Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

First of all, I wish to spend some words here and comment about the recent twist in the manga. For those who don't want to read it, just go straight to the chapter. Well, Tobi's identity is Obito (congratulations for those who guessed it right, by the way). Now, though, we learned that he was in direct contact with Uchiha Madara and another one named Uchiha Gaeshi. Seriously, though, there are a bunch of inconsistencies. For instance, Madara only appeared because Kabuto revived the guy. His body was in his possession the entire time, perhaps even Orochimaru had it before. So, exactly, how is it that Obito met Madara? The answer perhaps relies on the consequences of Madara and Hashirama's battle. Did he really win against Madara? The story seems to go all the way back to the rivalry between the Rikudou Sennin's sons, which leads to believe that Sasuke may show up any time now and interfere in Madara's battle.

Speaking of Sasuke, he left with Orochimaru to search for someone who knows what he's looking for; another Uchiha perhaps. It could be Madara, Obito or Gaeshi. Last but not least, I wonder sometimes about Itachi, even the man is long gone by now. Did he know that the one he perceived as Madara was in fact Obito impersonating the Uchiha clan's founder? Also, who was it that helped him kill the entire Uchiha Clan? Madara or Obito? So many inconsistencies that my head is hurting now.

Let's stick to fan fiction for now.

Last chapter, in Cursed Eyes, I came up with a different type of writing, using a great number of flashbacks to pinpoint the most important parts of the invasion. This way, I was able to focus on the consequences as well, saving one entire chapter worth of content (not to mention the time people would wait for the second chapter!). After Naruto was promoted to chunnin, he requested access to the Uchiha Clan's secret jutsu library to increase his fire manipulation training as well as use higher level fire techniques. After copying the entire content, he met Jiraiya at the gates to find Tsunade and bring her back to the village to become the Godaime Hokage.

Chapter 14 – Road Trip

Beta: Kyuubi123

No sooner had the trip started, then Naruto understood the difference that training under one of the Sannin was compared to the others before him.

After each ten miles covered in the trip, Jiraiya would stop Naruto and they would spar and since Naruto had the sharingan, Jiraiya wasn't holding back his strength any, at least as far as Naruto was concerned. He just didn't know the full extent of a sannin's power to really know if the man is going all out. Naruto's eyes managed to follow the sannin's movements, however by the time his body began to respond, the sannin was already in front of him, delivering one nasty strike after the other. At first, Naruto was nothing more than a punching bag to the sannin, but eventually the boy managed to at least evade the strikes. To him, it was considered frustrating, but to the sannin, it was no doubt impressive.

Even if the credit was due to the sharingan, Jiraiya was impressed with how quick the boy moved. By his estimates, Naruto could keep up with most high level chunnin and even low level jounin easily. He doubted that the brat could keep up with an elite jounin now, but the boy was young and would match Kakashi's speed in two years or maybe less than that, if he practiced constantly. Naruto even got to show his kenjutsu skills to the sannin, who despite not favoring the use of the weapon much, had extensive knowledge in fighting against experienced sword users in the past. He knew from Kakashi that Naruto was being tutored by an Anbu swordsman every day and it really showed. The kid's form was flawless as far as he could tell. Jiraiya was able to spot a few openings here and there because of his experience, but he had to work a bit.

It all changed for the better once the young chunnin grabbed the smaller sword and used it together with the other.

Jiraiya had yet to focus on other materials aside from close range fighting, but he immediately approved the kid's ability in the field. So far, Jiraiya kept the ninjutsu training for himself as Naruto had his work cut out for him about the element of fire. Uchiha Madara was considered the strongest fire user of all time, so it's understandable that the material that he collected over the years was staggering. The man's control over fire was incontestable and to make matters worse, he even carried a battle fan that when used, added gusts of wind to his already dangerous fire techniques. The only man who was a match for Madara was the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Often times, the pervert sannin wondered if perhaps his sensei or even his student would be able to beat the guy. Right now, as they walked, Naruto was busy reading the scroll on advanced fire manipulation.

His attention was solely focused on the scroll much to the sannin's ire. It'd been two days already since they'd left and the only thing they managed to cover or at least talk about was training. Even if improving his skills was important, Jiraiya was hoping to bestow upon Naruto the importance of relaxing once in a while. Otherwise, Naruto's mind wouldn't take the strain of the usual shinobi life. Jiraiya's attention was turned to the heavy smoke that suddenly surrounded the boy, before the usual number of bunshin appeared. It was the same yesterday. Naruto would study the material and then summon a group of bunshin to put the theory into practice.

