Archive of Our Own

Three days. It takes them that long to reach Kusa and the area where Obito had supposedly fallen. Three days of tension, uncertainty, and just waiting for something to happen one way or another. Naruto has noticed that something is up but Iruka isn’t speaking to anyone right now, holing up in his apartment, telling the boy he’s fine, just tired after his work on the seal. He even comes asking Tsunade what happened, more perceptive than most people give him credit for.

Tsunade tells him that nothing has happened, he’s worrying for nothing and the boy believes her. Or she thinks he does but there’s still a bit of uncertainty in his gaze. Still, he drops the questioning, going back to his team and when they question where Kakashi is, Tenzo gives some excuse about a mission and they believe it as well.

Too trusting. Not necessarily a bad trait but in their line of work, being too trusting can get a shinobi killed. Question everything and always expect the worst are engrained into all academy graduates by the time they reach chuunin. Then again, they have no reason to question their superiors, their teachers…their family.

Tsunade huffs softly in morbid amusement at the contradiction shinobi life is: question everything but don’t question your superiors. That mentality is what let Danzō get away with so many of his schemes under their noses. She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to be like that but unfortunately, a Hokage’s job isn’t to be morally right. Her world is far too much painted in greys than in blacks and whites. She learned that color spectrum long ago.

There’s a flaring of chakra outside her window and she doesn’t react as two masked individuals step into her office before bowing and positioning themselves before her desk. “Falcon, Fox, report,” she orders easily. She’s been expecting them any day now. That they made the journey there and back in three days shows how hard they pushed themselves and how close they are to the source of their current problem.

Falcon speaks up, his voice quiet in the soft, dim lighting of her office. Night had fallen hours before. “We found no trace of a body or even evidence of a body having been there. There were signs that the rocks had been disturbed from their first resting place. It was barely noticeable after over fifteen years exposed to the elements but we were able to see that much. Someone removed whatever had been buried there and left nothing behind,” he concludes.

Tsunade sighs, leaning back to rub at her face. “Inoichi concluded the same from his memories. Good work gentlemen. This remains between us until I have rendered my final decision. You’re dismissed,” she orders and they bow before slipping back out of the window and into the night.

Tsunade turns to look out the window after them though they are no longer in sight. Where’s Jiraiya when you need him? She wonders what the Sandaime would do in her place. There’s an enemy out there and whether they’re a resurrected Uchiha or a bloodline thief with far too much power, it still doesn’t change the fact that one of her top shinobi will be compromised by whoever this Tobi is. She had seen that hidden desolation in Kakashi’s eyes when he briefed her in short clipped sentences about his eye. She recognizes that kind of guilt.

~*~

Jiraiya coughs, blood trickling down his throat making it hard to breath. Fuck this whole mission has gone to shit. His arm is gone, his throat crushed and he definitely has a collapsed lung, one of his shattered ribs lancing like a Raiton in his chest every time he breathes.

“What’s the plan?” Fukasaku croaks out worriedly eyeing him as Pain approaches, in no hurry with how they’ve reduced him to this broken body, barely able breath, let alone walk.

Coughing, Jiraiya forces himself half up, reaching shaking fingers into his pocket for the still humming seal that Iruka had handed him before he left. He never thought he would need it but he’s glad the kid did. Fukasaku eyes it, eyes widening, no doubt recognizing parts of the seal he can see and nods, gripping tighter to Jiraiya.

Pain, noticing his movement has started to come faster but it’s too late and with a bloody grin, Jiraiya lets the last fading embers of his chakra spark across the seal and it bursts into light. He feels a familiar tug and the air roars around him.

Before he even lands back in Konoha, he’s already unconscious, darkness sweeping over his senses as he falls. He doesn’t hear a frantic voice calling his name or feel the familiar steady warmth entering his veins.

~*~

It’s just past midnight and Iruka isn’t asleep. His thoughts are buzzing in too many directions and he can’t seem to find anything that will quell it. It’s been days since he left the apartment except for a quick trip to grab more groceries. He hasn’t seen Kakashi in all that time and he’s not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Naruto’s worried, obviously picking up on the tension in the air though he doesn’t know why. He keeps sending Iruka furtive glances when they’re in the same room and Iruka doesn’t have the energy to try and put on a happier persona to ease his worry.

The Kyuubi’s been quiet since it finally calmed down and Iruka doesn’t know what that means. He can’t bring himself to face it right now and ask. Though whether it would actually speak with him or not is a wholly different problem.

So he’s awake, staring up at the ceiling in the dark when he feels the wards ping in his head, announcing someone trying to get his attention subtly without knocking. Iruka sits up quickly, tumbling out of his futon to jump to his feet and rush towards the living room. He catches a faint noise from Naruto’s room, the boy no doubt disturbed by the same signal.

Stepping into the dark living area, he sees a moonlit outlined shadow on the balcony of the apartment, pale mask staring right at him through the opened curtains and Iruka’s heartrate speeds up as he rushes for the door.

Opening it, Lynx straightens. “Lynx, what’s wrong?” Iruka asks. Something has to have happened for the man to be summoning him like this rather than waiting for morning and if he’s trying to be quiet about it, it must be something they’re trying to keep under wraps.

“Iruka,” Lynx murmurs softly. “You need to go to the hospital. Jiraiya’s back.”

“What?” a voice says loudly behind them and they can see Naruto has emerged from his room in a sleep shirt and a pair of pajama pants. “Why is Ero-Sennin in the hospital?” he questions.

“That is for Hokage-sama to tell you,” Lynx says simply.

Nodding numbly, Iruka steps back and heads for his room, motioning for Naruto do go get dressed and enters his room to grab the first clothes he can grab. Stuffing his feet into his sandals, he ties his hitai-ate. Naruto emerges a few seconds after him and follows, tying his own hitai-ate.

They lock up in silence before following Lynx across the rooftops towards the hospital. Iruka stares in shock at the gigantic toad settled next to the hospital. “Boss, why are you here?” Naruto calls up to the toad, a smaller one on his head.

“Tsunade will tell you, brat,” comes the grumbled reply and Naruto nods as Lynx leads the way.

Even this late, the hospital is still buzzing with activity and it instantly has Iruka’s mind turning to reasons why they would be rushing about. No one stops them as they take the stairs to a higher floor. Lynx leads the way without a backward glance and Iruka feels his pulse speed up as they exit the stairs onto the intensive care floor.

