Team 7 stranded Team 10 among the trees along the south eastern side of the training grounds. Their goal now was to acquire the flag from the north eastern quadrant of the grounds, where Sasuke had revealed its location. After stretching and rehydrating, they bounded up into the trees and maneuvered around the outside of the grounds.
"That bastard, Sasuke, really got a kick out of making things harder for us," Naruto said. He grumbled about how Sasuke had relished the difficulty of their new task. Sasuke, especially in defeat, was an asshole.
Shikamaru shrugged as they leapt from branch to branch. "He's under no obligation to make it easy for us. In this exercise, he's our enemy," Shikamaru said.
"Still, it seems like overkill. I mean, under a giant boulder!" Naruto said, "should we be hiding our flag too?" Naruto threw his hands in the air.
"If Hinata didn't have the Byakugan, it could've been a possibility for us," Ino said.
"She's right," Shikamaru said, "but at this point, we can't forget that Team 8 is still out there too. Hiding our flag is out of the question still. While their tracking ability isn't as great as the Byakugan, an Inuzuka's nose and an Aburame's Kikaichu are formidable at locating enemies and scouting undetected well beyond conventional means. In fact, we should assume that they have some kind of idea of our current whereabouts already."
"Well, shit. What do we do now?" Naruto said. He was in awe of his peers' abilities. They were already so advanced in their clan techniques, it made him feel inadequate and quite far behind.
"We hope they haven't beat us there," Ino said. She gazed ahead, her brow drawn together in concentration.
"And that we aren't walking into a trap right now," Shikamaru said, "be on the lookout for anything unusual, especially wires, or any type of concealed ground trap."
"Right," Naruto said. He clenched his fists. He was fast and maybe even one of the better genin in hand to hand, but he didn't realize he was so far behind in other jutsu. It seemed all his peers were well on their way to mastering something. All he had was the beginning of wind jutsu. He pledged that right after this he was going to master the first step of wind training. Maybe even tonight if he worked hard. He didn't have a second to waste given how far behind he had begun.
They edged around the forest carefully, aware that at any time they could be ambushed. Naruto extended his senses outwards, in some vain hope that he could feel the chakra of his peers. But, he clearly wasn't refined enough at the skill yet. All he picked up on were Shikamaru and Ino's tense chakra. It was coiled and ready to strike. Their eyes were strained from focus. They were all a little burnt out. Naruto wondered what a real mission would be like. Would they feel this way the entire time?
As they descended from the trees, Naruto felt a small bug crawling on him. He flicked it off with his finger and it went flying away. The boulder was now within sight. It was about one hundred meters from their current location. Ino and Shikamaru huddled quietly behind a large tree and assessed the surroundings of the boulder. Team 8 was nowhere in sight, but as Shikamaru had stated earlier, that didn't mean they weren't currently being watched carefully.
Once they determined the coast was clear, they carefully and quietly exited their hiding places. As they made their way to the boulder, they hadn't even considered how they were going to budge it. Naruto assumed that Choji's otherworldly strength had assisted them in placing the flag in such a difficult spot to obtain it from. Bet we could blow it up, Naruto thought. But that would be the same as saying, "Come find us, right now!" Whatever caution they'd operated under would be blown away in the same explosion.
They determined that Team 8 was not near, at least not now. They quickly made their way over to the boulder. Naruto darted between tall, spindly trees and made sure to deafen the sound of his footsteps with chakra. It made his landings soft and quiet. They reached the boulder. It towered over them and Naruto gaped.
"This is way bigger than I thought it was going to be. How in the hell did they move this thing?" Naruto said.
Shikamaru's shoulders slumped as he peered at the scale of the behemoth before them.
"There's no way that we can move this thing ourselves," Shikamaru said. He walked around the rock and looked for clues to how Team 10 had moved it. He stopped at the other side.
"Look here," he said.
Ino and Naruto met him on the other side. The other side of the rock was cool to the touch and covered in small clumps of dirt and soil. There was no grass beneath them, just compacted soil.
