Hey, everyone. Hope you're having a good 2024 so far.
I've spent the last month or so lost in Baldur's Gate 3. It's eaten up so much of my free time. On my third playthrough, and not even close to getting tired of it.
ItzJoe: Well, aside from Naruto/Fuu being my favorite pairing, both of my current stories are revamps of previous stories. Not too surprising I didn't change the pairing. And I don't think you can count Jinchuriki of the Six Paths, since I didn't even get to Fuu's intro in that story.
thor94: I can believe that.
SCI-FIWIZARDMAN: Exactly, I thought it was too close to canon to cover that stuff. Sorry to disappoint, but not too much. Again, because things right now are too close to canon. Things will diverge more and more as we go further along, and as they do, I'll go into more detail on social and political affects.
NoPlan3567: Thanks. Hopefully, I can update faster in the future.
Noam2006: Glad you're enjoying it. Yeah, I feel like, if the team had been closer, if Kakashi had been more open, a lot of what went down with Sasuke in canon could have been avoided. As for the curse mark... well, we'll see. Having friends does give him more reason to want power...
BrazeRancor: Time skip is a long way off.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Naruto chuckled as he took another piece of beef off the grill at the center of the table.
Across from him, Sakura looked down at the grill with concern. If he had to guess, the pink-haired girl was trying to figure out what was too much. She wasn't dieting anymore, but she also didn't want to put too much on her plate.
Beside him, Sasuke took a bite from his plate. He'd been a bit quieter than usual the past few days. There was something on his mind. He and Sakura had asked, but he wouldn't say much.
Well, they were sure he'd speak up when he was ready.
The genin of Team Seven had decided to hang out a bit after the day's training. It had been a few days since the invasion, and things were still a bit hectic. There were a lot of questions about what would come later, and it was nice to have moments like this.
"So, Sakura. How're things between you and Ino?" Naruto asked the kunoichi of Team Seven. "About back to where you were in the early days?"
"Just about," Sakura nodded with a smile. "It's nice to have my best friend back. Honestly, I'm surprised it was so easy to reconnect. It's hard to believe we spent years at each other's throats."
"Well, that's good. I still remember how you used to be," the blond said. I was kind of jealous. I never did get how you guys went from fine one day to hurling insults at each other the next."
"Yeah, it was kinda stupid..." She muttered self-depreciatingly. Then she chuckled. "The other day, she asked if I could give her some training advice. She wants to get better after her match and everything."
He didn't need to ask what she meant by 'everything.' The invasion had shown the genin that they needed to be stronger. They'd all seen firsthand how bad things could get.
"I thought we might go to Gai-sensei for help. He is the best taijutsu expert in the village."
"Oh? How'd that go?" Naruto asked.
Sakura gave a hollow chuckle that had him frowning. "Well, let's just say Tenten wasn't exaggerating about how intense he is..."
(flashback)
Sakura fell back on her butt and breathed deeply. She could feel beads of sweat rolling down her forehead as she took a brief respite from Gai's idea of teaching.
And she thought Kakashi's training was tough! If you can't finish these sit-ups, do five hundred laps around the village! If you can't do that, do four hundred push-ups!
And that's not counting the sparring.
Gai was relentless! He gave them just enough rest to keep from pushing things too far, but aside from that, it never ended.
He did give them some good pointers, Ino more than her, but still. No wonder Tenten got so exasperated.
Speaking of, the bun-haired girl stood over her, rubbing the back of her head. "I tried to warn you..."
"We haven't been pushing you too hard, have we, Sakura?" Lee asked, standing beside his teammate and looking down at her and the girl beside her with worry.
Neji sat off by himself, an arm resting on his knee. He'd barely said a word to them since Gai let them join.
The pink-haired girl took a moment, then waved them off. "No, no. I'm fine. It's a bit more than Kakashi put us through, but nothing I can't handle after training with him." She then looked to her side and bit her lip. "But..."
Ino was lying spread eagle, staring blankly up at the sky. Her chest rose and fell as she inhaled air like she'd been suffocating, dripping with sweat. "You guys are insane..."
(flashback ends)
Naruto chuckled. "Sounds like she had a rough time. But at least she's trying." He then looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Huh. I wonder if all this got Shikamaru to put it in gear?"
"That would truly spell the end of our village," Sasuke said, solemn and with a straight face, drawing wide eyes from his teammates.
Did Sasuke, of all people, make a joke?
The two looked at each other, then chuckled.
"Seriously, I'm sure he's motivated, just like everyone else," Sasuke added. He then looked out the nearby window. "I wonder what's going to happen with Suna."
Silence fell over the table as they all thought about the invasion. It hadn't even been a week yet. While moments like these felt normal, that was far from the case.
They'd lost a lot of their ninja. Not nearly as many as Suna or Oto, but enough. There were going to be times when they'd have to go on missions without their sensei. The village needed them for work beyond anything a genin should handle.
