Naruto:A New Path

A Training Trip

Tsunade sat behind her desk with a tired look on her face. The sun was rising outside, meaning that she had been working all night. She hadn't worked so hard in a long time and it left her exhausted. Thankfully all she needed to do now was go through the final pile of papers and run a quick check-up on Lee since he was still in critical condition.
She could still remember how the hospital had been the previous day. Some of the younger medics had panicked when seeing the severe condition in which some of the ninja from Naruto's team had arrived. She, being the example, took full control of the severe cases while keeping an eye on the others every once in a while.
The whole fiasco had ended late at night with the group of shinobi still breathing. A wave of pride washed over her being as she thought back at Kiba's condition. He had been in bad shape, no doubt about that, but it had been thanks to Ino that he didn't get worse. Her student was getting there and with a bit more of training she would turn into a good medic, it was a shame that she appeared to be more of the fighting type.
"You're spacing out a lot," she heard a masculine voice speak. Tsunade whirled her head to the side to see Jiraiya leaning over her shoulder with a perverted smile. She growled before elbowing the toad sage on the stomach.
"What are you doing here?" Tsunade asked as she rose from her chair in favor of leaning against one of the windows of her office.
Jiraiya, clutching his stomach, managed a grin, "Why, I came here to ask the great Hokage for a favor."
Thoughts of what Jiraiya's idea of a favor was raced through her mind before her eyes hardened and cautiously spoke, "What is it?"
"Oh come on Tsunade. I'm not that bad," he laughed, noticing the way her eyes had hardened. "I'm just here for a simple request," he explained further before pulling a scroll out of a pocket beneath his red cloak and tossing it to Tsunade, "I've already talked it over with the Third. I just need you to approve of it so we can get going."
Tsunade read over the contents of the scroll with a scowl on her face. Apparently they had planned to take Naruto on an extended training trip lasting three years. On this trip he would also receive missions to carry out and meet with Anko on certain times. During this time Anko would travel with Naruto alone while Jiraiya performed a few missions for the village to cover her absence. All in all, it benefited the village as well as Naruto. A well thought out trip but there was a small problem.
"What are you going to do about Ino? Those two are inseparable. They won't like the idea of being apart for so long," Tsunade informed.
"His little girlfriend?" Jiraiya asked nonchalantly, receiving a nod from Tsunade. "Don't worry about it. They might not like it but I'm sure that they'll do what's right," he walked over to the open window he had entered from before climbing out and casting a last look at Tsunade, "We'll leave tomorrow. I'm sure he will be fit to travel by then."
Ino lay on a hospital bed with her gaze on the sleeping blond on the bed next to her. His right arm was in a cast while bandages covered most of his torso and head. By medical standards he hadn't been too bad, only experiencing a broken arm and chakra exhaustion. All he would need was rest and he would get better in no time.
"Is he awake yet?" said the other occupant of the room.
Ino turned to her teammate and shook her head. "No, not yet," she responded before taking in the look of her friend, "How are you feeling Choji?"
"I'm fine," Choji smiled as his thin hand reached for the bag of chips he had gotten not soon after waking up, "Now I have to gain back all that I lost."
Ino knew that Choji's clan had to gain weight in order to use most of their jutsu but still, a small part of her hated the fact that he could lose weight so effortlessly.
"Does anyone know what happened to Sasuke yet?" Choji asked through bites.
The kunoichi glanced at Naruto, her mouth forming into a frown, "They haven't told me anything yet. For now, only Naruto knows what happened." Now that she thought back, she had been too preoccupied looking after Naruto that she didn't even check to see if Sasuke was there.
"I see," Choji nodded absently as he replayed his fight with the Sound ninja on his head. That had been his toughest opponent yet and he had only managed to win by using his pills. If Jirobo had been that strong, he couldn't think of a way his teammates had bested the others,
"How are the others then?" he asked in concern.
"Well, before getting here Kiba was in a pretty bad condition…" she began, thinking back at the injuries the others had gone through, "Neji was just really tired while Gaara had his right arm cut really bad. I haven't heard from the others yet."
Choji went back to his chips though his expression had turned into one of concern. Gaara had seemed invincible at the Chunin Exams and Naruto had been the only one to beat him. The two were now badly hurt and he couldn't help but think that he was still too weak.
"Don't worry about it though," Ino assured with a confident smile, "I'm sure Tsunade-sensei took care of them already. They should be fine now. Besides, she's training me right now so I'll be able to heal you guys up if we're ever in a situation like that again."
"Well, I'll get even stronger so you don't have to heal anyone," a weak voiced chuckle from the bed next to the window.
Ino turned to her side to see Naruto's blue eyes staring back at her. "Naruto," she smiled, a wave of relief washing through her. He might not have been that hurt but seeing him so banged up still made her worry.
Naruto sat up slowly, ignoring the pain shooting through most of his upper body. All of the punches he took to the chest and stomach were making themselves known as he let out a short breath before noticing Choji's condition through wide eyes.
"W-what happened to you?"
Ino couldn't help but smile at the shocked look on her boyfriend's face. "It's nothing Naruto, he just had to use a clan jutsu," she explained.
Naruto looked at Choji with a raised brow before grinning, "Well… as long as you're okay, I guess."
"I'm already working on getting back to normal," Choji boasted as he kept on eating his chips with gusto.
"What about the others?" the Chunin asked after not seeing any of them around.
"We haven't heard from them yet," Ino explained, "What about you Naruto? Did you beat Sasuke?"
Naruto frowned as he replayed the last moments of their fight. "I did…" he began as he narrowed his eyes in thought. He could still remember the white mask the unknown shinobi had worn. Somehow he didn't think that Sound had been involved with the masked ninja since he remembered seeing him disappear through the trees leading to Konoha.
Ino looked at Naruto oddly after his long pause. He was deep in thought which meant that something else had happened.
"But he was taken away by someone when we were done fighting," Naruto finished before looking back at his friends, "Whoever the ninja was, I'm sure he had nothing to do with Sound."
Sasuke stirred from his sleep as his eyes opened to see a dark grey roof. His brows furrowed as he tried to sit up but stopped as a jolt of pain shot through his back. A groan escaped his lips as he tried to get in a position where his back wouldn't hurt that much.
"Dammit," he growled as he scanned the area around him. He was in a room with grey walls. Only his bed and a small table adorned the place with a small window next to the bed.
The wooden door of the room began to open as the Uchiha sat up in alert, ignoring the pain shooting through his back, before looking for any sort of weapon he could use.
"You're awake…" a masked ninja stated upon entering the room.
Sasuke watched him with a scowl on his face, "Where am I?"
"… Stay here," the masked ninja ordered before turning to leave.
"I asked you a question!" Sasuke glared with his fists clenching, "Where the hell am I?"
The masked ninja turned to Sasuke rather abruptly before walking up to him. The Uchiha growled but received a hard punch to the side of his face. His face snapped to the side with a bit of blood trailing down his mouth before the masked ninja took hold of his shirt and pulled him closer.
"You are in no position to make demands," the masked ninja said in an emotionless voice. He dropped his hold on the Uchiha before leaving the room.
Sasuke watched him leave while clutching his jaw. His eye darted around the room but found no way to leave other than the door. He let out another groan once his back began to hurt once more, making him squirm before resting against the bed once more.
He simply stared at the roof before hearing the sound of footsteps. Turning to the door, Sasuke didn't bother getting up, he didn't want to risk being attacked again.
One more masked ninja entered the room, this time a woman judging by her long hair. Sasuke watched her with a curious eye before she approached him and placed both hands above his body.
Green chakra emitted from the masked ninja's hands as she moved them around his body. She nodded to herself before taking a few steps back.
"… Stay here," was her simple command before leaving.
Sasuke frowned as soon as the door closed. Just where the hell was he?
Naruto watched the sun set on the horizon. The bandages on his head swayed with the wind as he leaned against the fence covering the hospital's rooftop. People walked along the streets while some nurses and doctors rushed in and out of the hospital.
"Why do you look so bummed kid?" he heard a voice ask from behind him.
"I'm just thinking…" he said without turning around. He shook his head before turning to his master, "What are you doing here Jiraiya-sensei?"
Jiraiya frowned, "Come on kid. Can't you at least act a little surprised?"
"You always appear out of nowhere when people are alone," Naruto explained with a blank look before shrugging, "I guess I got used to it."
"That was a bit colder than I thought…" Jiraiya muttered to himself before clearing his throat and throwing the blond a grin, "I came here to give you some good news."
Naruto raised a brow at that, "What kind of news?"
"I've been talking to the Third on how to go about your training for some time now," Jiraiya explained as he crossed his arms, "I decided that it would be for the better if you and I went on a little training trip. What do you say kid?"
"Sounds great," Naruto grinned, liking the idea of training. He needed to get stronger in order to protect his precious people. His latest mission had only shown him that there were still powerful people out there. He had slacked on his training the last few weeks but he wouldn't let it happen again.
"How long is this trip? A month or two?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya's eyes grew firm before he spoke, "Three years."
Naruto's eyes widened, looking at his teacher in shock. "What?" he couldn't help but ask, "I can't leave for three years."
"Why's that?"
"Because I can't just leave for three years just like that," he argued, "I've got people here that I can't leave alone."
Jiraiya frowned. "You're being selfish Naruto," he scolded in a firm tone, making the blond instantly calm down though his eyes still held defiance, "Do you think that you're helping those people by staying here? What will happen if the Akatsuki attack the village? Nobody would survive against them."
Naruto turned his gaze downwards. Jiraiya was right. He had vowed to protect them at all costs and going with him was his best bet at getting strong enough to face the Akatsuki. Sure, if he stayed on the village he could also get stronger but there was no guarantee that he would reach the level Jiraiya could give him.
"… When do we leave?" he muttered in defeat.
Jiraiya's eyes softened before he patted Naruto on the back, giving him a reassuring smile. "Trust me Naruto. I wouldn't make you leave if you didn't need to," he took a few steps back before speaking once more, ""We'll be leaving tomorrow. I'll be waiting in the village gate at noon."
"Alright…" Naruto nodded before Jiraiya disappeared in a whirl of leaves. He stayed there, watching the space his master had just occupied. He turned back to the village with a deep scowl on his face, "How am I going to tell Ino?"