Sword of Death

Chapter Three: Wilting Chrysanthemum

Mist…

The shroud of the particles of water littered in the atmosphere of the sea shore to Kirigakure, as the grey blanket of fog descended upon the early morning. Both master and pupil had made it to the outskirts of Kirigakure,

Naruto was not even wearing his forehead protector, his master however, did as his face was already an infamous person around the shinobi world.

Both were walking along the shoreline, the blonde child's musings were interrupted when his master had spoken,

"Ah, I'm getting starved, how about we fish for some food, eh, Naruto?"

The blonde complied with a simple nod, grabbing a bamboo shoot nearby and was about to tie a kunai at the tip, He was stopped by his master.

"Rushing things is not what we're here for, Naruto, remember, the road to a goal depends on how you get there, sometimes rushing things will only get you past your goal and miss to stop by to appreciate what is around you."

Naruto looked at his master with a tilt of his head in confusion,

He didn't understand…

Jiraiya sighed and motioned for the boy to sit down.

"Come, Naruto, let's get those fish the old fashion way!"

As soon as he said that, Naruto slowly sat beside his teacher near the docks, as they sat at the edge, Jiraiya tied a long cable string on his bamboo shoot as he did with Naruto.

Both master and pupil sat down, as the sounds of waves crashed on the shoreline with the breathtaking view of a flock of seagulls above dancing in the blue lit sky...

"Sensei… I don't understand… Why are we doing this?"

Jiraiya looked at the blonde with bewilderment and was then replaced with a hearty laugh, the said man ruffled the blonde's head as he said, "Sometimes there's no need to understand things around you. Why we fish like this is because it lets you appreciate things around you, Naruto… Tell me, what do you see beyond this place?"

The blonde looked at his teacher inquisitively then looked upwards as his teacher did,

"The sky… and the endless sea…"

Jiraiya smiled, "And isn't it such a marvellous sight?"

Naruto then looked to the place, where Jiraiya was pointing at, "Out of all the creatures that exist here, only humans can have an appreciation of the beauty of nature, can you see it?"

Naruto nodded looking at the sunrays piercing the thick blanket of clouds as its rays rippled on the surface of water, with some of the water fowl hovering over the surface of water.

Indeed a sight to behold.

They sat there, for a few more hours, it seemed the fish were not hungry today that or those blasted Seagulls had already scared off the food. Jiraiya gave a heavy sigh… He looked absolutely bored! How come they were fishing like this anyway!?

It was then when he looked at the blonde, heavily concentrating on his activity, looking at the rod as if it was his weapon, looking down on the water below…

Oh that was why… Then he supposed it wouldn't hurt to stay a while longer.

A warm smile escaped Jiraiya's mouth… What he wouldn't give for Minato to be in his place right now as the small blonde's own father, fishing on the shorelines, having this quality moment.

The white haired old man gave a melancholic smile… What such conundrum had brought the two of them together? Here they were sitting side by side, waiting for food to come to them by fishing.

Like father and son…

It was then in the middle of his musings that Jiraiya felt a tug with his rod.

The older man leaned in closer as he then felt it…

Another tug.

With a quick reflex, Jiraiya, stood up and pulled on his rod, pulling the said hook from water, and saw a fish that was as big as Naruto's forearm. The Sannin smirked, now that was a catch!

It was then that Naruto felt a tug on his fishing rod and mimicked his master's movement earlier. Reeling in…

A fish that seemed larger than his master's that looked like a damn Tuna, how come those things were close to the shoreline!?

"Have I done well sensei?"

Jiraiya looked aghast at his apprentice, his jaw dropped in awe,

'Damn it, now my pride's gotten hurt!'

Jiraiya thought, still stunned at the boy that held the fish vertically, it was the blonde boy's first time to fish! How could he be so damn lucky!?

Jiraiya sighed and said to the blonde boy, "Yep… We'd be filled till' lunch. Now let's go and cut these up and store them in a scroll, we wouldn't want to go to town smelling like fish. Even if it is Water Country"

Naruto nodded wordlessly.

