Chapter 35: Solutions and Conclusions.

"FLAME RASENGA-AAAHH!" Jiraiya yelled as his sphere of chakra exploded and sent him flying back.

Naruto caught him and set him on his feet, "You almost got it Ero-sensei! You just need to compact the fire a fraction more!" Naruto said with a grin.

Jiraiya frowned as he stood, his arm covered in burns as he practised shirtless, showing off his sixty year old, obscenely muscular form, "Yeah yeah I know." Jiraiya said as he used one hand to focus his fire chakra and the other to mould it correctly.

After a few moments, Jiraiya stood with a red rasengan in his grasp, he slowly pulled back the hand that was controlling the amount and flow of the fire chakra and focussed the control of rotation through his other hand to compensate.

Naruto floated nearby with a grin, "Hold it for twenty seconds, then give it a try."

Jiraiya nodded and mentally counted to twenty before crouching as he turned to the lake nearby. He took another deep breath and sped up the rotation as he pushed forward, "FLAME RASENGAN!"

Jiraiya's face turned into a huge smirk as he was able to dive to the bottom of the lake without being touched by the water, his rasengan held strong and evaporated any water near him until he plunged it into the base of the waterhole.

The water closed around over him after his flame rasengan destroyed a large chunk of earth. He swam back to the surface and pulled himself up onto the water to see Naruto cheering, "Yeah! Good work Ero-sensei!"

Jiraiya got back to land and sent his fire chakra through his system, drying him off in less than a minute as he and Naruto talked, "Thanks brat, a quick question though, did you come up with this by yourself?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto shook his head, "It was theorised in Dad's journal, and Orochimaru had actually planned to learn the rasengan and imbue his chakra with it. I had two halves of the equation already so it wasn't hard to come up with an answer." He said with a grin.

Jiraiya nodded, "That's genius kid! Haha!" he cheered, sounding a little off.

Naruto frowned, "Are you alright Ero-sensei?"

Jiraiya nodded and sat down, "Yep, just a little light headed from lack of chakra." He said before lying down on his back.

Naruto joined him, "Yeah, I guess I'll never feel that again." He muttered.

Jiraiya looked to Naruto, "What do you mean?"

Naruto grinned and raised his arm. The grey portion suddenly stretched and Naruto let it reach up into the air continuously, "This power is from a guy named Juugo. He could passively absorb nature chakra, but because he didn't really know how to control it properly, it turned him a little insane." Naruto explained as his arm finally stopped stretching into the air, neither of the two could even see his hand anymore but Naruto noticed his fingers were oddly cold.

Jiraiya nodded, "Y'know, hearing all the shit you can already do, this doesn't surprise me that much. Or maybe that's just cause I'm too tired to react." He mumbled before yawning.

Naruto grinned and started retracting his arm, "Well, one thing's for sure. This was the major factor that let me use two different sage modes." He said, he was cut off from continuing as Jiraiya shot to his feet.

"Did you say TWO?!" he yelled, seemingly forgetting about his tired state.

Naruto nodded, "Yep, finally mastered my snake sage mode." He said as he sat up.

Jiraiya yelled out, "DAMMIT SHOW ME!"

Naruto got to his feet and nodded, "Yeah alright, no need to shout." He muttered as his arm turned to normal and he took a deep breath.

As Naruto let out the breath, his skin seemed to crack into scales and it slowly turned white, his fingernails became purple and horns grew from his head. As he opened his eyes, Jiraiya saw that they had become slitted and glowed a golden colour.

Naruto stood to his feet, "Thiss iss my ssage mode for the ssnake contract." He said in a slightly drawling tone, showing off his foot long tongue and fanged teeth.

Jiraiya stared at Naruto in shock, 'This is the first time I've seen anyone other than Orochimaru use it, damn its creepy!' he thought as Naruto showed his increased speed by dashing around the field at a speed that reminded Jiraiya of Sakura's RGS.

Naruto came to a stop in front of Jiraiya and grinned, "What do you think Ssenssei?" Naruto said as he held his hand up, allowing his claws to extend, "Alsso, thesse clawss are highly poissonouss." He finished as he licked his fangs with his new tongue.

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah, that's extremely cool and all. But it's equally as creepy." He said with a shudder.

Naruto laughed as his sage mode receded, "Ku ku ku ka ha ha ha ha!"

Jiraiya scowled, "Yeah yeah. Laugh it up brat, we'll see if I take you on the mission." He said.

Naruto stopped laughing and glared at Jiraiya darkly, "You will take me on this mission. You have no choice in the matter." He demanded as his eyes glinted red.

Jiraiya's eyes widened at Naruto's behaviour, "What the hell brat? I was just kidding around." He said as he stared at Naruto, feeling a sudden sense of danger.

It evaporated as Naruto blinked his eyes back to blue and he grinned, "Awesome sensei! Sorry but I gotta go, the boss wanted me to dispel about now." Naruto said as he began falling backwards.

Jiraiya frowned in confusion until 'Naruto' hit the ground and collapsed into a gathering of twigs and flowers.

Jiraiya stared for a moment until he burst into laughter, "Haha! That brat!" he said with a smile before turning to grab his overclothes before heading home. As he tied his scroll back in place, his mind flashed to the dark look Naruto gave him.

'What was that feeling? I haven't something like that since Hanzo the Salamander.' He thought before shaking his head and walking off.

"Jiraiya-sama!"

Jiraiya turned and raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong Pikkon?"

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Naruto stumbled as his mind flashed with memories of teaching Jiraiya the flame rasengan, which caused him to lose this spar as Kimimaro paused millimetres from stabbing multiple vital organs on his body.

Kimimaro stepped back and folded his ribcage back into his chest, "What is wrong Naruto-san?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head as the memories realigned, "Nothing, I was just caught off guard by a clone of mine. I told it to dispel once it helped Jiraiya learn the flame rasengan. I didn't expect him to learn it so quickly." Naruto explained as he stood back to his feet and took a low stance.

Kimimaro nodded, "I think you should practise making these techniques second nature to you." He said as he turned and began walking back.

Naruto stood from his stance with a confused look, "How do we do that?"

Kimimaro smirked lightly as his curse mark grew over his body, "I have organised for some people to help us today. You will defend using only the Dead Bone Pulse Bloodline." Kimimaro said as he span and shot curse powered bone bullets at Naruto.

Naruto ducked under the bones only to be collected in the side by a mud ball. Naruto rolled to his feet and glanced around the area to see Sakura and Tenten ready with their weapons, "Oh Log." Naruto muttered with a frown before whipping out his bone sword (The blade of bone from his shoulder) and began deflecting Tenten's weapon onslaught.

Naruto span and let his bone armour deflect Tenten's attacks as he raised his sword to knock away an earth spear from Sakura. Feeling the barrage of steel stop, Naruto turned and barely managed to raise his sword into the air and block Kimimaro's own blade.

Naruto frowned as his weaker sword cracked slightly, Kimimaro pushed on in hopes of shattering through the blade.

Naruto suddenly smirked and pushed his blade on an angle, forcing it to shatter and let Kimimaro fall to the side. Naruto swiped his hidden bone blade in his left arm at Kimimaro's back. But kimimaro's ribcage lifted out and caught his hand as Kimimaro shouted, "Now!"

Kimimaro dissolved into a mud clone, surprising Naruto that Kimimaro even knew techniques that weren't bone based. Naruto looked up at the barrage of kunai with explosive tags flying at him through the air.

Seeing only one option, Naruto pushed all the bones of his torso outwards while spinning and ripping his hand free from the mud, "LARCH DANCE!"

Each move his body made knocked one or two blades to the side, letting the explosions occur far away from him. He withstood the whole barrage and came to a stop as his bones retracted back into his body. Panting while he glanced around, he thought, 'Damn! How do these guys work so well together after barely any time knowing each other?'

Feeling a presence behind him, Naruto ducked. This let Sakura's swipe fly over him before he reached up and grabbed Sakura's elbows.

Naruto focussed, "DANCE OF ENTRAPPING VINES!"

Naruto's bones grew from his back and slotted around every joint on her body then squeezed Sakura tightly, giving her no opportunity to move and himself a more than adequate defence from behind. Naruto grinned as he faced Tenten and Kimimaro, "This has to count for something right? I'm tired!" he yelled.

Kimimaro smirked before letting his curse mark recede, he closed his eyes as he began to talk, "I think you have progressed as far as you will with your current knowledge Naruto-san. I guess we can end today's trai-HCK!"

Naruto grinned as he lowered his arm, watching as his bone bullet drilled into Kimimaro's armour until it came to a stop, "HA!" Naruto said in victory.

Kimimaro frowned as he sat up tall again, "Your training is done for the day. I think it's time to go home." He said with a huff.

Naruto grinned and let go of Sakura, who fell to her knees and then stood up straight, "That was weird." She said with a shudder.

Tenten leapt down to Naruto and grinned, "Sorry for the sudden attack Naruto-kun. But, did I do well?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, "Very well, for a moment there I honestly thought I was going to be killed." He said with an intimidated smirk.

Tenten laughed, it seemed contagious since within a minute Naruto and Sakura were laughing along with her.

"Naruto! Sakura!"

The laughter stopped and the four in the clearing turned to see Sasuke boarding into the clearing, "We need to go back to the house now! Pikkon found something odd, Kakashi-sensei is meeting us there with Anko since Jiraiya-sensei is busy with Gaara's seal." He explained as he came to a stop.

Naruto's eyes widened, "At our house?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded as he pulled Sakura into his arms on the board, "Let's go!" he yelled before shooting off at high speeds.

Tenten jumped onto Naruto's back and he flew off as curse seal Lv.2 Kimimaro leapt after them at full sprint.

###############################

"Alright, is everyone here?" Kakashi asked to the crowd.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Pikkon, Tenten and Kimimaro nodded, "This is everyone 'Kashi-kun." Anko confirmed.

The group stood around the corner from the boy's household as Kakashi took charge, "Pay attention everyone. Someone has tried to steal village secrets from a clan home, this is a very serious matter and if we don't shut it down immediately, people will blame either the sound refugees, Gaara or Pikkon. This has the potential to destroy the alliance." Kakashi said, showing the seriousness of the situation.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, "Firstly, before anyone hears what exactly Pikkon witnessed I want you to tell us everything about this house Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded, "Well, I've lived there since after the massacre. As far as I know there hasn't been anything weird in the house." He said before tilting his head to the side in thought, "Though now that you mention it, something about the basement as always been a little…off."

Kakashi nodded, "So it's the same house, just refurbished as per your instructions right?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, that's right." He confirmed.

Kakashi nodded and turned to Pikkon, "The basement… I guess this fits in with what you said Pikkon, no one would have noticed this unless they were training like you were. Explain what you witnessed to those here then we'll devise a plan."

Pikkon nodded, "Well I remember my sensei saying that he found it easier to connect with his earth chakra when he sat in a cave. So, I thought a basement would work just as well. Since the mission to get Sasuke back to the leaf, I've been training to strengthen my connection in the earth." Pikkon explained as he gestured to the basement on the blueprints Kakashi held up.

He pointed to the same crate that was covering the hole, "I was meditating with my earth chakra, trying to feel the rats, mice and bugs through the ground. When I felt a hole in the wall with my chakra, I didn't think anything of it. Until I visually saw rats come from the same area. I couldn't even feel it on the floor though, and I was confused as to why every other animal in its path stayed clear." He said with a gesture to the corner.

Sasuke spoke up, "Was it near the crates?" he asked.

Pikkon nodded, "Yeah, anyways I observed the rat as it climbed up onto Naruto's workstation. To my shock its jaw grew and it began to swallow the rolled up blue prints. I waited a moment before killing it, only for it to collapse into ink and paper." He finished before gesturing to Kakashi. "I told Jiraiya-sama and he contacted Kakashi to handle it."

Kakashi placed his hand on Pikkon's shoulder and stepped forward, "Thanks Pikkon," he said before facing the group, "The way Pikkon has described the situation makes me believe this might actually be a spy from within Konoha. Although I've never seen someone make animals from paper and ink." He said before laying the blueprints on the ground in front of him.

"Sakura, Kimimaro and Pikkon. You three are our earth users so I want you to analyse the opening in the wall from above ground with your chakra. The rat appears to have not noticed Pikkon until he moved so I don't think it can feel chakra being manipulated." Kakashi explained.

"Sasuke, Naruto. It would seem normal for you two to go down there since it is Sasuke's basement and it's your blueprint workshop Naruto. I want you to go down there and see if you can spot any of these paper rats. If you do, just pay attention to it. Do nothing else unless its necessary. We don't want to alert the user of the technique that we found out until we've caught them." Kakashi ordered.

Naruto asked, "What are we meant to do down there?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Pretend you're discussing the blueprints of a new design or something. But at some point try to casually work in looking inside and around the crates." He ordered.

Sasuke and Naruto nodded, "Hai sensei."

Kakashi turned to Tenten and Anko, "Now Tenten, Anko-chan. I want you guys to canvas the rest of the house for white rats of any description, try to make it look like Tenten has convinced you to help her look for a present Naruto has gotten for her."

The two nodded, "Sounds kinda lame but alright." Anko said with a shrug.

Kakashi eye-smiled, "But remember, you two aren't supposed to know that Sasuke and Naruto are in the basement looking. So if you do see them or hear them, act surprised. Sasuke, just place a sound seal on the room so that you won't hear them at all."

Kakashi stood tall, "Am I understood?"

"Hai Sensei/Kashi-kun!"

Kakashi nodded, "Alright. Sasuke, pass out the seals." He ordered.

Sasuke nodded and reached into his pouch and pulled out a pile of seals and began passing them around as Kakashi explained their uses, "These seals Sasuke designed work like a basic microphone will. I will be here listening in to what everyone is saying or talking about. If I tell you to do something, do it. Like I said earlier, this mission is a dangerous one. Are you ready?" Kakashi asked as he took the corresponding seals and held them out as Sasuke tied them together on a fusion seal so Kakashi had total control.

"Hai Sensei/Kashi-kun!"

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Well then, move out!"

################################

"I'm telling ya Aniki, something is wrong with this design!" Naruto said as he hovered into the basement.

Sasuke entered after him and activated the sound seal on the door, "And I asked you, how is that my problem?" he asked as he slid down the stair rail and landed at the bottom, scanning every surface with his Sharingan.

Naruto hovered over to his desk and hit the table light, "What the hell?" he asked as he stared at the large ink splodge on his desk.

Sasuke raised a brow, "What happened here?"

Naruto frowned, "How should I know?" he blinked in fake realisation, "I bet Pikkon did it, that's the last time we let him meditate down here." Naruto said with a sigh before cleaning up the mess.

Sasuke helped him and for a few minutes, both had taken a full canvas of the room by looking over each other's shoulders as they walked around the table.

Sasuke stepped back, "I don't think we can use this anymore," he said with a gesture to the large mess of ruined paper in his and Naruto's hands.

Naruto glanced around, "Chuck 'em in those crates then." Naruto said with a shrug.

Sasuke walked over to the same crate he had looked over a long time ago and opened the lid, this time though, he used his Sharingan to perfectly remember every curve and mark in the crate. His eyes widened in shock as his Sharingan picked up a sound recording seal in the bottom of the empty crate.

After throwing his share of wasted paper into it, Sasuke calmly placed the crate's lid down and turned to Naruto, who was openly staring into his crate. Sasuke frowned, thinking that Naruto had blown their cover.

"Otouto, what are you-"

"Aniki, didn't you say the Mangekyou Sharingan is the next level in your eye techniques?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stepped over to Naruto and looked into the crate. There were three scrolls, one of which was titled 'Mangekyou Sharingan.' The second was labelled 'E-M-S', the third was 'Sharingan Master Techniques.'

The two stared in silence for a moment before Naruto's eyes snapped to their right. Seeing his brother tense, Sasuke glanced as well with his Sharingan.

On the lid of the crate stood a small paper rat, it was looking at the scrolls with more intent than any rat should have.

Sasuke quickly took action, "We should take these upstairs Otouto, they'll be easier to study in the light."

Naruto nodded and lifted two scrolls in either arm, he focussed his chakra into his sword on his back and drew upon the water, "WATER CLONE JUTSU!"

Two water clones seemingly poured out of the seal and formed the clones which took two scrolls each and quickly moved up the stairs.

As Naruto kept his eyes on the rat, which stared past them up to the clones, he placed the lid back on the crate.

Sasuke nudged Naruto's shoulder, "I wonder if there is anything in this other crate." He said as he gestured to the third crate.

Naruto nodded, "Only one way to find out." He said as they stepped over to the crate.

"How are you boys doing? Just say something either positive or negative." Kakashi's voice said into their minds.

Sasuke gestured over to the crate for Naruto's sake, "This is very good, I wonder what I could learn from that scroll. Do you wanna open this crate Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded, "Sure."

"Very good? That's good to hear. Sasuke, have you seen those rats yet?"

Knowing Sasuke needed a chance to answer either positively or negatively, Naruto asked, "Do you think there will be more technique scrolls?" he said as he began lifting the lid.

Sasuke nodded, "Yes. It's likely."

"Do you have the jutsu user's chakra signature?"

Sasuke mumbled to himself, "It's highly likely."

"Good, come back out as soon as you can. Sakura and the others have found the tunnel. Kakashi out."

Naruto finally finished lifting the lid and his eyes widened, "Woah, Aniki look!"

Sasuke looked into the crate and stared at the contents, "Chakra fusion and fission?" he asked in a confused tone.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, and look at these books!"

Indeed, the crate held a handful of books, "What's so great about these books? They look like people's journals." He said as he picked up the first one and read the title out loud, "Chronicles of Madara Uchiha, Part one."

Naruto took the book from Sasuke's grasp, "Don't you know who Madara Uchiha is?! The only man to go head to head with Hashirama Senju and nearly win! He was the only person able to summon and control the Kyuubi!" Naruto said hysterically, completely forgetting the purpose of their mission for a moment.

Sasuke, realising how big this information actually is, quickly scanned the room for any rats. He caught a glimpse of one as it disappeared behind the crate again. "Otouto, grab the crate and your things. We have to get out of here now. Use the quick cleanup combination." Sasuke said as he leapt back to the steps.

Realising that the spy was either gone, or their cover was blown, Naruto instantly sprang into action, "WIND STYLE: FULL SUCTION!"

Everything in the room, from the crates to a loose brick to Naruto's work desk, was pulled towards Naruto who was standing on a step above Sasuke.

Sasuke raised his seal between Naruto's hands, "SEALING ART: INSTANT STORAGE SEAL!"

Within seconds the room was cleared and the two exited the basement. As they ran out, Sasuke glanced behind him and noticed as a section of the wall began opening up. They closed the door behind them and Sasuke passed the seal to Naruto, "I saw something as we were leaving, I don't know if it was someone coming in or something leaving. But I'm not taking any chances." Sasuke said as he drew a multi-level seal across the door with his chakra.

Naruto turned to Anko and Tenten who had just ran down the stairs, "No time to explain! Grab a scroll and get outta here!"

The four of them grabbed a scroll each as Sasuke cradled the instant storage seal to his chest. The four of them ran from the building and turned the corner, arriving at Kakashi's location in less than thirty seconds.

Kakashi blinked in confusion at their hasty arrival, "What's wrong?" he asked out loud.

"Sensei! There's movement in the tunnel! There's someone running through it!" Sakura's voice rang out from the sealing array.

Kakashi nodded and pressed his chakra to Sakura's corresponding seal, "On our way, keep track of them!" he said before turning to the others.

"Naruto and I will go to the others. Sasuke, since this has been happening in your house it's safe to assume you may be a target of some kind so you stay here and sort out things. Anko, you're in charge." Kakashi ordered and passed the master seal to Anko and Naruto kissed Tenten before they leapt off.

Sasuke scowled before getting to work in re-sealing everything in the instant seal into proper seals so that they were stable, 'What the hell is going on?' he thought.

Tenten touched her lips softly, holding on to the memory of Naruto's lips on hers, 'Be careful Naruto-kun.' She thought.

############################

"I've lost it!" Pikkon said in frustration.

"Found it!" Kimimaro said as he squeezed through a narrow alley.

Sakura and Pikkon followed behind him on the building rooftops. Kimimaro stomped with his earth chakra and felt the tunnel turn and the person running around the corner. "Sakura-san! Your ten o'clock!" Kimimaro yelled as he focussed on getting out of the dead end alley.

Sakura leapt down from the building into the center of the Uchiha market district and pulsed her earth chakra, feeling it resonate through the ground and into the tunnel and off of the person's footsteps, "Got it! EARTH STYLE: HEAD-HUNTER JUTSU!" she said as she held a seal and dove underground, leaving the hole open behind her.

People looked on confused and worried as one of the village ninja used a jutsu in the middle of the streets. Their confusion grew as Pikkon and Kimimaro arrived above the hole.

Sakura dug into the roof of the tunnel and landed just behind the person she was chasing, due to the tunnel's darkness, she couldn't see their face. She reached out to grab the person with one of her claws, only for her arm to be battered aside by a small blade.

Sakura focussed on her earth chakra to feel where her opponent was, but there was almost no manoeuvrability in the cramped space. Stuck in this situation, all Sakura could do was slash widely to dissuade her opponent from getting to close.

She was slowly driven into the darkness of the tunnel from the attacker's swipes until she saw Pikkon fall down from the hole behind the attacker. He instantly took action, attacking loudly to draw the attacker's attention.

His plan worked and the spy turned to him fully, allowing Sakura to activate her boots "SHOCKING FIRST BULLET!" she yelled as she leapt up and kicked the roof of the tunnel.

Pikkon slashed out with his blades and disarmed their opponent before he rolled back and leapt back out of the hole as the tunnel collapsed while Sakura once again used the head-hunter to break free. As the two arrived on the surface, they were met with the sight of Kimimaro's bone wall creating an arena like area to make sure the attacker couldn't escape while also protecting nearby civilians.

The three ninjas surrounded the now visible ninja, who wore standard ANBU clothing and stood calmly.

Sakura stepped forward, "Give up now! We have you surrounded. If you are actually an ANBU of the Leaf you will have your chance to talk to Tsunade-baa-sama and have this matter settled!" she ordered.

The person turned around slowly, there were a tense few moments of silence before their hands came together and held a single hand sign.

Using RGS, Sakura appeared in front of the ninja in an instant aiming a kick at his chest, "ANNIHILATING SECOND BULLET!"

Her kick launched through his hands and chest as the attacker exploded into ink and paper, the three ninjas looked on in shock before looking around to try and find the ANBU.

Pikkon yelled, "Kimimaro! Take the barrier down!"

Kimimaro retracted his bones, and the three turned around in hopes of seeing the assailant. But all they saw was a stunned but very crowded group of people.

Sakura kicked the ground in frustration, "Damn! They got away!" she yelled in annoyance.

In that second, Kakashi and Naruto arrived, "Where is he?" Kakashi asked.

Kimimaro was frowning when he answered, "We are unsure Kakashi, the ANBU got away."

Kakashi's fist clenched in frustration, 'It was an ANBU agent? Could he have been from Root?' he thought.

"Dammit!" Naruto proclaimed as he stared into the hole in the district's center.

Realising the attention they were drawing, Kakashi lifted his Sharingan and formed some hand signs, "EARTH STYLE: COMPACT PLATFORM!"

The loose stones compacted in on themselves to form a small platform which successfully filled the hole and made it safe to walk across. Though it did seem a little out of place as it did not have the stone pathways of the rest of the district.

The ninjas looked to Kakashi for the next decision, "Sakura, go get the others. We have to report to Tsunade's office about this."

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"SEALING ART: DEMONIC SUPPRESSENT!" Sarutobi Hiruzen yelled as he held back the chakra within Gaara's seal.

"This is it! SEALING ART: MULTI PLATFORM SEALING METHOD: EIGHT TRIGRAMS CONVERSION: DEMONIC CHAKRA TRANSFERANCE SEAL!" Jiraiya yelled as he pushed his chakra through the large sealing array on the ground surrounding Gaara.

After two minutes, the chakra disappeared and Jiraiya fell onto his ass. He looked up at his sensei who sat in his wheelchair, "Did it work sensei?" he asked, old habits die hard.

Sarutobi smiled, "I'd say it did, and quite well too." He said as he pointed to Gaara, who was sleeping soundly on the stone floor. His sand swirling calmly around him…

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"The one tail is now fully under control. The best part is now Gaara can sleep with his defence naturally activated." Hiruzen said with a smile as Jiraiya pushed him into Tsunade's office.

Tsunade stamped a sheet and looked up at the two, "Great news, thanks a lot for that guys. Where is he now?" she asked.

Jiraiya smirked, "Sleeping his ass off."

Tsunade laughed, only for her forehead to be hit by a ruler, "Back to work Tsunade-chan, your break isn't for another hour." Hani said with a sweet smile, while stroking her ruler of pain.

Tsunade grumbled, "Yeah yeah, okay then business." She said with a sigh before looking at Jiraiya, "Did they agree to go on the training trip with you?" she asked.

Jiraiya nodded and was about to reply when Kakashi and Anko appeared in her office in a poof of smoke, "Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi said before a quick bow, "There was a spy in Sasuke's house! They've been watching the house and Sasuke ever since he moved to the house." Kakashi explained.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and there stood Sakura who had dragged Tenten along behind her, "Baa-sama! The spy got away! They were in an ANBU outfit!" she said.

In through the window came Naruto and Sasuke, "Did you hear the news Baachan?!" Naruto yelled.

Everyone began talking at once until Tsunade stood up and slammed her hands on her desk, "EVERYBODY QUIET!"

Once everyone was quiet, they stared at Tsunade for a moment before a knock was heard on the door.

Everyone turned to the door as Anko opened it, in walked Pikkon and Kimimaro. They glanced around the room before Pikkon spoke, "So, I'm guessing everyone knows then?"

Tsunade sighed, "Alright, I want the situation explained to me by…" she glanced around, looking for the least hyperactive person to give her a straight answer, "Kimimaro." She said with a smile.

Kimimaro bowed before talking, "Pikkon-san discovered a possible thief in Sasuke-san's basement, he told Jiraiya-san, who told Kakashi-san. Who found Sasuke-san after his breakfast with Ayame-san, Sasuke then contacted Naruto-san, Sakura-san, Tenten-san and I and brought us to meet with Kakashi-san and Anko-san. We made contact with who was discovered to be a spy and tracked them through the district until Sakura-san, Pikkon-san and I confronted them. After we discovered they were dressed as an ANBU, Sakura delivered a blow which would have incapacitated the spy, but the spy escaped by substituting with an apparent 'ink clone.'" He said before bowing once again.

Tsunade slowly absorbed the information into her head before sighing, "So, an inside job with an ink user as the suspect." She said while resting her chin on her folded hands.

Everyone in the room waited in silence as Tsunade made her decision with a sigh, "Jiraiya, change of plans. You four are leaving tonight at sundown." She declared.

Jiraiya's eyes widened, "If you say so Tsu-chan." He said before glancing at the junior members of Squad Seven, who were looking at him with shocked expressions.

Tsunade cleared her throat, "You're all dismissed. I want a full report by both Kakashi and Kimimaro within the next few days." She said before turning to look out her window.

The room slowly emptied except for Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hani. Jiraiya spoke to explain the plan in full, "They'll come with me for three years. It'll mainly be for training, but we will be fleeing from Akatsuki since they'll be after Naruto. Also, this'll give us a chance to keep Sasuke from being watched from inside the village as well as avoid Orochimaru. And I just know that Sakura won't let me take the two of them without her." He said with a sigh.

Tsunade nodded and stared at Jiraiya with love in her eyes, feeling sad that she wouldn't see him for another three years. Feeling the tension in the room, Hani placed her hand on Tsunade's shoulder in a comforting gesture, "I will be back in two hours." She said before leaving the two to spend their last day together for the next three years.

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As soon as people left Tsunade's office, Naruto picked up Tenten bridal style and flew up to the bird messenger balcony. He had flown out into the afternoon air before Tenten even had her bearings again.

"Naruto-kun, where are we going?" she asked as she looked up at his sad face.

Naruto looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled ruefully, "I just wanted to spend some time with you in my arms." Naruto said as they flew high into the air, far enough that they were less than a dot in the sky over Konoha.

Naruto set Tenten on his feet, the two stood in midair, embraced in a hug as Naruto smelled Tenten's nectar like scent, "Ten-chan…" he muttered before kissing her neck lightly.

Tenten held Naruto's face to her own and stared into his eyes as they rested their foreheads against each other, "Naruto-kun, please tell me what's wrong." She whispered.

Naruto leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips, they stayed together for over a minute in the loving embrace before he pulled back and talked, "Sasuke, Sakura and I are going on another mission with Jiraiya-sensei."

Tenten knew something was definitely wrong since Naruto called Jiraiya by his name, "What's so bad about that? It's our job as ninja to do missions. I'll see you when you get back." She said as she lifted his head to face hers again.

She gasped as she saw tears in his eyes, "It's a long mission Ten-chan." He whispered.

She just stared at his tear stricken eyes, feeling her own tears fill up her eyes as she waited for the obvious answer to her unasked question, "About three years." He mumbled.

Tenten stared in shock as tears began pouring from her eyes, "Th-three years?" she whimpered as she hugged him tightly.

He nodded, "By what Baa-chan said in her office, we'll be leaving tonight instead of next week." He said sadly as he returned the hug.

Tenten and Naruto just floated in the air in silence, she let him cry out his pain while she shed her own tears. Almost a full hour later the two could finally pull themselves away from each other. They embraced in another series of kisses as Naruto began to lower them to the ground once again.

It was five minutes before the two stopped kissing and another ten before they landed ontop of the Uchiha lookout tower. Naruto set Tenten on the balcony as he stood in midair on the other side of the rails.

Tenten pulled him in for one last kiss, "This will be the last I see you then?" she asked, feeling it to be true.

Naruto looked down at the ground, "I have to go pack the travel bag. Say good-bye to Hina-chan." His mind flashed to Tayuya, "My family." He finished as he hovered backwards once again, holding onto Tenten's hand.

Tenten felt another tear drop from her eye, "I love you Naruto-kun, I will see you in two years, three hundred and sixty-four days." She said with a sad smile.

Naruto kissed her hand, "I love you too Ten-chan, I'm sorry I'm leaving, but I promise, I will be back for you." He said as a tear fell from his eye.

Tenten closed her eyes and felt as his hand let go of hers. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and cried harder as only a rose falling into her hand was left…

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Naruto landed in front of the gate of the Hyuuga compound and bowed to the guards, "Hinata is training with her father today, may I please see them?" he asked.

Nine times out of ten, the Hyuuga guards would turn him away, but the sadness that was pouring off of Naruto in waves was felt by them heavily. They just stepped aside and let him enter under his own power.

A few minutes later, Naruto was walking through the garden of the Hyuuga estate on his way to the outdoor training grounds. He smiled as he heard Hinata's shouts of effort followed by Hiashi's encouragement.

Stepping onto the bridge, Naruto paused as he watched Hinata strike at her father. Hiashi pushed the attack to the side and caught her next thrust with his hand, "Enough for now, your fiancé is waiting for you." He said as he turned away.

Hinata span around and her mouth turned into a wide grin as she saw Naruto, "Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed as she ran up and glomped him.

Naruto caught her easily and span her around before sitting her on the railing of the bridge, she kissed him on the lips and smiled as they parted, "Why are y-you here Naruto-kun?" she asked happily.

Naruto couldn't help it, he smiled along with her, "I wanted to see my Hina-chan, is that so wrong of me?" he asked rhetorically.

Hinata's smile faltered and she tilted her head to the side, "N-Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" she asked, being able to read him easily.

Naruto's smile stayed, but it became small as he leant into her collarbone, "Jiraiya-sensei's mission…it's been pushed forward." Naruto explained.

Hinata sighed, "I thought it w-would be something l-like that." She said sadly as she kissed the side of Naruto's head.

She slid down off the rail and into Naruto's arms, she saw the sadness in his eyes and wanted to fix it, so she lifted her hood up and put her face to his.

Naruto looked up in confusion as Hinata lifted his hood as well, she held their hoods over them, covering them from view as she kissed him slowly and lovingly on his lips. When she pulled away, he couldn't help but smile, "Thankyou Hina-chan."

She smiled, "Even if the m-mission was moved all the way t-to tomorrow morning, i-it would be a good thing Naruto-kun. It m-means you'd be back sooner." She said from under their hoods.

Naruto twitched, "So…tonight would be even better yeah?" he asked.

Hinata stared at Naruto, her wide lavender eye meeting his sad blue orbs, she swallowed her sadness and wore a brave face for her soul mate, "O-of course, N-Naruto-kun." She said.

Naruto smiled softly and hugged her tightly to his chest, their hoods fell back slightly, letting some light into their privacy and lighting up Naruto's tear-filled eyes, though they were not flowing yet.

Seeing the true sadness on his face, she muscled up her smile and kissed the crook of his brow, "Naruto-kun, p-please don't cry, look at me." She said as she lifted his head.

Naruto's eyes met Hinata's again and he smiled as they shared another kiss, "You should get g-going Naruto-kun, I-I don't want you to be late because of me." She said as she pushed him back lightly.

Naruto stepped back with her push, "Will you wait for me Hina-chan? I don't know what I'd do without you in my life." He said softly.

Hinata smiled at the emotions he was showing, "You know the answer t-to that Naruto-kun, y-you are my l-life as much as I am a part of y-yours. I love you Naruto-kun." She said as he began rising into the air.

Naruto smiled and turned horizontal in the air, kissing her one more time on the forehead he flew up, "I love you too Hinata-chan! See you in three years!" he said before bulleting up into the air, back towards the Uchiha complex as he threw a seed into the air behind him.

Hinata watched him fly off and smiled as a flower floated down to her, she caught it and took a deep breath to get the smell. She smiled and raised a hand and waved, "Bye Naruto-kuuuuun!" she yelled happily.

##########################

Naruto touched down in the Uchiha district next to Sasuke as he walked in slowly with his hands buried deep in his pockets, "Hey Aniki." Naruto said with a sad smile as Sasuke walked up to him.

Sasuke grunted, "Hn. Have you said good bye to everyone Otouto?" he asked as the two walked along next to each other past the homeless shelters of the district, which were very full of appreciative people while most of them were out working in the market of the district.

Naruto nodded, "I guess so. You're lucky Aniki, at least Sakura-Nee-chan is coming along with us. You'll have some company." He said with a sigh.

Sasuke looked up and noticed Tayuya was walking back from the shops with a bag in each arm, "Otouto, I'm going to go pack and leave a note for Gaara and Pikkon, why don't you go and help Tayuya over there?" he asked as he nodded ahead.

Naruto looked up and smiled, "Sure thing Aniki, I won't be long!" he said as he stepped forward with an air stomp, propelling him to land next to the shocked Tayuya.

"What the fuck Naru-kun?!" she yelled as she almost dropped her groceries.

Naruto swiftly grabbed the bags from her and hooked his arm with hers, "Since when am I 'Naru-kun?' Tayu-chan?" he said with a chuckle.

Tayuya smirked lightly, "Yeah whatever, you are now." She said as she pulled him lightly to slow down his walking pace.

Naruto noticed this and raised a brow, "You okay?" he asked.

Tayuya nodded, "Yeah I guess…I heard the news from Kin." She muttered.

Naruto sighed, "Damn, I wanted a not so serious moment." He said as he smiled down at Tayuya.

Tayuya decided to drop pretence and rested her head on Naruto's shoulder, "I'll miss you Naru-kun." She said softly.

Naruto's brow rose at her behaviour, "Tayu-chan?"

Tayuya looked up at Naruto from her place on his shoulder, "The reason I joined this village was because of you Naru-kun. It… well it's pretty fucked up that you're leaving so soon." She complained.

He laughed at her behaviour before wrapping her in a one armed hug, "Tayu-chan, I'll be back. We Uzumaki have to stick together yeah?" he said with a grin.

Tayuya stood back tall and leaned into his hug to return it, "That we do Naru-kun." She said before smirking, "I didn't realise since you're usually flying all the time, I'm taller than you." She said.

Naruto frowned as Tayuya laughed, "Yeah, so what? You're like two years older than me!" he said, causing Tayuya to just laugh louder.

They stopped outside the steps to the girls' house and turned to face each other, Naruto held out the shopping bags with a wide smile, "Well, I'll see you in three years Tayu-chan." He said happily.

Tayuya's heart skipped a beat at his open armed stance and his smile, she just let instinct take over her as she stepped between his arms and the shopping bags and kissed him full on the lips.

Naruto's eyes widened as her arms closed around his neck, deepening the kiss without any movement on his part. Tayuya stepped away and took the bags from Naruto's out stretched arms, she began walking up the steps to the house as she called over her shoulder, "When you come back to me you'll get much more than that Naru-kun!" she called as she disappeared into the entryway of the house.

Naruto stood in silence for a moment and blinked owlishly, "T-T-Tayu-chan?" he stuttered out before turning to look at the house. Unknown to him, she was watching him through a gap in the main door.

Naruto jumped into the air with a cheer and cupped his hands to his mouth, "Just you wait Tayu-chan! I swear I'll be back! We'll bring the next generation of Uzumaki!" he said with a loud laugh before flying over to the boys' house and entering. Not noticing Tayuya's blushing but grinning face as she finally closed the door fully and walked to the kitchen.

###########################

"You guys ready?" Jiraiya asked as he stood in front of the main gates of Konoha, the sun setting behind the trees.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura nodded, "Hai Sensei!" they said in unison.

Jiraiya smirked lightly, "Did you guys say all of your goodbyes? I don't want you to be all mopey for the whole of the trip."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I said my goodbyes." He said as he turned and looked from one side of the village to the other, thinking of his two -now three- girls. He smiled, 'I'll be back for you.' He thought happily as he turned to his brother and sister.

They were holding hands as they turned from the village, "We're ready to go sensei." Sakura said with a smile while Sasuke just grunted in agreement.

Jiraiya turned and knocked on the massive gate, creaking was heard and the gate began to open, he raised an arm. "Ready?"

Sakura's legs glowed rainbow before Radical Good Speed appeared, she stood on one leg as the other foot bounced from the pent up energy, "Ready!"

Sasuke unclipped a capsule from his belt and threw it on the ground, he was covered in a poof of smoke only to appear standing with one foot on his hover board, "Ready!"

Naruto flipped his hood over his head and his clothes changed black, he sent wind chakra through the tubing in his legs and rose into the air as he blinked his sight seal on to keep up with high speeds, it glowed red on his face being the only thing other than his mouth and eyes visible under the shade of his hood, "Ready!"

Jiraiya smirked as he summoned a speed toad to travel upon, he talked as he pointed forward to the North, "Alright! Let's move out!"

And in a burst of speed, skill and power. Chunnin Squad Seven disappeared alongside the legendary Toad sage for three years of advanced training, and blackbook missions.

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Chapter end.

Thanks everyone for reading my story! I'd love to know what you think of the story, my writing style, ideas for part 2, etc.
Just so you know, I will come back to do part 2 of this story. I will go back and edit the earlier chapters for spelling mistakes, grammar, making it clearer etc. I won't change the story so nothing will be missed, but I may add some little things.
The plan is that I start up Part 2 by the end of May. Though sorry if I'm a bit off on the plans.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

PART ONE
END.