Inheritance

Rooted

The sun rose over the border of Mizu no Kuni much the same as it had upon the jungles of Mt. Myoboku for the past two years. Of course, here there were no flies to contend with, and the sticky humidity was blissfully absent, but it was much the same experience at it's core. The first tickle of warmth kissed his back, fighting away the night's cold; and Naruto could sense almost immediately the change in the world around him.

With the sun's warmth, came life bursting out of every pore of the forest he was meditating within. Every creature for miles reacted to the return of the light, from the birds in the trees, dipping and diving between the branches and undergrowth for the day's first meal; all the way down the tiniest of insects, scuttling amongst the decaying foliage on the floor. A single square inch could contain more life than the whole elemental nations had people, and if he concentrated, he could sense each and every one.

It was more than meagre awareness—he could feel their life force, connect with it in a way that was beyond his capability to describe. Stretching out his awareness as far as he could was humbling. Millions of lives, each full of passion and energy and determination to survive, and he was but one of them. Little more than a grain of sand on a beach, just trying not to be washed away with the tide.

Of course, if he chose to, he could change that. Two years of training had allowed him to tap into the natural energy around them and mingle it with his own, augmenting the chakra he possessed naturally with the natural energy of the surrounding creatures. The process was dangerous, and even after two years of work, he could only focus the tiniest amount of the energy—Sage chakra—and use it safely. But even that was enough to increase his strength dramatically; enough that Jiraiya had even confirmed he could fight on a level with some Jonin—if only for a short time.

Suddenly, Naruto twitched, breaking his near-perfect stillness. As though merely speaking the man's name was enough to summon him, the older man had left their camp, and was ambling easily towards the clearing Naruto had chosen for his morning meditation. Naruto bit back a wave of sour irritation and tried to refocus, but he couldn't find the same level of calm as he had achieved before. With a frustrated click of his teeth, he hopped to his feet and stretched deeply, trying to shake off the stiffness in his muscles as his master approached.

What will it be today? Training or target?

Minutes passed until Jiraiya finally strode into the clearing, his face so hard it could have been carved from stone. It was an expression that had become all-too commonplace since Danzou's coup. Naruto never thought he would miss his teacher's exuberance, but now when it appeared, it only did so as a paper-thin veneer. A mask so brittle that when Jiraiya wore it, Naruto thought he could see the cracks appearing on its surface.

Target it is.

"Sensei." Naruto said, unable to keep a hint of shortness from his voice.

"Brat." Jiraiya replied. "The toads have sent word—the hit is happening today. It's time to move."

Naruto swore quietly and hopped to his feet, heart-rate already climbing at the thought of moving into Water Country proper. Before anything else though, Naruto sent a ripple of chakra pulsing across his skin—the smallest he could manage with the enormous reserves he had at his disposal—to feel for the seals holding the vast majority of his ninja equipment tattooed, invisible until activated, upon his skin.

As usual, he was well-prepared for pretty much anything. Without a fixed home to return to, he and Jiraiya needed to be prepared to fight for their lives at pretty much any time. Even Mt. Myoboku itself wasn't entirely safe, and over the two years that had passed since leaving the village, he and the toads had fought off several missing-nin hired to capture or kill him and Jiraiya—from both Akatsuki and Danzou.