Chapter 45: Akatsuki and Sage Mode
Arc: Konoha Crush

Disclaimer:
I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto, please support the original work.

RUMBLEEE…

FOOOSH—BANG—POOF!

As the rooftop trembled below their feet, Jiraiya frowned, watching the cloud of white smoke envelop the area. The cloud of white smoke was once his godson.

"Danzo, what is the meaning of this?"

Just moments ago, the two were spitting venom left, right, and center and he was trying to calm the two demons down. As a Vacuum Bullet fly past him and put a hole through Naruto's head, he looked at Danzo, his eyes chaotic and muddled as a fire raged inside his onyx-black pupils.

'Thankfully, it was just a clone,' Jiraiya sighed in relief, blinking his eyes to hide his thunderstorm of emotions. 'I shouldn't have relaxed next to a hunter.'

Especially when the hunter was hunting a fox, and the fox was someone precious to him.

As he picked up his heart that fell to the ground, Jiraiya took a couple more deep breaths, further clearing his mind. He, Tsunade, and Hiruzen had a mission, and he nearly ruined it just then. 'I almost summoned Gamabunta. Now's not the time, there's no opportunity yet,' Jiraiya thought as he calmly eyed their target.

Danzo had a frown that could scare even a Chunin as he spoke with a venom-laced tone. "Jiraiya of the Sannin, do not interfere. This is the business of Konoha and I will take back what rightfully belongs to the village," he said and waved his hand.

"ROOT, find and incapacitate Naruto Uzumaki. He is branded as a criminal from now on!"

FWOOSH!

"UNDERSTOOD," came the reply from dozens of ROOT ninjas, but before they could flicker away, Hiruzen yelled out, "ANBU, STOP THEM!"

STAB! FOOSH—THUD!

Seeing one ROOT ninja drop to the floor motionless, Danzo narrowed his eyes and glared at the Hokage. "Hiruzen, do you know what you're doing? The Kyuubi is escaping our grasp! We already lost him for TWO YEARS and I won't tolerate him slipping through my fingers one more time," Danzo yelled.

Hiruzen chuckled when Danzo's tongue slipped. 'I wonder why you're so angry, Danzo. You don't even realize that you're being uncharacteristic,' Hiruzen mused before he spoke.

"You see, unlike you who treat ninjas as mere tools, I treat my ninjas as my own people. Similar to how I treat the villagers who trust me," Hiruzen shrugged. "Konoha is strong enough without the Nine Tails. As proof, we came out on top of three shinobi world wars without using our Bijuu. I've long accepted the fact that Kyuubi no Yoko is no longer with us, and I only hope to ally with him," Hiruzen finished and watched as Danzo's face turned darker than ink.

"You…" Danzo growled and clenched his fists. Then, his whole demeanor relaxed as he stared at Hiruzen for a few seconds before replying, "What utter bullshit. The first Hokage kept the Kyuubi in our hands for a reason. I won't tolerate an incompetent Hokage tossing the Nine Tails away just because of some sentimental reason," Danzo scoffed and formed a hand seal, "Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet!"

FZOOOOO—

"DANZO!" Caught off-guard, Hiruzen stared wide-eyed as his advisor attack him at point-blank range. As he was about to make a quick defensive ninjutsu, Jiraiya flashed in front of him and finished a series of hand seals in the blink of an eye.

"Ninjutsu: Needle Guardian!"

When the Vacuum Bullet was one inch away from their heads, Jiraiya's white hair wrapped around himself and the Hokage, turning harder than steel with the help of his chakra.

BANG! FOOO…

In an instant, a hole was created in Jiraiya's hardened hair as his white locks float to the ground. Seeing the Vacuum Bullet lose its effect, Danzo clicked his tongue, taking another deep breath.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet Rain!"

FOOSH—FOOSH—FOOSH—

As the air condensed and form several Vacuum Bullets hurling toward him and Hiruzen, Jiraiya watched on with a look of disdain. He deliberated whether to jump or defend, but as he was thinking, the bullets had already reached them.

