What Happens in Sound Should Probably Stay in Sound

by lavenderkitten322

Summary:

Orochimaru has many regrets, the most recent one is the fact that almost all of his subordinates are no longer afraid of him. Nonetheless, he doesn't have any time to spend bemoaning what happened in the past, only keep on working on the future. With a squirrel assistant from Whirlpool who keeps butting in on Orochimaru's personal affairs, Tsunade stomping her way back into his life, Jiraya complaining about the lack of adults that he can peep on in the bath houses, the sudden spike of insanity in Sound, Anko continuously making grand entrances which then leads to a bunch of his ninjas deeming it the only appropriate way to enter places, and scolding the Kazekage about his terrible parenting skills which some how leads to him teaching the guy how to do it properly, it's really is no surprise that he wants to bang his head on a wall. Repeatedly.

Notes:

Hello again my lovely readers! The chapters in this story are probably going to only be in chronicle order the first couple of chapters, and then whenever I have a random chapter planed out, I'll just post them! Less hassle in my opinion. Anyway, enjoy~!

Chapter 1: So Hold My Hand, I'll Walk With You My Dear

'Kick-starting an invasion is hard.' Orochimaru contemplated to himself.  It wasn't as if he didn't have the information necessary to achieve it, but there were far too many variables!

 

'How much can I even depend on Sand?' Just thinking about it made his head hurt in ways that he hadn't known was possible.  At any rate, he was going to start with the bigger details and work his way down.

 

---

 

Guren was exactly what was expected of her; resourceful, had a dry sense of humor, had outstanding leading and following skills and behaviors, etc. As she walked towards the building she was told to meet Orochimaru-Sama, she wondered why she had been summoned for.

 

'Most likely a mission.'

 

Knocking at the door of her destination, she was let in by a nin that she didn't know.

 

"Orochimaru-Sama will see you now." A slightly muffed voice said as she walked towards a set of large doors. She entered.

 

"Ahh, Guren-Chan right on schedule!" Orochimaru cheerfully greeted her. He was leaning on a desk beside a wall covered in maps, pictures, and string?  She blinked a couple of times; this new  Orochimaru still was taking some time to get used to...Although, she was pretty sure that this wasn't what would be the new normal.

 

"....Or well I think you are on time; this place doesn't have windows or a clock for me to check!" He continued on oblivious to the inner turmoil his subordinate was feeling.

 

Guren took a moment to stare at the strange picture her Kage made; there were stacks of hazardously placed mugs and plates on one corner of the desk that Guren was pretty sure was going to tip over at any moment. The rest of the surface of the desk was covered in layers of papers, and she could see a bottle of sake under one of them.

 

Orochimaru himself looked just as chaotic; hair in a messy bun, wrinkles on his usually spotless clothing, and large bags underneath his eyes.

 

"Tell me, how do you feel about being Otokage?"

 

Guren's froze.

 

'.....W...What?' Her face must have shown her confusion and distress because Orochimaru hurriedly simplified what he meant.

 

"Not forever, but if I'm going to be doing this whole invasion thing, there is no way I'm going to be able to be in the spotlight during the Chunin exams since most will be able to recognize my chakra signature unless I use THAT technique. " Here he grimaced, a facial expression that Guren was sure was on her face as well. It had been.....weird for lack of a better word, to watch Orochimaru literally shed a bunch of bodies.

 

"Well," She started out, "I hope I'm not stepping out of line here, but when was the last time you slept Orochimaru-Sama?"

 

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, then decided to humor her by replying.

 

"Two days ago I believe."

 

"...What day of the week was that?" Guren asked.

 

"Tuesday?"

 

"....Orochimaru-Sama, today is Tuesday. You've been up for a whole week!" Guren exclaimed.

 

"I mean no disrespect here, but you need at least a good seven hours Orochimaru-Sama. Once you do, you might notice that your invasion plans look an awfully like like that conspiracy board that Kihō made while drunk about the possibility of you being a woman."

