Third Person's POV
Naruto closed the door of his apartment, he was wearing all black and tied his forehead protector around his neck since he had a bandage patch on his forehead and had a bandage patch on both cheeks. He sighed as he headed out. On his way, he met up with Sasuke and Sakura, the two also wearing black. They nodded at each other as they made their way to the Hokage tower.
A funeral was held for the fallen ninja, especially since the Sandaime Hokage died. Each of them brought a white flower and took turns in placing it on the table in front. They then stood there for a while, Konohamaru was crying as Naruto patted his head in an attempt to comfort him when he too was feeling down. Hiruzen was one of the few people who acknowledged him so he was dear to him. He only held back a few tears as he thought back to the moments he spent with the old man.
~Some time later~
Naruto was in the forest doing some training, after throwing a few more kunais to the dummies he sat down as he caught his breath.
"That's enough for now, go eat some breakfast" Kurama said as Naruto calmed down
"Alright" he said as he stood up and ran out of the forest making his way towards Ichiraku Ramen. As his ramen was placed in front of him, he put his hands together thanking for the food and started to eat.
Somewhere in the village, the Advisors talked to Jiraiya about him becoming the Godaime Hokage, but he turned it down and convinced them that he will bring her back and will let a certain ninja accompany him on his journey. At another part of the village, Kakashi along with Asuma and Kurenai encountered two suspicious men wearing a hat and a black coat with red clouds.
Naruto happily ate since Teuchi gave him another batch of noodles. Someone peeked in the place looking at Naruto with a grin
"I came to check but it looks like you eat nothing but ramen, huh, pipsqueak?" Jiraiya said
"Ero-Sennin!" he mumbled with his face stuffed in noodles. He quickly gulped it down and drank some water, he then turned to Jiraiya with an angry face
"Also! I eat other foods, ya know! Like fruits and vegetables!" he argued. Jiraiya laughed as he went inside
"If you say so. But anyways, I have some business with you kid" he said as Naruto looked at him puzzled
"Huh?"
~A few minutes later~
"Hah? Why do I have to accompany you in your pervy researches?" he asked as the two walked through a path in town, Jiraiya laughed
"I assure you kid, this isn't just another research trip. There's a woman I have to find, a very remarkable one" he answered with a wink
"Then count me out, I don't have time to help you find a girlfriend. I got some training to do!" he said as he looked forward and Jiraiya blinked and bent down a bit
"Training?"
"I was hoping Kakashi-sensei would teach me a new jutsu, like how he taught Sasuke the Chidori" he said with a scowl
"I see. But you'd be wasting your time since Chidori isn't really your style" Jiraiya said as Naruto's face frowned more
"I know that! I just want him to teach me something!" Naruto said as Jiraiya snickered
"But kid, the woman we're looking for is really beautiful. Straight up gorgeous!"
"Like I care. Ero-Sennin, I'm not some dumb kid. I'm not going" he said as Jiraiya looked ahead with a pout
"Oh, suit yourself then. And here I was thinking of teaching you a jutsu that makes the Chidori look like kid's stuff" he said out loud intentionally which convinced Naruto. With no hesitation, Naruto dashed in front of him trying to hide his excitement.
"Okay! When do we leave? I'll pack my bags so stay right there Ero-Sennin! Don't move a muscle!" he asked then made his way to his apartment shouting to Jiraiya the second thing he said. Jiraiya looked at him dumbfounded then smirked.
Naruto packed some of his stuff, sealing some of them in scrolls for a lighter bag. Kurama sighed inside
"Are you sure about this kit?" he asked
"Yep! I bet Ero-Sennin knows a lot of cool and strong jutsu's. That way! I'll be more stronger!" he said in excitement as Kurama smiled
"And maybe Sakura-chan would notice me this way!" he added as Kurama's smile dropped
"Don't think about it kit" he said as Naruto laughed and put the scrolls in his bag
"But you know, I feel like I could learn something from him. No, I'm sure of it. You told me right? That he was my Tou-chan's sensei. And Tou-chan ended up being a great Shinobi, he even became the Yondaime Hokage!" Naruto stated as he zipped his bag.