There’s a small chaotic crowd of people down the hall, mainly hospital staff as they go about their work but Iruka also sees Inoichi standing off to the side with a grim look on his face as Shizune speaks with him, Ibiki conversing with a small frog that looks far older than any of them.

They look up as the three of them approach and Iruka scans for Tsunade. She steps out of a nearby room as they near the crowd and Iruka doesn’t need her to say anything to know how bad off it is. She’s pale with exhaustion and worry, a frown marring her expression while a tremble makes her hands shake ever so faintly.

“Hokage-sama,” Iruka murmurs as they stop in front of her. “How bad is it?” he asks softly.

Tsunade huffs humorlessly, eyes glancing towards the room. “He’s alive, which is more than I could say when he first arrived. He used your seal,” she informs him.

“Did he learn anything?” Iruka asks the most pressing question, ignoring the way Naruto is leaning into his side for comfort even as he looks for some way to see through the wall to see Jiraiya.

“Probably, but he lost consciousness upon arrival. We won’t know what he figured out until he wakes up…if he wakes up,” she admits.

“What does that mean?” Naruto demands angrily.

“Whoever he fought, they did a number on him. A crushed throat, I won’t know if he’ll be able to talk until the swelling goes down and even if he can, he’ll have a rasp the rest of his life. His left arm is gone just below the shoulder, six cracked ribs from a nearly pulverized chest cavity, one of which pierced his lung causing it to collapse. He had spinal fractures in his mid and lower back, the ball joint of his right hip snapped off and the right ankle was crushed. He had major head trauma from a heavy blow to the temple. We were able to reduce the pressure but we won’t know if he had any brain damage until he wakes up. All in all, if he wakes up, his days as a shinobi are more than likely done,” Tsunade snaps out.

“You keep saying ‘if he wakes up,’” Iruka says evenly, ignoring the growing knot in his chest at her words. “What do you mean by that?” he asks.

“Despite his other injuries, the blow to his head was the worst of it. Something like that could cause permanent damage. We’re talking permanent impairment, memories wiped clean, and even possibly him simply not waking up. It’s…it’s a waiting game right now,” she says with a tired shrug.

“Can’t you do something?” Naruto demands heatedly, eyes wet with tears.

“What do you think I did brat,” Tsunade snaps. “I can work miracles when it comes to healing, but even I have my limits and that limit is the human body. It can only take so much abuse, so much damage before it simply stops. Right now, it’s not ‘what can I do to fix him.’ It’s ‘is he stubborn enough to fucking keep breathing.’ All we can do is wait and see,” Tsunade explains as patiently as she can.

“Do we know anything?” Iruka asks, wrapping an arm around Naruto’s shoulders as he cries silently at her words.

“We know some of what happened and possibly figured out the rest from Fukasaku-sama here,” she admits, motioning towards the toad. “Inoichi is remaining on standby in the off chance that things go south and he needs to forcibly pull the information before Jiraiya passes,” Tsunade admits with a grimace. “Before you say anything, Jiraiya already gave his permission to such a procedure long ago. He always knew the information was more important than his privacy. We won’t be doing it yet, but if things look bad…,” she trails off.

“Can I go in and see him?” Naruto asks, straightening, wiping at his eyes hurriedly.

Tsunade sighs but nods, motioning towards the door. “Keep quiet and don’t mess with anything,” she warns and he nods, walking towards the door with a determined look on his face. Iruka watches Naruto disappear into the room.

“There’s more, isn’t there,” Iruka murmurs softly.

Tsunade nods with a sigh. “There is, though we’ll discuss it later in the morning. Right now, I’m staying here until I’m sure he’s stable enough for me to step away,” Tsunade explains softly. She lays a hand on his shoulder. “You should prepare for the worst,” she advises and Iruka nods mutely before following Naruto’s trail into the room.

Soft beeping and the mechanical whirring of machines greet him. Jiraiya is laid out on the bed. He’s more bandages than anything else. His face, what Iruka can see of it, is a riot of slowly coloring bruises and Iruka can just see the end of his arm where the stump of a limb is bandaged. He looks…old and frail. A tube has been forced down his throat to breath for him and far too many tubes and wires are connected to him. He doesn’t even look to be alive.

Naruto is seated quietly in the chair next to the bed, hands tucked between his knees as he just stares. Iruka comes to stand behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder trying to offer what comfort he can. “It doesn’t look like him,” Naruto murmurs softly. “He should be laughing and joking right now, not…this.”

Iruka doesn’t know what to say to that so he just squeezes his shoulder tighter and prays silently to gods he doesn’t really believe in to keep the Shinigami away from this man. Please, just let him live and wake up!

~*~

Iruka leaves Naruto in Jiraiya’s room. At some point Sakura and Sasuke had arrived and the two sit near him as he stares at Jiraiya. He spies Shisui and another ANBU in the hall, no doubt there to act as Naruto’s guards and in case Naruto’s emotions get out of hand and cause the Kyuubi to surface. Iruka can sense Tenzo following him as he heads away from the hospital towards the Hokage Tower. Iruka feels too numb right now for the Kyuubi to try and use his emotions against him.

Tsunade doesn’t even look surprised to see him as he knocks on the door and opens it. Inoichi, Ibiki, Shizune and the old toad he had seen when he first arrived at the hospital are also in the room. “Hokage-sama,” Iruka murmurs softly.

“Well come in, brat,” Tsunade huffs and Iruka does, Tenzo slipping in behind him to take up a spot in a corner. Iruka can sense two other ANBU in the room. “Iruka, this is Fukasaku-sama, one of the head hermits of Myouboku Mountain. He was Jiraiya’s teacher in the art of Sage techniques. Fukasaku-sama, Umino Iruka, one of the Kyuubi’s Jinchuuriki and a seal master in his own right,” Tsunade introduces.

“I’m sorry we’re meeting under such a situation,” Iruka murmurs and Fukasaku nods as well.

“Likewise. I’ve heard a bit about you from Jiraiya-chan. I take it that seal he used was something of yours?” he asks.

“It was,” Iruka admits with a wan smile. He looks to Tsunade. “I want to know what happened and what we know,” he states simply.

Tsunade sighs, rubbing her brow before gesturing to one of the free chairs. “I figured, brat.” Iruka sits and Tsunade settles back in her chair. “What we know has been pieced together from Fukasaku-sama’s accounts, as well as one Ame shinobi Jiraiya captured for interrogation. We also have one body from his fight that is currently being looked over by T&I as we speak before we allow an autopsy,” she adds. “Jiraiya infiltrated Ame relatively easily. From what we can surmise, Ame has more detection means than he expected and he was made and attacked by the leader, or leaders of Akatsuki.”

