AN: I don't own Naruto, or Star Wars
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36.6 BBY – Current Year (Naruto is twelve and one week has passed since the last chapter)
Chapter XIII: A month and then the war
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Standing in the alley right beside a store, Naruto tried to calm his nerves. A week had passed since the second part of the chunin exam had ended and it had been a very long week for him.
He managed to get his promotion to special jonin which didn't actually involve that much as he only had to show mastery over one element and that he had skills above chunin level. There was no long or involved test for the special jonin ranking. He had a choice whether to try for full jonin or just special jonin and he chose the latter as either one could get him access to the information in the library that he was after and the special jonin rank was easier to attain.
He also had to deal with Karin for an entire week, which was terrible. It seemed he couldn't go an hour without a complaint about something. She complained about the hideout, where she had to sleep, that she wasn't getting enough sunlight, how bad it was to be stuck inside all of the time, and then came the list of demands. She wanted clothes, shoes, and had specific dietary requirements. He also couldn't just let her continue to use the same pair of clothing that she had. Because of her supposed death, her belongings had been taken by her teammates and sensei back to Kusagakure so she only had the clothing she was wearing.
Unfortunately he did need her help and acquiesced to these requests. He went out to get her all the things she needed. Of course the clothes he found weren't good enough and the shoes he found apparently didn't fit properly. It angered him greatly and to stop the complaining he had foolishly endangered himself and let her leave the hideout so she could buy the items herself. Her glasses had also been damaged during the chunin exams and needed replacement. This wasn't something he could do
She was currently in the store that he was standing near. She was still within his range and he had placed a seal on her tongue to keep her from talking about him or anything related to him as well as being kidnapped. However, this did not mean that he could trust her not to run away. He was also listening to make sure that she didn't say anything she wasn't supposed to or try to gain the attention of anyone else.
Karin was needed for his plans and he couldn't let her run away or bring unwanted attention to himself so close to the completion of his and Plagueis's plans.
The only good news he had this week, in relation to her, was her progress with medical ninjutsu. Karin had progressed very far for just a weeks worth of training. It made sense as her chakra control was much better than his and she already had a good knowledge of the human body. With her entire time spent learning from the information he had, it wouldn't be long before she could be good enough to alter the corpse.
He had a few shadow clones stationed at different areas to make sure that if she tried to run, that she would be caught and not get very far. They had already been to three other places to shop and Karin had yet to try and say anything or try to run but he was not about to let his guard down.
His Force Listening picked up her voice inside the store and he thought she might be talking with an employee but he realized it was much worse. He clearly recognized the voice she was conversing with.
'No...no...no...no...NO! Anyone but her!' he thought and considered running into the store to retrieve Karin.
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"Thanks for the help...um..." Karin paused for a second as she hadn't actually caught the name of the girl that had been helping her shop for kunoichi clothing.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, my names Tenten." replied the bun haired girl.
"I haven't seen you are here before." said Tenten and Karin froze slightly at the statement. Neither noticed that the lights had started flickering.
"Well I'm still in the academy." Karin quickly lied as it would explain her lack of forehead protector.
"Well that makes sense. Hopefully we'll see each other again but I'm pretty busy with my team." Tenten replied. She didn't have many friends that were kunoichi and mostly just her teammates so it might be nice to talk with someone that seemed to be more concerned with being a kunoichi than anything else. Most of the kunoichi in her class were only concerned over how they looked or boys more than about training.
"I'd like that," said Karin and some of the displays by the window started rattling or vibrating as if they were being shaken by an minor earthquake but everything else seemed fine and no one really noticed. "Maybe we could meet up gain later in the week?" inquired Karin to her new friend.
The glass on the window formed cracks.
"Sure how about lunch tomorrow at the restaurant across the street?" asked Tenten and the window shattered.
They both looked over at the now broken window but looked back a moment later. 'That seems to be happening a lot recently.' Tenten thought.
"Tomorrow sounds great, I'll meet you there at noon." said Karin and some of the clothing near near the display window caught on fire.
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Still standing outside, Naruto had developed a twitch as he tried to reign in his emotions. He couldn't believe that out of all the people Karin could have met while shopping at the few stores they went to, that somehow she would run in Tenten. 'No matter what I do, as long as I'm in the village, she just keeps getting closer to me and my sword.' he thought.
He was distracted enough while contemplating Tenten's death that he didn't notice Karin approach him until she standing next to him and staring at him.
"Oi, I'm back we can head back now." said Karin in a dull voice as she knew that he would chase her down if she tried to run. He has was special jonin now and she was still just a genin. He also had those extra powers and she stood no chance against him.
"Fine. Where's the leftover money?" asked Naruto as he had given her a good amount and more than enough to buy what she needed.
"Ahh...I sorta...kinda...spent it all." said Karin while not looking at him. They were walking away from most public areas but she felt she was safe in terms of any reprisal.
Naruto took a deep breath and continued walking. He wasn't going to respond to what she had said and just let it go.
As they passed through the less crowded areas of the village, Karin decided to ask a question, "Have you noticed weird things happening in the village for no apparent reason. While I was talking to Tenten, the window of the shop..." but she stopped talking when several garbage cans mysteriously tipped over in a nearby alley for no apparent reason. Feeling the movement of the unknown energy in the boy beside her, she realized what it was that had been causing it and decided to drop the subject.
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Hideout behind Hokage faces
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"You're not going to lunch with that girl tomorrow." Naruto stated and Karin frowned.