"What are they going to do now, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked as they saw the clones going somewhere.

"Same as yesterday, though this time a bit different. Yesterday, they all trained in fire manipulation separately. Now, they will be forming pairs. One will create any fire technique and the other will use fire manipulation to increase the flame. According to the material, Madara used to do this with a fireplace. He would manipulate the fire and increase its power, making small fire pillars. He would then exhaust his entire chakra supply by keeping it powered up. Eventually, my control over fire will increase and then I'll be able to move on to Madara's techniques." Jiraiya nodded with a smile on his face. The kid at least demonstrated enthusiasm when he trained, so it wasn't all that bad, considering. He was afraid that Naruto was putting too much pressure on himself, but it appeared that the kid was enjoying.

"Okay and what will the original be doing while the clones train?"

"I was wondering if we could begin to cover earth chakra manipulation training in the mean time." The sannin cackled a bit. Any jounin, scratch that, any kage level ninja would be on the ground now trying to save some chakra after the amount of shadow clones. Naruto had enough to even get some chakra training on his own. He did promise to improve the kid's earth techniques, though a part of him wondered why the need to train both affinities equally. As far as he knew, Naruto's main affinity was fire and earth was merely secondary. He shrugged, though. One must always seek to improve, no matter the circumstances.

"Okay kid, I'll teach you a nice technique that you can use and it's great for training in earth manipulation. It's called Doton Yomi Numa (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Technique). It is considered close range, but it can be used to trap an opponent. With it, I can summon a vast pool of mud. If used correctly, the chances of escape are almost impossible. It's good for training, because you must turn the earth into mud instantly or else you can't trap your enemy inside. Aside from that, you must cover a considerable area, watch me." Jiraiya urged Naruto to stand behind him while he went through the hands seals. He saw that Naruto's sharingan was activated, so the kid would learn the technique much quicker.

As soon as he finished the technique, Naruto was surprised to see a considerable swamp form in less than a second.

"Once you perform the technique, you must undo it as well, but this time you manipulate your chakra to harden the mud until it becomes land once more." Naruto nodded as he started looking at the swamp in front of him with analytical eyes and complete focus. Jiraiya heard from Kakashi that the kid used to behave like this when he wanted to learn a new technique. It was interesting to see a kid focused on the job like Naruto was now. Aside from the sharingan eye, Jiraiya couldn't help but picture his old student with the same level of focus. As he saw Naruto practicing both in turning the soil into mud and then backwards, Jiraiya smiled at the memory of his student.

Perhaps I could give him your technique as well, Minato. I know you would have wanted that.

While looking at his next student, Jiraiya was ragging his brains on what to teach the kid besides the earth technique and the rasengan. Fuuinjutsu was a possibility, but it would take too long for the brat to learn the theory behind the art of seals. Genjutsu was out of the question. First of all, Jiraiya's skills in the art of illusions are limited to breaking them. He relied on the toads for the casting part. Besides, with the sharingan, the kid was well served. A sudden feeling of earth trembling made both Jiraiya and the original Naruto turn to the direction where the clones were practicing. Jiraiya turned to the original one asking if something happened, only for Naruto to face palm.

"One of the clones thought it was a great idea to compete over whose fireball was stronger. That one dispelled at least five clones with this little stunt."

The pervert smiled and turned to the original one as he kept practicing the earth technique with vigor. It was amazing how fast the kid was able to at least perform the technique. Right now, it wasn't deep enough or wide enough for that matter. However, the earth was immediately transformed into mud and when Naruto moved to harden the mud; it was done without much trouble. Even if the kid had the sharingan, he wouldn't be able to use the technique like an earth user. Jiraiya wasn't privy to the full extent of Naruto's training, just knowing it from Asuma and Kakashi when they tutored the boy. However, both of the elite jounin knew that Naruto trained on his own more than the amount he trained under their guidance.

"Okay Naruto, that's enough for now. We'll train more when we stop the next time or else we won't get to find my teammate." The chunnin looked like he wanted to protest, but accepted.

