"The fights are as follows…" The sudden and intimidating voice of Ibiki brought Naruto out of his intense glaring to a certain red-head. "In the first match Nara Shikamaru will fight Uzumaki Naruto, in the second match Haruno Sakura will fight Sabaku no Temari, in the third match Sabaku no Kankuro will fight Aburame Shino and finally in the fourth match Hyuga Neji will fight Hyuga Hinata."
"You're forgetting my name…" Gaara's voice was menacing, full of hatred and bloodlust but Ibiki wasn't phased in the slightest.
"Because there's an odd number of participants, you Sabaku no Gaara will be facing the winner of the first match, win or lose the progress of your opponent in the tournament will be decided by their match only." After he said that, Ibiki didn't take any questions and dismissed the Genin.
Naruto was mad, he can't remember ever being this angry and perhaps that's why he did what he did. After the match announcements had been made he walked up to Gaara and stated.
"I will destroy you."
He then walked away, only stopping in the place where Lee had laid before being taken to the hospital to receive far better treatment than what he could hope to get in the tower's infirmary. Naruto looked at the still fresh blood of his friend and knelt, he took it on the palm of his hand and squashed it hard as he made an oath.
'I will make sure he pays for what he did to you bushy-brows, I swear I will.'
"Naruto-kun?" A stern and concerned voice called out his name and it was only then he was finally brought out of his own thoughts. He looked around and found that Lee was still asleep in the hospital room he himself had refused to leave for the past two days. The only person who would ever come to visit Lee besides him was Gai-sensei and that only made him feel a stronger need to stay by his side.
"I'm sorry Dr. Teruya, I spaced out a little 'ttebayo!" He rubbed his nose sheepishly in that silly way he always does when he's apologetic about something, it didn't really feel natural this time, not with his friend lying in bed right beside him.
Dr. Teruya chuckled at Naruto's antics and waved off his apology as she made her way to him and took a seat right by his side. "So, how are you feeling dear?"
"Me? You want to know how I'm feeling?" That seemed like such a dumb question to him, why was he suddenly the object of her concerns when he isn't even her patient. "What about Lee?"
"Now, now. Don't get all judgemental on me young man. Lee is doing as well as he can given his circumstances, I just wanted to know how you're feeling, that's all." She gave him a look that dared him to say otherwise and that seemed to stir up something in his mind as he slumped his shoulders.
"I'm sorry…" Naruto was never rude, at least not intentionally, he had been a little testy after the prelims were over, perhaps it was the lack of sleep but at this point he was merely guessing.
"Don't be, now tell me, what's got you so upset?" She asked.
"It's just that I-, I feel like I should've done something for him… Kakashi says there's nothing I could've possibly done to prevent what happened but I still can't shake the feeling that I failed Lee." It was most likely because he knew. He knew Gaara was dangerous and never warned him, he knew what Gaara was even if just shortly before his match but he still didn't tell him, it ate at him.
"Well, I'm not Lee - though I'm sure you noticed - but if it were me, I wouldn't even think of you when looking for someone to blame, if anything, I think Lee is really fortunate to have such a good and loyal friend." Kaiya's comment made Naruto brighten up a little and she pinched his cheek like a grandma would do her grandson, making Naruto chuckle and visibly relax.
"There's actually something else I've been meaning to talk to you about Naruto…" As she spoke, she looked around the room, and even though it was empty, she knew the walls had ears. "Come with me, I would like to discuss this with you in my office."
The old woman led Naruto away from Lee's resting room and into her own secluded office in a not so accessible part of the hospital, the office was at the end of a corner with only one way in and out that could be watched from the inside at all times. When reaching the office Kaiya fished a weird looking key from her pouches and allowed Naruto in, making sure to lock the door again after he had taken a seat.
Naruto looked a little nervous as Dr. Teruya's wrinkled visage was taken over by a serious look he had only seen once before, the woman stood in front of him and activated a silencing seal under her desk that he knew to be the work of the Hokage himself. "So… what's this all about Dr. Teruya?" He asked as he nervously shifted his feet.
"Oh…" The woman lost her serious look and started chuckling at Naruto's expense, making his eyebrows twitch in irritation. "Are you that scared of me, Naruto-kun? I must say I don't know if that's a good thing or not."
She got what she wanted in the form of Naruto, visibly relaxing. She was thinking hard the whole time and didn't realize her look was unnerving. "There is something I would like to talk to you about, propose even."
Naruto replied by giving her a questioning look.
"Months ago I mentioned to Kakashi that I was interested in coming up with a way for you to use your Sharingan like a regular eye, as in making you capable of turning it on and off at your leisure." She explained.
"Just me? Why not him too?" He asked and caused her to smile in pride, it truly was refreshing to see someone as selfless and concerned for others as Naruto.
"I don't know how much you know about the incident that resulted in Kakashi getting his sharingan but, unlike you, he was forced to use it right after he got it and it caused some serious damage. I'm not saying it's impossible, just way beyond what I'm capable of." She had been the one to give Kakashi a thorough examination when he returned from that mission. The damage Kakashi's eye socket had received when he lost his own eye had been bad enough, top that with the stress using the Sharingan right away put on him and well… it wasn't pretty.
"How would that even work? You do your glowing hand thingy on me and that's it?" He asked, rubbing his chin.
"You really need to learn a little about medical ninjutsu Naruto-kun…" She said as she giggled at Naruto's question before continuing her explanation. "But to answer your question, no, it would technically be a minor surgical procedure, I'd go in and rearrange the nerve terminations in your eye and do some work on the chakra pathways that lead to it. If it all goes well the Sharingan will recede back into the natural form of Sasuke-kun's black eye."
"Oh… yeah." Naruto didn't think about that, he wasn't against the idea of having two different eye colors or anything but… having used the Sharingan as little as he can, sometimes he forgets it's even there. Looking at Sasuke's black eye every single day, a daily reminder of the fact that Sasuke isn't there anymore.
He doesn't know if he's ready for that.
