Capítulo 863: 40
Chapter 39: The Foundation Holds Strong
(Konohagakure no Sato – Hokage Tower)
The rain was still falling heavily in Konoha as the early morning began. It had been for over a week, going on ever since two days after Naruto and Jiraiya left. Tsunade had a horribly uneasy feeling about something, and the only pressing issue on her mind that could have been doing so at the moment was the situation that she had sent Naruto and Jiraiya into in Amegakure. While she hadn't expected any news back soon that still didn't mean she wasn't worried.
As she entered her office, Shizune gave her the basic rundown of the day that she listened to half-heartedly, still getting the gist of what she was meant to do that day. Upon finishing, the dark-haired attendant bowed to her and left the room, allowing Tsunade's mind to drift once again.
Eventually however, she felt the presence of an intruder in the office and stood up to prepare herself to defend against it, only for the intruder to be revealed as a small, elderly female toad. Tsunade calmed down and retook her seat, sighing in relief, "Damn nerves…" She muttered to herself before addressing the toad, "Yes, can I help you?" She asked.
Shima hopped onto Tsunade's desk and looked her in the eyes before uttering what she had come to say, "Little Jiraiya and his apprentice are missing." She said somberly.
Tsunade froze for a moment before speaking, "H-How? Why? What happened to them? What do you mean missing?"
Shima shook her head, "They wound up fightin' with two members of Akatsuki. One of them happened to be the leader. The last thing I remember happenin' before I was sent away to return here to you was Jiraiya-chan losing his left arm. Pa stayed to help him but he hasn't returned to Mt. Myoboku either."
Tsunade slumped back in her seat and looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to divert her tears from spilling, "Tell me everything you can." The blonde woman said, trying to hide her pain behind a business-like voice.
XxX
(Unknown Location)
Naruto's eyes opened to a dark room that was thoroughly unfamiliar to him. His mind started functioning in overdrive, giving himself a quick systems check. He felt fine for a guy that had been smashed by an invisible wall hard enough to be thrown for over a mile and a half and had been impaled straight through. Why would the Akatsuki heal him? And why wasn't he bound? As a matter of fact why was he even conscious? Did they really think he posed that little of a threat, even after having been defeated? A living Naruto Uzumaki was a dangerous Naruto Uzumaki, and it was time for these fools to realize that.
Let's see, nothing in the room that he could use as a weapon. Well at least they weren't that arrogant if nothing else. Fine, he didn't need a weapon, his hands were his weapons. After all, even if he failed again, they wouldn't kill him, they still needed him. No clothes except for a pair of boxers on his frame, his body was wrapped in bandages. He still couldn't get over the fact that they treated him. Why would they do that?
Naruto quietly made his way to the door of his room and stuck himself to the ceiling right above it and waited patiently for anyone to enter so that he could begin his swift escape. After a decent amount of time waiting, the door slowly opened and shut before someone began taking steps inside of the room. Naruto quickly landed on the ground behind them, ignoring the pain in his torso and wrapped his arms around the person's neck in a chokehold to quietly put them down.
That would have been his course of action had the person he grabbed a hold of not replaced themselves in a Kawarimi with a chair near his bed.
"I'm very glad I prepared that Kawarimi before I entered the room Naruto-senpai or you might have killed me just now."
Hearing a smooth female voice made him believe Konan had been the one in the room, but the added –senpai to his name shook him of that notion. Only Sai ever called him senpai, but Sai sure as hell wasn't a woman. As a matter of fact the only reason Sai called him Naruto-senpai was because he was in… Root.
"Root?" Naruto asked slumping against the closed door.
"That's right Naruto-senpai. We are currently in a Root hideout in Kawa no Kuni (River Country). We headed here after retrieving you and Jiraiya-sama from Amegakure." The female voice said once again informatively, "You really shouldn't be out of bed."
Naruto sent out a question that he needed answered, "You said you retrieved me and Jiraiya. Does that mean he's alive?" He said hopefully.
"Yes." The female said, getting Naruto to slide to the floor against the door in relief, "His wounds were far more appalling than yours however. Your entire skeletal frame was cracked and you had a few ruptured organs to go with the stab wound through your torso."
Naruto looked across the darkened room at the female who had taken a seat on his bed, "And what of Ero-kyofu?"
The girl let out a sigh, "Jiraiya-sama had a stab wound through his torso much like yourself that injured a few organs of his. His left arm was severed from his body at the shoulder, and his throat was crushed in battle. He is currently in a coma. We put him under so that he wouldn't know of our base… I'm sorry if you have a problem with that… orders. I can give you the shot you need to take him out of it when it's time for him to leave."
Naruto ran a hand down his face, "How did you get us out? We should have been finished. There was no way you guys fought off that Pein guy." He looked at her trying to somehow get night-vision to make out her features, "I'm sorry I don't even know your name."
