"Blah": Talking
'Blah': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura
'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts
'Blah': Harry talking to Naruto
We're back with a new chapter, mates!
Sorry that these chapters have been coming in slow but my new semester has started and I got a difficult teacher this time. Back when I re-wrote the Chunin Exams, you might remember how I was stuck on the Forest of Death chapters for months. You can thank the teacher I currently have now for that. His class kept me so busy and stressed out that resulted in the worst case of writer's block I ever had in my life. I'll do my very best to update as soon as I can, but classes right now are my top priority, so I must ask that you guys be patient, though you guys have been so wonderful with patience, truly. I would appreciate it immensely if you showed your support in the reviews. They've been quite scarce as of late but every time I read one, it truly gives me the inspiration to write and work hard. I always love reading reviews, guys :)
This chapter is a little bit short, but I hope it at least makes Jiraiya a little bit more likable than he has been so far in your eyes. It's about time he act more like a responsible adult.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy what I got for you, even if it isn't really much ^^ Remember to leave a review!
Reviews are welcome and wanted!
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto
Harry Potter is property of JK Rowling
Chapter 11: Akatsuki
Jiraiya's head throbbed the following morning. The daylight was way too bright for him, his body ached, and his stomach was in knots. He felt so nauseous; he feared he might be in the bathroom for a while until his entire system was relieved of the booze and whatever else he consumed last night. It was not an uncommon occurrence for him to wake up in such a state after he had a little too much to drink, but he often had some of the best hangover remedies ready on standby. The Sannin rubbed his expected aching stomach and massaged his forehead while he slowly and bitterly woke up. But he was certainly surprised to see he wasn't alone with the gorgeous babe he vaguely remembered from the night before, and that he still had his clothes on, minus his red cloak vest, sandals, gauntlets, and horned headband. Instead, he saw a silent and very seriously embittered Naruto Uzumaki, seated on the bed next to his with his arms folded across his chest.
The Sannin was about to ask his new student what he was so cross about, until he realized he was in a completely different hotel room. It wasn't the five-star room he booked earlier but all of his stuff was in the corner of the room, near his bed, beside the desk.
"What the hell," he muttered and then he asked while he ran his hand through his thick, white hair, "How much did I drink last night?"
"A little too much," answered Naruto.
"Yeah, I can feel that," he shrugged and then he looked around the room some more, "So what happened last night and what are we doing here?"
Naruto shook his head, furious and hurt evident in his voice when he said, "First, how about you tell me what Itachi Uchiha and this Akatsuki he works for want with me and the Kyuubi?"
"Huh?" the Sannin felt like someone hit him across the face with an iron, before he stared at his newest student, wide-awake and alarmed, "What the hell did you just say?!"
The blonde-haired rookie recalled the basic details of the skirmish from last night to the hungover Jiraiya. But he was careful to leave out the details involving the use of the use of his magic. He mentioned Itachi, Kisame, and his desperate escape from the original hotel. But Naruto lied when he said he used shadow clones to confuse Itachi and Kisame before he disguised one of his clones as a wounded Jiraiya to scare them out of town. The Sannin was surprised to say the least; at first, his skin turned as pale as milk when he learned two Akatsuki agents had attacked his pupil whilst he was unconscious, realizing now that Itachi must have used Emi to drug and incapacitate him. The Uchiha must have used an immensely powerful genjutsu to manipulate the woman and command her to seduce him and then drug him. With that said, it was a damn miracle that Naruto wasn't in the Akatsuki's clutches right now. Jiraiya was relived that his pupil had been clever and was impressed at his resourcefulness. But then he noticed the rookie glaring at him with nothing short of utter disdain.
"What's with that look, kid?" he asked, "What's the matter?"
Naruto stared at the Sannin and asked with his brow raised, "You don't know?"
Jiraiya frowned.
"You left me behind for some brainless bimbo and I had to deal with those maniacs all on my own," he said in a low voice before he shouted, "AND YOU'RE ASKING ME WHAT'S THE MATTER?! LIKE IT ISN'T OBVIOUS?!"
