Chapter 46: To the Land with Endless Tears

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Hmm…."- Bijuu, Black Zetsu

Chapter 46:

To the Land with Endless Tears

Naruto gulped down everything that was presented to him with great gusto and with a big smile. It would bring tears of respect to any Akimichi that would see this. And what was he gulping down? That was easy. It was ramen of course.

Despite having seen this all week, Teuchi still couldn't believe that the blond had such an appetite for ramen. He was making a huge profit out of the boy alone! Not only that, but seeing the blond enjoy the ramen so much did make him smile. Making a customer happy was what every shop owner wanted. At least, he knew that he did.

"Old man, give me another one!" Naruto said with enthusiasm as he finished gulping down his fifth bowl.

Teuchi shook his head as he did just that. "I can't believe you've been coming here everyday for the past week."

Naruto chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "Well….I heard a new restaurant had opened up here recently. I wanted to check it out. I can't help it that I fell in love with the food here."

Teuchi laughed proudly as he set another bowl in front of Naruto who quickly attacked it with more gusto. "Yes. It sure took me a while to finally get this place opened up. But I'm quite proud of it. It might not look like much, but this is my accomplishment."

Naruto looked at Teuchi with a smile. He remembered the first time that he had stumbled onto the ramen stand. It had been another usual night: people avoiding him while treating him like a disease. He had been walking around aimlessly to try and get his thoughts away from any depressing ideas. It was then that the scent of ramen had caught his attention. Even though he knew every shopkeeper that he had come across wasn't so fond of him, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He had snuck a peek to try and see what was being served. Teuchi had quickly caught sight of him which had only made him to try and get out of there. But he had returned when he had seen that Teuchi was simply gesturing him to come inside. It was then that Naruto had gotten his first bowl of ramen from Ichiraku Ramen. For free. He had fallen in love with the place. Especially sine Teuchi didn't bear him any hatred. He had also met Ayame soon after that. Looking at Teuchi now, Naruto could see that the man was simply a good person. Before Iruka, he had been the first one to treat him like a normal human being.

Naruto was eternally grateful to him for that.

"I should have known that I would find you here."

Naruto chuckled as Sasuke took a seat next to him.

"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! What would it be?"

Sasuke looked at the man before him for a few seconds before shrugging. "Surprise me."

Nodding, Teuchi set out to work.

"It looks like the time is finally here," Naruto said as he put the bowl down. "We've finally graduated."

True to Naruto's statement, both Naruto and Sasuke were now wearing Konoha headbands, Sasuke's blue and Naruto's black. Sasuke had also changed his attire after they had passed their exam. He was pretty much wearing the same one piece black outfit that he had worn for the final portion of the chunnin exam during their time. It was also the first time in a long time that Sasuke had worn a headband. The last time had been during their fight at the Valley of the End. It was nostalgic all right.

"Jiraiya says to meet him tomorrow," Sasuke replied. "He's been messaging his contacts to see if they can find Nagato and his group. He left then with different hideouts all throughout the country after he came back here. But it doesn't seem like they're using any of them."

Naruto frowned. "Due to the state of Ame, I'm sure that they've kept many of their original hiding spots as backup." He remembered how Nagato had told him about how they had traveled all throughout the countryside with different hidden locations along the way. "Ero-sennin's safe houses aren't exactly discreet. But that's because he could defeat anyone that could try to attack them. They know they can't be that careless. I'm sure that they've taken their precautions until Ero-sennin returns to them."

"But how exactly was he supposed to find them then?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. "If they're in hiding, they need to have left a message behind for Jiraiya so that he could find them when he did return."

"You're right about that," Naruto agreed. "My best guess is that we will need to visit the safe houses that Ero-sennin left them. If anything, I'm sure that they probably left something there. If not, then we will have to think of something else."

Both boys ceased their chatter when Teuchi returned with a bowl for Sasuke. "Here you go. One Miso ramen."

Sasuke looked down at the ramen. "So, this is your favorite food then. Doesn't seem like much."

Teuchi's eyes narrowed while Naruto huffed. "Please. They're a lot better than those tomatoes you love so much, teme."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as well. "Don't diss my tomatoes, dobe."

"Then don't diss the godly food known as ramen!" Naruto exclaimed as he pointed a finger at the Uchiha in a dramatic fashion.

