16Kame Sennin: The Monkey and the Fox
AN: This is a Dragon Ball crossover using some characters from the show, but wholly set in the Naruto universe. I hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Dragon Ball. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Akira Toriyama respectively.
Chapter 1
Jiraiya smiled as the gates of Konoha came into view. The toad sage had been away from his home for six years. It had been too painful at first to remain after his apprentice and the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze had died sealing the Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon fox, into his newborn son and Jiraiya's godson, Naruto. It was also a turbulent time for the village, and as the Sandaime Hokage had assured Jiraiya that he would keep Naruto safe, he knew it was important to maintain his spy network around the Elemental Nations. In these times they both knew that any sign of weakness from Konoha could mean yet more war, and after the Kyuubi's attack on the village, they could ill afford it.
The toad sage was looking forward to checking up on his godson, and also getting in some all important research at Konoha's hot springs. As he passed through the gates the chuunin gatekeepers knew full well who he was so allowed him to pass through without incident. After the time spent on the road Jiraiya knew exactly what he needed first, so he set off for the hot springs, notebook in hand, giggling in anticipation at the thought of research. The author of Icha Icha was back in Konoha, where he personally thought the finest specimens were to be found.
Naruto Uzumaki walked through the streets of his home. Once again he'd found some kids at the park to play with, and once again the parents of those kids had ushered them away from Naruto, while shooting him looks of anger, disgust and hatred. While the looks hurt the six year old boy, he was used to them, receiving them on the streets every time he ventured forth from his apartment, but the glares didn't hurt as much as the loneliness. He'd been kicked out of the orphanage a little over a year ago, and while his Jiji, the Sandaime Hokage, had got him his apartment and a monthly stipend, he missed having other children his age to play with.
'Why, why do they look at me like that, and not let the others play with me?' he thought as he looked defiantly at the citizens who glared at him. He remembered the first birthday he'd spent out of the orphanage, which occurred the same day as the Kyuubi festival. At first he'd been amazed at the sights, things he'd only ever heard about, and had always wanted to see. Games, food stands, merchants and traders peddling their wares, fireworks, lights and people having fun. At first he'd been furtive, trying to not be seen by the villagers, until one drunken civilian had spotted him. Naruto's delight at the festival had soon turned into the most terrifying experience in the young boy's life, as a huge mob stirred up by the villager had taken to chasing Naruto, wielding an assortment of weapons they made no secret about what they were for. It was thanks to two ANBU, Dog and Weasel that he'd been saved.
The two agents had seemingly appeared between the mob and the boy, and in no uncertain terms told the villagers that if they continued their pursuit, they would receive injuries so severe they'd wish they were dead. Dog had then taken the terrified 5 year old to the Hokage. his Jiji. Once again the Hokage had comforted the boy, cursing the fact that he couldn't tell him any of the answers to the questions he had. After that night, Naruto had never been chased again, but the looks of hatred he received were intensified.
This afternoon was a particularly warm day, and he looked longingly at a man and his son. The man had brought a double ice lolly and snapped it in two, giving the other half to his son. Naruto looked on, wanting the acknowledgement and love the man gave to his son, more than the lolly. For someone like him, who had never known the love of a parent, or of anyone, he'd do anything to receive that kind of attention.
Naruto caught the eye of the man at that moment, and where moments ago they had looked with pride, love and adoration at his son, when they fixed on Naruto, they became filled with loathing and fear. The man grabbed his child by the arm and marched away with his son, casting an occasional hate filled glare at Naruto. His eyed filled with tears he went to turn away, only to stop when he saw a tall and eccentric looking man standing in front of him.
As he took in the man's appearance, from his wooden geta sandals, to the large scroll on his back, the strange horned forehead protector on his head and the unruly mane of long white hair, his eyes fell to the man's hand, in which he was holding an ice lolly exactly the same as the one the man from before had bought. He turned his tear filled eyes to the man's face and was shocked when instead of the hatred and disgust he saw in every other villagers eyes whenever they looked at him, this man's eyes held warmth and kindness. The strange man broke the lolly in two, licked the half he was holding and offered the other half to Naruto.
