Shadows and ghosts part one

Just so the readers here are aware, because I've trimmed the ANs in some areas because they weren't applicable now.

This is basically an AU where I won't be using any of the villains from Boruto, and very little if anything at all of the Jutsu. It's personal preference on my part in the same way I prefer Legends over Disney Canon in Star Wars, except Boruto isn't total trash like the Sequels.

Just wanted to clear that up if a lot of you didn't see one or two of my replies to some comments concerning that.

Anyway, here's a new chapter everyone. I hope you enjoy.

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Sasuke massaged his right arm as he and Rin stopped their spar, Rin looking a little better than he was. He was breathing heavily and he was sore, while his blonde teammate had some blood on her brow and was favouring her left side.

The first week of preparing was mostly just the two of them sparring against each other in one of the training grounds and ironing out a couple of jutsu to prepare, neither of the two caring whether the other knew.

Kakashi had mentioned he'd find somebody to train them after he finished with whatever he was doing, but he hadn't. Both of them had noticed he'd looked fatigued afterwards, almost like he hadn't slept or like he'd been run ragged by Gai in training when he showed up the one time they saw him before he disappeared again.

Sasuke kept breathing in and out to catch his breath, while Rin fished out a water bottle from a storage scroll and started gulping it down, looking flushed from exertion.

Sasuke didn't have a storage scroll, but he did have a small backpack that had his own stuff in it. He walked towards it gingerly and grabbed his own water, drinking it as well.

Fighting Rin, in her own way, was almost as bad as fighting Naruto. Naruto was faster and hit harder, but he'd actually advise him on how to counter his moves and to try and dissect his attacks with his Sharingan.

Between him and Kakashi, Naruto helped him adjust to his Sharingan almost as well as the silver haired Jonin, the sparring between them helping him to be fast enough to keep up with the speed that he processed images.

Rin finished practically chugging the water and coughed slightly, giving him a speculative look.

"You're a lot better." She said, hissing under her breath when she pressed a finger to the cut on her eyebrow.

Sasuke stopped drinking and glanced towards her.

"Sharingan." Was all he said, trying to hide how much it took out of him to hold her off.

Rin scoffed slightly in response and sat down on the ground, wincing a little.

"Stupid eyes." She muttered, not sounding serious.

"Crazy stamina." He countered, knowing that Rin had her own hereditary abilities.

Rin rolled her eyes, but didn't dispute it.

Seeing that Rin was still curious, Sasuke answered her previous question with actual detail.

"Naruto has been helping me adjust to how fast I process things with my eyes," He said, seeing her gaze go to his, "It's not fun seeing a fist hit your face in slow motion and not be able to stop it."

Rin looked at Sasuke with a look of understanding after he explained that, knowing how painful Naruto's hits are.

"What is that like?" She asked, tilting her head, "Being able to see chakra?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, trying to think of the right words.

It was strange, to put it mildly, how he had a perfect recall of images he'd seen, but the sounds, scents, and feel of things felt muted in those particular memories. And the 'colour' of chakra was odd compared to his regular vision.

"Kakashi has been teaching me how to use some low level visual Genjutsu," Sasuke replied, "I might be able to shift your vision to show you." He added when she looked confused on why he said it.

"Oh." She replied quietly, "I see." She then looked to consider it, before nodding.

Sasuke shut his eyes for a moment, before pushing chakra into them to activate his Sharingan.

He almost missed the slight fluctuating of Rin's chakra when he did it.

He had to force himself to stop looking at the outline of her chakra around her body. Only she and Naruto had chakra as potent as that out of anybody he'd seen with his Sharingan, aside from Orochimaru.

He stood up and made eye contact with her, seeing her gaze looking back at his. Concentrating, he visualized the image he wanted to cast and made a hand seal to stabilize his chakra. Rin's eyes flashed for a moment when his chakra invaded her system and the Genjutsu was cast.

Rin clenched her fist and grimaced, looking like she was fighting the instinct to flare her chakra to break it.

After a few seconds, she looked around and her face shifted to an expression of surprise, then interest moments later.

"So this is what it looks like." She murmured, a soft smile on her face. The wonder as she looked around had Sasuke staring at her, his friend looking enraptured by the illusion.

But her face tightened moments later and her chakra shifted suddenly and the Genjutsu broke.

She muttered under her breath and blinked, looking aggravated.

"Stupid fox." She said under her breath, the words not being understandable.

Sasuke felt concerned for a moment, but saw she was alright. "I should've expected your chakra to do that," He said, putting his arms behind his head to breathe a little better, "It's barely a D-rank Genjutsu, if even that."

Rin sighed and didn't respond, prompting Sasuke to ask something else, a different subject.

"How is Naruto doing? I haven't seen him in a few days."

He'd only seen Naruto once and he looked like he'd been run ragged, but he had a glowing smile on his face and looked genuinely happy.

Rin scoffed and looked at him. "He's busy getting torture/training from some bigshot Shinobi."

Sasuke sighed and shook his head at the torture/training part, knowing Naruto was probably having a blast.

"He'll need every edge he can get to beat that lunatic." He muttered, almost to himself. Gaara was undoubtedly a sadist, the way Naruto and Shikamaru had talked was worrying, to say the least.

Rin almost casually turned towards him and looked like she wanted to say something, but paused.

Sasuke, not wanting her to refrain from saying something, gave her a speculative glance.

"What?" He asked, seeing that she did actually want to say something.

Rin sighed and grabbed at her hair, readjusting her scrunchy.

"He's the Kazekage's son," Rin said quietly, her eyes downcast, "Something had to have happened when he was younger to cause him to be this way. Not just the seal being a weak one."

Sasuke was unconvinced, which evidently showed based on Rin scowling.

"Don't tell me bad experiences don't change someone," She said seriously, leaning little closer to him, "I've got two friends," She leaned even closer, getting in his personal space, "And a twin brother that changed because of stuff like that."

Hinata being abducted, Naruto almost being killed... and him.

"I didn't think of it that way." Sasuke admitted, leaning away from the blonde girl.

