I found Jiraya a few houses away in a small pub and - who was surprised - surrounded by a few women. Laughing, he told them about his great exploits and emptied one glass after another. His cheeks were heavily flushed, and his gaze veiled, while his tongue bumped slightly as he spoke. In short, he was drunk.

When he noticed my figure at the entrance, he let out a jeer and beckoned me over. Hesitantly I followed the invitation, but immediately regretted it again when he grabbed me by the arm and placed me in front of the young women. Critically and thoughtfully, I was eyed.

„And this, ladies, is Tora. The student of a good friend of mine," he slurred and I raised my eyebrow. Who the hell was he talking about? Genma or Kakashi? Because actually, they both taught me. Although I now spent more time with the latter since he had an affinity for Raiton and Genma did not.

Gruffly, I took my arm from him and squeezed through between the girls. I could do without something like that, then I would just look for Naruto without his help.

„If you're looking for that brat, he's probably in the forest training. That he has to pick Tsunade of all people to bet too," a hint of annoyance flitted into his voice, and I showed him with a curt nod that I understood.

I bought some more bread, meat and fruit from a merchant who was about to close. If Naruto really trained as much as Jiraya said, he would be pretty hungry. We would then be able to roast the meat on a fire and afterwards...

„Do you really think that's such a good idea? I mean, your hands and if Tsunade finds out..."

I pressed myself against the wall of the house, suppressing chakra and making myself invisible so that the two people who were there talking above me wouldn't notice my presence. I didn't even dare to look up, because as soon as my ears had heard the name Tsunade, everything in my body had tensed.

„Let me worry about that, Kabuto," a deep voice replied, and I pressed my hand firmly over my mouth to keep from gasping in fright. Now my eyes dared a cautious look upwards. Gray long hair tied into a braid and dark eyes. It was Kabuto, no doubt about it. He had apparently been able to fix his glasses somehow. Anger arose in me as I saw his face, not far from mine, hovering. Anger at the past.

But I had to get out of here. If those two noticed me, it was over, that much was for sure. On silent soles, I groped past under the window, ears perked, before channeling Raiton chakra into my feet and running as fast toward the forest as if my father were after me.

Sweaty and exhausted in equal measure, I arrived at the forest's border and began searching for the Uzumaki.

He was easy to find. Numerous holes, crevices and ravines in the ground, told of the countless attempts he had already made. He laboriously tried to concentrate chakra in his hands again, but lost concentration and it flung him backwards.

Naruto cursed softly, pulled himself together and was about to start again when he noticed me out of the corner of his eye. Slowly, his eyes drifted to me and a smile spread across his face.

„Tora. You must have come to watch me train, right?"

Wordlessly, I took bread, meat, and fruit out of my pockets and watched his eyes widen in surprise as he saw all the delicious food in front of him.

Faster than I could look he had sat down next to me and was staring down at the food. His mouth watered at how good it smelled. A grin broke out on my lips and I put a hand on his shoulder.

„How about you go ahead and set up a little fire pit, and meanwhile I'll try to find certain herbs so we can season the meat," I suggested, and he nodded so vigorously I was almost afraid his head would fall off.

A few moments later, a small fire crackled at our feet. Naruto had found a few pointed sticks in the forest, on which we could skewer the meat later. The palms pressed tightly together, I grated the collected herbs and spices. Even a little wild garlic I had been able to find. The rest, which I had not been able to use, had already found a place in the bag.

„You know Tora," Naruto said as we sat by the fire holding the meat in.

„Mhh," I made not quite present, because I was still haunted by the encounter with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

„You're the best friend anyone could ever have, really now. Even though I still don't quite understand about you and Kankuro, but..."

I interrupted him.

„Please, not this topic. For me, the Suna-Nin are history. Their kazekage started a war with us that killed our hokage. I don't forget that easily," I said with a bitter undertone.

„But Tora. The kazekage of Suna is dead."

Jerkily, I raised my head.

„What?"

„Didn't you catch that? He was apparently killed before the attack, only no one noticed," Naruto said excitedly.

„And how do you know that?" Suspiciously, I looked at him.

„Jiraya."

I see. That said it all. Still, the matter was far from settled for me because of that.

„At least Gaara is rid of his father now," I growled softly, actually feeling a small sense of satisfaction coursing through my body.

„What did you say," Naruto asked, but I just shook my head.

„Doesn't matter. Didn't really matter," was my mumbled retort, despite knowing that I meant the opposite.

As we finished eating, we sat back a bit and gazed up at the starry sky stretching above our heads. It had to be close to midnight, because the moon was already high in the sky, shining down on us and giving a little light.

A shooting star raced by, and Naruto pointed his finger at the beautiful meteor. Enchanted, my eyes lingered on it before it was lost in the endlessness of the night.

„Make a wish Naruto," I murmured softly, and the Uzumaki jumped up, raising his fist to the sky.

„One day I will be the best and strongest Hokage in the world, believe it. And I will earn that myself through my own willpower."

He fell silent, and just now I noticed that he had been squeezing his eyes shut all this time, which he now opened and turned his gaze to me.

„But I wish something for you, Tora," he said softly, looking at me with such an honest look that the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"That one day you can live a happy life, free from all the worries and your horrible father. You really deserve it. You really deserve it. You really deserve it. That's the reason you get my wish."

Speechless, I looked at him. Yes, I couldn't help it. His words triggered an incredible bliss and gratitude in me that I didn't even notice how I had stood up and hugged him.

„Thank you," I whispered softly.

The next few days passed rather quickly, against my will. I was really enjoying my time here. Especially since Naruto and I were able to train side by side. He his Rasengan and I my own skills. Both of us were making great progress, with each other's support, but still, I knew the Uzumaki would master his technique faster than I would mine. It would still take some time. Time, I had, after all I possessed other skills with which I could fight well.

I rarely saw Shizune. Apparently Tsunade needed her more. When we did meet, however, we would talk about times past. In the meantime, she knew that my father was in prison and also knew about his deeds. Rightly so, she thought. However, she had not yet found out about my former activities as a thief. I was still unsure whether I could trust her, although I liked the black-haired woman.

If our situation were different, I might be able to talk to her much more openly, but now... I was unsure. Especially since Tsunade seemed to be in contact with Orochimaru. No... under no circumstances would I accuse her of being in league with him. No, I wouldn't trust her to do that under any circumstances. Even if I didn't know her very well, but according to Jiraya's reports...

No way, how did I even get the idea?

And now I was sitting here in the forest outside the village, brooding to myself. Shouldn't I be training? Actually already? I should, but whether I wanted to? That was a completely different question again.

A tremendous shaking of the ground made me look up, startled. Trees creaked protestingly and tilted to the side. With wobbly legs I pulled myself up and followed the sounds, which now reached my ears. Not only the trembling, but also the voices of several people.

As a precaution, I made my body invisible as I stepped out of the forest. In front of me stretched a wide meadow, which was crisscrossed by a wide gap. A short distance away, Shizune, Jiraya, Naruto, and a stricken Tsunade, Kabuto, and Orochimaru were facing each other. Two gigantic snakes had built up in front of my friends and were hissing menacingly.

I felt a chill run down my spine as I watched the spectacle. Why didn't Naruto intervene? As far as I knew, he possessed nevertheless a familiar spirit. Only then did my eyes catch a small green dot sitting on the ground in front of the Uzumaki. Yes...that was a frog, only smaller...by a lot.

Damn.

Good. So then only something else could help. A surprise attack and this. I bit my finger so hard it bled and pressed it into the damp grass.

„Summoning jutsu!"