A/N: I do read every review, even the bad ones. You may have to be patient to receive a response as life can get busy from time to time.

For those of you who feel the need to throw flames, I make sure to appropriately file those if they lack constructive feedback (of any kind) that could actually help a weekend typewriter warrior to improve. For those of you that think insulting or swearing at me will make me update faster… it just makes me go on long walks and think about the meaning of life. For weeks on end. Must keep the proper perspective when it's needed, neh?

It is time to clean up a particularly loose end.

Without further ado, I own nothing except my particular view on life. And my OCs. If I owned Naruto, he'd be less of a blockhead and would actually learn from his mistakes.

Enjoy the chaos and always remember that revenge often requires the digging of more than one grave.

~Siva'a-tasi

~III~

Chapter 34: A Dish Best Served Cold

~ Previously on No More ~

From the rear crown of the First Hokage's monument rose three figures draped in cloaks the color of midnight. As the platform locked into place with a shuddering Clank, the two masked members of Root pushing their chakra through a complex (and shoddily made) Doton seal collapsed to the ground joining four others of their loyal organization, their chakra coils depleted and collapsed beyond recovery.

Without so much as a nod to their sacrifice, the three shrouds calmly exited the ponderous elevator after the larger of the three turned one last time to cast a hooded gaze over the sprawling village hidden amongst the trees of Konoha.

Danzō Shimura snarled as decades of planning and work crumbled down around his ears all because of one stubborn boy.

If he hadn't resisted, if he'd only come along quietly instead of sticking to his foolish humanity, Danzō would have had all the strength needed to ensure Konoha stood alone at the top of the village heap for the next century. Instead, he now fled for his very life, the Sandaime's hounds hot on his heels after the first reports of a struggle reached his agents over their private communications network.

He grimaced here. That was an expensive loss that took almost ten years to engineer under the noses of Konoha's proud shinobi force and that was just the smallest loss he suffered that night.

When the boy's apartment went up in a gout of draconic flame, he knew the Hokage would be coming for him in due time. Why not? Were he in Hiruzen's place, he'd of done the same without a second thought.

"Never leave an enemy at your back" was his lifeline to survival. It was just a shame that the old fool finally caught on to that lesson.

Turning away from the glowing aftermath in the Slums District, Danzō padded off along the upper reaches of the monument to begin their tricky descent along the far cliff wall. They needed to be quick in their escape. He'd only get five minutes tops before ANBU responded to the perimeter seals and came after them and it was a very long way to his ally in the Land of Rice Paddies

~III~

~*0*~

"Without hatred, there is no enemy;

When hatred consumes us, we perceive enemies everywhere."

~Pema Chodron

~*0*~

~ Near the Settlement of Kotōshū, Southern Taki ~

Jiraiya was and had been called a lot over the course of his life, a very fortunate one if he had to be brutally honest. One does not live his kind of life, a shinobi's life, without gathering a few monikers along the way. Some were enviable, others detestable, but they were all well-earned.

Instead of railing against the annoying practice of being ridiculously labeled, further encouraging said behavior, he glibly let them all roll off his massive shoulders with a shrug and a smile. Outwardly he was ever the oblivious wanderer living up to his chosen image as the lovable misanthrope. It was how he made a living to begin with and covered up his other… less than reputable… shinobi practices.

Spy masters good at their trade were loved by few for obvious reasons.

He'd been "the Dobe" during his academic years under Sarutobi, a bitter memory if ever there was one, however, he'd get the chance to balance the scale on that one soon enough. Jiraiya forcefully shoved the memory of his morally repugnant teammate for now reveling in the fact that the snake bastard would come into his own. The idea of wrapping his fingers around the slimy twerp's neck…

'Anyway, moving on.' Early in his career he picked up the "Legendary Sannin" label and, despite the caustic memories associated with the Second Shinobi War, had been unable to shake both it and the horrible chapter associated with his life. Oh sure, the title came with perks, one only a fool would part with if they spent the vast majority of their life on the road, it just never seemed to make up for the pain that invariable shambled along with it. He tried not to wince as familiar faces flashed before his eyes, his mind supplying the necessary explosions, blood, and loss.

With another one of many sighs escaping from his lips, Jiraiya's eyes flickered to a shadowy figure hunched over drawing squiggles and patterns along the muddy ground; it would be time again soon, his shoulders appearing to sag just a bit as he glanced around for the second shadow he'd grown for this grisly mission knowing they hadn't returned yet from scouting. It would be time soon for more mostly senseless killing.

So long as he died today, it would all be worth it.

Shaking off the melancholy seeping into his old bones, his eyes flickered away from the lithe figure, one of two with him on this trip, swathed in black ANBU gear and cloak and down to the small village near the southern border of Waterfall Country. He was trying to remember something before being distracted. What was it again?

