Naruto:A New Path

A Trip With Jiraiya

Naruto sat atop the Fourth Hokage's head with a content smile. He wore his Chunin vest on top of his long-sleeve black shirt, signifying that he was now a chunin-leveled shinobi. He could see many people, villagers and shinobi alike, helping in the reconstruction of Konoha. It had been a few days since the invasion and things were already returning back to normal. Naruto had had his share of duties on helping reconstruct the village as soon as he got out of the hospital. Genins helped with small stuff, giving them a lot of free time. Naruto as a Chunin, Naruto was expected to help the most he could. It was no wonder that Shikamaru hated being made a Chunin along with Naruto.
The blond hadn't seen much of Ino in the last few days due to his busy agenda. It wasn't until today that Naruto got taken off Reconstruction Duty, as the Third called it, and the blond was looking forward to a few days off. He found himself happy at being able to spend time with Ino again since she had become an important person in his life. Thinking about Ino, Naruto couldn't help but sigh.
On his last visit to the Hokage's office, he had run into Jiraiya. The sage had told him of an upcoming trip the two would be taking. They were to search for the legendary medic Tsunade for an undetermined amount of time. Naruto had been exited at first but Jiraiya told him that he would train him on using the fox's chakra. The blond hesitated but finally agreed after Jiraiya pestered him for about a day. He was afraid of using the chakra and paled when Jiraiya suggested telling his friends about the fox. The reason being that if he were to use that power in front of his friends then they would be wary of him subconsciously since they wouldn't know where the unknown power came from, it was best to tell them beforehand.
Jiraiya had told him that telling his closest friend about it would make it a lot easier to tell his other friends. The sage told him to do it when he was ready but telling them sooner would keep them from fearing him. That had been three days ago and Naruto hadn't had the courage nor time to tell Ino about his burden. He knew that Jiraiya was right which is why he was currently on top of the Hokage Monument, admiring the view of the village. It gave him a sense of peace that he would need since he planned on telling Ino about the fox that same night.
Naruto stood up and gazed at the village. "I have to tell her," the blond muttered to himself with a sigh.
The Third sighed as he looked over the large amount of paperwork on his desk. Orochimaru was truly evil, having an attack on the village had increased his paperwork immensely, an evil plan indeed. Papers with many different kind of permits filled his desk. This was probably the worst part of being the Hokage, he knew that Naruto would give up on his dream if he learned about the evils of paperwork.
"You look like hell old man," Jiraiya said from his sitting position on the window's railing.
"Jiraiya," the Third said with a nod, "What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to know how the meeting with the elders went," the toad sage said with a grin.
Sarutobi sighed. "They were quite concerned with what you're planning to do. Their fear for the fox is too strong and they disapproved of you teaching Naruto how to use it," he explained, "We discussed it for hours until they finally agreed with me. They didn't want to listen to me until I told them that if Naruto was trained in the use of the fox's chakra, that would mean that Tsunade would be needed back in the village. Their desire to have Tsunade back on the village made them accept my proposal."
Jiraiya scoffed. "As if they could've done anything against your orders," he sighed and shook his head, "I take it you made it official then."
The Third nodded and tossed a scroll to Jiraiya. "That contains the mission of searching for Tsunade," he explained, "It is an A-rank mission due to the time it could take."
"This will go on Naruto's record too right?" Jiraiya asked with a raised brow. The Third chuckled and nodded his head, he was content with the care his student showed for Naruto, "Alright then, when do we leave?"
"You are to leave by tomorrow." Sarutobi said, "Take care of Naruto, it's dangerous to let him out of the village if what you said was true."
"Don't worry old man," Jiraiya said in a serious tone, "I'm more than capable of handling a few rogue ninja, besides I always have Sage Mode at my disposal."
Sarutobi nodded. "You're right, now about your other idea," he said, "When do you plan on taking Naruto on that training trip?"