"They must've pushed it over onto their flag. This side was clearly the base for a long time," Ino said as she rubbed her hand on the damp side of the rock. She withdrew her hand and dusted it off on the side of her leg.
"Right," said Shikamaru, "this isn't going to be as easy as pushing from the other side. We don't have Choji's strength, which is surely how they were able to move this thing earlier."
Naruto's body tensed, though it went unnoticed by his team. It was another reminder of who he was not. He was not the strongest in their class. He couldn't lift a boulder. He wasn't the Cho to their trio. He felt wholly inadequate, but resolved himself to fit in where he could.
"Let's get creative then," Naruto said, "we could dig underneath."
"If we had the time, that could work, but we're under pressure here. We don't know when Team 8 will decide to join the fray," said Shikamaru.
"It might take some time, but if we go back to Team 10, I can take control of Choji. You'll have to watch my body for a few minutes when I take over," Ino said.
Shikamaru nodded, but before he could speak, Naruto spoke. He held up his hands and waved.
"Wait, let's take a step back," said Naruto, "Team 8 is somewhere out there. If we leave here, who's to say that they aren't waiting for their chance to get this trapped flag, while we run back to Team 10. Should we try to get Team 8's flag first and then come back here?"
"Unfortunately, none of us know much about tracking," Ino said, "we might be better prepared if we make them come to us instead of searching for them."
"That's what I'm realizing as well," Shikamaru said, "what you said makes sense, Naruto, but unless you can sense them, we don't have much recourse to locate them."
Naruto clenched his fist and looked down. "I can only really feel our team's chakra right now, I can't extend my chakra sense out so far," Naruto said.
Shikamaru nodded. "Likely, Team 8 is waiting for the opportunity to strike. They have the ability to keep tabs on us from afar. They're likely waiting until we've exhausted ourselves," he said.
"Then we have to be ready," said Ino, "instead of going back to Team 10 to complete the Mind-Body Transfer on Choji, which will take time and will leave us vulnerable when I transfer back into my body, let's brute force this rock. We might not have Choji's strength, but that's ok, we've got something else."
"What's that?" Naruto asked.
The grin on Ino's face was unmistakable.
"Explosives," she said.
In addition to the boulder, which was rigged up with just about every explosive they had, Team 7 had decided to place discrete traps in the surrounding forest, intent on catching Team 8, when they inevitably made their arrival known.
Naruto wouldn't approach things quite the same as Team 8, but he understood their strategy was legitimate. Team 8 would likely appear when both flags were acquired and Naruto's team had done all the hard work for them. Even if he understood it was a legitimate strategy, it still ticked him off. He wasn't just going to let Team 8 swoop in for the victory. So, he'd devised his best traps just for them.
There were a number of trigger points where his traps could be activated. He was sure at least one of these traps would catch one of them.
He gave the signal for "ready" to Ino. She nodded back to him. They each took a defensible position behind a large tree. The resulting explosion would jettison a tremendous amount of rock in all directions. It wouldn't be wise to be out in the open without cover. He'd rather not get caught in the impending maelstrom of shrapnel. Shikamaru handed each member of the team ear plugs. Naruto fitted them into his ears easily.
Ino lifted her hands into the Tiger seal. The forest was eerily silent and then chaos erupted from the boulder. A massive ball of fire burst forth from the site of the boulder. The undergrowth was incinerated immediately. Any tree within 10 meters of the explosion was blown backward with such ferocity that smaller trees snapped and larger trees had the bark stripped from their exterior. The large tree that they hid behind was peppered with small pieces of rock as the concussive force of the blast blew past them. The sound of the explosion was deafening, even with ear plugs. Black plumes of smoke rose from the site of the detonation. If there was ever a signal for Team 8 to make a move, it would be now.
Naruto's ears rang from the deafening explosion. He regained his bearings and as the smoke cleared, he could see the flag, tattered and damaged as it was, half buried beneath rock and soil. Naruto rushed forward, intent on grabbing the flag. As he reached the site of the explosion burning undergrowth smoldered around him. At the precise moment he reached the flag, he came face to face with Kiba.
