The shadows

ch30

Naruto wasn't nervous. Or at least he wanted to convince himself. He was lying naked on a table before the three sannin. He was ordered to get a complete checkup as the jinchuriki. First, it was Orochimaru.

He took a few blood and other samples. It was pretty straightforward. Then Jiraiya checked on his seal. It took a while, but he said everything was in order in the end and ruffled his hair.

Then came the hard part. Tsunade was thorough in her examination. She first performed a diagnosis jutsu that made her frown. Then she performed all sorts of tests. Finally, when she was done, she excused herself and said that she would tell him the results after counseling with her teammates.

That was why Naruto was now sitting on the examination table, fully clothed and bored out of his mind. After about an hour, the sannin returned with Hokage in tow. Naruto got up quickly and bowed to the Hokage.

"At ease, Naruto-kun. We are here for your results." The Hokage said.

After a look between the tree, sannin Jiraiya sighed and started his report. "There is no difference in the seal from when it was made. It is still holding strong. Although there is still some leakage, his body seems to be more attuned to the chakra, so there won't be any problems." Jiraiya said, looking toward the Hokage, avoiding eye contact with Naruto.

"I checked the samples for any abnormalities. There wasn't anything abnormal. He has a high resistance to poisons which is because of his training. I will send you the full report by tomorrow." Orochimaru said, giving Naruto a reassuring look.

"Physically, his body is doing fine. He is underweight but it hasn't affected his growth. It is not something to worry about since he is already under a meal plan. the problem is..." Tsunade took a deep breath before continuing.

Of course, both Naruto and the Hokage were aware of the problem, so they didn't show any reaction. Jiraiya had an unreadable expression. He was trying to hold back, and at some point, he just left the room.

There was a little more discussion, and finally, Naruto was excused to leave. He took a long walk. He wasn't in the mood for anything, but then he felt Itachi and Shisui in a training ground and had an idea.

Naruto sat in a meditative position, waiting. It didn't take long for Naruto to prepare with the help of his clones. When everything was ready, he sent a clone to fetch Itachi and Shisui.

It didn't take long. When the boys arrived, Naruto got up to greet them. "Hey Itachi, Shisui-nii. I have a surprise for you today." Naruto gave a bright smile.

"Hi, Naruto-kun. What is it?" Itachi asked as they reached Naruto.

Naruto whistled, and suddenly in a blur, Tora jumped on Naruto, who caught him easily. "I'm sure you both know Tora. Well, we've been training together for a long time now, and Tora is quite skilled." Tora purred at that.

"Which is why I asked him to help me today. I've set up an obstacle course for you guys. It is rigged with all sorts of traps and seals. Your goal is to capture Tora. But be careful. He is quite adept when it comes to these courses." Naruto said.

"Are you serious?" Shisui asked skeptically. Even Itachi looked doubtful.

"Yes, very serious. If you think it will be easy, you have another thing coming for you. Now Tora will have a 10-second headstart before you can go after him." Tora quickly jumped toward the forest with a shunshin.

After seeing the shunshin, they looked more believable. With a countdown, the chase started. Within the first 3 seconds, they had already triggered five seals. Thankfully their reflexes saved them, but now they slowed down to assess the situation.