Pushing Through the Limit Chapter 72: Rock in a Hard Place

“Got everything that you need?” Jiraiya asked. “Medical supplies for the surgery, smoke bombs in case you need to make a quick escape…” Eyes panning over to Rōshi who wore a hooded cloak, he coughed softly. “Iwa’s Jinchuriki.”

“Right here, asshole,” Rōshi muttered, flipping him off.

“Hey, I’m just making sure you haven’t forgotten yourself,” Jiraiya shrugged. “You never know… Maybe you’re just a clone and the real you decided to stay behind.”

“Please, as if I’d miss the chance to screw with Ōnoki,” Rōshi replied, sounding a little offended.

“That’s why I need to check. You’d really be screwing with him if you sent a clone that dispelled after a few hours,” Jiraiya said.

“Wait, you really think so?”

Blinking dumbly, I glanced at Tsunade who looked just as lost as I was. We’d been in the process of finalizing everything for our trip to Iwa and for some reason, Jiraiya took it upon himself to make sure we had everything that we needed which somehow led to him bonding with the abrasive Jinchuriki.

“That’s enough of that,” Tsunade announced, stepping between the unlikely duo. “Jiraiya, please stop giving Rōshi ideas on how to mess with Ōnoki,” She said, shooting a pointed look towards her teammate before turning to the aforementioned Jinchuriki. “And you…”

“Yeah, I get it,” Rōshi muttered. “Sending a clone would be pointless anyway. I can’t exactly see the look of shock on that old goat's face if I’m not there in person.”

Well, he could if he knew how to use Shadow Clones, but there was no way in hell I’d tell him that.

“That’s not what I was going for, but it works out the same,” Tsunade muttered softly. “Then I guess we’ll be leaving. This shouldn’t take longer than a few hours, so there’s no reason for you to fill in as acting Kage, Jiraiya. My clones will keep things running.”

“Yes!” Jiraiya cheered.

“That being said,” Tsunade continued. “You also won’t be able to appreciate the perks of being a Kage, meaning no using Sensei’s old crystal ball to peek on the hot springs.”

“But what if I…”

“No,” Tsunade stated firmly. “And if you take it anyway, I’ll smash it myself.”

“…Monster,” Jiraiya muttered dramatically, turning away from Tsunade.

Waiting for a few moments to ensure that the conversation was over, I coughed lightly, drawing Tsunade’s attention. “So… Are we all ready to go?”

“May as well,” Tsunade sighed. “Jiraiya, if we’re not back in a few hours… Just wait longer.”

Jiraiya tilted his head to the side. “Wait, what?!”

Letting out a snort of laughter, I grabbed Tsunade and Rōshi’s shoulders, before teleporting to the only marker I had in Iwa.

Tsunade’s office blurred and was immediately replaced by a large, mostly empty room with a window overlooking the village below. Much like Kumo, Iwa was built into a mountain, but instead of building platforms across the mountain peaks, they built their buildings into the mountain itself, excavating large portions of the earth to make more room.

It was almost fitting in a way. The few Iwa Shinobi I’d met were abrasive and stubborn. When faced with a problem, they refused to back down and stubbornly molded their surroundings to suit their needs instead of following the easier path.

It was a little inspiring in a way.

“Finally here,” Ōnoki muttered as he floated over his desk. Glancing between the three of us, his eyes narrowed. “There seems to be one more of you than was expected… However, it’s of no concern to me if you felt you needed to bring another guard.”

Tsunade smirked at the implied insult. “Actually, he’s not one of mine. I brought him here for you.”

“For me?” Ōnoki asked, appearing on edge.

“Long time no see, you old goat,” Rōshi greeted, flipping his hood back. “Good to see that you’re as sharp as ever.”

“Rōshi… But how?”

“It was a team of Konoha Shinobi that saved me,” Rōshi replied. “They managed to track me down and transport me back to Konoha where I received medical treatment.” He stretched lightly. “Haven’t felt this good in years. Say what you want about the Hokage, but she certainly knows how to run things in her village.”

The implication being that Ōnoki was a crap leader. Glancing towards Tsunade, I found her fighting off a smirk at the shock and sheer annoyance the Tsuchikage was experiencing right now.

He couldn’t be angry about it either. Outside of Tsunade coming to heal one of his Shinobi, we were giving him one of his Jinchuriki back… In full health no less.

“The team was really well trained too,” Rōshi continued. “Why, if it had been a lesser team, they likely would have ended up dead. They had a field medic check me out as well, really efficient stuff right there.”