"Sai-senpai has given me my old codename of Maki as he said that you would find it the most familiar. You did spar with me often Naruto-senpai, back before your unfortunate incident in Otogakure." She said.
Naruto's hands felt along the walls until he finally hit the light switch and illuminated the room. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light before making out Maki's appearance. The Maki he remembered he never got to actually see. Her operational clothing was baggy, her hair had always been short, and she always wore her mask around him. He didn't even know she was a girl until Sai told him she was during their trip to Uzushiogakure.
(Flashback – Naruto: Age 5)
Danzo walked with a young Naruto through an underground Root base in Konoha, "Naruto it is important for you to keep up appearances in the village so that it is not outright discovered that you are training with me as you well know." Naruto nodded and kept silent as they walked, "I have and will continue to oversee your training, but an important part of working as a shinobi is teamwork and you will learn to work with others here."
"Okay Danzo-jiji." Naruto said resolutely.
Danzo looked at Naruto, hiding his ire at the jab at his age. He knew it was a form of endearment, but he was wrestling in his head over whether or not he wanted Naruto to see him that way to ensure his loyalty, or if he wanted Naruto to be like the rest of his soldiers. But for now he was just going to have to go with the status quo, "Do you need another conditioning session with Dajimu?"
"No Danzo-sama." Naruto said blankly. Danzo could tell that he abhorred adding that particular honorific to anyone's name, but nothing worth forming was built in a day. Naruto would eventually get used to calling him Danzo-sama… or so he thought.
Danzo led Naruto into a room that appeared to be a dojo of sorts where there was a person his age sitting in the middle of the room. They had short black hair and a baggy black long sleeve shirt and pants as well as a plain white mask on their face, making Naruto wonder if he should put his on too. Before he could reach for his mask or ask about it Danzo spoke.
"Begin!" He said sharply.
Naruto was almost caught off-guard by his equally diminutive counterpart as they came at him from their seated position to attack him before he was even aware of what was occurring.
After a short, mildly skilled back and forth of taijutsu between the two children Danzo sharply ordered them to heel, "Enough!" He walked between them, "Naruto, this is Maki. You will be working with Maki. Training, eating, missions. This person will be your partner unless I call for you personally. Do you understand?" Naruto nodded, "Maki do you understand? You will work with Naruto here as your sole partner." Maki nodded and looked at Naruto through the mask's eyeholes, "Very good."
(End Flashback)
Now it was coming back to him. Maki was the only person he really got to call an acquaintance in Root. He said acquaintance instead of friend because Maki never really spoke to him. He never saw Maki outside of the base unless they were busy and even then Maki only spoke in short, low-syllable comments that quickly conveyed what needed to be said. And he never saw her without that damn mask they were all given. However Danzo didn't reuse codenames for other people, if this girl was really the Maki he more or less grew up with then the name was a definite indication of that.
This Maki was right at his age. She was far smaller than him as she didn't top out over five feet in height to his five foot seven, but she had definitely grown out. She didn't wear baggy clothing anymore either, she wore tight black pants, black sandals, and much like Sai wore, a high-collared tight shirt, one sleeve long to go with the other arm that was sleeveless that came to her stomach and zipped up. It was left unzipped enough to reveal part of her chest and the mesh shirt she wore. Her dark grey eyes were rather hardened, something he expected as it was the same girl he worked with as a child. She still had short black hair, but as it now came down to her neck in order to go with a pair of long braids descending down her back there was no disputing that she was most certainly a girl, she wasn't even wearing a mask, it was attached to her hip.
"Hello Maki." Naruto said, trying to pick himself up off of the ground but was now fully feeling the effect of his wounds, "How have you been?" He asked as the girl helped him up and back over to his bed.
"I have been fine senpai." She responded, setting him down on his bed, "Due to your unfortunate capture and subsequent sealing, Danzo-sama never truly saw it fit for me to go through the final stage of his emotional conditioning."
"And that was?" Naruto asked as he tried to sit up, only to be pushed down by Maki's delicate hand.
Her sharp grey eyes locked with his blue ones, "A fight to the death between me and you." Wait, he seriously would have made Maki fight him back then? 8 year old Naruto back then would have slaughtered an 8 year old Maki. She was good enough to keep up with him in training, but a fight between them would have always ended with his victory. He was a jinchuuriki that was trained by the leader of the cell personally. She was just a little girl, a well trained little girl, but still a little girl, "I was never subjected to that part of the training. As anyone Danzo-sama would have made me fight would not have had that much of a bond with me if there was even one at all. The same thing happened to Sai-senpai when his partner Shin died of a disease before their test could happen."
Naruto nodded, wondering why Maki was keeping him from sitting up when he felt some blood rising from his throat. Maki shook her head and made a few hand-seals before her hands began to glow green, "Shousen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique)… Honestly senpai, you're still as stubborn as a mule."
Naruto lay still on the bed as Maki gave him a touch up to patch his injured organs up, "You never answered my question Maki. How did you get us out of there?"
