Later that night in the hotel room, Jiraiya blinked and looked over at Naruto, who was up reading from a scroll.
"You don't really have your father's savings in a scroll with you at all times, do you?"
Naruto paused halfway through the hand-copied notes of fuinjutsu.
"It took you that long to figure that out?"
Jiraiya went silent for a full minute.
"Y-you…. You actually bet with Tsunade without having the money you wagered on hand?"
"I never said it was money. I said it was my father's life savings, she assumed I meant money and ran with it."
Naruto shrugged, not feeling guilty about tricking a woman with alcohol and gambling problems.
"So what's in that scroll? Nothing of your father's, right?"
Naruto raised a brow.
"Wrong again. What I have in the scroll is the lifetime of notes copied into a code that Kakashi-sensei and I came up with."
Jiraiya gaped.
"So even if she wins…. What about your wallet?"
Naruto chuckled.
"There's enough for the normal person to gamble, but from what you've told me about her, it won't last long at all."
"She's going to be furious."
Jiraiya groaned, just thinking about the time Tsunade nearly killed him for peeping. This boy was messing with something sacred to Tsunade.
"Only if she 'miraculously' wins the bet."
Naruto smirked, using the word as it was used when the bet was placed.
"She won't win."
Jiraiya groaned, reaching over and turning off the lamp beside his bed.
"I'm going to try to get rest."
Naruto studied for a few hours into the night before getting up early and leaving a note for Jiraiya, heading for an open field where he'd notice anyone before they could try anything.
Crossing his fingers, fifty shadow clones appeared in the clearing and silently got to work on the wind release Rasengan.
- With Kakashi -
Walking away from the bustle of the village, Kakashi made his way to training ground seven before holding out his right arm, a crow landing on his forearm a moment later, with a note held in its beak.
"Thank you."
Kakashi took the note and gently rubbed the crow's head, the bird giving a soft 'caw' before flying off.
On the note was a location to meet up, nothing else.
'Hmm, Itachi doesn't seem the type to try to set me up…'
Kakashi thought about it, wondering if he should send a clone before dismissing the idea. If he were too cautious to go in person, then it wouldn't exactly convey confidence. Kakashi knew it was the ninja thing to send a clone, but he felt Itachi was testing him.
Kakashi created a shadow clone, leaving it in the village as he left without anyone knowing, running for a couple of hours to the meeting place, a small farming village that merchants often buy off.
Expanding his senses to envelop the town and beyond, Kakashi felt the two signatures of Itachi and Kisame.
With a transformation that made him look like a nondescript farm boy, Kakashi made his way through the streets and into the woods where Kisame and Itachi were, dropping the transformation.
Kakashi glanced at Kisame, the question obvious to Itachi, who shook his head.
'He didn't have to use Kotoamatsukami then, good.'
"I'm assuming you want something better to go off than just my word?"
The two stayed quiet, waiting.
Kakashi nodded and lifted his headband, the Sharingan swirling into the Mangekyo.
Kisame grinned, not expecting this.
"So, you have a crazy eye as well."
"Yes, but it's part of the example. I know Itachi has witnessed the jutsu that this 'Madara' uses to become intangible, but have you, Kisame?"
"Intangible? I thought he could just teleport."
Kisame replied, looking to Itachi to see him confirm Kakashi's words with a nod.
"Then look closely."
Kakashi looked at the sky.
'Kamui'
A spiraling whirlpool-like distortion appeared in the sky, and Itachi's eyes widened, Kisame recognizing the sound and technique as well.
"The one playing Madara is my former teammate, Obito Uchiha. He gave me this eye when he was near death after I lost mine jumping in front of an attack meant for him. He was crushed by rocks, but either someone saved him, or his Mangekyo awakened, and he saved himself."
Kakashi mixed truth with speculation, not wanting to delve too deeply into who or how Obito was saved.
"And the reason he is controlling the Fourth Mizukage is that his childhood crush's death was somewhat caused by Kiri."
Kakashi once more mixed some truth with a lie, but it was convincing enough not to be seen through.
"Do you remember your Genin teammates, Itachi? Remember how he left before I could get there?"
Kisame was for once speechless, no shark-like grins, no words were coming to mind.
'He did all that because a childhood crush died?'
Itachi, meanwhile, was thinking back to how fast the masked man had left, and Kakashi arriving moments later. It lined up. Maybe Kakashi's eye was a counter?
"Take some time to think about it, but don't take too long, Itachi. You're not exactly blessed with all the time to decide."
Kakashi spoke up, wondering if he should warn them of Zetsu.
"And just a warning, if you think you're alone and want to discuss what you've learned, don't. Leave the discussion for when you're with me. I am a sensor, as you two might have guessed."
They nodded and agreed not to speak about anything, regardless of how safe they think they are.
"Good, that should be enough from me. Have your answer soon, Itachi. I suspect Tsunade will return to the village soon. I can speak on your behalf and ask her to examine you. If she doesn't agree, I have other options, but she's the first."
Kakashi turned and jumped away, back towards Konoha.
"That guy is a bit frightening, to come here himself and even spill some things that he shouldn't know. It's interesting."
Kisame smirked, liking this guy more.
Itachi stood there for a moment before turning and leaving the area alongside Kisame.
"We have to report the failure to capture the nine-tails to the leader."
- With Naruto -
Resting under the tree after hours of training, Naruto heard the sound of Jiraiya's geta sandals and looked over to see him carrying a couple of bowls of ramen with chopsticks.
"I figured you'd be hungry."
Jiraiya sat against the trunk on the other side of the tree after handing Naruto both Ramen bowls.
"Thanks, but are you not going to have any?"
"I already had some at the stand, Tsunade was there too. She tried to sound uninterested, but she was digging for information about how you were doing."
Jiraiya chuckled.
"Is she that worried about the bet?"
"Something like that."
Jiraiya deflected, not wanting to tell Tsunade's story and how Naruto reminded her too much of a mix of Nawaki and Dan.
"Well, she should just relax, whatever happens happens."
Jiraiya grinned with a hint of pride leaking into his voice.
"Spoken like a true sage."
Naruto took his time eating the ramen; the wind and silence were good for the body and soul. The soft sounds of birds chirping, the clouds overhead slowly changing shape.
'Maybe Shikamaru was onto something.'
Naruto let himself relax for about an hour longer before he got back to work, standing and creating the fifty-shadow clones.
Jiraiya watched for a bit before he left with a smile, heading to the hot springs, not knowing the hot springs wouldn't be what he was expecting. The town's hot spring was always full of the elderly and was mixed, and while Jiraiya got to peep, he didn't really enjoy what he witnessed for the first time, going back to the hotel with the image of the saggy parts of both the older men and women.
'Never going there again.'
- Chapter End -
1.3k words. A bit smaller compared to the last two chapters, but I wanted to take some time to slow it down a bit. I feel like I'm going too fast. Let me know.