 

Orochimaru took a moment to scrutinize his board of invasion information, and he had to admit it did look a lot like a conspiracy board.

 

"I suppose you are right." Orochimaru finally acknowledged.

 

"You are dismissed. I will call for you after I have gotten both myself and my plans in order so I can fully explain to you what we need to do."

 

Guren nodded and left. 

 

---

 

Murasakino lifted the brush once again continuing writing a letter. It was tedious work for the squirrel due to his size, but he's making it work. Finally, he was done. taking a moment to survey his work, he reread what he had written.  Nodding to himself, he turned to the only other being in the room; a pigeon.

 

"Thanks again for taking this letter Unazuki-Kun," Murasakino said gratefully.

 

"No thanks are necessary my friend!" Unazuki responded.  "You have helped me plenty of times in the past, now it is my turn to help you! Plus," Here Unazuki's started whispering, "the people of Tea Country tend to have very nice bird feeders!"

 

Murasakino let out a laugh. "Well then, enjoy yourself!" He tied the letter to Unazuki's leg and took a step back.

 

"I will!" Unazuki said as he started flying away.

 

---

 

"Orochimaru-Sama!" Yelled out an orange haired girl. she was out of breath,

 

" Sasame-Chan, while it is nice to see you again, barging into a room that you know is occupied, is terrible in terms of manners," Orochimaru said by way of greeting. 

 

Sasame blushed noticing that there were more than just Orochimaru in the room. There was a large table, with an assortment of Sound nins sitting around it including one of the bosses of her clan Kotohime, who looked at her with an arched eyebrow. Suddenly she remembered why she was in such a rush.

 

"Orochimaru-Sama! Tsunade Senju has been spotted heading in this direction! At the rate she's going, she'll be here in a little more than two hours!"

 

A feeling of panic washed over everyone in the room. Well, almost everyone.

 

"Wow, she sure responded fast. Admittedly, I would have preferred if she just wrote a letter." Responded Murasakino. Orochimaru stared at the squirrel; expression unreadable.

 

"W...WHAT DID YOU DO?!?" He demanded.

 

Murasakino answered him unfazed, "I just told her your situation."

 

Orochimaru looked at him in horror. "Why???"

 

"We are going to need more heavy hitters if we want this invention to work with the bare minimum of casualties. Plus, this way we can also have a med-nin on board." He replied.

 

"Orochimaru-Sama, what do we do?" Kotohime panicky asked. Orochimaru sighed.

 

"We end this meeting for the moment. Should anything happen to me, continue with the plan." He stressed out. He shot Murasakino, who was looking far too smug for his own good, a dirty look and rose from his seat. Two hours weren't a lot of time to get ready for a probably angry Tsunade; no amount of time was.

 

---

 

*Sponge Bob Narrator Voice*: Two Hours Later.....

 

Tsunade stopped in front of Orochimaru who was sitting on a blanket on the ground with the only thing separating them were two Sake bottles. A staring contest began. Hovering nearby was an anxious Shizune.

 

Finally, Tsunade spoke, "Was what was in the letter telling the truth?"

 

"Depends on what was written."

 

"Don't use that bullshit with me! Were you not in control of your self ?!?"

 

A sigh. Then a quiet "Yes."

 

Tsunade dropped down on the blanket. Picking up one of the Sake bottles, she started chugging. Orochimaru did the exact same thing.

 

"I thought I lost you too." Tsunade chocked out after a while.

 

"Don't be ridiculous Hime; I literally have lived longer as your teammate then not. Nothing at this point can put a wedge between us, much less the actions of a man who wouldn't accept no for an answer."

 

Tsunade took his hand and gripped it tightly. Orochimaru gave a small smile. Then they started talking. Tsunade spoke of how hard it was the past years had been, teaching Shizune how to be a medical-nin and her fear of blood.

