## Konoha – Forest of Death ##
Under the moonlight, Naruto knelt on the ground, soaked with sweat. He had just fought a brutal battle against a giant spider deep within the Forest of Death.
Panting heavily, Naruto glared at the sword in his hand:
"Always breaks at the worst damn time."
Then he collapsed onto the ground, ready to rest.
Letting out a sigh, Naruto rolled over and stared up at the stars.
"Come out, Sai. Drag me back to the dorm... I'm too tired to move."
Sai stepped out from among the trees, speaking emotionlessly:
"Did you touch Tamako?"
Naruto shot him a glare:
"She always sneaks into my bed and sleeps with me. I get nervous—scared I might react on instinct."
"Do as you like, Senior Naruto. Danzō-sama sent me to inform you that he has already shared all the information he possesses regarding the Akatsuki organization."
Naruto narrowed his eyes:
"All of it? Or just what he was willing to share? Cut the crap, Sai. I know Grandpa Danzō has more intel."
Sai blinked emotionlessly:
"The remaining information about the Akatsuki is not relevant to your inquiries. I assure you, I attempted to extract more from him."
Naruto sighed again, gazing at the night sky:
"At least he gave me something."
Sai walked over to the fallen Naruto:
"I don't have friends, Senior Naruto. You understand what we are."
Naruto sighed:
"Yeah, I told her, but she wouldn't listen. She thinks she and you are friends. Even if you don't feel that way, maybe say hello once in a while."
Sai gave his unsettling fake smile.
Naruto paled:
"Hurry up and drag me home, this kills two birds with one stone. I'll get to see Tamako too. Come on, bro."
Reluctantly, Sai replied:
"Very well, Senior Naruto..."
******
However, Sai simply tossed Naruto at the dorm entrance before vanishing in an instant.
Lying on the ground, Naruto groaned:
"Sai, you bastard..."
"What's that?"
Then, the neighbor's door opened.
Tayuya saw Naruto on the ground and grinned.
She casually kneeled beside him:
"Need some help, Naruto?"
Naruto gave a helpless smile, too tired to move.
Tayuya shrugged and reached into his pocket:
"Hmm... Let's see: chewing gum, wallet; a note with an address... Female handwriting..."
Naruto glared at her.
Ignoring him, Tayuya kept rummaging:
"And then... Tsk tsk, Naruto, not bad in terms of size."
Blushing furiously, Naruto snapped at her:
"Just hurry up and find the key, damn it..."
Tayuya let go of his pocket and spread her hands open, revealing a broken door key:
"Too bad."
Naruto sighed:
"Ugh. Fine then, see you tomorrow, Tayuya. I can't move at all right now."
Tayuya stood there for a moment, then grabbed his ankle and dragged him inside her dorm.
Tayuya mumbled under her breath as she picked up Naruto and carried him into her room, gently laying him on the bed.
"There, stay put and don't move around, moron."
"Okay..." Naruto murmured, still dazed from everything, glancing curiously around Tayuya's room.
Tayuya came back wearing a baseball cap and a long T-shirt.
"Dumbass, take off your shirt," she said, noticing his confused look.
"You're such a lost case, seriously," she remarked as she helped him remove his clothes and sandals.
Suddenly, Tayuya kissed him and pushed him back onto the bed.
Pushing her hair away from her face, Tayuya grinned at Naruto.
"What... what are you planning to do?"
Her eyes twitched slightly.
"If you're not willing, just say so directly."
Naruto looked at her with an innocent gaze.
"Never done this before?" she asked, her voice softening slightly.
"Grandpa Danzo never had time to train me for stuff like this..." Naruto grinned.
Tayuya took out a soldier pill from her pocket and stuffed it into Naruto's mouth.
"This will give you plenty of energy, my little idiot."
Naruto was too stunned to respond.
Tayuya glared at him in silence as she straddled his chest, smirking mischievously.
"You won't be escaping from my hands now, Blondie."
[Soft giggle]
...
The next day, Naruto walked out of Tayuya's dorm looking much more cheerful.
He headed straight to the neighboring building and entered his own dormitory.
Smiling happily, he made his way toward his room.
"Good morning, Tamako."
Tamako closed her notebook and looked up at Naruto, breaking the silence.
"Need me to remind you how to cast a privacy seal again, Lord Uzumaki?" she said with a smile.
Naruto froze.
"You heard everything last night?"
Tamako let out a quiet giggle.
"I'm afraid everyone in this building heard. But at least you enjoyed yourself, right?"
Naruto silently nodded.
"Well then... I'm going to take a shower and change clothes."
"I'll have breakfast ready when you come out."
Naruto left the living room, and after a moment, Tamako turned toward an empty corner in the room.
"You heard everything, didn't you, Master Jiraiya? The mission is complete."
Jiraiya dispelled his invisibility technique with a grin as the sound of running water filled the bathroom.
"I told you—let him relax a bit and distract him from Akatsuki. He practically walked right into it himself."
Tamako shrugged.
"If it were me, I probably wouldn't push him. But with Tayuya, things are different. He was already completely drained anyway—couldn't even fight back properly. She knew him longer, so it's only fair she went first."
Jiraiya chuckled, stepping outside and pulling out a notebook to scribble furiously in it.
"This kid's gonna fuel my creativity for the next decade!"
## That afternoon ##
Jiraiya studied his blond-haired apprentice.
"You seem to be in a good mood today, brat."
Naruto looked at Jiraiya and grinned slightly.
"Something good happened."
Jiraiya nodded knowingly.
"Figures. I'm guessing you finally got together with that Otogakure girl."
"You probably have your father's tastes, liking fiery redheads…"
Naruto gave a slight frown.
"How do you know that?"
Jiraiya patted his head.
"Tsunade received a complaint about the noise this morning. I'm just… so proud. It makes me proud to be your teacher."
Naruto pushed his hand away.
"Cut the crap. Let's get serious."
Jiraiya's expression turned solemn.
"What happened in Sunagakure made us decide to reach out to the other villages and see who's willing to unite against Akatsuki. They only have two tailed beasts right now, but things are going to get worse."
Naruto frowned.
"Why bring me along?"
"Because you've fought the Akatsuki more than anyone else—and lived to tell the tale. You even took down one of them," Jiraiya explained. "No matter what others say, your perspective carries weight."
"So…where are we going?"
Jiraiya pulled out a map and pointed.
"We're heading to Kumogakure."
Naruto nodded.
"Ero-Sennin, what should I do? I'm stuck. I can't tap into the Nine-Tails' chakra anymore. And that fight in Sunagakure made me realize—I'm still not strong enough to handle someone like Kakuzu. I…need your help."
"What did you say?" Jiraiya asked, genuinely surprised.
Naruto had never asked for his help before—whether it was learning Rasengan, improving skills, or understanding bloodlines.
Naruto looked at his own hands and clenched his fists.
"I should be Konoha's ace, the village's ultimate weapon. But Gaara is stronger than me now. He's a Kage while I'm still just a Chunin. I lost to those two in the desert."
He kept walking, eyes closed.
"People call us jinchuriki monsters, less than human. What about them, then? Definitely not normal people. They're monsters too—and they can find me anytime, attack me anytime."
Jiraiya listened silently until Naruto finished.
"You want me to give you an answer? Or maybe some magic move that wipes them all out and brings peace? I can't give you a way to stop them—it's not supposed to be that easy, Naruto. If it were, someone else would've solved it already. You just need to grit your teeth and keep moving forward. Once you grow strong enough to find your own path, I promise—you'll make it. I believe in you, brat."
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