"I know what you're thinking dear, I might not have known little Sasuke much but- I'm sure he would appreciate you taking him with him wherever you might go and not only for fights."
I'll become your eye, and see the future with you
"Yeah… I think he would 'ttebayo!" Naruto discreetly wiped a lone tear away from his face and went back into business mode. "How long would that take though, I kinda have to train to beat the crap out of Gaara y'know?"
"Well, the procedure itself shouldn't take me more than a few hours. Normally, a person would need at least a month to recover from such a thing. You? You'll be good to go in a week." She said as she playfully ruffled his hair, oh how she wished she could recover as fast as he did.
"Is it okay if I talk to Nii-san about it first?"
"Of course dear, come back tomorrow if you decide you do want it."
"I think you should do it."
"W-What? Just like that? At least think about it 'ttebayo." Naruto crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance making Kakashi chuckle.
"It's a rare opportunity, and definitely worth it. Besides, a week is not too long, you'd still have three whole weeks to train for your match with Shikamaru and Gaara." Said Kakashi closing his book and putting it back in his pocket.
"I guess you're right… I'm just nervous y'know? I haven't been able to use my eye in public for a while now." It was still very exciting for him, there was something about wearing his headband on his forehead like a proud shinobi that he had always found appealing, now that he won't have to cover his eye with his hair he can wear it like he used to.
"Well… officially you lost it, I wouldn't go around showing off an eye you're not supposed to have, sharingan or not." Now that made Naruto feel dumb. "It's actually great timing, I was going to ask you to tell Sakura that I won't be able to train you guys for about a week."
Naruto asked Kakashi, "What? Why?"
–
"So they sent their Jinchuuriki to the village… that is troubling." Hiruzen's chin was resting in both of his hands as he sat on his desk and thought hard about what he had been informed by Kakashi about a certain red-head.
"How would you feel about taking Inu's mask for a little trip, Kakashi?" He asked suddenly, rejoicing in the look of shock he had gotten out of his most aloof Shinobi.
"A black ops mission?" He asked.
"I've been hearing rumors about Suna's discontent, it is no secret that the wind Daimyo has cut funding from them and given many of their assignments to other Hidden Villages, especially ours." The game of politics in the 5 Great Nations has always been shaky at best, recently the Wind Daimyo had randomly decided that he preferred to have less and less dealings with his own Hidden Village for some reason.
Tensions had begun to rise in both nations, mostly because the wind Daimyo had decided Konoha was his best choice when it came to missions, giving Sunagakure only the more mundane of tasks. You could argue that Konoha could simply refuse him but it wasn't as easy as that, outright denying your services to an allied nation was simply not in the realm of possibility. The Hokage had still made it a point of finding ways to reject as many missions as possible in hopes of maintaining their friendship with suna.
"Suna openly boasts of their Jinchuriki as a weapon and I want to know why they sent him here. I want you to do a little spying, find out if this is them just sending a Genin to be promoted or a statement."
Kakashi of course accepted the assignment without so much as a second thought and made his way to meet Naruto at his house at the boy's request. Kakashi was excited at the prospect of wearing his ANBU mask after so long, he also felt a little trepidation but that went unsaid.
–
"Hokage-sama gave me a special assignment that he would like completed as soon as
possible."
"A special assignment?" What does that even mean?" Naruto looked up at his sensei, crooking his head to the side.
"Don't worry about it, I'll be back in time to help you both train"
Sakura was picking up the belongings that she had in Naruto's house, "Is there anything else you need, Naruto-kun?" The procedure had gone pretty well, and Dr. Teruya sent Naruto home to rest with a bag full of a high dosage numbing medicine that had a drowsiness effect.
Not as high as Naruto was when he woke up though.
Sakura being the amazing friend she was had gladly taken Naruto back to his house and watched over him so he didn't do anything stupid. The drugs were completely out of his system by now and no longer needed anyone to watch over him.
"I'm alright now Sakura-chan but thanks for taking care of me, I really appreciate it y'know?" He said as he helped Sakura store the rest of her things before escorting her to the door.
"Remember Dr. Teruya told you not to remove your patch until the week is over, don't try to use your eye either." Sakura stopped and added. "If anyone asks what happened to your eye, tell them your wound got infected." As she walked away from him again.
"Wait!" Naruto tripped on his doorstep as he clumsily grabbed Sakura's arm to stop her. "Do you know if they checked Lee while I was out?" He knew Lee was supposed to receive a thorough examination by Dr. Teruya to assess the damage when she deemed him stable enough.
"Yeah… about that." A sad look made its way in Sakura's features and Naruto could feel his stomach gripping at the defeated look on her face. "Apparently the damage done to his spine was too severe…"
"Lee will never walk again, I'm sorry Naruto."
She left shortly after that but he didn't notice, he sulked in his living room for hours and wallowed in guilt. Kaiya's words rang deep in his brain, his own common sense was telling him there was no point in blaming himself for what happened to Lee but he still did.
What would his parents do if they were in his situation?
That's the question he kept asking himself over and over whenever he found himself at an impasse ever since he discovered his parents identity. Would the legendary Yondaime Hokage wallow in guilt and self-pity over things he had no control over? What about the feared Hot-blooded Habanero?
Naruto smiled lightly to himself and stood up, he wasn't told he couldn't go out of his house and he needed to relax a lot before he could face Lee, perhaps a little trip to the local onsen was due.
"Oh yes, move around a little beauty." A man with long white hair tied in a ponytail was giggling and doing a little perverted dance as he spied inside the woman's side of the bath through a peephole.
Who even does that?
"Oi old man! You can't do that 'ttebayo!" This wasn't Naruto's version of a relaxing time. Sure, he could definitely appreciate the beauty of the female body, but he would never fall so low as to violate their privacy.
Well, perhaps if it was Sakura in that onsen he would maybe consider it.
"Get lost brat! I'm doing very important research." Replied the man without even taking his eye away from his spying spot, making Naruto get even more annoyed. He wasn't having a good day and this stupid old man wasn't being helpful.
