[FFML] [Naruto] One Hundred Weeks - Prelude: Meetings and a Parting

[Aaron Nowack]

Oh boy.

Well it's been years since I released any fanfiction, and longer since I
wrote anything substantial.  I'm not sure what I was thinking, but the
bug bit me again and I got bit hard.  We'll see if I can build up some
momentum, and how long that lasts.

This is a sequel to my previous Naruto fanfiction, One Hundred Days,
which possibly some of you may remember.  I've tried to make this
readable without having read the original, but I don't know how well I
did.  Due to being a sequel to a years-old fanfic of an ongoing series,
its relationship to canon is... strained, so please bear with the oddities.

for the curious, the best location to read One Hundred Days is probably
Fanfiction.Net, here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2663204/1/One_Hundred_Days

As always, I welcome all forms of C&C, even a one-line note to let me
know I have an audience.  I deeply hope that this isn't too horrible.
On with the show...

One Hundred Weeks
A Naruto Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack

Prelude: Meetings and A Parting

***********************************************************************
Disclaimer:  Contrary to its status in several improbable alternate
universes, Naruto does not belong to me.  It belongs to Kishimoto
Masashi; I'm just borrowing it without permission.  However, the blame
for the actual text of this fanfiction is mine.  Also, cucumbers.
***********************************************************************

        The village council of the Leaf Village was, in many ways,
nothing but a useful fiction.  No document spelled out its members, its
procedures, or its powers.  Not a single ninja wearing the Leaf on her
forehead, when asked, would proclaim that her loyalty was to the village
council.  There was, in short, no authority vested in the council that
existed beyond the personal power of its members, most importantly that
of the Hokage.  That was the only kind of power that mattered, in the
end.
        The group meeting late at night in the Hokage's private chambers
had even less formality and fewer members than the usual meeting of the
council.  Yet by that most important metric it was as powerful as many
of the largest and most elaborate incarnations of the village council.
None of the few present were in this room due to political connections,
due to past glory that was not reflected in present wisdom, nor due to
accident of birth.
        The Hidden Leaf's Fifth Hokage, Tsunade of the legendary Sannin,
did not think that this night would produce decisions of great
importance.  It was unlikely that any formal proclamation at all would
come from this meeting, and she was probably the only one to think of it
as a council meeting at all.  But in Tsunade's mind, this gathering had
more claim to the title than many of the scheduled council meetings she
had held.
        "Thank you all for coming," she said as she poured sake for her
guests, as though she were nothing more than an ordinary woman who had
invited her neighbors over for drinks.  There were no servants or
retainers in the Hokage's mansion, not under Tsunade's reign.
        Seated at Tsunade's left, Shizune accepted a cup from her
mentor.  Shizune herself was likely the only member of this council who
did not consider Tsunade's long-time student an equal member of the
group.  She might not yet have the infamous reputations or recognized
titles of the others, but she had learned from Tsunade for over a
decade, and was one of the premier medical ninja in the world.  Shizune
murmured thanks to the older woman, then glanced across the low table at
the only other person to match her relative youth.
        "Are you feeling all right, Kakashi-kun?" she asked softly.
Sharingan Kakashi, the infamous Copy Ninja, had only recently been
released from Shizune's care at the Leaf Village's hospital, recovering
from his, thankfully brief, captivity in the Cloud Village.
        "Of course," he answered cheerfully as Tsunade poured him a cup
as well.  He took it, and when he sipped even Tsunade's keen eyes didn't
see his cloth mask disturbed.  "With both you and Hokage-sama looking
after me, was there any question?"
        "Yes," Tsunade answered shortly.  Kakashi had almost killed
himself, trying to fight with chakra-inhibiting drugs still in his
system.  That the alternative - letting Orochimaru kidnap Naruto without
a fight - had been unacceptable did not reduce Tsunade's irritation, but
it did redirect it at the Hidden Sound's leader.  She turned her
attention to her right and poured for her final guest.
        Jiraiya the Toad Hermit took his drink, then when Tsunade set
the bottle down lifted it and returned the favor, filling his former
teammate's own glass.  With a rudeness Tsunade would have found
offensive in almost anyone else, he emptied his whole glass in one gulp
and refilled it himself.  "Been a long few weeks," he said simply.
        Shizune gazed into her own glass for a few moments, then drained
it with only slightly more decorum.  "A longer few months," she said in
agreement, holding out her empty glass.  Jiraiya filled it, then placed
the bottle back on the table.
        "Do you realize," Tsunade said, "that over the course of the
past year, all five Kages died?"
        The sentence hung in the air for several moments.  Then Kakashi
held out a suddenly empty cup.  As Tsunade refilled it, he shook his
head.  "I never thought of it that way, but it's true, isn't it?"
        "Orochimaru killed Sarutobi-sensei," Jiraiya said darkly.
        "The Kazekage first, if we can believe the Sand," Tsunade said.
        Kakashi blinked his visible eye.  "Do we think they're lying
about that?  I don't know why else they'd have been so eager to rejoin
the alliance.  We weren't - still aren't - in any position to invade
them."
        "The whole conspiracy with the Sound was part of a power play
against the Wind Country daimyo," Jiraiya said.  "It's awfully
convenient that as soon as things started to go sour for the Kazekage's
faction, he turns up dead in a way that lets the Sand avoid any
responsibility for his actions."
        "They're still arguing over who will be the next Kazekage,"
Shizune commented.  She refilled Tsunade's almost empty cup.  "It looks
like that could go on for years at this rate."
        "The Raikage was killed by the High Priestess of the Thunder
Dragon," Kakashi said after a brief silence.  That had happened as
Jiraiya, Naruto, and he had escaped the Cloud Village.
        "Kaida," Jiraiya said bitterly, naming the woman who had been
second only to the Raikage in that village.  She had been Jiraiya's
friend and ally, and he had trusted her to examine Naruto's seal when it
began to weaken.  She had also been a member of the criminal
organization Akatsuki.
        "It's weird to say," Kakashi said, "but do you think we can
convince the Cloud that I didn't convince her apprentice to turn
traitor?  I actually feel kind of bad for her."  Sinobi Junhime had been
the one to capture Kakashi.  She had also been the one to reveal Kaida's
treachery, giving her life to kill the High Priestess.
        Tsunade shook her head.  "I'm afraid to say anything to them
about that mess," she said.  "The last thing we need is for the Cloud to
decide that you let yourself be captured in order to infiltrate the
their village and assassinate all three of them.  There's no telling
what might set them off."
        "My network's weak in Lightning Country," Jiraiya said, "but I
hear things are starting to get ugly there.  Might even be a civil war
in the making."  He sighed.  "I'd rather it happened to the Mist, but
there's rumors that they've already selected a new Mizukage."
        "That's fast," Shizune said.  "Less than a month after his
death."  No one was rude enough to point out aloud that Jiraiya was the
one who had killed the previous Mizukage.
        "The Mist are never going to agree to peace now, not when they
think I broke truce to ambush the Mizukage," Tsunade said.  "And
Orochimaru got away too, the slippery bastard."
        "At least we caught a lucky break when that old fart in Rock
finally kicked the bucket," Jiraiya said.  "I can work with Hojo."
        "And your first deal with him," Tsunade replied, "left Rock
ninja squatting all over the Rain and Rice Field Countries and on our
borders again.  We spent generations kicking those bastards back behind
their mountains, and now we're almost right back where my grandfather
started."
        "It also," Shizune said, "crushed the Sound and helped us get
Naruto out of Orochimaru's hands."  Shizune had lead the team of fresh
chuunin that had gone on that desperate rescue mission into Rice Field
Country.
        "I know."  Tsunade wanted to bury her face in her hands, but
settled for taking a large sip.  "But now I have to deal with the
costs."
        "Once is chance," Kakashi said after a moment's silence.  "Twice
is coincidence.  Three times is enemy ninja," he quoted the famous
maxim.
        "So what the hell is five times, hmm?" Jiraiya asked.  "I'm
tempted to blame Orochimaru."
        "He certainly has his fingers in all this chaos," Shizune said.
        "The Tsuchikage was just old age," Tsunade said, "and I doubt
you're his agent, Jiraiya."
        "He wanted me at that battle," Jiraiya said darkly, then shook
his head.  "I don't think to kill the Mizukage, though.  He isn't a god.
There's no way he could have predicted that particular outcome."
        "I think he wanted you there to keep the Leaf from falling apart
after he killed me," Tsunade replied.  "He said he wanted the war to
keep going."
        "Possibly," Jiraiya said.  "It's twisty enough to be his
motive."  He groaned.  "Trying to think like him makes my head hurt."

