Coming and Going Freely

She ran frantically until she reached a deserted training ground, where she finally gave out and collapsed, sobbing in anguish as she poured out the pain of losing the one she loved.

She never noticed the pair of yellow eyes with slit pupils watching her from a tree above.

Unknown Location

Ten figures stood on the ten fingers of a massive stone statue, all wearing long black cloaks embroidered with red clouds. Suddenly, a huge plantlike creature emerged from the nearby wall.

"Leader, we may have a problem." The plant spoke, splitting down the middle to reveal a man whose face was half black and half white.

"What is it, Zetsu?" a tall man asked from the shadows. His metallic purple eyes had tiny, dotlike pupils surrounded by four concentric rings.

"It's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," White Zetsu said.

"He was just killed by Sasuke Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi," Black Zetsu added.

At those words, most of those present turned toward the Uchiha among them.

"Hey, isn't that your little brother, Itachi? He actually managed to beat that Nine-Tails brat? That little bastard pulled one over on us before," Kisame Hoshigaki said.

"He left the village to join Orochimaru. The Nine-Tails brat took a few Konoha ninja to chase them. The second stage of his Cursed Seal was powerful enough to let him fight evenly with Naruto, even with his One-Tail Cloak active. Naruto Uzumaki really was strong. Being able to manifest two tails without losing control at his age was quite remarkable. Unfortunately, after defeating Sasuke, he withdrew the Nine-Tails cloak. That was when Kabuto appeared. The brat was already exhausted and couldn't defend himself, but he still refused to abandon his mission. Kabuto tortured him, and then the Uchiha finished him off and threw him into the river." Black and White Zetsu took turns recounting what had happened.

"Hey, Sasori, isn't that your spy? You should've picked me, Tobi, to be your spy instead! I'm a good boy. I'd never kill a jinchūriki we were supposed to capture!" the man in the orange mask said, hopping up and down.

"Shut up, Tobi. I ordered him to obey all of Orochimaru's instructions without question. I never expected him to be stupid enough to kill the Nine-Tails' vessel," Sasori said coldly, clearly displeased that his target was gone just like that.

"Are you sure he's dead? Did you see the body?" the leader suddenly asked.

"No, Leader. You previously ordered us not to approach or capture him, only to observe him, so we didn't confirm whether he was alive or dead," Zetsu replied immediately.

"Then go look for him now. Gather information in Konoha. If you find him and circumstances permit, attempt to capture him. Remember, you may only act if he's alone and unconscious," the leader ordered.

Zetsu bowed, then slipped back into the wall and disappeared. The leader told the others that the plan remained unchanged. Only one man was distracted throughout, thinking that he might have made a terrible mistake. Foolish little brother.

Two days later

Tsunade sat in her office. The search teams had returned empty-handed, reporting that they had found no trace of Naruto. She had no choice but to call off the search.

"So, he's just gone, is he?" a voice came from the window.

"Jiraiya... where did you go? Where were you when Naruto needed you? Off writing your damned Icha Icha? Now he's dead!" Tsunade snarled through gritted teeth. Every word seemed laced with poison, meant to cut the lecherous Toad Sage as deeply as possible.

But Jiraiya merely sat there with his eyes closed, as though considering what to say about his departed student. "You know, Naruto was never a boy who did things the usual way," the old Toad Sage began slowly.

"What are you talking about? Jiraiya, spit it out, now!" Tsunade's fists trembled uncontrollably with rage.

"Put it this way: any normal person with injuries like his-deep cuts all over his face and arms, split lips, internal bleeding, and finally two Chidori strikes to the chest-would have been long dead." A thoughtful expression crossed Jiraiya's face.

"How do you know all that? You even know every detail... did you find his body? Where is it?" Tsunade demanded sharply.

"Oh, he's safe now," the white-haired man said.

"Safe? Give him to me! We need to hold his funeral. I want to see him myself!" Tsunade ordered.

"Mm, no." The sage's answer was simple and blunt.

"What did you say?!" the Hokage roared, nearly lunging forward to beat the old pervert.

"I said no. You see, a normal person who came that close to death so many times would never have survived. But Naruto has never been normal, has he?" Jiraiya said cryptically.

"What are you talking about..." Tsunade had barely asked before her eyes went wide as she realized what he meant. He's still alive!

"Where is he, Jiraiya? He's a Konoha ninja. He can't leave the village without my permission! I want him back. The village needs him!" she said, smiling for the first time since she had seen that torn vest.

"Actually, you should know he doesn't need your permission. Our teacher established a rule back then: we Sannin may choose our own students, and our students have the same freedom to enter and leave the village that we do," Jiraiya said.

"I know that rule, but what does it have to do with you refusing to bring Naruto back to the village?" Tsunade still looked puzzled, but she kept smiling. The boy she treated as her little brother despite sharing no blood with him was still alive.

"I can't believe you've forgotten. Isn't that exactly what you did when you wandered around with Shizune all those years?" Jiraiya teased. Seeing the girl he had secretly loved his whole life finally smile, he felt relieved too.

"I still don't understand." The Hokage's patience was wearing thin.

"I'm taking Naruto away from the village to train, just as you took Shizune and Orochimaru took Anko. As the Sannin's disciples, as long as we remain loyal to the village, we can enter and leave Konoha freely, coming and going as we please. Unless you can find us and have a legitimate reason, you have no authority to order us back. I'm taking Naruto with me now. Once I've finished teaching him, he'll be as strong as I am, perhaps even stronger. You can try to find us if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it. After all, to reach that place, you have to know the way. See you in a few years, Princess Tsunade."