True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 21//Progress

Disclaimer: Naruto? DryBonesKing is Naruto-less! No rights are belonging to him! I HAVE FURY! ...I'll give a cookie to anyone who actually gets my shitty rendition of this reference.

Author's Notice: SUMMER! :D This semester dragged on at the end, but it's finally over! I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

So yeah, in celebration, I got to work on my chapter more! Here's the result of my work! I hope you all enjoy :)

One week since preliminary exam. Twenty-four days until the Third Exam

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the paperwork on his desk and sighed. The paperwork dealt with necessary preparations for the chūnin exams and arrangements needed to accommodate the foreign guests that would be traveling for the exam. These arrangements needed to be done immediately, but the Sandaime's mind was too focused on another issue.

'Hayate...' Hiruzen frowned.

On a personal level, the death of the third exam proctor hurt Hiruzen greatly. He had been acquainted with the now-deceased shinobi and he knew that Konoha had just lost one of its most genuine, nicest residents.

On a political level, one of Konoha's finest shinobi was just murdered. There was no clue about who murdered him nor any motive the murderer may have possessed. This made Sarutobi very concerned about the village's safety.

'Hayate's body was left for dead without anyone noticing until the morning...who accomplished this? How were they able to sneak past any of our guards and get under our nose? And what are they intending to do here?' Hiruzen's mind was running through his concerns.

The Sandaime continued to think at his desk. After a while, he was interrupted as the window in his office opened up. A tall man with white spiky hair jumped into the room. He was wearing a green kimono, matching green pants, and a red haori. He had a large scroll attached to his back and he was wearing a forehead protector with the kanji for oil written on it.

"Every time I see you, you look older each time. You hanging in there?" The man commented casually, a small grin on his face.

Hiruzen chuckled slightly as he turned to face the man. "Jiraiya, it's been a long time. I see you got my letter."

The man, Jiraiya, nodded. "Of course. I headed over here as fast as I could...making only one or two stops for some research." The man's grin started to appear more lecherous.

The Sandaime chuckled once again. "I'll have to ask you about the fruits of your research another time."

"Believe me, you won't regret that conversation. I'm very excited for the next book!" Jiraiya proclaimed. "Just a warning though sensei, you may want to have some tissue or something before you start this one."

The Hokage actually blushed slightly as he laughed uneasily, trying to hide. Then, almost immediately, the blush disappeared and his face turned serious. "Have you learned anything?"

The white-haired man's grin dropped and he, too, turned serious. "Your letter never specified what you wanted to talk about. Do you want to know about what I've learned on Orochimaru or the Akatsuki?"

"I would love to hear the Akatsuki information, but that will have to wait for another time. There are more current, pressing issues." Hiruzen sighed. "I need to know about Orochimaru."

"I investigated one our concerns about him, and I learned that he has become identified with another hidden village. He's involved with Otogakure, although I'm not certain how much so. When I made with my informants, they were unable to identify any specifics. Just that he's been involved there since its creation." Jiraiya answered with a shrug. "For all I know, he could be the damn leader of the village."