"So don't worry, this will be worthwhile. And no need to be sad, I'll still train with you" he said as Kurama scoffed making Naruto laugh. He then locked his apartment and headed to where Jiraiya is. He used his sensory justu to find him since he thinks Jiraiya actually moved a mucsle but then he sensed something bad, he stopped at a roof and looked to where it is
"These two chakra..." Naruto mumbled as Kurama growled
"It's bad news" Kurama finished for Naruto. Naruto tensed but relaxed when he felt three others
"It's Kakashi-sensei with Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei. They should be fine but I get the feeling they won't" Naruto said with worry, Kurama sighed
"Hurry kit. Someone is waiting for you" Kurama said as Naruto remembered
"You're right.." he said hesitantly, Kurama sighed again
"These two chakra are of S-rank ninja's but those three Jonin can handle it"
"Really?"
"No, but they'll manage. Get going kit" he said as Naruto gulped then made his way to Jiraiya. He met up with Jiraiya at the gates of Konoha. After a few stretching he punched the air as he yelled out
"Let's go!"
Most of the travel, Naruto had been bugging Jiraiya about the new jutsu and is clearly excited about learning it. From far away, on top of a hill, two Shinobi wearing black cloaks with red clouds watched the Sannin and the blonde Jinchūiki, one of the two who sat down opened his eyes to reveal the Sharingan.
They stopped by a shrine to rest and talked about the Yonaime Hokage being Jiraiya's student, and Jiraiya having the Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen as his teacher. They even talked about the Bell Test they went through and a few other things. After that, they made their way to their destination.
Back at the village, Sasuke decided to pay Kakashi a visit to train. He entered Kakashi's apartment to see him in bed along with Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai. His eyes widened a bit
"Why is Kakashi asleep? And why is this room full of Jonin? What are you doing? What the hell is going on here?" he asked impatient for answers only for Gai to shrug
"Oh, it's nothing much" Gai replied as loud footsteps were heard revealing a special Jonin named Aoba. He stopped at the door in a panic
"Hey is it true that Itachi came? And that he's after Naruto?" he asked, Gai let out an exasperated sigh as he facepalmed. Sasuke turned to face Aoba making him realize that he made a mistake, Sasuke's expression turned grim as he ran out of the room.
His thoughts wondered to Itachi especially on why he's after Naruto, he knew that Naruto wouldn't be safe. Just as he arrived at Naruto's apartment he meets Sakura holding a wrapped bento
"S-Sasuke-kun..."
"Where's Naruto?" he asked
"I don't know, I don't think he's home.." Sakura replied as Sasuke clicked his tongue and left. He went to Ichiraku Ramen and asked Teuchi if he knew where he went, Teuchi told him about Naruto leaving with Jiraiya, after taking note of Jiraiya's appearance and the clue of their location, Sasuke directly went out of the village to catch up.
Naruto and Jiraiya arrived at their designated village. Jiraiya decided that they will rest at an inn, Naruto insisted that he could still go on but Jiraiya told him to listen to him since he is his disciple. Suddenly, a very pretty girl walked by the entrance and caught their eyes, Jiraiya's face flushed red as a perverted grin formed on his face while Naruto also blushed from the girl's beauty but Kurama smacked away his thoughts. Jiraiya then grinned as he gave Naruto their room key and told him to train then go to bed while he does his own thing.
Naruto sighed as he set his bag on his bed and sat cross-legged. He made a hand sign as he pouted
"That Ero-Sennin sucking up to pretty girls, he really is a big pervert" Naruto said as Kurama sighed.
"Will he be okay though? That girl, she was under a Genjutsu right? Will Ero-sennin be okay?" he asked in worry
"He'll be fine. He's a part of the Legendary Sannin so he'll be okay" Kurama replied
"But, he's a sucker for hot girls you know"
"Nothing we can do about it, might as well use this time to train more on your chakra control for you to use your techniques better" Kurama replied as Naruto sighed
"Alright, alright" as he focused more he created more clones to do the same until the room was nearly filled with Naruto, by this time Sasuke was looking around while Jiraiya spent time with the girl. Naruto continued training his chakra until he picked up two kinds of chakra outside the door and instantly dispelled his clones. They knocked on the door as a bead of sweat rolled down Naruto's forehead
"These chakra.. they're..."
