Author Note

Hi there and welcome to another chapter (it's the same one, but now beta revised).

This is the first chapter I've written after my decision to keep on writing, despite telling everyone that I would stop. I have already explained my reasons in my profile, so I won't bother doing it here, go check it out if you want. Well, as for the story, last time, Naruto received Itachi's eyes and now possesses the Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan as well as Itachi's techniques. Also, Jiraiya managed to find clues leading to the Akatsuki's leader and it on his way to investigate it further. Of course, we all know how it turned up in canon, but as you all know, I like to spin the events a little bit, but I won't spoil the surprise. Oh and what will Naruto do with all the information he had received straight from the horse's mouth?

Well, without further a due, here is the chapter.

Do enjoy and by the way, I want to appreciate everyone for your kind messages of support. It really helped me reevaluate my decision.

Chapter 24 – S-ranked rescue

Beta: Kyuubi123

The next day came and Naruto had finally stepped out of the Hokage's residence.

According to Tsunade, he only had a day to rest, meaning that he should expect a mission soon. In truth, aside from getting used to having Itachi's eyes merged with Sasuke's, he needed this extra day in order to process everything he learned. Uchiha Clan…Konoha…Akatsuki…Itachi had managed to, indirectly, tell him a great many things that shook his foundations. Naruto was no ignorant into believing that Konoha was exempt from committing wrongdoings, but he never believed that a different darker world existed below the vale of peace and tranquility behind the giant walls. The Uchiha Clan's genocide was the key example that there were people running things from the shadows.

However, that alone did not mean that Naruto felt obliged to do anything about it. He would be naïve in believing that he actually could do anything.

The memories of Itachi and Shisui's failed attempts were still fresh.

He even guessed that Kakashi was no stranger to Konoha's dark history as well. Perhaps, everyone who passed Anbu knew, so Itsuko must know about it as well. Right now, as he walked throughout the busy streets, he saw people going about their ways, utterly ignorant of everything. Naruto could see and hear the shinobi travelling from the roofs and even some who opted to use the dark corners to move around, without anyone being the wiser. Usually, he would not worry about them, as he saw what appeared to be Anbu masks. However, until now, he believed that there was only one organization in Konoha that used those masks and that said organization reported exclusively to the Hokage.

Root.

Naruto barely knew who Shimura Danzou was, aside from his influence in the council. As far as he was concerned, Danzou was a thorn in the Hokage's side, constantly opposing what he calls the Sandaime's ideals. The idea that said man was actually leading a hidden army of highly trained shinobi underground was worrisome. From that fact alone, simply barging in would do more harm than good. That thought aside, even if he was able to process this information more clearly, one single thought was evident. Itachi did concur with Naruto's conclusion.

Shimura Danzou was responsible for the Uchiha Clan's Genocide.

If the man had not acted against Shisui, then the plan would have worked and the coup would be handled far more efficiently, without bloodshed. Part of Naruto felt like he had to do something about Danzou. So far, he could not come up with anything, nor was it wise to do so without considering all possible implications. For now, he would be content in simply run reconnaissance. His clones are perfect for the job and his sensor capabilities would allow the clone to infiltrate places without alerting anyone. He was about to head in home when he saw Kakashi standing in front of him, waiting for Naruto to cross paths. Naruto heard from Shizune that Kakashi wanted to speak to him as soon as he left the Hokage's house.

"You gained your sight back I take it?" Naruto nodded while he kept walking. Kakashi followed suit. They remained in silence.

Eventually, the two had reached a more secluded place to talk. Kakashi could certainly tell one thing that changed in his little brother. The scarecrow jounin always prided himself into being able to read a person. To this day, only one person has managed to elude his ability and that was the Uchiha genius. Itachi would always show a look of pure indifference in pretty much every scenario and Kakashi could never tell what he was thinking. He had always theorized that upon receiving Uchiha Sasuke's eyes, for some reason, the usually loud and obnoxious child in Naruto changed into a calm and collected individual. Of course, it was just a simple observational conclusion, not that he thought that Sasuke's DNA changed Naruto's personality or something like that. Now, as Kakashi looked at Naruto, after he received Itachi's eyes, it's like he was looking at the Uchiha once more. He didn't like to see Naruto changing because of Sasuke's and he certainly did not appreciate that Naruto changed once more because of Itachi's.

Now…what…Uzumaki Naruto was but a mix of three individuals?

"So how are you feeling Naruto?" The two were facing an empty forest with a small river passing through the scenery.

Every couple of minutes, a fish would jump and throw water around, creating a small rainbow.

