This Chapter was most likely completely excessive and not super necessary to the story, but it was a lot of fun to write.
Naruto stood in a clearing. It was a different one from the day before. This one didn't have a house, but instead, his favorite training ground. The will of fire monument sat to his back, behind three tree stumps. To his side, a small crowd had gathered. In front of him, was nothing.
He was well rested, though he had struggled to sleep. Tsunade had all but forced him to take some time off. He checked out the house, unfurnished save for a single bed and some toiletries. Then, he headed back to the center of the village. He browsed some shops, waving to people who had waved to him.
Few as the number were, it made him smile a true, genuine smile. Others looked at him and whispered, some even pointed. That was nothing new, but something about the way they were doing it was different. He had an inkling of why, but could only chuckle to himself.
He met up with Teuchi and Ayame, setting his new record for most ramen bowls eaten in a single sitting. He now held all the top 10 spots on their leaderboard. He had missed ramen badly, but he'd missed the people who served it more.
He then had spent another hour tiddling about the village, taking it all in. Not much had changed, though Tsunade's face now was carved into the stone of the Hokage monument. Any repairs that weren't finished in the 6 months following the invasion were now complete and weathered as if they were original.
Finally, the time came for dinner. He was still somewhat full from the ramen, but that didn't matter to him. Once again, it was more about the people than the food. The eight remaining from his class were meant to show up at an Akimichi family restaurant. His clones and he himself had seen to inviting them. Hinata was out of the village on mission apparently, which made him sad. Everybody else was in though, and that was good enough for now.
He strolled through the doors, and was surprised to see them all waiting for him, plus a few stragglers. Team 9 was there too. He hadn't gotten a chance to really get to know them very well before he left, but it still made him smile. Of course he knew Neji well enough. The teen looked calm in his jonin vest, and less grumpy than normal. TenTen sat to his side in the aisle seat of the horseshoe booth, smiling. Rock Lee sat on his other side, waving his arms animatedly to Neji.
Next to him sat Sakura, who was turned, talking to Ino. Beside her, Shikamaru had his forehead in his arms, pretending to sleep on the table. Choji sat next to him, munching on potato chips as per usual. Kiba and Shino rounded out their group.
They noticed him, and more than one jaw dropped, but Naruto could only laugh. He'd always been on the shorter, scrawnier side. Hiruzen and genetics had seen fit to fix that.
All in all, the night had filled his heart with joy as they laughed and joked and told stories. The only thing that could have made it better was if Hinata had been around. He was still mad at Tsunade for that, but he knew her value to the village better than anyone.
That brought him to the present. Training ground three. The perfect training ground, in his opinion. Big open field, surrounded by trees, a small but deep pond off to the left. It had just about everything you could use in a fight. He glanced to the right again.
Tsunade looked pissed, unsurprising considering Jiraiya was late. Shizune stood next to her, holding a clipboard, TonTon at her feet. Sakura stood next to her. She was in the same dress but with her Leaf vest on. With her supposed medical skill, it was no wonder she was one of the first to make Tokujo.
A few paces away, Kakashi stood lazily. Icha Icha was in his hands, but Naruto was sure he didn't need the pages to be able to read it anymore. No, it was all a show, Kakashi was alert as ever. A small sword was strapped to his back though. That was new.
Next to him, Yamato stood. The complete opposite of Kakashi, he was the poster boy for shinobi body language. His muscles relaxed but his senses rigid. Ready to move at any moment. Naruto suppressed a giggle. He had been so happy to see Yamato, but honestly, he needed to learn to relax just a touch.
Hidden in the trees, Tsunade's Anbu guard watched over her. Naruto sensed Lizard up there, and suppressed another giggle. The poor black ops member was probably still trying to figure out when he and Hiruzen had switched out.
Speaking of the Old Man, he came walking up the small incline that led to the 'viewing area'. Konohamaru was hot on his heels. The boy, was he 12 already?, caught sight of Naruto, and his eyes lit up like a lantern. He looked like he wanted to rush forward to talk to him, but Hiruzen laid his hand on Konohamaru's shoulder, stilling him.
"After." Naruto signed him. It was a basic hand sign. It could have meant later, or next, or even second. The context would tell what the best interpretation was. Konohamaru smiled and gave a big thumbs up. Not exactly standard Shinobi communication but the point came across just as well.
