Act II: Chapter 4

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I moved to the unconscious shinobi on the forest floor.

However, I stopped once I saw something white crawling around on the body. I frowned and squinted, but I did not move forward. It looked like a small piece of white clay shaped like a spider. It slowly crawled towards the center of the shinobi's chest.

There was a spark of chakra on the body, and it was at that moment that I realized what the small clay spider was.

Time slowed as my chakra sense began to pick up other similar sparks of chakra surrounding me and my teammates. Months, no years, of training kicked in. I had no time to think and because of that I didn't think of my actions. I reacted on pure instinct alone.

I turned around and faced my teammates while simultaneously forming fuinjutsu lines with my chakra.

The explosions happened before my hand reached the ground, but they didn't reach my location before I touched the ground and activated my fuinjutsu.

A red barrier materialized into the world, extending out from my hand in a cube just big enough to reach my teammates about twenty feet away and seal them off from the world around them.

Unfortunately for me, I hadn't been in a position to surround myself with the barrier fuinjutsu. I was unprotected from the clay explosions that lit up the forest at that moment. All I could do was reinforce my body with chakra and hope for the best.

Heat washed over me. Small specks of fire lanced across my body with the most significant being on my lower back. I didn't have time to scream because of the pain. I was purely focused on using my chakra to stabilize the fuinjutsu I was controlling. As I was enduring the explosion, all I could think about was how I could have added another two lines, and erected another barrier to protect myself. But I didn't have time to think just a second ago, I had just acted.

So I endured the pain, until the explosions died down.

"Hn. You survived, impressive…"

The voice was way too close for me not to sense, so I turned to the direction in shock that they had been allowed to get near me. I was met with one of my worst fears.

Two figures stood on a particularly large branch. One was small with a bald head and a menacing metal tail poking out from the cloak he wore. The other was a boy no older than 15 or 16 years old. He had blonde hair tied in a ponytail and a significant portion of his hair covering his left eye. He wore a cloak that matched his partners.

'Red clouds on black cloaks. Deidara and Sasori have come for Gaara…'

I cut the chakra for the barrier off, because I needed my chakra for another purpose. Faster than the two Akatsuki members could interfere, I bit my thumb and sped through hand seals before I shoved a tenth of my chakra into the technique. I felt four chakra signatures answer my summon, and then there was a jerk as my chakra was taken from me.

'Enma is going to be pissed.'

I was correct as well, because a hairy arm with muscle like corded steel reached out and grabbed me by the throat. When the smoke cleared from the summoning jutsu, Enma was turned around holding me up by my throat while sporting a murderous look on his face. On my shoulder was his son Macao. Beside Enma were two grown monkey's that stood a head shorter than Enma, and significantly smaller. But they were still taller than me.

I ignored the hand squeezing my throat and flexed my chakra again, summoning two shadow clones beside me.

"Sorry big guy! I'm in serious trouble." One of my clones said as he faced the two newcomers, who looked on curiously but had not attacked again. "We need reinforcements and you're the only one who can reach the Saindaime in time!"

Guy appeared next to us, but he knew better than to interfere with Monkey King.

"Who is it?" Enma asked as he squeezed my throat a little tighter. The edges of my vision began to darken.

"Akatsuki." Guy was the one to answer, and he was deadly serious. His chakra was primed so tightly that I could feel him preparing to unleash the gates on our opponents.

Enma turned towards the two Akatsuki members standing on the branch. He did not react to them.

"You have not earned the right to call upon me! Do not do it again, unless you are prepared to defeat me." Enma snarled as he bared his teeth at me not unlike a monkey would an enemy. I barely had time to panic because I was losing so much oxygen. Thankfully, he let me go and disappeared in a rush of smoke. I fell to the ground and caught myself on a knee.

"That was stupid Naruto." Macao said from his position on my shoulder. He pulled at my hair chastisingly.

"I'm desperate." I managed to croak out as I rubbed my throat with my hands.

"The newest monkey summoner." Sasori's deep, raspy voice carried across the forest. He didn't sound interested, it was more of an observation.

"Give us the jinchuriki, and you may live." Sasori offered. His tail swung in the air menacingly. It carried an obvious threat.

"I'm afraid my orders do not allow me." Guy responded as he stepped forward in front of me and our team.

