them how similar they were to those characters… they were not amused. He almost shivered whenever he thought of the next time he'd seen them. They'd tricked him into coming with them alone despite the alarm bells that had gone off in his mind. The looks on their faces before they unleashed what could only be described as hell upon him still terrified him to this day. It was yet another beating that almost made it onto the list of times he'd nearly died.
Unaware of her sensei's fearful thoughts, Fuu thought to herself about what he'd just said.
As Naruto crossed his arms, tilting his head forward and squinting his eyes shut in as he too considered their sensei's words, the proverbial light bulb went off in Fuu's head behind him as she looked out at the forest surrounding the village.
"Thanks, Ero-sensei!" She said, turning briefly to look at them before vanishing with a body flicker.
Jiraiya clicked his tongue at that, a little annoyed his advice helped her so fast, but he quickly got over it, sure that whatever she came up with wouldn't hold a candle to his Icha Icha series, before turning to Naruto. "So, you got any ideas?"
Naruto just grumbled and turned away, causing the Sannin to chuckle as he leapt off the side of the building.
Fuu sat on the branch of a tree, sighing as she listened to the sounds of nature around her. The leaves were rustling as a slight breeze blew through the area. Birds were chirping, and the calming sound of running water, as well as the scent of damp earth, permeated the area.
She looked down at her notepad with a smile, now full of ideas as well as a rough plan for the beginning of her book.
She'd taken her sensei's advice and thought about her own life, all the people she'd seen and met, all the books she'd read, not intending to copy anything of course, just using them as a reference to what people wanted to read and what pitfalls to avoid.
She nodded at her progress. Yep, the creative juices were flowing. She was glad she'd been there when Naruto had gotten advice from Jiriaya, as she never would have asked him out of pride. Now that she'd gotten started, the ideas just seemed to come to her in a flash.
Using her own experiences as a base, she'd decided to base the main character off of her a bit. It would be the tale of an orphan girl all alone in the world, but grew up as a shinobi, eventually finding love and acceptance, and being instrumental in stopping an enemy from claiming a treasure of her village. She was even entertaining the thought of making it the first part of a trilogy.
Of course, she wouldn't just completely detail her own life, though she would put versions of Hiro and Airi in the tale as a way of remembering them. The girl would start out rather unconfident, kind of like Sasame, relying on her teammates, until she grew up to be someone they could depend on.
Her expression turned unreadable as she eyed one particular idea she'd gotten from her own past, one that would start the main character's journey to becoming a hero. It was actually what had strengthened her desire to protect others so.
One of the first C-rank missions she'd had was to escort an old merchant from the Land of Honey to the Land of Grass. It was a fairly simple and easy mission and she'd liked their client. He'd noticed how she was treated by the others, and actually spoke out against them, even letting her take one of his wares. It had been one of the few times she'd experienced a random act of kindness. Things went smoothly… until a group of nine bandits attacked.
Now, bandits were common on such missions and usually, due to the massive difference in ability between those who were and weren't versed in the use of chakra, usually nothing to worry about and easily taken care of. This, however, had been one of those rare bands of criminals made entirely of B-rank missing-nin and not so easily fended off.
In the end, the merchant had been killed and the mission ended in failure. She hadn't known him long enough to consider him a friend, but his death on her team's watch strengthened her resolve to protect anyone or anything that mattered to her.
Shaking those memories off, she returned to her story, wondering what to change. She'd like to change some things but had to remember that she couldn't shy away from the deaths of likeable or major characters. The best stories needed a bit of everything in her opinion; action, comedy, romance, drama and tragedy.
But, it was still in the planning stages. She had a lot more brainstorming to do before she actually started writing out the tale.
Her thoughts wandered to Naruto, wondering how he was doing. Truth be told, she was a bit regretful about getting him roped into this. He obviously wasn't too happy about it, and unlike her, he wasn't an avid reader, so he couldn't use past readings as a reference point for what to avoid.
She shrugged this off however. Once she won, he'd benefit too, getting paid and no longer having to put up with their sensei's perverted habits. She chuckled a bit as she imagined him rubbing it in the man's face.
As she raised her pencil, she felt a light tickling feeling on her bare shoulder, and recognized it as the feeling of a bug landing on it. She stuck the pencil into the notepad's bindings and put it down beside her before touching her shoulder with her hand, allowing the insect to crawl onto it. The Nanabi Jinchuriki brought her extremity before her eyes to find herself face to face with something most would have found slightly disquieting: a wasp. A specimen of the fairly common Vespa Simillima, she identified.
Fuu, however, smiled. "Well, hello there." She said, not really needing to speak as she communicated with the insect through her ability.