"The ones from the village" Kurama finished. Naruto gulped as another knock was heard, he took a deep breath as he put on his footwear and tried to act like his usual self
"Eh? So you already got dumped huh?" he said out loud as he made his way to the door. Another knock was heard as Naruto sighed
"Unlocking the door!" he said as he unlocked the door then opened it slowly to see a Shinobi wearing a black cloak with red clouds who had black hair with the same parted bangs as Sasuke and stress lines on his face with a scratched Konoha forehead protector and the Sharingan. Naruto widened his eyes from the look the Shinobi gave along with the chakra he felt from him. Another man came into view, a Shinobi with shark-like features wearing the same cloak and a scratched Kiri forehead protector who carries a large sword on his back.
"Hard to believe a child would carry the Kyūbi" the sharkman said with a grin as both Naruto and Kurama slightly narrowed their eyes. 'Kurama, remember the time I stole a Bingo book from an ANBU?' Naruto thought as Kurama nodded, 'If I remember correctly, these two were in it'
"Yeah. S-rank criminals, these two are.."
'Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame'
"Naruto-kun, you're coming with us" the black haired Shinobi Itachi said calmly. Naruto continued to stare at him in silence as his lips slightly quivered
"Why don't we take a walk?" the Shinobi suggested, Naruto was hesitant but he went out of the room and stood in front of them
"Hmm.. Itachi-san, it'd be a pain if this kid makes a run for it. Maybe I should chop off a leg, just in case" the sharkman Kisame suggested as he held the hilt of his sword. Naruto grunted as Kurama growled lightly. Receiving no reply from Itachi, Kisame walked slowly as Naruto slowly prepared himself, 'I might need to fight them!' he said in his mind
"No! You're not ready yet!"
'I'm a lower A-rank Shinobi, I should be able to handle them for a bit'
"You may be an A-rank Shinobi but you haven't even fought with an S-rank Shinobi"
'But I have no choice!'
Naruto and Kurama argued for a bit until an unexpected person came
"It's been a long time, Sasuke" Itachi said forcing Kisame to stop and turn back, Naruto widened his eyes as he looked behind Itachi to see his teammate Sasuke with a furious look along with his Sharingan activated. 'Woah! They really are siblings! I can totally see the resemblance, ya know!' Naruto thought as he looked at the brothers and Kurama facepalmed
"That shouldn't be your reaction to this kit" Kurama said as he sighed
"Oh, the Sharingan. And he looks an awful lot like you" Kisame commented as Naruto crossed his arms and nodded
"My thoughts exactly. I totally agree, ya know" Naruto said as Kisame let go of the hilt of his sword nodded slightly. Kurama bummed out
"Why are you two in agreement?" Kurama asked
"Who is this kid?" Kisame asked
"My younger brother" Itachi replied as he turned to his back, Kisame grinned
"Strange, I heard that the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out by you" Kisame said
"Uchiha Itachi, I hope you're prepared to die" Sasuke started
"Just as you said. I've fostered my hate for you all this time. I've lived my life for one single purpose, to kill you. It ends here!" he yelled as he created a Chidori.
"Chidori?" Itachi muttered as Naruto closed his eyes, 'Oh right, Itachi used to be in the ANBU along with Kakashi-sensei so he must've seen the technique. Now that I think about it, I think the Bingo book I stole back then belonged to Kakashi-sensei'
"Kit, you shouldn't be thinking of that right now"
'I know, but this is bad. Sasuke is no match for him. Even if I try to stop him, this sharkhead Kisame would stop me! Sasuke wouldn't want me to interfere either'
"I will kill you!" he yelled as he ran towards Itachi dragging the Chidori along the wall and pointed it to Itachi
"Die!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. But Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and stopped the Chidori with ease, destroying a room in the process. He strengthened his grip making Sasuke grunt in pain, Naruto furrowed his brows, 'Sasuke!' he did a hand sign as he brought out a fraction of Kurama's chakra without thinking. This took the attention of Itachi and Kisame. Sasuke tried to fight back but failed
"You-"
"Enough"
Itachi broke Sasuke's wrist forcing Sasuke to yell in pain as he held on to his broken wrist.