Teuchi was nodding along with his new number one costumer with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I still can't believe you two are the ones I have to trust my life with next."

Both genin turned around to see Kaito entering the small ramen stand. The jonin was now wearing a standard Konoha jonin uniform.

Naruto huffed again in annoyance. "Don't look at me. Sasuke here just had to diss the ramen with his usual self."

"All right, that's enough," Kaito cut in, already seeing that another pointless argument was about to take place. "We are not going to go through with this again. Especially since you two have to get ready for tomorrow."

Naruto sighed, already knowing what he was talking about. Hopping down from the stool, Naruto began to make his way out. "Fine, fine. Old man, I'll be seeing you after I get back!"

Teuchi raised an eyebrow at this. "Is he going away or something?"

"We're going on a training trip," Kaito answered which made Sasuke snort as he began to eat his ramen. "We won't be back for quite some time."

"Ah." Nodding, Teuchi then looked at Kaito expectantly. "Now, he forgot to pay his bill. I'm guessing that you'll be the one to take his tab?"

Kaito blinked while Sasuke chuckled to himself.

'That little…..!'

Mikoto looked around to see the Uchiha compound in a busy state that she had never seen it before. The reason was simple too. Just a few days ago, Sasuke had proclaimed the new policies that he intended for the clan. The girl didn't know the specifics, but she knew that her father and grandfather had strongly tried to block what Sasuke intended to do. In the end, however, Sasuke had taken the matter to the people. He had had asked the clan what they wanted and what they thought would be best. Of course, Mikoto had been there. It had been a gathering for the entire clan. Mikoto still couldn't get that moment out of her mind. Sasuke had spoken with such passion to them all about the problems that they were facing. In the end, the clan had agreed that this was a great first step to get them out of their isolation from the village. In the face of the entire populace standing behind Sasuke, the council had no choice but to agree to what Sasuke wanted. The Hokage had also announced the Uchiha clan's new stance to the rest of the village, making quite a number of merchants decide to move into the compound themselves.

"The clan is going to change from now on."

Mikoto glanced at her mother to see her standing next to her. Her family was one of the ones that wasn't going to move from the compound. Many had taken Sasuke's offer, however. It wouldn't be long before the Uchiha clan was spread out all over the village.

"It is quite surprising, though," Mikoto said. "He's still not technically the clan head. But he's already making these radical changes. Not to mention that he's made enemies out of the council already."

Her mother giggled. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I can already tell that these new policies will make the clan prosper again. When those old coots see that, they will have to admit their mistake and get out of Sasuke's way. It is quite a gamble, however."

"Maybe," Mikoto conceded. "But he's also working with the Hokage. Some might see that as if he's putting the village before the clan."

Her mother sighed. "Mikoto, you need to stop thinking like your father."

Mikoto looked down. "It's not like I agree with that mentality. But I also can't say there's no merit to it."

But her mother shook her head. "Then you're looking at things from the wrong angle."

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked.

"Sasuke did this for our benefit," she stated. "You already know how many of us were already starting to become secluded from the rest of the village. With this, we are embracing our comrades with open arms. We are also making the clan prosper by opening more business with the other markets in the village. The clan as a whole is also happier with these changes. We have more freedom now. With how much our clan is going to enjoy the benefits from these changes, can you really say that Sasuke is doing this for the village and not us?"

Mikoto bit her lip. It wasn't that she disagreed with any of this. But unlike her mother, she preferred to see how things turned out before she could make any positive claims. Especially since it was going to be a big change. Still, the clan was happier. Even now, just looking around, the girl could see the brighter looks in everyone's faces. The Uchiha clan had been revived in a matter of days. Their spirits had gone down when Kenshin had been unexpectedly killed. But with Sasuke, they now had hope for the future. It was definitely better than before, that she could agree with.

"Miko-nee!"

Mikoto's eyebrow twitched momentarily at the "Miko" part before she shook that off. That idiot had nothing to do with this younger idiot that was running towards her right now.

"What's the matter, Obito-kun?" her mother asked as the young boy stopped in front of them with a huge smile.

"I've got my own apartment outside of the compound now!"

Mikoto looked surprised at this. Obito's parents had died during the last months of the war; his father in action while his mother had died giving birth to him. He had been staying in a small apartment in the compound, but he usually stayed with them since he said that he didn't like his place. And now he had gotten an apartment outside of the compound? That was shocking.