***********************************************************************

        "I believe this is where I ask you to give me a reason not to
kill you," Orochimaru asked.  Shadows obscured the legendary missing
ninja's face.  If he hadn't known his master so well, Yakushi Kabuto
would not have been able to tell that he had once again discarded the
seeming of his original body.  Most likely he had been forced to shed
his skin to escape the battle between the Leaf and Mist, and had not yet
had time to regrow his disguise.
        "Must you ask?" Kabuto said as he kneeled before his master's
throne.  This chamber, deep underneath Orochimaru's new hideout on an
abandoned island in the Water Country, was identical to the one beneath
the Rice Field Country stronghold Kabuto had fled a month prior.  It was
not surprising, considering that both fortresses had been created by a
custom summoning technique the renegade Sannin had invented.
        "I'm told I have no tolerance for failures," Orochimaru said.
He smiled.  "I'm not sure I've ever had to discipline someone for losing
a country before."
         "Temporarily mislaid, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said.  "The Rice
Field Country has a long history of fighting foreign occupation.  If
anything, this will help us bring the wayward clans like the Fuuma back
into the Sound Village."
        "Perhaps," Orochimaru said.  "I'm not sure whether that village
has outlived its purpose or not."
        "A Hidden Village is a tool with many uses, even if one doesn't
need it at the moment."  Kabuto pondered the possibilities for a moment.
"Perhaps if we had it reform under an agent, rather than ruling it
directly?"
        "You may be thinking too far ahead," Orochimaru said.  "There's
supposed to be more groveling first before I forgive you, at least from
my reading."
         Kabuto sighed.  "Icha Icha In The Grasp Of The Dark Ninja
Daimyo, Orochimaru-sama?" he asked, naming Jiraiya's most recent work.
How the Toad Hermit found the time to churn them out, the medical ninja
could never figure out.
        Orochimaru laughed.  "Do tell me if you're planning to fall for
a captured kunoichi I desire for myself, please.  I'd hate to be
surprised by your inevitable betrayal in the name of love and justice."
        Kabuto let himself grin slightly.  "Not for those, Orochimaru-
sama."
        "No, I suppose not."  Orochimaru leaned forward, a hungry light
seeming to glint in his inhuman eyes.  "So."
        "I managed to get out of the country with your... apprentice in
hand," Kabuto said, "as you well know.  And Tayuya-chan, so that plan
can proceed."
        "I don't suppose she's managed to get herself pregnant yet?"
Orochimaru asked.
        "Sasuke-kun has proven uninterested in subtle prompting so far,"
Kabuto said.  "I suppose he's still young, after all.  I hesitated to
order her to force the issue without your permission."
        Orochimaru waved a hand lazily in the air.  "We have time."
        Kabuto just nodded.
        "What of the rest of them?" his master asked.
        "Kidoumaru-kun is here," Kabuto said.  "Jabisen-kun and Midori-
chan were lost in the fighting with the Leaf."
        "I suppose I'll need two new ones then," Orochimaru said, "if
we're to keep this little tradition."
        "I'm sure I can find a few ninja willing to join the Sound
Five," Kabuto said.  "With luck, two will survive gaining their seals."
        Orochimaru smiled.  "I've done a little work in improving that,"
he said, "since you insisted.  The last two both survived, did they
not?"
        "It was touch-and-go for a while with Midori-chan," Kabuto said.
"I'm afraid I don't know what happened to her teacher.  I suspect the
Leaf killed or captured her, but I can't be sure."
        "A renegade Mist jounin, or even the genin, would be
inconvenient now, in any case," Orochimaru said.
        "So we are still allied to the Mist, then?"
        "Of course," Orochimaru said, shifting in his throne.  He leaned
forward again, his stolen face grave as it came into the light.  "I am
deeply sorrowed that I was not able to predict the depths of my former
teammates' treachery.  Rest assured, I and my village will do everything
in our power to help the Mist avenge this foul deed."  He sat back and
laughed.  "There's no one left to claim I struck first except Tsunade-
hime, and who would believe her?"
        "I would," Kabuto offered generously.  "Not that it is any help
to her."  He paused.  "Are those enough reasons to spare me, or should I
give you more?"
        "I suppose I won't kill you for now," Orochimaru said.  "I do
need someone to run things here while I go to meet with the new
Mizukage.  Try not to let the Leaf conquer the Water Country while I'm
gone."
        "I'll try," Kabuto replied.  "Who did they pick?"
        "Terumii Mei," Orochimaru said.  "She might have received the
title the last time, but she declined rather than fight it out when some
of the old guard objected to such a prominent reformer taking the
title."
        "Hmm."  Kabuto said.  "I wonder why she didn't go missing ninja
and found her own village."
        "Don't be silly, Kabuto-kun," Orochimaru warned.  "I might still
kill you when I get back."  Despite the words, there was no anger in his
voice.
        "I'll keep that in mind, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto promised.