Jiraiya crossed his arms. "I'm not sure," he admitted, "I have to do meet with some contacts in a few weeks so I assume that I'll take him after I come back. That should be in around a month."
Sarutobi nodded. "Very well," he took out a paper and started to write, "I'll start the paperwork for your training trip but because of the situation we're in, Naruto will be receiving missions on a constant basis."
"That's okay," Jiraiya said with a grin, "It will give him the experience he will need if he is to be able to protect himself against that group. Just make sure that the missions don't interfere with his training."
"I know," the Third said with a nod, "I plan on sending missions with his training in mind."
"Good," Jiraiya said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some research to do." With that the toad sage jumped out the window.
Sarutobi sighed. "He'll never change," he couldn't help but chuckle at his student as he took out an all too familiar orange book, "That's a good thing."
Ino sighed as she stood behind the counter of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. She had been stuck in the shop while her dad helped out on the village and her mom met with other flower shops to discuss whatever flower shop owners discuss. Training had been scarce due to the time she spent on the shop. She was glad that things were getting better in the village since that meant that she could get back to training and maybe she would get to spend more time with Naruto.
Ino couldn't help but frown. The idiot hadn't even visited her in the past few days. As soon as he got out of the hospital, he just disappeared. Naruto would get it when she saw him again. She had told her parents that Naruto would have dinner with them whenever he could and the blond idiot just went and disappeared.
"Ino," a voice said.
She would make the idiot pay for just ignoring her and her family like that. She thought of ways to make him pay for his behavior. Hitting him, no, it was a little extreme and he was already hit enough by Sakura.
"Ino," the voice repeated a little louder.
Ino smiled when she got the perfect plan. It would be the best way to punish Naruto without looking like an abusive person. She would find ways to deny Naruto his ramen, it was brilliant. She patted herself on the back for a good idea.
"Ino!" the voice exclaimed.
Ino broke out of her thoughts and saw Naruto's face a few inches from her own. She yelped and moved away from the blond with a bright blush on her face. "W-what are you doing?" she asked with a panicked expression.
"You're finally out of your daze," Naruto said with a smile, "I've been trying to get your attention for a while now."
Ino crossed her arms and turned away from Naruto. "So, now you decide to make some time for me," she huffed and frowned, "You just disappeared for a long time and come back like nothing happened."
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry Ino but I've been busy with the reconstruction of the village," he explained with a nervous smile, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to see you."
"It's okay," Ino said with a pout.
Naruto smiled. "Don't worry Ino I'll make it up to you!" He declared as he pointed at himself, "You have my word that I'll do anything you ask."
Ino couldn't help but smile, it was hard to stay mad at Naruto. "Fine, I forgive you," she then broke into an exited smile and took hold of Naruto's right hand, "Guess what!"
"W-what?" Naruto asked with a blush on his face. Ino's hands were soft against his own.
"My parents said that you could have dinner with us anytime," she declared, "Which means that you'll have to eat with us tonight!"
"Tonight?" Naruto asked with a worried look. Ino nodded with a happy smile making the blond feel guilty of thinking of turning her down, "Alright, I'll be here."
Ino gave Naruto a hug. "Don't worry Naruto it'll go well," she broke the hug and gave Naruto a smile, "Be here at eight sharp. I don't want you making a bad impression on my parents."
"Okay," Naruto said with a nod, "Can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure," Ino said happily, she was glad that Naruto would meet her parents. He would actually be the first person to have dinner with them.
"If you don't mind," he started with a nervous voice, "Do you think we could go walk around town after the dinner is over… I have something important to tell you."
Ino's heartbeat rose and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks. 'It couldn't be that… could it?' she asked herself with a deepening blush. "S-sure Naruto. I don't mind."
"Great," Naruto said with a small grin, "I'll see you later!"
Ino watched the blond run out of the store with the blush never leaving her face. "Is he planning on asking me out," the thought of Naruto as a boyfriend was a little weird but she felt that it wouldn't be too bad. He was a happy person who cared for her and would make her feel important.
