"Fine…"

Naruto frees Fu from her bindings and searches the place he is imprisoned in.

"Looks like those shinobis aren't hanging around here. I must grab my stuff and run away from here."

Naruto fumbles through the place and finds his wallet and weapon holster on a nearby table.

"Whew… Gama-chan is fine."

He picks up the Gama-chan and shakes it.

"Gama-chan is so thin."

Naruto pockets his belongings and turns to Fu.

"We have to hurry and get out of here before those bad people tie us again."

'If only my chakra wasn't sealed. It is so annoying… Dattebyo!'

Naruto bites his lips.

"Fu will follow you because you are Fu's friend."

Fu follows Naruto as both of them search for a way out.

-----------------

"So… Mr. Shibuki… or should I say village head Shibuki?… You seem to be in a hurry."

Izuna stops the man wearing the yellow kimono jacket man. Shibuki stops in his tracks and turns around and notices Izuna.

"You are… you are Izuna Uchiha."

He immediately recognizes the former as the memories of the past incident flashes through his mind.

"Ten years… it has been ten years since that incident. Sigh…"

Shibuki sighs as he reminisces his past.

"I am sorry for your loss."

Izuna consoles him.

"It's fine. Father died from the side-effects of the Hero Water and the poisoning of the Radiation Release Jutsu. He did his best to save everyone."

Shibuki closes his eyes as a small teardrop trail from one corner of his eye.

"Ahem… Anyway, I guess you are the person Konoha sent for this mission." Shibuki asks him.

"Yes, and I have a lead on the mission. I was about to meet with you, but I noticed you searching for someone."

"Ah… yes… Fu, I have to search for Fu. I don't know where that girl ran off to." Shibuki frantically searches around.

"Fu?" Izuna question Shibuki.

"Yes… yes, Fu is my disciple. She was cooped in the village and when she heard about my departure; she insisted on following me.

So, I brought her with me. But I never expected her to get lost in this small village. My people are also searching around here for her." Shibuki explains to Izuna.

'Fu… Fu… so the jinchuruki of the seven-tails is also here. I never expected to meet her so soon. This solves most of my troubles.'

"Very well, I will help you with your search." Izuna proposes to help Shibuki.

"I would appreciate that."

Shibuki describes the appearance of Fu to Izuna and Jiraiya.

'Hmm… looks like I was correct. It is indeed the jinchuruki of Seven-Tails. I wonder how Takigakure even managed to captured the Seven-tails in first place.'

Shibuki nods to both of them and flickers away.

"He seems to be very cowardly by nature. I wonder what made him so eager to risk his safety?"

Jiraiya accurately guesses the cowardly nature of Shibuki.

"He is indeed cowardly… ten years ago. during a mission, I met with his father… his father protected the Takigakure village with his life on the line and died shortly after.

I guess the trauma from that incident shaped him into a coward."

Izuna explains the circumstances of Shibuki to Jiraiya.

"I wonder how he became the head of a village with such a feeble personality."

Jiraiya shakes his head and turns to Izuna.

"Kid… now give me the intel on Orochimaru. I am sure you know something."

"Fine… fine…"

Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and tosses it over to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya opens the scroll and reads through its content.

"So… after his defeat at the hands of the Itachi; Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, and he has perfected his Forbidden Technique."

Jiraiya's expression turns grim as he reads the description of the Forbidden Technique.

'Living Corpse Reincarnation… it allows Orochimaru to transfer his soul to someone's else body while retaining their abilities.'

"Such a sinister technique. That Orochimaru he completed it."

Jiraiya clutches the scroll tightly.

"Well… well… ain't this description reminds of you something."

Izuna interrupts Jiraiya.

"What?"

Jiraiya frowns and turns to Izuna.

"Looks like you have forgotten about your childhood friend, Hiruko. He was the one who came up with this idea. Orochimaru just changed the technique to suit his needs."

Izuna chuckles as he walks away from the place.

"I have marked the location of last known hideout of Orochimaru. As for Naruto, don't worry about him, he can take care of himself."

Whoosh…

Izuna flickers away from the spot. Jiraiya tightly holds onto the scroll as he reminisces his past.

"Orochimaru… you broke the taboo. The matters of life and death aren't something to which anyone can have access to. I still regret my decision back then, if only I could have been a better friend and helped you back then."

Sigh…

Jiraiya takes a deep breath. He flips open the scroll and notices the location of Orochimaru's last hideout.