Finally, a chakra presence entered his range. It was stoic, flat as a rock that had been polished. He couldn't get a read on it at all, save for its existence. Jiraiya was taking it seriously it would seem. Good. He'd hate to win against an opponent that wasn't giving his all.
"So Granny," Naruto said, carefully tracking Jiraiya's location. "Is this more of a 'let's see what level you're at' or like a 'let's put on a good show in case there're spies' situation?" He crossed one arm, propping his other elbow on its wrist, letting his chin then rest on his fist. "Or is it actually a 'let's see everything you got so I can properly know everything my most badass shinobi can do' sort of test?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes, but he could tell by the slight flutter in her chakra that she was at least measurably excited. They all were, except Kakashi, who always locked his chakra down tight. Poor fellow.
"Naruto," the Fifth Hokage said, rolling her eyes. "You're a smarter kid than you let on. I think you can figure it out."
Naruto sighed. Boring. True, He and Jiraiya would be a hazard to the village if they both went all out, especially if he used the fox. Still, he'd prefer to let loose just a little bit. He could settle for a combination of the three. He would have to keep a lid on his more unique techniques though, which he disliked, however smart it was.
He nodded to her, eyes sharp. Without another moment's hesitation, a pair of hands wrapped around his ankles, ripping him down into the ground. A dust cloud appeared and then settled. Jiraiya was standing, looking proud of himself, while Naruto was buried up to his neck in the ground.
"Ho Ho!" Jiraiya hollered. "Score one for the Toad Sage!" He struck a pose for the audience. They were all highly trained or used to his antics, so the reaction was less than expected.
"Ehem," Naruto coughed, getting his attention. "Didn't you see my new headband?" Only two ninja alive wore a headband with small horns on them. Those headbands, given by the toads of Mt. Myoboku, could not be bought. They had to be earned. Naruto wore his, attached to a blue band. There was a difference in the insignia's on the headbands though…
"Hey!" Jiraiya said. "How come you got one that says 'Sage'? I'm the Toad Sage!" He looked a combination of flustered and irritated.
"'Cuz Gamamaru says I'm wiser than you already!" Naruto shouted back, cackling hysterically. He had been waiting for this moment.
"What? No way! It'll be a hundred years before you're as wise as me brat. Why I bet you don't even know what a woman's—"
"Excuse me!" Tsunade bellowed. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Everybody here to watch is actually quite busy."
"Not me," Kakashi chimed in without looking up from his book. "You gave me the day off."
"Can it, Kakashi, or I'll send you on a C-rank." Tsunade said.
The copy ninja did not make another sound. In fact, he even held his breath.
"Oh please," Naruto said. "You know Saru-sensei's rules. This fight started the moment I stepped on to this training ground."
"See!" Jiraiya said. "I'm winning already." He looked smug.
"Do you wanna give him the bad news?" Naruto asked, looking at Tsunade.
"Actually, Naruto," she said. "It looks like he's right."
Naruto looked around him, as if just noticing he was up to his neck in dirt, for the first time. "Oh for godsake. Neither of you noticed? Does anybody care about the real me anymore?" And then he was gone in a blink, his shadow clone ceasing to exist without any sign of dispulsion.
Jiraiya's body tensed up. "What the—"
He was cut off by a blue wooden sandal planting firmly in his face. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Naruto shouted, sending Jiraiya flying with his kick. "Ha! Bushier brows would be so prou—"
He himself was cut off by Jiraiya slamming back into his torso, tackling him to the ground. The two rolled around, jockeying for leverage. Fists connected with faces, elbows smashed into ribs, but the loudest sound were their voices.
Jiraiya punched Naruto in the gut, winding him for a second. "You brat! You were supposed to check in weekly and the best we can get is maybe once a month?"
Naruto got Jiraiya in a headlock. "You know 'Kichi won't deliver messages without snacks and the old man barely gave me leave to buy any!"
Jiraiya swung his elbow wildly, finally connecting with Naruto's ribs. He rolled away, coming to a crouch. "That's no excuse! You could have used another toad." He threw a haymaker at Naruto's head.
The teen caught the punch, but wasn't powerful enough to stop it. Instead he deflected it to the side, letting Jiraiya's momentum carry through, and stepped forward himself. Sparks flew as Naruto head butted Jiraiya, their forehead metals clashing loudly.
They both stumbled back, stunned. "And what? Let 'Kichi know I was using another toad for it? You know how he gets," Naruto said, shaking off the daze. His long blond hair whipped around.