"Right…"

He dismissed the clones that were training his fire chakra manipulation one by one with his eyes closed as he adjusted the amount of experience gathered by the clones. The procedure took two minutes. When he opened his eyes once more, Naruto turned to the opposite side and started a series of hand seals, molding half the amount of chakra needed for this specific technique. The scroll said that when you reached ninjutsu expertise, you don't need to use a great load of chakra to use a technique. Gathering an incredible amount of air inside his lungs, Naruto placed his right hand in front of his mouth in order to better direct the flames.

Katon Kaen no Arashi (Fire Release: Fire Storm Technique)

Constantly releasing a thin layer of fire, Naruto manipulated the stream until it took the shape of a spiral going up. After forming the twister shape, Naruto began to play with it as long as he had air inside his lungs to convert into fire chakra. He extended the reach a bit; circled around a specific location, possibly using it to trap someone. When his lungs started to hurt because of the lack of oxygen, he released the technique with a proud smile on his face. With the clone training, he managed to reduce the amount of chakra wasted for a high level technique. He then walked close to Jiraiya as they slowly reached a town called Crater City where Jiraiya was informed that Tsunade might be now.

===In Crater City===

Once they passed the city gates, Naruto was visibly surprised how crowded the city actually was.

As he walked, though, he felt something strange compared to Konoha. He wasn't used to being ignored like this, after all, which was expected when no one knew who you are. The difference was that while here he was nothing but a stranger, in Konoha he was perhaps more famous than the Hokage himself. It was a welcomed feeling, Naruto mused as he followed Jiraiya around the place. After fifteen minutes doing nothing but walking, Jiraiya stopped and looked at the kid chunnin behind him. He needed to talk to his contact and fetch some new material for something special he was about to train the kid in.

"You can go and do some sightseeing gaki, I have to go meet my contact here. Why don't you choose a hotel for the night?"

Jiraiya didn't even wait for a response as he left their location with a giddy expression on his face. Naruto had enough knowledge on the guy to know where he was heading right now. He sighed in dismay at his teacher for the time being while looking around. Aside from finding a place for lunch, Naruto admitted not wanting to look around much. He chose a simple ramen venue that was close to him and then began to search town for a hotel. A part of him wondered how the perverted sannin would know which hotel he had chosen, but another part of him, the most dominant one, shrugged that thought aside. It wasn't his problem, but Jiraiya's. After leaving two hotels, Naruto found one that actually offered something more than merely a room for him to stay. Once inside his room and after placing his swords on top of the bed, Naruto figured it was time he tried reaching the fox inside his stomach. It was the first time he actually went through with it, so Naruto was feeling at little nervous about meeting the beast.

Closing his eyes, the blond kneeled on the ground and started to remember what people said to him about meditation.

It actually took him a while, but eventually Naruto opened his eyes only to see he wasn't inside the hotel room anymore, but some different place entirely. It looked like a maze of some kind with red and blue pipes covering the walls. His feet were wet and he could feel the cold temperature as if it was real. Aside from everything, Naruto could hear a strange and yet unsettling whisper caused by a gentle wind breeze. The noise was constant but Naruto could sometimes hear different sounds as if the wind itself decided to whisper words into his ear. It was quite unnerving indeed as he felt that someone was right behind him yet he was alone. Eventually, his legs started to move almost as if someone was controlling his movements. His mind didn't have a certain destination to go nor was very keen on searching for the right way. Naruto knew he was moving, yet he found that he couldn't stop his legs from moving even if he didn't want to.

Five minutes later, Naruto took a right turn and saw a bright white light at the end of the corridor. Like before, his legs carried him towards the light.

As soon as he entered the place, Naruto's eyes were suddenly widened as it registered the change of scenery. The room was wide, wider than the thin corridors he has walked in so far. The walls were covered with seals, but what surprised the blond more was the metal bars in front of him. It reached all the way to the top and easily reached fifty meters high. Unconsciously, the boy shivered in fear as something in the back of his mind knew just who was behind the bars. To make matters worse all Naruto could see behind bars was darkness. He stopped in the middle of the room, bravely looking towards the shadow behind the metal bars, waiting for something to come out of it. Naruto immediately stopped his breathing as he heard a deep voice reach his ears.

"So my container decided to pay me a visit; how interesting." As if on cue, giant red eyes appeared at the top of the room looking at the kid in the middle of the room as if Naruto was nothing more than an ant.

