You guys are the best! Over two-hundred and fifty thousand total views!
Given that this is a milestone, I'm releasing this chapter with the current content in it. It reached a natural break, and I decided to cut it there. I'm going to do my best to put out chapter 28 as soon as I can. However, I'm starting a new job on Monday, so we'll have to see how that goes. Never the less, I will try my absolute best.
AU changes: Basically everything in this chapter. Unless you awesome guys tell me I've badly miss-written, we have reached the point when canon and HotE diverge in a major way.
And without any more wait, here is the next chapter. Chapter Twenty-Seven: Shock and Awe
Consciousness came slowly to Naruto, along with the throbbing headache. Both were sensations he was familiar with. But the softness of the bed beneath him was new. Opening his eyes only to wince at the spears of sunlight that pierced his eyes, the blonde slammed them shut. Feeling the now familiar sensation of the Kyubi's chakra healing and soothing his headache away, Naruto sent a mental thanks to the Biju.
Easing his eyes open, Naruto was almost - almost, he did know from the soft-ish sensation that he was in a bed - startled to see that he was laying in a bed, a hotel from the looks of it. "How did I get here? Last I remember, I had fallen unconscious after that strange vision of how to create the Rasengan."
Speaking of the Rasengan, the blonde Ninja sat up, all questions of how he had arrived were shunted to the side in favor of creating his Father's signature technique. Opening his hand to expose its palm, Naruto began to concentrate. "Rotation." Blue chakra began to swirl inside his palm. "Power." A small, ball shape began to form. "Rotation." Countless bands of rotating chakra merged into a singular mass, rotating in all directions at the same time. "Power." The softly growing ball's light grew more intense. "Rotation and power." The ball grew to palm sized and began to admit a slight grinding noise.
Glancing down, Naruto couldn't help the glee and joy at the sight of being able to create the same technique his father did. It felt like...he was closer to his father, almost as if he could feel his father's approval. A sudden stuttered grinding noise brought his attention back to his palm. His momentary lapse of concentration had led to the chakra bulging on one side, the bright blue ball of chakra looking dangerously close to exploding. Naruto instantly cut the chakra to the technique, letting it die. "Looks like I don't have it to the level that Dad had it. Not yet." Hurling himself off the bed, Naruto flung open the door and headed down to the first level of the small hotel."But why did it fail?" The Last Uzumaki wondered, "I know that I created it correctly." Naruto paused, confused by his thought. "I know? When did I learn how to create the Rasengan perfectly? I only learned how to create it yesterday."
His enthusiasm to train in the new technique was doused by his utter confusion, Naruto slowed to a walk as he padded down the steps towards the ground floor, continuing to wonder how he knew without knowing. The knowledge was there, but not the memories of how he gained said knowledge. It was...almost maddening, like a constant itch that couldn't be scratched. Now that it was brought to his attention, it wouldn't go away; "Why do I know without knowing? What is happening?"
"Naruto?" Jiraiya's voice cut through the blonde's thoughts like a knife, "You're up already?" The white haired Sannin watched his godson blink and then a carefree mask slip across the blonde's face with disturbing ease.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded in his teacher's direction, "I'm fine. Just going to see if I can't get breakfast before getting some training in." Naruto paused before continuing, "Unless we are going to keep moving to find Tsunade."
Jiraiya wouldn't have any of it. He had seen the mask that Naruto threw up, even if Naruto himself wasn't aware of it. "Ok. I'll grab breakfast with you and then we can, depending on the time, either train a bit and then head out, or head out after breakfast."
The breakfast was a simple affair from a small cafe nearby. "So," Jiraiya began as he took a brief break from his meal, "What was it that you were thinking about when I met you this morning?"
Naruto almost choked. "Wha-what?" He quickly shook his head. "I'm fine. I really am."
Jiraiya almost sighed. He really needed to help Naruto with understanding that people cared even if it wasn't life threatening. Granted, being that he had basically failed as a godfather, he had no room to say anything, but he had sworn to help Naruto in all things.
"That's not what I said. I know you are fine." Jiraiya chuckled. "Heck, things that would kill everyone else don't even make it past your 'I'm fine' meter." Jiraiya shook his head. "What I asked was: What were you thinking about that was causing you distress."
Naruto dropped his head to look down at his plate and Jiraiya feared that he had gone too far, that he had driven away his godson. "It's hard to describe." Naruto began, his quiet words lifting Jiraiya's rapidly falling mood, "Ever since I tried to create the Rasengan and then my head hurt, I know how to create it. Exactly how to create it. But I don't know how I know. It's like the knowledge is there, but not the memories of how I learned the Rasengan." Naruto ducked his head a little lower, slightly ashamed at how badly he had explained his thoughts.
"Hmmm..." Jiraiya rubbed his chin, "That's a new one." The seal master admitted, "So if you would, can you explain exactly what happened when you tried to pop the balloon?"
Naruto nodded, feeling warmth at the thought that Jiraiya was taking his - to be completely honest - outlandish and confusing claim seriously. "Well I first tried to spin my chakra in the balloon, but that didn't work so then I tried flinging it..."
Jiraiya resisted the urge to slam his palm into his face. "Naruto, while I understand that, to you, pain is a lot more relative, bleeding out your nose is almost always a bad thing." Jiraiya paused for a breath. "Hell, bleeding out of anywhere is normally not a good thing."
"But nothing bad happened." Naruto protested, not understanding what the big deal was. A bit of pain in exchange for becoming stronger was a good trade in his opinion.
The urge to facepalm was harder to resist. "Naruto," Jiraiya tried to keep his tone as calm as possible, "Bleeding out your nose while under stress is a bad thing. It usually means brain hemorrhage or something equally bad." At Naruto's look of confusion, Jiraiya simplified it. "You hurt your brain and could have died."
"Oh."
"But thanks to the Kyubi, you didn't. But we have no idea if there is any hidden symptoms that you nor I can detect." Jiraiya attempted to instill how important it was to tell someone when Naruto started to bleed out of his noise. "Telling someone when you have these...visions is important. Who knows if it could impact your training to become strong later on if not corrected." Jiraiya stood and stretched. "But we can talk about your vision later. For now, what do you say we pay for our food, I'm buying by the way, and then go test out your newest technique?"
