Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.
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Memories Of Others
Chapter 49
A Chunin Alerted
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"That was too close." Naruto gasped as he dropped onto one of the settees in his living area, Hinata snuggling up to him.
"I agree." Jiraiya said as he sat opposite Naruto, his facial markings receding back to their normal lines as the two toads dropped off his shoulders and started to look round curiously.
"Where did that statue come from?" Tsunade asked curiously as she and Shizune laid claim to the third settee, leaving Kakashi to sit next to the Toad Sage.
"That was the one preventing Naruto from using the Hiraishin. He could absorb chakra, but couldn't cope with Senjutsu." Jiraiya said, then he nodded to Hinata. "Thanks for pointing him out to me. I wasn't certain which one it was, I thought it was probably… Yahiko…"
Everyone looked at Jiraiya and he sighed.
"I'll be telling Sensei about this, but… the six on the roof? All were shinobi I've encountered in the past, all were dead and all were being used and controlled by one of my old students, Nagato of Ame, using his dojutsu. The Rin'negan."
Kakashi, Tsunade and Hinata all jolted in shock.
"I'm missing something." Naruto admitted.
"Probably better if I provide some background." Jiraiya admitted. "It was before your birth, Naruto. I was in Ame, helping those allied against Hanzo the Salamander. During my travels, I encountered a trio of orphans with great potential. Konan, Yahiko… and Uzumaki Nagato. Tsunade may remember them, she and Oro were with me when we met them. After we finished our mission, I stayed behind to teach them, make them more effective against Hanzo.
"Although I was never able to find out which clans, if any, Yahiko and Konan were originally from, I knew that Nagato was an Uzumaki, but that paled compared to his kekkei genkei, the rin'negan. His eyes let him use every element with equal ease and he could understand Jutsu with a single glance.
"I trained them until they were able to defeat one of my kage bunshin in battle, then I left them to gather more intel and some reinforcements. I had recruited a dozen shinobi, including then-chunin Minato, who had managed to learn the Senju version of the Hiraishin and was in the process of adjusting it to make it his own. We were most of the way there when one of my spies reported that the three of them and their allies, the group known as the Red Dawn, had met Hanzo in combat… and had been killed."
"Obviously your spies were wrong." Tsunade stated in a voice that lacked any condemnation at all.
"They were partially right." Jiraiya admitted. "Konan and Nagato still live, but Yahiko did indeed die that day. The Akatsuki seemed to die with him and so me and my team returned to Konoha, believing that we had failed by not reaching them in time."
Jiraiya trailed off for a long moment before continuing.
"Nagato and Konan are still alive, but Nagato is using Yahiko's body like Sasori uses his puppets. More than that, he can see, hear, feel and use jutsu through his… he calls them his Paths. He himself has taken a new name, one that several of us will recognize. Pein."
"The one who toppled Hanzo." Kakashi noted.
"One and the same." Jiraiya confirmed grimly. "And now he wants to seize all the Jinchuuriki. Naruto, my spies haven't reported anything regarding the Biju, but I need you to send a clone with a message to as many of the Hidden Villages as you can. They need to know that they have to guard their jinchuuriki."
"Taki'll be a problem." Kakashi mused. "They keep their Jinchuuriki outside the village… they don't like her at all, they only keep her around because she's a Jinchuuriki and therefore a powerful weapon."
Jiraiya smirked.
"The I think that soon, they'll regret not taking more care of her."
Tsunade looked at her team-mate, then started to laugh.
"I'm missing something." Naruto said again.
"I'll make it your first mission after I have the hat." Tsunade promised, confusing Naruto even more. "For now, though, I think I need to get to the Tower and talk to Sensei again. Coming, Shizune?"
"Of course, Lady Tsunade!"
Naruto watched the duo leave.
"I've definitely missed something." He admitted.
"Yes, yes you have." Jiraiya laughingly agreed, then he winced.
"Don't tease the poor boy." Shima scolded, lowering her hand from where she had dope-slapped the Sage. "Hinata, you have a lovely home here."
"Th… thank-you, but it's Naruto-kun's home, not mine…" Hinata managed.
"That reminds me." Fukasaku said from just in front of Naruto. "Hold out your left arm."
Naruto did as the elderly toad asked, then cringed as Fukasaku wrapped his tongue around his wrist. For an instant, the skin covered by the Sage Toad's tongue seemed to feel like it was burning, then Fukasaku released him, his tongue shrinking as it returned to its proper place.
"There you go, one unblockable reverse-summoning tattoo." Fukasaku declared. "Just smear some blood on it and channel chakra and you'll be at Mount Myoboku, no matter what anyone tries."
"…thanks…" Naruto managed, staring at the mark on the inside of his arm, the blocky kanji Abura surrounded by fuuinjutsu marks.
"That will help you, but it only summons you." Fukasaku said. "You cannot bring anyone or anything with you should you use it."
Jiraiya grinned.
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"That did not go as planned." Pein stated as three of the Paths collected the Path which had been transformed into a statue. "I was unaware that the Toad Sage could petrify my Preta Path. I may need to try and develop a counter for that…"
"The easiest solution is not to let Jiraiya near the Preta Path." Itachi suggested as he glanced round at the inn where he had been fighting via his avatar. "We need to leave, the local authorities are arriving."
"Tobi can help!" A new voice chirped and Itachi barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes. "Wow, this place looks all beat up… what did Tobi miss?"