Naruto flinched backwards just in time to avoid Kiba's right hook. With practiced reaction, Naruto spun and swiped his leg low, which caused Kiba to leap in the air. While he was airborne, Naruto reached out and yanked the flag from its resting spot. It was tattered and burned in places, but beneath all the rock, it had miraculously survived.
Naruto leapt back with Kiba and Akumaru hot on his heels. Naruto could see from his vantage point that Shikamaru had caught Sakura in his shadow, but was forced to disengage by a swarm of Kikaichu. It was then that Naruto noticed the hundreds of tiny beetles flying around the forest. He realized that it was the same type as before, when he had flicked one away. This must be Shino's clan technique and how Team 8 was able to locate, track them, and arrive seemingly at the perfect time. Naruto wondered how Shino was able to communicate with an insect.
He sidled up next to Shikamaru, who swatted a beetle away from his head. Naruto could see a few crawl on him. They bit and left small red dots on Shikamaru's skin before flying away. Naruto fired off a round of Kunai to create space between his team and Team 8.
"What are these bugs?" Naruto asked.
"Kikaichu, the Aburame secret technique. The clan imbeds the insects inside their newly born clan members and the baby and the insects form a symbiotic relationship," Shikamaru said, "there's a reason the Aburame are one of Konoha's four noble clans."
"Makes sense," Naruto said, "I have no idea how we're going to fight with these bugs biting us."
"Not only that, they're taking a little chakra from us with every bite. You might not have noticed since you have so much chakra, but it's already affecting me and Ino," Shikamaru said.
What was left unsaid was that they were operating under a time constraint. Shikamaru and Ino wouldn't be able to fight for long under these constraints. From a distance, Naruto could see Ino and Shino exchange blows. Shino was a sturdy fighter, but preferred to stay in the long range. Every time Ino got close, he used his beetles to create greater distance between them.
Sakura and Kiba reconvened across from Naruto and Shikamaru. Akamaru sidled up alongside Kiba and his hand lightly brushed Akamaru's soft fur. Kiba ruffled his fur.
"Alright, Akamaru, it's time to transform so we can really show these guys our power," Kiba said. Akamaru yipped and transformed into a duplicate of Kiba.
"What! Can a dog do jutsu too?" Naruto said. He gaped at the two identical figures. Akamaru had used the transformation technique to change his form.
"The Inuzuka specialize in breeding nin-dogs. They've been bred to be more intelligent, faster, and stronger than regular dogs. Akamaru is just a puppy, but don't underestimate him. He could do some real damage if we're not careful," Shikamaru said.
Kiba directed his attention to Naruto. "Oy! I wasn't able to use my full strength before, Naruto. We're going to show you a real fight, right here, right now!" Kiba said. He bared his teeth in an animalistic grin.
Naruto gathered himself into a defensive stance. Next to him, Shikamaru did the same.
"Do you think you can hold him off," he said, "I have an idea."
Naruto nodded, his brow knit together. "Not like we have much of a choice," Naruto said.
In the back of his mind, he made note of the urgency with which they would have to work. Kiba's intent to go all out and Shino's ability to consistently weaken them was a lethal duo. We need to stop one to stop the other, Naruto thought.
"Fang over Fang!" Kiba said.
Naruto barely moved in time to avoid a direct hit. Kiba and Akamaru came barrelling toward him, hands stretched outwards. They spun like a drill. Naruto dove to the right, but not before Kiba scored a glancing blow to his side. Naruto bit back the urge to shout and lost sight of Kiba. He whirled around, his eyes darted from tree to tree.
It was then that he noticed that none of his traps had been activated. They had known then. The more he learned about Shino's beetles, the less he liked them. How the hell did one talk with a beetle! Whatever the case was, the information on his traps must have been relayed to Team 8. He could use that to his advantage. If he lured Kiba into one of the traps, he wouldn't have to beat him this time around and could help Shikamaru and Ino fight the remaining two from Team 8.
"Again, Akamaru!" Kiba said.
From both his left and right, Kiba and Akamaru raced in toward his position. With twin roars, they descended on him. Without another thought, Naruto bolted. He knew exactly where to take them.