Her mother placed a hand on her cheek with a concerned look on her face. "Oh, my. Why would you do that, Obito-kun? And how did you get it?"

Obito laughed as he scratched his cheek. A small blush was present as well. "Well, I actually asked the Hokage if I could. He said that it was fine! So I'm really going to stay there! And well…..I actually made a new friend a few weeks ago. Her name is Rin. And she's really nice! I just want to be closer to her, I guess..."

'Why would Sandaime-sama agree to that?' Mikoto wondered to herself. After all, Obito couldn't pay for the expenses himself. There was no reason to accept Obito's request. Not to mention that Obito was still too young to actually live by himself.

"Are you sure, Obito-kun?" her mother asked, voicing Mikoto's concerns. "Leaving alone isn't easy. You can't-"

"I will be fine," Obito interrupted with a pout. "I'm old enough to live by himself!"

'No, you're not,' Mikoto thought to herself before shaking her head. "If you're that adamant about it, then I guess I will just have to check the place you're going to be staying at. Just to make sure."

Her mother glanced at her, no doubt wondering where she was going with this. But Mikoto had a plan. And she would make sure that it succeeded.

Naruto walked into Mito's house with a somber mood, already knowing that this was probably the last time that he was going to meet the woman. It was sad really. In the short amount of time that he had gotten to know her, Naruto had gotten a bit attached to her. The woman was just so full of wisdom that it made the blond proud to know that they were related. Not to mention the kind heart that she possessed. In his original timeline, Mito had been the only one to help Kushina through her rough times when she was chosen to become the jinchuriki. It was something that Naruto was grateful for. It was why he wished that he could do something for her.

But as he walked into her bedroom and saw her pleasant mood, Naruto realized that he was just being selfish. Mito was more than ready to move on from this life. She obviously had no regrets. As far as she was concerned, she had lived her life to the fullest. That didn't make any of this any less depressing for him, though.

Mito did seem to catch on this, however, as she laughed softly. "You didn't have to visit me today if it was going to be this hard for you, my child."

Naruto shook his head as he stood over her. "You know I can't do that. I don't know just how long I will be gone after I leave here today. Today is my last chance to see you."

That was correct. The transfer of the Kurama of this time period from Mito to Kushina was happening tonight. It hadn't happened sooner because Mito had been persistent to allow Kushina to spend her remaining time as a normal girl until the academy ended. Sarutobi had been a bit hesitant at first, not knowing if Mito's health could suddenly deteriorate even further at any given hour. But Mito had stated that she could last a few more months. And she had. For Kushina's happiness, she had endured a bit more. Naruto knew that he could never repay this to her.

"And I appreciate that," Mito said as she grabbed a hold of one of his hands. "For everything that you have done for our family. For what you have done for Kushina. And for what you plan on doing in order to accomplish what my husband truly desired."

"It's a dream worth pursuing," Naruto replied with a smile. "But don't worry about that. You have done more than enough for all of us. You can rest now. We will do the rest from now on. So when you see the Shodai in the afterlife, you can proudly say that the suffering of the shinobi will soon be over. We will see to that."

Mikoto chuckled as she closed her eyes. "Kushina is lucky to have you. Never change. And never stray from your path, my child….."

Naruto sighed softly when he saw Mito falling asleep. It had been happening a lot lately. But he couldn't blame her. She was extremely weak now. At least he had managed to get one more conversation with her.

"Mito was one hell of a human," Kurama said within his mind. There was a hint of respect in his voice too. "Even when I was stuck insider her, even though I hated her, I knew that she had her fair share of troubles. It was something that we both shared. It's only a pity we couldn't have known each other better."

'Hatred clouds everyone,' Naruto said in return. 'At that time, you were both stuck in your own perspectives, believing the other to be someone you couldn't actually get along with. It was certainly a mistake.'

"It's something that can be said for the rest of us with our jinchuriki as well," Kokuo muttered.

"We could have walked a different path, just like you have managed to, Naruto," Isobu added.

"But we were also stuck in our hatred at the time," Son Goku finished.

Shukaku, for once, sighed, knowing that he too had been responsible for that. It was something that he and his other siblings had come to terms with. That didn't make it any less regretful, though.

"Enough with that emo crap now," Kurama said at last. "It's time to get moving, brat. There are other things to do."