Konoha:

When the Hokage has made decisions, it doesn't mean it goes by unnoticed, ever since he had created the council to guide him in the decision making process of running the village, the council had been monitoring most of it through the eyes of the ANBU, after all, the council has earned quite a bit of power in orders from the Hokage. Hence, the situation at hand,

"Sarutobi, what drove your head into letting little Naruto out of Konoha?" Asked one of Sarutobi's advisors, Mitokado Homura, adjusting his large green framed glasses.

"I assure you it is the best that I could've come up in such a short time." Sarutobi said,

Utatane Koharu spoke, "I don't understand why it could come to be the best decision. There may have been attempts on his life, but his mere status must be kept within these walls, young Naruto is our wild card."

"It was either that or let Naruto one day be consumed by that sword and start slaughtering people here for no good reason." The Sandaime solemnly closed his eyes, remembering the words from the report. The Sandaime then grabbed a folder from his desk and gave it to his two advisors

"If I hadn't let Naruto escape this place, we would've turned this into a holocaust for Naruto by the time he's fourteen."

"If Root were to go by, Naruto had many attempts on his life on a weekly basis since starting the academy."

Homura sighed, cradling the bridge of his nose, Danzo was never one to see reason with these things; he had to be dealt with before this turns to a deteriorating situation.

"Even so, letting Naruto loose and then going around the world with Jiraiya, who's to say that he wouldn't be picked by some rivalling village, and if they discover he's the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Youko, do you know how grave it would be to our forces? Naruto is needed here." Koharu mentioned

Sarutobi nodded, "I wish for it as well, but with the current situation as it is now, Naruto would pose more of a threat to us than an asset. Even if he's the Jinchuuriki or even if people scorn him. I will not tolerate senseless killing from either party, if Naruto is exposed as the jinchuuriki then so be it. It's a small price to pay for the lives of both the villagers and of Naruto's. Besides, at least, I want to retain Naruto's purity for as long as I can, or of what's left of it…"

Koharu and Homura remained silent, contemplating on the situation.

"Fine then… Since it's Jiraiya that's taking care of Naruto, we can be at ease for the moment… I just hope what you're doing is the right thing, Hiruzen."

The Sandaime nodded, "I assure you, it is the best course of action. Don't worry; we'll have a nice long talk with Danzo."

Once the two advisors left, Sarutobi sighed and slumped in his seat…

A long day…

It was such a long and stressful day, after instructing Kakashi in monitoring the Root member Sai, Sarutobi looked out to the sunset as he stood with his arms on his back.

The old man watched as the pastel of orange and yellow filled the late afternoon sky.

'Wherever you two are… Stay safe. And Jiraiya by God you better not be fooling off, I'm funding you with the village's budget for this.'

Kirigakure:

"I still do not understand what being in a brothel means 'Hospitality' sensei… What is it?"

Naruto had asked, Jiraiya had to groan, he knew it was too good to be true to leave Naruto alone for awhile in the hotel room while he enjoys himself to the nearest 'happy hour' bar and get plastered, he told the blonde to read his instruction on tree walking while he hit off at the bar. Of course, it didn't end well for Jiraiya when he found out the blonde had finished it that fast and he decided to look over for the toad sage.

Needless to say the meeting was… Awkward.

"I told you to just drop it boy, I'll tell you when you're thirteen. You're still a few months short so I'll let you enjoy your innocence a little more."

Damn it, when the blonde was curious, he terribly wanted answers!

Jiraiya palmed his face; he hoped he wouldn't be encountered in more fuck ups in near the future. No wonder Orochimaru and Tsunade called him an idiot.

As the pair walked back towards their hotel, Naruto looked upon the full white moon, as its silver white glow reflected to his deep ocean eyes.

Jiraiya looked up as well, he smirked; it seemed that Naruto can appreciate the beauty of objects as well…

"Ah, the beauty of the moon, so gentle yet benevolent… The light it refracts is quite a sight to behold within the night… Such a romanticist you are, Naruto?"

The old man ruffled at the blonde's hair, who looked at Jiraiya with tilted head and a questioning gaze.

"Don't worry about it… Come on, let's get to bed. We need to wake up early tomorrow."

Jiraiya dismissed any questions Naruto had and opted for them to rest now for the night… The glow of the white moon ever present.

The next morning:

"Alright, since I didn't see your progress in tree climbing yesterday, I want you to demonstrate it to me now so that I'm convinced." Jiraiya said, Naruto nodded

The blonde casually walked towards the tree, activating a half seal, he slowly walked towards the top, his chakra sticking to the trunk of the said tree.

