Chapter Five is here, Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting! (In that order :))
This Chapter is about 6k words, so a little over half of last chapter, which didn't seem as well recieved, and was difficult to write. The 5-7k words mark seems pretty easy for me to hit without packing too much into a chapter so I'll be trying to stick to that amount from here on out.
I made an instagram account solely for this story/future stories and posted a quick illustration of the Naruto from this chapter, drawn in his new shinobi gear. I didn't wanna spend a lot of time on it because I'd rather write, but I did want to give an image so you guys could see it, and to help me describe it as I could look at it while writing, give it a look if you're interested! I've also already come up with, and sketched out his future looks so those will be posted when the time comes too! IG: StolenHawk22
Wholesome moment from last chapter:
A large man walked into the shop, followed by a much smaller blond child. The larger of the two was obviously a shinobi given the head protector, although the tailor had never heard of an 'Oil' Village.
"We need some new rags for my companion here." The white haired man gestured to the small child, whose nose was buried in a book. The boy was wearing what appeared to be very dirty blue sweatpants, with a green long sleeve shirt that had a white shirt over the top of it.
As the tailor took in the boy, subconsciously measuring him with his eyes, the young blond's face twisted in confusion, and perhaps frustration, and tugged on his large companion's sleeve. When he had the shinobi's attention, he pointed to a word in the book and quirked his head.
"Indomitable. Do you know what that means?"
The boy quirked his head the other way, apparently in thought, and after a few seconds of pondering, nodded his head with a small smile.
"So what were we thinking? Training gear perhaps?" The tailor guessed based off of the boy's appearance and apparent Shinobi father.
"What do you think, Naruto?"
The boy looked back up at Jiraiya, and then smiled such a warm, blindingly big smile, that the tailor couldn't help but smile himself.
8 months after Naruto left Konoha
Naruto was interrupted from practicing his calligraphy when Jiraiya came into the clearing. He hated practicing calligraphy, but he wasn't thinking of that now. Something was wrong. Jiraiya had never moved that urgently since Naruto had left Konoha with him, least of all in their 'spars'.
Jiraiya was moving about camp busily packing things up. He stopped and shook his head like he was disappointed in himself, and made three shadow clones to continue his work. He turned to Naruto.
"An urgent matter has come up at the Village. I have to go back, and fast. You won't be able to keep up with me, but I have a solution for that."
Naruto saw the worried look on his master's face, and decided it wasn't the time for his newest nickname. "Sensei what's wrong, is the village okay?"
Jiraiya didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell a boy who'd only turned eight for a few months that an entire clan had just been wiped out. They hadn't even addressed the fact that as a shinobi he would one day have to take a life. More than a couple if he ended up being any good.
"Uh, just clan business, nothing you need to worry about, Kiddo."
"I thought you didn't have a clan?" Naruto asked curiously.
"I don't, it's not my clan business, but you know as the Hokage's student, he sometimes recalls me to advise him on important matters." Jiraiya said with as much bravado as he could muster. He was trying to keep the boy innocent as long as possible.
"Hmm, if you say so. Don't expect me to have you as an advisor when I'm Hokage just because you were my sensei though. You'll have to earn that position fair and square!" Naruto retorted.
Jiraiya gave him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, a feeble attempt at hiding his emotional state. Naruto, wasn't even a genin, and yet his eyes narrowed as he noticed yet again, that something was wrong with his sensei.
"So what am I gonna do while you're gone? And how long will you be gone? And are you sure I'm not fast enough to keep up with you?" The young blond questioned.
"Yes I'm positive, and it'll be another 30 years before you can catch me if you don't start working harder." A sensei was a sensei, and therefore Jiraiya was always trying to keep the boy motivated. He wanted to tell him about his father as soon as possible, but he had to get stronger and more mature first, something training hard would accomplish. "How would you like to become a toad summoner?" He asked before Naruto could argue that he was training harder than anybody, especially Sasuke, that jerk.
"Woah, you mean I'll be able to summon Gama? Or Gerotora?" Naruto asked in awe and wonderment.