Kyuubi even smiled at Naruto showing every detail behind his threatening set of sharp teeth. The creature doubted that he needed to show his entire image to scare the kid. Even if it was successful as he could sense Naruto's fear, the demon found it interesting that his container was staring at the fox eye to eye. That alone spoke a lot about Naruto's guts. However, Kyuubi wasn't even considering the possibility of thinking about complementing the kid for his bravery. It had its pride after all. Naruto, for his part, found that his voice was leaving him for a moment. His breathing was hard and his body couldn't stop trembling. In all fairness, he was behaving just like everyone who met the strongest tailed beast demon who managed to destroy half of Konoha with only one swing of its tails. He remembered what he wished to do by coming here and that gave him strength to utter a couple of words to the demon.

"I….I wanted to come here and ask for your help when necessary."

"My help, you say? Interesting, here I thought you'd come here and demand it of me. Please enlighten me as to why I should aid you in your endeavor?" Naruto wasn't expecting to come here and get it right away.

"Ever since I received Uchiha Sasuke's eyes, my life has taken a tremendous shift. I train every chance I got to become strong and protect those I care for. However, no matter how much training, I'm still too far from ever matching him." Before Naruto could speak further, he heard the beast speak.

"When you say him, you mean Uchiha Itachi?"the fox let out an amused laughter at Naruto's now perplexed expression. "What? Surprised are you? In here, I can hear your thoughts as if you were talking directly to me. As such, there isn't a secret you wish to keep that won't inevitably come to my ears. Your nightmares that happen in correlation to Uchiha Sasuke's memories; the ill-treatment given to you by the very same people you've sworn to protect. I have to admit, though, your goals are quite intriguing. To believe that someone can be so bold as to simply incorporate an elemental bloodline by training both elements together while hoping that one day some miracle happens that allow you to use yoton (lava release) ninjutsu."

Naruto was listening to every word and couldn't help but feel that he was being humiliated by each spoken word. It was just hard to imagine the creature being so talkative. However…

"You're changing the subject…" the Fox could only smile at the comment.

"Quite right. Once more, you amuse me, my container. It has been quite a while since I last shared a conversation with someone. You request for my help when in peril, then. I shall accept your request, with one condition." Naruto's silence urged the beast to continue. "This conversation is most entertaining and I wish to have it more often. All I do ask of you is to come and visit me once in a while. It gets really bored just seating here." Naruto doubted that it would be that simple, but nodded.

"I appreciate it. Now, you were saying about my futile attempts of using elemental bloodline. There are files in Konoha of key shinobi in all the elemental nations that are able of utilizing lava release; the Yonbi Jinchuuriki being one of them. I know that those that have elemental bloodlines happen to possess full mastery over the natural elements that create the elemental bloodline. Even if it's impossible, I'll keep trying." Naruto's gaze was more firm now and the fox took his time in analyzing the kid before him.

"While I'll admit that your theory is acceptable and the fact that chakra usage is constantly evolved, the odds of you managing lava release is almost zero. Even if you manage to unite the elements using two consecutive attacks, like your Sandaime Hokage, is only a frail comparison to the skill displayed by the Yonbi. For now, I'd recommend you to keep up with your training as both fire and earth are powerful elements on their own, one being mostly offensive and the other granting you more diverse ninjutsu use while in the battlefield. Also, your eyes are also something you should focus your training as the sharingan is another tool at your disposal." Kyuubi didn't bother mentioning Madara's name at least not for now. "The three tome sharingan is not the last phase, but merely the third. Your enemy Uchiha Itachi, I believe his name was, has the fourth evolution called Mangenkyou Sharingan. There are two ways of reaching this level and I dare assume that he took the fastest and easiest one of all."

Naruto found himself even more surprised to hear advice from the fox about his eyes.

"How do you know so much about the sharingan?"

"I have simply lost count on the hundreds of years since my birth. There isn't much out there that I do not know about. My knowledge was bestowed upon me by my creator and since then, I have been among you humans learning and acquiring precious knowledge. As such, I came to know that the list of dojutsu is limited to approximately four. Two of them you already know being the Hyuuga Clan's Byakugan and your sharingan. Now, as I was saying…in order for an Uchiha to reach the Mangenkyou Sharingan, he or she must go through two different paths. One of them, which I believe Uchiha Itachi has taken, is to murder your most precious person." Naruto immediately paled at that information. It wasn't clear yet if the man acquired the Mangenkyou before or after killing his family.