***********************************************************************

        "I admit," Kakashi said as he stared at his half-empty cup of
sake, "that I did not expect to be discussing such matters when you
invited me here, Hokage-sama.  Now I'm feeling depressed."
        Tsunade let out a grunt.  "Don't expect me to apologize for
that.  Try my stupid hat on for size, then see how you feel about this
mess."
        "What did you expect to talk about, Kakashi-kun?" Shizune asked.
Her cup had been empty for some time, but she had waved off all attempts
to refill it.
        "Given the company," Kakashi said, "I had thought the topic was
my students."  The folds of his mask twisted into a grimace.  "Or my
former students, rather."
        "I'd expect the brat to have already talked your ears off,"
Jiraiya said.  His face was slightly flushed, but he gave no other sign
of the copious amounts of sake he'd imbibed this evening.
        Kakashi's visible eye wandered over to the male Sannin.  "He
did, but to be honest I don't know how much of what I remember him
saying was real and how much was Shizune-san's... entertaining medical
concoctions.  You should sell those on the black market, by the way, if
you aren't already."
        Shizune's face reddened briefly.  "Kakashi-kun!" she protested,
but the copy ninja waved the complaint off.
        "Be nice to Shizune, Kakashi-kun," Tsunade said, "or I'll stick
you on sewer duty for the next six months."
        "Sorry, sorry," Kakashi said with a laugh.  "But, Jiraiya-sama,
did you really make Naruto dress like a girl all the way from Earth
Country to Lightning Country?"
        Jiraiya grinned.  "Halfway," he said.  "It was good for him.
Practice for his best technique."
        "Really?" Tsunade said dangerously.
        "Bah," Jiraiya said with a sigh.  "You have no sense of humor,
old woman."  Tsunade's eye twitched, and she almost stood.  Shizune
placed her hand on her teacher's shoulder, and the Hokage settled back
into her seat.
        "If you want the details, Kakashi-kun," Jiraiya said, "I'm
basing my next book on that little adventure."  His grin widened.  "It
has everything: cross-dressing, snow maidens, the fate of nations, and a
beautiful kunoichi out to avenge her fallen village!  I'm thinking it'll
be called 'Ice-Cold Icha Icha'."
        "Ooh," Kakashi said, a distant look in his eyes.
        Tsunade's fist slammed into the table, shaking him out of it and
sending sake flying out of her cup.  "That's quite enough of that."
        "Thank you," Shizune muttered.
        "All right, all right."  Jiraiya laughed.  "You know most of
what happened, Kakashi-kun.  The important parts, anyway.  You were
there for the tail end of it."
        Kakashi nodded, glancing at Tsunade.  "What about Sakura-chan,
then?  You've been keeping her busy, Hokage-sama, so I've barely seen
her.  I know she made chuunin at the exams."
        "Before she became your apprentice," Jiraiya said dryly, a
slight smile creeping onto his face.  "She was very clear on that when
we met up."  His expression smoothed.  "I'm a little curious why you let
Anko-chan make her a snake summoner, though."
        "Anko-chan is Anko-chan," Tsunade said, and that was all the
explanation that was needed.
        Jiraiya shook his head, and Kakashi laughed.  "Anything else
happen with my cutest little student while I was... gone?" the copy
ninja asked.  Tsunade and Shizune exchanged a look.  Jiraiya
straightened up in his seat at their reaction, and Kakashi blinked.
"What happened to her?" he asked quietly.
        The younger woman spoke first.  "She... hasn't talked to you
about her mother?" Shizune asked.
        "No," Kakashi said carefully.  "I suspected when I left that she
was having family problems, but..."
        "Haruno Amaya," Tsunade interrupted angrily, "was a traitor, a
spy for the Hidden Mist.  During the Mist attack on the village, she was
killed in battle by Leaf chuunin Haruno Sakura."
        "Oh," Kakashi breathed.
        "Gods preserve," Jiraiya said, his voice sickly.  "That... and
she was thrown back into combat so soon after, to rescue Naruto.  I
don't know if I could have handled that at thirteen."
        "We're keeping an eye on her," Shizune said.  "It was... bad,
for a little while, but she's holding up for now.  Other than that," she
trailed off with a sigh.
        "The worst thing we could do is to make her think that she
should be breaking down," Tsunade explained, "and make her feel guilty
for handling it as well as she has."
        Jiraiya sighed.  "We have to watch Naruto, too.  Or rather, his
unruly house-guest."  He shuddered.
        "We talked briefly," Tsunade said, "but you never did explain
exactly what was wrong."
        "The seal is weakening.  That's why we cut training with Hojo
short and went to see Kaida in the first place."  He took a deep breath,
then began to speak clinically.  "Naruto is experiencing manifestations,
where a visible red chakra shroud in the shape of a fox covers him.  As
more chakra comes out, he grows tails."
        "That's not good," Kakashi observed dryly.
        "No.  At one tail, he has some control, but not much.  At two,
he goes berserk.  I haven't let it go further, for obvious reasons."
Jiraiya sighed.  "Worse, the evidence is that the seal is starting to
work both ways.  Naruto is able to use the demon's chakra."  Jiraiya
stopped for a moment, then finished quietly.  "The fox is able to use
Naruto's chakra."
        "Damn it," Tsunade cursed.  "That's not supposed to happen."
        "It's a miracle that seal worked at all," Jiraiya said.  "It was
a desperate, hasty gamble, reverse-engineered from a half-complete,
stolen scroll.  Those two did great work with what they had, and
Sarutobi-sensei and I shored it up the best we could after the fact."
        "But it's trying to do two contradictory things," Tsunade said
quietly.  "Keep the demon contained, and let its chakra out."
        "And the chakra is the demon," Jiraiya agreed.  He paused a
moment.  "And Kaida was doing something to the seal, while she had
Naruto.  She was supposed to be strengthening it, but I don't think she
was."
        "Bad," Kakashi said after a moment.
        Shizune reached for the bottle of sake, and poured the last of
it into her cup.  "May the gods watch over both of them, and all of us,"
she said before taking a long drink.

