The Power to Heal and Destroy by Phoenixsun

Chapter 9: Mirrored Image

"Sakura, do you know where Naruto went?" Kakashi asked his pink haired student when he found her at the arena's exit. "He already left; he said that he wanted to get some rest before beginning his training." The girl responded.

"Oh" Kakashi replied. He was planning to train Sasuke, but he didn't want to make the same mistake as a month ago, only this time it seemed that the blond had already made plans about his training without his help.

Sakura stood observing her sensei, she couldn't take her mind off Naruto's sharingan eyes, she had promised him not to tell, but it was proving very hard. "Kakashi-sensei, what's happening to Sasuke-kun?" The kunoichi asked, partly of worry for her teammate and crush, but mostly for keeping herself from divulging the blonde's secret. "Don't worry Sakura." The silver haired jounin responded. "Everything will be alright." Kakashi added before starting his way back to the hospital.

-Next Day-

Naruto woke up after a long rest, "I should go see the Old Geezer to see if he has any ideas for my training." The blond thought as he opened a can of instant ramen, he might have decided to lock up most his emotions, but his love of ramen was in a whole different level. After half an hour, and at least a month's supply of instant ramen, Naruto walked out of his apartment.

It was a nice tranquil day in Konoha; the temperature was just right for spending the day outside. Naruto walked through the city, for a month now the glares from the villagers had been decreasing, most likely because of the killer intent his chakra seemed to leak out, the only ones that seemed to be a hundred percent oblivious to this where Konohamaru and his friends, who had tried countless times to convince the blond genin to skip training for one day and go play with them.

Naruto had been walking for over half an hour before abruptly stopping. "Why have you been following me for the last twenty minutes?" The blond asked, his eyes looking ahead of him. There were some movement in the bushes behind Naruto, and after a while a man with long white hair stepped out. "So you've been aware since the beginning." The man said with a tone of amusement on his voice.

"My name is Jiraiya." The man announced. Naruto finally looked back at the white haired man. "And I should care because..." The blond said with a monotonous tone. Jiraiya merely chuckled at the boy's remark. "Sarutobi-sensei told me how...detached you could be." The man said. Naruto was slightly taken back; few people called the Hokage something beside his title, but to call him sensei. "Jiraiya, where have I heard that name before" The genin thought for a second before realization hit him. "You're one of the sannin." The blond said in a low voice.

Jiraiya smiled when he saw that he had caught some of the blonde's attention. "Sarutobi-sensei asked me to help you with your training during this month; he's too busy with all the preparations for the chunin exam." The sannin said. Naruto looked at the white haired man for a couple of seconds before turning around. "I don't need your help." The blond said as he started to walk away.

The sannin merely smirked as he watched the boy walk away. "You're as disrespectful as your father during his training." Jiraiya said. The sannin's word made Naruto stop on his track. "I want to teach you one of your father's favorite technique, the Kuchiyose no Jutsu." The white haired man said, taking the opportunity of having most of the genin's attention. "I heard that sensei gave you the weapon, and from the bandages in your arms, I'll say you already have your summoning tattoo." Jiraiya said smiling when Naruto completely turned around. "Learning the Kuchiyose no Jutsu will help you deal with the weapon, because trust me, that thing is really hard to control, and even your father had trouble with it." The sannin added.

"But first, tell me about your sharingan." The man said. Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "Did the Old Geezer tell him?" The genin thought. Jiraiya figured out what was going through the blonde's mind and decided to clarify. "The Old Geezer didn't tell me about your sharingan." The sannin started. "I knew that this was going to happen, since the day you were born I've wanted to see the results of combining the Uzumaki and Uchiha bloodlines." The white haired man explained. Naruto sighed; he was slightly more relaxed now that he knew that the Hokage had not betrayed his trust.