I took a look behind us to see that Gaara hadn't moved from his position. Sasuke stood in front of a sitting Lee, protectively. But I could feel the exhaustion in his chakra. He had used most of it to heal Lee. He would be close to useless unless he embraced the curse mark. And that would lead to a whole host of problems in the future.

"Are you prepared to die for your orders?" Sasori asked.

"Everyday." Guy answered as he assumed his Strong Fist taijutsu stance. One that I had seen a thousand times.

"He must not be very smart, Sasori…" Deidara commented. He looked bored standing on the branch.

I took my opportunity to warn my sensei. "Sasori…" I muttered towards Guy. "…does that look like a puppet to you sensei?" I asked.

I didn't want to outright tell him that it was the same Sasori that had disappeared so long ago. I had to protect myself after all. But when Deidara let the name slip, that gave me the opportunity I needed. Guy tensed even further as he connected the dots and realized who the man beside Deidara was.

"Do not let him touch you, team. His poisons have terrorized the world for decades." Guy warned us as he realized who it was that we were looking at.

That was a terrible situation for our team. We were taijutsu focused. We hit hard and we hit fast. More importantly, we needed to engage our opponent. That didn't seem possible at this moment. We were at a significant disadvantage already in this battle. Guy had his work cut out for him.

Deidara ducked randomly, and Sasori's tail swung around before stabbing into the trunk beside Deidara.

"You have given away a tactical advantage." Sasori commented, with his normal monotone voice.

"Hn!" Deidara grunted with a wicked grin. He seemed happy he annoyed his partner. "Guess you're out for this one. Why don't you take a seat and watch real art…"

Both of the Akatsuki stiffened, and their faces frowned. Almost like they were surprised by something. It lasted for a couple of seconds before they snapped out of it.

"Hn. Unfortunately this is where we must depart. We'll be seeing you soon Subaku no Gaara…"

Both of the Akatsuki members flexed their chakra in similar manners and body flickered North East. I lost their chakra quickly after that. Even with my senses following them for a moment, I didn't trust that they had left however. I stayed on high alert.

"Aww man, I was hoping for some action!" Macao whined from his spot on my shoulder.

'What the fuck just happened? Why did they leave?'

I kept my guard up and continued looking around. I was not expecting to come into contact with the Akatsuki so quickly. In fact, after the chunin exams I expected them to cease all of their operations, because of the death of the Yondaime Mizukage and jinchuriki of the Sanbi.

The Akatsuki was supposed to wait for it to reform before going after the jinchuuriki again. Either Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage, hadn't been killed yet, or the organization didn't care that the Sanbi would need time to reform. Could they seal the bijuu and just hold on to them until they had all nine? Or did they have to be done within a certain time frame?

I dismissed my thoughts, and decided to focus on the events around me. Now was not the time to drop my guard. They could come back.

The other two monkeys that were standing in front of me protectively turned to me with questioning looks on their faces. I hadn't gotten their names yet, and would one day thank them for being willing to come to my aid. I nodded towards them, and they took that as their sign to leave. They disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Who was that!?" Sasuke growled behind us. I turned to see that his sharingan was spinning and his face had an angry look on his face. "They wore the same cloak as my brother!"

'Wait, when did he learn that?' I wondered. In the anime, he had fought Itachi and been swiftly defeated during the Tsunade retrieval arc right? Had that happened again while I was in the hospital in a coma?

"We'll discuss it later." Guy said as he turned back to us and Gaara. "We need to return to the village. Lee needs medical attention. This mission is a failure."

'Fuck.'

Four more chakra signatures raced towards us.

"We have company!" I alerted my team as quickly as possible. In another moment, we were surrounded by familiar faces.

I recognized Kakashi's chakra immediately. It felt like a thunderstorm rolling beneath his skin and it masked the feeling of his comrades beside him. His sharingan was outside of his headband and lightning danced across his skin. He was dressed as he always was, only he looked infinitely more menacing.

Asuma quickly stuffed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a quick application of fire chakra. He looked calm, but his sharp chakra was primed and ready to go. He stood dangerously close to the third and fourth members of their party, Kurenai and Anko.

"Everyone alright?" Kakashi called out as his eyes leapt across the battlefield. It was hard for me to track how quickly his sharingan leapt around.

"They just retreated, for an unknown reason." Guy answered with his arms crossed. He was upset at the developments, and his hand blurred through hand seals at Kakashi. They were fast, but not so fast that I couldn't read them. It was a simple message that shook me to my core.