Maki gave him a smile that seemed strange on her usually stern looking face, "We were there with you the entire time senpai." Naruto's eyes widened in shock, "Sai-senpai and myself along with a platoon of Root ninja. Why do you think the full force of Ame's military wasn't brought down to bear on you? Because we were there keeping the bulk of them away from you when you were discovered. You ended up causing quite a stir when you fought with that Akatsuki member all across the village."
Naruto coughed up a little leftover blood, "Danzo-jiji sent a platoon? He had fifty ninja to spare to get me out of Ame?" Maki shook her head, "Well why did he have them there?"
Maki wiped the blood away from his lip, "We weren't actually there for you. Danzo-sama sent a platoon in to use the Ame civil war as a cover to assassinate Hanzo… but he was already dead, we didn't know the war was over until we got there. Killed by the man that defeated you and Jiraiya-sama, Pein. Before we left, you were discovered and Sai-senpai called an audible of sorts to get you out. It was actually successful all things considered. Even though we didn't do it Hanzo is dead, and we only lost 13 men of the 55 we sent in."
"And you brought us here with you when you retreated from the village." Naruto said, "But there was an elderly toad with Ero-kyofu, what happened to him?"
Maki stood up after depositing the syringe she promised Naruto on his bed by his side, "He's still by Jiraiya-sama's bedside. He said he was waiting for you to wake up, and he isn't the only one, but at the moment you can go see him first." She walked towards the door and pointed towards a stand in the corner, "There are fresh clothes for you over there, yours were absolutely ruined. And…" She stopped and gave Naruto another smile, "It really is good to see you again senpai. I missed you."
Naruto blinked in surprise, "Missed me?" She missed him? How? She barely spoke to him and they weren't that close, at least to him. Hell, he didn't even know she was a girl for the longest time, "So you still have your emotions? You're not a brick wall like Sai is… well, was until I got to him?" It must have been a Root thing. They didn't get much time with people so those that they actually spent time with they wound up bonding with, until Danzo made them fight.
"I never finished emotional conditioning." Maki commented as she slipped her way out of the door and shut it behind her, "Remember, Root is and always has been on your side Naruto-senpai." She said simply as the door clicked shut.
XxX
(Konohagakure no Sato – Hokage Tower)
Hamako sat in front of the Hokage with a stern look on her face and shook her head resolutely, "Naruto-sama isn't dead Hokage-sama."
Tsunade felt bad for the girl at first due to her seeming inability to accept that Naruto was caught by the Akatsuki, but this was getting ridiculous. Even Shima couldn't tell the girl otherwise, "Hamako you have to accept that Jiraiya and Naruto are missing. I'll be here for you, you can get through this just as I can."
Hamako sighed, "Master isn't dead or missing. I can ask him right now." She pulled part of her kimono down and placed two fingers on the tattoo on her shoulder, channeling chakra through it in bursts, "Yes he wasn't answering for a few days and the feeling I got from our link told me something was wrong, but he answered me after I tried calling him when the throbbing feeling stopped."
Tsunade hopped up from her desk as Shima looked at her in shock, "Where is he? Is Jiraiya okay? What happened?"
"What about Pa?" Shima asked, "Is he alright?"
Hamako frowned as she tried to sort out how to get that to him in coded format. After doing so she spoke up and informed them, "Well Jiraiya-sama's alive. He believes that this 'Pa' person is too because he was with them the whole time before he went unconscious. He apparently doesn't know where he is, but when he gets his bearings he'll tell me and I'll tell you." Hamako knew where he was, he had told her, but she also knew that Naruto did not desire his ongoing relationship with Root to be known so that he would have to deal with that, "He is safe though. He assured me of that. He can move, and he will tell me more when he gets the chance."
Tsunade and Shima let out sighs of relief, "I'm going to smack that brat and that pervert one when they get back here." She looked at Hamako gratefully, "Thank you for that Hamako. That was all I called you for. If you could bring Shizune in when you leave that would be great, we have work to sort out."
Hamako smiled and stood with a bow before leaving. She was still worried about Naruto and there was only one thing she could do when she was worried; work. He would communicate with her again soon enough.
XxX
(Kawa no Kuni – Hidden Root Base)
Naruto felt somewhat safe again with his gear back on his person. He had no shoes, but he had on a plain long sleeved black shirt and black pants and had his sword slung over his back as normal as he walked the halls of the base without an escort. Unlike Orochimaru's bases, Danzo's weren't uniform. A Root base would either be a small hideaway like the one Naruto used with Yugito in Kaminari no Kuni or something like the one he was in, a full compound used as planning points and overall bases of operation for use in foreign excursions. No two were built the same, and there were no signs or anything to help you find anything… and Naruto had never been to this one.
Fortunately, he was already in what he would label as the medical wing and it didn't take him long to find Jiraiya's room, with Fukasaku standing nearby looking at him, "You wanted to see me?" Naruto asked as he entered the room and shut the door behind him.