Ōnoki smiled stiffly, looking as if he’d been forced to swallow a lemon. “I see… And the man that abducted you? Uchiha Itachi.”

“Unfortunately, he died in hospital last night,” Tsunade Answered, sighing. “The stress of fighting off the team I sent, along with his wounds were too much. I had his body cremated this morning.”

Locking eyes with Tsunade, Ōnoki smirked. “Hah, I bet he was. I’ll hand it to you, Tsunade, you’re fairly tricky, but what you don’t realize is that I too know about how the Sharingan works. Itachi had a younger brother, didn’t he?”

“Uchiha Sasuke, yes,” Tsunade replied. “I don’t see how that’s relevant though.”

“Then that’s as good of an answer as I need,” Ōnoki finished, looking satisfied with himself. “I can see now why you placed such importance on finding Itachi.”

I did my best to not react to Ōnoki’s theory. If I understood what he was implying, he thought that we retrieved Itachi in order to transplant his eyes into Sasuke, potentially awakening the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan… Not that he knew all of the prerequisite of needing a Mangekyou Sharingan in order to achieve it, that is.

Tsunade was simply going with it, allowing him to think that he’d figured it out.

“Is all of this really necessary?” Tsunade asked. “I was under the impression that I’d be healing one of your Shinobi, instead, you seem to insist on forcing me to listen to your conspiracies. If you’ve changed your mind, we could just leave.”

“Only because you’ve caught me off guard by bringing Rōshi back,” Ōnoki muttered. “But I guess you’re right. I’ll have one of my Shinobi escort you to the hospital. As for you, Rōshi, I trust you remember where you and Han stayed when you were last in the village.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rōshi said, waving Ōnoki off as he headed towards the exit. “I remember where it was. It hasn’t been that long since I was last here.”

“Good,” Ōnoki nodded. “Come by here again tomorrow. You and I have a few things we need to discuss.”

Pausing, Rōshi turned back and smirked. “You want to know what happened, right. I’ll give you the short version here and now so we don’t waste each other’s time. It was the Akatsuki, they attacked me and knocked me out. The next thing I remember is waking up with Uchiha Itachi of all people at my side and that’s pretty much it.”

Narrowing his eyes, Ōnoki relented, not putting up a fight when Rōshi left. It was a little odd to see Ōnoki backing down, the two Iwa Shinobi appeared to be almost perfectly matched with their stubbornness. I guess he realized that now was hardly the time to push the issue, especially when it’d lead to an argument in front of foreign Shinobi.

Calling for one of his subordinates, Ōnoki gestured towards an average looking Shinobi while turning towards Tsunade. “This is Nakami, he’ll be escorting you to the patient. You’ll have the full support of my hospital staff and facilities, use them both as you see fit.”

“I already have all that I need on me,” Tsunade hummed, revealing a storage scroll. “But I appreciate the gesture.”

Ōnoki nodded. “As for you,” He said, turning his gaze towards me. “Hosting a Jinchuriki in a foreign nation is dangerous at the best of times, but I’d be a fool to allow one that’s also capable of using the Hiraishin free reign of my village. Therefore, you’ll be sticking with me until it’s time for you to leave.”

I can’t say that I didn’t see this coming. He wasn’t wrong for being cautious, all it would take is one single hidden Kunai for me to be able to enter his village without his knowledge.

He was likely thinking of the long game. Once the Akatsuki issue was put to rest, the five nations wouldn’t have a reason to stick together. If that was to happen, he’d want any potential security leak to be patched.

The Hiraishin was simply that much of a threat. Outside of killing me, the only way he’d be able to ensure that I couldn’t enter his village unannounced would be to remove any and all markers I’d placed in it.

“Okay,” I shrugged. It wasn’t like I’d be of much use to Tsunade during her operation outside of supplying Chakra and seeing as she was a sage… Yeah, she was good on that front. “Good luck with the surgery. I’ll see you later.”

“Thank you,” She said, smiling softly. “This shouldn’t take too long, so don’t get too comfy.”

Watching as Tsunade was led out of the office, I turned back towards Ōnoki who, with his arms crossed, stared at me expectantly.

“So…” I began. “Are we just going to stare at each other all day or can we head out for lunch or something?”

Remaining silent for a few moments, Ōnoki sighed and floated back over to his desk, lowering himself down into his chair.

“Is that a no on lunch?”

“You remind me a little of your father,” Ōnoki muttered. “Always confident and at ease no matter who he was facing. The only time I’ve known of him breaking his façade is when he heard the news that one of his students had died to an Iwa Shinobi. He butchered an entire platoon that day.”

