BEEP BEEP.
BEEP BEEP.
BEEP BEEP.
BEEP BEEP.
BEEP BEEP.
WHAM!
Naruto groaned as he groggily opened his eyes. He slowly removed his fist from the now destroyed alarm clock. With a tired yawn, he slowly sat up and got out of his bed, stumbling a little as he made his way to the bathroom. He winced as he flicked the lights on and allowed his eyes to adjust. Looking into mirror, he grimaced at the heavy bags under his eyes.
With a sigh, he began to remove his clothes and prepared for a shower. After he thought himself clean enough, he cut the water off and wrapped a towel around his waist before stepping out. Once he was dry, he went to his room and put on his usual orange attire. He grabbed his green backpack from his closet and began to pack for his mission with Jiraiya. He had an inkling of what it was about, however, he would keep it to himself and wait for Jiraiya to reveal it to him.
Once he was packed, he made his way to the kitchen for breakfast. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 7:00. He knew he wouldn't have time to cook a complete breakfast so he grabbed two packs of instant ramen and prepared them for the microwave.
Naruto allowed his mind to wander as he waited for his ramen to cook. He had been thinking about the curse seal he had removed a few hours ago. He needed to find a way to remove it without the use of kyubi's chakra. He wanted to make it where someone without yokai and natural chakra could break the curse seal and remove it.
He recalled the notes Mito made in her juinjutsu discourse that certain types of fuinjutsu required massive chakra reserves. She also stated that depending on the type of curse seal, the practitioner would not only have to have an immense amount of chakra control, but correctly identify and counter the functions of the seal. She warned that specialists could risk severe health problems if they weren't careful.
The blond groaned at the thought. It was no wonder that juinjutsu was considered a forbidden art of fūinjutsu. If you're not careful, you could kill yourself in using it and in deconstructing it. However, those facts does beg the question: how in the hell did Orochimaru get his hands on something like that?
He had read Orochimaru's file. The man was considered a prodigy with a strong talent for ninja arts, especially ninjutsu. Thinking about his track record, Naruto guessed that it shouldn't have came a surprise that the man would look into fūinjutsu. It was a tricky art and had the ability to make things impossible, possible. He remembered looking through the Uzumaki clan library during his time in Uzu. The things he saw in there were simply amazing and it definitely helped him understand why the clan was so feared.
Naruto was pulled out of his musings at the beep of the microwave. Moving from the table, he went to remove his cup of ramen from the microwave before replacing it with another cup. By the time his second cup finished cooking, he was done with his first cup and dug into his second serving. After eating, he grabbed his backpack and placed it on his back before heading out the door. Making sure his place was secure and locked up, Naruto headed down the steps of his apartment building and headed toward his destination.
Jiraiya was a tall man, standing at 6'0" even. He was powerfully built, weighing 192 lbs. and still looked good for his age. He had slightly tanned skin with dark eyes and red lines that extended from his eyes to chin and there was a noticeable wart on the left side of his nose. His hair was long, spiky, and white and styled in a ponytail that down his back with two shoulder length bangs framing his face.
He wore his usual clothing, consisting of a green kimono shirt with matching pants, red geta, a red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side, and a black belt. Under his clothes, he wears a mesh armour that shows out of his sleeves and pants legs, and he wears hand guards and a scroll on his back. This man was one of the Sanadaime's three students and one of the two that remained loyal to the Hidden Leaf. He was the Toad Sage, one of the Three Legendary Sannin of the Second Shinobi War and one of Konoha's strongest shinobi ever produced.
Said man was current standing at the gate writing something down in his notebook with a perverted giggle. He was working on his next book, Icha Icha: Onsen, and would probably have to do more research to get a solid direction for the smut. He giggled perversely at that thought with a little bit of blood dripping down his nose. He pulled out of his perverted fantasies at the shout of his name.
"HEY! PERVY SAGE!" a loud voice called out catching his attention.
A tick mark formed on Jiraiya's forehead as he turned to approaching genin. "Don't call me that, you brat!" he exclaimed.
"Well, you are a pervert." Naruto pointed out as he got closer to his master.
"I'm not a pervert." Jiraiya replied. "I'm a super pervert!" he said, striking a pose.
"Right." Naruto deadpanned.
"Tch. You ready to go brat?" Jiraiya said as he tucked his notebook into his shirt.
"YOSH! I was born ready!" he said with excitement in his eyes.
Jiraiya chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm as he began to walk toward the village entry gates. They both showed their ninja I.D. and mission scroll before having a small exchange with Izumo and Kotetsu. Once they departed, they kept going down the main road that led to the village. Naruto talked animatedly as they journeyed out of Konoha territory. Jiraiya only half listened and chuckled every now and then at something the boy said. He reminded him a lot of Kushina. The woman was a motor mouth that wouldn't stop talking unless something was in it. He giggled at his innuendo. Man, he missed spying on his student and his girlfriend. The girl was real screamer in the sheets.
Naruto heard a small perverted giggle escape from his mouth and subtly frowned. He wondered what was so goddamn funny. 'Probably thinking of something perverted again.' he thought to himself before he turned to look up at his sensei.