Jiraiya chuckled. "Yeah he is kind of a tadpole isn't he."
"Less than you are, but yes." His tone trailed off, the joking coming to an end. There was a long pause as Jiraiya looked him up and down.
"You look just like him," the Toad Sage said.
"I know." Naruto whispered. The corner of his lip upturned, his expression was melancholic.
"You fight like her."
"That's what Jiji says," Naruto replied. "But I don't see it."
"Probably because of that wild mane you got growing in your eyes," Jiraiya said. "Has that thing been cut? I think I see a bird nesting in there."
"It's been trimmed," Naruto huffed. "And it's still cleaner than yours, plus I can do the full shield!"
"Really?" Jiraiya asked, excited.
"Yeah, come on, throw a kunai at me!"
Jiraiya whipped one out from who knows where, and flung it full speed from no more than a few paces away.
Watching from the side, Sakura could barely even see the flash of metal. It clanged off something hard, and she saw what appeared to be a fluffy, spikey something. It was a familiar yellow and appeared to be wrapped around Naruto. Quickly but smoothly, the thing unwound itself from around him, curling like a dragon back up into his head. In a second he looked just as he had before, it was freaky.
"Woah, nice moves, Kid!" Jiraiya said, smiling proudly. "What else ya got?"
"BOYS," Tsunade yelled. She had a green glow to her hand, holding it to her temple. Either she was curing a hangover or a migraine that they'd caused. Probably both. "Can we please get to it? I've still got six meetings before lunch, not to mention a surgery scheduled in an hour."
Naruto and Jiraiya had snapped around to look at Tsunade, and were slowly shying away from her. At any moment, one of them was liable to make a run for it.
Naruto finally stood his ground. "What the hell do you think we're doing, Granny. This doesn't look like a fight to you?"
Tsunade let out a depressive sigh. "It's supposed to be a spar between two jonin, not a street fight between two idiots, or a jutsu measuring competition."
"Technically," Naruto replied. "I'm only a Special Jonin, which kinda means it's a spar between one and a half…"
Tsunade's glare cut him off.
"Right." Naruto said quickly. He patted around his body, as if looking for something. He seemed to realize whatever he was looking for wasn't actually there, and instead pulled out a kunai. The kunai seemed to come from a storage seal, the tell tale sign of smoke obscuring it for a second. In the same motion that he palmed it, he whipped it at Jiraiya.
As the kunai flew, Naruto crossed his fingers in front of him in the hand sign of his signature jutsu. Two shadow clones peeled off him seamlessly, as if splitting from his body. One flanked right, the other flanked left.
Jiraiya deflected the kunai into the ground with a chakra enhanced hand, all the while keeping Naruto in his line of sight. He clocked the clones both flanking him, leaving the original to attack head on. It was a classic maneuver when fighting three ninja at once. Jiraiya had faced it many times, though usually from an entire squad instead of a single boy.
He took a half step back with his right foot, flashing through signs. Crouching quickly, he pressed his palms and chakra into the earth, forcing his will into it. A wall, one foot thick and more than several feet high, rose to his right. The half step back allowed him to place it at an angle, cutting off the clone to the right, but not his line of sight on the original. Naruto was a weasel when he wanted to be. Losing sight of him was the worst thing Jiraiya could do.
JIraiya placed a palm into the wall, using it as leverage to throw a powerful kick at the clone coming from the left. The clone slipped it and caught his leg with both hands. Jiraiya was surprised, but he knew well enough not to underestimate Naruto. He was, however, in trouble. Gold chains snaked around his left leg. He could feel it disrupting his chakra. It was an impressive feat, though again, Jiraiya knew to expect it. If there was one chakra that could overwhelm his own, it was Naruto's.
Jiraiya calmly let the clone pull on the chain. He used the momentum that it created to swipe the kunai he'd originally blocked from its spot on the ground. He wrist flicked it at the clone, catching it in the stomach. The clone blinked from existence.
It was extremely unsettling seeing a shadow clone dispel without any sort of smoke. Even the best ninja loaded just a touch more chakra into them than necessary, causing a cloud of it. The amount of repetitions, and therefore time, it took to truly perfect the jutsu just wasn't worth it, or even possible, Unless of course, the repetitions you were doing were the side effect of other training. And you had the chakra to make thousands a day. Only Naruto.
