Tsunade sat slumped over her chair, her eyes focused onto a small unrolled scroll carried here by Shino's Aburame Kikaichu insects.
As her eyes scanned the mission details, Tsunade felt a dread, the report detailed their encounter with the Akatsuki duo. Jiraiya had been tracking this organization from the fringes, but what Shino could gather if dealt properly would be unprecedented: they would get precise data of their chakra signatures, and the abilities of specific members. It was exactly the kind of leverage they needed to be ahead of them if we are to be prepared for when they come after Naruto.
"The mission is no longer in the level they can deal with," Tsunade muttered to herself.
A debate took root in her mind, pitting the code of the shinobi against her fiercely protective instincts of the talents of leaf as a leader.
A squad must see their assignment through. If she ordered Kimimaro's team to pursue the Akatsuki further, she risked sacrificing a group of promising young shinobi, and also future clan heads, just to attempt an impossible mission. If she recalled them, they might lose the Akatsuki's trail, leaving the village blind to future attacks. Yet, the shinobi code was unyielding: absconding or abandoning a mission due to fear or danger was simply not an option.
She grabbed a piece of paper and a brush as she penned a brief intended for Jiraiya. In it, she mentioned that the Akatsuki had successfully captured the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. Furthermore, she detailed the lethal profiles of two specific threats: Kakuzu, a rogue shinobi of Takigakure with multiple hearts, and Konan, a kunoichi who wielded a unique paper Kekkei Genkai.
Tsunade calculated the trajectory and the last known coordinates of Jiraiya and Naruto with the current location of Team Kimimaro, she identified an equidistant village. She authorized an emergency joint mission.
Tying the scroll to the leg of one of the Konoha's fastest messenger hawk, she tossed the bird out the window. "Find them," she whispered.
~~
"Pervy Sage! Seriously, what is the point of this ridiculous training?" Naruto Uzumaki yelled, panting heavily as he wiped sweat from his brow. He was standing on a muddy riverbank, failing to perform a synchronized frog dance with Gamariki. "Why do I have to dance around like a complete weirdo with a giant frog? Just teach me some real jutsu!"
Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head as he walked over to a nearby tree, and pulled out a twin ice lollipop, and snapped it perfectly down the middle. He handed one half to his frustrated student. "Don't be so hasty, Naruto. Patience is a virtue of the great. If you can master synchronizing your chakra with Gamariki, you'll be able to pull off some of the most devastating collaboration ninjutsu imaginable."
Naruto grumbled under his breath "There he go acting like some sage." but eagerly snatched the treat which Jiraiya bought with his own money, collapsing under the thick shade of a nearby tree. As he took a bite, his eyes drifted to Jiraiya's chest. Through the gaps in his loose kimono, a massive scar was visible... as he remembered of the past training session where he had lost control of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Naruto's demeanor was replaced by a gloomy silence. "Pervy Sage... is it because of me? That scar... I did that to you, didn't I?"
Jiraiya paused, seeing the guilt weighing down on Naruto. His expression softened, and he let out a boisterous laugh to break the tension, waving a dismissive hand. "Naruto, don't go getting dramatic on me. That? It was just an accident. A mere scratch! Now, are you going to sit there moping, or are you ready to go at it again?"
Naruto looked away, biting his lip. Jiraiya smiled, glancing down at his own hand. "Hey, look at that. It's melting fast."
"Ah! Oh no, not my favorite jumpsuit!" Naruto yelped, snapping out of his funk entirely as sticky, orange juice began to drip down his sleeve. He began viciously and clumsily licking the lollipop, trying to salvage it before it ruined his clothes.
~~
As they had their moment of master-student bonding, a screech was heard from the sky.
Jiraiya opened one eye, looking up. "What does Tsunade want now?" he thought. He stood up abruptly. "Naruto, keep training. I'll be right back."
"What?! What do you mean leaving me to myself?!" Naruto yelled. "Look at him go... running off the second he senses a chance to goof around with some ladies, I bet!"
Ignoring Naruto's loud complaints, Jiraiya leaped through the branches, until he landed on the highest bough of a massive redwood. He stretched out his muscular arm, and the Konoha messenger hawk landed gracefully on his gauntlet.
Unfastening the scroll, Jiraiya unrolled it. "Well, this changes things..." he murmured. "A complete profile on the Akatsuki's active vanguard."
But as his eyes traveled further down, his eyebrows knit together. "A joint mission? With Team Kimimaro?".
"Kimimaro... it's already been two years since that mess at the hospital. I wonder how Naruto is going to react. His team must have grown terrifyingly strong if they managed to fend off two Akatsuki members simultaneously. Kakuzu and... Konan."
Jiraiya stopped breathing for a second. Konan.
"Is it really her? It could be a coincidence. There are plenty of people with that name," he muttered, but as he read Tsunade's description of the woman's paper-based ninjutsu, the truth became undeniable.
It was his old student from Amegakure. The orphan he had raised and taught the ways of shinobi alongside Nagato and Yahiko during the last war.
"What happened to them? What happened to Nagato and Yahiko? If Konan is with the Akatsuki... I have to make a visit to meet my old students and see why Konan changed?"
According to the scroll, the designated rendezvous with Team Kimimaro was Hakuchi Village.
With a flick, Jiraiya vanished and few seconds later, he appeared beside Naruto, who was finally about to perform his synchronized technique with Gamariki.
"Whoa! Pervy Sage!" Naruto shrieked, losing his footing from the sudden jump-scare and tumbling into the grass. "What is your problem, sneaking up on me like that?!"
"Pack your things, Naruto. We have a mission," Jiraiya said, devoid of his usual playful cadence.
Naruto rolled his eyes, picking himself up and brushing the dirt off his knees. "Ugh, let me guess. Another boring escort mission or finding some rich lady's lost pet? It's been nothing but D-ranks for weeks."
Jiraiya looked directly into Naruto's eyes. "This isn't a game, kid. It's an Akatsuki mission, a direct order from Tsunade."
~~
A/N: Jiraiya and Naruto joins the party. How do you think this would turn out? Only future me can know.
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