Naruto grinned. This was going to be great.
"Okay!" Jiraiya couldn't help the pride and glee that he felt bubble up inside him at the thought that Naruto had learned his father's signature technique in a single night. Hell, it wasn't even ten minutes. It was...so fitting that Naruto could wield something that his father only taught to two others. It was Minato's legacy, and now Naruto could use it.
Naruto grinned. This feeling that he felt when he created the Rasengan, once he got past the feeling that it wasn't perfect - despite knowing how to create it perfectly -, there was a sense of familiarity, almost as if his father was standing close to him, connecting them. Naruto raised his hand, concentrating on the sensation of the rotation. Of power. And then combining them. The Last Uzumaki didn't have to glance down to know that the Rasengan had fully formed, but was still...not perfect. Ignoring that fact, it still was...more than adequate for this test. He would train with it later.
Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at the look of wonder and joy that formed on Naruto's face. "Good job Naruto!" Jiraiya's praise was heartfelt as he shared in Naruto's joy of being able to form the technique. Granted, it didn't look like a normal Rasengan, but it still was one. "Now hit the tree with it!" The white haired Sannin pointed to the large tree standing proudly a dozen feet away.
"Right." Naruto nodded as he flexed his hand slightly. Hurtling himself towards the tree, Naruto's hand and arm snapped forward, slamming the glowing ball of chakra into the tree. A normal Rasengan would have ground its way deep into the tree, instantly boring into its wooden heart. Naruto's Rasengan got little under half way into the tree before it destabilized and then promptly detonated. Shards of wood blasted in all directions.
Jiraiya's mouth dropped open. His gaze alternated between the utterly destroyed tree and Naruto casually pulling shards of wood from his body, the wounds hissing faintly as they closed. Once again, the Toad Sannin was thankful had he didn't have to fight Naruto for real in a to-the-death fight. He honestly didn't know if he could win, given that Naruto would never give him a chance to reach Toad Sage Mode. Out loud however, Jiraiya closed his mouth and glanced at his godson.
"Yeah...you can't use that in spars either. Dying isn't something I want to do just yet."
Naruto nodded seriously. "That would be a tad bit inconvenient to your peeping." Jiraiya's mouth dropped open at Naruto's deadpan expression.
Naruto didn't fight the laugh that bubbled up at Jiraiya's shocked expression. "You should see your face." The blonde's laughter was infectious, and Jiraiya couldn't hold the angry frown he tried to project. Warm laughter broke the silence as they headed down the road towards the next village.
"So..." Jiraiya began as his chuckles faded, "Does this mean you are fine with me peeping?"
"Nope."
"Damn. I guess you still haven't joined the ranks of a pervert yet either have you?"
"Nope."
"Damn." Jiraiya shrugged. "Oh well. I have you for a little bit. We'll see what we can do. I'll get you trained yet."
Naruto glanced at his teacher. "I'm training at nights." Spotting Jiraiya's grin, The Last Uzumaki cut him off. "With ninja techniques." Jiraiya's eyebrows continued to rise. "With both my Rasengan and my swords." The super pervert giggled. Naruto's eyes widened in confused exasperation. "What did I say? How can you even spin that into something perverted?"
"Oh, my young apprentice," Jiraiya patted Naruto's head, "You still have much to learn." The super pervert chuckled. "But never mind that for now. We have another town to hit up today, and the sooner we arrive, the sooner we can start training." Noticing Naruto's confused glance Jiraiya explained his reasoning for visiting the town in question. "The town we are heading to is home to a small gambling den. Tsunade is a chronic gambler. She also happens to be very, very bad at gambling. From what I can gather from my spy network, she will be at one of several different gambling dens, in one of three towns."
Naruto nodded. "Is that why one of Tsunade's nicknames is 'The Legendary Sucker'?"
Jiraiya couldn't help himself as he giggled. "Yes. Sadly. I wish it was for...something else." Naruto tilted his head. "Don't worry my young apprentice, with all of your...girl space friends in your house, you'll know what I mean soon enough." And with one more trailing giggle from the super pervert, the unlikely pair headed off, setting a rather brutal pace that would have quickly winded most other ninja.
Arriving at the first town in the early hours of the evening, Jiraiya and Naruto parted ways. As the blonde headed to secure both of them rooms for the night, Naruto thought about the plan Jiraiya had explained over their short lunch break. The plan was that upon arriving at the town, the spy master would head into the more seedy areas of the town, given his more familiarity with them. Naruto would secure their lodging for their stay and then investigate the completely legal gambling establishments. Neither of the two honestly expected that Tsunade would be this close to Konoha, some four days out from the village by normal ninja speeds, but they had to check to be certain.
After checking into one of the less-expensive hotels, Naruto began his search. It was at first difficult to navigate the town that bordered on a small city, but Naruto soon ran into a very helpful young woman. Staring up at the large lit sign proclaiming Taisho Casino, the blonde Uzumaki quickly transformed himself into a non-descript black-haired man of no discernable origin. Moving through the lacquered lobby, Naruto was struck by all of the lights and sounds that clashed with each other, but yet not unpleasantly so.
Men and women gathered around tables, betting money they had or did not have on games of chance, hoping to win a life of ease. Ignoring one of the employees that tried to make him change his money into chips, Naruto scanned the room, looking for the distinct face of Tsunade. Not spotting her as he moved towards the second floor, the blonde ninja took the steps two at a time. Tsunade was not on the second floor either. Naruto heaved a sigh. This was going to be a long night.
The second casino proved to be more of a challenge, given that normally one had to pay a fee to enter. Unfortunately for the casino establishment owners, they had never planned for someone such as Naruto. The Last Uzumaki had hedged himself into a small bug and slipped under the front door's bottom gap. Locating the men's bathroom, Naruto had transformed himself into the same non-descript man from before. As an extra precaution, he created a clone and had it hedge into the ticket normally one got after paying the entry fee.
It was just as well that Naruto did not pay the fee, given that his search for Tsunade proved to be equally useless in this casino as well. As the blonde headed back to the hotel, he idly created the Rasengan, malformed though it was, before cutting the chakra to the attack. Creating it yet again, the blonde was once again struck by the odd - almost maddening - sensation of knowing that the Rasengan should be created faster than it was, but yet not knowing why it should be created so fast.