'Oh, yeah. Dobe, Sannin, then Sensei.' His first little-known stint at being a teacher was before Minato and just like that his frown returned.

'Nothing good comes out of Amegakure,' he reminisced bitterly. Wasn't that the old curse during the war? With a mental shake of his head, he quickly moved on past the war altogether to focus on happier times while trying to ignore the silent figure puttering around their makeshift camp. 'Kami knows but they weird me out.'

Black mask with a balaclava in the same scaled pattern of their leader. Black cloak with no markings to denote rank, the only ones that wore it. Slate grey gear that covered every inch, including their hands, black body armor, and weaponry sheathed in a grey-black tiger pattern to break up solid patterns and help blend in. They were wraiths waiting to leap out of the darkness and kidnap small children like in some horror story. They kept him on edge constantly.

Tearing his eyes away from the silent gargoyle once again, he resumed his mental checklist in order to get rid of the chill permanently crawling up his spine.

Dobe, Sannin, Sensei, Love Fool, Toad Sage, Super Pervert (bordering on Mega Pervert status), Author, Hero, Villain, "The Village's Madness" (one that actually made him chuckle softly), and finally, Godfather rounded out the list. If he were to actually admit anything out loud, the final title gave him the most pride and self-loathing simultaneously. It was also the reason why he was out here in the Taki jungle with a pair of the deadliest killers known to grace the elemental kingdoms, bar none. If it weren't for the fact that he was hunting Konoha's second greatest threat under direct order of his Hokage, Jiraiya would have laughed off the task right before looking for the nearest brothel in which to promptly drink himself blind.

There was no other way around it; it was time to tie up a loose end and, by Kami, he was going to ensure it was with his own hands. He just had to survive the Komodo Squad and their leader first.

The Komodo Squad was Konoha's deadliest wetwork team of ANBU, born and bred directly under the watchful eye of their most infamous Commander, Dragon. They took only the worst of missions, S-Rank and above, and had never failed. Rumor had it that each one approached or was already S-Rank in skill and that alone was terrifying for the Sannin to contemplate. This thought gave Jiraiya pause as he knew why they were formed and internally cursed Orochimaru adding another in a long line of reasons to hate the man he once called friend.

This squad was made for the sole purpose of killing powerful shinobi just like Jiraiya, legacies of the previous generation and he was reminded of it each time one of their soulless masks stared at him or lingered on his form for more than a few seconds. It was almost like they were sizing him up for the most efficient way to execute then bury him in some unmarked plot in this kami-forsaken jungle.

Despite himself, he shivered.

The Komodo Squad was originally formed to go after the Snake Sannin but Dragon never sent them after the traitor for one reason and one reason only – Jiraiya had sworn to bring the bastard back personally and Hiruzen honored his vow. Now here they were over a decade and a half later and Jiraiya's vow still stood even though he'd repeatedly failed to make good on his oath. Now here they were frantically plugging up the holes in the shinobi dam of peace while facing threat of invasion from the same traitorous snake he'd failed to capture and Dragon, hateful bastard that he was, was rubbing Jiraiya's nose in his own failure deploying these monsters with him as a silent reminder. Now here they were.

He'd known about the double-edged purpose of the squad as soon as the idea was pitched which was part of the reason why he stepped up to swear what he did. He needed to stall their debut as much as possible, these Kage Killers as those shinobi in the know referred to them. After all, a squad of ANBU trained to take down and kill Kage-level shinobi, killers loyal to one person only, was a threat no one wanted on their back door. Hell, no one wanted them in their back yard. Jiraiya knew full well they answered to one person and it certainly wasn't Hiruzen.

That, in and of itself, was reason enough not to trust them.

They never spoke out loud opting to use advanced signs to converse even with their leader. What was worse was that they never made sound, ever, unless it was intended to unnerve someone. To add insult to injury, they never failed when they were deployed. Not once in their recorded mission history.

Twenty-three and zero.

Even if their debut hadn't been against Orochimaru, their debut (and on-going run) had been flawless. How many times had Konoha been on the brink of invasion after the Kyuubi's attack? How many times had the Ghost Squad been deployed to make things quietly "go away?" If Hiashi hadn't killed the Kumo ambassador in a fit of rage, the peace-loving Sandaime was prepared to unleash the entire squad of killers on the cloud-bound village to paint the streets red with Bolt blood until Kumo capitulated.

Jiraiya's second shiver made his arm twitch unconsciously, his fingers searching for and popping a dry pill into his mouth as he waited for the tremors to pass. Damn it sucked getting old but, with the tremors dying a slow death he wrenched his mind back on track. Where was he? Mission count…

The Toad Sage had lost count of their actual deployments having not once been shocked at the duplicitous nature of the shinobi world when other nations tried to capitalize on what everyone perceived to be a weakened Konoha. Threats just vanished from the face of the planet without a sound but everyone else beyond Konoha's borders knew they why. They knew because these killers left behind a calling card with each successful mission: a small ceramic mask modeled after the black mask Dragon wore complete with the spiraled insignia on the forehead of that monster's porcelain face.