"Why not!" Karin demanded. She didn't have any friends and despite being a captive, she wanted at least some freedom and not having to be stuck in the rocky prison all the time.
"Because I said so." replied Naruto with finality but Karin wasn't about to give up.
"Is it because you have something going on with that Tenten girl." she commented with a giggle and she stopped a moment later when she felt the killing intent radiating off of him.
"Don't... ever...say that again." he said seriously and Karin frowned while trying not to show that she was scared of him.
'I can still read your thoughts.' came Naruto's voice in her head and she jumped slightly and then scowled at him.
"I don't get it, she seems harmless." stated Karin as she thought about her brief interactions with the bun haired girl.
"She's far from harmless." responded Naruto and he tried not to touch the seal on his hand that held his sword.
"What is she stalking you or something?" commented Karin and look Naruto responded, "Yes you could say that she is."
A moment of silence passed before Karin spoke again, "Just let me out for lunch, you can't keep me locked up in here forever."
"Sure I can." he said.
"Oh come on. I'll stop bugging you for a few days." said offered and Naruto contemplated this.
'Stupid empathy.' he thought as he could feel Karin's emotions and feelings on the subject and had trouble getting them out of his head.
"I'll think about it. I have to go on patrol in the village." he said and left the room.
She felt him leave a shadow clone to work on something as he always did when he left the hideout. The clone would check in on her and make sure she didn't try to get away or wasn't trying to subvert his creators plans in anyway.
Once she felt him leave the hideout, she smiled at her victory. The ability to read her mind appeared to be a double edged sword. From trial and error, she found that he couldn't read all of her thoughts and only certain things that she happened to be thinking about or feeling at the time. After several days, she managed to use this to her advantage.
While having a very serious demeanor and being in control of his emotions, Naruto still had those emotions and with the right state of mind, she found that she could influence him because of it. It wasn't that much of an influence but if she managed to make it seem like it was something that she really needed, then she could get it out of him. It was the main reason why she had been able to go on her shopping trip.
Picking up all of her bags, she took them to her room. She didn't have much in the way of items, really just a bed, but it was better than nothing. Her current situation wasn't that great but she'd rather make the most of it. No one in her hidden village had ever thought she was very useful and although she had no idea what he had planned, she was definitely getting something out of it. All the texts and information that she had access to was more than she had ever seen in her life. It only kept getting bigger with each trip that Naruto made to the library.
With his incredibly high chakra reserves, he had no talent being a chakra sensor or using techniques that required extremely fine chakra control. This meant that she likely wouldn't be replaced anytime soon. It wasn't that much to hold onto or keep herself going but it was something.
She only had an extremely small apartment in Kusagakure, had no family, lived on what little money she received for the missions that her team did, and had no access to anything near the amount of information that Naruto had stockpiled. Her mind had gone through many different 'what ifs' in the past week but she still couldn't determine if her life in Kusa was better or worse than her current situation.
'Next week I'll try to get some furniture to put my clothes in.' she thought and went back to the room with the desk and medical texts in it.
Naruto had already created a water basin and put fish in it that she could use for her medical ninjutsu. It was best to keep her progress going. The more useful she was, the less likely he would be to think about getting rid of her or trying to find a replacement.
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Moving over the tops of the buildings, Naruto went to his duty station in the village. He had a shadow clone go to the library to continue copying down all of the information that it could. So far, no one had said anything about his constant trips to the library or his copying down all the information. He had used persuasion tricks to help him not get noticed by the guards and librarians but he was still paranoid because of apparently how easy it was to follow him, which had been demonstrated by Danzo and the chakra sensor working for him.
Making his way around the villages hot springs area and to the western wall of the village, where he would be on patrol and guard duty in one of the watch towers on the village wall, he noted a figure crouched at the wall of the woman's hot springs. Stopping, he decided to stop the person from peeping.
He was early anyway and could take the time to stop a pervert from peeping on the women side of the hot springs.
He landed a little ways away from the giggling man. Staring at the man, he noted that the profile looked familiar. Searching his memory, he determined that the person greatly resembled Jiraiya of the Sannin. He couldn't actually see the face to confirm it but the clothing and hair appeared to be the man's, however it could just be any old pervert that dressed funny and had spiky white hair.
Confused on what to do, he took time out to think about the situation. It was possible that one of the Sannin was in front of him. If the man was Jiriaya then he was completely focused on peeping and not paying any attention to his surroundings at all. 'I very much doubt one of the Sennin would let their guard down this much.' he thought and started walking to the man.
It obviously wasn't Jiriaya and most likely the pervert just had a strong resemblance to the man. Naruto walked up the man and decided to clear his throat and get the man's attention, letting him know that he had been caught. He wanted to use one of techniques on the man but refrained.
"Quite down brat, I'm trying to get some research done here." stated the man while jotting a few things down on a notepad and his head turned just enough that Naruto could see half of his face.
It was definitely Jiriaya of the Sannin.
Naruto was again confused at what he should do. According to his master, Orochimaru was too much for him to handle and Jiraiya was likely also on that level, but here the man was in front of him with his guard down while peeping on the woman's hot springs.
The situation didn't make sense. A man of that level should not be so easily distracted and vulnerable. He was a veteran ninja, legendary in status, and had been through wars and countless battles. Yet crouched in front of him was that same man, giggling while looking through a small peep hole, and writing down notes as well as small sketches.