Naruto tried to get him away from the bath a few more times but it was all to no avail, he had to give it to him, for all his antics the man truly was strong, no matter how hard he pushed he never moved.
Not even a single inch.
"Fine!" Oh, never one to be beaten so easily, Naruto went with Plan B. He went inside of the bath house reception and used his own Oiroke no Jutsu to turn into a female version of himself with two long blonde ponytails and a significant bust. He then picked a towel from the desk to cover his face and ran to the women enjoying their bath time yelling. "Pervert! There's a pervert spying on the wall!"
Every lady heard the fear in Naruto's voice and immediately dressed up to deal with the situation. Outside of the onsen, the screams of agony and "Don't kick poor little me." were music to his ears, this wasn't what he intended to do to relax but it definitely worked.
He might play a few more pranks again.
Having had enough, Naruto went to look for the man just to make sure he was still alive - so he could keep making fun of him - and found him sitting down in a tree as he rubbed a spot on his head.
"Got a little beat up pervert?" He asked mockingly, earning a glare from the man that quickly turned into a look of recognition. It didn't last long enough for Naruto to notice but he had been identified, so the man saw it fit to introduce himself.
"You interrupted very important research you damn brat!" He said as he fished out a book from his pouch and proudly displayed the cover, making Naruto realize just what book it was.
"It's you! You write those perverted books Kakashi-nii reads all the time!" Naruto yelled as he pointed an accusatory finger at the man and stomped his feet in indignation, he truly didn't mind all that much, but Sakura did and she complained loudly about it whenever she could.
The man only smirked as a response and performed a sing-less jutsu that made a cloud of smoke, it dissipated and revealed him standing on top of a human-sized red toad in a ridiculous pose. "Man cower at my presence and ladies swoon all over me, it is I the great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku Jiraiya the Gallant!"
"J-Jiraiya?" Asked Naruto with a slight tremble in his voice that caught both him and the legendary Sannin off-guard.
"Yes?" Was the slightly nervous reply.
"Jiraiya the Sannin?" He asked again, this time with a more serious look on his face.
"Yes." Was the short and boast-less reply.
Naruto looked at the ground, in a quiet voice he said, "You trained my father."
Jiraiya sighed and let the toad go back to where it came from; he knew of course that Naruto had been told about his father's identity the last time he was in the village, heck, he had been told he could approach the boy if he wanted to but never got around to it.
A little part of him was just hoping that knowing about his father wouldn't mean he knew anything about him. That was of course wishful thinking, how would a boy who idolized the Yondaime long before he even knew they were related not know everything there is to know about him?
"Listen Naruto…" The words came out but he was still unsure of what it was that he wanted to say, what was he supposed to say? At least he got the desired effect of getting his attention.
"You know my name?" Naruto knew from Kakashi's stories that Jiraiya and his father were really close, but judging by the lack of contact between them he had guessed long ago that the closeness probably didn't extend to him. He used to be bitter about it but let it go eventually, you can't force people to care about you.
In the end, no matter how lonely it got in that apartment, he always had someone he could go to.
"I know a lot about you, even what you hide behind that little patch of yours." The world seemed to stop for a second as Jiraiya's comment made Naruto gape like fish, for a moment he didn't know if he was supposed to know or if he could even trust that man.
It was a scary thought.
"Would you like something to eat, brat? My treat, I'm sure you have some questions."
Naruto silently accepted the invitation and led Jiraiya to his favorite restaurant in the village, Ichiraku Ramen. Ever since he was a little kid he felt attracted to the place. The energy inside was always so different from that of the entire village, he never knew how to explain it but, being there felt right, for some reason he always felt like he belonged there. The amazing people that ran the stand were obviously a big plus.
They both settled in and ordered some food, Jiraiya discreetly placed a foot on the ground and erected a little silencing barrier to keep whatever they talked about between themselves, having realized what the man had done, Naruto relaxed a little and spoke up. "Do you uhmm-? Am I? Do I-? Pfft…"
Jiraiya allowed himself to chuckle at the boy's troubles and smiled fondly. This wasn't what he had been expecting of their first meeting, in some part of his mind he had been convinced that maybe Naruto would see him riding a toad and immediately decide he was the most awesome ninja ever and would pester him for training restlessly until he bulged as if he wasn't thinking of training him either way.
"Do you hate me?" The question was asked in a voice so weak that it didn't sound like it belonged to a boy that earlier had such a confident aura around him. It's easy to forget that the boy had grown up with only a single person he could call a family, Naruto for all his confidence was just a scarred boy who had to grow up in a lonely apartment looking every night at the ceiling, crying, asking himself just what it is that he could've done to make his family leave him behind.
He had found out the truth eventually, but a lot of damage had already been done.
"Why would you ask that, Naruto?" Asked Jiraiya in a voice that conveyed nothing, not a trace of anger, sadness or regret.
"Nii-san said you and my father were very close, so I thought that maybe you would… I don't know." But he did know, he just didn't want to say that he hoped the man would've made himself present, that he hoped Jiraiya would've been there for him so he wouldn't have been as lonely as he was.
It didn't really matter now, that's what he thought at least. Hiruzen had been family for him when he needed it the most and now, he has friends, he has a brother.
He has people he cares about now.
"You thought that I would've been there for you?" Jiraiya took a sip from a cup of Sake he had gotten out of nowhere before continuing. "It's not because of you, Naruto, at the time I was very troubled myself, I focused solely on my work and thought you'd be alright… by the time I realized I was wrong, you didn't need me anymore so I stayed away."
He took another sip of his drink and stared at the counter as his mind wandered. He could remember Minato asking him for permission to name his soon to be born son after the main character of his first and unsuccessful book.
"I kept tabs on you from a distance, I know all about your exploits in the pranking department, your graduation, all about your sharingan and what happened to you in Nami, I'm sorry for your loss." He said sincerely and got a smile out of Naruto.
