The Knowledge of Shinobis

"Shinobis?" Naruto asked.

"Boy, ya ain't ever heard of em?" Temujin took a swig of wine in a flask and wiped his mouth. "Ain't ya old man ever told ya?"

Naruto shook his head; Whenever it came to Jiraiya's past life, he would always remain tight-lipped about it. He always wondered if his sensei had some dark history that he didn't want to share with him. Naruto hoped by learning about shinobi, he could learn more about Jiraiya.

"Shinobis' are silent killers," Temujin closed his eyes, trying to jog his memory. "They're shadows that does tha dirty work; kidnap, assassination, spying; they do all that crap."

"So, they're just mercenaries?" Azula raised an eyebrow.

"They're more than that, lass," Temujin stood up with wobbling legs and limped over to the kunai that he had tossed. He quickly pulled it out of the wall and twirled it through his finger. "They're trained. Impressively so. They can kill a man dozens of yards away without no one noticin' a thing."

Naruto couldn't help but shudder. Was this why Jiraiya never told him anything related to his past? He needed to improve his combat ability fast. If they were as impressive as Temujin said they were, then he and Azula were going to have trouble heading their way.

"Wow," Suki rubbed her arm with a bit of fear. "They sound pretty scary."

Tenten quickly waved her off, "Pfft, I'm sure they're not even that impressive."

"That's where yer wrong, lass," Temujin pulled the inseam of his pants and revealed a large scar on his knee. "One of em nearly had me dead years ago; a phenomenal one, I couldn't see em comin'."

He shook his head and sighed, "If it wasn't fer a certain eccentric man, I still wouldn't be kickin' today, much less walk properly." Temujin laughed.

"Why would a shinobi chase you?" Tenten asked.

Temujin gave a chortle, "Who else can find a blacksmith better than me!"

*****

In a small village deep within the lands of the Earth Kingdom, a man with long, white hair stood above a tree branch and peered through his spyglass. His perverted giggles echoed through the rustling leaves as he leered at the bodies of naked women.

"Hohoho, now that's a nice view," Jiraiya grew a lecherous smile as he gazed through the misty fog of a hot spring.

A abundance of naked women with a variety of sizes and shapes were in full view through his spyglass. This was perfect material for his new erotic novel that he was currently writing: Icha Icha Paradise. Jiraiya quickly pulled a pen out and jotted down random notes. Now, this was some spicy, new substance for erotic scenes that he had in mind.

"You never cease to amaze me, old friend," A gentle voice said.

Jiraiya was suddenly caught off guard from his unique 'research', and he helplessly fell off of the tree in sheer panic, bumping his head against the verdant ground below. Stars spun around his head as his legs twitched erratically.

"Ai...." Jiraiya rubbed the swollen bump on his head.

Jiraiya stared at the man with irritation in his eyes. The man was quite old with greying hair and a long beard. His face wore a gentle smile as he stared back at Jiraiya. He donned on a simple, brown robe that was slightly tattered. On his shoulders held a long, wooden stick with a large piece of cloth tied to the end of it.

"Iroh..." Jiraiya muttered out. He stood up to meet him.

"It's good to see you, Jiraiya," Iroh patted his shoulders with a laugh. "You're still the same as always."

"This is for research, actually," Jiraiya quickly corrected him. "It's for a new novel I'm writing."

"That's quite a dangerous endeavor," Iroh stroked his beard. "A woman's wrath is not something to be easily trifled with."

"How would you know, old fatty?" Jiraiya scoffed. "I've been at this for as long as I remember."

"Quite the useless feat, I might add," Iroh retorted. "How about we continue this conversation with a game of Pai Sho and tea?"

Jiraiya's face grew stern and nodded, "Perfect timing. There's something important that I need to talk to you about."

The two men walked through the quiet village in leisure. In the fields, the farmers plowed their lands, using gemsbok bulls to push their wooden carts. Meanwhile, loggers chopped down trees around the village for fire wood and furniture. Iroh and Jiraiya entered a small tavern and sat down in a Pai Sho table. It was rowdy with many customers dining in. Some gave them looks of curiosity while others gave them wary glances or hostile glares.

"I hope you brought your own pieces," Iroh said.

"What do you take me for?" Jiraiya pulled out a box filled with Pai Sho pieces.

"It would be terrible for a game to end before it even started," Iroh chuckled, quickly pulling out his own set. "Care to make the first move?"

"Maybe I will," Jiraiya pulled a piece and placed it on a table. A white lotus.

"A white lotus?" Iroh raised an eyebrow. "Now that's a move that's rarely used."

"Have what it takes, old fatty?"

"Hey...I'm not that old... or fat," Iroh countered with his own piece, sliding it in front of him.

The two of them went at it, quickly countering each other with different pieces. Time slowly passed, and Iroh finally placed down the last piece. Strangely enough, all the pieces on the table formed an outline of a white lotus.

"Huh, a draw," Iroh leaned back against his seat. "That was quite an interesting game, Jiraiya."

"Iroh."

"Hm?"

"How would you like to join The Order of the White Lotus?" Jiraiya suddenly asked.

*****

Suki wandered around the room with curiosity, gazing through the weapons with interest. "Woah!" Suki suddenly tripped over a wooden box, and a gold, metallic fan fell out of it.

"Watch where ya steppin!" Temujin shouted.

Suki noticed the golden fan and crawled towards it to pick it up. Her face shined with delight as she slowly twirled the fan in her hand. She couldn't believe it; this was Kyoshi's war fans. The engravings were exactly the same as those on the pictures.

"Avatar Kyoshi's war fans!" Suki shouted with joy. "I've been looking for these!"

"Well put em back where they belong," Temujin said.

"But, how did they end up here?" Suki asked. "We only had Kyoshi's armor on our island, but her war fans were missing years ago."

"Yer from Kiyoshi Island?" Temujin raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me yer a Kiyoshi warrior."

"So what if I am?"

Temujin stroked his white beard in thought. He glanced between the four kids before a smile formed on his face. He took the war fans from Suki's hands and playfully extended it. Suki tried to grab it back, but Temujin raised it above his head where she couldn't reach it.

"Ya really want this fan that badly, lass?"

"Of course we do," Tenten suddenly chimed into the conversation. "That's a priceless artifact that's been taken from our island."

Temujin waved Kyoshi's fan around, "Alright, I'll give ya it, but ya have to do somethin' for me."

"And what's that?" Naruto asked.

"Take me to Ba Sing Se."