***********************************************************************

        Naruto wasn't quite sure how his attempt to take Sakura on a
date had turned into a massive group dinner.  Looking back, the critical
moment had been when they'd run into Ino while arguing over whether they
were actually on a date.  The blonde kunoichi had been heading to meet
up with Shikamaru and Chouji for dinner, and Naruto and Sakura had
somehow wound up agreeing to join them.
        Shikamaru had been on gate duty - according to Sakura, who
normally worked with him as one of the Hokage's chuunin assistants, he
had said something sexist which had annoyed Tsunade enough to stick him
with the duty for a month - and had told them that Kiba and Shino's team
was back in the village, for the first time since the Chuunin Exams.
That had prompted an effort to track those three down and invite them
along.
        When they'd tracked Hinata down, she'd been finishing up a spar
with Neji - apparently those two were getting along reasonably now,
Naruto was glad to see.  After some stammering and flushing - the girl
was just weird like that - Hinata had agreed to come, then hesitatingly
asked her cousin if he wanted to come too.  Rather shockingly to Naruto,
he'd agreed, but on the condition that they extend invitations to Rock
Lee and Tenten also.
        Now, after about an hour running all over the village finding
teammates, eleven young genin and chuunin were stuffed into a private
room at the back of Chouji's favorite barbeque place.  He couldn't
complain too much about losing the chance at a date; the Akimichi Clan
was apparently picking up the tab.  Apparently the owners were a couple
of retired ninja from that clan, and Chouji claimed that, with the
friends and family discount, the Clan's budget wouldn't notice the
expense.
        More importantly, it had been a while since he had seen
everyone, and that was... good.  More than good, really.  He'd been away
from the village for months, longer than he ever had in his life.  It
was good to see his friends again, to be living in his own apartment
again.  Although that was kind of weird now, since Sakura was living in
the spare bedroom some of his caretakers had lived in when he was
younger.  He wasn't about to kick Sakura out, though.
        "So," Naruto said around a mouthful of meat as the conversation
came to a lull.  Everyone turned to look at him, and he swallowed.  "Who
all made chuunin?" he asked.  "I know Sakura-chan, Lee, Neji, and Ino."
        "I told you all that," Sakura said.
        "Eh," Naruto said, "we talked about a lot of things.  I don't
remember it all."
        "Of course not," the pink-haired girl muttered.  "That's about
it," she said.  "Except for Tenten-san."
        The thrown weapons expert nodded.  "And the guy from Waterfall
who had the crush on you."
        "Wh- he didn't," Sakura began.
        Ino laughed.  "You're blind, Forehead," she said.
        "Oh, shut up," Sakura said grumpily.  "I had more important
things on my mind."
        "Waterfall?" Naruto asked.  "What was his name?"  Was it the one
he'd met when traveling through that country?  He'd said he was planning
to go to the exams.  Ara-something.
        "Hiraki Arata," Shino said, and Naruto was pretty sure that was
the right name.  "He was at the battle."  There was no need to specify
which one; the Waterfall, the Sand, and the Grass had only participated
in one major battle against the Mist.
        Shikamaru grunted.  "How're things?" he asked.  Shino's team had
been in the field since that battle.
        "As you'd expect," was all Shino said.
        Kiba rolled his eyes and elaborated.  "We've been staring
angrily at the Mist across the bridge to Wave Country, and they've been
staring right back at us.  We haven't got the strength to try anything
since the allied nations had to head back out west to keep the Rock from
getting hungry."
        "But they left enough squads so that the Mist don't know that,"
Sakura finished.  Naruto guessed that she must have overheard
discussions about the issue while working in the Hokage's temporary
offices in the repurposed academy building.  Damaged in the Mist's raid,
the Hokage's tower was deemed a low priority for reconstruction by
Tsunade, doubly so when the hospital had been almost completely
destroyed.
        "That can't last forever," Chouji rumbled.
        No one said anything to that, and Naruto decided to break the
dark silence with another question.  "So what's everyone up to now?"
        "Academy teaching," Ino said with a groan.  "Teaching flower
arrangement to bratty eight-year-old girls.  I hate kids!"
        "Our team got broken up," Tenten said, "since we all made
chuunin."  She glanced at Neji.  "Thanks for inviting us, by the way.
We don't get to see each other too often."
        "Indeed!" Rock Lee exclaimed.  "This is a most youthful evening,
thanks to everyone!"
        "Don't mention it," Neji said.  "Please."
        "Same thing happened to us," Chouji said.  "Well, except I
didn't make chuunin.  I think they're sticking me on one of the genin
teams from the class below us that lost a member."
        This time Kiba broke the silence that followed.  "Well, we're
all still together, since thanks to certain people we're all still
genin."  He favored Sakura with a glare.
        "Huh?" Naruto asked.
        "Umm..." Sakura quickly swallowed a mouthful of barbeque.
"Chouji, Ino, and I kind of took their scroll in the second exam."
        "K-kind of?" Hinata protested quietly.
        Naruto stared at Sakura.  "Why would you do that?" he asked in
horror.
        "It's an exam!" Sakura almost shouted.  "Every team for itself.
You beat the crap out of Kiba yourself in the preliminaries the time
before!"
        "That's different," Naruto said.
        "No, it's not," Tenten interjected.
        "This is not a useful conversation," Shino stated.
        "Doesn't sound like one," Mitarashi Anko said as she suddenly
appeared sitting in the empty twelfth seat at the table, which Naruto
had been trying not to notice during the meal.
        "Where'd you come from?" Kiba growled.  "And why are you here?"