Sakura looked worriedly at her two teammates. "You don't think we'll end up going to war, do you?"
"I hope not," Naruto said with a grimace.
"... Who knows?" Sasuke said. "We can't just ignore what they pulled." He closed his eyes. "We'll just have to hope Suna wants to avoid losing more than they already have."
The gloomy atmosphere that had fallen on them lifted as they heard the door open, and a familiar voice filled the restaurant.
"Come on, I'm starving here," They heard their 'big-boned' former classmate say as he walked inside.
Naruto peeked around the wall of their booth to see Team Ten enter the restaurant.
"Jeez, calm down. It's not like we don't come here after every mission..." Shikamaru replied, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, look who it is," Naruto said, drawing their attention.
"Hm? You guys are here, too?" The lazy genin replied as he and his team made their way over to them.
"Sasuke!" Ino squealed as she ran over, placing her hands on the table and smiling brightly at the Uchiha. "How've you been? You miss me?"
Sakura may have toned down the thing she had over Sasuke, but Ino hadn't. At all.
Sasuke just sighed.
"Ino..." Sakura muttered, glaring up at the blonde.
"What? You get to spend every day with him! I've gotta make up for lost time." The Yamaka heiress replied, matching her gaze. "Sasuke's going to be mine in the end, Billboard brow."
"In your dreams, Ino-pig," Sakura replied. Naruto could see sparks flying between them as they matched each other's glare.
"It's the Same as always when it comes to Sasuke," Shikamaru said, sounding exasperated. Naruto didn't blame him.
"At least some things never change," Choji said before rushing to the booth across from them. "Now, come on! The sooner we sit down, the sooner we can eat!"
"Damn it, Choji! If you want people to stop making fun of you, you've gotta stop thinking with your stomach all the time!" Ino said as she backed away from the table. She then stopped and turned back to Sakura. "Oh, by the way. We managed to get the flowers you wanted."
Sakura smiled. "Great. I'll pick them up later. How're things at the flower shop anyway?"
"Eh, same as always. Mom's looking forward to you coming over again." Ino replied.
Wow, they could switch gears in a flash. It was like when they were little kids, as long as Sasuke didn't come up.
"So, what are you guys doing here, anyway?" Shikamaru asked as he took his seat.
"Oh, you know. We thought we'd hang out after we finished training." Sakura told him.
"Huh. Knowing Naruto, I figured he'd drag you guys to Ichiraku's." Shikamaru replied with a raised brow.
Naruto crossed his arms and looked glumly at his teammates. "That was my choice, but I got outvoted." Sakura smiled and stuck her tongue out at him while Sasuke smirked smugly.
"We come here after every mission," Choji told him.
Shikamaru shrugged. "It was Asuma-sensei's idea. He usually comes with us, but Kurenai asked him to go somewhere with her today."
"Does that happen often?" Sakura asked.
Ino shook her head, frowning and putting one hand on her chin. "Nope. The only other time he didn't join us, he said he had a meeting. Kinda has me curious."
"Huh," Sakura looked thoughtful at that. "You know, Kakashi-sensei usually joins us, too. Suspicious..."
"If they wanted us to know, we would. Just drop it," Shikamaru replied.
Ino glared across her table at him. "Ah, come on. You're not the least bit curious?"
"Nope."
"Ugh," Ino's mouth twisted in annoyance.
"Hey, Naruto," Shikamaru began. The blond looked at him. I've been meaning to ask, how are you at Shogi?"
Silence reigned in Suna's council chambers. The elders and leaders of the village's reactions to Baki's report varied greatly. Some leaned forward, resting their heads on steepled fingers. One had leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. There was a growl as one of the younger councilors slammed his fist on the table, his face twisted in anger.
Baki couldn't blame him. His mouth twisted into a snarl as his mind returned to the discovery they'd made just hours ago.
Rasa, the Kazekage, hadn't returned from the failed invasion. At first, they'd thought he might have covered their retreat, but as the hours passed, they began to worry that he might have attacked on his way back to their village. Konoha's forces shouldn't have chased them this far, but they couldn't be sure.
Baki was sent at the head of a search party, and what they'd found was beyond their worst fears.
They found him in the sands with his two bodyguards. Rasa was dead. But not at the hands of Konoha.
He'd been dead for over a month. Orochimaru had played them like a samisen.
"We knew Lord Kazekage hadn't come to a decision when he left to meet Orochimaru that final time," said one of the councilors, leaning forward, his mouth hidden behind his clasped hands. "He could see the merits in removing our biggest rival. Not to mention the show of strength by taking down the strongest village... but he wasn't sure the plan would work."
He then closed his eyes. "Not to mention that he worried about the long-term consequences of disrupting the Chunin Exams. The loss of that chance for the nations to vent frustrations and show their power without open war..."
One of the others scoffed in disgust. "Something Orochimaru didn't have to worry about. Oto's nothing but his private army and laboratory."
Baki growled lowly. He knew the councilors spoke mainly for his benefit. And to vent their frustrations.
Suna had hard times ahead. They'd lost their leader, and he dreaded how much face their village would lose once this got out.
One councilor, one of the youngest in the room, slammed his palms on the table. "Ok, we've wallowed in self-pity long enough. We need to decide what to do next."
"Hmm... the brashness of youth," An older councilor scoffed. "But in this case... I agree, if only with the sentiment. Dwelling on our failure won't get us anywhere. We all know how dire our situation is. We must decide what to do next... and who will replace Lord Rasa."
"There is no one who can replace him. Not now..." One of his fellows said. "You know that."
"So we're to be leaderless until one of his children grows up?" The older man replied. "Perhaps... we should choose whoever is most suitable in the here and now to be the next Kazekage. I'm loathe to do away with tradition, but needs must..."
"Now now," The eldest at the table, a small, bald man who was leaning forward, his eyes shadowed, said. "While our situation is desperate, I see no reason to abandon the practice. Lord Rasa's children are among the brightest of their generation. I don't think we'll have to wait too long before one of them can take the reigns. In the meantime, we can handle affairs."
Baki glanced around the table and saw most of the councilors nodding.
"Now that that's settled, let's move forward."
"We need allies if we're ever going to avenge Lord Rasa. And there's no way we can afford to continue hostilities with Konoha..." One councilor mused.
"Allies? And where are we going to find any? After we failed when we had the element of surprise? And had our leader killed right under our noses? Suna has never looked weaker. I'm sure most of the minor villages are loving every moment of seeing us brought low. And the closest major village is Iwa..."
Silence reigned on the table as Baki winced. Like Konoha, they had a checkered history with Iwa... not to mention that that village had gained a reputation for being backstabbers...
"What if... we can kill two birds with one stone?" One suggested.
That drew the eyes of all the other councilors. "You'll have to explain."
"Well, we do have some common ground with one major village right now. After all, both our kage were killed by the same man..."
"You can't seriously be suggesting we ally with Konoha after we betrayed them?" Another counselor said with narrowed eyes.
"Well," The bald councilor said. "We can argue that Orochimaru was pulling our puppet strings the whole time. Put most of the blame on him and make whatever reparations we have to..."
"And how much is that going to cost us? We're in a bad enough position as it is!"
"And where else are we going to turn? Or are we going to let Orochimaru's crimes against us go unpunished?"
There were a few moments of contemplative silence before another spoke up. "So we're going to crawl to yesterday's enemies and beg for help?" He said in a defeated tone. He looked up at the statues of the past Kazekages, his eyes going from one to another. "We're going to look like beaten dogs."
"This is the second time we've had a Kazekage assassinated. That's pretty much unavoidable."
In the silence that followed, Baki turned his thoughts to the survivors of the nicknamed Kazekage clan. The heirs to the village. Neither Temari nor Kankuro had reacted that badly to the loss of their father. Oh, they'd been distraught, but no more than any other ninja had to find out their leader had been murdered. They were more concerned with the village than they were upset at his death. Rasa had been a brilliant shinobi, but when it came to being a father... Well, you really only needed to look at Gaara.
He wondered which one would take up the mantle. It was likely Temari, he thought. She had a good head on her shoulders.
Then, the jonin's mind turned to Gaara. He had been oddly... docile since they'd returned from Konoha. He was always quiet, but he hadn't shown any signs of hostility or made any threats to his siblings when they did things that should have annoyed him. In fact, whereas before, he usually told them what to do, he now seemed to defer to them sometimes.
Odd.
It was midday, and Naruto was back in his home. The blond sat on the floor, finishing up his latest sheet of calligraphy, his expression set in a look of calm focus that would probably have surprised his former classmates.
It was a good hobby to pass the time, to calm the mind and think.
And it was something that tied him to the Old Man. He'd found out when talking with him once that it was one of his hobbies, too.
Naruto glanced up at the wall, where some of the Third Hokage's works, given to him that day, hung.
He closed his eyes, thinking of the Third Hokage and all the craziness that went down not too long ago.
It still felt surreal at times, like if he went to the administration building, he'd find the Old Man where he always was. But he knew that wasn't the case.
He thought back on all that had happened. He recalled how excited he was at the start of the exams, the terror of facing down Orochimaru, and the fun he had with Fuu.
He thought about the pain he shared with his fellow Jinchuriki and the horror and loss of finding the Third was gone.
His thoughts turned back to his fellow Jinchuriki. He missed Fuu and wondered how things were going for her back in her home. He hoped she didn't get too much flak for revealing herself. That she'd find people who see her for who she is.
He looked forward to seeing her again someday, maybe with some good stories to share.
As for Gaara, there was another reason he hoped things worked out between his village and Suna. He didn't want to fight him again, and he wondered if anyone in Konoha would think it was a mistake to let him go.
No matter what others thought, he didn't regret it. The redhead deserved a chance to change. But if they did go to war and someone died because of it...
He sat back and closed his eyes. He needed to tell his teammates the truth about him, too. They should know. He trusted them both not to judge him for it, but... how exactly to bring it up?
A knock on his window tore him from his thoughts. The blond made a noise of surprise and then stood up. He made his way over to it, and his eyes widened when he found that the source was none other than "Jiraiya-sensei?"
"The one and only kid," The toad summoner replied, seeming to hover in the air outside the window, to the blond's shock. As he neared, he found the legendary ninja sitting on a toad. Not nearly as massive as Gamabunta, but big enough to put him level with Naruto's apartment. "Sorry, been a bit busy the past few days. How's life been treating you?" He asked as Naruto opened the window.
"Eh, as well as everyone else around here," The blond replied, leaning forward and placing his hands on the window frame. "So, what's with the toad? You could have come to my door like a normal person, you know?"
"Eh, what can I say? I like to make an entrance," Jiraiya replied with a grin. He placed one hand on his knee. "So, I've got a proposition for you. I've got a top-secret mission, and I thought I'd bring you with me!"
"Woah, seriously!" The Uzumaki survivor asked, grinning widely and eyes shining with excitement. Then, they dulled, and he reared back, eyeing the Sannin suspiciously. "Hang on, you're going on some big mission, and you want to take a genin with you?"
Naruto was very confident in himself. He would admit that he could even have a big head sometimes. But even then, he knew anything Jiraiya would be involved in was probably way out of his league.
Jiraiya shrugged, putting his weight on his knee with a lop-sided smile. "Eh, it's not a dangerous job; I'm supposed to find someone and convince them to come back with me. That's all."
Naruto raised a brow. "Oh? Who?"
"My old teammate, Tsunade," Jiraiya answered. I think we can all agree we could use her help right now. After that, I'm going to be kind of busy, so I figured I'd take the chance to teach you a thing or two." He made a beckoning gesture toward the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. "I've already cleared things up with Kakashi. So, how about it?"
Naruto's expression brightened again. More lessons from a legendary ninja? Hell yes! "Count me in!"
Not too long after, the two were walking down the dirt road, Konoha just starting to shrink in the distance.
Naruto couldn't deny how excited he was. And why wouldn't he be? He was going to learn some of the techniques of a living legend! As soon as he'd agreed, he'd quickly packed a backpack. He had wanted to tell his teammates, but Jiraiya told him to let Kakashi-sensei handle that. He'd been on the fence but went along with it in the end.
"So, how are we going to find Tsunade anyway?" Naruto asked. "Any idea where to look?"
"Well, I've been keeping some loose tabs on her," Jiraiya replied. "She mostly sticks to the Lands of Fire and Tea." He then grimaced. "And she never did manage to shake her gambling addiction."
Naruto frowned, looking up at him in disbelief. "Wait, that's not all we have to go on, is it?"
The Sannin looked exasperated as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, talk about finding a needle in a haystack, huh? But it's the best I could do. Tsunade would have noticed if I'd tried to keep a closer eye on her." He grimaced. "Plus, she's constantly dodging debt collectors..."
Oh, right. 'The Legendary Sucker.'
"Isn't she the last member of the Senju clan?" Naruto asked, his brow furrowed as he looked at the man in confusion. "That means she inherited all their stuff, right?" He knew Sasuke had with his clan.
Jiraiya's grimace deepened. His eyes turned away, seemingly embarrassed for her. "Yeah... she did."
Naruto slammed his palm into his forehead. "Oh, man..."
"Tell me about it," The Sannin said with a sigh.
Naruto frowned as something occurred to him. "Wait..." He squinted his eyes at the older toad summoner. "How exactly has she been hiding from them?"
"And that's another problem," Jiraiya replied with a nod and a flourish of his arm. "She uses a jutsu to alter her age, jumping from her teens to her forties between cities. It throws people off her trail real quick."
"Well, that's just great," Naruto grumbled. "Do you have any idea where we should start looking?"
Jiraiya grinned. "No matter what she looks like, everyone gambler in the city parties when the Legendary Sucker comes to town."
"What, so we just go from town to town, hitting up bars and gambling joints until we run into someone who's seen her?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
Jiraiya crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and nodded sagely. "It's not glamorous or the sort of tracking I usually do, but sometimes that's all you got."
Naruto hung his head and groaned. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Who knew how long this would take?!
Oh well. Whatever Jiraiya taught him would make it worth it.
Hopefully.
Sasuke was leaping through the trees, moving as swiftly as he could. Konoha was already far out of sight as he followed his only lead to where Naruto had gone.
He could hardly believe the turn events had taken. There he'd been, looking for Kakashi in hopes he had some advice on countering Chidori's weakness, only to find his sensei unconscious. Then a chunin barged in and shouted that ITACHI, of all people, was behind it and that he was after his teammate.
On top of the danger his teammate was in, there was only one thing he could be after the Kyuubi.
He didn't know what he could do. He knew he was nowhere near ready to face Itachi, but he had to find Naruto fast. It probably wasn't a smart move. The blond was with Jiraiya of the Sannin after all, but every fiber of his being raged against the idea of staying back in Konoha while this was happening.
And so, he pushed himself to his limits to catch up as quickly as possible.
Naruto looked around at the city lights and the paper lanterns hanging above. This town was completely different from any other place he'd seen before.
Well, he'd never been to a city other than Konoha, but still.
"And this is where we're staying," Jiraiya gestured towards the hotel behind him.
"Huh," Naruto muttered as he looked up at the building. It looked like a nice place. This would be the first time he'd be staying at a hotel. He was looking forward to it.
He turned to Jiraiya. "So, what are we doing here, sensei?"
"Eh, this isn't the kind of town that would hold Tsunade's interest. This is just the first stop on the road. The place I want to start with is two towns over." Jiraiya answered.
Then Jiraiya blinked. Then he pointed behind the blond, his face lighting up with excitement as he grinned widely. "Whoa-hoooa!"
"Wha?" Naruto turned and followed his gaze... to a young woman who looked fresh out of her teens, with long black hair and a tight dress, glancing at them out of the corner of her eyes and flicking her hair at them.
She winked at them.
Naruto's jaw dropped, his mouth agape, and his cheeks flushed. Suddenly, Jiraiya was in front of him and shoved things into his hands. "Here. This is the room key, this is the scroll I want you to read. Have fun!" He said quickly before running off.
"Hey-!" Naruto yelled, but he was already gone. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki groaned as he looked down at the scroll and key he held. "Well, this is off to a great start..."
The hotel room was cozy, at least. It had twin single beds, a nightstand between them, and a dresser. Naruto guessed this was the norm, but he couldn't be sure since it was his first time in a hotel room. Either way, it beat camping out in the woods.
Naruto picked a bed and sat down, placing the scroll in front of him. "Well, let's see what he left me."
Naruto rubbed his hands together eagerly. He opened the scroll and poured over its contents... and his expression quickly fell. Going from excitement to confusion to annoyance. "What the hell, didn't he already give me this scroll?"
The blond Jinchuriki tore down the scroll to a random part, looked it over, and... yeah, he'd definitely seen it before. He facepalmed and groaningly shook his head. Was he seriously so desperate to spend some time with a girl that he gave me a copy of a scroll I already read!? 'You've gotta be kidding me.'
"... If I hadn't already seen what he could do, I'd be about ready to go back home. Geez... I'm giving him a piece of my mind when he gets back here..." Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms in frustration. He then let out a sigh. "Well, I've got nothing better to do. Might as well work on chakra control or something..."
And so Naruto did just that. He was half-tempted to leave and explore the town, but no, better not make this more of a mess than it already was. Besides, then he'd have to wait longer to yell at Jiraiya for pulling this stunt on him.
For the better part of half an hour, Naruto had his clones practice with an exercise Kakashi taught him, keeping shreds of paper suspended in the air between his hands with wind chakra. It was a lot harder than it sounded. He'd come close to breaking some things along the room when a split-second loss of control sent paper flying and sent a Naruto scrambling to catch it.
Then, there was a knock on the door. Naruto looked to the door and blinked. "Huh? What the heck? Did Jiraiya manage to get himself slapped that fast?"
Naruto clicked his tongue. "Whatever, he can let himself. Fob me off with a scroll I already read, will you..." He grumbled, then focused on his training.
A few moments later, there was another knock. Naruto glanced at the door, then went back to ignoring it. Then came another knock.
Naruto looked up with a frown. 'Ok, what's going on? Jiraiya would have been yelling at me by now. Besides, he has his own key. But there couldn't be anyone looking for us, right? We just got here.'
Maybe someone from Konoha who wanted to talk to Jiraiya? But then why didn't they say so?
He looked at his clones. With a frown and a nod, he gestured for them to make themselves scarce. They got it immediately, no surprise since they were him, and in a few puffs of smoke, they were hidden across the room. A book on the bed, a pen on the nightstand. Nothing noteworthy.
It was probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.
He went to the door and opened it to find... two men standing outside his room. They were wearing black cloaks covered with red clouds. Huh, they must be part of the same organization. He looked up. One was a bit muscular from how broad his shoulders were, with blue skin, and what looked like a giant sword hung on his back. The other was shorter and leaner.
The taller one had facial markings that looked like gills, beady eyes that put him in mind of a shark's, and short, spiky blue hair. He had a Kiri forehead protector with a slash running through it. The other had straight black hair and... looked kind of like Sasuke. Just a slight resemblance. And-
SHARINGAN!
His eyes immediately went back to their torsos, careful not to have those crimson orbs even in the corner of his vision. He'd only seen it for a moment, but he'd seen those eyes enough to recognize them anywhere.
'What the hell!? Since when does anyone but Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei have those!' His mind raced, his eyes wide open.
Sasuke was supposed to be the last Uchiha. Had this guy left the village before the massacre? He had to be a missing-nin.
"Huh, he's got good instincts. Still, I'm surprised you didn't catch him with those crazy eyes of yours," The blue-skinned man said casually and without a care. His partner remained silent.
Naruto knew little about these guys, but something told him they were probably out of his league. What did he do? Use the Kyuubi's power and hope to grab Jiraiya's attention. That seemed like the best bet. He still had his clones as an ace. They had to be thinking what he was thinking, so he should be able to count on at least one to try to go for help.
"Still, does this little runt really hold the Kyuubi? I find that hard to believe..."
Naruto jolted. This just got worse and worse. He should have had one of his clones answer the door.
"We'd like you to come with us, Naruto," The Uchiha spoke for the first time. "Come out of the room."
'Damn it. Just play along. Come on, think,' Naruto thought as he stepped out of the room. He had a few barrier-sealing jutsu on him, but he got the feeling that wouldn't work either. He could count on his clones to suicide bomb them as a distraction. He had a few seals that contained dozens of explosive tags to add to that.
Let his clones make their move, throw in the seal, run like hell, split into clones, scatter, and try to signal Jiraiya was looking like his best bet. Every instinct he had, that cold dread traveling up his spine, was screaming that he didn't stand a chance here.
"We don't need him running away. Maybe I should chop off a leg," The taller man said, reaching for his sword.
Naruto tensed, his eyes wide. Yep, time to move-
Rapid footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and Naruto turned as the taller man stopped mid-draw. He turned, looking past the taller man to see a familiar figure. "What the hell..." He muttered.
"It's been a while, Sasuke," The Uchiha said without turning around.
What was Sasuke doing here!?
He was right there after all these years. Aside from that cloak he wore, he'd barely changed at all. He looked almost the same as he did on that night.
The world seemed to fall away. All that remained was Sasuke and that man was standing there with his back to him. His Sharingan blazed to life as he glared at his back. His fist clenched, and every muscle in his body tensed.
"Itachi," He spoke the name that he hadn't said in years with a slight snarl as his worst memories flashed before his eyes. Memories of the night that he returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound to find it drenched with blood, the bodies of all his clan members scattered across the ground.
Returning home just in time for his parents to join them.
"Well, well, someone else with those crazy eyes," The blue-skinned man he didn't know observed. He sounded almost amused, but Sasuke paid him little mind. "He seems familiar with you. Who is this kid?"
"He's my younger brother," Was Itachi's answer.
"Oh? I heard the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out... by you," Itachi's partner said.
A moment passed, and then his brother finally turned to face him. Silence passed as his burning glare met his brother's impassive gaze.
He grits his teeth. His brother barely even acknowledged him.
For a few seconds, there was a standoff as Itachi and his partner waited to see what he'd do. This was it. The moment he'd lived for. He-
Naruto was there in the corner of his eye and looked like he'd realized something from the blue-skinned man's words. For a moment, his gaze turned to his friend, then back to them.
He took a deep breath. It didn't help much, but it was all he could do. He forced down the rage and the memories of the past. That wasn't what he was here for. He was here to save his teammate.
And with that came clarity. He grits his teeth again. His brother had slaughtered the entirety of their clan in a single night. All except for him. It was why he had to kill him. That was what had driven him for all these years... but he had to remember that Itachi was strong enough to pull that off.
'He's in the same class as Orochimaru,' Sasuke reminded himself. 'Not only that...'
His brother's answer to why he slaughtered their clan rang in his head. "To test the limits of my ability."
'He wouldn't drag along someone weaker than him,' Sasuke noted. They were facing down two S-rank ninjas. 'There's no question. If we fight these two, we'll die.'
Damn it, with those eyes on him, Itachi would see everything he would do before he could do it. He knew that well since he saw the same way... but then, knowing Naruto, he probably had something in mind already. He'd know how bad their situation was.
Right. He didn't need to spare the blond a glance. He could already guess what he had in mind. "I've lived my life for one purpose..."
Lightning covered his hand. He held it forward and poured as much chakra as he could into it. Sparks flew off in all directions, singing the floor and walls as the sound of birds chirping filled the hall.
"TO SEE YOU DIE!"
"Chidori..." Itachi observed.
Sasuke shot forward with all the speed he could muster. His Chidori carved a path through the floor as he closed the distance. Closer and closer...
Then he heard popping sounds. The two S-rank ninjas turned as Naruto dove back into the room.
Clones, no doubt. Sasuke immediately released his Chidori and made the hand seals for substitution. With a careless sweep of his hand, Itachi threw something that destroyed some of the clones... but knowing Naruto, there would be more that dove to the sides of the door... and chances were...
