Chapter 29: Stepping Back

I raised an eyebrow as I looked over the scroll that sat on my coffee table. It seemed that I'd forgotten to give Tsunade the scroll containing all of the notes my clones had pilfered from Orochimaru's lab the day before, which was understandable. Yesterday had been a long day after all. Honestly, I was just glad that it hadn't been destroyed by the version 2 cloak.

It shouldn't be too much of an issue. I was going to be meeting with Tsunade again in a few hours alongside Anko and Shizune. I could just give it to her then.

Nodding to myself, I went back to my breakfast while leaving the cleaning up to my clone.

"Um, boss."

"Yeah?" I hummed, taking a sip of my tea.

"Shouldn't you be going to Tsunade's office?"

Ah, it seemed my clone had the same idea as me. "Yeah, I'll bring her the scroll when I go to the meeting with Anko and Shizune."

"But that's right now."

Glancing at the clock, my eyes widened. The clone was right. I'd assumed that it was still relatively early, but the truth was that I overslept.

"Crap, right. Here," I said, handing the clone my tea. "You finish this and I'll go get ready."

The clone gave me an odd look, before downing the hot tea while I rushed off to get ready.

"You do realize that you won't become less thirsty by having your clone drink the tea for you, right?"

'I know," I thought back, while hurriedly putting my jacket on. 'But at least this way some of me gets to enjoy the tea… and besides, I've always wondered what would happen if my shadow clones ate some food or drank some water and then dispelled.'

"As opposed to what? Drinking food and eating water?"

I paused before rolling my eyes. 'You know what I meant. This way I get to test something while being kind to myself… literally.'

"Which is strange."

'If you say so,' I thought back, rushing out of my apartment. 'If you want, we can discuss all of my other intrusive thoughts.'

"You don't have the time," Kurama said, calling my bluff.

"I could always make time,' I thought back, a smirk forming on my face. 'You know, after each mission, Tsunade normally gives us a little down time. We could spend the rest of the day discussing my thoughts on things and let me tell you, I've got plenty that are just straight up weird.'

"…Just leave me to my shows."

That's what I thought.

"Cutting it a little close there, don't you think?" Anko asked as I entered the Hokage's tower.

"I overslept," I explained. The building was mostly empty, save for a few of Tsunade's clones that were currently transporting paperwork and running other errands.

Heading upstairs, we stopped in front of Tsunade's office.

"So, any idea what this is about?" Anko asked, a hint of nervousness in her tone. "It's probably about what happened yesterday, but I meant… you know what I mean."

"I've got a few ideas," I nodded. "If I had to guess, I would say that…"

The doors to Tsunade's office opened slightly and Shizune's head peeked out.

"Um… The two of you are a bit late. Why don't you come in," She suggested with a smile, her eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Ahaha," Anko laughed, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. "Whoops."

Shizune opened the door wider and gestured for us to enter.

"It seems the wayward duo has finally arrived," Tsunade commented, holding an unraveled scroll in front of her face. "You're late."

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "I overslept and didn't check the time soon enough."

"Yeah, sorry," Anko said. "I don't really have an excuse."

Lowering her scroll, Tsunade shot us a glance before sighing. "Let's just start with the meeting," Tsunade replied, before going silent for several moments. When it looked like Shizune was going to speak up, Tsunade continued. "When this team was first formed, it had been a matter of convenience. It was sheer coincidence that each of you had been formally trained by one of the Sannin."

Huh, I hadn't even realized that. I knew that each of us had learned from a Sannin, but I never made the connection between that and all of us being on the same team.

"I trusted that you would all be able to handle yourselves and you have," Tsunade continued. "Yesterday you were all put in an extreme situation and you all handled yourselves and the situation to the best of your abilities, making difficult choices," She shot me a quick glance.

"So… We're awesome?" Anko asked.

"Anko," Shizune chided. "You could at least act professionally."

"What? Hokage-sama said that we've done a great job. That means we're awesome. Naruto, back me up on this one."

I nodded slowly. "We have done a good job." The question was why Tsunade felt the need to tell us this.

"Ha, see," Anko smirked.