Watching the wasp crawl across her fingers, Fuu had an idea. She thought back to two of the books she'd been reading before her sensei gave her the Icha Icha to try out; Venom: Nature's Most Dangerous Killers, a compendium of the various venoms animals and insects produced that can or can't be harvested and Poisons: Silent Killing and Leveling the Playing Field.
She thought back to her idea to try to control the mutations the Nanabi's chakra induced. She hadn't used it on her beetles because they'd already been altered by the chakra. It wasn't an omnipotent ability, it could enhance their senses, heighten or give them variations of their natural abilities and perhaps give them new abilities if they had the capacity to develop them, but it couldn't, for example, cause her beetles to suddenly develop poison glands. There wasn't much more she could do with them.
But if she were to apply the chakra to these wasps, and learn to actually control the results… that gave a lot of possibilities for what she could do with their venom. She could even breed multiple queens with each of their offspring carrying different poison.
Nodding to herself, she communicated with the insect which flew back to her shoulder before she picked up her notepad and vanished in a body flicker.
Minutes later, Fuu reappeared in the forest, now wearing the red cylinder which carried her beetles, following the wasp as it flew back to its colony.
It wasn't long before she saw the oval shaped nest sitting high up in the tree next to a small river, smirking as she watched the wasps fly in and out of the single opening in the paper-like structure. She leapt up to the nearest branch and called out to the stinging insects with her chakra, and waited.
It wasn't long before they responded. She looked intently at the hive as the she communicated with them in a way no human outside clans like the Aburame could ever hear before finally, the entire swarm flew out.
While most would probably run screaming at the sight, Fuu smiled. Indeed, she had no reason to be worried as all the yellow insects flew towards her, but rather than land on her body, they all flew into the cylinder on her back.
"Play nice, now." She said in a slightly chastising, slightly joking manner, as she craned her neck to watch the wasps enter their new home and sensed that, though there were initial hostilities, her old and new insects obeyed her command and didn't trouble each other. There was enough room in the container for both of them and the Nanabi's chakra nourished any insect, so there was no need to compete for food, or for the wasps to try to make a meal of their new neighbors.
That being said, she could sense it was kind of crowded. Noting she'd need to find some other way to keep them, and that she'd need to place silencing seals on the cylinder now as she could hear a faint buzzing from its confines, she leapt down to the forest floor and placed the cylinder at the base of the tree before sitting on a nearby stone. Finding this as good a place as any, she took out her notepad and returned to work.
Naruto ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the notepad before him in frustration. The Sannin's advice had given him plenty of ideas. After all, he'd had some pretty unique times and adventures during his short career as a shinobi, but he still had no idea how he should start or what his story should be about.
Soon enough, he sighed and put his notepad away and stood up, staring out from the rooftop at the village beneath him. He needed to take a moment and clear his head. After thinking on it a moment, he decided to have a walk around town and leapt down to the alley below.
As he walked out into the street, an idea came to him and he smirked.
Minutes later, he found himself outside the village in a nice, secluded spot in the forest. Nodding to himself at the spot, he quickly ran through hand signs before slamming his palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
A small burst of smoke erupted from where his hand collided with the earth, which quickly cleared to reveal a familiar, orange toad.
Gamakichi raised his hand in greeting. "Hey, long time no see Naruto."
"Good to see you, Gamakichi." Naruto replied with a grin.
Gamakichi's expression took on a hint of curiosity as he asked, "So, what's up? You haven't called me out since that mess with Orochimaru."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head and said with a slight laugh "I kind of got roped into this stupid bet and I thought you might be able to help me out a little."
"Ah, well, let's see what I can do. What's do you need?"
"Well… I'm kind of supposed to write a book and I don't even know where to start…"
The toad gave him an incredulous look. "… That's why you called me out here?" He turned his head away. "Heh, forget that. If that's all you need then I'm going back home."
"Hey, now hang on! The least you can do is try to lend me a hand!" Naruto said, irritated by the toads response.
Gamakichi faced him again and replied with a slight glare, "And what the hell do you think I can do? I've barely read anything in my life! We don't exactly have a lot of books where I come from, you know."
"Funny, you didn't strike me as the type to just give up without even trying." Naruto shot back.
"And what would be in it for me?" Gamakichi responded. Naruto smirked and reached into his pocket, pulling out a plastic bag containing an assortment of candy, causing the toads eyes to light up. "Well, why didn't you say so? Hand 'em over and I'll try to help you out."
With a slight laugh, Naruto through the bag to the small amphibian. "Don't eat them all yourself. Make sure to save some for Gamatatsu."
"Yeah, yeah." Gamakichi replied, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small piece of hard candy before popping it into his mouth. "But you know, I wasn't kidding back there. What good do you think I can do?"
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Well, really, I just wanted a friend to bounce ideas off of."
"Ah." Gamakichi nodded. "Now that I can handle. So, what've you been up to?"