Fukasaku speaks up here. “Jiraiya-chan was only going in to collect information, not fight and we were unprepared for the power unleashed by them,” he explains.

“Them?” Iruka asks in confusion.

“Yes,” Fukasaku says with a grim nod. “There were six of them with differing abilities, but all of them with the same eyes, all calling themselves Pain. I think Jiraiya-chan figured out what it meant but he wasn’t able to impart the information on me before his throat was crushed and couldn’t. Whatever it meant, they are powerful and have some means of shared sight. What one saw, the others did. It made fighting them by ourselves near impossible. They apparently could revive themselves, too. We took one out and they showed up later unharmed. We were lucky to get out of there in the shape we did, thanks to that seal of yours. I know if he hadn’t had it, Jiraiya would have died there,” Fukasaku admits softly.

“Did one of them have an orange mask with a swirl design on it? Went by the name of Tobi?” Iruka asks quickly.

Tsunade shakes her head. “That was one of the first things we asked. There was no sign of him. If he is one of the leaders, he’s a shadow leader,” Tsunade informs him.

“And…and Kakashi?” Iruka asks softly, clinching his hands to keep them from shaking and willing away any uncertainty from his voice.

“I’m still deliberating on my decision. I will inform you of what my final decision is once I make it,” Tsunade states simply and he nods, heart squeezing at her words.

“How long before the interrogation and the autopsy are done?” he asks instead of pressing for more answers.

“A week, maybe a week and a half, depending on how thorough we are and in this, we want to be thorough. I’d rather not miss anything important because we rushed,” Inoichi speaks up and Ibiki huffs in amusement.

“What are we doing in the meantime, besides waiting to see if Jiraiya will wake up?” Iruka asks, hiding the grimace at his words.

“About that,” Tsunade says and glances at Fukasaku.

“I would like to speak with you and Jiraiya-chan’s pupil to propose something,” Fukasaku says and Iruka frowns and nods. Tsunade sends Shizune to collect Naruto from the hospital and they sit in silence waiting until a few minutes later, Naruto comes in behind Shizune, Sakura and Sasuke right on his heels.

“I only called for one brat, not three,” Tsunade reminds them, but doesn’t look the least surprised to see them all here. Team Seven has been glued at the hips since Naruto’s return, and especially after Sasuke’s capture and return.

“What do you want me for?” Naruto demands grumpily.

“Naruto,” Iruka sighs and motions for the three to come in and shut the door.

“Well,” Naruto demands, arms crossed on his chest as he stares at Tsunade.

“Watch your tone brat. I’m still your Hokage,” Tsunade snaps at him and Naruto frowns but drops his arms and his tense shoulders loosen a bit. “Better. Naruto, this is Fukasaku-sama, a head hermit from Myouboku Mountain and Jiraiya’s teacher in the Sage arts. He would like to speak with you,” Tsunade says and gestures for the toad to speak.

“So you’re Jiraiya-chan’s pupil, huh?” Fukasaku says with a faint smile.

“Yeah, I studied under Ero-Sennin,” Naruto mutters.

“Hah, Ero-Sennin, I like that,” Fukasaku croaks out a laugh, slapping his knobby knee in glee. He gets himself under control quickly. “Jiraiya-chan certainly chose a spitfire for his pupil. I’ve asked both you and Umino-san here because I would like to make an offer to the two of you. We spoke about it some a few months back, right before you returned to Konoha. Originally, Jiraiya wanted to be part of this offer but,” he trails off at the obvious.

“What is this then?” Naruto demands impatiently.

“Naruto,” Sakura hisses and Naruto sighs loudly, but reins in his impatience.

“I’m getting to it boy. No need to rush me,” Fukasaku scolds him. “The fact of the matter is, this Pain, or Pains, is both powerful and many. As it is, you wouldn’t stand a chance. Neither of you,” he states bluntly looking between the both of them. “I offer you the chance to learn to use the Sage Arts like Jiraiya was taught.”

Iruka blinks in shock. “I’m not contracted with the Toads,” he reminds the room.

“We’re aware of that and are making an exception because of you being Jiraiya’s pupil with seals and because of your shared connection to Naruto-chan over here,” Fukasaku says, ignoring Naruto’s mutter of “Chan?” “Training in the Sage Arts is tougher than anything you would have done before now. Tsunade has given her agreement to allow this, as it will keep you away from Konoha while they continue to hunt Akatsuki’s members. Still want to do this?” he asks.

“What about Ero-Sennin?” Naruto asks.

“Who knows how long it will take for Jiraiya to recover enough to wake up. You’ll just be sitting around waiting. At least this way, you can get stronger as you train. I’ll send word once he wakes up. And hopefully we’ll have more information as to what Akatsuki is up to and just who Pain is,” Tsunade points out.

Naruto looks hesitant and glances at Iruka. “If this is what he wanted you to take as the next step in your training, shouldn’t you follow where he pointed?” Iruka asks with a wan smile at his other half. “He wouldn’t want you sitting around waiting for him to wake up.”

Naruto stares at him for a long drawn out moment before he firms his jaw and his eyes glow with determination. “Will I be able to beat the bastard that did this to him?” Naruto demands.

Fukasaku shrugs. “Who can say but as it is, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Naruto scoffs. “If Ero-Sennin could do it then so can I. I’ll do it.”

“Very well. Best go pack some things for a long stay, both of you. You’ll leave immediately,” Tsunade says sharply.

Naruto nods and stands quickly, Sakura and Sasuke trailing behind him, no doubt needing to have a long talk with their friend about this. Nodding as well, Iruka stands slower and bows to those gathered before making his way slowly out of the room, mind swirling through so many thoughts.

He waits until they’re outside before taking to the roofs and stopping on one to wait. He doesn’t have to wait long before Tenzo touches down beside him. “Lynx,” Iruka murmurs and stares out across the rooftops rather than looking at Tenzo. “How is he?” he asks quietly, barely above a whisper. He doesn’t need to clarify who ‘he’ is.

“He’s been confined to the Hatake Compound and is under watch,” Tenzo informs him.

“I…how…what can you tell me?” Iruka finally settles on, not sure what exactly he wants to say and finally settles on basic facts, falling onto his training to gather all pertinent information.