Tsunade patiently waited for the room to quiet down, before continuing. "You all work well together… That's why it pains me that I have to remove Naruto from this team effective immediately."

Anko's confident smirk was quickly wiped away. "What?! Why? You just said that we're an effective team. Together we handled a full Jonin team from Kumo. Naruto even fought off their Jinchuriki!"

I shot a quick glance to Shizune. From the lack of her reaction, she probably already knew that this was coming.

"This isn't a matter of how effective you all are together. With the events that happened between Konoha and Kumo, the rest of the world is going to be looking our way… specifically at the Jinchuriki."

So these were the consequences of my actions. I'd drawn a massive target on my back and needed to remain in Konoha for my own safety alongside the villages. It wasn't exactly ideal, but it could easily be worse.

"Those damn Kumo bastards keep fucking things up," Anko spat. "Why is it that whenever Kumo starts shit, it's us that pay the price?"

"This isn't a matter of whose fault it is," I stepped in. "The reason why Jinchuriki are created is to deter other villages from invading. Konoha has just fended off an invasion brought on by Suna, our ally. With tensions now building between Konoha and Kumo, other villages could be looking for an opportunity to jump in and attack the weaker village. I'm needed here in order to deter other villages from trying anything."

"That's just fucked up," Anko muttered.

"It's the way the world is," I replied.

I wasn't exactly thrilled with being pulled from this team. I could honestly say that in the short time that we'd all been working together, I'd grown attached to this team and from the looks of it, Anko had too.

"You shouldn't have to be pulled from this team because you're a Jinchuriki, you're a good Shinobi."

"Thanks," I smiled. If Anko had said that before the forest of death, I likely would have started looking up to her in a similar manner to how I once looked up to Iruka. As it was now, I simply thought fondly of her.

"If you two are done with all of that, I still have more to say," Tsunade began. Seeing that we were now paying attention to her, she continued. "Anko, Naruto, Shizune. You three have been completing A-rank raiding missions, retrieving important information from Orochimaru's old bases and erasing them afterwards. There are two more bases left that still need to be raided."

"So Shizune and I are going alone?" Anko asked.

"Not quite," Tsunade replied. "You see, when Kumo stumbled across Orochimaru's testing facility, all they found was a hole in the ground. Naruto's technique is incredibly useful in ensuring that nothing remains behind. Due to the tensions between the villages, Naruto needs to always be within range of Konoha."

Well now, Tsunade now had my full attention. It seemed that she'd found a work around that would allow me to continue taking missions.

"I'm not quite sure what you're getting at, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said, looking just as the rest of us.

"Shadow Clones," Tsunade snapped her fingers.

Ah, that would do it. I physically stayed here while sending clones out to handle the mission for me. One of my clones would be more than enough to destroy Orochimaru's labs, but there was the issue of their durability. All it would take is one good blow, one stab to disperse it, thus leaving Anko and Shizune down a member.

Then again, Kurama was on my side, so he could help the clone out when needed. Whether that be by giving it more Chakra or even protecting it with a single tailed cloak.

"Shadow Clones," Anko deadpanned.

"It should work," I nodded. "My clones can, at the very least use a single tailed cloak… Although, I did think that it was going to be something else."

"Oh," Tsunade hummed. "If that idea isn't good enough for you, then I suppose you don't want to hear about my other one." Smirking, she pulled out a massive, familiar scroll and placed it on her desk.

"The Scroll of Seals," Shizune muttered softly.

Well, Tsunade once again had gained my full attention.

Unfurling the scroll, Tsunade stopped and looked up "Naruto, come take a look at this Jutsu and tell me if you think you can master it."

"Technically speaking, I should be able to master anything… so long as it doesn't need a Kekkei Genkai," I said. Walking around the table, I took a quick look at the Jutsu she'd stopped on and froze. "Holy shit, you want me to learn that?!"

"What? What is it?" Anko asked impatiently while Shizune watched with interest.

"My granduncle created this technique and your father refined it. Now it's time for you to learn it."

"You don't mean…" Shizune gasped.

"Can someone tell me what this jutsu is?" Anko asked suddenly.