 

In turn, Orochimaru talked about the fact that he was literally missing almost twenty years worth of memories, his worries about the fact that his possessed-self had done some awful things, and realizing that there is more to being a Kage then what he realized.

 

By the time they were done talking, the sun was setting. Getting up, Orochimaru offered Tsunade a hand. She took it with a grin.

Chapter 2: Planing

Summary:

A wild Jirayia appears! Also, a meeting between two Kages!

Notes:

Vacation is finally here! After posting this I might go back to sleep; It's only 9 am.

Orochimaru didn't even bother to look up from his breakfast as the arguing that was happening in the hallway slowly, but surely started getting louder as the two people bickering moved closer to his office. Tsunade was there with him, sitting on a leaning chair with feet propped on one corner of his desk.

"I'm telling ya Gaki I gotta see the two of them!"

"Do you even have an appointment?!?"

"Where the hell would I even sign for one?!?" A loud annoyed scream was the response.

"Stay. Here."

There was a knock on the office door.

"Yes?" Orochimaru asked.

"Orochimaru-Sama, it's Tayuya; there's some old guy here to see you." An indignant squawk came from the other person that was outside the door. Orochimaru shared a lock with Tsunade.

"Tell Jiraiya to come in."

"Hai. He said he will see you now." Orochimaru could almost see the squint-eyed glare Tayuya was giving Jiraiya as she said this.

"Arguing with children really Jiraiya?" Orochimaru asked with an eyebrow raise.

"Yeah, well if she just let me go in the first place,"

"The kid is one of Orochimaru's bodyguards." Tsunade cut in leveling Jiraiya with a disapproving look. She liked Tayuya even if she had quite a mouth to her.

"She threatened to summon her ogres? And have them trample on me!"

"Serves you right." Muttered Tsunade.

"Why are you being so mean to me, Hime?!" Wailed Jiraiya.

Orochimaru rubbed his face with both of his hands.

"Jiraiya, why are you here? Tsunade and I are kind of busy right now with planning an invasion." Jiraiya looked aghast.

"A WHAT?!?"

---

 

"This is a terrible idea," Jiraiya muttered.

"Yup," Tsunade responded.

"I'm sitting here listening to you two plot the destruction of the Leaf." He continued.

Orochimaru hummed in agreement.

"And you are OK with this?!?" Jiraiya yelled at Tsunade.

"So long as I get to beat Danzo to a bloody plump, yeah." She took a swig from a wine glass.

"It isn't home anymore." She whispered.

"It hasn't in a long time," Jiraiya admitted. The three of them sat there for a moment in silence.

"Why are you so hung up on the leaf anyway? It's not like you have stayed there since the Kyubbi Attack." Tsunade asked.

"One of my students was a Hokage; what would he think of me if deflected from the place that he worked so hard save?"

"Considering the fact that his own son is leaving, I doubt he would care. If anything, I'm pretty sure he would raze the place to the ground if he had the chance." Orochimaru drawled.

"WHAT?!? Sensei says Naruto wants to be Hokage!!!"

"The Gaki was lying obviously," Tsunade said with a roll of her eyes.

"I would leave too if I became a pariah for no reason. In fact, that's why I'm staying here." Orochimaru added. Jiraiya had a sour look on his face most likely thinking about the treatment his only godchild was facing at the hands of people who should be honored to have him in their mere presence. Abruptly, his expression shifted to one of shock.

".....Wait a second....does that mean he's coming here?!?" Orochimaru scoffed at the question.

"You couldn't pay me to keep that child here; I have far too much to do on my plate, and have an Uzumaki here already. He is going to Whirlpool."

"Whirlpool?!? That place was destroyed decades ago!"

"Haven't you heard? It's being rebuilt; all that's left to deal with is are the structures. Something I've been told won't take long."

"How is building stuff from the ground up supposed to not take long?!" Jiraiya exclaimed incredulity.

"Seals were apparently placed at the foundations of all of the buildings, only a couple of drops of blood from a person from each largest clans is needed."