“I’m… Sorry,” I replied, not really sure what it was he wanted me to say.

“Don’t be,” Ōnoki shook his head. “It was war. Death is expected. I’m simply mentioning this because of your resemblance to your father. There is another Shinobi that you resemble more than him. Not in appearance, but in the way you hold yourself.” He chuckled softly. “It’s funny, he was the last Konoha Shinobi to ever enter this building. Until your arrival, that is.”

That narrowed the list down to one single Shinobi.

“Uchiha Madara.”

“Yes,” Ōnoki replied. “Much like him, you have an air about you, one of untold power and a presence that demands respect… Although you do have your differences. Tell me, Naruto, what is it that you want?”

That was an easy enough answer. “Peace between–“

“Bah,” Ōnoki interrupted me. “Enough of that cookie cutter crap. Peace is just a means to an end. What is it that you truly desire, boy? Allow yourself a little selfishness and tell me what it is.”

I hadn’t really thought of it like that. I’d been single-mindedly working towards getting rid of the Akatsuki and uniting the nations that I never really considered much else.

“I don’t really have any big aspirations of ruling or anything like that,” I said, rubbing my chin thoughtfully. “I suppose what I really want is security. I don’t want to wake up one day and find out one of my friends died on a mission that went wrong or discover that we’re being invaded by a foreign nation. I just want to do what I’m doing now and live my life with those that I love.”

“So this is Uzumaki Naruto,” Ōnoki said. “Not the one that resembles Minato or the one that has a presence like Madara, but the man who is himself. I’m not quite sure of what to make of you. You’re an unusual person, you know that?”

“I’ve been told that by a few people,” I replied, nodding slowly.

“A few,” Kurama snorted. “I’m fairly certain that all of my siblings think that you’re strange… Even Shukaku thinks you’re weird and he isn’t exactly the picture of mental health, what with having Gaara refer to him as his mother.”

‘Yeah, well who knows who started that?! Gaara was pretty crazed at the time too. For all we know, he was the one that started the whole thing.’

“That doesn’t help that Gaara likely also thinks of you as strange,” Kurama commented, sounding far too amused for my liking.

Right, well, I was just going to ignore that then.

Looking around the room for something to change the topic, I found my gaze drifting towards the window overlooking Iwa. This was the fourth main village I’d visited. I’d officially traveled to all five nations. It really would be a shame to have come all this way only to be stuck in Ōnoki’s office.

“So, are we really going to spend the rest of your day in your office, or can we go out?” I asked.

Passively observing me, Ōnoki grunted. “You’re not gonna stop asking if I say no, are you?” He muttered to himself before sighing. “Unfortunately for the both of us, my answer remains the same. I simply have too much work to–“

“Old man!” Kurotsuchi called out, kicking his office doors open. “Any news on when the Konoha… Shinobi… Will… They’re already here?!” She said, noticing my presence. “I asked you to tell me when they arrived!”

Groaning, Ōnoki nursed a growing headache. “And I told you that it wouldn’t matter. There’s nothing you can do to help so you may as well sit back and wait like the rest of us.”

“That’s beside the point,” Kurotsuchi grumbled, turning away. “It’s not your dad whose life is on the line.”

Giving Kurotsuchi a long stare, Ōnoki suddenly smirked. “You know what. I do have something for you to do,” He announced.

Ah, crap. I could see where this was going. I’d opted to stay out of this, but it seemed Ōnoki was going to drag me in regardless.

“Say hello to Uzumaki Naruto,” He continued, gesturing towards me. “He’ll be staying until the Hokage is finished with her surgery and will need a guide.”

“No, I don’t want to babysit some–“

“You can and you will,” Ōnoki snapped. “I understand what you’re going through, but this is no way to go about things. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do, extend your efforts to what you can do. It should, at the very least, help take your mind off of it.”

Scowling, Kurotsuchi crossed her arms. “Fine.”

“Good,” Ōnoki smirked. “Then I’ll see you both back here in a few hours.”

Seeing the fuming look Kurotsuchi was giving Ōnoki, I slowly raised my hand. “You know what, maybe staying in here all day wouldn’t be so ba–“

“Come along, Konoha Shinobi,” Kurotsuchi said.

Grabbing my arm, she tugged me towards the exit, away from Ōnoki who shot a smirk my way. Crafty old bastard, he’d killed two birds with one stone. Well, since I’d already been sucked into this whole thing, I may as well make the best of it.

“So, do you guys have Ramen here?” I asked, following Kurotsuchi.