"The Flying Thunder God," I replied. "It's the technique that gave the Yondaime his nickname of Konoha's yellow flash."

Anko's eyes widened. "Holy shit!"

"Yeah," I said softly.

"Master this Jutsu and there will be no issue with you being out of the village because you'll always be within range to give and receive help," Tsunade explained.

This was a lot. If I could master the Hiraishin… that would change things… What do I mean if? There's no way in hell I'm not going to learn this jutsu. The ability to teleport to marked locations, to redirect anything to those locations as well… It would make me nigh untouchable. Including Kurama and I working together, my mastery of the five elements and my use of Shadow Clones…

"When can I get started?"

"When we're done here," Tsunade smirked. "For now… This team has a mission."

"Already?" Shizune asked.

"The sooner we finish raiding Orochimaru's bases, the better," Tsunade replied. "If we wait for too long, we run the risk of other villages finding them or interfering with us while we raid them."

It also had the added benefit of acting before other villages can properly react. As it stood now, they were likely involved with meeting to discuss what had transpired in the Land of the Sea.

It was probably going to be extremely difficult to learn the Hiraishin, but it would be worth it. One thing was certain, I was definitely going to be using Shadow Clones to speed up the process.

I felt nervous as I watched Anko and Shizune, accompanied by a pair of my clones leave. If this had been a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have felt much worry, but in the short amount of time we'd been on a team together, I'd quickly grown attached.

They were my team and they were going on a mission that I should be on. I wonder if this is how Kakashi felt when he saw that I'd been promoted and was going on A-rank missions. If so, then it made his attitude a bit more understandable.

"Worried?"

"A little," I nodded. "I know that I'm needed here, but I still feel that I should be out there, helping them."

"That's understandable… Although, I can't help but feel that you've grown awfully close in such a short amount of time."

Turning around, I leaned on Tsunade's chair, briefly glancing at the Scroll of Seals that was still unraveled on her desk.

"It was bound to happen, they both treated me as an equal," I replied. "I can honestly say that they're my friends."

Something that I doubt I would have gotten if I'd remained on team 7. It was a great team and all, but Kakashi still would have viewed me as a kid first and a Jonin second. Sasuke and Sakura… they were great and I liked them, but I struggled to connect with them. Sasuke was pretty disconnected from people while Sakura… she could act pretty immature at times and didn't take being a Kunoichi seriously.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and looked up, immediately catching my eye. We stared at each other for several moments.

"So… are we trying that Spiderman kiss now?" I asked, tilting her chair backwards. "You know, the one where one of us is upside down."

"I suppose I could spare some time," Tsunade replied. "But no too much, we both have a lot of work to do today."

Leaning down, I content to slowly bring my face towards Tsunade's, but it seemed that she wasn't satisfied with that. Grabbing the back of my head, she pulled my face down rapidly. I pulled back several moments later, to see Tsunade with a satisfied look on her face.

"You know, that wasn't too bad," She hummed.

"Well, maybe next time, you could be the one that's upside down," I suggested, putting her chair back on its legs.

"Maybe," Tsunade replied. "Now, I believe that we've both got work that we need to do."

"About that." I stepped around her chair. "There's a few things that I could use your… input on. Last night, I noticed that I've grown taller… to a startling degree. Kurama thinks it's because I'm eating properly and training, but I wanted a second opinion on it."

"It's puberty," Tsunade said, an amused look on her face.

"Don't you need to che…"

"My clone did that yesterday," Tsunade explained. One of her clones began took to rolling up the Scroll of Seals while she began to work on her paperwork.

"Oh." Now I felt a bit stupid. I took comfort in knowing that at the very least, that was one less thing to worry about.

"What are the other things?"

"Kurama discovered why I can't use his Chakra properly," I replied. "Unfortunately, there's nothing that I can do about it right now."

Tsunade's eyes widened and she looked up suddenly, the paperwork she was busy with now laid forgotten. "Don't you think you should have led with that?!"

"There's nothing either of us can really do about it, so I decided to leave it for last," I shrugged. "You see, the problem is that when Kurama and I decided to work together, we skipped a couple of important steps. I haven't confronted and accepted my inner darkness. I tried to do it last night, but it seems to be impossible without the right… tools."