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"Lord Hokage." Kakashi said as he led the way into the office, holding the door long enough to allow Naruto and Hinata (who were holding hands) to follow him through. "Team Hiraishin reporting for debriefing."
"Tsunade has been telling me about the mission from her viewpoint, as has Jiraiya." Hiruzen said with a slight smile, then his face shifted into a frown. "You can confirm that it was Orochimaru that you encountered?"
"It was." Kakashi responded, one hand stroking the Hitai-ate covering his eye and Hiruzen nodded in understanding. "I have no clue as to how he survived, but it was him. No doubt about it."
"Damn!" Hiruzen cursed and Naruto's eyebrows shot up at the shock of his grandfather-figure cursing. "How many times must I steel myself to kill him?"
"Now we're here, we'll be able to make it stick, the next time." Jiraiya noted from where he was sprawled along the windowsill.
"I agree." Tsunade said from behind the second, newer desk in the office, one placed near the side of the room. "If Orochimaru returns, we'll make sure that he never leaves."
"Except that now he's back with the Akatsuki." Jiraiya noted. "I've managed to get the full list of members and Orochimaru's nowhere near the strongest. He's not the weakest, but he's not the strongest either. I find myself wondering what he offered them to let him return…"
"Knowledge of my skills." Naruto said. "The one you turned into a statue? He was the one blocking my ability to simply teleport out of there. If they can find another to learn that skill, they'll be using it to come after me again, and the next time, they'll be ready for whatever you did."
"They still have one knowing that skill." Jiraiya sighed. "They have Nagato."
"You are certain it was the Ame Orphans?" Hiruzen asked and Jiraiya nodded. "But… they were all reported dead… or so I recall…"
"I'm checking my reports, but I think that my spies weren't the only Konoha spies in Ame at the time." Jiraiya grumbled. "Someone managed to drop a false report into my network, and I really need to find out who."
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Shimura Danzo stifled a sneeze. Looking round at his subterranean office, he sighed. Dust got everywhere, no matter how many times he ordered his subordinates to clean.
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"So, changing the subject, when are you receiving the hat?" Jiraiya asked.
"Well, by the end of the week, I should have caught up with the basics, so I'll be receiving it then." Tsunade replied, glancing at Hiruzen.
"And I'll be able to retire… again." Hiruzen chuckled. "I don't think any Kage has ever managed to retire twice before."
"Jiji, what do you plan to do?" Naruto asked and Hiruzen chuckled again.
"Well, for a while, I think I'll enjoy retirement by catching up with my family, then teaching you both a couple of things. After that… maybe I'll take another genin team of my own. See if I can train them up without having them fall apart this time… You know, I learned the Guard version of the Hiraishin too after I retired for the first time, just in case one of the three fell ill and your father needed a replacement guardsman. I may be a bit rusty, but I'll be happy to join you on a mission or two to blow the rust off ready for when I get my own team."
"I'll see what I can find for you, sensei." Tsunade laughed.
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"Hey, Shika, Ino, Choji!" Naruto called out as he jogged onto the training ground. "Where's Asuma?"
"Over here." Asuma called as he walked into the field from the other side. "You got the course set up?"
"Yep." Naruto grinned as the trio of genin all groaned with realization. "Just as you wanted."
"Good. Team ten, head to Training Ground fourteen where one of Naruto's clones will direct you to the starting point for the course. Naruto?"
"You will make your way from marked area to marked area, avoiding or countering the traps that have been set." Naruto recited. "Squares marked out in yellow rope are safe points and each has inside it an arrow pointing to the next square."
"Oh hell." Ino groaned. "Tenten's told me about those type of courses. Apparently Lee still triggers every single ankle-noose."
"He's taken to carrying a kunai on his belt so he can cut the rope." Naruto shrugged. "It's quite impressive, he can start cutting before his other foot is pulled off the ground. It usually ends up with him doing a somersault these days."
"Let's go." Shikamaru sighed as he walked towards the edge of the clearing in the same manner that a prisoner would walk towards the headsman's block. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we get to replace our ruined clothes and get some food."
"And the sooner you can help me set up Team Nine's course, Ino!" Naruto called after the departing genin.
"So, dad's retiring soon." Asuma said, leaning against a tree as he pulled out a cigarette. "I hear he's very interested in teaching you. He's already helping to teach Sasuke, you know."
Naruto raised a querying eyebrow at the older Jonin.
"I thought Sasuke was in ANBU."
"He is, but he found out the truth about his clan's destruction and how his brother saved his life."
"Should I know this?"
"Heh, you're a Jinchuuriki and the son of the Fourth. Even if pops hadn't cleared you to know this, you'd probably have found out soon enough. Sasuke's going through serious therapy between missions, what his brother did to him left some damage that still hasn't healed. On the other hand, he's already completed several missions and, with his sharingan, is catching up to Kakashi in number of usable jutsu. I heard that he's been learning all the elemental types so that he can actually use his newly-copied moves."
Naruto nodded slowly. "I hope he does well. Back in the Academy, I thought of him as a rival, that if I could beat him, people would start to treat me better. Looking back, I can only wonder just what the hell I thought I was thinking back then. Kamis above, I was an idiot."
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Hinata blinked in confusion.
"Why do I feel the need to give Naruto-kun a really big kiss?"
"Dunno." Anko shrugged, stealing one of the Dango sticks from Hinata's plate. "They're your feelings."
"Stop teasing her, Anko." Kurenai sighed, waving to the waiter for another platter of Dango.