…PTL…

Lying in her bed, Konan watched as the clock slowly counted down the seconds of the day… Not that it had much meaning anymore. She’d long since lost track of how long she’d spent in her hospital room. It didn’t help that she didn’t have a window to look out of either.

It wasn’t pleasant, but, all things considered, it could be far worse. She could be locked in a dark hole, left to rot for the remainder of her days or have a Yamanaka invade her mind, ripping it apart as they searched for anything that she might have hidden.

Her wounds had mended and she was allowed to move around her room freely. She’d even been given a few books in the form of Jiraiya’s novels in order to help stave off her boredom.

Her old Sensei had seen to that personally. His books, specifically the Icha Icha series left a lot to be desired, but they were a welcomed distraction. Ghosting her hands over the cover, she attempted to manipulate the paper within, only to be met with the exact same response as before.

Her Chakra, while fully recovered, refused to obey her command. Glancing down at the paper seal that was stuck to her chest, she let out a silent huff, blowing her hair out of her face. The irony wasn’t lost on her. She’d tried to remove it by tearing it off, but it refused to come off.

That, however, didn’t mean that she was out of options. She still had a few methods that might be able to get rid of the seal, but what then? She’d have her Chakra, but she’d still be in a, no doubt, well protected building filled with guards set in the center of Konoha.

So she’d been stuck here for the time being… Biding her time until the right moment came to make her escape. From there… She wasn’t entirely sure what she’d do.

Without Nagato, Ame didn’t have a leader, so she supposed she should take his place and ensure that what remains of Nagato and Yahiko’s memory remained intact, but another thought made itself apparent, one that suggested that maybe it was time to try and right the wrongs of the past.

She no longer had anything left to lose, so she might as well take the risk. She’d studied Mukade’s stolen technique and was confident that she’d be able to use it without failure.

“Good evening,” Jiraiya greeted, entering her room. “Hoh, I see you’re busy with my second book. Have you gotten to the bedroom chapter yet? It’s certainly one of my steamier scenes.”

“Sensei,” Konan hummed, closing the book. “Back again?”

“Of course,” Jiraiya replied, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. “I haven’t missed a day yet. How’re you doing, Konan?”

“I’m fine. Fully recovered as you can see,” She replied. “As for your question, I’ve already finished the book and was simply going over it again. I… Enjoyed it.”

“Haha, I’m glad to hear it,” Jiraiya laughed boisterously. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he held out another one for Konan to take. “Here, the third one in the series. I’m still busy editing the next one, so you’ll probably have to wait a little before it’s done… Unless you want to help check for mistakes,” He suggested jokingly.

Konan’s eyes narrowed minutely, before she nodded. “I wouldn’t be opposed. It would be a welcomed distraction.”

“Wait, seriously?” Jiraiya asked. At Konan’s slow nod, he beamed. “Konan… You might just be one of my greatest students.”

“I somehow doubt that,” She deadpanned. Her time would come, but as for now… At least she had something to keep herself busy with.

…PTL…

Iwa, as it turned out, was a pretty nice place. It didn’t have the same greenery as Konoha or the platforms like Kumo, but it had its own charm to it. The buildings had been made to be strong and sturdy first with several of them being directly carved from the mountain.

It reminded me a little of the bunker built into the Hokage monument, except externalized and everywhere. The sturdiness of the buildings certainly suited the inhabitants here who all seemed to have varying levels of stubbornness.

Feeling a few stares pointed in my direction, I spotted a handful of Iwa Shinobi watching me from the rooftops with a sense of unease. It wasn’t exactly unexpected. The last time I’d been able to roam a foreign village like this was when I stayed in Kumo and I’d been met with the same reaction from the Kumo Shinobi.

Glancing at my guide who had a perpetual scowl on her face, I offered her a teriyaki stick I’d just gotten from the nearby restaurant. “Want one?”

“I already had lunch,” Kurotsuchi muttered.

Shrugging, I took it back. “So, what else is there to do here?” I asked.

It wouldn’t be long before I returned to Konoha with Tsunade. I’d already spent a good two hours exploring Iwa and trying out the food. I likely wouldn’t get another chance to do something like this anytime soon and I wanted to make the most of it.

“Sit somewhere quiet and wait.”

“Okay,” I hummed. “Anywhere you have in mind?”

Looking the slightest bit less grumpy, she led me out of the streets and up one of the mountains that overlooked the village. Reaching a cliff, with a bench that sat near the ledge, she sat down.

