Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:
Hey everyone, hope you're having a good day. Welcome to Chapter 55. Now, there's a couple names in this chapter, namely the name of a town and a street, I swear the street name is actually the street name in cannon. Which just makes it more amusing. Hope you enjoy.
The Fifth Hokage:
Chapter 55: Setting Out to Find Tsunade
x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x
Naruto breathed in the fresh air. The scent of pine and wildflowers was heavy in the sweltering August heat. He was in Training Ground 3, working on the new Flash Step. Opening his eyes, his sharingan spun madly. The three tomoe and pupil distorted, twisting and splitting into a red cherry blossom with five black spokes leading to a large central circle.
Space and time bent to his will as he activated his new jutsu. He stepped forward, traveling ten feet in a single step, followed by two more. When he came out of the technique, he was on the opposite side of the field.
He smiled in relief. With the increased visual acuity of the Mangekyo, the tunnel vision wasn't a problem anymore. The technique also used less chakra. With this, he could use his Flash Step at an entirely new level. There was still one concern, though; He had to watch how much he used the Mangekyo. So far, he hadn't noticed an effect on his vision, but there was no telling when it would begin. He had to be careful. 'After all, I don't have a readily available set of eyes.'
His grandfather's eyes were originally his granduncle's. There was no telling if he'd be a genetic match for them.
'I'll be able to mitigate that for a long while. But be careful brat. The Mangekyo slowly destroys your eyes on cellular level. Even I can only heal that so much.'
'Thanks, Nine.'
That was a weight off his shoulders. Without that concern put to rest, Naruto went about thoroughly testing his new technique. He zipped through the forest as nothing but a blur. After half an hour of zooming around, he finally took a break to soak his feet in the cool river. Naruto sighed in contentment. His muscles were pleasantly sore, but not enough to be a problem. The new Flash Step was amazing. He could move at the speed of sound and sustain it for over an hour of constant use. The most amazing part was he knew he could still improve it. And he would.
Warmth pulsed through his right hand, drawing his attention to Senbonzakura. Recently, his grandmother's will had become more active. He wondered if it was because of his Mangekyo. His grandmother had said Senbonzakura's abilities would increase as his sharingan advanced.
A thrill of excitement swept through him. It had been quite some time since he felt he was getting stronger so fast. There were entire magnitudes of strength waiting for him. All he needed to do was reach out for it.
If he'd had this power before, Gramps would still be here. 'I swear, I'm gonna get stronger. That can't ever happen again.'
He sheathed Senbonzakura. It wouldn't be needed for his next phase of training. Looking around for a suitable target, his eyes landed on a sturdy oak that could take a beating. He lifted his palm. Chakra flowed from his core, down his arm, and into his hand. Swirling strands of chakra formed the familiar vortex of a Rasengan. But that was just the first step.
'Focus, maintain the structure while extending it.' Naruto grit his teeth. The Rasengan began to push forward, a beam of chakra the thickness of his thumb erupted behind it. Ever so slowly, the Rasengan pushed forward a foot, but then, it stayed still. Sweat beaded his brow as he tried to make the Rasengan extend further.
"Whatcha doin brat?"
Naruto jumped in fright, the sphere destabilized, buffeting him with a barrage of displaced air as the chakra dissipated. He spun around to glare at a very unrepentant Jiraiya.
"Dammit Pervy Sage!"
"Did I interrupt something?"
The older shinobi wore an infuriating smirk, one Naruto wanted to punch off his face. He'd surely fail. But it would be worth it. Though Naruto didn't, because he knew it would just amuse his chuckling teacher.
"What do you want?"
"Well, I was planning to invite you on an important mission," Jiraiya said. "But maybe I'll take someone else. Maybe they'll appreciate the training we do." The Sannin buffed his fingers against his haori, trying to put on an air of casualness.
Naruto rolled his eyes at the attempt to make him jealous. "Did you honestly think I'd fall for that?"
"It was worth a shot." Jiraiya replied with a smirk.
