Author's Note
A promise is a promise!
I said I'd release an extra chapter for every 60 Power Stones, and you all met the goal. So, here is the bonus chapter.
Just a reminder: For every 60 Power Stones we hit, I will release another extra chapter.
Thanks for the support!
******
Later that same night.
The silence was heavy, broken only by Shizune's soft, exhausted snores. She was sprawled on the small sofa in the corner, mouth open, a thread of drool connecting her to a cushion. She had fallen unconscious three hours ago, after forty-eight straight hours of organizing the reconstruction teams.
Tsunade stood motionless, her back to the room. She stared through the hastily repaired window, observing the lights of the village as it tried to return to normal. Her hands rested on the sill. She had been like that, unmoving, for almost twenty minutes.
A faint creak of wood broke the silence. The sound of the main office door opening with deliberate slowness.
Tsunade's shoulders tensed.
Jiraiya entered, trying to be stealthy, which was like asking a bull to tiptoe. He closed the door behind him with exaggerated care, but his wooden sandals made a sharp clack on the floor.
He was still rubbing his jaw, where a dark purple bruise bloomed vividly.
"Hime... you called me."
His voice was unusually low, an attempt to respect the hour. He saw Shizune on the sofa and lowered his tone even more.
"I hope this is important. I was right in the middle of some... very delicate... research."
"Research?" Tsunade's voice sounded, flat and emotionless. She didn't turn around. "Or harassment at the hot springs?"
Jiraiya frowned. "It was research! Village morale is key in times of crisis. And the morale at the women's hot springs was... high. Very high."
"I don't care, Jiraiya. Close the door."
"It's closed," he said, his tone turning a bit more serious. The lack of yelling or punching worried him more than anything. "What's wrong? You're making that face you make when Orochimaru cheated at shōgi."
"You can't see my face. I'm facing away."
"I don't need to see it. I can feel the storm from here. Come on, Hime, what is it? Is the council giving you trouble again?"
Tsunade turned slowly. The lamplight hit her face, intensifying the deadly seriousness of her expression.
"Akatsuki."
The name fell into the silent room.
Jiraiya stopped rubbing his jaw. His perverted hermit facade shattered.
"What did you say?"
"You know what I said," Tsunade repeated, her voice a steel edge. "Akatsuki."
Jiraiya took two steps toward the desk, his face now a mask of concentration. "You... Why the sudden curiosity?"
"You were gone for years, 'researching.' Tell me what you know about them."
"No," Jiraiya said, his voice low and hard. "You first. That's not a name you drop casually. Did something happen?"
"You're underestimating me," Tsunade lied coolly. "I'm the Hokage. I researched every potential enemy. And my research suggests they're hunting the Jinchūriki."
"You're dodging the question!" Jiraiya slammed his palm onto a stack of scrolls, raising dust. "Tsunade! If the Kyubi is in danger, if you know something...!"
"It doesn't matter how I know," she cut him off. "It matters that I know. And so do you. What are they?"
Jiraiya stared at her for a long second, searching for a crack in her facade. He found none. He let out a frustrated sigh.
"Fine. We'll play it your way. For now."
He walked to the desk. "They're more than I'd like. A group of S-Rank criminals. Murderers, traitors, all monsters in their own right. They've been quiet for a while, but they're... collecting. Looking for power. And yes," he said, before she could interrupt, "my sources say they're hunting the Jinchūriki."
"And they're coming for Naruto."
"Eventually! But not now." Jiraiya shook his head, starting to pace the room. "They're being methodical. They're starting with the weaker ones, the ones without villages, the exiles. Nii Yugito in Kumo and Roshi in Iwa are targets, but they're protected. They're testing defenses. They wouldn't attack Konoha directly. Not yet. It's suicide."
"You're wrong."
Jiraiya stopped. "Excuse me? I've been tracking these people for years. I know how they operate. Attacking Konoha now, right after the invasion... the village is on high alert. It's stupid."
"You're a terrible strategist, Jiraiya," Tsunade said, turning and walking to the large village map pinned to the wall. "You always have been."
"Hey!" he said, offended. "My spy network is the best in the world! I'm a master of infiltration!"
"You're a spy, not a general," she retorted, placing her hands on the map. "You think about how to get in and how to listen. You don't think about how to attack. Stop thinking like you and think like them. Look at it."
"I'm looking. I see a hornet's nest. I see Konoha, which just repelled a combined invasion from Suna and Oto. I see defenses at maximum."
