Yo!
Sorry for the delay — got busy.
Guest:- Thanks for your concern. Received your review yesterday.
Rangda:- Thanks for your review. Regarding owls — well they were not found so easily. Naruto was rewarded for his good deed.
Also, sea waters hold a lot of uncovered aspects even in the real world. Countless shinobis had died in Naruto's world.
It is not surprising a fisherman will catch a scroll.
Besides, sometimes life is that easy — what we think as difficult can actually turn out to be simple and easy.
Hinata is a side character. I feel if a writer focuses on all the characters, the story loses its touch.
I have read many here. Where all the Konoha main shinobis get power ups and the writer doesn't know what to do after a certain point
(Austin) Guest:- Thank you for your kind words. Naruto's lineage is known by Hiruzen and Itachi — the Uchiha is a surprise:)
Other Guests:- Thanks for your encouraging words!
Interesting Fic to Read — 'Catching the Dying Sun' by Azyan — An awesome fic about adult Sasuke time travel — the author's nailing it.
Now off to chap!
Published:- 25 September 2023
"None of our teams match the appearance," Kabuto stated towards the darkness.
Silence met his words. It was only enunciated by the deafening darkness.
If not for the oppressive aura, the presence could not be confirmed. It was not out of the norm, though – not for a shinobi of such legend.
"Kukuku, of course," A hiss pronounced the acknowledgement. "A lifelike henge could also be used to impersonate an Oto team."
Kabuto did not reply, already having arrived at the same conclusion. Whoever impersonated the Kazekage's daughter had also used similar henge to appear as an Oto shinobi.
It had been a good strategy to obtain the scroll but what made it interesting was the use of an actual transformation – the prospect was enticing as much as it was surprising.
An actual transformation was not an unprecedented aspect — Inuzuka's man-beast clone and Senju Tsunade's age-belying henge existed in their world.
Nevertheless, it was so rare that their scientific minds were definitely invested. It also helped that the jutsu user impersonated an Oto team.
But who was behind it?
Clearly, one from the qualified twenty-six teams but seventy-six genin were still a lot to figure out from.
Assuming the perpetrator was reasonable enough to not impersonate and target their own village team, it could be anyone from Konoha, Taki, Kusa, or Ame — Rain village was certainly a shady one.
At the very least, it did not jeopardize the invasion.
"Suna's as well as our genin, even chunin shall not know about the invasion before the finals. Only Jonin and Kazekage's children can."
Orochimaru-sama had been prudent in making the decision. The Suna idiots had filed a complaint before Hokage!
If the brats had known about the invasion beforehand, Kabuto was sure, they would have revealed the plan to the Hokage just out of spite.
"Keep an eye on Uzumaki Naruto."
Thoughts halting, the spy raised an eyebrow, surprised a bit at the sudden command.
The snake sannin finding a deadlast interesting? It was a first of a kind occurrence. So far, Orochimaru had displayed interest only in prodigies.
But all reports indicated Uzumaki Naruto was a no-skilled troublesome child, always pulling pranks instead of dedicating his time towards improving.
The brat was also rude to the core, had no skills and would most likely not advance beyond chunin rank — that too due to being a vessel of the strongest of the nine.
At the same time though, the brat was a village asset too. Could it be—
"If you have something on your mind, ask Kabuto-kun," Amusement was lucid in the sannin's voice.
"Is it because he's a jinchuuriki?" The spy immediately asked.
There was silence which dragged on for a couple of moments.
"Kukuku," Orochimaru finally stepped out of the darkness, an amused smirk on his sharp pale face. "Perceptive as always."
The bespectacled shinobi did not react to the praise. It was near impossible to confirm if the appreciation from legendary sannin was genuine or not.
"Being a jinchuuriki alone makes the boy someone to be wary of," The snake sannin agreed. Jinchuuriki were truly fascinating developments.
Sealing one of the nine into a human – a marvelous process but at the same time, a difficult maneuver to pull off.
Even he could not boast himself of being solely capable of sealing a bijuu into a human. He would need associates.
The end result could not be denied though.
However, so far unique abilities have been displayed by all other bijuu containers except Kyubi's. Could an actual transformation be the fox's doing?
During the battle with the Inuzuka, the Uzumaki had thrown a kunai which seemingly transformed into the boy and grabbed the puppy — the whole ordeal seemed a bit off for a normal henge.
But the emerging curiosity had been offset by the entirely bleak aftermath of the match.