'The Foundation'

I frowned, but Kakashi didn't outwardly react. It was only Asuma's eyes that narrowed slightly.

"You and your team return to Konoha and report what happened, Guy. We'll escort Gaara the rest of the way."

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"You should consider it a successful mission. You'll be paid for an A-rank. Dismissed."

Tsunade was seated behind the Hokage's desk with her hands clasped in front of her. It was a common pose for the new Kage. Behind her right shoulder, the Sandaime stood looking out of the window, and into the village. I knew his thoughts were on our report however.

"Dismissed?!"

I turned to Sasuke, to see him boiling with rage. He had tried multiple times during the report to ask about the organization his brother belonged to. Tsunade had either ignored him, or told him it was above his pay grade.

"Do you have a problem with that, Genin?" Tsunade asked as her hands dropped to her desk. Her light brown, hazel eyes gazed threateningly at Sasuke. The eyes that were normally caring and downright sexy were scary at that moment.

Hiruzen turned slowly towards Sasuke. I found myself doing the same. When I looked at him, I was surprised to see that his sharingan had activated. I had a bit of insight at that moment. Sasuke was upset, and the sharingan gave him a photographic memory. He was memorizing what he thought of as the village hiding things from him. It would affect his psyche, and attitude towards the village.

There was a spark of chakra from Sasuke. But it didn't feel like his normal chakra, it was sinister and dark. I glanced towards his neck and despite the high collar he wore, I caught the briefest glimpse of the curse mark. It shifted slightly. I wanted to tell him that it was influencing him, and he should calm down but I held my tongue because of the setting I was in.

"Why won't you give me information on him!? You should want him killed just as much as me!" Sasuke yelled at them. There was pain in his voice. The sinister chakra touched my senses again.

'The curse mark has been affecting him, without me even seeing it.'

"You're not strong enough Sasuke." Hiruzen was the one to respond this time. His tone was soft and caring, something that I knew Tsunade wouldn't be towards Sasuke. The Sandaime probably felt guilty over the boy, and wanted to spare his feelings.

"Because you won't teach me like you did him! You gave him every resource in the village, and I'm stuck with this fucking trash!" Sasuke continued his temper tantrum, and the sinister chakra flared in his neck even further. He was gesturing towards Guy and I.

'I would literally wreck you in a fight Sasuke…'

I tried not to let his insult affect me because I knew he wasn't himself. It didn't work very well.

"Your brother was trained by Shisui and your father, you know that. Unfortunately, due to his actions, we do not have anyone near as skilled in the sharingan. I did my best with Kakashi." Sarutobi retorted sharply. He was trying to place the blame on Itachi and not the village.

"The beginners scroll in my house knows more about my eyes than Kakashi!" Sasuke spat back towards them.

"Who's fault is…"

'This has gone on for too long.'

"Enough!" It was me that spoke this time. I interrupted my mentor, the Sandaime, and Sasuke. "I can feel Orochimaru's chakra in your neck Sasuke. Cut it off and clear your thoughts. You'll understand that you've been given two of the strongest Jonin in the village to teach you."

He did not listen to me.

"It's not enough!" He snarled, before turning around and storming out of the room. The loud sound of the door closing to the office and the flare of his chakra signified his departure. Guy and I didn't move. If Lee would have been in here and not in the hospital, he probably would have gone after Sasuke.

"He is a flight risk." Tsunade commented as she sat back in her chair and started to rub her temples.

"It is the mark on his neck. It is more advanced than Anko's." Hiruzen told her, defending Sasuke.

"Jiraiya and Neji have returned for a few days. I can have him look at it again." Tsunade commented.

"He won't find anything more. He doesn't like Sasuke's drive for power. It reminds him of Orochimaru. He has his hands full with Neji and the Hyuga." The old Sarutobi replied.

'Did he just imply that Jiraiya couldn't help Sasuke because of his bias against Orochimaru? And what does he mean by his hands full with Neji?'

Tsunade sighed heavily before standing up. I took that as our cue to leave her office, and began walking towards the door with Guy. He seemed troubled and his cheery disposition had almost completely disappeared. I missed it. Tsunade gave us something to think about before we could walk through the doors.

"You two should prepare yourselves. It might happen on a mission outside the village."

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I didn't make it very far across the rooftops before I felt my mentor's presence.