"Here you go kid. I saw you looking at the one that man had," Jiraiya said to Naruto. Whilst he smiled at Naruto, inside he felt a fury and anger that had only intensified the longer he had spent following his godson around the village. It was only after seeing the sadness on the young boys face that he had finally snapped, and could bear it no longer. He'd meant to talk to the Hokage first, before confronting his godson, but that had gone out of the window as he saw the way he was looked at and treated. In that moment he felt as though he'd do anything, if only to get the boy to smile.
"Thank you mister," Naruto replied as he took the lolly in Jiraiya's hand before licking it himself. Tears threatened at the corners of his eyes once more, but this time they were tears of joy. Not only did the lolly taste good, but this man had not only given it to him, he'd done so with no trace of the way the villager's usually looked at him.
"I'm guessing you don't receive many gifts from the villagers right kid?" Jiraiya questioned, already knowing the answer.
"No sir, the villagers don't like me, and I don't know why. I don't even have any friends." He said the last part in almost a whisper. He didn't know why he was telling the man this, but after a life starved of affection like he'd had, the first person to show some kindness was bound to gain some trust from the boy.
"Tell you what then kid," Jiraiya knelt down in front of Naruto and placed his hand on his head. "I'll be your friend."
"Really?" Naruto looked up at Jiraiya in shock.
"Yeah, why not. I may be quite a bit older than you, but who says friends have to be the same age?" At this Naruto burst into tears and accepted the hug that Jiraiya offered. He didn't see the look of anger on Jiraiya's face. Anger at the villagers for treating the son of their saviour the way they did, even though they didn't know it, and anger at his sensei for allowing the villagers to not only know about what he held within him, but for allowing the villagers to get away with treating him the way they did. He schooled his features before breaking the hug so Naruto wouldn't see his anger.
"Come on kid. Let's get you home, eh? It will be getting dark soon."
Jiraiya began to walk with Naruto down the streets of the village towards the apartment block he'd seen him come out of earlier that afternoon. As they walked down the street, Naruto saw the villager's look at the man he was with with respect, before he saw the surprise in their faces as they looked down and saw Naruto with him.
'Who is this man?' he thought to himself, 'they don't look at me the way they usually do when I'm with him.'
"Excuse me mister?" said the boy, "but if you're gonna be my friend, shouldn't I know your name?"
Jiraiya chuckled at that and stopped outside the building that Naruto lived in. He glanced around and saw the streets were emptying as the sun went down towards the horizon. He then began his introduction, as he took on various poses, "I am Mount Myouboku's Monk of the Toad spirits. Also known as the Toad Sage, the great Jiraiya of the Sannin!" As Jiraiya said this he summoned a small toad around twice the size of himself to stand on. Naruto meanwhile looked on with no small amount of awe.
"Wow. Does this mean you're a shinobi Jiraiya-san?" Naruto asked.
"Yes. And don't worry about the san kid. No honorifics between friends." Jiraiya replied, jumping off the summon as it was dispelled, "and I'm not only a shinobi kid, but I'm one of the greatest in all the village, maybe second only to the Hokage himself."
"You mean you're almost as strong a shinobi as Jiji? He asked in awe.
"Well, he was my sensei when I was a kid."
Naruto could only gape in amazement. This man was a student of the Hokage. No wonder the villagers looked at this man the way they did. And this man wanted to be his friend? It all felt a little unreal to the boy right then.
"So you're interested in shinobi then?"
"Yes. I want to be a great shinobi myself one day. I wanna be the hokage, then all the villagers will have no choice but to acknowledge and respect me, believe it"
Jiraiya frowned for a moment then looked down and smiled at the boy. "Perhaps in the future, I could train you. After all, I trained the Fourth."