The Uzumaki had taken the puppy hostage and won with mere words — a strong indication the boy was all bark and no bite.
No matter the effectiveness of the words, the plan was still a simple one. Moreover, all genin worth their salt had tried to show their battle prowess especially in front of the Hokage to get in the latter's good books.
All reports also indicated that jinchuuriki was painfully incompetent, weak and a loudmouth who used to wear orange clothes! Clearly the habit of bright clothes had been removed by the son of the white fang.
Also, whoever had impersonated Temari, was adept at fuinjutsu — a gravity seal had left him salivating.
The boy's lack of brains aside, a jinchuuriki would not be allowed to learn fuinjutsu as that would be similar to handing a suicidal a kunai and an empty room.
Yet, despite all that, his curiosity was piqued and would not sate so easily.
"I will be congratulating you then, in a month."
Pausing while sipping the tea, Naruto glanced at the fair skinned girl, a smile paving its way on his face.
A cup of Haku's special blend of tea along with her company in the cozy atmosphere of their house, was oddly relaxing.
He had not even realized the tenseness till now. Maybe it was the pleasant feeling of being with someone with whom there were no secrets.
Or just the tranquility after five days worth of shinobi business — the last part again brought Haku's question into front of his thoughts.
"Let's hope so," He replied after a moment, thoughts diverting towards the final exam itself — a direct battle in broad daylight in an open area full of sharp minded shinobis.
Deception would become vastly limited implying many of his tricks would not stay hidden. One of his opponents was a Hyuuga after all, who could see through everything.
Not that he could have hidden them forever but definitely liked to, for as long as possible.
Still, the Hyuuga was a simple opponent despite everything. Being one of the ancient clans, Owls had taught about them.
A clan of sorts of radicals who despised change, and amongst the rapidly shifting world, the dojutsu users were still dependent on a singular method of battle.
Close combat based on melee taijutsu.
Despite the vast potential of their eyes.
Their chakra infused attacks were aimed at closing tenketsu points which, admittedly though, could be the deciding factor of a battle.
However, take away the chakra and the Hyuuga's were left with just pokes.
Fortunately, he knew how to deal with the chakra part.
All in all, he was not worried about Hyuuga.
The one difficult would be Mito.
The redhead's prowess had augmented dangerously with the multiplication of her chakra chains.
Those golden spiky things could come from anywhere and would be hard to deal with. Not to mention the other tricks she might learn in the month.
"Naruto-kun?" Haku asked, placing the empty cup on the table, her words clearly asking 'what's on your mind?'
The call drawing him out of the musings, while getting surprised at how easily the girl could read him now. Naruto, shook his head. "Just my match."
She silently raised an elegant eyebrow, further urging him to proceed.
He smiled a bit before replying. "The Hyuga will be easy; it's Mito that would pose a problem — her chains are like omni-directional."
Even worse would be the weird effect those chains had on chakra — the slight torpidity had made his chakra hard to use every time in their spars.
No doubt, she would try to learn and master that aspect too. It was surprising that just the chains could make Namikaze Mito a formidable shinobi in future.
"Then, we should add evasion too in our taijutsu matches."
Her words — tone slightly cheery — drew his attention towards the senbon that had appeared in the girl's hands.
The Uzumaki squinted his eyes at the ice user. "Why does it feel like I will regret asking you for help?"
The grin – that appeared on Haku's face – was a bit sadistic.
"Jiraiya-sama has arrived in the village," Kabuto reported, arriving in the hotel room assigned to team Oto's jounin sensei.
Admittedly, Konoha sure knew how to present itself. The hotel room was first class even for a new and small village like Otogakure.
"Naturally," Orochimaru replied while sitting on the elegant cushion. "Namikaze Mito is in the finals; that fool would want to connect with his godchild." Apart from other reasons of course.
"A poor choice for a godparent," The medic remarked. For all his virtues, the toad sage had a load of vices to his name. "Especially for a girl child."
"Kukuku," The sannin chuckled. "Minato and Kushina were both known for making poor choices for everything except battle of course."
Orochimaru reminisced about the duo: Namikaze Minato — a man of unparalleled cunningness, foresightedness and calmness even in the face of a storm.
At the same time, quite clumsy, a bit of a goof and absolute worst in naming his jutsus!
He barely prevented a shudder as the name 'Ice Pop Inspired Nimbus Jiraiya Twin whorl Sphere' resurfaced.
Uzumaki Kushina, though, had raw power and will to forge her path through insurmountable odds.
The redhead had also been loud, obnoxious and obsessed about ramen, of all meals.
Nevertheless, an interesting duo they had been.
A shame they died.
"Should we alter our plans?"
"No need," The sannin quickly dismissed the motion, already comprehending Kabuto's thinking. "I will deal with them both."
Jiraiya was in the village and totally capable of turning the tides of war. Normally, that would have warranted caution, but circumstances were in their favor now.
Thirteen years of stay outside the village — a long time and more than enough for even the staunchest to have their loyalties questioned.
The toad summoner had a lot of freedom and leeway, and was associated with Sannin of whom, one was a sworn enemy of the village while the other was loyal only in name.
The rumor mill had worked — was Jiraiya of the Sannin still a Konoha shinobi?
Undoubtedly, during the finals, Jiraiya would stand beside the Hokage to show the world that the will of fire still burnt brightly in him.
There would be no interference on the toad sage's part.
"What about his spy network?"
"What about it?" An amused smirk appeared on the Sannin's face.
Kabuto paused for a bit at the dismissing tone before continuing. "It ought to have picked up something."
Orochimaru chuckled before standing up and ambling towards the window, letting his gaze wander over the busy street of Konoha.
"On the contrary," He began, not diverting his vision. "His spy network is more hype than effective. Not denying its usage, the fool's sources are brothels, bounty centers and lastly, the avid readers of his books."
Jiraiya was arguably good at filtering the operative part from various snippets, but the man too received information like other villages.
The toad — like most spies — was a frequent customer of civilian based premises just as no sane shinobi would visit a business owned by another shinobi — even rogue — outside their village.
Jiraiya's spy network being a loosely guarded secret helped too. The fool was a blatant pervert who wrote questionable literature by spying on women onsens in civilian inhabited villages.
Him visiting such villages was so much of a regular occurence that it was usually ignored altogether. Especially when most daimyo were renowned perverts.
The idiot was even known for getting distracted by females in the middle of important meetings, ceremonies and even battles!
All this put a veil on the spying aspect.
"The information gathered by him—" Orochimaru continued. "—had never happened to be some world shattering secret."
After all, every village invested a considerable amount of time and money in regulating the passage of information to and from.
Otherwise — the Snake sannin mused in amusement — Konoha would have found out his identity as the leader of Otogakure three years ago when the village was formed.
In fact, Kabuto — having successfully infiltrated every major village so far — had better information sources than Jiraiya.
Danzo's were even better.
The best were still Sasori's spy network and Akatsuki's Zetsu — the plant-like being was the apex in that regard.
"But every spy," Orochimaru met Kabuto's gaze with a smirk. "can be bought in the end."
The gray-haired medic pushed his glasses, knowing the words were directed at him.
A spy for root, then for Sasori and now in service of Orochimaru while still fooling the puppeteer — he has changed his allegiances many times.
However, in Orochimaru, he had found a scientist who specialized in human anatomy – a field quite alike to a medic nin's.
Every single day of working under the Snake sannin was an experience. He would not leave the man until something truly drastic happened.
"The other villages are more or less the same; Kumo is still hellbent on maintaining the military though."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe as Jiraiya shared the information gathered. Kumo's continuous militarization was definitely concerning.
But risking a step just out of paranoia could easily backfire, especially if the initiation was done by one of the five.
"Iwa is still bitter about the previous war," Jiraiya continued.
The hokage mentally sighed. Truly, there was no justice in their world. The villages which instigated the war, also desired revenge when lost.
Deciding to think about Iwa later, he instead asked. "What about Akatsuki?" While taking in the features of his student. The large man was aging well.
Leaning on the wall, beside the window, arms crossed, due to the sunlight, laugh lines were visible around his eyes but apart from that, he still looked imposing as ever.
Jiraiya shifted his gaze towards the street. "They are carrying the mercenary business so far, but," He looked back at the aged hokage. "My source reports they would begin moving in three years."
Just around the time when Sanbi will reform. Hiruzen mused.
A coincidence, right?
Didn't feel like it though. Maybe the purpose of the organization was to have a bijuu at their disposal — hardly the first time someone decided to pull such a stunt.
"I hope to find their purpose soon. Also, Uchiha Itachi is a member. Orochimaru was too, but left a couple of years ago," The toad sage grinned. "The Uchiha brat's unaware that one of his contacts has been compromised."
Sarutobi hummed, taking another puff from his pipe. Regret reared its head as once again he was compelled to keep with the lie.
Uchiha Itachi was truly one of a kind shinobi. Even after such a monumental happening, the child was still working for the welfare of the village.
Infiltrating a dangerous organization and then passing the information — no matter how infrequent it was — to Konoha.
Hiruzen would not fail with honoring Itachi's wishes. Despite everything, the Uchiha clan would forever be remembered as a loyal and respected clan.
Nobody would know about the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. Few privy would take the secret to the grave with them.
This was the least they could return for Uchiha Itachi's sacrifice.
Better Jiraiya continued with his assumption — no matter how absurd it was that someone was able to fool Itachi.
The Uchiha was nothing but meticulous.
But admittedly, an organization in which his former student had been a member could not have good intentions.
At the same time though, unless the purpose became clear, a preemptive strike would not be a prudent decision.
"Now, tell me about my goddaughter, sensei!"
Hearing the excited tone with a slight undercurrent of nervousness in his student's tone, Sarutobi allowed his thoughts to shift.
Also ignoring the regret that once again appeared as the toad summoner only referred to Mito, unaware that there was a godson too.
Another of the trustworthy hokage's secrets. But definitely after chunin exams…
Five Senbons — too quickly approached him. It was a good attack, covering most vital points.
A kunai appearing in his right hand, Naruto crouched just a bit before slashing with the kunai diagonally upwards.
Three senbons were intercepted while he caught one with the left hand—
Haku suddenly appeared above him, foot coming towards him.
Shunshin! Need to learn that too!
He was forced to ignore the remaining sole senbon but managed to shift slightly, the projectile ended up going through the fabric covering the arm.
The skin remained safe.
Meanwhile, having already crossed his arms, he pushed his legs up to a backward flip.
Haku's kick struck the arms, the attack blocked, but the force canceled his flipping motion and instead threw him backwards.
Upper body still remaining straight with knees pulled to the stomach.
As he intended.
His feet about to touch the ground, the girl again flashed before him; a punch already being lobbed towards his throat.
While quickly thinking of several ways to deal with the unavoidable attack but limited to taijutsu only, Naruto decided to minimize the damage and blocked the punch with his palm.
Next moment, his entire fist was covered with ice.
"Good thinking, there," Halting, Haku praised with a small smile, before tapping on the ice which immediately shattered and released his arm.
Truly, she mused, he had an astounding presence of mind. Most chunin level shinobis would have tried to grab her arm, pull and flip her over.
Many had attempted and been gravely injured during the maneuver, when her arm had simply been encased by a spike of ice.
Sacrificing a single hand was an optimal choice, relatively of course.
Naruto Uzumaki had not yet been in any real battles but still planned and fought like a seasoned jonin.
She could not even imagine how strong he would become after gaining real life experiences.
"A shinobi can equip their hand in a blink," Naruto replied. Even without a kekkei genkai, a shinobi could instantly produce a kunai into their empty hand.
Shinobi battles were not honorable. A taijutsu user would not just fight with taijutsu for the sake of honor.
He could not comprehend why Konoha genin were not taught that in the academy or even by their jounin sensei.
"Let's continue," Haku stated. "Create some clones, please."
Four clones immediately poofed into existence.
The original jumped back and put some distance between his opponents.
After a silent moment, two clones dashed forward in criss-cross patterns. Another moment and Haku followed in a straight line.
Naruto allowed a smile on his face before dashing towards the confrontation.
The clone duo reached him and the one on the left, flipped sideways right over the other who had bent forward just a bit to provide leverage.
Using the leverage, the clone placed his palm on the other's back, twisted and brought his leg down diagonally in a sweeping motion towards the original's neck.
In the nick of time though, the original Naruto just dropped to his knees, and went skidding under the kick and towards the legs of the other clone who flipped forward and over the original.
The original swiftly threw a kunai at the airborne flipping clone's midsection.
A moment later, a satisfying pop was heard.
His smile widening into a grin, Naruto dived into a roll before standing up and meeting Haku's charge head on.
She was even more precious than in the photos.
Those radiant red hair and violet eyes — from Kushina — but the sharp shape of eyes, angular face and even a couple of spikes in hair — clearly Minato's.
Even now, that narrowed eyed gaze and pursing of lips was similar to her father while the crossing of arms and tapping of foot was eerily like her mother.
A perfect blend of both her parents!
Please let her inherit the forgiving nature of her parents too! Jiraiya mused as his heart ached on seeing the girl after thirteen years of long period.
She was already a grown girl and he, the godfather, only had photos; no real memories of her.
He understood the necessity of his profession but moments like these made him yearn strongly for world peace where children did not have to grow alone.
And, parents did not have to leave their children for the sake of the greater good.
"Okay," Mito broke the silence, sighing slightly. "I understand your reasons," She truly did.
The academy, Ebisu-san, Kakashi nii-san and even the Hokage had repeatedly mentioned about the man's important mission.
There was no need for drama. "But you better make up for it," She grinned. "Godfather!"
The sannin's face morphed into shock for a moment before awe replaced it and then he gave an enormous belly laugh, relief blatantly appearing on his face.
"But godfather is a bit mouthful so, I will settle for Jiraiya-sensei since you are going to teach me," She stated with a smile.
"Sure, sure," Jiraiya replied with a wide grin while patting the girl's head. She already reached up to his midsection.
The ache resurfaced but he brutally crushed it down. "So, tell me about yourself!" And asked excitedly.
Mito opened her mouth but frowned mid-way. Was he asking about her likes and dislikes or just skills, since she was going to train under him for a month?
"If you want, I can go first," The sannin stated, seeing the hesitation on her visage. It was such a normal thing.
People got so busy in their lives, families and works that when asked about themselves, they were immediately put on the spot.
The redhead immediately nodded, the frown getting replaced by curiosity.
Jiraiya grinned, hopping backwards on right foot before spreading his arms wide and began spinning his ponytail.
"From North to South, East to West!" He nicked his thumb, still grinning, and smeared on the palm, "Hailing from Mount Myoboku!" And performed hand seals before slamming his palm on the ground.
The area around was immediately engulfed by smoke even covering the man himself. "The toad Sage… !" The shout came from within the smoke.
As the smoke began waning, the sannin became visible, pointing to himself. "Jiraiya is the best!"
The smoke completely parted to reveal him standing over a human sized toad of orange color with brown markings.
A moment passed in silence.
"Wow!" Mito's eyes were wide with gleam and awe.
Jiraiya nearly burst with pride and looked at the toad. "Did ya hear that, Gama?!"
"She refers to me, Jiraiya," The toad's voice was scratchy and lazy.
"What?! No way—"
"I refer to Gama-san."
That day before her eyes — already wide in disbelief — the legendary shinobi began crying like children.
"That's it?" Mito questioned, having finished writing her name on the scroll.
If not for the toad having disappeared just now, she was ready to discard the claims about her godfather being a legendary shinobi, stories taught in the academy be damned.
Nothing about him screamed legendary! This was the man who taught his father?!
Jiraiya nodded. "Now, do the seals," And showed her very slowly the five required seals. "Don't forget the chakra!" And added with a laugh.
The girl sighed while attempting the seals slowly before slamming her palm on the ground.
A symbol appeared followed by a small amount of smoke.
The smoke parted.
A tadpole was there.
Mito deadpanned.
The tadpole disappeared immediately.
Her eye started twitching.
Jiraiya started laughing while patting the girl on the head. "You did nothing wrong, Mito-chan. For summoning, a lot of chakra as well as control is necessary."
"Keep practicing and you'll be summoning them in no time!" He concluded with a grin before heavily plopping down on the ground. "Now, tell me about yourself."
"You didn't tell me about the jinchuriki."
Sarutobi paused while doing the paperwork and looked up, taking in the man as he entered through the window.
"You met Mito-chan," The hokage stated as the toad summoner plopped down in the chair. There was a lucid lightness on his visage as if a great burden had been lifted.
"She's adorable," Jiraiya replied with a fond smile. "Even easily accepted me being a super-pervert," The girl had just sighed and muttered 'of course, another one.'
Hiruzen chuckled. Mentored by Ebisu and Jonin sensei being Kakashi, it was not surprising the girl just decided to ignore it altogether.
"Now, about my previous question, sensei."
The hokage hummed. "I was of the assumption that you are aware of Konoha having one."
Jiraiya deadpanned.
Hiruzen chuckled. "Alright."
"He is a fuinjutsu expert?!"
"Not an expert per se but definitely possesses the potential. Mito didn't tell you?"
"Just that he's good. When I asked for the details, she refused citing your orders," The toad sage replied before raising a brow. "Coz' he's a jinchuuriki?" It was quite simple to grasp.
If villagers found out the jinchuuriki could learn to tamper with his seal, even if the boy did not know yet, it would cause utter chaos.
He vividly recalled the fuss raised by the elders when Kushina had started helping Minato in fuinjutsu.