"You mentioned this method as the easiest one; I can't imagine what the other method is."

"The second method to acquire the Mangenkyou was only possible for two men in history, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna. They acquired it through unbelievable training regimens and being constantly placed in life or death situations. This for sure is harder than the first method, since it's not one hundred percent effective. In all honesty, neither Madara nor his brother Izuna knew about this before their eyes evolved. The second method is thus the hardest one, but from the look in your eyes, you'd prefer the second one, I assume."

Naruto dared snort at the beast's comment. If Kyuubi could read his mind, then it would know that killing one's most precious person for power is inhumane.

"Of course, I prefer the second one. How can one simply kill his most precious person just for power? I'll get strong by myself and I'll train until I drop unconscious." Kyuubi nodded at the kid. He had a fierce spirit that's for sure.

"Then I believe you're wasting precious time talking to me. You've managed to satisfy my condition for the time being". Naruto nodded and closed his eyes before opening them, noticing that he was back inside his hotel room. His conversation with the fox was surprisingly positive. Never in a million years would he believe the fox to simply wish to share a conversation with him. Naruto had a half a mind to go back and ask the reason behind the fox attacking the village, but thought against it. It would be like wishing that he wasn't near the Uchiha compound when Itachi killed his family. That was the past and now was the present and future. Naruto knew that he counted on the fox to help him improve.

Naruto was alerted by the sound of someone knocking on the door and got up, thinking it was his sensei searching for him.

As soon as he opened the door, though, Naruto was surprised as hell when he was face to face with the only man he knew that had the sharingan. Naruto even activated his eyes as he stepped outside his room. Once outside, the chunnin tried without success not to be surprised by a second person wearing the same outfit as Itachi's. The boy immediately noticed the spike in the man's chakra supply, perhaps even surpassing his own in size. If there was one time Naruto cursed his perverted sannin was now as he was alone against possibly two S-ranked criminals. Despite it all, he stood his ground managing to create a suitable distance from his enemies, while at the same time wondering why they even allowed him free movement.

"Fighting is futile Naruto-kun, you are going to come with us now." Naruto heard Itachi's partner that looked like a shark snort with a smirk on his face.

"Ne Itachi, how is it that this brat has the same eyes as yours? I didn't know he was your relative."

Both sharingan users stayed silent at the question. Naruto for his turn considered his options and realized with complete certainty that he was helpeless. His chance was for Jiraiya to appear and even the odds a bit, but he wasn't that lucky. Taking a moment to study Itachi's partner, the Konoha chunnin now understood just what Itachi was telling him about when he appeared in Konoha. The danger only intensified seeing as Naruto knew very little about this foe or what he could do. The blond was running out of options when an idea suddenly clicked. It would be the first time he ever used it, but he knew of some allies that he could call to help him and this precise technique happens to demand a vast quantity of chakra, which means that Jiraiya would sense it. Quickly sacrificing some blood, Naruto passed it on the summon's mark on his arm, before going through the hand signs. He managed to smash both hands on the ground, before the hallway erupted in heavy smoke.

Once the smoke settled down, in front of Naruto appeared two fierce looking tigers, one being the same that Naruto met with at Snow Country. The other one was yellow with white stripes; its choice of clothes defining his choice of fighting style. This one wore a black helmet on its head followed by a body armor of same color, leaving only its nails unprotected. Both were growling at the Akatsuki shinobi as if they knew who or what the threat was without their summoner's command. Itachi's partner Kisame snorted at the appearance.

"Huh, summoning these kitties won't help you brat. I believe it's time for me to take off your limbs. This way, you won't…." Itachi immediately noticed that something was wrong with Kisame. His body was trembling.

Looking at the other one, he was mesmerized by the yellow one's speed and agility. He was aiming for Kisame, but Itachi released a couple of kunai, stopping the projectile. The Uchiha suddenly felt his own chakra network being invaded by a powerful genjutsu the likes of which could actually compare to his own. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for Itachi to break off the illusion and protect his partner. Naruto took the opportunity and began two separate techniques, hoping to stall long enough.