"Well…" Naruto explained everything that had happened since the battle between the Sannin. From Sasuke's defection, which had surprised Gamakichi, to his adventure in the Land of Vegetables, to meeting Fuu and their journey through the Land of Sound.
"Wow, never a dull moment with you, huh?" Gamakichi asked, clearly amused. "But why don't you ask that girl for help?"
"Eh, I figure she's too busy with her own story to help me out besides maybe giving me some advice. Besides, she wants to beat the old perv so much, I think I should let her focus."
"All right, I get it. Wouldn't want to distract your girlfriend." Gamakichi commented, smirking at the blond's surprised reaction.
"She's not my girlfriend!" He said heatedly before calming a bit, not wanting to betray his feelings for Sakura. "She's just a friend, that's all."
"Sure, sure." Gamakichi replied, still grinning at his summoner.
And so, the two began to talk about Naruto's upcoming book. For the most part, Naruto would propose something and Gamakichi would comment on how it was awesome, boring, or what have you, or occasionally offer an idea on how to spice things up along with some jokes that would leave both laughing or some good natured ribbing from Gamakichi.
Eventually, the blond decides to ask a question that had been nagging on his mind for quite a while. "Say, Gamakichi." Said toad looked up at him. "What's your home like?"
"Hm?" Gamakichi carelessly pops another candy into his mouth and rolled it around on his tongue for a bit before responding, "What, the old man never told you? We live on a mountain called Mt. Myoboku. As for what it's like, eh, what can I say? It's home. Certainly a great place, peaceful too. I don't think you can go anywhere without seeing some plant life." He said, looking to the sky as he continued, "Beneath the mountain, there's a forest as far as the eye can see. Not like the one around Konoha, though. It's… I don't know… more… tranquil. You'd really have to go there to understand." He then brightened up and turned to Naruto. "Hey, why don't you visit some time?"
"I've thought about it." Naruto replied with a shrug, remembering what he'd learned of the Reverse Summoning Technique when he'd asked his perverted sensei about Space-Time jutsu. "But how would I get back? The Pervy Sage couldn't summon me, I'm not walking all the way here from Konoha and I don't want to waste some toads time having them called out here just to summon me."
"Good point." Gamakichi conceded.
With a smile, Naruto added, "But I'll be sure to come by check it out once we get back to Konoha."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
It took eight months. Eight months of training and travelling, writing whenever they had the time and weren't too burnt out to put pen to paper, before finally, their work was done. Fuu had finished just a few weeks earlier, and Jiraiya was just waiting for Naruto's contribution before sending them both in.
It had been nearly half a year since he had turned 14 and Fuu 15, and both had seen quite a growth spurt over the past few months.
Roughly half of the training trip had elapsed and, even with this latest distraction, they hadn't wasted any time. Naruto now stood at 5ft 3in and had lost any remaining traces of baby fat on his face.
His attire had changed slightly. His vest still fit and he liked his gloves, so they'd been resized once they began to grow too snug and he intended to keep doing so. His shirt, however, had been swapped out for a hooded version with the Konoha leaf emblazoned on the chest in red, and he had a pair of off white pants. He liked this look and thought he'd keep it up until his return to Konoha.
Fuu stood slightly shorter at 5ft 2in. Fortunately for her as much of her usual outfit consisted of bandages she wouldn't need to change that unless she felt like it. The girl now sported a pair of budding lower B-cups which pushed against her shirt slightly, much to her delight. She was a bit of a late bloomer and had been quite distraught about it. She also wore her hair a little longer, flowing slightly past her shoulders at the back and the bangs framing her face stopping just at them.
The bandages on her legs had been replaced with asymmetrical white leggings under her new white apron skirt, one of which stopped just above her knee while the other went halfway down her calf. Her shirt had and armlets hadn't changed, but she had added white shin guards to her attire.
Naruto nodded to himself as he sat on the roof of the tallest building in the village and looked at the completed manuscript, very satisfied with what he'd written. If there were books like this one out there, he might actually have to spend more time in the library.
Like his mentor and teammate, he had decided to use his own life as a base for his story. The tale began the way many did, centering on a boy who had nothing, no family, only passing friends, someone no one expected to succeed, growing to be a hero. One large focus was on the boy's team; a loner who was something of a rival, and later a friend, to the main character who sought to avenge his murdered parents and the girl who had a crush on him, who the young hero in turn had feelings for.
The villain was a former shinobi of their village who betrayed them when he was passed up for its leader. Remembering Jiraiya's words about how most monsters you ran across were once decent people, he made the villain similar to the hero in the past, but ambitious. Having grown up in war and grown increasingly disgusted with the state of things, he betrayed the village when he was passed over and sought to rule the world for the 'right reasons'.