"Eh, Pervy Sage? Where are we going anyway?" Naruto asked.
"We're going on a special mission to retrieve a very important person to our village." Jiraiya answered.
"You mean like how we had to escort that bridge builder in the Wave?" Naruto asked.
"......right." Jiraiya said, not really knowing what the kid was talking about.
Naruto nodded before his eyes began to spark with excitement once more. "Oh, are we going to have fight bandits and beat up a bunch of bad guys?" he began to question. "Is the person a rich noble or some princess or-"
"No, Naruto." Jiraiya said, pausing the kid before his imagination ran too wild. "We are just looking for her. It's a simple mission that will only require accompaniment. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Oh...." Naruto said a little dejectedly with his shoulders slumped.
Jiraiya looked down at the kid and chuckled. He remembered when he used to be that eager and excitable. Ah, the good old days.
"Say, how old are ya kid?" Jiraiya asked.
"I'll be 12 in a few months." Naruto answered. "How old are you?"
Jiraiya raised an amused eyebrow before answering his question. "I'm 50. I'll be 51 in November."
"Eh? You're so old, Pervy Sage!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Hm, that may be true, but the ladies still love me!" Jiraiya said with a grin. "No one can resist the manliness of the wonderful and gallant Toad Sage of Myōboku, Master Jiraiya!" he exclaimed with a little dance.
Naruto just stopped and blinked at him. "Ero-Sennin." he said.
"Stop calling me that!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "You ruin my mojo."
"Sure, Pervy Sage." Naruto said with a slight smirk.
A tick mark formed on Jiraiya's forehead as he punch him in the head.
"Itai!" Naruto exclaimed as he held his head. "What the hell that for you perverted old man!"
"For being an idiot!" Jiraiya yelled at him.
'Like you're the one to talk.' Naruto inwardly commented before a tick mark formed at the back of his head. The two continued to bicker for what seemed like ours before they reached their first stop. Naruto had eventually fallen asleep outside a local food stand, causing the sannin to shake his head. Placing the boy on his back, the spymaster continued his way through the fire country, meeting with a few people to keep tabs on Tsunade.
When he finally stopped to make camp, he lightly smiled at his student's doppelganger. He noticed the bags under his eyes before, but chose not to comment on it. He wondered what kept him up so late to leave him that exhausted. Shrugging his shoulders, he figured it must have been from all the work they had to do in the village. Laying the subject to rest, the Sannin, fell asleep under a tree and summoned a toad to keep watch.
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(A week later......)
It was late summer in Hi no Kuni and fire in the sky seemed to beam upon everything it touched. It was a time of the year where the vistas began to slowly prepare for the hints of autumn and the sun gradually prepared to retire at an earlier time. A leaf carrying wind blew past Naruto and Jiraiya as they walked down the dirt road of the forestry countryside for what seemed like hours on end. It had been almost 8 days since they first embarked on their quest to find and retrieve none other that the legendary kunoichi, Senju Tsunade, herself.
Naruto wiped the sweat off his forehead as he detached his canteen from his utility belt. He took a sip of refreshing water with a deep sigh. He turned to look at Jiraiya who was simply looking ahead with a thoughtful expression on his face. Deciding that he had been silent for too long, Naruto struck up another conversation.
"Eh, who did you say we were going to get, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked.
"Senju Tsunade." Jiraiya answered.
"Who is she?" Naruto asked dumbly.
Jiraiya's eye twitched at this. He had told him over a thousand times over this past week. Honestly, how dim could the kid get. Naruto inwardly smirked at the look of annoyance he garnished from the Toad Sannin. He needed something to entertain him so why not bother the pervert.
Jiraiya sighed in exasperation as he looked down at the kid. "Seriously, did you not learn anything from the Academy?" he asked. "I thought that type of history was a part of the curriculum."
"Meh, sensei's lectures were always so boring. I usually just skipped class or went the sleep if until sparring matches." Naruto said as he tucked his arms on the back of his head. "Besides, I didn't know who you were until I ran into you with Ebisu-sensei."
Jiraiya muttered something under his breath before speaking again. "Senju Tsunade is the granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage, Senju Hashirama." he said before looking down at him. "Surely, you know who that is, right?"
Naruto quickly nodded his head.
"Good." Jiraiya said with relief. "Anyway, she is also one of the Three Legendary Sannin and my former teammate."
"You mean, she's like you?" Naruto asked.
"Hai. She is known as the Slug Sannin and is known to be the greatest healer in all of the Elemental Nations." Jiraiya said before his face became serious. "She is also the only one who could possibly save the Hokage."
Naruto nodded his head in understanding, knowing why the woman was important to their mission. It was silent for a brief moment before Naruto spoke again.
"Hey, Pervy Sage!" Naruto exclaimed as he moved in front of him and began walking backward. "What jutsu are you gonna teach me this time?" he said excitedly.
"The last time was Walk-on-Water Jutsu, so is it gonna be Walk-on-Fire Jutsu, huh?" he questioned as they approached a small bridge.