Naruto chuckled as he freed his hand from Mito's. Brushing her hair to the side, Naruto smiled down at her, taking in her face for one last time.

'It was an honor to meet you, Mito. You can rest easy from now on.'

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw Mikoto standing in front of him with Obito in hand. He certainly had not been expecting this.

The look on Mikoto's face told him the same thing could be said about her.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

Sasuke sighed as he pointed to the apartment behind him. "This is where I live. I got it today."

If anything, Mikoto's surprise increased even more. "But that means….."

"Hey!" Obito said as he pointed an accusing finger at the older Uchiha. "The Hokage already told me that this was going to be my apartment! It's not yours!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" 'Damn, Sarutobi. It looks like you're still playing your pranks on me,' he finished in his mind. He could already see where this was headed.

"But you have the clan head home in the compound!" Mikoto exclaimed. "What are you going to do about that!"

Sasuke sighed again. This was something that he didn't necessarily want to explain, least of all to Mikoto. But he had no choice now.

"Okay, let me backtrack. This isn't mine only. It's also Naruto's."

At the blond's name, Mikoto took a step back. "O-oh, I see. I didn't think you two were like that….."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "NO! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" It was the first time that Sasuke had shrieked this loudly in a really long time.

Mikoto tilted her head to the side. "Then why would you two get an apartment just for the two of you? And how could either of you afford this to begin with?"

Sasuke massaged his forehead. "We got this because Naruto wants a place to stay in. He feels a bit cramped at the Uzumaki compound right now. So he decided to get a place to stay in from time to time and asked me to pitch in. I'm not going to be moving in permanently. As to how we got the money…that's a secret."

Mikoto hummed quietly at this, still having a lot of questions. "Then what about him?" she asked at last, pointing to a still pouting Obito.

Sasuke's eyes went to the boy instantly. This was the first time that he was actually seeing the boy face to face. Right now, Obito was a simply boy with no threat to anyone. He sought none of the things that his future self wanted. And Naruto had told him how he wanted it to stay that way as long as possible. At least, until the boy became a genin. Then they could focus their attention on making sure that nothing happened to him.

But that was a different matter to the one at hand. 'What the hell are you even thinking, Sarutobi?' Sasuke thought with a sigh.

"He can stay here," he finally answered.

But Mikoto didn't look convinced. "Are you sure? He can't exactly take care of himself, you know. He needs to be looked after. Three meals everyday. And he can't remember to-"

"Okay, okay, okay," Sasuke cut in, bringing his hands up in the air. "We can't do all that." But then an idea struck him. "But you can."

Mikoto blinked. "What?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You heard me. If you're so worried about him, then you can move in. I'm sure Naruto will understand. Not to mention that I don't think the little squirt will back down until he moves in."

Mikoto shook her head, however. "No, I can't do that. You two payed this with your own money. I can't just suddenly-"

"Don't worry about that," Sasuke said, waving one of his hands in dismissal. "Consider this a personal mission from your clan head. Besides, that's why you came here to begin with. Even if either Naruto or I could do all those things, you would still worry. This way, you won't have to."

Mikoto looked down at Obito who looked back at her with expecting eyes. They boy hadn't been able to follow the entire conversation. But he did know that Mikoto was in the process of living with him. That would be perfect as far as he was concerned.

Looking up at Sasuke, Mikoto sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that you planned this?"

Sasuke chuckled, taking that as an answer. "Trust me, I had nothing to do with this. You can move in whenever you're ready."

With that, Sasuke made his way around them as he headed back to the compound. "It was nice meeting you as well, boy. Until next time."

Mikoto watched him go before Obito tugged her skirt. Looking down at him, Mikoto smiled at seeing Obito's happy face.

"So you're moving with me, Miko-nee!?"

"It seems so," Mikoto answered. That only caused Obito to jump up in excitement.

Looking back towards Sasuke's retreating form, though, Mikoto knew that she had many questions about this entire ordeal. Not only that, but both Naruto and Sasuke seemed to get along perfectly with one another. Well, not perfectly. She had seen the two get into pointless fights during their time at the academy. Even so, they appeared to be the best of friends. Which was a bit surprising to her. They had become friends quite fast. And even renting an apartment for themselves….well, she could only wonder what else they were hiding.

'I guess time will tell.'

Maybe.