Tsunade's eyes lit up in understanding. "It seems we've got another reason to ensure that relations improve between Konoha and Kumo."

Well, besides the need to work together to prevent the Obito from resurrecting the Jubi, putting everyone into an eternal sleep, only to be betrayed by Black Zetsu who wants to bring back the Rabbit Goddess… Yeah, I suppose we did have another reason to improve relations.

"I'll make a note of bringing it up once we begin communicating with Kumo," Tsunade said before gesturing to her clone that now held the Scroll of Seals. "For now, I believe it would be best if you begin your training. I've already had a room prepared for you here, just ask one of my clones if you need anything else."

"Will do," I replied, moving to follow her clone. "And hey, with me learning the Hiraishin in the Hokage tower, we'll be able to spend more time together."

"That we will," Tsunade smiled. "Oh, and one last thing. Tonight at ten, the Hokage monument, on top of the Nidaime Hokage's head, don't be late."

"Got it," I nodded. That sounded suspiciously like a date, but with everything that was going on, I doubt that it was… Either way, I should probably bring flowers.

Tsunade's clone led me through the tower to a large room that had been filled with tables and chairs along with one main desk at the front of the room, giving it a passing resemblance of a classroom in the academy.

Placing the Scroll of Seals on the main table, the Tsunade clone gestured towards several sets of book cases lining the side of the room. "The Hiraishin is an extremely complicated Jutsu that not even we understand fully, so we've taken the liberty of placing books and scrolls on various topics in here. Technically speaking, everything you need to master it should exist in this room."

Alright, so, if there was something I didn't understand, I didn't need to send clones to the library, but, instead, I could just look it up in here. That should save some time.

"So you're just leaving the scroll here?"

"Well I am going to be working nearby, so there shouldn't be too many issues," The clone shrugged.

That was interesting. The Scroll of Seals was filled with more than just the Hiraishin, it also had the details to using Shadow Clones and likely also had several other techniques in it. "Hypothetically speaking… After I learn the Hiraishin, do you think that I could take a look at the other Jutsu and see if I could learn them as well?"

"Yeah, good luck with that," The clone snorted. "Sure there are a few Ninjutsu that you might be able to learn, but the rest… why don't you just take a look for yourself."

Unraveling the scroll, I passed through a few sections and quickly came to realize why the clone was so amused. The scroll contained Jutsu that was deemed too dangerous for the average Shinobi to learn and was written by the first two Hokage. The majority of the scroll contained Mokuton Ninjutsu that Hashirama most likely felt was either too destructive or Chakra intense while the few Ninjutsu written by Tobirama were the ones I was already familiar with.

"Well that kind of sucks," I muttered. Moving back to the Hiraishin, I gave it a quick look over. "Hey, I've got a quick question. Is this… written in some kind of code?"

"Having trouble reading it?"

"Yep," I replied. I wasn't very experienced with Fuinjutsu, but I should at the very least be able to recognize a few symbols. This on the other hand… I couldn't understand a single thing.

"Unfortunately for you, this hasn't been encoded. It's just that complex."

"Well shit," I muttered. I didn't have the knowledge to begin to understand it… That, however, was going to quickly be remedied. Several dozen clones burst into existence and raced off to the book shelves, each grabbing a scroll to begin their studies.

"Well then," Tsunade's clone pressed against my side. "Now that you've got all those clones studying, you've probably got some free time."

I let out a pained sigh. "As much as I would like to 'spend some time with you' and I really do. This takes priority."

"You know, I might just take your lack of interest as an insult," The clone pouted.

It was difficult to focus on the Hiraishin instructions with the amount of eye rolling I was doing. "Tsunade, you know I love you, but I've really got to get working on this. Even if me physically being here only speeds up the rate at which I learn the Hiraishin by a few minutes, it would be worth it."

The Tsunade clone suddenly stiffened and went quiet. Glancing up, I briefly caught the blush on her face, before she suddenly turned and left.

"I think I'll go and handle some paperwork," She blurted out. "Call me or one of the other clones if you need some help."