Rin's features softened and she backed away, looking more relaxed. "Naruto said he'd see what could be done, especially since Suna is Konoha's ally and everything."

Sasuke scoffed lightly to himself, smirking at what he was thinking. "Naruto's already practicing being Hokage by the sound of it." He looked at Rin, the girl rolling her eyes and laughing softly.

"I don't think the world would survive."

"You, me, and Shikamaru can stop him from doing what he'd call 'fun'." He smirked, honestly wondering what the red haired boy would enact for his own personal amusement, "Actually, would Shikamaru even be bothered to help?"

Rin's eyes flicked towards his at the Nara's name and her expression was serious again.

"A bit of a subject change," She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her expression conveying concern, "I don't know what he's doing, but it's enough where he looked ready to fall asleep."

That had Sasuke pausing for moment, trying to think of what Rin meant by that. Sasuke raised a brow in question as he looked at Rin, causing her to sigh.

"I saw him when I was trying to find Hinata," Rin explained, her body language not changing, "I thought he was going to pass out from how exhausted he looked."

That caused Sasuke to pause and wonder about Shikamaru, specifically what kind of training would do that, as well as what would motivate him to do it in the first place. Shikamaru embodied the laziness of the Nara clan in almost every way, but something caused a change in his behavior and it must have been radical.

"I'm honestly wondering if the world is going to come to an end," Sasuke sighed irritably, not being completely dishonest, "It's not like an S-rank traitor showing up to mark Naruto and me is an everyday occurrence, and Shikamaru of all people is motivated."

Rin scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I thought Naruto was overdramatic." She then pressed her hands against the ground and stood up, "The world isn't going to end because somebody wanted to kiss you." She grinned at him.

Sasuke visibly cringed at the way Rin described what Orochimaru had planned on doing, the thought of it repulsing him.

Not wanting to let her have the last word, Sasuke smirked and replied with a sarcastic response. "That sounds almost as bad as being kissed by you."

Rin blushed and averted her eyes, muttering something under her breath. Sasuke found out what it was when she got over the shock of the comment and glared at him.

"Ass." She muttered, looking annoyed.

"Vixen." Sasuke countered, causing Rin to freeze. He could see her face twitching as her eyes narrowed at the nickname.

"What did you call me?" She asked quietly, her arms crossed and her finger tapping against her arm at a fast pace.

Rin had nicknames for him, so he was going to have a nickname for her. Uke was the annoying one for him, especially since it was Naruto that came up with it. But he could play that game as well.

"Well, you're a girl," Sasuke explained, sounding completely serious, "And Naruto said you two have vulpine characteristics, so that makes you a vixen."

Rin twitched again.

"Stop calling me that." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her tone a warning one.

"Only if you stop calling me 'Uke'." Sasuke offered, smirking at the fact that she wouldn't make the trade off.

He knew how Rin was. She'd rather keep ahold of that nickname to torment him instead of parting with it.

Rin huffed and deflated, giving him a stink eye. "I'm going to kill whoever threw that book." She muttered to herself, stooping down to put up the bottle of water.

Sasuke couldn't help but look at Rin when her back was turned. She really was pretty, and someone that he genuinely liked. For all of her bouts of anger and hot-headedness, she really was kind; much kinder than Naruto was.

Rin straightened up after setting the bottle in the scroll, but her eyes widened and her posture tensed as her gaze was looking at something behind him.

Sasuke turned and saw what appeared to be a masked ANBU standing behind them about 20 yards away, looking completely relaxed.

If this had been a few weeks ago, Sasuke wouldn't have thought anything of it. He would have just assumed the Hokage either needed to speak with them or that Kakashi had found someone to help prepare them for the finals. But the fact that Kabuto turned out to be a traitor and Orochimaru had infiltrated the forest had him extremely paranoid at unfamiliar faces.

Without hesitating, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and adopted a taijutsu stance, specifically the intercepter style of his clan.

Rin followed his lead and had a kunai out, glaring at the supposed ANBU.

"Identify yourself," Sasuke instructed coldly, taking a step forward, "Now!"

The ANBU looked unimpressed and his gaze trailed towards Rin.

"Inu sent me." The man said without any emotion, sounding almost bored.

Sasuke didn't know why, but the voice had a vague familiarity. Perhaps it was one of the ANBU he'd seen when they were off duty. He knew that a few of the ANBU were labeled as 'Career Genin' to act as cover when they were easily Jonin level, so it wasn't impossible for him to have heard that voice from somewhere.

"That was Kakashi's ANBU codename." Rin said, still looking guarded, "Why did he send you?"

The ANBU turned towards her. "Preparation for the finals. I am to help Sasuke prepare."

Sasuke didn't miss the flash of hurt on Rin's face at that statement. Kakashi was going to help him over Rin?

Kakashi could go pound sand if that was the case.

"You're going to help us both or you can just leave." Sasuke said flatly, putting his kunai back in his holster.

Rin looked at Sasuke with a soft smile, her face almost glowing with gratitude.

"This was not an order, it is a favour on my part because Inu saved my life," The ANBU said with a tilt of his head, "I have no reason to help your girlfriend alongside you."

Sasuke felt blood rush to his face, being reminded that he was 'admiring' Rin when she couldn't see him.

'Did he see me? Of course he did; he's a damn ANBU.'

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Rin said hotly, putting her hands on her hips. Her face showed that she was also embarrassed by it as much as he was, but she was more open with her irritation.

The ANBU's eyes went back to Sasuke, ignoring the blonde girl's heated glare.

"Why would you refuse the chance of nearly a month of training from an ANBU?" He asked speculatively, "It will only slow your progress towards being powerful."

Sasuke showed no outward reaction aside from a slight clenching of his fingers. He'd stand a good chance of beating Rin if he alone got prepared for the finals, with an ANBU at that.

But it wouldn't feel the same.

It was like when Naruto talked about Itachi killing their father, no, Itachi didn't have the right to be called son, it was Sasuke's father that was an S-rank that earned the moniker 'Wicked Eye'. Killing a man in his own home wasn't the same as besting him in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or taijutsu. Sasuke knew he could technically kill Kakashi if he wanted to, especially since it would be out of character, and the same for if Naruto wanted to kill him. Sasuke would never think Naruto capable of that, even if Naruto charging at him with a Rasengan was burned into his memory.