The Sannin blinked at Naruto's sudden outburst; no one had ever shouted at him like that in a long while, it left the Sannin slightly dumbstruck.
"You forced me to hike five hundred miles to this town. Five-hundred-miles on foot, all the way from Konoha, by myself," the rookie ranted while he tried to damnedest to remain calm and emotionally stable, "You are an idiot… You have no idea, not the faintest idea, what I have been through this whole week ever since I accepted this so-called mission! The number of times I've almost been killed while you were busy out here getting drunk and hooking up with loose women, when you should have been with me, protecting me, teaching me, keeping me safe! You haven't the slightest idea what it's been like for me! NOT THE SLIGHTEST IDEA!"
The Sannin watched Naruto thrust his arm about in a furious fit before he stood up and marched off to the other end of the room to calm down. His face turned red and he looked like he was very close to crying when the man heard him choking up. Jiraiya felt a little insulted when Naruto mentioned his drinking habits and his lust for women, but then he saw the look on the boy's face and was reminded that he was still a thirteen-year-old kid. The Sannin frowned sadly as he had seen those same emotional habits before in some of his previous students. Jiraiya felt immensely guilty for leaving Naruto behind for Emi and allowed him to be exposed to the Akatsuki. It was, without a doubt, an extremely stupid and reckless decision to leave him alone like he did.
But even with that said, he couldn't help but reflect on Naruto's rant, when he mentioned, 'the number of times he was almost killed'. It occurred to him now that Naruto never mentioned how his trip to Pleasure Avenue went, or what had happened at all. But before he wanted to ask Naruto what had happened during the journey, Jiraiya thought he at least owed the boy an apology for the previous evening, as well as the explanation he expected would soon follow.
"You have a point. I screwed up, kid," he admitted, "It was really stupid of me. I'm sorry about that… I assumed we were safe here and I didn't expect those creeps to come out after us so soon. I thought we had more time before we expected them."
"Who the hell were those people? And what is this Akatsuki?" he questioned.
Jiraiya frowned as his face shifted into a dark, solemn expression, like it was the last thing he wanted to do. Regardless, the Sannin told him the truth and explained to Naruto what those people were and now, it would seem, their confirmed plans to obtain the demon fox.
"You have to understand; it's not you they're after, it's the creature inside of you they want… I honestly have no idea what they intend to do with you or the creature, but they might be thinking of trying to control it or harness it's power while it's still inside of you. With that said… they'll never stop coming for you… I'm afraid that's you're destiny."
Jiraiya finished his little speech he prepared to tell Naruto and watched as the teen sat down on the bed next to his and stared at him the entire time. When he was done, Naruto starred off into space, looking over Jiraiya's shoulder, while he reflected on what he said. Harry was shocked as well and slumped down on his own bed in the mindscape as he fell into a depression. With his head in his hands, the older wizard couldn't think of what to say, let alone think about what to do next with the onslaught of problems he and Naruto already had.
Naruto took the bad news worse than Harry as he looked down at the floor and clenched at his trousers. Jiraiya seemed concerned and leaned in a little bit closer, expecting Naruto to start yelling or crying. But to his unsettling surprise, the blonde boy started laughing softly under his breath, slowly chuckling in a dry, humorless manner. With his face shadowed with his blonde hair, Naruto stood up and started pacing around the room, smiling almost manically before he slowly calmed down.
"Well, that's… that's… that's just brilliant… that's wonderful… Heh," he tossed his arms up, expecting more bad news to come before he lowered his shoulders and asked, "So that's it? I'm done for, then?"
Naruto turned his head to look back at the Sannin and showed Jiraiya that he was distraught.
"No matter what I do or how far I run, I will never be safe," the blonde rookie then shouted as he turned his back on the more senior shinobi, "First it's Danzo, then Orochimaru, AND NOW THIS?!"
The white-haired old man frowned and narrowed his eyes at the teen, and demanded for answers in his own low, intimidating tone when he used the teen's name for the first time in a while now, "Is there something I missed, Naruto?"
The blonde teen refused to look at the Sannin as he realized what he let slip out of his mouth. He calmed down and heard Harry wake up from his depressed state too late to stop him from spilling the beans. The older wizard smacked himself on the face in exasperation while he let his younger brother take control this time on what to do next.