I spared a moment to watch her as she rushed out of the room. One moment she was flirting with me and the next she's embarrassed and runs out of the room. I'd never understand clones… Then again, from the looks on the faces of the few clones that caught that interaction, it seemed that they didn't understand either.

"Alright, let's get to learning this," I muttered to myself. I'd learned how to make Shadow Clones in a single day, all five basic elements in a month, the Rasengan in a day and even improved upon it shortly. The Hiraishin couldn't be that complicated.

I sat at a desk with the scroll of seals opened in front of me and I was on the verge of ripping out my hair. Several hours had passed since I first began to study the Hiraishin. As time went on, my clones slowly began to disperse. My understanding of seals increased, but the Hiraishin still didn't make any sense.

Sure the function of it was simple enough. Mark an object and use the Jutsu to teleport to said object. The mechanics behind it though… It was complicated. I could only read a quarter of the Jutsu, it was mostly written in Fuinjutsu, Jutsu Shiki and even had hints of Juinjutsu.

My clones were burning through the numerous scrolls and books at a frantic pace, but I was still confused. It was simply too complicated for me to understand it. How in the hell had Tobirama even made this?! How had Minato perfected it?! How, just how does this thing work?

I'd expected it to be difficult, but not this difficult. Minato not being able to add his element to the Rasengan, but being able to understand and use this Jutsu effectively is just plain bullshit.

I was going over it for what must have been the hundredth time, before a knock at the door interrupted me. Glaring up, I took a moment to center myself before answering.

"Come in."

"So this is where you've been hiding out," Jiraiya commented, whistling as he saw my numerous clones. "I have to say, it was actually difficult finding this room, what with everyone running around… getting ready for a war."

"Yeah, well… I couldn't exactly take this scroll out into the open, so Tsunade let me use this room to… study… the…" I rubbed my eyes as another bout of memories hit me. I hope all of this wasn't affecting the clones that were with Anko and Shizune. "Jiraiya?!"

A thought just occurred to me. Jiraiya taught Minato… he likely helped him with this technique and he was currently standing in the doorway… The answer on how to learn this overly complicated jutsu.

"What, have you fried your brain?" Jiraiya joked. "All kidding aside. When I got back, Tsunade sent me to help you with your current training and I think the best thing right now is to take a break."

Tsunade sent him to help me?! When I'm done here, I was going to kiss that woman… again.

"Sure… but first, just take a look here, I can't tell what I'm doing wrong," I said, slipping Jiraiya a several sheets of paper filled with what little I was successfully able to decipher of the numerous seals.

Jiraiya glanced through the paper, frowned, before a sudden look of clarity washed over his face. "You're learning the Hiraishin?!"

"I'm failing to learn it," I admitted. "It's just too complicated. There are so many different mechanics to it, there's Fuinjutsu mixed with Juinjutsu that's mixed with Jutsu Shiki… I just… I don't understand it."

Jiraiya paged through my papers, before sighing. "That's because you're going about it the wrong way," He said. Grabbing the scroll of seals, he unfurled it even more and then pointed to the bottom section. "You're looking at all the moving parts, when you should be looking at it as a whole. Minato was the same way, he needed Kushina to point out just what the Hiraishin is!"

I could almost feel my soul leave my body. There were so many moving elements to the Hiraishin… This jutsu was honestly impossible!

"No," Jiraiya said, snapping his fingers in front of me. "You're looking too closely. Broaden your view and you'll understand!"

Broaden my view? I tiredly rubbed my head. Getting up, I took several steps back and looked at the formula for the Hiraishin.

"Notice anything yet?" Jiraiya smirked.

"It looks familiar," I said. There was a pattern that I was noticing, one that looked very familiar, yet at the same time different. Had one of the clones I sent out today learned it in a separate scroll.

"You're really not getting it?" Jiraiya asked, looking way too pleased with himself. "I'll give you a hint, this jutsu has a parent jutsu, one that I taught you during the Chunin exams."

"The summoning Jutsu," I gasped. The pattern was similar to the pattern that appeared on the ground when I summoned Pa! How could I be so stupid, that was a space time technique just like the Hiraishin.