As a twist, the villain, seeing the rival's potential, gets him to follow in his footsteps and join him. The hero eventually defeats the villain, saving his nation, but the rival remains evil.
The one thing he didn't like was the ending. Surprisingly enough for him, given his general demeanor, the book had a bittersweet ending. He just couldn't come up with a satisfying conclusion to the tale without the rival dying in the epic final confrontation between him and the hero, followed by the surviving members of the team mourning him and looking to the future.
Making a mental note to ask Fuu about anything like his story, as well as gaining a slight appreciation for written text from the experience, he rose and began leaping across the rooftops, beginning the journey back to the hotel the student teacher trio were staying at.
"All right…" Jiraiya said, holding both their manuscripts as he looked down at his students, a confident grin plastered on his face. "I'll send 'em to my publisher and put in a good word for you and we'll see who's work outdoes who's. Just don't come crying to me when my genius comes out on top." He laughed as the two glared at him.
Two months later and the results were in.
Jiraiya stared down at the sales reports, his entire body slack and his face a mask of disbelief and despair. "I don't believe it…" he croaked out.
At his sides stood the two Jinchuriki, both staring at the results in shock. After the publisher had decided to try out their books and put them on the market, it was clear both were a major hit in the first few days. It helped that Naruto had the bright idea that they should invest some of their advanced pay in advertising. While they had known about this, nothing could have prepared them for the final outcome.
As it turned out, both had beaten the sales of all of Jiraiya's Icha Icha series by a wide margin, however…
Fuu's body went limp, all energy and light seeming to leave her form while Naruto threw up his arms and let out a victory cry.
While both had won their little contest, Naruto's book had beaten the combined sales rate of Fuu's book and any one of the Icha Icha series after a two month period by a wide margin.
"Ha! Take that, Pervy Sage! We both beat you!" Naruto said triumphantly.
"This… this has to be a joke." Jiraiya said as he looked at the paper, his eye twitching slightly.
"You wish! We beat you hands down, right, Fuu?" Naruto asked, turning his head to look at the mint haired girl, only to be shocked by what he saw.
Fuu was on her hands and knees, her head fallen forward, causing her hair to drape around her face and hide her features in shadow as a cloud of gloom seemed to hover above her.
"How could someone who's never read a book without being forced to write better than me?" The sulking girl asked, sniffling slightly.
Naruto made a surprised sound before jumping to Fuu's side, kneeling down and resting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, come on, Fuu snap out of it. Look on the bright side, you still showed up the Pervy Sage."
"Well, that's true." She replied, her voice still carrying a hint of gloom. Still, the reminder that she'd beaten out their sensei's smut quickly brought her spirits back up. Rising to her feet, Fuu's expression brightened. While she was still a little miffed about having her work so decisively beaten, she'd still outdone her perverted sensei. "Well, hate to say I told you so, but you can't argue with results."
"B-, but…" Jiraiya began, his bottom lip beginning to quiver. He couldn't believe it, but there it was in front of him. And to add insult to injury, neither of their books had even a mention of sex at all! Try as he might, he could no longer argue with Fuu's words.
"But nothing. Face it Ero-sensei; you're writing's nothing but perverted garbage, just like I said." Fuu said, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling in a self satisfied manner.
Naruto gave his sensei a shit eating grin as he added, "And don't forget, you have to go a whole year without any of your 'research'."
That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back, as tears began to spill from Jiraiya's eyes and his face became a mask of depression and despair.
"See, told you it'd be worth it." Fuu said as she turned to her fellow Jinchuriki.
"Yeah, I gotta say it was tough at first but by the end it was pretty fun. I might just have to join you next time you head to a library."
Naruto and Fuu gave each other a high five for a job well done as Jiraiya sobbed in a corner of the room, his pride as a writer destroyed.
Then a thought occurred to Naruto. He turned his head, casting a curious glance towards the envelope that laid on the table. "Hey, how much did we make anyway?"
Fuu arched a mint colored brow as she followed him and watched as he took out the checks. Her primary goal in all this had been to show her sensei just how bad his writing was and briefly how she'd been beaten by someone who didn't even like to read, the money had kind of slipped her mind.
Both teens wore identical expressions of shock, their jaws dropping as they took in their profits.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Next, while it's a little late than I'd planned, I'm finally going to upload the first chapter of the remake of my Bleach fic. Once I finish the second chapter, I'll finally get to the next chapter of Jinchuriki of the Six Paths.
Also, I noticed a challenge that intrigues me. I promised myself I wouldn't try to write more than three stories at a time, but the inspiration struck me too hard and I couldn't put down the idea. So, sometime in the following months, I'm going to start a dark Soul Eater fic where Maka and Soul follow the path of the Kishin.
Please review.