"You don't have to know about it," is all he said.
But then the Sannin slammed his foot down hard, shaking the entire room with his strength and his immense weight, "YES I DO!"
Jiraiya thundered in a voice that made Naruto flinch and then tremble slightly. He knew his life was in no immediate danger, but that didn't make the Sannin sound any less frightening.
"You will answer me right now," he demanded without needing to further raise the volume of his husky voice, "What happened out there? What happened while you were on your way over here? And what does Danzo Shimura and Orochimaru have to do with our situation? What did you do?!"
Naruto turned his head to look back at the Sannin and flinched when he saw how sharp and focused his eyes were as the older man glared at him. Jiraiya's eyebrows were furrowed so deeply they almost pooled over his eyes as they darkened considerably. Naruto couldn't help but feel his insides freeze up instantly before he submitted to the Sannin's will and sat back down on his bed. It was as if Jiraiya had some otherworldly control over him from the moment his tone shifted and demanded answers out of him.
"What happened?" he soon asked in an unexpectedly softer and more comforting tone
Naruto found the courage to look back at the Sannin's face and was surprised to see his face look much softer, albeit laced with some visible signs of strict concern.
As soon as he could breathe easier again, Naruto threw in the towel and admitted, "Before I left the village, Danzo Shimura ordered the ANBU to have me killed."
"What?!" the Sannin's eyes widened.
The blonde shinobi went into further detail. He told the Sannin almost everything about what he bared witness to at the hospital. Though like with his story with the Akatsuki confrontation, he left out all details involving his magic. He told Jiraiya that he snuck out of the village and ran for the hidden trail. Naruto's voice cracked several times throughout the story, after he had kept it secret for over a week and feeling a slight urge to start crying about how afraid and lost he felt ever since he was inadvertently chased out of Konoha. Naruto soon recalled the events of the condemned bathhouse and told Jiraiya about how he had been hunted by Orochimaru's Oto-nin in the middle of the night, barely managing to escape twice. The blonde rookie lied when he said he lost them after the Oto-nin blew up a bridge and tried to retrace his steps on the map back to the hidden trail, taking him days to do so while also keeping a low profile.
Naruto then told Jiraiya about his brief stay at the motel and how he previously called back home to let Iruka know he was safe. The blonde rookie admitted that it was a very stupid move and mentioned how the Oto-nin were somehow able to find him and attacked him again. Though he was able to overwhelm them with the use of his shadow clones.
When the blonde wizard finally finished his story, Jiraiya was stunned.
The Sannin had trouble believing what he heard was true. But based on the tone in his student's voice and the meticulous details, it was very clear to him that it was true. Jiraiya sat on his bed and let everything he heard sink in. For the longest while, neither he nor Naruto uttered a single word to each other. But after he had had enough of the silence, Naruto decided to speak up, wishing for guidance.
"What the hell am I supposed to do now? What's more important? Danzo, the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, or saving the Sandaime?" he asked.
"What a mess," Jiraiya sighed, "This is a lot to take in all at once, kid…"
Naruto was forced to asked, "Can you at least tell me what Danzo is planning to do? Why would he want to kill me?"
"You see," the Sannin composed himself as he stated clearly, "that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Someone like Danzo Shimura wouldn't even think of eliminating someone as valuable as you are… Unless…"
Jiraiya hesitated and seemed uncommonly worried as he ran his hand through his massive mess of white hair. He looked to the side, away from Naruto, as his mind seemed to wander elsewhere. The blonde teen was unnerved by the look on Jiraiya's face, as he seemed to know something about the Konoha elder that must have disturbed him.
"Unless what?" he questioned.
"Well," the Sannin seemed to calm down a bit before he rubbed his face a bit and recalled what he knew, "First off… you have to understand a little bit more about the Sandaime's rival. In the past, Danzo and Sarutobi-sensei were best friends."