"Not just those two Gaki, but any of the toads. Ones the size of small mountains, or ones strong enough lift a stone 50 times their size!" Jiraiya's mood picked up momentarily. He couldn't help it, toads were awesome.
"WOAH! How do I do it!? How do I do it!? Show me the hand signs again!" Naruto was beyond excited, Jiraiya's odd mood completely forgotten.
"Alright, Kiddo. Here, are the signs, but don't use them yet, you have to sign the contract first." Jiraiya bit his thumb and wet the end of each finger with the blood it produced. "One of the conditions of the summoning jutsu is that it requires a small blood sacrifice each time it is used." He began going through the hand signs slowly, while saying them out loud for Naruto's benefit. "Boar… Dog… Bird… Monkey… Ram… Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)" A now familiar puff of smoke in the air, and soon Gama was standing before Naruto, a green and red scroll wrapped up in its tongue.
Jiraiya grabbed the scroll when Gama unfurled it out to him, and he unrolled the scroll on the ground. There were names written on the scroll in typical vertical fashion, in what looked like blood. Below the names were fingerprints, also in blood.
Naruto, being the sharp kunai that he was, didn't even wait for Jiraiya to explain. He just bit down on his thumb and began writing his name in the blood he produced, in remarkably good handwriting for a child his age. When he was done, he bloodied all five fingers on his right hand and left a print, just like the others had.
"Congratulations Gaki, you now have one more thing in common with the Fourth Hokage, to go with your looks and sensei." Jiraiya had explained that he looked a bit like the Fourth, and that's one of the main reasons that Jiraiya had taken an interest in him, so this made sense.
Wait a minute, no it didn't. "Wait… you're telling me… The Yondaime was a toad summoner too!? And now I am?"
Why Naruto was shocked was beyond Jiraiya. The boy already knew he had trained him, it shouldn't have been that hard to put two and two together. He guessed Naruto still had a way to go intelligence wise, despite his newfound interest in books.
"Yes Gaki, I was his sensei, remember? I gave him the toad summoning contract, with the toads permission of course. They have also given me permission to allow you to sign it, though we won't have time to train in it. I've gotta get going." Jiraiya finished.
"Wait, what am I gonna do then?" Naruto had never had his question answered, Jiraiya had just offered him the contract.
"You are going to Mt. Myoboku. It's the ancient and sacred home of the Toads." Jiraiya explained, before turning to a large orange toad. "Gama, please report back to Fukasaku and Shima and please tell them to reverse summon Naruto and I." Jiraiya asked. The toad croaked and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"If this Mt. Myabarno—"
"Myoboku."
"That's what I said." Naruto growled back. "If this Mt. Myoboku place is so sacred and great, how come I've never heard of it?" The blond questioned petulantly.
"Sacred means that it's a place of great meaning to the Toads. Therefore, very few people are ever allowed to visit their home, and that means very few people even know of its existence. I'm the only one alive that's been, and I can only think of three other people that even know of its existence." Jiraiya offered.
Naruto nodded. "So how do we get there, you said something about inverted summoning or something?"
"Reverse summoning." Jiraiya corrected again. "When you have a summoning contract signed in blood, if the summon is strong enough, they can reverse summon you to their home, just as you can summon them."
"Is it gonna hurt? What happens if they summon you when you're naked in the sho—" There was a puff of smoke and the curious blond disappeared. Nobody was there to witness it though as the Toad Sage was reverse summoned at the exact same time.
Mt. Myoboku - Home of the Toad Summons
"—er AH WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT OLD MAN!" Naruto screamed, rubbing his butt, which he had promptly fell on after his first experience with a space-time ninjutsu.
"Yes he does seem to have quite a bit of fire in him, just like his mother did."
"He sure does Pa, he sure does." Jiraiya replied sadly. "Naruto, come here. I want to introduce you to Ma and Pa. Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, this is Naruto, my new student."
Naruto looked down at the two tiny, wrinkled toads standing next to Jiraiya. Or were they sitting? He couldn't really tell because of how small they were, and the overcoats that they wore.
"Uh, hiya Fukasasuke-sama, Shima-sama." Naruto waved awkwardly.
"Gaki, it's FukaSAKU, not Fukasasuke. They're both sages. Have some respect." Jiraiya corrected with a facepalm.
"Oh who cares Jiraiya boy. Naruto boy, It's so good to finally meet you, Jiraiya has sent a few messages about you, and that got us quite excited to meet our newest summoner." Fukasaku said.
"It's great to meet you too, Grandpa Sage." Naruto said with a smile.
"Naruto. Respect." Jiraiya was exasperated. He didn't have time for this.
"Oh whatever, Pervy Sage." Naruto hollered with an accusational point, including his newest nickname for his sensei. "If you're a sage, then it must not be that special you old pervert!" Naruto finished yelling,
"Oh I like him." Fukasaku and Shima said in unison.
"He caught me doing research ONE time, and now he won't stop calling me that nickname." Jiraiya lamented.
"That's very funny Naruto boy, but I assure you the power of a sage is no joke." Fukasaku explained while walking over to a giant stone toad statue.
"Wait, power? You mean being a sage isn't just about pretending to be all wise?" Naruto questioned.
"Jiraiya, what have you been teaching the boy? Hopefully not just how to peek on women's baths!" Shima called out.
"You're half right Naruto boy, Sage's like us are incredibly wise, and should you ever need council, we would be happy to help you. However, we are also incredibly powerful. Observe." Fukasaku clapped his hands together and became unnaturally still for a moment. Then he pulled his hands apart, and gripped the foot of the toad stone. It was at least 30 times his size, yet the wrinkly toad lifted it above his head like Naruto would lift a scroll. Extreme ease.
Naruto didn't see any difference in the old toad after he clapped his hands together, but when he was done he had felt powerful. Like way more powerful. Naruto's eyes were still wide in awe. "You have got to teach me that. I could kick that bastard Sasuke's ass so easily with that!"
"Language."
"Whatever Pervy Sage, you know it's true. Please teach me that Grandpa Sage!"
"Sorry Lad, you're too young for it, and your body wouldn't be able to take the strain the technique would put on it. When you are properly developed though, I would be more than happy to teach you!"
"Really? That's great!" Naruto shouted. "Is there anything else you can teach me in the meantime?"
Before either of the elder Toads could answer that, Jiraiya cut in.
"Naruto, focus up real quick." And just like that, Naruto's blue eyes were locked on to his in complete focus. Jiraiya was no longer taken aback by the intensity of his student, but sometimes he forgot just how intensely focused he could get when need be. "I have to go deal with the village emergency. I'll probably be gone around a month. Ma and Pa will take care of you in the meantime, and I'm sure they'll help you continue your training if you're respectful of them and their home." The two elder toads nodded at this.
There was a flash of something in the boy's eyes. Something sad. It happened so quick, Jiraiya wasn't even 100 percent sure he actually saw it before they returned back to their normal glow. "Alright Pervy Sage, I bet by the time you get back I'll be able to kick your butt too!" Naruto shouted.
Jiraiya gave Naruto one final genuine smile before shunshining (body flickering) away.
"So Naruto, you seem to get along well with Jiraiya if your getup is any indication." Shima said.
Naruto looked down at his outfit. The nice tailor in River Country had gladly made him a copy of Jiraiya's gear with some small exceptions. He wore the green robbed jacket and green shinobi pants that were loose and tied up just below the knee just like him, as well as the mesh armor underneath, and the green guards for the back of his hands. Instead of a red kabuki jacket with yellow circles on the shoulders, Naruto wore a blue one with red Uzumaki clan crests sewed on in place of the circles. He also wore blue wooden geta on his feet instead of red like Jiraiya's, though he still had a little bit of trouble moving in them, and struggled to water walk with them on. Rounding out the outfit was a large blue and red scroll strapped to his back just like Jiraiya's, though Naruto's was red with blue ends, and extra seals running across the middle, courtesy of Jiraiya. The boy had even taken to putting small red streaks running from his eyes, though his were much shorter than Jiraiya's, barely making it onto his cheek. In addition to all this, the young blond was growing out his hair to be like Jiraiya's. It was longer than it had ever been, and he had taken to tying shinobi cloth around his forehead to keep it out of his eyes. It wasn't long enough for a ponytail like Jiraiya's, but he was determined to get it there.
