Naruto 144

Title: Pursuers

*step* *step*
Naruto: Hey! Hey! Ero-Sennin!/What'chu gonna teach me 'dis time, exactly?!
Jiraiya: {...Ero-Sennin...} You don't know how aaaaaawesome I am, do you?/Listen up.
Naruto: ?
Jiraiya: The Hermit of Toads is just a cover name! To hide what? No one else but me!/The white-haired child and Toad user from the Sannin. Those who have no match North and South, East and West!/The Casanova whose name even silences crying children!/Yeeeeaaahh I'm Jiraiya-samaaaa! That's me, baby!!

Naruto: ......./Duuuuuuuuuhhhh.........
*step*step*
Jiraiya: ......
*chirp*chirp*

Naruto: Hey! Hey! Hey! Tell me.../...if an awesum' Ero-Sennin like you takes me along in his travels, that's gotta be a sign, right?
Jiraiya: Dang... Don'tcha geddit already?.... It's Jiraiya....
Naruto: Means I'm like: super talented./That right?
Jiraiya: .......
Naruto: C'mon, c'mon!/Why did you chose me?*trample* *trample*Gotta be sum' kinda whoopin' Sennin-class jutsu only people like me can be initiated to./Hee hee hee hee (snicker)....
Jiraiya: .......

Jiraiya: See... Yondaime Hokage used to be my disciple, back in the day./ And you kinda look like him strangely enough.......//And well... That's 'bout the only reason, ya know.
Naruto: {I look like Yondaime...}

[Flashback]Naruto: Kakashi-sensei! Wanna learn Chidoriiiii!
Sakura: ...Thank you, Sasuke-kun..../This time, you've rescued me again. From that hand of sand.
Sasuke: ..../Nope......
Sakura: Eh?
Sasuke: !//Naruto saved you.
Naruto: GNNNNNN
Sakura: Ooh lalaaaa. You're being humble agaaaain, Sasuke-kuuuuun/Naruto's getting stronger too, that's true. But that Sand guy...
Sasuke: I'm not making this up.

Sasuke: He fought against death itself like a madman to protect you/He showed strength like he'd never done before.
Sakura: ...... {...Naruto...}
Naruto: MmmMMMphHH. CHIDORIIIIII. C'MOOOON
Sakura: ........
*swish*

[/Flashback]*pant *pant*
Sasuke: {I couldn't do anything...}
*POW*

Sasuke: {Naruto's improving abnormally fast...}/{Compared to what he was like at the Academy... He used to be called a dropout... His growth is unbelievable...}//{I've been watching him closely, so I know... He's hiding some kind of terrific power...}/{Sometimes... It even gets frightening...}
*pant*
Sasuke: {Uzumaki Naruto...}/{Just who are you exactly?}//{What.... What will it take for me to get stronger?}

Kisame: You should be able to take him down one one way or another, but I don't know how I'd fare.../We aren't in the same league.
Itachi: Yeah...If we face him, the both of us might get killled./Or we'll pull off a mutual strike down if we do well./...Even coming in greater numbers might not make much of a change.
Kisame: We thought we'd finally found him at the ramen shop... But his baby-sitter just had to be one of the Legendary Sannin./Even the names of Konoha's Uchiha clan and that of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist pale before an adversary like him.
Itachi: True... But....
Kisame: .......
Itachi: No matter how strong someone is, they'll have some kind of weakness....

Guy: Looks like our fellas haven't found Naruto yet.
Asuma: ... But ain't that weird? They'd already set foot into the village.//Finding Naruto in this village should be easy....Itachi knows what Naruto looks like.
Guy: Shhh!
*clack*
Sasuke: Kakashi...//!

Sasuke: .......What's Kakashi lying in bed for?/And why is there an assembly of Jounin here?... What on earth just happened?
Guy: ...Mmm... Nothing. Nothing at all.
Raidou (?):I heard some talk about Itachi's return, is that true...?!/And he'd be after Naruto, too.....*CLACK*
Raidou: .....Uh oh!
Kurenai: Moron......
Guy: Shoot....

*TAP* *rush*
Guy: Why did that have to happen?*rush*
*zip* *zip*
Sasuke: {He's back in the village?}//{And he's after Naruto, at that?!}/{What's the meaning of this?}
*cchhrrrr*

Sasuke: {Anyway... If Naruto falls into this guy's hands, he's done for!!}*flap*
Teuchi: !
Sasuke: {I won't let that happen!}/Gramps! I take it Naruto came here around noon! Do you know where he went after that?
Teuchi: Aah. Naruto, eh?/Eeer, yes... JIraiya-san came and they ate ramen together...//Where'd he say he was goin' next..../Uuhh... To an inn street in a pleasure quarter not too far from the village, something like that..../Naruto left with Jiraiya-san and went along with him.
Sasuke: Jiraiya?!
Teuchi: Yeah, Jiraiya from the prodigious Sannin.../Well, he just looks like some large, white haired old man, though.

*step*
Teuchi: Hey!//... Dang it.../If you're gonna ask something from someone, at least order a meal, for politeness' sake!!
Naruto: There' something weird about this town...
*wave* *wave*
Jiraiya: Naruto... Today, we're staying here!//!

*brush* *hip* *hip*
Naruto & Jiraiya: AAAAAAAAAAH!!
Jiraiya: {Maaaan, this is my chance!}*step* *step*NARUTOoOoo!
Naruto: Mhhhhh!
Jiraiya: You take this. It's the room's key!/Go ahead and practice chakra-kneading there! Go!*clink**pat*
Naruto: EHHHH!!/You gonna pull the "Leave grown-up business to grown-ups" on me, right? You dirty Ero-Sennin!!

Sasuke: {If I'm in the right town, then it shouldn't be too far...!}
Naruto: It's like always! Always the same thing with Ero-Sennin, fer cryin' out loud!!/{Wonder if he's interested at all in watching over my training...}
Sasuke: Sheesh...!/There's quite a lot of them! I'll have to look around one at a time!}
Attendant: !
Sasuke: Do you have a silly-looking blong guy about my age/and a large white-haired old man staying here?!
Attendant: ......Uuuuuuuum

Attendant: Aah! Them? I think they're indeed stationed here.
Sasuke: What's the room?!
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
Naruto: !
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
Naruto: What is it?! He's been dumped already, so he's back?*brush* *step* *step*
*KNOCK *KNOCK*
*CLANK*
*SLAM*
Sasuke: NARUTO!

Boy: *startle*
Sasuke: {Wrong...}
Naruto: Yeah, yeah, coming!*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *clank*{Stop the ruckus already!}

*grrrr*
Naruto: !