“Nothing right now,” Tenzo admits. “Hokage-sama is keeping it under lock and key until she makes her decision. Fox and Falcon are not speaking on what has been found out either,” he adds and Iruka’s shoulders sag a bit at his words. He’s not sure what he expected. Maybe he hoped they could tell him that they had figured out Kakashi isn’t Tobi? Or maybe he expected the damning words that Iruka had been duped by someone he let so close. But this…it just leaves his emotions in freefall waiting for something to grab onto. He ignores the faint flare of heat in his gut as the Kyuubi stirs at his swirling emotions.

Iruka nods faintly. Patience…he can be patient. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to wait for something. Shinobi are trained to be patient. He’ll just have to focus on something else. Training will be a blessing right now to keep his mind off the storm in his head.

“I…Keep an eye on him,” Iruka asks softly. He can’t keep that part of him that still cares for Kakashi from surfacing, asking this one favor. He knows Kakashi…at least he thinks he knows him even if this recent discovery has thrown things into chaos. The Jounin will spiral and start to shut everyone out if they let him.

“Both eyes,” Tenzo promises.

Iruka doesn’t thank him, simply takes off across the rooftops to aim for his apartment, Tenzo on his heels as they return. The sun’s only a few hours passed dawn but it feels like days have passed since he was woken up by Tenzo about Jiraiya’s return.

Tenzo remains outside as Iruka enters his apartment and just looks around, breathing deeply. Naruto isn’t here yet, no doubt still talking with his team whom he’s sure is angry about the blonde disappearing again for more training after having only just gotten him back.

Iruka forces his mind into mission mode to get away from troubling thoughts and goes through his check list of what he needs to prepare for an extended stay out of the village. They have no idea how long they’ll be gone with this training. Iruka stops first in the kitchen, activating the seals placed in the fridge and in a few cupboards to preserve the food there for their return.

He stops by his table next and cleans up his work, quickly and efficiently storing his sealing tools into a scroll. It looks strange to see his low table bare after so long constantly covered in his work. Tucking the scroll into his pocket, Iruka heads for his room. Slipping in, he pulls out the larger storage scroll from under his bed that holds his mission gear, mainly just rations, blankets, tools for camping out doors and other necessities when it comes to long missions. He grabs some spare uniforms, an extra vest and seals them into it as well.

He sets the scroll on his bed before he turns to his weapons storage and undoes the seals on it. He’d changed out the basic lock on it for a much more complicated seal lock to make doubly sure Naruto couldn’t get at his things without his permission.

Inside, he finds his usual gear on the upper section: kunai, shuriken, ninja wire, and senbon, a few vials of basic poisons and neurotoxins that paralyze upon exposure. Below it is a small shelf that holds scrolls with his larger weapons. The weapons he was trained to use, but usually doesn’t unless a mission calls for it. And below that in a larger section, rest two blades.

One is his grandfather’s wakizashi, the blade still broken and kept mainly for sentimental value now. A reminder of his family and how far he’s come since he first took it up. Next to it is his new wakizashi. He’d ordered its commission not long after they got back from retrieving Sasuke and had only gotten it a few days before everything that happened with Kakashi. He hasn’t even had a moment to test it out.

Pulling it out of the storage, Iruka looks over the short blade. The sheath is simple lacquered wood in straight matte black to make sure no shine can give him away in the darkness. The guard is just a simple oval with the Umino crest engraved into it. The hilt is wrapped in black dyed leather. But under the leather, in faint gaps are threads of orange, grey, red and brown, a reminder of those close to him.

Iruka slowly pulls the blade from its sheath and it slides out soundlessly and without any difficulty or sticking. The metal is dark matte grey to keep the shine of the blade from giving him away. The edge is razor sharp. Breathing slowly, Iruka channels a bit of chakra through the hilt made from chakra conducting wood and watches the blade slowly heat until he can feel the heat coming off of it.

Smiling faintly, Iruka lets the chakra go and the blade quickly cools, unaffected by the abrupt change in temperature, before sheathing it and sliding it over his back, the strap a comforting weight against his chest. He hears the front door open as Naruto finally manages to extract himself from his team.

Sliding the blade back off, Iruka takes it and the rest of his gear to the bed where he sets down an empty storage scroll and starts to seal them away. Pausing, he looks over at his box containing the sealing library Jiraiya had gifted him and hasn’t asked back for…might never ask back for, his mind whispers and he grits his teeth and ignores the thought. He runs fingers over the wooden box wrapped in seals to hide it, strengthen it, preserve the scrolls inside, lock it and protect it. Nothing’s getting into it without the right key or the knowledge of a seal master to break apart his seals without destroying everything inside.

He’s not sure if he’ll need it, but he decides to take it with him, if only because you can never be too sure about when you need something. Besides, he’s sure they’ll be down time between bouts of training and Iruka uses his seal work as a means to unwind.

Iruka seals it in the scroll as well, adding a secondary locking seal over top to make sure no one can get at it before taking his weapons scroll and his scroll of gear and tucking them into his vest pockets, each one lined with extra armor to protect the scrolls from being damaged in a fight. He’d hate to lose all his things because someone got a lucky hit in and destroyed his scrolls.

He snags his weapons pouch, heavy with his usual weapons and tools he carries on him normally and attaches it to his waist, wraps his shuriken holster around his thigh and finally is ready to leave. He ignores his ANBU scroll hidden away in a secret compartment under his futon. He’s not going to need it for this.

Iruka makes one last look around to double check he has everything he needs and spies the spine of a lurid orange book on his shelf and stares at it for along moment before turning away and stepping out of his room. He steps to his right and opens Naruto’s partially opened door to see the boy standing in his own room looking around as if he’s not sure what to do, his pack sitting on his futon.

“Naruto,” Iruka calls out softly and the blonde looks over at him with troubled eyes.

“Sasuke’s mad at me,” Naruto admits wryly.

“I take it he wanted to go with you and you said no,” Iruka says, stepping into the room.

“Baa-chan said no,” Naruto says with a shrug. “Apparently only those invited can go and they only invited the two of us.”

“Well, if we’re going where I think we’re going, then that’s with good reason. Myouboku Mountain is considered a sacred mountain and is home to the Toads. You don’t go there by accident. Only those they allow in can find it,” Iruka explains as he steps around the boy to roll out an empty sealing scroll and motions for him to start sealing what he wants to bring with him. “I’m not sure how long we’ll be, so make sure to pack enough,” Iruka reminds him and Naruto nods, mindlessly grabbing some clothing and weapons to seal away.

