{Ino's home, Yamanaka Clan Compound, Konohagakure}
{5:53 PM, 6th July 13 Yrs ANB}
{3rd Person POV}
"You know you can't beat me right or I'll pop..."
...
'I'm an idiot,' Ren mentally facepalmed as he realized he made a silly joke, he didn't need to make her focus on the fact that he was just a clone.
"Hey, it's alright, I'll be fine okay," Ren reassured her.
Ino nodded as she sighed, now that her mom and dad were not here she leaned closer and once again settled for a soft hug. They stayed like that for a moment.
"How much danger are you really in?" Ino asked as she mumbled against Ren's chest. The giddy feeling that she was feeling was overwhelmed with worry right now. It's been almost two years since she started hanging out with Ren, along the way somehow he had become an important part of her life.
They hadn't talked much since they became genin but Ino always thought that they were still too young and had a lot of time on their hands.
"Not much, I am actually a missing-nin, and as long as I don't have any underhand dealings with Konoha my life wouldn't be in any danger," Ren replied honestly.
"But your shadow clone is here, this is basically you spying right?" Ino asked the worry in her voice was on full display.
"Yeah but that was an accident, I made this shadow clone before going to Ame, so as long as I stay hidden and not reveal that I know the shadow clone technique I should be fine," Ren replied.
"I don't like this should that you keep talking about," Ino muttered.
Ren sighed, he had nothing to say to that. He looked at the clock from the corner of his eyes and let go of Ino.
"I need to report the memories that I got to Hokage-sama," Ren nudged Ino. Ino slowly let go of Ren and nodded, the reluctance to let go was plainly visible on her face.
"Don't worry, once I settle in I will be back. I should remain stationed in Konoha for the foreseeable future." Ren reassured her and she nodded.
"Alright, I'll see you later," Ren said and got another silent nod from Ino. He sighed as he leaned forward, he slightly kissed her cheeks and whispered, "Take care..."
Ren stood up slowly and walked out of the room, "Thank you for having me," he shouted towards Inoichi and Karui who was in the kitchen before he walked out of the room and used body flicker jutsu.
There were several things that were left unsaid, and Ren could feel the slight gap that was between their feelings. Ino looked like she was more invested in this relationship, and while he liked her too and maybe even liked her more than he thought.
It wasn't up to the level as that. Other than Hayate sensei she was his only emotional connection, and maybe her influence on his actions was a little bit more. But right now, his main body was in the middle of a hostile territory and he can't deal with this right now.
...
——————————————————
{In an Underground Base, Land of Grass}
{5:53 PM, 6th July 13 Yrs ANB}
{3rd Person POV}
Orochimaru sat on a small throne in an abandoned safe house, he was waiting for Kabuto to show up. His plan that he had etched up for months and years was ruined as Suna declined his offer to help Rasa sneak into Konoha to try and attempt to assassinate sensei.
He was somewhat frustrated at the destruction of his plan but at the same time he was intrigued, he wasn't expecting it to go down like that. When did someone crop up who could kill Gaara in Konoha's genin corps?
The door opened and Kabuto walked through the door, he adjusted his glasses as Orochimaru scrutinized his protege. The one plus side of their plan failing was that Kabuto could continue to act as a spy.
"Kukuku, what do you have for me, Kabuto-kun," Orochimaru leaned forward as he looked into Kabuto's eyes, his attempts to break through Kabuto's guard didn't work as he presented 3 ninja info cards to him.
'He's getting more confident...kukukuku' Orochimaru chuckled as he focused on the cards. Each of these cards contained the detailed information that Kabuto had gained on Sasuke, Hinata, and Ren.
His eyes twinkled as he realized that Hinata had also survived the implantation of his curse seal though his expression quickly upside down when he read through the special note attached to it.
"What do you mean that the leaf shinobi were able to slow down the advancement of my curse seal?" Orochimaru asked.
"I wasn't able to get much info on that, though they were unsuccessful in the end. Someone managed to figure out that your seal was latching onto Sasuke and Hinata's chakra signature like a parasite. They used yin release to slow down the seal but it shouldn't work. Konoha doesn't have anyone skilled enough who could precisely detach your seal after it is implanted." Kabuto replied, he was quite confident in his theory
But Orochimaru didn't think so, he stood up and spoke, "Get ready we are going on a trip..."
'Tch- Knowing Sarutobi sensei he would immediately contact Tsunade to try and see if she could do something about it...' Orochimaru thought as he frowned. He could see Kabuto was quite confident in his analysis but he ignored him.
If it was one thing he knew, it was to not ignore his teammates that he had grown up with. He knew that even the goofy Jiraiya could become formidable when it came to anything related to fuinjutsu. Similarly, he wouldn't bet against Tsuande when it comes to medical ninjutsu.
Kabuto was a genius but he wasn't Tsunade, "Let's go, it seems a reunion with a teammate is in order."
A grin stretched across his features, now that the world was rapidly approaching the 4th Shinobi World War, it wouldn't hurt to have an old teammate by his side.
——————————————————
{Konoha Hospital, Konohagukure}
{At the same time}
Jiraiya landed on the window and peered in, his godson was sitting on a table talking to Hinata with an animated expression. It was Sasuke who first noticed his presence, he refrained from turning on his Sharingan as he remembered the pain he went through the last time he tried that.
"Hoh, now that's quite a scene," Jiraiya announced as he stepped into the room, Naruto jumped over Hinata's bed and stood in front of him with a guarded expression on his face as he took a neutral stance.
"Who are you and what are you doing here," Naruto exclaimed, his eyes frantically scanning the room for any space to launch an attack.
In a different space and timeline, Jiraiya and Naruto would still meet on the same day and the different circumstances led to their first conversation to lead into a different direction.
"I don't have time for this brat, come on, I know someone who could heal your teammates." Jiraiya grinned as he flickered and vanished.
...
"Huh?" Naruto muttered as he looked at the empty space in front of him then he stared at the weird expression that his teammates had.
"Did you guys also see a senile old man walk through the window?" Naruto asked.
"I'M NOT SENILE, NOW COME OUT BRAT!"
...