Jiraiya.
Naruto had heard the name before—there had been numerous records of the Sannin's legendary deeds from the Second World War. If he remembered correctly, the Hokage had once mentioned the name as well, in association with his father.
In all the legends of the Sannin, however, none had mentioned a perverted old man who peeked in the women's baths.
Naruto glanced at Shirakumo, but the jōnin's demeanor seemed unfazed around the man. Nor did he look as though he was being controlled by some sort of genjutsu. Was this man truly who he claimed to be—the great Sage, Jiraiya? Could they count this strange man as a potential ally?
It may have been a comforting thought, especially in the light of recent events. But whereas he could see Team Shirakumo's members relaxing, Naruto did not jump to the happy possibility. Instead, he maintained his distance. He would choose his own allies, he thought.
"Does 'Akatsuki' mean anything to you two?" Naruto asked.
As expected, Shirakumo shook his head—but Jiraiya looked intrigued. "Is this civilian involved in Akatsuki?"
"What is Akatsuki?" Naruto pressed.
Jiraiya stroked his chin. "They're an organization I've been tracking for years now. For all intents and purposes, they function like mercenaries, taking on all sorts of nasty, shady missions the villages don't want to be associated with. But as for their final objective…well, that's why I'm still out in the field."
"Let me say this, at least." It was Kaine, her chin jutting out stiffly. "The true reason why Gatō has been able to stay in power is because Akatsuki has been supporting him from the shadows."
"Then how could you be working for them?" Rai exploded. "I thought you wanted to help this country!"
"They made me a deal. I was to go into the Hidden Leaf, request chūnin bodyguards on a journey to Wave country, and delay their return for as long as possible. In turn, they would withdraw their support for Gatō, allowing us to overthrow him and take back the daimyō." Kaine's voice grew quiet. "And of course, they reminded me of the consequences of failure."
Naruto's thoughts flashed back to their journey across the water, on the mysterious assassination attempt on the merchant.
Sai's eyes narrowed. "You sure are speaking freely. Why is that?"
"Even if you all kill me now, I've carried out my end of the deal. This country will soon be free. Gatō will be dead, and my brother's death won't have been in vain." A mixture of both resignation and pride struggled for dominance on Kaine's face. "There's no longer any reason for me to hide the truth. As I said, do what you will with me. I'm prepared for the consequences."
"But why?" Menma spoke up. "Why would this… Akatsuki group want to keep some random Leaf-nin here in Wave country?"
"Perhaps it wasn't so random," said Jiraiya, staring straight at Naruto.
One by one, the pieces were coming together. Judging by the glimmer of realization in Shirakumo's eyes and the puzzled looks on his teammates' faces, everyone his own age had been kept in the dark regarding Naruto. He felt a stab of irritation. Considering how the Hokage had gone out of his way to even put a seal on his memories, he'd thought the old man would have at least done a better job of keeping him a village secret. But now it seemed as though he was on the hit list of every other missing-nin out there.
"They're capturing jinchūriki," he said at last. "And they're here for me."
...
"The Nine-tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto. What do you think about him?"
Before she could stop herself, Mayu felt her eyes widen. How did this man know about Naruto? But no—she couldn't reveal that she understood his question.
"I don't know who you're talking about," she said, bracing herself for the man's reaction.
Instead, he seemed to take it in stride. "Well of course you do. He's your teammate, and current team leader."
From his similar attire and the way the man freely walked about the cave, it was clear that he was associated with the missing-nin who had captured her. However, that was the only thing he seemed to have in common with them. He didn't inspire overwhelming terror in the way those two did. He was just...weird.
As discretely as she could, Mayu scanned their vicinity—apart from the man, they were alone. She felt her heart lift; while she had been disarmed and bound with rope, she could still feel the clips in her hair.
In a voice that sounded stronger than she felt, she demanded, "What do you want from me? I'm not important enough to my village to ransom with, and no one's going to come here for me." Suddenly, with a pang, she thought of Rai. With any luck, Naruto would be able to hold him back from making any rash moves.
"Oho! So he's trash," said the man in a cheery voice.
Despite herself, Mayu frowned. "That's not what I said."
"What kind of team leader wouldn't come to rescue his team member?"
She hesitated. "The mission is more important than the individual. Naruto won't come to rescue me…" The force that had previously kept her frozen in place was gone, and she struggled up to her feet. "Because I don't need him to."
For some reason, that seemed to greatly amuse the man, who broke out into a laugh and began to spin around. "You think so? Kakuzu-san's keeping you here as bait, you know. But if they're not coming for you, why are we even keeping you here, then, hmm?"
Mayu started to try and wriggle a hand free; if she could just make the sign, she'd be able to release her bluebirds…
"Oh look!" The man was staring outside the cave's entrance, his form awash in the glow of the setting sun. "The day's almost over. You know what sounds good right about now? Some dango. Should I send you home in time for dinner?"
She couldn't believe her ears. "Home?"
"Why not?"
The man spun back around and approached Mayu with a kunai. She flinched—but in a smooth motion, he cut through her bindings. The broken rope tumbled down to her feet. Rubbing the bruises on her arms, she stared at him in disbelief.
"Why are you letting me go? And where's Tazuna-san?"
"If you're referring to that old bridge-builder, I released him a while ago."
"But why? Why capture us in the first place at all?"
"Tut tut." The man wagged his finger. "Too many questions, not enough escaping! What'll you do if Kakuzu-san comes back and you're still here?"
He had a point.
Mayu took a step towards the entrance—and paused. "Thank you, whoever you are."
The man bowed mockingly. "You can call me Tobi."
...
It was a scenario that Naruto had rehearsed in his head countless of times: The moment his teammates learned the truth about him. In the nights when he'd been unable to find anything else to occupy his thoughts, he'd approached it in many ways. Sometimes, he tried bringing it up on his own. Other times, he was cornered into revealing his secret. Whatever the approach, his teammates' imagined reactions always remained fairly constant: Rai erupted in anger and accused him of being a traitor, while Mayu either calmed him down or shrank back in terror.
Now, it was actually happening—but in a way that Naruto, for all the thought he'd put into it, had never predicted. The first difference was that Mayu was not present, and at the reminder of her absence, Naruto felt a pang. The second difference was Rai's reaction: Confusion. Disbelief. Realization. Shock. Horror.
A myriad of emotions twisted his teammate's face, before melting away into one single, surprising emotion—concern.
"Then this is all a trap, isn't it? To get Naruto."
Jiraiya nodded solemnly. "Their objective is still unclear, but one thing's for certain. Several other jinchūriki have already disappeared, and in all cases, there were signs of Akatsuki interference. I can personally confirm the current presence of two Akatsuki members here in this area… Hidan and Kakuzu. With Naruto here, this is no mere coincidence."
At the names of the two missing-nin, Naruto—who had been too stunned to respond—felt a jolt. That was another piece, falling into place.
"Then we must let Hokage-sama know," Shirakumo said sharply. "This isn't just a matter related to Wave country anymore, this now concerns the safety of our entire village." He motioned towards Naruto. "He needs to be returned to Konoha immediately."
Sai, who had been taking in the situation in shrewd silence, raised a hand. "Using my Super Beast Imitating technique, we can be back in Konoha before the end of the day."
"Wait, wait," Rai protested. "What about Mayu and Tazuna?"
"Before we can consider any rescue missions, Naruto's security comes first."
"What're you talking about? Trap or no trap, have you even seen him fight? He can take care of himself! Right, Naruto?"
With another jolt, Naruto realized that Rai had turned to him for backup.
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