He reached the top without a problem; Jiraiya stood agape for a moment but regained his composure. Naruto descended without a problem, this time, Jiraiya nodded and they walked to the nearest water reservoir, which was a lake by the east of the village.

Once they had reached the place, Jiraiya began his lesson, "Alright, since now you can climb trees, let's try you walking on water."

Another tilting head from Naruto, Jiraiya noticed, it was one of those obvious mannerisms that the blonde had when he was questioning.

"It's for your chakra control, boy, I want to see how good you can maintain your chakra this time and apply the proper amount in walking on water, remember, in order not to sink, you should now that the application is the chakra is proportional to your body mass. A little chakra and you'll sink; a lot of chakra and you'll slip then you'll sink."

Jiraiya then demonstrated by walking on water.

Naruto looked in his normal stoic gaze.

And finally, he nodded,

At first, he experimented on how much chakra he has to pump to his legs, he cautiously took a step to the lake but found his leg sunk, so he quickly retracted it and this time, applied more chakra to his feet, this time, he lost balance and fell by the shore, Jiraiya chuckled at that, Naruto recovered as he looked at Jiraiya with a new expression

Jiraiya's attention piqued, 'Oh, I see his anger showing now, I've never seen Naruto lash out before; this is an improvement!'

This time, Naruto looked down on the water now, he looked on to his feet and then to the water, he began to focus more now, as he began pumping chakra to his legs again, this time, when he stepped, his feet didn't sink, it was like stepping on flat ground, The blonde's interest increased as he applied to his other leg as well, as soon as he stepped on to the water, he looked, around him, he wasn't sinking, this time, he began to walk farther and farther, finally, he had reached his sensei.

Jiraiya grinned and said, "Wow, I never expected you to learn this quickly boy, now let's assess your level in all basic fields, and no, you can't use Muramasa, is that clear boy?"

Naruto nodded, Jiraiya then continued, "Good, we'll start with Taijutsu."

Jiraiya then motioned for the blonde to attack. To which the blonde dashed forward, Jiraiya noticed his speed

'He's certainly fast, but not as fast as an Inuzuka with their jutsu on… It seems like his exploits when he was younger are showing.'

Naruto appeared ducking as he gave Jiraiya a sweeping kick, Jiraiya counteracted and kicked Naruto's attacking leg, the blonde then jumped avoiding Jiraiya's kick, spinning around and gave a round house kick to Jiraiya's shoulder. The older blocked the attack with his arm guard and parried the blow forcing Naruto to spin in an opposite direction and landing on the water. Naruto stepped back as Jiraiya continued his assessment,

'He's got a great amount of strength for his age; if any genin were kicked like that they would've possibly been knocked out. He doesn't have a preferred style as well, a street brawler based one just like his mother, easily adaptable.'

Naruto then dashed again straight at Jiraiya, who gave a rising knee straight at the blonde, Naruto quickly sensing the knee strike to his chest, used the said offending extremity as a leverage and with his hands, pushed himself up and flipped in midair.

'Quick on his wits too… Very complimentary to his smash mouth style.'

Jiraiya though proud of Naruto's 'stats' as one might say, was now frowning at his form

'The academy doesn't teach forms like that, it's sloppy even for me, he's got a lot of openings in his stance, it must mean that he was neglected in the teachings. I need to have a word with Sensei for this.'

With that, he held his hand up, "It's enough, I've already seen your level in Taijutsu, you're pretty good, your form's sloppy though, but you make it up with your speed and strength and from the reports, your stamina as well. You also think quickly too, seeing as you used my knee as a base and used it to increase your air time and avoid me. Overall, I'd give your Taijutsu a three out of five."

Naruto nodded, Jiraiya then continued, "Okay, this time, we move to your Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, aside from the academy's basic techniques, what else have you learned?"

Naruto answered, "I only mastered one sensei, it is Kage Bunshin no Jutsu… and then this…"

Naruto held the handle of Muramasa, Jiraiya nodded,

Because of the Kage Bunshin, then it would be easier to teach him. Jiraiya nodded, wait till' they return to Konoha, he was certain they WILL shit bricks when Naruto returns, a laugh escapes from Jiraiya, the perverted hermit had found a student that had the potential to surpass the Yondaime!