"Sasuke! Damn it!" Naruto cursed as he was about to form a hand sign but Kisame swipped his sword taking the chakra Naruto let out. His eyes widened in shock as Kisame rested his sword on his shoulder
"Sorry kid, but my sword Samehada cuts through chakra and devours it" Kisame said with a grin as Naruto sweat dropped, 'To be honest, that sword sounds cool' he commented in his head
"We can't have him whipping anymore jutsu. Forget the legs, maybe I ought to start with his arms" Kisame said pointing his sword towards him. As he swung it, Naruto took a kunai to block it but smoke came out of nowhere and something else blocked it.
The smoke disappeared revealing a toad with armor who was taller than Naruto, smoke appeared behind Naruto along with a familiar voice
"You don't know me at all huh? You should've done your research" Naruto mentally leaped in joy but was a bit mad because he wanted to try fighting with the two S-rank criminals
"Jiraiya, the Toad Sage falls victim to no woman's charm. Rare beauty is dropped for me like blossoms in a storm. It isn't in my nature to be duoed by the wiles of women. When you reach the stature I have, the ladies kneel and worship at your awesomeness!" Jiraiya inroduces himself with a pose as he held the girl he was with over his shoulder.
Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi and Kisame only stared at Jiraiya who started to sweat bullets
"Don't give me that! One wink from a pretty girl and you turned into a mountain of mush! You fell for it like a ton of bricks, Ero-Sennin!" Naruto ranted as he pointed a finger at him in anger
"I really wish you wouldn't call me that in front of other people" Jiraiya said with a nervous smile as he scratched the back of his head and Naruto trembled in frustration
"Are you kidding me? We've got worse things to worry about than what these guys think of you! Ero-Sennin!" he said pointing to Itachi and Kisame
"Didn't I just ask you not to call me that?" Jiraiya cried a waterfall of tears, Kisame chuckled at the scene
"Whatever name you go by, Jiraiya-sama, I must say you're something of a disappointment. A lecherous old man with the disposition of a child, it's almost impossible to believe that you're one of the thre Legendary Sannin" Kisame stated keeping that mischievous grin on his face.
"What kind of a coward would cast a Genjutsu on an innocent woman just to separate me from Naruto?" Jiraiya said as he settled the unconscious girl at the side then looked a the two criminals with a stern glare
"I know that you're after Naruto" upon hearing this, Naruto grunted as Sasuke gasped. Itachi then told them that he was right, the Akatsuki are after Naruto and they will have him. The toad that blocked Kisame's sword went back as Jiraiya stood behind Naruto
"You're not getting Naruto"
"We'll see about that"
Jiraiya said that he could eliminate both of them but Sasuke told him to stay out of it, he stood up the best he can and said that he will be the one to kill Itachi, 'Of couse, revenge' both Naruto and Jiraya thought. Itachi said that he wasn't interested but Sasuke went to punch him and Itachi gave him a kick towards the wall at the end of the hall, Naruto was about to step in but Sasuke told him not to interfere, he charged at Itachi again but Itachi blocked his punch and elbowed his face sending him to the end of the hall again. Sasuke insisted that he wasn't finished so Itachi gave him what he wanted, Jiraiya was gonna step in but Kisame blocked him from doing so. Sasuke tried to attack but Itachi just punched him and hit his stomach, Naruto wanted to interfere but Kurama told him not to so Naruto had no choice but to watch.
Sasuke started coughing blood as he thought to what he's been doing this whole time, Itachi grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him to the wall.
"You're still too weak. You don't have enough hate" he said
"And you know something? You never will" he whispered to Sasuke. He then casted a Genjutsu on him, using Tsukuyomi to make him relive the Uchiha massacre all over again for 24 hours.