It never took long for the underground message to spread either, so here he was staring at another muddy village in some unbearably humid jungle waiting for the stuff of his rage-filled nightmares to gather and wipe out another secret outpost before they snuffed the source's memory from the world of the living. After this last visit, there wouldn't even be just another postscript in his memoirs to commemorate the event. With the help of a killer squad designed to kill him should he ever become disloyal to the Leaf, Jiraiya sighed once more and prepared to center his mind on the task at hand.

He stretched his back out having realized that a second shadow had appeared some time during his inner monologue, this figure having the kanji for "Three" patterned into the scaling that decorated their mask, their fingers flying smoothly through immaculate hand signs.

[Target is preparing to leave.]

"Well," Jiraiya began as he turned from the quiet copse of huts maybe a hundred meters away, "I suppose it's time we get this over with then. We need to head back to the Kusa-Konoha border in time for the escort."

Without another sound, the two stood inside of a pair of opposing circles scrawled in the dirt facing each other, their hands flying through a long series of jutsu seals.

'Kami how I hate this part,' Jiraiya silently groused. Despite the growing pressure of chakra building, his eyes diverted when the door of the third hut he'd been staring at for the last four hours opened silently and a familiar figure wrapped in brown robes and bandages calmly stepped outside without waving farewell to the couple inside hosting his visiting band of three.

'Arrogant bastard to the very end,' Jiraiya complained as his trepidation faded quickly away to be replaced by cool anger. 'Today your blood will water the next generation of trees on Konoha's behalf.'

Jiraiya of the Sannin stopped the trickle of chakra empowering his vision and prepared to carry out the orders of his Hokage, orders he'd been waiting over twenty years to fulfill.

~III~

~ Main Gates of Iwagakure no Sato ~

It is often said that the only thing more stubborn than an Iwa Shinobi is the rock in under which they live, and only then just barely. Merchants across the realm spin bold tales over saucers of warm sake, making light of those same shinobi even if it's never done within range of their keen ears; insulting an Iwa nin to their face is also a quick way to a stone spear in the gut. Most merchants chant a very familiar proverb from Iwa before they enter the village to ward off misfortune:

"Taste your words carefully before you speak them; you may have to eat them later."

Iwa shinobi are often quick to anger, like the molten earth that formed the great valley in which their strong village now resides. They appeared calm and collected on the surface only to erupt at the slightest provocation often leading to lots and lots of pain to all within reach.

Iwa shinobi have very long memories, like the mountains that form the natural barrier surrounding their home.

Iwa shinobi are also hard-of-head and even harder-of-heart, a trait prized for eking out a living in the stony wasteland that provides for their rich way of life in the form of precious metals and other treasures of the earth.

As Kurotsuchi scuffed the toe of her combat sandal into the unyielding rock at her feet, she kept at her silent mantra while her eyes never wandered from the main road leading back into the heart of her village and the large tower that served as a home more than her clan estate ever did to the most powerful single man in the village.

Her grandfather, the Sandaime Tsuchikage.

Old Man Ōnoki.

"Patience, Mushi-chan," came the familiar baritone of her other grandfather, the one from her mother's side.

Her team glanced over with genuinely-surprised expressions. No one called Kurotsuchi any form of an affectionate nickname. Ever. It simply wasn't done if you wanted to continue breathing normally. When blood didn't immediately start flying and the old man they'd only seen from a distance twice before didn't start wailing in pain, they shared one final glance with each other before turning back to the main road. Their volatile kunoichi merely added growling to her list of annoying habits once boredom and impatience began their inevitable war inside her very violent head.

It took another ten minutes for their (forced) patience to be rewarded as the Tsuchikage slowly padded his way down the main road to stand no less than six paces in front of the four Genin squads waiting to leave. The midget of a man flicked his eyes to the much taller Gekido Terumi, standing just beyond his right shoulder, and held his sickeningly sweet smile for a full minute before raking them over the gathered teams.

"Stone does not yield; it either stands firm or shatters when faced with an opposing force. You, Genin, represent the Strength of an entire village and much is expected of you." His eyes paused when they locked with Kurotsuchi's. "Much more yet will be demanded of you in the land of that demon."

There was no doubt as to which demon the old ruler was referring to. The Bingo book listed several names but no self-respecting shinobi or kunoichi from Iwa would ever mutter one aloud as anything other than a curse.

"I will ask only one thing of you. No, I will demand only one thing of you." If anything, the old man's gaze seemed to intensify, the pressure of it bearing down uncomfortably on Kurotsuchi as she tried to match it.