Upon entering the lobby, the blonde absently noted that the person running the front desk looked confused, almost lost even. Pushing the odd feeling that their expression evoked, the blonde continued up the stairs to the hallway that his room's door was on. It was then that a wet smell, almost like a fish in a way, invaded the Jinchuriki's nose. It was only Naruto's highly evolved survival instinct, brought on by years of surviving the village's wrath and hate, that prevented him from walking into his hotel room. A crawling sensation, almost like a sixth sense, informed Naruto that something was very, very wrong.
Stopping to listen closely, he picked up the sound of two figures, - male, judging from the deeper breaths as well as the height from the ground - breathing inside his room. Given that Jiraiya wasn't one to be quiet, nor would he bring another man back to their room, Naruto could only assume that someone else and their partner was in his room. Ghosting to the window on the far end of the hallway, Naruto carefully laid a kunai on the floor in preparation for a shunshin. Moving silently back, Naruto took a quiet deep breath to calm his racing heart. He held his adrenalin back, readying himself for a fight but also realizing that it could be a big misunderstanding. The last thing he needed was a dead civilian.
Palming another kunai into his left hand, Naruto raised his hand and opened the door.
"Hello Naruto-Kun." Itachi Uchiha's voice was calm. "Won't you come in?"
Naruto instantly recognized one of the Leaf's most famous traitors. There was a man also standing beside Itachi that looked to be vaguely shark-like. He stank of fish, blood, and water. Naruto blinked.
"No." Naruto promptly closed the door. Snapping up his hand into the sign for the shunshin, the blonde Uzumaki was transported to the window. Having learned from when he had repeatedly shunshined with Gaara to bring the Suna Jinchuriki, Naruto leaned into the overpowered Shunshin, allowing the extra momentum to hurl him out the window. Ignoring the pin-pricks of pain from the shattered glass, the blonde twisted in mid-air and concentrated.
White smoke bellowed around him as ten clones formed. A heavy thump sounded as Naruto and nine of his clones took off as soon as they hit the ground. A momentary flex of the Kyubi's chakra shoved all of the glass out of his wounds and sealed them shut as Naruto rocketed towards the woods beyond the edge of the town.
Itachi wasn't one to be easily rattled. His personality was stoic if it was described in a single word. But he had never encountered Naruto Uzumaki in person. As a result, the Uchiha was just as flabbergasted as his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki was. It was to his credit however, that his bafflement only last two or three seconds. Instantly snapping the door open, Itachi's dark brown eyes spotted Naruto just as the blonde dropped out of sight beyond the shattered window.
Detecting a chakra spike, Itachi along with Kisame, rushed to the window, leaning forward to look out for his target. It was a testament to his legendary skill and speed that he was able to jerk not only himself but his partner out of the way of the way of the four kunai almost ended his ninja career right then. The force behind them imbedded the kunai into the ceiling above the window. The weapons passed so close to Itachi's face that he could feel the glowing chakra that the kunai had been charged with.
Itachi blinked, mentally cataloging that Naruto Uzumaki's skill with kunai, and presumably shuriken, was not exaggerated. A moment later, the Uchiha prodigy blinked again, surging chakra into his eyes with a practiced mental flick. Blurring forward through the jagged window, Itachi's Sharingan allowed him to see the kunai and shuriken that rushed towards him. The deadly thrown weapons were moving faster than the untrained eye could react, but to the Uchiha's Sharingan, they moved slowly.
While they moved much faster than the average thrown kunai, Itachi was easily able to twist his body around the weapons as he leapt over Naruto as he threw the weapons at the Uchiha overhead. Landing behind the blonde, Itachi struck out at his target, intending on hitting the Uzumaki with a stunning blow.
'Naruto' promptly exploded into smoke. A single blink turned off his bloodline as Itachi reviewed the new information. Naruto Uzumaki was also skilled in creating Shadow Clones, who apparently could in turn create multiple Shadow Clone Kunai. While none of this was surprising, given that all of this information was in the briefing folder they had, it was quite another to face it in open combat. Still, Naruto Uzumaki's instant reaction was something that the stoic Uchiha had not been expecting. To react instantly to danger was not a skill someone the Uzumaki's age should have had. It normally was only seen in ninja who had been living and surviving fights for their lives for many years.
Any further ruminations was cut short by more kunai speeding in his direction. Blinking his Sharingan back on, Itachi casually twisted out of the way of the dangerously glowing ninja tools. A quick glance back towards the window informed him that Kisame was going to take care of the Shadow Clone on the roof. Running through his mental checklist, Itachi realized that Naruto would undoubtedly make for the woods outside of town. However, given that trees surrounded sixty percent of the town, he needed more to work with. To find out more, he needed a Shadow Clone.
Kisame couldn't help but let a wide bloodthirsty grin spread across his face. This is what he lived for! Tearing into an opponent, slowly shredding them into pieces. Gripping the wooden windowsill hard enough to crack the wood, the shark-faced missing nin hurled himself towards the seemingly surprised clone. As he flew through the air, Kisame's white eyes widened as he saw the shadow clone suddenly smirk as it flipped up a kunai into the air between them. Nearing the halfway point in the jump, the missing ninja saw the 'kunai' puff into smoke, revealing another clone of Naruto. Wind blasted out to greet Kisame.
With no time to spare, the ninja who was known as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist pulled the bandaged blade from off his back to hold it directly in front of him, greeting the oncoming storm. The wind technique slammed into the bandaged blade, but it was no ordinary great sword. It was Samehada, the Shark Sword. Capable of absorbing almost any chakra that touched it, it easily absorbed the wind-natured attack. Slamming into the shocked clone, Kisame forced the clone to dispel with just the force of the impact alone. Snapping his hand through the smoke, the missing nin's hand grazed the clone's hair as it ducked. Shoving his hand down to grip the unfortunate clone's head, he squeezed, easily dispelling the clone.