“Is Ero-Sennin going to make it?” Naruto asks quietly, not looking up from his packing.

Iruka grimaces, though Naruto doesn’t see it. “I don’t…I don’t know,” Iruka admits. “We can only wait and see, Naruto.”

“I don’t want him to die,” Naruto whispers, hands fisting as he kneels over his futon.

Iruka sighs and walks closer to settle next to Naruto, patting the ground and Naruto turns to sit next to him. “Death isn’t something anyone should want,” Iruka murmurs, pulling Naruto into his side. “Jiraiya has been lucky. Few shinobi live to his age. That he did is a testament to his strength and his cunning, but death always catches up one way or another. I know you want to be angry at Tsunade for allowing Jiraiya to do this mission but he did it for you…for us,” Iruka points out and Naruto looks up at him.

“He wanted to protect us by getting information we needed to protect ourselves. And if he dies, then he died knowing that information will have reached us no matter what. It’s okay to be sad but don’t forget why he did this. A shinobi always courts death when out on a mission. One day, we all meet our end, even you and me one day. It’s why we focus on the here and now, because tomorrow is never a guarantee. Focus on the now and right now, Jiraiya is alive. He made it home and he’s surrounded by his friends and family. Tomorrow is tomorrow’s worry.”

“Okay,” Naruto murmurs, hugging Iruka tighter. “I’ll make sure I get really good at this Sage stuff and show off to him once he’s awake,” Naruto says.

“Then you better finish packing so we can get on our way,” Iruka reminds him. Nodding, Naruto stands up and finishes sealing away the rest of his gear with Iruka reminding him of a few missed items before they’re both ready.

They leave a few minutes later, locking up the apartment and aim back for the Hokage Tower. He’s not surprised to see Sakura and Sasuke waiting outside for them, Sasuke looking annoyed and Sakura looking sad.

“Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun,” Iruka greets with a nod.

“Iruka-sensei,” Sakura greets while Sasuke just nods.

“Keep an eye on things here for us, will you? I’d hate to come back to find things on fire…well on fire more than they usually are,” Iruka jokes softly and the two crack a wan smile at him.

“We will,” Sakura agrees.

“Sasuke-kun, will you keep an eye on Itachi and Shisui for me,” Iruka asks the sullen boy and he nods.

“I will,” he promises.

Naruto walks closer to his friends and pulls them into a hug, Sasuke fighting for a moment before allowing the blonde to pull him in. They pull apart a second later and then Naruto grins at them. “Better train hard while I’m gone or I’m gonna be so far ahead of you two you’ll only be seeing my dust,” Naruto jokes.

“We’ll see about that,” Sakura says cheekily as Sasuke snorts but gives a nod in agreement.

Waving farewell to the two of them, Naruto and Iruka head up to the Hokage’s office. Inoichi and Ibiki are gone leaving just Shizune, Tsunade and Fukasaku left in the room. “Ready?” Tsunade snaps as they enter.

“As we’ll ever be,” Iruka informs her and she nods.

“Very well. Fukasaku-sama, I leave them in your care. Try not to kill them please,” she says frankly and Fukasaku laughs and nods.

“So, how do we get there then?” Naruto asks.

“It would take a month on foot just to reach the mountain. It’s called the wandering mountain and unless you know the secret route, you’d never find it. But thankfully, we don’t have to worry about that,” Fukasaku says and holds up a large scroll. Iruka can see Naruto’s messy scrawl of his name and the bloody handprint beneath it. He can also see Minato’s next to it and Jiraiya’s next to his. “With your connection to the Toads, getting you there will be easy.”

“What about Iruka-nii? He’s doesn’t have a contract with you guys,” Naruto asks.

“I’m aware of that,” Fukasaku says and pulls something out of his pocket. “Umino-san, step close for a moment,” he asks and Iruka does, bending down slightly to put him at level with the small toad. A webbed foot comes out and Iruka feels something cool and liquid spread over his forehead in some strange symbol. “This will allow me to bring you with Naruto-chan and in the future if we need to bring you to the mountain. This marks you as Toad friend,” he explains.

Iruka waits until he’s finished before bowing. “I’m honored for such a gift,” he murmurs.

“We’re ready to leave,” Fukasaku informs Tsunade. “I’ll leave a toad here in case you need to get ahold of us,” he adds.

“Thank you. If we find anything of importance or if Jiraiya wakes up enough to speak, I’ll inform you of it,” she says.

“Of course,” Fukasaku says with a nod before looking at the two of them.

“So how does this-,” Naruto starts to say before the toad hold up a foot and Naruto disappears in a puff of smoke.

“Reverse summoning,” Iruka says with a look of understanding.

“Exactly,” Fukasaku says before Iruka feels a puling sensation, not unlike Minato’s Hiraishin, before he appears…somewhere else.

The first thing to hit him is the humidity pressing all around him. Bright light shines down on them from above, but filtered through the thick foliage of gigantic plants as toads of various sizes and colorations lounge around the area.

“What?” Naruto says as Iruka appears next to him, looking around with amazed eyes.

“Naruto,” someone calls out and Iruka looks to see a large toad grinning off to the side. “I summoned you,” he explains and Naruto grins excitedly.

Fukasaku appears next to them on his seat on top of a larger toad. “First we’ll eat before I explain how you two will be training,” he says. “Follow me.”

They follow the toad through the winding and curving paths of Myouboku Mountain and Iruka is very quickly lost, though it doesn’t look like Naruto fares any better. They finally come to a low building that appears to be shaped out of mud with plants growing from its roof and walls.

“Welcome,” a voice speaks up and Iruka looks ahead to see a small female toad waiting for them at the door. “The food is ready and waiting. Come on, it’s time to eat.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Iruka says with a bow as he enters and toes off his sandals.

“Oh, such a charmer,” she says with a wave of her hand. “My name is Shima. I’m his wife,” she informs them as she leads them through the low building towards a table piled high with food. Iruka sniffs and it smells pretty good, though the spices used are new to him.

“I’m Umino Iruka. This is Uzumaki Naruto,” Iruka introduces themselves.

Shima herds them to the table. “Eat up. There’s plenty to go around for the both of you,” she declares and Iruka gets his first glimpse at the food. He should have realized that toads would use insects as their main primary food source.