"Make sure that, when you leave that accursed land behind, they know that Iwa was there and it was Iwa that ground them into gravel."

He paused only for another ten seconds before adding, "May the mountain strengthen you."

A chorus of, "The Earth Mother's will be done!" was the roaring reply before the entire entourage bowed and marched under the village gate leaving two old men to watch them go. They would stay until the last head bobbed below the horizon, the taller of the two turning to head back into the village proper.

"Gekido."

The older man paused but neither turned around to face the other.

"If she dies, I will grind both you and that breathing wallet into dust."

The pause between the Kage's threat and the taller Gekido's response was almost long enough to match the wait when the Genin teams left the city and disappeared beneath the horizon.

"As you wish, Tsuchikage-sama."

Ōnoki couldn't see the mocking bow or smirk on the older man's lips as the latter resumed his gentle pace but it didn't take a genius to presume there'd be one. By the Great Stone, he should have killed the fool instead of letting him marry into the family. 'The only way things could get worse is if-.'

"Yahoooooooo! Niiiiiiii-saaaan!"

For just a heartbeat, Ōnoki wondered if he could pretend not to have heard just before his annoying half-brother called out to him once again from beyond the village gates. Then he realized just how horrible his day was going to be once he glanced over his shoulder to see the fool surrounded by what looked to be everything he had left in the world.

Then he began wondering if he could get away with a subtle B-rank to have his brother "quietly disposed of."

~III~

~ Near the Settlement of Kotōshū, Southern Taki ~

The bandaged face of Danzō Shimura appeared to be the picture of tranquility. Outwardly, his only brow was relaxed though the exposed eyelid seemed slitted to the point of closure. Back straight, gate measured and predictable, he appeared as the epitome of serenity, unless you knew his mannerisms and could read the extremely subtle signs of the Shadow War veteran.

They were there if you knew where to look. The extra tightening of his knuckles on the handle of his walking stick were one such "tell." His two bodyguards knew that the old man kept his hand busy when he was lost in thought, a nervous tick similar to regular smokers when caught without their smokes. When he was really lost in thought, the line of his mouth tended to press into a flat line, like it was now. Torune spared the briefest flicker of his goggled eyes to his partner and the recognition was clear as day.

Danzō Shimura was very, very deep in thought.

Looking backwards over the last few months, it wasn't terribly difficult to pose a guess as to why. Since the failed kidnapping attempt on the Kyūbi jinchūriki, their luck had been on a rapidly declining slope towards fatalistic with no indication of leveling off any time soon. At one point, it was so horrible the normally non-superstitious Danzō-sama actually let Fū burn incense at a roadside shrine in an attempt to ward off evil spirits.

It didn't change anything, but it was a sure sign of desperation if their fearless leader had fallen so low as to believe in voodoo.

First, their one declared ally turned on them soon after they fled Konoha with ANBU hot on their trail. After hurtling through the trees like common foot soldiers, the group landed in the former Rice Country thinking that the thirty nin party waiting for them was there to render assistance. It lasted just long enough for the Konoha nin to back off before their "rescue party" turned on them citing the snake bastard's desire to "recoup his investment" in a failed experiment.

Fleeing from one debacle, the haggard trio fled to Ame only to be turned away at the border. Ame's leader had heard about the Konoha debacle but wasn't ready to tip his hand against one of the Big Five just yet by taking in a wanted fugitive. Despite the Ne Commander's shocked disbelief at the blatant hypocrisy, they were politely turned away this time rather than chased away.

It was a slight improvement, true, but an improvement, nonetheless.

With the ever-present sensation of being watched dogging over his shoulder, Danzō began a frantic run between all of his forward staged safe houses only to find bare-bones infrastructure. There was nothing to start a credible base of operations with, not in River, Grass, or Waterfall, the latter of which he had just departed from after a brief stop to resupply and regroup. That was exactly why he was now trudging through the northern forests of Hi no Kuni once again, his group just ten miles south of the Kono-Taki border in order to avoid the frequent patrols he helped to establish. It also helped that the ancient shinobi was rampantly paranoid, a trait that helped him to survive at least two shinobi world wars and a half dozen assassination attempts by foe and friend alike.

Why stop the trend now? It worked after all. Besides, Fū was a more than competent sensor nin. He'd be able to provide ample warning should…

The words caught in his mind even as his sandaled feet came to an abrupt stop in the smaller trees of the northern Konoha growth. 'So much for advanced warning.'

Danzō's left eye opened slightly to take in the thick build and untamed hair of the Toad Sage who was planted directly in their makeshift path through the uncharted treeline.

"Time to face the music."

For several minutes the two stood perfectly still with only the quiet sounds of the forest to accompany them. Birds chirped, cicadas added to the melody, and the wind whistled softly through the branches above them. One eye met two as the tension mounted hot and heavy in the moisture-laden air forcing sweat to run pell-mell down the spine of both future combatants.