"Huh." Murmured Jiraiya thoughtfully. A look of confusion then plastered its self on his face.

"Say, Hime, why are you so hell-bent on murdering Danzo with your bare hands?"

"That bastard put a Tamashī Seal on Orochimaru!" She hissed out furiously.

"HE DID WHAT?!?"

---

 

Rasa had only meet Orochimaru of the Sanin a grand total of once, but even he could pick up that there was a different air to him. He still held himself with confidence, but as Rasa's new secretary (he couldn't remember her name for the life of him) poured Orochimaru tea, he said thank you. And then he started drinking it?!?! Who was this imposter???

"Before we finalize our plans, let's talk about what will happen afterward." Orochimaru started the meeting with.

"What?" Rasa confusedly asked. Orochimaru gave him the 'you are being particularly slow right now' look.

"Surely you don't believe you will be able to continue an alliance with Leaf after all is said and done?"

"Of course not. I simply assumed you would wash your hands off us and that would be the end of it." Rasa smoothly responded attempting to make his earlier blunder seem like it had been made because he was stunned, rather than perplexed.

"Look at it as a sign of goodwill; I would gain more doing that then you would. This way, we both get something more out of it." Rasa hummed thoughtfully.

"I see what you mean. What do you have in mind?"

"Unlike here in Sand," Orochimaru started, "Sound has wonderful growing seasons. I propose that in exchange for fresh produce, you give us dates and poisons." Both of Rasa's eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"That would be very.....generous of you." He said slowly. Orochimaru gave him a small smile.

"I suppose, but this way your council will not see it as me taking advantage of you in your time of weakness, but rather helping you return to your former glory."

And that was true, Orochimaru summoned snakes, and while a bit of a hassle to convince them to, they do give him venom.....occasionally. Also, Sand had scorpions that made some really good poison too.

"I will have to talk to The Council of course, but it will not take long for them to agree."

"Good. Now that that's settled, what do you plan to do about Whirlpool?" Rasa's confusion was very visible.

".....You don't know." Orochimaru whispered in horror.

"Uh no?"

 

 

Notes:

-Naturally, Orochimaru wonders why it is him who has to explain to his fellow cage that 'Yo Whirpool became sentient and anyone who wants to come can go.' Yeah, Rasa gave that 'Are you drunk?' face.

-Jiraiya is #iamconfusion. He will get used to it.

-Tayuya takes her job as one of Orochimaru's elites/bodyguards very seriously.

-Updates for any of my stories no longer have a schedule. If I have free time, you will most likely see a new chapter; which will probably be often. I just need to get my phone first.

Chapter 3: Just Wait, Can We Work This Out, Can We Work This Out?

Summary:

"But.....who will do all the paperwork?" Rasa asked weakly.

"That's what you are worried about, not the fact that your children are likely planning on deflecting?!" Orochimaru half-yelled.

"So if you want to go, all you have to do is....go?" Rasa repeated, mostly to himself.

"Yes," Orochimaru confirmed.

"But.....who will do all the paperwork?" Rasa asked weakly.

"That's what you are worried about, not the fact that your children are likely planning on deflecting?!" Orochimaru half-yelled.

"They wouldn't do that, I am their Kage."

"Are you for real?!? These are your children we are talking about!"

"Your point being?"

"So you aren't seeing nor hearing how detached you are sounding right now?"

"No?"

"Rasa-San, from a caretaker of a child to another, when was the last time you spent even an hour around your children outside of this room or talked about anything that wasn't ninja related."

"....."

"Kami save me," Orochimaru whispered in despair.

"This is bad. There is literally no other way to say it. Children need their parents Rasa-san! And these children don't even have their other one!" Orochimaru ignored Rasa's flinch. If he started feeling guilty about his wife, maybe there is a wife under all of that sand armor.

"Who has been taking care of your children? Who taught your sons what it is that they need to know to be a man? What about your daughter? Does she have a mother figure in her life?" Orochimaru demanded.