Sasuke's guess was confirmed when the wall exploded, and the hall was engulfed in fire and smoke.
Naruto leaped from the window amid fire, smoke, and shards of glass. Sasuke joined him a moment later. "Sasuke, what are you doing here? " he shouted even as he drew on that well of power deep within him. Crimson chakra gathered around him.
"Trying to save you, what else?!" Sasuke shot back. "These two came to Konoha first, looking for you!"
Naruto's teeth clenched. He gathered all the chakra he could in his hand, forming a Rasengan... and threw it into the air. It burst into a stream of crimson chakra. He could only hope Jiraiya saw it and...
And then a leg collided with his chest from out of nowhere, sending him flying into the air, doubled over. When he regained his bearings, he saw Sasuke coming up after him; his chin raised as blood flew from his mouth.
The moment he landed, he felt something behind him. He ducked, just barely dodging as something sailed over him... and then felt his strength leave him as the crimson chakra faded while Sasuke landed nearby.
"Nice try, kid," It was the blue-skinned man. Holding a weird sword the same size as Zabuza's, wrapped in bandages. "Now, we'll have to make this quick."
Itachi appeared on the other side of the roof, boxing them in. Naruto looked back and forth as he tried to think of something while he and Sasuke stood back to back.
He got ready to move as the blue-skinned man raised his sword... and then an orange toad in samurai armor about twice his size appeared between them, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.
"You guys must be really underestimating me," Jiraiya's voice cut in as he appeared beside them. "I may not look like it, but picking up girls is my specialty... I could tell with a glance you had her under a spell."
Naruto's eye twitched. "Oh yeah, right! That's why you went running off the moment she winked at you!"
The Toad Sage scoffed. "Oh, please. I knew from the start that she was just a victim in their game." He looked at him with a grin and a raised brow. "Why do you think I gave you a scroll you'd already read?"
"Huh?" 'Wait, he did that on purpose? So, he knew it might get lost? He was playing along to lure these guys out...' Naruto looked annoyed. 'Damn it, can't even tell him to warn me next time since that would've tipped them off.'
The blue-skinned man clicked his tongue. "Jiraiya of the Sannin... I heard that your weakness was beautiful women, but I guess it was wishful thinking that it would be that easy to fool you. So, you knew what we were after from the start."
"I see... that's how Kakashi knew. He got the information from you." Itachi observed.
Kakashi? Wait, what happened to Kakashi-sensei!?
"The mission failed. Kisame, we're leaving." Itachi said. His tone was empty. Even now, he sounded almost emotionless.
"Right. This one's a little out of our league. You two got lucky today," the now-named Kisame stated. And then, they vanished in swirls of leaves.
"Well, that was anticlimactic..." Jiraiya commented as Naruto relaxed. His legs almost felt boneless. That was too close! Or maybe not, he thought as he looked at the legendary ninja.
"Man, that stunt you two pulled almost threw me off. I was there, waiting in the wings, then you two go out the window," Jiraiya closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. Then he grinned at them. "Getting out of there and trying to grab my attention. That was the best move you could have made. The only one that gave you a shot. Good work, you two."
Naruto smiled, then looked to Sasuke... who was glaring at the spot where his brother stood. Silent as his fist clenched.
The words the young Uchiha spoke as they thought he lay dying on the bridge in Wave came back to him; "That man... my brother... I swore I would live until I killed him."
Now he knew why.
Naruto left Sasuke with his thoughts for a few moments. Then, he reached out and put his hand on his shoulder. The Uchiha jerked to look at him, glaring, motioning to throw his hand off, but then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He glanced back at where Itachi had stood one more time before turning away.
"Are you ok?" Naruto asked.
"... What do you think?" Sasuke ground out, and Naruto winced. The blond couldn't even guess how Sasuke was feeling right now- the idea that his clan had been massacred by his own brother... and then for him to suddenly show up like that.
Naruto bit his lip. This wasn't something he wanted to talk about, but...he deserved to know why his brother was after him. "Sasuke... listen. The reason Itachi came after me is..."
"Yeah, the Kyuubi, I know," Sasuke interrupted him. Naruto flinched. The Sharingan bearer looked hard at him for a moment, then closed his eyes and sighed. "Sorry. Seeing him again after all these years just..."
"Hey, it's fine. I get it," Naruto replied. And yeah, he did. If he were in Sasuke's shoes, he'd probably be really heated right now, too.
Sasuke took a moment to collect himself, then said, "Shikamaru and I overheard your little talk with Fuu and Gaara. We just wanted to wait until you said something."
Wha... he knew for that long!? And now Naruto was kicking himself for not telling him and Sakura sooner. He grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. "I should have said... I mean, it's not like I don't trust you with it, but..."
Sasuke shook his head and waved it off. "It's not an easy subject to bring up. Like Itachi is for me." He finished for him.
Naruto smiled gratefully. "Let's talk about all this when I get back to Konoha. So Sakura can hear it, too."
Sasuke nodded... then Naruto's eyes shot open as something that had been niggling in the back of his mind since Sasuke brought up his talk with his fellow Jinchuriki finally hit him. He rounded on Jiraiya, eyes wide. "Wait! If whatever group those guys are a part of are after the Kyuubi, does that mean they're after the other Biju too!?"
Jiraiya crossed his arms and nodded grimly as the blond sensed Sasuke jolt. "Picked up on that, huh? Afraid so. My intel says they intend to gather all nine of them. Why, I can't say. But it goes without saying they don't have charity work in mind."
'Fuu...' The mint-haired girl's smiling face flashed in his mind. Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his fist. "We have to-"
"I already warned Shibuki before we left," Jiraiya cut him off. He smirked at Naruto's shocked expression. "Yeah, it wasn't hard to figure out what you were thinking."
The legendary ninja then put one hand on his hip. "Anyway, that's about all we can do right now. We can't exactly tell Taki what to do. My intel says Akatsuki won't be ready to move in earnest for two to three years. We've got time, but that doesn't mean they won't try something early, like these two." He grinned and pointed his thumb at his chest. "But rest assured that the Legendary Jiraiya will keep an eye out for your girlfriend! Biju extraction takes days. If anything happens, I'll come running and save her before the worst comes to pass."
Naruto looked relieved... then blushed when some of the Sage's words hit him. "She's not my... oh, whatever."
He breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn't much, but it was something. Her face appeared in his mind again, and he hoped she'd be safe.
Then his mind turned to Gaara, and Naruto gritted his teeth. The redhead didn't deserve to deal with this on top of everything else he'd already been through, but then, none of them did.
This was just... ugh!
"Jiraiya said we've got years, right," Sasuke said, breaking him out of his thoughts. Naruto turned to him. The Uchiha was once again staring hard at where Itachi had stood. "I don't know about you, but when the time comes, I plan to be ready to make them regret coming after my friends."
The Uchiha heir then clenched his fist. "Besides... I've got a score to settle with one of them."
Concern washed over Naruto's features as he looked to his teammate. He really didn't know what to say. In the end, he nodded."Yeah, we'll make them regret whatever they're planning and pay them back for..."
Then, something hit him. "Wait, they said something about Kakashi-sensei! Is he ok?"
Sasuke grimaced. "I don't know. I left the moment I heard Itachi was behind it and that he was after you. Last I saw, he was unconscious."
Naruto grits his teeth. Before he could say anything, Jiraiya interjected. "Don't worry about Kakashi. Once we finish our mission, he'll be back on his feet in no time." The two genin looked at him. He grinned reassuringly. "After all, we're on the hunt for the number one medical ninja in all the nations."
"Number one... you're looking for Tsunade?" Sasuke asked.
"Yep. And the old man here was going to help me with my sealing jutsu while we're at it..." Naruto then eyed him. "Though now I think he might have been trying to get me away from those guys..."
"Heh, you caught me on that one," Jiraiya replied. Naruto crossed his arms and grumbled. While he got why, he was still annoyed at being left out of the loop.
"I see I was a little late to the party, huh?" A somewhat familiar voice drew their attention. A figure leaped up from below, leaping into the air and being obscured by the light of the sun before dropping down to one knee.
Gai held that pose before looking up and giving them a thumbs up with a smile, a glint shining on his pearly whites. "Glad to see you had things handled, Master Jiraiya."
"Hey, don't tell me you doubted me there," Jiraiya said, putting one hand on his hip and looking annoyed. He then waved him off. "Anyway, if you came tracking our two guests, they're long gone."
Gai stood and laughed heartily. "As expected from the legendary Jiraiya of the Sannin! I should have known better, but I got a little ahead of myself after the rustle they made back home. You can't blame me for that, right?"
Gai then closed his eyes and put one hand on his chin. "Well, I suppose I can return to Konoha in confidence. We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but we're sure to plow through it with the power of youth! Rest assured, I'll make sure Sasuke gets home safe." He then looked at them again and pointed his thumb at himself, his teeth once more glinting in the sunlight. "After all, someone's going to have to keep an eye on Kakashi's students until he gets back on his feet."
Sasuke gave Gai a deadpan stare, then turned to Naruto. "Take me with you."
Any other time, Naruto would have laughed. As it stands, that did at least get him to crack a smile despite everything.
Not long after, they said their goodbyes. As Naruto watched Gai and Sasuke return to Konoha. His hand balled into a fist. He turned and stared off into the distance, thinking of what lay ahead and preparing to face it head-on.
I really wanted to include the part with Gai kicking Jiraiya in the face, but it just didn't seem to fit with them on the roof...
And Akatsuki have finally shown up... sigh. You know, looking back, I can't help but feel Orochimaru was a MUCH better villain.
Please review.