"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded. "The Hiraishin, while an incredibly complicated jutsu that requires a ton of theoretical knowledge to use and even more so to master is simply reverse summoning yourself to premarked destinations without using hand signs. You've first got to learn how to make your own marker and then you'll need to learn how to summon yourself through it."

That actually sounded pretty simple, but then… "Why haven't other Shinobi figured out how to use this technique then?"

"Despite what I've told you, it's still an extremely complicated Jutsu. You first need to create your own marker, learn how to place it with a single touch and learn how to fight while teleporting," Jiraiya explained. "And also, you would need the Nidaime Hokage's notes as well. Without all of that, it would be nigh impossible to be able to learn this jutsu, let alone, be capable of using it in combat."

"Then I should be able to learn this using my shadow cl–"

"Not right now," Jiraiya interrupted. "You're taking a break."

"What?! But–"

"A break, Naruto," Jiraiya repeated. "You're not going to be able to figure this out instantly. Take a short break and come back when your brain stops leaking out of your ears. Trust me on this."

I suppose I could take a little break. I could keep my clones working on this with the instruction that they not disperse until I get back.

"Fine, I can take a short break," I said.

"Good," Jiraiya nodded before gesturing for me to follow him. "Now come, I want to hear what my apprentice has been up to since Tsunade became Hokage."

I glanced at him. "Well, Tsunade made me a Jonin," I replied, following him.

"Jonin huh," Jiraiya hummed. "You're really coming up in the world. So she's been sending you out on more missions?"

"Yeah, with Anko and Shizune," I said. Pausing for a moment, I considered if I should be telling him what those missions were about. There was a thing about missions being confidential, but then again, this is Jiraiya. "We've been raiding Orochimaru's old bases, grabbing anything that looks interesting and destroying the rest."

"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya stopped midstep, before continuing onwards. "You know… He wasn't always such a bad guy. There was a point where I trusted him with my life, he was even in the running to become the Yondaime Hokage."

"I think I've heard that before," I muttered.

"He had such potential. He was labeled as a genius and he was well respected in Konoha," Jiraiya added, smiling wistfully, before a glare came to his face. "And then he threw it all away and became a monster… For the longest time, I believed that I could somehow redeem him, save him from what he became, but… the things he did, the experiments, killing our sensei… There's no redemption for that. When Orochimaru died, I mourned for a person that had been long dead, the old Orochimaru who was once my trusted teammate and friend."

I placed my hand on Jiraiya's shoulder. "You doing alright?"

Jiraiya took a breath and then perked up with a laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that. I just felt that I needed to get that out, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," I said, thinking about Kurama and Tsunade. "Sharing your burdens makes them lighter… more manageable."

"Exactly," Jiraiya smiled. "Now enough of this depressing talk. Why don't we take a walk and you can tell me all about what happened in the Land of the Sea."

I glanced his way. "How much have you heard?"

"Just what Tsunade's told me," Jiraiya shrugged. "How you and Kumo's Jinchuriki bumped fists before your fight… It's quite the gamble, Naruto."

So she let him know that there was more than meets the eye with the fight. "It wasn't a gamble that we made lightly," I replied. "The dealer was set to win in that round, so Bee and I merely… gamed the system." If Jiraiya didn't have the full picture before, then he certainly had it now.

"I see," Jiraiya nodded. " How about the two of us go get some lunch and you can tell me how your fight went with Kumo's Jinchuriki."

"Well… I do know this nice little Ramen restaurant," I said. "How about you treat your apprentice to some lunch."

"Cheeky brat," Jiraiya smirked. "How about you pay me back for the bill that you and Tsunade racked up back in Otafuku Gai."

I shot Jiraiya a grin. It was nice to take a break and unwind every once in a while.

And that's Chapter 29

Naruto starts learning the Hiraishin and Jiraiya morns the person Orochimaru could have been.

It seems that I was able to publish this chapter on time after all.

Anyways, I'm up to Chapter 36 on the Spooky P word website.

P
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I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

Next chapter will be posted on the 19th of July.
See you all then dudes and dudettes.