Fukasaku looked at Naruto as he walked in and looked down at Jiraiya, "He's gonna be fine they say. I don't rightly know who 'they' is, but they kept Jiraiya-chan alive, most of them had the Konoha symbol on their hitae-ate, they aren't trying to restrain me, and you don't seem to be nervous in the least here so I suppose I shouldn't be either."
"How-." Naruto didn't know how to word it as he saw how bad things looked during the fight with Pein, "How is he for sure? Do you know? I told Tsunade-baachan he was alive but I don't know what exactly is wrong with him."
Fukasaku sighed and moved closer to Naruto, "Well as you could see before we got thrown like ants, he lost his left arm. Ain't nothing no one can do about that. His throat was crushed. It's going to take some time for him to regain speech with proper medical treatment, he had a ton of damage to his internal organs, but I guess getting that beatin' all those years ago from Tsunade was good for one thing, because he'll survive, he's just not gonna be in any kind of fightin' shape for a while if ever again."
"At least he's not dead…" Naruto said as he dropped to his knees by Jiraiya's bed, feeling the pain in his knees and placed his head on the bed, "At least he'll live to perv another day…" The room settled into a comfortable silence, "How long have we been here?"
"Five days." Fukasaku informed him, "They said you went and cracked every bone in your body. How did you go and manage that?"
Naruto looked at the elderly toad, "The price you pay to use power you can't truly control… I can't use even four tails without using the Kitsune Trigger, the thing you saw that turned me into the fox-looking thing. I can't use any actual ninjutsu when I do it though, it's all power and speed… and it wasn't enough for that Pein guy. He maimed Ero-kyofu and he beat me so fast…"
"You didn't know anything about him. Well Jiraiya-chan does and I do too, so does Ma and she's givin' her account to your Hokage now." Fukasaku reasoned, "That was the reason ya went to Ame in the first place ain't it? Mission accomplished."
"I could have beaten Konan if I could have gotten her one-on-one…" Naruto said, "But Pein… I don't think me at full capacity could have beaten him. He was so fast, and there were so many of him. That one bald one was so strong. I never had a chance."
Fukasaku nodded, "How do you feel now? Are ya angry? Are ya scared?"
Frowning, Naruto shook his head in the negative, "I'm not mad. You'd think it would be weird… but I'm really not mad. Even after everything that he did to Ero-kyofu. He's alive, and I know he won't let this keep him down. But no matter what I never took it personally. No matter how much of a bastard Pein is he has his own goals, so do we, me and Ero-kyofu… our goals just clashed. That's the reason that ninja exist right? Being mad won't change anything. It won't make me stronger, it won't make him weaker, it won't give Ero-kyofu his arm back, it won't make me feel better about getting my ass handed to me, and it won't help me control more of Kyuubi's power, it'll just make it harder."
"And the fear?" Fukasaku said.
"No fear…" Naruto said. He stood up slowly due to his injured skeletal frame, "What is there to be afraid of? I already know he can beat me. So all that there is to do now is find a way to get stronger than him, and I know it's possible, so that I never have to see someone like Ero-kyofu hurt fighting for me again. That's why he did all of this, took these wounds, because he's stronger than me and wanted to protect me. He must have given that bastard hell though."
Fukasaku smiled and chuckled, "Damn right he did. He took one of the bastard's bodies and got it to your Hokage. It won't take long, and they'll figure out a way to beat 'em kid." He looked at Jiraiya, "What do we do now?"
Naruto started pacing around in thought, "Ugh… I can't go back to Konoha as I am. Not like this. Now that Pein knows I can't beat him and now that he knows he can beat Ero-kyofu he's going to be after me full blast now. He'll attack Konoha directly if I'm there... Especially after all of the damage I did to Ame with one attack. I can't go back with you. I can go with you as far as Hi no Kuni, or take him directly to Suna. Either or, they both work, but I'm not setting foot in Konoha again until I know I'm ready to fight Pein and win."
Fukasaku took a moment to think about the options, "I have a better idea… you got a message to Tsunade didn't you? Well Ma should be with her. If you can get word to Ma to summon me back to Konoha I can take Jiraiya-chan with me so we can treat him."
Naruto looked at him in shock, "You can do that? I thought only humans could summon you not the other way around."
Fukasaku chuckled, "That's right, you've been learning how to work with the toads through 'Bunta's troublesome boy Gamakichi haven't you? Well you need to set up a contract with a toad that you want as your familiar. We toads can summon each other, but only a familiar can summon the human they are set to work with. Nothin' we can do about that for now. Go ahead and chew Gamakichi out about that when you can and get that set up."
"Damn it 'Kichi…" Naruto mumbled as he started sending out a message to Hamako, "She should get it in a few minutes. Hamako-chan is reliable. Here, this should take him out of the coma by the time Tsunade-baachan gets to him." He ran a hand through his hair, "Tell everyone that I'll be fine. I'll keep in touch through Hamako-chan, but they need to understand that I can't go back there right now. It's how this has to go."