"Physically speaking, I'm one hundred percent. My mind, however, it's a mess." Kakashi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "This was his plan all along…"

"Wh…"

"Itachi's…" Kakashi held his breath.

"Why do you say that?" Naruto snorted.

"Would you believe me if I said the bastard told me?" Naruto didn't have to wait for an answer. "Itachi somehow managed to implant information into his sharingan. Because of the surgery, said information was implanted into me." Kakashi knew never to underestimate Uchiha Itachi, but he was having a hard time believing what Naruto was telling him. Kakashi decided to test it out, though.

"So what did he tell you exactly?"

"Many things, Kakashi…many things. Some I still trying to make sense." Kakashi nodded, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Mostly about his mission against the Uchiha Clan". Kakashi's surprised gasp told Naruto all he needed to know…

"Judging by your surprise, I'd say that everything I heard was the truth."

The jounin released a sigh and Naruto could very well see how the memory had affected Kakashi as well.

"I guess he did find a way to tell you that, huh!?" Naruto nodded. "I remember having a conversation with him two or three nights prior to the attack. Back then, I never figured that he would do something like this. At the time of the massacre, I was a member of the Hokage's Anbu Unit. I remember Danzou being the one blaming everything on Itachi, but the priority was to proceed with the investigation. Only later, did I come to learn the truth from the Sandaime. I…suppose it's high time I tell you something Naruto…"

"What is it…?" Naruto doubted that Kakashi could tell him something that Itachi himself hadn't already told him.

"After you received Sasuke's eyes and we left on that training trip, Itachi would contact me on occasion regarding your situation."

Naruto looked back at Kakashi in surprise, before looking at the horizon once more.

"That I did not know…though it makes sense in the end. He told me that he used his crow summon to watch over me…now, I have something else in my mind Kakashi and it's making me doubt some ideals." This time, Kakashi did know where Naruto was going.

"He must have told you about Root then…" Naruto surprisingly was not surprised that Kakashi knew…he already had his suspicions. "The Uchiha Genocide was the reason Sandaime Hokage disbanded Shimura Danzou's Anbu Unit, known as Root. Sandaime always wished to find a different way to deal with the Uchiha Clan, but Shimura Danzou ruined that notion. He was the leader of the Anbu forces at the time and thus had his share of influence over the village's decisions." Something about what Kakashi said did not add up though.

"Did you say that the Sandaime disbanded Root?" Kakashi nodded, though he wondered why Naruto cared about i. The blond in question found that hard to believe, though he would have to explain more. After Naruto's question, a silence reigned the conversation, despite Kakashi wanting to ask Naruto more about what Itachi revealed to the boy. Truth be told, despite the Sandaime officially disbanded Root, Shimura Danzou wasn't exactly the man to follow orders and the Sandaime had kept a close eye on his actions. Now, that mission fell on the Godaime, but Danzou knew he had no leeway with her like he did with the Sandaime, hence why Root practically vanished altogether.

"Kakashi, I will see you around ok, there is still something I have to do today." The scarecrow nodded as he saw Naruto walk away from their location.

Itachi did tell him much more information, but this time it was not anything related to Konoha, but rather the Uchiha Clan. Itachi said that he wasn't the only one responsible for the genocide. He had requested Uchiha Madara to aid him in killing the clan in exchange for Itachi being a part of Akatsuki, Madara's organization. The recently promoted jounin took the information in great surprise because he spent his entire shinobi life studying everything there is to know about Uchiha Madara. Supposing that he was even among the living, Madara would be decades older than the Sandaime Hokage. Also, from his journals, the man worshipped his clan more than anything and would never lift a finger to kill the Clan, even if he cursed the rest of the Uchiha for turning their backs on him. That meant that whoever helped Itachi kill the Clan only portrayed himself as Madara. In the end, it's a high probability that he would meet this man, seeing that Akatsuki's goal was to capture the Kyuubi.

Based on Itachi's description, the man also possessed the Mangenkyou Sharingan, though strangely so, only one eye appeared or at least was visible.

His skills, however, remain a complete mystery as this person never showed anything in particular to Itachi, nor did he need to.

Another foe to look out for was the organization's false leader named Pein. Possessor of a unique dojutsu called Rinnegan, Pein possessed great power and his skills so far also remain a mystery. Itachi even dared say that Pein was more dangerous than the man who portrays himself as Madara. This third dojutsu was only known in legends. History stated that the Rinnegan belonged to the creator of ninjutsu, Rikudou Sennin. To believe that said power belonged to the enemy was truly unnerving, but Itachi always said that every jutsu has a weakness and the key was finding ways to exploit it. The Sharingan would provide him with the answer, Itachi reasoned.

