Interlude of Time

Chapter 39: Interlude of Time

Author's Forward

Hey Guys, sorry about the short length of the chapter and the delay in it's release, writer's block hit HARD on this one, the next one should be a bit longer to compensate for this.

Again, thank you for all of your continued support, I do not plan on this fic dying on me until I complete this. See ya next chapter

"C'mon Naruto, you're going to have to pick up the pace if we want to get to the Land of Waterfalls any time soon," Jiraiya called out behind him, his voice irritatingly upbeat for the blond he was talking too.

"Maybe I would be moving faster, if I wasn't having to lug this boulder around!" Naruto shouted back at his teacher as he strained against the ropes binding him to a large boulder that was dragging behind him, with the churned earth behind him disappearing over the horizon.

"Or maybe you could be moving faster if you were actually strong enough to move the boulder?" Jiraiya replied tauntingly, grinning at his apprentice.

Naruto growled in response as he lunged for Jiraya, only to be drawn short by the boulder. "I swear old man, tonight I am going to poison your soup," he promised angrily.

"If you have enough energy to spit venom you have enough energy to drag the boulder more!" Jiraiya replied with a laugh as he continued to walk, secretly impressed at how well his student held up under the training. Yes, he was complaining about it, but he was also getting on with it like a trooper.

Naruto grumbled something rather… rude under his breath as he continued to put one foot in front of the other as they continued to make their way to the Land of Waterfalls. "So why are we going to the Waterfall village anyways?" he questioned, hoping to distract himself from the burning feeling in his legs.

"Your sister is concerned about the fact that we haven't heard anything about their Jinchuuriki even though they're a registered shinobi," Jiraiya informed with a small frown. "With the Akatsuki in the background, she doesn't want to take any chances."

"You think something happened then," Naruto concluded. "Because they're a Jinchuriki, it's pretty noticeable when they fight, right?"

"Pretty much, yeah, there are exceptions, like yourself, but on average, yes," Jiraiya informed. "While for the most part, you rely on your skills, most Jinchuriki are trained to use the chakra of the Bijuu sealed within them the most, given their status as 'living weapons'."

The look on Naruto's face said everything about what he thought about that statement, something that Jiraiya agreed with him on. "Thankfully, however, that seems to be shifting a bit," he added with a shrug.

Naruto still had a frown on his face in response. "Guess I was pretty lucky then," he murmured to himself. "... What's the worse case scenario?"

"That Waterfall sold their Jinchuuriki to the Akatsuki," Jiraiya admitted with a grimace. "Waterfall's shinobi aren't exactly powerful over all, with a few exceptions like Kazuku, so they could very well have chosen to trade the Nanabi Jinchuuriki for safety from the Akatsuki."

"But… why would they do that?" Naruto questioned, an angry look on his face.

"Simple, they want to survive," Jiraiya replied, stopping to give his student an understanding look. "I understand your anger, but you have to remember, most villages don't have the standing force that Konoha does, nor do they have a number of powerful shinobi ready to protect their homes. As it stands, right now, outside of their jinchuuriki, Waterfall's highest ranked shinobi is a jonin who is currently a B-Rank in the bingo book."

Naruto frown in response as he turned his gaze away. "It still isn't right…" he replied.

"Not saying it is," Jiraiya assured. "Things are changing, but change is a slow thing."

"Right…" Naruto murmured before grunting as he picked up his pace a bit.

Next to him Jiraiya smirked at his student, proud of the progress he was making.

Sasuke panted as he carefully maintained his balance on the point of a surface no bigger than the surface of a kunai.

"Keep a focus on your center of balance, Sasuke-kun," his instructor cautioned him. "In order to balance the elements, you must learn to balance yourself, physically and mentally."

Sasuke flicked his eyes over to the twice retired kage for a brief moment before returning his focus to the exercise before him. Not only was he to keep his focus on keeping himself balanced, but ye also had to enter a state of zero thought, allowing his body to rely on instinct to keep itself balanced.

Which was far easier to say than do. Doubly so for Sasuke who had a tendency to overthink everything he was doing.

"Alright, time for a break," Hiruzen announced after a few more minutes, Sasuke's irritation beginning to show. "I must say, you are making remarkable progress with this exercise."

Sasuke blinked in response as he sprawled out on the ground, his muscles burning from keeping himself balanced for nearly half an hour. "What do you mean?" he questioned. "It doesn't feel like I'm making any progress at all."

"And I doubt you ever will, Sasuke-kun," Hiruzen informed patiently. "I am not expecting you to become a monk and reach a state of nothingness, what this exercise is meant to do is improve your ability to focus. To balance your elemental affinity you must focus on the feel of each element, which is why starting tomorrow you are going to start working on elemental chakra exercise while balancing yourself."

Hiruzen chuckled as Sasuke paled, staring at him with wide eyes. "I did warn you, I will be the worst slave driver you have ever seen."

The response from the young Uchiha would have had Yuriko cleaning his mouth with soap if she had been there.

Sakura frowned as she focused on the [Mystic Palm] jutsu she was using to slowly bind the two broken bones of a fellow shinobi in one of the ER rooms of the hospital, under the watchful eye of Shizune who was instructing the genin in the finer arts of medical ninjutsu.

Shizune nodded as Sakura let out a breath and took a step back, allowing Shizune to inspect her work. "How does it feel?" Shizune questioned the shinobi on the bed as she scanned the leg.

"Almost like new," the shinobi replied with a chuckle. "A bit stiff and sore, but nothing unusual that I can feel anyways. It's always like that after mending a break."

"Indeed," Shizune replied as she finished her scan. "Well done, Sakura-san," she said to the pinkette who smiled happily in response. "The mend is almost perfect, your chakra control is very impressive."