Naruto blinked and stared at Sannin with a dumbstruck expression, "You're kiddin'…"
"No, I'm not," the Sannin actually chuckled, "Those two old bats were the best of buddies, rivals that competed over the title of Sandaime Hokage. But when push came to shove during one of their most dangerous missions, the Nidaime named Sarutobi-sensei as his successor before his ultimate demise. Danzo didn't take the decision very well and broke off his friendship with the old man. According to Sarutobi-sensei, something changed within Danzo and over the years. That old war hawk tried to compensate for his loss at the title of Hokage by forming his own subdivision of the ANBU, which he called ROOT."
"ROOT?" the blonde teen repeated as the image of the ANBU sporting the red straps immediately came to mind.
"Yes," nodded Jiraiya before he dove into what almost no one else in the village knew about, "ROOT was a secret subdivision of the ANBU that used to deal with secret missions for Konoha that were… less than respectable. He utilized the skills of the soldiers he raised and trained and carried out his own missions to take care of nastier underground business and dealings, especially during times of war and international conflict. Danzo did whatever he felt was necessary for what he believed to be for the greater good of Konoha… He used whatever or whomever he could use to manufacture the weapons and tools needed to fulfill those tasks."
Naruto shivered as he felt the blood drain from his face slowly, "Does that mean he used people as weapons for the greater good?"
"Yeah," frowned the tall, white-haired man, "Danzo did a lot of bad stuff like that back then to do what he could to benefit Konoha… I once heard he used the same kind of seals that the Hyuga clan uses on their branch clan members to keep them under control. Danzo used something similar on his own soldiers as he raised and trained them into living, breathing instruments of war and espionage… Thankfully, after the Third Shinobi World War ended over a decade ago, the ROOT subdivision was disbanded after the Yondaime took the seat of Hokage. Good little Minato felt no need for the ANBU subdivision to exist during a time of relative peace between the villages… But after the incident with the Kyuubi, the old Sandaime contacted me and told me about Danzo's sneaky attempt at a revival movement," the Sannin hesitated for a while, looking very uneasy before he bravely admitted, "Sarutobi-sensei said after the Kyuubi had been sealed inside of you, Danzo proposed to revive the ROOT and start anew by first having you turned into a weapon, trained to utilize the Kyuubi's chakra for the benefit of Konoha."
"WHAT?!" the blonde wizard shouted in outrage and horror.
"Relax! Sarutobi was strictly against it," the Sannin assured him quickly, raising his hands to calm the teenager down when he noticed how frightened he looked, "He shut down Danzo's revival proposal and focused more on rebuilding the village discretely and relying on our more trusted allies at the time for help."
Naruto calmed down some, but frowned deeply as he remembered the ANBU skulking around the village shortly after Danzo returned to the village and witnessed his execution order, "Seems like he went ahead with his revival moment anyway, huh?"
"It would seem like it," the man nodded, "He tried proposing it again shortly after you were orphaned, according to the Sandaime, but he elected to shut him down again."
For a short while, the blonde teenager didn't say a word while his brain fully processed what had been going on without his knowledge. It was at that moment that Naruto realized he was wrong about what his mother's spirit had warned him about concerning Danzo. It wasn't his ambition to become the Hokage; it was Danzo's intention to turn him into a living weapon. Kushina would have been the first to know and would have fought tooth and nail to protect him from that corrupt old man's ambition. It made sense to him. But as his mind took it all in, his memories of his life inside the walls of Konoha's protection didn't seem as safe and secure as he once assumed, regardless of how he was treated earlier on as a jinchuuriki. He leaned forward in his seat on the bed and let his head fall into his hands as he ran his fingers through his trimmed blonde hair.
"I," he needed a minute to breath while he felt Jiraiya observing him, "I can't believe he would do something like that…"
The Sannin seemed somewhat amused all of a sudden as he admitted with an amused grin, "To be honest, I am amazed you have been able to follow along with everything I've been saying this whole time, kiddo."
"Yeah, well it's hard not to pay attention when your life is on the line, Ero-Sennin," the blonde rookie remarked.
Jiraiya's smile quickly slipped back into an irritated frown while he rubbed his temple and chewed out, "Enough with that damn nickname!"