Now what was left to do was to become more familiarized with Itachi's techniques, so Naruto decided to choose a more secluded training spot. He now had three more techniques to use aside from his MS skill. The Ametarasu, Tsukuyomi and finally Susanoo. Unlike Itachi, who chose the illusion technique, Naruto had no inclination towards that one. His enemies not only are S-ranked but also possessor of dojutsu as strong as his own, hence why he chose to focus on training Ametarasu and Susanoo more. Of course, practicing Ametarasu would be ill advised, considering that the flames could consume everything and Itachi already stated that attempting to douse the flames was possible, but too much chakra consuming. Reaching his destination, Naruto stopped to inspect the fences separating Konoha from Training Ground 44 or the Forest of Death.

The forest was heavily populated by the most vicious and dangerous creatures Nature could create…giant spiders, poisonous snakes, ferocious tigers, you name it.

However, despite these creatures sensing a new presence, it was nothing but a blur as Naruto quickly navigated throughout the forest, before reaching the tower in the middle. He did not care about the cameras inside the tower. The Hokage had ordered him to take it slow for the time being and not exert himself too much. Problem was that he needed every jutsu in his arsenal to work fully while on a mission, especially now that Akatsuki was out there, targeting him. Calmly walking through the hallways, he then reached the very same place he'd been when he fought in the preliminaries of the Chunnin Exams. He allowed himself some time to remember the last time he stepped inside this arena and the rollercoaster ride his life has become since then.

Naruto practically ran non-stop, doing missions, training, doing missions, training…well, in the end, the only activity he could consider as non-shinobi related is his relationship with Itsuko and their work with the orphans. Still, after pondering for a while, Naruto was able to realize that for the first time, he was indeed Uzumaki Naruto and not a mix between Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi.

It also helped that he was perhaps miles away from another human being, which allowed him to digest everything that is going on in his life. He could live without having S-ranked criminals after him, though. Breathing slowly as to remain focused on the task, Naruto closed his eyes while at the same time molding chakra through it. As soon as he opened, the Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan became visible, while a red aura enveloped him.

'Susanoo'

Just like with Itachi, the red creature surrounded Naruto. He could feel how chakra taxing the technique was. Aside from that, Naruto could see some drawbacks. Yes, the Susanoo has a powerful attack and a powerful defense, however if the enemy managed to dodge like he did against Itachi, then the Susanoo is not as effective. He had a feeling that Itachi knew this as well, hence why he left Susanoo as a last resort as opposed to using right off the bat. Deciding to pump more chakra into the technique, he realized that the red creature grew a new armor around it and grew in size, until it easily reached the ceiling of the arena.

This was the scene that Tsunade and an entire army of Anbu saw upon arrival.

"Naruto, release your chakra this instant…" The blond looked at the Hokage and he could feel Anbu hidden throughout the place. He must have pumped too much and it alerted the authorities.

"Well…busted…" Naruto instantly relaxed his chakra coils, releasing the hold on the Susanoo and the Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan. Tsunade had her arms placed on her hip and she surely looked pissed.

"I remember ordering you not to exert yourself, brat. What were you thinking using this much chakra close to the village and what the hell is this you're doing!?" Despite the somewhat fierce tone, Naruto did not sense a spike in chakra coming from the Hokage. However, he could not just divulge openly what just happened, at least not to any of the Anbu present and certainly not to possibly Root Anbu's that were mixed with the regular forces.

"I would gladly answer your questions Tsunade-sama, but I needed to do it alone. More ears here than I'm comfortable with."

Tsunade frowned at the response. As far as she was concerned, Naruto was not known for his sensory abilities, though she reasoned that many-seasoned jounin managed to acquire slight sensory skills. In the end, she simply nodded, leaving the arena towards her office with Naruto in tow and the rest of the Anbu. One Anbu, however, efficiently changed course onto a hidden passage close to a waterfall, heavily guarded by a pack of giant tigers. The agent was one hundred percent certain that no one had followed him. Little did he know, however, that Naruto's clone was just behind him, having placed the man under a disoriented genjutsu.

===Hokage's Office===

Once they arrived inside the Hokage's Office, Naruto told the woman pretty much everything he told Kakashi. He didn't need to talk about possessing Itachi's abilities, since she only saw one technique being used and by all intents and purposes, Naruto could easily explain that it was a trademark technique granted by the Mangenkyou Sharingan. In the end, Tsunade did nothing but nod at the explanation, though she of course criticized him for overexerting his chakra coils just after the procedure. It was not a Hokage's criticism but a concerned doctor for a reckless patient attempting to run just after removing the cast. With all the pleasantries done with, Tsunade now changed her tone.

