"I will claim the bounty on your head, eventually." Kakuzu's disembodied voice rang out harshly. "But for now, you are not our target."
And then they were gone.
...
For a moment, Jiraiya debated the merits of entering Sage mode—as distasteful as its appearance was—and giving chase, but dismissed it. There was a storm brewing in the horizon, and he had not survived on his own after all these years by remaining his younger, brash self. What he needed at this juncture was patience...and more information on who exactly he was facing.
A body soon approached Jiraiya: It was Shirakumo. Drawing closer, he saw that the jōnin was supporting on each arm the body of the daimyō and another boy. One of his students, perhaps.
Shirakumo's voice was heavy. "Jiraiya-sama... They've taken two of ours."
Jiraiya solemnly surveyed what he could of their surroundings. Most of the civilians in the vicinity had managed to escape before the confrontation, but there were casualties scattered here and there, hidden in the fog.
While the intel he had received from Hirumo had led him here, he'd found no answers, only more questions. Such as, why were two members of Akatsuki here? Having tracked their movements over the years, Jiraiya had found that they tended to work in pairs when hunting down particularly strong bounties or important targets. What was of such importance here in Wave country that warranted the presence of not only two Akatsuki members, but an S-rank missing-nin such as Zabuza?
It was a gut feeling, but Jiraiya suspected that there was something more at stake here than Gatō's tyranny of a small island nation.
In a flash, he made up his mind. "Take me to the others you were with. You owe me an explanation or two."
...
The sun was up, the ship had docked in Fire country, and the remaining passengers were disembarking. The million-ryō question for Kakashi was: Where was his team, plus one?
He spotted a straggler getting off the ship, swaying side to side down the ramp—it was the cabin boy he'd seen earlier, who'd been sacrificing the contents of his stomach all night.
"Excuse me," Kakashi called out cheerily. "I've been expecting the arrival of four chūnin today from Wave country. Three males and one female, on the young side. Do you know where they are?"
To his surprise, the cabin boy scowled. "Those thieves were ninja? Never got back on board, did they?"
Kakashi blinked. "Excuse me?"
...
They remained locked in their positions, their blades grinding into the other's in a slow fall towards an impending assault.
Sai's eyes had never looked so cold. "Do get out of my way, before I kill the both of you."
Naruto could tell it wasn't an idle threat, but he didn't move. "Explain yourself."
Meanwhile, with a hand reaching into his shuriken holster, Rai turned furiously towards Sai. "What're you doing?! Get away from them!"
Sai's gaze flickered to his teammate, and Naruto could see the calculations going through his mind. He tensed, readying himself for battle—but after a long, drawn out moment, Sai lowered his blade.
"How do you think she got away from that battle?"
The question hung in the air, and Naruto turned to Kaine. Despite the near attempt on her life, she was oddly composed. There was a resigned, almost relieved, look on her face, and with a lurching realization, it told him everything he needed to know.
"How did you figure it out?" said the woman.
"I'd had my suspicions: Your choice of cargo. The attack in the boat. The way your plans separated us. And they were all confirmed the moment I saw Zabuza let you go."
In two rigid motions, Kaine bobbed her head in acknowledgment. "You weren't supposed to see that. I don't think you were supposed to survive."
A slow, creeping sensation began to rise up in Naruto's chest.
"Wait...what's going on?" said Rai, wearing an expression as though he had just been clubbed. "What're you talking about?"
"It doesn't matter anymore," Kaine shrugged with the weariness of defeat, and raised her bare hands in surrender. "Do what you will with me."
Sai cocked his head, raising an eyebrow at Naruto in a silent question.
Naruto could have asked many questions of the woman standing before him, but only one rose unbidden to his lips: "Who are you really working for?"
Her lips drew back in bitter relish, as though she had been waiting to hear that question her whole life. "Akatsuki."
...
When Mayu came to her senses, she was no longer fighting for her life in the iron grasp of the cloaked missing-nin. Instead, judging from the stiff material binding her arms to her sides and the stale feeling of air on her face, she was tied up on the ground somewhere indoors. Despite the rising sensation of panic in her stomach and the heat of bile in her throat, she forced herself to continue breathing at a slow, even pace. Next, taking great care, millimeter by millimeter, she opened her eyes a slit.
Almost immediately, she wished she hadn't, for she was alone in a dimly-lit cave. The foreboding sensation of being enclosed enveloped her, and the unease permeating her body intensified.
"Will he come for you, I wonder?" A high voice rang out.
A spike of chill ran down her spine, and Mayu's eyes flew all the way open. She struggled to flip onto her feet, but an inexplicable and absolute force kept her immobile in place, and the only thing she could do in that moment was to take in the sight which, contrary to her thoughts, stood before her: She was not alone. There was a man standing at the entrance of the cave. He wore the same black cloak the other missing-nin had been wearing, and an swirling orange mask hid his features from her.
"The Nine-tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto. What do you think about him?"
...
It had been years since Jiraiya had last returned to Konoha, and in his absence, Naruto had grown up.
Taking a good look at him, the boy's resemblance to his father was astonishing. If it wasn't for the flaming red hair he'd so clearly inherited from his mother, Jiraiya would have thought it was his old student brought back from the dead.
"What's going on here?" Shirakumo demanded, looking back and forth.
Unfortunately, this was perhaps not the best time for a reunion between godfather and godson; the safe house Shirakumo had promised looked to have been compromised. With a single sweeping glance, Jiraiya assessed the situation:
Naruto, along with three other Leaf chūnin surrounded a bound female civilian in what could only be an interrogation. Beyond them, a young female genin comforted two civilian children cowering in the corner.
"She betrayed us," said the blonde chūnin, his nostrils flared. "We stayed here to help her and she freaking betrayed us."
An angry looking chūnin rounded on Shirakumo. "Where the hell is Mayu? Why is she not with you?"
The jōnin shook his head. "I'm sorry. She and Tazuna were both taken. We don't know where, but we decided to first regroup to reassess the situation."
Letting out a swear, the chūnin reached down and grabbed the bound woman by the scruff of her shirt. "Where is she? Where did they take her?!"
To her credit, the bound woman looked calm. "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't – "
"Who are you?" Naruto broke in.
It was directed towards Jiraiya; the boy's gaze had been fixed on him from the moment they had reached the safe house. Jiraiya felt intrigue bubbling inside of him. With Naruto looking this similar physically to Minato, he had to wonder whether he took after him in other aspects as well.
Thrusting out a hand, he struck a pose for the second time that day. "Thank you for asking! I am Mount Myōboku's Monk of the Frog Spirits, also known as the Toad Sage, Jiraiya!"
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