He could be childish, but he wasn't a fool. Such a pathetic manipulation tactic wouldn't work! Naruto crossed his arms with a huff. He had half a mind to turn down whatever mission Jiraiya was bringing to him. The other half knew how crazy that was and promptly shut the rebellious half down.
"Alright, let's hear what this mission is."
"Fine, spoil all my fun," Jiraiya gave an aggrieved sigh, as though Naruto was forcing some unbelievable burden on him.
"The mission?"
"I'm getting to it." His annoyance was dismissed with a wave of the hand. "The council has tasked me with bringing the one they've chosen as Fifth Hokage back to the village. I figured you'd like to tag along. We can train while we're on the road."
Naruto took a moment to think over who a candidate outside the village could possibly be. Only one came to mind.
"Tsunade, is that who they've chosen?"
"Yep. Now go pack, we're leaving in thirty minutes."
Jiraiya disappeared in a column of smoke, leaving Naruto to his own devices.
Naruto swiftly made his way back to his apartment. With only a half hour, there was no time to meticulously go through his supplies. Thankfully, he'd taken to keeping a scroll prepared with all the necessary amenities for an extended mission. Fresh food and vegetables, medical supplies, a bed roll and single-person tent, and even some extra kunai and shuriken.
He sealed the scroll into his wooden forearm guard. After making sure he'd turned all his appliances off, he activated his security sealing array. It was a precaution he'd taken after finding his apartment had been ransacked during the invasion. Naruto locked the door behind himself before taking off for the main gate using his Flash Step.
Though he'd taken less than fifteen minutes of the half hour, Jiraiya had still beat him to the entrance. The older man leaned against the hastily reconstructed monitoring station, casually chatting with Izumo and Kotetsu–Naruto recognized them from the exam–the three broke off their conversation as he appeared.
"You ready kid?"
"Yes, any idea where we're headed first?"
Jiraiya glanced about furtively. "We can talk on the road. Come on."
Naruto got the distinct impression Jiraiya thought they were being listened to. So, he accepted the order and silently fell into step behind Jiraiya. They walked down the dirt road for quite a while, until the damaged gate faded into the background and got swallowed up by the forest surrounding the Hidden Leaf. When the only sound was the crunch of their sandals on the earth and the chatter of small woodland animals, Jiraiya finally seemed to relax.
"What was that?" Naruto asked quickly.
"Sorry. The decision for Tsunade to become Hokage was not unanimous. There were … dissenters." Jiraiya had a troubled look as he apologized.
"Define dissenters."
Jiraiya clenched his fist. His troubled expression wasn't worry; it was anger. And Naruto soon learned why. "People who believe the Leaf should move in a different direction than continuing the Thirds Legacy. An old rival of his, Danzo, was pushing heavily to become Hokage. He believes that the philosophy of the Third Hokage, passed down by the First, has made the village weak."
It took a moment for Naruto to control his temper. Even though the idea of someone disrespecting Gramps made his insides feel like they were filled with lava, so intense was his anger, he had to keep his head and think logically. There must have been a reason Jiraiya had them hold back from talking.
"You think he's got people spying on us in the village?"
"Think?" Jiraiya snorted in false amusement. "I know he is. That's how Danzo operates. He'd prefer to end problems with a knife to the back instead of diplomacy. Ethics, morals? Danzo has no use for things like that. He believes anything is justified as long as it keeps the village safe. Kidnap, brainwashing, assassinating women and children. I honestly think there's no depths he wouldn't sink too if he could justify it as protecting the village."
Naruto was taken aback by the way Jiraiya spoke of this Danzo man, though he could tell there was good reason.
"If a guy like that became Hokage, we'd just be a bunch of replaceable drones thinking just about the mission." He concluded in disgust. It went against everything either of his grandfather's had taught him, what they'd fought and died for.
"Exactly, which is why we're going to find Tsunade and make her Hokage." Jiraiya broke out into a grin, slapping Naruto on the back jovially. "Now cheer up, we're on a search for the most beautiful kunoichi in the world."