"So, Itachi told you about the truth huh?" Naruto nodded, already knowing that the subject would be brought up once more.

"He did. While I'm not an Uchiha, I have Uchiha DNA running through my veins. It's hard not to consider thoughts of revenge." Tsunade said nothing, just listened. "However, according to him, the entire situation was not initiated by Konoha, who had to let's say quell the flames. It was not the situation I was most irked by, but rather the method used by the village to deal with the situation in hand. Nonetheless, it fills my heart with ease knowing that the Sandaime Hokage did not have a hand in what happened, at least not directly." Tsunade released a sigh, being more at ease in the conversation. She sometimes forgot that Naruto's DNA changed with the transplants and that he now had Uchiha blood running through his veins.

"While I can't say that sensei was a saint, he always cared for Konoha and its citizens. He would never consider killing an entire clan even if it meant to stopping a civil war." Naruto nodded in agreement.

"The question remains about Danzou, though. Despite Sandaime knowing how Danzou operated, he did nothing but publicly declare Danzou's Anbu unit extinct."

And now the tension returned…

"Naruto, if you saw Itachi's memories, then you must know how a pain in the ass Danzou was to deal with and still is by the way. Even as a member of the council, he always sought to question my actions."

"Oh I'm aware alright. It was not in Itachi's wishes that I expose the real truth of what happened. But…." Tsunade nodded, this time with a kind smile.

"You still think that he should pay for his actions." Naruto nodded, while looking down. "I for one admit that I would enjoy teaching that old pain in the ass a lesson, but as Hokage, I have to act in the village's benefit." Naruto acquiesced, as it was never his intention to ask or demand anything from her. No, he would do the deed himself, both for Sasuke for losing his family and Itachi for making him do the worst deed possible. Not only killing his entire clan, but also for being responsible for Danzou's attack on Uchiha Shisui. Eventually, the conversation ended and Naruto took his leave from the office and went back home, but not after promising he would take things slow for the time being.

Of course, he did not tell Tsunade that he had a clone following a rather suspicious looking Anbu.

===Inside Root Anbu Headquarters===

The Root Anbu opened the hidden passage located in the Forest of Death with Naruto clone in tow. After entering, they climbed down a narrow wooden staircase that led to a larger tunnel with many entrances. Naruto clone surmised that the many pathways must lead him throughout all of Konoha, meaning that Root has unperturbed access to pretty much every location there is, clan property or not. Hell, Naruto's clone doubted that Danzou's unit were entirely made of nameless orphans. Itachi and Shisui were both members after all. Hyuuga, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Aburame, Nara…it actually made Naruto's skin crawl at Danzou's level of influence, though he had to commend the man for making all necessary adjustments into becoming this village's most lethal threat. No wonder, there is a limit to the Hokage's possible actions against this vile person.

'It is said that no other person loved Konoha more than Danzou. As such, there was no limit to his actions as long as Konoha became victorious in the end…'

Those were Itachi's own words about Danzou. Said man lived his entire life orchestrating his influence from the shadows and must have spread his roots throughout the entire village. Simply assassinating him, which alone would not be an easy task, would certainly do more harm than good, considering his level of influence. The Root Anbu took a sudden right turn, choosing a random pathway. As soon as he did so, Naruto felt many presences close by and opted to remain hidden, while casting another genjutsu around himself as not to be detected.

The area he was in now was deep below ground, however he could see the sky where he stood. Looking from up above, only giant pillars could be seen that led straight to the ground. Naruto calculated at least sixty meters measuring from up above until the top bottom. From the ground, Naruto clone could see two large pathways crossing one another, illuminated by torches. The Root Anbu kneeled exactly where the pathways crossed one another. It didn't take long for a sound to reverberate throughout the valley. Naruto clone soon saw a person appear in front of the kneeled Anbu. No doubt it was Shimura Danzou. Not only Naruto clone recognized from the memories of Itachi, but also by seeing the man once or twice in the past.

"Report Sai" The Root in question removed his mask, revealing a teenager shinobi with short straight black hair, dark eyes and pale looking skin.

"Danzou-sama, as you ordered, my mission was to follow jounin Uzumaki Naruto and see whether or not he has become a threat to Konoha." Naruto clone narrowed his eyes at such claim, but otherwise controlled his chakra properly, so as not to reveal his position. Nonetheless, now that Naruto thought about it, Danzou ran the exact same treatment of mistrust towards Itachi and Shisui. Naruto was more inclined towards the notion that Danzou mistrusted the Uchiha completely.

"What were you able to learn?"