That thought flashed through Sasuke's mind when the ANBU made the statement. But he wasn't going to be a terrible teammate and friend for that.

"Kakashi sent you to help," Sasuke said clearly, crossing his arms, "If you aren't capable of training two people for a few weeks, then Kakashi chose wrong on who should help. I'm not kicking my friend to the curb because you can't be bothered to train the two of us."

The ANBU was silent for several seconds, remaining as still as a statue. Sasuke wasn't going to negotiate. Eventually, he replied to Sasuke's statement.

"Inu always prided himself on valuing comradery amongst teammates," The ANBU stepped forward a few steps, "It seems he imparted that lesson." There was something in the ANBU's voice, but Sasuke couldn't place it.

Sasuke looked towards Rin, his friend returning the look.

"Fine," Rin eventually said, "Of course Kakashi would pull something like that."

Sasuke turned back towards the ANBU and couldn't help but agree, his silver haired Sensei would definitely do something like that.

"So," Sasuke broached a rather important topic, "What do we call you?"

If the two of them were going to get some training done with the ANBU, then he wanted a name for the individual that wasn't simply 'Anbu'. His codename would be acceptable.

The ANBU shrugged and gave an answer.

"Weasel."

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"Don't tell me you're already getting tired, piggy!" Hinata heard Anko shout towards Ino, the blonde girl collapsing to her knees in exhaustion.

Hinata had finished training with Kurenai for the day and the older woman had went towards a training ground Anko reserved for the day. The young Hyuga now knew why Anko reserved it, judging by the gasping Yamanaka on the ground.

"Please," Ino wheezed, trying to push herself up, "Give me a minute."

Anko flung a senbon at the girl's arm, causing her to yelp and jump up.

"Oh now you're up!" Anko shouted, another senbon already in her hand, "You're still too soft if you want to kick that Suna girl's ass!" Anko spotted Kurenai and immediately seemed to do a complete shift in her body language and mood, switching to a relaxed one.

"Hey, Kurenai," Anko waved, turning to look back at Ino, "You're in luck, Kurenai and I are getting some dango," She then chucked a bottle of water at Ino, "There's your reward for not puking."

Ino almost dropped the projectile flung at her, but she managed to catch it, glaring at Anko's back as she popped the cap off.

Hinata gave a silent prayer of thanks that her father had gone to Kurenai to help her prepare instead of Anko, even if Rin swore Anko was a big softy at heart.

The few months of training that the different teams had taken part in weren't fun, but they had built up a foundation very quickly.

Anko got to them and gave Hinata a wink, before wrapping an arm around Kurenai's shoulder.

"We ready now?" Anko smiled, the purple haired woman looking a little too happy.

Kurenai huffed at her friend, pushing her arm away. "Did you have to poison Ino?" The red eyed Genjutsu mistress asked exasperatedly.

"What?" Anko asked confusedly, "I didn't poison the senbon. It's just agility training so she can dodge better."

Hinata saw that Ino hadn't said anything, but she now just realized that the blonde had keeled over and was twitching.

"What do you call that?" Kurenai deadpanned, gesturing to the girl.

Anko turned and her eyes widened, her hand going to her senbon pouch. "Damnit, I grabbed the wrong senbon." She rushed towards Ino and pulled out another senbon, inspecting it closely.

"This'll fix it." Anko said, jabbing the girl in the neck with it.

Ino squeaked and tried to push Anko away, but her movements were sluggish.

Anko grabbed ahold of Ino and held her up, keeping a firm grip. "Sorry about that, kid," She said with some sheepishness, "I didn't mean to use a poisoned one."

Ino obviously didn't believe her, judging by her narrowed eyes.

"I can barely feel my legs." She muttered, wincing as she walked.

"If I meant to poison you, I would have made you lose bowel control like I did to Naruto." Anko said irritably, the girl cringing at the thought.

Ino looked to Hinata pleadingly. "Please, can we switch Senseis?"

Hinata noticed Anko stifling a snicker, but Hinata focused on Ino.

"Kurenai-san is helping me along just fine, Ino," She replied, fixing her gaze on Anko, "And I didn't know you did that to Naruto." Her voice was clipped at the end.

"Pff," Anko waved dismissively, "He kept intercepting hits with his arms, so I taught him to be quick and dodge."

Hinata couldn't refute that, especially since she knew what Anko meant by that.

Kurenai stepped in and began speaking to Anko once again. "Is it alright if we take them with us?" She gestured towards Hinata and Ino, "I think you owe Ino an apology, specifically of the sweet dessert kind."

"It was an accident," Anko said tightly, keeping ahold of Ino, "I don't want to break my new protege."

Hinata was looking back and forth between Ino and Anko, eventually giving a look of sympathy to the blonde girl.

"But fine," Anko sighed, "The gakis can tag along, but you're paying for them." Anko then let go of Ino, who staggered slightly.

Hinata decided to slow down her pace and walk next to Ino, wanting to be polite. The two were quiet as Anko and Kurenai talked, until Hinata decided to speak.

"How has your preparation been?" She asked, Anko and Kurenai taking point towards the dango shop.

Ino sighed and rubbed her neck where Anko jabbed her. "She knows her stuff, and I've already got a few ideas on how to hopefully win," She then gave Hinata a speculative glance, "What about you? Neji isn't an easy guy to fight."

Hinata still had doubts on whether she should have rejected her father's offer to help prepare her. The most competent ninja at fighting Hyuga in taijutsu were other Hyuga, and Hinata didn't have the chakra reserves to belt out jutsu to beat Neji.

Hinata averted her eyes and tried to think of what to say, honestly not knowing a good response. "Kurenai-san is helping me with a few ideas. I don't know if they will help though." She remarked quietly.

Hinata felt a hand be placed on her shoulder and she looked back up at Ino, the girl trying to reassure her, judging by her sympathetic expression.