Naruto looks a little pale at the sight. “Come on, Naruto, eat up,” Iruka says with a grin as he serves him some of the stew. He’s honestly eaten stranger on some of his missions. This isn’t the first time he’s had insects as part of a meal.

Naruto gulps and accepts the bowl Iruka hands him and Iruka can’t help but laugh as he pokes at it. “Why don’t you seem fazed by this Iruka-nii?” Naruto demands softly as Iruka fills his own bowl.

Iruka shrugs, blowing on a spoonful before taking a bite. It’s a bit heavy on the spices but still good. He swallows before answering. “I’ve eaten insects for food before. It’s fairly common in the more rural areas and areas where insects are more prevalent than animals for a food source. There was this small village in Kawa that almost exclusively ate insects from a local bog with some fish and birds thrown in. Tenzo, Kakashi and I were there for a full week on a mission and ate quite a bit of the local food. It’s good once you get passed the fact that it’s bugs. They’re actually high in protein and other nutrients,” Iruka explains before taking another bite.

“But it’s bugs,” he hisses as Shima steps away from the table for a moment.

“And?” Iruka states bluntly. “Food is food, Naruto. Best learn now that a shinobi can’t be picky when it comes to meals. Besides, Shima-san worked really hard on this food. You don’t want her to think you don’t like her cooking do you?” Iruka asks.

“Ugh, fine,” Naruto mutters and takes a tentative bite before chewing the chunks and swallowing. He makes a bit of a face but doesn’t outright condemn it which is something at least.

“Shima-san, this is quite tasty. Have you ever tried sugared teriyaki wood beetles? They’re addictive,” Iruka asks the toad.

“Oh, no, but that does sound lovely. Maybe I should try my hand at that,” Shima says, flushing at the praise. Naruto continues to eat sullenly as Iruka chats with the two elder toads.

~*~

Iruka whistles softly as they come into a round clearing, staring at all the various sized stone frogs seated in a meditative position. Behind him, the waterfall splashes and gurgles over the cliff face while a smaller waterfall falls from the mouth of a frog before a wide pool. “Iruka-nii, my stomach hurts,” Naruto groans softly.

“I’m sure it was just the different spices. It can be a bit of a shock to a stomach not accustomed to such changes in food,” Iruka says with a sigh and continues pushing Naruto to the center of smooth stone clearing. Fukasaku is waiting for them. “You’ll be fine in a bit.”

“Alright, you two, let’s get down to training,” Fukasaku says.

They stop in front of him before sitting before him to be at a better level. “First I’ll explain the difference between ninja techniques and sage techniques,” he informs them.

“Difference?” Naruto asks, distracted from his stomach by the toad’s words.

“Yes,” Fukasaku says. “Ninja techniques: ninjutsu, genjutsu and even taijutsu, all use the energy from within, your physical and spiritual energies to create chakra to use for what you need it. Sage technique, on the other hand, draws on the natural energies all around us to supply the energy to use these techniques. When added to your physical and spiritual energies, it can create a new form of chakra that greatly increases your attacks.”

“Hmm,” Naruto says and Iruka can already guess he’s struggling to understand the toad’s words.

“Like what you did with your Rasengan,” Iruka explains. “When you compressed and spun the chakra, it made a really strong attack. But when you added your wind based chakra to it, it made it even better,” Iruka adds.

“Oh,” Naruto says with a bright grin. “So this is a new type element…elemental…,” Naruto frowns, trying to remember the correct word.

“Elemental recomposition, and sort of,” Iruka explains. “You’re speaking of natural energy,” he adds.

“You know about the sage techniques, Umino-san?” Fukasaku asks.

“A bit,” Iruka admits. “Just bits and pieces Jiraiya told me about.”

“So how the heck is this supposed to make me stronger?” Naruto asks.

“I guess explanations are pointless right now. How about a demonstration,” Fukasaku says and hops across towards one of the larger stone toads. The toad grunts before with a growl, heaves the toad over his head and holds it up one handed. Iruka arches a brow in amazement as Naruto gasps audibly.

“You can really do that with this nature stuff?” he asks.

Fukasaku lets the statue drop and Iruka feels the impact through the ground. “Indeed,” Fukasaku nods. “That is the power given when you add natural energy into the mix.”

“But I couldn’t tell how you did it. It looked like you used a seal or something,” Naruto complains.

“That’s because you can’t sense natural chakra yet and thus can’t use it,” Fukasaku explains.

“Then how the heck am I supposed to get stronger if I can’t use it?” Naruto demands.

“You have to become one with nature,” Fukasaku explains. “The easiest way of doing this is by not moving,” he continues. “By stopping moving, you will slowly become aware of the natural energy moving around you and in turn, you will eventually be able to control how the energy moves in and out of you. When you become one with nature, you will then be able to control it.”

“Meditation,” Iruka says and Naruto brightens as he realizes what the toad is explaining.

Then he frowns. “But we don’t have that much time. That will take forever. Isn’t there a faster way to do this?” Naruto demands and Iruka wants to smack his forehead at Naruto’s blunt statement but there is some truth to it. They don’t have a lot of time if they follow the trend of the way things have been escalating lately. He doubts Akatsuki will wait much longer before coming after them.

Fukasaku frowns but nods. “There is but,” he pauses.

“What?” Naruto asks eagerly.

Fukasaku looks behind him and Iruka follows his gaze to see the large frog statue he’d noticed when they arrived behind him with something flowing out of its mouth that is not water, or not completely water. It looks thicker than water does and has a faint color to it.

“This waterfall behind me is Myouboku Mountain’s sacred frog oil,” Fukasaku explains. “Come here and I’ll show you.”

Naruto and Iruka step closer and he motions for Naruto to give him his hand. Naruto does and Fukasaku bends down to collect a small amount of the oil on his finger before dabbing it onto Naruto’s hand. “So what’s this stuff do?” Naruto asks.

“The oil acts as an attractor and draws in natural energy for you. It is one way to train to learn to harness natural energy,” the toad explains. “It allows natural energy to enter your body and you soon are able to learn the feel of natural energy both in you and on your skin and eventually you’ll be able to do so without the oil. However, there is a risk involved,” he admits and Iruka looks to Naruto at the toad’s words and watches as the teen’s arm and face start to change. Naruto sees his hand and starts to panic.

“Those who can’t fully control the energy will start to turn into frogs,” Fukasaku explains as smoke explodes near his hand as he summons a long stick and whacks Naruto on the head. When Naruto looks up, the changes are gone.