"Approximately half an hour ago, the Anbu sensed a huge spike in chakra coming from the arena used for the Chunnin Exams. The Hokage went there with her personal squad to see that our target was the culprit. Uzumaki Naruto was seen using the ultimate technique of the Mangenkyou Sharingan, Susanoo." Normally, Danzou would keep his eye almost entirely closed. He would only open it barely when he was presented with a serious situation. At first, he had no objections with the jinchuuriki receiving Uchiha Sasuke's eyes. On that occasion, there was no guarantee that Sasuke would have awakened the sharingan, much less reach up to his brother and Shisui's level. When he received information about Naruto awakening the sharingan, he was pissed at his own stupidity for allowing such an asset to fall away from his control. He was even more pissed when said eye transformed into the Mangenkyou Sharingan.

When he heard that Itachi gave away his own eyes, it was already too late and the jinchuuriki had also received it.

It was true that Konoha now possessed the ultimate weapon in Uzumaki Naruto: jinchuuriki, sharingan and even a new kekkei genkai that allows him to control lava release ninjutsu. Not to mention that his overall skills were quite impressive as well, making him only stronger and stronger in the future. The problem was that whereas Konoha gained a powerful asset against outside threats, said power was out of his reach to command. A weapon like that in his hand would bring nothing but fear to Konoha's enemies, but in the pathetic Hokage's hands, Uzumaki Naruto is nothing but someone specialized in rescue missions. It made his blood boil just seeing such wasted potential.

"Sai, your next mission shall be to follow the target on his next mission. I wish for you to report his full fighting capabilities."

The Root in question nodded, before vanishing.

Naruto observed as Danzou turned and walked the same path he came from. With his focus away from the conversation, Naruto clone could pinpoint many signatures nearby. He already overstayed his welcome, so the clone released itself. However, there was no doubt in the original that with the information he acquired, he would continue to investigate until he could find a proper way to deal with Danzou, without endangering Konoha in the process. Still, the thought of a man like him targeting Naruto was troublesome to say the least. Naruto often wondered how Itachi could keep up with his facade of being a double agent. He may have inherited Itachi's eyes, but he was not completely stoic as the former Anbu.

===With Jiraiya===

Amegakure no Sato was a small but highly industrialized hidden village located in an unnamed country. As its name suggests, the hidden village was daily bombarded by heavy rain that so far has never ceased, spiting the ire of the local population. Aside from the heavy rain, the village's history is and forever will be written in blood. Throughout the last ninja wars, Amegakure frequently served as battlegrounds, making most of the population war refugees. For many years, Amegakure was run by a notoriously powerful shinobi named Hanzou, who during the Second Great Ninja War, managed to slaughter an entire Konoha platoon and even managed to fight against the Sannin on equal grounds, even defeating them in the end. Despite Hanzou's strength as a shinobi, he had a darker view of the world, controlling the village with an iron fist. As such, Amegakure has never changed its ideology.

Because of its bad history, the village has adopted a heavy isolationist policy.

To be admitted to the village, visitors must go through a number of security checks and are submitted to heavy surveillance during their stay. Needless to say, that the village's defenses are nearly impenetrable. For someone to infiltrate, one must be extremely skilled and extremely cautious, not to set off the many chakra sensing seals spread throughout the borders and even not get caught by the shinobi that ran security. However, for someone with a toad-summoning contract, such worries are unfounded. A small toad emerged from the sea just past the village border and opened his mouth. From within its mouth, an arm appeared, before Jiraiya's body emerged fully.

He then stood facing the village, with a grunt.

"Amegakure, huh…not as tough to get in as they say."

Not taking too long, Jiraiya had already mingled with the locals, putting on his raining cape so as not to show that he was an outsider. Throughout his walk, he began to take notes on the villagers' behavior. Knowing the village's bloodied history, the pervert expected to see nothing but hard faces and short tempers. He was surprised; however, to see that despite the heavy rain, people were smiling overall and chatting amicably with one another. He would hear constant talks of the words 'Pein-sama' and 'angel' and even small paper designs spread all over the place. Walking more, he had found two Ame shinobi going about their businesses, chatting with each other. Immediately, he set to work and summoned a toad, who transformed into an inconspicuous looking bar. The two Ame shinobi walked inside, unsuspecting of the trap. As soon as the door closed, the toad transformed back to its original form and went straight to the sea once more.

Unaware of their situation, the two Ame genin ordered some sake and some snacks, while chatting.

"Today is not Sunday is it? Said the first one with the spiky hair and a long scar on his face.

"Something must have happened with Pein-sama. Maybe he is heading to another nation." The other had a goatee and wore a blue bandanna.

"But it hasn't rained this heavy before?"

"Perhaps something occurred that needed this much power from Pein-sama." The one with the spiky hair immediately raised his hand in concern for the heavy rain, but the second one warned him not to speak.

"Careful what you speak about…Pein-sama works very hard to for the people of Ame. Show it a bit of tolerance."

At this time, Jiraiya, disguised as the bartender, apologized for taking too long, but both genin could not see the sake nor the snacks they requested.

"Oi, you don't have our order!?" Jiraiya could not help but smirk at his trap. It worked every time. Shinobi would see a bar in the middle of nowhere and think nothing of it, but getting wasted.

"No…no, you two are in luck…Today we have the house's grand special reserved for you two." The pervert almost fell on the floor laughing at these two's delighted faces.

"Grand special…what is it?"

"Oh it's the Toad Club's Special Torture Section." Jiraiya said before removing the henge. The two Ame genin immediately backed away and taken kunai to defend themselves.

"Oi…who the hell are you?"

"It's me who will ask the questions and I do have a lot of them…" No sooner had Jiraiya said so, the one with the bandanna threw a smoke bomb on the ground while the other one attempted to open the door, but to no avail. The walls suddenly transformed into the inside of the toad's stomach. The wall managed to trap the two Ame genin in place. No matter what they did, it was impossible to escape from the binding. Jiraiya still maintained the cocky smirk on his face as he waited for their energy to deplete. After seeing the spectacle for about two minutes, he grew tired of it and took a couple steps forward. By this time, both genin had stopped fighting their binds and looked at Jiraiya.

"So judging by how you're holding the kunai, both of you are low-level shinobi. Also that scratched mark on your hitai-ate suggests both of you are loyal to this Pein."

"Damn it…" Cursed the one with spiky hair.

"Where are we?" Jiraiya always enjoyed answering this question.

"You are inside the stomach of a toad…no one will be able to find you much less provide any aid. Now, unless you wish to die, you will tell me everything I wish to know about Pein." The Sannin was averse to more obscure methods of torture. He always believed in less harmful techniques to receive the answer he needed. Both genin were prepared for the worse, hence none of them believed that this guy would use a feather of all weapons. Within seconds, Jiraiya began his torture by placing the feather beneath the spiky haired genin's arm. He was laughing as he never had before and he was sweating profusely from the level of control in keeping the secret.

"Well, you are rather stubborn…well I have another trick." Jiraiya threatened, before the man's partner snarled at him.

"What do you want from us? We may be low-level shinobi, but we won't betray our comrades nor Pein-sama. Due threat with respect, damn it." Jiraiya snorted at such bravado and simply molded some chakra.

Ninpou Kaero Kaero (Ninja Art: Toad Transformation)

Jiraiya touched the one being tortured in the forehead and the man immediately transformed into a toad, much to the other's indignation.

"Hey bastard, that's not fair…" Jiraiya then turned to him, offering the same treatment. That was the limit to his will, giving Jiraiya the location of Pein, much to the sannin's humor of seeing the man cave so easily. Since the man was already willing to answer all questions, Jiraiya was astonished into hearing that Pein was the one responsible for single handedly destroying the old Amegakure, including one Salamander Hanzou, a foe that it took the Sannin combined to stand a chance against. In the end, Jiraiya finished the conversation, all too keen on meeting Pein face to face for a small chat. The toad that swallowed them emerged from the water and from its mouth, came the only genin that Jiraiya did not transform into a toad. He ushered the toad back to Konoha in order to hand the prisoner back to Ibiki for questioning. As soon as the toad left, Jiraiya, while in control of the genin, checked his surroundings for a while, before jumping from the water straight towards the next pathway, unaware of a few butterflies that flew behind him.

The genin walked around, trying to find the way to the tower where Pein was located, when papers suddenly assaulted him.

In front of the genin, a woman appeared from the waist up wearing an Akatsuki robe. She manipulated the papers into forming a spear, posing for the kill. Jiraiya emerged from the genin's shadow and attacked.

Katon Endan (Fire Release: Flame Bomb Technique)

The Akatsuki immediately backed away, but the blast caught up seemingly hitting the target.

Jiraiya saw the woman in front of him and crossed his arms with a nostalgic smile on his face.

"I was hoping to attract the attention of a friend named Pein, but I did not expect that you would fall for it….you did master your jutsu and grew into a beautiful woman, Konan. Now, who is this Pein?"

"It is not of your business, master." Konan hovered before her papers formed both wings that attacked Jiraiya, bombarding paper bombs at Jiraiya, to which the pervert blocked with the same fire technique. The paper rain soon proved too much and Jiraiya relinquished the fire technique and evaded the onslaught, before vomiting an oil beam that covered Konan entirely. No sooner than that, Jiraiya's hair elongated, entrapping the woman where she stood.

"If you are a part of Akatsuki, then what about Nagato and Yahiko?" Konan remained silent. "I see, then either one of them is Pein then?" The woman remained stoic, however.

"Why did you come to see us after all this time, sensei?"

"It was never my intention…I heard that you three were killed, but I never expected this." Jiraiya now cursed himself for not keeping a closer watch on those three. "I'm greatly disappointed…I've taught ninjutsu to you three so that you could better survive in those harsh times. You three became my disciples. The world can still be cruel, but attack me without even say hello…it's so sad. I have heard your name for a few years, but then I heard you three were killed."

"You don't know anything of what happened to us." Despite the harsh words, her tone remained the same.

"No I don't. But why Akatsuki? Why go about destroying everything and creating so much chaos!?" This time, however, a new voice answered.

"That's the decision I took, Jiraiya-sensei…" Jiraiya looked at the new arrival with narrowed eyes. He looked different, but the eyes were the same.

"So you are Pein…Nagato! It looks like you derived from the path of good…what happened?"

"That is not of your concern, outsider." Pein answered, while Jiraiya quickly sent the signal as he promised to Tsunade. He did not know if Naruto's team would reach here in time, but right now, he could not afford to escape from this fight. After all his actions allowed those three to form Akatsuki. Now, he was stuck in two possibilities, either he is able to defeat Pein right here right now or Pein defeats him. If such, then his life would be forfeit unless the kid finds a way to rescue him. Either way, Jiraiya was not considered a Sannin for nothing.

===In Konoha===

In Konoha, the rain was pouring heavily. It projected an ominous feeling to a specific someone that happened to be looking outside her office window. Shizune looked at the Hokage apprehensively, knowing that her master was deeply worried about Jiraiya. The fact that this very man was considered an S-ranked shinobi meant nothing to Tsunade right now as he could possibly be facing the leader of an organization that employed only S-ranked criminals. She should have never agreed into sending him alone in such a dangerous territory. Amegakure never was and never would be a tranquil place to go to, as it was constantly used as background for battles. Tsunade released a sigh in dismay before turning away from the window and taking a seat on her chair.

Precisely this moment, a small blue toad wearing goggles appeared from the seal, alerting Tsunade immediately.

"Jiraiya-sama has activated the distress signal." Tsunade did not wait two seconds before calling out.

"Shizune…" The assistant had already called upon Genma's team to report in her office. In less than five minutes, all members of the team shunshined inside.

"Alright, I'll be quick as time is of the essence. Two days ago, Jiraiya went to Amegakure in order to find information on Akatsuki's leader. We have just received his distress signal, meaning he had encountered opposition. In addition, speaking of Jiraiya's caliber, I would say that he is possibly engaged in combat with the leader. Genma, take your team there and rescue him as soon as possible." The man in question nodded, before the team vanished once more towards Amegakure. A shadow left soon after to follow the team as per his mission parameters. However, before he could land on the first roof after jumping, he stopped dead in his tracks, being face to face with Naruto with his Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan activated.

Before the Root Anbu could move another step, another Naruto appeared out of the blue and used genjutsu to paralyze him as well as to get inside his head and see what information he could extract from the Agent.

===Genma's team===

No sooner had they left the office, the four jounin crossed the village in mere seconds and jumped over the gates. They needed to reach Amegakure as fast as possible. Kotetsu raised a question, however.

"Genma-taichou, how can we conserve energy to rescue Jiraiya-sama if we are travelling at such speeds?" Genma nodded as they jumped throughout the trees.

"It can't be helped; we are hard pressed for time right now. Jiraiya-sama is an S-ranked shinobi, but I don't know how long a fight against him would take. Our mission is merely to rescue him, not to engage his opponent. In any case, I gather that our first priority will be to find a way to infiltrate the village." The other members of the team could sense a tense tone in their captain, meaning this part was quite sensitive. "Amegakure is known for its impenetrable borders. Before we can get inside and rescue Jiraiya-sama, we must find a way to bypass security. Naruto, any thoughts?" The youngest jounin was quiet the whole ordeal as he processed the thought of his godfather facing Pein. He was surprised when Genma said his name.

"What…?"

"You've been quiet the entire time...are you okay?" Naruto nodded, now awakening from his thoughts.

"I'm okay, just thinking about the worst case scenario." His team knew of Naruto's relationship to the Sannin, so all three of them nodded in solace. "However, I'm sure that he won't be taken down so easily, but we must hurry." Genma nodded with a smile, as did the other two. Genma, in particular, saw the determination in Naruto's eyes, which reminded him a lot of the Yondaime, even if their eyes are not the same anymore. They pushed their legs hard to keep up with the strain, until the forest ended and the hidden village of Amegakure appeared in the horizon. The rain had stopped as they checked the only path that led to the village entrance. They could see four Ame shinobi standing guard.

