Jiraiya was now racing back to Naruto's home as fast as he could, with Senya close behind.
A little over an hour earlier.
Danzo had already received word that Jiraiya had left Naruto's side.
He set off for Naruto's home with Root's Sealing Squad.
Root shinobi surrounded Naruto's house.
They set up the Four Violet Flames Formation, cutting off its connection to the outside world's chakra.
Jiraiya's Shadow Clone sensed the commotion outside and was about to dispel itself with the Shadow Clone Technique so it could pass the news to the real Jiraiya.
Just then, Danzo suddenly appeared behind Jiraiya with the Body Flicker Technique.
He rested his left hand on Jiraiya's Shadow Clone's shoulder.
"Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal!"
Dense black runes immediately wrapped around Jiraiya's Shadow Clone, binding the chakra flow and movement within its body.
"Jiraiya, you're too late. Your Shadow Clone doesn't have enough chakra to resist my Cursed Seal Technique!"
At that moment, Jiraiya's Shadow Clone couldn't even get out the word "Damn" before the Cursed Seal bound him.
Naruto, who had already fallen asleep in bed, was roused by the commotion between Danzo and Jiraiya.
"Hey, Toad Sage, what's going on? You're so noisy..."
Naruto rubbed his eyes and opened them.
He saw Jiraiya standing perfectly still, his whole body bound by black, tadpole-shaped runes.
Behind him stood an old man with a terrifyingly grim expression, staring at Naruto with ill intent.
Fear welled up inside him.
Just then, a sinister, coaxing voice suddenly sounded in Naruto's inner world.
"Naruto... Do you want power..."
"Naruto... Do you want to save your teacher, Jiraiya..."
Naruto opened his eyes and found himself inside an underground passage. The voice came from deep within.
He was filled with fear, but when he thought of Toad Sage outside, in danger, and his master in peril, he summoned his courage and walked down the corridor toward the voice, splashing through the water at his feet.
At the end of the passage, a huge cage door stood before him.
A talisman bearing the character "Seal" was pasted in the center of the door.
Suddenly!
A huge white claw shot through the bars, startling Naruto.
He toppled backward and landed sitting in the puddle.
"Who are you?! Why are you inside me?!"
Naruto asked without thinking.
Bubbles of orange-red chakra seeped between the cage bars, slowly enveloping him.
A huge red, slit-pupiled eye appeared behind the bars. Sharp teeth showed as the creature mocked and continued to tempt Naruto.
"Kid! I'll make an exception this time... I'll let you have a taste of my power!"
Naruto's consciousness was gradually enveloped by the chakra bubbles, and he lost consciousness.
Outside, Naruto suddenly snapped his eyes open!
His eyes had changed from their original bright blue to the Demon Fox's scarlet red, with vertical pupils. The lines on his cheeks lengthened and thickened, the corners of his mouth stretched wider, and his teeth began to sharpen.
The nails on his hands grew longer and sharper.
Orange-red chakra seeped from his navel, enveloping him.
Pain coursed through Naruto's body. Violent, murderous, and hateful emotions began to spread through him.
The darkness and loneliness of his childhood threatened to swallow him. Just as Naruto was about to lose consciousness—
"Ha ha ha! Kid, how could you scare me?! I'm the legendary White-Haired Boy, the Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku! I'm Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin! How could I be scared of a little brat like you? It's just that the wasabi got in my eyes."
"Teuchi, give this kid another extra-large bowl of deluxe pork ramen. I'll treat him to a bowl, too."
"Naruto, the ramen's still hot. Take your time. If you're still hungry, you can have another bowl."
"How about this? You become my apprentice, and I'll teach you how to train. In return, I'll move in with you from now on. What do you say?"
The memories Naruto had made with Jiraiya restored the last trace of reason in him.
"Roar!"
A furious roar burst from Naruto's mouth!
"Don't! Don't you hurt Toad Sage!!"
Naruto sprang up and swiped at Danzo behind Jiraiya.
Danzo immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to evade.
He looked at Naruto, now completely out of control, his eyes brimming with greed and desire.
"That's right! This is the power I wanted! Just a little Nine-Tails Chakra leaking through the seal is already this powerful!"
"Ha ha ha! Hiruzen! The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is mine!"
"Sealing Squad! Move!"
At Danzo's command, twelve members of the Sealing Squad appeared around the room.
"Sealing Jutsu: Sealing Binding Formation!"
The twelve unfurled the scrolls in their hands, sending them toward Naruto's limbs and neck!
In the blink of an eye, Naruto was wrapped in the scrolls and hoisted into the air, with only his head left exposed.
The chakra the Nine-Tails had leaked through the cracks in its seal was sealed away again.
After a series of spasms, Naruto returned to normal.
He continued shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Somebody, help Toad Sage! Save my master!"
Jiraiya's Shadow Clone, trapped by the Cursed Seal Technique, struggled desperately against Danzo's Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal.
But with only the Shadow Clone's chakra, he couldn't break free and could only groan through his mouth.
Danzo formed a hand seal with one hand. Five types of chakra—wind, lightning, earth, fire, and water—appeared on the fingers of his left hand.
"Five Elements Seal!"
He slammed his left hand against Naruto's abdomen!
A burning sensation swept through Naruto's body. The sudden pain in his stomach made him pass out.
Danzo grabbed Naruto and lifted him up.
"Go!"
Outside the house, Root shinobi dispelled the Four Violet Flames Formation and left with Danzo.
Half an hour later, Jiraiya and Senya finally arrived at Naruto's home.
They saw the room in shambles.
The wall had been torn apart by the Nine-Tails Chakra leaking out. Bricks showed through the damaged plaster, cracked, and the reddish-brown boards had been ripped apart...
The Shadow Clone stared anxiously at the real Jiraiya, struggling with all its might.
Jiraiya stabbed the Shadow Clone, trapped inside the house, with a Kunai. It burst into smoke and disappeared.
Its memories poured into Jiraiya's mind along with its chakra.
Jiraiya's expression instantly turned furious!
"Danzo! You damned old bastard! How dare you go after Naruto!"
"No! I'm going to find the old man and demand answers! What the hell happened? What gave Danzo the nerve to do something like this? The old man promised me Naruto was in my care!"
"It won't help. I've already destroyed Root's base. After kidnapping Naruto, Danzo will definitely go into hiding. I'm afraid the next time we see Naruto will be when Danzo makes his move against the Uchiha."
Jiraiya turned and saw Senya looking grave, and felt guilty.
"You're right. There's no point in looking for the old man now. Knowing Danzo, he'll go into hiding."
"I'm sorry. I didn't take good enough care of Naruto, and now he's fallen into Danzo's hands. I've dragged the Uchiha into this, too."
Senya shook his head.
"No, this isn't your fault. I never expected Danzo to go after a Jinchuriki just to deal with the Uchiha! You did nothing wrong. Danzo's the one to blame."
Seeing Jiraiya's apologetic expression, Senya felt a little guilty himself. After all, his own plan had put Jiraiya in this position.
He had already decided how he would make it up to Jiraiya someday: I used you this time, so as compensation, I'll find you a wife and make sure you survive.
That should make up for what he'd put Jiraiya through this time...
Readers, would you rather see the protagonist with Tsunade, or Jiraiya with Tsunade? Leave a comment here!
(The upcoming story is already set. The protagonist won't pass up a single beautiful kunoichi connected to him, and there won't be any other developments. The female characters appearing in the story are Anko, Yuhi Kurenai, Tsunade, Shizune, Yakushi Nonō, Mei Terumi, Hinata, Hanabi, Uchiha Hikari, and Konan. Stay tuned!)
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