Kushina looked at the headband in her hands. Even though she had already become a genin back in Uzu, she still felt excited at her accomplishment. She was a shinobi once more. But somehow, she felt that things were going to different from here on out for her.

'Well, I am going to have a bijuu sealed into me tonight,' she thought to herself in slight sarcasm. Her mother had already told her about that. The Hokage had even pushed back the day that the teams were going to meet all for her so that she could have a few days to adjust being a jinchuriki. She was still scared. She really didn't know what to expect. Not to mention that Mito would be gone. Kushina had come to enjoy the woman's presence in her life. She gave her a lot of friendly advice. She had become a grandmother figure to her. She was definitely going to miss her.

"You seem to be caught in your thoughts."

Kushina jumped up in surprise when she heard Naruto's voice. Turning around, she saw the blond sitting by her window with a smile.

"When did you get here!?"

Naruto shrugged. "Just now."

"And you decided to come through the window because…..?"

The blond shrugged again. "It was easier."

Kushina sweatdropped. "I really don't know how to respond to that."

Naruto chuckled as he stood up. "Then don't. I'm here to tell you some things."

Kushina raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed. "Well…..I'm leaving the village tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be back either….."

Kushina's eyes widened at hearing the news. "What? Why? Where?"

"I'm going on a training trip," Naruto answered. It wasn't a complete lie either. It was just that the training wasn't necessarily for him. "Jiraiya invited me. Kaito is coming with us too."

Kushina didn't know what to say to that. This was too surprising for her. She never would have thought that Naruto would part ways with her like this.

"How long are you going to be out there for?" she finally asked. It was the only thing that she could ask at this point. She knew that nothing she said would make the blond change his mind about the matter. She could already tell that the blond was determined.

"Like I said, I don't really know," the blond answered with a sigh. He could already see that Kushina wasn't happy about this. "It'll probably be a few years, though."

That answer only made Kushina feel worse about the whole ordeal.

"Everything is going to be alright," Naruto continued as he walked up to her. "I will be back. I can promise you that. Besides, you will have your own things to do. You will be walking down the path of the shinobi from now on. And your first step is staring right in front of you."

One of Kushina's hands went up to her stomach. "Do you still believe that I can do it?"

Naruto chuckled. "What kind of question is that? You definitely can! And I'm sure that that grumpy fox can become a wonderful friend to you."

Kurama grumbled to himself in his mind.

Kushina looked at him with a questioning look. "But how? I don't think that I have anything in common with him. He's the grandest of the bijuu."

"She's got that right."

The other bijuu h'mphed.

Naruto chuckled in amusement as he patted her head. "I'm sure that you will be able to figure it out. I have faith in you."

Kushina pouted at her head being patted. "I'm not a little girl either, ya know. I'm thirteen already! You're still twelve!"

"That's because you have months ahead of me!" Naruto retorted with a shake of his head. "So it doesn't count."

But Kushina wasn't too concerned about that. If there was one thing that she had learned from Emi so far, it was that she needed to get Naruto to start looking at her as more than just a friend. Of course, her friend still didn't know who she was interested in. And Kushina wasn't about to let people know. It was still too embarrassing for her, after all. But the redhead also knew that this would probably be the last time she and Naruto were going to be alone like this for quite sometime. So before the blond could blink, she leaned forward.

Naruto's eyes widened partially when she felt Kushina's lips on his cheek. What in the world...?

"Naruto…..thank you for everything."

The blond couldn't respond. He could only look at the girl's blushing face.

The bijuu inside him watched this in interest.

"Is there a new mission for me?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "No, not exactly. I called you for an entire different reason today, Sakumo."

Said jonin raised an eyebrow. "Does this have to do with Sasuke's trip to Ame?"

Again, Sarutobi shook his head. "No, it's something else entirely. This has to do with the upcoming genin. Specifically, Kushina."

"Ah." Sakumo could already see where this was going. And he didn't know if he particularly liked it.

"I can see you already know what I'm talking about," Sarutobi said with a chuckle.

Sakumo looked uncomfortable. "Honestly speaking, I don't know how well suited I am for this. I've never had a student before. Nor have I ever actually taught anyone something. Being a jonin sensei wasn't something that I planned on doing."

"Circumstances change," Sarutobi replied. "Honestly, I had already been planning on making you Kushina's sensei the moment that she was chosen to be the next jinchuriki. I need someone I can trust to look after her. And since Jiraiya already had a student of his own….."

"Still..."

"This decision is final," Sarutobi stated with a shake of his head. "But you need to have more confidence in yourself. You might find yourself enjoying it a lot more once you do."

'I highly doubt that,' Sakumo thought to himself. But he already knew that the Hokage's decision was final. He was hand picked to be the team leader of a genin squad that had the jinchuriki host. Not to mention that said host was related to Naruto. It was a heavy duty.

"Who else is going to be on my team?"

Sarutobi didn't answer him. Instead, he simply handed Sakumo a piece of paper that had the information of his new squad.

"Quite a group you're giving me," Sakumo said with a sweatdrop. He really wasn't liking his situation.

Sarutobi chuckled. "It is going to be quite the team. But I trust that you will be able to bring their skills together to form a powerful team."

Sakumo didn't respond as he looked at the names on the paper again. He was definitely going to have his work cut out for him.

Fuka sighed in annoyance as she felt the raindrops all around her. She now had a straw hat to cover her facial features. It also served to protect her from the rain.

"This country really does deserve its name," she muttered to herself.

Sasori, who was walking next to her, didn't comment at this as they entered one of the small restaurants in the village they were currently in. They had arrived to the country a few days ago where Zetsu had met up with them. He had told them that they were to search for a boy named Nagato, even giving them a detailed description. And if they could to capture him immediately. Sasori had quickly made them start their search as soon as possible. It seemed as if Sasori had a small spy network of his own that he had begun during his time as a Suna jonin. Fuka still didn't know the details, but she didn't particularly care. She just wanted to get out of this damn country as fast as she could.

"It seems that we still can't find any word about this boy," she said after their orders had been placed.

Sasori was silent as he placed a map on their table. There were different areas marked with an x.

"Where are we going to look next?"

"For the moment, we should focus on the northern part of the country," Sasori answered. "Zetsu is apparently conducting his search in the south still. It won't do us any good if we're all in the same area."

Fuka sighed at this. "I still don't even know why we're even looking for this Nagato. Is he even a jinchuriki?"

"Probably not," Sasori said in return. His clam gaze met Fuka's irritated one. "This country has no bijuu. The only small country to have a bijuu is Taki. And even they don't have a jinchuriki at the moment."

Fuka didn't know much about Ame. The village didn't interest her. But she did know that the shinobi here weren't anything special. The only reason Ame had survived during the last war was because one man had risen through the ashes: Hanzo. He had transformed this torn nation into a formidable power. Even so, Fuka knew that it would take a lot more for the bigger nations to not bring war back to this country once it broke out again.

"Then why exactly are we looking for him?"

Sasori sighed. "For now, our mission is clear. We just have to complete it. We can get answers later."

Fuka didn't respond as the waitress came back with their food, already knowing that her annoyance wouldn't help her here. She had chosen to join. For now, she knew that this was simply another job that she had to complete.

She still disliked this country, though. That was for sure.

Naruto was currently sharing the same thoughts with a grimace as he stood inside one of the civilian stops in the main road that led straight to Ame. And he wasn't alone. Next to him, Sasuke had his eyes closed with his arms crossed in front of him. Kaito stood on the other side of him with his eyes also closed. Jiraiya was behind them as he looked at the landscape around him with a sense of nostalgia. Finally, Miyuki stood before him. She had been the one to transport them here a few minutes before. They were all, save for Miyuki, wearing dark cloaks to cover themselves from the rain. They were also wearing their shinobi headbands. It was already early in the morning. But to Naruto, it looked to be nighttime still.

For the moment, though, they needed to decide who would search where.

"You already know the spots, don't you, Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya nodded, not turning around to face his student. "Of course. But we never did decide who's searching where."

"I already have that covered," Naruto answered as he turned his attention to Sasuke. "You need to go with Kaito and Miyuki to check out the first safe house while Ero-sennin and I cover the second one. If both are a miss, then we will hit the third one altogether."

From what Jiraiya had told him, he had mainly used the second safe house that he had acquired here during the time that he had spent with the three orphans. So the best bet was that they probably left a message there. Hopefully.

But Miyuki wasn't too happy with that plan. "Naruto-sama, this-"

"I already know what you want to say," Naruto interrupted with a sigh. "But this plan is the best. If Sasuke finds something, then you can contact me. If we find something, I can contact you through my chakra. You'll be our middle man in a sense."