The rookie ignored him and thought back to his earlier memories of the Konoha elder. Naruto recalled his argument with him at the willing reading and how he had insulted his mother, mentioning how defiant and disruptive he remembered her to be and how much he despised her for it. It further confirmed his earlier theory about how Kushina must have known about and stood up against Danzo's revival moment. Then his mind wandered back to the incident at the hospital and something didn't add up at all.
"Hang on… If Danzo wanted to turn me into a weapon when I was little, why would he want to have me killed now?" he asked the Sannin.
Jiraiya took a moment to think inquisitively before he shrugged, "I don't know how to explain that; it simply wouldn't make sense for Danzo to kill you if he originally desired to utilize you thirteen years ago. Not to mention, killing you in the vicinity of Konoha would risk setting the Kyuubi back out into the world and into the hands of our enemies or even risk the threat of another demon attack," but then the Sannin theorized, "But if Danzo has been at work this entire time, operating the ROOT in secret and plotting on claiming the role of Hokage again, the only reasonable thing I can think of is maybe he was speaking in code to one of his subordinates."
Naruto blinked and raised his head to fixate on the Sannin.
"Maybe he was never plotting on killing you at all," he continued, "This is all guesswork but with the Sandaime out of commission and in light of his promotion to Hokage Candidate, it seems to me that he could have been planning on faking your death, to make it seem like you died in an accident… If he were planning on faking your death, he would have probably abducted you and secretly had you programmed into the perfect soldier of near-limitless power for the ROOT. It would have benefited Danzo's takeover of Konoha and demonstrating you would have seriously intimidated the other villages… Not too different from what the Akatsuki probably wants to do with you, now that I think about it."
The theory made some sense, as Danzo talked about Naruto's death as if it were yesterday's news and didn't directly order the ROOT ANBU to kill him. But there was no way to prove the 'speaking in code' theory could be proven or disproven. The theory did at least lift some weight off of Naruto's shoulders, though he was still thoroughly disturbed by the idea of being turned into a puppet for Konoha, as Suna tried and failed to do with Gaara.
"So he would have turned me into the Winter Soldier?!" he almost shouted.
Jiraiya blinked in confusion and asked, "The Winter what?"
The blonde rookie blushed and leaned back into his seat on the bed as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked off to the side of the room.
"Never mind," he muttered, "It's a… comic book thing."
"What a nerd…" the Sannin remarked under his breath.
Naruto turned back to the matter at hand and asked, "So, wait, does this mean Danzo has done this sort of thing before to other people?"
"He did," the Sannin nodded as he shrugged off the student's obsession with what he dismissed as childish nonsense, "But what he did back then wasn't exactly illegal. He took in orphaned or abandoned young children from all around the Land of Fire and raised them to be undyingly loyal soldiers and servants to the ROOT. It isn't like he killed their parents to orphan them and then claim them as his own. Danzo approached the Sandaime for permission to have you and others utilized as weapons for the village."
Naruto was then forced to ask, "So if he was planning on doing what he originally planned for me as a little kid, don't you think I'm a little too old at this point to be brainwashed into the Winter ANBU Soldier?!"
Jiraiya fought the intense urge to punch Naruto in the face for being such a dork and completely ignored the last five words he uttered.
"No one is truly too old to be changed or brainwashed into a weapon," he answered, "Though it would have been a lot easier if he had gotten you as a younger child, not to mention it would be a lot safer for your captors. And in light of the events of the Chunin Exams and the current state of the village, I could understand Danzo seeing the need for a lightning rod."
Naruto threw his arms in the air for a moment and said sarcastically, "It's not like the maniac could have asked me to help the village willingly or asked me to help intimidate the other villages itching to attack us."
"Old man Danzo has never been a particularly understanding man," the Sannin informed his student and commented, "He's always been a sketchy bastard."
Taking in Jiraiya's personal comment made Naruto think about villains from his comic book collection. The sketchiest villains from his favorite series often opted to team up if they shared a common goal or interest with other bad guys. They often teamed up to defeat a hero that wrong them or foiled their plans, and Naruto couldn't help but wonder if Danzo would ever stoup that low. Reflecting on his recent encounters on the road and remembering his conversation with Harry a few days ago, Naruto decided to share his speculation with Jiraiya.