"Is she really supposed to be the next Hokage or is this just for those books of yours Pervy Sage?"
"Oi, show your teacher some respect brat!"
Naruto cracked a smile at Jiraiya's indignant shout. He knew the older man was doing his best to direct the conversation to cheer him up. Despite seeing through it, he appreciated the attempt.
"I respect you as a shinobi, but you're a shameless perv, can't put anything past you." He replied brutally. "Enough with the small talk though, you got any ideas where Tsunade might be?"
Jiraiya muttered under his breath about disrespectful brats but answered all the same. "Shukuba Town."
Shukuba Town, why would she be in a pleasure district? He waited for Jiraiya to elaborate, but it never came. Naruto shrugged it off and assumed he'd get a more thorough explanation sometime later.
"That's only a couple hours away, let's get going."
"Oi, am I the mission leader, or are you?" Jiraiya complained.
With a barely concealed smirk, Naruto continued to tread the long road to Shukuba. The Honomori Highway was one of three highways that led to the Leaf. If you followed it all the way, you'd end up in the capital. But they were not going so far, no, they would turn off in ten miles and continue down the Kinpaku Highway. The path was peaceful, surrounded by silent pines and beeches, the only sound was the occasional call of some unknown bird.
They'd been walking for a half hour when Jiraiya finally spoke up.
"So, was your little Uchiha friend jealous about a mission outside the village?"
Naruto stopped in his tracks. A finger of dread trailed down his spine. In his excitement, he'd completely forgotten to let Sasuki know he was leaving, they were supposed to be training together today. If he just disappeared, she'd be mad at him all over.
"Oh crap, I have to send a messenger dragon to Sasuki or she's gonna kill me!"
His despairing shout sent birds flying into the air, chased by Jiraiya's booming laughs as Naruto hurriedly tried to summon a dragon to send a message to his teammate.
A few minutes later, Naruto watched a weasel sized green dragon ascend into the air with a leather tube strapped to his back. He breathed a sigh of relief. Goko was the fastest messenger dragon he knew.
"Can we get back to traveling now?" Jiraiya tapped his foot impatiently.
"Yeah, let's get going."
They traveled quickly, but only for civilians. If they used chakra, they would have been to Shukuba in an hour. Instead, Jiraiya insisted on taking the road by foot. So, Naruto had to content himself with finding things to draw his attention as they passed by. There were many farms that lined the Kinpaku Highway, especially rice farms. Paddies lined the highway in neat little rows like giant ice trays made of dirt and filled with water and rice shoots.
Finally, five hours after they left, they reached the edges of Shukuba. Less town and more pleasure district, hotels and Casino's lined the streets, with the smell of perfume and street food wafting about.
Wealthy men walked about with women on their arms wearing dresses that showed more than they covered.
"Come on brat, we're gonna find a place to stay." Jiraiya said as he led the way down one of the main streets, marked as Fun Fun Avenue. Naruto reluctantly followed. The Sannin seemed to know exactly where to go, winding through stalls and eventually reaching one of the less ostentatious hotels. It wasn't cheap, but definitely not as expensive as most of them.
A pretty woman greeted them at the reception desk with a pleasant smile. "Hello, welcome to Shino Inn, can I get you a room?"
"You sure can, we'll take one for two nights." Jiraiya wore a charming grin.
He watched the exchange with a frown. It felt like they were wasting time, time that could be spent looking for Tsunade. But he held his tongue still.
After the receptionist took his name down, she handed him a key and told them their room was on the second floor. The room wasn't much, a simple affair with two beds facing a counter with a TV on it, and a connected bathroom with a standing shower. Naruto waited until they'd shut the door behind them before speaking up.
"So why exactly would we find Tsunade here?"
"I doubt we will." Jiraiya replied readily, as he laid out his traveling pack and took out a notebook.
Naruto did his best to hide his frustration. "Then why are we here?"