        The special jounin grinned.  "Well, I was coming here for
dinner, and then I heard some of my favorite little ninja, so I thought
I'd drop in and say hello!"
        "Your favorite little ninja?" Shino asked.
        Anko's face was serious for a moment.  "Well, a bunch of you did
break me out of Orochimaru's prisons in Rice Field Country.  I figure
that's worth a whole ton of bonus points."
        "I'd hope so," Ino muttered.
        "Are you still annoyed at me for those snakes I put in your
bedroll on the way back?"  Anko pouted.
        "You did ask her what she did to help me get stronger, Ino-pig,"
Sakura reminded her rival with a laugh.
        "Not that I'm complaining," Shikamaru interjected, "but
shouldn't you be in jail or something, Mitarashi-sensei?  You did
technically help those Mist genin escape.  Twice."
        Anko shrugged.  "Helps to have friends in high places."
        "Who else went to Rice Field?" Shino asked quietly.  His gaze
swept the room.
        "Well, Sakura-chan, of course," Anko said.  "Lazy over there,
the girl who doesn't like snakes, Gai's little clone, and the only
Hyuuga I've ever met with a sense of humor."
        "She only remembers Sakura's name?" Ino grumbled quietly.
        Kiba had focused on something else entirely in Anko's
recitation.  "Huh?  Hinata couldn't have been on that mission, she was
with us!"
        Anko blinked, staring for a moment at the Hyuuga heiress, who
flushed under her scrutiny.  "Not her," Anko said, flicking a finger at
Neji.  "The other one."
        Everyone stared at Neji for a moment.  "Neji has a sense of
humor?" Naruto asked in disbelief.
        Neji deliberately took several bites of meat before speaking.
"Why did the missing ninja use the Replacement Technique?" he asked in a
monotone.  "Answer: it doesn't matter, because the second kunai the ANBU
hid in the first's shadow still killed him, as was fated from the
beginning."
        There wasn't even a groan.  "You're making me look stupid," Anko
complained after a moment.
        "Is that so?" Neji asked dryly, then returned to his meal.
        "That's it!" Anko exclaimed, standing up and pointing directly
at Neji.  "Tomorrow morning, I'm having you assigned to my interrogation
team!  The horror of a witty Hyuuga will have those scum begging to talk
in no time at all."
        "My - my father might have a problem with that," Hinata said.
        Anko grinned.  "Your father is no problem at all, trust me."
        Neji snorted.  "I might have a problem with that."
        "You don't get a choice," Anko replied.  "Well, anyway, now that
I've said hello, I'm off.  Have fun, kids, and don't get caught doing
anything I wouldn't get caught doing!"
        There was a silence after she left, but it was much more
comfortable than the earlier ones.  "She is seriously crazy," Kiba
offered after a moment.
        "Tell me about it," Sakura said with a laugh.  "But she really
is nice, once you get to know her."
        "You're seriously crazy," Ino said.
        As the dinner wound down a while later, Sakura turned to Naruto.
"You've been quiet tonight," she commented.
        "Yeah," Naruto agreed.  "I've been thinking."
        "With what?" Sakura asked.  Naruto gave her a hurt look, and she
grimaced.  "Sorry.  Habit."
        "It's okay," Naruto said, and then he slammed his hand onto the
table, grabbing everyone's attention.  He'd made a decision, and he
wasn't going to waste any more time thinking about it.  "When we're done
here, would you all mind coming with me to the training grounds?
There's something I'd like to do in private."
        Sakura looked at Naruto curiously.  "Sure, I guess," she said.
There was general agreement, and twenty minutes later, the group of
young ninja had regathered at the same training ground where, over a
year ago now, Kakashi's Team Seven had managed to pass the infamous bell
test.
        Naruto thought that somehow appropriate.  "Everyone, thanks for
coming."
        "So what's the big deal?" Tenten asked.  A kunai appeared in her
hands, and after a moment's consideration she sent it flying into one of
the wooden posts.
        "Neji, Hinata-chan," Naruto said seriously, looking at the pair
of Hyuuga.  "Do you mind making sure we have privacy?"
        "Byakugan!" the two uttered in unison.  After a moment, Hinata
spoke.  "I don't see anyone."
        "Two ANBU," Neji corrected.  "Cloaking genjutsu."
        "R-right," Hinata agreed a second later.
        "That's fine, I guess," Naruto said.
        Neji shook his head.  He waited a moment, then said.  "They're
out of earshot now."
        "This is something big?" Chouji asked.
        Naruto nodded.  "There's something I need to tell you all
about."  They deserved to know.  They were all friends and allies.
        "Hey, Naruto," Shikamaru said, worry in his voice.
        Sakura blinked.  "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked
quietly.  She and Shikamaru had figured out Naruto's secret while he'd
been gone.  It had actually been a relief, because he would never have
been able to work up the courage to risk telling Sakura.
        "I've actually talked about it with Ero-sennin," Naruto told
them.  "He agreed it was a good idea.  All my enemies already know.
There's no reason to hide it from my friends any longer."
        Ino crossed her arms across her chest.  "Are you going to spill
the beans on what the hell makes you so important that Shizune-sama was
willing to drop everything and potentially go against Orochimaru himself
with only five chuunin for backup to rescue you?"
        "Bloodline Limit?" Shino speculated.
        Naruto shook his head.  "Not quite."  He took a deep breath.
"You all know how the Fourth Hokage died, right?"
        "Everyone knows that," Chouji said.
        "He's one of the village's greatest heroes!" Rock Lee exclaimed.
"Sacrificing himself to kill the demon fox Kyuubi!"
        "You see," Naruto began, and then he had to stop, taking another
breath to gather himself.  "What I learned, around the time we all
became genin, well except for you, and Neji, and Tenten..."  Naruto
shook his head.  He was trying to delay, and it was far too late now.
"That story is a lie."