The old farts had shut up only because Kushina had been a living, breathing Uzumaki.
"That is one of the reasons," Hiruzen agreed while preparing the pipe for the conversation was going to take time.
"Ooh," Jiraiya leaned forward in interest, a grin appearing on his face. "There are more?"
"Damn," The toad sage whistled, clearly impressed.
To overcome the simple shortcoming in creating a basic jutsu like bunshin, the kid had decoded the hand seals for the basic three and written them.
And, learning about Kage bunshin from Minato's diary — that was just mind boggling in itself.
None of them could have even thought Minato's accidentally sealed diary would be found by the kid.
It was for the good though. He was sure, if alive, Minato would have practically adopted the kid after subjecting the boy to such a burden.
"Check his seals — even those made by him," The hokage ordered. Normally Naruto's own seals should not interfere with the Kyubi's seal but being careful had never hurt anyone.
"Sure."
"Sorry," Sakura awkwardly blurted out without any context as soon as they came to halt.
Ino raised an eyebrow at the pink haired girl. First, she had all but dragged her to the middle of the village and now this, out of the blue.
At the same time though, she knew the apology was not for the match but something even deeper and older.
Did not mean, she would say it aloud. Huffing, the Yamanaka retorted. "For defeating me?" And snorted. "I get it you are stronger—"
"No, no," Sakura shook her head, the motion pronouncing her cropped hair. "It's not about that."
Ino went silent.
"It is… " The pink-haired girl hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath. "You stood up for me when the others used to bully me; you were my first friend."
"And… and, I just broke all that for our petty rivalry; that was shallow of me. I… I am sorry for that and would like for us to be friends again."
The blonde, though definitely surprised — having never expected the girl to admit to her mistakes — still stayed silent.
Apology aside, she was unable to grasp the reason. The pink-haired girl had every chance to gloat, instead, was looking genuinely rueful.
Finally, after some moments of raking her brains only to be in vain, Ino asked. "What brought this on?"
Sakura immediately opened her mouth, paused for a moment before continuing. "Let's go inside first. My treat."
Eyebrow lifting again, Ino glanced at the restaurant where they had halted. Takahiro's — a totally new restaurant, having opened just a couple of weeks ago, and already a massive hit.
The unique flavors of the dishes were attracting customers in lots. The Akimichi clan was right in their grumblings.
"Well, at least you chose a nice place," Commenting, the Yamanaka followed the other girl inside.
"I don't believe it," Ino stated while chewing on the potato based snack.
"I am not lying," Sakura protested but without any heat. "It's hard for me to say but Sasuke-kun's really like that."
The Yamanaka squinted her eyes. "If this is one of your ploys—"
"It isn't; I swear, on–" Kami, she felt really weird saying this but there was no alternative. "–my love for Sasuke-kun!"
Ino's eyes widened. There was no way either of them would falsely swear on their feelings.
But if this was true then Sasuke-kun was really not the shinobi with a shining headband as they had envisioned!
Was he so invested in his desire of revenge that forming bonds did not matter to him in any way?
Did he really not feel even a sliver of regret after hurting Sakura and that too in spars?!
Was strength the only parameter by which he defined comrades?
He had even begun respecting Naruto?!
She would not have believed the pink-haired girl's words but after their joint mission, even her teammates and sensei were interested in the Uzumaki.
"As I said," Sakura again stated. "We can only catch his eye if we gain strength."
'We' included her, too, Ino mused. If it truly were Sakura's ploy, the girl would not have revealed the key to Sasuke-kun's heart.
It meant the pink-haired girl was speaking the truth. Besides, becoming stronger was not going to be detrimental even if it all turned out to be a lie.
A smirk appearing on her face, the Yamanaka heiress met the gaze of the other girl. "You're on."
Sakura blinked at the words insinuating their rivalry but without any heat as was a norm so far.
She couldn't help but smile which soon turned into a giggle as even Ino cracked a grin.
No later, the girls shared a laugh after many years.
Who's it? Haku-san's still at the hospital. Musing while answering the knocks, Naruto opened the door.
And was greeted to the midsection of a wide man. Raising his gaze up, his eyebrows inadvertently lifted up.
Because standing before him was the legendary shinobi — Jiraiya of the Sannin.
And, the man was huge! Kakashi was tall too but the sannin easily dwarfed the copy ninja.
Books and photos did not do justice to the man's imposing stature.
But what was the legendary shinobi doing at his… home — his mind caught up with him and he mentally smacked himself.
"Jiraiya-sama," Naruto offered a small bow in respect to the man.
"Ho?! You know me!" Jiraiya replied in a boisterous tone. "Here I was hoping to give you my awesome introduction."
Sure that there was no need to apologize for knowing the man, but unsure if he should ask for the 'awesome' introduction as he already knew the man, Naruto simply stayed silent.
Jiraiya chucked wholeheartedly before placing a hand on Naruto's head and ruffling the hair.
The gesture surprised the Uzumaki. For all his reputation, Jiraiya was a stranger to him and yet, this gesture… It was full of fondness…
At the same time, the instinctual wariness made itself known. Jiraiya was a shinobi first and foremost loyal to the Hokage.
Every bit of information would be reported.
"Anyway, kid, I am here for something important," The sannin's face lost most of the mirth but a seemingly natural serenity remained. "Let's get inside."
Again, Naruto mentally groaned. Why was it that everytime others had to remind him that inviting guests inside your home was a common courtesy?!
Muttering a sorry, he stepped aside. "Please."
Jiraiya again chuckled as if knowing his mental turmoil. "Nice home ya got here, gaki."
"Thanks," Replying, the Uzumaki followed the man to the table. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Na," The large man dismissed the offer, instead fixed the boy with a gaze, taking in the brown-hair.
For decades, it had been an established fact that only an Uzumaki could hold the Kyuubi at bay, but Minato had given the village a permanent solution to the problem.
By Separating the biju's chakra.
And, with its power reduced, even a non-Uzumaki could be used as a vessel. It surely opened a lot of opportunities for the village.
At the same time though, it was still hard to digest that Minato had chosen someone else's child.
But he could somewhat understand his student. Being an orphan and a husband to a jinchuuriki, the blonde hokage would have found it quite difficult to choose his own daughter.
Love could force the hand of anyone. Tsunade was the prime example.
Nevertheless, the kid had earned his respect. Only a brief exchange, and it was not hard to grasp that the kid was alright in the head.
Even if a lot more mature than his age and mostly silent.
Guarded too.
"Alright kid, let's get to the business," Jiraiya stated, breaking the silence. "You accessed Kyubi's chakra in the last mission; I am here to check your seal."
Naruto's eyes minutely widened. It still took him by surprise even though the Hokage had already mentioned this.
"While a jinchuuriki is meant to access the bijuu's chakra, regular monitoring is still a requisite. The chakra is highly volatile and can pose a risk to your associates."
"As such, the seal shall be verified by an expert in the coming days."
Even if the Sandaime had sugarcoated the words, Naruto did not want any harm to come to his friends and even teammates.
The seal itself was unique and sophisticated. For all their curiosity, even Owls had prohibited him from even studying it.
"So, lie down, will ya?"
Nodding, the Uzumaki removed his shirt before lying down, already aware the man would have been made privy to his other seals too.
A jinchuuriki learning fuinjutsu would be a cause of concern — Takahiro–sama had stated.
"Well, the seal is intact," Jiraiya declared after some minutes. "It is linked to your emotions and considering the attitude of the villagers, I am impressed by your will, kid."
"Thank you," Naruto replied and fell silent, not at all wanting to open up something he had buried a long time ago.
The sannin nodded, seemingly in understanding. "Your other seals also do not interfere with it."
The Uzumaki felt relieved. Even if it went unmentioned, he had also wanted to have the sannin verify the other seals too.
While functioning alright for now, who knew how the bijuu's chakra might affect them in future?
The seals might corrode and fail him amidst a battle.
"Those are some good seals, kid," The toad sage commended, the grin returning back on his face. "I would love to discuss more, but I am a bit busy."
Naruto nodded in understanding. Finals were coming and a shinobi of such status would not have free time to spend.
Not that he actually wanted to discuss about his secrets.
"If you need any help, though," The older man stated while standing up and moving towards the open window. "Ask Mito for me."
Then, the Toad sage jumped out.
"Namikaze Mito has signed the toad contract."
Orochimaru only hummed, not taking his eyes off the scroll.
Some moments passed in silence.
"She could counter our snakes at the wall," Kabuto stated again.
"Kukuku," The snake sannin finally gazed up at the medic. "Tell me Kabuto-kun, how long did it take you to summon Jouja?"
"Two months," The spy immediately replied while pushing his glasses up.
"And, Jouja is a mid-sized snake," Orochimaru added. "No need to worry; Namikaze Mito will only be able to summon small toads by then."
Naruto flipped sideways, through the narrow passage available among the multiple approaching senbons from all directions.
Slashed a couple with kunai. Then, seallessly created a clone directly above, who instantly swapped the positions and took a senbon to the throat.
Another clone and a flawless kawarimi later, he dodged another set of sharp needles.
Despite the quick attacks, he found himself enjoying the situation.
Surrounded by Haku's dome of mirrors, the girl throwing fast and unrelenting senbons from all directions, he felt accomplished at being able to weave through them successfully.
And, he still had two weeks to improve.
Grinning, he dodged another series of senbon when the attacks suddenly halted.
Then, the domes vanished and Haku appeared before him. "Someone is approaching; they are not even masking the chakra."
Naruto immediately became serious and turned towards the direction.
Only a moment later, there was rustling of leaves.
The Uzumaki's eyes widened slightly as the figure emerged.
"Iruka-sensei?!" The Uzumaki asked in surprise, seeing the chunin who was ambling towards them.
"Naruto," Iruka greeted while nodding towards the beautiful girl who replied in kind. "Hokage-sama told me you have been preparing for the finals."
"I want to help," The chunin stated before grinning sheepishly while scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Ah, if it's alright with you?"
Perplexed, the Uzumaki shared a glance with Haku. The girl raised an eyebrow clearly stating 'your call.'
Again looking at the man who stood there with a hopeful and nervous look, and already aware of the man's good intentions to sort out their issues, Naruto relented.
During their meeting on the monument, he had already decided to try afresh with the academy teacher. This was as good a chance as any. "I am focusing on my taijutsu, sensei."
The chunin's face immediately morphed into relief and joy. "I will gladly help."
"A barrier? Interesting."
"Yeah. Initially, I planned to apply a seal on my opponent but Iruka sensei spoke about barriers. I thought the seal could be used in tandem."
Who had known the scarred chunin was knowledgeable about barriers?
"I am unable to use them but I definitely like to read about them from time to time."
Still, the idea was better than his own. It could be executed from a long distance too.
Takahiro hummed. "You already know about a barrier; it should not be difficult to use the seal alongwith.'
Naruto nodded. "That leaves Mito."
"You believe she can escape it," The elder owl commented.
"Take all possible contingencies into account — your words, Takahiro-sama."
The elder owl hooted in amusement. "Good."
"Besides," The Uzumaki continued. "She knows my style; her chains can also affect the barrier."
"What have you thought then?"
Naruto took a moment to organize his words, knowing the elder owl would correct them if needed. "I am working on my combat speed and evasion. I also got an earth jutsu from my Jonin sensei."
"A practical decision," The owl remarked. Combat speed and evasion aside, earth was a versatile element.
A couple moments passed in silence.
"Your muscle memory seal," Takahiro began again. "It would have aided you now, wouldn't it?"
The Uzumaki blinked at the words, a bit confused. Only a moment later, the memory resurfaced.
And, with it, came the surprise.
It had been three years since he had formulated and discarded the idea of that seal.
Reminiscing about the details, the emotions and finally a dead-end, he shook his head. "It was doable in theory but could not work in practice."
"You never reached the practical portion, Naruto-chan. Besides, every practical stems from a theory," Takahiro advised. "Nevertheless, you do not have enough time now."
The Uzumaki knew that if the idea were really futile, the elder owl would not have mentioned it in the first place.
Cotemporally, he also agreed with the Owls's words that time was of the essence here.
Nodding, he replied. "Let's start on the barrier, Takahiro-sama."
Clarifications: —
Orochimaru is arrogant. He believes he has everything planned perfectly. That's why he dismisses Kabuto's concerns so easily.
I believe invasion plans were circulated during the one month as by then, the weak genin from Suna and Oto had already been filtered out.
My theory about Jiraiya's spy network not being so superior is that he could have heard something when so many Suna and Oto shinobi managed to enter the village unbridled.
I am not sure if Itachi was really an informant of Jiraiya, so, here, Jiraiya believes he has compromised Itachi's contact.
I respect Itachi too but I feel he was, in the end, a brainwashed product of Konoha who agreed to the massace despite having other options.
Jiraiya is unaware of Naruto's identity as he had been away even before the birth.
Naruto could only summon Gamabunta due to kyubi's chakra. Mito doesn't have that.
Iruka is a teacher. I used that in respect to barriers.
Muscle memory seal — ignore that for now. It's me laying the foundation for a future arc.
As for the jutsu from Kakashi, you'll see in next chap!
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