The team moved quickly and swiftly with Naruto taking point, summoning three kage bunshin.

Each Naruto shunshined in front of one Ame genin and casted an illusionary genjutsu that sent them to sleep.

Genma quickly placed chakra-draining tags on their foreheads, before Izumo and Kotetsu hid their bodies. The team then ran across the pathway once more with Naruto taking point. His sharingan would tell if there was someone else to look out for or even traps to avoid. The team worked with extreme fluidity and they trusted Naruto one hundred percent. Aside from the gatekeepers, they had repeated the process with two more squads and Genma disabled a couple of chakra-sensing seals located close to the village entrance. Once inside, they could not see a single individual on the streets. The ground shaking was at least evidence that a fight was going on. Within minutes, the team found a dark alleyway that gave them a view of the fight and the destruction of the village. Naruto flinched upon seeing the enemy removing Jiraiya's right arm, completely diminishing his fighting capabilities.

"Taichou, I have an idea..." Genma heard his idea and nodded. It was a solid plan and with zero risk to Naruto and Jiraiya as well.

"Ok go for it…" Naruto nodded and initiated the plan.

===With Jiraiya===

(AN: The Fight is the same, so I will skip to the interesting part)

Jiraiya was already on the small chunk of pathway that remained from the battlefield. He was lying there, all bloodied from the injuries. The other bodies from Pein all descended to strike him at the same time. As soon as the metal rods connected, everyone was surprised upon not hearing the contact with flesh, but with a strong barrier instead. For as within the piece of land, a red skeleton emerged, surrounding and protecting the fallen Jiraiya. Right by his side, Naruto emerged as well looking at the enemy or rather enemies. Despite the immeasurable pain, Jiraiya looked up and smiled in relief at the sight of the brat. Well, part of him wanted to take this fight to the very end, but right now was not the time to be stubborn. He already possessed valuable information on the Rinnegan. He could not throw it away.

"How are you holding up?" The perverted smirked at the question. He was bleeding all over and even missing an arm. Other than that, though…

"Oh I'm fantastic, it takes way more than this to bring me down, kid." Naruto snorted while keeping his eyes focused on the enemy.

"Kyuubi Jinchuuriki…I guess that you being here saves me the trouble of hunting you down myself."

By this time, the skeleton of Susanoo was fully formed as Naruto used the shield to protect Jiraiya.

"I'm guessing you can use the reverse summon to escape, correct?" Both the toad and Jiraiya looked at the kid's back in surprise at the sudden knowledge. Reverse summoning is considered an advanced usage of fuuinjutsu. Despite their surprise, now just was not the time to question. The toad on Jiraiya's back began to focus in order to prepare the technique. Seconds before, however, he turned to the boy that was protecting them.

"What about you Naruto-chan?" The jounin in question looked back briefly, before facing Pein once more.

"You don't need to worry about the real me." Jiraiya blinked once, before smirking. The kid did love his bunshin.

The reverse summoning worked and the mission was successful.

"You're only delaying the inevitable, jinchuuriki."

Now that he could provide the enemy with his full attention, the clone started to analyze all he could with his sharingan.

"My mission was merely to rescue him, not to engage you in combat. However, based on what I observed and from what Jiraiya-sama managed to collect on your fighting capabilities, I'd say you have lost the element of surprise, leader of the Akatsuki." At the bold proclamation, all paths of Pein surrounded the skeleton that protected Naruto. The one that did all the talking remained in front of the jounin, staring him. Rinnegan staring Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan.

"You were indeed successful in rescuing Jiraiya-sensei…" The clone was surprised at the honorific, but remained stoic. "However, in doing so, you have merely traded places with him. You shall not escape!" Naruto just had to snort at the man's empty threats.

"I was never here in the first place."

Naruto's Susanoo vanished completely, before the clone became nothing more than a gathering of black crows that flew away, leaving an irate Pein all alone.

Author Note

Yes, it was awesome to be able to finish this chapter and I was so excited picturing how the rescue went in my mind. I just hoped I was able to write it accordingly. Anyway, aside from Akatsuki, now Naruto has to deal with Shimura Danzou and his Root. Though it would be inevitable, don't you think? Sasuke did kill him first, so it's only logical that Naruto faces him sometime. Obviously, it will not be the same as what happened, since Sasuke had help from Tobi at the time and from Karin as well. Actually, I'm still thinking on the next chapters, so see you all then…

Please review and tell me what you think.