He stood on a rooftop that was closer to a tower than a normal building. The bottom part of his robes fluttered in the afternoon wind. The sun was trying to set over the horizon. I joined him with a simple step and a small amount of chakra to enhance my leg.

"I think you should give him some space." He started. It wasn't hard to decipher that I was headed towards the Uchiha Clan compound on the outskirts of the village. I had made a beeline for it right out of the Hokage Tower.

"The more space you give, the more Orochimaru will take." I retorted. I couldn't have disagreed more with the old kage.

"You spoke wise words earlier. I believe he is heeding your advice at this very moment. He will realize that he acted rashly, and did not fully consider the weight of his words. Tomorrow, he will apologize." Hiruzen told me confidently.

I took it for what it really was: an order. I was to stay away from Sasuke tonight. I sighed but I accepted the advice from the old man. I had something else I wanted to talk to him about.

"I'm ready for the third scroll." I said. I had been meaning to seek out the old man before I left for my last mission, but I hadn't been able to get a hold of him. I had been pouring over the fuinjutsu scrolls with my clones, as I hadn't seen the need to advance my ninjutsu any further at the moment.

The last mission had proved that I was already developing a defense that would take serious power to overcome. My barrier had withstood a lot of Deidara's explosions. Naturally, it hadn't tanked something like a susanoo sword but I still had faith in the seal work.

He turned to me with raised eyebrows. "Is that so?" He asked. "Show me."

I nodded and a clone materialized in front of me and Hiruzen. I immediately slapped my hand down on the ground in front of me. A red wall of chakra sprang up. It had changed many times since I had first cast the sealing aray during my training. It was visibly denser than the first, and could tank every ninjutsu in my disposal, including the big ball rasengan.

My clone was on his way to prove that claim. He summoned a rasengan and shoved it into the wall with all his might. The barrier didn't even budge. Just like the first time I was testing out the wall, the clone shoved more chakra into the rasengan and it blossomed into a big ball rasengan. The grinding sound of chakra on chakra could be heard on the rooftop, but still my wall didn't budge.

Eventually my clone let the technique go, and dispersed. I was about to let the technique disperse but the Sandaime had other plans. He set his feet, reached back with his left hand, and punched the wall.

The impact of his punch created a shockwave that blew my clothes back as if a hurricane had just run through the middle of Konoha. There was also a sound not unlike a gong when he hit it. I wasn't expecting the pure force that he hit with. The building we were on rumbled as if an earthquake was currently raging.

And yet, my barrier held. My eyes widened at the events.

He wrung his hand as if the punch had hurt him. "I never could properly use Tsunade's technique. This is a defense of the highest order." Hiruzen told me as he continued to shake his hand and arm.

Another chakra presence stepped on the roof next to me. The 'clack' of a sandal could be heard as the presence appeared. His chakra was warm and probably five times as big as the Sandaime's next to me. Not only that but it was the strongest, if that was the best word to use, that I had been around. Neji' s chakra felt like the sun, Hiruzen's felt like the ocean, Kakashi's was like a rolling thunderstorm. Tsunade's was like a combination of Neji and Hiruzen, massive and controlled.

Jiraiya's chakra felt like a mountain. It was massive and reached far and wide. It gave me the feeling that you could not stand against it. I felt like I was standing on it's peak, and gazing into the vast horizon.

"Jiraiya." The Sandaime greeted as I turned my head and saw who had arrived. I had only ever seen the man once before at a funeral. He wore his normal toad sage outfit along with the Toad scroll strapped to his lower back.

"Sensei." Jiraiya greeted with a smile. "What do you have here, kid?" Jiraiya asked as he walked up to where I was still holding the barrier.

I kept it up mostly out of shock. I had wanted to properly meet the man that had trained my father for a long time now. After I received word that he and Neji had left, I had given up hope of having a relationship with him. Would fuinjutsu allow me to bridge that gap?

"Jiraiya, this is Naruto. Naruto, this is Jiraiya of the Sannin." Hiruzen introduces us, taking pity on my slightly starstruck look.

"It's nice to meet the man that trained my father." I couldn't help the jab. Because that's what the sentence was. It was a jab that I knew who he was, and that we should have known each other a long time ago.

Jiraiya's eyes leapt from the seal beneath my hand on the roof, to my eyes, before going back to the seal. Jiraiya gave me a strained smile that most would have taken at face value. I had hurt him with that.

"I am pretty fantastic, I will admit."

Jiraiya's response was hollow. He was an eccentric man, but my comment had cut him deep. He had fallen to comedy to cover up the pain he felt. I wanted to apologize for it immediately.

"What do you think Jiraiya? Is he ready for the third scroll?" Hiruzen asked before I could say sorry for what I said.

Guilt and pain gripped my heart. The one chance I had to make a good impression on one of the only people my father would consider family, and I had fucked it up. Jiraiya would avoid me even further now, despite my studies into fuinjutsu. I had pushed him further away.

"Of that there is no doubt." Jiraiya said as he continued to stare at the seal. "You see how the lines all flow together. That is something stressed upon in the second scroll. If he wasn't ready, there would be many more lines extending from the circle, and in no apparent order."

"It took me forever to rewrite it after I had perfected the first version." I commented, knowing exactly what the man was talking about. The second scroll had caused me to rewrite almost all my fuinjutsu. Including the one holding my sword in the wristband on my right arm.

"You'll get used to doing that I promise. Finish this next one, and you'll master how to build the matrices on the first go." Jiraiya told me as he continued to stare at the seal on the ground. I kept it up for his sake.

"I'll have it delivered to you tonight Naruto." Hiruzen told me. It snapped Jiraiya out of his concentration and caused him to look back at his old sensei. I ended the fuinjutsu and stood up.

"I need to talk to my student alone for now." Hiruzen continued, dismissing me.

I wanted to stay and I looked at the Sannin on the roof. He was looking at the Hokage mountain to our left. I swallowed the words that threatened to spill out before priming my chakra and jumping away.

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Hiruzen POV:

Perhaps they weren't ready yet…

Jiraiya glanced at the boy once he left, and then stared at him until he dropped out of our sight. His face was pained, and he didn't bother to hide it from me. My old heart hurt at the thought of his grief. If only I had been quicker than Minato the night of the 9-tails attack. It could have been me that gave my life.

Minato would have found the solution to everything. Orochimaru would be dead. The Uchiha Clan would still be loyal. Perhaps Itachi would…

I ended the train of thought. There was no use in torturing myself. Tsunade was here, and her mind was as sharp as they came. Already the clans were in line, and Danzo treaded carefully everywhere he went.

"He is talented." Jiraiya commented, breaking the silence.

"More than we realize." I told him as I slowly breathed in the smoke from my pipe. My chakra lined my lungs, not unlike a fire jutsu, protecting them. "And easily the most stable of the next generation."

"Not anymore. Neji no longer has the Caged-Bird Seal." Jiraiya told me. He thought that removing it would solve all of the jinchuriki's problems. Yet he thought himself invincible, despite the thorough thrashing that Orochimaru had given him. I knew that the boy nearly refused to learn the ninjutsu that the toads had to offer. He would plateau soon, and then Jiraiya would see.

"A historic moment, of that there is no doubt." I told him. Despite my thoughts on the boy, he did set a new precedent within the Hyuga clan. I never could get them to budge on the subject in the past.

Jiraiya reached to his right sleeve and rolled it up. Lines of fuinjutsu could be seen on his forearm. He touched one of the random matrices on his forearm and a sealing scroll appeared. It was at least as big as the one he constantly had strapped to his lower back. But this one had black and yellow accents along the sealing scroll. It was beautiful.

"The third book will tell him to start accumulating his work into a singular location, protected by his own chakra and seal work. He'll need this." Jiraiya said as he held the scroll out towards me. I took it with my left hand and swiftly strapped it around my shoulder.

"I'll tell him that it was a gift from you." I said. I knew Jiraiya appreciated it as soon as I looked at him. His happy gaze swiftly turned remorseful and sad. It was the same look he got when thinking of Minato. Jiraiya looked back to the Hokage mountain, and stared at his student's carved face.

"Thanks sensei, for everything."

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A/N: Boom!

We pick up directly after the last chapter! The attack was orchestrated by the Akatsuki, and as Kakashi showed us, Root was involved. Now this wasn't covered in this chapter but it will have far reaching consequences.

Sasuke is getting mad, and the curse mark is doing its dirty work!

Naruto's focus on fuinjutsu is paying off big time. Soon he'll begin to start work on his bigger projects, and you'll get to see them used in battle. Also, my vision for the end game Naruto has changed into something that I am excited to see come to fruition.

Let's talk in the reviews!