Nearly a minute went by as Naruto stood several feet behind the man and thought about his next move. It was likely that as soon as he made a movement or showed any sign of aggression, that the Sennin would move to counter almost instantly and he wouldn't stand a chance against the man.
'I could just use Force grip and then use drain knowledge, but what if he manages to get away somehow?' he questioned and thought perhaps it wouldn't work. 'The moment I try something is the moment he'll counter or substitute himself with a log. With experience like his, he might even be one or two steps ahead and already be suspected me of plotting something.' he thought and struggled with indecision. Even with his advantages and a surprise attack with the Force, he might not be able to defeat the man in front of him. It could all have just been an act and Jiraiya could be toying with him.
"Look buddy if you're waiting for your turn, its gonna be a long wait. You might as well find another peep hole." Said Jiraiya and he waved Naruto off dismissively.
Naruto's stern face turned into a scowl at the statement. He didn't like being shrugged or waved off as nothing or as being insignificant in the eyes of someone else. The same thing happened with Orochimaru and he wasn't taken seriously at all by the man. The only reason he hadn't attacked Orochimaru was because of his Master's orders.
'Fuck it.' he thought. His master never told him not to attack Jiraiya only Orochimaru and he wasn't going to have another powerful ninja shrug him off.
Using Force grip on the man, he chopped the man in the back of the man's neck. The hit was delivered to the exact area that would cause instant unconsciousness. Jiriaya didn't move at all under the Force grip and when Naruto released the technique the pervert fell over, seemingly unconscious.
Naruto waited a good minute for something to happen. He expected the body to go up in smoke or the attack to fail and the man to get back up. He checked for genjutsu but it didn't seem like he was being influenced by one. After the minute mark had elapsed, he came to the conclusion that nothing else was going to happen. One of the legendary Sannin was at his feet and had been knocked out while peeping on the woman's hot springs. There was no battle and it was one of the easiest fights he ever had, or likely would ever have.
'I wonder if Master Plagueis would believe me if I told him what happened? I wonder if any ninja would believe me for that matter?' Naruto questioned. Looking around he noted that the area was still devoid of people. They were at the back of the hot springs and no one really came this way as the entrance was on the other side.
Despite the entire situation still seeming ludicrous at best, he grabbed one of Jiraiya's legs and dragged the man near the open hot springs water that was flowing nearby. Using the Force and the hidden mist technique, he created a cocoon of steam around him and the body.
Creating a few shadow clones, they left the steam area and went to hide in a few nearby trees. If anyone came by he would be alerted to their presence through his connection to the shadow clones. He did this because while he used the drain knowledge technique, he had difficulty focusing on his surroundings. His shadow clones would keep anyone from finding out what he was doing.
Jiraiya never got a good look at him but just in case the man could sense chakra, he would have to make sure that he didn't go near the man again and wasn't late for his duty shift, so he created another clone to report for duty at the wall.
Crouching down, he made sure that Jiraiya was definitely out cold and would be for a while. He hadn't actually thought of it before as he was still somewhat in shock over the situation. Putting his hand on the man's head, he started looking through the memories in search of techniques and anything useful.
He spent a minute pushing past all of the peeping, 'research', and book writing before he got something interesting that was rather recent. The name 'Akatsuki' was in the man's mind. He had first heard the group from Kabuto's mind and perhaps now he would find out a little bit more. Looking for any information he found that Orochimaru was a part of the group, which he already knew, but he did find further information about what they were interested in.
From what Jiraiya had found out, the group was very interested in Bijuu, specifically the jinchuuriki. Naruto looked deeper but didn't manage to find out what exactly it is that they wanted with jinchuuriki. This was of interest to him and he would have to talk with Plagueis about it later.
Delving to other memories, he started finding out about all the techniques that Jiriaya knew and sifted through the ones he already had to find one that were new to him. He did find a couple unique fire jutsu, a hair extending jutsu, information on fuinjutsu, and a few other unique techniques but not the treasure trove he was looking for and that his Master had gotten from Kakashi.
Most of the jutsu Jiraiya knew were ones that he had already found in the library. It was disappointing but unavoidable. Kakashi had so many unique jutsu because he had copied them with his sharingan and Jiraiya only knew the jutsu that he had mastered himself.
Furthering his search, he found information on the toad summons which wasn't that helpful but one thing did stand out. It was called natural energy and was gathered to form sage chakra and then to use senjutsu. That was extremely interesting and the more he found out about it from the man's memories, the more he knew that his Master would be very pleased. Whatever the energy was, it seemed to differed from chakra and the Force. He was now very interested in it and its usage as it might be something he could eventually learn.
Putting that information aside after he got all he could, he continued. Images of the Yondaime came to the surface and he looked through them with some interest. There was little about the Yondaime's hiraishin jutsu as Jiraiya had never seen the exact workings of it and only the final jutsu and a brief explanation on what it did.
Those memories were interesting but not helpful at all. It wasn't until he came across something else that he stopped for a moment. It was buried rather deeply but he was able to get at it. Jiraiya was sitting in a house talking with the Yondaime and a pregnant women walked in.
He stopped for a moment as he looked at the memory. He'd never heard about the Yondaime having a wife and by the time he refocused on the memory, the women was speaking. She said that the baby would be called Naruto.
The technique ended at that moment as Naruto had lost all control over his emotions and the Force he was channeling. He stood still and stared down at the ground for quite some time. His mind finally started working again and he pieced together what he knew and searched his feelings.
He wondered if the information he always sought as a child had always been so easy to figure out or was he just not willing to realize that his father was the Yondaime. The knowledge made him feel empty inside both because he had never realized it and because no one had ever told him or gave him any indication of who they were. He had questions, so many questions, and wanted answers.
It wasn't hard to get those answers though as they seemed to slip into place. People knew who his parents were, they just didn't tell him. More than just Jiraiya knew. The Sandaime must have known and perhaps even the ninja council. They knew and they chose not to tell him. They chose to let him wonder and keep him ignorant of it. They chose to lie to him.
Where was his mother and who was she? Why had his father sealed the Kyuubi into him? Why did the Sandaime let the villagers treat him so horribly? Why did everyone keep so many important things from him. Those were the questions that he wanted answers to.
The emptiness was replaced by a sick feeling and soon all he felt was anger. The rage boiled inside of him and came to the surface. He stood and kept his head down while his canine teeth lengthened and his finger nails turned to claws. His hair got longer and became more wild. His whiskers darkened and widened and his eyes turned from blue to orange and the pupil became a slit.
He wasn't really thinking or feeling anything but the rage inside of him. The questions and other thoughts were replaced with a blinding rage. Red chakra began to bubble on the surface of his body and the stone beneath him started cracking. His hands curled into fists and blood started dripping from where his claws pierced his own palms. Instead of dropping to the ground, the blood floated upward from the darkside of the Force he was channeling.
Not a moment later, several shadow clones tried to dog pile him. They knew what was happening and tried to stop him from using any of the Kyuubi's chakra as it could alert the entire village. The real Naruto didn't care though and wasn't even thinking about such things. He easily killed the shadow clones and then focused on the man still unconscious at his feet.
Barely thinking straight with the bloodlust and hatred that he was being consumed by and wanting nothing more than to kill everything that had wronged him, he decided he would kill the man. Then he would go after the Sandaime and the council and kill anyone that got in his way. These people had taken things from him and kept everything from him that was important.
Forming a dark ball of energy in his hand, he sneered at the unconscious Jiriaya beneath him.
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Back at the Hideout
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The destruction of the shadow clones not only caused an inflow of information into the creator, but also the remaining shadow clones that Naruto had created.
The clone in the hideout immediately stopped what it was doing and ran to the wall that had several fuinjutsu scrolls. The particular scroll it grabbed was one that was supposed to be used when the village was attacked but it would now serve a different purpose.
With the scroll in hand, it ran to one of the larger rooms in the hideout that was empty and primarily used for training. Unrolling the already created scroll, the clone added chakra to it.
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At the same moment at the village wall
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The clones eyes widened and it started thinking about what it needed to do and what the situation was. He wasn't sure what would happen but it was best to stay where it was. The creator likely wouldn't be coming to relieve it from duty and it was also possible that ANBU would be coming to find and subdue him if anyone felt the release of the Kyuubi's chakra.
He only hoped that the creator would stop channeling the Kyuubi's chakra before the entire village felt it and ninja came after him.
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At the same moment at the library
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'Shit', thought the clone in the library and it looked around for anyone watching. This part of the library was mostly deserted but it got up and went to an area where no one could see. Putting its hand into the ram seal, it created a henge around itself.
It was merely a contingency in case something happened because of the creators usage of the kyuubi's chakra. The entire plan could be in danger and if anyone had felt the Kyuubi's chakra being used, then they would immediately start searching for him.
The clone emerged looking like a random jonin and sat back down at the table to finish what it was doing. If it needed to, if could use an earth jutsu and move through the walls of the mountain and get back to the hideout.
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Back at the hideout
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A plume of smoke erupted above the scroll and the clone felt the creator be summoned back to the hideout. It could feel the powerful chakra radiating off its creator but it wasn't sure what to do. Putting a good amount of distance between them, it tried to ensure that it wouldn't be destroyed like the other clones had been at the hot springs.
Before the smoke had cleared, an explosion occurred where the real Naruto was standing and sent debris and dust around the room.
The smoke and dust finally cleared to reveal a confused and very primal looking Naruto. The foul chakra was still radiating off him but it had stopped emanating off of his body and he was merely channeling it now. He searched around for the person he had been trying to kill and was confused where he was. The man he had been trying to kill was gone and the area was different.
The shadow clone was still hiding and wasn't going to let itself be seen but it had to do something. Going through a few hand seals and touching the floor, the solid rock of the training area turned into a muddy swamp and the real Naruto started sinking in it.
Unable to get out of the mud the real Naruto started struggling which only caused him to sink faster. The clone stayed where it was and stopped the technique when its creator had sunk enough into the floor. The floor hardened and the real Naruto was left stuck.
His breathing came in deep breaths as he tried to get out of the now solid floor that he was stuck up to his waist in. The floor started to crack but he eventually stopped trying.
The disappearance of the man he was trying to kill caused a good of portion of the anger and blood lust that was causing his rampage to subside. He was able to come back to his senses enough to start trying to push back the extra emotions and the chakra that was being forced upon him.
With the inclusion of the floor making him sink, he perceived danger and his mind started focusing on where he was and what he was doing. As he finally came to his sense and could focus on what was happening, he finally realized where he was. With great effort, the remaining Kyuubi chakra was suppressed and pushed back into the seal. His eyes, finger nails, and other changes to his body went back to normal.
Naruto was left partially trapped in the floor and completely confused as to what had just happened. His body was shaking slightly, he was sweating, his breathing was ragged, and his mind was a jumble of images and feelings that were hard to figure out.
'What the hell happened?' he wondered and tried to piece together everything. He could clearly remember certain parts, like finding and subduing Jiriaya, and then using the drain knowledge technique on the man, but after that things got hazy and the memories were fragmented.
He was safe inside his hideout and saw his clone emerge from hiding. He could also feel Karin watching from the entry way of the training area. Closing his eyes, he thought back to what had happened.
'I started searching through Jiriaya's mind.' he remembered and continued to search his memories. Everything he found in the man's mind started coming back to him. The techniques, the fuinjutsu, Akatsuki, the sage chakra, and then he came up what had set him off. The information he found had been so sudden and unexpected that there was no way he could prepared himself from him and he lost all control of himself.
He still felt anger at what he had found out but he was able to control his feelings this time. He thought back to the images of his mother and found the single image he had of her in his mind very calming. Getting his breathing back to normal, he went through several handseals and got himself out of the floor. He could think back and deal with the discovered information later, now it was time to think about damage control.
"Do you have any idea how bad the situation is?" he asked his clone and the clone simply shook its head no.
'Damn it!' Naruto thought as he could have potentially ruined the entire plan.
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The Sandaime and multiple ANBU reached the location of the disturbance and found an odd sight. Jiriaya was unconscious on the ground and there appeared to be damage to the stone surface near him. His first thought was that Jiriaya had fell from some height and was knocked out but he quickly pushed that aside as not being true, despite how clumsy he knew his student could be. There was no way for someone to fall from anything in the area and make that kind of damage to the stone. It was either caused by a jutsu or something else.
He had been working on paperwork when he clearly felt the chakra of the Kyuubi being used or what he thought was the Kyuubi. It felt familiar to the chakra from over a decade previously but it also felt different. Not a moment later, he called his ANBU and rushed to the area he felt it. Other people probably felt it too and he wanted to determine the situation before causing any panic in the village.
From the duty roster, Naruto was supposed to be at the village wall on guard duty for next couple of weeks. He was heading one of the watch towers along the wall as his first assignment under the rank of special jonin. Normally he would have gotten a mission outside the village but the chunin exams finals were approaching and that meant that Konoha ninja were mostly pulled back to the village to help plan the event and get everything prepared.
The disturbance came from the hot springs, which he did find odd, but regardless of the location he rushed as fast as he could from the Hokage tower. He still had trouble determining if it came from the Kyuubi or not. The chakra source had disappeared only seconds after he felt it and the area didn't have much residual chakra left in it.
Getting back to task at hand, he ordered one ANBU to take a look at Jiraiya, then ordered the rest to scout the area and to find Uzumaki Naruto. No one was around and the only people that were in the area where the ones in the hot springs building but they likely wouldn't be of any help. He had to wonder just what Jiraiya was doing here. Well, he didn't have to wonder what his student was doing at the hot springs with a notepad, but he did wonder what the man was doing in the village. It had been years since Jiraiya had made any visit to Konoha.
'Is it possible that Jiraiya was involved?' he questioned but would have to wait for any answers.
He looked to the ANBU for an update and the man stated, "He's just unconscious. I've got some smelling salts in my pack." and the ninja went pull out the item from one of his ninja pouches.
'Hopefully I'll get some answers out of him about what's going on.' he thought as the salts were put under Jiraiya's nose.
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Sitting in his home, Danzo glanced out the open window with his sharingan revealed. He felt the disturbance and from what little chakra went into the air, as well as what he could tell with his own sensing ability, he determined that it was the Kyuubi's chakra. His sharingan recognized the Kyuubi's chakra but something about it felt strange and very different from what he remembered.
He couldn't go to the disturbance and also couldn't send any of his men to investigate, so he re-bandaged his eye and headed for the Hokage tower. There would undoubtedly be a meeting concerning what was happening and he was very interested in finding out what was going on.
If something happened to the seal or the container was somehow channeling or being influence by the Kyuubi, it could provide an opportunity for him.
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Sitting in a meditative stance in the hideout, the real Naruto started thinking of what he should do. He was safe while in his hideout and if he left he might be picked up by the ANBU and taken to the Hokage. It all depended on how much of the Kyuubi's chakra he had released and who felt it. Unfortunately he had no idea how much had been released. It was possible that no one had felt it or that the entire village felt had and anywhere in-between was also a possibility.
The best thing he could do was sit and wait. His shadow clone had likely made it to the village wall before his duty shift started and so he had a weak alibi. As long as no one discovered that it was a clone and not the real person that showed up for duty, he might be able to escape being arrested or detained.
The shadow clones he created did have the seal on them and it was visible when channeling chakra to his stomach and the clone at the wall was created before he used the Kyuubi's chakra. So it was possible that the clone could prove his innocence.
However, this still left the fact that people may have felt the Kyuubi's chakra. If several people had felt and recognized it, then it would create a situation that he couldn't completely explain or deal with.
For now he would just have to wait. The worst possible scenario was that the village found out he was up to something and he stayed in his hideout until the chunin exam finals without using the arrangement he had been working on. The plan for the genin corpse relied on the fact that he was still a Konoha ninja and other certain circumstances. It wouldn't work for any other plan. Unless he managed to find a new body to use, he would likely be labeled as a missing-nin. While it wasn't that big of a problem, it had the potential to cause problems later on and ruin his Master plans.
Coming out of his meditation he said to the person watching, "Get back to your training, Karin."
The girl froze and then frowned from behind the wall where she was hiding. Her chakra had been completely suppressed and yet he had still sensed her.