"Yuriko-sensei told me that it would be the most important skill for me to perfect since I have naturally low chakra reserves," Sakura said, blushing at the compliment. "She told me that for shinobi like myself, every drop of chakra is a critical resource that cannot be wasted whatsoever."

"And right she is." the apprentice to the Slug Sannin nodded. "For a Med-nin, even ones with plentiful chakra like Lady Tsunade and the Lady Hokage, efficiency and economy of chakra is paramount. There are never enough Med-nin to go around, and we are almost always rushed off our feet, especially in wartime."

Sakura swallowed in response. "She doesn't really talk about the war with us," the genin commented with a grimace. "Was it really that bad?"

"I wasn't in it myself, too be honest," Shizune admitted with a downcast look. "But… yes, the wars are always terrible, there are a lot of people who die needlessly in wars," the medic ninja shook her head to clear herself of those depressing thoughts. "Come, there's one more thing I wish to test you on before we move on to your training today."

Sakura nodded, smiling widely in response as she followed the medic along through the hospital.

Roshi took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of nature as he accepted the pure, unrefined Nature Chakra through his coils, allowing it to saturate through him, his body perfectly still as he opened his eyes, his dark iris glowing with chakra as he looked over the forest.

"Congratulations," Son Goku said simply after a few moments. "You have managed to summon Nature Chakra into yourself without any complications. Get up, move around, get a feel for it."

Roshi followed his instructions as he began moving through a basic taijutsu kata that all shinobi learn, less for combat, and more for testing ones current limits. "It's… strange…" he murmured. "It's… definitely stronger, but… not what I was expecting?"

"Of course, while Nature Chakra does strengthen one's body, it is merely a side effect, try using nature manipulation," Son Goku prompted.

Roshi did as instructed and blinked as he felt the fire chakra surge to life around him, surrounding him in an intense flame that didn't harm him. "What the?" he murmured in shock.

"This is the true strength of Nature Chakra," the Yonbi said with a laugh. "It allows you to channel the raw elements themselves with far greater ease than ever before."

Roshi chuckled as he began to manipulate the flames around him. "Right then, we can do a lot with this," he commented with a grin, ideas flashing through his mind.

"Indeed, shall we start training in ernest then?" Son Goku questioned knowingly.

"Yeah… let's get started," Roshi confirmed, grinning as he began to manipulate his chakra.

Orochimaru grunted in pain, as the hand holding a sheet of paper shook slightly from the tremors running through his body.

The snake sannin let out a tsk as he threw the page of Konohagakure's latest movements away, scowling at the bad news on the page. Not only was Yuriko Uchiha virtually untouchable within Konoha, and even when she left Konoha, she alone would be enough to fight him and anyone else he brought along.

Well, if he brought enough along, than by sheer numbers he may be able to take her, killing being the only way that would work, but the numbers needed for such a task would make his actions very noticable. Which was a bad idea as it seemed Yuriko took after Tobirama as a Hokage with a proactive approach, but without the idiotic paranoia and mild ineptitude when it came to dealing with civilians and clans she disliked.

"Orochimaru-sama, they are ready," Kabuto reported as he stepped into the room.

"Good," he grunted out in reply as he stood up and followed his assistant into a raised platform where several cells were arranged semi-circularly around an open area. "Greetings to all of you," he called out in greeting, a wide grin on his face. "Today, each of you were chosen for a special purpose, and a reward."

He spread his arms out to them. "The one who remains standing out of all of you, shall get to leave this place a free man," he announced, getting a reaction from the imprisoned individuals. "The doors shall open soon, and when they do, use everything at your disposal to survive."

True to his words, the doors slid open, allowing their prisoners to walk free as they began a vicious melee with one another. "Any moves from the Akatsuki?" he questioned Kabuto as he took a seat to watch the proceedings.

"Not to many at this time," Kabuto admitted with a shrug. "They seem to be looking for a new recruit to replace Kazuku still, but… Hidan keeps killing them."

"Hardly a surprise. Hidan doesn't know restraint when it comes to that ridiculous 'god' of his." the Snake Sannin chuckled darkly. "It won't be long before they do find someone to take the place of Kakuzu that Hidan can't kill, though. Make certain that I am informed when that happens, Kabuto."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto confirmed, leaning his head out of the way as a bit of gray matter flew up at them. "What do you think of this batch?"

Orochimaru scowled in response, his expression darkening. "They are not what I desire," he growled, gripping the armrests of the chair tightly. "It is infuriating, to have what I want in arms reach, but unable to grasp it, was there any progress with the cloning?"

"No, every time, there is a flaw in their genetics," Kabuto replied with a sigh. "It looks like it is something that is not to be."

"Well, keep them in stasis at least," the sannin said, frowning deeply. "They will make good cannon fodder at the very least,"

"That is true," Kabuto agreed with a smile. "Even if they are flawed, they still have a sharingan that they are capable of using."

Orochimaru nodded in agreement as the last body fell dead in the arena below them.

Smirking, Orochimaru stood up, and vaulted over the railing, landing before the lone survivor easily, even in his weakened state. "Congratulations," he purred to the survivor, a female with a lean build. "What is your name?"

"Hisui," the woman stated simply, staring at him with challenging eyes. "I can go now, yeah?"

"Of course," he assured gently as he activated his jutsu. "Your body will be leaving, but with me within it."

Hisui's eyes widened as he began to transform, taking on his true form as a multi-headed white snake, composed of numerous other snakes. She prepared to flee from the sannin before freezing in place as the [Living Corpse Reincarnation] took hold.

After a few moments his previous body collapsed and his new body opened its eyes to reveal yellow serpentine eyes. "Come, Kabuto," he called out to his second in command. "There is still work to be done."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto replied as he appeared next to his master and followed him out of the arena, leaving the old body to rot.

END CHAPTER!