"There is Chiyo." Rasa offered weekly. Orochimaru glared at him.

"Chiyo should not be anywhere near your children as one of her decisions is why they don't have a mother anymore." By now Orochimaru was sure he had never heard a story more than ridiculous.

"Seriously Rasa-San, what will you tell your wife the day you meet again? How do you think she will react?"

Rasa paled. Orochimaru continued giving him a judging look.

---

 

"I don't know what possessed him to think this was a good idea!" Orochimaru complained two days later. Tsunade shrugged and Jiraiya looked at him helplessly.

"I'm going to be honest with you here Hebi," Jiraiya started, "What the hell makes you think I need to know about the Kazekage family troubles?"

"Because we are going to be seeing a lot more of him as we are allies," Orochimaru responded. He took a long swig out a sake bottle from one of the draws in his desk.

"So basically we need to fix this man's family life because his kids, who one of them happens to be the one tail jinjuriki are planning on leaving to Whirlpool; and he seems to think that they won't for some reason. What is the likelihood that he won't turn to a salty, bitter excuse of a human being?" Tsunade asked after summarizing the situation.

"At this point, I don't think it matters." Jiraiya pointed out.

"True." Tsunade agrees.

"So how are we like, even going to fix this? None of us exactly have children, much less ones that we ignored for all of their lives." Jiraiya stated as he started slouching in his seat. Tsunade kicked him in the leg.

"We are just going to," Orochimaru said with far more confidence then he had.

"Welp, this is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done." Tsunade scoffed at Jiraiya's proclamation.

"We went toe to toe with freaking Hanzo. I'm pretty sure this isn't the hardest thing we've done."

"Yeah, but this time we will have to talk about feelings!" Whined Jiraiya. He shimmed down, off his chair, and onto the floor and started rolling around.

Shizune has been in Sound for about a week and a half, and so she has seen some strange things. But, as she walked into Orochimaru-Sama's office, watching Jiraiya-san roll along the floor, Tsunade-Sama pour sake into a cup of what looked like coffee, and Orochimaru himself chugging a bottle of alcohol, she just stood by the door and stared.

This was unlike anything she had ever encountered before; Kiho had asked her earlier if she knew if Kabuto (who was that??) was Tsunade-Sama and Orochimaru-Sama's secret love child. She, of course, said no; Orochimaru-Sama and Tsunade-Sama did not have a relationship like that.

"Should.......should I leave?" She finally asked.

Jiraiya stopped his rolling for a moment and pulled a thoughtful look.

“Say, why don’t we just asked Shizune.”

Orochimaru and Tsunade shared a look, before shrugging.

“The Kazekage is having some….family troubles. His children plan on migrating to Whirlpool, and honestly, the man knows next to nothing when it comes to child raising since he didn't raise any of his children.” Tsunade explained.

“And this is your problem how?”

“It will solidify the alliance that we are currently working on with Sand. However, we can not afford to do something ridiculous such as kidnap the children since that would mean taking future Whirlpool citizens.” Orochimaru continued.

“And come on let's be honest, I’d rather have Sand as an enemy than Whirlpool.” Finished Jiraiya. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Shizune stood silently for a moment thinking really hard.

“.....I think I know what he needs to do. He needs to talk to them.”

“How is talking going to help?” Tsunade picked underneath her nails absently.

“His kids don't have a positive opinion of him.” Shizune pointed out.

“Ah, I believe I see where you are going with this.” Orochimaru gave Shizune a small smile. “With a positive opinion of their father, the children will most likely keep in touch with him.”

Jiraiya hummed thoughtfully for once being serious. “ He should let them go.”

Tsunade gave him a surprised look. “Why?”

“Think about it, Rasa only wants his kids to stay because it’ll make him look bad. If he were to say, give a diplomatic mission to make connections with Whirlpool’s younger generation, it would be a win situation.”