"You're not even worth killing"
"Foolish little brother. If you wish to kill me then resent me, hate me.. and continue to live your ugly life"
"Run. Run and cling to your life"
Sasuke screamed in agony then fell unconscious. With anger filling in, Naruto charged towards Itachi as Kisame followed to stop Naruto, Jiraiya quickly did a few handsigns
"Ninpou: Gamaguchi Shibari (Ninja Art: Toad Mouth Bind)" the whole hallway turned into what seems like an intestine or a gut, Sasuke sunk into the gut so Itachi had to let him go and even Kisame's feet sunk in.
"You've both just been swallowed by the Mountain Toad. Welcome to the belly of the beast" Jiraiya said with a smirk
"He has a very sensitive digestive tract so be careful not to upset him. Not the most glorious way to die, huh? It must be reassuring to know that you've been reduced to toad bait, hehehe" Jiraiya said with a laugh. Naruto looked around, clearly amazed with the technique
"Naruto, stay still. Remain calm and trust in my jutsu" he said reassuringly as Naruto gave him the thumbs up. Itachi looked behind him
"Kisame, come" he said as Kisame struggled his way out of the bind and ran towards Itachi. They both ran to the right as a wall of flesh came after them.
A sound was heard, Jiraiya and Naruto directly went to where they went only to see a part of the gut burned with black flames. Naruto went to the small black flames that remained and looked at it
"Black flames?" he muttered
"Stay away from it!" Jiraiya warned as Naruto quickly looked back at Jiraiya. Jiraiya took out a scroll along with a brush and ink bottle then opened the blank scroll and started writing on it. Naruto looked at what he wrote and recognized his actions, 'Ero-Sennin knows Fūinjutsu huh, impressive!' he thought. Jiraiya did a few hand signs and placed them under the scroll
"Fūinjutsu: Fuka Hoin (Sealing Technique: Fire Seal)" knowing what the seal does, Naruto went behind Jiraiya as blue chakra came out of the scroll and sealed away the fire. After that, he closed the scroll and kept it. Sasuke was brought out again as Naruto went to him, Jiraiya then brought down the technique and the guts slowly disappeared and turned back into the hallway. As Naruto was checking on Sasuke, he felt another chakra as a kunai was thrown across them. A familiar figure came into view, the familiar bowl cut hair and thick eyebrows came running towards Jiraiya
"Dynamic Entry!"
"Gai-!"
Gai jumped and kicked Jiraiya, getting a little cocky at the moment he just realized he kicked Jiraiya. A bruise formed on Jiraiya's cheek and a tissue was on his nose to stop the bleeding, his eye twitched as he grumbled looking at Gai who was sweating bullets
"Uh.. I-I guess I was a little over enthusiastic. You see, I was trying to hurry and I couldn't see very clearly.." he started to explain as he laughed nervously. He told them that he forgot his hand mirror so he used his forehead protector to see and he saw two sinister figures. Jiraiya gave him a small lecture and the details of what happened as Naruto healed Sasuke's arm a little since he didn't want anyone else to know he can do Medical Ninjutsu
"Ero-Sennin, Sasuke will be okay right?" he asked
"Physically, yes. But I'm worried about what may have been done to his mind" Jiraiya replied.
Naruto clenched his fist cursing to himself for not helping Sasuke sooner and he swore to himself to do better next time. Gai looked at Sasuke and said
"This is obviously the same sort of jutsu that Kakashi was hit with. We don't know when he'll come out of it"
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in disbelief, shocked and mad at the fact that even Kakashi fell victim to the same technique and person. Gai mentioned that they need someone who is a master of Medical Ninjutsu, that's when Jiraiya reassured him that he and Naruto are looking for her,
"Another of the Legendary Sannin, The Queen of Slugs and Elixirs. The Gambling Fool and Mistress of Healing Arts, Princess Tsunade."
YYEYEYEYEYEY!!! Itachi and Kisame made their appearanccee!! Next chapter will focus on either Naruto's training, finding Tsunade, or both. Not sure yet. I estimate an update this week, most likely, it depends on my schedule and workload. But anyways! I hope you enjoyed that chapter and please do look forward to the next! See ya!
Wifizone shutting down
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