A message from Samehada, the sword being almost sentient, informed Kisame just how much power had been behind that wind attack. "Good thing you absorbed it then." Kisame grunted. He had no interest in finding out if his spine could withstand being thrown through a building. But rather then feeling afraid at the knowledge, his grin widened, showing his sharp, pointed teeth. Grinning like a shark, Kisame chuckled. "Oh...this is going to be fun."
No longer interested in the delaying tactics of the shadow clones - where were they all coming from? - Itachi wove a A-Rank genjutsu around a group of three that waited to ambush him, allowing the Uchiha prodigy to step into their midst without them noticing. His kunai flashed, instantly ending two of them. Grabbing the third clone by the shoulder and spinning it around, Itachi ignored the slight spike of pain as he activated the evolved form of his Sharingan.
Red eyes met shocked blue. "Tsukuyomi."
Clone Fifty-Eight blinked in confusion at his surroundings. Why was the sky blood red? Why was he tied to a black wooden cross? Why was the only colors in the world red, black, and white? "Genjutsu." The clone realized, "It must be. The world isn't normally messed up like this."
"Shadow Clone of Naruto Uzumaki," Itachi began, his voice monotone, "Where is your creator?" The clone said nothing, apparently determined to not say anything. Itachi hadn't expected it to talk. Gesturing, the Uchiha created a basic sword out of thin air. Such was his skill with the Tsukuyomi. Within the mental realm created by the genjutsu, he could conjure anything he imagined and stretch seconds into days. The sword thrust deep into the clone with a soft squelch. The clone's eyes never left Itachi's. Not even a grunt escaped it's mouth despite the pain it was feeling, Tsukuyomi perfectly recreating the pain that such a real injury would have brought.
That was fine. Tsukuyomi provided more than enough time to break the clone.
Several hours later, the clone finally grunted when yet another sword was shoved into it's leg. Emboldened, the Uchiha redoubled his questioning. Several more hours later, the clone hung limply, seemingly out of defiance.
"Where is your creator?" Itachi was more than slightly annoyed at this point. The clone whispered something inaudible. "What was that?"
"My name is Fifty-Eight." The clone pulled itself back up to glare defiantly at Itachi, seemingly still full of defiant energy. "And you can go fuck yourself."
Itachi had to actively fight the sudden thought to kill the clone. The sheer gall! "I can keep you here until your mind shatters." It wasn't an empty threat.
The clone grinned even in the face of that. "Sure you could." It tilted it's head, as if it knew some secret. "But do you have the chakra for that?" It began to chuckle at Itachi's quiet infuriated silence. "I'll give you some free advice. The village has already done everything you just did and more." A terrible morbid expression flickered across its face. "Hell, you haven't even gone for my eyes yet."
With an audible snarl, Itachi broke the genjutsu. Now back to normal reality, the clone shoved itself backwards, pulling out a kunai. "You want to go?" It tilted it's head mockingly. "Or do you want to try that eye contact genjutsu again? It worked out so well last time." The clone was still grinning as Itachi's hand slammed into it.
Moving back to where he could see Kisame as the swordsman fight off several shadow clones armed with kunai, Itachi dropped a quick genjutsu on his partner to inform him that they needed to find several late-generation clones in order to figure out where their target was. Or move across the city to sense his chakra. Given the sheer amount of defiance in the clones, checking the forest for Naruto's chakra signature would take less time and chakra.
Naruto grinned as he finished setting up the field of combat in the forest. he knew that he couldn't take on Itachi Uchiha by himself, let alone his fish-faced partner. And that wasn't even counting the chakra absorbing blade that the missing ninja had. So...Naruto decided to prepare the battlefield as much as he could. He had planted several over-charged explosive tags in the ground and had a clone retrieve his swords. Several dozen clones lay waiting to rain down kunai and shuriken from above. If he had more time the Last Uzumaki knew he could have shifted the odds more in his favor with seals, but there was no time. Still only two or three minutes had passed, and undoubtedly the dozen clones dispatched to find Jiraiya would find him soon enough.
Itachi and Kisame landed on the ground, perhaps just under one hundred and fifty paces away. "You've led us on quite the chase, Naruto-Kun." Itachi had already mastered himself, the momentary lapse of control long since passed. "But I applaud your efforts." The praise was genuine, regardless of how it sounded. "You kept us from discovering you for four minutes. Very impressive."
Kisame couldn't help but grin, his smile nothing but sharpened teeth, at the thought of the impending real battle that was about to commence. Feeling Itachi's invisible nod from his side, he reached up to grasp the long hilt of Samehada, feeling the pulse of battlelust begin. The missing nin closed the distance with confident, distance-eating strides.
One hundred and forty paces. The white wrappings on the blade flew off, revealing the dark blue scaled blade underneath.
One hundred and thirty paces. A flicker of chakra had the air dampen around him, hydrating his skin.
One hundred and twenty paces. The water was almost dripping from the humid air as the missing nin moved closer to his pray.
One hundred and ten paces. Raising his hand, Kisame prepared to unleash his first water jutsu at the presumably stunned blonde.
One hundred paces. The world exploded around him.
As soon as the planted explosive tags went off, Naruto and his clones surged forward, intent on making the most of the momentum that they had established. There was a metallic shing in the air as Naruto surged forward, pulling his mother's swords from their sheaths. Beside him, the clones prepared a jutsu of their own, each with a different element. The explosion, while impressive, would not nearly be enough to take out the missing ninja.
Swinging his swords in a scything attack through the smoke and kicked-up dust, Naruto felt the resistance of the water barrier that had protected Kisame. Not to be deterred, the Last Uzumaki spun to the left, letting wind chakra build onto the blade. A flick of his wrist rippled the gathered wind chakra across the air, blowing away the dust to reveal the swirling ball water that Kisame had created within an instant to protect himself from the explosion.
The clone grinned as it brought up it's hands that crackled with lightning natured chakra. It was the direct opposite of Naruto's wind-natured chakra, and as such even a basic lightning jutsu cost more chakra then any normal ninja would want to part with. "Are you shocked?" The clone grinned wildly as it shoved all of it's chakra into the simple jutsu. Electricity leapt forward, seeking to fry the missing ninja inside the water bubble. It's last memory before it dispelled due to lack of chakra was Kisame's eyes widening.