“Ow, that hurt,” he complains and then looks at his reflection in the oil with shock. “I’m back to normal.”

Fukasaku nods. “The trick to sage techniques is balance. Equilibrium between natural energy, physical energy and spiritual energy will in turn allow you to create sage chakra. If you don’t have it balanced, it won’t work at all. You’re used to only having to use two different energies to create chakra but adding a third is a whole lot harder. Too little natural chakra and nothing happens. But too much natural energy will overwhelm you and turn you into a frog. If you take in a little too much energy, you can go back to normal. Too much though and the change is permanent,” he warns with a look at the two of them.

Iruka shivers at the implication. To think Jiraiya managed to accomplish this. It seems daunting with this kind of risk hanging over them. A small part laughs though at the idea of the Kyuubi being forced into a frog form.

Fukasaku continues. “Many have tried over the centuries to achieve this perfect balance and only a handful has succeeded. Those who become frogs become even further in tune with nature. These statues are the remains of those who have failed in the past,” Fukasaku explains somberly and Iruka looks up back at the forest of statues.

“All of them,” Naruto murmurs with wide eyes.

“You two won’t have to worry. This stick can knock the natural energy out of you so if you start to turn, one good hit will reset you,” Fukasaku tries to reassure them with a grin. “To be honest, not even Jiraiya-chan got it perfect. He’d turn into a frog a little when he formed sage chakra, but he is still able to do it.”

Iruka and Naruto trade glances. “You’ve already come this far and I doubt you’ll back down now but what do you want to do?” Fukasaku asks.

“Ero-Sennin’s way,” Naruto declares and Iruka snorts.

“It seems the best way, even with the risks which you’ve mitigated with your…stick. I’d like to try,” Iruka says as well.

“Very well, then let’s get started,” Fukasaku says with a smile.

~*~

Iruka settles across from Naruto on the rim of the pool, stripped down to a pair of uniform pants while Naruto’s in a pair of swim trunks that he’d packed for some reason. Iruka can see the small blue gem around Naruto’s neck, a gift from Tsunade for winning her wager, or so Naruto told him.

Naruto grins at Iruka. “It’s like when I was little,” he whispers at Iruka and Iruka smiles back, remembering those nights he meditated and Naruto tried to copy him, though the boy spent more time falling asleep doing it than actual meditating.

“Ready you two?” Fukasaku asks, stepping up between them.

“I’m ready,” Iruka nods.

“Same,” Naruto crows.

“We’ll do this one at a time,” Fukasaku informs them and scoops up a handful of oil as Naruto settles into a meditative stance, eyes closed and Fukasaku tosses the oil against him.

Iruka watches as Naruto frowns in concentration before his face suddenly starts to morph. Fukasaku pulls back and smacks him with the stick and Naruto jolts back to normal. Naruto yelps at the hit and lurches forward, reaching back to rub at his back. “Ow, do you have to hit so hard?” he demands.

“Yes,” Fukasaku says bluntly and turns to Iruka. Iruka nods and braces for the oil to hit him.

It’s surprisingly warm and Iruka instantly starts to feel it tingle against his skin as he concentrates on the feel of whatever is happening. A solid smack to his back has him jerking forward with a yelp and he blinks before looking up at Naruto who has bent over laughing, no doubt at how he looked just now.

“I see what you mean by saying it is difficult,” Iruka admits wryly, rubbing his shoulder. “I didn’t even notice the change.”

“Hey, jii-san, what if I used kage bunshin to learn faster?” he asks. “That’s how I learned to use my Rasenshuriken,” Naruto asks excitedly.

“Hmm, you learn by experiencing what the clones experience, but if one clone turns into a frog, so will you. Fine, only four of you please. My stick can only reach so far,” he orders and Iruka scoots back to give Naruto room as the teen creates three more of him and they all get into position as Fukasaku smears oil on them.

A few seconds later, all four start to change and with rapid fire hits, Fukasaku knocks the natural energy out of all of them. After a moment of complaining and cursing, Naruto releases the clones with a glare up at them, face a little swollen from the blows though it’s already receding with his natural healing.

“Ow,” he whines out. “I didn’t think it’d be this hard just to feel natural energy.”

“True strength comes from hard training,” Fukasaku reminds him.

“I know that. Anyone’d stick with this if it meant getting as strong as Ero-Sennin,” Naruto mutters, rubbing at his aching head.

“You misunderstand. This isn’t something just anyone could do. You, Umino-san and Jiraiya were chosen specifically for this training. The thing about natural chakra is, you need to have enormous amounts of chakra already in order to draw on natural chakra. That is how great it is,” Fukasaku explains.

“Oh,” Iruka murmurs, reaching a hand down to press against his abdomen. He feels a faint pulse of heat, no doubt the Kyuubi keeping an eye on what is going on outside his prison.

“As well, only the most tenacious individuals who never give up ever become sages,” Fukasaku adds and Naruto grins.

“Come Iruka-nii, it’s your turn,” Naruto crows and Iruka sighs but nods. He taught himself sealing, trained until his body ached to master jutsus and weapons he never thought he could have accomplished. He’ll master natural chakra, if only to see Naruto’s grin.

~*~

Iruka focuses, breathing slowly as he focuses on the tingle of the oil on his skin. He can just make out…something. It feels like nothing he’s ever felt and yet is somehow familiar. He can’t explain it any other way.

As he breathes, he feels the Kyuubi stir in his gut for just a moment, almost like a cat stretching in a sun beam before it settles again. Opening his eyes, Iruka looks at his arms resting on his knees, and can see the faint discoloration and slight shift in his anatomy from the frog oil. He’s braced for the smack but it never comes.

“You can sense it, yes,” Fukasaku murmurs beside him. He shifts slowly, breathing evenly still and nods.

Iruka breathes and tastes something on his tongue like honey, but so faint it barely registers. “Yes,” he whispers back, keeping his voice low to keep from disturbing Naruto who is concentrating with his eyes closed. “It’s…I can’t describe it,” he admits wryly and slowly tries to force the natural energy from his body. As he watches, his form shifts back to normal.

“Good,” Fukasaku nods in approval.

“I can see it!” Naruto suddenly shouts and makes Iruka jump as he looks around excitedly. In his excitement, he forces the natural energy out of his body and returns back to normal as he jumps up in excitement. Iruka can’t help but laugh with him, his excitement infectious. He remembers when Naruto was younger and was always so excited to learn new things about being a ninja. He’d missed that excitement while Naruto had been away.