Fukasaku nodded, "You gonna travel the world like your sensei did?"
Naruto gave Jiraiya the shot and let out a short laugh, "No I don't think I'll be going quite that far and wide like Ero-kyofu. I have a mission to do. Get strong enough to beat Pein… and keep Konoha safe. Tell Tsunade-baachan not to waste the resources coming after me. I wouldn't do this if I weren't sure I knew what I was doing."
"Once Gamakichi becomes your legitimate familiar we can summon you to Mt. Myoboku when you want it." He gave a knowing grin, "I'm certain Jiraiya-chan will want to show you around the place soon."
"Can't wait." Naruto said as he walked out of the room, "Make sure he takes care of himself and gets rest. One arm or not I'm sure Konoha is going to need him. Please don't tell her what you saw here, it would cause a bunch of needless trouble. And if Tsunade-baachan gets all bent out of shape about me not coming back, tell her that I'm still in the middle of an ongoing mission that I'm choosing to continue at this time."
Naruto shut the door behind him and let out a sigh. "You'll really head out on your own Naruto-senpai?" Naruto turned to see Sai leaning against the wall right next to the room he had been in moments prior, "Are you certain that would be the wisest course of action?"
Naruto shrugged, "Well put it like this. I could train in Konoha like I've been doing, with a big beacon telling Pein for sure where I am, get attacked by him in his leisure, and have the village be destroyed in the fight, or I can leave without anyone knowing where I intend to go and do the same thing. I have a few places where I can go Sai, trust me." He looked at the pale teen questioningly, "So how did you save us back there? We were flying through the air."
"I can draw birds large enough to carry multiple people. Or did you forget?" Sai gave him his strange smile, "Well be that as it may, Danzo-sama would like to speak to you now that you have recovered."
Naruto stopped and turned to Sai, "Danzo-jiji is here?" Sai nodded, "For how long? He never leaves Konoha, he works right from there."
"I told him you were here after I flew you from Ame to our base." Sai led Naruto through the halls, "He came here shortly after I sent it while you were still unconscious. Whatever happened to you almost killed you, Maki-san almost couldn't fix you, even with the Kyuubi."
"I can feel it." Naruto said, "I feel totally brittle if you know what I'm saying. I don't think I could take a single punch without reinjuring something right now." Eventually, Sai led Naruto to a rather plain door with the Root kanji on it, "Man this feels like déjà vu."
Sai knocked on the door and got a stern enter that he followed, bringing Naruto inside with him. Danzo sat inside of the rather Spartan setup of what was his office at this base calmly, looking over Naruto with almost piercingly stern expression that Naruto remembered from his youth. He hadn't seen that look up close and in person in seven years, it was just like he was eight again… It was actually good to know that despite everything that had happened, some things didn't change.
Danzo was surrounded on both sides of his desk by members of Root. One was a black-haired man with a mask covering his face except for the lower half that had glasses built into the eyes He wore the usual Root long sleeved midriff cut shirt only he wore a red sash around his waist and an apron over his pants, 'Torune…'
The other was a man with auburn colored hair in a high ponytail that wore a red kimono shirt over his usual Root gear, 'Fuu…' Apparently in his absence they rose to a high enough point to be Danzo's bodyguards.
Also inside of the room was Maki, standing at attention, who did not show any emotion on her face to his presence, but when he looked at her Naruto could see in her eyes that she was happy to see him.
"Naruto." Danzo said, immediately getting Naruto's attention, "It is good to see you alive and in one piece. How goes your final mission for me?" He asked. Naruto wanted to roll his eyes, as if he didn't know… of course he knew. He was Danzo.
"Well Danzo-jiji." Naruto said, getting a glare out of Torune and Fuu, still finding it hilarious to see the diehards desire to admonish him for a lack of formality, but despite them being five years older he was still technically their superior when he was there. Despite their reaction he didn't get any kind of reaction out of Danzo… strange. Danzo must have actually missed being called that or something, "I'm a jounin now. I know Tsunade-baachan personally as she is technically related to me, and I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage, so I have a direct relation or relationship of some sort with four of the five Kage that have existed in Konoha's history."
"And now you have me, a man who worked side-by-side with the Nidaime Hokage and the man who almost became the Sandaime Hokage." Danzo said with a smirk, "Naruto-kun what would you say if I told you that I had this planned for you all along. To go for Hokage in my stead."
Naruto blinked before speaking, "I want to say that you're completely bluffing, but I'm not surprised honestly if that was the truth."
Danzo's smirk dropped, "No it's true. I knew of your relation to the Yondaime. Most jinchuuriki are related to the village leader somehow and you look just like him, the evidence was always there for anyone with the knowledge of what to look for. I always had you as my backup plan in case I was never able to secure the place… and I decided after it was deemed that Tsunade would become Hokage that it was time to let you know of my plans." He paused for a moment and made sure-fire eye contact with Naruto, "Do you know how old I am Naruto-kun?"