"I might be able to give you a few pointers," She said, the four of them reaching the dango shop, "I don't think Neji has any immunity to some of the poisons Anko uses."

Hinata never thought of that. The Temari girl would be able to blow away a poison cloud with wind, but Neji wouldn't be able to. That needed more thinking to iron out, but she could potentially ask Rin to make her a couple of storage scrolls and she could seal some kind of paralytic or an irritant for the eyes to give her an edge.

Neji was better than her with the Juken, undoubtedly so, but she knew certain weaknesses of her clan's preferred style of fighting by sparring against Rin and Naruto, who were both arguably the worst opponents for a Hyuga to fight.

The Hyuga heiress smiled at Ino appreciatively, the two deciding to sit next to each other while Anko and Kurenai were speaking with each other.

"I think we can help each other come up with some ideas to win our matches." Hinata said quietly, overhearing Kurenai talk with Anko about random topics.

Ino nodded and wiggled her fingers like they were still twitching, grimacing for a moment.

"I think that's a lovely idea, Hinata." Ino smiled back, before they ordered their dango.

Both girls would improve from them giving each other pointers and what to do, neither of their Senseis missing what could possibly make their respective tasks easier.

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I avoided another stream of white projectiles that would have impaled me if they had struck, the soft whistling of them being too close for comfort.

"Keep moving!" Jiraiya shouted, the man hunched forward and his hair bristled out like a demented hedgehog, "Those things can do some damage!"

We were several miles outside of the village and in a clearing that had no trees. Didn't want to kill them from any backlash.

"It's been hours and I'm about to pass out!" I tried to shout, but I was already short of breath and my legs were aching.

This first week was non-stop agility and speed training to prepare me for the fight with Gaara. Jiraiya was aware of how the sand technique used by the Kazekage worked, being a spy master that fought in two Shinobi wars, and was attempting to emulate what would likely be what Gaara would try on me. To say it was exhausting would be an understatement.

Getting irritated, I dropped the weight seals Jiraiya put on me and I made a few hand seals to shoot a claw of water out of my mouth at Jiraiya, wanting to get the message across.

Jiraiya, and I assume he was doing this as a flex, didn't move at all, merely wrapping himself in his hair like a cocoon, taking the hit.

The Jutsu struck him and seemed to wrap around him, before losing its power and falling apart.

Aside from the water dripping from his hair as it retracted, he didn't look fazed at all.

"I've tanked hits a hundred times that," Jiraiya scoffed, looking bored, "And I don't have Tsunade's healing ability."

Growling under my breath, I decided to say screw it and adopted a taijutsu stance. "Can you give me training on jutsu that can help take the lunatic down?" I demanded, "Running and avoiding things isn't going to help me."

"You're not an idiot, Naruto," Jiraiya deadpanned, not moving from where he stood, "If you aren't quick enough to avoid his sand, you know what will happen."

Despite my enhanced healing, I wouldn't be able to recover from a shattered tibia any shorter than a week or two if Gaara got ahold of my leg, let alone enough time to get back in the fight.

"I need to beat him," I growled firmly, "Not avoid him, but beat the shit out of him and let him know he was beaten."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Is this where you're going to tell me why it needs to be done your way and not the way a 40 year veteran of two Shinobi world wars recommends?" His voice shifted to a sarcastic tone.

I sighed and walked towards him, wincing from the ache in my legs caused by the constant Shunshins I used to avoid all the fire jutsu and other attacks Jiraiya sent at me that I wasn't allowed to block with defensive jutsu.

Getting within a few feet of him, I explained my reasoning.

"He's pretty much exactly what the villagers think Rin and I are," I explained, looking into the dark eyes of my godfather, "I don't know what the hell kind of seal he has on him, but it's doing a crap job at keeping his chakra separate from the Ichibi."

Jiraiya remained silent, the wordless request to continue practically visible.

"He basically said he was looking forward to killing me because he quote, 'Wants to prove his existence'." I used air quotes, seeing a flash of recognition of what I was getting at, "He probably thinks he needs to be vicious and homicidal to truly exist." I added one last thing to truly get the message across in a way that Jiraiya would understand.

"He's like I'm looking in a mirror and seeing what I would have been if Rin had been killed."

Jiraiya grimaced at my proclamation, before his eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn't end up like that." Jiraiya said firmly, "I'm certain of that."

"This isn't a jab at you, but you don't know me," I replied, ignoring the slight flinch, "I killed an Iwa nin on a C-rank turned A-rank. He threatened Rin and I killed him. The only thing I felt bad about was that I wasn't thinking clearly when I killed him. I wouldn't be bothered by it if I wasn't worried about my sanity melting at the drop of a hat."

I'd gotten over that issue, but the fact that whatever the hell Orochimaru did to me when he marked me, specifically when everything was a blur, brought back the thoughts and theories about why it happened.

"That's not a surprise," Jiraiya remarked nonchalantly, "This is a bad business we're in and that Iwa nin already had a kill on sight order personally signed by the Tsuchikage, so don't think I or anyone else wouldn't have done the same thing."

"Wait," I cut in, raising a hand up to stop him from talking further, "Who the hell was that guy?"

"He was a missing nin from Iwa, as you know," Jiraiya explained, "His father and most of his relatives died in the third war, specifically by you father."

'Well. Shit.' That would make since why he was an unstable psychopath when he saw Rin.

But that led me to realizing Jiraiya had been told about that mission, probably by Hiruzen and Kakashi.

"How much have you been told about what's happened over the last year?" I asked, having not broached the subject for the last several days of training. I wanted to focus on that instead of talking.

"Pretty much everything," Jiraiya replied, before his expression darkened, "Including what happened in the forest."

My face tightened at the reminder, but I simply took a deep breath and soldiered on.

"I don't think I can get Anko's mark removed like me, though." I said, knowing Anko wouldn't survive the crap I did, "Did you have any ideas on how to remove it?"

"I don't even know how your's got burned off," Jiraiya grumbled, shaking his head in annoyance, "The fact that you are a Jinchuriki wouldn't have changed that, at least I think it wouldn't have changed things."

At my look of curiosity, Jiraiya sighed and explained.

"Do you know what a sage is?" He asked simply, being blunt.

"Yes," I replied, "Orochimaru mentioned something about it and I played dumb about not knowing about it."

"Cheeky brat," Jiraiya muttered to himself, but he continued on with his explanation, "Can you sense what Nature chakra feels like?"

If my sensing wasn't as good as it was and if I hadn't lived years without chakra, I probably wouldn't have been able to feel the difference in how a person's chakra was and of nature itself.

"Yes," I replied, pushing out my sensing as an example, "It feels like something peripheral, almost like there's something under the surface or around me, but it doesn't have the same feel as a person."

Jiraiya hummed in acknowledgement. "That sounds about right, but what about its density," He leaned closer to me, "Compare it to what my chakra is like."

Without hesitation, I gave the answer I'd always felt it was.

"It's like comparing diamond to wood. It's extremely dense and it's all encompassing."

Jiraiya nodded, a relaxed smile making his eyes almost shine. "That's good that you can sense it. It'll make things easier in the future, Kami willing. But the reason I'm saying this is that I'm a sage, and I tried breaking Anko's mark a few years back by pumping nature chakra into it."

My eyes almost bugged out at what the hell he just said. "Were you trying to kill her or something? Orochimaru said it would kill someone who didn't know what the hell they were doing."

"I took precautions," Jiraiya scowled, "I'm not an idiot."

"Deadlast." I muttered under my breath, but loud enough for him to hear.

"And yet I'm the front-runner to replace the old man," Jiraiya rolled his eyes, looking annoyed at what he just said, "I was the first toad summoner in generations, and I trained your father. Pretty impressive for a little, perverted orphan."

"But back to what I said before you rudely interrupted me," Jiraiya turned his face up imperiously, "Nature chakra is probably the most potent stuff you can mess with. Most seals can't handle it without exploding, which can come in handy if you're wanting to kill a Jinchuriki by sharpening nature chakra like a spear to unravel a Jinchuriki seal."

I visibly cringed and almost felt a phantom touch on my stomach at the thought of that. If getting Kurama sealed into me was bad, I didn't want to know what it'd feel like to have the seal shattered intentionally with something as powerful as nature chakra.

"So, I had Hiashi seal off the Mitarashi girl's tenketsu around the area, had a medic there in case some of the skin around the mark became petrified, and tried to break it," Jiraiya trailed off, "And it did nothing at all. The mark handled it and I had to stop so I didn't cause any physical damage."

I was running through why that would be the case. I wasn't sure if Orochimaru had discovered Jugo at that point or not, but the mark being able to withstand nature chakra was problematic.

"You sure Bijuu chakra wouldn't break it?" I asked, "I could probably try it and see."

"How?" Jiraiya asked skeptically, "It's not like you can just bite her while channeling the fox's chakra and call it a day. It would probably only mask the effects similar to the seal I placed on top of it so it doesn't rot her mind."

'That's right. Jiraiya put a seal on it to mute the effects.'

I tried to refute what he was saying, but the fact of the matter was that Jiraiya knew more about it than I do.

"But, we can try it after the exams," Jiraiya eventually said, "I've been wrong before."

After that bit of reassurance, Jiraiya eyed me again and switched back to discussing Gaara.

"If you want to actually help him without straight up shattering the kid's body, you'll need to nullify his sand. You can do that by being fast enough to use Suiton jutsu on the move and using your bunshin."

Jiraiya was right on that. I had been putting up a pretty vicious fight throughout our sparring the first day or two, up until he switched to speed training.

I shook my head at what he said though.

"He'll be more stable if I shut off his connection to the Ichibi." I said simply, wanting to know how to use the seal that Orochimaru did to seal off canon Naruto's connection to Kurama in the forest.

An inability to use your own chakra properly meant that Gaara couldn't unleash Shukaku and complicate things. But the biggest reason was far more simple than that.

Efficiency.

I was going to need all the chakra I could manage to keep casualties to a minimum. Each shadow clone I made would be one less person that was in the line of fire when Orochimaru kick started the invasion. I needed to avoid a fight of attrition with Gaara, especially since he had chakra reserves that were only overshadowed by a handful of people.

Jiraiya looked at me with suspicion when I made that statement. "Where did you learn about that specific sealing method?" His expression shifted to realization before I could answer, "You have Ashina's notes, don't you?"

"Yep," I grinned, feeling pleased with myself, "His notes are hilarious."

Those notes were probably his personal ones that weren't meant to be seen by people trying to learn Fuinjutsu. They were jokes I thought were hilarious, although Rin didn't find them funny.

But it still confused me why Ashina let Kushina or Mito have the notes in the first place. I thought he would have kept them to himself.

"If you thought those were bad, I should show you some of the letters we exchanged," Jiraiya laughed, a nostalgic expression lighting up his face, "That man was probably the biggest pervert I ever talked with. Tsunade acted like he was senile and Orochimaru couldn't stand him when we were there for about a month."

Despite my better judgement, I decided to sate my curiosity.

"Like what?"

"He said it was a pity that Orochimaru wasn't a woman," Jiraiya said with a straight face, "Something about snakes not having a gag reflex and long tongues."

I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from the visuals of an old man saying that to Orochimaru.

"Wait," I had to know, "Did he say that to Orochimaru's face?"

Jiraiya smirked and nodded. "The only time I've seen him look embarrassed."

Ashina sounded more and more like a dick that messed with people for his own amusement. It's a pity I wasn't able to meet him. He sounded fun.

But I didn't want to get sidetracked, I wanted Jiraiya to teach me how to destabilize a Jinchuriki's chakra. "Back to what I want you to teach me." I said expectantly, the white haired Sannin sighing.

"Fine, I'll show you. But," He raised his index up to get my attention focused on his face, "You'll be learning what I want you to as well. I'm not letting you rely on only one thing. If it's between you or him, always choose yourself. Is that clear?" He finished firmly, his chakra feeling as hard as iron.

"Yes, sir." I said, not looking forward to the possibility that I might be forced to kill Gaara. Even if it delayed the Akatsuki and the Moon's Eye plan, I couldn't bring myself to think of doing that.