Doton Doryuu Taiga (Earth Release: Mud River Technique)

Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

The river of mud that passed under them made them loose their foot and since Itachi was busy dispelling the genjutsu, he had to move quickly to save his partner. Kisame's only weakness was genjutsu because of his vast chakra reserves. The tigers had already backed off for the time being as they saw the jutsus taking place. Naruto's fire jutsu was avoided by Itachi who took advantage of the mud beneath their feet and used an earth technique that he copied once. The earth barrier allowed him time to snap Kisame out of the genjutsu. The earth barrier was then smashed to pieces by Kisame's sword and by the look on the man's face, he was beyond pissed. He charged straight for Naruto, while dodging both of Naruto's summons. As soon as he was within striking distance, however, his sword was suddenly blocked by a red toad, surprising Itachi as Jiraiya of the Sannin have appeared with the woman they used as decoy to lure him away.

"Oh it seems I arrived in the nick of time, huh. You two thought you could trick the gallant Jiraiya!" Naruto looked up from his position and breathed in relief.

Itachi's expression betrayed nothing as he merely stared at the sannin.

"Kisame, we're leaving…" Kisame made a face at his partner but he knew not to mess with the elder Uchiha. They turned and started to run.

"Oh none of you are going anywhere." Jiraiya smirked as he went through hand signals, before slamming both hands on the ground. Everyone in the hallway tensed as the walls and floor were transformed into a soft malleable organ. Not wasting time, Jiraiya manipulated what appeared to be tentacles coming out of the floor towards the enemies, but Kisame's sword managed to block them. Jiraiya warned Naruto not to move an inch while the technique was active, to which both he and his tigers nodded, all of them equally impressed on how easily Jiraiya handled them. "There is no way out of this place, they can't get away." Jiraiya's smirk soon vanished as he saw Itachi making a turn and summoning some strange black flames, before making a hole outside and escape.

Apparently, they could get away.

The perverted sannin ended the summoning technique and walked towards the place where the black flames were. Frowning, Jiraiya kneeled on the ground and opened an empty scroll before drawing strange symbols. Naruto appeared close to the man, having already dismissed his summons for the time being. He had to promise them some meat next time, though. After Jiraiya finished drawing the symbols on the scroll, Naruto watched with mild interest while the pervert went through hand seals.

Fuuka Houin (Fire Sealing Technique)

Suddenly the black fire was sucked inside the scroll before a more pronounced kanji appeared inside the only free space on the scroll.

The pervert was up soon afterward and looked at his student with a small frown. Imagine his surprise when he saw two tigers protecting Naruto against Itachi and Kisame. He wondered why Asuma forgot to mention that Naruto already had a summoning contract. Now, the idea of passing on the toad contract to Naruto was out of the question, unfortunately. The two, teacher and student, decided to leave town first thing tomorrow morning and went back to the room inside. Once inside, the pervert decided it was best to tell Naruto about an organization named Akatsuki that was after the bijuu. Naruto listened quietly as he cross checked Jiraiya's information with what Itachi had told him on that day.

"You'll have to get strong kid and real fast. No sweat though. Tomorrow, since you already know the earth technique I showed you, I'll be teaching you a new technique, one that only a select few in the world can manage."

Naruto didn't show any fear at the threat against his life. He knew he needed all the strength he could get and starting tomorrow, he would increase his work load.

He wasn't kidding when he said to the Kyuubi that he would train until exhaustion came. He couldn't afford to do less than that. His life depended on it, after all.

===With Itachi===

Once they left Crater City, Itachi and Kisame were busy seating inside a small cave. Since Kisame wanted to get some sleep and dream about making the Kyuubi brat scream in pain, Itachi was on first watch.

Looking at his partner's sleeping form, the Uchiha could have easily killed the man without anyone witnessing. However, in doing so, he would risk his mission to stop Akatsuki from ever capturing the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. He took into account his knowledge of Konoha's defenses and volunteered to be the one who captured Naruto. This way, he didn't risk any of the others going after him. Even so, there will be times where Jiraiya won't come to rescue him and thus Itachi won't be able to use it as an excuse not to capture the blond chunnin. Naruto needed to be strong, stronger than he was now for sure. A smile threatened to appear, but none came. His stoic façade remained for too long for his face muscles to show even the slightest shift.

When Itachi first met Naruto, he wasn't that impressed with his development. This time, though, he definitely saw improvement.