"Thanks…" Naruto said as he slurped some noodles before continuing. "Were you the one who gave me Gama-chan?" He asked as he fished a cute frog wallet out of his pouch and showed it to him. Hiruzen had told him when he gave that to him that a dear friend of his mother had sent it as a gift. At the time he didn't know about his father but it made a lot of sense now.
Jiraiya for his part released a heartfelt laugh and took the wallet from him and stared at it fondly. "I can't believe you still have this after all these years." He gave it back and looked at Naruto before continuing. "If you're still mad at me, I will completely understand. I just want you to know that nothing I did was your fault, nor was I trying to hurt you in any way okay?"
"You know…" Naruto said as he stored Gama-chan away. "There was a time when I would've been really angry at you but… I don't see the point anymore, I have Nii-san now and Jiji was always there for me, I'm really lucky. There really is nothing to be mad about 'ttebayo!"
A wave of relief came over Jiraiya as he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "What do you say if I help you train a little while Kakashi comes back? Think of it as payback."
"I can't really train this week, but there is something you can help me with…" Said Naruto in a cryptic tone that spiked Jiraiya's curiosity.
"You're the only fuinjutsu master in the village right?" He asked and received a nod from the curious man in response. "How would you go about fighting a Jinchuuriki?"
A Week Later
"I have interesting news Hokage-sama…" The Hokage looked at the arriving Kakashi and nodded so he could continue with his report. "Suna's forces seem on edge, they appear to be preparing for something."
"Were you able to find anything more?" Asked Hiruzen, making Kakashi shake his head.
"I'm afraid not, they are actively making an effort to hide their activities. I think you would also like to know that I couldn't find the Kazekage while I was there." Replied Kakashi.
"You couldn't find Rasa?"
"That is correct." Kakashi nodded. "I searched the whole place more than once and I'm certain he wasn't in the village." Kakashi had been looking for him ever since he entered their territory, it might've been risky for him to actively search someone as powerful as a Kage but you don't become a legendary ANBU captain without learning how to properly hide yourself.
His original plan was quite simple: get as much information as he could from the man that would hold more knowledge of the village's activities than anyone else.
It was a real pity that Rasa was nowhere to be found
"I can't help but feel like this is all connected somehow…" Hiruzen spoke suddenly, getting Kakashi's attention back. "I can't accuse Suna of anything without evidence, I'll have ANBU reinforce the surveillance on the village, if anything it'll make whatever they're planning harder to accomplish, keep your ears on the ground Kakashi."
"If that is all Hokage-sama, I will go and meet my team now." A whole week had passed and that gave Kakashi a lot of time to think about his team's training. Sakura could definitely use some more strong Doton Jutsu to get past Temari's wind jutsu.
Naruto on the other hand,
There's only one thing he could think of that would be powerful enough to get past Gaara's perfect defense. He wasn't really worried about it, after careful consideration he realized, if there is someone that he could completely trust to learn such a technique, it's Naruto.
"Oh yes… Naruto-kun has been hanging out with Jiraiya this week, apparently he finally decided it was time to introduce himself." Hiruzen chuckled remembering his students retelling of the events that led to their first meeting, only Naruto would be able to make someone get beat up by a group of angry women and then bond over some Ramen.
Kakashi simply smiled fondly and vanished in a swirl of leaves as he went to his apartment to ditch the ANBU equipment.
Shortly after Kakashi left Hiruzen decided to keep on working on the paperwork he had left to do for the day but an unexpected visitor made his way to his office with a look of uncertainty in his face.
Definitely more emotion than usual.
"Hiashi, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Asked Hiruzen as he put his pipe down on his desk.
"Hokage-sama… I would like you to lend me your assistance with some very important matters…"
Earlier that Day
"We must deal with that child before he becomes a problem Hiashi!" Demanded an elderly man that had seen it fit to come crashing into Hyuga Hiashi's office along with some of the elders from the Hyuga's main branch.
It had been going on ever since Neji had returned to the Hyuga estate after being marked by Orochimaru and it truly was annoying him to no end. They claimed Neji had been compromised and shouldn't be allowed to roam free with a seal no one knew how to remove and that they should make sure the clan's integrity was protected.
By 'dealing with him before he becomes a problem' they meant they wanted to activate Neji's Caged Bird seal and kill him of course. The way they kept on talking to him about it like it was such an obvious solution made his blood boil everytime.
Hiashi wasn't a saint by any means, he had his fair share of blood and mistakes on his hands but he would never let anything happen to his brother's beloved son, he had watched the boy grow up full of hatred and resentment for the main branch but never did anything about it because he had thought he deserved that much.
He never stopped to think that all that hatred was eating him inside, he even kept a letter from the boy's father just so he could have it as a keepsake from his brother.
Only after Neji had been targeted by Orochimaru did he realize how selfish he had been all these years.
"You would do well to remember who you're talking to, don't think for a second that your position as an elder means anything to me. If you dare to speak to me in that tone ever again you won't live to regret it." The temperature in the room dropped and the uninvited guests found themselves cowering at Hiashi's imposing figure and the murdering look in his face accentuated by his activated Byakugan. "Leave this place immediately."
The elders hurriedly left and Hiashi slumped back in his chair as he sighed dramatically, he was a cold man but he wasn't emotionless. These people's constant vouching for activating Neji's seal was starting to take a toll on his mind and he felt exhausted.
So exhausted.
Present Time
"I won't be able to shield him forever, I have no doubt that eventually someone will go behind my back and activate his seal without my consent." He scoffed as he explained the situation to the Hokage, the tone he used so flat it almost appeared like he was flippant about the situation.
"How can I face my brother if I let his son die?" But he wasn't.
"What do you need from me, Hiashi?" The way the Hokage worded his question didn't sit right with him - evident by the way his face suddenly screwed up - he almost made it sound like he was doing him a favor; his features became smooth like is becoming of a Hyuga shortly after as he begrudgingly realized one very important fact.
He was asking for a favor.
"All main branch members have the knowledge to activate the seal and there are some that would ignore my orders to protect their interests but…" He looked at Hiruzen and a little smug smile appeared on his face. "No one would be stupid enough to go against the Hokage, if Neji is put under the village's protection, they would have no other choice but to stop pestering me with their idiotic ideas."