"Coward!" Kiba said. He shouted after Naruto, "stand and fight!"
Naruto paid him no heed, instead racing for the low undergrowth, where he had installed a number of traps. It wouldn't be so easy to just run him into a trap, he would have to pressure him into one.
First, Naruto bounded over the undergrowth. Beneath the small bushes and brush, he'd installed a net, tied to two trees near this area. I want you to go low, he thought. As he leapt over the brush, he turned and hurled a barrage of kunai over the low growth. Kiba, who followed him closely, dove to avoid the volley.
He and Akamaru tumbled through the brush and were caught in the net. Kiba shouted as they struggled to untangle themselves. Naruto used the opportunity to race in. He reared back and drove his fist into one of the tangled Kiba's. There was a loud yip and a puff of smoke. In the tangled mess of the net, Akamaru lay unconscious. But it was enough time for Kiba to free himself, with a kunai of his own. He cut through the net with ease.
"You bastard," Kiba said, "I'm going to wreck you!"
"Catch me, then, dog breath!" Naruto said before he raced away. He could hear Kiba following him closely. A whistling in the air altered him to incoming kunai. He dived behind a tree and narrowly avoided the projectiles. Kiba rounded the tree and followed. A little further, Naruto thought.
He led Kiba on a wild chase around the site of the exploded boulder. Distantly, he could hear the sounds of clanging kunai. He rounded a corner and suddenly leapt back toward Kiba. He was ready and grabbed Naruto. The two exchanged blows. Like the last time they fought, Kiba was fast and strong. He was able to land multiple blows to Naruto's abdomen in the span of a few seconds. Naruto resisted the urge to grimace as he carefully backed up toward his prepared trap. Made from the sap of Konoha's old growth trees, this sticky trap was indomitable. Kiba would need a specially formulated bath of soaps and salts in order to scrub this off.
Still, going hand to hand with Kiba was asking for trouble. Kiba smashed a fist into his nose and blood burst from his wounded nose. He could taste the metallic blood on his lips. Still with blood streaming down his face and as fast as Naruto could, he reached out and grabbed Kiba's collar. Naruto hauled him forward. Just beneath the brush, Naruto had installed the brown paper covered in the sticky sap. As Kiba's feet stuck to the paper, his forward momentum sent him tumbling to the ground, here his forearms stuck to the trap as well.
"What the hell is this?" Kiba said. He struggled to pull himself up, but was firmly entangled in the parchment.
Naruto grinned as blood stained his teeth. "Good luck with that," he said, "I'll be going now!"
As he retreated from Kiba, he could hear the boy shout after him.
The more distance he put between Kiba and himself, the more he could only hear the quiet of the forest. There was no sound of fighting. Shit, he thought. Either Shikamaru and Ino had won against Shino and Sakura, or he was going to find himself in an uphill battle to save his teammates. He hoped it was the former, but in the back of his mind, he remembered Shikamaru's words. You might not have noticed since you have so much chakra, but it's already affecting me and Ino.
He had to hurry, just to be sure.
He traced his steps back toward the exploded boulder. He rounded around a large tree and his stomach sank. Shino had just finished tying up an unconscious Ino and Shikamaru. Sakura rested, unconscious and leaned up against a large tree. He noticed Naruto's presence and stood up impassively.
Shino was tall. Aside from Choji, he was one of the biggest genin in their class. His high collared jacket obscured most of his face, but Naruto was sure there wasn't much to see in terms of his expressions. Shino was supremely even keeled and rarely, if ever, displayed a reaction to anything. His sunglasses only served to make him more unreadable. His head band was tied firmly around his forehead. It pushed his brown hair to the back of his head.
"So, you defeated Kiba?" Shino said, "I am not surprised."
Shino shoved his hands in the pockets of his large coat. The forest was filled with his beetles. The trees were covered in them and the air was brimming with beetles in flight. They circled around closely to Shino.
"Wait, you aren't?" Naruto said.
"Your battle with Kiba last time altered me to a trend. Kiba has a hard time containing his emotions around you," Shino said, "I told him to watch out for you because my Kikaichu refuse to bite you. Why?" Shino said.
