Chapter 21: CH 21
Tsunade flashed back to all of the things he had done since she had met him and then she realized.
(Flashback)
Tsunade's eyes drifted over to him, "So who's the brat Jiraiya?"
Jiraiya looked at Naruto, who was wearing an unreadable expression, minus the twitching, "This is Naruto Uzumaki, my new apprentice."
Naruto's eyebrows shot up, "Apprentice? Since when?"
Jiraiya smirked at the boy, "Since you signed the toad contract before the invasion kid. Congratulations."
Naruto grumbled and placed his face on his hands, "Great… The guy that locked away my strength and skill wants to make amends and teach me how to fight again…"
XxX
Kabuto pointed at him accusingly, "No way. From what I've seen and from the information on you you're nothing! A low level genin!"
Naruto chuckled, "Well that's what the Konoha records had on one Kabuto Yakushi also if you'll recall. We all know how that turned out right Mr. Spy? If you were capable of it then why wouldn't I be? I didn't even have to join any ranks and keep suspicion off like you did, all I had to do was not get caught."
Naruto tapped his finger on his head, "I had the plans for your invasion all up here way back then. Every move you had planned out over the long term was all up here. All of your bases, the info that was listed on your cursed seal, the true nature of Orochimaru's immortality jutsu, it's all here. The only reason your invasion had even half of a chance of even getting off of the ground was because of some unfortunate business that ended with me getting my memory and abilities sealed off before I could tell the necessary people."
(End Flashback)
Tsunade looked at Naruto and locked eyes with him, taking note of the scar over his right eye and how he was patiently waiting for the point to hit her, "There was something done to you back then, and Jiraiya was the one who did it."
Naruto smiled faintly, "You're half right, ero-sennin was the one who sealed me but it was ordered by another. Sarutobi-jiji really screwed me over back then."
Tsunade's jaw was hanging, "Sarutobi-sensei? Why? What happened to force him to seal you off?"
Naruto's eyes blazed over angrily, "Nothing happened to force him to seal me. I was injured during a covert mission, ero-sennin said he found me and brought me to the old man where they found out it was me. Apparently they thought I was some kind of threat, too strong for my age to be left alone. They didn't even wait for me to regain consciousness before they took me and locked away my strength and speed, my skills, my jutsu, my knowledge, everything."
Tsunade was enthralled with the story, "So what happened then? Why did the seal break? Did one of them take it off?"
Naruto shook his head, "I had my mind regressed back to the time when I was four years old for all intents and purposes, I had to learn things like how to read all over again. I was mentally behind everybody else in the academy and everything. I broke the seal during the invasion, and since then it's been a matter of picking up the pieces and relearning everything. Those three jutsu that I used against Kabuto, I have tons of those, those were just the ones that I had the time to relearn, not even master."
Tsunade still had a question, "Why did Sarutobi-sensei do it? Why did he think you were dangerous?"
Naruto leaned back in his chair, "I can't tell you that. It would be a matter of total betrayal. It's not like it's that good of a secret, but let ero-sennin be the one to tell you, I'm technically not even supposed to exist if you catch my drift."
Tsunade nodded, "One more thing. Where do you think you rank in the overall roster of my active shinobi?"
Naruto shrugged, "How should I know? It's not like I've fought any of them to find out or anything." Naruto pointed out at her suddenly, "But fuck being a genin though. You know damn well I'm better than that, anything other than that will do right now."
Tsunade smiled at him, "Noted. Now get out of my office, you're the only real ninja from this village that I've actually gotten to meet yet." She put away the sake and shooed him off.
When he was out of sight she called out loudly, "Shizune, call a meeting for me for all ninja the rank of chunin and over after the coronation we have so business to sort out."
XxX
Naruto sat on his bed back in his apartment. He had decided to stop looking for Danzo, if Danzo wanted to see him he could easily find him, it's not like it was hard anymore. He didn't need anyone to sort the whole mess out anymore, meaning that honestly there was no reason to look for Danzo. His original goal was to be a ninja for Konoha, Sarutobi had proverbially blocked one path with a boulder, but instead of complaining that the way had been blocked Naruto had followed the path the boulder had taken to find a completely new destination to find his own way towards becoming one.
Danzo had never made it a secret that he thought of Naruto as a tool, an expendable soldier. While Naruto had more value than most if not all of his other operatives; when your house burns down you don't grab the stuff inside, you just run, and when Naruto was caught on the job and exposed Danzo had to wash his hands of him, it was all he could have done. Give them Naruto and cut your losses, the only thing a man like Danzo doing the things he was doing had as an option.
He knew Jiraiya would be confronted by Tsunade about sealing him, he knew he'd tell her what he and Sarutobi had 'learned' about Ne, and try to color her opinion. But honestly, loyalty only went so far as far as Naruto was concerned and being blacklisted by Ne pretty much got rid of his loyalty, if you don't want me, I don't need you, was the way he saw it. The best Danzo would get from him at this point was him keeping his mouth shut about Ne which was all he was going to do in the first place.
Jiraiya's arrogance in his own ability to gather information kept him from ever asking Naruto what he knew about Ne, thinking that Naruto had been a young flunky and didn't have much information.
It's always fun to have preconceived notions isn't it… Not really smart though.
Naruto knew quite a bit. He had been trained by Danzo almost personally and had information given to him by the man himself, no misdirection necessary, Naruto would never have broken to torture, it had been made sure of and tested thoroughly because Danzo never placed the seal ensuring he would be quiet about Ne on him. Therefore Danzo told him things, everybody needs at least one confidant.
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