Chapter 6: CH 6
His thoughts then drifted to the mission he had been tasked with as he clinched his fists, his emotional nature spilling out. If only he had gotten back sooner, if only he hadn't stuck around for so long, if only somebody didn't get a wild hair in their ass and sabotage Otogakure's information department with explosives! If only all of those things hadn't happened then he would have been able to return and send word on Oto's plans.
He had found everything. He found that it was being run by Orochimaru. He found that they had a then-rookie Konoha genin, Kabuto Yakushi, as his lead spy. He found that Orochimaru had finished his immortality jutsu, he'd even had the misfortune of seeing it being performed, he couldn't eat for the rest of the week afterwards. He even knew Orochimaru's main ambition for coming, and when he saw the markings on Sasuke during the fight with Gaara he mentally kicked a pothole into his ass.
Naruto's eyes panned around the village as he walked, all of the people taking part in the restoration of their homes. If he had broken the seal on himself even a day sooner, how much loss of life could have been diverted? How many lives need not have been lost? Could the Sandaime have been able to take the proper precautions to acutely prepare for Orochimaru accordingly?
He looked up at the Hokage Monument as his thoughts drifted to the third face from the left. He had gotten much closer to the old man after he had been sealed. His mind had almost reverted back to its four year-old state and he reached out to the only person he really knew. Even trying to bury his emotions, he still felt a faint sting at his eyes that he had to push back.
He had to put his thoughts on the back-burner for now, as he saw Jiraiya leaning against a fence looking at him. Naruto strode up to his side and spoke cooly, "So what do you need from a lowly little genin like me ero-sennin?"
Jiraiya pushed himself off of the wall, "I want you to come with me to find someone."
Naruto raised his eyebrow, "Aren't you the Hokage now?"
Jiraiya let out a short laugh, "Those old goats wanted me to take up the spot, but I have too much on my plate to just do so like that." Naruto headed past him towards his apartment, "Then I'm not going. I'm not some escort or bodyguard, I'm a shinobi. If this isn't an order form my higher-ups then I'm not volunteering for this. I can spend my time better by helping to rebuild, getting back to my old level of skill, and finding out who put those goddamn seals on me."
Jiraiya caught up with him quickly and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well the other genin can help rebuild. And I was going to teach you a jutsu that makes Chidori look like child's play. And those seals, I might know something about that."
Naruto looked at him, "Okay, you've got me on the rebuilding. And did you hear what I said? I need to get back to my old skill level, I don't need a jutsu, I have enough of those I just can't use them right now. I need to get back to my old speed and strength first and foremost. I felt weak like an infant and moved like a snail during the invasion." Naruto's eyes shone as he absorbed the last of what Jiraiya said, "And you're damn right you know something about my seals. You're telling me whether I choose to go or not. You're just lucky that it would probably be easier to just go with you, that and I'm bored around here."