Miyuki merely nodded, already knowing that that was indeed the best plan right now. She could only keep track of Naruto due to the connection they shared.

"I'm guessing you also want to confront Hanzo in the middle of all of this," Sasuke stated, bringing the attention to him.

This had the effect of making Kaito raise an eyebrow. "Is that why you don't care if we're wearing our headbands?"

Naruto t'ched. "I really can't keep anything from you, can I, teme?"

The Uchiha merely shrugged.

This only caused the blond to sigh before he answered. "Anyway. He's right. Hanzo's the biggest player in this country. If we're going to get things moving here, we have to get his attention. And for that, he has to know that there are Konoha shinobi here."

"He's a dangerous man, Naruto," Kaito warned. "He's done many despicable things to get to where he is now."

Naruto nodded. "I know. I had an idea. But he also wants to bring peace to this country. It's something I can respect, even if his past actions aren't exactly something I like. For now, though, I only want to get in contact with him. I'll see how things go from there."

"We can worry about that later," Jiraiya said, speaking up. "For now, we have to find Nagato. I know that those three left a message for me in one of those three hideouts. It's the only way that I would have known where to find them."

The only problem was that Jiraiya had been gone later than he had intended. But with Sasuke coming into the picture and then Naruto, it wasn't his fault that he had gotten too sidetracked.

He was here now, though. And he intended to save his students.

"It seems that this is the place."

Fuka looked at the house in the distance. They were currently on top of a cliff as they overlooked the area down below them.

"This area really is remote," Fuka commented. "If anything, I can say that this is a likely place. Where did you find out about this?"

"Jiraiya of Konoha was here a few years back," Sasori replied. "According to some of my contacts, he took three kids under his care, one of which matches the description that Zetsu gave us. Apparently he used this house quite frequently. It's why I decided to come here next before any other place."

'He's certainly a quick one,' Fuka thought as she glanced at the teen. 'And he's only sixteen…..a real genius, that's for sure.'

Sasori brought one of his hands up to his straw hat. "Well, let's get going. I want to get out of this country as much as you do."

Fuka nodded. They at least had that in common.

"Are you sure we should be here again?"

Nagato looked unsure as he glanced at his best friend. It was the third time that he had asked in the past hour.

Yahiko waved the redhead's concern off as they sat around the table in the living room. They had arrived about an hour ago before cleaning the place up from all the dust that had gathered since no one had been here in a while. They were taking a small break at the moment. They were wearing the same clothes that Jiraiya had left them, except in larger sizes. They had grown since the last time that Jiraiya had been with them, after all. "We haven't been here in ages, Nagato. Don't tell you don't want to at least spend a few days here before we return back to our old base."

"Don't be like that, Yahiko," Konan spoke up with a sigh. "Without Jiraiya-sensei here, someone finding us isn't something that would end well for us."

Even though they knew how to fight now, they were around chunnin level at best.

"I know," Yahiko said with a sigh. "But there isn't any war right now. For once, this country is in peace. So can't we enjoy ourselves just for this moment? You all did agree to come here too."

Nagato looked down. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just letting my fears get the best of me."

Yahiko laughed as he patted Nagato's back. "Don't worry about that! I'm glad that you're looking out for us, Nagato!"

Nagato smiled in return. He always felt safe to have Yahiko around.

Konan herself merely smiled as she watched the two most important people in her life get along. Yahiko was right. They were always looking out for anyone that might try to do anything to them. This country was that dangerous. They had only experienced a period of peace when Jiraiya had been with them. So, for today at least, they could try to have that feeling back.

Until there was a sudden knock on the front door.

The three kids looked at one another with wide eyes. No one should know about this place. More importantly, if anyone did spot it, they would simply move on. For someone to actually try to come over…well, past experiences taught them that it wasn't a good thing.

There was a second knock which was quickly followed by a third. That definitely wasn't a good sign.

They made to move out towards the underground tunnel that ran underneath the house until the door was suddenly blasted open.

The three kids shielded their eyes from the smoke, too shocked to move. They couldn't believe someone had actually made a move that big so quickly.

Out of the smoke came Sasori himself who was followed by an amused Fuka.

The former Suna shinobi threw his straw hat to the side. There was also a small frown plastered on his face.

"I don't like to be kept waiting."