"You are delirious if you think I'll return to face Konoha's mockery of justice," Danzō challenged.

He was not expecting Jiraiya's response to include a raucous round of cackling. What was worse, it carried on for several minutes before the toad pervert could straighten out his spine and breathe while wiping away fresh tears. The old spy's growing paranoia peaked when the red-faced Sannin locked eyes with him and all sense of joviality left his face in half a heartbeat.

"No one said anything about you being alive to face trial."

It took several seconds for the one-eyed mummy to regain control of his twitching facial features and, when he did, he responded with only two words.

"Torune. Fū."

Two Root agents would prove to be a decent warmup. Danzō really only expected them to hold him off for the three minutes needed for him to free his right arm from the makeshift sling of his robe and remove the metal seals suppressing his kekke genkai-infused arm. He looked down to work his arm free and heard two bone-crunching hits followed by grunts of pain from two different people. Willing them to hold out just a few minutes more, Danzō reached down to grab the first bolt only to release it and roll desperately to his right as a geta sandal smashed into the loamy undergrowth leaving behind an earth-shattering THWUMP to go along with the fresh crater.

His eye flickered up to meet the snarling face of the Toad Sage, his surprise and confusion clearly evident before he dared a hurried look to his opponent's former side of the small clearing. Instead of seeing his personal guard rallying to his defense, he saw them squared off against two very familiar wraiths garbed in dark greys streaked with black.

"Yeah," Jiraiya's smug voice oozed into his ear forcing his face back around, "I brought them but that won't help you right now." Jiraiya settled into another stance. "Better you focus on one fight at a time."

This time Danzō cursed knowing he was as good as dead. Face to face with Jiraiya, he had no opportunity to free his arm meaning he had access to neither the Mokuton nor the sharingan in his arm. If worse came to worse, and by that, he meant life or death, he couldn't even sacrifice Shisui's eye and break away with those two monsters manhandling his henchmen as he hadn't mastered Izanagi enough to cast it seallessly. It was very much the end of the road.

Unfortunately for Jiraiya, Danzō was never one to give up when there was still a chance of survival. Gritting his teeth, the old campaigner still had a trick or two up one working sleeve.

~III~

~ Near the Kusa – Konoha Border, Northwestern Land of Fire ~

Pushing through the rest of the night wasn't a problem for Team Asuma. At best, there were more of a stone's throw from the border checkpoint, which was the whole idea with the join up spot; it was very close to the Konoha outpost complete with a reinforced garrison even if it was minimally manned. No luxuries like plumbing but there were beds, warm meals, basins to scrub away some of the road grime and outhouses eliminating the need for field latrines.

To the fatigued infiltration squad, it was almost a four-star inn.

'I don't care if you're still angry with me. I felt what I felt, and my senses have never been wrong when it comes to threats to us.'

…and then there was that on-going fly in the ointment.

Naruto sat up on the bunk he'd commandeered in their barracks and sighed heavily wishing the chakra entity would let this slide. They could discuss her reasons in detail once he was locked away in his home fortress, not that he believed her.

'What's not to believe?'

'Damn, forgot you could do that.' Now he was grimacing making his face accurately reflect his inner turmoil.

'Surely even you can't be that dense?' There was a pregnant pause before…

'Of course, you are.'

The connection cut off abruptly as the chakra powerhouse stalked off into the forest of his mindscape with a huff. Perhaps it was for the best as a friendly knock sounded on the door frame of their bunkhouse, the smiling face of one Ino Yamanaka catching his eyes further wrinkling the smooth plane of his forehead.

"Damn, handsome. What did I do to earn that scowl?"

Naruto's face unfurled as his hand shot up to the back of his head under autopilot only adding to his sheepish expression. How do you explain to your… girlfriend?... that the demon in your gut doesn't trust her? When the hateful demon claims that she reeks of dishonest intentions every time she smiles at you? You try to live in denial is what you do.

"We can sort it out later, handsome. Asuma wants us to meet up in the commissary for breaky on the double."

'Team Seven must be here.' He noted wryly that the smile on her face didn't quite reach her ice-blue eyes. Well, he'd have to burn that bridge once they crossed it. Instead, he heaved up off the stiff bed and padded silently out to walk with her across the tiny patch of mud serving for a common area at Outpost Prairie.

The clearing wasn't more than thirty meters across, just large enough to allow wagon traffic safely through the outpost. The two-story female barracks was on the far side of the mud patch two plots closer to the Command Center. A smattering of shorter buildings littered the common area meeting most of the basic functions supporting life on the duty fringe. Everything was as Spartan as using Doton chakra to build an outpost with could make it, but it met the need. The goal had been to minimalize environmental impact while providing a location to stage out of.