His ninjutsu techniques were more precise and his sharingan wasn't able to detect any waste of chakra. Itachi now supposed that in little more than two years at this rate, Naruto would be on par with Kakashi's level perhaps even more if he increases the pace. Even without reaching the Mangenkyou version, an Uchiha's potential was limitless. Itachi, himself, was an Anbu Captain at the age of thirteen. Naruto was not only training under jounin Kakashi and Asuma but under Jiraiya of the Sannin as well. The boy was certainly on the way to become a fierce opponent and the new summons only improved Itachi's estimate on what type of monster Naruto will become in two years. Quickly summoning a crow, Itachi watched as the bird flew away, in order to follow Naruto's every move. This way, Itachi would be able to keep tabs on his skills' development.

===With Naruto===

As soon as the sun came up, Naruto and Jiraiya were saying goodbye to Crater City, heading to the next town where Jiraiya's contact said that Tsunade was located right now.

Tanzaku Gai was considered a tourist town filled with nothing but brothels, casinos and bars. It made perfect sense to Jiraiya that Tsunade would choose to go there, considering that aside from the brothels, Tanzaku Gai was a paradise for someone whose only hobby these days was heavy drinking and heavy gambling. As usual, Naruto had created his fair share of clones to go train in ninjutsu and even ocular genjutsu, which surprised the sannin. The real one, though, was saving his time for the technique that Jiraiya told him about yesterday. Naruto admitted being excited at the prospect of learning a ninjutsu that only a handful was able to do. The fact that Jiraiya believed him capable surely raised his self esteem.

When they passed by a rather large tree, Jiraiya stopped and turned to his student. It was time after all.

"Okay Naruto, as I promised, I'll be teaching you a technique that only a select few ever managed. It's called the Rasengan." Jiraiya said, before he extended his hand and focused chakra before the swirl of chakra started forming on the palm of his hand. The blond was transfixed by the swirling energy before widening his eyes at the results. He wasn't aware of the possibility of compressing such a large amount of chakra in such a tiny ball of energy. Jiraiya smirked at the undivided attention and knew that the next bit of information would shock the kid even more. "This technique was one of the Yondaime Hokage's creations and is to this day greatly feared by those who not only got to witness but also survived." Naruto stopped breathing and even gagged a few times.

"The Yonda...the Yondaime created this. I'll be learning one of the Yondaime Hokage's techniques." Naruto didn't even care that he sounded way too eager now.

A chance like this comes once in a lifetime.

"I knew you'd be excited. Now, the method to learn the Rasengan is quite complex and it consists of three phases. I'll be teaching you the first one. When you finish it, I'll teach you the other two." Naruto nodded as Jiraiya had taken a small scroll, before releasing its content. When the smoke settled down, Naruto was at a loss as to why there was a box filled with water balloons in front of them. Jiraiya, however, beat his question and grabbed one of the balloons. "The first step, grasshopper, is to make the balloon explode using nothing but chakra manipulation, watch." Naruto's eyes were entirely focused on the balloon as Jiraiya began to manipulate the water inside with his chakra. In seconds, the balloon began to expand uncontrollably and explode right at his face, making him all wet, much to the pervert's laughter."

The look on Naruto's face was priceless and the sensei almost held his stomach while laughing uncontrollably.

"It wasn't funny damn it." Jiraiya was still laughing, though.

"Okay, get to work gaki. I shall give you a hint. You need to rotate the water inside the balloon using only chakra." Naruto nodded and grabbed the first balloon while Jiraiya moved towards the tree and took a seat. If he was right, the kid would take a long time just to master the first step, so it didn't hurt to take some rest. Neither of them noticed a black crow landing on top of the tree Jiraiya was using to rest which was watching Naruto's training. Seeing the chunnin's first attempts, Jiraiya considered it safe to close his eyes for a bit and rest. If his calculations were correct, he would wake up three hours later and Naruto wouldn't take the training any longer. The pervert thus dozed off for a while.

When he opened his eyes, he smiled upon seeing Naruto simply seating by his side.

"Are you giving up already gaki? It isn't like you." The chunnin smirked and showed the results of his efforts by taking one of the water balloons and mimicking Jiraiya's performance.

The pervert believed he was dreaming when he saw it.

"These eyes are quite something, plus I have trained in chakra control since I received them. I didn't manage it at first, though. So, what's the second stage?" Jiraiya scratched his head for a while, wondering how the hell this kid had managed to learn the first phase in only three hours. He guessed that the sharingan aided the kid a lot, but even so it should have taken the kid days. Taking out another scroll, this time a box of rubber balls appeared before Jiraiya took one and did the same thing, exploding the ball.

