Chapter 1438: 29
Naruto: Shifts in Life
Chapter 29: A Gamble
Naruto frowned as he looked over at Jiraiya. They had been walking down the road for several hours and neither had really said much to each other. Not that there was much to say, but Naruto had never been comfortable with any long moments of silence, even to this day he hated silence. And so, he did the only thing he could think of.
"Hey Ero-sennin, I was wondering, who are we searching for exactly?"
Jiraiya sighed as he realized that name was never going to leave him. Ugh, his mom called me that too. "We're looking for my teammate, Senju Tsunade."
"She's another Sannin right?" asked Naruto, "The Slug Princess I believe was one of her nicknames. I hear she's a legendary healer known for her ability to heal near-fatal injuries, as well as her super strength that can crush a mountain with a single punch."
Jiraiya laughed, "Yep, that's her alright." He looked down at his blond companion. "I'm actually surprised you know so much about her."
Naruto shrugged, "My friend Tenten is a really big fan of Tsunade's. In fact, her whole life's purpose is to one day be a kunoichi as great as Tsunade is, to prove that women can be just as strong as men. So naturally I learned a lot about her idol whenever we hung out."
"Ah, I see, and is this Tenten your…" Jiraiya trailed off and wiggled a pinky at Naruto.
Knowing the meaning Naruto frowned rather than blushed like he used to, "No…at least, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure we're just friends."
"Pretty sure?" The white haired sage raised an eyebrow.
"Honestly." Naruto sighed, "I don't know if I'm cut out for any kind of relationship. Aside from being a shinobi, which is a hazardous profession in and of itself, I also happen to be Kyuubi-chan's Jinchuuriki, and while there is nothing wrong with that, it will make any relationship hazardous for the other person."
Jiraiya frowned at the boy's response, though he could not deny the truth behind that, especially with what Jiraiya knew. He also filed away Naruto's use of the '-chan' suffix for Kyuubi. Of course, he already knew the Kyuubi was a girl, Sarutobi had told him of Naruto's encounter with the fox. Jiraiya had to admit he was surprised, not only because the fox had a gender, but that, from what Naruto said, she did not seem to be quite the evil entity everyone thought she was.
"Say, you were the Yondaime's teacher right Ero-sennin?" asked Naruto after another poignant pause.
"Yeah, that's right. Now there was a real shinobi, a true genius among geniuses," Jiraiya said, his eyes glazed over a small fraction in reminiscence. "Why do you want to know?"
Naruto shrugged, "I was just wondering what it was like to train him. You know, what was the Yondaime like."
"Hmmm…well let's just put it this way, the Yondaime was one of those once in a generation geniuses that very rarely came along. He was smart, talented, brave, strong and really good with the ladies. He was like the son I never had," As Jiraiya spoke he looked at the blond and had to shake his head when he saw the image of Minato overlap Naruto's. "You kind of remind me of him in some ways."
Naruto blinked as he looked away from the road and at Jiraiya as he grinned, "I guess that means I'm pretty awesome huh Ero-sennin?"
Realizing his mistake Jiraiya scoffed, "Don't think I meant anything like that. What I was talking about was your ridiculous blond hair and stubbornness."
"Bah! Then you obviously don't know talent when you see it. Stupid perverted hermit."
"Goddamn brat!"
Two pairs of eyes watched as Jiraiya and Naruto entered the town.
"Great so the brat's with a Sannin," Kisame muttered. "This could spell trouble for us."
"That is true, however even the greatest of ninja have their weaknesses," Itachi said. "Come, our best bet is to distract Jiraiya and take the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki then."
The two black cloaked figures headed into the town.
Naruto sighed as he sat down on his bed. They had just gotten into a town not too far off from Konoha, and had decided to stay for the night. However, upon their arrival Jiraiya had gone off with some woman who showed a mild amount of interest in him. Not that he particularly cared what the man did in his free time.
Laying down on one of the beds Naruto paced his hands behind his head. Now that he was thinking more clearly than he had since Sarutobi's death, he needed to think about what his goals were going to be, or to be more accurate how he was going to accomplish them.
His first and foremost goal was to get stronger. It was becoming blatantly obvious to him that he was not strong enough to protect the people important to him. If he had been, then he would have been able to protect Sarutobi in some way. It may be a little off thinking, after all the man had been fighting a Sannin, a Kage-level ninja. And it would take years to reach that level. But in Naruto's mind, he felt there should have been something he could have done to protect the man he called jiji.
He also needed to focus on his shinobi career. Now Naruto was fairly positive that he would be promoted to Chunin after his performance in the exams. After all, he had gone up against the likes of Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee and Nii Yugito, beating out both the Hyuuga prodigy and the taijutsu specialist fairly easily.
Well, maybe not so easy for Lee, but Neji had not been all that difficult. And while he may have lost to Yugito, there was no shame in that, she was simply better, had the benefit of training from a young age and was a Jonin in all but name. If Naruto did not become a Chunin after this, it would be because of a blatant showing of biased opinions due to his Jinchuuriki status.
Of course rank would also have to wait until they got a Hokage who could give people ranks…
His thoughts were cut off when a knock came at his door.
"Did Ero-sennin get dumped already?" Wondered Naruto as he stood up. The door knocked again and Naruto grunted, "Yeah I'm coming! Keep your goddamn pants on!"
He opened the door and glared, "I didn't expect you back so early, I guess she must have dumped your sorry ass… already…"
The blond trailed off as he saw that it was not Jiraiya at his door, but instead was two people wearing black cloaks with red clouds. As Naruto got a good look at their faces, his mind began to analyze what he could of them.
He easily recognized the shorter one in front, who had knocked on the door as Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's younger brother and the man who had slaughtered the Uchiha clan in one night. If the fact that he looked like an older version of Sasuke did not allow him to figure that out, then the freaky red eyes most certainly did.
The second took a little longer to place, but he was soon able to figure out that it was Hoshigaki Kisame, another S-rank ninja, this one being a former member of the Kiri Shinobigatana Nananin Shu (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist), the same group that Zabuza belonged to.
For a brief moment, he wondered what two S-rank criminals were doing here.
"Come with us Naruto-kun," Itachi said in an emotionless voice.
I guess that answers that question, Naruto grumbled in his head. He was under no delusions, there was no way he could fend off one, let alone two S-ranked ninja. That meant he had to stall for time and find some way to get a message to Jiraiya.
"Yeah ok." Naruto said, "Let me just pack my bags and I'll be right out."
He did not give Itachi a chance to answer as he slammed the door in the man's face. Naruto moved over to the window and opened it up. He jumped out and, before he even landed on the ground he bit his thumb and began hand sealing.
"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" He whispered as he landed on the ground and slammed his hands onto the dirt road.