Naruto smiled at two Toad Elders, "Mhmm I sure do, even if he is a pervert and super stubborn. I still need a headband like his so I can match him completely though." Naruto's face dropped for a second at this.
"Y'know Naruto boy, we toads are the ones who gave that to Jiraiya boy. The kanji on the front means 'Oil', and is the symbol of our clan." Fukasaku informed him kindly, "And being that you are our newest summoner, I'd say you deserve the opportunity to earn one yourself, don't ya think?"
Naruto nodded his head vigorously. He really wanted that headband. "What do I gotta go Grandpa Sage? Walk on water? Beat you in a fight?" Naruto thought for a second about other ways he could earn the headband before speaking excitedly. "I can make a bunch of clones and do the dishes! Jiraiya has me do that all the time before he teaches me something." Naruto rushed out.
"Hmm, actually, that does sound kind of nice, it's a d—." Fukasaku was interrupted by a smack on the back of his head, courtesy of his wife. She was not letting him shirk dishes duty again.
"Ah that's right, the oath. In order to become a true summoner, you must take an oath never to put the Toad Clan in harm's way if possible, and treat all summons as equals. In order to earn the headband, you must take the oath, and learn every Toad's name in the clan." Fukasaku explained after his wife's beatin— correction, after his wife's loving correction.
"Hmm, I'm not great with names, but oaths I can do!" Naruto stopped short. "Uh… what's an oath?" Naruto asked timidly.
"Why an oath is just a promise, but more serious. There are consequences if you don't take the oath seriously, or if you break it. Do you think you can take this seriously Naruto boy?" Fukasaku explained and then asked.
"Of course I can! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future hokage of the village hidden in the leaves, and I never break a promise, ya know!" Naruto shouted at the top of his eight year old lungs.
"Oho, well Naruto, recite this oath: I, Naruto Uzumaki, Summoner of the great Toad Clan, swear to never do harm to a toad, or put them in unnecessary danger without their permission. I also swear to come to the Toad Clan's or any member's aid whenever the need should arise."
Naruto nodded, the determination that Jiraiya wrote about shining in his eyes for the elder toads to see. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, Summoner of the great Toad Clan, swear to never do harm to a toad, or put them in unnecessary danger without their permission. I also swear to come to the Toad Clan's or any member's aid whenever the need should arise and to become the greatest Toad Summoner to ever live, and I swear it on my title of future Hokage!" There was a fire lit inside the boy, and though it wasn't tangible, Fukasaku and Shima could feel it. Every toad in on the mountain could probably feel it radiating off of him. The two Elders believed the boy, and believed that he might just be the child of prophecy.
"Alright Naruto boy, very well said, now let's go get you some food, and introduce you to all of our kin." Shima said.
Naruto seemed excited at the prospect of food, though he didn't know that it would consist mostly of bugs. He was more excited to get to know the names of all the toads and get that sweet horned headband Pervy Sage had on though.
—-
Jiraiya walked up to the Hokage tower under the cover of night. He had never, in all his years as a shinobi of the great leaf, entered through the front door of this building. Not even when he was a genin getting his first D-rank missions. Sarutobi had already been the Hokage at the time, so he would always try and sneak through the window to surprise his sensei, and his sensei would always acknowledge his presence without even turning to look.
Considering what had happened though, Jiraiya thought it best not to test any of the ANBU's frayed nerves. After all, it had been one of them that had done the deed. No, he'd better walk through the front door tonight, and slowly at that. So that is what Jiraiya did, acknowledging the ANBU sentries that were out in the open, and ignoring the ones that were hidden. Up to the top of the building he went, never being stopped by anybody, as access to the tower was restricted right now, and everybody in there knew Jiraiya had been summoned by his sensei.
He came to the double doors of the Hokage's office, took a deep breath, and pushed his way in.
"Jiraiya, sit."
Jiraiya remained standing. "Did he really kill every last one of them? Even his family?" While the Uchiha clan were technically all related at least distantly, Sarutobi knew what he meant.
"No not all of them. He left his little brother, Sasuke." Jiraiya just looked at his sensei blankly. Not even two Great Shinobi Wars and decades out in the field both in combat missions, and as a spy, could prepare him for this. How was he going to explain to Naruto that the boy he always mentioned as a rival and somebody he wanted to beat, would never be the same. Then again, Sasuke was currently experiencing what Naruto had for the first seven year of his life. Loneliness.
All alone, at the ripe old age of 8. Even Tsunade had made it to 27 before she lost everybody that she had loved. The boy was gonna be messed up if somebody didn't help him.
"How is the boy doing?" Jiraiya asked softly.
Sarutobi was surprised by this. The village was in great danger. So soon after the Third Great Shinobi War they experienced the Kyuubi attack, and loss of their greatest hero. Now, so soon after that hit to their morale and numbers, they lost an entire clan, possibly their most powerful clan. The village was reeling, and Iwa (Stone Village) and Kumo (Cloud Village) would be looking to take advantage of it. Not to mention that their treaty with Suna (Sand Village) was shaky on the best of days. Sure they had avoided a potential civil war as the Uchiha coup died with its members, but that didn't mean they weren't greatly weakened. Yet, here was Jiraiya, his last true confidant, and perhaps most trusted advisor, worried about a boy who wasn't strong enough to take on a genin yet. But, Jiraiya had spent the last eight months in Naruto's presence, day after day. No doubt that had influenced him strongly, Sarutobi swore the boy had a superpower, even amongst chakra wielding shinobi.
"He has just woken up. He's still in the hospital. It appears that Itachi put him under a genjutsu before he left." The Sandaime explained, "though it appears he knows what happened, he won't talk to anybody about it, and I'm hesitant to call Inoichi in for a mind walk, as fragile as the boys mental state is at the moment."
Jiraiya growled at this, and the fatherly instinct that he would deny he had kicked in. "Did it have to be this way?" He spat out.
Sarutobi took a second, considering what he would say next. "It appears they were going to use Naruto for their plan, or rather, the Kyuubi within him." Sarutobi treaded carefully, "we don't know what they would have done if they couldn't find him. I'd taken to sending a henge'd (transformed) clone in the form of Naruto out now and then so nobody would suspect he was out of the village." The Hokage's voice started to break, "the looks my clone got. The treatment it received in place of Naruto." He shook his head. The wise Hokage had no words for it.
Jiraiya considered this. He knew his sensei felt bad about Naruto's treatment, about his isolation. It couldn't happen again, anybody other than Naruto, with his indomitable will, would have folded in a few months at best.
It couldn't happen again.
"Somebody needs to take care of the boy. We cannot let him live in isolation." Jiraiya spoke so quietly even an elite Jonin likely wouldn't have been able to hear him. Sarutobi did.
"Who?"
Jiraiya was silent. When Hiruzen looked up, he found his students' eyes staring into his intensely.
And then the question was asked. The question Jiraiya dreaded, but brought onto himself. The question he wanted asked, and so desperately didn't.
"A-are you volunteering, Jiraiya?" The Hokage stuttered out.
Jiraiya didn't answer for a while. A long while.
"Only for a short while. I can't take care of them both forever. I can take him long enough for the village to get over the massacre, at least a little bit, so that he won't be such an outlier. Then he can come back, and someone else can take care of him. A few months tops. It'll be good for Naruto." Jiraiya was already regretting the words. He could barely take care of Naruto. The boy hadn't brushed his teeth for the first two weeks because Jiraiya hadn't told him too, and he forgot that young boys needed to be reminded. But he couldn't let it happen again. Not like it did to Naruto.
He knew it would be the polar opposite. Naruto was hated for what he carried. Sasuke would be loved for the potential that he carried, or more likely, the potential that his eyes carried. They would both be ostracized for the power they carried within, and he could stop it, at least the worst of it. If he took on Sasuke for a little while, he wouldn't hear the whispers about the massacre every day for the next few months while it was still the talk of the village. He wouldn't be bombarded with questions and looks as he walked down the street. He wouldn't be treated differently just because something a family member of his did that affected him. Maybe Naruto would be good for the boy, lord knows Sasuke will be good for Naruto. Jiraiya had made up his mind, whether he liked it or not
"I promised Itachi-k— that I would keep Sasuke safe. That he would have a chance to grow up here with an unblemished name." Sarutobi responded.
"He will, he just needs time away from the village. From the people of it, both alive and dead, and the memories they bring."
Sarutobi couldn't deny that. Hell, he'd let his own student leave to drown at the memories the village brought up of lost loved ones, who was he to deny a child the same right, though with different methods hopefully.
"Very well. Four months, tops. In that time I will arrange for another caretaker and place of living for him." The Hokage said.
"Kakashi." Jiraiya responded.
"You want Kakashi to take care of the boy? He can barely take care of himself at the moment. All he does is take missions and recklessly train until he drops."
"No, he would be a horrible caretaker. He needs to talk to the boy though. It'll be good for both of them. I believe Kakashi was Itachi's captain before he was promoted himself. Sasuke will need to talk about it with somebody who he can relate to, even just a little bit." Jiraiya explained.
It was only during times like this, that Hiruzen didn't question his students' title as a Sage. Despite his childishness and antics, he could occasionally spout wisdom even better than the Hokage himself could.
"That plan is sound." Sarutobi said, "there is an issue with you taking Sasuke-kun though." He explained, "you know that we must present a strong front, so you will need to take on missions. Dangerous missions, in dangerous places, to show that we aren't hurting from our diminished forces."
"I'm well aware. I have a plan for that. Naruto is currently at Mt. Myoboku with the Toads. I believe, given the extenuating circumstances, that the Toads will allow a non summoner on their sacred grounds. I'll take Sasuke there to stay with Naruto. It will be good for both of them to be away from people for a while. The toads can also summon and reverse summon me so I can visit sporadically to check up, without losing ground on my missions."
Sarutobi nodded at this. It was a good plan, keeping Sasuke away from the rumors and gossip, however short it might be. "Alright Jiraiya, I will put my faith in you, seeing as I have already failed this village more times than I can count. Take the boy, help him as best you can, and then return for your missions." Sarutobi said, "it has already been a week since the massacre, I expect that in another week most other villages will know, so I expect you back and out on a mission before then." The Hokage finished.
Jiraiya nodded, and then moved to leave through the window, nobody would feel threatened by somebody leaving the Hokage tower after all. He opened the window, but before he could leap out of it, Hiruzen stopped him.
"Jiraiya. Thank you… I know you have no wish to take my place, but you are doing a great job making decisions, hard decisions, selfless decisions, that only help others from Konoha, and not yourself. The way I see it, you are our Shadow Hokage. I rule in the light for all to see within the village, but ever since Minato died, you have taken care of the things that aren't seen by the villagers. Do the things that must be done to help in the long run, even if you're the only person who can truly see that at the time. Thank you for your service." The sensei of the Sannin said.
Jiraiya didn't turn around, and he didn't need to. Sensei knew, knew him better than anybody else at this point. He nodded ever so slightly, and then took off again.
—-
Sasuke didn't know where they were exactly, Jiraiya-sama had said that he was taking him somewhere safe to be with a friend. When he arrived at the colorful mountain side village, he didn't see any friends, just the annoying blond dead last that had left his academy class a while ago.
"Pervy Sage what's he doing here!?" Naruto's tone was accusational.
The old man knew he didn't like Sasuke, that he was his rival. "You didn't let him sign the summoning contract did you? No way I'm sharing with that bastard!" Naruto shouted.
Jiraiya sighed, it seemed one whole day with the toads wasn't enough to teach him some respect. Oh well. "Naruto, language. And no, Sasuke won't be signing the Toad Contract, he's just gonna stay here with you for a few months while I take care of some dangerous missions for the village. Too dangerous for a couple of eight year olds, sorry." Jiraiya cut off Naruto's train of thought before it could even get going.
Naruto hated this, hated that stupid Sasuke with his stoic looking face, though he had improved greatly in the last eight months. Plus, he had his shadow clone jutsu so he could beat the jerk up ten times at once. His internal evil laugh could almost be seen by Jiraiya as he worked out Naruto's thought procession, though Sasuke just looked confused, as well as he hid it from his face.
"Fine Old Man, but you owe me a new jutsu for this! I wanna learn the hair one!" Naruto finally shouted at his sensei.
"Very well Naruto, I'll teach you the 'hair one' when I come back for good in a few months. I'll be stopping by every now and then to check up on you guys." Jiraiya turned to Sasuke, "you're more than welcome to join Naruto in his training while you're here, or you can just laze around and do whatever pleases you. If you need anything just ask one of the toads, they'll all help you or find one that will for you." Jiraiya explained softly. He hated to leave the boy alone after such a tragic incident, but it was better than being alone in the village. In truth, he was hoping Naruto would spin some of that fiery magic within him and help Sasuke through this tough time. The boy had a way of giving people hope when all had felt lost.
Jiraiya left with a call of 'be good' over his shoulder that was directed at a certain blond more than the black haired child. Naruto stuck out his tongue and looked at Sasuke, really looked at Sasuke, for the first time since he left the village, 'or maybe ever' he thought to himself.
The small Uchiha wore a stoic expression like always, face perfectly masked, just as he'd been taught. Naruto saw the truth though, saw it in his eyes. Sadness.
Naruto's own facial expression softened, "what happened?" He inquired.
Sasuke felt betrayed by Jiraiya-sama, who assured him he wouldn't tell Naruto what was going on. He had seen their interaction though, unless they knew some sort of secret code, which he didn't think Naruto capable of learning, the Sannin hadn't said a word.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted. He had been doing that for a week now, but it had worked to get the adults to leave him alone and stop asking him how he was doing.
"Well what the hell does that mean? Did you forget how to talk? Or are you just shocked by my pure awesomeness?" Naruto questioned brashly.
Sasuke was surprised by this. The adults had all left him alone when he did that, as obvious as it was that he didn't want to talk. Maybe the blond was too dumb too understand.
"It means I don't want to speak with you." Sasuke said shortly.
"Why not?" Naruto asked back. The question was genuine, and to Sasuke, it didn't just seem like it was out of curiosity. For some reason it felt like Naruto actually cared about him.
"I don't wish to talk about what happened." Sasuke said, then lowered his eyes and quickly finished, "It's too hard."
Naruto knew that look. He knew questioning wouldn't help anymore. "Okay, well what do you wanna do?" He asked.
Sasuke was surprised again. Nobody had asked him what he wanted. Sure they had all wanted to help, but they wanted to do it their way.
After a few seconds of thinking, he replied. "I want to get stronger."
Naruto smiled at that, he understood that. He didn't know Sasuke's reasoning, but he didn't have to. They had the same goal, and that was all that mattered.
"Alright well let's start training then, c'mon, Grandpa Toad Sage will help us, he's super strong!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and took off running towards Fukasaku, who was seated on a toad statue a couple hundred feet away.
Sasuke didn't even have time to call Naruto a loser before his wrist was grabbed and he was yanked away. He didn't feel like fighting him either, it felt like too much work after all he had been through, so he just let the blond drag him. He'd get him back for it later.
AN: Hope that Sasuke visiting Mt. Myoboku isn't too unrealistic despite the fact that I just got done calling it sacred, but I felt like after being with Naruto, Jiraiya wouldn't want to leave another in the same (but different) situation that he just got Naruto out of, and the toads have always seemed kind.
Also this Jiraiya would definitely yell at Sarutobi for letting Danzo have the Uchiha killed, but he didn't tell Jiraiya, because he felt like it was another failure of his, and he already had plans to shorten Danzo's leash, I just couldn't find a way to make that flow into the story.
Chapter Five is already being written instead of taking a break like usual, so it should be out in a few days! Don't forget to leave a review, or favorite the story and follow it if you like it, it's great motivation for me to get the next chapter out faster!