Tucking away military architecture for another day, deep blue eyes snapped to the squat brick that served as the chow hall taking one last breath before ducking through the hanging flaps and into the eerily quiet mess. At the moment, the entire place echoed with the lack of sound as cooks ground out the daily chores needed to feed fifty shinobi meals healthy enough to keep them alert on border patrols. What little chatter was coming from a table near the center of the facility came to an abrupt stop once the two blonds pushed their way inside.

Then the scowling began as onyx orbs met azure ones despite the warm eyesmile bubbling up from the cycloptic Jounin sitting across from Asuma-sensei.

Five Hours After the Border Rendezvous…

"Do you think he knows?"

Ino's question was a whisper, a breath in the cooling evening air as the twin party escort trundled along in the failing light of day. The treeline was steadily growing denser as the upper foliage shaded the Kusa-Konoha caravan from the summer's harsh rays. Not for the first time had the Konoha bunch been more awed or thankful for the massive titans of lumber that made up their home, an everlasting gift from their beloved Shodaime. It even made the flabbergasted looks on their hateful, foul-mouthed clients all the more enjoyable.

No, the scenic march through Hi no Kuni's one-of-a-kind forest was a blessing in another vein today as the thick treeline forced the escort, and their charges, to stretch out the line a bit providing enough distance (she hoped) to keep their conversation safely beyond the range of their morbidly contemplative teammate, his blond head peeking out every so often near the front of the convoy from the point position next to Asuma Sensei.

Choji and Sasuke – Ino considered for a moment how odd it felt not attaching the "Kun" suffix to his name out of habit – took up the right guard position in between the first and third Kusa teams while she had clustered up with Shika on the left guard between the third and fourth Kusa squads, their first hitch in the "Capture and Ghost" mission now frustratingly belly-up. Rear guard was Kakashi and Sakura, her former friend now (or better eternally) love rival for the affections of the duck-haired heir. If her ruminations about the lacking open-air rivalry were odd enough, the current tension between Ino and her current love interest were enough to drive her to distraction. Speaking of which…

"I'm sorry, Shika. What was that again?"

Her lazy road buddy sighed through clenched teeth before cutting heavily lidded eyes her way. 'Troublesome woman,' clearly written all over his face. "If you're not going to pay attention when someone answers you then stop asking for their opinion."

Feeling a bit sheepish at her apparent lack of focus, Ino abruptly apologized while motioning for him to "get on with it" using the same rolling motion of her left forearm.

"Troublesome… I said it's unlikely he knows for fact." The Nara's eyes flickered forward to the blond mass of hair resting above well-rounded shoulders and shrugged unconcernedly. "It's more than likely that he suspects. It's not like he's as stupid as the entire town wishes he would be. Taking into account that he's surprisingly intuitive when reading people, it's very likely that his doubts are growing."

Ino panicked.

"But what-." Her worried hiss was cut short by the raised palm hovering two feet to her left.

"Not much we can do about it but ask for advice once we get back." Shika's piercing glare flickered back to the wrinkled mass of blond eyebrows for a brief moment. "You need to hold it together until then. Spiraling now will only make him more suspicious and then we'll lose him for sure."

The gnawing of her teeth along a pouty lower lip and a curt nod were the kunoichi's only reply. Internally, however, she began reliving the past ten months of nauseous apprehension clawing at her gut.

'Will he hate us when this is all said and done?' kept rolling around in her head until camp finally pitched up in the nearest clearing some three hours later.

Unfortunately, neither of them paid any attention to the narrowed eyebrows belonging to the flowing mass of red hair in Kusa Team Three throughout their earlier conversation.

~III~

~ With Danzō and Jiraiya, Near Southern Taki ~

Jiraiya grunted in displeasure as he slipped behind another tree hoping to break Danzō's line of sight. Those Fūton-laced shuriken were a pain in the- 'Whoa! Pay attention Jiraiya-boy!'

He wasn't nearly as young as he used to be but being forced to quickly substitute out with one of the newly added tree segments littering their makeshift battleground kept him from shaving off thirty centimeters of height from the neck up. He spared a quick glance backwards as the latest aerial menace continued onwards through another tree or three before sticking into one of the bigger boughs further in the treeline. This close to the border, Hi no Kuni's trees weren't the mammoth beasts making up the hidden village's camouflage but they were big enough to rival anything in the Taki jungle. This much noise would attract unnecessary attention and that meant he needed to wrap things up soon.

A well-intentioned patrol would only provide a means for the old bastard to escape.

The problem came in the fact that his strongest non-Senjutsu weapon would turn the northern half of his home into a raging bonfire so both oil and Katon were off the table. Taking the time to enter Sage Mode would also give the old mummy an opportunity to unseal whatever he had hidden beneath that lame-duck injury he called an arm so that was also out of the question. No, he needed to keep the pressure on while he had the upper hand, limited though he was in variety of offensive options by location. 'Time to get creative…'

Little known fact, Jiraiya could use and had mastered more than Katon or Doton chakra natures implying that his range of jutsu spanned a wider repertoire. Those two elemental natures were his favorite because they were his primaries – well, primary Doton with a minor Katon affinity but they were his first and, as a result, came easiest to him. Did he have the vast Fūton catalog to throw back at Danzō? Not necessarily, however, it didn't mean that he was far from helpless without his handy Katon kit at the moment.

The acute lull in combat afforded Jiraiya the opportunity to hear the soft clinking of metal from his opponent's general direction. Given as it was the fourth time Danzō had tried to free his arm, Jiraiya made it a sticking point to make the old bastard pay for the distraction, his hands folding into a single seal.

'Tiger.'

Jiraiya didn't even voice the jutsu as he only needed it to provide a momentary distraction, his next set of seals already flying as the elder leaped away from the torrent of muddy earth crashing in his direction. A longer set of seals ending with 'Dragon', how ironic, caused the still liquid earth in front of the Sage to bubble and morph into the upper half of a dragon's head, the horned maw easily twice his own body length. The eyes of the eerie jutsu glowed a brilliant golden color before the entire construct opened its mouth (as if it had a lower jaw at all) and unloaded a barrage of muddy projectiles shaped like oversized mud pies in the projected landing spot of his target.

Thinking that at least a few of the hardening bullets would at least graze the old codger, Jiraiya winced as the falling log ricocheted across the clearing right before a wind enhanced kunai punched through his back and out of his chest.

Danzō tsked in disgust as the clone crumbled into pieces of mud and dirt right before his body seized up with the jolt of ten thousand volts surging through the still muddy earth, steam quickly rising from the ground as it dried and cracked under the sudden Raiton onslaught.

Another Jiraiya safely tucked away in the upper branches of a nearby tree frowned slightly as the twitching body of his enemy beneath him vanished into a puff of harmless smoke. Not two seconds later the pained gasp from the former Council member caught his ears from the nearby brush.

'So, he didn't completely escape unharmed.' Sliding back into the darker branches, Jiraiya sent another wave of earth clones to flush out his prey while he prepared his final surprise.

Meanwhile, the old man fighting desperately for his life was gnashing his teeth together furiously trying to flush residual electricity from his seizure-gripped limbs. He needed to regain control quickly and regroup knowing he wouldn't get saved again by another clone; it had been hell to create that one as a safety net without full use of both arms to weave signs and he didn't have the control to mass-produce them without seals like the vessel did. It was lamentable that he did not have the benefit of such a powerful weapon to shore up his reserves.

Blinking the blurriness from his exposed eye and feeling every one of his six-plus decades of shinobi life, Danzō fought to regain his footing before limping off into the shadows. He needed the twitching in his hands to stop before he could remove the bolts keeping his right arm sealed. He needed time to – 'On the right!'

Jiraiya slipped behind another tree and immediately substituted with one of the many chunks of lumber littering the now greatly expanded patch of forest. He could hear the high-pitched whining of Futon laced shuriken as they sailed by slicing their way through an entire copse of trees, the already deadly tool boosted by the two-meter diameter disc of air ripping its way through lumber like rice paper. Jiraiya was making mental notes about the technique to offer up to Naruto seeing Danzō literally breathe life into the small weapons by infusing wind chakra into the metal through exhalation.

'Go figure, that bastard Dragon was right when he said the old bastard couldn't mold chakra through both arms with those seals in place. Hnh.'

Jiraiya kept just enough pressure on to prevent those metal seals from coming off but he wasn't sure how long it would take before the old Councilor ran out of chakra. He needed to wrap this up soon and hustle out to the Kusa-Konoha border for the escort.

He dodged another whirling blade of death before flying through four hand seals ending on Ram. [Sekkai Bunshin no Jutsu]Using a sealless body flicker, Jiraiya created some space then melted into the soft ground while his clones split off to pelt the Fūton-spitting shinobi with rock spears adding to Danzō's growing sense of frustration.

If the old man tried to flee, rock spears would shoot out of the ground nearly impaling him and forcing the old shinobi to redirect; leaping blindly into the path of an enemy didn't usually end well for the leaper.

If Danzō tried to push chakra into his feet and take to the higher tree branches, Jiraiya (or an earth clone of him) would meet him halfway adding to the growing collection of bruises.

Danzō, while standing near the center of the open area he created flinging wind chakra left and right, reached for another shuriken only to come up empty. With a curse in between heaving pants, he drew a kunai, a tool he never thought to need again, and breathed a double lungful of wind chakra into the blade extending it by two feet. Once he'd stabilized the weapon, he glanced up with his one uncovered eye to see a half dozen copies of the Toad Sage staring back at him from different points along the clearing's edge.

