Naruto : Struggle Of Childhood

Invasion

It took five minutes for the entire invasion to fall apart at all sides.

It took much longer for the whole thing to clear up.

For a moment all that Jiraiya could think was that Danzou had known. He had figured it out already, but, no, if he had, he would have killed them all out right. Danzou wasn't the type to play with his enemies. Any threat, no matter how small, was taken out cleanly and efficiently. That was how Danzou had always carried out his missions, and it would be foolish for him to stop now.

This must have been planned at some time in the past. Danzou probably never intended to go to the Exams at all. This was just another security measure, and they had triggered it accidentally. They should have known better. Any further thoughts on the issue were forgotten as he watched the encircling ninja. Now, ROOT was emotionless, and they were fanatically loyal to Danzou, but they weren't stupid. They weren't going to go one on one with any one of the Sannin. That would be suicide. Jiraiya also knew that they knew this. He braced himself and noticed Tsunade and Orochimaru doing the same.

"Do not attack!" one, apparently the leader commanded, "Contact the Hokage!"

So, Danzou didn't know. This was going to be a surprise to him too. At least one thing was going according to plan, but they couldn't allow him to know just yet. They might have a chance to win after all. In one motion, the Sannin jumped, landing on different places in the area so that anyone who tried to escape would have to pass far too closely for them to live. Jiraiya bit his thumb and placed his hand on the ground, seeing the others doing the same.

It seemed that they still reacted like a team, even now.

The three consecutive blasts and the three gigantic animals that appeared only made that feeling more real.

"JIRAIYA!" Gamabunta howled, "Who do ya think you are dragging me here in the middle of my Sake!"

It looked like the toad boss had been a little busy.

"Orochimaru..." Manda hissed in a dangerous tone, "Just what is the meaning of this..?"

Tsunade was already deep in conversation with her summon, Katsuyu, who didn't seem to resent being summoned as much as the others. Tsunade always had had all the luck with summons. What was worse was now Gamabunta and his children seemed to have decided that they liked Naruto better than him...

"There are your sacrifices, Manda," Orochimaru said, "eat."

"Don't command me," the snake hissed.

Nevertheless, he did attack, along with Jiraiya and Tsunade, tearing through the twenty ninja with a fury that made even Jiraiya feel a little sickened. He only turned away in time to notice that someone with a bird mask had managed to climb up Gamabunta and about to charge him. Jiraiya dodged the attack and sent a kick that caused the ROOT to slip and fall. Jiraiya winced a little bit, but was back to business immediately.

It took the three of them almost no time to dispose of the ROOT. Jiraiya and Tsunade turned around abruptly to face Orochimaru.

No words passed between them. Really, no words could pass. There was nothing to say. For a moment, Jiraiya was faced with their Genin picture. They looked so innocent, so carefree. Even Orochimaru's face had held some amusement at their antics. What happened? Why had things changed?