"The second phase is focused on strength, instead of rotation. There is no water inside, just rubber and compressed air. You must release in one go or else it will not burst, get to it I guess while we walk." Jiraiya was carrying the box while tossing one by one for Naruto to explode. This time, though, he could tell that the kid was having trouble as it was expected really. The Yondaime took three years to create it and he took a considerable time learning as well. Jiraiya's pride had just suffered a great blow. It was four hours later, when the sight of Tanzaku Town came into view. By that time, the rubber balls were almost gone and still Naruto couldn't explode them like Jiraiya did. He came close once before his tenketsu started to burn and he had to release it before time. Jiraiya was about to toss the last ball for Naruto to practice when they reached what appeared to be a destroyed building. Naruto had his sharingan active.

"I can see a lot of chakra residue in this place, sensei." Jiraiya nodded as he imagined the only person who could do this with only one punch.

"It seems she's indeed here. Let's search around town for a while. Here is the last ball." Naruto nodded and looked at the object of hell for a while. Jiraiya was busy studying the debris to speculate what happened. The chunnin's chakra was almost gone as he used it all attempting the first and second stage of the rasengan, not to mention the number of clones that were busy doing elemental manipulation. He closed his eyes for a second, while focusing on the remaining chakra he had at his disposal. He took a couple of breaths as this was his last attempt before Jiraiya had to buy more. He needed to do this to learn the third phase and master this offensive technique. Naruto imagined the repercussions of being able to use it in conjunction with the sharingan. Jiraiya explained that the attack consisted of charging at the enemy in a straight line. Thus, it gives the enemy ample time to dodge or even attack from the side, rendering the technique useless.

The tunnel vision could be dealt with anticipating the opponent's moves with his eyes.

He needed to master this as soon as possible. His tenketsu would burn like hell, but he went through his plan anyway. As soon as he opened his eyes, Naruto focused all his remaining chakra in one single burst. His arms started to tremble as his chakra pathways were being strained. The rubber ball began to span uncontrollably, before exploding. Naruto was sent on the ground because of the explosion. He was out of breath when Jiraiya appeared next to him again with the same shocked expression. Naruto's body was still trembling from lack of chakra, but he had a satisfied smile on his face, having mastered the second step in only a day. His lack of chakra wouldn't remain for long as he could feel the pool being replenished. The fox began its work by easing the pain on Naruto's chakra coils. Jiraiya looked at the kid while Naruto slowly got up. Naruto was still trying very desperately to breathe normally and his body was sweating and hurting all over the place. However, none of these mattered to him as he turned to the pervert.

"So what's the third step?"

Jiraiya couldn't help but notice the satisfied smirk Naruto had on his face as if he was doing a hobby.

"For your sake, I'll teach you tomorrow. You look like shit, gaki." Instead of searching for Tsunade right now, Jiraiya first went to leave Naruto inside the hotel room, this time leaving a toad with the kid just in case. Naruto was snoring no less than a minute after he was put into bed. Once that was out of the way, Jiraiya began to wander around town a bit to search for his teammate. His search ended in failure, however, as the woman was nowhere to be seen. He got inside a restaurant for some sake when his eyes spotted the woman a few tables to the west of the entrance. The woman in question also saw him, though and already cursed her bad luck while the pervert took a seat next to a short black haired woman wearing a purple kimono named Shizune.

"It's been a while, Tsunade-hime, it's good to see you."

By the look on her face, though, the feeling wasn't mutual.

Author Note

Ok that's enough for now.

Anyone thought this Kyuubi was quite the philosopher? I got the idea from watching Matrix Reloaded, when Keanu Reeves's character Neo talks to an old man called the Architect. Also, I have decided to give Naruto the Mangenkyo Sharingan, but he won't acquire it like Sasuke or Itachi did. He'll acquire it like Madara and his brother did through heavy training. He is already quite the maniac in the training department. For him, training is constant in his life. Next chapter will be the interaction with Tsunade and the following fight with Orochimaru. I chose for Jiraiya to meet Tsuande without Naruto. Personally, it would be way too repetitive. So, I figured it was good to see how Jiraiya alone would manage to convince the big breasted sannin.

See ya.