This was all too much for Naruto, who was rendered speechless by this. Not only was Jiraiya saying that he might train Naruto one day, but he also trained the Fourth Hokage, one of Naruto's idols. The boy had heard the villagers talking from time to time about how the Fourth had single-handedly forced Iwakagure, a rival shinobi village, to surrender in the last war. Then a few short years later, he had defeated the Kyuubi and saved the village at the cost of his own life.
Jiraiya could see how much of an effect his words had on the boy, and correctly deduced that he knew who the Fourth was. "So you know how great a shinobi the Fourth was?"
Naruto nodded, his blue eyes shining. "I wanna be a hokage just like the Fourth. He's the reason I wanna be a shinobi, and protect the village just like he did. Jiji said I can join the shinobi academy next year, then I can become a great shinobi and hokage."
Jiraiya nodded his mind already working. He could understand the boy's hopes and dreams but he could also see how the almost toxic environment he had to endure in the village may one day turn the boy's thoughts the wrong way. That drive to protect the village may be eroded away by the villager's neglect and hatred, and Jiraiya wanted to avoid that at all costs. It was time to go and see his old sensei.
"Tell you what kid. I'll be by tomorrow and we'll go do something. Maybe even give you a little start in your training. "
"Wow. You really mean that Jiraiya-san?"
"Yes. And remember what I said about saying san?"
"Sorry Jiraiya."
"Heh. No problem kid. I'll be by sometime in the morning. Good night, Naruto." Jiraiya said.
"Good night Jiraiya," replied Naruto before Jiraiya left in a shunshin. "Wait a second, how did he know my name?"
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat in his office. As the sun went down behind him he finished the last of his paperwork, before pulling out his pipe, lighting it and then pulling on it contentedly.
He felt the presence behind him entering the window. He knew who it was, having been informed by the gate guards who had entered the village that morning. "Jiraiya-kun?"
"Sensei." Hearing the lack of warmth in his tone, Hiruzen turned his chair round, to see Jiraiya sitting on the window sill, a frown on his face.
"It's good to see you back in the village. What's with the frown?" Jiraiya looked up at his sensei, and the old Sarutobi was shocked to see the beginnings of anger on his one-time student's face.
"Can we speak alone, sensei?" Jiraiya asked with the same anger still in his expression. With a gesture from the hokage, the ANBU guards left the office.
"Guess who I spent some time with today?" The toad sage asked.
Hiruzen quickly thought of who Jiraiya could've met in the village to elicit that kind of response, before he correctly guessed that it was not the person he met that made him angry, rather the treatment said person received. "Ah. Naruto-kun." He said it like a statement rather than a question. Who else in the village would Jiraiya have decided to look for?
"Why? I know you couldn't let it be public knowledge of his parentage. What with Iwa and their grudge against Minato, but why does the village all seem to know of what he carries?"
"You know it was Minato's intention for Naruto to be seen as a hero?" Hiruzen began. Jiraiya nodded. "Well, it was because of this that the older shinobi population was told, in the hopes that they would understand. It was never my intent for the civilian population to know, as I've heard how jinchuriki are treated in the rest of the world. Civilians of course are ignorant of most shinobi techniques, fuuinjutsu perhaps more than others, so I knew they would never understand that the Kyuubi being sealed in Naruto does not mean he is the Kyuubi. It seems that my hopes were misguided as some of our shinobi felt it was fine to inform the civilians what he carries. The ones who let it be known were dealt with, but the damage was unfortunately done. I made it an S-class secret, punishable by death, to reveal what Naruto-kun carries, in the hopes that those of his generation would give him a clean slate, and view him as the boy he is, rather than the demon he carries."
Jiraiya seemed unpacified by this however. "Sensei, I watched him for only two hours. I saw him playing at the park. When the parents of the kids he was playing with saw who they were with, they took their children and left, telling them not to play with him, that he was bad news and they shouldn't even go near him. Clean slate? Not while the parents know. They may not reveal the secret, but he still remains ostracised by them. It broke my heart when I saw the look on his face. I followed him as he walked down the street. The looks that poor boy got from the general population. In the end I could take it no longer, so I revealed myself to him. That boy's smile could light up a room but those ignorant bastards out there won't see that. Every day they spit on the sacrifice Minato made for them. Yet, for all that, the kid dreams of protecting the very village that hates him. It makes me so angry." Jiraiya turned and looked at the darkening village out the window.