***********************************************************************

        Once the sake had run out, Tsunade had relocated her meeting to
a grove of trees on the grounds of her mansion.  Legend stated that they
had been grown by the First Hokage himself during the negotiations
before the Leaf Village had been founded, to demonstrate that he had
recovered the lost art of wood element ninjutsu.  If Tsunade knew one
way or the other whether the legend was true, she had never told anyone.
        There was a cool breeze in the night air, a memory of a winter
that was rapidly turning to spring.  None of the four ninja made any
show of checking for listeners - a possibility, even in so secure a
location - but there was little risk that anyone could escape the
attention of all four of them.
        "So," Jiraiya said, "since we seem to be making the circle of
troublesome topics this evening: Akatsuki."
        "I thought they weren't supposed to move again for a few years
yet," Kakashi said.  "Itachi didn't seem inclined to wait, when you
fought him."
        Jiraiya grimaced.  "It may have just been a target of
opportunity," he said, "since I was foolish enough to leave Naruto alone
with Kaida."  He clenched his fists.  "Or the intelligence may have been
suspect to begin with.  I can't trust anything for certain.  Kaida is...
was... an important part of my efforts to keep track of those people.
She could have corrupted my whole network."
        "Then what do we know for certain, without that?" Shizune asked
softly.
        Jiraiya grunted.  "One: Akatsuki is an organized alliance of
powerful missing ninja from numerous villages.  Two: Akatsuki has shown
interest in acquiring beings of power, among them and of greatest
importance to us personally, the Kyuubi."
        "Three," Kakashi said, "known members.  Uchiha Itachi, formerly
of the Leaf's ANBU.  Hoshigaki Kisame, formerly of the Mist's Seven
Swordsmen."
        Jiraiya nodded.  "Kaida, formerly the Cloud's High Priestess of
the Thunder Dragon, recently deceased.  Akakawa Tetsu, formerly a
general of the Cloud, long deceased."  He sighed.  "Orochimaru, formerly
of the Leaf's Legendary Sannin and currently leader of the Sound,
resigned."  Tsunade spat on the ground.
        "That's it?"  Shizune asked.  "You've been tracking these people
for over a decade, Jiraiya-sama!"
        "I told you," Jiraiya said, "almost everything I thought I knew
is suspect, and Akatsuki didn't start moving openly until recently."  He
sighed.  "One more member.  An unknown former Rock ninja, with blond
hair, and apparently more than the usual number of mouths on him,
recently joined.  I... briefly encountered him with Naruto, but we
didn't fight."  He paused.  "Hmm.  He didn't show much interest in
Naruto, actually.  Claimed the Kyuubi wasn't his target, which implies
that each member or team has a specific one."
        "Wait; back up," Kakashi said.  "Akakawa Tetsu was a member of
Akatsuki?  I fought him, during the war with Cloud."
        Jiraiya nodded.  "He went missing ninja after the war.  I ran
into him when I was trying to track down Orochimaru, about the same time
I met Kaida.  She actually killed him in that fight."  He shook his
head.  "We didn't realize what those outfits meant until Orochimaru's
relatively public disagreement with Itachi-kun, though."  A bitter look
passed over his face.  "I don't understand why Kaida joined them."
        "Are we certain this Tetsu actually went missing ninja?" Tsunade
asked.
        "It is awfully suspicious," Shizune said.  "Two of our known
members are a respected Cloud general, and the High Priestess of the
Thunder Dragon."
        Jiraiya grunted.  "That High Priestess of the Thunder Dragon
killed the Raikage, you might recall," he said.  "And I doubt
Orochimaru, or Itachi, would sign on with something as simple as a rogue
Cloud faction."
        "Probably not," Tsunade agreed.  "So, what do we do about this?"
        Jiraiya grunted.  "I'm sticking with the original plan.  I take
Naruto with me on my travels and train the kid in secret.  We've got
another three-year deadline to deal with, after all.  Getting closer to
two years every day."
        Kakashi's visible eye closed.  "Sasuke-kun," he whispered.
        "Hmph."  Tsunade laid a hand on a tree trunk.  "That Uchiha brat
has given us no end of trouble.  I wish I hadn't woken him up."
        "My fault," Kakashi said.
        "No it isn't," Jiraiya said angrily.  "That boy is responsible
for his own damn choices, even with Orochimaru's seal on him.  It can't
bring out anything that wasn't already there at least a little, and you
blocked its influence before it had too much time to work.  Only his
will could have let it loose again."
        "He's just a kid," Kakashi said.
        "So was Anko-chan," Jiraiya retorted.
        "If anyone is to blame," Tsunade said, "it's Orochimaru."  She
smiled bitterly.  "I also wish I'd answered when you sent me that
message asking for help killing him when he first defected."
        Jiraiya shrugged.  "If wishes were fishes," he said.  His face
was hard.  "I just hope I can beat enough sense into Naruto that he'll
do what needs to be done, if it comes to that.  Or at least not hate me,
if I do it for him."
        "You think he's beyond saving?" Shizune asked.  Her voice was
soft.
        "I wish he wasn't," Jiraiya said.  "But there isn't anything
restraining that seal anymore, and he went with Orochimaru of his own
free will."
        "So did Anko-chan," Shizune stated.
        Jiraiya winced.  "That was a little different, Shizune."
        "Everyone is different.  Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan still think
he can be saved," Shizune said, her voice rising.  "This isn't your
story retold with new faces! Sasuke-kun doesn't have to be his
generation's Orochimaru."
        "If we don't manage to end this one way or another in time,"
Tsunade said, "that won't matter, because he'll be my generation's
Orochimaru."
        The fire left Shizune.  "Right," she whispered.
        "Shadow Replication Technique."  Everyone turned to look at
Jiraiya, who sent his replication off into the night.
        "I'd been thinking about it," he said.  "But now I've decided.
There's no time to waste, is there?"
        "You're leaving tonight, then?" Tsunade asked.
        Kakashi's eye widened.  "On such short notice?"
        "Last time the beans got spilled because Naruto's teammate's
mother turned out to be a spy," Jiraiya said.  "This time no one knows
when he's leaving in advance."  He paused.  "Tsunade," he said.
        "What?"
        "Unless you've got other plans for him, I'm stealing Kakashi-
kun."
        Kakashi's eye managed to widen further.  "What do you mean?"
        "He still needs regular medical attention," Shizune protested.
        "I'm not you two," Jiraiya said, "but if you give me
instructions I can keep him from killing himself, I think."  He sighed.
"I need to rebuild my network almost from scratch.  I need to train
Naruto.  Even shadow replications only go so far to help me be in two
places at once.
        "And it's a good idea, anyway," Jiraiya continued, "for there to
be someone else to pick up the pieces if... well, I'm not able to finish
the job, for whatever reason."
        "Why me?" Kakashi asked.
        "Don't be an idiot, Copy Ninja Sharingan Kakashi," Jiraiya said.
        "...Right," he said.  "I'm not... used to considering myself on
your kind of level."
        "Don't be arrogant either, kid," Jiraiya said amusedly.  "You
aren't, not yet."  He grinned.  "But with my help, you will be soon
enough."
        Tsunade grunted.  "And any experience we can give Naruto
fighting the Sharingan won't hurt either."  Her face was grim.  "For
multiple reasons."  She sighed.  "All right.  Kakashi-kun's already off
all the duty rosters, anyway.  Less paperwork to keep him off.  Do you
want me to relist him as missing in action, presumed dead?  Thanks to
this damn war, few enough people have been back in the village to know
he's been rescued, and I can frighten them into staying silent."
        Jiraiya shook his head.  "No need for that.  Akatsuki and
Orochimaru already know he's alive."
        "If we're leaving tonight," Kakashi said, "I need to pack,
Jiraiya-sama."
        "Go," the Toad Hermit ordered.  "Be at the gate in two hours,
and if you're late you can see if you have any better luck than Itachi-
kun did trying to copy Rasengan.  The hard way."
        "Understood," Kakashi said, and then he was gone.