Despite his age, Danzo is currently the best Wind Release user.

"Fuinjutsu: Earth Guardian," suddenly, an ethereal voice echoed out, making Tsunade, who was charging behind Danzo, halt and look behind Jiraiya and Hiruzen. What she saw was a boy with red hair that moved like a sea of snakes, bearing a pair of eyes full to the brim with bubbling rage.

'Is he being controlled by the Kyuubi?' She thought before letting go of the idea. 'No, although his eyes look as hateful as that damned fox, it contains zero Kyuubi charka.'

BANG! BANG! BANG—CRACK… BANG!—SHATTER!

The last Vacuum Bullet dispersed as rock debris and dust fell to the ground, and the rock armor covering Jiraiya and Hiruzen's bodies crumbled down like a landslide on a rainy day.

When he saw that both Jiraiya and Hiruzen were unharmed, Danzo narrowed his eyes, his scalp tingling and his brows furrowing. 'A simple rock armor can defend against a rain of Vacuum Bullets? How…'

His doubts were answered when he saw the swaying red hair behind Hiruzen and Jiraiya as the two looked behind their backs to see their savior.

'Should I be thankful or not?' Danzo pondered. On one hand, the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox returned on his own accord. On the other hand, he failed to kill the Hokage and the Toad Sannin in one go.

"Naruto," Jiraiya muttered and flickered next to his godson and apprentice. "Be careful. Although his chakra capacity sucks, he has great chakra control and his wind release is one of the best," he explained, earning a nod from his godson.

"Now, Danzo," Naruto growled, his hair rising like a raging fire to show his scalding rage. "Care to tell me what you just said a little while ago?"

Danzo scoffed, "Impudent, what makes you think you can give orders to the Shadow Hokage?" Danzo looked at Naruto with disdain as he jumped back, "Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet!"

FOOOSH—

"Fuinjutsu: Gates to the Dream World," Naruto whispered and watched as flowers bloomed around him, but to his shock, nothing happened to Danzo and the flowers wilted in the next moment, having failed to find a target.

'He didn't even feel the genjutsu… what the hell?' Confused, Naruto jumped a second too late. "GRR…" Feeling the sharp pain in his thigh, Naruto looked down to see a hole through his thigh that was rapidly closing, blood oozing out like a broken dam.

Jiraiya gritted his teeth, watching as the fresh wound on Naruto's thigh slowly close and sent a death gaze toward the perpetrator. "Danzo, this is my final warning. I don't care about anything else, attack once more and I'll kill you, even if I have to go rogue," Jiraiya vowed, his voice laced with chilling bloodlust.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen was looking at Jiraiya with a look of sorrow and blame. 'Jiraiya… to think your loyalty will be shaken, I am ashamed,' Hiruzen sighed at the thought. He wasn't ashamed that Jiraiya would betray the village, he was ashamed because he felt that he was the reason why Jiraiya would betray the village.

Just as Jiraiya made his dark promise, another person made a similar vow. "Danzo, I'll kill you and destroy this village if you dare touch Hinata," Naruto said, his whiskers somehow becoming prominent.

From his shadow clone, Naruto heard Danzo's plan about using Hinata as bait and putting her under a genjutsu that would make her brain-dead. Similarly, once Naruto was lured in, he would put Naruto under the same genjutsu.

Just as Jiraiya, Naruto, and Danzo glared at each other, a shout disturbed the silent thunder and roars between them.

"Naruto! Don't ever talk about destroying Konoha," Tsunade yelled, her eyes as fiery as a Valkyrie. "The late Uzumaki clan helped my grandfather build the village and keep it safe, destroying it means the same as spitting on your ancestors," she roared. "And you, old man, what are you doing spacing out there?!" Tsunade sent Hiruzen a burning glare, "And you, DANZO, stop this nonsense before I kill you myself," Tsunade bellowed, her shouts reaching the far ends of the fire country like a curse ringing out in people's ears.

As she mellowed out, "…And Naruto, I want to talk to you later. An S-rank mission, I suppose," Tsunade mumbled, her eyes dimming considerably while looking at Danzo. The redhead tilted his head at the sudden offer.

"An S-rank mission…? Well… I'd like to hear what the mission entails," Naruto asked when Tsunade shook her head. "Later, she said."

"I'd prefer that too," Naruto nodded, "We have extra company," Naruto chuckled and looked at an empty spot.

Suddenly, wind started to gather, and leaves along with droplets of water formed around the area.

FOOOOSH…

In the area where Naruto looked, two men appeared. One was bulky and had blue skin as well as shark-like features, and on his hand was a massive bandaged sword. The other looked rather sickly as he had his eyes closed and his complexion was pale.

"How did he sense us?" The shark-like man grinned as he asked the question.

"It's no use, we came a little too early. I didn't expect the village's powerhouses…" the other man glanced at Naruto, "and our target are still brawling it out," he said as he slowly revealed his eyes, showing off his glowing, scarlet sharingan eyes.

"Itachi and Kisame…" Jiraiya mumbled as the rest of the group wore a solemn faces. Both Itachi and Kisame were high on the Bingo Book, and on top of their heads was astronomical wealth, showing off just how dangerous they were. Just like the terrifying gold on their heads, their descriptions in the Bingo Book were equally horrifying.

Both of them are S-rank criminals, and although not all S-rank criminals are Kage-level, the two of them are.

All of them stood still, motionless as they observed who the ally was and who the enemy was. Hiruzen turned his gaze toward Danzo and pondered for a moment.

"Danzo, let's forget about this for now and deal with these two," Hiruzen suggested and Danzo was more than eager to agree. "I'll deal with Itachi," he said and rushed toward his prey. Hiruzen looked at Danzo knowingly as he jumped in with his students to deal with Kisame.

Seeing two Sannins and the Hokage come to deal with him, Kisame grinned and unsheathed his sword, Samehada. "Three Kage-level individuals against one. It's an honor to fight you," Kisame chuckled. "Good luck, Itachi-san," Kisame glanced at the unmoved Itachi and turned back, weaving a series of hand seals faster than lightning, "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

As Kisame stopped on one hand seal, Hiruzen was the same "Earth Style: Earth Dragon!" Hiruzen yelled.

SHAAAAA—RUMBLEEEE!

From around Kisame, a Water Dragon with glowing golden eyes roared, charging at the Earth Dragon that rose in front of it like an angry beast. Likewise, the Earth Dragon shared the same intention.

BAAANG—SPLAAASH!

Seeing the Earth Dragon that tore the Water Dragon to shreds charge at him, Kisame smiled. "As expected of the Professor," Kisame grinned and branded his Samehada and swung it to smash the Earth Dragon into bits of rock.

BANG! CRUMBLE… ROAR…

With one last sorrowful roar, the glow on the Earth Dragon's eyes dimmed completely as it lay defeated below Kisame's feet. Suddenly, the latter turned to his back and brought his sword in front of him. In front of him, Tsunade appeared in a blur. "TAKE THIS!"

BANG! SHRAAA!

"Heh, what monstrous strength," Kisame commented as Tsunade's fists met his sword, shredding her skin in the process while he flew high into the air. "Samehada likes your chakra, Slug Princess," Kisame added and flipped to land gracefully on the ground.

Just then, he sensed a spike of chakra from his side and turned to look at the white-haired Sannin.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" Jiraiya muttered and from his mouth came a fire bullet that looked like a sword of molten magma as it sliced through the air. "The Toad Sage, are you really worthy of that title?" Kisame asked, looking at the dense Fire Release Ninjutsu come closer to his face as he weaved hand seals.

"Water Style: Shark Bullet Jutsu!" Kisame muttered when he heard Jiraiya shouting.

"Summoning Jutsu: Fukasaku, Shima," POOF! POOF! On Jiraiya's shoulders, two small toads poofed into existence and simultaneously glanced at their summoner.

"Jiraiya, why did you summon us?" Fukasaku asked, his eyes taking in the sight of the former Konoha genius and the former swordsman of Kirigakure.

"Damn it Jiraiya, I was cleaning the house!" Shima complained but like her husband, she observed the two enemies in front of her when she saw a red-haired boy not far away from the battlefield. "Is that your godson? It's my first time seeing him," Shima commented, making Fukasaku turn to look at Naruto.

"He has a great deal of chakra, although I can sense that the Nine Tail's chakra is somehow not mixing with his own, how is it possible?" Fukasaku observed as he asked.

"You know the Uzumaki, they need their chakra as much as the Uchiha need their eyes. No more chatter, let's deal with the enemies!" Jiraiya yelled out, "Give me your oil!"

"Goddamn it," Shima cursed as she gathered chakra into her mouth.

"Ninjutsu: Oil Bullet!" The two toad elders yelled and shot two streams of oil toward Kisame. At the same time, Jiraiya blew out a stream of fire, "Collaboration Ninjutsu, Fire Style: Toad Flame Bullet!"

"Hmm," Kisame narrowed his eyes. 'That shark is toast,' he mused and weaved a quick series of hand seals, "Water Style: Shark Tsunami Jutsu!"

SHIIIAAA—!

Suddenly, a thick wall of water arose in front of Kisame and moved toward Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hiruzen like a tsunami, and inside, sharks swam around, eagerly waiting to devour anyone that stepped inside the tsunami.

"Damn," seeing the gigantic tsunami filled with sharks, Jiraiya and Tsunade widened their eyes, though they regained their senses a moment later. "Jiraiya, get it together," Tsunade yelled. "Okay," Jiraiya yelled back. Meanwhile, Hiruzen was preserving his chakra as they had agreed on.

While watching Danzo, Jiraiya, and Tsunade fight against Itachi and Kisame, Hiruzen was deep in thought. 'Jiraiya, I hope what you planned is the right choice,' he thought and glanced at Danzo, who was having a hard time hitting Itachi… in fact, the two were just standing, but Hiruzen could sense the Genjutsu cast between the two.

'Is it really okay if I don't fight? Even at my age, I still have a lot of chakra,' Hiruzen thought and glanced at Naruto who was observing the battle.

Meanwhile, Naruto was looking at Itachi and Danzo with interest. "It's faint, but there's a veil of Genjutsu Chakra around them," he mumbled. He was a sensor, one of the top sensors out there, so he could sense what an ordinary sensor can't.

Right now, he knows that if he approaches Itachi and Danzo, he will be caught inside a Genjutsu.

'Naruto, you have me. You can't be afraid of a mere Genjutsu,' Kurama said through their mental link.

'I know. I just want to study Itachi's Genjutsu a bit more. Currently, he's the best Genjutsu Master alive. I want to learn from him,' Naruto said to Kurama.

'Whatever you say,' Kurama replied and went back to sleep. Being isolated without means to do much of anything, he found himself sleeping more and more often. Though Naruto kept him company most of the time, he still wanted to get in on a little action.

Just then, Naruto saw the massive tsunami that Kisame created get dispersed by Tsunade in a single punch when he felt a spike of chakra… a type of chakra that he'd never sensed before.

"This chakra…? It's so potent!" Naruto gasped in shock and looked at his godfather. 'Kurama, do you know what it is?'

'That's Sage Mode. You have enough chakra to learn it, but you need to have a Sage to teach you how to enter Sage Mode. Of course, you can try to enter it on your own like the First Hokage, but it's very risky,' Kurama replied.

'How risky?'

'One wrong move and you turn into stone.'

End Banner has something to say:

According to what I plan for Jiraiya… let's just say that Naruto won't be learning Sage Mode for a while.

If you'd like to support me, you can check out my Pátreón page. There are 17 advanced chapters there, and I plan on accumulating to 30 advanced chapters. That's a month of content!

link: pátreón.cóm/endbanner (replace the accent letters)