Tsunade snapped her fingers. “This way he would have diplomats in Whirlpool, and the kids will be talking to him directly!”

“This way, everyone is happy!” Shizune added happily.

---

 

“I'm sorry Orochimaru-Sama, you want me to do what?!?!” Arashi half yelled. Orochimaru rolled his eyes.

“You are to go to the chunin exams with a team that consists of your cousin Sasume, Menma of the Shiin clan, and Jūgo. There is, as you know another team going as well.”

Arashi started sweating profusely. He loved his cousin, really he did, but she was chaos in human form. Add in a Jugo with his anger issues and Menma’s strange ability to make useless jutsus, Arashi wasn’t sure there was going to be a Leaf once the chunin exams were over.

“I suggest you start planning team strategies on your way over.” Orochimaru continued ignoring his subordinate having a mini heart attack in front of him.

“Of course sir.” Arashi finally said. Orochimaru’s eyes lit up with amusement.

“Here,” He handed Arashi a bottle of sake from one of his desks many drawers, “I have a feeling you’re going to need this.”

Chapter 4: I Won't Let You Get Away With it This Time

Summary:

In which Jiraiya leaves Sound to meet his godson.

Jariya adjusted the straps of his shoulder bag and squared his shoulders. "I'm all set to go!"

The slurping of noodles was his only response.

"ARE NONE OF YOU GOING TO SAY GOODBYE?!"

"To be fair, you are coming back in a week, not really anything worth crying over," Tsunade said with a shrug.

"I'm inclined to agree; you weren't even invited to begin with."

"Hebi! I thought we have something!"

"We do; it's just not as grand as you think it is," Tsunade sighed after Orochimaru's retort.

"We'll see you in a bit, you moron. Try not to create the next ninja war in the meantime."

Jiraiya grunted but secretly hid a smile. He knew this is as close to getting a be safe from his teammates.

"Yeah whatever; see you guys later."

---

 

Jiraiya had been traveling for all of 30 minutes and just about to leave Sound when heard a cheerful "Jiraiya-San!" Sitting on a tree branch with his furry legs crossed was Orochimaru's squirrel advisor, Murasakino. Jiraiya looked at the creature a little bit bewildered; they hardly had any conversations between them.

""Murasakino-San, what's up?"

"I am apparently!" He let out a bright laugh. Jiraiya was getting unsettled. Seemingly sensing this Murasakino hopped down to the ground and stood in front of Jiraiya.

"No need to worry Jiraiya-San, I only wish to speak with you for a bit before you leave."

"Okaaaaay?" Murasakino gave him a happy smile in return.
"As you know, during the last part of the Chunin Exams, we will be with the help of Sand, doing an invasion. " Jiraiya nodded his head.

"I have a request for you. You see it has come to Lady Uzushio's attention that there are a couple of Wave's descendants trapped in Leaf. We would like for you to help them."

Jiraiya adopted a look of confusion. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"We need your knowledge of sealing to break a couple of Tamashī seals," Murasakino answered bluntly with a frown.

Jiraiya grimaced. "I'm guessing that Danzo is behind these as well."

"You would be correct. "

"It would take some time to get through even a handful of them, every Tamashī Seal is different."

"Then I suggest you get a move on then," Murasakino said moving out of Jiraiya's way.

"Wait for a second! How am I supposed to justify being in Leaf for that long without making it suspicious?"

Murasakino smiled mischievously, "You'll figure something out."

---

 

"I must say Jiraiya-Kun, I expected a warning in the form of many complaints from the female bathhouse."

Jiraiya started sweating at the Hokage's comment. "Well, I thought with all the work you have on your plate, I would be nice and not add to your workload!"

The Hokage arched an eyebrow at his student. "How...kind of you."

Jiraiya gave him a wide grin in response.