***********************************************************************

        There were only two ninja present in the cave.  The other six
figures standing in the rough circle were flickering and indistinct,
transmitted from the corners of the known world by unique ninjutsu and
incredible amounts of chakra.  Together, they were eight of the most
dangerous people in that world.  Together, they were the criminal
organization Akatsuki.
        One of the two ninja present swept the group with his strange,
ringed eyes.  "Losing Kaida hurts us," he said.  "There's no way around
that fact.  We've lost easy access to promising targets.  We can no
longer consider Lightning Country a safe haven, and there's no telling
how much the Cloud will learn of us once they sort out their... issues."
        "I could collect a few bounties from their enemies," one of the
flickering images offered.  "Keep the chaos going."
        "She was your partner, Kazuku," a female voice stated.  It came
from the other physically present ninja.  "I suppose the least you can
do is avenge her death."
        "It's not my fault she decided to play host to the Kyuubi
without letting me know," Kazuku replied.
        "And it slipped through our fingers again," a hunched-over
figure stated.
        "We were faced by two of the legendary Sannin."  The one who now
spoke was Uchiha Itachi.  "I saw no purpose in dying stupidly."
        The first speaker's ringed eyes met the blurry image of Itachi's
Sharingan.  "I'm not pleased with you two, either," he said.  "You've
failed twice to capture the Kyuubi now.  What am I to do with you?"
        The figure standing next to Itachi raised a sword from his
shoulder and pointed it at the man.  "Hey," Hoshigaki Kisame said.  "You
might be the founder of this organization, 'Pain', but that doesn't make
you a Kage to just hand out punishments.  If I wanted that, I could have
stayed with the Mist."
        "Akatsuki is an alliance of equals," Itachi said softly.
        "Hmm," another figure, until now silent, said.  "I might be new
here, but they are right."
        "You would leave this organization over being chided for
failure?" the woman who had spoken earlier said.  "I'm surprised."
        Itachi's eyes closed.  "We have almost three years to capture
our target still, by the original schedule.  Even if we had captured it,
we'd still have needed to keep it secure until we were ready for it.
Orochimaru proved that wouldn't be easy."
        "Orochimaru is a fool," the hunched-over figure stated.
        "Enough," the man called Pain stated.  He closed his own eyes
briefly.  "I apologize, Itachi-san, Kisame-san."
        Kisame reshouldered his massive blade.  "Apology accepted."
        "We're down two members now," Itachi said after a moment, eyes
still closed.  "One we still can't replace, but Kisame and I were able
to reach Kaida's body before the Cloud could search the battleground."
        "There are some promising candidates," Pain said.  "I will
arrange tests.  Konan will arrange a rendezvous with you to acquire
Kaida's ring."
        The woman who was with him in the cave bowed shallowly.  "As you
command."
        "As for Orochimaru," Pain continued, "we will deal with him in
due time."
        "It's fast becoming due time," Kisame complained.
        "You may be right," Pain said, "but we can't afford to strike
hastily at him.  He's too powerful and too crafty for us to be able to
just show up at his base to try to kill him and hope to succeed.  We
slip up even a little, and he'll just kill as many of us as he can, then
go so far underground it'll take years to find him again."
        "I know that," Kisame grumbled.
        "So accept it," Itachi said quietly.
        Pain nodded, as though in gratitude for the Uchiha's support.
"Are there any other difficulties with the other targets?" he asked
after a moment.
        "I'm still looking for a good one, hmm," the figure who had
admitted to being a recent recruit said.  "But I still have plenty of
time, yes?"  No one objected.
        "Then let's get back to work," Pain said when it was clear no
one had anything else to say.  "We are Akatsuki.  We are the dawn of a
new era, and no force in this world can stop us."