Hiruzen sighed sadly and breathed out a cloud of smoke. "I know Jiraiya, I see this happening every day, yet I can do no more than I have done. I give him a stipend every month so he can buy food, I visit when I can but I have so much work to do, that it isn't as often as I'd like. I even made sure to buy him an apartment after he was thrown out by the orphanage."
Jiraiya whirled round, outrage on his face, "They did what?"
"They wouldn't let him in one night. The ANBU brought him to me. I made sure that the ones at the orphanage responsible for this were punished accordingly. I couldn't execute them unfortunately, but I'm sure they wished they were in the end."
"Ibiki?" Jiraiya questioned.
"Yes," replied the hokage.
"Sensei, if Naruto is made to live in this village for much longer, I can see him losing what faith he has in this village. If he was to do so, you know what a loss that would be, not to mention Minato is likely turning in his grave at how his son is treated."
"I know Jiraiya-kun," said Hiruzen, "but what more can I do?"
"Nothing," replied the toad sage. "You should do nothing more. As you say, there isn't much you can do, but me however, I can do a lot."
"Go on," said Hiruzen, intrigued at what Jiraiya had planned.
"Let me take him out of the village with me when I leave'" said Jiraiya, "I can make sure he is trained and ready to return when he is 12, the age most students graduate from the academy. That way, he is unlikely to turn against the village if he is away from the hate directed at him."
"I would be okay with that, apart from two things. First of all, Danzo," Hiruzen warned.
"Tell the old bastard that 'his jinchuriki' is being trained by a Sannin, the best of the best, so his loyalty and abilities are not gonna be an issue at all," advised the toad sage. "Your second point?"
"My second, and most important objection is you, yourself," said Hiruzen.
"And what on earth is that supposed to mean?" questioned Jiraiya.
"The original reason you said you couldn't take care of Naruto. "Your spy network. Bringing a young child into potentially dangerous situations, Minato's son no less, is impossible. We need the information you give us. The village's safety and prosperity is dependant on it."
"Ah, but I didn't say I'd need to give up my job for the village. I have an idea who could train Naruto when I'm not around to do so," said Jiraiya as he took up a thinking pose. "I wouldn't even need to take him out of the Land of Fire. In fact, not only does the old man owe me, thanks to the special edition signed Icha Icha collection I gave him when I found out he'd moved back to this country and the camouflage jutsu I taught him so he could peep on the hot springs, he's even training another jinchuriki, the same age as Naruto as a matter of fact."
"Suna's jinchuriki is still there as far I know. He's the only one around Naruto's age."
"Not any more," smiled Jiraiya, "turns out the Yonbi is in a new host, and Iwa have no idea who or where."
"Roshi," breathed the hokage, "what happened to Roshi?
"It seems Iwa betrayed him, and the man had a son. Part of the reason I know where he is. I was asked to help seal the Yonbi into it's new container. Another favour I'm owed by the man. Seems his sister wasn't around to do it herself."
"And Roshi?" asked Hiruzen.
Jiraiya turned sombre once more. "Dead, hence the need for a new container. I'm not sure what the full story is, but suffice to say, there is only one person who he trusted to take care of his son, and the bijuu he now contains. The one who his parents named him after."
Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya, eyes wide with astonishment. "He's here, in the Land of Fire?"
Jiraiya nodded. "The one place Iwa fear to look. I'll take Naruto to be trained by the only sage now living greater than myself. The Kame Sennin!"
AN: All will be explained. As I said, this is a Dragon Ball crossover so expect to see some familiar characters, but no Saiayans, dragon balls or aliens (even though we now know they do exist in this world after all). Reviews and comments are appreciated, even flames as long as they're constructive. This is my first story so let me know how I'm doing so far.
Cheers!