Jiraiya rushed the original, hoping to put enough pressure on him that his clone would be forced into a vulnerable position where he could even the odds. The gap closed in the blink of an eye. There was a small shockwave-like resonance as the two collided with forearms crossed, locked in a stalemate. Jiraiya used his considerable size advantage to bear down, leaning his full strength into it. Naruto quickly began to fold under the pressure of the larger ninja, but didn't look too stressed. In fact, was that a smirk?
The "original" blinked out of existence, throwing Jiraiya heavily off balance as the force resisting him was suddenly gone. The sannin stumbled forward, nearly falling down. An unconscious application of chakra kept him on his feet. If that had been a clone, then the one who had split off to his right had been the original? How much chakra control did that require?
Even as Jiraiya pondered this, he was turning to locate Naruto. He knew that now that he'd lost sight of his apprentice, the next one he encountered would likely be a clone too. His eyes registered the shock of blond hair first. Or rather, the three shocks of blond hair. More clones. Jiraiya didn't have time to pout about it though, as one of the three was already soaring in the air. Jiraiya didn't catch any hand signs, but the water dragon that appeared in the air signified that there must have been some.
The dragon wasn't what Jiraiya expected. After three years training, he thought Naruto would be summoning massive jutsu that blotted out the sun. Surely he was capable of that, but this one was even smaller than the last one he'd seen him make years ago. It was powerful though. It hummed with chakra that made the water on its surface ripple.
The water it was made out of was dense, and constantly moving. The rush of it nearly drowned out the sounds of the entire village to Jiraiya's back. He quickly moved to the left trying to get out of its area of attack, finally having gained full balance. The head of the dragon snapped around, tracking him easily. That was a problem. The only sign before it attacked was its head rearing back, like a serpent coiling to strike.
Jiraiya had no choice but to wrap himself in his chakra hardened hair, creating a shield that would take the brunt of the force. The dragon slammed into him, and he strained to uphold his jutsu. He felt himself tip over backwards, the force of the jutsu too strong for him to safely hold his ground. He rolled a few times before feeling himself slow. He released his jutsu, timing it so he could turn his tumble into a flip, giving himself ground to work with and fresh footing. He leveled his eyes, searching. Nobody was there.
—
The moment Jiraiya had erected his mud wall, Naruto had swapped himself out, quickly finding a sturdy, thick branch. He sat there cross legged now, calmly inhaling and exhaling slowly. The two clones, and the one he'd originally swapped with, finally dispelled. Not even a smirk reached his lips. He was meditating, drawing upon the chakra that permeated the world around him. There was no real reason for it other than he felt it cleared his head before a fight. That and he knew the clones would piss Jiraiya off.
He didn't leave his guardian long. Slowly uncoiling himself, he dropped to the ground. He moved with a purpose back to the opening of the training ground. He may not be a master of sage mode yet, but the meditation and small influx of nature chakra certainly put him in a completely different mentality.
Any chakra he had absorbed was already out of his system. He wasn't trying to hold it, just use it to lock him in. There was a serenity that came with letting it through his coils. A weight lifted off his shoulders, and he moved lighter than ever.
Jiraiya entered his focus as he saw the man catch sight of him. The older ninja dropped into a stance. Naruto withdrew a sword from a previously hidden seal on his hand, a rather useful technique, he thought. He continued striding towards Jiraiya, not hastening his pace. Patience was key when fighting a strong opponent. Jiraiya would be looking for him to make a mistake, so Naruto wouldn't give him one.
Jiraiya didn't move, like a boulder in the middle of a busy river, he held his ground. Naruto stayed within himself, swinging in a cross slash that was meant to get Jiraiya to jump back, get him moving. Jiraiya obliged and Naruto advanced, sword in both hands. It was wooden, a gift from Yamato. That didn't mean it wasn't dangerous though.
Naruto swiped at Jiraiya again, and again advanced a step. He went for a third slash, and Jiraiya flicked his hair around, using it as a more makeshift version of the earlier jutsu he'd used. The wood met the hardened hair, making a hard thump sound. Naruto smiled. A whirring sound sliced through the air.
Jiraiya immediately leapt away, locks of white hair, floating in his wake. He looked mad, though Naruto knew it wasn't because of the fact that wind chakra was deadly, but because Jiraiya thought the ladies loved his hair.
Naruto took a hard step towards Jiraiya, not wanting to lose his aggressive advantage. He brought the sword overhead, slashing hard and quickly channeling chakra. A blade of wind came off the sword, traveling across the ground at a downward plane. Jiraiya side stepped it, letting it slam into the ground, tearing up the earth.