Thinking about a relationship with Naruto brought back the things she felt for him. It wasn't until that moment that she realized that maybe she really wanted to be more than a friend to Naruto. "I think I'm falling for Naruto," she admitted to herself.
"Are you, now?" asked Inoichi from behind his daughter. Ino turned around with a petrified look on her face.
"D-daddy?" Ino stammered with an embarrassed blush on her face.
Naruto walked through the streets with a nervous look on his face. It was almost eight and he was making his way to Ino's house. He was completely nervous at the fact that he was about to eat with Ino's parents. Though he talked to Ino's mom from time to time he still preferred to keep his distance from her, he still didn't feel right around civilian adults. Having to tell Ino about the fox didn't make things any easier. He was afraid of Ino ending their friendship because of the fox but at the same time, he knew that he had to tell her.
He arrived at Ino's home and knocked on the front door. A few seconds later Ino opened the door with a smile on her face. "You made it!" Ino said with a happy smile, "Come in, my parents are in the living room."
"Okay," Naruto said as he was led into the house by Ino. She led him to the living room where Ino's mom and dad sat on one of the three couches that adorned the room, deep in conversation.
"Mom, dad," Ino interrupted their conversation. The two adults turned around and had different reactions. Miki smiled at Naruto while Inoichi glared at him, "He's here." Ino said lamely, feeling the tension in the room.
Inoichi nodded. "At least he's on time," he muttered with his eyes narrowed at Naruto. The blond felt a lump on his throat and gulped nervously.
Miki elbowed her husband on the ribs, making him groan in pain. "Calm down," she whispered harshly before turning to Naruto with a gentle smile, "It's nice to have you here."
"G-good to be here," Naruto said with his gaze lowered slightly.
There was an awkward silence and Ino mentally groaned. 'It's going to be a long night,' she thought with a frown.
Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone with a stoic look on his face. He had just come back from another mission and decided to visit his old comrades. It had been busy for Kakashi since the village had been taking all kinds of missions in order to prevent other villages from thinking that their defenses were down.
"Long day, huh? But that's what comes from being a shinobi," Jiraiya said from behind Kakashi.
Kakashi turned to the sage with an eye-smile. "It's not so bad," he said, "What brings you here Lord Jiraiya?"
"I came here to talk about a certain student of yours," Jiraiya said with his arms crossed.
"I take it you're talking about Naruto?" Kakashi asked with a chuckle, "What do you want to talk about?"
"I'll be taking over his teachings from now on," Jiraiya said in a serious tone.
"What?" Kakashi asked in confusion, "I know he's a Chunin now but that doesn't mean that he is out of Team 7."
"I know that," Jiraiya stated, "I will be taking Naruto on a training trip in only one month."
Kakashi frowned, not liking the idea. "I've only started training Naruto," he argued, "In order to make my team stronger I'll need him to be here."
"That's not the point," the toad sage said with a frown, "There's a group looking for people like Naruto." Kakashi's eyes widened, a group searching for Jinchuuriki hadn't been heard of before. "They consist of several S-class ninja. In order for Naruto to be ready, I'll have to teach him everything I know. I didn't come here to ask, I came here to tell you that Naruto is going with me."
"I understand," Kakashi said with a sigh, "When do you think they'll start looking for Naruto?"
Jiraiya sighed. "I don't know," he admitted, "Information on them is pretty scarce. From what I know about seals I assume that in order to contain the Kyuubi a large amount of chakra is needed. Meaning that Naruto will be the last one they'll attempt to capture."
"What group is this?" Kakashi asked with a narrowed eye.
"Akutsuki," Jiraiya said with a frown.
Naruto and Ino sat next to each other on top of the Hokage Monument. Naruto figured that telling Ino here would be easier since this place brought him peace. The blond was really nervous about telling Ino. Her reaction would tell him how everyone else would think of him. He turned his gaze at Ino and gulped.