"Do you think Danzo and Orochimaru are teaming up against me?" he asked before he clarified as he noticed the Sannin raise one of his eyebrows intriguingly, "I mean… Orochimaru's Oto-nin tracked me down at the motel and attacked soon after I called home. There's a chance Danzo could have tipped off Orochimaru and sent those idiots after me, right?"
The Sannin breathed through his nose while his face darkened somewhat, "I wouldn't be surprised if he did. But to stoup so low as to ally and conspire with one of the village's most notorious enemies is an incriminatingly reckless move on his part. Danzo would be either very confident or incredibly stupid to do something so reckless and think he could get away with it. But there's also a very strong chance that Orochimaru had his spies hijack Konoha's communications prior to the invasion, and that's how they located you so quickly, intercepting and tracing your phone call back to the motel. Setting aside the fact that the ANBU are not the only shinobi in the world that can track people down."
There was no way to prove Danzo and Orochimaru were indeed allies, but it wasn't too far-fetched or impossible to be true. Naruto didn't feel much better about his situation at all, though the idea of Danzo's intention to fake his death rather than kill him offered some relief. Only to be immediately crushed by the idea of almost losing his humanity and being turned into a mindless puppet of warfare.
"I think I understand..." was all Naruto was able to say in response to everything he shared with the Sannin as he looked down at the floor in defeat.
Harry could only rest his hand on his little brother's shoulder, knowing there wasn't much more he could do to comfort him. The older wizard was in the same seat as Naruto, as he shared the same feeling of dread, fear, and hopelessness. It felt like there was no way they could make it out of this mess in one piece or return to the home they build for themselves in what they believed be the safe (but never always perfect) Konoha.
But then the two wizards were surprised when Jiraiya sat up straight on his bed and spoke up in a surprisingly warm, confident, brave, and determined voice after he noticed the lost, hopeless look on Naruto's face.
"But don't you worry, kiddo," he said with a clear voice that made the two wizards both look up at the Sannin with some hope for their future, "As long as you're with me, I'm not going to let either of those psychos get their grubby hands on you. Akatsuki, ROOT, Orochimaru, it doesn't make a damn difference to me; I'm not going to let any of them get anywhere close to you again."
"You promise?" the rookie was forced to ask.
The Sannin then cracked a smile so wide it would have made Gai blush as he almost shouted while he crossed his arms over his puffed out chest, "You bet!"
Naruto was able to smile a little bit as Jiraiya's confident and boisterous attitude allowed him to breath easier. Even Harry found some confidence at such a depressing time to be of some comfort as well, and allowed himself to smile a tiny bit.
"So what do we do now?" asked the rookie.
"Now?" the Sannin questioned back before he answered, "Now we set out what we're here to do! We're going to find this gorgeous babe we're after and we're gonna save the Sandaime!"
Naruto couldn't help but think about Orochimaru and the Oto-nin, the Akatsuki, Danzo's ROOT ANBU, and whatever else was out there to threaten their lives or sap them of their humanity, "But what about-"
"If we focus on this mission, find the medical-nin we need, and save the Sandaime before it's too late, then Danzo is out of the Hokage seat," the Sannin answered before Naruto had a chance to share his obvious doubts, "We'll put him back in his place and sort this whole mess out with him and the ROOT. Not to mention you have me and your friends to keep you safe if his ROOT soldiers are lurking about the village now. You'll be safe from him."
"What about Orochimaru and the Akatsuki?" he asked.
The Sannin frowned as he sighed, but then said in a more serious tone of voice, "I know I screwed up before. But I'm going to be a lot more careful; from now on, I'm going to keep a closer eye on you," then the Toad Sage smirked as he tempted the rookie with what he offered him in the first place, "It's also about time I trained you up, huh?!"
"Training?!" the rookie beamed with excitement as the impact of the realizations he came to accept and the doubts he shared with his older brother seem to dissipate for now.