Naruto stiffened, taken aback Shino's candor. Visions of the Kyuubi filled Naruto's head. That must be what he referred to. He forced himself to relax, but his heart was still beating loudly in his chest. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, chuckling.
"Your body language suggests otherwise," Shino said, "but, perhaps, it isn't my place to pry into your secrets."
Shino slid into a defensive stance. "I desire to see why my Kikaichu have an unease about them," he said, "Let us do battle."
Shino motioned for Naruto to attack him. Naruto shrugged. "Whatever you say, bug boy."
Shino remained unaffected by his taunting. That won't work with him, Naruto thought. He had to find a way to handle these bugs. According to Shino, they wouldn't drain his chakra. But what could they do? There was only one way to find out and that was to fight. Naruto knew he needed more than he had. A wind jutsu would be really handy right now.
Instead, he pulled shuriken from his side pouch and flung them through the forest. Shino dodged and his Kikaichu moved in concert with him. Naruto weaved through the small trees quickly. He darted over the underbrush and swung his fist out toward Shino. He blocked and shifted his weight. Shino dug his feet into the soil before returning a powerful strike that sent Naruto reeling backwards.
Naruto was acutely aware that he had already fought Sasuke and Kiba. Even he was beginning to show signs of fatigue. His speed and reflexes had slowed and it was beginning to be more difficult to sustain hits, as he had already tanked numerous blows from his previous fights.
Nevertheless, he knew he had to persevere. Shino was fresher, but that didn't mean he didn't have a weakness, Naruto just had to find it. He weaved and dodged around Shino's strikes and struck Shino squarely on the throat with a shout. That would do some damage. Shino grabbed his throat. He coughed and wheezed before he dispersed in a swarm of insects. Naruto staggered back as the insects flew in his face.
"What the fuck!" He said. The insects would not touch him. Instead, they swarmed around him and obscured his vision and generally acted as a nuisance. Shino raced in and delivered a devastating kick to Naruto's chest. Naruto flew back, still unable to see cleanly. He wheezed as Shino pressed his advantage. All Naruto could do was continually retreat. He bumped into smaller trees as he tried to disperse the swarm around his body. There must be hundreds. At the same time, Shino had landed multiple hits to his body. Naruot tasted blood in his mouth. He could barely stay on his feet. I have to get rid of these damn pests fast, he thought.
Naruto realized that simply batting them away was useless. They returned moments later to continue swarming around him. Even waving a kunai around wasn't precise enough. They were so small. And then it occurred to Naruto. He didn't have any wind jutsu, but he did have the wind exercise. Cutting the leaf had become easier and easier the more he practiced. Now he could cut the leaf just by touching it with his finger. Perhaps, something like that would work against the insects.
Naruto channeled wind nature chakra to his fingertips. Sharp and slicing, he thought. He swatted his hand out again, wind chakra emanating from his fingertips. A dozen or so Kikaichu fell with one swipe and his vision became clearer. Shino rocked him in the ribs and he doubled over. In a burst of energy, he rose again and swiped furiously around with both hands, wind chakra emanating from all ten digits. Finally, his vision cleared, the Kikaichu that did not lay dead at his feet, retreated away from him. He raced forward. If the wind chakra worked on the bugs, maybe it would work on Shino too.
He struck forward, his hand a blur. His fingers, swathed in wind chakra, tore through Shino's thick jacket and scored a hit on his ribs. Shino leapt back and clutched his side.
"I did not expect that," Shino said.
Then they rushed each other. They reached each other and struck out simultaneously. Naruto was slightly quicker. His fist caught Shino squarely on the cheek and sent him sprawling to the ground. Naruto leapt forward. He grabbed Shino's hand and pulled it behind his back. With his other hand, Naruto held Shino's neck to the ground. The Kikaichu buzzed nervously around, unable to leach chakra from Naruto and thus, unable to aid in removing Naruto from Shino's back.
Shino turned his head. "I concede," he said, "you have beat me."
For the first time that day, Naruto slumped. He collapsed backward and looked up into the canopy above him. Light split through the leaves and settled on the forest floor. A gentle breeze weaved through the trees and Naruto released a breath he hadn't known he was holding.
Once they were all awake and bandaged up, they grouped around Asuma.
"Congratulations, Team 7, you've won the challenge," Asuma said. He smiled at them.
"What do we get for winning?" Naruto said. He nursed his sore body. He'd sustained quite a bit of damage during the exercise. His body was littered in bruises and Asuma said that he should be checked out for fractures with the number of hits he had taken. He felt like he deserved something for all of that!
Asuma chuckled and crossed his arms. He lightly shook his head at Naruto. "You get the satisfaction of knowing you defeated your peers in combat. That's worth something."
"Figures," Shikamaru said. He smirked as he clapped Naruto on the back.
"Ah, gentle please," Naruto said. He grimaced and rubbed his sore shoulder.
"How on earth did Naruto beat Sasuke, Kiba, and Shino?" Sakura asked, "didn't he graduate last in the class?" She seemed genuinely curious so Naruto tried not to hold it against her. He knew what his reputation had been. In many ways, he'd earned that. It would take more than a few days or even weeks to change the minds of those who had known him.
Naruto was about to correct Sakura about his placement in the final graduation ranks, but it was Hinata who spoke up. "Naruto is strong," she said. Her quiet voice cut through the silence.
"He trains really hard," she said. Her cheeks were colored light pink and she looked down at her feet.
Ino came to his defense as well. "And he didn't graduate dead last!"
"Hinata is right," Asuma said, "I've seen it. And this is why these exercises will be good for you all as well. It would be good to familiarize each other with your skill sets, so you don't overlook what your teammates will be able to help with on a real mission."
"Well, we know Naruto's best skill is tanking hits, so we'll send him out first," Sasuke said, a smirk on his face.
"Bastard," Naruto said. He narrowed his eyes and shot Sasuke a dark look. Sasuke only rolled his eyes.
"Sasuke's jealousy notwithstanding, Naruto's the only reason we won this. If it hadn't been for him, Team 8 would have won," Shikamaru said. Sasuke looked ready to bark back at Shikamaru, but Asuma cut in at that moment. He threw up his hands in a placating manner.
"Genin, genin, please," he said, "we're all a part of the same village here. You're going to have to work with each other for a long time, so let's try to be civil. This would probably be a good time for us to debrief and discuss next steps, so that you all can go rest."
They spent the next twenty minutes discussing positives and negatives from the exercise. Asuma elicited answers from all the teams on what went well and what went wrong. Things had gone their way this time, but the other genin were certainly tough competitors. Naruto's bruises and welts were a testament to that.
Asuma explained their next steps and outlined a schedule for regular monthly meetings with each team to meet with Asuma. After he dismissed them, Asuma pulled him aside.
"You showed out today, Naruto," he said, "I was extremely impressed."
Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled lightly. "Really? I thought I didn't do much besides run around."
"It wasn't just that," Asuma said, "don't doubt yourself like that. You belong here. In fact, you're one of the most capable fighters in your class."
"Wow, thanks," Naruto said. He blushed a little from the praise, unused to any form of positive attention. This is way better than getting in trouble.
"For sure, kid," he said, "and we'll definitely have to keep working on refining your wind techniques, but what you did was definitely something else. Keep working on your wind nature and you'll take off. One final thing, tell your team that your sensei is busy the next few days. I'll be taking you on a few D-ranks during that time."
Naruto nodded. "Thanks, I'll let them know!"
He waved and he raced to catch up with Ino and Shikamaru.
Hiruzen spied the tea house from down the block. He had traveled here inconspicuously, only letting Asuma know that he would be busy for a few days and to watch after his team. It would be important to keep this under wraps as much as possible. The purpose of his travels was to meet perhaps one of the few remaining people that he trusted unequivocally. Enma had let the Toads know personally that Hiruzen would meet Jiraiya here, in person.
He slinked down the street and kept the hood on his cloak up. He entered the tea shop and found Jiraiya sitting in the back, sipping tea quietly. Jiraiya found his eye as he walked in and nodded. Hiruzen joined him at the table. He eased into the other side of the booth.