"Time to say goodnight, Danzō." As always, the condescending sneer was there.

Danzō hated that sneer.

The copy that spoke began running in his direction with a drawn kunai and Danzō charged out to meet him. The old campaigner smiled bringing up his blade to neatly sever the unenhanced weapon as he brought his wind blade down onto the nin's shoulder, their bodies colliding with a thud. When the figure didn't crumble away immediately, he began to entertain the idea that it might finally be over as anti-climactic as the ending was.

Then the grimacing, but not bleeding nin he noticed, brought up his left hand quickly to slap a piece of paper to Danzō's face next blurting out, "O Fuin" as he did so. There was a burst of chakra as the Jiraiya he killed crumbled into stone leaving the older man to stagger forward a step once the clone supporting his weight collapsed.

Then the dizziness struck him, and, in a wave of nauseating weakness, the wind blade sputtered out. Danzō's wrapped hand lifted the strangely silent object up enough so that his good eye could see it, his teeth gnashing as he tried to re-energize the weapon.

It wasn't working. As it was dawning on him that he couldn't access any chakra, something wet and heavy slammed into his back. His head swung to the left so his good eye could see what nearly knocked him down and clung to his white battle kimono only for another wet object to slam into his chest. When he looked forward again, he was encased front-to-back in quickly drying mud, mud that was just as rapidly starting to weigh him down and bind his arms to his sides.

"No!" 'This is NOT happening!' "Noooooooooooo-."

There was a sharp pain across the back of his neck and the world tumbled uncontrollably. In the minute or so that his brain continued to work without fresh oxygen, Danzō's uncovered eye looked up to see yet another Jiraiya standing behind a headless body encased from neck to knees in caked-on mud.

Then the world went entirely black.

~III~

[Jutsu Used in This Chapter]

[S-Rank] O Fuin (Subdue Seal): A special written seal, probably created by Jiraiya, that when applied to Uzumaki Naruto's body will dispel all effects, including chakra, of the Kyubi. This seal is probably S-ranked, because of its ability to seal Kyubi's chakra when it's already out. Since Kakashi was given the seal by Jiraiya, it is implied that Jiraiya was witness to an event during the timeskip that triggered the Kyubi's manifestation.

[A-Rank] Mizu Funkei (Water Decapitation): A small beam of water powerful enough to simply cut off a limb, its strength gets weaker the further away the target is. From closer range the targets limb will easily be dismembered. The jet is so small it's easy to dodge.

[B-Rank] Doton: Sekkai Bunshin no Jutsu (Earth Release: Rock Clone Technique): A clone is actually created out of rock, not just dirt and other pieces of earth. The user expels earth from their mouth to form it into one or several identical clones. Unlike other clones, ones generated by this method do not disappear when struck with sufficient force, but rather break apart. This clone is faster and stronger than a simple earth clone. The bunshin can have the exact Physical stats of the user. The bunshin can use 1 Doton jutsu, C-ranked or lower.

[B-Rank] Doton: Doryū Taiga (Earth Release: Great Mud River) – Description: The user transforms the surface underneath their opponent into a river that sweeps them off their feet and carries them downstream. This technique can also be used as a medium for the [Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet] technique.

[B-Rank] Doton: Doryūdan (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet) - After creating a mud source, the user creates a dragon-like head to shoot mud balls at an opponent. To be more threatening, the user can combine this technique with a fire technique to make the mud balls become searing hot.

[B-Rank) Doton: (Earth Release: Stone Overcoat) – A modification of Doton: Kajūgan no Jutsu, Iwa's Added-Weight Rock Technique, Jiraiya sacrifices Earth Clones to wrap his opponents in a heavy cocoon of rock to immobilize and trap them for transport. The jutsu uses the earthy material of the clone to increase the gravitational and immobility effects of the technique by transferring them directly to the target. NOTE: Opponents with high levels of earth manipulation could escape the technique if given time, so Jiraiya has learned to either stun them, suppress their chakra quickly, or outright eliminate them if they pose a significant threat.

[C-Rank] Raiton: Raikou Hitofuki no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning Blast Technique) - An upgraded version of Lightning Bolt, this jutsu works the same way except now it is a continuous blast of electricity. The blast can be ended prematurely by the user. A target hit by this technique will experience quite painful electric shocks capable of disrupting movement and chakra use, however, they are still relatively minor.

[C-Rank] Doton: Dochuu Senkou (Earth Release: Underground Submarine Voyage): Dochuu Senkou allows the shinobi to sink below ground and quickly travel through the earth.

[C-Rank] Doton: Doryuusou (Earth Release: Earthen Rising Spears): Doryuusou no Jutsu is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Earth Element. After forming the needed hand seals, spears of stone will raise from the ground to pierce the target. The technique can be countered by an opponent who hardens their body with a stronger Earth Element jutsu.

~III~