"So, I was thinking if I could take Naruto as an apprentice for a month?"
Hiruzen frowned. "You and I both know that the Council wouldn't allow such."
"Well, if you happened to tell them that the seal containing the Kyubbi is almost two decades old, and the best Seal Master alive would like to take a look at it, I'm sure they would allow it...begrudgingly."

The Sandaime hummed for a moment. "I suppose they would have to allow it then."

Jiraiya gave himself a pat on the back.

Chapter 5: It Was You!

Summary:

A meeting almost fourteen years in the making. Hard truths are told in a manner similar to how people speak about the weather, and for aesthetic reasons, the shade of purple on the Kage hat is very important.

Notes:

Sorry, this took so long to write!

Jiraya started sweating profusely from his side of the booth in Ichiraku Ramen. On the other side were Kakashi and Iruka, both staring at him like he was an unpleasant bug that wouldn't go away.

 

"So, after thirteen years, you  finally  show up." Iruka stated, smiling. Jiraya and Kakashi shivered because the smile was all teeth. 

 

"Yes?" Jiraya responded.

 

"Why is your answer to my question another question?" At this point, Iruka is beyond irritated. This was the man who was supposed to have raised his honorary younger brother. This was the man that Minato-San and Kushina-Hime chose to look after Naruto. Now Naruto is almost fourteen, he decides to show up?!? 

 

Jiraya is confused. Kakashi being upset, he deserved it. Minato's former bodyguards he could understand. But this random chunin? He was baffled. Even stranger, Kakashi just sat there, waiting. For what Jiraya didn't know, but something told him it wasn't going to be good, especially when Kakashi slapped a privacy seal on the table.

 

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Iruka scoffed, at this point done.

 

"Who am I??? WHO AM I??? I'M THE MAN WHO DID YOUR FUCKING JOB!! KUSHINA-HIME DIED FOR THAT CHILD. FOR KAMI'S SAKE YOUR STUDENT DIED FOR THE BOY! SOMEHOW IT MAKES SENSE TO LEAVE HIM, WITHOUT EVEN STOPPING BY ONCE. ONCE. UNTIL NARUTO IS FOURTEEN. HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HE HAD A GODFATHER UNTIL LAST YEAR. " 

 

Iruka let out a shaky breath and hissed, 

 

"Do you know what's the worst part? He's excited to meet you. YOU are the only one still alive, available and willing who knows what his parents were like at his age. You know the stories neither I nor Kakashi can give him because we only know the semi-responsible adults they were." He took a sip of water. "My parents could have, Kushina-Hime spent most free days in their house practicing seals with my mother and helping my father cook dinner. They're gone now. Both Nara-Sans can't say anything because the Hokage won't let them. And the only other two people were the Uchiha clan head and his wife and both of them are dead. You're who's left, and you better do a damn good job, or I'm using everything my Umino ancestors have taught me to teach you a lesson you will never forget."

 

Jiraya instantly felt nervous; this man was no Chunin. He looked to Kakashi for a little help but was instead met with an arched eyebrow. 

 

"Maa...don't give us a reason to make you regret coming back yeah?" He said cheerfully, although his eye told another story. 

 

Taichi Ichiraku placed three bowls of noodles in front of the trio. Iruka stabbed one of the eggs in the bowl while staring at Jiraya. In response, Jiraya hunched his shoulders and turned to focus solely on his bowl. Narutomaki swirled around in the rich light brown broth, somehow managing to make him feel even more guilty. 

 

He went to sleep without taking a peek at the woman's side of the bathhouse that day. 

---

Many would expect the meeting between Jiraya and Naruto to be a big deal. After all, it was almost fourteen years in the making. And yet, what happened was a strangely softer encounter because the second that Naruto stared at Jiraya as they stood in a training ground Kakashi suggested, he said:

 

"You're the one who gives me all the frog gifts on my birthday!" Jiraya blinked, surprised. 

 

"That's me gaki! How did you like them?" 

 

"Gama-chan is always the happiest when he's full!"

