Chapter 41
JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage
"A barrier to counter a space-time jutsu?" asked the white-haired Sanin as he and the Uchiha clan heir carried on with their journey.
"Yes," and the older man rubbed his chin as they traversed the Land of Waves, trying to find out any clue to the movement of Kiri nin, yet he was intrigued by the question.
Much intrigued.
He had thought that the journey with the boy would be dull and dour, but he was quite surprised by the boy's astute mind, observations, and how quickly he absorbed his lessons.
It had only been a few weeks, and already, the boy had made quite some progress in sensing and was rather eager to move toward Senjutsu.
"Why would you even need such a barrier?" he asked, curious about his need.
The young Uchiha became quiet.
"I just do," and the question was strange, for there were but a few shinobi who had an affinity for space-time techniques. Even the boy himself lacked this affinity.
His special fuinjutsu, as impressive as it was, was not actually a space-time technique but more of a modified barrier technique.
In truth, Jiraiya only knew of one shinobi who employed this unique technique, and it was none other than Minato.
"Truth is that I am no master of barrier techniques," he admitted to his own shortcoming, for he did not wish to mislead the boy.
"And space-time jutsus are an enigma to deal with. I know of no technique or barrier that would prove effective against it, so I am afraid I cannot help you with it," and the boy's face dulled.
"But," he added as the boy perked up at his words.
"If there was a way to deal with this, then you would have to separate the two components of space-time ninjutsu," he added what little he could, trying to give the boy some direction.
"What do you mean?" they came upon another lake, and Jiraiya tried to think up the best way of explaining it as he began.
"Most space-time techniques are combination techniques that deal with, as the name suggests, space and time," he elaborated, and Hiraishin was one such example.
"Combating a technique as a whole would be a massive undertaking, but if you could separate the two components and disturb even one of them..." The boy's eyes lit up as he understood his point.
"Then you effectively dismantle the entire technique," and he clapped his hands.
CLAP!
"Exactly. I would suggest looking into Space, for you will find more literature on this topic because time as a concept and technique has rarely been explored," and the boy nodded, taking his advice.
"Thank you for your guidance," the boy said, as he gave him a small bow, as he simply waved him away.
"Maa! Maa, it is nothing for a man such as me," he boasted before his smile vanished as he looked into those black irises.
"So, are you really ready to delve into the art of senjutsu?" he asked, and the boy's eyes widened in surprise as he asked.
"So, you are finally going to show it to me." he was fast running out of things to teach the boy, and he had a hunch that their time together would soon be coming to an end.
How and Why? He did not yet know, but he had come to trust his hunches, and so it would not be wise to waste any more time.
"Well, it was why you decided to join me, so I can see no reason not to delve into it," and the boy's eyes lit up, as his own had when he had first learned of the technique, but he wondered how long this enthusiasm would last, for Senjutsu was one of if not the most difficult techniques to learn.
Even he, after having spent decades, had yet to master it, and that all would matter only if you even possessed some affinity for it, for you could be a Kage, and yet if you lacked the affinity for it, you would never be able to learn it.
"But do understand this, Izuna-kun, that Senjutsu is not like most techniques," he warned him so that he would not be dejected later on.
"It is a very rare technique and can only be taught in a few ways," and the boy nodded.
"The Three Great Summons?" he guessed, and it seemed the boy had looked into the matter.
"Yes, while there may be some other ways, predominantly Senjutsu can only be learned through one of the three great summons. I myself am a pupil of the Great Toad Sages of Mount Myoboku," he added, and the boy nodded.
"Yet, even my own teammates who possess the summoning contracts of these Great Summons lack the affinity for it and are yet unable to delve into the art of senjutsu," though he doubted that Orochimaru would let such a thing stop him.
"Now, I have been told that you have an affinity for one of the Great Summons yourself," and it was the only reason this all made sense, because of the boy lacked the contract for it, then it would all be for naught.
"Yes," he said as he slid up his sleeve and showed him a tattoo on his arm, one that coiled around his forearm in the form of snakes.
"Have you signed a contract with them?" he asked, and the boy shook his head, showing that he had better sense than most other shinobi.
"I already have a contract with a minor summons," and he knew of the Uchiha's contract with the Crows, but this was an entirely different matter.
"The Snakes are much more selective of their summoner than the toads, but if you wish to learn Senjutsu, then you must form a contract with them, for you will find no better teacher than the great Summons," and the boy nodded.
"So, I must do a reverse summoning?" he asked, and Jiraiya nodded as he reached into his pocket and took out a scroll he had prepared specifically for this purpose.
"This is a reverse summoning scroll," he said to the boy.
"If things go awry in the Summon's realm, then I want you to use it and get out of there in an instant," and this was the mistake he had made when he had signed with the Toads, and he was lucky that they were as cordial as they were, for he could have easily lost his life.
"This is tied to me and will summon you back here," he said as the boy pocketed the scroll.
"I will be waiting for you right here," and with that, the boy nodded and backed away.
"Do you know the handseals?" he asked, and the boy did not answer as he took a deep breath, bit his thumb, and began to cycle through a set of rather familiar handseals.
"Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu..."
FWOOSH!
And so, he vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving Jiraiya all alone as he plopped down and sighed.
"Good luck kid...." he whispered as he took out some paper and began to work on the manuscript for his new book.
"Now, let's see how long this will take you. After all, it took me around a month to convince those stubborn toads to let me get back..." many in the village had thought him dead and had been rather surprised when he had suddenly returned along with a signed summoning contract with one of the Great Summons.
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DANZO SHIMURA
There was a reason that he had pushed that the next Hokage would be him, or a someone allied with him, and yet all his efforts had been for naught as he was betrayed by Orochimaru at the last moment.
And so Namikaze had become the Yondaime, and he had hoped that with Hiruzen's intervention, the boy would dare not turn his eye towards his direction, and yet he had been wrong.
He had underestimated Namikaze, or rather, the Uchiha clan heir, for his current predicament may have come at the orders of the Hokage, yet he knew that the person behind it all was none other than Izuna Uchiha.
And he cursed himself for not ridding the village of that cur as he found himself a prisoner in his own home, unable to leave the place or meet with anyone without the explicit permission of their new Kage.
"This is preposterous!" he thundered to Hiruzen, for in all his endeavors, the blame lay with him just as much as it did with himself.
"The greenhorn humiliated me, and yet you do nothing," he thundered as Hiruzen stood infront of him, his garb now much changed and simpler from his time as a Kage.
He still wore a gown and a hat, but they were now plain white and decorated with the symbol of his clan rather than the village, as the Hokage's gown and hat were. That did not mean that his power had lessened much.
"Mind your tongue, old friend," Hiruzen cut in sharply as he stared into his eyes.
"The greenhorn you speak of is the Hokage of this village. I will not let you insult him or his station," and he ground his teeth as he scoffed.
"I was right about him. The boy knows nothing of sacrifice and duty. He imprisons me in my own home, and for what?" he asked, for the only crime he was guilty of was loyalty to this village.
And he was being punished for it.
"For my loyalty. For having the stomach to do what you could not!" and yet Hiruzen walked away scot-free, as he pushed all the blame onto him.
"No," Hiruzen answered.
"You are being punished not for your loyalty, Danzo," he began as he walked forward.
"I always warned you to not go too far, and I trusted your words when you said you would not, but I was a fool," he said as his voice grew frail and thin as Danzo stilled.
"Recruiting clan children for the foundation using my name and authority, taking kids from the orphanages, wiping their records, and then killing and spreading propaganda against your own comrades," Hiruzen thundered as Danzo's grip over his cane tightened.
"I only did what was in the best interest of the village!" he defended himself, but Hiruzen's gaze sharpened as he shook his head.
"No, you only did what you could to hoard as much power as you could," and he scoffed.
"You blame me now, yet you were Hokage for decades, and I did it all under your rule and supervision." But he had come to blame him now.
"You were always too weak to do what was needed, what was necessary. It was why you never bothered to look into how I got it all done. You chose to remain oblivious, for you had no stomach for it," and Hiruzen's chakra thundered across the room as the wood cracked.
"You lied to me, Danzo! For all these years, you lied, and yet you now blame me for your actions!" he thundered.
"Then how was I to recruit for the foundation? How was I to punish our enemies? Tell me!" he challenged, and Hiruzen had no answer.
And that was what differentiated the two of them. Hiruzen had been blessed with a glib tongue, yet he was a failure when it came to action. He did not have the heart for it, to do what was necessary. What was needed?
"I did not ask you to recruit and use literal children," and so the secrets were finally out, it seemed, and it was interesting that Namikaze had uncovered it all as quickly as he had, for he had buried it all rather well.
Orochimaru, suddenly, his mind clicked. It must have been him and that Uchiha.
"He wanted to kill you, prosecute you for treason," Hiruzen suddenly added as Danzo found himself stunned, and when I read all that you had done in secret, a part of me wanted to agree with him.
"But you are right. This is not just your crime. It is mine as well, and so I intervened on your behalf and had him spare your life," and walked past him.
"And you are not the only one being punished. I had to give up my own seat at the new Council for you, had to see my own students lose their faith and respect in me, all because of you," Hiruzen added as Danzo scoffed
"If you think that I will grovel at your feet with gratitude, then you are mistaken," he said as he walked past his old friend.
"I know, but I wanted you to know this so that you may not make any other mistake, for I may have been able to still Minato's hand once," and then he walked towards the door and slid it open as he added gravely.
"I won't be able to stay it a second time," and as the door closed, Danzo's frustrations began to show as he struck his cane on the ground so hard that it broke into pieces.
CRACK!
"That bastard!" he cursed at the little Uchiha prick. He had truly underestimated his resourcefulness, and now the boy had rid him of everything—his honor, his station, and his freedom.
"I should have had you killed when I had the chance," and he regretted not sending more men after him the day his team had died to finish the job, for his one little mistake had come to bite him back.
0000
In a land far away, a young, beaten, and battered boy stood defiant in the darkness, huffing tiredly as he gazed directly into the giant eyes of one of the most feared creatures in existence—the Snake Sage.
Izuna could hardly remember just how much time had passed, as he barely clung to life after completing two of the three trials and now it was time for the last trial, and he found himself face to face with the Great White Snake Sage.
The air was thick with smoke, and even then, everywhere he looked, he found himself staring at its massive body, which had grown so large that it melded into the ground, as the Sage itself sat on a giant throne while smoking.
"Impressive," a sharp, shrill voice spread all over the cave as Izuna perspired profusely, his body continuously trying to fight the poison lingering in the air.
"You are the first person to make it so far in quite some years," the White Snake Sage continued in her words as she began to slide down from her throne and began to coil itself around him.
"Even that kid, Orochimaru, for all his talents, lacked the courage to take the final test," and Izuna felt himself still as the Summon put its face in front of him, and such was her size that it could swallow him whole with a single bite as it stared into his eyes.
"Tell me, boy, do you wish to take the last test, or do you wish to retire as well, like your predecessor?" it offered, and as tempted as he was to retire, he knew that this was an opportunity he could not give up on.
"But do know this, that if you choose to return, you shall never have this opportunity again," and that he knew so. Despite his tiredness, he pushed himself up and straightened his back as he looked the White Snake Sage in the eyes as he gave his answer.
"I will continue...."
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