Ino was nervous for other reasons. She thought that Naruto would ask her to be his girlfriend and she didn't know what to think. Having Naruto as a boyfriend would be great but it was way too soon for her. She wasn't prepared emotionally for what Naruto was going to ask her and didn't know how she was going to react.
"Ino," Naruto muttered, getting the attention of the blonde, "Funny dinner, huh?" The blond scolded himself for being an idiot.
"Yeah," Ino said with a small smile remembering their dinner. Naruto hadn't talked much but she assumed it was because her dad kept glaring at him.
' I have to do this,' Naruto told himself with a determined expression. "Ino I have something important to tell you," he declared with his gaze fixed on Ino's eyes.
Ino blushed. "S-sure Naruto," she said with a nervous expression.
"What I have to tell you is not going to be pretty," Naruto said in a serious tone. Ino looked confused, if he wasn't going to ask her out then what was he going to do, "It's really hard for me to tell you this but I feel like I have to tell you."
"What is it?" Ino asked.
Naruto turned his gaze to the village. Ino saw a sad look on Naruto's eyes and wondered what he was going to tell her. "Did you ever wonder why I didn't have any friends when I was a kid? Or why people look at me differently?"
Ino found herself nodding. She really didn't know. Whenever she and Naruto walked through the village people would often give him looks of fear mixed with anger. She had thought that Naruto was oblivious to the looks but now knew otherwise.
"Do you remember what Shikamaru said about Gaara when I was about to fight him alone?" Naruto asked her as he met her eyes. Ino nodded, remembering that Shikamaru had told her that Gaara had a demon inside of him, "People like Gaara. They're called… Jinchuuriki." Naruto's gaze turned back to the village and Ino saw a look of pain on his eyes, "Gaara was treated pretty harshly when growing up. Nobody wanted to be near him and they tried to ignore him."
"What does that have to do with what you're telling me?" Ino asked in slight worry, putting two and two together.
"When the village was attacked by the Kyuubi the Fourth wasn't able to beat it, like we were told in class," Naruto said in a hurt tone, "The Fourth realized that in order to stop the Kyuubi he had to seal it into someone." Ino's eyes widened and she looked at Naruto in worry, "He sealed it into a baby that had nothing to do with the fox."
A tear ran down Naruto's cheek. "Naruto," Ino said in a sad tone. She already knew what he was about to say but had to make sure, "Who was it sealed into?"
Naruto wiped the tear away and gazed at the sky. "It was sealed into me," he said with a frown, "I never really knew why the Fourth chose me. I guess it was just my luck but I don't blame him for it. I know that he was looking out for the whole village and sealing the fox into me was the only way to save everyone."
Naruto's eyes widened when he felt Ino wrap her arms around him. "It's okay Naruto," Ino said with tears threatening to fall.
"W-what?" Naruto asked in disbelief. He hadn't been expecting her to accept him so easily.
"It's okay Naruto," she repeated a little louder. She rested her head against Naruto's neck and hugged him a little harder, "I never really thought that you had to carry such a burden for all of us. Naruto, you always looked so happy, why didn't you tell anyone about it!"
Naruto returned the hug and closed his eyes. "I was always scared of my friends looking at me the same way the villagers do," he admitted with a few tears welling up on his eyes, "I thought that if I looked happy then my friends wouldn't see that I was in pain."
"You don't have to be strong anymore Naruto," Ino said with tears running down her cheeks, "You don't have to be strong around me. Just let it all out, I'll always be there for you."
Tears ran down Naruto's face as he tightened his grip on Ino. "Thank you," Naruto said before breaking down, holding on to Ino as if she were his lifeline.
"It'll be alright Naruto," Ino whispered as tears ran down her cheeks. She hadn't known that Naruto was in such pain, it made her feel bad that she hadn't done anything for her friend. The blond had saved the village from destruction and had been rewarded with nothing but pain. She would be there for him from now on and she'd be damned if anyone ever hurt Naruto again.