There was a puff of smoke as Naruto summoned Gamakichi. The blond did not give the little toad any time to speak as he started, "Listen Kichi, I need you to get Jiraiya's ass here now! Tell him there are two S-ranked criminals after me! Hurry!"
Realizing the situation Gamakichi nodded and hopped away.
Naruto sighed, he really hoped Ero-sennin was sober enough to get here quick. In the meantime…"Alright…you can come out now, I know you're watching…Itachi."
Two cloaked figures jumped down from the window Naruto himself had come out of, "So to what do I owe the honor of two such esteemed S-ranked criminals coming after little ol' me?"
"What we want is irrelevant," Itachi said in his monotone voice as his Sharingan eyes began to spin. "Please come with us Naruto-kun."
Naruto put his hands up in a ram sign when he felt foreign chakra invading his system, "Kai! You know I would have expected better, even i can dispel genjutsu of that caliber. Try not to underestimate me Itachi..." The blond paused before speaking, "actually, you what? Go ahead and underestimate me, it will make kicking your ass so much easier."
"Who knew this gaki would have such a mouth on him," Kisame stepped forward as he grabbed the handle of his sword. "You know, I never figured the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki would be such a runt. Perhaps I should cut his legs off so he doesn't run away."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, both at the runt comment, and because this man knew his status. Which means they're not actually after me are they…no of course not, no S-rank criminal would attempt to capture a Genin, and definitely not two.
"You can try to get me fish paste, but I'm going to warn you now, I'm not that easy to beat." Naruto got into a relaxed stance as he flicked his hands and summoned a pair of kunai.
I only have two advantages here, and that's that they seem to need me alive, not very comforting given that their S ranked criminals and I have no idea what their gonna do if they capture me. And they are likely to underestimate me due to the fact that I'm only a Genin.
"What did you call me?" Kisame growled, he had never liked people making fish jokes about him of any kind, it was actually one of the few ways to set him off, "I'm gonna squash you like a bug gaki!"
"That's if I don't end up turning your fishy ass into a giant sushi roll before then," Naruto taunted. He knew this wasn't likely the best idea, but he would rather deal with an enraged S-rank ninja who couldn't think clearly, than one who could.
Kisame charged at him almost too fast for Naruto to follow, much faster than the blond would have expected from someone so big. As it was Naruto was just barely able to dodge out of the way, jumping back and to the left so he could keep out of Kisame's range. Not that it did much good, as the shark man was already coming after him. Naruto ducked under a horizontal swing, rolled backwards when the giant bandaged sword smashed into the ground, and then sidestepped the next attack.
It took a bit, but Naruto was able to get used to at least some of the man's speed. Yeah he was fast, faster than Naruto was, but he was not as fast as Ero-sennin, or Lee had been when opening the gates. That gave Naruto a small one time window advantage, and when Kisame made his next swing. Naruto jumped over the sword, using it as a small springboard for him to launch a kick at Kisame's head.
It worked as the man's head snapped back like he had received some kind of whiplash. Unfortunately for Naruto, that only seemed to enrage Kisame, and the next swing that came the blonde's way was too fast for him to dodge.
Naruto got smacked right in the chest, letting out a short yelp when he felt several ribs break as he was sent flying back. The blond crashed into a wall, leaving a nice sized indent. Naruto slowly fell out of the indent, landing on the ground in a small heap. He wheezed a bit as he felt his ribs mending, despite the number of times he had broken them recently they always hurt like a bitch to heal.
"Fuck that hurt," Naruto stood up on wobbly legs as he rubbed his bruised ribcage.
"Well, I have to at least admit that I'm impressed you were able to land a hit on me gaki and to withstand a smack from Samehada, you must have impressive pain tolerance." Kisame said before he turned look at his silent partner, "Oi, Itachi! Weren't we told this kid was the dead last of his class or something?"
"Dead last?" Naruto asked with a laugh, despite the small wince of pain it earned him from his still sore ribs, "Your intel agent obviously sucks balls if that's what he got. His information is about six months out of date."
"You do seem to be more skilled now. However even with your recent increase in skill it will not…" Itachi trailed off before turning his head, "Hello Sasuke."
Naruto looked over towards where Itachi was looking and saw Uchiha Sasuke standing there, "Oh this is just great…" The blond groaned. "Not only do I have to deal with two S-ranked criminals, but now I've got a revenge-driven emo maniac on my hands."
"Itachi!" Sasuke snarled, glaring daggers at his brother and ignoring everything else, "You have told me to live a life of hatred in order to get strong enough to kill you. I have hated you, despised you, cursed you! I have waited for this day to come, the day I kill you!"
The raven-haired Genin went through three hand seals and activated the Chidori, placing the lightning near the ground as he used his other hand to stabilize the attack. He then ran at his older brother, letting the lightning jutsu trail across the ground, ripping it up like paper. As he got closer to Itachi, Sasuke thrust out his hand, hoping to impale his brother and finally get his vengeance.
It was not to be. With naught but a simple movement of his hand, Itachi caught Sasuke's wrist and threw his arm to the left, letting the Chidori hit the ground and dissipate.
Itachi looked at his little brother with cold disinterested eyes, "You don't interest me right now." With those words the older Raven haired ninja snapped the younger one's wrist, making Sasuke scream out in agony. Itachi then kicked his little brother away, letting him hit a wall across the street and causing the crowd that had gathered to run away.
"Now that he is out of the way I will ask again, come with us," Itachi said as he turned to Naruto.
However before the blond could respond, another voice shouted out, "NO!"
The three ninja turned to see Sasuke glaring at his Itachi as he held his now broken wrist, "I'm not…I'm not done yet!"
Naruto growled at his teammate's stupidity, he was just about to move in when Kisame seemed to sense his intentions.
"Uh uh uh." The man gave Naruto his shark like grin, "Let's let them settle this little family matter."
Naruto glared at the man, "There's no way I'm letting one of my teammates get himself killed, even if he is a prick!"
Decision made, Naruto charged at Kisame. He lashed out with one of the kunai he had in his hand, moving in a diagonal slash. Not that it did much, as Kisame was able to block the attack rather easily with his sword. This however, did little to deter Naruto, who sent his other kunai at Kisame in a thrusting motion aimed for the Swordsman's face. Once again Kisame raised his blade and blocked the attack. However it was in that moment that Kisame had made one error.
Naruto had been continuously making his attacks at a higher altitude each time he struck, forcing Kisame to do the same to compensate. It did not make the man raise his arm much, given the difference in height between the two. It was more than enough for Naruto to have reached under Kisame's arm. On Naruto's last strike he had brought his other hand up and slipped an explosive tag onto the man's skin.
Now one has to remember that in normal circumstances something like this would never work against a ninja of Kisame's caliber.
However, because A) Kisame was fighting a Genin, the man was prone to underestimate his opponent giving Naruto a small advantage.
B) Said opponent despite being a Genin was a lot better than most people ever gave him credit for, especially due to his dead last title.