"Like I said I would," the Sannin smiled before he drove his fist into the palm of his left hand, Naruto feeling the impact from where he sat, "You're going to need some new ninjutsu if you want to stand a greater chance against these Akatsuki douchebags! Orochimaru's pawns will be blown away by what I got in store for you, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Naruto couldn't contain his excitement as he stood and shook his fists with childish eagerness, "I can't wait to see what I'm gonna learn first!"
"All in due time," the white-haired man nodded but then a strange gurgling noise echoed from his stomach before the Sannin rubbed his midsection and stood from his bed, pointing to the bathroom behind him and said with an uncomfortable smile, "But first, I have to use the toilet."
"Lovely," the rookie said as his face turned dull and irritated in a fraction of a second, "Glad to see we're back on track."
The Sannin shuffled to the bathroom in a rush while Naruto channeled out whatever noises Jiraiya made for the next half hour. The blonde rookie focused on his older brother as Jiraiya's earlier confidence and promises inspired him to get involved and do whatever he could to prepare Naruto for whatever else would come their way on this mission.
'I may as well teach you a few new spells while we're on the road. Ninjutsu by day, magic by night.'
'Just like old times, eh?'
'Curious to know what new Defense Against the Dark Arts training I got in store for you?'
The blonde rookie beamed, 'Yeah!'
'Wanna learn the Patronus Charm?' the older wizard smirked
Naruto had a look of shock frozen on his face before he practically exploded with happiness, 'IT'S ABOUT BLOODY TIME!'
Harry was able to brace himself in time for the inevitable explosion of exhilaration that would have annihilated his hearing if he didn't.
After Jiraiya relieved himself in the bathroom for over an hour, he took Naruto out for brunch, primarily to get a greasy meal into Jiraiya's belly to remedy his hangover. As soon as Jiraiya was as functional as he was ever going to be, they checked out of the hotel and left Pleasure Avenue as the afternoon rolled in.
But as the new teacher and student duo marched down the road headed south, the late October cloudy afternoon skies soon followed; quite a contrast to the clear, warm weather from the other day. It really felt like autumn had begun to roll in after the Land of Fire had one last taste of the summer heat. Naruto was most eager to get started on his training, but as he walked down the road he felt a chill running down his spine, followed by a sudden, deep wave of cold. It was the cool weather, but the chill made Naruto think of home; thoughts centered around Konoha mixed with the memories he witnessed in the Pensieve, of Death Eater occupied Britain. Naruto feared for himself but soon concern for his own well being became squashed by thoughts of his friends. Iruka, Anko, Teuchi, Ayame, Sakura, even Sasuke and Kakashi came to mind as he feared for their safety. Even though he still hated his sensei and rival for how they've behaved lately, Naruto still cared enough to be worried about them. With a man as corrupt as Danzo Shimura still in charge, Naruto feared he might punish his friends and loved ones after he managed to elude him and the ROOT yet again. He feared Danzo might send his beloved friends on suicide missions, resulting in agonizing deaths, purely out of spite.
But then he reminded himself, 'He doesn't know that we know yet.'
Danzo wouldn't harm his own citizens and risk his image and ruin his one chance to truly become the Hokage. And as long as he was only the Hokage Candidate and the economic issues brought on by the events if the Chunin Exams kept him busy, the former elder wouldn't have time to even think about ever harming Naruto's loved ones.
The thought made Naruto feel a lot better, feeling as if another immense weight was lifted off his shoulders. It allowed him to focus on the matter at hand, especially after Jiraiya helped him see the best possible outcome to the mess he was in if their mission were successful. It made Naruto all the more determined to keep moving forward and find this woman that could help them save the Sandaime. With Jiraiya around to protect him from the Akatsuki, Danzo, and Orochimaru, the blonde rookie could focus on his training and focus he would.
Later that night, back in Pleasure Avenue, a peculiar dark-haired genin stormed through the streets in a blind rage. Sasuke Uchiha had stormed straight out from Konoha, breaking a number of rules and security regulations in the process as a team of shinobi chased after him ever since he left. Sasuke did whatever he could to slow down whoever followed him, using similar tactics he picked up during the Chunin Exams. He set up whatever explosives he had at his disposal to slow down the team that followed him in an attempt to slow them down and left him enough time and space and take on Itachi.
When Sasuke arrived at the town Naruto and Jiraiya long left behind, the dark-haired teen frightened the onlookers in the streets, pushing and shoving anyone that stood in his path. Several citizens were tossed off their feet and thrown aside like rag dolls while the Uchiha aggressively breathed through his nose like a wild bull on steroids. He was drenched in sweat, his clothes dirtied and torn at the arms from his intense departure from home. Soon after he arrived, Sasuke caused a bit of a panic when he started screaming like a madman.
"WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS ITACHI UCHIHA?! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, YOU BASTARD!"
The civilians in the street backed away quickly, others fleeing into their homes or the closest saloons until Sasuke was gone.
"WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?!"
Sasuke darted around, looking for the face of the man that ruined his life, tormented his dreams, and filled him with an uncontainable rage. The Uchiha turned around in a violent rush, practically thrashing about while he seethed and breathed heavily. Balling his hands into tight fists, he looked around the few crowds of civilians surrounding him, watching him fearfully, as they expected him to start attacking them randomly at any moment. And Sasuke almost did as his mind started cracking under the stress and paranoia bubbling to the surface. He started suspecting Itachi was hiding, disguised as one of the many civilians or harboring information about him. Sasuke was literally seconds away from charging after whoever stood closest to him and start beating the answers out of them.
"WHERE IS HE?! WHICH ONE OF YOU-"
"STOP!" boomed the ever hot-blooded voice of Might Gai.
The familiar, muscular shinobi in green grabbed Sasuke from behind at speeds, again, too fast for the Uchiha to comprehend. The Uchiha predictably struggled to break free, but Gai's immense strength was like trying to break free from steel. He thrashed and kicked about as violently as he could manage; until Gai squeezed harder and made Sasuke's face turn purplish-red. Four regular ANBU soon arrived out of nowhere; each of them dirtied and bruised from the explosives Sasuke set to slow them down in their pursuit. The ANBU surrounded Gai, silently enraged at the young man's resistance and inability to control his rage.
"STOP RESISTING," thundered Gai, "You're going back to the village!"
But the Uchiha continued to fight while he tried to kick the older shinobi in the privates but missed, "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME! STOP INTERFERING! STOP IT!"
Gai actually started to struggle removing Sasuke from the scene, but only held back as he didn't mean to harm the rookie too badly. The ANBU around them, while their faces were masked, quickly became irritated and furious. One of them lost their patience and quickly moved in to help Gai and the others soon followed.
"YOU'RE GOING BACK TO THE VILLAGE," roared the first ANBU, "STOP RESISTING!"
"NO," the Uchiha thrashed his head from side to side and he shouted desperately and furiously, "NO! ITACHI! ITACHI UCHIHA! ITACHI!"
"That does it," the second ANBU moaned before she shouted, "KNOCK HIM OUT!"
And then the whole world from Sasuke's point of view went black.
To Be Continued…
And that was chapter 11! I hope you guys enjoyed it and as always I look forward to seeing your reviews ^^ Like I said before, this was a short chapter and not a lot happens, but I hope it was at least entertaining. Azeroth44, if he were here, I'm sure would make some kind of comment on-
Azeroth44: Did someone summon me?!
Kvsyaoran: AZEROTH! You cheeky bitch! Welcome back! :D
AZ44: Glad to be back! (smacks Kvsyaoran in the face)
K: WTF, man?! What was that for?!
AZ44: Watch your language!
K: Who are you? Steve Rodgers?!
AZ44: Nah, but I missed being here ^^
K: Glad you're back, but watch out, dude. You're in for a Hubba-Bubba nightmare for smacking me.
AZ44: What the hell does that mean?
K: You'll see in the next chapter XD Consider it a welcome home present!
AZ44: Why do I feel scared now? That's usually your thing, innit?
K: It's been a while :3 You'll see soon enough, my old friend…
Anyway! That's all for now! I look forward to reading your reviews, I'll keep going on writing whenever I'm not busy with school, and I'll see you guys next time! ^_^ Laters!