Naruto did quick math in his head, "The Sandaime was 69 when he died and you're his age so I would say you're at least 72."
Danzo nodded, "Even if I had taken the seat, how long would that have lasted? Any plan I put into motion at that point would have never seen completion before I finally died, leaving Konoha in a state of chaos due to whomever my successor would be not being knowledgeable on my politics. Everything I have done since I realized that I would never be able to condition you had been to prepare you. And when you were captured after your mission to Otogakure I felt that my plans were all for nothing, but then you broke the seals placed on you just like you always broke mine. And the results ended with you being in a far better position for you to become Hokage then working your way from within our group, after all, starting from ground level is far more desirable than starting from among the roots."
Naruto nodded as Danzo continued, "You will have the support of Root no matter what throughout your endeavor for me. Sai is to replace me as you know, and Maki… well I hadn't had plans for her, but she is very skilled at medical jutsu, as you already know due to her healing you, as well as a very skilled combatant." Maki bowed to Danzo after he finished complementing her, "You know Maki from your initial training. She was meant for something more than your emotional conditioning however, just so you know, but it doesn't matter now. I was never going to have you two fight one another to the death."
That got looks of shock from both Naruto and Maki, more so from Maki, as she had known of the final test for years and expected that to have been his and her fate had Naruto remained in Root.
"I am aware of all of your victories in your career… as well as your defeats." Danzo said, "Do not feel discouraged, that is a sign of weakness. This Pein person was enough of a force even before your birth to take out an entire platoon of my shinobi as well as those of Hanzo. He has clearly only grown in strength since then. However unlike my soldiers you survived and you can learn from your defeat." He gestured at Sai and Maki, "I offer the aid of Sai and Maki to travel with you during your expedition from Konoha. It would be far too dangerous for you to do this alone."
Naruto frowned and turned to Sai, "Were you aware of this?" Sai nodded, "And you're okay with coming with me?" Once again Sai nodded, prompting Naruto to turn to Maki, "Did you know of this too?" Maki also nodded, "Maki you barely know me, are you sure it's best for you to come with me?"
Maki once again nodded, "It is my mission Naruto-senpai. And I believe it would be good to work with you again… that is if you will allow me to." Naruto sighed in resignation before nodding his agreement, "Then it is best if I come with you."
Naruto looked at all of the current operatives in the room looking at him and finally let off a sweatdrop, "If I say no you're just going to send them anyway and have them shadow me aren't you?"
Danzo didn't even try denying it, "That is correct. As I've said and as you should be well aware of; you are far too valuable to the village to be left unguarded." Danzo sighed, "Everyone except Naruto please leave the room." All of the other operatives bowed to Danzo before making themselves scarce, leaving Naruto alone in the room with the man himself. The two spent a long time looking at each other before the old man spoke, "I have never told you this personally as I am not one for complements and I have never had a chance to speak to you face to face since your incident… but I have to say, Naruto-kun you are my greatest success as the leader of Root."
Naruto looked around to make sure everyone was out of the room before he responded to that, "Danzo-jiji… are you dying? Because you never told me that, ever, even when I was actually working and running missions for you."
Danzo did something that Naruto would have sworn was the precursor to the apocalypse right at that moment. He laughed. He honestly laughed. It wasn't for very long, but it was too long to be deemed anything else. Not a chuckle or any other synonym that implied a slight amount of humor, but actual laughter. Naruto had to silently make a hand-seal to dispel a genjutsu to make sure he hadn't been caught by Akatsuki and placed under a genjutsu to keep him docile.
"I am not dying Naruto-kun, I can assure you of that. If the Tsuchikage is still around these days then I most certainly have plenty of time left." Danzo said, allowing his amusement to die down, "It is true however. You took to my training earnestly and kept your ability to fit into everyday situations outside of combat." He looked at the fifteen year old jounin, "My original intent was to enter you in the Academy once you returned from your mission to Otogakure, but fate had other plans. Still, you have turned out just as well as I could have ever imagined, even with the four years lost to you."
Naruto didn't know what to say. This was the man that was responsible for his life being the way it was now, the original catalyst for everything that shaped his outlook as a ninja. His first actual role model. Naruto dropped to one knee and did something he had never done outside of business, "Thank you Danzo-sama…" He said earnestly while in a bow. He had never bowed to anyone else in his entire life… he even hated doing it for Danzo before this, but no matter what, without Danzo he really had no idea as to where he would have ended up as a ninja.
Naruto did not lift his head until Danzo stood in front of him, one hand on his cane and one on the blonde's head, "Times are changing and becoming more and more tumultuous Naruto-kun, you know this as well. Take care and prepare well. Sai and Maki will keep watch over you until you deem yourself fit to return. I have always been on your side."