***********************************************************************

        "That went well, I think," Sakura said as she and Naruto
ascended the steps to his apartment.  Naruto gave her a look, and she
shrugged.  "There was some yelling at first," she admitted, "but nobody
hates you."  She grimaced.  "Not like the jerks you've got living in
this building."  She made a rude gesture at a random door.
        "Eh," Naruto said with a weak laugh.  "You get used to it."
        "Well, you shouldn't have to," Sakura said firmly.  "Idiots, all
of them."
        They paused in front of Naruto's door.  "Thank you," Naruto
said, "for..."
        They exchanged a look.  Sakura drew a kunai, and Naruto summoned
a shadow replication, which kicked in his unlocked door.  When nothing
attacked the replication, it vanished, and Sakura looked into the room.
        Jiraiya was sitting at Naruto's kitchen table, a heavy pack
resting in front of him.  He looked up, seemingly having barely noticed
the replication's earlier entry.  "Where the hell have you two been?" he
grumbled.  "I've been waiting here for almost an hour.  You better not
have gotten her pregnant, brat.  That's a complication we don't need
right now."
        Sakura flushed as she sheathed her weapon.  "What the hell are
you saying -"
        "I guess not, then," Jiraiya interrupted with a grin.  "I
suppose you're still a little young yet."
        "Ero-sennin," Naruto growled.  His hands twitched.
        "We were eating dinner with our friends!" Sakura exclaimed,
still beet red.
        "You left that restaurant almost the same time I showed up
here," Jiraiya said.  "And then the ANBU who were supposed to be
watching you let Neji-kun call them off like a couple of sentimental
idiots."  His grin widened.  "I know what my friends and I would have
been up to at your ages."
        "Tsunade-sama would have killed you," Sakura replied.
        "Wait, Neji called off the ANBU?" Naruto asked.
        The pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes.  "We aren't supposed
to know, so I didn't tell you before, but he got recruited into ANBU
after the Chuunin Exams.  That's why his team got broken up."
        "Oh," Naruto said.
        "And the ANBU only left earshot, according to him," Sakura
complained at Jiraiya.  "If you know all that, you know we weren't... we
weren't... doing whatever crazy perverted thing you're thinking of!"
        Jiraiya's grin just widened even more.  Then it vanished and his
face turned serious.  "You told them all?" he asked seriously.
        Naruto nodded.  "Yes."
        "Good.  No one tried to kill you?"
        "Of course not!" Sakura said.  "What are you, stupid?  Who the
hell would do something like that?"
        "Better and better."  Jiraiya stood, and tossed the pack on the
kitchen table at Naruto with one hand.  The boy stumbled as he caught
it.  "We're leaving."
        "Tonight?" Sakura asked quietly.  "So soon?"
        "There's no time to waste," Jiraiya said gently.  "Not if we're
going to have any chance at all to... save your friend."  The hesitation
was slight enough that Sakura almost didn't catch it, and she decided
not to comment.
        "We almost got him this time," Naruto said.  He turned to
Sakura.  "We did it together, this time."
         Sakura smiled despite herself.  "And next time," she promised.
"As many times as it takes."
        A dark expression passed over Jiraiya's face.  "Come on, then.
You too, Sakura-chan.  You'll want to say goodbye to Kakashi-kun."
        "Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.  "Why?"
        "He'll be with me and Naruto this time," Jiraiya explained.
        "That's awesome!" Naruto said, then put his backpack on.  "Did
you remember to pack some ramen?" he asked suspiciously.
        "Yes," Jiraiya said with a roll of his eyes.
        Sakura hesitated, clenching her fists.  "Jiraiya-sama," she said
hesitatingly.
        "What is it, girl?" he asked as he walked to the door.
        "If I... if you could wait a minute so I could pack... could...
could I come with you?"
        Jiraiya stopped and turned around to look at her.  He didn't say
anything.
        "Sakura-chan," Naruto breathed.
        The kunoichi flushed again.  "The last time I let you leave, and
the last time I let Kakashi-sensei leave... it's impossible luck that
you both came back safe from everything that happened.  I... I couldn't
handle it if something happened again, while I was safe back here, and
we were less lucky this time."  Her green eyes flashed.  "I want to be
able to protect the people who are precious to me!"
        Now Naruto turned red.  "Sakura-chan," he said again, but his
teammate ignored him, keeping her gaze locked with Jiraiya's.
        The Toad Hermit sighed.  "You're supposed to be Tsunade's
apprentice, Sakura-chan."
        "Technically," Sakura allowed.  "But she's the Hokage and we're
at war."  She clenched her fists.  "Gods only know if she'll have any
time to train me at all.  I've learned more from Mitarashi-sensei so
far.  Like you said, there's no time to waste if we want to save Sasuke-
kun."
        "Look," Jiraiya said, "you're a genjutsu-type with strong chakra
control.  That's not my style any more than it is Naruto's.  I could
teach you a lot, but Tsunade, more than almost anyone else, will be able
to turn you into one of the great ones.  I guarantee it."
        "If she teaches me," Sakura pressed.  "I am not going to let
myself be stuck just watching Naruto and Sasuke's backs again.  Never
again!"
        Jiraiya sighed.  "All right.  How's this?  Have Anko-chan teach
you to use your snakes as messengers across long distances.  If you
still feel like you're wasting your time in... let's say six months,
send me a message.  If you do, I'll come back and steal you away from
Tsunade.  Deal?"
        Sakura frowned, but after a moment she nodded.  "Deal."
        Jiraiya knelt down suddenly, resting a hand on both Naruto and
Sakura's shoulders.  "You two have set yourselves a great task," Jiraiya
said.  "The kind of task they tell legends about for generations.  It
won't be easy, but the Will of Fire burns brightly in both of you," he
continued, "and if you don't let that fire be extinguished, Sarutobi-
sensei always said that no force in this world could stop you."
        Jiraiya hoped neither would notice that he hadn't mentioned what
he thought of that.

***********************************************************************

Author's Random Ramblings

1) Howdy, y'all!  Anyone remember me?  It's been a while since I really
wrote a fanfic, beyond finalizing and posting to Fanfiction.Net a couple
of small pieces I wrote years back.  I'm not sure how this happened.  I
guess that finalizing got me back in the mood.

2) This story is a sequel to my earlier Naruto fanfiction, One Hundred
Days.  I'm trying to make it somewhat comprehensible without having read
that story, but I do recommend it.  I'm told it isn't too awful to
struggle through.  As with One Hundred Days, to the limited extent that
this story has a pairing, if that's important to you, the pairing is
Naruto/Sakura, but romance is not the primary focus of the story.

3) Also as with One Hundred Days, canon for this story is taken from the
Naruto anime through the conclusion of the Rice Field Country filler
arc.  Since the original story was started almost six years ago, Naruto
canon has gone down strange and unexpected paths.  Even if I were
inclined to, it would be impossible to match up enough with the various
revelations to call this story a 'what if' divergence from canon.

4) So in other words, officially consider this story, and One Hundred
Days retroactively, an alternate universe.  I promise fewer generic
Chosen One prophecies and plots to take over the world with magical
moons than the leading competitor.

5)  Despite choosing to limit my canon sources, as you probably noticed,
I'm not above stealing characters or ideas from canon I'm ignoring if I
have a use for them. However, I feel free to alter these characters and
ideas to better suit my taste and the needs of the story.  So I'd like
to ask that you don't get annoyed when I reveal that Tobi is actually
Kakashi's long-lost twin sister, Jiraiya's spy in Akatsuki, and also
Sailor Moon.

6) Ordinarily, I wouldn't release a prelude on its own.  But at over
8000 words and approximately 50 KB, I'd say this counts as a full
chapter despite technically being a prelude, no?  It also bodes poorly
for my hopes for writing shorter, more digestible chapters.

7) Next time, in One Hundred Weeks, Chapter 1: One Year Later, the
Hidden Village of the Sand is about to host the Chuunin Selection Exams,
and Naruto and Sakura's paths are about to cross for the first time in a
year...

Draft Started: April 10, 2011
Draft Finished: April 18, 2011
Draft Released: April 20, 2011
Final Released: