Naruto : Chapter 39

" Naruto is a flight risk due to the treatment of the villagers. If they attack him, we'll have to let the medics in the hospital go extra shifts. He won't let them treat him like their punching bag anymore.

And you know that attacking a ninja is a punishable offence and the ninja in question is allowed to retaliate. He told me that if he hadn't been sure he would have been hunted by the ANBU and brought back soon after we noticed him missing, he would have left years ago."

...

Jiraiya realised that this was really serious. The village would never let their jinchuriki go, but it wouldn't do Naruto any good if he got into that situation. And if he was really as good as his sensei said, then in perhaps a year or two he could be too strong for any ANBU to catch him. Konoha didn't need another Itachi out there.

"We horribly failed him. He had figured out that Kakashi is the ANBU who protected him most times in the past and was the one to always be nice to him.

Therefore he really looks up to Kakashi. Sasuke was spoiled by the villagers for being the last loyal Uchiha. The Uchihas had the civilian population deceived really well.

He has a superiority complex, doesn't take well to being second best and thinks as an Uchiha others are bound to treat him like royalty. Kakashi is keeping his team busy with training, something Sasuke doesn't mind at all as it makes him stronger, but the main intention is to keep the team out of the eyes of the villagers and break his idiotic opinions.

I don't want to risk the villagers treating Sasuke like a prince and Naruto like a monster all the time on missions. Naruto is also doing solo-missions through his clones to earn some more money. Mostly they are craftsmen jobs.

His reputation very slowly is getting better, but it will take years to get the stupid villagers to accept him as Naruto and not the fox.

"That is time we can't waste. I have given Kakashi orders to put his team through the grinder. He is to strengthen the old bond he had with Naruto, make sure that Sasuke doesn't think he can get stronger outside the village faster than training under Kakashi, and break Sakura Haruno out of her fangirl mentality.

That girl is so screwed up, if she hadn't been the only one with at least some useful skills in her class.

I'd never have put her on the team, but that class was really bad in their skills except for the clan heirs and they were put together as the next Ino-Shika-Cho team and a tracking team with Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka." He informed Jiraiya.

"I see. Well, then I guess to evaluate Naruto's skills I better get to meet him personally. Is training ground sixty one free?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, I have reserved it for your use until next Wednesday. Don't mess this up, Jiraiya." The Hokage said seriously.

"Don't worry. I know I have a lot to make up for with Naruto. The least I can do is helping him with his fuinjutsu and see if he is interested in the toad contract." Jiraiya answered.

The Hokage nodded.

"There also is a big unknown seal in the Uchiha district. Please have a look at it after you are done with Naruto's evaluation."

"Will do, sensei." Jiraiya said. "If anything happens, I'll be with Naruto."

Jiraiya left the office through the window.

...

On training ground seven Kakashi just finished the morning training of his team and told them they could eat lunch. To the wonder of Sasuke and Sakura Naruto had been more sluggish today. That riddle had been solved when Kakashi asked if Naruto had increased his resistance seal level and got a positive answer.

It led to Sasuke silently seething that Naruto was getting even more advanced. While he knew that Naruto was better, he hadn't considered in his calculation that Naruto wouldn't just stop getting better. That led to the realization that Itachi also wouldn't have stopped at his former level.

So to be able to kill Itachi he needed to get to Naruto's level first. He knew he was getting stronger through his training with team seven. But it was a punch to his pride that Naruto was already so far ahead and was only getting better all the time.

Then a white haired man landed next to Kakashi.

"Jiraiya Sama, I didn't know you were already back." Kakashi said, greeting the newcomer.

Naruto had perked up at the name Jiraiya.

"Well, sensei told me you had a student for me to evaluate in fuinjutsu, so I came here to take him with me for the rest of the day if you don't mind." Jiraiya said.

"No, that's okay. I was already informed that you would do the evaluation of his level once you were back. By the way, is there a new book coming out soon?" Kakashi asked eagerly.

"Ho, ho, you still are a fan of my great work. Yes, I'm working on Icha Icha Violence at the moment. It should be ready in one or two months." Jiraiya said.

"That's great to hear, Jiraiya Sama. I'm looking forward to it." Kakashi said.

Naruto just shook his head. He had known that Jiraiya of the sannin was a pervert, his father's journal had told him as much, but seeing it in reality was something else.

Jiraiya looked at the three genin and immediately saw the resemblance Naruto had with Minato. While his facial form was different, he definitely was his father's son.

"Okay, Naruto, you're going with me. I have reserved training ground sixty one for the evaluation of your skills in fuinjutsu." Jiraiya said.

"Okay." Naruto answered and stood up. He could as well eat on the way to training ground sixty one.

Jiraiya led Naruto away, leaving the rest of team seven behind.

"Kakashi sensei, who is the white haired man?" Sasuke asked.

"That man is the greatest author in the elemental nations and also Konoha's only acknowledged seal master at the moment, Jiraiya of the sannin. He regularly comes to the village to give the Hokage updates from his spy-network and while he is here, he'll evaluate Naruto's level in fuinjutsu." Kakashi said.

"He's one of the legendary three?" Sakura asked in awe. "Why would he be interested in Naruto and not Sasuke?" She asked.

Kakashi sighed. He had hoped he had got farther with breaking Sakura out of her Sasuke worship.

"I told you why. Naruto is skilled in fuinjutsu, while Sasuke is not." Kakashi answered. There were more reasons but he wouldn't tell his team about them.

Sasuke while irritated that Naruto got attention of one of the sannin and he didn't, knew that with the area Jiraiya excelled at he didn't have a chance to get that attention.

And to be honest, he wasn't interested in learning fuinjutsu either. Sure, it was useful to have the seals to use them on missions, but he didn't want to invest the time it took to learn the art. He couldn't use it while fighting Itachi after all. So he rather worked on getting stronger.

...

Jiraiya took Naruto to the secluded training ground.

"Okay, I think some introductions are in order. I'm Jiraiya, toad sage of Myobokuzan, wooer of women, amazingly famous author and awesome ninja." Jiraiya boasted, showing an embarrassing dance with a few toads he had summoned.

"Not to forget, super pervert, Dad's sensei and supposedly my godfather." Naruto added glaring at the man.

Jiraiya sobered.

"So you know. I wasn't sure if Minato and Kushina wrote it in their journals." Jiraiya admitted.

"The one question I have is why you didn't ever look after me. When I read about you being my godfather I was so angry.

All my childhood I could have had somebody who was there for me, helped me through my life and prevented the assholes in the village, especially the Uchiha clan, from beating me up every chance they got. I had exactly two proper protectors.

Two ANBU out of all the many that are under the command of the Hokage. Dog and Weasel. Kakashi and Itachi. And they couldn't be around all the time as they had other missions as well.

I know you couldn't have given up your spy-network or taken me with you. I would have been a hindrance as a defenceless child during your travels, but why the hell didn't you even visit me when you were in the village?" Naruto shouted in the end.

"I had to find a way to get strong on my own. I'm pretty sure my hideout is one of the old hideouts Orochimaru used.

One of the hopefully less creepy ones. There only were a few things that I had to throw out. The rest were things I could use to get stronger.

I had to scrounge up weapons from the dead in the Forest of Death after the chunin exams to get proper training weapons because no shop would sell me anything. I couldn't ask any adult to help me, because they either ignored me or tried to beat me.

I was only a child, completely on my own. Even old man Hokage couldn't do more than make laws and enforce them. The problem was he couldn't personally take care of everything, not with me being under the jurisdiction of the civilian council.

Do you know what it would have meant to me if I had known there was at least one adult that cared for me? What a few hours of training would have done for me?" Naruto asked enraged.

"You have every reason to be mad at me. I won't deny I made mistakes. I had thought about taking care of you, but as you said, it was too dangerous for you and me.

I have too many enemies of my own to take a small child with me on my travels. And if you had been with me, Iwa would have added two and two and would have known you were Minato's son.

So I trusted sensei to keep you safe until you were old enough for me to train you. You probably don't know this, but in the twelve years of your life I stopped thirty nine assassination attempts from the outside that had you as their target.

All the great villages hear rumours and you are a constant topic of the merchant caravan. They talk about that cute blond boy with blue eyes that is so brave and stands on his own two feet living in Konoha.

"You are right; I could have tried to be there for you when I was in the village. And I did try, but you have to realize that I got dealt a massive emotional wound when your father died, fighting the Kyubi.

It wasn't your connection to Kyubi that kept me away, it was your looks. You look too much like Minato.

I don't have children of my own, Naruto. In the second Great War Suna, which we were fighting at that time, had developed a chemical agent that prevented those that were contaminated by it to ever have children.

Tsunade, Orochimaru and I as the sannin were prime targets for them. They also tried to get the White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi's father, but he could escape.

All of us were contaminated by that chemical. It was a harsh blow, especially for Tsunade. Orochimaru developed a vaccine against it eventually, but for us it was too late.

"When I got my genin team, Minato was the one I bonded with most. I liked all my students, but Minato, especially as he was an orphan like me after his parents had died when he was ten, became like the son I knew I never could have.

I taught him all I knew even after my students had been promoted to chunin and my team dissolved. When he told me he wanted me to be your godfather, I was really honoured. But then the Kyubi attack happened and Minato died.

I raised you for a year, but that was all I could afford to do as my spy-network needed to be maintained, especially with Konoha being massively weakened.

My stay while you were an infant could be easily covered up as a show of strength for the other villages. One of the strongest of the village was there, protecting it. When I came back, you were four. But you looked so much like Minato.

I couldn't bear seeing you looking like your father; it tore the wound I had thought had healed open again and again. So I decided as I couldn't be in the village to help you, I would take care to set up a stipend for you so you wouldn't have to depend on the orphan's fund.

"Additionally I left scrolls for you in your apartment when I was in the village. One about hunting and fishing techniques after I found out about the behaviour of the shop keepers, one about farming and some about basic training techniques I thought would help you.

I took out all the ones that were sent to eliminate you from whatever village. And I kept an eye on Orochimaru to make sure he never found out about you existing.

While your clans didn't have an exact bloodline, the Uzumaki clan had special chakra, a reason why Kumo once tried to kidnap your mother Kushina. Your clan was known for its longevity.

And a child with Namikaze, Uzumaki and Senju blood would have been irresistible for him. I am really sorry for what you had to go through, but I did what I could in my own grief." Jiraiya said.

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