A/N: First off, I came down with a cold so I've been ill since I last posted. It's a convenient excuse, but it's the truth nonetheless. Sorry about that.
Also, I'll be skipping a few events and just continue till the end of the novel. I really need to end this novel. It's been a few months now.
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Title: No title.
...
Watching Naruto feel like a genius was actually quite amusing...No... It's the fact that such a stupid rule exists in the anime reality that's actually quite amusing.
To think that people... Shinobi no less, would fall unconscious just because they see someone of the opposite gender naked.
I get the excitement, but the blood and unconsciousness? Please.
Seconds later, Kakashi, Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived at the spot where everyone was knocked out and looked at the scene in confusion.
"What the hell happened here?" Tsunade asked, shocked at what could be an enemy attack. However, since the sensory department didn't alert her to enemy Chakra signatures entering the village, her confusion was justified.
"Tsunade-baa-san!" Naruto snapped his head towards the new arrivals as his eyes lit up. "Kakashi-sensei! You both won't believe what just happened!"
"Oh? Did you do something?" Tsunade asked and Naruto nodded excitedly.
"I just carelessly tried out an Improved Jutsu of mine just now, who would have thought it would be so strong that everyone in the vicinity would fall unconscious?" Naruto answered in excitement..
"An improved Jutsu?" Tsunade asked in amazement while looking at Jiraiya. The first thought that came to mind was that Naruto had managed to improve the Rasengan, hence her amazement.
Jiraiya shrugged as he didn't know about it. Naruto had never used an improved Jutsu he didn't know anything about.
Be it the Giant Rasengan or the Rasengan Barrage, he knew all about them, but none of them had the potential to knock out an entire street of people, civilians and Shinobi alike.
However, the next moment, his eyes widened in horror. "Na-naruto, y-you d-don't m-mean th-that j-justu, d-do you?"
"Hm, hm." Naruto nodded in affirmation causing Jiraiya to take a step back.
"Oh no."
"What's with that reaction, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked in confusion and annoyance.
"N-nothing. Tsuna-chan, how about we return to the office and continue our discussion."
"You...You're hiding something aren't you?" Tsunade asked but Jiraiya put on his most severe and serious face.
"Tsunade. Trust me," he said and Tsunade had no option but to do so.
Letting out a deep sigh, she looked at Kakashi and said. "wake them all up, and after that, bring those three to my office. Let's go."
Saying that, she immediately disappeared with Jiraiya, leaving Naruto and Kakashi to themselves.
As if snapping out of their own heads, Naruto turned to Kakashi and smiled. "Kakashi-sensei, you haven't changed at all have you?"
"Hm?" Kakashi looked up from the book he was reading and looked at Naruto with an unmotivated look. "ah, perhaps you're right." He said and closed the book before putting it in his pouch.
"Hehehe. Then that's good, I almost forgot about this. I have something for you." Naruto said and put his hand in his pouch and pulled out something from it.
"NA-NARUTO! Y-YOU..." Looking at the book in Naruto's hands, Kakashi's eye shot wide open in shock.
"It's the latest in the Icha-icha series, y'know. The first in three years. I figured you'd like it even though it's probably totally boring." Naruto said with a smile.
"Naruto...Thank you."
...
Meanwhile, a certain sage suddenly sneezed and rubbed his nose as he thought. 'Someone is probably bad-mouthing me somewhere. I wonder who.'
"Are you okay?" Tsunade asked as she shot him a glance as she walked in front of him.
"Totally. What could possibly go wrong with me right now? I'm the only person that can comfortably admire the sight in front of me now." She said with a perverted smile as he watched her waist move from one side to the other in a very tantalizing rhythm.
Tsunade, oblivious to his perverted smile, nodded as she entered her office.
"Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, welcome back." Shizune greeted dutifully to which the two nodded .
"You're still as beautiful as always Shizune-chan." Jiraiya praised causing the young lady to smile wryly.
"You just used that one minutes ago."
"Eh? Did I? Hehehe, I must be losing my touch, eh Tsuna-chan."
Tsunade pretended not to have heard him as she sat down and asked. "So...how was it?".
"What?" Jiraiya, totally caught off guard by the change asked.
"Your investigation as well as training...How was it?" She asked.
Jiraiya, hearing this, puffed his cheek as he poured. "Is that how you welcome your only friend after so many years?"
"..."
"First off, not my only friend. Second, you were gone for just two years and a few months. Be serious for one Jiraiya." Tsunade said with a tired sigh before she smiled slightly. "I trust you've been well so there's no need for all that between us."
Jiraiya laughed. "You're right about that, anyways..."
He then began narrating everything he managed to gather during this period training Naruto while also reporting on Naruto's immense growth.
"In short, that group has been lying low ever since the war in Kirigakure was put to an end. I don't know if it was because of that man or simply because they've achieved their goal."
"One thing I know is that, this seclusion of theirs will come to an end sooner rather than later, and from my conjectures, this is the silence before a storm, and this storm won't be just any storm." Jiraiya said gravely.
"Oh?" Tsunade wore a grim look as she listened to him.
"From what I managed to gather about their members, any one of them could single-handedly defeat a great village." Jiraiya added.
"Isn't that a bit too much?" Shizune interrupted due to the shock. "Even Kawaki-san isn't that strong..."
"I wouldn't know, but unlike Kawaki who might have emotions and a conscience, these fellows don't. So they can use any means necessary to achieve whatever goal they set their eyes on."
"I understand...And Itachi, have you managed to contact him yet? From what we know, he's still on our side right?" Tsunade asked and Jiraiya nodded.
"I too held some doubts after you sent me that letter. Although I appreciate that fellow, Shun, it was still his words against the obvious facts. However, when I finally met Itachi...well, I understood something..."
"What's that?"
"We're really getting old." Jiraiya said and burst out laughing.
Tsunade had an understanding expression on her face as she reclined on her chair. "We really are. But what brought that about?"
"Well, despite knowing and believing that my disguise is top notch, he still managed to notice me. I was just observing him after you sent that letter. I wanted to know and understand why you wanted to believe he was still good, so I stalked him."
"You stalked him? I heard his partner is that Kisame of the Mist. The Tailless tailed beast. What if he had caught you?" Tsunade frowned as she queried.
Jiraiya waved his hand in dismissal. "My disguise is without fault. It's just... perhaps the Sharingan? But even that isn't possible...The Sharingan can't see Natural Energy so..."
"Anyways, during my investigation, he managed to make contact with me and that was when I understood how old we seemed to be getting."
"How so?"
"That Kisame, together with the sameheda, he's impervious to Genjutsu, that's the reason he was paired with Itachi. Apparently it was to keep him in check. However, he was still caught in one. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving side of that eye." Jiraiya concluded and then began narrating the discussion between them both.
"Apparently, they've never really seen the leader's true face, but everyone believes it to be someone who wields the Rinnegan."
"What!?" Both Tsunade and Shizune cried in shock. "The Rinnegan? That Rinnegan?"
"The eye of the Sage of Six Paths..." Jiraiya specified.
"..."
There was a moment of silence as the trio took everything in.
"You said everyone believes...does that mean he isn't?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Itachi believes it to be so. That masked man from your letter. He believes him to be the true leader."
"So the Rinnegan wielder is probably a puppet or collaborator." Tsunade surmised and Jiraiya nodded.
"And the others...did he give you any information on the other members?" Tsunade asked to which Jiraiya brought out a scroll and placed it in front of her.
"We really need to prepare..." After saying that, he walked towards the window. "On another note, how have you been?"
"Well, the paperworks hasn't been merciful." She joked with a small smile causing Jiraiya to laugh uproariously.
"You can always retire and leave it to those brats. Kakashi would do a great job as Kage." He offered but Tsunade shook her head.
"This is my grandfather's legacy, I'll do my best while I can. Plus, what kind of Kage would I be if I left office when the village is soon to face a catastrophe?"
"Haha. That's why you're the best for this job...So, anything else?"
"Well, other than the paperwork, my students have been if great help in relieving my stress."
"Oh? Those three? How good are they?"
"The best." Shizune answered. "In fact, I'm actually jealous of their talent when it comes to Medical Ninjutsu."
"Don't be too hard on yourself Shizune, you're also good in your own right." Tsunade said.
"That's..." Shizune didn't know whether it was a consolation or an encouragement so she didn't know how to reply.
"Sakura, Ino and Hinata. Those three...well, considering the fact that Sakura is a civilian, I'll say she's the most talented of the three." Tsunade explained.
"Hinata seems to pick up everything I teach overnight in theory, but she's never been able to progress past the intermediate level yet."
"Ino has good sensory perception so she's able to administer proper medication but like Hinata, she too can't progress further than the intermediate level. For some reason, she isn't motivated enough."
"I get that feeling... Peace, it has a way of making people forget what transpired, the deaths and sacrifices made..." Jiraiya said with a forlorn expression.
"Yet we still have to preserve the peace." Tsunade said and Jiraiya nodded.
"And then there's Sakura... I gotta say, team Seven really is the same in every generation don't you think?"
"Haha, I get what you mean. But still, I don't think anyone could really outshine the shine of this one... Jiraiya the Gallant."
Tsunade scoffed at the man. "Keep telling yourself that."
The two then went on to chat a bit before Tsunade proposed.
"How about we let the two fight against someone to assess their strength?"
"Oh? That makes sense. But who?"
"Kakashi. He's been doing nothing since his team disbanded, I think it's time he got back his position as Sensei."
As the two conversed, numerous parties were already on the move, and soon, the appointed time for the nexus events that will usher in a new era would begin to unfold.
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