"You're wrong," Tsunade repeated. "You see what you know. What do they know? What was the last report that left this village?"
Jiraiya frowned. "That the invasion failed. That Orochimaru fled..."
"And what else? What happened to the Sandaime?"
"Hiruzen-sensei... well, he's in the hospital. Complaining about the food and pinching nurses. He's alive."
"But Orochimaru thinks he wounded him gravely!" Tsunade's voice rose. "Or at least left him permanently incapacitated. That's the report Orochimaru took with him. And that's the report Akatsuki likely received."
Understanding hit Jiraiya. He went still.
"They think... the Sandaime is dead."
"They think the village is in political chaos," Tsunade continued, pressing her advantage. "They think we're in the middle of rebuilding. They think we're wounded."
"And..." Jiraiya looked at her, his eyes wide. "They don't know who the new Hokage is."
"Exactly." Tsunade smiled, a cold, humorless smile. "No. The news has barely left the village. They'll think Konoha is... headless. Disorganized. Vulnerable."
"Shit." The word was a whisper.
"There's no better time to infiltrate," Tsunade continued, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone. "They won't come with an army. That's not their style. They'll send an elite team. A retrieval team. Fast, quiet, and lethal."
"A team to get the Jinchūriki out of here," Jiraiya finished, his blood running cold. "An extraction. Not an invasion."
Tsunade nodded. "S-Rank criminals heading for a village they think is wounded and leaderless, to kidnap the Kyubi."
"And if they're sending their best infiltration team..." Jiraiya's mind was racing. "The one who knows the village. The one with the eyes."
"Itachi Uchiha," Tsunade said.
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit." Jiraiya started pacing again, this time with frantic energy. "You're right. It's the perfect move. It's bold, arrogant, and if their intel is wrong, it's suicide. But they don't know their intel is wrong. They don't know you're here, or at least they shouldn't know with total accuracy; to most, you're still a myth. They don't know the Sandaime is still alive."
"And they don't know that we know they're coming," Tsunade said.
Jiraiya stopped abruptly. He turned to face her. "How can you be so sure? Sure they're coming now? And so sure it's Itachi? And his partner, Kisame?"
"Kisame?"
"The Monster of the Mist. Ex-Swordsman. Traitor of Kiri. He's with Itachi. They don't separate. They're the capture team."
"Fine. Itachi and Kisame," Tsunade said, accepting the new information without blinking.
"Answer the question, Hime. How are you so sure? This is more than a hunch."
"It's a hypothesis," Tsunade said, her voice unwavering. "But it's the only one that makes sense. Itachi has unfinished business here. Orochimaru was here too. Konoha is the center of everything. They will come. And they'll come soon, before we stabilize the leadership."
"A hypothesis..." Jiraiya stared at her. "You've changed, Tsunade. You're... sharper. And a lot scarier."
"Reclaimed youth suits me," she said, without irony. "Now, the question is, what do we do? We can't just wait for them to knock."
"Lock down the village!" Jiraiya said immediately. "Put ANBU on every gate, every rooftop! Activate the detection barrier to maximum!"
"No. Absolutely not."
"What?!" Jiraiya looked at her like she was crazy. "They're coming for Naruto! They're coming for the village's weapon! We have to protect him!"
"Think, Jiraiya. Think like the spy you claim to be!" Tsunade moved closer to him, lowering her voice. "If Itachi Uchiha, with the Sharingan, sees an ANBU patrol out of place... if he feels the detection barrier is stronger than normal... what will he do?"
Jiraiya gritted his teeth. "He'll know it's a trap."
"And what do you do if you know it's a trap?"
"...I leave. Disappear. Wait six months. Attack when their guard is down."
"Exactly," Tsunade said. "And we can't afford that. We can't live looking over our shoulder for six months, waiting for them to strike. We can't let them regroup. We have to catch them. Here. Now. While they think we're weak."
Jiraiya processed this. "Catch them... Hime, you're not talking about catching them. You're talking about an ambush. An ambush against Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki!"
"You, me, and a few select assets."
"You're insane!" Jiraiya slammed the table, his voice grave. "You can't just ambush Itachi! He's the man who slaughtered his clan! And Kisame? That guy has Samehada! That sword eats chakra! He's a Jinchūriki without a Biju! He can drown you on dry land!"
"Kisame is a brute force problem. Itachi is the real danger," Tsunade said, her voice lowering. "And he's worse than the Konoha reports say."
Jiraiya frowned. "Worse how? What do you know that I don't?"
"In Tanzaku. I heard rumors," she said. "A rogue Kiri-nin ran into them. His partner survived... barely. Long enough to babble what he saw before he died."
"And?"
"He described Itachi's eyes. It wasn't the normal Sharingan. It was a different shape, a new pattern. The dying man called it... Mangekyo."
The name hit Jiraiya. "Mangekyo Sharingan? Hime, that was supposed to be a myth. A clan legend."
"It's not a myth." Tsunade's voice was hard. "The ninja who died had no physical wounds. His mind was shattered. The survivor said Itachi caught him with just a look. A visual genjutsu."
"What did it do?"
"He said his partner screamed about days of torture... but it all happened in a second. It leaves the victims comatose. It destroys the mind."
Jiraiya froze. "A genjutsu that attacks the psyche. Activates on eye contact."
"Exactly," Tsunade confirmed.
"Then you can't fight him!" Jiraiya yelled, genuinely alarmed. "You can't look at him! If he catches you, it's over! He'll tear you apart!"
"Then we won't look at him."
The simplicity of the statement threw him. "It's not that simple! How do you fight someone you can't look at? And you're still ignoring Kisame!"
"We have our own advantages," Tsunade said. She walked to the desk and slammed it with an open palm.
The sound was like a gunshot in the silent office.
Shizune leaped from the sofa with a choked cry, tripping and falling to the floor. "I'm awake! The plaster! The damage reports! I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama!"
"Shizune!" Tsunade commanded, her voice cutting through the woman's confusion.
Shizune scrambled to her feet, snapping to attention. "Yes!"
"Calm down! Listen to me carefully!"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" she said, still half-asleep but alert with adrenaline.
"Go to the Hatake compound. Wake up Kakashi. Tell him to get here now. Then, go to Naruto's apartment. Drag him out of bed if you have to. Bring him here! Tell them it's an S-Level emergency! Code Kage! Run!"
"Naruto?! And Kakashi-san?!" Shizune was confused, but the urgency in Tsunade's voice made her move. "Y-yes, Tsunade-sama!"
She ran out of the room, nearly ripping the door from its hinges.
Jiraiya watched the door close. "Kakashi makes sense. He's the only other one with a Sharingan. He might have a chance to counter Itachi's. At least for a second."
He turned to Tsunade. "But Naruto... Hime, he's the target. You're bringing him right into danger! You're painting a bullseye on him and putting him in the center of the Hokage's office!"
Tsunade sat in her chair, her face impassive. "He's the bait, Jiraiya."
"Bait..." Jiraiya looked at her in disbelief. "You're willing to risk Minato's son. Cold, even for you."
"I'm willing to use all my assets," she corrected. "He's my Counselor. He knows what's at stake. And he's the only one who needs to be here. They're coming for him. If he's not here, they'll leave. If he is, they'll get confident. They'll lower their guard, thinking they've cornered a scared kid."
Jiraiya let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his thick white hair. "One Legendary Sannin, the Godaime Hokage, the Sharingan copy-nin, and the Kyubi Jinchūriki. All this... against two men."
"It's stupid," Tsunade said. "And it got complicated the moment I accepted this stupid hat."
"This is going to be a disaster."
"Probably. But it will be a controlled disaster."
There was a tense silence for almost a minute. Just the sound of breathing.
The office door opened again. No knock.
Kakashi entered first. He didn't look sleepy at all. He was fully alert, his flak jacket on, his single visible eye scanning the room. His posture was battle-ready. He saw Tsunade, who was tense, and then his gaze landed on the tall, white-haired man.
"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said, his voice calm. "Shizune said... Jiraiya-sama?"
There was clear surprise in his tone.
Jiraiya nodded. "Kakashi. Still looking as depressed as ever. Still reading my books?"
Before Kakashi could answer, Naruto burst into the room, shoving his sensei aside.
"What's wrong, Granny?! What's going on?! I was having this awesome dream about a giant ramen bowl that was also a bed and..."
He trailed off.
He saw the tall, white-haired man standing next to Tsunade, looking at him with a strange expression.
Naruto froze.
It wasn't a normal freeze of surprise. It was a total system stop. His blue eyes went wide, fixed on Jiraiya's face. The visions. The training. The Rasengan. The death. Everything he had seen, the entire future, was embodied in that man.
Jiraiya looked at the boy. Really looked at him. The spiky blond hair. The bright blue eyes. The whisker marks on his cheeks. The screaming orange jacket that was a crime against stealth.
"...Minato."
The word was a whisper, barely audible, loaded with a pain Jiraiya hadn't felt in years.
Tsunade's head snapped toward Jiraiya, her eyes flashing a silent warning.
Naruto realized his mistake. He'd been staring.
"YOU!" Naruto yelled, breaking the tension and pointing dramatically at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya blinked, snapped out of his stupor. "Oh yeah? You know me, brat?"
"Of course I do! I recognize you!" Naruto was improvising at top speed. "You're him! The guy Kakashi-sensei told me all about!"
Kakashi, who had been watching the exchange silently, tensed visibly. "Ah, Naruto, I don't think..."
"The guy who writes those pervy books! Icha Icha!" Naruto grinned, a malicious smirk. "You're the Super Pervy Sage!"
There was absolute silence. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes in exasperation.
Jiraiya turned slowly toward Kakashi. A vein pulsed dangerously on his forehead.
"KAKASHI! What the hell have you been telling your students!?"
Kakashi held up his hands, his eye curving in an innocent smile that fooled no one. "Just the truth, Jiraiya-sama. Your research is legendary. Naruto, show some respect."
"But it's true!" Naruto chimed in, now on safe ground. "Shizune-neechan told me they caught you spying on the hot springs just a few hours ago!"
"THAT WAS RESEARCH! ARTISTIC! I WAS STUDYING THE HUMAN FORM!" Jiraiya yelled, completely red.
"PERVERT!"
"IGNORANT BRAT!"
"LEGENDARY PERVERT!"
"I'M GOING TO USE YOU TO TEST MY NEW JUTSU!"
"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!"
Tsunade's voice was like thunder. The yell made the scrolls on the desk vibrate. Tonton, Shizune's pet pig sleeping under a pile of papers, let out a terrified squeal and hid.
The amusement vanished instantly. The room was deadly serious again.
Naruto and Jiraiya stopped yelling at each other, though they still shot murderous glares. Kakashi was already at attention.
"We don't have time for this stupidity," Tsunade said, her voice pure steel. She stood up. "Kakashi, Naruto. This is Jiraiya. He's one of the Legendary Sannin. And as of this moment, his word is mine. What he says, goes. Understood?"
Kakashi nodded, his gaze fixed and serious. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
Naruto muttered something that sounded like "Great, a pervert's in charge," but he snapped to attention.
"Jiraiya," Tsunade said formally. "You already know Kakashi Hatake."
Jiraiya nodded. "Of course."
"And this," Tsunade continued, gesturing to Naruto. The boy straightened, feeling the gravity of the moment. "Is Naruto Uzumaki. My Secret Counselor."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Kakashi, normally unflappable, let his one visible eye go wide. He looked from Naruto to Tsunade and back to Naruto, his brain trying to process "Naruto" and "Secret Counselor" together.
Jiraiya let out a short, dry laugh. "Secret... Counselor? Him? Hime, did you hit your head too hard? Did you have too much to drink?"
"Hey!" Naruto shouted, offended. "I am a counselor! And I'm great at it! I told her not to sign those tax papers!"
"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said, his voice laced with absolute disbelief. "'Counselor'?"
"You heard me," Tsunade said, her gaze challenging. "He's a capable kid when he stops being an idiot, and he's the only one I can tolerate."
"Which," Tsunade continued, taking back control of the room. "Brings us to you, Naruto."
Naruto blinked. "Me? What? Am I gonna fight? I'm ready! I just learned something new!"
"No. You're going to stand still," Tsunade said. "And you're going to listen. I'm introducing you to Jiraiya. He's not just a Sannin. He's your new... bodyguard."
There was a second of delay as the words registered.
"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed, his voice hitting a new octave. "BODYGUARD?! I DON'T NEED A BODYGUARD! I'M A COUNSELOR!"
"BODYGUARD?!" Jiraiya roared, just as loud. "I'M A MASTER SPY, A LIVING LEGEND! I DON'T BABYSIT ORANGE KIDS!"
Tsunade leaned back in her chair and propped her feet on the desk, scattering a pile of reports.
"Well, congratulations to you both. You start tomorrow."
She looked at the three of them. At Kakashi, the quiet soldier. At Jiraiya, the furious powerhouse. And at Naruto, the unpredictable bait.
"Now, sit down. We have an ambush to plan."
**
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