“Very good, Naruto-chan. At this rate, we’ll make a sage of you yet. How about we stop for lunch,” Fukasaku says with a smile.

They return to the toad’s home and eat, Naruto grumbling but eating the meal anyways. “After we eat, I’m going to have you two try and lift one of the stone frogs,” Fukasaku informs them and Naruto gasps in excitement and proceeds to wolf down every bite of food in his hurry to get started faster.

“Naruto, chew your food,” Iruka murmurs placidly as he eats his own food, hungry after so much training, even if he only spent most of it sitting down. He can understand why Fukasaku said the training is so difficult. Just trying to feel the natural energy has left him tired. He wonders how using it will make him feel.

They eventually finish and Naruto rushes ahead of them back to where they came from. Fukasaku gets settled and looks between the both of them. “Alright, first off, try lifting one of the frogs with just your normal chakra,” he instructs and they both nod.

Gathering his chakra in his arms and legs, Iruka crouches and grabs at a frog, using chakra to stick his hands to it and tries to stand. Even with all the tricks he knows, he can’t get it to budge and lets it go. Naruto doesn’t any more success.

“Now try it with sage chakra,” Fukasaku instructs and they both walk over to the pool of oil. Iruka settles in front of it and drips his fingers into the oil before settling back to start meditating. After eating, he can better feel it, like invisible currents against his skin barely felt. He calls out to it and slowly, it flows to him, filling him up and he focuses hard on keeping it in balance.

Opening his eyes a few minutes later he feels…good. Like he’s had a full night’s rest and could do anything with how full of energy he is. Standing, Naruto not far behind him, Iruka goes to the same stone frog and does like he did before. With a blink of shock, the frog lifts. He can feel his muscles strain with the weight but it’s like the stone has reduced in size rather than Iruka has grown stronger. The last time he felt like this was… “Oh,” Iruka whispers in shock.

He sets the frog down and looks down at his hands, a few warts and bumps visible from his shaky control of the chakra. Naruto cheers loudly off to his right and tosses his frog, Fukasaku scolding him for doing so. “You really are a being of pure chakra, aren’t you?” Iruka murmurs, pressing a hand to his stomach again.

Idiot, the Kyuubi mutters in the back of his head.

Snorting, Iruka looks over towards Naruto and wonders if he’s made the connection. From the way he’s laughing and jumping around, Iruka doubts it but he’s sure in time, he will.

“Well, don’t just stand around you two. You said yourselves that you don’t have much time to master this. Let’s get back to it. First you need to master controlling the energy with the oil. After that…well, we’ll get to that once I’m satisfied you’ve mastered step one,” Fukasaku orders and Iruka nods, walking back over to the pool to retake his seat.

~*~

Iruka breathes slowly, in and out, feeling the thrum of energy through his coils. The oil slides warmly around his torso as he sits in the pool, Naruto under the falls. He can sense so much like this. His sensing, which had always been rather limited, spreads out around him. Like stars in the sky, he can sense the beacons of life all around him, all the toads and other creatures that call the mountain home.

“It looks like you both have mastered using the oil,” Fukasaku says with a nod.

Iruka opens his eyes to look at the toad. “What’s step two?” he asks.

“Drawing on and controlling the natural energy without using the oil,” Fukasaku says and Iruka nods, standing with ease as he steps out of the pool, Naruto following.

“I feel so strong right now,” Naruto whispers in amazement.

Fukasaku nods in agreement. “Ninja techniques use up your personal energy, so the more you use, the more you exhaust yourself. But sage techniques draw from outside you and you can actually recover much faster than normally,” he explains.

Naruto giggles excitedly at the idea and Iruka huffs in amusement at his glee.

“We’ll take a break for now,” Fukasaku informs them and Iruka nods. Letting the chakra go, he feels it trickle out of him like water from a bowl until he feels like he normally does.

“I wanted to give this to the both of you,” Fukasaku adds, holding out a hardcover book.

“What is it?” Naruto asks curiously as he steps out of the pool, wiping oil off his face before taking the book.

“A book. This is Jiraiya’s first book, something he poured his heart into. You both should read it,” he advises. “We’ll start back up training tomorrow,” Fukasaku adds before hopping away and leaving them to look at the book.

“The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja,” Iruka reads out as he looks down at the book in Naruto’s hand. “Sounds like a certain ninja I know,” Iruka says with a grin, elbowing Naruto in the side. “You read it first. I’m going to go get rinsed off,” Iruka says and Naruto nods, walking off with a frown as he opens the cover.

Iruka gets cleaned up at the hot spring near the toad’s home and mulls over everything he’s learned in the last few days. He’d never realized how in tune the Kyuubi is with the natural energy around him. Then again, he’d never had reason to consider it before this time. It would make sense that something as powerful as the Kyuubi would use natural energy. In fact, it makes so much sense on how they are so strong. A being that gigantic could take in a lot of natural energy.

Settling back into the hot spring, Iruka closes his eyes and sinks into himself. Slowly, he feels the moist, heated air brushing his face fade to the cool, stagnate air of the Kyuubi’s prison. Opening his eyes, Iruka finds himself in a familiar tunnel and walks forward until it opens up.

Burning, coal red eyes stare back at him from the shadows. From their positioning, the Kyuubi is lying down, watching him walk closer. Iruka walks into the center of the cavernous room and sits on the water to look up at the huge creature. “We need to talk,” Iruka admits softly.

Why should I speak with you, it asks but there’s surprisingly not much bite behind its demand.

Iruka sucks in a breath before asking the one question that has been on his mind, days later and miles away from home. “Is Kakashi Tobi?” Iruka asks softly. If anyone will know, it’s the Kyuubi.

Glowing eyes narrow and a low growl rumbles out, sending ripples through the water.

No, it admits and Iruka feels a knot ease in his chest. He’s not sure what he would have done if it had said yes. Whoever it is that has the trice cursed eye, I will rend them limb from limb.

“I certainly won’t stop you,” Iruka says back, reminding it of their agreement. “I doubt we have much longer before they come for us,” he adds.

Good, the Kyuubi growls out, low and echoing before Iruka surfaces back into the hot spring. Leaning his head back on the edge of the rocks surrounding the hot spring, he lets a few tears of relief slip free at the confirmation of his fears being unfounded. Now he just has to actually talk with Kakashi after all of this, if the man will even want to talk with him after Iruka almost killed him again.