XxX
(Amegakure no Sato – Pein's Tower)
Pein and all of his remaining bodies overlooked the remnants of Ame following the collective battles with Jiraiya and the one that caused more widespread destruction, Naruto, "You will not escape for long Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Enjoy your freedom for as long as you can. Our business is far from done."
Konan stood by the side of the body of Yahiko, looking at the village as well. The massive trench that was ripped through the greater part of the village from Naruto's Imari was seared into her memory. A Kawarimi with a paper clone and a shunshin away from Naruto's attack as fast as she could muster almost wasn't enough to escape it, as the shockwave of the attack's path blew her weightless paper body miles away from Ame.
"-You had to know it would come to this… trying to use me and the others as active weapons."
Konan had never seen a jinchuuriki actually cause damage at this scale in public whenever attempts to capture them were made. The Ichibi jinchuuriki was never involved in a full-scale battle with any Akatsuki force. The Nibi caused quite a bit of damage, but nothing on the scale that Naruto did. The Nanabi jinchuuriki barely fought back at all, as if she didn't care one way or the other. The Gobi jinchuuriki barely used his biju's power except for his steam-based ninjutsu, and that fight took place in the mountainous range landscape of Tsuchi no Kuni. The Yonbi jinchuuriki was a very skilled, experienced shinobi that had managed to gain enough control over his respective biju to use lava release, but again, this person was nowhere near any populated areas when they were captured, nor did they directly activate a demonic form during the battle. The Rokubi was ambushed and quickly taken down with little trouble. And the Sanbi was captured on the water, away from land.
The point was; even though jinchuuriki were used as secret weapons in wars for years, even though it was the goal of Akatsuki to capture the biju, even though they knew of each jinchuuriki that were still in existence with their biju; Naruto Uzumaki, Sabaku no Gaara, Yugito Nii, and Kirabi of Kumogakure, they had never faced one that was willing to actually use a wide-scale attack in the middle of any city before. She had never seen the actual destruction a motivated jinchuuriki could cause.
"Your little master plan isn't so good when it's being practiced on you is it?"
'This is what the end result was supposed to be.' Konan thought to herself, 'No. The real thing is supposed to be far worse than this… And the thought of that is chilling.' Konan's original goal alongside Yahiko and Nagato was to bring peace to Ame. And they had actually done it. It took years, it cost Yahiko his life, but eventually it was done. When did it stretch to doing so with the world? When did the end result of the master plan turn to be so destructive?
It occurred the day Yahiko died. The day Nagato changed his name. The day Pein was born.
"Konan." Pein's voice got her attention, "We will remain here until I have prepared the new body for my Animal Path. Then we will begin the hunt for the Kyuubi jinchuuriki in earnest. Until then send word to the remaining members to keep their eyes open for him and do not hesitate to engage him."
"As you wish Nagato." Konan said, walking deeper into the tower as the bodies of Pein continued looking out at Ame, 'Can peace be achieved this way? And if so how many lives will be lost like this in the process? With the weapons in the hands of every nation how many times will it be used? Will there be anyone left to actually exist peacefully with?'
XxX
(Konohagakure no Sato – Konoha Hospital)
"Is that brat insane?" Was the roar that echoed through the building out onto the streets from the one woman everyone in the village had heard yell at least once, Tsunade, "He expects me to just leave him alone by himself with Akatsuki out there?" Tsunade expressed nothing but relief when Jiraiya was found to be alive and quickly rushed him to the hospital where he was swiftly admitted and treated, and then she actually listened to what Fukasaku had reported to her from Naruto. Needless to say she was not very pleased, "Instead of staying here where we can protect him he's staying out there where he's in jeopardy!"
Fukasaku didn't respond to the slug princess's anger over the matter, he simply conveyed Naruto's message back to her, "He thinks it's the right thing to do all things considered, he doesn't want Pein lookin' here for him before he's ready to handle the man himself, and I think it's between you and him. But the youngin' said to tell you when you got all twisted up about this that he was continuing an ongoing mission that ya gave him and he never finished."
Tsunade looked at the toad strangely until realization hit her, "Oh that sneaky little…" He was talking about the mission with Jiraiya to see if Kumo would assist them against the threat of the Akatsuki. The original intention was to venture to all of the Five Great Nations, or any place that would be willing to assist. It was something for Jiraiya to get Naruto out of the village with for about a month, but the attack from Hidan and Kakuzu put a wrench in that plan and cut it short. However Tsunade had never officially closed the mission. It was still open, Naruto knew it, and as far as it went with him he might as well have been on something akin to Jiraiya's long-term information gathering mission with the freedom the parameters of that mission granted him.
Damn that was good.
She looked at Fukasaku with half-lidded eyes, "I don't suppose he told you where he was going so that I could send a team to intercept or at least assist him."