She was incredibly curious as to what was happening and what the foul chakra was that she felt. She had been scared for her life earlier but now it seemed that whatever happened was over. From her sensing ability, she knew that the chakra came from within him and had been there since before they first met in the forest. Something had changed though and now it seemed that a miniscule amount of that chakra was leaking out into his body at a regular rate.
This concerned her and she would look for any changes later on to see if the new chakra was somehow influencing him. She thought about telling him but was unsure about what to do. Despite what was going on, she felt that it was best to go back and work on her medical ninjutsu.
x-x
Jiraiya's explanation of what happened only served to further confuse him. Someone had knocked out Jiraiya and then moved his body. His student never got a look at his attacker and it was just completely embarrassing that someone he trained could be caught so unaware while 'researching' at the women's hot springs.
He almost wished Jiraiya hadn't remembered anything at all and had been only passing through the area. It was just shameful to have his student confess with the ANBU still in the area that he had been taken completely by surprise while peeping at the women's bath.
The only problem now was to put together how Naruto was involved with all of this. 'Did he attack Jiraiya and why was the Kyuubi's chakra released?' he questioned but they would remain unanswered until the boy was found.
Picking up the movement of his ANBU, he turned to see an ANBU captain and two of his subordinates quickly appear near him.
"Sandaime-sama, we have found Uzumaki Naruto and he is being escorted to the tower." reported the captain in the white cloak while his two black cloaked subordinates stayed silent.
"Where was he and what is his condition?" demanded the Sandaime and ANBU was quick to respond, "We found him at his post at the eastern western watch tower. From witnesses of the other ninja stationed in the tower, he reported early for duty and has been there since."
The Sandaime developed a contemplative look as he stared off towards the protective wall that circled the village. 'If Naruto reported to his duty station early, then how he could he have also released the Kyuubi's chakra in the hot springs area of the village? There is quite some distance between them.' he noted.
The western guard/watch tower was one of several stations along the top of the village wall. If there were witnesses that said Naruto arrived early to his station, then it made him wonder how Naruto could have been in two places at once? Another matter that he hadn't considered until that very moment also occurred to him.
In the twelve years that Naruto had been alive and the four years since he had become a ninja, no one had ever told him that he carried the Kyuubi sealed inside of him.'This is going to be a delicate matter.' the Sandaime thought and sighed. He waved off the ANBU and headed back to the Hokage tower with Jiraiya following.
x-x
By the time the Sandaime had gotten back to the Hokage tower, the village elders as well as a few of the clan heads were already there, while the rest were presumably on the way. Yamanaka Inoichi was a chakra sensor and had easily detected the large disturbance near the hot springs and rushed to the Hokage tower for orders. The head ANBU and the jonin commander in the village had been notified as well.
The Sandaime wanted to keep anyone else from finding out about what had happened, but it seemed that the private meeting he wanted to have with Naruto would have to wait. Going to the council meeting room, the Sandaime briefed the other members once they had arrived and Jiraiya sat in on the meeting.
The Inuzuka dogs had alerted the entire clan that something was wrong much in the same way the Aburame's kikachu alerted them. Akimichi clan head was alerted by his friends both have positions on the council. The Hyuuga clan head was alerted by other members of his clan who were chakra sensors. When the members finally assembled, the Sandaime brought them up to speed with what was going on and everything that he knew up to that point.
x-x
Sitting on a bench down the hall from the meeting room, Naruto sat silently as he contemplated what to do. His clone was surrounded by four ANBU members but he wasn't concerned with them.
Currently, his real body was still sitting in the hideout and meditating but through his connection with his clone, he had 'possessed' it. He could speak and act through the clone while remaining safe no matter what decision was made. It was not something he had performed under such circumstances before as he had just toyed around with the technique but now it was getting a trial run.
With the technique, he could actually channel the Force through his clone, despite the individual clone not being able to use the Force. It was something to do with the 'possession' or whatever it was that he was doing that allowed him to use the clone as if he was really there. His Force powers however were diminished from those he possessed in his real boy. In a way it was slightly similar to what his master was doing with Gatou's body. He had yet to try and take control of multiple clones, but now that he finally realized how useful the technique was, he would have to find time to practice with it.
Using his Force listening ability, he could hear what was going on in the meeting room and what was being said. As the meeting progressed, he found out everything that they knew and started quickly thinking up ways to keep himself from being caught. He still had at least a weeks worth of work left to do in the library and getting caught would only make things harder.
Thinking through the possible choices, he tried to find the best choice that would not get him arrested, or at least not get his clone arrested. Being put under heavy surveillance was a better alternative to putting the village on lock-down while everyone systematically searched for him once his clone dispelled. Even with all the precautions he had taken with the hideout, it was still possible that someone could find it if they were looking.
He was broken from his thoughts when the door to the council meeting room was opened and he was told to enter.
x-x
All eyes were on him as he walked into the room and sat down at the chair that was indicated. Naruto sat down in a seat across from all the clan heads at a wooden oval table. The room looked like every other room in the Hokage tower except it had no windows.
He glanced around the table and took in all the faces. His face was neutral and he tried his best to make himself come off as being confused more than nervous. He also tried not to look at Jiraiya, who was leaning against one of the walls. He didn't want to gave away any indication that he recognized the man.
Controlling his emotions was proving to be extremely difficult though, as he had to keep his anger in check despite what he was feeling towards many of the members of the room. Most of them had in some way conspired to keep his identity and parents from him for as long as possible. Danzo specifically knew things about him that he didn't want anyone else to find out about.
They made him an orphan with no ancestry that the Yondaime had chose as a sacrifice, but he was so much more. The people before him were also content with leaving him with nothing about his parents or what he held sealed inside of him. Being lied to was something he hated but not as much as being shrugged off or considered not important. In one way or another, the occupants of the seats at the table had been doing one or both of those things to him all his life.
He wanted nothing more than to attack them but this was a clone body and even if he had the element of surprise, with everyone else in the room, and considering their skills, he stood no chance at following through with any of the thoughts he was burying in his head.
He would have to let it go for now, but perhaps later on he would get revenge.
The room remained silent as the doors were shut and the ANBU guarding him remained and stood behind him, looming over and ready to strike. They were ready to kill him should he make any wrong move but he really couldn't care. This wasn't his body and no matter the outcome of the meeting, he would make sure he got away and finished his Master's plans.
The first person to speak in the room was the Sandaime, "We've called you here to answer a few questions for us concerning your day. There has been an unexplained disturbances within the village and we're questioning everyone that may have been involved directly or indirectly. Could you explain to us your day so far, from the beginning?" the Sandaime asked in a calm tone but Naruto knew he was fishing for answers and knew little of what really happened.
None of the people before him had any idea what had really happened less than an hour ago and he intended to keep them in the dark as much or as long as possible. Even if they suspected him of something, it was better than ruining the final parts of the plan and not getting the information from the library.
"I woke up at around seven, got dressed in my uniform, and ate breakfast. Then I went to my assigned station of one of the western watch towers. Shortly afterward, the ANBU came to bring me here." stated Naruto and he waited to see what they would ask next.
There was little change in the council members. A few were scrutinizing him for lies but he had been trained by his master to lie in front of anyone. He had even been trained to lie and escape scrutiny from analyzing machines or even jedi. The members of the council found nothing wrong with the statement, so the Sandaime pressed on.
"Did anything out of the ordinary happen on your way to your duty station or at any point before the ANBU came to get you?" questioned the Sandaime a little more seriously.
"I went straight to my post. I didn't stop to look at anything along the way." stated Naruto.
The members of the council stared at him and he merely stared back. A silence passed before Naruto broke it, "If you don't believe me, couldn't you just have a Yamanaka do a mind-walk or something." he said and watched as he got several reactions.
He inwardly smiled as he knew that a mind walk on a jinchuuriki had never been done and the council wouldn't consider it. No one had ever told him about the Kyuubi and now he could use it against them. Waiting for a response, he got one from the Sandaime, "I don't think that will be necessary."
"Did something happen that I should know about?" questioned Naruto in as innocent a voice as he could and he waited for an answer. He eventually got one from the Sandaime, "No, that will be all."
Getting up, the ANBU opened the doors and let him leave while following him.
The room was silent as everyone took in everything that was said. The Sandaime sighed and it was Shikaku that spoke first, "I think he did something and is guilty but I can't prove anything. What exactly it was that he did." stated Shikaku as he thought through as many possibilities as he could.
"I don't know really know what he would be hiding. While releasing some of the Kyuubi's chakra is of great concern, it isn't exactly a crime. We still have no idea why or how he did it. We also don't know how Jiraiya was involved with all of this." stated Aburame Shibi and with that he looked over to the white haired man who had a serious look on his face.
"Do you think its possible that he knows about the Seal and the Kyuubi?" said Inoichi as he put out the question to the room. None of the council members answered the question they all thought through the possibilities.
"You haven't told him about the seal and the Kyuubi!?" Jiraiya blurted out at Sandaime.
The Sandaime sighed again. Nothing was making any sense. 'Why did Naruto attack Jiraiya or release some the Kyuubi's chakra?' he wondered and then thought, 'What else has he been keeping from me?'
He wanted to wait as long as possible to tell Naruto about the Kyuubi. Had Naruto somehow found out and was experimenting with the seal? The question bothered him greatly and he knew he would have to tell Naruto about the seal and get Jiraiya to examine it and see if there is anything wrong.
The conversation between the council members continued for several more minutes. The entire time Danzo was sitting quietly and taking in everything that he had heard. He was making his own conclusions.
x-x
Naruto sat outside with the ANBU escort close by and waited for the meeting to finish. He had a good idea what was going to happen next from the conversion going on in the room.
They believed he was lying and then he would be taken to the Sandaime's office where the Kyuubi would be explained to him and the seal examined, likely by Jiraiya. Then they would determine what was going on and that he had been responsible for the release of chakra.
From their minds, he could tell that most of the members on the council had not felt the release of chakra themselves and could not be sure it even came from the Kyuubi but they were inclined to believe that it was.
The one thing that they hadn't counted on was that he still had something up his sleeve. He had managed to learn quite a bit from Jiraiya's memories about the seal that had been placed on him and could use his current situation to further confound the council.
The plan for leaving the village wasn't fool proof and any number of problems could occur, such as what he was currently dealing with. However, even if the plan to leave the village failed, by the time someone realized what had happened, he would be long gone and with no trail to follow. That was the most important part of the plan, that he didn't leave any trail for anyone to follow. Even if he was discovered to be alive, no one would have any idea where to look for him. Snow Country was well over a hundred miles from Konoha and across the sea. Once he made it there, who would think to look for him on that island?
The only thing he needed to do was make sure that he was on the wall when the battle started. Everything else would fall into place after. This meant that he would have to make sure that he didn't get arrested and could still be at his posting. Even if he was under ANBU watch, he could still work with that.
To make sure this happened, he would need to have a discussion with the Hokage and give a good enough performance that they might believe that he didn't know about the Kyuubi beforehand. Unfortunately that meant having a heartfelt discussion with the Sandaime, which was something he dreaded.
x-x
Sandaime's office
x-x
With the discussion over, Jiraiya started examining the seal on his stomach. He had played ignorant of the seal as well as he could and knew that both men still had their doubts about him. Fortunately what Jiraiya was about to find would help him greatly.
With the release of the Kyuubi's chakra, the seal on his stomach would have loosened or cracked slightly and allowed him some access to the Kyuubi's chakra. Apparently the Yondaime wanted him to be able to learn to use the Kyuubi's chakra at some point or that was what Jiraiya thought. Looking at the seal, it should show that it has been loosened but only those that know what they are looking for can see it.
What Jiraiya and the Sandaime didn't know was that this wasn't his real body. It was his shadow clone, and the clone was created before he used the Kyuubi's chakra. This meant that the seal on the clones body was still perfectly intact and showed no signs of loosening or any kind of damage. It was still perfect as the day it was created. The real seal on his real body would show these signs but the clones did not.
Jiraiya stared at the seal once again and tried to find any evidence that the boy in front of him had been using the Kyuubi's chakra. From what he could tell, the seal was still fine and the Kyuubi completely locked away.
'This doesn't make any sense. Sensei swears he felt the Kyuubi but the seals completely intact.' Jiraiya thought and questioned whether it was the Kyuubi's chakra that had been felt.
Someone had managed to sneak up and get the drop on him, at least that was how he saw it. He was perfectly fine though, aside from a headache, and the Kyuubi's chakra, or at least what some people thought was it's chakra, had been released inside the village.
If the seal was intact, then how could the boy in front of him, who was never told about the Kyuubi, release some of its chakra? He had no answer for this. Once the seal was loosened, it could only be tightened back up by the key.
'The key!' he thought and he glanced at the boy quickly. His mind went through many different theories and suspicions but ultimately he cast them aside. It wouldn't have been possible for the boy to have gotten access to the key that went with the seal.
It was attached to a toad summons which was currently inside of him and they boy did not sign the toad contract or even know about the key in the first place. He would definitely check once the boy left but he was sure the key was still safe.
'Then that leaves no explanation for the release of chakra and someone knocking me out.' he thought and put the boys shirt back down. The seal was fine and showed no evidence of weakening or any sign that the Kyuubi's chakra had ever passed into the boy's body.
The situation they were left with provided more questions than answers.
x-x
Putting back on his jonin vest, Naruto thought about what he had just learned. The key to his seal was apparently with Jiraiya and he had no way to access to it at all. It was also attached to a summoning animal. He hadn't found this out during his search through the man's mind but he had been prematurely stopped by what he had found.
'If I had known that before and hadn't lost my control, I could have had the key or at least tried to get it.' he thought as he left the office and went back to his apartment.
There didn't seem to be the opportunity for another chance to get it and he couldn't very well attack the man again. Jiraiya wouldn't be so careless again and would be on his guard. 'Especially not with my new ANBU escort that will likely be following me around for days if not weeks.' he thought as he barely managed to feel with his diminished Force powers the life-signs of a squad of ANBU that were following him.
He needed to get back to his apartment and switch with a fresh clone. While he was technically off the hook, he decided not to leave the hideout again until the chunin exam finals. Anything he needed, he could send out clones for.
x-x
Walking out of the Hokage tower, Danzo headed for his home. The Sandaime had come back and told the council about the seal being completely intact. It was a surprise as he hadn't counted on the container being so resourceful and covering his tracks.
He knew more about what was going on than anyone else in the council and was forming conclusions about what had happened before they brought the boy in to question him. He also wasn't willing to share his thoughts with any of the council members.
With the boy's ability to read minds, it was obvious to him that Jiraiya's mind had been read in some way and information accessed. It was rather ridiculous that a ninja deemed as 'legendary' could be caught so off-guard and unaware but he tried to put that out of his mind and focus on the more important things.
The only aspect of the situation he was still working out was the release of the Kyuubi's chakra. The seal he couldn't be sure about because he had never been able to see the complete sealing method used but he wondered why the boy had done it.
'Was he testing something and it went wrong or did he just completely lose control over his emotions?' he wondered.
With the ability to read minds, he knew that the answer was in Jiraiya's mind. Something there had lead the boy to accidentally release or to try and access some of the Kyuubi's chakra. His mind searched for the possible answers to that question.
What would set off such a calm and calculating person that seemed to have excellent control over their emotions? This was the question he was trying to answer.
The boy gave nothing away during the meeting, showed no sign of lying, and while many council members suspected something, they couldn't prove anything. They couldn't prove that the boy was associated with the release of chakra or attacking Jiraiya. The Sandaime's view was not to detain anyone unless there was proof of guilt which in his opinion was a foolish method.
The thought eventually came to him when he went through all of the things that Jiraiya might know that would affect the container. The answer was the boy's parents.
'So he likely knows who his parents are.' mused Danzo. He wasn't sure if knowing that information was good or bad but it didn't bode well for the village.
He knew he would have to think on this information and what actions to take concerning it.
Please Review
AN: it took so long to update because the chapter kept getting longer and longer that I had to split it up. Hopefully I can finish chapter 14 in a couple of days and post that as well.