It seemed reasonable enough for Hiruzen and something he was going to do anyway, he was actually already waiting on his secretary to send a letter to the Hyuga Clan Head. This just made things a little easier for him.
"Very well then, your request is approved. My secretary will be waiting for you with a written statement you can show to your clansmen if you wish."
Hiashi gave a small bow and left the office to retrieve the paper from the legendary man's secretary; as he left, all he could think of was his late brother and how much he had failed him after everything he sacrificed for him, including his life.
"So… what are we training in sensei?" Sakura had been very excited when she was asked to meet the recently returned Kakashi in their training grounds. She still couldn't believe that she had made it to the finals and was very excited at the idea of getting some training in.
"Well my cute little Genin, I've been thinking and decided that I will only train you for your first matches." Kakashi's comment earned him a look of confusion from Naruto and a look of understanding from Sakura.
"It's because we're facing each other." She said.
"That is correct, I have no doubt that as he is, Naruto can easily beat Shikamaru so I will help him train to defeat Gaara and I will help you Sakura to defeat Temari, you can find something to train yourselves in for your match." He said as he fished a scroll out of his pouch and tossed it to Sakura.
"I believe the best course for you is to make your Doton Jutsu stronger. Teaching you more jutsu won't help you right now so we'll use this 3 weeks for you to complete the second step of mastering your nature transformation, as well as constant Taijutsu training." He eye-smiled and made a Kage Bunshin that took Sakura with him to a couple of big rocks that were in the middle of the clearing. He could explain the exercise himself but he knew by now that Sakura learned best reading, he would only make sure to provide assistance when needed.
Without speaking a word he placed a hand on Naruto and used a Shunshin to take him back to a completely different clearing where Jiraiya was already waiting for them.
"Jiraiya-sama and I have been talking about your training and I think you should keep working on mastering that special fuinjutsu for Gaara so I will be teaching you your plan B." Kakashi's tone became serious and the air around the clearing became so heavy Naruto found it hard to make a joke.
He had grown used to Jiraiya's antics and usual perverted nature, he had even begun to call him Ero-senin for that same reason but he knew there was a big difference between the pervert and the Sannin.
Seeing a serious look on Jiraiya's face was very unnerving.
"I will teach you a jutsu that only you can learn Naruto but I want you to promise me something, promise me that you won't ever use it on a comrade and will only use it when it is strictly necessary." Naruto knew by now that this facet of Kakashi meant they weren't playing games.
"Why?"
"Because this is an assassination jutsu I created myself." Just then Naruto realized exactly what they were talking about and it scared him a little even if the fact that Kakashi would trust him with such a thing was a very rewarding feeling.
"But, how can I work on my fuinjutsu at the same time?" He asked and made Jiraiya smirk.
"I know you've been using Kage Bunshin to study fuinjutsu with Sarutobi-sensei, we'll be doing the same, a couple of clones will work with me on that while the real you works with Kakashi." He said and started to rub his chin as if he forgot to say something. "Oh right! Don't be scared of using it here, this whole clearing has more barriers and detecting seals I can count, no one but us will be able to watch you here."
That made Naruto smirk as he took his Hitaite from his neck and tied around his forehead where he had always felt it should be, with the hair covering his right eyes now clear he opened them both to reveal a beautiful azure orb along with an imposing onyx one. He channeled a little chakra to it and the black eye started spinning as it became a glowing red with two black tomoe.
A single thought made its way to the mind of both men at the young Uzumaki's display.
'Show off'
A week Before the Finals
"Thanks for coming, Hinata!" Said Naruto as he led the recently arrived Hinata to a stool next to him at Ichiraku's. "I was going to ask you to meet me after the prelims were over but with everything that happened I guess I just forgot y'know?"
Hinata nodded but she wasn't really listening, she thanked whatever god was watching over her right now that Naruto was way too oblivious to notice her blushing madly, she still couldn't believe Naruto had asked her out.
When she dreams about this moment she always figures she will one day confront Naruto about her feelings and leave him so impressed by her boldness that he would have no other option but to return them in kind.
This was good enough.
"I'm sorry I asked you to come here all of a sudden, it's just that… I've been thinking about this a lot y'know?" She was now on the brink of hyperventilating, her dreams were going to come true.
"I want to ask you something very important and I don't want you to feel forced to answer me or anything." How could he even think she would feel forced by him when this is exactly what she has always wanted.
"So I really hope you don't mind me asking about this and I really hope I won't make you uncomfortable with this 'ttebayo, I wanted to ask you…" Oh Kami, Oh Kami, Oh Kami, this was it, Naruto was finally going to ask her the question, the question she has been wanting to hear for ages now, it was taking every bit of strength in her body to not pass out.
"I wanted to ask you if…"
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes...
"I wanted to ask you if you could talk to me about Neji."
'Yes Naruto-kun! I want to talk to you about Ne-'
"HUH?"
Was all she managed to say before passing out in embarrassment, of course Naruto wouldn't really be interested about her, why would anyone be interested about her at all?
After Naruto managed to wake Hinata up with the help of Ayame and Hinata apologized for every reason possible they finally got around to actually speaking.
"W-Why do you want to know about N-Neji nii-san Naruto-kun?" She stuttered timidly without moving her gaze away from the now cold bowl of Ramen he had gotten for her.
"I feel like I'm greatly overstepping but I just can't help it, I just wanted to know why Neji is the way he is." He answered with complete honesty.
Hinata sighed and wondered if this is something she should be telling him or anyone else for that matter but decided that she probably could tell some of the story. "It's not Neji nii-san's fault, he has g-gone through a lot."
"I've seen the way he is for months now, he treats me with some very little amount of respect but the way he treats Lee and you, especially you is just… What can make him hate you so much?" He couldn't fathom the idea of good old Hinata doing something that could earn her the glares, the comments, the degrading, the hate she receives from him.
"His f-father died because of me." Was her short reply that almost made her burst into tears.
