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The Conqueror of The Shinobi World Chapter 67 (Jiraiya's Consequences)
🕑 Added 2023-03-14 20:32:30 +0000 UTCIt was a warm, sunny day in Konohagakure as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the venerable Third Hokage and God of Shinobi dutifully did the paperwork that sat on his desk. He was slowly making his way through the massive pile that sat on his left, and while the completed stack on his right was growing, he still had a long way to go. Sarutobi sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He reminisced about his younger days when he used to be able to complete all the paperwork much faster.
However, now, as a 68-year-old man, the strain on his chakra was not worthwhile. While still an extremely powerful shinobi, his chakra reserves were depleting as he grew older. He still is one of the most powerful shinobi in the village. He knew his strength was nowhere near his original level. Also, sadly, he did not have much to return home to. His wife died during the Kyuubi attack. His younger son was busy training Shikamaru and Ino, and his eldest son had died. Consequently, he was not hurrying to return to an empty home. But he did want to visit his favorite blonde.
However, Hirzuen cracked a smile as he felt a familiar chakra signature approaching. The window to his left opened as his favorite pupil jumped into his office.
"Ahh, Jiraiya. It is good to see you."
Jiraiya grinned as he leaned against the wall and said, "You too, Sensei. How are you holding up, old man?"
"I am fine. Tired, but fine. The weight of this position weighs heavily on me. I was so enjoying my retirement, but I will persevere."
Jiraiya gave a small smile as he said, "I'm sure you will, Sensei. You always have and always will."
After taking a seat in front of Hiruzen, Jiraiya began, "Anyways, I've come back with some reports from my spy network." Hiruzen gave a hum of acknowledgment, signaling for Jiraiya to continue. "Iwa seems on edge and is eyeing us very carefully. We have still not wholly recovered from the Kyuubi attack. Our shinobi are still only about 60% of what they were before the attack."
Here, Hiruzen looked over to Jiraiya with a frown on his face, frustration evident based on the look in his eyes. Jiraiya raised his hands in a placating manner, "I know, Sensei, I know. Like I said, I know we are not at full strength, so I think you handled it the best you could."
"Moving onto Kumo, things in that village are tense. The Raikage got some severe backlash for that whole incident. My contacts in Kumo said that A was feeling pressure from his shinobi council to raise morale. The young Kage wanted to appear strong after they lost the Third Shinobi World War, a significant amount of their shinobi, and, biggest of all, their Kage. As you know, The Third Raikage was seen as their strongest shinobi, and the population still doesn't seem to A him as strong as his father. So, A approved this mission because he felt his village needed the boost, both in strength and morale. Unfortunately for him, it had the opposite effect. The Kumo Shinobi appear split about 50/50 about whether it was the right decision or not. Some see it as the Raikage trying to strengthen the village, while others are embarrassed and angry their Kage attempted to steal a child and risked war with the Leaf. To further rub salt in the wound, Kumo lost one of their strongest ninjas after Naruto killed him."
"The Lightning Daimyo is one of the people who is displeased with the Raikage. He's decreased the number of missions he is sending them and the funding they are getting. Consequently, A is mainly focusing on solving problems in his own village for now," Jiraiya finished.
Hiruzen nodded in agreement, "Yes, we have been getting more missions from the Lightning Court and Lightning Country. I had assumed this was the reason, but it is good to have my assumptions proven correct. Please continue"
Jiraiya responded, "In Kiri, I'm hearing a lot of rumblings about distrust towards bloodline users. After that debacle with the Kaguya clan, where Kiri shinobi killed the entire clan, Kiri's people are resentful of bloodline users. Although the Kaguya clan has always been an outsider in Kirigakure for their bloodlust and savage battle tactics, they were still useful in past wars. When the clan wasn't getting enough missions, they started setting off on their own, seeking fights. They started taking freelance missions without consulting the Mizukage, sometimes even in direct opposition to Kiri. The Mizukage saw them as a threat and sent a whole platoon of shinobi after them. It took 300 Hunter nin and jonin to kill all 110 members of that clan. Still, there were only 45 survivors from Kiri. Kirigakure became both angry at the loss of his shinobi and fearful of the power of bloodline users. Which now had led to a rebellion in Kiri."
"Finally, not much news out of Suna. The only interesting bit I was able to gather was that Yondaime Kazekage had tried to kill his son, Gaara. He's the jinchuriki of the Ichibi, so I guess this could be training. To be honest, I really don't know why he is doing this. The kid has survived every assassination attempt."
Hiruzen hummed in acknowledgment. They both sat in silence while the Hokage processed what he had heard. It certainly was troubling to have Iwa monitoring them so closely. He would have to send some Anbu patrols to the border to keep up the appearance of strength. Sarutobi was also nervous about the situation in Kiri. The Mizukage certainly did not have a good reputation. He was known for his brutality in battle and his vicious graduation exam in Kiri. The Hokage had a bad feeling that things in Kiri were going to get much worse soon. He decided that he would send some recon missions into the Land of Water to monitor things.
"There's something else I have picked on," Jiraiya abruptly added. The Hokage simply waited for his student to continue.
"I have received information from The Land of Tea, The Waves, and multiple other places around Konoha and Suna that are apparently working for someone mysterious," Jiraiya informed with a frown as the tip of his finger tapped the wall.
"Who?" Hiruzen didn't like this new information. Two of the places he mentioned were in The Lands of Fire. They worked and belonged to Konoha.
"No clue. Whoever their leader is, they are doing a good job hiding their identity, not to mention that Jinchuuriki of Four Tails Monkey had disappeared from Iwa a week ago, leaving only the Five Tails Horse as their only line of defense," Jiraiya added with a grim look, pursing his lips into a thin line, the information that a Jinchuuriki had disappeared was of great concern for the old Sannin.
"Thank you, Jiraiya. That was very useful," Hiruzen acknowledged, "As always, your spy network is beneficial, and your contacts have proven reliable in the past. I will have to let Shikaku and the Anbu commander know about this."
Jiraiya smiled in thanks, "Thanks, Sensei. Anyways, now that business is out of the way, how's the kid? I haven't seen him since the Incident with Kumo."
Hiruzen grimaced at the question, which Jiraiya noticed. Jiraiya immediately became worried. "What's happened to him?"
Sighing, Hiruzen replied, "Nothing has happened to him. It's just... he's changed. As you know, his childhood wasn't a happy one until he met Kakashi and Anko. He was pretty much alone. I thought their friendship with Naruto would help, and for a long time, I thought it had worked, but Naruto he's hiding something from us. I'm not even sure he trusts me anymore. I try to visit him as much as possible, but this position only allows me to do so much. I try to take him out for ramen at least once a week. He seems to have inherited his mother's fanaticism for ramen," He added, chuckling.
Jiraiya smiled at that, but otherwise, he was troubled. However, he could tell Hiruzen was not done, so he let him continue.
"Anyways, I try and stop by as much as I can, even if I only say hi and check on him. I wish I could spend more time with him, but I cannot. After the Hyuuga incident, I increased security on Naruto. But since the Uchiha massacre. I feel like Naruto is hiding something."
"And there's the fact that he knows Hirashin," Hiruzen revealed the biggest bombshell; Jiraiya gasped upon hearing that, he knew from Sarutobi's letters the kid was a prodigy, but to be able to use Hirashin at such a young age, that wasn't something he had expected anytime soon. He slumped in his chair in disbelief.
There was no sound heard, only the breathing of Jiraiya and Sarutobi. "When?" It took a moment for Hiruzen to realize that Jiraiya spoke.
"In his second mission, in The Wave, Kakashi informed me that Naruto was able to use Hirashin to take out an entire army of soldiers, they were just bandits with no Chakra knowledge, but he was still able to kill them," Hiruzen said grimly, clutching his hands together on top of his desk, his chin slowly resting on top of his hands that formed a bridge.
"How did he learn it?" That was all Jiraiya could say. He had hoped to help the kid. He knew he had been late but hoped to be able to do something after so many years of absence.
Why would he need your help? A little voice in his head, Jiraiya knew his godson maybe didn't, he knew Hirashin after all, but the old Sannin hoped there was a way to get involved in Naruto's life, to do his duty as his guardian; Minato had put his trust on him to take care of Naruto if something were to happen to him and Kushina.
"I don't know. He only said that Hirashin was his right, and he was not wrong. Minato did indeed left Hirashin for Naruto, for him to learn it eventually, so in a way, Naruto simply learned it, even I don't have the right to take away what Minato left for his son. That is outside of my power as a Hokage." Hiruzen explained before letting out a weary sigh. His eyes flickered at Minato's portrait, only now he noticed a small crack at the bottom of the portrait, reaching all the way to his smile, making it look like a broken one. Hiruzen made a mental note to change it as soon as his business with Jiraiya was done.
Jiraiya was deep in thought. This wasn't something he had expected. He had seen the boy after the Kumo incident, but he had avoided talking to him. The kid reminded him too much of Minato, and back then, his wound was still open and fresh. He had expected the boy, at best, to be at a High Chunin level, but having Hirashin on his hand meant that if Naruto could utilize it properly, he was at the very least a High Jonin level like Kakashi or maybe even stronger.
Jiraiya frowned after what he heard, thoroughly disturbed. "Can we go see Naruto now?" Jiraiya asked.
Hiruzen paused to think about it, looking at the pile of paperwork on his desk. Ultimately, he nodded, deciding that seeing Naruto was much more important right now, especially since Jiraiya was here.
Later
As they walked through the village, Jiraiya mentally berated himself for Naruto's current condition. 'No kid should be alone like that. Damn it! I should've been here to help him. I know I can't take him with me, but I still feel guilty. I'm always on the move, going in and out of hostile countries and sneaking into villages to meet contacts. I couldn't possibly take care of Naruto while doing that, and I needed to protect Konoha and him. He thought.
'But, I also know what it's like to be a lonely orphan. When my parents died, I didn't have anyone,' he thought sadly. 'After my dad died on a mission when I was eight, all I had was my mom. Then, when she died two years later, after getting sick, I had no one. I acted like a fool to try and force myself to be happy. Hey, fake it 'til you make it.' He ruefully chuckled. 'I didn't really find a new group of people until my team. Even then, it took a while for them to warm up to me. There has to be something I can do to help Naruto!' He determinedly finished.
"We're here," Hiruzen remarked, startling Jiraiya. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't processed that they were at Naruto's apartment.
Naruto's apartment was a small, quaint place. It was on the third floor of the modest-looking apartment building.
Reaching the door, Jiraiya noted the door wasn't locked. Hiruzen knocked on the door, they expected to hear footsteps approaching, but the only sound heard was the sound of a cat meowing above the roof.
Strange, Hiruzen thought, knocking again, the same result. Pulling his sensei aside, Jiraiya grabbed the handle before opening the door; stepping inside, Jiraiya mentally smiled, seeing that everything was clean. Usually, kids around Naruto's age didn't like cleaning, and his index finger slid down the surface of a nearby table. He brought it close and couldn't see a single piece of dirt.
He took a deep breath, and Jiraiya noticed something, the sheets of his bed had an unusual smell. He wondered why, but it seemed his godson had tried to clean them already, making it hard for Jiraiya to make out the smell reaching his nose.
"He's not here. Knowing him, he's probably at the training yard." Hiruzen said from behind Jiraiya as he opened the fridge. Inside were a couple of closed ramen bowls, but there were all kinds of fruits, vegetables, eggs, and many other ingredients needed for cooking.
Perhaps he knows how to cook like Kushina, Jiraiya thought fondly, remembering the many delicious dishes the Uzumaki women had prepared for them.
"I will check on the Training Yards until I find him; Sensei, you can go back to your precious Paperwork." Jiraiya decided, his Sensei rolled his eyes with a hint of annoyance, but the Sannin simply walked outside before jumping from roof to roof.
After checking and asking around, leading him to Training Area 7, once he jumped to a branch of a tree, the first thing he noticed was his godson wasn't alone. In the center of the training yard were three stumps. His godson was leaning against the one in the middle, and with him were two other girls, one with blonde hair tightened to a ponytail and the other had green hair. From her emblem, he knew one was from Kumo, but the green-haired girl wasn't wearing any emblems to identify her as a part of a village.
Looking at Naruto from up close, his breath stopped in his throat as if a rope had suddenly squeezed his neck. It had been seven years since the last time he had seen him. His godson had grown up, and he looked identical to Minato. On his waist was strapped what he assumed to be Kushina's famous sword.
Fate sure loves to play their games, Jiraiya thought. He always knew Naruto would grow up to look like Minato, but not so much, that he looked as if he was his twin.
This is my fault for neglecting him, Jiraiya thought with a grimace before his attention was on Naruto again. Whatever he was talking with his lady friends, the spymaster couldn't hear them.
The Sannin wondered whether he should stay there until the girls decided to leave or just reveal himself.
"I know you're there. Come out." Naruto suddenly shouted, turning to look in his direction.
Jiraiya was surprised that Naruto had seen him, he wasn't trying that hard to hide himself, but it seemed he had underestimated him. Jiraiya smiled in triumph, knowing his Godson was perhaps a sensor.
Jumping down, he made his way toward the trio, he expected them to have some kind of reaction to his presence, but if they were surprised, they did a damn good job hiding it.
"It's good to meet you three. I apologize for interrupting, but I need to talk with Naruto." Jiraiya greeted them with a friendly smile.
Now that he was closer, he recognized who the other two girls were. One was Yugito, the Jinchuuriki of Nibi, and Fuu, the Jinchuuriki of Nanabi. He wondered why Naruto was in the company of two other Jinchuurikis without supervision. He knew there was a chance they were simply friends, but a feeling at the back of his head told him that it wasn't as simple as that. And Fuu wasn't wearing her Taki Emblem, which was alarming.
"Why do you need to talk with me?" Naruto asked with an impassive look on his face.
"The Hokage's business, would your friend mind-" "It's alright, see you later. Naruto-Kun." Fuu interrupted with an innocent smile, understanding what The Sannin wanted.
Jiraiya watched as both girls kissed Naruto's cheeks. He couldn't help but make a mental note to ask him later about his lady friends. It seemed only one girl wasn't enough for his godson.
After they left, Naruto turned to face Jiraiya, waiting for him to start talking.
"Naruto, I talked with the Hokage, and I take it you know who your parents are?" Jiraiya didn't bother with dancing around the bush. If Naruto knew of his real parents, then there was a chance he knew Jiraiya was his godfather. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.
"Yes, and you're Jiraiya The Sannin, my godfather," Naruto spoke with a voice void of emotions.
Jiraiya flinched at his voice, his godson didn't sound happy to see him, and his icy eyes reminded him of Minato whenever he was furious about something. A gust of wind passed through the training yard; Naruto's eyes looked at Jiraiya as his moon Symbol appeared in his palm.
"Naruto-" "Stop." Naruto roared, his KI flaring up like waves in the sea, one bigger than the last. Jiraiya gasped at the intensity of his Killing Intent. His KI was stronger than Kakashi's KI. The wind changed direction as if responding to Naruto's fury, blasting Jiraiya full force. He put his arms in front of his face to shield himself.
Naruto was doing no hand signs, yet the wind was reacting as if he had just used a Wind Jutsu. The Sannin stood his ground despite his mighty wind, he tried to talk, but the speed only increased. Jiraiya wondered if he should try to fight back when the wind suddenly stopped, stumbling forward a little.
He saw the results of the Wind Blast. The grass was shorter everywhere, and the trees had huge scratch marks all over them. Now that the Jutsu was over, he felt something wet on the side of his head.
His fingertips touched it. His eyes narrowed to see blood, and his thumb rubbed against the fingertip of his index finger. To think Naruto had made him bleed.
"Tell me, Sannin, do you know what it is like to see the one person you think should take care of you ignore you as if you were a plague?" Naruto asked, his voice emotionless.
Jiraiya's eyes widened, and he felt a stab in his heart. He knew Naruto was talking about the time after the Kumo incident. So he knew who I was even back then, Jiraiya concluded, knowing he had ignored Naruto. He had simply checked on him from afar but did not talk to him or introduce himself.
"Do you know when I felt you leaving, I asked myself, 'What is wrong with me?' At the time, I blamed myself. I thought I was at fault for you leaving me." Naruto spoke with suppressed fury, one would think he was calm, but Jiraiya could see the anger his godson was holding inside.
Jiraiya felt his heart bleeding as if someone had suddenly stabbed him. He knew his godson had been alone. Sure, with his job, it would be difficult and dangerous to raise him, but he had not even met him, not once. All these years, he had left him thinking he was alone, that he had nobody around, nobody to wait home. Jiraiya felt the weight of his mistakes weighing him down. He felt heavy.
"You know, I used to dream of having my parents back when Itachi and his family became one. I really thought I had finally found one, that I was no longer alone. I could finally feel what it is like having a family of my own." And perhaps even giving up on my plans, Naruto wanted to say but didn't. Back then, he had genuinely thought of giving up on his plans, but fate took everything from him again. His Uchiha family were nothing but bones, Sasuke was worthless, and Itachi was far away.
"When the Uchiha Clan was massacred. I was alone again. I thought of ending it. Life is Cruel, after all, and where were you?" He left his question hanging in the air; Jiraiya's throat had gone dry, and he felt shocked to hear that. His godson had even thought of ending it, but back then, after the Uchiha Massacre, he had returned to Konoha for a few days in case a village like Iwa or Kumo attacked. Right after the massacre, Naruto had been in the hospital for almost a month, not knowing Jiraiya had been in the village. The Sannin had seen him while sleeping, but again, he did not introduce himself.
"Where Were You?" Naruto screamed the grass around him caught ablaze, his icy glaring furiously at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's stiffened. He knew naught how to answer. I was a coward, Jiraiya wanted to say, but it seemed whenever or not he had an answer, Naruto didn't care about it.
"Sannin, you can happily go back to writing your porn books. I don't want to do anything with you." Naruto finished, turning around to leave, almost in haste.
Jiraiya felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. He knew he needed to say something. "I can help you. I know I neglected you. I'm sorry I left you alone. Give me a Chance." He said with a newfound hope in his voice, a hope, a solution for their impasse—a way to fulfill his promise to Minato.
"Help me," Naruto said before turning to face Jiraiya, who gasped at what he saw.
"Do you really think I need your help, Sannin?" Naruto repeated the question.
Jiraiya's brown eyes looked back at Naruto's purple metallic ones. Three dark rings on each eye. A lump forming on Jiraiya's throat, he blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Yet his eyes were as clear as day. He knew he wasn't dreaming, and he would recognize these eyes everywhere. It's been many years, but he remembered them.
"R-Rinnegan." Jiraiya found the strength to speak. The years of being a Shinobi had prepared him enough to regain his composure. His eyes narrowed toward Naruto.
"How do you have those eyes, Naruto?" Jiraiya demanded, his feet digging into the ground below as if preparing for battle. That was the last thing he wanted, but Naruto having those eyes could be a curse or salvation.
Naruto's face remained impassive. His moon symbol was almost glittering, as was his sun symbol. He knew he perhaps was risking his plan by revealing his Rinnegan, but he knew Jiraiya wouldn't tell the Hokage, at least not right away.
"Tell me, Jiraiya, from your reaction. You have seen those eyes before, haven't you?" Naruto asked, but more like a statement. A hidden smirk on his face.
A flash of Nagato passed through the Sannin's eyes, his old student, the one he had thought would change the world, the kids he had abandoned, but fate had taken him, but now looking at Naruto's Rinnegan, he knew he was standing in thin ice right now.
His godson clearly didn't trust him and didn't trust The Hokage either. What should I do? If I tell Sensei he will try to interrogate Naruto, the situation will worsen. No. He's still Minato's son. He might not care about Hiruzen and me. Still, he cares about Kakashi and Anko, and he cares for the village his father gave his life for, Jiraiya thought, sweat rolling down his forehead. For now, he would keep his mouth shut until the Chunin Exams ended.
"Naruto, what is your purpose? What do you want to do with your eyes?" Jiraiya questioned, ignoring his godson's question.
"The Good of Humanity. I will ensure that by the end. No one will ever live as I did." Naruto answered before he disappeared in a Yellow Flash.
Jiraiya's shoulder slumped down in defeat. What should I do?
Naruto - Night
After spending the rest of the day with Yugito and Fuu, he arrived at his apartment. Because of his sensor abilities, he already knew who was inside waiting for him.
As soon as he entered, Naruto's eyes found Samui with Yugito sitting on his bed.
"Samui-chan, Yugito-chan, might I know what I can do for you?" Naruto asked teasingly, and the two busty women walked up to him.
"How about we show you?"
Comments
Mauricio Sanchez
Finally, Jiraiya gets what he deserves
