The Savior: Uzumaki Naruto

Chapter 5: Toad

Rain fell, wind blew, and any student of Jiraiya the Gallant trained endlessly. It was as if stamina wasn't an issue. Until it was. Then ramen eating would take place, and more endless training would begin.

"Jiraiya-sensei, when we will be back in the Land of Fire? I hate this place. All it does is rain and it makes it harder to train for you than it already is." complained a familiar blonde shinobi.

"Don't be a wuss Naruto, rain isn't a bad thing. And besides, we aren't here simply because I feel like it, I'm doing some important work for Konoha. You keep working on those new jutsu I gave you, and I just might consider putting this off if ya master 'em. Got it, brat?" bargained the Toad Sage. This relit Naruto's fire, and there were once again hundreds upon hundreds of kage bunshin working on various jutsu.

Naruto is strongest in Futon, and as such, is attempting to learn three jutsu. He also possesses Doton and Suiton, and is working on two jutsu for each. He has no special affinity for Raiton or Katon, however, and is working diligently to master one jutsu from each. Because the Kage Bunshin technique retains learned information from each clone, as well as all experiences of that clone, it makes for a great training method. Naruto utilizes this fact every time he trains, and it shortens his training time exponentially. He uses fifty clones for each Futon jutsu, a hundred for each Doton and Suiton jutsu, and two hundred for both Raiton and Katon, respectively. All together, it adds up to 950 clones. He could make more, but since mass exhaustion comes with the experience of the kage bunshin, he'd decided that was a good place to stop at.

While his clones were off learning new techniques, Naruto wandered off to find a good meditation spot. It was something he had taken up ever since he and Jiraiya left the village to train. He found a small house not far off from where Jiraiya was, so he decided to explore it and perhaps meditate there.

It was a fairly small house, and looked pretty liveable, it was just overgrown by nature. he found a couple weird tiles, with the names Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan under them. There appeared to be another tile across the room, but nature had completely overtaken that one. He found a spot to sit, near a table, and began his meditation. He was doing pretty well for a while, but was soon pulled into his mindscape.

"Kurama? What can I do for ya?" Naruto asked. He looked up at the massive fox.

"Naruto, have you considered what you would do if Sasuke won't willingly return yet?" Kurama inquired.

Naruto thought about it for a few moments, and looked back towards the Kyuubi with a smile. "Well, I suppose I'd just have to force him, no? Just like I'm gonna do with you, I'm gonna go after whatever hatred is within him and help him see the light of the world."

Kurama pondered his answer for a moment. "And if he attacks your village? What would you do then?"

"You sure are curious today. Anyway, I'd prefer not to kill him, if that's what you're after. Hopefully everything works out, but if he doesn't come back after killing Itachi, then I suppose I'll have to really fight him. I don't care what the village thinks anymore, so if i bring him back half-dead it's still bringing him back to me." explained the Uzumaki.

The Kyuubi once again thought about his answer. Kurama's decision was made.

"Alright, then I, the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune, shall help you." boomed the Bijuu proudly.

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kurama had finally agreed to be his partner, so naturally, he was ecstatic. "We're partners now!? Thanks Kurama!" he exclaimed.

"You're still not allowed to let it go to your empty head, brat. You're my peasant, and I'm your king, no exceptions." Kurama was and was not kidding. He had a terrible superiority complex.