This was one of the few times I envied the Talk-no-jutsu.

"Alright," Jiraiya backed away from me wiggling his fingers, "I need you to make a Kage bunshin and take your shirt off."

I blinked at what I was just told to do, trying to make sense of the sentence I just heard.

"Pardon?" I asked, looking at the man in confusion.

"You're going to sense with your bunshin to know what it feels like," Jiraiya clarified, before making a hand seal and causing a faint glow to emanate from his fingertips, "And you'll need to know what it does."

Wanting to get in a little jab, I used a minor Henge to change my voice and face to a female kind.

"Just don't stare, Jiraiya-kun. You'll make me blush." I said cutely, pulling my shirt over my head.

Jiraiya scowled and had a tick mark at his temple at the reminder of how our first meeting went, but he didn't stay quiet.

"You're a scrawny little shit, you know that?" He stared at my shirtless chest, looking unimpressed.

"I'm 13," I rolled my eyes, "I'm going to vary between being a twig and being built as I get taller. I'm not going to be a brick shithouse like you until a few years from now."

I'd hit a growth spurt a few months back and was a couple inches taller, and it showed in how I almost looked scrawny in my limbs, even though I considered myself lean, thank you very much.

"I built this art over the course of years," He pounded his chest, a touch of arrogance in his voice, "And I've maintained it for even longer."

"Then just gawk at a mirror for your inspiration for your books." I shrugged, before raising my hand to stop him from responding, "I need to warn the furbag. I don't think he'll like the feeling of whatever the seal will do."

Jiraiya nodded and just stood there, his gaze towards my stomach.

Calling on Kurama's chakra, I prodded at the seal and felt his presence rise to the surface.

"Yes?" He asked, sounding annoyed.

'Interrupting your hot date?' I asked sarcastically, wondering why he was annoyed.

"I was watching the Uchiha get smashed into the ground by an ANBU Hatake sent to train the vixen and Sasuke." He pitched his voice at the end mockingly.

'Sorry to interrupt your entertainment, but I thought it would be better to give you a heads up.' I said, smirking at the possible choice of ANBU Kakashi selected, but that still had me wondering what Kakashi was up to. It was out of character for him to ghost everyone, including Anko.

'Jiraiya is going to hit my seal with a disruption type of Fuinjutsu; so I don't know what it would feel like on your end. Just wanted to give a warning.'

"Hmph." Kurama huffed, "I'd stick around and see what happens, but I'd rather get the enjoyment of seeing your brother-in-law get run ragged by an ANBU."

Giving him a telepathic middle finger, I closed the connection.

"Well?" Jiraiya tilted his head in question.

I made a hand seal and made two Kage bunshin, signaling them to step away from me.

"He's forewarned," I said, before my voice got quieter, "What is this going to feel like?" If it hurt, I wasn't looking forward to it.

"Pins and needles all along you tenketsu," Jiraiya replied, "It'll mess your sensing up until I remove it, which I'll do after your bunshin get a good feel for what it's supposed to do. Now, pulse some chakra so I can see the seal."

Doing as instructed, I pulsed chakra towards my stomach and looked down, seeing the seal appear.

"On three." Jiraiya said, counting down. Once he reached three, he lunged forward and jabbed my gut with his fingers, his chakra invading my seal.

"Oh God." I moaned as I felt like my entire nervous system was twitching. It was like the feeling you get when you hit your funny bone, but all across your body.

I fell to the ground and started groaning impotently from not being able to stop it.

"I'm dying. I'm dying. Ugh." I groaned, which Jiraiya didn't listen to.

"Quit being dramatic." He kneeled down next to me, legs hunched, "That feeling will pass in a few seconds."

Sure enough, the feeling went away, but I still wasn't enjoying myself. Everything felt jumbled when I tried to use my chakra sensing, like how being drunk messed with your balance.

"Tell me you two dickheads caught how that feels." I looked up at my clones, the copies of me thankfully nodding.

Jiraiya scoffed lightly at what I called my clones, before he made a couple more hand seals and his fingers glowed once more. "I'm going to remove it now. The two of you, pay attention."

Before I could gather myself completely, Jiraiya jabbed my seal again and undid what he'd previously applied.

I growled audibly from the sensation, a slight burning feeling all across my chakra network making its presence known.

I just layed there as Jiraiya stood up and looked down at me with sympathy.

"That's one of the few seals that work best when a sensor can feel how the technique works to learn it. And I'm not repeating it if your bunshin missed it," He added firmly, "That wasn't fun to do."

"Noted." I groaned, hoping I'd never feel that again.

Sitting up, I gestured for my clones to pop. They did so and I got back the memories of how it felt when I sensed the chakra shaped in Jiraiya's hands as he did it and applied the seal over top mine.

I stood up stiffly and stretched my arms, trying to work out the phantom itch in my tenketsu.

"I couldn't even flex my chakra properly when that was on," I said, a small sense of relief in my voice, "I think that'll work for subduing Gaara once I learn it."

"Remember what I said," Jiraiya added, "Those who over specialised have been killed before. You've got a good foundation on several things," His smirk widened into a predatory grin, "And I plan on making you better than your father at several things."

The next hour was Jiraiya pretty much laying out the different plans he had to sharpen my current skills that could be used against Gaara, including my chakra control and Suiton jutsu.

"Your chakra control will help you lower your necessary hand seals," He explained, the usual laid-back tone absent, although he still looked like he was enjoying himself, "It takes you, what, 12 hand seals for a water dragon?" He asked, probably counting how many it took when I used it against him.

"Yeah, and I noticed I hit a wall on lowering the number. I might squeeze out dropping another sign or two, but not much else."

Basically, me finally being able to exploit my Kage bunshin more because my chakra growth stabilized meant my chakra control was going to at last be able to out pace my reserve's growth rate.

"We don't have as much time as I'd want," Jiraiya admitted, "But the two things I'm going to focus on for you is your speed and somewhat your chakra control. Rin will get the same training once this is all over."

Jiraiya then started explaining possibilities in how I could progress my lightning enhancement to being able to speed up my body.

Tsunade enhanced her strength by precision enhancement of individual muscle groups and joints with chakra so that she could both crush things and take hits that left bruises and shallow cuts instead of shattered bones and severed limbs.

"Tsunade tried to create a more chaotic version to apply to her legs and back to basically give her a massive speed boost similar to the Shunshin," Jiraiya went on, his eyes showing his focus, "But she couldn't get it to stay in that state without most of her concentration focused on it."

Each chakra nature that someone was born with had a slight advantage over someone that learned it after a certain number of years of training. Those with excellent chakra control found it easier to learn those nature releases, but someone like Sakura still would struggle to replicate my proficiency in making my chakra flow like water because that was what I was born with.

"Do you think I could try something similar to that but use lightning chakra?" I asked, thinking that may be the trick to getting the physical speed part to work.

I ended up frowning when Jiraiya laughed.

"Oh wait, your serious," Jiraiya's eyes widened, "Let me laugh harder." He then threw his head back and laughed.

After the pervert stopped hamming it up, he looked at me seriously.

"Your control is atrocious for a prodigious thirteen year old," He said flatly, "But it's excellent when judged by the circumstances, specifically your reserves and unpredictable growth rate."

I groaned under my breath at the reminder, but I kept listening.

"You'd probably blow up a limb if you tried anything that Tsunade did," Jiraiya continued, adding one more thing at the end, "but there's more than one way to do it. It's just that excellent chakra control and an understanding of human anatomy goes a long way."

"But that makes no damn sense," I sighed angrily, "I got the brain part, which is the hardest, done. The only thing left for that part is to make it less taxing on my nerves. But the physical part should be easier!" I threw my arms up and started pacing, ignoring the faint twitch in my left leg from the micro tears healing finally, "It's like I learned to run before crawling."

"I'm still astounded that you managed that at 13 without any guidance," Jiraiya said, running a hand across his Hitai-ate, "What even had you thinking of it as a possible thing to reverse engineer?"

I didn't really see a need to lie, so I answered honestly. "I researched the abilities of the different Kages and elites of the past and wanted to see which ones I could emulate." I then rattled off the ones that were ruled out.

Mu's Dust release wasn't something I could do, Gengetsu's body liquification was a kekkai genkai, so was magnet release, and the Mokuton.

That pretty much left me with three options. Become a Ninjutsu monster, which I wasn't going to simply rely on that alone, even if me being an Uzumaki and a Jinchuriki made it disgustingly easy, become a thinker like Tobirama and my father, using the Hiraishin for speed, or take advantage of my second affinity and try and attempt the Lightning Cloak.

"You had a look at the Hiraishin and decided reverse engineering a closely guarded technique from Konoha's biggest current rival would be easier?" Jiraiya asked incredulously, assuming wrong.

"No," I shook my head, "I was already trying to see if it worked before the Sandaime let me borrow the Nidaime's notes on the Hiraishin."

"But why not focus on the Hiraishin once you had acce-" Jiraiya began to say, before his voice hardened, "Is it because you don't want people to know about your father?"

I almost flinched at the shift in his emotions, almost feeling like he was angry.

"Because if that's the case, then I'm taking you to Tsunade to check your head. You had to have been dropped as a baby."

"From what the old man told me," I said harshly, aggravated by the accusation, "The Raikage had been able to match the Hiraishin's speed, and it took my dad years to work the Hiraishin into his primary fighting style. But the cloak," I was now glaring at Jiraiya, "Offers physical resilience so I can take hits without losing limbs or my head again."

That was the biggest reason I was wanting to prioritize the Lightning Cloak to enhance my speed. You either needed to be a speed freak or a juggernaut to contend with S-ranks, and the Lightning Cloak gave both.

Jiraiya sighed and his posture loosened up, but he still looked at me with a disparaging look. "Are you sure the paranoia you're so happy to act upon isn't guiding your choices?"

I squinted at him and crossed my arms. "One, I'm not paranoid, I'm practical. And two, I want speed and durability. The Hiraishin only offers one."

I was still going to learn it. The ability to teleport jutsu at targets was a must have, not even including the more dangerous applications of it.

"Take it from someone who's been around the block, Naruto," Jiraiya crossed his arms to mimic me, "I know the difference between paranoia and caution. You're not the second."

I scowled at him, but I didn't say anything. What he was saying was harsh, but I wasn't certain in my conviction about all this secretive shit and manipulation. It made me feel like a shitty person.

"You're much smarter than most people," Jiraiya said with a more polite tone, "And you're more adjusted than what Orochimaru was at your age."

I grimaced at the comparison, but Jiraiya kept talking.

"Your heart's in the right place on wanting to keep a low profile to protect yourself and Rin, but it's not healthy to think that everybody in Iwa or Kumo is out to kill you both." His eyes adopted a faraway look for a moment, "That kind of worry twists you into something ugly. Like Orochimaru." The last part was quiet.

A moment later, his eyes seemed to brighten. "But we can have history lessons later. Right now, I want to know what you remember about you being marked. If anything."

Accepting that Jiraiya was probably right, I went on to explain what I remembered of the last few moments of fighting Orochimaru.

After I finished, Jiraiya gazed at the base of my shoulder and neck where the mark previously was.

"Have you noticed any changes to your eyesight or sense of smell?" He asked, "Anything new physically, like a little more flexibility and wanting to lay out in the sun?"

I shook my head, but my worry was visible. "Why? Could there be lingering issues?"

"Probably not," Jiraiya admitted, "But I remembered that a portion of Orochimaru's chakra was in Anko's mark when you said you felt Orochimaru's chakra attacking your own," He scratched at the back of his neck almost like a tick, "And there's a peculiar thing about pushing foreign chakra into someone that's still maturing."

"I've never heard of that," I tilted my head in both interest and surprise, "What is the peculiarity?"

"The 'host'," Jiraiya made air quotes, "Can start to show slight physical changes that are similar to the person whose chakra's is in contact with there's like how the mark acts. And it can possibly alter someone's chakra when it's more malleable at a younger age."

"Is that what happened with Anko?" I shivered, repulsed by the thought of starting to look like the snake.

"To some degree," Jiraiya said, "Her chakra got a fire affinity, which was Orochimaru's, and she said she would feel cold at night."

"But could that be from just being a snake summoner?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "She already was allowed to sign the contract and it didn't change anything that much, from what she said."

Thankfully, I didn't feel any different. Aside from wanting to return the favour and killing the bastard.

"So you're just touching base on whether the mark caused anything?" I said simply, seeing the man nod.

"Given that your hair is still red, spiky as hell, and your eyes are blue, I'm pretty sure it didn't do anything." Jiraiya joked, before he stooped down and picked up my shirt, tossing it to me, "There, so nobody is cursed to see your pasty ass chest."

I put the shirt on and rolled my eyes. "I'll make you eat your words when I get more action than you've dreamed of."

"I've gotten more ass than a toilet seat, gaki." Jiraiya said flatly, not sounding false at all, "And more pussy than a cat shelter."

"I'll one-up that and get more head than a French guillotine." I deadpanned, before realizing France and guillotines didn't exist here.

"What?" Jiraiya looked confused, rightfully so.

"Nothing," I waved it off with a dismissive hand, "I forgot you don't understand certain words that Rin and I came up with."

Jiraiya seemed to believe that little white lie and adopted a more serious look.

"You ready to train some more?" He asked, "I saw that you were starting to slow down and look fatigued."

I nodded sharply and gave him a thumbs up.

"Being an Uzumaki and a Jinchuriki makes me a stamina freak," I grinned, "It makes training into the dirt awesome."

Out of all things I loved about this world and this body, the two best were my sensing and stamina. I could run for hours and felt invincible, while my sensing gave me a unique understanding of the world in a way I don't think I could go without now.

"I'm sure your future wife will love that." Jiraiya smirked, trying to get a rise out of me.

"Pff," I scoffed with disappointment, "That all you got to embarrass me? Anko and Kakashi are worse."

"Like?" Jiraiya asked.

"Trying to sniff for inspiration?" I raised a brow, frowning when Jiraiya winked at me, "I don't think you want to hear the crap Anko harassed me about, specifically how Kage bunshin are fun."

It took Jiraiya a second to connect the dots, but he started laughing when he made the connection.

"Ah, yes, Gangbang-no-jutsu," He chuckled, "The traditional way to embarrass impressionable idiots."

I refused to believe that was an actual name for Tajuu Kage bunshin.

"You're bullshitting me." I accused, my hand raised and pointed at him with an accusatory glare.

"Of course I am." He looked unimpressed, "No serious Shinobi would let it be called that. Veterans only call it that to mess with younger idiots that should know better. It's like the older Nara saying their clan jutsu was a bondage technique to gross out their kids, or the Akamichi with their body expansion."

I didn't want to visualize that last one, especially since Choji was so wholesome and nice. But there was something I noticed Jiraiya left out.

"What about the Yamanaka?"

Jiraiya started snickering. "I singlehandedly pissed off their entire clan by asking a question," His body was shaking and his eyes were alight with amusement, "And I'm pretty sure Inoichi still remembers it to this day."

"What was it?" I asked.

"I asked whether it was cheating if a Yamanaka did a body switch and slept with his wife, who can also switch into another woman."

'Dear God, that probably didn't go down well.'

"I can't possibly see how they'd be pissed about their clan jutsu being seen as so debased." I said sarcastically, understanding if Inoichi and the Yamanaka clan were pissed at Jiraiya to this day.

"For a bunch of shrinks, they have no sense of humour," Jiraiya said irritably, "I ended up getting ambushed by a few and got my brain scrambled."

The Sannin snorted to himself.

"I don't know what happened, but I woke up the next morning married to a pineapple," His eyes flicked towards mine, "An ugly pineapple. Ah, but I loved her." He said the last part with a soft tone much like how one would talk about their beloved.

'Self-preservation tip: Don't piss off the Yamanaka.' I thought to myself, shivering at the prospect of mindfuckery.

"I'll bear that in mind when dealing with Inoichi when my clan's recognized and I'm clan head." I said, which caused Jiraiya to perk up.

"That's going to be fun." Jiraiya said gleefully, acting like he knew something I didn't.

"Care to share?" I asked with an eye roll. He could be such a teenager at times.

"All the civilians will be clamouring over themselves to curry favour with you, especially since they've been spending years hating you two."

'Ah, ass kissing. Surprise, surprise.'

"I feel sorry for Sasuke dealing with that crap all the time. But misery likes company, I suppose." I mused irritably, but it was preferable to Rin or Karin being harassed by everyone.

"And just think," Jiraiya said, looking relaxed, "You're descended from someone connected to both the Shodai and Nidaime. It'll be full circle with you being connected to the first two Hokages and the Yondaime. And then you've got me as your Sensei now." He grinned at the end. He just had to pat himself on the back.

Overall, Jiraiya was on point with his observations. Even if the average Konoha civilian and Shinobi didn't know Uzumaki Ashina by name, they would understand what they owed to him because his daughter sealed the Kyuubi into herself and the man had trained Senju Tobirama in Fuinjutsu for a time.

The ease of acceptance would be unmatched.

Just imagine the complete 180 they'd do if they realized the Uchiha prince they put on a pedestal was Madara reincarnated, while I am in possession of the will and chakra that guided Hashirama.

But Sasuke isn't going to know. Neither is anybody. That would be nightmarish for him to think he's cursed to be a monster; to be like Itachi. If everything goes right, he's going to be free of the shit that made him into a traitor.

"Thinking about something?" Jiraiya asked, causing me to be pulled from my thoughts.

"Just thinking about things." I said, not elaborating.

"Well, since you seem fine enough to think about pressing matters, I'm sure you can get started on that seal you want to use." He smiled, which I returned.

"Hell yeah!" I nodded, hopping on the balls of my feet lightly.

Training is fun, and training with a Sannin isn't just awesome.

It's fucking awesome!

////////////////////

Part two will be out a little later. Like, in a few hours.