'I hope… it will lead me to some of his trails.'

Swoosh…

Jiraiya's body turns into smoke as he disappears from his place.

Whoosh...

'I am sorry, Jiraiya. I have prepared a contingency for you. You are as stubborn as ever. I guess, it is what makes you the protagonist of your novel.'

Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket as a sealing formula appears on it.

'I hope it would help you in some dire situations.'

Izuna walks towards the location of Naruto.

'Time to check on Naruto. I sealed his chakra earlier, but I guess he is in a much bigger pinch than I thought. He still lacks the experience of a proper fight.

I grew up during a war and took part in it at the age of eight. Most of my classmates during that time are either dead or retired as shinobi. Peaceful times sure are good.'

Izuna shakes his head and flickers towards an old abandoned building.

'I wonder how every village or location has such abandoned buildings, which are an ideal spot for kidnappers.'

He activates his Sharingan and looks through the building. He locates Naruto and Fu fumbling out from the building.

Hmm…

Izuna senses two chakra signatures approaching the building.

'Looks like Naruto picked up a pretty bad timing for an escape. I would like to see. How would he perform against these fellows?

These fellows seem to be rogue ninjas from Takigakure. I guess someone from the Takigakure village leaked the news of Shibuki's departure. But why did they target Naruto? Guess, only one way to find out.'

Izuna hides his presence as he witnesses the entire incident.

----------------------

"Did you tie them properly?"

The silent rogue ninja questions his violent partner.

"You don't have to worry about that? They won't be able to escape… with their level of abilities. We just have to bait the Village Head Shibuki and negotiate for Hero water for the life of this Konoha kid.

This way, we could get our hands-on Hero water and we would become ninjas of the Otogakure."

"True… I deserted the Takigakure because the current Village head is a coward and incompetent. I won't be able to pursue my dreams under his rule. My ambitions are far beyond the boundaries of Takigakure."

The silent rogue ninja clutches his fist.

"…"

Izuna eavesdrops on their conversation.

'Is he some kind of Shonen protagonist? The kind who is too adventurous and ventures out in the open world to pursue his dreams? He is more of a chunni than a protagonist.'

"We are finally out from this place."

Naruto walks out of the dilapidated building and stretches his body.

"Ano… Fu thinks that it is still too early for that."

Fu weakly points towards the two rogue ninjas.

"Oh… kid… you sure are gutsy. Planning to flee from our grasp."

The violent ninjas lick his lips and take out a kunai.

"I need to rough you a little to hammer some sense in your brain."

Whoosh…

The violent ninja flickers towards Naruto and attacks him.

Bam…

Naruto blocks the attack and counterattacks with his kick.

'Hmm… he is still far from Rock Lee's level but at least he is not slacking on his Taijutsu practice.'

Izuna nods his head.

'I guess the idea of Sasuke leaving him into dust bolstered him for more training. But sadly, Naruto's physique is still weak. He needs more physical training.'

Bang…

The kick lands on the rogue ninja who blocks it with his arm.

"Kid… I don't know where are you getting your confidence from?"

Bang…

The rogue ninja punches Naruto squarely in guts.

Bleurgh…

Naruto spits out a mouthful of saliva and clutches his stomach.

"Damnit… if only I had chakra." He yells in frustration.

'Hmm… seems like Naruto has learned his lesson. Flashy Ninjutsu techniques aren't always the way to go.'

Izuna makes some hand signs and releases the seal on Naruto.

Whoosh…

Naruto releases a burst of chakra from his body.

"Finally… I can use my chakra again."

He turns to the rogue ninjas and yells at them.

"Let's see who will beat whom."

'Multi- Shadow clone jutsu'

Naruto makes multiple shadow clones.

"You ready boys… let's show this bastard the power of our Taijutsu technique."

"Yes… boss" all the clones yell simultaneously.

"Naruto Uzumaki: Secret Technique: Uzumaki Taijutsu Hundred Combo Smash"

Around a hundred shadow clones attack the rogue shinobis from all directions.

"…"

Izuna silently stares at Naruto.

'His naming sense is as terrible as Minato.'

"I think it is a good name for such a technique."

Minato remarks from the Grimoire.

"Go… go… Naruto… beat them up." Kushina cheers for Naruto.

"…"

'Like father like son."

Yin Kurama grunts before closing its eyes.

---

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