Taking in the sights of the village in its entirety, I whistled. The highest viewpoint you could get in Konoha was on the mountain, while this was a little higher. Without any platforms built into the side of the mountain, the view was a bit better than that of Kumo.

“This whole thing’s so stupid,” Kurotsuchi muttered. “Why do I have to be stuck babysitting you when I should be in the hospital,” She complained tiredly. “At least that way, I’d know what’s happening.”

Humming softly, I looked off into the distance and focused on finding Tsunade’s Chakra. “He’s not dead,” I replied.

“What?” Kurotsuchi asked, looking up.

“I said, he’s not dead,” I said, pointing towards the hospital. “I can sense his Chakra signature, meaning that he’s not dead.”

“You can do that? From all the way over here?” Kurotsuchi mumbled softly, before standing up abruptly. “Why the hell didn’t you lead with that? I’ve been worried about my dad all day. Meanwhile, you could’ve told me what’s happening.”

“You didn’t ask,” I replied, drawing Kurotsuchi’s anger. “Besides, it’s not like I can actually see what’s going on from up here.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Kurotsuchi dismissed, getting in my face. “What’s happening now? Is he improving?” She asked hopefully.

Sighing at the look on her face, I described what was happening to her father. Without something like the Byakugan, I was unable to get a detailed image of what was truly going on, but I was still able to get the gist of it. Kitsuchi was responding to Tsunade’s treatment and was slowly, but surely getting better.

Upon learning of her father’s improving condition and my reassurance that Tsunade would be able to save him, Kurotsuchi’s anger dissipated, leaving behind only a small amount of worry and stress that anyone would feel when a loved one was being operated on.

Sitting back down, she rested her chin on her hand, before turning away. “Thank you.”

“Hm?” I hummed.

“Don’t make me say it again, you bastard,” She huffed with no real venom in her tone. “Thank you for letting me know how my dad’s doing, okay.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” I replied.

Scanning the horizon for anything I’d missed, I took a seat next to her. It was a pretty nice spot, fairly isolated while still giving a great view of the village below. I could see why Kurotsuchi would want to come here.

It was just a pity that the peace couldn’t last.

Moving faster than Kurotsuchi was able to react, I slipped a Kunai into my hand and lashed out, cutting through an Iwa headband as I lodged my blade into the Shinobi’s brain.

“The hell?!” Kurotsuchi snapped. Acting on reflex, she grabbed her own Kunai and lashed out, only stopping when I caught her wrist. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Let me go, you bastard!”

Ignoring her outburst, I kicked the body over and pulsed my Chakra through it, revealing its true form as a Zetsu clone.. “You can come out now.”

“Hm, it seems that I’m still unable to fool you,” Obito mused, slowly stepping through the mountain. Glancing down at the body, he looked up.

“Madara,” Kurotsuchi muttered.

“The one and the same,” Obito replied. “As for my presence here, I merely came to offer my thanks. Finding the Yonbi Jinchuriki would have taken me some time, but it seems that Konoha managed to do the job for me… You even brought him back here where I know he’ll be. It’ll–“

Cutting him off, I threw one of my Kunai and watched as he stepped to the side. Teleporting to it, I caught the Kunai with one hand while shoving a fully formed Rasengan in his face. For a brief moment, it appeared that he’d tried to absorb the technique, but couldn’t manage it before his head was blown off.

‘Kurama, check in with the other Biju.’

“Already on it,” Kurama answered.

‘Good.’

Extending my senses throughout the village, I felt for anything that seemed unusual, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. No bombs, no Zetsu clones and no Obito. He’d fled before I had the chance to find him.

Whatever his purpose here, it wasn’t a direct confrontation, nor was it a second attempt to abduct Rōshi. He didn’t attack with the intent of starting a fight. Instead, he’d done it so that he was noticed, but for what purpose, unless…

He wants to scare the villages into hiding their Jinchuriki all in a single secure location.

“You may be right,” Kurama commented. “instead of spreading his forces across several battle fronts, all he’d need to do is send enough to keep the allied army busy long enough for his main forces to handle the Jinchuriki.”

A blitzkrieg… Heh, I guess Obito really was getting desperate by resorting to those tactics. Once the fighting actually started, he was going to need to finish it quickly. The longer it went on, the worse position he’d end up in.

“Shit. We need to let the Tsuchikage know about this right now,” Kurotsuchi said. “Lock down the village and draw him out. We can’t let that bastard get away again!”

“He’s already long gone,” I replied.

She was right though. Ōnoki needed to know about this. It’s a pity, I was really starting to enjoy the view from up here.