Underestimated Genius

Ch 16) Meeting The Sage Of Toads

Jiraiya went up to the blond to look at the mark more closely. He put his hand to his chin, thinking about what it could be. The familiar image from one of the books he wrote popped into his mind. "Ah the five pronged seal. I had no idea my old teammate paid so much attention to my work." Noticing Naruto's look of confusion, the sage explained. "You see I created this seal as a sort of back up to your original Kyuubi seal." The man pointed toward the mark on the blond. "This seal was designed to allow you to access the Jyuubi's chakra network in times of need. The hope was that you'd eventually be able to merge your two chakra networks and use it as your own. But just in case the power started getting out of control, I designed the five pronged seal so it could lock it up. Until you were strong enough to control it that is."

The blond nodded, showing that he understood. "That was pretty smart." A hopeful smile was displayed on Naruto's face. "So can you remove it."

Jiraiya smikred. "Of course. The first thing to know about creating seals, is to never make one that you can't undo." Small blue flames of chakra started burning on the tips of the man's fingers. "Five pronged seal, release.!!" The sage jammed his fingers into the seal on the blond, and twisted his hand just like Orochimaru had done initially. There was a burning feeling. This time however, the tomoe marks disappeared.

Naruto looked on amazed, as the marks vanished from sight. He was hit with a sudden rush of energy. Must be Kurama's chakra returning to him he mused. Putting his theory to the test, he called out to the fox in his mind. "Hey Kurama, are you there?"

The Beast's reply was instantaneous. "I am here Kit? How have you been?"

Naruto smiled at the fox. "Better not that our connection is back. I am just glad that I was unconscious for most of it." The blond's tone turned sorrowful. "I don't know what I would have done if I had to be apart from you for that long."

The beast returned the smile with a grin. "We'll, lucky for you, you did not have to find out."

"Now that you are back. Is it possible to get rid of the Mark that Orochimaru put on Sasuke and Anko?" The blond hoped he would receive a positive answer.

The biju assured his container, saying, "In all my years, I have not seen a seal that could not be broken. I don't imagine Orochimaru's seals are an exception."

Naruto's smile grew wider at the revelation. "Good. That means I could save them." The determination returned to the blond ten-fold. "I have to go now, Kurama." He waved at the fox, before bringing his consciousness back to the outside of his mind.

When Naruto was back in the room, both in mind and body, he realized they were staring at him. Was he gone long enough for them to notice. "Sorry about that." The blond reached up to scratch the back of his head, an embarrassed smile on his face. "I tend to zone out every now and then."

Jiraiya seemed to accept that excuse. But Sarutobi knew about the fox's connection with Naruto. He must have just now considered that since he was cut off from Kurama's chakra, he must have been cut off from their telepathic connection as well.

Even after all these years, The third was still unsure of how he felt about the kyuubi training the blond. On the one hand, it was hard for him to believe that the creature he fought all those years ago was going to be tamed so easily. But he trusted Naruto. And the training that the fox gave the blond made him a powerful shinobi. He decided he would still keep an eye out for anything strange, but for now, he will continue to trust The Uzumaki. The old man turned his gaze back on the sage. "So will you train him, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya turned back to smile at his old sensei,and then smiled at Naruto. "Of course I'll train him." He ruffled the blond's hair. "He is my godson after all."