A New Path

Ch. 23 A New Threat

A week had passed since the mission to Sound, almost two months since they had invaded Konoha. Things in the Leaf were looking much better than before, most of the buildings had been repaired, many ninja had been healed and classes at the Ninja Academy had begun once more. Konoha was slowly returning to its former self with the threat of Sound disappearing with each passing day.

These were the things that Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, mused as he observed the village from the roof of his office. He closed his eyes and inhaled the contents of the pipe on his mouth, smoking was one of the things that would relieve his stress nowadays though he knew that it wasn't very healthy.

His eyes opened when he heard the sound of footsteps. "Did you find anything Jiraiya?" the Hokage asked his old student.

Jiraiya smirked from behind his teacher and crossed his arms. He had returned to the village a few days prior and had been told that some documents on the Curse Seal had been found. Him being a seal master had been asked to analyze the papers. "Not much…" he admitted in a light tone, "The information found of the Curse Seal is pretty outdated. I could probably figure out a way to cancel the new one but it would take some time."

"How long?" Sarutobi asked with a hint of tiredness on his voice.

"About a year," Jiraiya informed. Watching the frown on his teacher's face, the sage continued, "I know that you're worried about Orochimaru getting the sharingan but I believe that one year is more than enough time. Right now I'm able to recreate his old Curse Seal and remove it without much trouble but with the proper time I'll be able to counter anything he comes up with."

Sarutobi turned to Jiraiya with a serious expression. "Are you sure about being able to remove the old Cursed Seal of Heaven?" he asked, "Do you think you could be able to use it on a person?"

"Sure…" Jiraiya muttered in confusion, not sure what his teacher was implying.

"Good," the Third said with a light smile on his face, "Do you know of Anko?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened in understanding, a smile forming on his face. "Of course. How could I forget?" he scolded himself, "If she's willing to cooperate then I'll be able to get the Curse Mark off of her."

"Cooperate with what?" Sarutobi asked in slight concern, hoping that his former student wasn't thinking of anything perverted.

Jiraiya smirked as he suppressed a laugh, already thinking of the consequences of his decision. "I've been wanting to expand Naruto's taijutsu for a while now…" he began, "I thought of teaching him some of my other taijutsu but they're just watered down versions of the Toad taijutsu style. Anko's taijutsu is almost a polar opposite of the Toad style so she'll be the perfect teacher."

"I can already tell that this is going to end badly," Sarutobi muttered as he watched Jiraiya's smirk.

"Dammit," Sasuke growled as he punched the training log in front of him, making small dents with each strike. Blood dripped from his knuckles but he couldn't care less, rage fueled his system and he wouldn't let up because of a little pain.

Sasuke was on the small training ground located on the back of his home. The Uchiha's were a clan of ruthless shinobi, so it was obvious that they would have training grounds on their compound and homes. Something that Sasuke didn't understand was why most of the Uchiha had been living sheltered lives, hindering their progress. Looking back now, part of him was glad that those fools had been killed but he would still have his revengel, not because Itachi had killed them but because he had soiled their family name.

The Uchiha glared at the log in front of him, remembering why he had intensified his training it the beginning. Naruto's power had grown to a point where it concerned him. Being overshadowed by the blond idiot was the last thing he wanted, he was an Uchiha, the clan that held the most powerful ninjas.