Jiraiya just closed his eyes and continued walking as the boy moved about him with his usual over-enthusiasm. He felt him pause behind him as he looked in deep thought about something. Something stupid, no doubt. After a minute, his face lit up like a brilliant idea came to his mind and he ran to catch up with him as they began to cross the bridge.
"Hurry up and tell me, Pervy Sage. I've been waiting for days!" he said dramatically.
Jiraiya stopped and turned to exuberant child. "You keep calling me Pervy Sage. So you have no idea that I'm a superb person, huh?" he stated.
Naruto inwardly sweat-dropped at that statement, but responded anyway. "Huh....? A superb Pervy Sage?" he said with disbelief.
A dark cloud formed over Jiraiya's head before a vein pulsed from his forehead. "Nhaagh... Listen carefully!" he said as he waltzed up the short moon bridge.
Naruto sweat-dropped again as the Sannin began to do a familiar jig.
"Toad Sage is only a disguise!" he exclaimed as he slammed his foot down on the hard wood. "As a matter of fact....!" he said with a dramatic pause.
"North and South and East and West!" he started as he flipped his ponytail before throwing his scroll into the air. "I am the white-maned toad charmer, and one of the legendary Sannin whom even celestial beings can't defeat."
"Such a stud! That he strikes fear in the hearts of people!" he said grandly as a frog appeared under him. "I am no other than 'Master Jiraiya'!" he announced, striking a pose. "Yes.... I'm talking about me! And don't you ever forget it, again!"
Naruto stared at him blankly with his eyes squinted. After staring at him like the idiot he was, Naruto just began walking, having no comment about the performance he just saw. He honestly had no idea where the perv came up with those cheesy jigs nor did he care to know. He was even sure the emo cloud could come up with something better than that. Jiraiya stood on the bridged dejectedly as he watched his student walk past him while still striking stupid his pose.
'And said I was the idiot.....' Naruto thought with a sweat drop as Jiraiya finally caught up with him. The two didn't say anything to each other as the walked away from the bridge and toward the direction they were heading. Jiraiya was looking depressed while Naruto remained in his own little world. It wasn't until they reached a cross road that a conversation was struck between the two once more.
Naruto stood in front of the road signs, squinting his eyes as he began to read them. "Uh, Atafuku Gai? That's ten kilometers from here!" he exclaimed.
"It's Otafuku Gai!" Jiraiya corrected as he continued to walk in that direction.
"Hey, hey, hey! Pervy Sage!" Naruto called out as he ran to catch up with the man and stopped in front of him causing the man to stop.
"I'm telling you, it's Jiraiya. Gimme a break...." he said with irritation.
"So the fact that such a bigwig Pervy Sage like you is taking me along as his travel companion means...." Naruto started, ignoring the displeased groan from the man. "that I'm potentially a genius? Just as I though, dattebayo!" he said with a gleam in his eyes.
Jiraiya didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed by his statement. He looked down at the kid and said nothing as the boy let out a cry of happiness as he began to run about.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Why did you choose me, anyway?" he asked curiously as he stopped in front of the older man.
Jiraiya was silent for a moment before he spoke. "A long time ago, the Fourth Hokage was my disciple." he said. "And you resemble the Fourth Hokage so much, it's almost funny. That's the only reason...." he commented as he continued to walk down the road.
'Bullshit.....' Naruto thought as he glared at the Sage's back. He quickly reverted back to his happy-go-lucky self and began to run behind the Sannin.
"Yeah!" Naruto yelled as he zoomed past Jiraiya, causing the man to have to move out of the way. "Yeah! Yeah!" he whooped.
"W-What is it?" Jiraiya said as he stared at the boy.
"Yeah!" Naruto yelled as he stopped and turned around to face the Sannin. "The fact that I resemble the Fourth Hokage means that I also posses genius of his level, right? I'll become the Hokage, after all! All right!" he celebrated as he jumped around and cheered.
Jiraiya sighed as he watched the boy step in some dog poop. 'This kid......' he said with a head shake as he pointed a finger at the boy.
"About the only areas you resemble the Fourth Hokage are your hair and stubbornness!" he exclaimed.
A tick mark formed on Naruto's head at the man's statement. "Oy, what was that?! You senile Pervy Sage!" he yelled.
A tick mark formed on Jiraiya's own head. "What was that you, brat?!" he said.
Thus, continues another session of bickering between the jinchuriki and his master. The two argued back and forth until Jiraiya finally grew tired of it and gave him something that would shut him up for a while. He gave him a water balloon. At first Naruto was confused by this, but after Jiraiya explained that it would prepare him for the next jutsu he was going to teach, not a single complaint was uttered.
The Sannin grinned in victory as he watched the boy try to manipulate the water inside without popping. Yep, that should shut him up for the rest of the trip. He could now get back to working on his book in peace and not deal with the brat's cheeky comments. God knows that although he made have looked a lot like Minato, he was all Kushina in spirit and personality, something he was both happy and annoyed about.