Naruto couldn't believe what she was saying and goaded the story out of her, or at least as much of it as he could.
When Hinata was just four years old a Kumo ninja that had come to the village along with a diplomatic party had tried to abduct her in the middle of the night. Her father had noticed and pursued, saving her by cruelly killing the kidnapper.
Kumogakure denied the events that transpired and wrongfully blamed the village of killing a diplomat, at the time Konoha was still recovering from the Kyuubi's devastating blow on their forces and couldn't afford to go into another war so they complied with Kumo's ridiculous demands and turned over the man who had brutally killed their shinobi to them.
Except it wasn't the man who killed their shinobi, Konoha figured out that Kumo was after one of their powerful Kekkei Genkais and had orchestrated the whole thing to get their hands on the Byakugan one way or the other so the Hyuga sacrificed her father's twin brother who beared the mark of a side branch Hyuga, when he died, the Byakugan disappeared and all Kumo got was a corpse they could gain nothing from.
That event marked Neji forever, Hinata claims he used to be the most sweet and caring child there was, but the death of his father and his consequent marking had been enough to turn his life around; he grew resentful, resentful to the village that had caused the whole mess, resentful to the main branch that treated their kin as slaves, resentful to the girl he saw as the cause of all his problems.
And resent, can easily turn into hatred.
He convinced himself that it was his fate to bear the destiny of a slave and that nothing could be done about it, no one could go against fate.
It was all because she had been too weak, she was always weak.
"It wasn't your fault Hinata, you were just a kid being kidnapped by a big Ninja." He said as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't think you're weak Hinata, if anything, you're super strong 'ttebayo!"
"I-I'm strong?" She asked with a voice so full of doubt it made Naruto wonder why would anyone hurt someone as kind as her so much.
"You've been carrying a burden that doesn't belong to you for years now! Of course you're strong, you just have to believe you are…" He took one last slurp of his sixth ramen bowl and stood from the corner, "you know I don't think Neji is a lost cause yet."
"You don't?" It shouldn't be that surprising for her, after watching Naruto for years it was obvious that the boy was full of compassion.
"But there's only one person who can help him." He said in a matter of fact tone.
"Who is that Naruto-kun?"
"It's you Hinata, it's always been you."
Naruto paid for both of their meals and left the stand, allowing Hinata to think about what this all meant. It was funny really, she had always wanted to hear those exact words from him and now she finally got them, even if it wasn't in her desired way.
One thing was clear, Naruto believed she could help Neji so she would at the very least try, they were going to fight in the tournament either way, hopefully she will be able to last long enough against him to make it worth it.
The idea of winning never even crossed her mind, but she would ask her father to train her harder than ever for the rest of the month.
For Neji.
Three days before the Finals.
"Ero-sennin says I'm doing good with the things he's teaching me, he even says he's going to teach me something very special tomorrow." Naruto was retelling his day of training to Kakashi as if he hadn't also been there for the day as they walked to Naruto's apartment. Kakashi was incredibly satisfied with Naruto for his incredible progress in learning his jutsu.
Having him train his affinity for Lightning from the very start clearly had been an excellent choice. He didn't know much about what went over with Jiraiya in his fuinjutsu training, the Naruto clones and him worked separately so they would be able to concentrate away from the more loud nature of the Jutsu Kakashi had been teaching him.
He had made it, after weeks of non-stop effort Naruto had made it and he decided to treat him for a meal in celebration, he only wished Sakura had been able to join them.
The girl of team 7 had made steady progress, she managed to complete the second stage of her nature transformation faster than Kakashi had anticipated and had made good progress in a very short span. Her Doton jutsu had become more powerful and her Taijutsu had greatly improved over his guidance. It came off as a surprise to him that she didn't want to train her Genjutsu but it made sense, she decided to develop more as a heavy-hitter and he wouldn't blame her for choosing to go that way.
Sakura hits hard.
"How is your other training going?" Kakashi asked in a suggestive tone that Naruto understood all too quickly.
"It's going well I guess, I have to rely on a lot of guessing to figure out some stuff y'know? It'd be easier if I had someone to teach me." But there was no one, Naruto was as far as anyone knew the last of the Uzumaki; Kakashi was convinced that there were more, hiding, but they clearly didn't wish to be found and he could respect that.
Nothing guarantees that they would share Naruto's Kekkei Genkai either way.
"It's hard but I know I can make it, I will never giv-"
He stopped mid-sentence and turned his gaze to a direction different from the one they were going in, his stance became different and the look on his face immediately put Kakashi on edge, he was just about to ask him what was wrong when Naruto spoke up.
"S-Someone's dying over there, I think I've felt their chakra before." He said worriedly.
Kakashi put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and told him to lead them there, Naruto released his weights and rushed at speeds far surpassing that of a regular Genin, definitely not enough to outrun Kakashi but still pretty damn fast.
As they both ran and jumped on rooftops Kakashi couldn't help but feel a pinch of sadness wash over him, Naruto knowing what a dying person feels like is still in his mind his greatest failure, he only wished he could've done something back then.
They finally landed on a rooftop and found a bleeding Gekkō Hayate laying there, barely moving anymore.
"It's the proctor!" Yelled Naruto with clear distraught in his voice.
Kakashi dropped next to him and started using Iryo-ninjutsu on him, he still wasn't by any means a medic and all he new about medicine was very rustic still but he trusts he should be able to keep him alive long enough for someone who knows what they're doing to help him.
Sasuke wasn't that lucky.
"It's not safe to move him Naruto, bring a doctor here fast!" Not needing to be told twice Naruto placed both hands on a ram seal and phased from existence, a special Shunshin Sakura had come up with after Kakashi taught her how to create her own, she liked using Genjutsu on it and was very creative.
A few minutes later Naruto re-emerged on the rooftop using his special shunshin, this time being accompanied by the ever reliable Dr. Teruya who was carrying a bag full of supplies.
She instructed Kakashi to keep working on stabilizing him while she started to work on the more serious of his injuries. "The damage is very extensive Kakashi, I'm sure this is the work of Futon Jutsu."
The seasoned Jōnin furrowed his brow in thought as he kept on landing his assistance, wind jutsu isn't common in the Fire country let alone Konoha. It was very possible that Hayate was attacked by a foreign shinobi and it just so happened that Konoha currently had visitors from a village known for their mastery of wind.
"He's stable enough…" Said Dr. Teruya, interrupting Kakashi's thoughts. "Let's take him to the hospital."
Waking up to a white ceiling you don't recognize and a smell of antiseptic all over the place is no one's definition of a good time. It certainly wasn't when your name is Gekkō Hayate and you were sure that you were supposed to be dead. If the other world was all like this Hayate started to think this was just the beginning of an unpleasant eternity.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty."
He recognized the voice but found it incredibly hard to turn his gaze or speak back to it, why was the light in this place so damn bright? "W-Wa…te…r."
He managed to somewhat request that glorious and refreshing liquid through rasps and was awarded with a careful and soft hand pressing a glass of water in his lips as the other one softly caressed his hair. "You scared the shit out of me Hayate."
"I'm sorry." Well he had somehow managed to stay alive long enough for his beautiful girlfriend to save him and bring him to the hospital. Apparently one more thing he owed to Yugao.
"How did you find me?" He asked softly and then went into a fit of coughs, not that it wasn't normal for him to cough all the time. This one was just unbelievably painful.
"I didn't, you got really lucky." She put the glass of water back into the nightstand next to his bed and took a seat behind him. It was then he took his time to analyze the room and realize he couldn't recognize it. Hayate had spent a great deal of his childhood in the hospital and was pretty sure this all white room with no windows and a single door was not what a regular hospital room should look like.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"This is a special room in the hospital reserved for ANBU personnel and high-ranking officials, only a few people know you're here including the Hokage." That made a lot of sense, it was only right that they had some form of extra security measure in the Hospital to keep some information safe.
"I need to talk to Hokage-sama." He requested coldly, making Yugao sigh. She knew something important must've happened if it warranted a murder attempt on him so it didn't come off as a surprise that he would request a meeting as soon as possible.
A small part of her still wished she could hold him a little while longer to convince herself that he really is there.
The devoted ANBU put her mask back on and swiftly left the room only to re-enter it again this time with the Hokage, Kakashi-senpai and… a kid?
"Uhmm Hokage-sama… why is he here?" He asked, his gaze never leaving the figure of the kid standing right behind Kakashi.
"Naruto-kun here was the one who found you on that roof Hayate, he is here because he wished to see if you were doing okay." Hiruzen conveniently left out the part where Naruto refused to go back and stubbornly claimed that he wouldn't leave until he knew what was going on.
It was those moments that reminded Hiruzen of a fiery woman with Uzumaki blood and crimson red hair.
"Oh." He said, realizing he had been saved by a kid he just now recognized as a participant in the chunin exams and one of the most promising in his opinion, he smiled kindly at him and said. "Thanks for saving me Naruto-kun."
"I didn't do much really, Kakashi-nii- err Kakashi-sensei was the one who saved you 'ttebayo." He replied nervously as he waved his hands frantically in front of him, still not used to praise and trying his best to behave like a professional Shinobi.
Hayate chuckled and went into another fit of coughs, after he recovered his gaze met the Hokage's and he shared with him the information that had put him in this state. "Hokage-sama, Suna and Oto have allied themselves to invade Konoha the day of the finals."
The bomb was dropped and everyone in the room had very different expressions in their faces, Naruto started thinking that maybe he shouldn't have insisted of sticking with Hiruzen for this.
Quickly regaining his composure the legendary Hokage took over the room. "This is not to leave this room Naruto, am I clear?" He asked, getting a "Yes Hokage-sama" from the shocked teenager.
"Are you certain of this Hayate-kun?" The Hokage asked as he looked him straight in the eyes.
"Yes, I was on patrol when I stumbled upon a Genin of this village I recognized from the exams talking with one of the Jōnin-senseis from Suna, they were talking about the invasion and some weapon they plan on releasing during the finals." Hayate's comment lit a fuse in Kakashi's head who immediately connected the 'Genin from this village' to the person who had slipped his tongue in front of Naruto.
"It's Gaara…" Naruto commented suddenly, reminding everyone that a Genin was a part of the conversation. "Sensei told me the villages use their Jinchuuriki as weapons."
Hiruzen had been very reluctant to allow his grandson face a Jinchuuriki in the tournament and now knowing it was a part of some sort of scheme he was doubting it even more. "We must deal with this immediately."
"We should let it happen…" Everyone looked at Kakashi like he had grown a second head until he elaborated further in his explanation. "We know what they're planning and should use that knowledge to our favor. If we hint that we know of their plans they might change them and that would put us at a disadvantage."
Kakashi would make a great Hokage and Hiruzen had always been certain of it.
"Tora!" Called Hiruzen and a brown haired ANBU with a lion mask made its way into the room and knelt in front of the Hokage. "I want you to start mobilizing our forces. The day of the finals, ANBU are to infiltrate the civilian population and be ready for evacuation."
"It will be done." He was about to dismiss himself but was stopped by the firm hand of Hiruzen.
"A Jinchuuriki will most likely be let loose on the village during the invasion, I need you to make use of your special talent to deal with it-"
"I can help." Said Naruto all of a sudden earning looks of shock from the people present in the room, well, everyone except Kakashi. "I'm going to face him anyway and I've been training with Ero-senin and Kakashi-sensei to beat him."
"Naruto-kun, I will be the first to admit that your progress in fuinjutsu is incredible but I don't think you will be able to help in this scenario, should he release the power of his beast during your match you won't fight him any further." The Hokage had a caring tone in his voice but Naruto understood it was an order, still, he had more to offer than just some seals.
"This was supposed to be a surprise but…" Naruto clapped both hands together and started concentrating his energy, purple chakra started swirling around him and everyone could feel a change in the room, suddenly, out of Naruto's forearms two beautiful chains of golden chakra emerged and swirl around, one of them taking Hiruzen's Hokage hat from his head and putting it in Naruto's. "I think I should be able to help just fine."
He was working hard not to burst out laughing at the looks of everyone in the room, he especially found Hiruzen's ridiculous face hilarious. He had made it a point of showing off right there and there, he definitely didn't need as much chakra as he used to manifest his chains but it had the desired effect of dropping everyone's jaws on the floor.
"So…" Naruto started shifting his feet as he turned his gaze to the ground which had suddenly become very interesting, it definitely wasn't because of Jiraiya's scrutinizing look. "What's it gonna be, pervert?"
A tick mark appeared in Jiraiya's face and he loudly corrected Naruto in the middle of the clearing. "I'm not a pervert you brat! I'm a super pervert!"
His look then became his normal one and Naruto finally found himself relaxing and waiting for instruction.
"I originally wanted you to learn a Jutsu your father created, similar to Kakashi's in nature but not classified as an assassination jutsu but…" He slumped both of his shoulders and a worried look made its way to his features. "Shit is about to hit the fan so I'm going to teach you something that will be of greater help to you."
"What are you going to teach me, Ero-senin?" The question was accompanied by Naruto jumping around in excitement, it truly was amazing how calm he could be at times and then turn into a little joyful fox.
"Today Naruto…" The self-proclaimed super pervert bit his thumb and smeared its blood in one of his palms, then he went through a quick set of hand seals and finished by putting the bloodied palm on the ground as he called out Kuchiyose no Jutsu!
The cloud of smoke caused by the Jutsu dissipated and it revealed Jiraiya standing on top of a red toad holding a scroll in its tongue. "You're going to learn how to summon toads."
"E-Ero-senin can I really?" He asked as he stuttered in shock and excitement.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Jiraiya boasted in laughter as the toad carrying the scroll returned to its realm leaving him behind with the scroll. "What's the matter brat? Don't tell me you're that easy to impress."
He was of course aware that it was not so easy, but Naruto hadn't really been impressed by him so far so this was gold for him. Reigning in on his laughter he let the scroll unfold in front of Naruto and explained to him how to sign the contract that would allow him to become a summoner.
Naruto didn't think about it twice and hurriedly bit his thumb and used the blood to write his name right next to a name he was oh so familiar with.
Namikaze Minato.
"You've seen the hand-seals already, all you have to do is use some blood in the palm of your dominant hand and put it in the ground after you're done with the sequence." Jiraiya walked a little farther from him to give him enough space and added. "This is a very chakra extensive technique, Naruto, if you use too little you won't be able to do much."
He went about trying to summon a toad and just as Jiraiya predicted, Naruto only summoned a toad-pole which he found incredibly amusing as he observed from the sides. A technique like this is not something you would normally teach Genin, especially not when it implies summoning creatures as big as battle toads but Jiraiya knew Naruto had more than enough chakra for it.
Even by Uzumaki standards Naruto has an incredible amount of chakra greater by far than any Jōnin in the village, including Kakashi. Not him of course, but you don't reach the level a Sannin has for nothing, still Naruto had about half the amount of chakra he does and that's very impressive.
"You need to use more chakra, Naruto, I know you have the control for it." He didn't blame him for using the amount he did as it was necessary to regulate how much chakra one uses for their techniques but, the Kuchiyose no Jutsu is a completely different story.
Having decided it was all or nothing Naruto stopped to gather his energy and let it out in a single use, purple chakra started swirling around him and he went through the set of hand-seals one more time.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu!
A massive cloud of smoke filled the clearing and when it dissipated it revealed Naruto standing on top of a gigantic red toad with a pipe in its mouth wearing a dark blue Haori.
"Why have you summoned me here Jiraiya? You know I hate it when you summon me for nothing!" The toad had a powerful and deep voice that was capable of filling the whole clearing which only seemed to excite Naruto even more.
"Oi! I was the one who- I was the-"
Exhaustion suddenly took over him and he couldn't finish his sentence as he collapsed and fell from the head of the toad. He lost consciousness in mid air and didn't get to see the look of surprise in the toad's face as it saw him fall. Luckily, Jiraiya had been all too ready for such an event and jumped in just in time to catch Naruto and land safely with him in his arms right in front of the summon.
"What do you think of our new summoner Bunta?" He asked teasingly, knowing very well that the incredible Gamabunta, boss of the toad summons, had a soft spot for Minato back in the day.
He would obviously recognize Naruto.
"To think he would be able to summon me of all people at such a young age, Minato would be proud of his brat." His comment made Jiraiya chuckle warmly as he looked at Naruto's sleeping form with something akin to longing in his face.
"I'm sorry he summoned you without a real reason Bunta, I clearly underestimated how much chakra he used; he isn't quite ready for a boss summon just yet, I just hope he'll be able to summon Ken safely." His worried tone wasn't lost on Gamabunta who could clearly see something was troubling Jiraiya.
"Why would he need to summon someone as big as Gamaken?" Even in his powerful voice one could hear he was weary of the answer.
Jiraiya hardened his gaze and looked at the giant toad "I will probably give you a lot of work soon Bunta."
Apparently that was enough for him as he nodded his understanding and released himself to go back to his realm. Jiraiya started walking back to the village with an unconscious Naruto in his arms and couldn't help but think.
'I just hope you're ready, Naruto.'
AN: Another chapter that is way longer than I expected, it really wasn't on purpose, it just happened.
I don't know if you guys remember I stated Naruto's chakra is purple at the beginning of this story, it hadn't been worth mentioning again up until this point of the story. Also, in case anyone's wondering, Naruto with his headband on his forehead looks like he does in his version of Jiraiya's first book.
The adult Naruto we never got, sad stuff.
That's it for this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it, do leave me a comment, follow and favorite if you want, it really means a lot.
Be safe!
Glossary:
Kuchiyose no Jutsu
Summoning Jutsu
Oiroke no Jutsu
Sexy Jutsu