"For information." Jiraiya held up his hand, already anticipating Naruto's scathing reference to his 'research'. "Let me tell ya kid, if there's one thing Tsunade can't live without, it's gambling. She's a bit of a legend in those circles. They have a nickname for her and everything."
He rose a curious eyebrow. "So, she's good?"
"Far from it. They call her the Legendary Sucker, cause she always loses. I doubt she'd ever be caught dead this close to the Leaf, but people are always talking in these circles. There's definitely someone here that can give us some updated information on where she might be. Now stay here while I go out. I'll be back in a few hours."
"Got it."
Though far from satisfied, Naruto settled down on his bed, pulling out a storage scroll with his sealing supplies, including a table to keep everything stable. If he was going to have to wait, he might as well practice.
Jiraiya left quietly, ostensibly to get information, though quietly, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if the man was planning to do some of his 'research' as well. He sighed, unfortunately, that was the price of having such an odd mentor.
As he settled in to practice his sealing, he had little idea of the trouble brewing in the Leaf.
x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x
Well what did you think? Jiraiya and Naruto have begun their search, and Naruto is learning some of the inner workings of the Leaf's politics.
As always, I want to thank my patrons for their support. Chapter 59 is out on my pa tre on, as well as Chapter 5 of Tangled Souls, and a chapter of a surprise story I put out that is a Naruto x The Last Airbender I released in preparation for the live action series.
⸻ Patron Shoutout Wall ⸻
Odin Darkfeather, Chillz90, Kit Arashi, MASTERCHEIF1229, Cody Lyle, Cory Toler, Tyler J Renshaw, Aneeq Moodaley, Kyle Alexandr, hunter jensen, SIRDBZ, James lars, Jabes Affonso, Sankha123, Glizzy, Echoes at Dawn, Kirk O'Dell, firedemon12, Rúben Pais, Bobby, Lil Mickey D, Ty'Ree Gary, guncannon93, Ash Cascagnette, Horacio, Pope Gregory Trivium III, Damon Frey, John Brown, Matt Walther, Christopher Thomas, BigBadDetonation, Tyler Swigerr, anime gaming, Yuto, Arnzok, Diego Silva, Natsubi123, redacted, Stewart Willis, Flashfox, Michael Alvarez, Romane McLeod, William Hurst, WallaBenga, nasapeepolover116, Leeland, Lutescu Mihnea, itsjust_khris, Beepo2332, Leeland, Jorge Ramos-Barreto, John Chastain, Mark Parker, Benjamin Goffer, Vallyn Fera, Ron, cookiedo, Ricardo Adams, Currtsy, Ignaccio Besser, Devon Strand, SupremeRuler17, Calvonta Ard, Decoy_M9, James Hines, Moon, lonelynib, Kenyan White, Morgan C Williams, Benjamin, Zach SH VD, King_Atlas, Jackmin, Saul Deras, Alan Azargushasb, Andrew Coleman, Rexadas, aroeah126, Hogan58, LemonGrass, Kevin Lopez, Ivan Olguin, Dominic Spindler, Francis Johnson, cory williams, Patrick Wooding, Liron Krasniqi, Barson, Kevin Deshazier, Francisco Jimenez, Jeremiah Macias, Sean Ciccalone, Lil Uber Vert, James Sampson, Carlos Neftali Benitez Vazquez, Steve Dixon, King230, Leafy, Sandeep S, Ismael Colibaly, Zeekstreme05, Mason Davis, GFuel_Duey, Koji, JJM 521, Whosevershark, Dillon Shropshire, J, Nick Wieber, Steve, Stavros Theodosiadis, Casey Needler, Uriano De Oliveira, Jonah Vogel, Y O, Taquarius Crawford, Setsuna, Ionescu George, William Casey, Jack Michael Jackson, Rexadas, Nicolas Fritz, Mark Parker, Sterling Swartz, Drew Edwards, Dildeep Singh, Anthony Dunn, Justin McClendis.
Well, feel free to leave a favorite or follow if you liked it, and comment your thoughts on the chapter.
Until Next Time,
RinneTaicho, Signing Off!
