Chapter 37: From The Ashes 1/2

Alright, now onto the second chapter covering the training period between prelims and finals. After this chapter, we should be getting into the Finals, so I hope you all are eager to see that.

I'm glad so many people enjoyed the date last chapter. I was happy with it myself, so I'm glad everyone else was good with it.

Also, godofwargo010 has a challenge request/offer. It is for a gamer Naruto fanfic, where his life is a video game essentially. Leveling up and becoming stronger by doing quests and such. He says the pairing can be anyone, including harem, except for Hinata, Sakura, and Ino. They can't be included. If you're interested in taking on this fanfic idea, PM him for more information on it.

Secondly, SPARTAN-626 has a Fallout/Gate crossover fanfic idea for anyone who is interested in writing such a fanfic. It will involve other aspects as well. If you are interested in writing such a fanfic, please contact them for more information and to take it on.

So anyways, not much else to talk about here. Let's get going with the chapter, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Assassin's Creed. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Ubisoft respectively. This is a non-profit fan made story. Please support the official releases.

Chapter 37

From the Ashes…

Karin let out a groan of boredom, slumping into a chair in the hotel room she was allowed to stay in while negotiations went on between Kusa and Konoha. Kusa had responded with news that they would be sending a representative to discuss the negotiations, something that annoyed Karin as she just wanted this mess to be over. She was stuck mostly inside this hotel room, not able to leave except for brief periods of time and always with a shinobi escort, given her status as a potential defector and thus currently a political 'prisoner'. The only bright side was that Team Eight had been able to visit her from time to time, when they weren't busy with their training. That had brightened up her day on several occasions.

She grumbled softly as she looked out the window, seeing another beautiful day outside, and she was trapped here. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm down and remind herself that if all went well, she'd have all the time in the world to see this village.

There was a knock at the door, drawing her from her thoughts and causing her to sit up. "Who is it?" She asked.

"Tora, Karin-san. The fire rages while the heart yearns," the person at the door said, identifying themselves both with their ANBU code name and the pass phrase.

"Come in," Karin said, watching the door open and the ANBU enter, their masked face turning to her before they bowed, holding up a tray.

"Your lunch arrived. As did word that the representative from Kusa has also arrived. Negotiations are likely to begin later this afternoon," the ANBU said, setting the tray of food down for her.

Karin smiled at that as she moved to the food. "Well that's good to know. I hope they'll reach an agreement that will finally get me out of here," she said, before bowing. "Thank you for the meal."

Tora simply bowed in return, before leaving the room and shutting the door, resuming their post. Karin sat down to her meal, grinning at the large bowl of ramen at the center of the tray. Naruto was right, Ichiraku was the best ramen.

Elsewhere, Shikamaru frowned as he studied the pieces in front of him, before grunting as he lowered himself into a pushup and brought himself up again. Supporting himself on his knees, he raised one hand to move a piece on the board, before going into another pushup. "This is so troublesome…what kind of training is this? I get enough physical work with Asuma-sensei and Chouji, what with the way he's working both of us to the bone," he muttered, looking up at his current sensei with sweat forming on his forehead.

His father, Shikaku, smirked as he watched his son continue the pushups, before moving his own piece. "This is an exercise I found to be quite handy, my son. It helps exercise the mind and the body. And you'll need both if you want to have any chance in the Finals."

Shikamaru just groaned as he kept it up, stopping long enough to move a piece before going back at it. "And why aren't you doing it?" He asked his father.

Before Shikaku could answer, a stern female voice spoke up. "Indeed Shikaku? Why aren't you? Shouldn't you be teaching your son by example?" Yoshino Nara, wife of Shikaku and mother of Shikamaru, asked as she stood there in her house dress, holding a frying pan in one hand in an almost threatening manner.

Shikaku sweatdropped, before groaning as he got onto his hands and started to do the same as his son. Yoshino smirked as she moved away, now satisfied she was keeping her lazy husband in check, while Shikamaru just shook his head as he kept up the exercise as well. After a few moments, his father looked at him. "Son, if I can pass on one life lesson to you, it's this: women are beyond troublesome," he said, grunting as he executed another pushup.

"And I've got to face one in the finals," Shikamaru muttered, before growing serious as he paused in his pushups. "This isn't going to be an easy match. My opponent is skilled in close-quarters combat with her blade, as well as a user of Raiton ninjutsu. She will likely be able to engage me at both close and long range. Given how quickly she was able to react and dodge Tenten-san's weapons, she's also fast as well."

Shikaku nodded, his own face showing his own seriousness. "Have you figured out how you'll defeat her yet?"

"I'm still working on it, though I do have some ideas," Shikamaru said. "I might need to visit a blacksmith shop before the Finals though."

His father glanced at him with a vague look of curiosity, before groaning as he went into another pushup, waiting for his son to make a move on the shougi board.

As it turned out, his opponent was currently sitting in a training field, thinking as well on the fight ahead of her. Samui frowned as she considered what she had to deal with. The Nara clan of Konoha was well known both for their shadow manipulation jutsu, and their intellect. She had seen him deal with his fellow teammate and would admit the boy was quick, at least quick enough to evade the rolling mass of his opponent and comrade. He might be able to dodge her attacks in close quarters, unless she could be faster. He probably also would be analyzing her skills from her own match and figuring how to counter them.

And then there were her potential opponents after that. She would be facing either the Suna kunoichi with the futon jutsu, or the Yamanaka kunoichi who showed considerable skill in close range combat as well as quick thinking, to be able to react so quickly to Kin's attack and use it to her advantage. The Suna kunoichi could dispel her ration jutsu, while the Yamanaka could handle her in close quarters, at least for a while.

She closed her eyes, thinking over strategies, only to open them as she heard her teammates bickering. Omoi had finally been released from the hospital, and Karui had been haranguing him about how he needed to train better. Samui smiled softly, knowing how it was her way of showing concern for him, after the injuries he suffered at the hands of Neji Hyuuga. She frowned slightly at that, equally as angry with what was done to Omoi. She suppose that she could understand Neji's anger, given what had happened with his father, but that didn't calm her own anger at him taking it out on her teammate.

She and the others had also been told by Kirabi to avoid Yugito. The two of them had a talk apparently, and Kirabi had relayed to his students the gist of the discussion. They knew now that if they provoked her or the village, she would respond and destroy them. So they best leave her alone, lest they incur her wrath and Konoha's.

Closing her eyes again, she focused on the task at hand. She needed to plan how to defeat each of her opponents and potential opponents.

Elsewhere, in the Aburame compound, Shino was standing in the midst of the breeding colonies, where the clan members could gain new insect breeds to improve their own internal colonies. Several of his own insects were in the colonies, breeding with newer or more advanced insects to improve his own colony.

Despite his steps to improve his fighting capabilities, and train for the Finals, Shino felt he had little chance in winning the first fight. His opponent was a highly skilled and speedy taijutsu specialist who did not utilize chakra based techniques, and so did not rely on his chakra. This meant the greatest strength of his colony, its ability to absorb chakra, was negated. His insects could deliver poisons with their bites, but he doubted they could poison Lee fast enough to win the battle without simply swarming Lee and delivering a fatal dose of poison. Something he was unwilling to do, even for the Chuunin Exams. Lee was a part of Konoha, part of the Hive that the Aburame, the other clans, and all the citizens of Konoha were a part of. And no Aburame would threaten the Hive, ever.

Still, he would plan his strategy out and try to win, even if it was unlikely. And plan for the fights afterwards as well. He remained standing, a still and stoic statue in the midst of the buzzes of insects, listening to a language only those of his clan could comprehend.

In the hotel room set aside for his team, Dosu frowned as he looked over the list of opponents, seeing the way the matchups would go. He was alone in the room, as both of his teammates had been taken away by another Oto shinobi for 'special assignment', leaving him alone to prepare for the Finals. Not that Dosu cared. At the moment, what he cared about was revenge against the one who used them: Orochimaru. He had tossed them aside as cannon fodder to test the seal on Sasuke's neck, and Dosu would get him back for it by slaying the Uchiha that Orochimaru had taken interest in. The best way to do that would be to destroy him in the Finals, leaving his bloodied and broken corpse for Orochimaru to see, before fleeing the inevitable wrath of both the former Sannin and konoha. But unfortunately, Dosu would not only have to defeat his first opponent, but pray that Sasuke won his match as well. And after seeing Gaara slaughter his opponent in the preliminaries, Dosu had no delusions about Sasuke having any chance against him, or his own chances in trying to remove the Suna jinchuuriki. His best choice was instead to kill Sasuke now, while he had the best chance to do so. It wouldn't be as satisfying as killing him in front of Orochimaru and Konoha, but it would still get him his vengeance. Smiling, he began planning his mission to kill the Uchiha.

In a training field, Rock Lee was grunting softly as he kept punching and kicking at a log, working on his strength, his stamina, and his forms. He switched up from left jabs to right kicks, his foot smacking against the padded training post, as Gai watched him carefully. Following the end of the Finals, Gai had begun planning a training program for all his students that would maximize his ability to train all three, though the main focus being on Lee and Neji as they were in the Finals. However, the Hyuuga clan had promptly sent one of their other Branch members to inform Gai that they would be training Neji and he didn't need to concern himself. Leaving Gai to focus more on Lee.

Lee was determined to prove himself in his final matches. His first opponent, while not physically impressive, had proven to be intelligent and cunning, if his preliminary match was any indication. Lee knew he would have to take him down fast before he could enact any strategies against him. But it was his next opponent after that which made him excited and worried. If Hinata lost her match against Neji and Lee won his match, he would be able to face Neji, his rival, in combat. He had talked to his sensei, who had given him permission to utilize what he needed to defeat Neji, provided it did not result in him crippling or killing his teammate. He was confident he could defeat Neji this time, and show him once and for all it wasn't fate, but hard work that allowed him to win. And yet, he still couldn't help but feel a sense of worry. What if his strength, even when unleashed, wasn't enough? What if he wasn't strong enough, even without restrictions?

Pausing for a moment to catch a breath and prepare to switch feet, he tried to shake those negative thoughts from his mind. He needed to keep positive about his chances. He knew he could win. Not just for himself, but to prove to someone else that no matter what, determination and perseverance could help you accomplish your dreams. He smiled a bit as he thought about Yakumo, and then blushed ever so slightly as he considered the idea of asking her out to dinner. Shaking his head again, he went back to training while trying not to think of Yakumo again. At least not while he was training. If he wasn't focused now, Tenten would punish him during his dodging training with her later.

Temari grunted as she lowered her fan, seeing the devastation caused by her wind jutsu she had launched. Feeling satisfied in the performance of her jutsu, she closed up her fan and leaned against it, smirking. She was certainly feeling ready for her match. That is if she even had to fight her opponent. It was very possible her match might not happen, if the plan her sensei had told her about came to fruition. Still, she was fully intent on being ready to fight. And she had made sure she had dug up info on her first opponent.

The girl was a Yamanaka, and they knew plenty enough about what that clan could do thanks to years of watching and studying the clans of Konoha. However, her opponent was a bit of a wild card given how she wielded weapons Temari hadn't remembered hearing any Yamanaka use, at least in recent history. But Temari felt she had two advantages over the girl. Her fighting style seemed to resolve around the use of her kusarigama or senbon to distract her opponent long enough to utilize her clan jutsu against them. Temari felt her wind jutsu could easily negate both those weapons, keeping her away from the kusarigama and blowing away the senbon. That would force the girl to fight the way Temari wanted her.

The second advantage was the fact she had seen the girl talking to that pink haired bitch Temari had fought in the preliminaries. Temari shuddered, clenching a fist as she remembered the fear and terror that girl had visited upon her with that genjutsu. She hadn't been able to sleep soundly since that day, out of fear that the vision would come true. But still, the girl Sakura was apparently close friends with Ino. Meaning Ino would be angry, and would fight against her with vengeance in her heart. And Temari would use that against her to win. That would leave her facing either the Nara or the kunoichi from Kumo with the massive chest. She would need to plan carefully, as Nara's were well known for strategy and tactical thinking, and the Kumo kunoichi seemed the same way. Fighting against them would be tough, but she was confident that she could win. And then she'd be pulling out of the competition. She knew her brother would be her next opponent after that, if the matches even went on that long. And there was no way in hell she was fighting him. Ever. Her brother-no, the monster that wore her brother's skin, was a bloodthirsty monster, who'd kill her simply for breathing wrong. She closed her eyes, again banishing the mental image of the small boy who looked up at her with wide eyes while wiping sweat from her forehead and got ready to resume training, wanting to be prepared for anything.

In the Hyuuga Manor, Neji deflected another jab from his opponent and slammed his palm into the other Hyuuga's jaw, ending the fight in victory for him as his opponent dropped. He slowly drew up, as a pair of other Branch members moved onto the sparring floor and helped remove the injured sparring partner. Hiashi, who was watching the entire thing, simply watched as Neji bowed to him. "Adequately done Neji," he said. "You may retire and begin your personal training now."

"Of course, Hiashi-sama," Neji said, head still bowed, before leaving the room. Hiashi simply stood there, contemplating what he had seen and what was going to happen. His nephew was highly skilled, far too skilled for a normal Branch member of the Hyuuga clan. He had already proven his ability to utilize one skill normally reserved for the Main family. Hiashi began to wonder how strong he would have been if he was a Main family member, learning from the best tutors in the clan. But those questions were little more than speculation. Fate had already decreed Neji would be a Branch member, nothing more. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't try and cement the boy's loyalty to at least himself. Perhaps it was time to reveal that letter his brother left for Neji before he died. Explaining what had happened and seeming sympathetic would allow him to bring Neji to his side. Of course, it would have to wait until after the Finals, when he could properly manipulate the entire scenario to his benefit. He was confident though that when the Finals came, that weakling that had once been his daughter would fail. And hopefully she'd be killed as well, to remove that stain on his name and clan once and for all.

Unbeknownst to him, Neji was having those exact same thoughts as well as he went to leave the clan compound, after making himself somewhat more presentable. He fully intended to end Hinata's life in that arena, and get his revenge on her. As far as he was concerned, she was just as much to blame for the death of his father as the Main family of the clan was. Ending Hinata in the arena would be the beginning of sweet vengeance for his father, a vengeance that would end when Hiashi and the Elders lay dead as well. It was a goal he was eagerly looking forward to achieving, one day.

For now, he needed to focus on training. He had a new surprise for the Finals, and he needed help to perfect it. And he knew exactly who could help him do so. He smiled as he headed off to find his teammate Tenten.

In another training field, Ino was sitting next to Yakumo, the latter helping Kurenai train the former in genjutsu, while Ino was offering to help Yakumo physically train, in place of Lee when he was busy with his own training. Currently, Ino was doing a training exercise Yakumo had used for her own genjutsu.

The blonde girl took a deep breath, opening her eyes and taking in the landscape before her. She did her best to take in every detail as quickly as possible, before closing her eyes again when Yakumo ordered her too, and slowly turned around to face the other way. Opening her eyes again, she picked up a small brush and began to paint on a large roll of paper before her.

"Remember, this is all about details," Yakumo told her. "It's one thing to trap your opponent in a genjutsu they're too terrified or enthralled by to try and escape from. But if you're trying to be subtle, you want to ensnare them without them noticing. You need to know the details around you in order to keep them fooled that they are in reality, and not your genjutsu. But of course, you need to be quick about it. You need to recognize and memorize the details quickly. And this exercise is how I was able to do so," she said with a smile.

Ino nodded as she concentrated on painting, trying to remember every single detail as she painted the landscape. She slowly traced the lines of the trees, the grass, and the sky as carefully as she could, wanting to get this right as best as she could.

All was silent for a few minutes, before Yakumo began to speak up. "Ino-san…may I ask you a question?"

Ino glanced up from her work for a moment, blinking in surprise. "Sure. What is it?" She asked Yakumo.

The Kurama heiress bit her lip, nervously brushing a bit of hair behind her ear. "You umm…do you know anything about…boys?" She asked.

Ino's gaze widened, and she grinned a bit. "Oohhh, boys huh? You've got a crush on somebody?" She asked her, the painting forgotten for the moment.

Yakumo just looked away, blushing a bit. "W-Well…there is a boy I admire and…I think I'd like to ask him out…but I'm not sure how," she said. "D-Do you have any advice?"

Ino smiled a bit as she thought about it. "Well…the best way to do it is just to do it. Just go up to him and say it."

The Kurama heiress blinked in surprise at that. "Just like that? Just…say it?" She asked.

"Yeah. Most boys like girls with confidence in them. Just don't be too assertive, and try to be yourself," Ino advised her. "Though what do you have in the way of clothes?" Ino asked.

"Well…I have a few kimonos, but-," she started, only to be stopped by Ino.

"Oh we are going shopping. Believe it," she said with a grin, as Yakumo sweatdropped at the look on the blondes face. What had she gotten herself into?

Meanwhile, Kiba watched as Sakura kept lifting a pair of weights, sweat on her forehead as she worked. The duo, left alone by their sensei as he focused on Sasuke's training, had started training on their own. After Sakura had been released from the hospital she had approached Kiba, asking for help strengthening her body. In exchange she had offered to help train him in aspects he was not as skilled in. The two had been working together since; taking Kakashi's so called lessons about teamwork to heart despite their sensei not even demonstrating it recently, what with his focus on Sasuke.

He glanced back down at the scroll before him, before letting out a groan. "This is just not my thing. I'll never be able to understand this crap," he said, pushing the scroll aside.

Sakura paused before lowering the weights, trembling and panting somewhat as she did so. "It's dispelling genjutsu. It's important," she said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "You will need to make sure you fully understand how to detect and dispel genjutsu of all kinds."

Kiba just sighed, leaning back and rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, I know, but I can't understand this at all. Can't you dumb it down for me?" He asked her.

Sakura frowned very slightly as she moved to the scroll, reading it. "I guess it is a little technical. I'll do my best, but…well I am kind of wordy and stuff," she said.

Kiba grinned at her. "Hey, that's not so bad. You've got smarts. Kami knows my mom would have preferred I had smarts in the Academy," he said.

Sakura just smiled a little bit at his words. "Maybe, but out in the real world, brawn helps out a lot more. Or…at least having both together works out quite well."

Kiba nodded at that. "You've got that right. I guess we both need what the other's got. Guess it's a good thing then we're on the same team, huh?"

The pink haired girl nodded as she read the scroll, trying to figure out how to explain the contents in simpler terms. She had to admit, ever since the Forest of Death, their relationship had improved quite a bit. Apparently facing death together and fighting alongside each other had helped forge a stronger bond between them. And she liked it, as it meant that maybe when the Exams were over, the team might finally be a full team.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded to him. "Alright, how about this?" She asked, as she began to describe to him what the scroll said, helping him to understand it.

Training Ground 9

Naruto studied the balloon filled with water in front of him, before looking up at Jiraiya. "You want me to do what with this?" He asked.

Jiraiya grinned at him. "I want you to pop it with your chakra," he said, holding up one of his own. The balloon seemed perfectly normal, until it suddenly began to convulse and bulge in multiple directions, before exploding suddenly.

Naruto just blinked at the display, before looking up at Jiraiya. "But why? What's the point?" He asked.

"It's the first stage of a ninjutsu technique, an exceptionally powerful one called the Rasengan," the sannin explained, as he held up his other hand. This time, a swirling vortex of chakra began to appear, slowly growing into a sphere that was making a soft 'whirring' noise as it spun and whirled in his hand. Jiraiya whirled and slammed it into a tree, causing a large explosion that ripped through the tree trunk. The tree slowly toppled over as Jiraiya smirked, turning to Naruto, expecting to see a look of amazement on his face. He was stunned though to see that Naruto looked somewhat disinterested in what he had just seen.

"Well, that definitely looks powerful," Naruto said, trying to compliment the jutsu.

Jiraiya let out a sigh. "It is an A-ranked ninjutsu created by the Yondaime Hokage, which manipulates and shapes chakra. What you saw was pure chakra focused and contained into a ball before being slammed into the target and unleashed. It's incredibly powerful and useful. And I think you could benefit from it, especially with your chakra reserves," he explained.

Naruto took a deep breath, before nodding quietly. "Alright. So the first step is to use my chakra to blow up this water balloon," he said, looking at the one in his hand. "How do I do it?"

Jiraiya grinned down at him. "Self reliance is the greatest asset of any shinobi, gaki. Figure it out," he said.

Naruto just looked at him, his eyes narrowing slightly, before looking at the bag of water balloons nearby. "Can you show it to me again?" He asked him, his tone annoyed.

Jiraiya shrugged and moved over to the bag of water balloons and picked another out. Holding it out, he demonstrated what he did earlier, causing the balloon to explode yet again. Naruto nodded as he held his own up, and concentrated on it. After a few moments the balloon began to roll slightly in his hand and flattened slightly while expanding at the sides. However, it wasn't anything like what Jiraiya had done.

Naruto frowned at that and stopped, before beginning again. Seeing the same result, he stopped and sat down, quietly studying the balloon as he did so. His frown disappeared as Tomo hopped onto his lap, poking the balloon with his nose. "Whatcha got there ni-san?" He asked.

Naruto grinned as he ruffled the head fur of his friend. "Just the start of training for a new jutsu," he told him, petting Tomo's head. His friend, and now summoning familiar, was allowed to visit him at least once a week, to become acclimated to fighting alongside of Naruto, or aiding him in whatever way he needed. Otherwise, he was to return to the summoning realm to continue his training there. Today was one of the days where he was able to visit Naruto.

Tomo blinked up at him, then nosed the balloon again. "What's the jutsu? What does it do?" He asked eagerly, tail wagging.

"I'm not sure I can describe that accurately. But what I need to do is make this water balloon pop using my chakra. But so far, this is all I get," he said, showing Tomo what he had done and how the balloon simply flattened and expanded slightly. "It needs to be bulging and expanding in all directions before it pops," he explained.

Tomo hopped onto the grass and sat down, tilting his head slightly as he studied the balloon after it settled. "Huh. That is kind of difficult, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded as he looked back down at the balloon. "Yeah. But I'll figure it out."

Jiraiya, watching the pair, let out a quiet sigh as he did so. He enjoyed seeing his godson happy, but a part of him wished that the boy was getting along with a toad summon, not another summon like this. He wanted to have that connection to Naruto, and to give Naruto a chance to learn the sage arts the toads could teach him. But at the moment, those plans were stalled. Both the toads and fennec foxes, while not denying the request that they both be Naruto's summons, were still deliberating on the idea on whether they wanted to or not.

He also was not happy with how Naruto was resistant to learning things like ninjutsu. While the boy was willing to learn some, such as clone jutsu and wind manipulation, he had proven to be resistant to other techniques that he called 'overly flashy'. He preferred anything that was discreet and relatively silent, which fit well with his assassin mindset. But it did not fit with Jiraiya's hopes for Naruto.

Still, he felt he had made progress with the boy. They spoke while he was training, and he believed he had made a bond with the boy, using his jovial and perverted mask to lower Naruto's guard. It hadn't been easy though, with Anko constantly looking over his shoulder. He had caught her once or twice watching their training, and he bet there were other times where she had been watching without him noticing. The thought of that unnerved him a bit, that she could sometimes so successfully hide from him.

Turning his thoughts back to Naruto, he had to admit that the boy, despite his hesitancy regarding ninjutsu, was making good progress. His training in using Kyuubi's chakra was progressing as well, as he had managed to get up to at least five minutes of using the biju's chakra before he felt any serious pain. They had tested his capabilities, and found that his speed and strength were increased dramatically. His chakra capacity was also increased, but at the cost of some of his chakra control.

Besides that, Naruto had also shown his progress in studying seals, and Jiraiya would say he was impressed. The boy was making considerable progress considering he had no teacher to aid him in learning how to make or use seals. Then again, seals did seem to come naturally to Uzumaki, provided they had some guidance, and Naruto did have his mother's notes and journals to help train him. Jiraiya was glad that at least on that front, Naruto seemed rather eager to learn all he could, and Jiraiya was able to connect with him there and forge something of the teacher and student bond he wanted to have. He smiled fondly as he thought about one of their discussions while working on seals.

Flashback

"Hmmmm…that's not a bad seal there gaki," Jiraiya said, studying the design before him that Naruto had shown him. "Explosive and storage seal, with multiple dispersal patterns?"

Naruto nodded at that, smiling. "Yeah. Way I figure it, you can place them as traps, storing any number of items inside. Smoke bombs, gas bombs, senbon, shuriken, kunai, you name it. Set one of these down, and trigger it remotely with your chakra. If I could figure out how to create a sort of proximity trigger, you could even set in along a route you expect an enemy to take, or set it on your escape route, and then watch them trigger it as they near it. I actually tested my earlier designs with a few pranks. Got more than one shopkeeper or shinobi splattered in paint without them knowing what hit them."

Jiraiya nodded quietly at that, studying the seal. "Not bad kid. But you need to work a bit on your calligraphy. A couple of the lines here are rough. If even one line is out of place or incomplete, the whole array can fail. And that's the best case scenario. The worst being it explodes in your face."

The blond jinchuuriki nodded at that, glancing at his work. "I know, but it's hard for me to get good brushes most days. Shopkeepers have to sell to me because I'm a shinobi, but that hasn't stopped them from selling me some less then pristine goods," Naruto muttered softly.

Frowning at that, Jiraiya decided he would need to have a few words with the shopkeepers, before smiling as an idea came to mind. "Well then, how about this?" He asked, pulling out of a pouch his own set of calligraphy brushes. "You can use my set, while I make sure you're able to get a good supply from now on."

Naruto blinked in surprise at that, and gently took the brushes. "Wow…but why are you just giving them to me?" He asked.

"Because you're my student! And as your teacher, I need to make sure you train as hard as possible. The best way to make sure of that is to make sure you're well equipped," he said with a jovial grin. "Go ahead and see how much better they are," he said.

As Naruto nodded and set to work, Jiraiya could only smile fondly, remembering watching Kushina and Minato working together, studying seals, comparing notes, occasionally mocking each other's work. It warmed his heart, to see their son following in their footsteps, and that he could help guide him in this. Though neither had seemed as determined as Naruto was to master fuinjutsu. Deciding he wanted to find out why, he cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention. "So what makes you so driven to learn seals? That's one of the hardest shinobi arts to master, you know," he said.

Naruto shrugged a bit, looking up at him. "My parents both were seal masters, so learning about them and mastering them is a way to get closer to them. But you'd know that, cuz you trained my dad, right?" He asked.

Jiraiya nodded at that even as he frowned, thinking that Sarutobi had revealed that tidbit too early to Naruto, about his parentage. But what was done was done, and there was nothing he could do about it. He mentally winced as he thought about how Naruto might react if he knew he was his godfather, a small amount of guilt beginning to weigh down his heart.

He was drawn back to the moment as Naruto continued. "But I guess the real reason I want to is because I made a promise to a friend. A promise I can only keep by mastering fuinjutsu," he said, his voice quiet but determined. "I want to help them, and anyone else like them."

Jiraiya nodded quietly in understanding as he moved to Naruto's side and clapped his shoulder. "Well then, there's no time to lose, is there?" He asked.

Flashback Ends

That was sadly one of the few times the two of them had been close. Most of the rest of the training, Naruto was still a bit formal and stand-offish, mostly because of his disinterest in ninjutsu, and Jiraiya's continuing questions regarding the Assassins. Questions that usually resulted in disagreements, though Jiraiya was often quick to end them when it seemed they might start to get out of hand. He didn't want to lose Naruto, and getting into a heated argument would be the fastest way to do it.

He was drawn from his musing by a yip of excitement. "That's it ni-san! You're doing it!"

Looking to Naruto, his eyes widened as he saw that the water balloon was starting to bulge in multiple locations, though there weren't that many and they were few. But it was a sign that Naruto was starting to get the right idea, as the blonde boy grinned to himself a bit, enjoying the fact that he was starting to solve the first step of this jutsu. Jiraiya smiled a bit as well, as he came over to inspect the boy's progress.

Assassin's Warehouse

Raphael let out a soft groan as he felt Anko shifting her weight on his lap, her lips currently locked with his and her arms around his neck as his hands gripped her waist. A second groan was caught in his throat as he felt her maneuvering her tongue in his mouth, dueling with his in a way he never knew one could do while making out. The hebi kunoichi eventually pulled away slowly and reluctantly, the pair of them panting as they looked into each other's eyes as grins formed on their faces.

"So…see the advantages of that special training now?" Anko asked him, smirking a bit at the half dazed look in his eyes.

"Yes, I think I do," he murmured, slowly returning to full reality and grinning more fully at her as his arms encircled her waist. "But may I ask what sparked this rather enjoyable distraction?"

Anko giggled a bit as she snuggled against his chest, getting more comfortable. "Mmm, well it could have been those orchids you gave me last night, which I woke up to this morning. Or remembering the picnic dinner we had last night. Or how you tossed that asshole who insulted me around like he was a Frisbee. I'm thinking it definitely was that last one," she said, kissing his cheek.

Raphael chuckled softly at that as he held her close to him. "Mmmm, well I am very 'old school' as you would say. I am driven to defend my lady's honor. Or in this case, try to beat her to the punch in defending her honor," he said with a smile.