Jiraiya was a large man. He towered over Hiruzen and had since his student had turned fifteen. His long, shaggy white hair spilled down his heavily muscled back.
"Whatever's brought you here can't be good," Jiraiya said, "Especially with a personal delivery of the message from Enma." He leaned forward and pushed a cup of tea over to Hiruzen. Hiruzen thanked Jiraiya.
"You are right. Some nights ago, I sent one of my summons on a mission to bring a missive to Tsunade. My summon never returned to the Monkey clan. They are presumed dead," Hiruzen said, "Enma and I came to the conclusion that my movements might be monitored by someone inside the village, whether that's a Konoha ninja or an infiltrator, we don't know."
Jiraiya sipped his tea. "Well, that's unsettling," he said. Then after a brief pause, he added to that thought.
"If you're being monitored, then we can assume that this missive to Tsunade must have spurred your 'secret admirer' to act and ultimately reveal their existence," Jiraiya said. Hiruzen wanted to rebuke Jiraiya for his flippant language in using 'secret admirer', but refrained.
"Elaborate," he said, instead.
"This person must have known that your missive was to be delivered to Tsunade, meaning your correspondence with her is of special importance to whoever intervened. They must have desperately wanted to know what was inside that letter. They found out, but at the cost of revealing that someone is watching you," he said.
Hiruzen nodded, his eyes were drawn together. He took a breath and slowly released it. The logic made sense. "What you say makes sense, but I am still struggling to understand why now? Why my missive to Tsunade, instead of, say, the Raikage or Kazekage. It makes it seem internal to the village."
"It does," Jiraiya said, "that's why it's extra unsettling."
He paused and took a sip of his tea. "So, surely, you've already discussed these things with Enma. Why loop me in now?"
Hiruzen peered over his shoulder and leaned in. "I have a request for you," he said.
"You're the Hokage," Jiraiya said, "I'm all ears."
"Find Tsunade and personally deliver my message to her," Hiruzen said. He slid a sealed envelope over to Jiraiya, who took it and pocketed the letter.
"I will," he said.
"I fear that with the information that was gathered in the letter, that Tsunade might be in danger," Hiruzen said.
Jiraiya scratched his chin. "I haven't heard from her or seen her in a while," he said. Then a sudden realization struck him. His eyes widened. "The Northern passage in the Land of Fire has been closed for a few weeks now. It was attributed to localized earthquakes, but do you think…" he said.
"It is not out of the realm of possibility," Hiruzen said.
"Then I'll begin looking there. Perhaps, there will be clues," Jiraiya said.
They sat in uneasy silence. They sipped their tea with a speed that suggested some anxiety.
"If you're worried about her, try not to be," Jiraiya said, "Tsunade can take care of herself. She always has."
Hiruzen nodded and suddenly wished he had a pipe to smoke. "You're right. But, with your students, it's different. I don't have to tell you that," Hiruzen said. He pulled his hand through his hair, then rested his hands on the table in an effort to calm himself.
"That's true. I heard you took a new team too. With Minato's kid," Jiraiya said, "what on earth compelled you to do that at your age?" A small smile graced his lips.
Hiruzen smiled as he thought about his new team. "I was inspired to get back to what I was best at. This generation, Naruto especially, will change Konoha. I wanted to be a positive part of that."
Jiraiya looked away, then asked, "How is he, anyway?"
Hiruzen stroked his goatee. "He's very much like Kushina. He has her face and the same fiery spirit that she had. He is determined, like she was. But, it seems that every day he gets to look a little more like Minato, especially as his hair grows out," Hiruzen said. He chuckled as he fondly thought of Naruto.
"And he will be a great ninja. His potential is tremendous, just like Minato," he said.
Jiraiya's eyes appeared far away. "I will have to visit him soon," he said.
They agreed that Jiraiya would visit after finding answers about Tsunade. Hiruzen felt his heart beat return to normal for what felt like the first time in days. Jiraiya was one of the strongest ninja in the world and one of the best infiltrators in the Elemental Nations. If anyone could track and find the missing Tsunade, then it was him.