"Sensei, why are you laughing?"

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "Nothing boy, just an old man reminiscing the past."

He motioned for the boy to walk back to the shore and Naruto followed

Once they had reached the shores, Jiraiya asked him a question, "Naruto, how do you feel about breaking Genjutsus?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, and then, as his mannerisms triggered, looked at Jiraiya in a curious gaze.

Konoha:

Yamanaka Ino was not a great observant as Nara Shikamaru, but even she can pick up quickly just as any other ninja on the job. She noticed that the rookie nine was missing something…

Or rather someone…

The first time she noticed this was when Sakura didn't look quite as annoyed as she used to be considering Naruto was on her team, even with Sasuke, the blonde haired hell raiser could get quite on the nerves despite Sasuke being there.

But then again, when Naruto showed up on team assignments, he became sullen, aloof, emotionless… If his clothes were to go by, then either Naruto just fooled them by loving black and being emo or that the blonde was up to his tricks again.

She didn't know why, but she didn't care back then, Naruto was after all, a little boy who craved for attention. Shikamaru once said to her that she was shallow about the boy and that she wouldn't understand what kind of troublesome life Naruto has. Humph, as if the Nara boy knew anything about sufferings, Shikamaru find challenges troublesome, and does the most convenient ways to get through problems. How could that lazy ass lecture her about the troubles of life when he found picking up a pen was much too troublesome!?

The second warning came in the following days in which the village was somehow less tense, or less lively as one might say, she didn't know why but it became gloomy…

Boring… The village wasn't as lively as it would be. There was nothing interesting going on, well, aside from the fact that Sasuke went across her shop once in a while, followed by his army of fan girls that would follow him to hell and back. Other than that, NOTHING.

With an open sigh, the blonde kunoichi had opened her door and told her parents that she was going to her team for their daily meetings and missions.

As she went out, she looked around and found the village in a state that resembled those steam punk novels that his dad occasionally read, over that orange book that his father and mother seemed to enjoy. Though they just wouldn't admit it.

Once she had met with her team and their Jounin Sensei, Asuma, they talked about their next mission walking towards the Hokage Tower, today, they would start taking missions on a daily basis, Ino was giddy, Shikamaru was reluctant while Chouji tried to encourage his teammate to be half interested in it, only to fail since the Nara boy had been stubborn.

Once they had made to the missions assignment area of the tower, they were greeted with the Hokage and Iruka at the side along with the rest of the new genin teams, Asuma approached his aging father for a request mission.

Ino looked at Team Seven and squealed, "Hi, Sasuke-kun!"

Ino approached Sasuke in a hug.

"Get off me, Ino." The last Uchiha deadpanned

Ino laughed, "Aw, Sasuke-kun's shy!"

Sakura, enraged to such level of intimacy Ino was displaying, shrieked and shouted to the pale blonde, "Ah! Get the hell away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-buta!"

Ino, in the same manner, replied to her rival, "What was that, billboard brow!?"

The two began quarrelling with each other, much to the ire of the people in the room. A new voice replied, "Please restrain yourself, Yamanaka-san, you wouldn't want the harpy to burst the volcano summit that she calls a forehead."

Sakura lashed out at the newcomer, "Shut the hell up, Sai!"

The boy named Sai, looked a lot like Sasuke, except paler, and unlike Sasuke, he smiled often. And unlike Sasuke, Sai wore a mid rift that seemed to be too revealing for comfort for the rest of the boys inside the room. Kiba cringed and whispered to his team that Sai might swing the other way that's why he was stepping far away from the boy as far as possible.

Ino, this time, turned to the newcomer with a look of curiosity and voiced her confusion, "Wait, I thought Naruto was in your team."

Sakura smiled lively and said, "He got replaced! Thank goodness, I wouldn't know how much of a headache he would be if he were on my team!"

Ino looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "I guess so, you'd be carrying his weight for the team, being dead last and all."

Hinata seemed to frown at that statement, as Ino continued, "Who'd want him in a team anyway? I bet he rigged the school's team assignments so he could just be with you. What a stupid idiot!"

By now, Sarutobi Hiruzen was now gripping the arm of his chair tightly, as he handed over the mission, "Here's the mission Asuma, now please, leave…"

Hiruzen handed the paper to his son, who immediately caught on to the Sandaime's gesture,

Shikamaru took notice as well, but he had not dared to voice for Ino to shut up, the damage was already done. He sighed; apparently, his teammate didn't know the word, 'tact'.

Asuma nodded, "Alright, I'll just brief them all on the way; it's a D-rank mission anyway."

Chouji asked, "But isn't it proper to be briefed on the mission in the mission room? I mean sure it's a D-rank but…"

Iruka interrupted, "I know Chouji, but Hokage-sama just isn't in the mood… Please understand."

"Yeah but…"

Shikamaru sighed, "Let's just drop it, Chouji. We need to get there and be done with this as soon as possible."

Chouji nodded, it was a good thing that he listens to Shikamaru.

As they exited, Ino asked, "What the hell was that? I think Hokage-sama was angry…"

Asuma sighed, and dropped his head, "He had every reason to, Ino. Considering what happened a few days ago, now come on… There's a mission to finish."

Inside the mission room, Kiba and Hinata frowned, as Shino remained stoic,

Kiba shook his head and said "I swear Ino's mouth will come back to bite her someday. I mean I know that Naruto and I don't exactly get along well, but she's got no right to judge him like that. She doesn't know Naruto lives a hard life. I realized it when I saw him back there and saying those depressing words."

Hinata nodded in approval.

"Bah, what would you know? Naruto's immature considering he has no parents, that orphan is lucky he has no one to scold him, he's practically a free bird!" Sakura exclaimed dismissively.

This time, Sasuke growled at his teammate, "Sakura…"

The pink haired girl looked at the Uchiha with hearts in her eyes as she asked, "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut the hell up. You're annoying." The Uchiha replied, Sakura wondered and asked "But why Sasuke-kun?"

"Don't say a damn word." Sasuke said, Sakura had visibly kept quiet at Sasuke's tongue lashing.

"Oh? Is this one of those, fights in the circle of friends?" Sai wondered, the rest in the room sighed.

By the time Kurenai and her team had been briefed upon their mission, she motioned to talk to Kakashi and said, "You better control your team members, Kakashi… Especially that pink haired one… I met Naruto a few days ago and I must say, I understand why Hokage-sama handed that mission swiftly to Asuma's team."

Kakashi nodded wordlessly, as he looked at his team, "They're naïve well, except maybe for the new member, but I'll talk to them."

As team eight headed out, Sakura looked at her sensei and asked, "She saw Naruto the other day? Wow, where'd that baka went?"

"Sakura, learn to control your mouth, and Naruto was taken as an apprentice to Jiraiya-sama, Hokage-sama vouched for him."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi in shock, as he asked, "Why'd the idiot taken as an apprentice? Why not someone more competent like me?"

The Hokage was the one to reply this time, "Naruto-kun has been… Placed in a circumstance that he can't avoid if he stays here. It was better to send him off before something terrible happened to him. Without him here, he'd be safer."

"And peaceful apparently." Sakura muttered, Kakashi glared at the girl, perhaps another lecture would be needed.

"Ah, here's the mission that's been handed to you Kakashi, apparently, the Fire Daimyo's wife's cat is missing… Again."

Kakashi groaned, not this mission again… So this was their punishment? Damn, can the Hokage be cruel or what?

The younger members of team seven all tilted their heads in question…

Man, if they only knew what was going to happen…

As the last of the new teams went out, Iruka asked the Hokage, "Are you alright Hokage-sama?"

"Yes… Iruka, I am fine now… I just wish that the younger generation could see Naruto's pain as much as I do." To this, the Hokage lit his pipe and began smoking. The nicotine filled his lungs like euphoria.

"They are still children sir, they still have to mature."

"I know, Iruka… But I can't help but feel that somehow, Naruto is like that because it is partially my fault, maybe I shouldn't have announced his existence as the saviour… That way, this situation wouldn't be happening. Naruto wouldn't be monitored like a lab rat, and maybe the other children would have had a greater understanding of him."

"We all make mistakes, Hokage-sama… That's why we're human."

The Sandaime let out a small smile, perhaps… Maybe this was for the best as well… After all, Naruto would have a great father figure, even if Jiraiya was a little perverted…

That would be the understatement of the century, but still a father figure.

Kirigakure:

Genjutsu was never his strong point. He simply had not enough attention to detail to properly weave a Genjutsu before. Probably a glaring weakness on his part, but with Jiraiya's training, he was slowly understanding to understand Genjutsu at its base form.

Genjutsu needs to connect with the chakra of the opponent in order to trigger it and fool the senses. The stronger the Genjutsu, the greater the influence of the foreign chakra, the harder it is to get away from the Genjutsu.

So to start with Genjutsu, one has first to experience Genjutsu on him to know what are the senses being fooled. Sight? Touch? Hearing? Even scent, taste and most importantly, neural function. One had to experience it before being able to cope with it.

For Genjutsu starters, the training is not to learn Genjutsu techniques at first, but to dispel them. As it stands, Genjutsu users must know when they are within a Genjutsu first before anything else.

At least that's what Jiraiya's lectures about it said.

"Genjutsu is the art of fooling the senses, boy. You need to learn to hone it to understand Genjutsu. Your senses are what guide you to weave a good illusion or get out of one. Remember a sharp mind makes an excellent illusionist."

Jiraiya then poked Naruto's forehead to understand.

Naruto simply nodded.

"Good, remember what I have told you, in order to get out of a Genjutsu, there are two ways. You know the first one as pain which is a very effective way since it jolts up the nervous system with its sudden rush of electricity to the brain, short circuiting the programmed illusion."

Naruto nodded, the older man continued, "The seconds one is to compress your chakra to a near absolute zero, a stasis, to halt the contamination of foreign chakra to your body and then to immediately push it out, disconnecting you from your opponent's illusion. Are you following?"

Naruto nodded, "So in order to dispel a Genjutsu without incapacitating myself or delivering body harm, I just have to compress my chakra to nothing and expel the unreleased chakra in one go?"

Jiraiya nodded, "That's the gist of it. Now I want you to practice dispelling from one low-level Genjutsu, I think Narakumi no Jutsu (Hell Viewing Technique) would be good enough."

With that, Naruto felt himself plunged into a dark forest, he was about to get up, when suddenly, he felt his body being held down.

He looked to his side, to see thousands of animated bones… Arms of human bones, holding him to the ground, grabbing him.

"Monster…" A voice mentioned, continued by another one

"Killer!"

"Hellspawn!"

"Demon!"

"Worthless sacrifice!"

All these insults were going through to his ears, he felt it all as real, as his eyes began to show another emotion that was different…

Fear. Narakumi no Jutsu was the jutsu that would let someone see the fear hidden within the recesses of their minds, it was a simple Genjutsu, but it managed to fool his consciousness, his sense of touch, sight and hearing.

A skull popped from the ground as it opened its calcified jaw and spoke, "REDEMPTION!"

"Revenge!"

"Justice!"

By now, a full form skeleton the spaces in where the eyes should be gave off a horrific red glow as it had stood over him and kneeled down on the blonde and began choking him.

"Abomination!"

Naruto forced his hands together, staring down and forming a ram seal, he closed his eyes, concentrating on his sight, stopping the flow of chakra within him and pull it back.

'Do not trust your sight…'

"Demon!"

"Hellspawn!"

"Monster!"

"Abomination!"

'Do not trust your hearing.'

He could feel the gripping of the bones, embedding into his flesh as the skin in his neck began to bleed, the bones piercing his neck.

'Do not trust your feelings'

"Trust no one."A voice… A familiar voice swept across his ears. He opened his eyes to see what happened.

It was then that he felt his chakra in a complete hold, the movements of the animated bones stopped, he felt his skin was still intact, there was no pain, and there was deafness.

It was then, that Naruto stood up, looking around the distorted world, until he felt his system, jump starting on its own, the chakra from him flaring like wildfire the illusion immediately shattered like glass as the whole world, turned back into reality.

"You're slow in dispelling the illusion, but at least it didn't take you a minute. In illusions, even your perception of time is altered, remember that. The faster you are to dispel the illusion, the quicker it is to close all your vulnerabilities."

Naruto nodded, he was about to held his hand down, when he winced as he noticed something stinging his right arm.

"That's what happened when you fell down on the ground; a rock scrapped your right arm. Come here."

Naruto then asked, "But sensei, you said pain was a very effective way to get out."

"I did, I didn't say the perfect way to get out of it. There are illusions that trick pain receptors as well, Naruto. The true and one hundred percent way to get out of it is like what I've said earlier."

Naruto approached the man closer and Jiraiya instructed, "Now hold out your right arm."

Naruto did as he was told so, Jiraiya grabbed a small container from his pouch and a bandage.

"This might sting a little Naruto, bear with it." Said Jiraiya applying the ointment on the scrapped wound. It looked like a nasty scratch.

"Don't trouble yourself, Jiraiya-sensei, I have a healing factor beyond that of any normal human, I do not need these bandages."

Jiraiya sighed and grabbed the bandages anyway as he wrapped it around the blonde's arm. He guessed he had another life lesson to teach the boy…

"Naruto… How do you change the view of the world for people to understand one another, to understand the jinchuuriki?"

The blonde didn't answer, he didn't have one. But Jiraiya answered for him, "Acts of random kindness, my boy. It's what a student of mine taught me… If people have the ability to think, then they have the ability to understand, we think. And that thinking is what we have to do in order to understand. If humans can only realize just how precious is the mind's rationality and the lives of the people around us, we would have peace and not these terrible tragedies that beset us."

Naruto didn't understand, he could never understand. Then so, why do people create terrible things like him? And as if Jiraiya read his mind, he continued,

"Fear is easier to manifest rather than thinking, the act of self preservation comes first in the mind of the people anyway. They then project that fear. In the form and claim of self defence. But then you can understand that, we're only human to begin with. We are not absolute; the only thing that is, is the cycle of life and death."

With that, Jiraiya finished his bandaging and handed Naruto the rest of the bandages and the antiseptic.

"Keep it for a while, and let's get something to eat first before continuing, we wouldn't want to continue this training on an empty stomach!"

Jiraiya grinned and Naruto nodded, he looked at his bandages and then back to Jiraiya, the words of the man made him think…

Inside the village:

A short blonde haired girl, wearing a pink kimono on top and black cycling shorts that reached to her upper leg showing her creamy white thighs, a pair of blue fingerless gloves and the forehead protector of Kiri wrapped around her neck, a pair of black sandals that reached to her ankle, walked with a limp in the village, Her teammates trailing in front, her knee was bleeding as a wound from an earlier training session

"You bastard! What the hell was that!? You used a freakin' Doton and punched me in the knee with it!" Her intense teal green eyes shouted to the group

The first of the male, red spiky long hair reaching to his back, giving the impression of a feral animal, he wore what seemed to be long sleeve black Gi with red linings on the shoulders, underneath a flack jacket bandages were present on both his arms reaching to his palms and matching black pants with his Gi, a pair of black sandals complimented him, a double edged black sword was strapped on his back.

"That's what you get for using Suiton against me, you do know I'm an Earth type, so it's natural I use that glaring weakness against you, Asami."

"Shut up, you damn furry! I've got half a mind on shoving that sword up your ass! You used freakin' Ganzan Messaijin (Rock Destroying Breaker Position) on a Suijinheki (Water wall formation), what the hell!?" The girl shouted

"What'd you call me!? I'll have you know, I appreciate art of beautiful animals to a very acute degree! Bestiality is dirty; animals with such perfect forms are not!"

"You call that poster of a Neko-shoujo playing with her flower pot in your room, art!? BULL FUCKING SHIT, SEIKO! Why don't you just go and fuck a cat then!?"

"You just don't appreciate art, you barbaric non-woman! How dare you insult such a fine piece of human artistry!?"

"What was that? I'm a girl damn it! I just haven't found the right person yet!"

"Right… That lame excuse again! Just what is your 'type' Asami? Or are you just waiting for a chance to jump at your older sister!?"

It was then they were interrupted, by the quiet member of the team who wore a blue kimono, exposing his chest, a blue hakama reaching down his ankle, wearing a pair of Getta sandals and smoking what appeared to be, bubbles?

Black hair reaching to the back of his neck, his long bangs covering the left side of his face.

"Both of you stop your bickering, Asami, your mouth is unbecoming of a sister of the Mizukage and twelve no less. Seiko, don't disrespect Asami just because she's lesbian let alone using her sister as her object of affection. That is scandalous against Mizukage-sama."

"I AM NOT A LESBIAN YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES! I'M ONE HUNDRED PERCENT HETER- WOAH!" Asami said falling down on the ground, earning another injury this time, on her left arm.

Seiko was laughing at his teammate's statement, the person in black said, "I don't see the reason why it is funny Seiko, care to explain to me?"

The one in the black Kimono asked, irate at his teammates antics,

"Utakata, you say jokes when you don't mean it, man and I thought you have the life of a sloth!"

To this Utakata replied, "I should feel insulted."

"Help me up you two idiots! Or I'll bash your heads in!" Asami shouted.

When Seiko approached the girl,

POW!

With a sudden surprise attack, Seiko fell down holding his crotch.

Asami had kicked him where the sun didn't shine.

"You're welcome!" Seiko replied in a high pitched voice as he crumbled to the ground like a sack of potatoes

"That was for that overkill Jutsu you did earlier, you bastard!" Asami shouted

Utakata sighed as he said, "It's like she had her first period already."

"Hey! It is not that time of the month for me, I still have to hit puberty!" Asami shouted.

As the three were continuing with their antics, two figures walked passed by then, one was a tall white haired man and the other was a blonde haired boy that was a bit shorter than Asami, wearing pure black except for the shirt underneath.

"Sensei, please wait for me for a moment." The boy said, Jiraiya looked at Naruto in question as the boy, approached the girl who was on the ground with a wound on her knee and arm, Naruto went for his pouch and grabbed the antiseptic jar and the remainder of the bandages.

Jiraiya looked on in curiosity then in pride, as he smiled when Naruto said to the girl,

"Do not move… This will cause a small amount of pain… Please bear it for a moment." Naruto said in monotone, as he opened the antiseptic and cradled the injured leg of the girl.

The girl yelped in surprise as she felt the hands of the boy with the antiseptic applied to her knee then to her left arm, Naruto then grabbed the bandages and rolled it around her knee, he cut off from what he deemed was enough and proceeded to her left arm.

The girl stared at the blonde in wonder for a moment then in amazement, she seemed lost on those eyes of his looking at her injured form, she couldn't speak as she felt something within her…

Thump

A blush had spread across her cheeks as she stared at the boy, finally, finishing his bandaging, he said to the girl,

"Are you alright?" His voice was still in monotone, but for Asami, it felt like the tone of an angel,

She couldn't say anything though, as she kept looking at the blonde, who could only nod with a daze.

Naruto merely turned back and walked to his master, leaving behind a suddenly lovestruck girl staring at him as he went to a restaurant.

"So does that mean you're not a lesbian?"

That voice interrupted her thoughts as she looked at the standing form of Utakata beside her, she would shout at the effeminate boy at the moment, but she the gesture would just ruin her mood, besides, she was about to go to the Mizukage's office, her sister said something about a lecture in a meet and greet with some dignitary from Konoha along with his charge later so it was only proper she be there and be her sister's charge as well. After all, her sister trusted her the most.

Inside the restaurant, Jiraiya was picking up notes and writing on his small notebook.

'Guess you're not the only one benefiting from this, eh Naruto?' Jiraiya giving a perverted chuckle with the blonde eating calmly with his rice and some fish.

'Now I wonder what I will call my next novel.'

To be Continued…

Chapter Preview:

In this sea of death and darkness I could only pray… That a glimmer of light shine my way, as I walk this endless ocean of crimson blood, I cross paths with another… Of my kind… Tell me, what is anger?

Chapter Four: The Untainted's Curiosity

May the Shinigami have mercy on your souls…

Updated Sword of Death! Woohoo! Up next, Kuroi Kaze! Please note that this is not a bashing fic, I don't do bashing as it becomes a story of rage posts one chapter after another, if I rage a rant, I MIGHT actually end up with an ending that I won't eventually like. Of course that doesn't mean that I don't like bashing fics, there are quite good one's out there, just not my cup of tea as I am, and will remain impartial to my stories. Also like Kishimoto, I have liked the student teacher relationship between Naruto and Jiraiya the best. That's why, I really enjoyed doing this chapter.