“Keep an eye on her, Naruto-kun. Your life depends on it,” hissed the Snake Sannin.
“And then he left?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Orochimaru puffed in smoke and in his place stood an orange clad Uzumaki Naruto. He plopped down on his bed, frowning.
Soon after the fight Jiraiya and Shizune had woken up. While the Sannin went to check on his not-quite disciple, Shizune had gone to her mistress' side for a quick examination. The results were disconcerting.
“Is the old lady fine, Shizune-neechan?”
“I think she is, Naruto-kun.”
“That answer doesn't fill me with confidence,” had grumbled Jiraiya.
Shizune flushed in embarrassment. “I don't think we have to worry, everything seem to be more or less in order.”
“But?”
The medic nin shook her head. “It's just her chakra, her cellular activity, her entire body seems to be in overdrive. Even her brain! I don't think even the Sozo Saisei can do something that extreme.” It also seemed that right where her seal used to be, hidden under a layer of skin, Tsunade-sama had grown something like a third eye. Shizune had no idea how she was supposed to say that without sounding completely crazy. “I think I need to perform other exams.”
“So we need a hospital?”Asked an alarmed Naruto.
“Not yet. I just need a more appropriate place to take care of her.”
With that she'd gathered her mistress in her arms, taken off to their hotel and locked herself in their room. Jiraiya hadn't appreciated being pushed aside that way but he'd let it slide for the time being.
So they'd gone back to their own room and Jiraiya had started pestering Naruto about what had happened while he was out. Quickly Jiraiya's persistence over pointless details had gotten so annoying Naruto has decided to show him instead.
“But you know, he looked pretty happy for a guy who was running away.”
Jiraiya nodded absently. That was exactly it. Despite all the trouble Tsunade had piled on them they'd defeated Orochimaru a solid two to nothing. Tsunade was still with them and her cooperation definitely out of his reach, which meant that Orochimaru had lost his most promising chance of getting back the use of his arms. Not the only one he knew, his old teammate was far too crafty to have already run out of options. Tsunade had merely been the best.
He'd also failed to kill Jiraiya or Tsunade when both had been at his mercy and the only one left in his path was a puny genin.
Yet, Orochimaru had left as if the battle had been a complete victory.
“That can't be good.”
“Right? Right? ...What can't be good exactly?” Naruto asked sheepishly.
“I'm not sure and that's the worst part of it.” Orochimaru knowing something he didn't, something so big he'd left right in the middle of a fight he was winning. The idea was very worrying. Scratch that, it was downright terrifying. Especially when it looked like the brat was right in the middle of this whole mess.
He needed more information. Which brought him to the next oddity.
Jiraiya walked up to Naruto and removed his protector without a word.
“Hey!”
“Don't move, brat.” He said impatiently as he took hold of Naruto's chin and sat down. Right in the middle of the brat's forehead there was a kanji tattooed, though he very much doubted it was in ink. A “Nai”, for “nothing” Jiraiya supposed, though at first glance the squirming genin didn't seem like he was any less than before. Not even less of a brat.
Ah well, medic-nin weren't the only one who knew diagnosis jutsu. A few quick handseals and Jiraiya smacked his hand on the brat's forehead.
“Ow! Not that hard!”
“Quiet!” As he thought, the kanji was some sort of seal. But rather than anchoring himself to the chakra pathways as a proper seal would it didn't go farther than the brat's skin. So maybe it wasn't really a true seal and instead just a brand? If there was more to it the sennin couldn't tell but he was fairly certain the thing wasn't complex enough for any nefarious purpose, like eating Naruto's brain or enslaving him.
Deciding that he might as well finish the kid's check up Jiraiya continued downward. His face turned as white as his hair.
”Naruto, remove your shirt.” The hint of steel in the Sannin' voice made him obey without question. “Channel some chakra.” He silently did so under the scrutiny of the older ninja, whose gaze was about to drill holes into his stomach.
In Naruto's opinion there was nothing strange about his stomach, not even the seal...
Oh.
“Goddammit!” Jiraiya growled while Naruto tried desperately to grasp the new situation, one he'd never entertained since Mizuki had revealed his condition. Not even in his wildest dreams.
The seal was gone, which meant that... “Kyuubi is gone?” He couldn't even believe his own words.
“Not likely.” Jiraiya spat, trying his best to stay calm in this new, awful situation. “Near infinite masses of pure hatred don't just vanish in thin air, no matter how much we want them to. Kyuubi is still alive.” And it wasn't jailed anymore. The simple thought was nearly enough to have the Sannin soil his pants.
Naruto looked around fearfully. “It's not here, right? I mean we'd know if it was around?”
“No, we wouldn't. I very much doubt we'd know anything anymore.” But it wasn't in Kyuubi style to hide either. The Sannin doubted the creature could even contemplate the idea. So even Naruto couldn't have missed it if it had broken free right in front of him. The brat had already said everything he knew so it had happened before he'd awakened. Most likely it was whatever Tsunade had done to save his life.
“Jiraiya-sama!” Screamed a nearly hysterical Shizune as she barreled into the room.
“Tsunade-sama, there's something wrong with her!”
She was laying in a giant bed in a room so spacious it could have only fit in a palace, her head resting on the knees of a barely clad servant.
She wasn't wearing much herself. Not that she cared, as she opened her mouth to drink from the golden cup she was offered. The drink was cool and smooth, rich of fruity and spicy flavors she couldn't quite place, but was definitely delicious. Three other servants were offering her a slow, delightfully sensual massage, worshiping her body as though she was a goddess. Dancers were showing off their beautifully tanned and athletic bodies for her entertainment, their eyes never leaving her form, hoping for some sign of her approval. All in all, it was a darn good dream.
“But to be honest, if I get a harem it'd better be full of guys,” Tsunade harrumphed. “Girls are more up Jiraiya's alley.”
As if on cue the scenery around her morphed and she clapped approvingly “See? much better.”
It was the same room as before, but it had seen another decorator entirely. The gold tapestries and been changed for red drapes and a large fire burned in the center of the room. The actors too had changed much to her delight and she giggled girlishly as she felt something hard poking through her hair. ”Oh yeah, much better.” She received the piece of chicken she was offered gladly and was very surprised at the knife cutting her throat.
She jumped upright, her hands already moving to heal the cut. She was relieved to find only unblemished skin. ONly a dream.
“Tsunade?”
She was back in her hotel's room and Shizune, Jiraiya and Naruto were at the door. A fond smile bloomed on her face when she saw the gennin. “Glad to see you alive, brat. What happened with Orochimaru?”
They just stared at her, their faces somewhere between surprise and turmoil.
Tsunade didn't like that look one bit. “Alright, what's wrong?”
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:43)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.