 

"...Gama-chan?" Naruto pulled out the green frog that he had been using for the last couple of years as a froggy bank. 

 

"The banks wouldn't let me open an account, so I saved all my money in here. When I learned the expansion seal from Iruka-Nii, this is the first thing I put one on." A sudden feeling of heartache gripped Jiraya giving him a truly in-depth look into just how awful Naruto's childhood was. 

 

'I should have done better.' Hadn't he also struggled as an orphan with no clan connection? Only with Naruto, it was worse, he was a Jinchuriki and didn't have a Hokage for a Sensei. 

 

"I'm so sorry." He wanted to say, but it wouldn't be fair to him who deserved so much more. Finally, he settled on, 

 

"Would you like to learn one of your father's famed jutsu?" Naruto's eyes sparkled as he jumped for joy. 

---

'This,' Kakashi thought dryly as he watched from afar, 'Is a start.'. He then went after his wayward pink and black-haired students to make sure that they weren't plotting something...probably with the help of a still furious Iruka. 

---

Guren sat on a chair as she watched Orochimaru and Tsunade argue over the color of the Otokage hat. 

 

"All I'm saying," started Tsunade, "It's a really dark shade of purple. Nothing says villain like this hue of purple." She argued. Orochimaru looked offended.

 

"I happen to like this coloring, are you implying that I'm a villain Tsunade-chan?" Tsunade rolled her eyes. 

 

"If I wanted to have stupid arguments, I would have gone with Jiraya to Konoha!" Orochimaru gasped, offended. (In Konoha, Jiraya sneezed twice in quick succession. In response, he grumbled "Damn Hebi." 

 

"Are they still arguing?" Whispered Murasakino as he hopped over to Guren. Guren hummed in response. 

 

"GUREN! YOU HAVE PURPLE HAIR, WHAT SHADE WOULD BE BETTER?!"

 

"MURASAKINO! YOU'RE NAMED PURPLE, WHAT SHADE WOULD BE BETTER?!"

 

Orochimaru and Tsunade turned to the peanut gallery. Both turned to look at each other like they were the most ridiculous person in the world.

 

"He's a squirrel! They are probably some form of color-blind!" Orochimaru said indignantly. Tsunade scuffed.

 

"Well we don't know if Guren even likes the color purple!" Tsunade retorted. Guren blinked slowly. 

 

"I'm fine with whatever choice is made. That being said, we should choose a color that is symbolic."

 

"I say we use the shade of Orrochimaru-san's clan marks!" Murasakino added. Tsunade's head tilted as she looked at Orochimaru's face closely.

 

"I think that's a good idea." She finally said. Orochimaru, with some light dusting of a blush humphed. 

 

"Guren?" 

 

"I like it." She agreed with a gentle smile. 

 

"Very well." Orochimaru said to finalize this discussion and end this conversation. With an air of pure satisfaction, Murasakino jumped out of the window leaving behind a warm atmosphere. More work had to be done after all! 

Notes:

Now, I don't think that Jiraya is a bad person per se, but he is really irresponsible. An argument could be said that since couldn't meet or see Naruto, he did the best he could, but I am of the opinion that all the adults in Naruto's life sort of failed him. Some were less than others, an example being Iruka who probably was bearly a fully functioning adult when he had to let go of the resentment he had for Naruto that stemmed from losing his parents. We all know Kakashi is usually a shell cosplaying a human, but honestly not one adult was truly in this poor kid's corner.

I really don't like Sartobi, can't you tell? I just hate manipulative old men who don't tell you anything until they decide it's a good time and then pretty much die after that leaving you alone to pick up the pieces. A mess.

Notes:

There is a very big chance that this story isn't going to be updated as often as the main one, although with summer coming up in like nine days maybe? Eh, who knows. I literally am going through each person listed on the character tags wiki page because honestly I forgot about half of them lol. And as always, kudos and comments are very appreciated! See ya guys next time!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 5 of The Reconstruction of Uzushiogakure No Sato.