Fukasaku grinned at Tsunade. There was something about that kid Naruto that he was sincerely starting to like, "Nope. I don't even rightly know where you got Ma to summon me from to tell ya the truth so I'm no help there either." As the tick marks formed on Tsunade's head he realized what it was, 'That little tadpole is just as gutsy as Jiraiya-chan. Half as crazy too.'
A series of weak, strained laughs came from Jiraiya's bed. Tsunade turned to the injured man who even hooked up to so many machines was still smirking at her for Naruto getting one over on her, "Oh shut up you pervert. Keep laughing and I'm going to get you better just so I can beat you up and put you back in here."
Due to his inability to speak, Jiraiya weakly lifted his one arm, pointed at Tsunade, drew a heart in the air with his hand, and pointed back at himself.
Tsunade gave him a small smile, "Doesn't mean I still don't want to kick your ass for worrying me…"
Fukasaku cut in between the two old teammates, "I should let Jiraiya-chan get his rest, but the second he's able I want him to summon me. We have a lot to go over, about Pein, about his student, and about how we're going to get his student ready." Jiraiya nodded slightly, but firmly, "I think you should let the boy be for now Tsunade. He's no fool. This is something he feels he has to do."
XxX
(Kawa no Kuni – Hidden Root Base)
Naruto walked to the exit of the Root base, flanked by Sai and Maki as he was outfitted in Root gear similar to theirs. He wore the high-collared zip-up Root shirt that cut off at his midriff with no sleeves and a pair of black gloves on his hands. He had his left arm taped up to the shoulder, and his right arm exposing his correspondence tattoo with Hamako. He had on black pants that once they reached his shins bunched up into a pair of white greaves that guarded that part of his legs above his black shinobi sandals. His sword was still on his back and his hitae-ate was still prominent on his forehead, but he also had a plain white mask attached to his hip.
He looked at the members of Root that stopped in the middle of their own activities as they passed him in the hall and bowed to him, "Why are they bowing to me? A lot of them shouldn't even know who I am."
Maki looked at him with no discernable expression, "Why should they not bow to the man that is to become Hokage? Especially when he is one of us."
Naruto gave her a deadpan look but refrained from speaking as they exited the base that Naruto found to be set in a groove in the wall of a river canyon. The three shinobi made their way out of the canyon and stopped in the middle of the surrounding forest, Sai looking to Naruto expectantly, Maki doing the same, "Where are we going Naruto-senpai?" He asked.
Naruto sighed, "Until Ero-kyofu is well enough to find me and help me with my strategy against Pein I can't sit on my hands and wait for him to come to me. I need to find out how to better control the Kyuubi's chakra. I never had a chance to speak on it with other jinchuuriki before, so we're going to do that. First to Suna, then to Kiri, then to Kumo. Those places should have the information I need to figure this out."
Sai nodded and pulled out his drawing scroll when Naruto stayed his hand, confusing him, "What's wrong?"
Naruto explained his reaction, "We shouldn't travel conspicuously. We're trying to divert attention away from us so we can move freely. Flying would be faster, but we'd be easy prey."
Maki moved to speak, "Naruto-senpai you're still hurt. If Sai-senpai creates an ink bird for us to travel with you can rest and recover faster."
Naruto shook his head, "Maki that would put too much attention on us. Suna is a day's trip from here on foot if we move the way we should." Seeing that neither of them were giving off any sort of reaction to what he was saying he rolled his eyes, "If you see me slowing down because of my injuries you have permission to stop me and do things your way until we get to Suna, okay?"
"Yes senpai." Was the unilateral response from both Sai and Maki.
Naruto looked at them both before shaking his head and walking along, motioning for them to follow, "I am going to work some personality into you both before I go back to Konoha I swear. Let's get moving."
Maki's eyes narrowed on Naruto's back, taking offense to his comment on her personality, as she and Sai followed, "I have personality Naruto-senpai."
Naruto let out a short laugh, "Yeah I guess since I've seen you again you've said more to me than you did in almost three years when we were kids, but your personality is only mildly better than Sai-kouhai's." He turned around and looked at Sai's dull expression before turning to Maki who had one that was much the same, but there was a spark of annoyance in her eyes that she couldn't hide, "It's a work in progress. Now come on! Let's get to Suna before my luck runs out again!" With that, they all took off into the trees, heading west towards Sunagakure.
XxX
(Unknown Location – Otogakure Base)
Sasuke sat alone in the middle of a training room. The defeated bodies of multiple Oto shinobi laying around, "I know how to find you Itachi." He said to himself, breathing in mild exhaustion as he caught his breath from his most recent training session, "I know that you're looking for the jinchuuriki of the world for your own goals. All I have to do is capture them myself and wait for you to come to me…"
Sasuke clinched his fist as lightning chakra circulated through it, "Orochimaru can't stop me. You won't stop me. Nothing will stop me. You can't hide from me forever. It's almost time for me to find you and take my revenge… just wait a little while longer Itachi." The cursed seal spread across his face and entire body, "Just wait a little while longer and I promise you, your life will be mine."
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