Naruto smiled as he made his way to Konoha's gate. It was morning and the sun was creeping in the horizon. It was time for Naruto and Jiraiya to leave in search of Tsunade and he would be doing so in high spirits. The blond saw the gate in the distance and his eyes widened when he saw Ino standing there.
"Ino?" Naruto muttered in a confused tone. The blond made his way to the kunoichi and smiled, "What are you doing here?"
Ino put her hands on her hips and smiled. "You didn't think I would let you leave without seeing you off, did you?" Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head in response. Ino sighed, "Seriously Naruto, sometimes you're just too clueless."
"I couldn't agree more!" Came Jiraiya's voice. The two blondes turned to see Jiraiya approaching them with a grin.
Naruto pouted. "At least I'm not a pervert like you Jiraiya-sensei," he argued.
"How dare you?" Jiraiya asked with an offended look, "I'm not a pervert… I am a super pervert!"
"Let's just go already," Naruto said with a sigh before turning to Ino with a smile, "I'll see you soon Ino."
Ino nodded with a smile. "Just remember that you will take me out wherever I want when you come back," she said with a smirk, "Or did you forget that you promised to do anything I asked?"
"Of course not," Naruto said with a pout before breaking into a grin, "I'll be back soon."
"This is good. This is good," Jiraiya muttered as he wrote furiously on his notebook.
"What are you doing!" Naruto exclaimed with a frown, "Let's just go already!" The blond walked out of the village with Jiraiya still writing on his notebook.
Ino watched the pair leave with a smile. She and Naruto had grown a lot closer thanks to him telling her about his burden. She now knew what her answer would be if Naruto ever asked her out. Ino giggled before leaving the scene in order to go help out at the shop.
Orochimaru walked alongside his follower, Kabuto, towards a certain town. He had received information on the whereabouts of Tsunade. If he could find her and convince her to heal Kimimaro then he could fill the spot Sakon and Ukon left vacant on the Sound Four. He could also use Kimimaro as his new host body when the time came.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru said with a smirk, "When we find Tsunade, I want you to take care of her assistant."
"I will have it done Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said with a smirk of his own.
"Tsunade won't escape me," Orochimaru said with a sinister smirk.
Naruto and Jiraiya walked down a road that led to the a town where, according to Jiraiya, Tsunade would pay constant visits to a casino. Jiraiya had told him that their search would begin there and promised to teach him a new jutsu, which he hadn't yet.
"When are you going to teach me that new jutsu?" Naruto asked with a frown.
Jiraiya sighed. "If I teach you what to do, will you stop bothering me?"
"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed happily.
"Fine," Jiraiya said as he walked to the nearest tree. He held up his right hand, "Watch my hand closely." Chakra gathered around Jiraiya's hand and took the form of a blue sphere of nothing but compressed chakra. "Rasengan!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he struck the tree with the attack. The sphere drilled into the tree before exploding, leaving a large hole on the tree.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Naruto exclaimed in excitement. The tree snapped in half and fell on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
Jiraiya smirked, "In order to learn this you have to complete three steps," he explained. The sage reached into his bag and took out a balloon. Using a few hand signs, the toad sage filled the balloon with water before putting it on his hand, "In the first step you have to pop this balloon with your chakra only. When you finish this step I'll teach you the next."
"You got it, Jiraiya-sensei!" Naruto said with a smile. The toad sage gave him a balloon already filled with water and the blond got to work.
Jiraiya grinned as he saw his student attempt to pop the balloon. The two begin to walk again with Naruto working on the balloon as he walked. The sage hoped that this trip wouldn't take that long. Tsunade was hard to find but if he really wanted to find her then he would do so in a few days. He wished that the trip would be uneventful but knowing his luck that wouldn't happen.