Even in the space of a second, the missing ninja hurled himself out of the danger. As soon as he entered back into the air, a dozen kunai threatened to perforate him. Spinning Samehada's blade, the swordsman deflected the kunai. Spinning the greatsword in his hand, Kisame blocked Naruto's sword that threatened to slice him in half. Not giving Kisame time to steal momentum, Naruto brought his other blade in a slicing uppercut.
Batting the second sword away, Kisame didn't stop the grin. "That's it. Keep putting up such a fight." The two sword-wielding ninja traded blows, each attempting to end the fight with one hit.
It was only a slightest flicker of shadow that made Itachi aware of the danger that almost befell him. Moving to the side with an almost casual step, Itachi let the falling clone fall passed him. The clone's hand was glowing, and Itachi needed to see what that jutsu did, given that he had never seen it before. In a move that almost belied belief, Itachi dodged the ground even as it cratered beneath the clone's glowing hand. Still, it didn't stop the now active Sharingan user's glowing eyes from widening. What had that jutsu been? He hadn't seen any hand signs. And it's destruction level had been far beyond anything he had expected. Itachi made a mental note to avoid getting hit by that. It would presumably blow him apart, given the concussive nature of it.
All it took was the most minute flicker of motion to warn the Uchiha of the danger. Moving with smooth skill only the Sharingan could provide, Itachi twisted to the side, bring his left arm upwards. A moment later it snapped downwards, clamping onto the arm that held a glowing Rasengan. "It was a decent try." Once again, the words were genuine praise.
The clone would have grinned in triumph, but that would have tipped off Itachi. While Naruto, and thus the clone by extension, were currently incapable of creating a perfect Rasengan, not yet. But perfect was not want the clone wanted at the moment. It wanted the opposite of perfect. It wanted entropy; it wanted chaos. And that desire stained it's chakra, filled it with it's intent. The clone by the name of Seventy-Two, formed a second chakra blade inside the imperfect Rasengan. It then drove it like a knife into the side of the spinning ball of chakra.
Itachi didn't even have time to blink before the Rasengan detonated. Flying out the dust cloud, the Uchiha's black and red cloak was no longer pristine and whole. It was tattered and torn. Blood dripped from his mouth where he had bitten the tip of his tongue. His ears rang. Sliding into a crouch, Itachi felt pain sprout from his eyes as he let his Sharingan evolve into it's ultimate state, far beyond the three tomoe of the normal Sharingan. This was the Mangekyo Sharingan, and Itachi was done holding back.
Naruto felt the strength behind Kisame's attack. It was practically unreal, the strength behind the attack unaided by chakra. Letting the greatsword slid to his left, Naruto spun with it, the Last Uzumaki spun with it, bringing his left blade up in straight uppercut that would have opened the missing ninja up from hip to shoulder.
Kisame swayed back, dodging the attack. The missing nin swung his now free blade at Naruto's exposed legs. Naruto let the motion of his left hand continue, letting the sword's hilt fly out of his hand. Vaulting upwards to avoid the chop against his legs, the blonde Uzumaki twisted midair to avoid Kisame's follow-up thrust. Lashing outwards with his now open free left hand, Naruto grabbed Samehada's blade, ignoring as it bit into his hand; ignoring as it shredded the his palm. Using his grip on the greatsword as leverage, Naruto pulled himself forward, thrusting his sword at Kisame's open shoulder.
The swordsman twisted, dropping his shoulder to avoid Naruto's strike. Still, even the legendary swordsman of the Mist could not completely escape without injury. The Last Uzumaki's sword carved a bloody furrow through the top of his shoulder, cutting through skin, muscle, and bone with equal ease. Naruto let go of Samehada, following the thrust with his body. Rushing past Kisame, the Uzumaki pivoted in mid air, throwing his weight to the left, bring his right, bloodstained sword in a decapitating arc.
Kisame ducked the strike that would have separated his head from his neck, feeling his already short dark blue hair get even shorter as the thrice-damned Uzumaki's sharp sword shaved off a substantial portion of his hair. Pivoting on his heel, Kisame brought Samehada around in an arc, and slammed it into the still falling Uzumaki like a bat.
Naruto coughed blood as he flew backwards. But this was not the first time Naruto had his ribs broken. Holding his hand backwards, Naruto let his chakra envelop the hand, preparing it to destroy the tree he was even now flying towards. The tree's base blew apart the moment Naruto's hand touched it. Slamming the sword that he still had into the ground, Naruto shoved chakra into his feet, latching onto the ground, stopping his slid almost instantly. Tugging on the Kyubi's chakra, Naruto felt the rush of power as the cloak of the nine-tails instantly gained one-tail. Letting a snarl escape from his lips, Naruto grabbed the still falling tree and hurled it at Kisame, not noticing a second tail pop into existence. "Round Two!"
"Sorry." Jiraiya didn't sound sorry in the slightest as he appeared next to Naruto. "I can't let you harm Naruto." His hands flexed, a large Rasengan appearing in each hand. "I'm sure you understand."
Itachi blinked, his Sharingan reverting to his normal three tomoe state. "Kisame, we are leaving. We got what we came for."
Kisame eyed Jiraiya's Rasengans as well as Naruto's already healed form. Leveling Samehada at Naruto, the missing ninja couldn't help but grin widely, exposing his pointed teeth. "You're lucky brat. Let's continue this again sometime."
As soon Kisame reached his side, Itachi flicked his wrist, covering the area with dense, black smoke. Jiraiya frowned as he felt the pairs' chakra signature fade almost instantly. He had been afraid that something like this would happen. "Naruto." Jiraiya's voice was serious, "Did they put any seals on you?"
"No." Naruto shook his head, going over the fight in his head, "They never managed to touch me." Still tense from the recent combat, Naruto didn't relax his stance as he relayed what he had learned. "I learned a few things about their techniques."
"Good." Jiraiya nodded, finally turning away from his vigil. "Tsunade is not here. You can tell me along the way. We will make camp along the way later tonight." A moment later they were gone, the only signs that a life and death struggle had happened was a shattered tree and several craters blasted into the ground.
The next week and a half seemed boring in comparison to the first exciting night. Still, Naruto and Jiraiya made good time, training and traveling. They had already checked the second city with major gambling areas, and were nearing the third and largest one. The city stretched upwards, impressive in the sense that it was built upwards, rather than outwards like a ninja village. It was a city built by civilians, not ninja defending their home.
Passing into the city, again, the guards trained to fight bandits not ninja; Jiraiya couldn't help but shake his head. While he and Naruto hadn't had any trouble with the guards, given that Jiraiya was able to pay the small fee for entering the city, any ninja who really wished to enter could have done so. Still, keeping a low profile was important. Unlike the other cities, there was only two large casinos in the city. Jiraiya and Naruto headed for the first one.
Entering the Casino, the two ninja scanned the tables, looking for blonde hair. It was Naruto who spotted her first, his superior eyesight locking onto the target. Elbowing Jiraiya lightly in the side, he motioned to the blonde with a jerk of his chin. Jiraiya analyzed the blonde in question. The blonde hair, the almost slender neck, and the green over coat could only mean one person. Tsunade Senju was here. Beside her was Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice. Glancing at Naruto, Jiraiya nodded and began his approach. Naruto followed.
Tsunade Senju, also known at one point as the Slug Sannin, didn't stop the slight scowl that crossed her face. Here she was, just having lost yet another game. Logically, the blonde haired woman knew that she never would win, as if some cosmic deity was punishing her for something, but that part of her always vanished when yet something else was available to bet on. Then abruptly, the man sitting across from her blanched, almost turning pale, and quickly vacated his seat.
Abruptly Tsunade's mood, already not the greatest, took a dive. Jiraiya slid into the recently vacated seat, some blonde kid taking a seat at the table as well. "Hello Tsunade-Hime." The white haired man could not help the cheeky warm tone that bled into his greeting. "How are we today?"
Tsunade scowled back. Her feelings towards Jiraiya were...complicated. He was a pervert of the highest order, but he was there she needed someone. He stood for everything Konoha was and all of its self-sacrificing bullshit, but he never asked her to do something she was unwilling to do. He was always so strong and gifted; reaching a place she was not skilled enough to go, but he never lorded over her; never pointed out that he, and he alone had become a sage.
"What do you want...pervert?" The words came out angrier then she intended. Beside her, Shizune's light brown eyes widened at her teacher's tone. Did Tsunade still hold anger against Jiraiya after so many years?
Despite her anger, Jiraiya smiled. He had half expected her to try to hit him. "So I'm guessing that you aren't in the mood for a nice chat between old teammates?" Donning on his most winning and charming smile, Jiraiya attempted to lighten the mood. The Slug Sannin's scowl deepened. Jiraiya sighed internally. "Well, I tried my best. Now comes the 'fun' part." Jiraiya grew serious, letting his mood show on his face. "You know of Sensei's death, do you not?"
Tsunade's scowl wavered as fondness entered her tone. "Yeah. I know. The idiot had escaped the Hokage's curse, but then and got himself reelected. I knew he would eventually die." Seeing Jiraiya blink in confusion - the expression was odd and looked wrong on his face, Jiraiya was the smart one among them; the one who never was confused - she felt compelled to explain. "Every Hokage has died. It's a curse. Who would want to ever be Hokage."
Jiraiya shifted uncomfortably. "Oh. Well...that's the funny thing. I came here to ask you if you wanted to become Hokage." Gesturing to Naruto beside him, Jiraiya introduced him, hoping that Tsunade understood. If not, he would explain his reasonings for needing her to be Hokage. "This is Naruto." He waited for the spark of recognition from his former teammate. No spark lit up her eyes.
Shizune suddenly felt a sinking feeling, as something monumentally terrible was about to happen.
"Good for him." Tsunade dismissed, not even sparing her fellow blonde a glance. "He some kid from girl you managed to knock up?" Leaning back, the former Slug Sannin swiped the bottle of sake next to her, taking a long drink. "As for your offer, I'll tell you this once. I'll tell you a thousand times. The Hokage's hat is a death sentence. And thus I'll have to refuse." Bitter laughter bubbled from her. "Only an idiot would want to become Hokage."
The sudden sound of Naruto's chair scraping back broke the silence. "What's the matter, kid?" Tsunade felt the familiar comforting warmth of the alcohol though her system, loosening her lips. "Going so soon?"
Naruto didn't even look at her. "You were wrong Jiraiya." Naruto's words were equal parts anger and sadness. Anger at her words; At calling his father an idiot; At forgetting him; At the fact that she apparently never remembered her own godson. Sadness at the thought that perhaps he wasn't good enough to remember; that perhaps he had done something to drive her away; that perhaps he didn't matter enough to search for. And then anger flared yet again. "And what have you done with your life, 'Godmother'?" Naruto paused on his way out. "I'm going to train." He nodded to his teacher, fighting the urge to lash out at the blonde haired woman who had left him in the hellish village for so long. He was mostly successful. "See you later Jiraiya." There was something close to anger in his tone as he paused as he was passing Tsunade. "Goodbye Godmother."
There was something within his words that whispered at Tsunade, but she dismissed it. "Kids these days." Raising a sculpted eyebrow, she mistook Jiraiya's silence for agreement. "Overreacting at the slightest thing."
Jiraiya had never fought for control of his emotions as hard as he did at that moment. Anger, white hot anger, threatened to consume him. To lash out with both his words and his chakra. But he would not give in. But he could no longer sit across from her least he do something he would later regret; say words he could not take back. Standing he addressed his former teammate, his voice as cold as he could manage. "Tsunade." The anger slipped through the cracks of his iron control, "I am disappointed in you."
Shizune watched the Toad Sannin leave, shocked at the tone he had taken with Lady Tsunade. In all the years she had known the white-haired man, she had never known him to raise his voice towards her mentor; never belittled her or whispered comments; always treated her ideas with respect, even if he believed that they were wrong. What had changed? What had just happened? Standing quickly, Shizune hurried after Jiraiya, intent on explaining her mentor's attitude. It was all just a big misunderstanding.
For the first time in years, the warmness of the alcohol left Tsunade without copious amounts of coffee. She turned to watch her former teammate leave, one thought pervading her thoughts. "He didn't call me Tsunade-Hime. What had changed? What had just happened?" Taking a long pull from the sake bottle to drown the strange, almost sickening emotions that frothed within her, she found no comfort in the golden liquid. The normally pleasant drink tasted like ash on her tongue. Ash, regret, and something that she thought she would never feel. Shame.
"Jiraiya-Sama." Shizune called as she caught up to the striding Toad Sannin, "Could you please stop for a moment to talk?"
Jiraiya froze, part of him wanting to snap back at Tsunade's apprentice. But it was not in Jiraiya's nature to punish those not guilty. And Tsunade's failure to help Naruto was not Shizune's failure. "How can I help you?" Jiraiya spun on his heel to face the normally calm woman. If the situation wasn't so serious and his emotions weren't stirring within, Jiraiya would have leered at her, commenting on how her simple kimono complemented her figure.
"Lady Tsunade needs some time." Shizune tried to explain, her voice passionate as always when it came to her mentor, "She needs time to process Hiruzen-Sama's death." The kind woman glanced to the side sadly. "She has suffered so much. So many people she cared about died, leaving her alone."
The man who had failed as a godfather felt his anger once again try to surge to the surface. "Yes. She has suffered so much." He paused, regaining control of his emotions, shoving the sarcastic tone out of his voice. "But that is not why I had to leave the table."
"Then help me understand so I can help Lady Tsunade." Shizune pleaded, wanting to heal the rift that had formed between her mentor and one of the people who cared for her the most.
Jiraiya was quiet for a moment, judging how he could possibly salvage the situation. Perhaps it was not too late for Tsunade. Perhaps Shizune could succeed where he failed. "Ask Tsunade who Naruto Uzumaki was." Shizune nodded, desperate to assist her mentor. "And if she wants to talk about him once she figures it out, I'll be in Room Twenty-Four at the Hoteru Hotel later tonight."
Shizune nodded, her mind already figuring out how to bring her mentor out of her comfort zone so she could talk. In addition, she would need to make sure to clear out all of Tsunade's hidden sake stashes. Tsunade needed to be clear headed for this conversation. "Shortly after dark then?"
Jiraiya couldn't help the slight quirk of amusement at Tsunade's apprentice's tenacity. If anyone mistook her kindness for timidity, well, they would find themselves quite unprepared. As the young woman hurried inside the casino, Jiraiya resumed his journey towards where he knew his godson was. They both could use a sparring match, and there was still time before dark...
Shizune returned to find her mentor still nursing the same bottle of sake from before, a despondent look on the beautiful blonde woman's face. "Come my Lady." Shizune pulled the bottle away from Tsunade, we are going to our room to talk." She cut off any rebuttals from Tsunade. "No." Her voice was firm. "We are leaving. We are going to our room. I will be getting strong coffee and you will sober up. Then we will talk about what just happened with Jiraiya."
"I don't want to talk about that pervert." Tsunade's reply was almost petulant. Never the less, she slowly stood, knowing better then to try to dissuade Shizune when she was in one of her moods. The pair -minus Tsunade's alcohol bottle - headed out. Along the way, Shizune attempted to remember how much Ryo Lady Tsunade had lost tonight and if she could cover it all. Moving up to the payment window, Shizune took a deep breath while taking out her purse. "Hello. My name is Shizune. I'm here to pay Lady Tsunade's debt."
The man behind the window nodded as he consulted his paperwork. "You don't owe anything. Tsunade's tab has already been paid."
Shizune blinked. That was new. Casting a quick glance in Tsunade's direction - the Slug Sannin still didn't know that Shizune paid her tab when she was able - Shizune leaned closer to the payment booth. "Can you tell me who paid the tab?"
The man shrugged. "He didn't give his name." Seeing Shizune's slightly down expression, he quickly racked his brain for any information he could give the pretty young woman. "He had white hair and some kind of horned forehead protector." Scrunching his eyes as he tried to remember more details, "It had the symbol for 'oil' I think. And he had red lines on his face."
"Thank-you." Shizune's gratitude was sincere. "You still care for Lady Tsunade even after that, Jiraiya-Sama?" The black haired woman collected her mentor and headed off, making sure to keep a firm hand on Tsunade's arm. Tsunade wasn't going to run from this conversation.
Tsunade sighed as she finished the bitter coffee. She honestly swore that Shizune made it bitter on purpose. "Might as well get this conversation over with." The Slug Sannin wanted nothing more than to grab a bottle of extra strong sake and curl up in her bed, to drink away the emotions evoked by Jiraiya's cold words.
"Alright." Shizune nodded as she folded her hands in her lap. Beating around the bush was never a way to speak to her. Coyness wasn't Tsunade's strong area of expertise. "Who is Naruto Uzumaki?"
Tsunade paled, suddenly looking every inch of her advanced age. "W-Where did you hear that name?" She hadn't heard that name in over thirteen years. "You aren't going to cry. He's dead. He's dead like everyone else."
"Jiraiya-Sama told me." Shizune's reply was simple as she watched her mentor's face carefully. Obviously, who ever this 'Naruto Uzumaki' was, he was important to Tsunade. Perhaps the blonde haired ninja that had been with Jiraiya knew him? It would explain his reaction.
"N-Naruto Uzumaki w-was my godson." Tsunade's voice was shaky, a far cry from her normal confident tone. "A-and he died thirteen years ago when the Kyubi attacked Konoha." Tsunade's head lowered, tears threatening to fall. "He died along with his parents, Minato and Kushina."
Shizune flinched back, her mind reeling from the information. "Minato Namikaze had a son? And that son died?" The black-haired woman felt tears of pity welling up in her at Tsunade's loss. "Oh Lady Tsunade, I'm so sorry."
Choking sadness warred with stirrings of anger within the Slug Sannin. "How dare he bring up something so painful?" But...yet...Jiraiya was never one to do anything without a reason. He had to have a reason why he brought up Naruto...
"...This is Naruto..."
Suddenly all of the pieces fell into place with terrible, awful, sickening clarity. Naruto's blonde hair, his name, and just everything about him. Snapping her head up with a suddenness that startled Shizune, Tsunade's voice was demanding and passionate. "Where is Jiraiya?"
"Goddammit Tsunade." Now that he and Naruto had sparred their anger out, all that was left for the Toad Sannin was disappointed frustration as he sat alone in his hotel room. "I thought you had a good reason for staying away."
Abruptly his door quaked under the strength of Tsunade's knock. "Jiraiya!" Tsunade was not a quiet person. "Are you in there?"
Standing up quickly and moving to the door, least his former teammate break it, Jiraiya opened the door. "Come in." Emotional control firmly held his emotions back.
Tsunade barely waited until the door closed before verbally pouncing. "Where is Naruto Uzumaki? Why was I not told that he had survived?"
"Told?" Jiraiya felt his control slip for the briefest of seconds, "Why should you have been told? You should have been there!" Summoning the control he had trained, Jiraiya calmed himself as much as he could. "Naruto never died on that night."
"But they told me he died." Tsunade's voice rose.
"They lied." Jiraiya's tone was harsh and cold. "They do that."
Jiraiya's tone took some of the anger out of her. "B-But they told me."
"Did you check?" Jiraiya took a step forward, and Tsunade took a step back. "Did you, Tsunade Senju; the greatest medical ninja to ever live, check to make sure your godson was dead?" There was a fierceness in his eyes that made her look away. "Or did you just believe them, the council who had damned so many others you cared about?"
Tsunade felt hurt and uncertain. She fell back on the old familiar emotion of anger. "Shut up!" Her breathes came in furious, bitter rushes. "It was a bad time okay! Minato and Kushina had just died and there was no one left! I was all alone!"
"Good for you." Jiraiya's voice was almost cruel in his stilted anger. "While you ran away, Naruto your godson, nearly died from an assassination attempt." Jiraiya took a step forward, his emotions boiling over. "While you were off drinking and gambling your life away for nine years, he was busy being beaten." Another step. "While you sat in your little self-pity party, he was just trying to survive the day."
"Wha-what?" Tsunade had never seen this side of Jiraiya before. Never had she seen such righteous anger directed towards her from him. "W-What are you talking about?"
"The village beat Naruto. Many, many times." Jiraiya's sudden burst of anger left him, leaving only choking regret. "I fully accept my failure to prevent it. I just got a promise from Hiruzen that he would be taken care of and then left. I never checked up on him once in person. But," Jiraiya shook his head, his gaze spearing Tsunade's, "That doesn't excuse my actions. Nothing does."
Anger came back to Tsunade. "Exactly! How dare you judge me if you failed as well?"
"How dare I?" Jiraiya's voice was quiet, and the quietness almost scared Tsunade. "How dare I?" It was a struggle to not lash out. "It's not about you! It's not about me! It's about our godson who we abandoned!" Something dark crept into his tone. "I will live the rest of my life with the knowledge that my actions led to my godson living what could be called hell on earth." There was a fierceness in his eyes that obliterated the anger that Tsunade clung to. "Justify it for me. Justify why you left him alone."
"I-I...I..." Overwhelmed, Tsunade sat onto the bed, the sound of the bedsprings creaking sounding loud in the condemning silence. "I-I need time." She pleaded, wanting nothing more than to run away, to drink the terrible emotions that now ate at her away. "Please."
Jiraiya used his emotions, the anger, regret, and fatherly protectiveness, as armor against her plea. "No. You had thirteen goddamn years." He took a step forward. "Justify it."
Tsunade couldn't stop the helpless frustrated tears that coursed down her face. "I can't alright! I can't find a good reason why I did it!" Anger was her shield. "There! I said it. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"No." Jiraiya was calm. "That was for you to hear, not me. But let me ask you this: Now that you know that Naruto is alive, what do you plan to do?" The white-haired Sannin waited for her reply, knowing that this moment would irrevocably change not only her fate, but Naruto's as well. He had already made plans if she would not return. If Naruto was not recognized as the Uzumaki head, the white-haired Sannin already knew of several villages that would not mind several young ninjas moving in. Jiraiya would not leave his godson to the wolves. Not again. Never again.
"W-What can I do?" Tsunade's voice was small and uncertain, the tone sounding wrong coming from her. "H-How could he ever forgive me?"
Jiraiya sighed and sat beside her. "That I can't tell you. I don't know if he will ever forgive me or you." His voice was a whisper. "We messed up so badly. Do you know that he can't go a night without nightmares of the times he was beaten?" Tsunade felt her tears increase as Jiraiya continued, his words knifing into her heart. "Do that he doesn't even sometimes believe that he is important." Jiraiya smiled despite the lone tear that trickled down his face.
"But...there is three very special young women who didn't fail. They were there for him when we were not. Even though they are only young as he is, they are lionesses, and they will defend him. And he them."
"So he doesn't need me?" Something close to depression added to the chaotic emotions Tsunade felt. "What does it matter then?"
"But you can help him." Jiraiya's words was a ray of hope, lifting her spirit. "If you want, I can tell you exactly how you can help your godson." Tsuande grasped the offered hope with both hands.
"Tell me how I can help Naruto."
So what did you think? Drop a review and let me know.
To better explain the fight between Naruto, Itachi, and Kisame: While Naruto did very good, there was no way he could take on two S-Ranked missing ninja at his current skill level. However, they weren't there to kill him. They were there to test him, and as such, they both succeeded and failed. They learned things about him, but he also learned quite a bit about them. If you have any questions about the fight, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.
To my reviewer's direct questions:
MEleeSmasher: Given that Tsunade will be heading back to Konoha next chapter, I'd wager it's not going to be much longer.
Vanishing Raptor: While I don't want to spoil anything, I can disclose that it has nothing to do directly with the seal. If all goes as planned, you should find out a very solid hint as to what is going on next chapter.
Guest: While I don't want to spoil anything, you can be sure that the girls will using every available resource to aid Naruto. As far as Danzo goes, that's more of a slow, long term reveal. He is one of the few characters that I'm letting readers interpret his actions themselves. As always, I'm interested in everyone's thoughts in exactly why Danzo does what he does.
Necrotic Knight: I honestly don't know if there will be any lemons. Several people I know in real life read this story now and that might get awkward. Might not. I'll be putting more thought into it as time goes on and the characters get a bit older. So I guess the only answer I can give you is that I'm not against putting lemons in the story, but I'm not promising they will be in there either.