Even as he did so, Naruto was pivoting around his momentum, moving as if he were going to replicate the jutsu. Instead, as he brought it overhead and down, he let the sword go, throwing it at Jiraiya. Wind whirred around it as it became a deadly streaking missile. This time, Jiraiya had to dive out of the way, rolling and coming up in a defensive stance. The three foot long sword buried itself up to its hilt in the dirt.
Jiraiya took a large, but even breath. "Three chakra natures so far huh? That's not particularly new. What was the earth chakra for? I sensed it but didn't see it."
Naruto smiled, tapping his forearm. "Shield for the clone. They're much more durable than they used to be but they can't take a blow like that without something to take the brunt of it."
Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. "Some storage techniques too, they're not new. Neither is the water dragon, though it was impressive. How the hell do you do that with your clones?"
Naruto grinned this time. "I stole it from Yamato-sensei. At first it was just a chakra exercise because it looked cool, but then I got really good at it and it turned into misdirection."
Jiraiya nodded again. "All old tricks, though I'm glad to see you're mastering them, I figured the old man would teach you something new." He said, goading Naruto.
Naruto's grin turned evil. "You want something new? I can do new."
The conversation ended, as Naruto summoned chakra. His mind was clear, and the conditions were optimal. Now was as good a time as any to give it a shot.
His face stayed relaxed, but his eyes showed the extreme concentration he was using. The chakra flowed through him lightly. He pictured what he wanted, following Jiji's instructions clearly. He made seven consecutive hand signs, his eyes closed. He wasn't worried about Jiraiya attacking. He knew the man would be too curious to interrupt. That and Naruto had clones in the tree line, ready to protect him.
"Genjutsu:" He whispered to himself. "Hidden in the Leaves."
He knew what Jiraiya would, hopefully, be experiencing. It was Jiji's jutsu, passed down to him by the Hokage's before him. It was just a B-rank genjutsu, but it used a lot of chakra which made it optimal for him to use. Sarutobi had used it on him, and Naruto had smiled, as they hadn't been fighting.
Jiraiya was caught, Naruto could feel it like a string pulled taught, almost like a fish had taken the bait. The sannin would see swirling leaves circling Naruto. They would continue to multiply as they spun around him like a tornado. Then they would stop, settling as fast as they had appeared, but Naruto would be gone. The jutsu had a few uses. He could escape, he could move to a favorable attack position. He could even use another jutsu.
—
Jiraiya gave it a quick three count, then dispelled the jutsu. He was truly surprised that Naruto could do even a C-rank genjutsu. It wasn't nearly strong enough to hold him, but he'd been curious. Nothing changed save for the leaves on the ground shimmering away, and Naruto shimmering back into sight. He hadn't moved. Maybe it had taken him too much concentration to do anything else?
A slight shift in the sound of the wind alerted him to the attack from above. Naruto, or more likely a clone, was coming down on him from high in the sky, closing fast. Jiraiya had time to form a hand sign and exhale, spitting a small fire jutsu up at the falling blond. As soon as the jutsu connected, it exploded. Fire rained down on Jiraiya, and he was forced to use a water jutsu to keep himself from getting burned. When he released it, Naruto was cackling out loud.
"Toad oil?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto nodded. It wasn't a new jutsu, but using it with the genjutsu certainly was. He just thought it hilarious that Jiraiya had been on fire.
"Damn, Brat." Jiraiya mumbled to himself. He was impressed though, as he was certain Naruto wasn't showcasing anywhere near his full power. "Tsunade," Jiraiya said, turning to his former teammate. "Anything else you'd like to see?"
Tsunade looked at the clipboard Shizune was carrying. "Some Fuinjutsu would be great, and of course I'd like to see him play some defense."
Jiraiya nodded, cracking his neck. In the past, that would make Naruto quiver in fear, though he'd try and hide it. Today, Naruto grinned, and settled into his default stance, favoring speed and avoiding blows.
Jiraiya took off like a bullet, trying to catch the teen by surprise. That was not meant to be, as Naruto rotated away from the first punch. Jiraiya threw another punch. And another. He wasn't throwing haymakers as he had earlier. He kept his balance, throwing stunning blows, trying to gain an advantage. He was going with a standard combo, five punches that were balanced, then a feint that would give him an opening. He threw the fifth punch, which Naruto ducked. Jiraiya planted his right foot as if he was going to kick. Naruto stepped back just a little too quickly, and Jiraiya had him.
Jiraiya used his planted foot for power, and lunged at Naruto, fist aimed for his face. Naruto's eyes sharpened as he realized he was in trouble. He didn't take the punch though. In a feat of youthful flexibility and strength, Naruto bent backwards, hands touching the ground forming a bridge. The punch passed over him, but Jiraiya didn't over extend. The teens stomach was bared as his clothing stretched up. His lightly tanned skin about to bear the sign of a wooden geta being axe dropped onto it.
At the height of Jiraiya's leg kick, right as he brought it screaming down, Naruto pushed off. His left hand left the ground, his stronger one holding him up. The left middle finger crossed behind the index finger and pointed horizontally, forming a handsign Jiraiya hadn't seen before. It almost looked like a tiny one handed cross.
A shadow clone appeared, already in a half crouch and moving into a hand sign of its own. Its hair hardened and it extended, creating pointy spikes ready for Jiraiya to impale his calf upon. Jiraiya aborted the kick at the last second, pulling out of it and slamming his foot into the earth instead. Dust flew into the sky, blocking everybody's view.
When it cleared, three Naruto's stood crouched. There was a wicked grin on his face. Proud of him as he was, Jiraiya didn't like it. The competitive drive in him wanted to wipe that look off his face.
Three hand signs and a massive inhale, chest expanding. Churning his chakra into fire, then willing it to follow his commands. He spit it out. Nearly white hot flame bombs flew from his mouth, screaming towards Naruto. The boy calmly dropped to a knee, hands fluidly running through signs of his own. He placed both palms down, calling forth a mud wall that had to be at least three feet thick and 15 feet wide.
The first bomb struck, shaking the very ground with its impact. The second one struck soon after, denting the wall and sending spider web cracks throughout it. Jiraiya smiled. The third one was the most powerful. An Sarutobi trick. Lull them into thinking they know what's coming, then overwhelm them.
His smile faded as the cracks quickly melded, the dent filling in. The little shit was continuously pumping chakra into it. His mud wall wasn't that large, but that would steal a massive reserve of chakra to constantly re-up it. Probably the same amount as creating five identical walls.
The third flame bomb slammed into the wall, exploding as it did so. The wall cracked again, and shattered in large pieces, falling back onto Naruto. Of course, the boy easily dodged the falling chunks of earth. His clones were gone, probably used the rest of their chakra to feed the mud wall.
Naruto dropped into a stance again, holding up a hand and waggling it at Jiraiya. The elder toad sage was happy to oblige. He charged Naruto again, engaging him in hand to hand combat. Jiraiya was a little disappointed in his quickness, but nevertheless, wasn't able to catch any clean blows.
They both fought furiously, neither able to gain ground on the other. Sweat dripped off them as they worked harder and harder to gain an advantage. Finally, Jiraiya saw an opening. He locked his hands into a single sign. It was his fastest technique, and the range they were at was nearly nothing. Naruto hadn't even made a mistake, he'd simply stepped far enough back for Jiraiya to use it.
The Needle Jizo flew from Jiraiya's hair, sharp white senbon speeding towards Naruto. He hadn't particularly aimed for anywhere vital, but the jutsu was extremely hard to be precise with. Only the fact that he knew Naruto could survive blows that could kill most jonin allowed him the peace of mind to use it. That and he knew it would hurt like hell when it hit.
Naruto didn't have time for a jutsu, and Jiraiya watched him as he knew he would have to resort to protecting vital spots. Naruto did not do that. For a fraction of a second, Jiraiya was worried. Worried Naruto had frozen in danger, and that a spike would take him in the eye, or hit him in the heart just right, and it would be something he couldn't fully heal from. Any parent would feel that way.
The feeling passed as Naruto, unpredictable as ever, seemed to flex all the muscles in his body at once. Was he really trying to out tough the jutsu? But no, he was out maneuvering it, once again. As the needles approached within a foot, they were driven back forcefully by a shimmering bubble that seemed to surround the teen.
Jiraiya wanted to gape, as that had crippled stronger ninja many a time before. Naruto wouldn't allow him the time. He pressed the attack on Jiraiya, the shimmering air forcing him back. Kunai and other blades whipped out at him as he dodged each one quickly. Shadow clones formed and threw their own blades, and soon, Jiraiya was forced to leap back.
He used a great fireball jutsu to take down some of the projectiles, and force Naruto back, but the boy pushed through the fire, his wind jutsu somehow holding up despite the fire chakras natural advantage. Jiraiya was forced to use his hair defense once more, letting the metal weapons plink off it. That is, until everything went dark.
Not literally, dark, though there wasn't much light inside of the jutsu. Dark in that his chakra system was no longer alight inside of him. It was completely suppressed, not a spark left that he could feel access. Shut down. His hair receded, letting the sunlight back in. Naruto strode lazily toward him.
In Jiraiya's peripheral vision, he could see black lines leading from a few clones towards him. The uniform spacing told him that there would likely be a total of eight.
Naruto grinned, "Eight trigrams: Full Suppression complete. Whadda ya think, Granny? Good enough Fuinjutsu?"
Jiraiya almost would have smiled if he could have moved his body. He was trapped.
"Well Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked. "Can you break it?"
Jiraiya couldn't respond, so Naruto did for him. "He can't speak, the jutsu completely immobilizes both the chakra and nervous system." Naruto smirked for a few seconds before realizing he should let Jiraiya out of it.
"Oh, right." He signaled to the clones, who let their chakra recede from the jutsu, releasing Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked again.
"He's right. I maybe could've broken it, but not without putting bystanders in danger." He didn't say that lightly, despite knowing there were at least five current or former Anbu on the grounds. Not to mention the Hokage and her apprentices.
Tsunade nodded, and Shizune made a mark on her clipboard. She handed it to the Hokage, who hummed as she skimmed through it.
"Not bad Naruto. Your sealing ability is top of the line, your elemental jutsu is strong, your clone usage is enviable, and you even used a genjutsu. You scored just about full marks for combat as far as I can figure. I would say you passed, though your speed left a little something to be desired."
"Oh, its speed you want?" Naruto asked, that devious look on his face that he only got when he was about to do something that would surprise everybody. "Why dontcha try this on for size."
He walked deliberately towards Jiraiya and calmly laid a hand on the man's shoulder, taking a deep breath. Then, he turned towards Tsunade, and winked.
They both disappeared. It was nearly identical to how his shadow clones dispelled, except Jiraiya went with him.
Tsunade turned to Kakashi, whose book had fallen to the ground. "Was that?"
Kakashi didn't respond. He leaned over robotically, picked up his book, shrugged, and went back to reading. She knew he was frazzled though.
For a long time, nobody said a word.
"Well," Sakura said. "They don't call him the most unpredictable ninja for nothing I guess. I mean he did just beat Jiraiya, right?"
"Eh," the remaining clone of Naruto said. The others had run off to do who knows what. "He was taking it easy on me for the most part. Just putting me through the paces so Tsunade could see some results."
"And how do you think you did, Naruto?" Tsunade asked. She supposed a debrief with a clone was better than no debrief at all.
"Well I didn't really use any of my new jutsu, but hopefully well enough that I can move up from those godforsaken C-ranks that you keep sending me on. I mean come on Granny you know I'm better than that," Naruto said.
"Yes, I'm sure we can send you on some more difficult missions now, though you'll still have a full jonin there to captain them or observe your leadership. I'm not happy with the reports you and Hirzuen sent in. You barely indicated anything beyond where you were headed next."
"Yeah, uhhh, about that hehe," Naruto said, scratching at the back of his head uncomfortably.
"Please," Tsunade said. "Do not tell me that you lied to your Hokage in official reports." She looked exasperated.
"Well we weren't so much lying as throwing off our scent. Jiji was worried that spies might get ahold of the information somehow. Nobody knows the information infrastructure of the village better than him, after all." Naruto said.
"Be that as it may," Tsunade said, a vein beginning to bulge in her forehead. Honestly, Naruto was just impressed she hadn't slugged him yet. "I am the Hokage, his as well as yours. Neither of you have the right or power to go rogue like that, am I clear?"
Naruto nodded, not really afraid of her, given the fact that he wasn't flesh and blood. "Yes ma'am. Would it make you feel better to punch me? I can even make myself explode?"
In response, Tsunade snapped her fist out so fast, nobody saw it coming. Except the clone, who slipped it, cackling at her.
"Haha! Too slow Gran—"
The second punch, much faster, connected, popping the clone's head.
…
"He's right, that did make me feel better." Tsunade said. She spun on her heels, striding off to prep for surgery.
There should be some big fights coming up after the next chapter. Hopefully you enjoy them and are liking the story. Don't forget to hit the follow or the favorite!