And finally C) Naruto was a well-known prankster that had, in many cases, been able to outsmart entire legions of ANBU in his youth when playing a prank.
All of these factors combined gave Naruto that singular advantage which allowed this attack to work.
Naruto jumped back and made a hand sign, "Katsu!"
BOOM!
Itachi watched as Sasuke charged him again, even though he was no longer able to make hand signs of any kind. It was sort of pitiful that the younger teen was so blinded by rage that he was attacking an opponent of with strength so superior to his own it was laughable. Not that it meant Itachi was going to show his younger brother any mercy. It was quite obvious the boy needed to be taught a lesson.
As soon as Sasuke came in range, Itachi lashed out, smashing his fist into the younger man's chin. As Sasuke flew into the air, Itachi grabbed Sasuke by an arm and pulled him into a knee. Not even giving his younger brother a chance to spit out blood, the Uchiha clan slayer spun around, launching a kick into Sasuke's face, breaking the nose and sending him crashing into a wall.
Sasuke hit the wall hard, coughing up blood he began to fall to the ground. However, before he could get close to the ground, Itachi appeared beside him, smashing him back into the wall and leaning in close.
"You are still too weak Sasuke," Itachi whispered, causing the younger teen to freeze. "You are too weak to avenge the clan, and do you know why?"
The older Uchiha paused for a moment, "It's because you lack hatred. You still don't have enough. Perhaps I should help your hatred grow, by showing just why you should hate me in the first place."
Itachi looked at Sasuke as his left eye became a pinwheel, "Tsukuyomi."
"You damned gaki!" Kisame screamed as the smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing the man to be mostly unharmed with the exception of his arm; said arm being covered in light burns, "That really fucking stings!"
"You should just consider yourself lucky that sushi is supposed to be served raw," Naruto shot back. "Otherwise I would have made your arm extra crispy."
Before Kisame could even consider attacking the insolent little blond, a scream from the other side of the street tore their attention away from their own battle. Both Naruto and Kisame watched as Itachi moved back from Sasuke, who slumped to the ground with a dead look in his eyes.
"Man that's harsh Itachi, using that jutsu on family," Kisame said with a grin. He turned his attention back to Naruto. "Now that Itachi's gaki of a brother has been taken care of, it's time I dealt with you!"
Naruto got into a ready stance as Kisame appeared in front of him, swinging his blade overhead. Before it could actually come down and hit him, a puff of smoke erupted in front of the pair. There was a clang as Kisame's sword hit something that was obviously not Naruto. It was soon revealed to be an armored toad, who was currently holding two swords out and blocking Kisame's weapon.
"You two are pathetic," A voice came from one of the alleyways. Everyone turned to see Jiraiya stepping out with the woman that had caught his attention earlier on his shoulders. "You should know better than to use a woman against me. For it is not me who bows down to them! But it is the ladies who beg to see even a glimpse of the great Jirai-"
"Ero-sennin, would you do everyone a favor and shut the fuck up?" Naruto glared at the man, "We all know that if a lady even shows mild interest in you, you would become putty in her hands at the drop of a hat." The blond pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why oh why do all my teachers have to be perverts! I feel corrupted just standing near you!"
"Oi! Don't interrupt the great Jiraiya-sama when he's trying to make his entrance!" The Sannin shouted in anger, "A gaki like you could never understand the greatness that I possess!"
"If by greatness you mean the great ability you have to somehow get your ass beaten by every woman in the hot springs when you go peeking, something that helps you deals with your masochistic streak. Then yes, I don't understand your greatness." Naruto said, grinning when he saw the man gain a large eye twitch.
"You gaki! Disrespecting your elders like that!" Jiraiya shouted. The white haired man held his glare for a few seconds longer before he frowned and set the unconscious woman down, "In any event, you two should be ashamed of yourself for taking advantage of a young woman like that."
The white haired man looked at Itachi, "And it seems my intel was right, you guys are after Naruto. You and your group Akatsuki."
"Ah!" Itachi's face gained a look of understanding, "So it was you who told Kakashi of our existence, I should have realized that sooner."
Akatsuki? Wondered Naruto as he looked between the two, So some kind of group is after me? Well that fucking sucks! I think one of these days I'm gonna have to find Murphy and kill him for creating this thrice damned law that loves me so much!
"Kisame, these conditions have become unfavorable, we are leaving," Itachi said. Kisame nodded, knowing that fighting one of the men hailed as the strongest ninja in the elemental nations was not the brightest idea, even for ninja as powerful as they were.
"Oh no you don't!" Jiraiya shouted as he made several hand seals and slammed them into the ground. "Kuchiyose No Jutsu: Gamaguchi Shibari!"
Jiraiya slammed his hands down onto the ground and before the two Akatsuki members could get any farther, a pink fleshy wall formed in front of and around all of them. "You are now within the esophagus of the fire breathing toad of mount Myabokuzan, you two are trapped within my jutsu!"
The fleshy walls began to close in on the pair, forcing them to make a run for it. As they neared one of the walls, Itachi closed his left eye, letting the right one transform into a pinwheel.
"Amaterasu!" Black flames appeared on the fleshy wall, destroying it and letting them escape.
"Fuck! What the hell was that?" Naruto shouted as he made his way towards the black flames.
"Don't touch that!" Jiraiya shouted as he ran towards Naruto, letting the jutsu he had used go and making the walls dissolve as if they were never there.
Said blond scoffed, "Who said I was going to touch it, did you see what these flames did to this…um…whatever that jutsu of yours was." Naruto unsealed a blank scroll and one of new ink brushes. Unrolling the scroll he began channeling chakra into his brush and started writing out a seal, "No, touching this thing is about as smart as you trying to sneak a peek in the women's hot springs when all of the ANBU kunoichi are in it."
Jiraiya would have said something about insulting him, but at the moment he was too entranced at watching the black flames that had been burning around on the ground get sucked into the seal. When it was done a small Kanji appeared in the middle of the seal saying 'Black fire'. Nodding to himself Naruto rolled the scroll up and sealed it into one of the many containment seals on his body.
"You know you're pretty good with those seals gaki," Jiraiya commented. "I hadn't realized you were so far into your sealing that you could come up with this stuff."
"I'm not that far." Naruto said with a shrug, "Technically I'm on the level two intermediate book on sealing. However, I wanted to have some more useful seals and so I looked up some from the more advanced books. Don't say it." Naruto interrupted the man who was about to speak, "I made sure I knew all of the seals I copied inside and out. I can copy a seal just fine; it's using the theory to make my own that is more difficult. The only advanced seal I made on my own was the one keeping Sasuke-teme's cursed seal in check. And then, that's really because I was trying to find a way to get rid of the one on Anko-nee-chan."
Damn if this kid isn't like his father a when it comes to sealing, Jiraiya sighed, Minato had always gone onto the more advanced stuff to if he felt there was a need for it, even when he was not ready for the more advanced concepts.
"Well as my apprentice, I'm gonna have to order you not to do that anymore, at least until I check out your seals. How far along are you in the intermediate book?"
"Almost finished." Naruto replied, "Unlike the other books that I read that I normally just relegate to my clones, I enjoy reading this so it's a bit slower, however with the time we have on this trip I should be finished with it and starting on the level three intermediate level."
Jiraiya nodded, "That's not bad considering you've only started this six months ago."
"Well…" Naruto blushed a bit, truth was while he really could not care less about the other stuff he read, and was only reading it because he had promised Sarutobi he would, and he begrudgingly admitted that it did help, he absolutely loved reading up on fuuinjutsu. "What can I say? I am just that awesome!" He pumped his fist into the air.
"Whatever gaki, you've still got a long way to go before you can be considered a master."
Naruto scowled and was about to make a comment when another voice spoke up.
"Jiraiya-sama!"
The two Konoha ninja turned to see Maito Gai running up to them, "I am glad to see you two are alright, we had heard that Itachi and his most un-youthful partner were after Naruto-kun! Young Sasuke-kun also ran after you guys. Speaking of, you wouldn't happen to know where he is do you?"
The two other Konoha ninja blinked, looked at each other for a second before simultaneously pointing towards Sasuke who was lying some distance away.
"Yosh! I thank you my most youthful comrades! I must be off!" Gai shouted as he hefted Sasuke on his back piggy back style. He gave the two a thumbs of, "Farewell my comrades who burn brightly with the flames of youth!"
The pair watched the most eccentric Jonin take off with only a small cloud of dust to signify he had ever been there, "Well dealing with Gai-sensei was as awkward and creepy as always." Naruto said, "We should probably get a move on now."
"…Right," Jiraiya agreed, walking up to the blond as the two began to make their way out of the village.
"Hey Ero-sennin, what's your teammate like?" asked Naruto as they walked down the dirt road. "I mean, I know she's the greatest healer and all that, and I've heard the stories about her super strength, but I really don't know anything else."
"Tsunade?" Jiraiya tapped his chin in thought for a moment, "To sum her up in one word, fiery. That woman has one of the largest tempers I have ever seen. That, combined with her super strength makes her a dangerous woman." The older male reached into his vest and fished out some pictures, handing them to Naruto.
Naruto took one look at it before his eyes promptly widened, "This is your teammate! From what, forty years ago or something?"
Jiraiya smirked, "That may be an old picture but I can guarantee she will be looking somewhere around that age. Tsunade has always been a vain person. When she got older she cast a permanent genjutsu on her that allows her to change her age at will. From what one of my informants told me, she usually sticks between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-eight."
Naruto pocketed the picture as he looked up at Jiraiya, "So is there anything else I should know about your wayward teammate, aside from the fact that she's extremely vain?"
"Hmm…well there is one more thing that I suppose is important," Jiraiya said. "In certain circles she has the very well-earned nickname of 'The Legendary Sucker'."
A sweatdrop appeared on Naruto's head, "You do know that can be taken in so many ways right? And none of them are the right ways."
Jiraiya laughed as he realized at least 'one' of the ways wished his words could be taken, "Her nickname doesn't mean something like that *though I wish it did* I was actually talking about her terrible luck at gambling."
Naruto blinked, "Gambling?"
"Yep. Tsunade's always had a huge addiction to gambling, and she's always been absolutely terrible at it. She is well known in every gambling parlor within Hi No Kuni as the legendary sucker because she has never won a single bet."
"I swear, you Sannin and your addictions," Naruto sighed. "You know, I bet most of the ninja that respect you guys just don't know the truth about you. Seriously, one is into peeking in the bath houses, one's a chronic gambler who's earned a title for being so shitty at it, and the last is a snake who likes to play with little boys."
Jiraiya's right eye twitched, "Hey! We're still some of the most powerful ninja in the world! Stupid, smart aleck gaki!"
"I didn't say you weren't," Naruto grinned. "I just you guys have more issues than the dude who invented glitter cannons."
Jiraiya sighed as he figured it would be best to stop while he was ahead. The pair continued walking down the dirt path for a while longer without speaking, "Hey gaki, you still want to learn that jutsu right?"
Naruto blinked as he looked over at Jiraiya before grinning, "Of course I do! What kind of fool would I be to pass up a new jutsu!"
"Alright then, I'll need to get some materials in the next town to teach it to you, so we'll do it then ok?" Jiraiya chuckled a bit at the kid's enthusiasm.
Naruto nodded as he pumped his fist into the air, "Ok! Then let's get to the next city pronto!"
Jiraiya suddenly had to blink as the area Naruto was in became covered with a dust cloud in the shape of said Genin, while the real one was running towards the nearest town…in the wrong direction. The old Sennin pinched the bridge of his nose, "Ugh…I swear this kid is a person of mass contradictions."
When Naruto and Jiraiya came upon the next town, it was to see a festival taking place there. Having never actually been to a festival before, Naruto was looking around at all the stalls that sold food, and had games of all kinds to play in awe.
"Well, why don't we take a break for a moment?" Jiraiya suggested, seeing the look in Naruto's eyes. "After all it's good for shinobi to rest there feet after a long day of traveling and it's not like we're going to run into Tsunade today."
Naruto nodded, "That sounds like a plan Ero-sennin. And if that's the case then I'm going to go see what some of the stalls have to offer, I've never gotten to go to a festival after all."
"Never?" asked Jiraiya, slightly surprised to hear that. Didn't Sarutobi-sensei take him to one at least once?
Naruto gave the Sannin a blank stare. "Ero-sennin, the one festival Konoha has is the festival celebrating Kyuubi's defeat. Do you honestly think I would be welcome there?" The question was completely rhetorical and the blond did not give Jiraiya a chance to respond anyways, "Well, I'll see you later Ero-sennin!"
Jiraiya watched the kid run off before realizing something, "Damn it! I forgot to convince him to give me his wallet! Great, now that means I have to use my own money to find good company."
As Jiraiya walked off to find a place to get good drink and female companionship, Naruto was trying his hands at the many game stalls, and utterly dominating them with his ninja talents. He would sample some of the food they had and just generally have a good time. Since he had never done anything like spending time at a festival before, Naruto made sure to milk it for all it was worth before he got bored.
Eventually though he realized something significant; that made him stop and find a secluded spot earlier than expected. Throughout the entire time he had been journeying, Kyuubi had yet to talk to him. He had the distinct feeling she was ignoring him after he had essentially cut all contact with her off after the Sandaime's death. And he knew he would have to go see her and apologize for that, something he had been holding off on long enough.
Naruto sighed as he found himself outside of Kyuubi's hut within the forest. Walking up to it, the blond knocked several times and waited for Kyuubi to answer. Much like the time she had gotten depressed about his treatment on his and Tenten's date however, Kyuubi did not answer. Not particularly caring if the vixen threw a fit for it, Naruto entered the house.
When he did it was to find Kyuubi glaring at him fiercely. "Erm…hey Kyuu-chan," Naruto greeted kind of awkwardly, not really sure what to say.
Kyuubi did not reply and instead, just turned away from the bond, ignoring his presence.
Naruto walked forward and crawled onto the bed behind the red haired vixen. "Look… I know your upset with me, and I'm sorry that I ignored you. But I-"
"I don't care one way or the other," Kyuubi replied stiffly.
"Yes you do," Naruto said in a quiet voice, causing Kyuubi to stiffen even more. "Come on Kyuu, you know that I'm not quite as dumb as I act. If it didn't bother you, you wouldn't be ignoring me. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry but I-"
"As I said, I don't care one way or the other," Kyuubi turned around to glare at him. "The only thing that I care about is the fact that you ignored me, I do not take well to people who ignore my presence. And I will not take it from you."
However by now Naruto was getting angry at how his tenant was acting, sure she always acted like this but there were some things that he just preferred to deal with on his own, and the death of a person who was like a grandfather to him was one of them.
"Look, I know it bothers you miss high-and-mighty demon, but I think I'm entitled to some moments of peace. And I had no desire to listen to any smartass remarks you might make about Ojisan. He's one of the only people who was ever there for me as a child, who helped me deal with all of the shit life threw my way. Unlike you miss-"
Naruto was unable to say anything else as Kyuubi suddenly appeared right next to him and slammed him into a wall, "You think I have not been there for you child?"
Kyuubi hissed out as her hand went around the blonde's neck and lifted him into the air. "Who was it that healed all of the wounds you received from overtraining? Who was the reason poisons don't affect you? Who was it who gave you your larger than average chakra reserves?"
By now Kyuubi was right in Naruto's face with her teeth bared at him, "I did, I gave you all of those things! The only reason you're even alive is because of me! Had it not been for me you would have died that night when that human instructor betrayed you. Or you would have starved to death when you lived on the street and my youki was not there to fix your body. You owe me!"
When this had happened before during the first few times they had met, Naruto had been admittedly frightened. Like last time, Kyuubi was leaking killing intent left and right and her youki was coming off of her body in whisps of red energy. The glare she was giving him was potent enough that it looked like she could burn a whole right through his head.
However by now Naruto had screwed up his courage, he had grown used to her and seen another side that he doubted she even really realized she was showing. This time he was not afraid of the redhead in front of him.
"Had it not been for you I would have I would have never been kicked out of the orphanage, I would have never lived on the street and been forced to find food in the trash. Your youki would have been unnecessary because I would have had people who cared about me. I may have found a family who was willing to adopt me; I would have known the love of a mother and father. Had it not been for you, that night Mizuki would have never betrayed me and chances are I would have passed my Genin exams the first time I took them."
In an act of defiance Naruto released his own youki, and while it was not powerful enough to overpower Kyuubi's. It was enough to give Naruto the strength necessary to pry himself out of the woman's grip, "Were it not for you I would have never had any need for your power because I would have never been placed in a situation where your power was necessary. You can't say that you were there for me when every situation I've ever been in can be laid at your feet, nor can you say it was for me when we both know the only reason you helped me was because your survival was dependent on my own."
By now Kyuubi's arms were slack at her side and her mouth was slightly agape in a look of surprise. However it soon closed and became a thin line as her eyes narrowed, "Get out," she hissed at him, "Get out now! I don't want you to show your face to me again you ungrateful brat!"
"Fine," Naruto replied, "if this is what I get for apologizing to you then maybe it's best if we don't speak anymore." With the last word in the whisker-marked blond disappeared from the seal.
Kyuubi stared at the spot he had left before eventually sinking to the floor, feeling an exhaustion she had never known before.
Damn it! Why the hell am I getting so worked up so some damn human… she blinked before correcting herself. Hanyou! I am the greatest demon to ever exist; I have never cared for others so why the hell do I even give a shit about this one person! Someone who also happens to be my prison! Kyuubi let out an angry snarl.
"Somehow I know you're responsible for this!" She shouted, "What did you do to me! Why do I feel this way! …Answer me damn it!"
'I don't know what you're talking about,' the voice replied and Kyuubi felt rage at the amusement it was laden with. 'I haven't done anything to you…perhaps what you should be asking is what you are doing to yourself.'
"I'm not doing anything!" Kyuubi raged, "This is all your fault! You did something to me! Something that has to do with this seal! I know you did! Fix it now!"
However the voice merely laughed at her, 'You sound like a petulant child Kyuubi…not used to not always getting your way?' before the vixen could respond the voice continued, 'and I have done nothing to you, the seal does nothing to you. What you feel is something of your own making. Perhaps rather than looking to blame others for your problems and feelings, you should try searching yourself for the answers you seek.'
As the voice disappeared Kyuubi seethed in silence before eventually making her way to her bed.
Naruto stood up with a frown. That confrontation could have gone better, though he knew it could have also gone worse. Still he was not quite sure what to do in these kinds of situations, and had no clear way on how to fix this problem. He shook his head before he noticed the time and decided to find Jiraiya.
It did not take long to find the white haired Sannin. All he had to do was follow the man's rather… distinctive laugh. Nor was he surprised to find the man in a nearby tavern, with a lot of alcohol and several women hanging off of him. "Eh? Oi Naruto! Get over here and relax! Allow me to introduce you to these two lovely ladies!"
Naruto looked at Jiraiya for a few seconds before he sighed and walked over to the trio. He sat on the left, next to a woman with brown hair that went down to mid back and honey colored eyes, "Oh my Jiraiya-sama, you didn't tell us you were traveling with someone so cute!"
The young blond was very hard pressed to control his eye twitch, What the hell is it with females calling me cute! I am not cute damn it!
However in the end he just sighed and decided to take the compliment for what it was worth, after all, there were worse things for him to be called.
Jiraiya gave a large grin, "This girls, is my apprentice, Uzumaki Naruto! Naruto, I would like you to meet Susuki and Momiji."
Naruto offered the girls a smile and a small hello. Susuki, the girl he was sitting next to him, got off Jiraiya and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "It's nice to meet you cutie. Jiraiya-sama, you really picked quite an apprentice, I can tell he's going to be a lady killer in a few years." The girl looked at Naruto's cheeks before gently touching his whisker marks, "What are these whiskers? Birthmarks?"
Naruto would have answered except the girl began stroking his markings, getting the blond to close his eyes and start purring.
"Kawaii!" Susuki squealed and Naruto felt an instant of horror, remembering what happened the first time Anko had found out about his purring. He was very lucky, or unlucky if you're someone like Jiraiya who was hoping to get a good story out of his apprentice's interaction with the woman, when the girl did not suffocate him in her bosom, and instead seemed to get more enjoyment out of continuing her ministrations.
Of course this did have a small problem that came with it, and that was that Naruto was finding it increasingly hard to keep down his natural reaction to the girl's activity with his whiskers. It also did not help that the girl seemed to be enjoying running her fingers over them so much that she had ended up practically sitting on his lap in the end.
He was thankful when Jiraiya eventually blacked out from drinking too much, and used it as an excuse to bid the two good bye and proceeded to drag an unconscious Jiraiya through the streets.
A few seconds after they left, Jiraiya got back up as if he had not just managed to drink seventeen bottles of sake, "Alright, let's go find an inn."
"How the fuck are you still standing?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Seriously, I've seen Anko drink less and after ten bottles she's so drunk she's likely to try and molest me!"
"Heh, you say that like it's a bad thing," Jiraiya looked at his student with a lecherous grin. When all he received was a glare in return he shrugged, "I've been drinking far longer than Anko has, and I'm not a lightweight like many shinobi are. You know I'm actually kind of surprised that you didn't try to drag my ass out of there as soon as you found out what I was doing."
Naruto sighed, "Do I look like your keeper? I don't give two fucks what you waste your money on. And I am well aware that every shinobi has some kind of odd quirk that keeps them from going insane thanks to the things our profession calls for. So if you want to spend your money perving on women then be my guest."
"I suppose one can't argue with that logic," Jiraiya shook his head a bit before grinning. "Though, I suppose I should say I'm surprised you decided to join me then."
Naruto looked at him before giving a halfhearted shrug, in truth he just did not want to deal with the hassle trying to get Jiraiya out of there would have caused. "After spending as much time as I have with Anko, I've been pretty much desensitized to these things. Well come on Ero-sennin, might as well find a place to sleep before we head out to search for your old teammate."
Jiraiya watched as Naruto walked away before he chuckled and shook his head, "What an odd kid."
The next day, the two had woken up and set out on the road again. While the two were walking Jiraiya pulled out a water balloon and tossed it to Naruto. Said blond gave the man a blank look as he switched from staring at the water balloon to him, "Ero-sennin, what the hell is this for?"
"That is for the first stage of the new jutsu I'm going to be teaching you," Jiraiya held out his own water balloon. "This jutsu has three steps to complete. The first step is rotation; you need to pop this balloon by spinning the water with your chakra."
Naruto looked from Jiraiya to the water balloon, and then back to Jiraiya, "Right, and just what the hell is this amazing technique?"
In response to Naruto's sarcastic voice, Jiraiya smirked and held out his other hand and formed a rapidly spinning ball of chakra.
Noticing the blonde's slightly gaping mouth, Jiraiya grinned, "It's called the Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere), and was one of the Yondaime's prized techniques. The technique is incredible as it does not require any hand seals to use. That means doujutsu like the Sharingan won't be able to copy it. That's because this jutsu is pure chakra manipulation taken to the highest level."
"Wow…" Naruto whispered as he stared at the spinning ball of chakra, it looked like a miniature maelstrom inside of that blue orb, "That is some seriously compressed chakra."
"Wow is right gaki," Jiraiya grinned. "Now as I said, the first step to this technique is rotation. Tell me, how is tree climbing and water walking done?"
"With tree climbing you have to release a set amount of chakra and maintain it so that you stick to the tree. And with water walking its similar, except rather than maintain a set amount, you have to continuously release chakra and change it depending on the density of the liquid's surface."
Jiraiya blinked at the not only accurate, but decently complex answer, I have to remember this kid isn't as dumb as he likes to sometimes act.
"That's right, this could be considered a step higher, or several steps higher. Now watch this."
Naruto watched as Jiraiya held out the hand with the water balloon. He could feel the chakra that the Toad Sennin was pouring into the balloon, and saw that it was starting to form lumps on the surface. Less than a second later the balloon popped, letting water explode everywhere. Jiraiya shook the water off his hand. "Now that you've seen it I want you to-"
POP!
The old Sannin was cut off by the sound of a balloon popping and water splashing along the ground. Jiraiya looked at Naruto to see him cursing and shaking his hand of the water, having seemingly had enough Naruto channeled massive amount of youki to his hand and used a quick Kitsune-bi to dry himself off.
"Let's see you do that again." Jiraiya took out one of the extra water balloons he had and tossed it to Naruto.
Naruto caught the balloon and channeled some chakra into it, Jiraiya watched in shock as the balloon gained a lumpy surface and then popped, "How did you get that down so quickly?"
"What do you mean?" asked Naruto as he tilted his head to the side in confusion. "I just saw the way the jutsu worked. When you popped the balloon, the surface became lumpy before popping. When I saw the jutsu outside of the balloon, I noticed that it had chakra swirling in all different directions. Honestly it wasn't that hard to figure out that in order to make the balloon pop, I had to rotate my chakra in several dozen directions. So what's the next step?"
Jiraiya grabbed a rubber ball and tossed it to Naruto in dumb fashion, his mind still slightly blank at how fast Naruto had gotten the first stage of the jutsu. "Now the second step is power. This is usually the hardest step since you have to put as much power into the jutsu as you can to pop the balloon."
Naruto nodded and began channeling his youki into the balloon.
BAM!
"What the fuck!" Naruto shouted as he covered his ears after popping the rubber ball, "Why the hell was that so loud!" He picked at his ears to try and get the ringing out. Sometimes he really cursed his enhanced senses.
"How the hell did you do that?" Jiraiya almost felt himself have a seizure. Okay the first step while difficult was not impossible to get that fast, seeing how observant the boy was. But this was just ridiculous, "There is no way you should have gotten that so quickly. Generating enough power consistently like that takes time."
Naruto picked out his ear as Jiraiya griped, "Ero-sennin, are you forgetting who I have sealed inside of me. I've got power in spades."
In truth that was only half the reason, but he did not want to tell Jiraiya that he was actually a hanyou and his youki was simply more potent and allowed him to use more powerful attacks easily, "So, what's the third step?"
Jiraiya pulled out a balloon and blew it up before handing it to Naruto, "The third step is combining the first two with in that balloon without making it pop."
"So…what am I doing exactly?" asked Naruto.
Jiraiya held out a hand and formed a Rasengan in it, causing Naruto's eye to gain a light of recognition. "Ah! So I'm actually creating the jutsu inside of the balloon. Then that means the third step is control."
"That's right," Jiraiya nodded as he watched Naruto try the third step, only to fail and make the balloon pop. He was glad to see that if he were honest, if this kid managed to learn the Rasengan in one day, he would have had a heart attack. "Continue working on that while we walk, we need to get to the next town."
"You know this kind of reminds me of those sandcastles I've seen kids make in the park, right after they step on them," Naruto said as he and Jiraiya found themselves staring at what used to be the famous castle of Tanzaku Gai. Now it was really nothing more than a pile rubble and debris. As the pair walked close to the scene, Naruto picked at some of the debris.
"Hey Ero-sennin, this place has a heavy smell of snakes," Naruto commented as he sniffed the air.
Jiraiya looked over at him with a frown, "Snakes huh…what else can you smell?"
Naruto took several more whiffs of the air and frowned, "Aside from snakes I can smell…sake, a lot of sake. And it's a little hard to pick up, but I also smell antiseptics."
"Then that means we're close to our quarry," Jiraiya began moving away from the castle. "Come on gaki, chances are good my teammate is here, and if the smell of snakes are any indication, she had a run in with my other teammate so I want to find her as soon as possible."
The pair had searched for the entire day and had no luck in finding the wayward healer. They decided to stop and get a meal at a local tavern before getting a place to stay for the night.
As they entered the tavern, Jiraiya took a look around and stopped when his eyes landed on a very familiar face, "Tsunade?"
A blond woman who had been drinking rather heavily looked up to reveal a diamond symbol on her forehead and honey colored eyes, "Jiraiya? What the hell are you doing here?"
Jiraiya merely gave the woman a grin as he sat down, "Nothing much, I was just passing through and looking for a place to stop for the night."
Naruto held in a snort as he sat down next to the older man. He looked at the other occupants in the booth and noticed a black haired woman holding what appeared to be a well pampered…pig?
"Well isn't this day just full of surprises," Tsunade said, and Naruto had to hold in his gag reflex as he smelled more alcohol on her then he had ever smelled on anyone else. "All the old faces just keep coming back."
Naruto stiffened as he heard that and Jiraiya frowned, "So you did meet Orochimaru then. What did the snake want?"
Tsunade glared as the black haired woman who looked like she was about to speak, "Oh you know, just dropped in the neighborhood to see how I was doing."
Jiraiya took the bottle of sake that was on the table and poured himself a glass before getting out a deck of cards and shuffling them, "If you met him, then I take it you've heard about sensei?" he tossed her a set of cards before laying the deck on the table.
"Of course, the old snake told me about how he did the deed himself," Tsunade looked at her cards, placing two of them next to the deck and grabbing two more. "Now why don't you just cut to the chase and tell me why you're here."
"Getting straight to the point as always eh hime (Princess)?" Jiraiya looked up at Tsunade to see her glaring at him, and decided to get to the point, lest he incur her wrath. "As you know Konoha is currently without a Hokage. So the council, in all its wisdom has decided that you are to be the next Hokage."
Naruto felt a jolt of surprise run through him at the announcement, having not expected it at all. Though after the initial surprise passed he had to curse himself for not seeing it sooner, why else would they travel all over Hi No Kuni just to find one woman, even a Sannin if not for something like that?
"Hmph, Hokage huh. I don't know why you even bothered coming here then," Tsunade looked at her cards before placing them on the table. "I can't believe you would even bother trying to get me to take that job. I may do a lot of gambling Jiraiya, but money is easily replicable, a life isn't. Becoming Hokage? That's a fools bet. Look at what happened to all of the Hokages, they all died. Even the Yondaime died young. The Hokage's job is for nothing but fools and idiots. It's-"
She did not get the chance to say anything as she felt a blast of air and had to blink as she saw a fist mere centimeters from her face. She followed the fist to see it was attached to one Uzumaki Naruto, who was being restrained by Jiraiya. His face was carved into a snarl, and she was shocked to see his eyes shifting from blue to amethyst to red and back to blue.
"Damn it gaki! Calm down!" Jiraiya struggled and actually had to put in a lot of effort to hold the kid back. Kami what the hell is with this kid's strength!
"Shut up Ero-sennin! Maybe you can just stand there and listen to her insult Ojisan and the other Hokages, but I won't put up with it!" Naruto bared his elongated canines at the blond woman, "There's no way I'm letting some wrinkly old hag like her insult Ojisan's memory like that!"
Tsunade looked at him, blinking in a bit of curiosity. At least until he called her an old hag, then she turned a glare on him before looking at Jiraiya, "Who's the brat? Don't tell me you've actually taken another apprentice. I thought you had foresworn taking on anymore after your last one died. Though this one seems like a downgrade from your previous student."
Jiraiya grunted as he struggled to hold the kid back, "I wouldn't…be too sure of that…damn it! I need you to calm down Naruto!" Said blond growled at him but finally relented and sat back down, "This kid will surprise you Tsunade, I wouldn't underestimate him."
"Whatever," Tsunade scoffed, "Hey brat, what's your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto," The blond shinobi said with a glare.
Tsunade's eyes widened. So this kid is Kushina's brat? "You seem to have some kind of issue with my words. Can't take the truth?"
"What truth? Yours? Why should I listen to some old drunk who looks like she washed out a long time ago," Naruto smirked when he saw Tsunade getting pissed. "Ero-sennin, we should probably get going, a pathetic alcoholic old lady like her could never be Hokage. She simply doesn't have what it takes."
"What was that you gaki!" Tsunade slammed her hands on the table, "Listen here! I'm the granddaughter of the Shodai and the grandniece of the Nidaime! I'm more than capable of being Hokage if I so desired!"
Naruto began to chuckle before it turned into a laugh, "I already know of your heritage and I have to say, for someone with such a strong lineage, you're a big disappointment. You sit here wasting your days away drowning in sake. Really, your ancestors must be disgusted with the bitter old drunk you've become."
"That's it gaki! Let's take this outside!" Tsunade stood up and walked out of the front door.
"Fine by me you old hag," Naruto got out of the booth and followed Tsunade outside.
Jiraiya sighed, "Great, I somehow should have figured this would happen. C'mon Shizune, we need to make sure someone's there to pick up the pieces after this is all over."
Naruto and Tsunade stood across each other in the middle of the street. The blond Genin was glad that it was so late at night and no one else was there, that meant he could really go all out, which was good because Naruto knew that to even get a hit on a Sannin he would need to use all the tricks in the book.
Tsunade looked at him and smirked as she held up a finger, "One finger is all I'll need to beat you."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, he did not like being underestimated like that, but like his battle with Kisame he would make an exception. Okay so I've got three advantages over her. The first is she is seriously underestimating me. The second is that she is really drunk, that will make her sloppy. And the third is she's obviously a decade or so out of practice so she won't be as strong as Jiraiya.
"Tsunade you really don't need to do this. Why don't you just calm down and we can talk things through," Jiraiya suggested.
"There's nothing to talk about Jiraiya, and this gaki needs to learn his place," Tsunade glared at the Toad Sannin.
"She's right Ero-sennin, crabby old drunks like her need to learn that drowning themselves in alcohol only makes the situation worse," Naruto shot back.
Tsunade ground her teeth as she glared at the much younger blond, "Before we get this little fight started, I just have one question. Why do you care about the Hokages so much."
"What kind of stupid ass question is that?" Naruto scoffed, "It should be obvious. Being Hokage is my dream!"
Tsunade's eyes widened as she heard that, and for just a second she could see the figures of her dead lover Dan, and her little brother Nawaki, both of whom had the same dream as the blond before her, standing behind him.
The images disappeared quickly since Naruto, seeing her distracted had decided to start the fight off. He charged at her with speeds that greatly surprised and shocked Tsunade, coming in quickly with an attempt to smash a fist in her gut.
However, Tsunade was not a Sannin for nothing, and swatted the attack away with one finger as per her boast. With Naruto now off balance she flicked him in the head with the same finger, only to be shocked when Naruto went up in a burst of smoke.
It was then that another Naruto came in through the smoke. Tsunade reacted on instinct and attempted to finger flick him. However, due to how drunk Tsunade was, as well as the fact that she had not been in a serious fight for nearly a decade and a half, she was far slower than she should be. It also didn't help that Naruto, having speeds that could match those of Rock Lee, was more than capable of keeping ahead of her, at least for the moment.
Naruto ducked under Tsunade's finger and came in, smashing Tsunade in the stomach with a double punch. The legendary healer grunted in pain as she skidded across the ground. The kid hit far harder then she thought he would.
"Looks like the first hit goes to me," Naruto gave her a vicious and bloodthirsty grin. "I have to say for being one of the three Sannin you really suck. I guess your title of legendary sucker isn't just about how shitty you are at gambling."
Tsunade glared at Naruto as she finished healing her bruised stomach. As soon as she was finished she rushed at Naruto. Said blond watched her, despite being out of practice she was still decently fast and he knew that if she got even one hit on him, even if it was from just a finger, he would lose.
Timing himself to her attack Naruto waited until she had lashed out, using a minimal amount of effort to move her hand past his head. It was then that he came in with another punch, but this time Tsunade had sobered up enough that she reacted on instinct.
She swatted his attack out of the way with her other hand, before finger flicking him. However, much like last time Naruto merely disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing himself to be a Kage Bunshin.
It was then she felt someone behind her and saw another shock, a spinning purple? ball of energy that she could name from a mile away was in Naruto's hand as he charged at her. Acting quickly she smashed her finger on the ground and created a fissure that tripped Naruto up, causing the Rasengan in his hand to smash into the ground where it formed a ring, showing that the blond had yet to master the technique.
"I take it you taught him that move Jiraiya," Tsunade turned a glare on the white haired man.
Jiraiya shrugged, "Well of course I did. He's my apprentice isn't he? That kind of implies I need to teach him something."
Tsunade scoffed, "We all know that only you and the Yondaime can use that technique. Teaching it to some kid who has no chance of actually learning it is just stupid."
Before Jiraiya could open his mouth to respond Naruto decided to get back into the picture, "You think so huh? That just goes to show you what you know. I'll have this technique mastered in no time flat. Just you watch hag!"
Tsunade glared at the hag comment before grinning, "Then why don't we have a little wager? If you can master that technique in three days, not only will I come back with you to be Hokage and admit that you've got what it takes to be my successor, but I'll also give you this necklace." Tsunade took a necklace with a green gem out of her shirt.
"And if I lose?"
Tsunade thought about it for a moment before grinning, "You will give up on your dream of being Hokage, give me all of your money and go back to Konoha emptyhanded."
Naruto frowned, he wasn't much for jewelry. The only thing he wore was the necklace Haku had given him. However, as he looked at the necklace he felt something call out to him. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal lady; I'll have this technique down in three days. Be sure to pack your bags in that time because I'm not going to lose!"
"Hey gaki where are you going?" Jiraiya asked as Naruto started stomping off.
Naruto stopped and turned his head to his sensei, "I'm going to start training."
"Gaki, it's the middle of the night. Let's find a hotel, you can train tomorrow," Jiriaya countered with a shake of his head.
Naruto frowned for a moment before sighing, he was not really tired but the man did have a point. "Alright fine, but if I'm gonna miss out on training thanks to this, I expect you to wake up bright and early tomorrow to help me."
Jiraiya rolled his eyes, "Alright gaki, you got yourself a deal."
"I suggest you don't get yourself too comfortable here hag," Naruto looked at Tsunade. "Given your shitty luck and the fact that I've never lost a bet, you can be sure as hell I won't lose to you here."
Omake: What would happen if Sasuke never showed up to fight Itachi.
"Well, I have to at least admit that I'm impressed you were able to land a hit on me gaki and to withstand a smack from Samehada, you must have impressive pain tolerance." Kisame said before he turned look at his silent partner, "Oi, Itachi! Weren't we told this kid was the dead last of his class or something!"
"Dead last?" Naruto asked with a laugh, despite the small wince of pain it earned him from his still sore ribs, "Your intel agent obviously sucks balls if that's what he got. His information is about six months out of date."
"You do seem to be more skilled now. However even with your recent increase in skill it will not be enough to deal with us," Itachi said as he looked at the blond Genin.
"Heh, you think so huh?" asked Naruto with a smirk on his face.
That smirk gave Itachi an ominous feeling.
Naruto brought his hands up in a ram seal and gave the two S ranked criminals an insane looking grin, "I'm going to beat the both of you in just one technique. I really didn't want to use this but it seems you've left me know choice." A purple aura of youki formed around the blond shinobi, "Behold! My ultimate jutsu!"
Both Itachi and Kisame tensed as they felt the powerful chakra surrounding Naruto, however curiosity kept them from attacking. What could be so powerful that it could defeat two S-ranked ninja? What technique could a mere Genin know that could beat people of their caliber? What could-
"Harem No Jutsu!"
"What!" Itachi and Kisame both asked as they were surrounded by a large puff of smoke. And when the smoke cleared…
…they were suddenly assaulted by hundreds of beautiful teenage blond girls who began rubbing themselves against the pair of now stiff shinobi, whispering seductively in their ear as they described many of the Icha Icha scenes from the first three books of the series.
Oh, and they were completely naked.
Now, both Itachi and Kisame had always had good control over themselves. Itachi was well known for his cold, nearly dead personality and Kisame, while known to be violent and bloodthirsty knew how to keep himself in check.
However both of them were still men, and still had the same urges that all men had.
And having Kami-only knew how many hot blond female bodies pressed up against them was too much for them, or any man to take.
Thus the pair were blown backwards with a pair of nose bleeds of such epic proportion that they ended up dying from blood loss.
A puff of smoke later and all the blonds disappeared, leaving only Naruto standing there and scratching the back of his head in a confused manner.
"Huh, I guess that technique really is the deadliest jutsu known to man."
And there you have it.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone