Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Meeting

It was a rainy day in Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And for some unknown reason, it had been raining non-stop for the past week. What was strange, was that the vegetation seemed to pale in colour as well.

Naruto Uzumaki was not a normal boy by any means. He wasn’t your run-of-the-mill orphan. He was, as every orphan was, without a parent, lonely and sad. However, he wasn’t looked at with pity or kindness.

No. Naruto Uzumaki was looked at with disdain and hatred. Simply walking down the streets incurred several cruel beatings. He had no idea why, but the entire population of Konohagakure no sato seemed to hate him. He had very few precious people, like the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, or as he called him, jiji, Teuchi, the owner of a nearby ramen stand, and his daughter Ayame. It was sad actually, a five year old being hated by everyone.

Naruto had learned this early on in life. He was hated in the orphanage he lived in as well. Ever since he learnt to walk on his own, the matron of the orphanage started treating him like trash. He was not allowed to play with other children his age and even when he managed to talk to them, they would sneer at him and told him, in no uncertain words, that a monster like him was not welcome in their group. He would then get sad and leave.

Walking the streets of the village was like trial by fire for him. He had to be as careful and unnoticed as possible. If he got noticed, a civilian would just point at him shouting “DEMON!” He would then run for his life, entering lanes and alleys, anything to escape the beatings.

What no one, including Naruto, knew was that he had some special quirks.

He had a photographic memory, the ability to remember and recall anything he sees or hears once, in great detail. Naruto loved to read books, but didn’t know why he could recall every page of the book, down to the exact words. He found it very useful and abused it shamelessly, reading all the books he was allowed to and then some, without telling anyone of course. He was never allowed into the library because the librarian looked at him the same way as the villagers, and he didn’t want anybody to accuse him of having ‘freakish traits’

The downside of this ability was that he remembered every beating he had had until that point, which gave him nightmares for weeks.

Another one of his quirks was a sort of sensory ability. He could sense danger if it was coming to him, along with an ability to sense negative emotions. However it was a subconscious ability of sorts, activating only when he was in danger. But it was very useful in avoiding punches and stones that came when his back was turned. He had even surprised his jiji once by being able to tell where his Anbu guards were once, but it didn’t happen consciously.

The village’s behaviour towards him caused him to develop a need for positive attention, but also a need to avoid people, preferring to keep to himself. He would not actively seek attention, but would latch on to someone who gave some form of caring to him.

That was the reason he turned to books. At least they didn’t attack him outright and allowed him to read them. Almost no one wanted to associate with him, thus he took refuge in books.
Naruto had to force himself to learn reading and writing as the teachers at the orphanage did as less as they could to help him. They would simply thrust the books in his hands and go to help other children. He learnt early to not ask questions, receiving physical punishment whenever he did.

He had read about various topics, but the one thing that stood out to him was the topic of Hokage. How the Hokage was the most powerful shinobi of the village and was responsible for the village’s safety.

He read how powerful the Shodai (First) Hokage was, with his unique Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline limit) of Mokuton (wood release). He was said to be the most powerful Shinobi of his time, known as the “Shinobi no Kami” (God of Shinobi). Hashirama Senju, along with Madara Uchiha were the two main founders of Konoha. Ironically, both were enemies, with Hashirama having to kill Madara to protect the village

The Nidaime (Second) Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was Hashirama’s younger brother. He was and still is hailed as the most powerful Suiton (Water release) user of all time. He was also hailed as the fastest shinobi of his time, having created the famous ‘Hiraishin no jutsu’ He was the one who started the Ninja Academy. Naruto took a liking to him as he liked anything even remotely associated with speed.

The Sandaime (Third) Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, his ‘jiji’, was known as ‘The Professor’, because he could use all the nature transformations and had the unsurpassed knowledge of ninjutsu, knowing all the techniques of Konoha, save for clan techniques. He also shared the title of ‘Shinobi no Kami’ with Hashirama, because in his prime he was the strongest of all the Kages. Naruto was astounded how powerful the man he called ‘jiji’ was. Sarutobi was also the sensei of the Legendary ‘Sannin’, who were among the most powerful Shinobi in the world.

The Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage was the one who became his favourite to the point that Naruto considered him as his idol, aspiring to be like him. Minato Namikaze, when he was alive, was considered the strongest of the Hokages and arguably, the most dangerous man to have graced the world of shinobi. Known as the ‘Yellow Flash’, He was also considered the fastest shinobi to have ever lived. He was famous because he took the ‘Hiraishin no jutsu’ the jutsu used by the Second, to levels unheard of. He was the one who single handedly ended the Third Great Shinobi War, finishing off a thousand Iwa Shinobi by himself, in the battle of Kannabi Bridge.

Naruto also noted that the Fourth suspiciously looked very much like him if he grew up. Naruto compared their physical traits, more specifically those that stood out the most. They were both blonde, the hair colour being nearly identical, with Naruto’s a shade brighter. But the eyes were what took him by surprise. Those azure blue shades were what he had as well, looking back at him in the mirror every day. He became even more suspicious. He also noticed the red markings on the Second’s face, similar to what he had on his own, which raised some suspicion as well.

During one of his outings, when his jiji came to take him to Ichiraku Ramen that he loved so much, he asked him what it meant to be Hokage

Flashback
The old man stopped eating and looked at him, his eyes piercing him as if searching for something. He then smiled and said, “Perhaps you should first ask me, what it means to be a shinobi, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto looked surprised and asked, “What does it mean to be a shinobi?’

This time Sarutobi answered, “To be a shinobi is to endure. A shinobi is one who can follow or lead others into any darkness and work together to overcome that darkness and make it to the other side. A shinobi walks towards danger when everyone else is running away, that is because it is the duty of a shinobi to look at any foe and simply say, “Bring it”. That is because shinobi exist to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”

Naruto had a look of wonder on his face. He had no idea his jiji was so wise. An answer that changed his entire view of shinobi. At first he thought that being shinobi meant performing cool jutsus and fighting in the name of your village. He had no idea the answer would be this deep in meaning.

Sarutobi looked at Naruto and mentally smiled. He knew about Naruto’s treatment by the villagers and his drive to be Hokage. ‘Perhaps I can give him a little insight on what being a Hokage means’ he mused.

Naruto recovered from his wonder and stared at his empty bowl, deep in thought. If this is what being a Shinobi meant, then he has a pretty good idea on what being a Hokage meant.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Sarutobi said, “Now that that answer is out of the way, I can tell you what being a Hokage means.”

Naruto looked up, respect and understanding in his eyes. He spoke up, “I know what it means jiji”

Hiruzen stared at him, silently asking him to continue, his interest piqued. Naruto spoke “The Hokage is responsible for everything in this village. It’s his responsibility to protect everyone here, and to make sure they are safe and happy with their village. He tends to the finances of the village, the rules, daily events, everything. He controls every single ninja who bears a leaf headband, and basically directs when they live and die. This job is not for the faint of heart, and only for someone who loves this village dearly”. At the end of his answer, he was staring back at his bowl.

Hiruzen was shocked at the understanding Naruto showed of the perception of the Hokage. ‘Such a deep perception and insight at such a young age” he thought in wonder. Teuchi and Ayame had stopped working and stared at the blonde with wide eyes along with the Hokage. It was unheard of, a four year old showing such a deep understanding of something most people didn’t understand until much later in life.

Naruto looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jiji was looking at him with a strange expression, “That’s exactly what it means, Naruto-kun.”

A challenging smile broke out on Naruto’s face and he declared, “Then I will start working hard and will become Hokage someday! And not just any Hokage! The strongest there will be!”

Hiruzen chuckled, which soon turned into laughter, remembering another Uzumaki who used to say the same thing. He ruffled Naruto’s head and said, “I know you will Naruto-kun. I know you will.”
Flashback end

Ever since that day Naruto studied even more rigorously (as much as he could since he had no access to the library), and even began his physical training as well. He ran 5 laps around the village, followed by 20 push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups on trees and every other exercise he knew, and even starting to practise throwing shurikens and kunais. He got these weapons by sneaking into the training grounds and collecting them.

He was surprised to find out that the art of throwing shuriken and kunai came naturally to him. He started throwing after taking a book about weapons he found discarded in a training ground. In three weeks of practice, he was able to throw bullseye on all targets. He then decided to practice throwing while moving, while blindfolded, and while in mid-air. He wasn’t able to hit them all blindfolded, but the term ‘giving up’ didn’t exist for him.

Another surprising fact he discovered was that he healed very quickly from exhaustion and wear and tear of muscles. Any cut or bruise he had got during training would be healed in a few minutes at most. And all beatings he got from the villagers would heal within a day. He at first thought that perhaps it was a bloodline, but filed it away for later.

But today was special. It was his birthday, and he was kicked out of the orphanage. So he would have to take extra measures to be careful. As today was also the day that the villagers would celebrate the defeat of the Kyuubi no Kitsune at the hands of the Yondaime and honour his sacrifice.

A thought suddenly came to his head that made him stop in the middle of the street

Yondaime….Kyuubi’s defeat…treatment of the villagers…demon boy…jiji’s avoidance of the topic

No…it couldn’t be…

Naruto ran from the streets, moving between the villagers gracefully, making a beeline for his favourite spot, the head of the Yondaime. Once he reached there, he sat down in a meditative posture and reached within him.

‘Kyuubi, if you are inside me, I would like to meet you, please’.
For a full five minutes nothing happened. He was beginning to give up when something ‘pulled’ on his mind.

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in a dark corridor of a sewer. ‘Is this my mindscape?’ he thought in disgust as he started to walk forward. He stopped walking when he saw light at the end of the corridor. He decided to proceed with caution and kept walking, and stopped at the end.

He had entered into a huge room, so large that he couldn’t find the ceiling. He looked around, finding nothing but dark stone. He focused his eyes straight ahead and saw a large iron barred cage with a paper on it that said ‘Seal’.

He looked past the cage, steeling himself for what he was about to see. According to all the books he had read, the Kyuubi was a being of pure hatred and evil. A mindless beast capable of unfathomable destruction. But Naruto was sceptical when he read that. He might get to see for himself now.

A growl sounded from the cage, sending a breath of hot air in his face. An enormous red eye opened, causing Naruto to tense up. The eye looked at him, as if evaluating him. Then it started to rise, causing Naruto to look up at the massive form

The Kyuubi had orange, silky fur, with black markings around his eyes that connected his large rabbit-like ears. The upper body was humanoid, including the hands. The lower body was just like a fox, barring the nine, long swaying tails in the back.

The eyes looked at him with a hint of malice. Naruto steeled himself and spoke.

“Thank you for answering my call, Kyuubi.” He said with a nod.

If Kyuubi was surprised, he didn’t show it. Inside he was shocked. This was not the first thing he expected his jailor to say. He expected to be look at with fear, anger, or even met with denial. The last thing he expected was a thanks.

He replied, “Think nothing of it. I’m surprised though, that you were able to figure it out so quickly. Why aren’t you surprised?” he asked with curiosity.

“Well I was for a few moments at least. But it wasn’t hard to figure out. It’s easy to create a theory once you have all the relevant facts”, he said, not once breaking eye contact with the Kyuubi.

Kyuubi raised a massive eyebrow, silently impressed with the boy. His thought processes were intelligent for a five year old. And he was bold enough to maintain eye contact as well. He could not sense any fear from the boy.

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” he asked him

A sad smile formed on Naruto’s lips. He answered, “In all the books I’ve read, they described you as a being of pure hatred. But that is only a one sided understanding isn’t it?”

Before Kyuubi could answer, Naruto continued, “Humans fear what they can’t understand. The foremost aspect of your personality that they have seen is hatred, which, while a big part of you, conceals the being underneath that can feel emotions just like us. Isn’t that right, Kyuubi?”

Kyuubi was astounded at the amount of understanding his host showed him. Maybe…

“What do you want?”

“If you don’t mind,” said Naruto with a hesitant smile, “Would you be my friend?”

Kyuubi was stunned by the request. But what happened next completely blew his mind.

Naruto walked INTO the cage. He walked up close and offered a hand to shake.

“My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you.”

Kyuubi openly gaped at Naruto, but composed himself quickly and gave a sincere smile to Naruto. He offered his fist to him. Naruto, taken by surprise, recovered quickly and bumped his own fist against Kyuubi’s.

“This is how we tailed beasts greet each other. My name is Kurama. Nice to meet you too Naruto.”

Chapter Text

Revelations and Discovery

Naruto smiled. “You have a very nice name, Kurama.”

The newly dubbed Kurama smiled. “Thank you. It means a lot coming from someone whose name means fishcake”, he smirked at the end intentionally making the jab at his name to see if he could rile the boy up.

His success was minuscule though. Naruto only had a tiny frown on his face, instead of the full blown childish rage Kurama was expecting, “Actually, I prefer ‘Maelstrom’. Sounds much better than being compared to a fishcake.”

Kurama chuckled, a smooth, deep baritone that lit up a warm feeling inside Naruto.

“No one would think of a maelstrom when they look at you, Naruto. Perhaps when you are older, but certainly not now”, Kurama teased him.

Naruto shrugged, and then his eyes turned serious, making Kurama do the same.

“Kurama, you know I have questions, right?” Naruto asked.

Kurama nodded, “I assumed as such. However, I have to say, I was not expecting your call to me, and as such, had expected to meet when you were significantly older.”

Naruto shook his head, “Well if it makes you feel better, I was not expecting you to pull me inside my mind”, he said, absently noting that he was not wet at all, inspite of standing in the water.

Kurama returned to his original position, lying down, face on paws/hands, “I will do my best to answer whatever question you have, Naruto”, he assured him.

Naruto gave a nod of gratitude and sat down as well. “Okay, first question. Why does my mindscape represent a gutter or sewer, whatever you want to call it?”

Kurama was silent for a moment, then a mischievous grin broke out on his face, “You know what they say about people whose minds are in the gutter, right?”

Naruto gave him a blank look, reminding Kurama that Naruto, however intelligent for his age, was still only 5 years old. Kurama’s embarrassed blush would have been visible on his face if his fur were not orange. He cleared his throat loudly to avoid embarrassment.

“Sorry Naruto, but I have no idea why your mindscape is a sewer. There is a theory that says that your mindscape is a reflection of your mental state. It could have been the psychological trauma that was given to you by the villagers, but why it is particularly a sewer, I don’t know”, he replied.

Naruto absorbed this information like a sponge and after a few seconds, he asked Kurama, “So I have psychological trauma. I knew about that. Which means that even if I change the appearance of my mindscape to something else, there will always be something that represents the trauma right?”

Kurama nodded, smiling a little, “That’s right. I have to say though, it’s nice to talk to someone who is intelligent.”

Naruto’s eyes visibly brightened at the praise, giving a full blown smile to his newest friend. Kurama noted with some amusement that the grin looked very similar to his own and a redhead’s.

Naruto jumped to his feet, “Your answer has just confirmed something for me Kurama.” His eyes had a mix of excitement and determination to them, as if he was about to do something new.

Naruto closed his eyes and clapped his hands together. Kurama observed him quietly, wondering what his host was about to do.

His answer came when suddenly, the sewer started morphing. Kurama looked around in wonder as his surroundings whirled about, noting the slow appearance of bright colours. As soon as it started, it was over. He looked around, with his eyes wide and jaw hanging, at the results.

A beautiful valley greeted his eyes. Grounds that were lush and a shade of green that looked heavenly, streams with water clearer than he had ever seen. The grass felt soft under his limbs and there was a massive oak tree with a shade that made it great for naps. The cage around him disappeared, instead replaced with a collar which had the same piece of paper from before with the kanji for ‘Seal’ written on it. He looked at Naruto in wonder. This kid was a package of one surprise after another.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked around, smiling satisfactorily, “This is so much better than before! Wouldn’t you agree, Kurama?” he asked, turning to him.

Kurama was smiling like he was the happiest being on Earth. No one had ever done anything for him, and Naruto, who had just met him, had already done so much for him.

Kurama looked at Naruto with gratitude in eyes, “Thank you, Naruto. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Naruto just shook his head at him, “Don’t worry about it. We’re friends, right?”

Kurama nodded, feeling excitement for the first time in a long time, wanting to explore what Naruto had created for him. He was about to leave when Naruto’s voice stopped him, mid-step.

“However, it seems strange that there is no presence of a celestial body in the sky. I had envisioned it just like outside”, he mused, a frown on his five year old face that would have earned him so many squeals of ‘Kawai!’ from girls.

Kurama too wondered what the reason could be, and quickly figured it out. He looked up in thought, “Perhaps it is because of the seal”, he muttered.

Naruto looked up him in confusion, “What do you mean?”

Kurama looked down at Naruto, “The seal that keeps me inside you, Naruto. If it was only you, you would have had absolute control over your mindscape. But since I am here as well, the control gets divided equally. However, control on my side is restricted. The absence of the sun or moon that you envisioned could signify that this place is cut off from my senses. In easier terms, the outside world”, he explained.

Naruto processed Kurama’s answer. If the seal was restricting Kurama’s activity….

“What do you propose I should do, Kurama?”

Kurama put his hand under his chin. He could only see one way around this, and if Naruto messed up, it would spell trouble for both of them. But he would try his best not to let that happen.

“You would have to tear off a very small piece of paper on my collar. Leave the rest to me”, Kurama assured him.

When Naruto looked hesitant, Kurama told him, “Don’t worry Naruto. You can do it. If something goes wrong, I’ll take care of it.”

Naruto promptly went up to Kurama and removed a tiny piece of paper from the seal. Kurama felt a tiny bit of control get back to him. Just a snap of his fingers and a sun appeared in the sky, lighting up the valley.

Kurama nodded in satisfaction, then concentrated. He could sense chakra signatures of almost the whole village. Once Naruto opened his eyes, Kurama would be able to see as well.

Turning to Naruto, he said, “Naruto, allow me to repay you with something as thanks for this change. I’m sure it will come in very handy when you become a shinobi” Kurama smiled, walking up to Naruto and placing a fingernail and very gently touching his forehead. The nail shined for a moment and then faded back.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, “What was that?”

Kurama smiled mysteriously, “Why don’t you discover it yourself? I can feel several chakra signatures closing in on you. Time for you to open your eyes, Naruto.”

Naruto nodded and concentrated, willing himself out of the mindscape.

‘Perhaps I should have messed with him a bit more.’ Kurama mused.

****

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, without a hurry. He was thinking about what gift Kurama gave him when he felt it. Like something, no, someone was coming his way. He slowly turned around, face paling at the sight.

Dozens of people, knives, clubs, crowbars in hand, excited expressions on their faces, shouting, “TODAY IS THE DAY YOU DIE, DEMON!” “WE WILL FINISH WHAT THE YONDAIME STARTED, AND WE WILL AVENGE HIM!” Naruto’s expression had turned utterly horrified. There was only one way to get off the monument without falling splat on the pavement.

Outrun and outmaneuver the mob.

He wasted no time, He sprang up to his feet and immediately started running in a perpendicular direction the mob. Since he had been running regularly for one year, he had built up some pretty good speed and endurance.

His plan was to take a wide arc around the mob and as soon as it was behind him, hightail it into the streets where he could lose them. He took off into the forest, the mob following closely behind. As he began to cut an arc around the mob, hairs on the back of his neck stood up, a clear sign of danger. However, unlike before when he could only detect the danger, this time he could feel the direction the weapon was coming from.

Naruto was an imaginative child. From where he had developed his imagination, no one knew. But there was one thing about his imagination that even HE knew was not normal. His body had the most unnatural and peculiar ability of following the commands of his mind down to a T. As soon as he sensed the knives’ speeding at him,he thought of only one scenario, and his body followed it as it did several times, just not in a life and death scenario.

He jumped, body in the air, rotating like a screwdriver, the knives going under him, missing him by just a few inches. He rolled on the ground to soften his landing, and continued running away, successfully getting the mob behind him and the road in front of him.

He managed to get to the streets, where he purposefully chose the market street where he could lose them. He knew the civilians could not do the tricks he could. He vaulted neatly over several carts without losing momentum, each time increasing the gap between him and the mob. He turned left at an intersection, and jumped up a wall, hanging on the other side until he was sure that the sounds of the mob had faded away. He jumped back on the road.

He took a moment to catch a breath. If he was not mistaken, he had run at full speed for close to 3 miles. ‘Impressive for a five year old’, the familiar voice of Kurama sounded in his head. Naruto looked surprised for a moment, but then shook his head. It was probably because of the change he had done to the seal. He also chalked it up to adrenaline that he had run so far and fast.

That was a lot difficult than he had imagined, but he blamed it on his clothes. An orange jumpsuit stuck out like a sore thumb among the masses. It was as if he had stuck a piece of paper behind his back saying, “Kill me!” The blonde hair wasn’t helping either.

Then again, Naruto had nothing else to wear. The keepers at the orphanage looked very satisfied when they had given him the jumpsuit. They probably wanted him to be spotted in case he attempted to hide from a mob. Too bad they underestimated him.

So deep he was in his musings that he didn’t notice he had entered an area of Konoha, no one had taken a stroll in for at least 5 years. He looked up when he saw he was standing before the gates of a large abandoned compound.

‘Naruto, open the gates of the compound. Let’s explore!’ Kurama’s excited voice sounded in his head.

Naruto shook his head, ‘I would be an idiot to even touch the gate. Look at all the seals engraved on it.’

’Do it. Who knows, you might get a surprise’ Kurama insisted.

Naruto frowned at Kurama’s behaviour, but did as asked anyway. He placed his hand on the seal of the gate and closed his eyes, as if waiting to be blown up. He didn’t notice the seals glow slightly.
He opened his eyes when nothing happened. Tentatively, he pushed the gate and to his surprise, it opened easily. ‘The seals must be malfunctioning if a stranger like me could enter in here’, he thought
The compound was beautiful. There were traditional two story houses, surrounded by lush, green grounds. There was even a small pond with clear water in front of the compound.

‘Whoever this compound belongs to must be incredibly wealthy. Must be some old clan’, he thought with wonder. Money was something that was rarely available to him. He decided not to dwell on it further.

As he approached the front door of one of the bigger houses, he began to think it was a bad idea coming here. What if someone spotted him? What if he accidentally activated a trap?

He cautiously turned the doorknob, hearing it click open. He opened the door fully, seeing the dark living room with a sofa and comfortable chairs. He turned on the light, surprised that electricity still flowed in the circuits of the house. But it was all covered in a thick layer of dust.

‘The owner has been gone for a long time, but why?’ Naruto wondered. As he turned in the direction of the fireplace, he stopped short at what he saw.

His eyes widened, “Th-this is-“

Above the fireplace, was a tri-pronged kunai that was known throughout the Elemental Nations as the Hiraishin kunai used by the Yellow Flash.

Crap.

He had just broken into the Yondaime’s house.

Double crap.

He was about to turn tail and leave when-

‘What’s that?’ Kurama’s voice sounded in his head.

Next to the kunai was a portrait of Minato Namikaze, decked out in full Hokage uniform, along with a beautiful redhead wearing a high-collared sleeveless blouse under a long, loose fitting dress with a wristband on her left wrist and standard shinobi sandals. A medium sized bulge on her stomach made him realise she was pregnant. But that was not what caught his eye.

The redhead was waving a peace sign, with a very familiar grin. The same one he wore whenever his mischievious tendencies surfaced or when he was really happy. Her face was also similar to his own. Her exquisite violet eyes were shaped just like his eyes.

With a jolt, the pieces of a puzzle that he could never solve arranged themselves, forming a long sought-after answer.

Blonde hair….azure blue eyes….the familiar grin….same shape face….identically shaped eyes….

He had just found out the identity of his parents.

‘Congratulations, kid. You finally found them.’ Kurama’s smooth voice was softer this time

Chapter Text

Naruto stood in front of the fireplace, drenched from the rain, his eyes glued to the portrait, a storm of emotions raging inside of him. He didn’t know what to feel; whether to be happy that he finally found who his parents were, or to feel hurt that his jiji hid his parents’ identity from him, or to feel furious at the treatment from the village.

His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Kurama consoled him, ‘It’s okay to feel this way, Naruto. Anyone who would have been in your shoes would have felt the same.’

Naruto finally sat down in Indian position, the energy leaving his legs. He tried to think something, but the thoughts evaded him, only the image of his parents situated in his minds. He was finally with his parents, yet at the same time, he was not.

Tears finally fell from his eyes from holding them back for so long. He cried for a long time, finally letting his emotions have an outlet. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was alone in the whole world.

He never noticed Kurama's chakra flowing through him, warming him up drying him.

Sniffling, he asked inside his head, ‘Kurama, did you know about this?’

Kurama remained silent for a few moments, which were enough for Naruto to deduce that he knew. Kurama knew, and he still didn’t tell him. ‘I did know Naruto. After all, you shared the same space with me for nine months inside your mother’ the fox replied softly.

Naruto cried even harder after hearing this. It was like a whole new storm colliding with the storm that was already raging inside him. On one hand, he was happy that he and Kurama were together even before he came into this world. On the other hand, he felt betrayed that Kurama would hide something like this from him. He was too emotional to make sense of Kurama’s statement right now. He felt really alone.

After he finally stopped crying, he stood up too tired to explore the house right now. Hell, he was too tired to even form a coherent thought. Somehow, he climbed the stairs, opened the first door in front of him, and fell onto the bed, asleep before even hitting the soft mattress.

****

Hiruzen was panicking. He knew what day it was, and he had been wanting to get out of this office to spend time with his surrogate grandson. But fate seemed to have other plans for him as instead of having the normal amount, three stacks of paperwork in front of him, he was literally buried in the paperwork. He could have sworn he knew the solution to get it done faster, but for the life of him could not remember what it was. ‘Maybe my age is catching up to me’ he mused. Not to mention the blasted rain outside.

He had assigned two of his ANBU, parrot and ox, to keep an eye on Naruto. Sadly, he didn’t know and was unaware that the two ANBU were firmly against the demon-boy. He didn’t know that they were the ones who gave the mob directions to where Naruto was in the evening.

It was only when they came to report that he found out the truth. The two ANBU appeared in his office and knelt down in front of him.

“Report!” he ordered.

Parrot was the first one to speak, “We lost the de- boy, Hokage-sama. Because today is the Kyuubi festival, crowds were thick and that is where we lost i- him.”

Unfortunately for the two, Hiruzen didn’t believe them for a second. If not for the seriousness of the situation, he would have laughed out loud that a five year old was able to lose them in a crowd.

ANBU were specifically trained for such scenarios. Secondly, he caught both the slips of the tongue. Demon and it were not so hard to deduce.

Hiruzen rarely felt anger. In fact, he rarely found the reason to get angry. Even Danzo could only get a small amount of irritation out of him. But right now, he was past irritated. No, he was downright furious.

All the ANBU in the room felt it. The ridiculous amount of killing intent that was coming from the Hokage. ‘Shit’, both the ANBU thought.

“CAT! BEAR!” He shouted. In an instant, the two ANBU were kneeling in front of the Hokage, just behind Parrot and ox. “Orders, Hokage-sama?”

Hiruzen barked out, “Take these two to Ibiki! Tell him to hold nothing back and find out what they were doing this evening! Also, tell Inoichi that I want to know every face that was there in the mob!”

“Hai, Hokage-sama!” The two ANBU instantly caught the traitorous ANBUs and promptly flickered out.

Now that he was somewhat calm, the previous panic returned. Where was Naruto? Was he injured? Worse, was he dead? Was he even in the village? And did the rain just get heavier?!

He took out his ball that he used to keep tabs on the village occasionally. Mostly, he used it to ensure whether Naruto was all right or not.

He channelled his chakra through the ball, searching for Naruto. However, he was floored when nothing came up. He repeated his search two more times, just to be sure. The result remained the same. He did not like where this was going.

It was a strong possibility that Naruto was outside village walls.

“DOG, TIGER!” he called out. In an instant, the mentioned two were before him. “Track him down, no matter what! Even search outside the village if you have to!”

“Hai, Hokage-sama!” They flickered out. Hiruzen sat down with a heavy sigh. He was mentally exhausted from the paperwork he had been doing all damn day and then this.
‘Where are you, Naruto-kun?’

He decided to sleep in his office and wait for them to come back and report, trusting his ANBU.

****

The sun’s rays peeked from in between the curtains, falling straight on to Naruto’s face. Blearily, he opened his eyes. Although he slept peacefully last night, he was mentally and emotionally exhausted. This type of exhaustion was new to him, having never experienced it before.

At first, he had no idea where he was, but then last night’s memories came back to him.

He was then in a mix of emotions; he was happy that he found out and met his parents, he was sad that they weren’t there anymore, and he was slightly angry at his jiji for not telling him sooner.

‘NO! I will not cry again! I did enough of that last night.’ He reminded himself. It was time, he decided, to think through this logically.

First things first, morning rituals. He got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. Surprisingly, it was very clean and dust free, compared to the rest of the house. ‘Weird’, he thought before closing the door.

Second, exercises. He found his way to the backyard and stopped. He found that the backyard was half as big as a training ground in Konoha, and those training grounds were HUGE. He ran 10 laps around the ground, did every exercise he could think of, and then went into the same bathroom for a shower.

Third, he needed to get out of here and see his jiji. He had to at least let him know what happened, since the man had looked after him like his own. He was there for him when no one was. He was probably worried sick.

Although, he was dying to explore the house and compound, it was best to not worry the old man more. Besides, the faster he could get this over with, the quicker he could explore. Besides, who knows, maybe his parents left something for him.

He was about to leave when his eyes caught on to the portrait. He approached it. He then reached out towards the kunai, trying to get a feel of it. He ended up accidentally cutting himself. With a hiss of pain, he placed the kunai back. He then panicked as he noticed a drop of blood fall on the portrait.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, to his surprise, the whole frame of the painting lit up, showing intricate seals that only an Uzumaki or Minato would have hopes of understanding. There was a small click, and the portrait pushed out a little.

Naruto, more puzzled than he had ever been in his life, opened the portrait. Inside there was something unexpected. He stared in bewilderment. There were only two envelopes in there. Naruto was a bit confused and disappointed that there were only two envelopes remaining of his parent’s legacy, but changed the direction of his thoughts immediately. He was taking something at face value, which he would never do. ‘Perhaps it’s the feelings I experienced last night. Emotions are clouding my judgement’, he thought.

‘Don’t worry about it, Naruto. Feelings and thoughts such as those never truly fade away. You just learn to live with them. Besides, it happens to the best of them.’ Kurama reassured.

‘Oh, you’re awake’, Naruto said, when he registered what Kurama had told him. He raised an eyebrow mentally, ‘Best of THEM? Does it not happen to you?’

Kurama arrogantly puffed up his chest and declared, ’Of course not! I’m the Kyuubi no Kitsune, boy! A being such as I am above such petty things!’

Naruto ignored the pompous rambling of the fox and turned his attention back to the envelopes. He quickly took them from their place and then checked carefully if there was anything left. Seeing he had taken all there was, he closed the portrait. The seals glowed again, signifying the portrait had been locked back.

He looked at the first letter. He read the kanji on the envelope which said ‘Mother’. Hands shaking because of nerves, he opened the letter.

Naruto was a pretty fast reader. Not because he was eager to finish the books early; more like he was forced to become a fast reader. The matron at the orphanage would give him books, but would take them away very quickly. Which is why he forced himself to become a fast reader. But this letter he read very slowly, since it was written by his mother.

Dear Naruto,
Oh, my sweet little child, how I wish that I were alive to see you grow into a fine young man like your father. I’m writing this letter in case something happens to us and you are left alone. If you are reading this, it means we are dead. We are so sorry for leaving you, baby.
First things first, I love you with all my heart, Naruto. A mother never stops loving her child, even in death. Know that I am still watching over you, and another thing; don’t you dare visit me unless you are a hundred and ten years old! I want you to live a full and happy life and only die of old age.
Second, if you decide to become a shinobi, remember the three vices of shinobi life. First is alcohol, be responsible about it and don’t become a drunk. Second is money, use it responsibly and try not to waste it. If you do want to waste it, better do it on your wife. The third is women, and as your mother, I absolutely forbid you to become a pervert and a womanizer. Respect women and also, find a woman you love and want to spend your life with. Don’t settle for anything less!
At the bottom of this letter, you will see two kanji. The first contains my sword, if you ever decide to take up kenjutsu. The second contains the ring your father proposed to me with; give it to the girl you believe will love you for the rest of your life.
Once again, your father and I love you, no matter what. Remember that Naruto.
With love,
Kushina Uzumaki
PS: Learn fuinjutsu and kenjutsu. The Uzumaki were known for them and your father mastered fuinjutsu as well. I have left ten volumes of fuinjutsu that I got from the Uzumaki archives, everything you need to become a master, along with a scroll of my kenjutsu style. Best of luck!

‘Kushina Uzumaki’ Naruto repeated the name in his head. Naruto was numb after reading the letter from his mother. It felt satisfying and amazing to hear the words from his mother, even though it was on a letter. He saw the kanji that his mother mentioned and smiled his face splitting grin at that. His mother was awesome!

He then picked up his father’s letter and read:

Dear Naruto,

If you are reading this letter, then it means that I am no longer among the living. I desperately hope that your mother is with you, but if that is not the case, allow me to explain a few things to you.
My name is Minato Senju, more commonly known as Minato Namikaze, and as you probably have guessed, the Yondaime Hokage. If you already know this, then you are probably in the academy. If not, it is good to read. Keep it up! If you did not know about my identity as your father before this letter, please don’t be upset at Sandaime-sama. I left him specific instructions that you were to be told about my identity only if you were a chunin, or married. I made many enemies during the Third Great Shinobi War, especially from Iwa.
If people were to know about it, you would be a prime target for all my enemies.
I just want you to know that even if you are yet to be born, I love you with all my heart. It was the happiest day of my life when your mother announced that she was pregnant with you. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki and she was the loveliest and one of the most compassionate women I have ever met in my life. She is perhaps the only one who loves you more than I do.
I have left you the entire Senju library at your disposal. Whatever is left in the library, I hope you master them. The improved notes I made from scratch in my quest to learn and master Tobirama-ojiisan’s Hiraishin no jutsu are in the first kanji at the bottom of this letter. Also, I leave the Rasengan to you, in hopes that you can complete it, something that I could never do. It is in the second kanji. I believe you can do it. After all, it’s a parent’s job to believe in their child, right?
I’ve left you two surprises in the basement of this house. Something of my own design and perhaps my greatest fuinjutsu achievements yet, other than mastering the Eight Trigrams sealing style. Details are in the basement. Enjoy!
With all the love in the world,
Dad
PS: Yes you read that right. The Nidaime is your great grandfather. Should you come across my journal, I’ve explained how it is possible. But do not reveal it to anyone until you know that you are strong enough to defend yourself as well as those close to you.
PPS: If you ever meet a man named Kakashi Hatake, tell him that I’m proud of him and not to blame himself. Keep an eye on him for me, will you?

Naruto did not know when he had started crying, but he did not care. His shock at being revealed as a descendant of the Senju didn’t stop him. He could feel his parents’ love from the letter; he could almost see them smiling down on him from above. He wiped his tears off, a determined glint in his eyes. He would do his parents proud!

He looked up and noticed that a couple minutes had passed. ‘Right. Got to meet up with jiji.’ He thought.

As soon as he closed the gates behind him, he was surprised to see the seals on the gate glow a bit before the gate locked itself. ‘They were not malfunctioning! The seals recognised my chakra, which is why I was able to get in!’ he thought in awe. He had read that the Yondaime was regarded as a seal master of the highest calibre, but seeing it with his own eyes was entirely different. Sensing his chakra signature when he hadn’t even unlocked his chakra? His father was awesome!

That and the fact that he was from a clan feared for their sealing prowess, and the clan of a thousand skills decided for him. If his parents could do fuinjutsu like this, he will too! And he would be better than them!

With that, he ran out of the area, picking up speed when he realised he was quite far from the Hokage tower. En route, he mentally nudged his friend.

‘Hey Kurama, mind if I ask something?’ for a few seconds he heard nothing, then he heard a yawn in his head, almost making him do the same before he viciously quashed the urge.

‘What’s up, Naruto?’

Naruto faltered in his running, almost falling flat on his face. He couldn’t help the grin that came on his face. Hearing Kurama, an ancient demon, using the slang that kids his age do was hilarious. A stray thought from last night’s conversation with Kurama came to him.

‘Last night, what did you mean when you said that we shared the same space for nine months inside my mother?’ he asked curiously, turning serious once more.

Kurama replied, ‘I meant what I said, Naruto. You are smart enough to figure out the answer to your question.’

Naruto’s expression turned grim at that. It meant that he and his mother were exactly the same, host of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. But why was his mother….?

‘Jinchuriki’, Kurama interrupted his thoughts. Naruto blinked at that. ‘What?’ Kurama elaborated ‘Jinchuriki is the term you are looking for. It means ‘Power of human sacrifice’. They are humans who have a tailed beast sealed inside them.’

Naruto did not falter even for a second after this revelation. He was almost halfway to the tower, which meant he could learn a little more.

‘I get what you mean. What I don’t understand is why my mother was a jinchuriki before me? And why was I made into one?’

Kurama raised his eyebrows at the onslaught of questions. ‘Slow down Naruto! I cannot answer all of your questions. There is an old man who can answer them better than I can.’

Naruto calmed down at that. Jiji was the Hokage, he was the one who probably knew more about these matters. Another thought struck him, but the tower was within his sight now. Better make this fast, he mused.

‘Kurama, what was that you gave me last night as a gift?’

He could see Kurama grin in his mindscape, ‘I’m surprised you could pick up on that. The fact that you unintentionally used it is even more impressive.’

Naruto scowled a little, ‘Stop beating around the bush, Kurama! Just tell me!’

Kurama, however, did not budge, ‘Don’t tell me you can’t figure it out, Naruto. You may not know, but I can feel how close you are to figuring it out.’

Naruto was slowly getting irritated with the game of riddles that Kurama was deliberately dragging on. He was about to give him a mental scar to remember when he suddenly figured it out.

He had actually felt the mob approaching. ‘Did you….did you actually give me a sensory ability?’

Kurama shrugged. ‘It was already there. I merely augmented it. And also the ability to sense negative emotions.’

Naruto mentally whooped, ‘Thank you so much, Kurama! Secondly,’ his tone turned menacing, causing Kurama to lift an eyebrow, ‘This is for annoying me with riddles!’ With that, he turned his entire mindscape orange. He would cherish Kurama’s yell of horror forever.

He reached the Hokage tower, panting only lightly. Standing in front of the tower, he felt a little anxiety creeping up inside him. He faced the sky, ‘What is the time, Kurama?’

‘Observing the position of the sun, it should be around half past six in the morning’, he deduced.

Naruto idly questioned himself, ‘Would jiji be awake at this hour?’

He shook his head; he would not back down now. He steeled himself and entered the tower. Seeing almost no one in the corridors, he almost turned back, but resolutely thought to himself that he would wait for him.

He arrived in front of the Hokage’s office; seeing the absence of the secretary he knew was supposed to be here, he sat on the bench outside the office. This was his first time in the Hokage tower, so he decided to look around. But there was not much to look around, ‘All the important stuff must be someplace where only authorized people could access it’, he assumed.

Sighing he closed his eyes, figuring he could talk to Kurama about his newly acquired sensory abilities.

‘Kurama, how could I sense the mob before when I haven’t even unlocked my chakra?’

Kurama thought about it a bit and then answered. He had nothing else to do anyway, “Good observation, Naruto. It is simple; it was a dormant ability. Naturally, it would require time before it stabilises. But before that happens, it is unstable for a little while. It was in that time period that you could sense the mob. If you were to try it now, you won’t be able to use it”, he explained, keeping it simple so Naruto could understand it.

After hearing Kurama’s explanation, Naruto concluded that the ability Kurama had given him was a chakra dependent ability. He could only use it as long as he infused chakra, that too, in a specific way so that he could sense.

‘That means I have to first unlock my chakra!’ he pouted.

Kurama again spoke up, ‘Before I forget, I did something else as well. Sensor ability was not the only thing I gave you.’

Naruto rose an eyebrow in confusion. Now that he thought about it, not many kids his age could do that, ‘What do you mean?’

Kurama expanded on his statement, ‘I tweaked your ability to sense danger as well’

Naruto nodded, ‘I noticed that.’

Kurama’s grin became sly, ‘Then did you also notice that when your danger sense activated, your surroundings seemed to slow down?’

Naruto froze. Did that really happen? He thought back to the events of last night, specifically when he avoided the knives that were about to skewer him. He did remember seeing the knives coming in a sort of slow motion.

He mentally whistled, ‘Wow, you’re right! I remember that! How is that possible anyway?! This ability would be so useful in the future!’

Kurama shrugged, ‘It was my way of saying thanks for what you did for me last night, Naruto.’

Naruto deliberated on whether to try and unlock his chakra right now, or to wait to enter the academy and then unlock it. So deep he was in his thoughts, he did not notice the Hokage coming his way.

****

Hiruzen had a restless night. The aged Hokage’s worry increased when Dog and Tiger came back after a search that lasted four hours. They reported that they searched every corner of the village, every possible place where Naruto might be, but found nothing. Hiruzen had dismissed them and headed back to his home, turning in for a sleepless and worrisome night.

When he got up this morning, his first thought was about whether Naruto was alive or not. He immediately got up, shaking off the morning drowsiness like a seasoned veteran. He quickly got dressed and used the body flicker to get to the Hokage tower. He quickly climbed the stairs that led to his office, intent on resuming the search for Naruto as soon as possible.

He froze in his tracks, however, when he saw a familiar orange jumpsuit wearing kid, deep in his thoughts, which was not unusual for him.

“NARUTO!”

His exclamation was filled with relief and happiness. Naruto looked up, and Hiruzen knew something was wrong when instead of seeing the usual face-splitting grin, he was greeted with a small smile filled with….sadness?

Nevertheless, he grabbed the boy into a bear hug, which Naruto did not hesitate to reciprocate.

“Are you all right, Naruto-kun? Where were you last night?” the questions rushed out like water breaking from a dam. He felt tons lighter than he did last night.

Naruto gave him a small smile and said, “Somewhat jiji, and as for the second question, I need to talk to you in private.”

Relieved but his confusion growing, he ushered the boy in his office. Naruto’s keen eyes scanned the office, looking for places where shinobi might be hidden. The Hokage cannot be without bodyguards after all.

‘The upper four corners of the room, that’s where they are hidden’, Kurama supplied helpfully. Naruto gave him a nod of thanks and then turned his attention to the aging Hokage.

“So, Naruto-kun, what did you want to talk about?”

Naruto debated whether to tell the old man to make his ANBU leave, but decided to kill two birds with one stone.

“I know who my parents are.”

That simple statement changed the entire atmosphere of the office. Hiruzen tensed up and so did the ANBU in the office. To those who were intelligent, it was quite easy to deduce just whose son Naruto Uzumaki was. Fortunately or unfortunately, those were very few. However, Naruto’s file itself was classified, with no one but only the Hokage had access to. To find out that Naruto knew about something that only the Hokage had the right to know was very unexpected.

Hiruzen wasted no time, waving hand seals. The ANBU recognised the order to leave them alone. They vanished and Hiruzen activated the privacy seals in his office.

He gave his attention to Naruto, “And who were they?”

Naruto was unnerved by the caution in the old man’s eyes, but steeled himself and answered, “The Yondaime Hokage and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.”

Hiruzen closed his eyes in acceptance and resignation.He always knew Naruto would find out, he just never expected it would be so soon. He opened them to find himself on the receiving end of Naruto’s accusing stare, “Why did you pretend you didn’t know, jiji?”

Hiruzen barely caught himself from flinching. He gave a sigh,”Who told you?”

Naruto promptly answered back, “I figured it out myself.”

“How?” the curiosity was killing him. He had to know if someone out there was wielding such dangerous information.

Naruto recounted the events of last night and at the end of his explanation, Hiruzen was both relieved and curious. Relieved because he was glad no one besides Naruto and him knew his parents’ identity, curious because he never knew that Minato had found a way to hide from his ‘peeping’ ball.

Both he and Naruto sat in silence for a while. Naruto was the first to break it. With a sigh he said ”I understand why you didn’t tell me, jiji. But you need not have pretended not to know.”

Hiruzen looked at him in surprise. ‘Y-you do?”

Naruto then took his parents’ letters out and showed Hiruzen, “Tou-san and kaa-san explained in here why it had to be secret. And frankly, I would do the same. And I did have my suspicions about tou-san. And also,” he walked toward the portrait of the Nidaime, “considering that sosofu (great-grandfather) and I pretty much have the same markings on our face, it wasn’t hard to figure out. Tou-san confirmed it in there.”

Hiruzen read the letters. He knew of Minato’s connection to Tobirama. Tokka Senju had died in childbirth months after Tobirama was killed in the First Shinobi War. Their daughter had married into the Namikaze clan and had relocated to the Senju compound. Minato’s father was killed in a mission months after his birth and his mother had died shortly after, following which he had been living alone in the compound, until he had married Kushina.

He then remembered the rain from the past week. ‘Back when Tobirama-sensei heard of Hashirama-sensei’s death, it had rained continuously the whole time he was sad. Has Naruto inherited the same affinity for water as him? And the plants looked pale as well. It looks like something legendary has returned to the Leaf. I’ll confirm it later. ’

He regained his composure and said, “I hope you understand that you need to keep it secret.”

Naruto shrugged, “I know, jiji. I don’t plan on telling anyone until I’m strong enough to defend not just myself, but those precious to me as well.”

Hiruzen looked at the blonde in wonder, ‘For a five year old, he’s really mature.’

Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he had to resist the urge to smack his head. ‘Why didn’t I ask this sooner?! Damn the forgetfulness that comes with this age!’

“Naruto-kun, why weren’t you at your room in the orphanage yesterday in the evening?” he asked Naruto slowly, as if afraid to find out the answer to that question.

Naruto flinched. He had conveniently forgot to mention that he had been kicked out of the orphanage.

In a mumble that Hiruzen barely understood, the blonde said, “The matron kicked me out yesterday evening.”

Hiruzen suspected that the matron would have deliberately kept Naruto out of the orphanage last night because of the festival, but did not expect him to be thrown out of the orphanage.
White-hot anger flooded his veins that he barely restrained from letting it out as killing intent. ‘How dare they?! How dare that woman do such a vile thing, throwing a five year old out, knowing he would be killed?! Why is the civilian population of this village so stupid? It’s like they don’t trust Minato’s skills at all!’ he raged in his mind.

However, he knew he was equally at fault. He should have never announced Naruto’s status as the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi at all. Naruto would have lived comfortably, without experiencing the hatred of the villagers.

Naruto watched his jiji’s face carefully, for signs of any anger. Fortunately, years of being a shinobi and Hokage allowed Hiruzen to keep a neutral face, but Naruto could tell from the subconscious tightening of jiji’s hand on the desk that he was angry.

“I see”, was all he said before visibly collecting himself. Now to address the main issue. He looked at Naruto with a grave look on his face, “Naruto-kun, now that that is out of the way, we have to find a new place for you to live.”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, “Not another orphanage, jiji!” Hiruzen stared at the desperate look the boy was giving him. Naruto, realising his outburst, quickly collected himself, crossed his arms and said, “I mean, I’d much rather stay alone than somewhere I’m hated.”

‘Oh Kushina, his stubbornness reminds me so much of you’ Hiruzen thought with a sad smile. He sighed, “Are you sure you can take care of yourself? You will have to cook for yourself, bring food for yourself, clean your clothes, keep your home clean, which is very hard considering the size of that compound”, he explained wisely.

However, all that wisdom was thrown out of the window when he noticed the look Naruto was giving him. His face was set in a deadpan stare, an eyebrow raised. He found himself feeling quite stupid when Naruto kept looking at him like that, the deadpan never leaving. He was reminded of two other men who used to make many people feel stupid with the same look on their faces.

Naruto spoke seriously, as if he had not noticed how uncomfortable the man was at all, “Jiji, when you consider the size of that compound, it is clear that no single person could take care of it by themselves. I never said I wanted to live there; a small apartment would do. Besides”, his expression turned a bit sad, “That house is so big that the loneliness will start to bother me, considering whose house it was in the first place.”

‘People thrice his age aren’t this mature’, Hiruzen thought with amazement. No matter how many times he saw Naruto, he was always stunned at how mature Naruto was for his age.
Considering his options, he said, ”Give me one hour, Naruto-kun. I’m positive that I can find an apartment big enough just for you. What do you plan to do now?”

“I think I’ll go explore the house a bit jiji.” Naruto replied.

Hiruzen nodded, ”Very well. I’ll meet you there in one hour.”

Naruto nodded and jumped out the window, onto the slope of the Hokage tower. His speed easily carried him towards the edge of the slope. He executed a perfect cartwheel on the edge, his hands holding on and legs going over in an arc, onto the wall. He then released his hold, falling towards the ground. He rolled perfectly to soften his landing and then ran full throttle, back to the house of his parents.

Hiruzen panicked when he saw Naruto cartwheeling over the edge and letting go, but was relieved when Naruto landed perfectly and ran off.

‘Good thing I deactivated the seals on time. That boy will send me to an early grave.’ He thought to himself. ‘Now, time to find an apartment and execute a matron’

Naruto stood in front of the gates to his house. He placed his hand on the seal, which glowed and caused the gates to open. He mentally nudged his friend, ‘Hey Kurama, you awake? We can finally explore the house!’

All he heard was a deep snore reverberating in his mindscape that caused Naruto to sweatdrop. How the hell was Kurama asleep?! He was awake just a couple of minutes ago! It’s impossible to fall asleep that quickly when all you do is laze around and not even get tired. He decided to leave the snoring fox alone and explore by himself.

He went around the house and saw the back yard again, where he had done his laps earlier today. He then noticed the wooden stumps in the further end of the field. Making a mental note to practice his shurikenjutsu there, he then went into the house.

He found that the room he had slept in the previous night was his parents’ bedroom. He found that there were four bedrooms in total; his parents’ and his on the first floor, the guest bedrooms on the second. One good thing about his and his parents’ bedrooms was that they had balconies attached to them.

He finally decided to explore the basement, curious about the gift his father gave him. Climbing down the stairs, he noticed a long corridor with four doors, two each on opposite sides, with what looked like a seal at the end of the corridor. He opened the first door to his left, and whistled softly, impressed with his father even more. He connected the dots and had to chuckle at how clever his father was.
The room was almost the size of the backyard, if only a bit smaller. But what was interesting was that there was a glass screen separating a large part of the basement from him. Just below the screen, there was a panel with ten kanjis, each representing the number one to ten. He was a bit confused at that and looked further for clues when he saw a large seal array on the ceiling of the room on the other side of the glass.

He turned around, hoping to find something that would explain what the hell he was looking at. He spotted a notebook labelled ‘Training manual’ and picked it up. He opened it and found another note from his father.

Dear Naruto,

This is a training manual for what you are currently looking at. One of my greatest achievements till date.
This is a training room I have designed to improve my taijutsu. While not weak at it, I was not exactly strong either. I designed it and incorporated several taijutsu styles into this room, based on my experiences, and courtesy of my student Kakashi and his friend Gai. If you ever meet Gai, just be a little cautious. He’s always a bit too much.
You must have noticed the ten kanjis on the panel. They are ten levels of training, each more difficult than the rest. I must advise you not to immediately go in there, even if you have learnt a taijutsu style already. I have designed this training room to match with resistance seals. You must only start if you have mastered the sixth level of resistance seals. If you are able to move comfortably at that level, you may begin from the first level. As you move onto a higher resistance, you can move onto the next level. For example, if you have mastered the seventh level of resistance, you can safely try the second level of the training room.
If you thought this room was awesome, wait till you see the room opposite to it. Might as well explain it to you here itself.
The room opposite this one is what I call a ‘Time Chamber’. With help from your mother and my sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin, I designed that room for training in various shinobi arts. It has been designed in such a way that one day out in the real world amounts to one year in there. I have also incorporated the environment from each of the five elemental nations, in order to simulate experience. I must warn you NOT to enter this room until you have become a genin and have mastered the tenth level of resistance. Also once you enter, don’t stay longer than a day. The timer will go off when the day/year is done. Use it to train the various shinobi arts, especially your ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, kenjutsu and genjutsu. I believe that a jutsu is considered mastered when you are able to perform it properly with only one or two hand seals, or none at all. Be warned. You can only use the room once in four months. And don’t go in alone the first time. And no more than three people can enter at once. Don’t forget to pack food for a year when you go in.
I have left a scroll of the taijutsu style I used, the Hummingbird style, along with several other styles. If you want you can learn them. OR, you can create a style for yourself.
Remember, whatever fighting style you learn, it should have the symbolization of the five main elements of nature. It should be as aggressive as fire, as sharp as the wind, as fast as lightning, as strong as earth and as fluid as water.
Good luck and enjoy!
Dad

Naruto was amazed at the end of the letter. His dad created a whole training room with simulations, and a freaking time chamber using Fuinjutsu! From what he read until now, Fuinjutsu was perhaps the most versatile art among all ninja arts. Anything was possible with Fuinjutsu! He started making plans on how he was going to proceed while exploring the other two rooms. The first was a huge library, which contained all kinds of knowledge from jutsu to weapons forging to gardening, while the last room looked like a dojo with an office, where he figured his parents came up with seals and jutsu. He even saw weapons lined on the wall on one side, with seals on the other. Finally, he was moving towards the seal at the end of the hallway when his keen ears picked up a voice calling his name.

‘Oh! Jiji’s here!’, he thought as he raced back upwards, closing the door of the basement behind him. He took the letters with him, stuffing them in his pocket and walked to the gate, opening it to talk to his jiji.

“Ah, Naruto-kun”, he greeted, “I trust that you have explored the house?”

Naruto nodded, smiling, “It is great.”

Hiruzen chuckled, “Good. Now, as you requested, I’ve found an apartment for you.”

Naruto gave the smallest of nods, “So, can I go there and see it?”

Hiruzen nodded, ”I’ll take you there myself.” Gripping Naruto’s shoulder firmly, he vanished in a shunshin.

Apprearing in front of a building, Hiruzen guided Naruto in. “I’ve already stocked it with what you might need”, he explained as they arrived on the top floor.

Stopping in front of a door, Hiruzen pushed the door open and let himself and Naruto in.

The first thought that Naruto had upon seeing his apartment was that it was small, just big enough for him. The second was that it was perfect. The third was awe, seeing that it was stocked with a bed, a dining table, a kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator, and a bedroom with a bathroom and an attached balcony. The bedroom even had two racks for clothes and other belongings.

Hiruzen gave a small smile seeing how Naruto was awed like any other child whenever something new was given to them.

“You can stay here till you become jonin, or get married, whichever comes first. After that, you can move into your parents’ home”, he said.

He waited on the sofa for Naruto to finish exploring the apartment, which was not long. He stood up when Naruto walked into the living room. “So, how is it?”

He was totally unprepared for Naruto to come bowling over to him, wrapping his arms around him in a hug that sent all the air out of his lungs. Only bracing himself at the last second prevented him from falling over backwards. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the boy in a bear hug.

Naruto separated first, unshed tears in his eyes. ”It’s perfect jiji! Thank you so much!”

Hiruzen smiled, relieved that Naruto liked it. “Now, before I leave, here is your monthly stipend.” He said, handing over a wad of notes, “This is 12000 ryo. Spend it wisely. Is there anything else you need before I go?”

Naruto thought for a moment and said, his face the epitome of seriousness, “A cooking book would be nice.”

****

Roaming the streets in the evening, Naruto thought back to the afternoon’s conversation. The old man had almost face-faulted at Naruto’s request. When asked why he would want a cooking book, Naruto responded with his signature ‘making-you-feel-stupid-with-just-a-look’ look.

He made the Hokage sweat for a minute before answering that he wanted to learn cooking because he didn’t want to waste his money eating outside, where he would be outrageously overpriced. That brought him to his main problem. Although jiji had stocked his fridge with all the healthy food, it would eventually be finished and he would have to buy more, which meant that he would be overpriced for every item he bought. He sighed, shaking his head at the villagers’ stupidity.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he was reminded of another matter. He spoke inside, ‘Hey Kurama! I need your help!’ It was almost a minute before the bijuu responded, ‘With what, brat?’

‘I need your help in unlocking my chakra’, he replied. Kurama, now fully awake, grinned. ‘Yes. It’s about time. Alright, head to the training fields’, he instructed.

Naruto nodded before changing directions towards the training fields. He entered the first one he saw and after ensuring that no one was around, he sat down cross-legged, entering a meditative trance and waiting for the pull into his mindscape from Kurama.

He failed to notice a certain purple haired kunoichi looking at him curiously from the entrance of the training ground.

Naruto arrived in his mindscape and saw Kurama resting at that shore of a very large water body, one he knew was not there before. ‘Where on earth did that come from?’ he thought as he approached Kurama.

Kurama sensed his approach and opened his eyes, looking at Naruto with an intense look. “Naruto, do you know what this is?” he asked, gesturing to the water body.

Naruto shook his head.

Seeing that, Kurama explained, “This water body is the representation of your chakra. But before we begin to unlock your chakra, I discovered a very interesting thing about your body”, smiling in the end.

Naruto tilted his head to the side, “What?”

Kurama was as blunt as a hammer. “You don’t have chakra coils in your body, kid.”

Chapter Text

Anko Mitarashi was a tokubetsu jonin of Konoha, specialising in interrogation and working directly under Ibiki Morino, the famed interrogator of Konoha. She was powerful, after all, being a former apprentice of one of the Densetsu no Sannin, Orochimaru.

Just because she was Orochimaru’s apprentice meant she was given the kind of treatment that should honestly be reserved for the likes of Orochimaru. She was called the ‘Snake bitch’ by the populace of Konoha, but she took it head on and made a fearful reputation for herself, ensuring the villagers kept their distance.

She also knew that one other person suffered the same treatment at the hands of the villagers. But she was not that stupid to believe that the blonde was the Kyuubi in human form. He intrigued her, the way he endured the hatred of the villagers and never backed down. For a five year old, that was seriously impressive.

So when she saw the blonde going towards the training fields, her interest in him was peaked. She decided to follow him, to see what he was going to do. She saw how he observed his surroundings and decided to humor him, by simply being hidden at the entrance, out of sight for him, but visible to anyone else. ‘What the hell is this boy doing?’ She thought with a raised eyebrow.

****

“You don’t have chakra coils in your body kid.”

Naruto’s reaction was priceless. “WHAAAAT?!!”

Kurama roared in laughter. Naruto’s reaction to surprises was turning out to be very amusing. He watched as Naruto seemed to have a panic attack within his own mind. The mindscape responded to his mental state, shaking violently. Kurama understood just how much that had rattled Naruto.

“Calm down, Naruto! I was kidding!” Kurama shouted. Seeing how Naruto was showing no signs of calming down, Kurama let loose a small bit of his killing intent, enough to make a jonin sweat.

Naruto, however, was totally inexperienced in experiencing killing intents, therefore his reaction was entirely predictable to Kurama. Naruto instantly froze in his place, all thoughts of Kurama’s news fleeing his mind as he registered the new feeling. The mindscape stopped shaking as Naruto turned towards Kurama.

Voice shaking, he asked Kurama, “W-what was t-that?”

Kurama stared at Naruto in the eye, indicating he was serious. ”That was killing intent. Usually used by shinobi to intimidate each other. Whoever has the higher killing intent is able to make the other suffer illusions of death, if the killing intent is potent enough. I’m surprised though, that you managed to stay conscious.” He said with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto was taking deep breaths during Kurama’s explanation, trying to calm down. By the end of the explanation, he was almost back to his normal self.

Scowling a bit, he asked, “And you thought that was the best way to calm someone who is having a panic attack?!”

Shrugging a bit, Kurama defended himself, “You have to start someday. Also, that was only a little of my killing intent. You have yet to experience my full killing intent. And I intend to make you strong enough to handle just that in time”, he finished, grinning maliciously in the end.

Naruto, to his credit, showed no reaction and kept his face neutral. He would deal with this some other day. For now, he had to focus on his chakra problem.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “What were you saying about my chakra coils before?”

Kurama sat up, towering over Naruto, who had to look up towards him.”I was kidding about the lack of chakra coils. While your reaction was priceless, let’s get back to unlocking your chakra now.”

Naruto glared at the fox but nodded, now fully in control of his emotions. He then gestured towards the lake, “I don’t remember seeing this yesterday when I created my mindscape. What is it?”

Kurama nodded at him, “You would be right. However, do you remember your question to me concerning trauma and your mindscape?”

Naruto tilted his head, his eyes agreeing to Kurama’s question.

Kurama said, ”Well, that theory applies to this lake as well. You may change your mindscape to anything, but there will always be a representation of what is already there, within your mind and body.”

Gesturing to the lake, he explained, “There are two things of importance that you need to know about this lake. Obviously this represents your chakra, but there are other things as well.

“The size of the lake represents the size of your reserves. I have minor difficulty in seeing the end of this lake, which means your reserves are impressively large for your age. The depth of this lake represents the density of your chakra. The deeper it is, the denser and more powerful your chakra is.”

Naruto was listening intently to Kurama. He had to admit, he couldn’t see the other side of the lake, which meant that his reserves would appear to be very large. The question that now remained was how deep the lake was.

As if reading his mind, Kurama nodded knowingly, “You have to dive inside the lake to find out how deep it is. Before you do that, touch the water and tell me what you feel.”

Naruto frowned in confusion at the odd request, but nodded. He touched the water and instantly his frown deepened, as if he didn’t like the feeling.

Kurama turned his head towards him, asking, ”What do you feel, Naruto?”

Naruto removed his hand from the lake, saying, ”Like it’s incomplete. Something else should be there but it’s not.”

Kurama nodded his head in agreement. “Okay, that missing thing is your chakra. Once you unlock your chakra, that feeling will be gone. Now, get to the lake and do it!” he almost ordered Naruto.

Naruto thought for a moment about how to proceed with this. Deciding it, he jumped inside taking a deep breath.

He swam with his hands forward and in a sharp motion, kept pulling them back to go deeper. He kept swimming for what felt like eternity. ‘How deep is this lake? How dense is my chakra?!’ thoughts like these kept running through his head as he continued to go deeper. Strangely, he felt no need to breathe in this lake. ‘Must be because I’m swimming in my own mind’, he deduced.  Finally, he saw what appeared to be the bottom. His efforts to reach there hastened.

As soon as his hands touched the floor of the lake, he instinctively knew his chakra was beneath him. The floor of the lake was acting as a barrier between him and his chakra. He just needed a way to break the barrier so he could access his chakra.

He decided to dump logic and punch the ground as hard as he could. He repeated this nineteen times. On the twentieth time, a small crack appeared on the floor. Naruto noticed the crack and grinned in satisfaction. ‘About time you cracked’ he thought. Redoubling his efforts, he saw that with every punch, the crack widened. He noticed that his hands were getting a bit colder, but didn’t mind it. At last, the crack was big enough that he knew it would break in one last punch.

Pulling back his fist, he brought it back down with all the force he could muster. As soon as his fist connected, the ground shattered from beneath him and he was assaulted by absolute euphoria. He felt complete now, the earlier feeling of something missing now completely gone. He also felt calm, but didn’t think much of it.

The force with which the chakra was released was so great that he was forced out of the lake in just a few moments, contrary to the time he took to reaching the bottom. The last thing he heard from Kurama before being forced awake was, “Damn, I haven’t felt chakra this dense and powerful since the tree hugger himself. But the midnight blue is unusual. And why is it so soothing and calming, it’s actually similar to…”

Kurama looked around him, noticing trees and flowers blooming around him,”Wait. Trees?! Don’t tell me…!”

****

Anko was watching the blonde for almost twenty minutes now. ‘Just what is he hoping to accomplish?’ she thought. She was getting impatient now.

Just as she was about to leave, she felt it. It was impossible to ignore, given how powerful the presence was. She wheeled around, eyes wide, staring at Naruto, ‘He couldn’t possibly be….’

Naruto’s eyes opened a second before midnight blue chakra exploded from him. He felt the chakra spraed from its core present in his stomach, first to his left arm and leg, then backtracking and going to the right leg and arm. It was so dense and powerful that the ground around him cracked violently. Wind was blowing all around very fast by the sheer force of his chakra. Suddenly he felt various signatures around the village, even a jonin level signature a few feet away from him. He didn’t notice the grass and flowers growing around him, along with the tree branches straightening with new leaves sprouting.

Naruto lifted his hands in front of him, seeing the beautiful midnight blue chakra flowing from his body. It almost seemed to be sparkling. The feeling was so exhilarating that he almost missed Kurama’s voice, ‘NARUTO! YOU ARE LETTING OUT TOO MUCH CHAKRA! STOP RIGHT NOW!’

Naruto, fortunately, noticed the urgency in Kurama’s voice and immediately thought about reining it in. To his surprise, the chakra stopped exploding from him almost instantly. Unfortunately, he had already expelled too much of it. The sudden coming down from a high like that caused him to fall unconscious on his back.

Anko, who had watched the whole spectacle, was looking at Naruto with eyes as wide as dinner plates. ‘Was that Kyuubi’s chakra? No, I remember the bastard telling me that the Kyuubi’s chakra was orange. The chakra that exploded from him was blue. An unusual darker shade, but blue nonetheless, which means that the chakra was his. And why the hell is there a mini garden growing?!’ she thought incredulously.

Her one hand was now on her mouth, ‘The amount that he was letting out can easily rival the Sandaime’s! But how did he unlock it, and that too so early? And why was it so…calming?’

All kinds of questions were flashing through her mind, but seeing the kid fall unconscious on his back, she rushed to him, checking to see if he was alright. A sigh of relief escaped her when she saw that he had just collapsed from mild chakra exhaustion.

‘He must be only five to six years old. Unlocking chakra at such a young age is unheard of! Most children unlock it after spending a year at the academy and this kid does it before even entering the academy?!’ she thought incredulously.

It suddenly occurred to her that a blast of chakra like that would have attracted the attention of almost all the shinobi in the village. Shinobi training kicking in, she picked the kid up and vanished in a shunshin to the Hokage’s office.

****

The Hokage sat in his chair, eyes glaring at the giant pile of paperwork that seemed to materialise out of nowehere and just as he finishes the previous file.

He was ridiculously irritated at how it so innocently sat in front of him. ‘This is ridiculous! This blasted paperwork has to be a force of nature! There is no end to it, at all! It is always mocking me! I could have sworn I knew how to tackle it! Damn this forgetfulness that occurs with old age!’

To anyone else watching it, including the ANBU guards in the room, it seemed hilarious how the Hokage was locked in a glaring contest with paperwork of all things. But the captain of the ANBU group could relate to his boss, having to deal with something similar after every mission they do.

Hiruzen finally lost his patience after staring at it for almost fifteen minutes. So infuriated was the old kage that he positioned his hands into a tiger seal and took a deep breath, intent on burning the paperwork away.

He was one second from setting the paperwork on fire when he sensed it. The powerful burst of chakra; so powerful that he was sure almost every shinobi in the village felt it, sensor or not.

‘What was that? I didn’t know any shinobi of mine was capable of releasing chakra at this scale. From what I sensed, it was powerful, but no intention in that burst of chakra. It was soothing and calming. I’ve sensed similar chakra before long ago, but where?’ he thought.

He then took note of the nearby plants, ‘The plants and trees look like they have got new life. The last time that happened was when Hashirama-sensei was alive! Whenever he was happy, the trees would be full of life. Just what is going on?’

He decided that any shinobi who might be near the burst of chakra would respond and report to him shortly. With that, he turned his attention back onto the table and placed his hands on it, closing his eyes, trying to remember where he had felt such chakra. Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He answered, “Enter.”

The door opened to show his secretary, Ikumi, a middle aged woman, gesturing towards a purple haired kunoichi carrying a familiar child with blond hair in her arms.

‘Naruto, what happened to you now?’ he thought in worry as he quickly gestured her inside. Anko gently laid Naruto on the couch in the office and then turned to face the Hokage.

His eyes were hardened, having the look of a true, legendary shinobi instead of the man who was reduced to doing paperwork. His voice had an edge of steel. “What happened, Anko?”

Anko was not nervous at all, as she had done no wrong, ”Hokage-sama, I was just passing by the training fields when I saw Naruto Uzumaki sitting in the middle of a training field in a meditating position. I was curious, so I hid from his sight and observed for anything that would happen. Twenty minutes passed and I was about to leave when I saw the most extraordinary thing Hokage-sama.”

 Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. A burst of powerful chakra and Anko comes to him with an unconscious Naruto? There seemed to be a link here. “What did you witness, Anko?”

“A burst of chakra so powerful that I haven’t felt anything like it before, Hokage-sama. The ground seemed to crack just by the force of his chakra! The weird part was, grass and flowers grew around him, and the nearby plants looked as if they gained new life.” Said Anko.

Hiruzen’s eyebrows shot upwards in a disbelieving motion, “You mean to say that Naruto here,” he gestured to the boy on the couch, “Unlocked his chakra and the burst of chakra from before was HIS chakra?”

Anko nodded in agreement. Hiruzen sat back in his chair, finding it quite hard to believe what Anko had told him. He was wondering how it was possible when he remembered something, “Anko-chan, did you say there were plants growing around him?!” he asked with wide eyes.

Anko nodded, ”Hai Hokage-sama.”

“Oh Kami….” Hiruzen whispered, “Anko, stay here right now until he wakes up. We should hear it right from the source.”

Anko looked at him in confusion, then nodded, ”Hai Hokage-sama.”

****

Naruto was lying on his back in his mindscape, staring at the sky. Kurama was right beside him, head rested on his hands, looking content. Naruto sat up, eyes blinking around in confusion, “What happened?”

Kurama replied in a bored tone, “You fell unconscious. It’s as simple as that.”

Naruto’s eyes widened in realisation. ”I unlocked my chakra. So what does that mean for my body, Kurama? “ he asked.

Kurama glanced at him, “Your chakra reserves are massive, as expected from an Uzumaki. Anyway, I need to sleep now. And I hope you have a good enough excuse to tell him about how you unlocked your chakra. Best wake up now, they’re waiting for you. Oh, and start training to use your chakra.” He said before he fell asleep.

Naruto sat in thought for a while. Thinking of an excuse, he stood up, ‘Might as well wake up’. With that thought, he went up to a stream and fell face first into it.

****

It had been over ten minutes since they were waiting for Naruto to wake up. Anko honestly did not know why the Hokage had asked her wait in his office. But she had to follow whatever the Hokage said, so she waited, albeit impatiently.

Hiruzen on the other hand was contemplating on what to do. He was in his classic thinking pose, elbows on his desk, chin rested on his hands and eyes closed. If what Anko had said was really true and Naruto had really unlocked his chakra, then perhaps it was time to begin Naruto’s training. He had thought that Naruto would grow up normally in the academy, but it seemed nothing was normal if it was connected to Naruto. Maybe he could get Anko to train him….

Suddenly he heard a groan from where Naruto was laid. His and Anko’s eyes snapped to there as Naruto sat up, looking no worse for wear. His eyes seemed confused as he did not seem to recognise where he was. However, as soon as he saw him and Anko, the weariness clouding his eyes suddenly disappeared, replaced by cautiousness.

“Were you the one who got me here?” he mumbled as he studied the purple haired kunoichi. He had never seen her before.

The kunoichi spoke in a rude tone. ”Yes brat, I brought you here after you successfully alerted the entire shinobi force of this village. What the hell were you even doing in the training field, brat?!”

Naruto suddenly remembered that he had unlocked his chakra successfully and did not stop the full blown grin on his face. “Unlocking my chakra.” He replied in a cool tone.

“But how did you know how to unlock your chakra, Naruto-kun?” Hiruzen asked curiously. A five year old unlocking their chakra, without any outside help was simply unheard of. Not to mention how powerful their chakra was.

All those thoughts were thrown out the window when he immediately saw Naruto’s patented ‘making-you-feel-stupid-with-just-a-look’ look. Both he and Anko sweat dropped, thinking along the lines of ‘How does he do that so well?!’

“Well, chakra is inside everyone right? I thought if I looked deep inside myself, I would find it too. For the you-know-what, right jiji?”

Hiruzen looked confused for a moment, but realised it. Naruto wanted to unlock his chakra to get access to his parents’ things left behind for him. But now, time to address the elephant in the room.

“Now that you have unlocked your chakra, Naruto-kun, what will you do?”

Naruto frowned for a moment and crossed his hands, causing Anko to hold back her urge to hug him and yell ‘Kawai!’ The kid looked mighty adorable!

Naruto said, “I will train….or so I would like to say. Unfortunately, I have no idea as to how I should proceed now. Books have always been the answer to all my problems, but I feel that books can’t teach me what I need to know practically”, he revealed honestly.

‘Perfect’, Hiruzen thought with a hidden smile. Normally he would have Naruto wait for another year, letting him join the academy and then letting him learn all he needed. But he knew that Naruto was a naturally curious child. Who knows what experiments he would do to find out what he could do. It would be dangerous to leave Naruto to his own devices, or chakra.

His eyes shifted to Anko, who was watching Naruto and barely restraining himself from glomping him. ‘But if he were to get an instructor to teach him early, many consequences could be avoided. Also, since Naruto is a genius, he may not really fit in with his age group, not only because he would be far ahead of them, but also because even his generation keeps their distance from him. I also have this feeling that Naruto and Anko will bond spectacularly.’

He barely kept himself from grinning. ‘Naruto can still enter the academy at the proper age and graduate with his age group class. Many of the teachers may not give him proper education because of their grudges against the Kyuubi, but that treatment would be null and void if he is already so far ahead. The council will surely protest against this, calling this favouritism, but I can justify myself by saying that the village’s jinchuriki must be trained early so he could be ready for anything. The foolish council members will blindly agree to this and if they don’t, screw the council! I’m the Hokage dammit! Oh the pieces of Naruto’s puzzle are falling together wonderfully!’ he thought to himself gleefully.

Outward he said, “Then it is probably safer to get you an instructor rather than you experimenting on your own.”

Anko finally caught on to the Hokage’s plan as she wheeled around to face him with wide eyes, “Hokage-sama! You can’t possibly-“

“I appoint Anko Mitarashi as instructor of Naruto Uzumaki, effective immediately”, he declared.

Naruto’s eyes, along with Kurama’s, were wide as dinner plates. This was totally unexpected. Naruto never expected to get a personal instructor. He, the village pariah, jailor of Kyuubi! But he was happy, and that was all that mattered to him. For Kurama, he found it hard to believe that the old monkey had balls big enough to pull this kind of stunt in his age.

Anko protested, “B-but Hokage-sama-“

“Do you have a problem with my decision Anko?” he asked with his voice hard.

Anko immediately stood in attention. ”No, Hokage-sama!”

Hiruzen immediately smiled, reverting back to his grandfather persona, “Good. I knew you would have no problem!”

Anko sweat dropped at how fast the old man changed personalities. She actually thought that he was showing favouritism, because everyone knew how close he was to Naruto. But she also saw how special he was. But she was not cut out to be an instructor, rather she didn’t want to. She was more suited out in the field. 

Turning to a gaping Naruto, Hiruzen said “Naruto, you can go back to your apartment. Anko and I have something to discuss. Also, report to the training ground behind this tower, tomorrow morning at six a.m sharp.”

Naruto regained his senses, nodded and immediately left through the window. Turning his attention back to the special jonin, he said, ”Anko, you have to understand that this is necessary. Naruto will face many difficulties in the future, and I fear that by the time everyone acknowledges him and comes to support him, it will be too late. Also, give him a chance. He may surprise you.” He said with utmost seriousness.

Anko was hesitant but nodded. Truthfully, she didn’t want to do this but had to anyway. The fact that the Hokage told the brat and her to report to the Hokage training fields was a surprise since they were exclusively reserved for the Hokage.

She headed back to her apartment, thinking about how she should go about this.

****

Half an hour later, Naruto sat eating his dinner on his dining table in his apartment. The cooking book the Hokage had provided was invaluable, allowing him to cook food for himself. He made sure to follow the instructions word for word, and the results were worth eating. ‘I might have some natural aptitude for cooking, otherwise I would have already blown the kitchen up.’ He mused.

He was eternally grateful for what the old man had done for him. Now that he thought about it, he figured that when he entered the academy next year, some instructors would be prone to discriminate with him. Perhaps this was the way of the old man looking out for him in his shinobi life, he thought.

He finished his dinner and washed the plates. After that he proceeded to the bedroom and laid down on the bed, closing his eyes. Tomorrow would be interesting indeed.

Naruto’s eyes opened as soon as the alarm he set. His hand reached out and shut the alarm clock. Waking up at five in the morning left him plenty of time to get ready.

He finished his morning rituals in ten minutes and dressed in his normal, orange jumpsuit. He went to the fridge and pulled out two bananas, peeling one and eating at a comfortable pace, followed by the second. He finished and looked at the clock. Five-twenty. ‘Best get going’, he thought.

He went up and out of the door, making sure to lock it up properly. He hid the key inside the potted plant near the staircase, absently noting the plant looked better when near him. He then exited the building and ran towards the grounds. The sun was just beginning to rise, so the air was still cool as it hit his face. He smiled as he increased the pace and reached the ground. Seeing that no one was around, he decided that he had some time, and proceeded to do a lighter version of his normal routine exercises. He finished them and proceeded to sit near the gates.

After a while, he looked up and saw his new teacher arrive. Her eyes showed surprise at seeing him there early, but she gestured him to follow her. They arrived in the training ground after Anko said to the guards that they were authorised to use it.

Arriving at the middle of the ground, she said, “Sit down, brat. Introduce yourself.”

Naruto frowned at the way she said it but did it anyway, “Naruto Uzumaki, age five years, likes are reading and training, dislikes are the people who can’t differentiate between a kunai and a sealing scroll, hobbies are none of your business, dream is to be the strongest Hokage ever!” he began in a monotone, became slightly rude in the middle and finished it with a grin and a thumbs up.

Anko grinned in a savage way after his introduction. Not many people had the guts to be rude to her, but this brat had no problem doing it. ‘Time to instill the fear’, she thought maliciously.

Grabbing his collar, she jerked him forward until they were nose to nose.in a deadly whisper, she said, “I don’t like brats like you who think that just because they are getting special treatment, they are above others.”

Naruto replied, unfazed, “And just because you are older and more powerful than me doesn’t mean you have to be rude.”

Anko smirked and let go of Naruto. ‘I like you kid, which means that I won’t go easy on you! Give me twenty rounds of this ground, fast!”

And so began his training. For the whole four weeks, Anko just concentrated on his physical conditioning. She wanted him to be physically fit for what she was about to mold him into.

She was surprised at how obediently Naruto followed her commands. Whatever she told him to do, he did it without question. She ran him into the ground every day. So exhausted he was that as soon as she announced that the training for the day was over, he would collapse onto the ground, unable to move. She always carried him back to his home, and laid him on the couch. She also left him a bento every time, knowing he didn’t have the energy to cook. Kurama always woke him up to eat.

Naruto thanked her profusely every time, but she always waved him away, saying it was the duty of a sensei to care for the student. She didn’t want him to know that she was growing fond of him. That would be embarrassing.

Another good thing both Naruto and Anko didn’t know was that every time Naruto came back exhausted, Kurama always healed him up with his chakra. The good thing was that after every session, Naruto’s muscles would be stronger than before, requiring much more to get exhausted.

Today was the day he would learn to control chakra, and he was excited as hell. After his usual thirty rounds of the ground, (Anko had increased them), Anko decided that he was satisfactorily warmed up and began explaining chakra control.

“Alright kid, the first step to controlling chakra is to take a leaf and use your chakra to stick it to your forehead like this”, she said, demonstrating the exercise.

Naruto nodded before picking up a leaf from the ground and keeping it on his forehead, imagining his chakra creating a suction at the point where the leaf touched his forehead. Surprisingly, it took only four tries to get the amount of chakra right!

On the fifth try, the leaf was easily sticking to his forehead and he stood there smiling proudly. He thought that he would have poor chakra control due to his massive reserves, but he was surprised that he got it on his second try. Using chakra for the first time felt really good! He simply had to imagine how his chakra flowed and sort of command it to do so and voila! Task accomplished.

Anko stood there, gaping at Naruto. Most kids took four to five days to get this exercise right, and this kid had done it in two minutes. Absolutely unbelievable, and outright ridiculous, she decided. ‘Does the term ‘normal’ even apply to this kid?’ she thought with a twitching eyebrow.

“Hey Anko sensei, now that I got it, what’s next?” Naruto asked with a grin. At this point, he was keeping the leaf stuck with only minimal concentration.

Anko grinned. A grin that Naruto never liked. It always meant his doom. “Now”, she said, taking out shuriken and senbon, “Keep that leaf stuck and dodge these!” with that, she threw the shuriken and senbon at him.

It was only his danger sense that saved him from being skewered. This continued for almost fifteen minutes and at the end of those, Naruto was heavily panting. ‘She looked like she almost wanted to kill me!’ he thought, drawing deep breaths.

Anko looked proud, “Well done, Naruto! You successfully dodged the weapons and kept the leaf stuck to your forehead. Take a five minute break!” Not many, no scratch that, no one managed that on their first try. It was starting to look like this kid was born to be a shinobi.

She contemplated if she should teach Naruto the tree walking exercise next. A relatively difficult exercise, a Genin level in fact. But Naruto wasn’t even in the academy. Still, doesn’t hurt to try, right?

After the five minute break was over, she called Naruto and they both walked towards a tree. ”Your next exercise would be to climb this tree with only your feet”, she said.

Naruto gave her a quizzical look. ”Isn’t that kind of impossible sensei?”

Anko rolled her eyes and lightly bonked him at the back of his head, “With the aid of chakra. Honestly, where does your intelligence go sometimes, out of your head?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly.

Anko then demonstrated the exercise, “This is kind of similar to the leaf sticking exercise, except you are sticking yourself to a tree instead of sticking a leaf to you. If you use too little chakra, your foot won’t stick. You use too much chakra; you get blasted off the tree. Begin. You can use a running start if you want.”

‘That would be absolutely pointless unless you have the amount of chakra in your leg right’, thought Naruto as he walked to the tree and put his right foot on the bark, regulating the amount of chakra required to stick. After he got it right, he kept in mind the amount of chakra and carefully pushed the same amount in his left leg.

Taking a deep breath, he lifted his left leg and put it on the bark, not losing concentration in his right leg. A huge smile appeared on his face as he successfully stuck to the bark. Tentatively, he took the next step and managed not to fall off. He continued this until he reached the top of the tree.

Anko watched all of this with her jaw on the ground, dango long forgotten. There was no possible explanation as to how Naruto managed to walk up the entire tree in five minutes of learning the exercise. Then she released a resigned sigh, ‘I don’t even want to know anymore.’

This became the norm for everything. Naruto mastered tree walking in two hours, walking on water with chakra in four hours, and spinning a kunai above his hand with his chakra in a day, all the while dodging Anko’s shuriken, kunai and senbon.

It was time to give the monthly report to the Hokage.

****

“What?” the Hokage asked blankly.

“It’s true Hokage-sama!” Anko insisted.

The smoking pipe had long since fallen off his mouth. This had to be some kind of genjutsu. There was no way Naruto mastered all the chakra control exercises in just two days. Anko was a very deadly kunoichi, so any students she took, in this case, Naruto, had high standards to meet.

But for Anko to say that Naruto did all of that in just two days, it was too much. He had no doubt that Naruto was very physically capable, but he had Uzumaki AND Senju heritage and as such, had monstrous chakra reserves that could not be matched by anyone of his age. He expected Naruto to have problems in controlling his chakra, but from Anko’s report it looked like he had an excellent control of his chakra. ‘Must be due to Hashirama-sensei’s genes. He had excellent control despite his massive reserves.’ He mused.

Anko then slowly asked him, knowing he was rattled to the bones by this news,”Hokage-sama, can I have your permission to start teaching him Ninjutsu and Taijutsu?”

“….Granted.”

****

Naruto stood in his father’s library, looking at the volumes of fuinjutsu his mother had left for him. He picked the first volume and left the house

Anko had very generously given the next day off to him, which he planned to make full use of. For some reason, he thought, that Anko was very surprised at the speed at which he mastered those exercises. He had been asking her when he could start learning Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, but she always said that first he needed to build up endurance and stamina.

After closing the door to his apartment, he set the thick book on the dining table and entered his bedroom, falling asleep. It was a late night after all, and sneaking around made him tired, especially after his sadistic sensei’s training.

His alarm rang at six in the morning. Waking up, he did his morning rituals and made himself some breakfast. ‘That reminds me, the stock that jiji gave me will be finished soon. I need to go shopping’, he thought.

After breakfast, he picked up the fuinjutsu volume and started reading.

He finished it in four hours, including the test that his mother wrote for him at the end of the book. ‘I didn’t know fuinjutsu was this easy.’ he thought in confusion as he checked the answers to his test.

‘It’s not, you insane child’, Kurama grumbled. He had been seeing and hearing fuinjutsu since the era of the Sage of the Six Paths and frankly, it annoyed him. He was much more suited to perform acts of destruction than delicate writing.

Naruto easily ignored him and finished checking the answers. ‘All of them correct. No surprise there.’ He thought smugly. Photographic memory was so useful.

He finished another volume the same day, with the same results in the test at the end of the book. Eight hours of fuinjutsu was mentally exhausting, he thought. 

The rest of the day was then spent on experimenting with his sensory abilities. Kurama had advised him to practice suppressing his chakra. By dinner time he was able to suppress his chakra for half an hour. He made dinner and slept, feeling content with his progress.

The next day, Anko started his official Taijutsu training. ”I’m going to teach you my style of fighting, Naruto. The snake style requires you to be light and flexible, capable of quick strikes and counterattacks and weaving in between them.”

She then grabbed Naruto’s collar, “You will learn and master this style in one year brat, or even Kami won’t save you from my wrath.”, she threatened, enforcing her threat with a bit of killing intent.

It had absolutely no effect whatsoever on him, since he already had a taste of Kurama’s killing intent. However, he nodded vigorously. Anko was pretty terrifying, even without killing intent.

The next month he spent learning Tai and Ninjutsu simultaneously. Due to his photographic memory and the peculiar ability of his body, he progressed quickly in Taijutsu. He found that even though it was formidable, the snake style did not have the symbolisations of all five elements.

Ninjutsu, on the other hand, he felt like he was born to do it. It took him only five tries to master the Henge no jutsu, and nine tries to perform the Kawarimi. Two days later, he had mastered the seal less Kawarimi.

It took him a week to learn the Bunshin no jutsu and bring it to the required three. However, upon seeing Anko perform an advanced version of the Bunshin, known as the Kage Bunshin, he begged to be taught the jutsu. After repeated begging and the constant use of the Puppy Eyes jutsu on the Hokage, the aged leader reluctantly allowed him to learn it. Hiruzen thought that due to his chakra reserves, the Kage Bunshin would end up being easier to learn.

Naruto took an hour to learn the Kage Bunshin. At the end of the hour, when he performed it, Anko and Hiruzen, who had come to supervise the teaching of the kinjutsu, were dumbstruck at the amount of clones Naruto could make. A hundred clones at Naruto’s age stupefied the Hokage so much that it took almost fifteen minutes to snap out of it.

He soon discovered a very interesting aspect of the Kage Bunshin. He could remember everything what his clones saw or heard. And he had no qualms abusing shadow clones after that.

He would have one shadow clone study fuinjutsu, ten to work on chakra control, and five of them to check for any other style of taijutsu, either at home or in the library, while he trained with Anko.

In ten days, all the volumes of fuinjutsu were finished. It took him a week to get his calligraphy up to par, which he kept practicing since then. He had even learnt how to print seals onto surfaces with his chakra. Now technically, that would make him a seal master, but his mother had written him a note that even after finishing all the volumes, he would have to be tested by a certified seal master to be considered a seal master. He knew no one so he decided to ask his jiji to test him, but the old man had questions of his own.

“You’re telling me that you finished all the volumes of fuinjutsu your mother left you in just two weeks?” his voice sounded unbelieving.

Naruto nodded, his expression serious.

Hiruzen let out a small nervous chuckle, “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto shrugged. He figured he could tell him of his gifts. ”When you have a photographic memory, coupled with shadow clones, you tend to abuse it jiji.”

Hiruzen looked shocked at the fact, ”You have a photographic memory?!”

Naruto nodded, “Yes.”

Hiruzen then sighed. “Aside that, I’m sorry, Naruto-kun, but I’m not a certified seal master and as such, I am not qualified to test you”, he told Naruto regretfully. “But my student Jiraiya is. Tell you what, when he visits the village next time, I will tell him to test you. Is that okay for you?”

Naruto figured that he had no choice, ”Alright.”

Armed with the henge and kage bunshin, Naruto’s life had become much easier. Shopping for essentials became easy with henge; he avoided being overcharged for groceries, supplies and clothes. He had even entered the library in a henge, and since the librarian had no formal shinobi training, he could easily get past them. Knowing that he would be sabotaged in the academy due to his status as a jinchuriki, he found the scroll for the Academy taijutsu and using his fast reading and photographic memory, learned the standard and advanced katas. Technically, while training with Anko in the snake style, Naruto was also learning two other taijutsu katas on the side with the help of clones, the other being the Hummingbird style that his father used.

He had come across his parents’ journals in their room; he had learnt from his father’s journal that the Nidaime was not only a master with Suiton and had created the Hiraishin, but he was also proficient with the other elements as well, and had insisted that a shinobi was to be well rounded in all fields. Not to mention he created a lot of jutsu as well. He learnt that his great grandmother was skilled in genjutsu and a decent medic nin, and proficient in senbons, poisons and antidotes. He even read about Jiraiya of the sannin, who was Minato’s sensei. He was not only a seal master, but in charge of Konoha’s spy network as well, hence he couldn’t stay in the village for long.

The journal revealed that Jiraiya was his godfather. Naruto initially was furious that Jiraiya had just abandoned him to the wolves. But Kurama had calmed him down. Then after remembering about the spy network, he understood Jiraiya’s duties outside the village. He decided to confront him about it if he ever met him.

His mother’s journal had told him about the origin of the Uzumaki clan, the destruction of Uzushiogakure, their homeland, their prowess in sealing, high chakra capacity and vitality. He had also read about Kushina’s proficiency in kenjutsu, and her ability to control chakra chains. Kurama had growled in memory of the discomfort those sealing chains had brought him.

It had been two months since Anko started training Naruto, and he had progressed spectacularly. With the most common ninjutsu out of the way, she focused solely on taijutsu, which grew by leaps and bounds, but he was still far from giving her a challenge.

After those two months, Anko felt it wouldn’t hurt for Naruto to start nature manipulation, reporting as such to the Hokage.

Hiruzen stood in front of Naruto beside Anko. Taking out a piece of paper, he began, “Naruto, this is chakra paper. It helps us to find out our elemental affinities. There are five elements. Fire, wind, lightning, earth and water. Fire beats wind, wind beats lightning, lightning beats earth, earth beats water and water beats fire.”

Handing the paper to Naruto, he said, “Hold the paper in your hand and channel some chakra through it. If it’s fire, it will burn. If it’s wind, it will be sliced in half. If it’s water, it will become wet, if it’s lightning, it will wrinkle and if it’s earth, it will crumble to dust.” 

Naruto nodded and focused a tiny bit of his chakra into the paper. What happened next blew his own mind away, as well as Anko’s and Hiruzen’s. Inside his mind, Kurama grinned. Even he did not expect that, but it was a nice surprise.

The paper split violently into three parts.  One soaked up so heavily that it bent and began tearing apart, one crumbled to dust immediately, and the last became crinkled and burst into flames. Anko and the Hokage stared in shock at the paper, and did the only thing they could do.

They fainted.

Naruto blinked for a second and then grinned. ‘Awesome!’

‘You can say that again.’ Kurama spoke up. ‘The fire affinity is because of me though, since I have an affinity for it. So you technically have four affinities, plus mine. Not something that happens everyday, since the last time someone had an affinity for all five elements was my father, the Sage of the Six Paths. Oh, you’re welcome by the way.’

When the two adults came to, Naruto offered them some water. Once they regained their bearings, Anko threw up her hands and walked away, muttering about early grey hairs and surprises.  Hiruzen was convinced that the boy would grow up to be the most unpredictable ninja ever.

What happened the next three months was chakra nature manipulation. He would make five groups of twenty, each group practicing a different nature. For the first time, he had a challenge. Changing the nature of chakra was a lot more difficult than he thought. It took him one whole month to master only the first step of elemental manipulation. Collecting water from the leaf for water, cutting a leaf in half for wind, shrinking up the leaf for lightning, burning the leaf to ashes for fire, and crumbling the leaf to dust for earth.

The second step took him two whole months; for water, it was creating ripples in the water with just his chakra; for wind, it was cutting a rock clean in half; for lightning, it was lighting a lightbulb using only chakra; for fire, it was burning a branch using only chakra; and for earth, it was grinding a rock to dust using only chakra.

His other clones kept training in the other taijutsu styles. Anko had left him to his own devices after he started his elemental training, but would check up and spar with him every now and then. He always teased her on how she was acting like his mother, which always resulted in him having a bruised head. After those three months, however, he met his godfather.

Flashback

Naruto was practicing his taijutsu katas on the training field when he sensed a presence. He was developing his sensory abilities with the help of Kurama. He turned around to see no one, but he knew someone was standing a few feet in front of him.

“Who’s there?” he asked.

The air in front of him shimmered and a man appeared. He wore a red sleeveless coat and green pants, a green kimono underneath the coat and geta sandals. He had long white hair and was very well built, standing well over six feet.

“So you could sense me. Very impressive. Do you know who I am?”

Naruto answered as if he wasn’t even fazed, “Jiraiya of the Sannin.”

Jiraiya grinned,”Sensei told me that you mastered all ten volumes of fuinjutsu your mother left you in ten days. I don’t believe you”, he said in a challenging tone.

Inside however, he was thinking, ‘Oh Minato, Kushina, if only you could see your son right now’, he thought wistfully.

Naruto was also having some thoughts, ‘So he finally showed up. About time, kyoufu (godfather).’

Outward, he shrugged, ”Doesn’t matter if you do or not. Your job is to test me, nothing else”

Jiraiya was a little deflated at how Naruto was acting so detached. He knew Naruto did not know that he was his godfather, or so he thought he knew, but it still hurt. Reining in his emotions, he spoke.

“Let’s get this over with then.”

Three hours later, he stood in the field, staring at Naruto with a gaping jaw. Naruto was standing there, panting. Jiraiya had tested him on every aspect of fuinjutsu. Both written test and how he would apply it in battle. Obviously he lost, but Jiraiya was seriously impressed at how the kid was able to apply fuinjutsu in battle. The versatility was there, along with a touch of unpredictability.

“What is the result?”

Both of them turned to the voice that was spoken. Hiruzen was standing there with a small smile on his face, as if he knew what the answer was.

“He passes”, Jiraiya replied, still in a daze. Naruto nodded at that and sat down with as much grace as he could muster. He promptly fell back after that, asleep before hitting the ground, his last thought being ‘I finally became a seal master.’

Flashback end

Jiraiya had revealed to him after the test that he was his godfather. Naruto then revealed that he had known all along, much to Jiraiya’s shock. Naruto went on to tell him that he understood the duties Jiraiya had outside the village, but he still would not forgive him yet, saying he would have to earn his forgiveness. Jiraiya looked relieved and promised to make it up to him. In the remaining time, Naruto had asked Jiraiya about himself, about his old sannin team and the wars he fought. Naruto mentioned that while being Hokage was his dream, he also wanted to specialise in infiltration, something that had caught his interest in the few months he trained with Anko. Needless to say, Jiraiya was happily surprised.

His jiji had also introduced him to shogi, a game based on strategy. Even though Hiruzen always won, he was surprised at how quickly Naruto learned the game, believing that soon he would be able to beat him.

One day Naruto was walking back to his apartment after a pretty gruelling session of training. Anko had commended him on being able to get her to get serious when sparring. He had decided to head to the park to rest up a bit. He had reached the park and had sat down by a tree, resting up. Fully rested and ignoring the glares that other parents gave him, he got up and was about to leave when he sensed a small amount of malice coming from the trees. Inching towards the trees, he felt four chakra signatures. As he got closer, using the trees as cover, he saw three boys around the age of ten messing with a little girl. The girl looked about his age, with neck length dark blue hair and pale white eyes, ‘A Hyuga.’ Thought Naruto. Deciding to help her he ran up to them.

“Hey, leave her alone. What has she done to you?” he asked as he got in between the bullies and girl.

“Oh? What do we have here? A kid playing hero? Get lost before we hurt you as well.” The one in the middle said. He was the tallest and biggest of the three. ‘Probably the leader.’ Naruto thought.

“Don’t tell me that three academy students have such pressing issues that you need to pick on an innocent girl to feel better about yourselves. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.” Naruto replied, keeping his guard up.

“Why you-“ the one on the right snarled, but before he could finish, Naruto was in front of him, landing a fist in his stomach. Not giving any time to recover, he got behind him and chopped him on the neck, knocking him out.

“Last chance. Leave now or face the same fate as him.” Naruto said to the remaining two. The girl just watched in awe at the display.

The leader of the bullies, however, in a fit of rage, charged at him, fist cocked back. Naruto sidestepped easily and swept his leg, tripping the bully up. A chop to the neck sent him into unconsciousness as well.

Naruto turned to the last boy who froze after seeing his friends defeated. “Leave and stop bullying innocent people. You’re shinobi. Not bandits.” The boy just picked his friends up and ran off. Naruto turned to the girl in concern. “Are you all right?”

“I’m f-fine, t-t-thank y-you.” The girl stuttered out. ‘Must be shy.’ Naruto mused. He continued, “No problem. I’m Naruto Uzumaki. What’s your name?”

“M-my name is H-Hinata H-Hyuga” she replied looking at him, only to look back down blushing.

“Here, let me help you up.” He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up gently. He noticed that her pale eyes had a tint of lavender to them.

“You have really pretty eyes.”

Hinata looked up into those bright azure blue eyes, her face turning a dark shade of red. “T-Thank y-you.”

“Say, would you like to play for a while?” asked Naruto nervously, seeing that she was still rooted to her spot.  

Hinata’s head immediately snapped up, eyes wide. No one had ever asked her to play with them before. Her eyes watering, she answered, “R-really?”

Naruto grinned at her, “Yeah, really. Come on!” Grabbing her hand, he led her to the swings. “Here, sit on the swing. I’ll push you.” Reluctantly, Hinata sat on the swing and held the sides. Naruto started pushing her gently, then slowly going higher and higher. Hinata slowly felt something she hadn’t felt in a while: happiness. Happiness in maybe, finally finding a friend.

Half an hour passed by and the pair were tired. They had sat down by a tree and talking about joining the ninja academy when-

“Hinata-sama, there you are! Your father is waiting for you.” A Hyuga clan member appeared beside her and took her hand, turning to leave.

“B-Bye Naruto-kun. I-it was n-nice to m-meet y-you.” Hinata said.

Naruto smiled broadly and waved at her. Once they were out of sight, Naruto let out a sigh and proceeded to walk back to his apartment.

‘Looks like you got yourself a vixen, brat.’ Kurama teased within his mind.

‘What? Vixen? As in girlfriend? We’re five for crying out loud! And we just met! Shes not my girlfriend!’ Naruto retorted mentally.

‘You say that now, but give it a few years.’  Kurama shot back, snickering.

‘Perverted fox.’ Naruto said shaking his head.

****

A year flew by with Naruto keeping up his training. Anko had declared him a master of the Snake style when he had stalemated with her in a spar after one year and four months since they started training together. He had even mastered the Hummingbird style of his father and had long ago mastered the Academy style of taijutsu.

Currently, Naruto lay in the middle of the training ground in the Senju compound. Anko had gone on a mission that would last a month, so he would be free the entire month. He would be starting the academy in a year, but he wanted to be ahead of his peers before then. Kurama would help train his senses, while his clones would be in the llibrary reading. The Hokage had warned him not to use more than ten clones when it came to reading. Despite his limit, he managed to read the entire academy and genin section of the library, currently sneaking in to read the chunin and jonin sections. He had even read up most of the public books on fuinjutsu, and had begun the basics of kenjutsu and bojutsu, the latter of which his jiji had introduced him to.

Sighing, he got to his feet. As he turned to walk away however, a noise reached his ears, which was strange, considering he did not hear it while training. He stopped abruptly looking for the direction of the sound. It sounded similar to a waterfall.

He walked in the direction of the sound, realising that it got louder. He walked through a strange and somewhat hidden path through the thick network of trees. Ten minutes of walking inside the forest later, he reached a distant clearing, which had a shrine and a small entrance to a cave. With a kunai in hand for caution, he quickly entered the barely illuminated cave and walked through the narrow pathway. The noise reverberated throughout the passageway. When the walkway ended, Naruto’s eyes immediately lost their focus as he could not describe it.

‘Kurama, you seeing this?’

‘Yes. This place would be perfect to work on chakra control. You did want to learn the next step of wind manipulation, right? ’ Kurama replied. He was slightly mesmerised by the sight.

The area around the waterfall was as big as a training ground. The water, however, was what caught his attention. Of course, it was blue just like most waterfalls Naruto had seen in the training grounds, but Naruto could see directly behind the water. Looking at the lake, Naruto was shocked to see the bottom without much difficulty. It was a mesmerizing vision as he became hypnotised by the deep azure colour, same as his eyes. He looked around the waterfall, deciding to start working on waterfall walking tomorrow. He was about to leave when-

‘What’s that over there?’ Kurama’s voice sounded.

Naruto looked; near the lake margin, one rock was slightly taller than the others were. He could see a dark mark engraved on the stone. He could not see what it was due to absence of sufficiently lacking light. As he moved closer, he saw that it was a containment seal. He made a clone who went and caressed the marking, keeping his guard up. However, he was not prepared for a ledge to open where the clone stood. Going down the opening, he landed in a crouch, taking a look around. He was no longer inside the cave he was spelunking before. This place had the same wall structure, but this time he could see little torches illuminating it. Naruto could see the markings of the seal he saw earlier, but instead of a big one, he saw multiple seals sprawled all over the room. Sensing a presence in the room, he whirled around, throwing the kunai in his hand and immediately palming another one.

His eyes focused on the man in front of him. He was tall, fair-skinned, with white shaggy hair, and red markings on his cheeks and chin, awfully similar to his own, but more prominent. The man’s outfit consisted of dark blue armour covering a black shirt with a white fur collar, black pants going up to the middle of his calves with black sandals, and he wore a happuri bearing the symbol of Konohagakure. His face looked menacing and Naruto felt like the man was looking at his very soul. The man was holding the kunai he had thrown at him with two fingers.

Naruto immediately recognised the man.”N-Nidaime-sama?” he blurted out.

The man frowned. ”Impressive reflexes boy. You seem to know who I am. But who are you? And how did you find this place?”  Naruto felt the killing intent, though it wasn’t on Kurama’s level, but he felt compelled to answer the man.

“My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I was exploring a cave with a waterfall when I accidentally opened the ledge and fell here.” The Nidaime stayed silent as he observed the kid for a while. He could not find any chakra fluctuations, meaning that he was telling the truth. In addition, he could tell that it was the kid’s chakra that touched the seal array on the top floor. He then lowered his killing intent, mildly impressed that Naruto didn’t flinch. Naruto, for his turn, looked at his great grandfather, or what he presumed was his essence. He looked around and focused on the seal arrays around the room.

“You’re an essence of chakra, aren’t you?” The Nidaime’s eyebrows shot up at the question. Naruto continued, “This seal array looks familiar.”

“You’re perceptive, boy. Yes, I’m but a fragment of the original Tobirama Senju. Foreseeing my inevitable death in the First Shinobi War, I had sealed a part of my essence here, in the Senju grove before heading out so that I can be of use to Konoha in the future. It was my hope that my descendants would find this place, so that I could bestow upon them them my legacy. I even chose this very place as I used to train with my siblings here.” Tobirama stated, before looking at the kid in front of him. He said his name was Naruto Uzumaki and Tobirama indeed verified it through his sensory abilities. However, he could sense another chakra and he remembered it as belonging to another person, that being his sister in law, Mito Uzumaki. His mind worked fast in estimating that a long time had passed since his death. He focused a little more and was surprised to find that the boy’s chakra was about as dense as his brother’s, and strangely its signature was similar to his own!

“Are you a Senju?” he asked.

Naruto, while processing the information, started as he heard the question. But he replied nonetheless, “I’m descended from a Senju, Nidaime-sama. I shall proceed with your permission.” Looking at Tobirama, who nodded with narrowed eyes. “My father was your grandson, the Fourth Hokage, born from your daughter, and my mother was your brother’s great grandniece, through his wife. They died sealing the Kyuubi in me as he was released when I was born. My mother was the second jinchuriki before me. I’ve established contact with the Kyuubi and he told me that there was foul play involved. A masked man claiming to be an Uchiha,” at this Tobirama’s killing intent spiked to a point where Naruto began to sweat a little, but he continued, “attacked during my birth and released the kyuubi into the village. My father managed to defeat him in battle but he escaped. He sealed the Kyuubi in me at the cost of his life.”

Tobirama lowered his killing intent. He used his sensory abilities and he could see the boy was telling the truth. If that was the case, he was staring right into the face of his great grandson. He even had three red markings which were faint and covered by the whisker marks on his face. He didn’t know whether to be elated or depressed. He instead maintained his normal stoic visage.

“I see….i can tell that you speak the truth. Tell me the remainder of your life until now.”

Naruto nodded and went on to tell him all that had happened. How he was treated by the villagers, how he discovered that he was the Kyuubi’s jinchuriki, how he found out his parents’ identities, how he confronted Hiruzen, who then made it up by giving him training, until now.

“As of right now, I’m going to be six years old, set to enter the academy next year. I’m working on waterfall walking to improve my chakra control, I’m familiar with three taijutsu styles and I plan to create my own style, my shurikenjutsu is acceptable but I wish to improve, I don’t know about genjutsu, I’m able to perform the three academy ninjutsu and I know the kage bunshin. I also know fuinjutsu and was tested by a seal master. Only the sandaime knows of my development.” 

Tobirama intently listened to the boy’s story. From what he heard, Hiruzen had initially messed up, but ended up correcting his mistake in helping the boy. He was impressed with the boy’s skills. For a soon-to-be six year old he had accomplished quite a lot. He looked at the boy and saw the immense potential that stood before him. He began to look at the kid in a new light. He was proud of Hiruzen for stepping up, even if it was a bit too late.

Outwardly he said, “The very reason I am here to pass on my knowledge so that Konoha can use it for its benefit. You were the one who found this place and as such, I have decided to grant you my legacy, all the knowledge I collected throughout my time shall be yours. Now that I know your skill set, I believe we can begin tomorrow. You mentioned you know the kage bunshin? I assume you know its secret as well?”

Naruto’s, as well as, Kurama’s eyes widened when they both heard that the Nidaime, his great grandfather, decided to tutor him. When asked about the kage bunshin, he nodded.

“Excellent,” Tobirama replied. “From tomorrow, come here in the morning immediately after you place a shadow clone to ‘keep appearances’ to others. I shall first go through your chakra control. We shall then go on to taijutsu and shurikenjutsu. We shall also cover the important things such as strategy, infiltration and stealth. Once you reach an acceptable level, I shall teach you my techniques, one by one.”

“You really believe I can do it…sensei?” Tobirama smirked at the term of respect.

“One aspect you’ll learn from me is that I don’t bother saying anything aside from the pure and logical truth. I would not bother saying so if I believed otherwise.” Naruto nodded.

“Should I inform Sandaime-sama about this?” Naruto asked, slightly wincing in referring to his jiji as such.

Tobirama remained silent for a while, then spoke, “It would not be necessary. A ninja is entitled to keep his secrets. That’s your lesson for today.” He said with a smirk.

“Hai, sensei.” Naruto answered.

“Before you leave, we must take care of something first. When I created the seal, I had stored enough chakra to last this conversation. My extension in this place requires a steady supply of chakra, and I do not have said luxury.” Tobirama said.

Naruto frowned, “How much chakra would you require for me to give you?”

“Depending on the level of your training, I shall increase the amount, but nothing too extreme.” Naruto nodded.

“Where is this place anyway?” Naruto finally asked the question that had been bothering him.

“This place is called the Senju Grove.” Tobirama walked out of the cave with Naruto following him. Reaching the middle of the clearing, Tobirama stopped. “To be honest I’m amazed it’s still hidden. It looks untouched….that’s good.” He stated as he looked around the trees.

“Senju Grove? Never heard of this place. Why is it all the way out here? I felt like I walked a long way from the compound.”

Tobirama turned to face his descendant. “This place is where my brothers and I used to train as children. I often sparred with Itama, Kawarama and Hashirama here. This place is protected by natural energy…it’s very sacred. My brother called this place the Grove of Sages…though our clan knew it simply as the Senju Grove. You will be undetectable here from most things, including Hiruzen’s spying orb. It’s one of our clans best kept and few remaining secrets.”

“That explains the seals that glowed when I was taking the path here. And the chakra I’m feeling here is natural energy?”

Tobirama’s eyebrows shot up. “You can sense chakra?!”

Naruto nodded. “Yes. It’s really potent. But calming as well.”

Tobirama was in thought. ‘He’s able to sense the energy from the trees. It’s similar to Anija (elder brother)’s and my sensing ability, but I can tell it’s not refined yet. He may be my descendant after all’ he thought with a small smile.

“Very well, Naruto. You can leave now. I expect you to be here tomorrow morning.”

“By your leave, sensei.” He bowed and left the place, running towards his apartment.

Tobirama chuckled, ”Naruto Uzumaki, my great grandson, huh? Things are getting interesting.”

****

When Naruto woke up the next day, he first believed that the events of last night were nothing but a dream. Though, the fact that the conversation was fresh in his mind, and Kurama’s insistence that it was real, led him to believe otherwise.

After doing his morning rituals, he snuck out of the apartment and made his way to his parents’ house. Once there, he started with his normal routine of fifty laps around the house, a hundred push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and in a way to improve chakra control, pull-ups by hanging from a branch with just chakra from his fingers. After a quick shower, he sent a reinforced clone to keep appearances while he headed to the Senju grove.

As he entered the room with the waterfall, Naruto saw the Nidaime Hokage sitting on top of the lagoon. The man had his eyes closed the entire time. Naruto was about to join him in sitting down when the man opened his eyes and looked directly at them. The look was enough to send a shiver down Naruto’s spine. Tobirama got up from the lagoon and walked towards his newest student.

Tobirama spoke, “Now that you’re here, we shall begin your training. You mentioned yesterday that you are in contact with the Kyuubi.”

Naruto nodded. “Yes sensei. Kurama and I… we’re friends.”

The elder Senju raised an eyebrow, “Kurama? The Kyuubi told you its name?”

“He did.”

“Interesting. Hashirama and I had a discussion about this once. Some of the Bijuu referred to themselves by names, but the Kyuubi never did. So I can assume you’re on good terms with the fox?” Tobirama asked.

Receiving a nod, Tobirama nodded back in approval. “That’s very unusual, but I applaud your maturity and initiative. Having his cooperation will make you much stronger. I’m amazed he would even speak to you, let alone offer friendship. The Kyuubi never trusted humans after Madara abused its power with his sharingan. Mito nee-sama once told me the Kyuubi hated her and Hashirama as much as Madara.”

‘Mito was peaceful, even though she didn’t talk much. I hate the other two though. Madara more than Hashirama.’ Kurama growled.

“I guess Kurama is tired of being used, hence his hate for them. I don’t want to force anything on him. We’re partners in this.”

The Nidaime had a deep look on his face. “I suppose it’s not unusual that the Kyuubi would hate Konoha after two Uchihas abused him. How did you get him to tell you all this? And does he want to help you get stronger?”

“I befriended him and saw his point of view. It’s as you said, sensei, bijuu aren’t evil monsters. And yes, he wants me to take out the Uchiha with the orange mask.” Naruto said slowly.

“We have work to do then. You won’t stand a chance against an Uchiha with a Mangekyo Sharingan unless you’re well past jonin level. Let’s get to training. Now, I want to assess your skills. First, can you explain what chakra is?”

“Chakra is a mix of physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from the mind. Ninjutsu requires more physical energy than spiritual energy while genjutsu requires more spiritual than physical energy.” Naruto replied, reciting word for word what he had read about chakra theory. 

Tobirama nodded, “Good. That makes things easier. Show me what level you are in chakra control.” Naruto took out five kunais and made them hover on his fingers using chakra, after twenty minutes, Tobirama nodded, “Impressive. Now let us start with shurikenjutsu. Grab a couple and throw them at me.” Naruto nodded and grabbed four shuriken. After all, he reasoned, Tobirama wouldn’t be Hokage if he, a mere academy student would be able to hit him with shuriken. Aiming the projectiles, he threw them.

Tobirama was impressed; it looked like the brat had impeccable aim. With movements Naruto could barely see, he caught the shuriken easily. Naruto couldn’t help but stare in wonder. That was even faster than exhibited by any jonin he knew. Hell, not even his jiji was that fast.

“Not bad, kid. But it can be better.” Walking up to Naruto, he handed the shuriken back to Naruto and calmly stood beside him, pointing to the targets.

“Practice with both hands till your wrists hurt.”

Tobirama saw the kid throwing the shuriken time after time with a frown. He could see the kid was very talented. He figured that by the end of the day, Naruto would be a threat to most chunin with just shuriken. However, today’s target was to cover every field so that Tobirama could explain what he wanted from Naruto. Even if the kid would easily hit the target, he would still practice until bloody perfection. Two hours later, Naruto flinched in pain after the throw, signalling the end of the exercise for the day.

“Naruto, show me the twelve hand signs.” Tobirama almost ordered. Naruto complied by demonstrating in quick succession. ”Good. We will be working on different hand seal sequences for you to practice throughout our training. We will start with two hand sequence and move on as I attest that you performed them to my liking. Understood?” Naruto nodded with a smile.

“Next subject is taijutsu.” Naruto then demonstrated the katas for the various taijutsu he had learned. After a rather one-sided spar, Tobirama stood in thought. “Very well. I shall also teach you my style. It incorporates fluidity, agility and precise but powerful strikes. It seems your body is adapted to it, but we shall do physical exercises as well.” Tobirama said with a predatory smile that reminded him so much of Anko.

When night approached outside, Tobirama saw the kid sprawled on the ground, his body aching all over the place. He could not help but smile when he saw the look of pure bliss on Naruto’s face.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself there brat? I did not take you for a masochist.”

“No pain, no gain Tobirama-sensei.” Tobirama’s grin grew wider but it immediately faded.

“Before you leave, I want you to have something.” Naruto looked up confused.

“What is it, sensei?”

“Do you see the shrine over there?” Tobirama pointed towards a wooden building that looked covered in foliage and practically decayed at this point. Its stonework pathway was crumbling, but Naruto could still see that this long-abandoned shrine was miraculously intact.

The two of them walked towards the building. The elder Senju looked down at his descendant a moment later. “I upkept this place during my life, and kept keepsakes of my dead clan members here. This shrine is a homage to their memories. Go inside.”

Doing as he was told, the blonde Uzumaki-Senju child passed into the crumbling building. He looked around at it and saw altars with names engraved on each of them. Some had trinkets and most of them had armour. Tobirama guided Naruto towards the very end, where he saw a chest.

It appeared to be made of wood and stone and was engraved with the Senju clan symbol. Naruto read the inscription on it curiously. ‘Kawarama Senju…’

Tobirama spoke stoically, “Open it.”

Upon sliding the stone lid off the chest, Naruto was amazed to see a variety of well-preserved items within it. Among them was a full set of black shinobi attire, a katana, and armour which looked similar to Tobirama’s. The armour was brown instead of blue however, different from the green or grey in the other ones he saw in the shrine.

“Everything in that chest now belongs to you.” Tobirama stated as Naruto looked over a number of extra pieces of wargear.

While he was amazed by it, Naruto turned to Tobirama confused, “Wait….this chest says Kawarama Senju. Isn’t Kawarama your brother’s name?”

“You have good attention to detail. Yes, Kawarama was one of my younger brothers. He died when he was seven years old, a year above you. His attire will be more appropriate for you to wear, though I would not recommend donning the armour…at least not yet. Senju armour is very iconic, and it will draw unwanted attention to you. For your training here you should wear it, but leave the armour when you go home.” The white haired man replied.

Naruto’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Why would you want me to wear your brother’s stuff?”

“After we established Konoha, I gathered up the remains of the dead Senju clan members and I kept them all here as a shrine to their memory. Sadly, the decades since my death has seen this place collapse into decay. A price to pay for its secrecy I suppose. My brother’s war gear serves no purpose rotting here. It is appropriately fitted to your current size and should also double as a reminder for what it means to be a shinobi. Only through superior strength and cunning can you maintain any kind of lasting peace.”

Naruto nodded understandingly. “I understand, sensei. I shall take good care of it.”

“Good. Now go home and rest. Tomorrow we will do everything again along with your other skills.” Naruto simply turned towards the exit, limping. He thought back to the time Anko had trained him. Tobirama had made her training look like a walk in the park, and this was just the first day! Naruto only imagined how much stronger he would become in the future. Of course, he knew he may not be able to take down jonin now, but one could always dream. He decided to walk back to the apartment, happy with his progress and looking forward to the future.

Chapter Text

Timeskip: Three years later

Nine-year-old Naruto Uzumaki entered his apartment with a sigh. Training with Tobirama-sensei had been as tough as usual, meaning he would be walking back home with some very impressive bruises. For some reason, he could not shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen. It had started in the morning, when he sensed a faint chakra signature which vanished as soon as it appeared when he had been meditating in the grove. Pushing the feeling to the back of his mind, he took a shower and began to make dinner.

As he sat and began to eat a dinner of rice and fish, he reflected on what happened the last three years.

His training had gone well over the last three years. After the first day of the academy, Naruto would send a really overpowered shadow clone to the academy except on taijutsu days. The shadow clone would then create another clone to go to the library to read after the day was done without anyone knowing while it went to train elsewhere.

Following the first day of their meeting, every day was spent training under Tobirama-sensei. Every waking hour of his free time other than meals and sleep, aside from certain break days, was spent in the Senju Grove learning and mastering all the basic skills of shinobi.

The first year was spent on physical conditioning, chakra control, shurikenjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu and theory. His proficiency with shadow clones only continued to grow with each passing day that he now trained with hundred clones at a time, and he could now form them sealless and smokeless. He would have some clones doing the basic exercises while the majority would focus on his current day’s objectives.

True to his word, Tobirama continued to teach the boy new things, and would often set short term goals and bars for him to reach which constantly motivated the young Uzumaki-Senju to become stronger.

In three short years of training under his great grandfather, Naruto had achieved perfect chakra control, and mid-jonin level skill in shurikenjutsu. Tobirama had warned him that since he was still growing, his chakra reserves would grow as well, resulting in loss of control. Therefore it was essential that he practice his chakra control everyday as much as possible.

The first control exercise was walking up and down the waterfall. It had taken the blonde three weeks to master the exercise, meaning he was able to fight off Tobirama or his clones for one hour while walking up and down the waterfall. He then decided to challenge himself by walking up and down the waterfall on his hands, blindfolded. The challenge was made difficult with the addition of projectile weapons and water whips coming out of nowhere to increase his awareness. The next exercise involved separating multi-coloured sand in his palms. Tobirama declared it mastered if he was able to separate the sand into different colours in five seconds while walking up the tree or waterfall. Needless to say, after a month and a half of curses and falling from the waterfall, Naruto had mastered it.

Tobirama had also begun to work on Naruto’s speed and strength, allowing Naruto to apply resistance seals to his body. He was currently at the seventh level of the seal, due to the intense regimen of his training. Taijutsu involved learning and mastering Tobirama’s Running Water style along with Hashirama’s Forest Style, both of which took him a year to master, which meant he was able to hold his own against Tobirama for ten minutes when the elder Senju increased his speed to jonin level. He had begun creating his own taijutsu style using elements of each of the styles he had learnt along with using his imagination to add moves, blocks, and strikes to the style.

Tobirama was proficient in all forms of bukijutsu, but he excelled the most in kenjutsu. Naruto was drilled in all the kenjutsu katas of the Senju and had taken up studying the Uzumaki kenjutsu style, the Issei no Ryuuken (Dragon’s cry). He had even begun mixing the two up to form a different style as well. He had even worked with other weapons, but found that his kenjutsu and bojutsu stood out the most. He had even perfected fighting with dual kunai.

The next year involved ninjutsu, genjutsu and fuinjutsu. Tobirama was surprised to note that Naruto had an affinity for all five elements, which he claimed was surprising for an Uzumaki. Tobirama claimed that Naruto’s affinity for wind was the highest he had ever seen, closely followed by water and earth, which was surprisingly on par with his own, with lightning and fire being the weakest affinity.

Since he had completed the first two steps of elemental manipulation, he had worked on the third stages. To his dismay, however, Tobirama made him do the manipulation exercises one by one until he mastered them.

‘While getting stronger is impressive, getting ahead of yourself is not. Patience is an important virtue of a shinobi. You must never forget that.’ Were the words of the Nidaime.

He had focused in order from strongest to weakest; for wind, it was cutting the waterfall flow with chakra; for water, it was creating whirlpools with his hands and feet, turning the entire body of water into a whirlpool first and then slowly decreasing the size until the whirlpool was the size of his hand or foot; he considered it mastered only if he was able to do it like his sensei; standing in the middle of the created whirlpool with a bored look on his face. For earth, it involved extracting metals from the ground with just chakra; for fire, it was boiling water; for lightning, it was maintaining current between two point sources.

He had always avoided Raiton jutsu because it was just too bright for his eyes. Therefore, Tobirama told him a very interesting theory on how to change the colour of one’s lightning. Thinking that it would be cool if he could do that since red lightning sounded much better, for the next two hours since being taught the technique, he worked relentlessly, practicing changing the colour of his lightning. It was tedious work, but he was able to do it, without shadow clones.

At the end of two hours, he lightly panted but watched in pride as red currents of lightning danced across his body. The red lightning was significantly better on the eyes and was less chakra consuming, though he wasn’t sure why. One thing he learned about his red lightning was that it was very versatile and easy to use. He could mold it into anything with ease, almost like it was an extension of his body.

By now, Naruto had a decent number of jutsu from each element in his repertoire, ranging from E rank to C rank, courtesy of both Tobirama and Hiruzen, who had gifted him with two jutsu from each element on his birthdays. He had jutsu in the B rank territory for earth, water and wind, and was beginning to learn lightning and fire jutsu as well, though it took more time than the other three elements.

Tobirama stressed that a jutsu was mastered if one was able to cast it with minimal hand seals, one or no hand seals being preferred. Naruto managed to reduce the hand seals in his current jutsu arsenal to one for earth, water and wind, to two for lightning and fire, and was working on reducing them to zero.

He also created a way of copying jutsu from others. Whenever he would watch someone perform a jutsu, he would immediately hone in on his chakra in that person’s body, sensing how it was being molded. His photographic memory combined with his controlled danger sense ensured that he could copy hand seals in slower perception. This skill had greatly impressed his jiji and his sensei, the latter actually laughing out loud for the first time when Naruto mentioned that he had copied the Great fireball jutsu from an Uchiha, the irony of copying jutsu from a clan known for copying jutsu was not lost on him.

Elemental ninjutsu was not the only thing he had worked on. He had learnt the Shunshin no jutsu (Body flicker technique) and had managed to get it battle ready in two years. An experienced jonin would be able to easily see him, but that didn’t stop him from improving on it. He had created another speed technique, the Zanzo (Afterimage). He would focus his chakra into his leg and would vanish in a sudden burst of speed. He created it for short distance purposes in a fight. He was probably at high-genin to low chunin speeds, counting with the resistance seals on.

His sensory abilities had been perfected over the course of three years. He had help from Tobirama, who made him study his scrolls on sensing, which Hiruzen had lent Naruto. The more he read them, the more he was convinced that his great grandfather’s genius was on another level. He had developed his own sensing techniques, which Naruto eagerly learned. Naruto by now could easily detect when someone lied to him, and he had also perfected his negative emotions sensing ability as well. He was currently working on sensing nature affinities, something Tobirama mentioned that could be done by the First Hokage. He was able to but only if he concentrated hard enough. He was trying to make it second nature to him. All this was refined with Tobirama’s help; and a lot of water whips.

Tobirama had admitted that his genjutsu repertoire, while impressive, was limited compared to his wife’s, but had helped him in detecting and dispelling genjutsu. He had confirmed that his sensory abilities helped in detecting and dispelling genjutsu. He was able to perfect the ‘Magen: Jigoku kouka no jutsu’ (Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell technique) and had started working on some others, but was still struggling with them. For some reason, he was able to cast the Koukuangyo no jutsu (Bringer of darkness technique) easier than most. Tobirama had talked about his wife, Tokka Senju and her mastery in the art, and gave Naruto his blessing to access the Senju library in order to find out more about it. He helped Naruto with his Yin release despite his limited genjutsu knowledge, incorporating meditation as a part of his training regime.

Tobirama also drilled Naruto in history, geography, strategy, chakra theory as well as other subjects that would be needed in the future, mostly covering topics that were important while he was alive. He wasn’t able to talk about the wars and the Sandaime’s and Yondaime’s reign due to not being alive, but that was rectified with Naruto’s visits to the library and the academy. He had also talked about the various clans and their specialties, both in Konoha and outside, which Naruto had taken quite an interest in. Tobirama had talked extensively about the Uchiha clan, citing his wariness of them and how they had fought extensively before the formation of Konoha. He had even talked about the various kekkei genkai, but mostly talked about the sharingan and its abilities, including its highest level, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and how it was obtained. Naruto was even interested in the strategies used in the era of warring clans, since it was a topic of interest to him like the ones used in the Shinobi world wars, which he had asked Hiruzen about.  

They had also worked on stealth, infiltration and information gathering. Tobirama would make Naruto sneak into various establishments and remain for hours on end without getting caught. Naruto was then tasked with finding the flaws in security and how to improve them in order to prevent such occurrences in the future, which he conducted in the guise of pulling pranks all over the village. Thanks to Naruto’s clones and his knowledge in fuinjutsu, his skills in spying and information gathering had grown by leaps and bounds. He was even able to transform into small animals to help in spying. He now made it a point to keep a spy clone in almost every corner of Konoha in order to gather any information possible. He used his pranks to work on his infiltration and stealth, and as a means to vent his frustration with the civilian shops. His photographic memory also helped him escape his ANBU pursuers. At the end of the chase, he would let Iruka catch him, knowing that Iruka was a sensor, though not on the level that he was.

His favourite method of infiltration was through a seal he had made himself, based on the shadow manipulation of the Nara clan. He would place the seal on himself and merge with the shadows. He found it as a good source of travel as well. Once he had gotten control of the jutsu, which he termed Ryoko no Kage (Shadow of Travel), he worked on making the shadows smaller or larger, connecting the shadows and even teleporting between them; something he was still having a problem with.

Naruto came to know a lot about the man known as the Nidaime Hokage of Konohagakure. When Naruto had explained to him the requirements for graduation, Tobirama became mortified. He stated that when his brother had founded the academy, the academy requirements was at least three times harder. In addition, Naruto had learned that Tobirama valued perfection. He was only satisfied when Naruto performed it to his expectations, or else the genin in training would have to do it again.

Tobirama was impressed by Naruto’s skill in fuinjutsu. Being a seal master himself, Tobirama had judged Naruto’s skills and had put him in the middle rung of Uzumaki seal masters; his sister-in-law Mito being among the best seal masters to date. Due to his wariness of the Uchiha clan, they had begun working on a seal that could neutralise the effects of the sharingan on him. They had also worked on chakra storage seals, seals that could store chakra and could be used to replenish chakra reserves. It could help with chakra exhaustion and would not have the side effects of a soldier pill. Naruto had also learned to apply paralysis and binding seals in battle.  

Due to him achieving perfect chakra control, Tobirama had begun instructing him in the basics of medical ninjutsu. It was hard for him to grasp, but Tobirama assured him he would get it in time. Due to the pressuring of his brother and his wife, Tobirama had more than enough knowledge of medical ninjutsu, though he was not an expert in it.

Few months into his ninjutsu training, the two had made a shocking discovery.

Flashback

Tobirama casually glanced at the clones training in earth and water manipulation before turning to Naruto, who was going through some kenjutsu katas, “You’re slightly better at water than earth…that shouldn’t be the case since those elemental natures are balanced within you. Put sixty of your clones on earth training while keeping the other forty on water.” He instructed.

The clones immediately redistributed themselves as commanded. A constant year of being drilled by Tobirama had made Naruto good at making on the fly changes.

After they redistributed, Tobirama spoke up again, “Remember Naruto, earth chakra is all about power. You want to make your chakra dense and form hand seals with flexed tension. Wind and water are indirect and flowing…earth is stalwart and direct. Remember that.”

Naruto nodded and corrected himself. All of his clones practicing the Doton: Tobi Tsubute (Earth style: Flying stones) seemed to be improving as larger and larger chunks of earth formed out of the ground.

“I think I’m getting better at earth style sensei.” Said Naruto.

“Good. Now I want you to fight and defeat all your shadow clones using only earth and water ninjutsu. Understood?”

“Hai, sensei!” Naruto nodded as he charged in to fight his shadow clones. One by one, he took out waves of them with either the Flying stones or water bullets, even adding other earth and water jutsu. With each clone he destroyed, he felt himself losing more and more stamina. When he got down to the last clone, he felt he was about to pass out.

The last clone shot a massive water bullet towards him. Narrowly dodging it, Naruto slammed his hands on the ground and shot more stones at the clone, who immediately erected a small wall to block it off. Not deterred, Naruto shot more flying stones at the wall with more strength and speed, destroying the wall and dispelling the clone.

He collapsed to the ground a moment later as the exhaustion had finally got the best of him. “How was that, Tobirama-sensei?” Naruto asked between panted breaths.

The white haired Senju was about to reprimand Naruto for his recklessness in facing the earth wall when he noticed the spot where the clone had dispelled. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “I don’t believe it….”

‘Sensei?” Naruto looked at him confused. “Did I do something wrong?”

Tobirama pointed to where Naruto’s clone had just dispelled. Where it stood, a single budding tree could be seen. The Nidaime shook his head. “This tree wasn’t here a minute ago…”

Naruto looked at the tree. It stood exactly at the spot where the clone dispelled. His eyes widened as he looked to his sensei. “Does that…”

“You have a bloodline ability Naruto. I don’t even know what to say. Mokuton! It’s incredible!” Tobirama remarked with a slight bit of pride in his voice.

Naruto’s jaw dropped. “M-Mokuton? I can use it?!”

“When you told me you were my great grandson, I took it with a grain of salt. I never expected this, but this seals it. You’re a true Senju heir.” Tobirama smiled for the first time since Naruto met him.

Seeing Naruto’s confused expression, he continued, “You know that Wood release is the most powerful nature transformation bloodline in the world, Naruto. Only Hashirama was ever able to use it. Once you learn this, along with Hiraishin and Kurama you’re going to be able to protect Konoha from anything!” Tobirama smiled proudly.

“With all due respect, sensei, wouldn’t wood be weak against fire? Or lightning for that matter?” Naruto asked.

Tobirama looked at him and said, “Wood release can drain chakra as well as suppress it. It’s actually a remarkably powerful ability because it combines Earth, Water and Yang natures into one. Even Madara Uchiha with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was no match for anija’s skill with Mokuton.” The Nidaime explained.

‘As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. Mokuton was able to stop me and my siblings as well. It’s no joke.’ Kurama stated.

“So what does it mean for my training then, sensei?”

Tobirama stood in thought. “It will be difficult for you to learn as I do not have first hand knowledge on how to train you in it. I can teach you the basics that I understood from Hashirama’s fighting style, but you’ll have to figure out the rest for yourself.”

“So….to the Senju library?”

Chuckling, the white-haired Senju said, “Yes. To the library. Though if you’re half as smart as my idiot brother was, then you’re bound to figure it out yourself eventually. I will teach you what I know about it, but the rest is up to you. I’d recommend committing several clones to Wood release training full time while I teach you the rest of what I can.”

After a one-sided spar between them, which didn’t last long due to Naruto’s fatigue, Tobirama had called it a day.

Flashback end

Revealing his bloodline to his jiji had been quite a hilarious experience, bringing him a bonsai tree for his birthday and revealing that he grew it. Hiruzen was sceptical, but then nearly had a heart attack when Naruto demonstrated the Mokuton by growing another bonsai tree in front of him. After getting over his shock, Hiruzen revealed he was suspicious of it for a while. After swearing an oath that he would not reveal the Mokuton to anyone until he was ready or advanced in rank, and getting permission to study from the Senju library assuring the old man that he would only need the scrolls in the Senju library to learn, Naruto had left the office in a good mood.

In the two years since he had entered the Academy and discovered his bloodline, Naruto had trained his ass off and had gotten more powerful than he expected to; well, as powerful as a nine-year old could be. The following years after learning about Wood release, and thanks to countless hours in the library with clones, Naruto had gained proficiency in it. To his astonishment, it had developed exponentially.

He, or rather, his enhanced clone, had enrolled into the Shinobi Academy a year after he met Tobirama. Just a few days into the academy told him that he was going to receive the short end of every stick. Since he already knew the Academy taijutsu style, he could tell that the stances taught to him were all wrong. But he gave no indication that he knew this.

Theory lessons were roughly the same.The teachers taught the different concepts in the class, but never answered any of his doubts. Instead, they tried to sabotage him by sending him out of the class for ’disrupting the peace’. Little did they know that he would keep a transformed clone when he was sent out of class. And being a genius had its perks. He would create a clone that would sneak into the archive library in the academy and read up the books on the various shinobi arts, especially ninjutsu, fuinjutsu and kenjutsu. He would even read up the curriculum that was followed in war times.

He had decided to put on the persona of a loud, knuckleheaded idiot, in order for the teachers and the civilian council to keep underestimating him. What they didn’t know was that there would be dozens of Naruto clones training back in their beloved Yondaime’s backyard.

On the bright side, he made a few friends. Friends that he could actually count on.

Hinata Hyuga of the Hyuga clan was the first friend he made. After he had saved her from the bullies, they had met in the academy, where he found that they were in the same class. She was incredibly shy and had confidence issues, but a warm and kind person to befriend. She did not push him aside like most of the other students. She spoke in stutters, which for some reason, seemed to intensify around him. Her face also would turn very red whenever he spoke to her and she fainted most of the times, which was why he let her do most of the talking. Over a year ago, Naruto had started to help increase Hinata’s confidence in herself, after catching her following him during training one day, and they would train with each other after the academy every week in secret. Hinata began to believe more in herself and was slowly starting to come out of her shell, much to her father’s delight.

Choji Akimichi of the Akimichi clan was a chubby boy who always seemed to have some snack in hand. Choji had a very big heart once he got to know him through a shared lunch. He was a very caring person, very kind and strong. But he also suffered from a lack of self- confidence. He was also very sensitive about his weight, angered very quickly if someone called him fat. Nevertheless, Naruto considered him a dear friend.

Shikamaru Nara of the Nara clan was Choji’s best friend, because he was the first one to look past his weight and find who Choji really was. He was also incredibly lazy, his catchphrase being “Troublesome”. Along with that, he was probably the most intelligent person Naruto had met. He didn’t know Shikamaru’s exact IQ, but he knew his lazy friend was high up in that department, at par with his own, if not more. Shikamaru was a true genius at shogi, which is where his weakness also lied. He spent most of his time cloud gazing, or playing shogi to sharpen something that was already sharp. They would occasionally play shogi together, with both of them being pretty even, surprising both Shikamaru and Choji. Choji even mentioned that Naruto was the only one aside from his father to beat him.

Shino Aburame of the Aburame clan was a calm, collected and mysterious person. He rarely smiled and gave almost no emotion away while speaking. He was always on the side of logic, always having some sort of explanation to his answers. Naruto made friends with him because Shino was also treated like an outcast because of his ability to control insects. Naruto could empathise with him. He sometimes sat with Shino so he could enjoy the silence. They would occasionally go together to search for new insects.

Kiba Inuzuka of the Inuzuka clan was more of a ‘rival’, as he mostly grated on his nerves. While he respected his abilities, he felt that he was short tempered and impulsive, which did not help him at all. He was also headstrong, which was probably the reason he got very easily angered in his spars and made mistakes. He always carried his ninken, Akamaru with him at all times. Akamaru was a small puppy who fit in Kiba’s jacket. He always responded to Kiba’s nonsense and was always on his side. He held a one sided rivalry with Sasuke Uchiha.

These five were Naruto’s closest friends. Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba even took part in the occasional prank that Naruto played. They even enjoyed the punishments they got together after testing their teacher’s, Iruka Umino’s patience. Every moment he spent with them, a strong desire to protect them pulsed in his heart.

Ino Yamanaka of the Yamanaka clan was a very loud, outspoken girl, and a very devoted fangirl of Sasuke Uchiha. She was also very proud of her appearance, eating less so she could appear more attractive for her ‘Sasuke-kun’. She was a very kind-hearted person at heart, a side of which seen only when Naruto would volunteer at the flower shop, though there was very limited interaction between them. She also loved gossip and had made it her goal to ensure that nothing stayed secret from her. He didn’t trust her completely right now, but was sure he would later.

Sakura Haruno was a girl from a ninja-turned-civilian family who was a rival of Ino’s for Sasuke’s attention. She was highly self- conscious about her large forehead, which she hid behind her pink bangs. She only had eyes for Sasuke, and often tried to ask him out on dates. Of course, she was always denied. But she had tried to immediately hit Naruto after every denial, believing it was his fault. Of course, Naruto never allowed her to hit him, but simply avoided her. There were times though, when he suspected she had split personality disorder. He didn’t trust her at all.

These people were the only ones worth acknowledging. The rest of them simply treated him like the rest of the village did. But there was one person who was closest to Naruto’s heart out of all of them.

Iruka Umino was his class instructor. He at first thought that Iruka was just like the others. But somewhere down the line, after an incident in the cemetery where Iruka had armed himself against Naruto after his prank, causing Naruto to vent some frustration, Iruka had felt ashamed of his behaviour towards the boy, going so far as to apologise to him. He then started treating Naruto for who he was, instead of what he contained. He occasionally took Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen to eat his favourite dish and was very kind to him. Naruto always felt that Iruka was perhaps the only person who he felt a familial relationship with aside from the Sandaime and Anko.

Sasuke Uchiha was, in the simplest terms, a class-A douchebag. He always acted like he was Kami’s greatest gift to mankind. In short, Naruto was stupefied at how arrogant Sasuke was. He always brooded in class, which somehow his fangirls perceived as “cool”. He had perhaps the strangest personalities Naruto had ever seen. A mixture of superiority and inferiority complex. Naruto hated how Sasuke was labelled a genius, when he really wasn’t. Genius was what Naruto would call the Yondaime, the Nidaime, Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha. Not Sasuke.

Sasuke always evaluated new people that he met. If they were weaker than him, he would arrogantly disregard them, feeling that they would hold him back. If they were stronger, he would relentlessly try to surpass them, believing he should be their equal, if not stronger. This infuriated Naruto the most. He hated how Sasuke believed that he should have no equals.

He knew how Sasuke’s clan was massacred in a single night by the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, Itachi. No one knew why he had done it, and a small voice in his mind kept telling him something wasn’t right about it, but it had left Sasuke deeply scarred. Naruto tried to befriend him at first, thinking that the lone boy could use a friend. Instead, he was rudely rejected and outright insulted; Sasuke had said that he had no wish to befriend the class clown, who was also the dead last.

Since then, Naruto simply stopped interacting with him outside spars, where he forced himself to lose every time; he did not want to reveal all his cards just yet.

When Naruto had mentioned Sasuke Uchiha’s general attitude and about the massacre, Tobirama was not surprised; after all, the Uchiha behaved similarly due to their precious eyes. He had been surprised when Naruto had told him about the massacre. He had guessed that Hiruzen was the one who oversaw the matter. A clan as important as the Uchiha would not be extinguished on a whim, something he had talked to Naruto about. The young Uzumaki, having inherited a bit of his great grandfather’s genius, along with said great grandfather being his sensei beating into his head to gather the necessary information before jumping to conclusions, quickly deduced that the clan was wiped out on orders from the higher-ups. A careful bit of snooping on his part revealed the Uchiha plotting a coup d’etat, which explained everything. Tobirama agreed with his conclusion, but made him swear not to reveal the truth to anyone, including Sasuke, even though he was consumed with thoughts of revenge.

He and Anko had gotten closer over the past four years, having a relationship akin to siblings. Anko had slowly opened up about her past with Orochimaru, and had shown him the cursed seal as well. Naruto had silently resolved to try and find a way to get rid of the cursed seal. She had taken him during his breaks in the academy for ‘survival training’, which meant throwing him into the Forest of death for games of extreme death tag. During that time, Naruto had learned how to hunt and live off the land. Since his survival training, Naruto rarely went shopping. He had started growing his own vegetable garden and would hunt for meat. His cooking had improved as well. Anko had also taught him various poisons and senbon throwing, as well as stealth and infiltration. He could now throw poison laced senbons accurately at non vital points. Handy for surprise attacks.

As he was reminiscing, his mind wandered to what he had felt earlier today. He had detected a faint chakra signature in the woods on his way to the grove. It had appeared and vanished as fast as it came. That meant that whatever it was, crossed the edge of his enhanced senses.

A cold feeling of dread crawled up his spine as he began to form possible scenarios. He was in the woods, a good distance away from the village. When Konoha ninja were deployed for amission they would usually leave through the main gate and use the main road leading out of the village. So that could only mean one thing: enemy shinobi.

He quickly got up and changed into his new ninja clothes. He also grabbed his ninja gear. He had to report to his jiji immediately. Now wasn’t the time for his stupidity act.

Suddenly, he picked up a flurry of commotion thanks to his sensory skills. He looked out the window and saw a few jonin dashing hurriedly across the rooftops, heading towards the Hokage tower.

‘I have a bad feeling about this. They probably mght have found out about the enemy ninja. But what could they be after?’

‘Remember your lessons from the water-boy Senju, brat.’

Naruto had to stifle a laugh at the way Kurama referred to the Nidaime as ‘water-boy’. He remembered the lesson Tobirama had taught him about confrontations.

‘Never act impulsively. Gather the necessary information before taking action.’

Coming to a decision, Naruto pulled up the hood of his jacket and dashed toward the Hokage tower.

Earlier at the Hyuga compound

Nine year old Hinata Hyuga walked to her room after dinner. She was exhausted. Her father had put her through a gruelling training session earlier in the day where she had again lost to her sister, Hanabi. However, it was a narrow defeat. That did not stop Hiashi from looking at her in disappointment. Hinata had silently shed tears on seeing that look until the image of a blonde haired, blue eyed boy cheered her up.

Ever since the start of the academy, she and Naruto had become good friends. She had developed a crush on the blonde ever since he stopped and defeated the bullies picking on her. She would still remember how they played with each other after that. One year into the academy, he had caught her following him when he went to train, and instead of being repulsed, had asked her to join him. Since then, she was able to get to know him better since she was his first friend and likewise for her. They would sit together, have lunch together, and sometimes after school, they would go to one of the training grounds to work on their ninja skills.

During their time together, Hinata would notice how the people looked at Naruto when they passed by on the street. She didn’t know why the villagers treated him as such or why her father wanted her to keep away from him. The blonde boy was always so kind, encouraging and gentle, even if he was a bit stupid, and had a never-give-up attitude. She was confused as to why she heard some of the villagers refer to him as the demon.

Naruto didn’t seem to care though. He just shrugged it off and ignored the hateful looks thrown his way. She wished that she had that kind of self confidence. Her friend always kept assuring her that one day, her father would see her as the great person she was.

Hinata couldn’t have asked for a better friend. If only he wasn’t so mysterious sometimes.

For instance, he portrayed himself as an idiot who couldn’t listen in class and would play pranks on the villagers, often skipping class to do so. But she would be present when Naruto would play shogi with Shikamaru. She would notice Naruto’s look; not one of goofiness, but a cold, calculating one. This was further proved when he would win against the lazy Nara sometimes.

There was also another factor that only added to her friend’s deepening mystery. They often trained and polished their skills after classes. They both trained in taijutsu and he taught her to hit multiple targets with shuriken and kunai. What was weird was that during practice sessions, Hinata would often hit most except for two. Naruto never missed. His accuracy was perfect.

When at the academy though, Hinata noticed that Naruto’s form was sloppy and therefore failed to hit more than four. The rest of the class laughed at him for it but Hinata knew better. He missed those targets on purpose. What Hinata couldn’t figure out was her friend’s reason for hiding his true potential in front of the others.

She tried asking him about it but he was skilled in avoiding the subject and directing the flow of the conversation. He was a great friend, but sometimes she wished he would be more open to her about such things.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice a silent figure creep up behind her and deliver a sharp blow to her neck. It was too late as she went out like a light and crumpled to the floor. The figure picked her up and draped her over his shoulder, proceeding to make a hasty retreat. The mission was a success.

Present

“I have already dispatched all my Anbu and tracking squads for the search.” Hiruzen informed a furious Hiashi Hyuga at the Hokage tower. “We will not rest until we find her.”

“Who would do this Hokage-sama?” Hiashi demanded.

Hiashi had been alerted that his daughter had been kidnapped an hour after finishing their supper. Her bodyguard Ko Hyuga had checked on her room and found it empty. He then used the Byakugan to locate her in the compound. When he couldn’t see her chakra signature he expanded his range and couldn’t find any trace of her in the entire village. It was then that he reported this to Hiashi and he immediately informed the Hokage.

He may be disappointed in his daughter but he still loved her nonetheless.

“It is troubling.” Hiruzen admitted. “Do not fret, Hiashi-san. All of our best trackers are out looking for your daughter Hinata. We will find her.”

“Please excuse me Hokage-sama.” Hiashi stated. “I will join the search as well.”

He stood to leave, accompanied by two clan members. Hiruzen sighed as he slumped back on his chair. He prayed that they find the girl soon.

All the while, Naruto secretly listened in on the conversation from outside the office window. When he heard Hinata’s name, he began to dash through the rooftops so fast that the next thing he knew was that he was already in the woods. He had released his seals allowing him to run and move faster. He extended his senses and summoned five clones to search in different directions. Once a clone found the Hyuga heiress its job would be to disperse and alert the location to the original. At that moment, Naruto didn’t care about anything else.

His only goal at present was to rescue his friend.

‘Hang on, Hinata.’

****

After an hour of searching, Naruto detected a familiar chakra signature a few meters ahead of him. The chakra was Hinata’s. Naruto was sure of it. He could also sense three suppressed chakra signatures as well. No doubt it belonged to the ones who kidnapped her. They were so skilled at hiding it that only an adept sensory ninja would be able to pick up their location.

Mentally thanking Tobirama and Kurama for the sessions when they worked on his sensing, Naruto picked up his pace. They were a good distance from the village now. Thanks to his studies in geography and given the speed in which they were travelling, he could assume they were getting close to the border of Hi no Kuni. (Land of Fire).

Naruto suppressed his own chakra signature to avoid detection. Right now he was able to get a good look at the assailants, while remaining at a safe distance. Three shinobi, with at least high chunin chakra levels, wearing the insignia of Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud village) sat around the campfire in a small clearing. The light from the campfire showed him that the headbands were slashed, indicating them to be missing-nin. He tried using his enhanced hearing to eavesdrop into the conversation.

“-gonna be heroes. Raikage-sama won’t have a choice but to accept us back into the village.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to get in without help though. Thank Kami we had enough money to convince him.”

“Yeah whatever. We have the Byakugan now. I’ll keep watch. You two take rest. We’ll meet up with the boss shortly. ”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed, ‘It seems we have a traitor in our midst. This was an inside job! And there’s one more person whos apparently the boss.’

The other two nodded and headed back to the tents. Naruto had never been so thankful for his insane stamina. It was clear the three shinobi were exhausted, and he was only slightly winded.

‘When you get the upper hand, press it to the limit.’

The next course of action would be to attack them now while they were resting. He would need to distract them first. They were probably on edge, expecting to be attacked at any moment from leaf ninja. They needed to think that there are more enemies than there really was.

‘Deception is one of the most valuable assets of a ninja.’

Another thing he didn’t want to do is to turn the situation into a long drawn out fight. These ninjas were obviously high chunin in ranking to be able to pull off the infiltration, even though inside help was there. He would need to end this battle quick and decisively, especially with someone who was stronger than the three, apparently the leader.

‘When you make the first move in a battle, hit hard and fast.’

He hastily formed a plan and summoned three shadow clones, who sped off in different directions. He would have to time this right.

****

Naruto perched on a branch of a nearby tree, overlooking the small enemy camp. He could make note of the two sleeping ninja and one sentry. Hinata was unconscious and bound to the base of a tree. She was blindfolded and gagged. Thankfully, she looked unharmed.

The small fire was reduced to an ember to conceal their whereabouts. The sentry was scanning his surroundings periodically. Each of the ninjas was equipped with a katana. He had to act fast and throw them into confusion.

‘This could also possibly be your first kill.’ A voice rumbled in his head.

‘Kurama?’

‘Yes. Don’t stall. These are missing-nin. So you can kill them. You may not like it, but it’s necessary.’

‘But we need to know who sent them don’t we?’

The fox sighed. ‘Brat, I know how you feel. But you have to do this. If you want, you can leave one alive and interrogate them. Be careful though. I don’t want to die because you got careless.’

The blonde steeled himself and nodded. He had to do what was necessary to protect his precious people, even if he didn’t like it.

He figured his clones were in their respective positions by now and imitated a bird call to signal them. Right on cue, a dozen shuriken launched from some bushes and the ninja on watch barely managed to deflect them.

Wasting no time, Naruto quickly added wind chakra to his shuriken and threw them at the sentry before clapping his hands together and extending them forward.

“Fuuton: Reppusho.” (Wind style: Gale palm) He whispered.

The wind coated shuriken sped up even faster than usual towards the sentry ninja, who barely got his warning out.

‘We’ve got comp-URK!”

He paused mid-sentence as shuriken he tried to deflect cleaved through his sword and pierced his chest and shoulder. He suddenly felt a nick in his throat and let out a silent scream. The last thing he heard were the cries of his companions as his vision faded to black.

“Ansui!” cried one of the ninja. He was about to move forward when more shuriken came from one of the bushes on the side. He deflected them but some managed to graze his shoulder and side. Suddenly, he felt movement beneath him. He was too late as two hands grabbed him and pulled him down, burying him up to the head. He was about to get out when he felt a sharp blow to the head, knocking him out.

“Hiro!” shouted the third, who stood guard and looked around to find the attacker. He suddenly sensed movement and quickly jumped out of the way as two hands shot out of the ground, landing a safe distance away.

“That was good, but you won’t get me like you got the other two.”

“I didn’t expect to get you.” Said a voice right beside him. He turned and swung his katana too late as he was suddenly carried away by a blast of wind.

‘Fuuton: Daitoppa!” (Wind style: Great breakthrough)

Naruto exhaled a gust of wind point blank at the last man standing. The wind carried the man and he crashed into a tree. Naruto charged forward, intending to slap a paralysis seal on him but the ninja brought his sword down, forcing him to dodge and getting nicked in the arm.

“You were good, brat. But not good enough!” he exclaimed as he charged forward intending to finish the boy. Naruto cursed not having his sword on him as he took out two kunai and blocked an over head strike. What followed was a dance between dual kunai and a katana that lasted five minutes, with Naruto mainly dodging and parrying strikes while adding wind chakra to his kunai to get in some cuts and bruises. Having enough and not wasting time, he kicked at the man’s knee forcing him to jump away.

Kenji Haranui was annoyed. He was expecting a simple mission. Get into Konoha, kidnap the Hyuga heiress, wait for boss to arrive and then they would head to Kumo, presenting the Raikage with the heiress and thereby granting entry to the village after they left it two years ago. What he wasn’t expecting was to fight a brat who was probably nine or ten years old, who wore a blue jacket with a dark grey hood. He couldn’t get a good look at his face due to a face mask covering the bottom of it. On top of that, one of his comrades was bleeding heavily and the other was buried neck deep in the ground and knocked out. Not to mention he was being pushed back by a mere genin.

“You’ve made me work a lot brat, but this is the end!” he sneered but was suddenly caught off guard by the ground becoming slippery and he was suddenly carried away.

“Doton: Doryu Taiga!” (Earth style: Mud flow river).

The jutsu was given to him by his jiji on his eighth birthday. He had used it on Tobirama only to receive a water whip beatdown afterward. The mud carried Kenji towards another tree. Naruto, not wanting to lose the opportunity, rushed towards him and quickly drove a kunai into the man’s chest, making him gasp in horror and disbelief before the life faded from his eyes.

Naruto panted heavily. This was technically his first real fight. He felt the adrenaline fading and looked at the man in front of him. His face was etched in horror. Naruto suddenly felt empty, realising he had now made his first kills. He was expecting to throw up or break down but he didn’t. He just felt empty and had a lot of guilt.

‘You did well, Naruto. But don’t forget to check the others.’

Deciding to deal with his guilt later and saying a small prayer for finding peace, he proceeded to take out a scroll, into which he sealed the body. He made a clone who went to untie Hinata as he checked on the other two.

The sentry ninja was dead, having bled out from the chest and neck. As he sealed his body, Naruto remembered the two people whom he had killed now. One was Kenji Haranui, C-rank missing-nin who was a chunin. The sentry was Ansui Teruno, C-rank missing-nin. Both seemed skilled with the sword and raiton jutsu. Naruto had to count himself lucky that they didn’t use jutsu, having underestimated him badly. He was infinitely grateful to Tobirama sensei who had insisted he get a Bingo book and memorise it. A simple henge into a chunin did the trick.

He was about to remove the third one from the ground to interrogate him when a hail of kunai appeared from nowhere. Thanks to his danger sense he managed to jump out of the way, though Hiro wasn’t lucky and got a kunai buried into his head. Naruto turned to look at the attacker, quickly getting in front of his clone and Hinata.

“Impressive, kid. You managed to take out three missing-nin. Judging by your height I would assume you may be a fresh genin. But know that I’m on a different level. You fought bravely, so I’ll let you go if you give me the girl now.” The man stated emotionlessly. He was a middle aged man with short graying brown hair, dressed in a typical Kumo jonin outfit, with a pair of black pants and a black shirt underneath the Kumo over-the-shoulder flak vest. One of his grey eyes was covered by an eye-patch. His slashed Kumo hitai-ate was displayed proudly on his forehead.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. “So you were hoping to bribe your way back into the village with my friend here on the off chance they’d accept this? Maybe I should assume they won’t miss you if I kill you right now for even suggesting that in front of me, Aise Mugen of Kumo.” He spoke evenly with a coldness that even sent a shiver down the jonin’s spine. No one threatened his precious people and got away with it.

The man narrowed his eye. “So you know me. While that is impressive, I guess the negotiations had broken down already.”

“You could say that. Here’s my official rejection.” Naruto said and then held a half ram seal. The jonin scoffed and stepped forward….

Only to find, he couldn’t move at all!

Startled, he looked down to see a seal array originating from the boy’s foot. Looking around, he saw copies of the boy holding up the same seal.

“Tajuu Isshi Toujin (Multiple String light formation).” Naruto said grinning.

The older man snarled and was about to flare his chakra when he felt something being slapped on to him and suddenly he couldn’t feel his chakra. “Wha-What did you do to me brat?!” he shouted.

“I don’t see why you should know.” Said a voice behind him, which was the last thing he heard before he felt a sharp pain in his neck and his vision faded to black.

Naruto sighed, letting the barrier fall and immediately produced a prisoner scroll, sealing the unconscious jonin into it. He couldn’t believe that he was able to outwit a jonin that easily, especially after his fights with the chunin level ninja earlier. After getting rid of any evidence of battle in the area with a couple of doton jutsu, and finding and sealing anything useful in the camp, he dispelled the clones and settled down near a tree, opting to wake his friend.

****

Hinata felt someone shake her awake and her eyes fluttered open to see Naruto’s face hovering close to hers.

“Good to see you awake, Hinata-chan.” Naruto said with a relieved smile on his face.

At first Hinata was confused. She was sitting on the ground leaning on a tree with Naruto sitting next to her. They were in a small clearing that looked empty, but had small signs of a battle that took place. Suddenly, the events of what happened earlier came rushing back to her mind.

She sat up and frantically swivelled her head from side to side to find out where she was. A comforting hand was placed on her shoulder.

“Take it easy. You’re safe now.” Naruto assured her.

The Hyuga heiress turned her attention to the blonde and noticed that something was different about him. He wasn’t wearing his normal orange jumpsuit. Instead he was wearing a navy blue jacket with a grey hood over a black shirt with sleeves upto the elbows, and black pants. He also looked tired. She glanced around the clearing and then back at Naruto. Another realisation dawned on her.

“You gave me a real scare Hinata-chan. When I found out you were kidnapped I-umpf.”

Naruto wasn’t able to finish his sentence because Hinata had engulfed him in a tight hug. He returned it and they stayed like that for a while. A few silent tears streamed down her face as she pressed it against his chest.

“You saved me.” She whispered.

“Of course I did. I will always be there for my precious people.” Naruto replied sincerely.

A wave of happiness and relief washed over Hinata as she heard those words. It warmed her heart to know that Naruto would always be looking out for her. They broke apart after a few minutes and Naruto helped her to her feet. It was then he noticed Naruto’s expression.

“Naruto-kun, are you all right?” she asked worriedly.

Naruto sighed. “It’s a long story Hinata-chan. I’ll explain everything when we get back. Right now, we should head to the village. Your dad is worried about you. He’s looking for you now as we speak.”

“Really? My father’s looking for me?” In all her life she had never received single compliment from the man. It was hard to believe that he was out searching for her. Then again, Naruto wasn’t the type of person to lie.

Naruto nodded. “That’s why we should let him know that you’re all right.”

Before Hinata could say anything else, Naruto made some clones around them and picked her up in a bridal carry. She let out a small ’eep!’ when he did and blushed madly. Naruto told her to hang on tight and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Afterwards, Naruto began to dash towards the village followed closely by his clones.

****

Five hours had passed since Hiruzen had dispatched the search parties for the captured Hyuga heiress and none of his ninjas had reported any sign of her. They were still searching but it was beginning to look bleak. The Hokage was sitting in his office trying to calm a furious Hiashi.

The clan head had also partaken in the search for his daughter but found no trace of her as well. The Hyuga was pacing back and forth restlessly. Sarutobi had given up trying to reassure the man because he knew that words would be futile. The only thing that Hiashi wanted was her daughter safe and unharmed.

Suddenly, the door to his office burst open as his secretary, Ikumi, rushed in the room. “Hokage-sama!”

“What is it?” Hiruzen demanded. Before the assistant could answer a small figure ran into the office with tears in her eyes.

“Father!” Hinata cried as she rushed into Hiashi’s arms. The little girl clung tightly to his father’s embrace and Hiashi stroked her hair, his composure of a strict and well-disciplined clan head forgotten for the moment as he held his daughter in his arms. Everyone was silent except for Hinata’s quiet sobs of relief.

The Hokage then turned to his assistant. “Who brought her in?”

The answer to his question was revealed when Naruto entered the office.

Naruto bowed to the Hokage, ‘Good evening, Hokage-sama.”

Hiruzen raised his eyebrow as he noticed the boy. Gone was the idiotic act he would be pulling since he entered the academy. In its place was a calm and collected boy. The tone in his voice was official and businesslike. His expression was neutral and serious. The aged Hokage could not help but see his successor and his sensei in the boy. The colour of his clothes reminded him too much of the Nidaime.

‘Sensei, Minato, if only you could see him now.’

He then noticed the blood on the boy’s clothes. He looked tired as well. The presence of blood pointed to one thing. Hiruzen sighed internally.

‘Oh, Naruto….to have had to kill at such a young age…’

Hiashi had already let go of his daughter but still held her hand as he also took note of the newcomer. He was surprised to see that it was the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. This wasn’t what surprised him though. Hiashi had heard a lot about the boy over the past three years. They said he was a troublemaker, unruly and hot-headed. It was one of the reasons why he disapproved of his daughter’s friendship with the boy.

Now though, he was starting to wonder if everything he had been told about the boy was true because that wasn’t the boy standing in the Hokage’s office.

“Naruto, would you care to explain how you happened to find our missing heiress?” Hiruzen asked.

Naruto nodded and began to recount the events of the previous hours. The Hokage listened intently, not wanting to interrupt. Inwardly he smiled at the boy’s initiative to take action. He was enraged when the ninja were trying to use Hinata as a way to gain back favour with the Raikage, but was saddened by the fact that Naruto had killed two of the kidnappers. But he was proud of the boy for being able to capture one of them for interrogation, a jonin at that.

Hinata and her father, on the other hand stared at the boy in wonder. This wasn’t the boy who would play pranks or get into trouble every other week. HInata felt like she was standing in the room with a different person. But somehow, she felt like she was seeing the real Naruto for the first time.

Hiashi was having similar thoughts. The way the boy carried himself, his facial expressions, reminded him of another blonde who was similar when reporting after a mission. Suddenly, something clicked within him. His eyes widened slightly as he glanced towards the portrait of the Hokage, mainly the Fourth’s. Everything fell into place instantly.

‘How could I have been so blind?! Of course he’s their son….forgive me my old friend…’

He turned his head to see the Hokage give him a look that spoke volumes.

Keep it to yourself.

Giving his leader a slight nod, he turned back to Naruto, who had just finished his recount. Everyone in the room was silent for a moment.

“Well first off, Naruto, let me commend you for your fruitful efforts tonight.” Hiruzen said. “Though you had to get your hands dirty, if it weren’t for you, then young HInata would not be here tonight.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.”

“Allow me to extend my thanks as well.” Hiashi said.

Naruto turned to the Hyuga clan head and gave a respectful bow. “It is my pleasure Hiashi-sama. I would never allow my closest friend to be put in harm’s way.”

Naruto gave Hinata a warm smile and she returned it with her own. Hiashi nodded in understanding. He then proceeded to head out of the Hokage’s office with Hinata in tow.

“Father-,“ Hinata started to say but the clan head held up a hand to silence her.

“You may see him tomorrow when you’re fully rested.” Hiashi said. “I’m sure the Hokage has some things to discuss with the boy.”

It took a moment for Hinata to decipher her father’s words when it hit her: he was giving her permission to see Naruto. “Do you mean it, father?”

Hiashi nodded and Hinata smiled in pure joy. She looked back at Naruto to see him smiling at her as well.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Hinata-chan!” Naruto said cheerfully.

With that being said, Hinata allowed her father to lead her out of the office.

Naruto watched them leave and turned back toward the Hokage, regaining his calm composure. Months of Tobirama drilling him in addressing superiors gave him the reflex to act respectfully to higher ranking people like the Hokage.

“You can relax now, Naruto.” The Sandaime said with amusement in his voice.

Naruto sighed. “Thanks jiji.”

Hiruzen chuckled. “I must say I’m impressed, Naruto. Your training has paid off. Though it would have been better if you hadn’t killed today.” He ended in a somber tone.

Naruto sighed. “I know, jiji. I didn’t like it at all. I felt so empty after I did it. However, I realise if I hadn’t done it, Hinata-chan may have been subjected to torture we can’t imagine. Besides, the shinobi world isn’t kind, is it?”

Hiruzen nodded. “Yes. And I won’t lie to you. The first kills are hard. It was extremely hard for me as well. But the fact that you feel empty and remorseful proves that you’re human. I would be worried if you didn’t feel so.”

“I don’t like killing but I’ll have to do it, if necessary. The sooner I get exposed, the better.”

He then took out four scrolls. “These contain the bodies of the four people involved. The chunin are dead. The jonin I managed to knock out.”

Hiruzen nodded. Summoning an ANBU, he held the three scrolls containing the dead bodies and said, “Take these to the morgue for autopsy.” After the Anbu vanished, he summoned another one. “Take this to Ibiki. Tell him to treat it as a high priority.”

After the Anbu vanished, Naruto spoke up. “There could be a security breach, jiji.”

Hiruzen frowned. “I’m afraid you’re right Naruto-kun. I’ll have to increase the patrols.”

Naruto smirked. “Good. Even more reason for pranks.”

“Do you have to go so far, Naruto?” The Hokage deadpanned.

Naruto shrugged, “Well, SOMEONE has to give them a workout. Consider it awareness training.”

Hiruzen laughed while the Anbu in the room groaned. “That may be so, Naruto. If that is all, you’re dismissed. Goodnight.”

“Night, jiji.”

Hiruzen watched the blonde leave with a smile. He looked up at the portraits of the previous Hokages.

‘Sensei, Minato, he’s going to be a fine shinobi someday.’

He looked back at his table and slumped. “Damn paperwork. Oh screw it. I’m turning in. You all can leave.” He along with the Anbu vanished in puffs of smoke.  

****

“So how do you feel now about your first kill?”

Naruto sighed. He had come to the Senju grove the morning after and relayed to Tobirama the events of the night before. Tobirama listened intently with a frown on his face. The question asked by the elder Senju caught his attention.

“I feel better now after talking to you and Sandaime-sama. The guilt is there but lessened to a degree. The fact that I may have saved Hinata from unimaginable torture also helps in alleviating the guilt.”

Tobirama nodded. “Good. The first kill is always hard. There are times when we as shinobi have to make choices. Some good, some bad. Those choices make us who we are. Sometimes we have to shed blood for the protection of the village and those close to us. Know that every time you shed blood on behalf of the village, the village and those close to us live to see another day. Now let us begin.”

Naruto nodded and made a hundred clones, who split into groups of twenty to focus on nin, gen, tai, ken and fuinjutsu. Tobirama made five to watch over them and monitored the real Naruto as he went about his physical exercises, the most recent one including climbing the cliff present in the grove with just one hand.

Tobirama now felt that Naruto was ready for the fourth step of water manipulation. It was purely his own creation as it allowed him to use water techniques even without a nearby water source.

“My student, you have come quite far in your training and now it is time to pass on the first part of my legacy. Follow me please…” Naruto nodded as he watched Tobirama step into the water and walk casually towards the waterfall. “As I explained to you, water is an abundant element of nature. You are able to find it in almost every place you look. Suiton ninjutsu divides in two types of techniques, the ones where you use the water within your body and the ones you use outside your body. A true master of suiton ninjutsu, however, does not need to rely on any nearby water source and I shall pass on this knowledge to you, so that it may once more benefit the village.” Naruto nodded as the man took a seat right below the waterfall. The heavy water bombarded the man’s blue armour, but he did not appear to show any sign of discomfort.

“The fourth step to mastery is to learn how to use water ninjutsu by using the water molecules saturated in the air. The air molecules are composed mainly of two chemical substances, hydrogen and oxygen. Both these substances together form water molecules, which for a suiton master is an unending source to be used. Now, come sit by my side and focus on your chakra.” The boy did so and though he felt discomfort, he didn’t show it. “Close your eyes and spread your chakra through the entire lake around you. The key to this exercise is to become one with the very element.”

Naruto did as his sensei told and closed his eyes, attempting to ignore the discomfort.

According to Tobirama, the water element was unlike all the other elements. Its nature was calm and serene, but any time and if used properly, it could become quite fearsome. It took a while but eventually Naruto got used to the waterfall bombarding his shoulder. In his mind, all he could think of was the deep sapphire colour of the water he was sitting on. Tobirama looked at his great grandson/student and smirked. The boy was ready to receive his legacy now. When Naruto opened his eyes, Tobirama could see himself in the boy’s eyes. Like the water they were sitting on, Naruto needed to be calm and serene in nature, but perfectly capable of being quite fearsome when needed.

“You’re now ready.” Naruto nodded in determination.

****

“All right class, it’s time for taijutsu practice!” Iruka Umino, the academy instructor, announced. Naruto joined the rest of the class as they gathered outside. The chunin instructor began to arrange the match-ups. The first to go were Ino and Sakura.

The two girls stepped up to the circle, all the while glaring daggers at each other.

“You should just give up, forehead!” Ino taunted. “I’m the one who will win Sasuke-kun’s heart.”

“In your dreams, Ino-pig!” Sakura retorted. “I’ll be the one to have Sasuke-kun as a boyfriend!”   

Iruka sighed as the two girls continued to bicker and raised his hand to start the match. “Hajime! (Begin)”

After five minutes the two girls went at it with the standard taijutsu but the match soon turned into a wrestling competition as the two girls continued arguing over who Sasuke likes more. Iruka put a stop to it immediately and called out the next pair.

“Shikamaru Nara versus Choji Akimichi.”

The two boys didn’t even bother to exchange blows. They both forfeited much to Iruka’s irritation. ‘Naruto’ had to hide a snicker seeing Iruka’s face. He then called out the next pair and it went on like that for a while.

Hinata easily beat her opponent. Naruto congratulated her as she walked back to stand with him. Kiba was easily beaten by Shino because the Inuzuka charged in without thinking.

Finally, ‘he’ heard ‘his’ name be called. “Naruto Uzumaki versus Sasuke Uchiha.”

All of Sasuke’s fan girls encouraged and wished him luck. As usual the raven haired boy ignored them as he stepped in the circle.

“Beat baka-Naruto, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura shouted.

“Yeah! Show him you’re the best, Sasuke-kun!” Ino shouted.

Naruto sighed as he began to walk toward the circle.

“Do your best, Naruto-kun.” Hinata said, receiving a smile in return. She watched him go with a small frown on her face. Last night’s events proved to her that Naruto had been holding back massively. There was no way that the dead-last could easily take down three chunin and a jonin, even with luck. Also Naruto had said that he wanted to talk to her about something important.

Naruto knew he was going to lose because he didn’t want to showcase any of his skills yet. Also he was training hard under Tobirama-sensei, who was insistent on being subtle and patient. He wanted nothing more than to put the arrogant Uchiha in his place but he didn’t think now was the time to do so. He took up the Academy style stance as Sasuke slid into the stance of his clan’s style, the Interceptor fist.

Naruto knew that style well. After hearing Tobirama talk about the various clans in Konoha and the details about them, Naruto had a very good idea about each clan’s techniques. He, however, gave no indication of his knowledge though. At least, not yet.

Iruka raised his hand before shouting, “Hajime!”

The two boys faced each other for a moment before Sasuke charged in with his fist cocked back. He was intending to finish the match with one blow and Naruto would openly take the hit. But it didn’t happen like that.

Time slowed down for a moment and the instincts from his recent battle with the Cloud ninjas became active. Instead of seeing Sasuke, he saw an enemy jonin ready to take his head off.

His instincts took over his will and and time resumed back to normal. Naruto sidestepped the punch that Sasuke threw at him. The blonde grabbed the other boy’s wrist and using his momentum, threw him over his shoulder. Sasuke landed on his back outside the circle and everyone was stunned into silence.

‘Damn it.’ he thought.

Iruka dropped the clipboard in shock as he watched the match. It surprised him that Naruto was able to defeat the top student of the class in record time.

Sasuke was in a similar state of surprise as he got back on his feet and turned towards his opponent. Naruto had beaten him effortlessly in one move. There was no way the dead-last could have beaten him that easily.

Naruto kept his face neutral, but inside he was desperately trying to think of a way to cover up his display of skill. Fortunately, Sakura came up with a plausible reason.

“That was a fluke! There’s no way Sasuke-kun would lose!” Sakura shouted. ‘Naruto got lucky!”

Ino agreed. “Yeah! Sasuke-kun can beat the dead-last anytime he wants!”

Soon, most of the class believed the two and decided that it was indeed just a fluke. Sasuke soon recovered his snarky attitude and walked back into the building when Iruka-sensei announced the end of the sparring exercises. Naruto sighed in relief and was grateful for the quick save. Although, not everyone was fooled by the deception.

Shikamaru frowned as he observed the blonde boy heading back inside with Hinata. He followed Choji inside while still in deep thought. In all of their sparring matches, Naruto was never able to land a decent hit on Sasuke, much less win against him. Yet only a while ago, he was able to easily defeat the top student in class. Sure, Naruto was smart. That he knew, after many games of shogi which the blonde had won, and he knew Naruto was stronger than he let on, but not strong enough to beat Sasuke.

‘Troublesome.’ He thought. ‘So that’s his real self.’

****

After class, Naruto and HInata decided to head to their usual training grounds for some practice. The place was empty so they had the whole space to themselves. He felt nervous. Had brought HInata here not to train but to explain to her why the villagers treated him like they did. He knew that she was always curious about it but Naruto never gave her a straight answer. Now, he decided that she deserved to know the truth.

Naruto was nervous, but had forced himself to face any negative reaction. Still, he was afraid that when Hinata knew that the Kyuubi that attacked the village ten years ago was sealed inside of him, she would stop being friends with him. Of course, Naruto wouldn’t hold it against her if she ran away screaming from him. Nobody wanted to be friends with a monster anyway.

He steeled himself and gathered all the courage he had. Flashing through hand signs, he set up a privacy barrier.

“What was that, Naruto-kun?”

“Privacy barrier. Fuinjutsu is awesome.” Naruto joked before he became serious. “Hinata, I need to tell you something.”

HInata immediately knew something was wrong. Naruto never addressed her with the affectionate –chan suffix if it was something important and serious. She looked to her friend and found him with a neutral expression, but fidgeting slightly. A cold feeling of dread crawled up her spine as she waited for Naruto to speak. She envisioned him saying that he didn’t want to be friends with her anymore. Her heart ached at the thought and she forced herself to choke down a sob.

“Well, it’s a secret I found out about myself about an incident that happened nine years ago. It’s about why the villagers treated me like an outcast and a monster. Only the Hokage and a few others know about what I’m going to tell you because it’s an S-rank secret.”

Hinata felt a huge amount of relief that Naruto didn’t end their friendship like she thought he would, but on the other hand she was curious about what he was going to tell her. She had asked him many times about why the villagers looked at him with hatred and disgust every time he walked past them on the street, but he kept avoiding the topic. She finally gets to know the reason.

“Hinata,” Naruto started slowly. “You know about the Kyuubi attack ten years ago and that the Fourth Hokage saved the village by killing it, right?”

“Yes, I remember.” Although Hinata didn’t know why he mentioned it or where he was going with this. “The Yondaime died killing the Kyuubi and was hailed as a hero.”

Naruto nodded but he couldn’t meet Hinata’s eyes. He took a deep breath. It was now or never.

“What are you trying to say, Naruto-kun?”

“Hinata, the Yondaime didn’t kill the Kyuubi that night. It is impossible to slay a bijuu. They can only be sealed.” Naruto said. “The Yondaime couldn’t kill the Kyuubi so he sealed him into a child to prevent further destruction and to ensure the safety of the village.”

At this point, Hinata had put two and two together and couldn’t believe what she had just been told. She had her hands covering her mouth while tears were running freely down her face. The sadness she felt was overwhelming.

Naruto continued, “And so the boy became the new Jinchuriki for the Kyuubi. The Sandaime passed a law that forbade anyone to speak or mention it. The jinchuriki was therefore shunned and hated by the rest of the villagers. He was always alone and only a few peopleactually treated him like a person. That’s why I dreamed of becoming Hokage someday, so that everyone will see that I’m not a monster and be acknowledged as a great ninja.”

After he finished speaking, Naruto felt a pair of arms wrap around him in a tight embrace. Hinata pressed her face into his chest and sobbed quietly. The boy returned the hug and the two just held each other for a while. Naruto was grateful for her presence and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Hinata’s sobs subsided a little bit after a few minutes and she just settled for basking in the warmth that her friend provided. She felt angry and sad about how Naruto had been treated all his life for something that was out of his control. She was ashamed of her village for causing her friend so much pain and suffering.

And yet, despite his horrible and miserable childhood, Naruto was still able to hold on to his kind and caring nature. Instead of plotting revenge against those who wronged him, he wanted to become a ninja and protect them. Hinata’s feelings towards the boy seemed to have deepened even more then. Her admiration was beginning to turn into something much more potent.

“Naruto-kun, I’m sorry.” Hinata said softly.

Naruto looked confused as he pulled back from the hug and stared at Hinata. “Why are you apologising, HInata-chan? You have nothing to be sorry about.”

‘I do. I’m still too weak to protect those I care about from harm.” Hinata replied. “I don’t want to be weak anymore. I want to be strong so that I can be the one to protect you like you do for me. I’m so sorry Naruto-kun.”

Naruto gently tilted Hinata’s face to face him. “You don’t need to apologise.” Naruto said sincerely. “Strength isn’t measured in jutsu or physical attributes. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for and by the way, you’ve saved me more times than I can count.”

She could see that he meant every word.

“Thank you, Naruto-kun.”

“No Hinata, it should be me thanking you.”  

****

It took a month for Naruto to master Tobirama’s method of pulling water out of the air, since as a form of respect to the Nidaime, he wanted to learn it on his own. Once he had learned it, he delegated to his clones the work of mastering the water jutsu in his arsenal through pulling water out of the air. He began to apply the concept of pure nature manipulation to his other elements; mainly wind and earth. He had even begun the practice of moving around and fighting blindfolded.

While his clones worked on that, he began to work on his great grandfather’s and father’s legacy: The Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God).

The fact that he was a seal master had helped him study and understand the Hiraishin scroll his father left him. He had to admit it was pretty complex.

From what he understood, it was a part of the rarely studied field of space-time. It was a perfect combination of ninjutsu and fuinjutsu. His father had left him an astounding amount of chakra theory for him to recreate the jutsu. In summary, it was using fuinjutsu to create a temporary tear in space-time, travelling through it and appearing on the other end near-instantly. It relied on the principle of teleportation; once you enter the tear of space-time, your body is dispersed into millions of particles of chakra that reassembled just before you exited the space-time tear.

Naruto’s challenge was in creating the jutsu shiki (seal formula). Tobirama imprinted his kanji on any kunai he had, and his shiki was completely different from his father’s. His father’s famous kunai had only five kanji on it that he used very successfully. The scroll was enormous, even with his father’s improved notes. He had to shorten it, just like his father and great grandfather did, into five or six kanji.

At first he had made the mistake of using his father’s formula, imprinted on a kunai, the difference being that instead of his father’s formula, it was his. It even sort of worked, but he slowly discovered the problem in that method. It was taking him too long to sense the kunai; he was wasting chakra as well. He had then re-read that every Hiraishin formula was unique to its user. He had to painstakingly start from scratch to build his own formula, which would require a lot of time.

Six months of curses and ink marks later, he had proudly created his own Hiraishin formula, with a few interesting modifications of his own. He had modified his formula so that instead of sensing the kunai and forcing yourself into the space-time tear, which had become easier with his formula, he maintained a very weak link with whatever he had put his formula in. Whenever he molded chakra and honed on a particular kunai, the link would instantly teleport him, without him having to force himself through. He now required significantly less chakra to use Hiraishin, and sensing the kunai became easier.

His formula was four kanji symbols forming the phrase, ‘Fall down seven times, stand up eight’. It was his proudest creation yet. There were two modifications he had made, one of which he gave credit of to Kurama.

Kurama had strategically pointed out that he would not be able to use Hiraishin in places where there is water. For four days straight, he worked on another formula which would allow his kunai to stick on water surface.

The second modification, was to remove the ‘flash’, which had been a small shimmer of chakra to show he was coming and going, similar to an afterimage, as he felt that something flashy was incomplete. Thus, whenever he teleported or appeared, there was no trace or flash.

When he had finally tried the Hiraishin, he was ecstatic. But he also discovered the jutsu’s disadvantages. It took time getting used to. It took him thirty seven successful teleport attempts to end up on the other side without nauseating.

Tobirama was proud of him for managing to master the jutsu, even getting a few laughs out of it seeing Naruto struggle initially after crashing headfirst into a tree on his first few tries.

Naruto had started building his own jutsu theory few months after entering the academy. It was slow, it required a lot of reading, testing and revisement but he felt he was truly on to something. While most ninjutsu seemed to be of the elemental variety, it didn’t explain the ninpou; the jutsu that were predicated on a specific element. How did chakra become a poison gas, for instance. No one really knew. Naruto posited, what if ninpou are based on the elements but by combining, at least partially, the behaviours of one element with the property of another? Not all could be understood from this and one would have to incorporate Yin and Yang as well but he believed he was on to something. He hadn’t managed to create many jutsu out of this insight but it affected his kenjutsu.

He wondered what would happen if he took the sharpening process from wind and incorporated lightning’s high frequency. He ended up getting sound. The better he got at grinding wind faster and faster, the closer he got to what became a super sonic blade. This type of chakra flow was the sharpest, not even a vacuum blade compared. His findings had his jiji’s jaws on the floor that it took a long time to snap out of it. While he was impressed, he made Naruto swear not to tell anyone yet. He couldn’t help but see his old sensei within Naruto. Tobirama himself had to fight off the urge to actually hug his great grandson for making such discoveries in ninjutsu. He was the cool Hokage damn it! Hugging was more his idiot brother’s thing!

Naruto was happy that Hinata accepted him regardless of his status as a jinchuriki. She had approached him for more training, claiming to want to become stronger to protect those she cared about. Naruto warned her that his training would be difficult, but she was as determined as ever.

Since then, his clone and Hinata would train every day, mainly focusing on taijutsu and the academy topics.

Right now, Tobirama stood over the panting form of his great grandson. They had had a rigorous training session today, which ended in a three hour sparring session. The Nidaime was proud that his descendant had come far from the mid-genin level brat he was when they first met. Naruto was a solid high-chunin to low jonin level shinobi now. He had managed to master elemental manipulation of three elements, had high chunin level taijutsu, kenjutsu and bojutsu, above average genjutsu skills, proficient in weapons other than a sword and bo staff, jonin level sensory skills, a seal master making his own seals and had a sharp mind similar to his own. Tobirama believed that by the time Naruto reached his prime, he would pretty much surpass every shinobi in the elemental nations, even the Kage.

Tobirama even helped Naruto in creating his taijutsu style, which was very unpredictable; exactly how he wanted it to be. He had both an attack and defense stance, but he preferred his opponents attack him first. He had incorporated his danger sense into his style, making it even more efficient. His style was a combination of linear and unpredictability; he would attack whenever he saw the openings and attack however he could.

He had based his style so he did not have any restrictions or limitations. In short, he had successfully created and mastered his own fighting style in four years and just like his father said, it was as aggressive as fire, as sharp as wind, as fast as lightning, as strong as the earth, as fluid as water and as unpredictable as nature. He decided to name his style the Elemental fist.  Pretty badass.

The only thing Naruto lacked right now was experience. Thankfully, Tobirama had a solution to that.

“Naruto,” he said, gaining the boy’s attention. “I’ve taught you a lot in these three and a half years, and I’m proud to say that you have exceeded my expectations. Though most people, especially my brother, would argue that this training is harsh on a child, I’d disagree because for all we know, we have a rogue Uchiha with a Mangekyo Sharingan on the loose. We have to be prepared for whenever he may strike. But even though you have skill, you lack something important.”

“Experience.” Said Naruto, receiving a nod in return.

“Correct. Normally, I’d wait for you to enter a genin team and progress from normal D ranks and go up from there, but we still have two years and a few months for your graduation, and your progress now is astounding. Therefore, you’ll have to go out of Konoha briefly to gain experience.”

“But how am I supposed to keep up appearances in the academy and in Konoha while I’m outside? I’m sure even an enhanced shadow clone can hold on for so long, and if I get hurt, the clone dispels.”

Tobirama nodded. “You’re right. That’s why we’re going to use a different type of clone. The Chishio Bunshin (Blood clone).”

“Chishio Bunshin?” said Naruto. Then his eyes widened, “Is that why you asked me to spill and save some blood every day for the past year?”

The Nidaime smirked. The brat was perceptive as ever. “Exactly. It has all the properties of the shadow clone with none of the drawbacks. The reason I’ve forbidden it is because it takes a large amount of blood and a significant amount of chakra to create just one clone. Even with your reserves, you can create only up to two clones before you succumb to chakra exhaustion. For now, we’re going to stick to one clone. While you’re out gaining experience, the clone will continue training with me and keeping appearances. Now, bring out the blood and let us begin.”

Nodding, Naruto took out a scroll and, pushing chakra through it, unsealed a bucket filled with blood. After being shown the hand signs and using his sensory skills to see the amount of chakra used, he repeated the sequence of hand signs until he got them memorised and perfect.

Performing the hand seals and putting the required amount of his and Kurama’s chakra, he placed his hand into the bucket filled with thick, red blood and thought ‘Chishio Bunshin no jutsu!’

The blood within the bucket began to bubble, climbing into the air slowly. It looked like a person sticking their hand out of the red liquid. More and more soon came out, the bucket was knocked over as the blood took shape outside of it. Two legs soon formed, then came the feet, two arms and hands followed along with the fingers, toes and the head. The head formed a mouth, a nose and a set of eyes, along with mimicking his spiky hair. However, it was still blood.

Soon enough that began to change, starting from the feet it began to gain skin. It crawled up the figures at a slow pace and as it reached the chest, the skin branched off in three different directions; the arms and head. Finally the jutsu was finished and in front of Naruto stood an exact replica of him.

Naruto collapsed onto one knee in exhaustion. The jutsu had taken quite a bit out of him. Tobirama looked at the clone and nodded. “Good. Now, while the original rests, you,” he pointed to the clone, “will keep up appearances outside and keep training with me and the original goes out of Konoha to gain experience. Is that understood?”

“Hai, sensei.” The clone answered.

“Make sure to keep playing pranks. But this time, try not to get caught. Also, you can up the ante a little. Go for the clans.”

“You sure that’s a good idea, Prime?”

“We don’t want them to get complacent, -ttebayo.” The original clapped a hand to his mouth. “Damn, I thought I got rid of that.”

“While I usually do not agree to such juvenile antics, I suppose you’re right. The village has become complacent from what I can sense since my grandson passed on. A good wake up call would be in order. But for now, we will be going over jutsu creation and refining the elements a bit more. For now, start with increasing your sensory range. Move into the cave and begin.”

“Hai sensei.”

When the clone disappeared, Tobirama turned to the original. “Rest for a week, then head out at night without anyone noticing. It shouldn’t be too hard for you. I will give you something to work on during rest week.”

“What do you mean, sensei?”

‘Hold still. It will only take a moment.” At that moment, Tobirama made a few hand signs and then blurred in front of Naruto, pressing his index and middle fingers to his forehead. Placing two fingers to his own forehead, he uttered,

“Senju Hijutsu: Kinen Isshoku” (Senju Hidden Art: Memory transfer)

That was the last thing Naruto heard before he lost consciousness.

Chapter Text

Timeskip: Two and a half years later

A lone figure stood on top of the gates of Konoha. He was tall for his age, standing at a five foot two. He wore dark grey ANBU pants with orange stripes along the sides, taped with dark red bandages from the calf to the ankles. He had a burnt orange coloured mesh shirt under a dark grey shirt with three-quarter sleeves stopping just below the elbows. He wore a dark blue belt with two pouches on his back. On both his thighs were pouches for shuriken and senbon that were strapped over black bandages. Over the shirt he wore a navy blue sleeveless hooded jacket with the Uzumaki swirl on the back. The jacket contained pockets specially made to store scrolls and small containers for different things. He wore black gloves with metal plates on the back, where he sealed his katana and bo staff. On his feet he wore black shinobi sandals which were steel toed.

He was Naruto Uzumaki, and today was the day of his graduation exam. He reflected on all that happened during the past few years; his progress in skills, Anko’s training, the academy, meeting Tobirama and training under him. Naruto had a small smile at the last thought.

It had taken three weeks for him to go through and sort out the memories of his great grandfather, after initially getting over the shock that Tobirama had transferred his memories to him. After spending three weeks assimilating the memories and experiences and another week training with his blood clone, he snuck out of the village and travelled the world for two years, under the guise of a bounty hunter known only as Arashi. He had conducted more than three hundred bandit raids and had eventually been forced to fight missing-nin from various villages, ranging from C-rank to A-rank, cashing in their bounty under his disguise. He knew he got lucky with the A-rank ones, due to being underestimated for his height.

What made him different from other bounty hunters was that whenever he cashed in a bounty, he would end up donating half of it to the orphanages in the various villages. When asked why, he would reply,”I was an orphan and had no one. I don’t want other children to suffer like I did.”

He did not neglect his training either. Through his travels he would increase his sensory abilities, knowing from Tobirama’s experience that he could sense across countries and could easily sense elemental affinities. He had even marked various places with his Hiraishin mark discreetly. He had even taken his training to new heights by using clones to take elemental manipulation beyond what was called mastery. He even ended up copying a lot of jutsu from his opponents with his method of copying jutsu; most of them being missing-nin from Iwa, Kiri, Kumo and Suna.

Thanks to his shadow clones and the use of durability and chakra storage seals, he had managed to create a spy network that was simple, yet inconspicuous. He now had disguised clones of himself in every corner of the elemental nations, gathering information and other valuables and sending them via Hiraishin to the base in Konoha.

He had returned to Konoha under disguise three months ago with some news that troubled him. He relayed the information to Tobirama, who told him to report to Hiruzen as soon as possible. He had given him permission to reveal the existence of the Senju grove and himself, figuring his skills would give him away with time.

Revealing himself to the Hokage was an experience the aged leader would never forget.

Flashback

Naruto, in the guise of Arashi, stood in front of the door to the Hokage’s office. He had returned to Konoha a few minutes ago after hearing news which troubled him and would spell trouble for the village.

“The Hokage will see you now.” Said the secretary.

Nodding, Naruto raised his hand and knocked. He heard the voice of his jiji say, “Enter!”

Taking a deep breath, he entered the office and saw Hiruzen stuck under piles of paperwork, looking tired and waiting for any form of distraction.

‘I wonder how long he will take to realise that the solution was with him all along.’ He thought with a sweatdrop.

‘Maybe you could tell him the solution should things go south.’ Kurama suggested helpfully.

Hiruzen looked up and saw the famous Arashi, the bounty hunter known as the ‘Perfect Storm’ due to never failing to turn in a bounty and having a habit of donating money to orphanages.

“Arashi-san, what can I do for you?”

“Hokage-sama, I wish to speak to you in private. I’ve come across some troubling news and I wish to be completely honest with you.”

Hiruzen was taken aback. A bounty hunter wanting to help? Not uncommon but surprising all the same. Waving hand signs, he sealed the room and motioned the Anbu to leave.

“It is safe now, Arashi-san.”

“Thank you Hokage-sama. I guess its time I showed you who I really am.”

“Who you really are?”

With that, Naruto removed his hood and mask, causing Hiruzen to widen his eyes with shock.

“N-Naruto?! You’re Arashi?! Is this some kind of prank?!” He nearly yelled.

“It is me, jiji. I hope you have some sake with you. Because you’re going to need it when I’m done with what I have to tell you.”

With that, Naruto told him how he had stumbled into the Senju grove and met the essence of Tobirama Senju, how he had trained under him while pretending to be an idiot outside, the latter of which Sarutobi knew why, how two years ago he had gone out as a bounty hunter to gain experience as instructed by Tobirama and how he had conducted bandit raids. Some details he had not told the aged Hokage. However, Hiruzen knew better.

“So let me get this straight. You met Tobirama sensei, or rather, his chakra essence in the Senju grove,” he got a nod. “Trained under him for four years,” another nod, “and under his instruction went out to gather intelligence and experience while leaving a clone to fool others.” Another nod.

Hiruzen stared at his surrogate grandson for a while. He then took out a bottle of sake and drank the entire thing in one gulp. “Tell me why I shouldn’t place you in prison for not letting me know about this.”

“Sensei told me not to tell anyone when I first asked. Said about ninja keeping secrets. Only because I have some urgent news is why Tobirama sensei told me to tell you or else you would be suspicious.”

“And pray, tell, what is this news?”

“A new village has come up in Rice country, called Otogakure (Hidden Sound village). It turns out Orochimaru is the leader of the village.”

Sarutobi placed his elbows on the table, his fingers steepled. “Hmm. Is that so?”

“It gets worse, Hokage-sama,” Naruto said, making Hiruzen alert. Naruto never addressed him as Hokage-sama unless the situation was serious. “I managed to get a clone to infiltrate the village after much difficulty. I was at the lower end of the totem pole in the shinobi force, but some of the jonin there cannot hold their liquor to save their lives. I managed to learn that they plan to invade Konoha during the next Chunin exams.” Naruto stopped there to let the information sink in.

Sink in it did. The aged Hokage’s mind was running a mile a minute. ‘Arrangements have to be made. A full council meeting to plan a counterstrike, provisions for civilians and to find out where the hell Jiraiya is. He’s supposed to be my spy master. Why didn’t he know this?’

“Don’t worry about Jiraiya, jiji.” Naruto laughed. “He’s busy perving on the women in the hot springs in Yu no Kuni. I managed to slip the information to him before high-tailing it out of there to warn you about it.”

“I see.Thank you Naruto-kun. But what will you do now?”

“I’ll return to the Academy of course.I just have to hold back till the chunin exams. No one but the two of us needs to know what happened here as of now. Oh and by the way, I have a summoning contract.”

Hiruzen’s eyebrows were raised,”Which one?”

Naruto cut his thumb with a kunai, spread the blood on his palm and made the hand signs Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram. Then he slammed his hand on to the ground and said “Kuchiyose no jutsu!”

A puff of smoke later revealed a black panther that was six foot tall. It had green eyes that shone with intelligence and was battle hardened. The panther itself was humanoid but currently sat on its hunches. It looked to Naruto.

“Hello, Naruto. Why have you summoned me? It seems we don’t have any enemies around.” It spoke in a deep rumbling tone.

“Hello Bhageera-sama, I summoned you here to introduce you to the Hokage. This is Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.” Naruto said, gesturing to the Hokage.

Bhageera turned to the Hokage and nodded, “It’s an honour to meet the holder of the monkey contract. Do give Enma-sama my regards. He’s a powerful warrior and a worthy opponent.”

Hiruzen looked at the panther and nodded. “It’s an honour to meet you as well Bhageera-sama. I hope we can meet again and we look forward to working with you.” He said with a smile. “I’m curious. How did you get the contract?”

“I was near the Land of Woods when I saw a panther that was caught in a trap. I gently freed her and healed and gave her food.Then all these panthers surrounded me and I had to fight them off. Bhageera-sama appeared immediately to stop me from killing them. Turns out the whole thing was a test and they deemed me worthy of the contract.”

“Naruto claims you were among the only ones who cared for him when younger. For that, you have my gratitude. I shall take your leave now. And Naruto, Mageela wants to meet you soon.” Bhageera said, chuckling at Naruto’s paling face and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

“Who’s Mageela?”

“My familiar. She gets pissed if I don’t summon her at least once a month. I didn’t summon her last month. I’m so done!” he said in a panic.

“It can’t be that bad.”

“She may be small and cuddly, but she can be really nasty when pissed.”

The aged leader laughed. “Very well then. If that is all,” he released the seals and Naruto bowed and turned to leave. As he opened the door, he stopped and turned around with a smirk.

“You know, jiji, if you have so much trouble with paperwork why don’t you use shadow clones to reduce the burden?”

Hiruzen had a look of shock, then realisation. He didn’t notice Naruto leaving as he banged his head on the table muttering “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid…”

Flashback end

He mentally sighed in relief at that thought. His information along with his solution to paperwork was what saved him from being thrown in prison for running out of the village, even if it was for good intentions.

He had left immediately after and returned a month later, concluding his training in the outside world. He had assimilated the memories of his blood clone once he was back for good. They had an all out spar once he had finished arranging the memories, and Tobirama was impressed and satisfied with what he saw.  

In regards to skills like taijutsu, kenjutsu, shurikenjutsu and fuinjutsu, Naruto was a natural. He had finally mastered his Elemental fist, along with being able to incorporate chakra into his strikes. His kenjutsu was sharp and Naruto could easily mix up between different styles. He had even mastered bojutsu and had even become proficient with other weapons. All in all, Tobirama could confidently say that Naruto was at least mid to high jonin level, his current twelve year old form the only limiting factor. Naruto was currently at the fifteenth level of the resistance seal.

Naruto had tried out the taijutsu simulation his father left for him on returning. Needless to say, he was excited as hell when he fought the first level. And he was more than surprised at how difficult it became with each level. He may have reached a level in his resisitance seals that actually permits him to try all ten levels, but the fifth level’s victory came at the cost of some very impressive bruises. It taught Naruto that his taijutsu, while very good, seeing that he managed to fight off B ranked missing-nin, was not good enough. He increased the resistance on his body, believing if he was faster, he would be better.

He had tried the sixth level after a week and was pleased to see that the number of bruises he got were significantly less; a sign of improvement.

He was most impressed with how Naruto managed to improve his shadow clone jutsu. Naruto had made modifications to the technique such that they were linked together by mind. They had discussed various theories on chakra with each other. During his research Naruto believed that the creation of sub elements need not necessarily be part of a bloodline, arguing that the bloodline was basically the ability to naturally mix elemental chakra within the body, something Tobirama vehemently disagreed with.

Apart from his wood manipulation, he had tried to combine his wind and water nature, reaching the beginnings of using the Ice style. He was far from getting it battle ready, but when he had demonstrated it, Tobirama had allowed himself a bit of emotion by staring at his great grandson with a gob smacked expression. Even Hiruzen almost had a heart attack when he showed him.

Flashback

“H-how?” Hiruzen asked to which Naruto bashfully scratched the back of his head. Naruto had demonstrated the beginnings of ice style by trying to collect molecules of water from the air and freezing them. He had succeeded and had shown Tobirama and now he showed Hiruzen, both elder shinobi shocked at his advancement.

“It’s really just phases of matter. Once you understand that, the trick just becomes moulding the chakra.” Naruto said. The aged Hokage nodded dumbly. He himself had been trying to produce subelements, peaking at his stop-gap technique of producing earth and fire jutsu in combination. It seemed that Naruto had perfected that method and had surpassed it to the point he could make a subelement.

“I believe the kekkei genkai is the ability to innately mix elemental chakra in your tenketsu. Just think, jiji. If this works, people don’t need to steal or breed bloodlines.”

‘This boy is singlehandedly changing ninjutsu and advancing it slowly, it’s like watching a little blonde version of Tobirama sensei. He truly is the most unpredictable ninja.’ Hiruzen thought with a smile.

Flashback end

A side project during the training insisted on teaching the boy how a shinobi should act, on and off mission time. Analytical skills were tampered when emotion overruled judgement.

While on the mission, emotion just did not belong. Something even Kurama had stressed on.

In Nidaime’s time, even genin were penalised for allowing emotion to jeopardise the mission. Emotion was only allowed in off mission times. Nidaime always preached about the balance between light and dark or yin and yang. He had two examples in the past that he constantly explained to Naruto. Hiruzen Sarutobi was the light. He could handle somewhat fine in the dark, but not as much as Tobirama preferred. Danzo Shimura was the complete opposite, one hundred percent comfortable in being the dark and not at all used to being in the light. Tobirama had chosen Hiruzen as the Sandaime Hokage for precisely this reason. Naruto came to learn a lot about Tobirama’s strongest students in the past and how they acted in general.

Lastly, but no less important, Tobirama had focused on trust.

A shinobi must learn the consequences of whom he trusted. In a mission, even allies could turn against you. Nidaime did not tell Naruto to not trust anyone, focusing instead on tutoring him into playing caution when meeting someone you do not know a hundred percent. Enemies often used trust as a weapon to get close and perform the killing blow. He knew his history now, thanks to talking to a living embodiment of the clan wars era and even the first great ninja war.

He had finally completed two fuinjutsu projects that he was working on for the last four years; the first one was what he called ‘the Pad’. He had created a seal that could connect any scroll that had the communication seals he had created. The one thing that Tobirama helped him with was point out the flaws, like the blatant lack of security in the first draft. Anyone could open a scroll and write into it, including an enemy. Which was why Naruto designed a basic, but clever security system. Tobirama had helped him in integrating that system into his seal array without disturbing the space time seals on the scrolls.

The scroll would have a chakra lock. It wouldn’t ‘open’, as in the communication seals would not activate until the person the scroll belongs to puts in their chakra. If there was even the slightest irregularity in the chakra, the seals would deactivate completely and a security password would have to be written on the scroll to activate them again.

Two other flaws Tobirama had pointed out was that the recipient wouldn’t know who the message was coming from, and introducing oneself every time you write was annoying. The other flaw was that it was a paper scroll and as such, it needed a flat surface to write.

Over the next few weeks Naruto managed to add the identity matrix to the array, and he managed to replace the scroll with something better. ‘The Pad’ at first appearance was a cylindrical, metallic black stick about 3/4^th the length of his forearm. There was another small cylindrical stick that was parallelly attached to its side that when pulled, paper was stretched out like a napkin dispenser that hardened upon straightening. He could easily write on it with anything and whatever was written, it would be transmitted to the receiver in real time.

His other project was a multi purpose bracelet. He had wanted to track his progress in training and his interest in genjutsu had led him back to the Senju library, where he had found two books; Healer and fighter: A Combat Medic’s Journey by his aunt Tsunade and Forest for the trees: Illusions and You, by his great grandmother Tokka Senju. These included the types of jutsu Naruto had needed and additional exercises and ideas to improve chakra control.

Thanks to the books, his memory of the Uzumaki fuinjutsu volumes his mother left him, and the new books on sealing in the Senju library and his shadow clones he managed to create a device that consisted of beads, black with orange symbols. Nothing really stood out among them but that was only a trick. Naruto would pulse his chakra into the first bead and feel the chakra feedback. It would light up for one minute before the invasion of chakra stopped. The second bead had a screen of information that only he could see, which included his height, weight, blood type, chakra characteristics and other information provided by the most basic diagnostic jutsu. The third bead was a modified tracking seal, which would tell Naruto how far and how fast he ran. The diagnostic bead would keep track of his vitals and oxygen levels. There were nine beads in total, one was a projection barrier he could erect at any moment, another a compressed storage seal, and another was a senbon launcher. Not all beads were marked but Naruto was happy he got it to work.

Hiruzen and Tobirama had been proud of him, the former being speechless when he first demonstrated his projects to them. He begged his jiji to keep the fact that he made it a secret until the chunin exams so as not to draw any attention to him, to which he reluctantly agreed.  

His outside training had gone well, as he observed after assimilating the memories from the blood clone. He had improved in his spars with Anko, which led to her actually starting to train to keep ahead of him. He had spent time with Hinata training after academy. Once a week was spent just being in each others company. Afternoons would be spent studying chakra theory or being with the Hokage, sometimes helping him with his paperwork. Naruto would spend time asking about the previous Hokages, as well as the sannin and his parents. They would often play shogi as well, where they were both even now in terms of wins and losses.

As he stood upon the gates reminiscing, a sudden noise caught his attention. He smirked, ‘That’s right, all the alarms would be sounding now, waking them up from their precious sleep.’ It was his final prank before he became a ninja.

All the civilian council members had been pranked by him. He had set off a timed-release stink bomb in each of the houses, courtesy of fuinjutsu. He knew the blame would come on to him, but he had made sure nothing connected him to the crime. He also knew that the ANBU would be searching for him due to his prankster reputation. He had reduced the pranks, but he still would pull the occasional prank every now and then. Normally he would proudly take credit for some of his work, other times outright denying it, but since it was the important people this time, he made sure to have an alibi, which was the academy. He had specifically set them off just five minutes before the first bell rang, ten minutes before which he was already in class usually. He easily sensed the jutsu shiki he had imprinted in the tree outside the academy and silently vanished without a trace.

Appearing on the tree, he looked to see if the coast was clear. Once he confirmed that, he walked to the classroom.

****

HInata sat at the back of the classroom and looked around nervously. Naruto hadn’t arrived yet and she also couldn’t wait to see him. Ever since he told her about his status as a jinchuriki, Hinata had requested him to help her train and become stronger. Naruto agreed, but warned her that his kind of training would be difficult. Hinata didn’t care as long as she was able to gain strength to protect her friend.

They had trained every day after school and on weekends. True to his word, Naruto’s training was difficult and exhausting. During the first four months, Naruto was forced to carry Hinata home after their sessions due to her lack of energy after training. After all, she didn’t have a walking chakra battery in her.

****

“Oi! I’m not a battery damn it!”

“What’s with you, Kurama?”

“…Never mind. I’m going to sleep.”

****

Although it was a strenuous and long process, Naruto’s training was paying off.

Hinata was surprised that Naruto was able to polish and improve her Juuken. They would spar at full force and he advised her never to hold back; if she did, she was indirectly hurting the one she sparred with, giving them the illusion they were stronger and therefore would be overconfident, leading to their deaths. She would lose because of her inability to land one blow on her friend while she was battered and bruised. She was thankful that Naruto knew a bit of medical ninjutsu as well, surprising as that was. Despite losing, Naruto would assure her that she was improving remarkably, proven when she was able to beat her sister, Hanabi in recent spars, along with other branch members of the family, much to Hiashi’s approval.

Naruto also trained her in ninjutsu, nature transformation and chakra control. They found out that her element was water and a weak secondary lightning affinity and in the two years she had managed to complete two of the water manipulation exercises. He even taught her basic water jutsu from his arsenal, and had started to work on combining the water element with the Juuken. He had even taught her tree walking and water walking. They had taken it to another level by fighting on a vertical surface and on top of the water. She had gotten proficient in both but was still not able to beat Naruto. They had trained her chakra reserves to a point where when Naruto finally taught her the Kage bunshin, she could create one without falling to chakra exhaustion. However, Naruto made her swear never to use it unless necessary.

Her friend was a capable teacher. He was knowledgable, patient and encouraging. He taught her many things about the life of a ninja and the roles they play. He had even taught her some basic medical ninjutsu and had taken interest in her hobby of making medicinal creams, but had told her not to tell anyone about it unless it was life and death.

Despite their rigorous training schedule, they would allot one day to rest and hang out. Hinata found herself very often at Naruto’s apartment or his favourite ramen stand nowadays. She was surprised by the cleanliness in his apartment, and had even been lent the cleaning seals he used for her own room.

As she was thinking, she saw someone enter the room and her face lit up in a smile.

****

Naruto stepped inside the classroom with a bored look on his face. He looked around and found the person he was looking for. He gave a wide smile as he saw Hinata and made his way toward her, ignoring the stares of the other students.

“I like the new look, Hinata-chan. But I think you look good in anything.”

Hinata blushed at the compliment. She was also wearing new clothes. She got rid of her bulky jacket and traded it for a white blouse over a more fitting lavender jacket with no hood. She also wore a pair of tight shorts that reached just below her knee. Her new attire also revealed her curvy figure she had thanks to all her training. This drew many admiring looks from the boys and many jealous stares from the girls.

“Thank you Naruto-kun. You look nice as well.”

“So, you ready for this?”

“As ready as I ever will be. It’s all because of your help that I got this far, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto shook his head. “No Hinata-chan. You did it all by yourself. I only gave you advice and helped you improve. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re an amazing-“ Naruto couldn’t continue as he felt his danger sense tingling and dodged out of the way of a punch, courtesy of Sakura.

“Baka! Don’t think just because you got new clothes that you’ll look better! Stop trying to act cool like Sasuke-kun!”

Naruto looked at her with a bored look. “Hm? Did you say something?”

****

A silver haired masked jonin who was standing in front of the memorial stone sneezed.

“Hm, it seems like someone has managed to follow my way of life.”

****

Sakura shrieked and was about to punch him again when-

“EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN!”

The clock struck eight, and Iruka entered the classroom, followed by Mizuki. The class settled down once Iruka used his big head no jutsu and Mizuki handed out the papers. As he gave it to Naruto, a very ugly sneer appeared on his face, kind of like a sick smile. Naruto looked at his paper and back to Mizuki, who seemed to be glowing with triumph. Naruto sent an ‘Are you kidding me?’ look mixed in a deadpan stare. He then promptly dispelled the genjutsu on the test, making a blank page appear.

‘So this is your game?’ he thought with amusement.

Raising his hand, he said in a cool tone that perfectly matched his facial expression of bored indifference, “Mizuki-sensei, I believe that you put this blank page here by mistake.”

Mizuki’s thunderous expression almost made him smirk, but he reined it in with experience. He came up to Naruto, a smile straining his face. “Thanks for pointing it out, Naruto. Good thing you spotted it, otherwise you would have failed”, he said, placing the real test on his desk. Turning back, a furious expression came across his face. ‘How did the demon spot the genjutsu?! He never could do it before!’

Usually when tests were conducted, Naruto would purposely answer so that he would stay near the bottom. But today, he let his intelligence shine through. He wasn’t holding back today.

He finished the paper with twenty minutes to spare, but kept the appearance of writing to avoid suspicion. He could see that Sakura and Sasuke had also finished roughly at the same time. It was not surprising since Sakura was considered the class bookworm and Sasuke was quite intelligent. Everyone finished roughly the same time around.

Next was the accuracy and taijutsu tests. Iruka had everyone line up as they prepared for the shuriken and kunai accuracy part of the exam. They were tasked with nailing the targets with five of each of the weapons.

Shino was the first up and managed to nail nine out of ten targets. Choji was next and managed to nail six out of ten. Shikamru managed to get five but he was too lazy. Iruka sighed and called the next student. Sakura got four of the targets. Hinata managed to hit nine out of ten, surprising most of the class. Kiba missed two of the targets.

Sasuke, being the talented but arrogant Uchiha he was threw all of the projectiles simultaneously and got a perfect ten. Finally, it was Naruto’s turn.

Naruto stepped up and picked up the weapons and prepared to throw them. Iruka prayed silently that he would at least get a passing grade. Then Naruto surprised them all by turning around and throwing the weapons simultaneously just like Sasuke did but with one slight difference; he threw them all backward.

Everyone’s jaw hit the ground as Naruto nailed all of the targets without looking. He turned around and and gave an approving nod as he walked back. He glanced at Mizuki and saw that he looked like someone shit on his breakfast and made him eat it. He gave the chunin a smirk, infuriating him.

HInata giggled as he reached her. “Don’t you think that was a bit too much?”

“Eh. They haven’t seen anything yet. Besides,” he whispered in her ear. “My entire academy performance was one big prank on the teachers.”

Hinata had to work hard to stifle her laughter. Naruto-kun was always a prankster at heart and loved to mess with people whenever he got the chance.

Iruka was still in a state of disbelief, shock and pride. His student was able to hit all of the targets perfectly without looking. What’s more is that the student was Naruto, the class clown, prankster and dead-last who couldn’t even hit more than two shuriken and kunai. However, he quickly shook himself from the surprised stupor.

‘Well done, Naruto!” Pride was evident in his voice as he praised the blonde. “That was an excellent display of accuracy.” Ino was the last and she managed to get six out of ten.

As the class headed for the taijutsu portion of the exam, Sasuke had a frown on his face. Naruto was acting differently from the loud, boisterous and orange loving knucklehead he used to be. He pushed the thoughts aside as he thought of his real goal.

****

“Alright, next up is Hinata Hyuga.” Iruka announced. The objective of the taijutsu exam was relatively simple. All you had to do was to last at least five minutes in the sparring circle with Mizuki-sensei as the opponent. If one managed to stay within the circle in that amount of time then they passed. If one submitted or got thrown out of the circle, they would lose and get a meagre grade. So far, only few got any noticeable marks during the test phase.

Choji was able to last for three minutes before he got thrown out of the circle. Shikamaru didn’t bother to fight and threw in the towel as soon as Iruka-sensei started his match. Sakura was mostly book smart and wasn’t really strong due to her dieting to gain Sasuke’s attention. She tried her best but in the end, she was knocked out of the circle in less than two minutes. Ino wasn’t any better. Kiba and Shino got in four minutes before they stepped out of the circle.

Sasuke of course, managed to go toe to toe with Mizuki-sensei and was the first to last the longest out of everyone. The girls all cheered and shouted praise at his accomplishment.

“Sasuke-kun is so cool!” one of them shouted.

“Sasuke-kun is the best!” Sakura shouted.

Ino nodded in agreement. “If anyone will be Rookie of the Year, it will be Sasuke-kun!”

Shikamaru just sighed. ‘Troublesome. Why do girls have to be so loud?’

Hinata hesitated a bit but then she felt Naruto give her hand a comforting squeeze.

“You’ll do great, Hinata-chan!” He gave her a confident grin that always made her heart flutter inside.

She nodded and took her place in the circle a few feet away from Mizuki. Hinata struck up her Juuken stance as she waited for Iruka to begin the match.

“Hajime!”

The fight that took place consisted mostly of Mizuki unleashing a set of attacks but never even came close to hitting Hinata. The pale-eyed girl used her fluid movements to dodge the older chunin’s onslaught of kicks and punches. Naruto smiled as he watched her gracefully swinging her arms and legs as she moved to dodge a roundhouse kick from Mizuki. During their training, Naruto had found that due to her element being water, Hinata would find it difficult to perform the original Juuken. Thus they worked on the Juuken and also modified it to make her movements more flowing, like water. She looked like she was dancing that it was so mesmerising to watch.

Most of the students were also admiring Hinata’s movements to dodge the attacks. Eventually, her time was up and she dropped her stance as she bowed toward Mizuki who was looking a bit winded.

“Way to go, Hinata-chan!” Naruto congratulated her. The girl blushed a little bit at hearing Naruto’s praise.

“Great job, Hinata.” Iruka said. He was pleased to know that at least one kunoichi was taking her training seriously instead of obsessing over one boy. He marked down her score and called the last student. “Naruto Uzumaki.”

“Good luck, Naruto-kun.” Hinata said as Naruto made his way to the circle. He shot her a smile and wink, making her blush, and entered the circle.

“This is going to be good.” Shikamaru muttered.

Naruto stood a few feet away from a smug looking Mizuki, with a neutral look in his face. His eyes, however, were that of steel. He knew that Mizuki would use this chance to act out his frustrations of not being able to fail him. He waited for Iruka to start the fight, ‘Hajime!”

Mizuki didn’t want to pull any punches against the demon. So he shot forward at full speed, surprising Iruka and the rest of the class. However, to Naruto, he was moving at a snail’s pace.

He dodged Mizuki’s first punch that was aimed at his head and blocked the follow up roundhouse kick from his right side. Then, the chunin instructor threw another punch and the blonde boy fell into a crouch to avoid the blow. Naruto used both his legs to push off from the ground and slammed his right knee under Mizuki’s chin. The forceful blow lifted the chunin off his feet and was almost at the edge of the circle.

Not wanting to lose the advantage, Naruto shot forward, surprising Mizuki, but he managed to block the punch aimed for the head, Naruto however, decided to use a leg sweep which Mizuki jumped over. The chunin instructor however was surprised when Naruto caught his ankle and threw him to the other side. He managed to right himself but immediately felt a kick to the abdomen, pushing him out of the ring.

“Game, set, match.” Naruto said calmly. He turned back to see the shocked faces of his classmates. Iruka dropped his clipboard. He resisted the urge to snicker as Kurama was laughing heartily at the faces of the students and instructors.

“Great job, Naruto-kun.” Hinata said. She was surprised at Naruto’s strength but was happy that he not only passed but beat Mizuki.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, “Thanks, Hinata-chan.” He whispered into her ear. “He just underestimated me is all.”

Next was the ninjutsu portion. Naruto went to the back of the class and pulled out a book and began reading, ignoring the stares of the students and the narrowed gaze of a certain Uchiha.

Sasuke brooded as usual, but had a bit of anger to it. ‘The dobe could never be able to land a hit on me during our spars, yet he managed to knock Mizuki out of the ring? How did he do that?’  

‘This book is very interesting.’ Naruto thought as he read the ‘Tips and tricks of Fuinjutsu II’ written by his parents. So engrossed he was that he almost missed his name being called out. He snapped his book shut and put it in his pocket. He then proceeded into the next room.

Iruka and Mizuki were sitting on chairs, a desk in front of them. Mizuki watched with barely hidden glee, ‘Today you will fail, demon!’

“All right Naruto, perform the Henge no jutsu”, Iruka instructed. Naruto nodded and formed the ram seal. A puff of smoke later, the Nidaime Hokage was standing in front of them.

Iruka smiled. Naruto was full of surprises today, “Very good, Naruto. Now perform the Kawarimi no jutsu.”

Naruto nodded and a second later, Mizuki was sitting on the ground, wondering how he came there. A second later, he turned furious eyes on to Naruto, who was looking a little too innocent, “I’m sorry sensei, are you ok?” he asked, with fake concern in his voice.

Mizuki got up and brushed himself. “I’m ok, Naruto, don’t worry”, he said with gritted teeth.

Iruka nodded approvingly, “Excellent Naruto, you performed it without smoke and without seals too. You get extra points for that.”

He looked up from the paper and said, “Lastly, perform the Bunshin no jutsu.” There was some fear in his voice. Naruto barely performed it properly last time.

But Naruto surprised them yet again. Holding up a half ram seal, there was a puff of smoke and three Narutos were standing in front of him. Of course, they were actually Kage Bunshin, but they didn’t need to know that. He was actually proud that he only needed a half ram to execute Kage bunshin, instead of the full seal. Iruka nodded in congratulations. Mizuki looked shocked, but grudgingly congratulated the newly graduated genin.

“Congratulations Naruto, here is your hitai-ate (forehead protector). Wear it with pride.” Naruto received it from Iruka and slightly bowed in respect and tied it to his left shoulder. He didn’t need to look at Mizuki to see the man’s outraged expression.

Walking out the room, he ignored the surprised looks of his classmates and headed for the toilets. Once in the toilets he made a clone, who left for the classroom. After checking to see if the coast was clear, he vanished.

****

Naruto wasted little time after the test and went inside to the grove in order to meet his sensei. Once inside, he reported how the test went and told Tobirama about Mizuki attempt in sabotaging his written test. Tobirama heard it all with a frown on his face. He really wished he could leave the cave and go teach this Mizuki a lesson. He figured one single exploding tag would do the trick. Wishes aside, it was finally time to address a serious topic with his student.

“Naruto, regarding this subject, I advise you to report it to Saru.”

Saru being the Sandaime’s nickname. Sometimes, Naruto had to control himself not to call him that.

Naruto nodded with a smirk on his face. If he played his cards right, then the Hokage would listen to him and he could get payback for all the sabotage in the academy. Tobirama saw the prankster smile on his student and smiled in return. He always believed in the good side of pranking on shinobi. “Now Naruto, since you managed to graduate, I have a matter of great importance to talk to you.” The prankster smile kept on for a while, but Naruto dropped it when he saw the water whip forming behind Tobirama, ready to call on his attention.

“Sorry, what is it?”

“Since you managed to graduate and have reached an acceptable level of my teachings, there is no more need for me to remain.” Naruto’s eyes widened, but Tobirama crossed his arms. “I’ve told you from the start that my being here had one single purpose. I have already bestowed upon you my legacy, my student, and I’m sure you will only grow in time.” Naruto fought very hard to control the tears that threatened to escape his eyes. Yeah, the man focused only on training. His occasional water whips were also a pain in the ass to deal with, but for six whole years, Tobirama-sensei gave him so much. Naruto had known that this moment would come, and had prepared for it, but it still stung. After all, the man was also his great grandfather, even if he was an essence of chakra. He was family.

Tobirama sighed, “That won’t mean, however, that you will be on your own from here on out. You have the entire Senju library at your disposal. I trust you will use that to further your knowledge on your Mokuton ninjutsu with the scrolls anija (elder brother) had placed there, as well as working on your chakra theory, which will surely revolutionise the concept of subelemental manipulation.”

Tobirama’s essence began to waver. However, Naruto was startled when he saw a different smile.

“Naruto, since this is the last time we shall meet, allow me to say with great pride that you were the greatest student I ever had. As such, I shall entrust you with one last mission; train hard and commit yourself into learning more and more, and above all else, use the skills I taught you and the ones you will learn to protect Konohagakure and its citizens.” He walked towards Naruto and put his hand on Naruto’s head. “I’m proud of you. Not only as your teacher, but also as your great grandfather. Train hard and be well, my great grandson. Work hard and carry on as the Senju-Uzumaki heir.” Naruto cried, but he returned the smile with gratitude for everything they’ve been through. Naruto bowed at the man one last time and vowed to train hard and be of great service to the village hidden in the leaves. Tobirama slowly faded away and Naruto listened to the reverberating echo of the waterfall with a smile on his face. Turning around, he left the cave and flashed to his apartment, but not before he bowed one last time to where the man once stood, the man he came to respect as much as, if not more than his father.

****

Naruto decided to head to Ichiraku’s for a bowl of celebratory ramen, much to Kurama’s irritation. He was about to head out when he stiffened at the sudden rush of memories. Blinking, he frowned at the memories he got from his clone in the academy.

Clone’s memories

Heading back to the classroom, he came in just as Iruka entered the room.

“Everyone settle down!” Iruka yelled.

After everyone was seated, he said, “Those people who have passed will come in a week in the morning for team assignments. You can leave now.”

‘Naruto’ was heading out the academy with Hinata when he sensed someone coming. He hid his scowl. ‘What does Mizuki want now?’

Mizuki came up behind Naruto, “Congratulations on passing, Naruto! Can I have a moment with you?” he almost threw up in his mouth saying that.

‘Naruto’ curtly replied, “Thanks.” He said no more than that; he didn’t need to. Mizuki approached him, so would be the one to talk. He turned to Hinata, “I’ll see you in a week, all right?” She nodded and walked back home.

“I was impressed on how you performed, Naruto. But you see, there is a special test that only few genin are selected to do. I will offer you a chance to do it, if you’re interested”, he said

‘Naruto’ just looked at the man, ’What a fucking idiot’, he thought. But he wanted to see where this was going.

“Really Mizuki-sensei?” he hopefully asked.

Mizuki smiled at how easily he fooled the demon,”Yeah. You just need to take a scroll from the Hokage vault in the Hokage’s office and bring it to me beside the old shed at midnight. You know that right? Bring it to me and you can even be considered Rookie of the year!” he said and walked away.

‘Naruto’ watched him go. Then shaking his head, he said to himself, “the boss will want to know about this.” He poofed into smoke.

Clone’s memories end

‘He really has a very low opinion of you doesn’t he?’ Kurama commented. Naruto mentally agreed. ‘He just asked me to steal the Forbidden scroll. What a moron!’ he thought as he flashed back to his apartment. He had a seal to make.

****

Hiruzen sat in his office, his hands massaging his forehead, trying to soothe the growing headache that was forming. Just a few minutes earlier, Naruto had strolled into his office with some serious accusations; Mizuki Touji, the chunin academy instructor and assistant of Iruka Umino, had tried to sabotage Naruto’s exam and had even tried to persuade him to steal the Forbidden scroll. Said boy was standing in front of him waiting for his orders.

“Orders, Hokage-sama?”

Hiruzen closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and said, “You can take a spare scroll and place a seal on it to look like the original. I will have an Anbu trail you from the shadows to apprehend him once he’s out of commission while you distract him.”

Naruto nodded as Hiruzen then called out “CAT!”

A purple haired Anbu with a cat mask appeared in front of him. “Hokage-sama.” From the voice, Naruto could tell it was feminine. He then noticed the hair colour and the ninjato on her back and remembered something, ‘That’s Yugao Uzuki! Kaa-san’s student and the Anbu who would watch me when I was little!’

“Follow genin Uzumaki from a distance and apprehend the traitor once he’s out of commission.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama!”

Hiruzen then led them to the Hokage vault and showed them the scroll, not knowing that Naruto had already known what it looked like, not to mention the jutsu in it thanks to Tobirama’s memories. It had the Kage Bunshin, its explosive counterpart the Bunshin Daibakuha (Great Clone Explosion), and the Gojo Kibaku Fuda, a technique created by the Nidaime which consisted of self replicating exploding tags. After seeing the scroll, Naruto borrowed a spare scroll and placed the required seals in it. He was about to leave when-

“Naruto-kun, it would be best if you made it look like you made it past me instead of me letting you pass.”

Naruto thought for a moment, then a mischeivious grin appeared on his face. “Don’t fight it,” he said as he blurred through handsigns.

‘Genjutsu: Hentai no Rakuen’ (Illusion art: Pervert’s paradise).

Hiruzen was puzzled when he heard Naruto’s words, then suddenly his eyes glazed over. He began to drool and suddenly rocketed backwards with blood coming out of his nose, falling unconscious with a perverted smile on his face.

Naruto barely kept himself from laughing out loud as he flash stepped out and into the forest, Cat following suit after gaping at the Hokage and shaking her head.

****

Naruto sat at the rendez-vous point near the old shed, with Neko and some of his clones hiding in the shadows should anything go wrong with the initial plan. He was resting when he suddenly got the alert from a clone about Mizuki approaching. Keep his senses open, he put his guard up.

Five minutes later, Mizuki appeared before them, smiling smugly. “Well done, Naruto, now hand over the scroll to me.” He said.

Naruto tossed the scroll over to Mizuki. In his obsession over the scroll, Mizuki didn’t notice Naruto discreetly making a half ram sign. The moment he caught the scroll, Mizuki immediately felt a thousand volts of electricity searing through his body. He opened his mouth to let out a scream when he felt a sharp pain on his neck. He was unconscious even before he hit the ground.

Naruto immediately flash stepped to the unconscious body and immediately made a prisoner scroll from scratch. He finished making the seal and had sealed Mizuki’s body when Cat landed in front of him.

“Well done, Uzumaki. You managed to catch the traitor. I was unaware you knew fuinjutsu. That could explain some of your pranks.”

“Thank you Cat-san. It was an honour working with the Anbu, especially with Kushina Uzumaki’s student.”

Cat’s eyes widened behind her mask, “How did-“

“I know who my mother is. Plus your hair gave you away.”

Cat stood still for a moment then sighed. She looked around and then slowly took off her mask, revealing one of the most beautiful faces Naruto had seen, much to the blonde’s surprise.

“I believe we haven’t been introduced. You may already know my name, but I’ll tell it once more. Yugao Uzuki. Pleasure to meet you at last, Naruto-kun.” Yugao said with a smile.

Naruto smiled back, “Pleasure to meet you, Yugao-san.”

“Yugao is fine.”

Very well, Yugao. We better report back to Hokage-sama. Would you mind sparring sometime in the future? I usually spar with Anko-sensei once in a while.”

Yugao looked at him in surprise, “You’re the one pushing Anko-chan so much? That’s surprising. Are you interested in kenjutsu?”

Seeing Naruto nod, she smiled, “That’s great. We can spar sometime. But now, let’s get back to the Hokage.”

Picking up the scrolls, they vanished in a shunshin.

****

Naruto and Yugao returned to the Hokage after dropping the scroll containing Mizuki off at the Torture and Interrogation Unit. The Hokage faced them as they stood in front of him, in full attention.

“Well done, Cat and Naruto. You managed to stop Mizuki from escaping, and exposed him as a traitor. You both shall receive pay for a B rank mission. I shall add this as a B rank to your records. Cat, you’re dismissed. Naruto-kun, please stay behind.”

Cat bowed, and after a nod to Naruto, left the office.

Once they were alone, Hiruzen activated the new privacy seals. Naruto had improved them at his behest. He looked at Naruto, smiling internally.

‘He really is your descendant Tobirama-sensei. You would be proud if you had met him.’ Hiruzen thought. Outwardly he asked,”So, do you wish to take up the Senju name?”

Naruto shook his head. “Not until the chunin exams. I need to be strong enough to defend myself against tou-san’s enemies. Also, have you made contact with Tsunade ba-chan? Even during my time as Arashi, it was pretty hard to run into her. Heck, I ran into Jiraiya, and he’s our spy master.”

The Hokage sighed, “Unfortunately not, Naruto-kun. She’s pretty hard to find, despite Jiraiya’s attempts to find her. Anyway, I believe team placement will be in a week. Also remember to keep Tobirama-sensei’s training an S ranked secret for now. Is there anything else?”

Naruto frowned when he heard about Tsunade, but let it slide for now. “Yes, actually.” He took out a pouch and took multi-coloured sand in his free hand. With his chakra he separated the colours in three seconds. Looking at Hiruzen who was wearing an expression similar to a goldfish, he asked, “You think you can arrange a way to help me learn medical ninjutsu under a henge? I really don’t want to expose my knowledge before the chunin exams unless it’s necessary.”

The Hokage regained his composure and nodded. “Yes, I can. Report to the hospital and ask for Arata, the head medic and tell him I sent you. He’ll understand when I tell him as well. If that is all, you’re dismissed. Goodnight.”

 “Hai. Goodnight jiji.” Naruto saluted him and vanished to the Hiraishin seal in his apartment.

“I really envy him for knowing that jutsu.” Hiruzen mumbled to himself. He turned and saw that paperwork was done for the day. With a sigh of relief, he decided to turn in.

Naruto reached his apartment, took off his clothes and fell onto the bed in his boxers. Pulling the covers on him, he smiled and closed his eyes. His shinobi life was off to a great start.

‘Things are going to be interesting.’ He thought as he drifted off.

Chapter Text

Naruto had a hard time sleeping that night, but he could hardly be blamed. He was officially a ninja! On top of that, he would meet his new teammates next week! Although he had a bad feeling about that.

Over the years, his body had an internalized clock, which was very beneficial health wise, but unfortunately did not allow him to sleep more than seven hours, no matter how much he wanted to. At five in the morning, his eyes would snap open by themselves, his body having sufficiently rested itself and ready for the day. As was the case today.

Which was why he was so confused when he woke up at his regular time of five in the morning, not feeling any tiredness from the events of last night. While not complaining at the lack of tiredness, irritation took hold of him. By all means, he should have easily slept till nine in the morning.

‘No use whining about it. Best start the day as usual.’ He mentally grumbled and got out of bed. Quickly finishing his morning rituals and dressing up, he took two bananas and gobbled them up. He figured his irritation would be gone by the end of his morning run. Inside his mind, Kurama was trying to keep his sniggers from echoing in Naruto’s mind. He had initially decided to let Naruto rest because of his late night, but his sense of mischief decided to manifest itself and he changed his decision. He let a larger amount of his chakra than usual in Naruto’s body, just enough so Naruto would wake up at his usual time instead of his natural seven hours.

Stepping outside, Naruto felt the slightly chilly air of the morning. The sky was still dark, but it was perfect for him. A sudden thought struck him, ‘How about I run with my resistance seals off today? Get used to the normal speed. What do you say, Kurama?’

Kurama gave a yawn that reverberated through Naruto’s mind. He forcefully kept his jaw clenched to prevent his own from happening. Kurama replied, ‘It’s a good idea. It’s been a while since you used your full speed. You should get used to running without seals every once in a while, Naruto. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to control your own speed. You would just speed past the place you intend to stop.’

Naruto nodded, agreeing with Kurama. The last time he used those seals was when he fought Raiga Kurosuki, one of the seven swordsmen of the Hidden Mist about six months ago. It was his hardest fight till date, being sure that had he not released the seals and had a good grasp of wind manipulation, he would have lost. He managed to defeat him but spared him at the behest of his companion, a child named Ranmaru, who had a kekkei genkai that would render most doujutsu like the sharingan and byakugan useless. After learning how his eyes worked, Naruto had finally completed the seal he had been working on to neutralise the effects of dojutsu on him. Raiga had decided to return to the Hidden Mist and join the rebels in the civil war, taking Ranmaru with him.

He wondered if his father had the same problems with his seals, but pushed those thoughts aside. ‘Best get used to it gradually’, he thought. Making a ram seal, he lowered the resistance seal on his body from level fifteen to level eight (He had increased it during his training with Tobirama). The change was immediate; he felt really light and like the amount of energy in his body had been doubled.

He started running and was surprised at his own speed. Kurama had been frighteningly accurate; he was currently running at a speed which children would call close to sprinting and the worrying part about the whole thing was, he wasn’t even controlling it. ‘How the hell did I beat Raiga again?’ he wondered before shaking his head. ‘At the end of this run, I will get used to this’, he determinedly thought.

It took him almost five rounds of the village to get used to it and by the end of five rounds, he was comfortably running at the speed he usually ran, not having any feeling of being tired at all. ‘I wonder if this feeling can be compared to freedom’, he thought with a smile. ‘Running without a care in the world, feeling as if nothing is holding you back.’

Eventually he decided to sprint all out and once he started feeling tired, he would run without any resistance, getting used to running without it. After one and a half lap of sprinting, he began panting and figured that the time was right to release the seal.

He was just about to do it when he saw something ahead of him. He was closing in on a person wearing a, ‘Oh God, is that a spandex jumpsuit?!’ He was very much grossed out by the sight and figured that overtaking the person was in his best interest.

Instantly releasing the seal, he shot forward once more, having not increased the pace by himself at all. He was soon running neck and neck with a kid probably his own age who had a shining bowl cut hairstyle and huge eyebrows which looked more like caterpillars, bandages wrapped up his forearms and and his hitai-ate (Forehead protector) wrapped as a belt. He also wore orange leg warmers.

The kid glanced towards him and flashed a brilliant smile of white teeth shining like metal. He spoke in a loud voice. “A very youthful morning to you! May I know who you are?”

Naruto rose an eyebrow at the loud voice. ‘Perhaps this is his normal way of speaking’, he mused. Somehow, a quiet voice did not suit this guy. And what was with the ‘youthful morning’? it sounded awfully familiar. Outward he said, “Good morning! It is nice to see someone else running at this time. My name is Naruto, by the way.”

He expected the usual frown of disgust and hate, but he did not expect the boy to react, “My name is Rock Lee, Naruto-kun! You seem like a very youthful person, running at this speed in the early morning! You are clearly basking in the springtime of youth!”

Naruto stared at him as if he was speaking an entirely different language, which he probably was because he did not understand a word he said. Inside his mind, Kurama had kept his eyes shut tightly. He had already scarred his mind by seeing Lee. He did not want to go insane from seeing him in motion.

Naruto did the only thing he could do without upsetting the boy. “Hey, Lee! How about we talk later? I’m in a bit of a hurry!” Saying that, he sprinted ahead at full speed, leaving Lee to taste his dust. He felt bad about leaving him like that because there was a chance that that boy would be his future comrade, but he wanted to get used to his mannerisms slowly. The ‘youth’ coming from Lee terrified him.

Lee stared at the dust with wide eyes. Stars seemed to twinkle around him. ”What youth! To be faster than me with my weights off! Gai-sensei will be surprised when he hears of this!” Shouting this, he ran off in his own cloud of dust.

Naruto ran full sprint until he reached his house. Climbing up the stairs, he thought about what he had observed while talking to Lee. While the bandages covered most of his forearms, the fingertips were exposed. And they were scratched and bruised, heavily. That indicated that Lee trained his ass off every day. He also sensed Lee’s chakra, which was so low that someone would mistake him for a civilian. Which probably indicated that Lee was running on speed, without any chakra.

That meant Lee was a pure Taijutsu type fighter. ‘The amount of hard work it must have taken to achieve that speed….Lee truly has my utmost respect for his hard work.’ He thought with admiration.  Kurama agreed, ‘A genius of hard work, he truly is.’

He flashed to the Senju compound. Once there, he made a beeline for the portal to the Senju library. Upon reaching his destination, he deactivated the security seals and looked around the Nidaime’s library. He found that the Nidaime was pretty much proficient in every branch of the shinobi arts. Advanced Taijutsu and kenjutsu katas, genjutsu and counter-genjutsu techniques, elemental and non-elemental ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, space-time ninjutsu, you name it, he had it.

Naruto was happy to note that the elemental jutsu had two types of learning. One for a normal user, and one for a high affinity like Tobirama, who could perform the most complex of jutsu with just a single hand seal.

Reading the scrolls got him nostalgic. He remembered when Tobirama had taught him the Suiton: Suiro no jutsu (Water style: Water prison). He had been fighting a clone when the real Tobirama came and trapped him in it. While the range was limited, he was able to use it in tandem with his Kage Bunshin. To his dismay, he found that he could not substitute with his clones while in the prison.

He decided to start practice with a jutsu from each element. He was currently working on the Suiton: Suishouha (Water style: Water shockwave), where the user gathered water in a defensive barrier around them, before the accumulating geyser turned into a furious wave towards the target. After choosing the jutsu he wanted to work on, he went into the Senju grove, where he created fifty clones in the backyard, ten clones each to work on all except the water jutsu, deciding to work on that in the cave. The extra ten clones worked on ice and wood manipulation.

After creating the clones and giving them orders, he went to the cave. He had one hour for water manipulation and wind manipulation, followed by creating clones who would work on jutsu practice while he worked on physical exercises like taijutsu, kenjutsu and shurikenjutsu for two hours.

Kneeling on top of the lake, Naruto closed his eyes. Extending his chakra throughout the water source, he began to reach for the water molecules hovered in the air. In no time, the once invisible molecules started to appear in front of him like rain droplets hovering in the air. When the boy felt comfortable with the amount, he opened his eyes and smiled at the scene before him. It always amazed him to see the cave filled with water droplets. It made him miss his great grandfather and sensei even more. He still remembered the man standing behind him with his arms crossed and a stern visage. Speeding through the hand seals at a fast rate, he began to mold his chakra.

‘Suiton: Suishouha!’ 

As per the scroll’s description, the water swirled around him and then shot upwards and crashed down to hit the opposite wall, where it was absorbed by a seal present. He had created that seal to absorb the excess water to prevent flooding the cave. Satisfied, he warmed up with stretches and created another forty clones.

The clones looked at him and merely nodded, getting their orders directly via the mental link. The original Naruto went through the various katas he learned under Tobirama and Anko. He would mix the Nidaime’s style with the Shodaime’s as per his sensei’s instruction. Adding the Academy style along with it, he created a whole new style, to add on to his mastery of the Elemental Fist. After a while, he decided to spar with his clones. Dodging and weaving through various punches, kicks and water whips, Naruto managed to hold his own on the water for an hour before tiring. Satisfied, he left the cave to freshen up.

Looking in the mirror and satisfied with the results, he left to get his registration done.

****

Naruto stood in front of the Hokage as the aged leader looked over his registration form.

“Very well, Naruto-kun. Your registration has been accepted. I’m glad you decided to get rid of that orange jumpsuit.” Hiruzen said with a smile, receiving one from the blonde in return. He was about to turn and leave when the door burst open.

“Old man! I challenge you!” a squeaky voice shouted. Naruto looked to see a short brown-haired boy wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue shorts, having a grey helmet on his head and holding a shuriken charging at Hiruzen. “I’m going to defeat you an-“he was cut off when the wooden shuriken in his hand vanished and ended up being stuck to the wall by a kunai.

“What were you thinking, trying to attack the Hokage like that?” asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

Hiruzen sighed. “Naruto, this is my grandson, Konohamaru.”

The boy named Konohamaru grinned, “Heh, scared that you attacked me in front of my grandfather?”

Naruto gave him his patented look, which made Konohamaru blush with embarrassment and Hiruzen to smirk inwardly. “I don’t care if he’s your grandmother kid. Now beat it.”

He looked at Hiruzen, “I’ll see you later Hokage-sama.” With a bow, he turned and was about to leave the office when-

“Honourable Grandson! Are you all righ- oh, it’s you.” Said a man wearing the standard Konoha uniform without the flak jacket, with a bandanna covering his head and dark glasses.

Naruto looked at him and immediately recognised the look. He sighed and went past him. The man followed him with his eyes, then turning around, he said, “Honourable Grandson, you should not associate with delinquents like that boy. I, elite jounin Ebisu, shall teach you the way to be Hokage.” He adjusted his glasses with a smug smirk on his face.

“Ebisu, he’s not here. He left during your speech.” Hiruzen informed him with a deadpan look.

****

Naruto was walking along the streets, as usual ignoring the glares of the villagers. He wanted to expand his knowledge of medical ninjutsu, but he didn’t want to go to the hospital and learn as himself. Making up his mind, he made a clone who henged himself into a random ninja and proceeded to the hospital while he continued on.

He suddenly sensed a presence and turned around. “Why are you following me, kid?”

“You saw through my disguise? Wow, you must be strong!” said kid replied. He then continued, “I want you to train me boss!”

“Huh? Boss? And why should I train you?” Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, you’re my boss! And you are the first person to not call me Honourable grandson. Everyone calls me that and I want to be acknowledged for me and not my grandfather.” Konohamaru said, looking down.

Naruto’s gaze softened. Konohamaru was like him in a sense, wanting to be acknowledged for himself.

‘Very well, Konohamaru.” He said. “What do you know about chakra?”

A couple of hours later, Naruto and Konohamaru were in a training ground, where Konohamaru was trying to balance a leaf on his forehead. So far, he was failing.

“Don’t worry Konohamaru. These exercises take time. Continue to practice and work hard. The road to Hokage isn’t easy you know. You want to be at the top right now, to be Hokage as soon as possible so people will see you for you. But the fact is that being Hokage is a long and hard road. It takes dedication, skill and hard work. You have to be willing to bleed, and cry and sweat in order to be the strongest shinobi you can. You have to train both mind and body. But most importantly you have to be willing to risk your life for the sake of this village and its people. And also,” Naruto looked at Konohamaru with a serious expression, causing the younger maleto gulp. “You have to remember the most important truth about how to become Hokage.”

“Oh yeah?” Konohamaru puffed out his chest. ”What truth is that?!”

“That there are no shortcuts to being Hokage.” Naruto said, his eyes taking on a fierce and determined look. “By trying to take the easy path you limit yourself, you weaken yourself, because you weren’t willing to take the harder road. Weren’t willing to train until you dropped, or work until you felt all your muscles straining against each other. No ninja in this village would respect a Hokage who took the easy way out of everything, sometimes Hokage’s have to make hard choices and deal with the consequences of those choices. It takes a kind of commitment that very few people have, and those who don’t have it need to get out of the way for those who do.”

Naruto stared at Konohamaru, the boy a little red in the face and looked like his eyes were on the brink of turning into swirls. He was trying to come to terms with all of the information he had just received and felt completely overwhelmed. However, one of the things Naruto had said rang through his mind.

“Besides if you’re going to be Hokage, you’re going to have to defeat me first!”

“You want to be Hokage too?!” shouted Konohamaru. “Fine, then! From now on, we’re rivals for the title of Hokage!”

Naruto chuckled. “Very well. I accept your challenge to be your rival. But remember, you have a long way to go if you have to catch up. Work hard and don’t give up. By the way, your teacher is arriving soon. I’ll see you later…Konohamaru.” he said walking off.

Unknown to the two, the Hokage was watching the entire exchange with a smile on his face.

‘Thank you Naruto-kun, for showing Konohamaru-kun the true path of a ninja.’

Day of team placement

Hopping on the rooftops gave Naruto a sense of thrill, which not many shinobi felt because of it being a usual for them. But many shinobi did not perform tricks on the rooftops as well. The flips and every sort of cartwheel he could think of were performed with the highest level of precision. His every landing, flip, roll was perfectly executed. The people below stared at him; some were the usual glares, while a few of them had expressions of awe. It was rare for them to see someone performing such tricks on rooftops with such expertise. Of course, Naruto was too lost in the thrill to notice.

It had been a normal week for him. He would send a henged clone to the hospital to shadow and learn from the staff, while he and his clones would work on his tai, nin, ken, bo, gen and fuinjutsu. He had even re-acquainted himself with an old friend.

Flashback

Naruto walked into Higurashi’s weapon shop. He had been a frequent customer here since his jiji had told him that he wouldn’t be kicked out or overpriced. Plus the owner seemed to recognise him and had hinted to knowing his parents.

He walked to the counter and was going to place a standard order when he paused. “Tenten?”

The girl at the counter looked up. She was wearing a pink Chinese top with green pants, her brown hair tied up in twin buns over her head. “Naruto?! Is that you?”

Naruto grinned. “In the flesh. How have you been?”

“I’ve been good. It’s my day off from missions. So I thought I’d help dad. Seems you finally became a genin huh?”

Naruto smiled.”Yeah. Team placements are in a week. Say, would you have time for a spar?”

Tenten raised an eyebrow, then grinned. “Oh? Getting cocky aren’t we? I still remember when we were kids and were throwing kunai. Still sore about losing?”

Naruto’s eyebrow twitched. “I remember. Don’t worry. It won’t be as easy as last time.” He flashed a challenging grin.

Tenten smirked. “Bring it.”

Flashback end

They had a spar based on weapons, Naruto’s training paying off as he narrowly (he had to hold back a little) won against Tenten in a kenjutsu and bojutsu fight, much to the older genin’s surprise. However, instead of feeling disheartened, the thought of another weapons user excited her more. Naruto had left after getting his stuff and promising more spars. Needless to say, they were both looking forward to it.

Before long, he had reached the academy. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself, assuring himself that the day would go well, despite the sense of foreboding he was feeling. 

                                                                                                                                                        ****

Hiruzen looked at the jonin assembled in his office. Each of them would be assigned a team of genin. He had to choose carefully who received each team. The future of Konoha had to be handled extremely carefully.

He glanced at the jonin standing to his right. Kakashi Hatake, a tall, fit man with gravity defying silver hair, wearing the standard Konoha jonin uniform with his hitai-ate slanted to the left covering his left eye, and having the lower half of his face covered by a mask, was sort of glaring at him. Usually, he would be late for the meeting by a good three hours unless he was receiving a B-rank mission or higher, but the Hokage had threatened to burn his Icha Icha collection, even his hidden collection.

So, he was forced to attend on time. But that did not prevent him from glaring at the Hokage.

Hiruzen distributed the first six teams and asked them to leave, before turning his attention to the more important teams.

“Team 7 will be led by you, Kakashi,” he said, giving the jonin a nod. “Team 8 will be led by Kurenai,” he nodded to a black haired kunoichi with fair skin and red eyes. “Since team 9 is still in circulation under Guy, team 10 will be led by Asuma. You may leave, except you, Kakashi. I have to talk to you.”

As the other jonin left, there was a noticeable change in Kakashi’s posture. The lazy look was gone from his eye, replaced with seriousness. He stood straight with his hands behind his back and back straight, looking at the Hokage.

“What do you want from me, Hokage-sama?”

Hiruzen’s seriousness of the topic was clear in his voice, “Kakashi, you have been given the most important team of all. Since Sasuke Uchiha is on this team, the council will probably force you to pay more attention to him, teach him the ways of the sharingan and all your jutsu. But you will not play favourites. Is that understood?” His voice was like an army commander at the end.

Kakashi nodded, “Hai, Hokage-sama!”

Hiruzen then motioned for the ANBU to leave the room. Once the room was completely secure, he leaned forward on his desk, chin resting on his hands. He suddenly seemed to switch from a serious personality to a weary one.

“Kakashi, Naruto will be on this team as well.” That single sentence seemed to bring out Kakashi’s memories that he did not want to remember. Memories of his sensei, memories of how he failed to protect Naruto from the villagers.

‘I will not fail this time. You can count on me, Minato-sensei’ he thought with resolution.

Hiruzen continued in a grave tone, “The council will probably tell you to ignore him as much as you can. But you will not do that to the only person who is connected to Minato, would you?”

Kakashi shook his head and spoke with steel in his voice, “No, Hokage-sama. I’m astounded that you would even say that!”

Hiruzen however, was unfazed by his outburst. “I had to check, Kakashi. I’m sorry for saying that.”

Kakashi nodded absentmindedly, his mind already making plans on how to deal with his new team. A thought occurred to him and he asked Hiruzen, “Is there anything I should know about my team?”

Hiruzen leant back in his seat, taking a deep breath and blowing the smoke out. “I could give you the files of your students, but observing first hand is a better way. Won’t you agree, Kakashi?”

Kakashi seemed to be in thought for a moment and then eye-smiled. Perhaps, this time he will be able to correct his mistakes. 

                                                                                                                                                 ****

Entering the classroom, Naruto saw only half of those who had graduated were there. Eyes roaming, he spotted his friends Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, and Hinata sitting in their usual places. Shikamaru was dozing off as usual, Chouji was eating potato chips, Shino was examining his bugs, Kiba was playing with Akamaru and Hinata blushed and smiled as soon as she saw him. She was still quiet and reserved but not as shy and insecure. She had finally gained confidence in herself after years of struggle. She realised there was no magic to improving oneself. It was just hard work. Everyday, with the help of her best friend and her caretaker, Kurenai Yuhi, she pushed herself. The developments hadn’t gone unnoticed in her clan, even if her father hadn’t recanted his previous statements about her overall worth. During the week after the exams, Naruto had given her a fuin bracelet and had explained how it worked. They then trained as usual following which she wore the bracelet as if it was some kind of treasure.

Smiling at her, Naruto made his way to the seat next to her and sat down, ignoring the stares of his fellow students.

Soon, he sensed two weak chakra signatures before rumbling was heard from the hall. A minute later, the door to the classroom burst open.

“FIRST!” yelled both Sakura and Ino. Soon it devolved into an argument of who and how ended up first between the two most devoted fangirls of the dark haired Uchiha. Naruto shook his head and tuned out the ramblings and decided to focus on what to train and better himself on. He decided for now, Taijutsu, kenjutsu, fuinjutsu and ninjutsu could take precedence now. He would figure out the rest later.

“SETTLE DOWN, BRATS!” yelled Iruka with his Big head no jutsu. “Now listen up, all of you. To everyone here who now wear the Konoha hitai-ate, congratulations. All of you worked hard to become genin and all of you will only grow. Know that this is just the beginning of your careers, however. The academy’s goal is to better prepare you for the shinobi life out there.” Naruto mentally snorted at that, while Kurama burst out laughing, remembering what Tobirama thought about it. “With that out of the way, you will be forming a three man cell team under the leadership of a jounin sensei.”

Everyone had different thoughts about this. Ino said to Sakura in a sly tone, “I wonder who will be on Sasuke-kun’s team.”

Sakura gave an annoyed glance at her, “Who knows?” However, inner Sakura shouted in her mind, ‘I’m the one who will be on his team! Shannaro!’

Sasuke thought with a small amount of irritation, ‘A team of three? Che! They will only burden me and hold me back.’

Iruka then began announcing the teams. It took a while but he finally announced Naruto’s, “Naruto Uzumaki”, Naruto paid close attention at that. “Sakura Haruno”, causing a depressed cloud to appear on top of her, ‘I’m on a team with Naruto? Why?’

Naruto had a more expressive reaction. A purple cloud seemed to form over his head and he banged his head on the table. ‘Fuck my life…’ he groaned as Hinata patted his back consoling him. Many felt sorry for the poor bastard, despite not being his friends. No one deserved Sakura as a teammate. Even Kurama was whispering comforting words such as they could kill her and bury the body.

“And Sasuke Uchiha.” Iruka announced the last name. This time Sakura jumped in joy. Turning around, she flashed a superior smirk at the flabbergasted Ino, who clenched her fists. Inner Sakura was shouting in joy, ‘True love always prevails, shannaro!!’

Shikamaru simply muttered, “Troublesome.”

“I agree.” Said Naruto, making Hinata giggle softly.

“Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuga, KIba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame.” The three nodded at each other, Kiba grinning, Shino adjusting his glasses, and Hinata smiling. Though she was disappointed that she wasn’t on a team with Naruto, she was happy to be in a team with people she knew.

Naruto was in thought, trying to divert his mind from his recent depression. ‘Taking in account that their special traits are not in fighting…yep, this is a tracking and back up assault team, with Kiba and Hinata-chan as close range with their taijutsu, and Shino as long range.’

Team 10 was announced to be Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. ‘The legendary Ino-Shika-Cho is being formed again. Their fathers were a legendary team themselves, after all. This team has two purposes that I can think of. A battle purpose and an information gathering, taking in account Ino’s mind techniques, Shikamaru’s binding techniques and Choji as a heavy hitter. Understandable.’ he thought with a smile.

That thought process led him to his own team. A tiny frown appeared on his forehead, ‘Sakura does not possess any specialties, except her high level of chakra control. She could do well in genjutsu or iryojutsu. Sasuke could be considered a specialist in ninjutsu due to his Sharingan, but that depends on his chakra capacity. He is an expert in Shurikenjutsu, which is to be expected considering who his brother was. His taijutsu will grow by leaps too, once he awakens his Sharingan. My specialty would primarily be Ninjutsu and Fuinjutsu, followed by Taijutsu, Kenjutsu and trap-making.’

Naruto’s frown disappeared as he realised something, ‘So that’s how it is! Our team is a primary, heavy-assault team. That old man and Tobirama sensei are really something else’, he smiled, shaking his head, impressed by the two Hokage.

After announcing the teams, Iruka dismissed them for lunch, telling them to report two hours later.

Lunch was an uneventful affair, with Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji and Shino getting ramen from Ichiraku’s and Naruto giving his thoughts on the team formations. Two hours later, they returned to the academy. Time passed and one by one, jonin sensei came to take their teams away. Team 8’s sensei was a beautiful woman who Naruto knew as Kurenai Yuhi, Hinata’s caretaker. Team 10’s sensei was a large man who looked like a bear and had a strong resemblance to jiji. He introduced himself as Asuma Sarutobi and took his team away.

Many hours passed, but there was no sign of Team 7’s sensei. Sasuke kept brooding the whole time, though he was starting to look irritated. Sakura looked close to exploding in anger. Naruto was calmly working on a new chakra suppressing seal that he could use without delay, along with brainstorming ideas for a new jutsu. He was also keeping his senses open, just in case he sensed their sensei. Keeping a leaf balanced on his free hand with chakra to help in chakra control, he did all these tasks in order to help increase his multitasking and awareness.

Almost three hours of wait later, Naruto sensed a jonin level chakra signature heading their way. Sighing in relief, he sealed away his sealing supplies and got up, a revenge in mind for their tardy sensei. Walking up to the door, he made three hand signs and slapped his palm on top of the door’s ceiling. Snickering, he went back to his seat. That was a seal that successfully worked on jiji, though he got a water whip beatdown when he tried it on Tobirama sensei. There was no reason it wouldn’t work on his sensei.

Sakura and Sasuke were curiously watching Naruto. When Naruto applied his seal, they realised for the first time that Naruto was the tallest member of their team. Sakura asked him, “Naruto! What was that?!” in her usual tone of I’m-your-mother-Naruto.

Naruto gave her a blank gaze and said, “Something you won’t understand, Sakura.”

Sakura’s temper flared and she moved to hit Naruto out of habit, but the door to the classroom opened and all three genin watched with shock as the man who opened it got drenched from head to toe in water.

Naruto smirked at that. That was a seal designed to activate when someone’s chakra came in direct or indirect contact with it. He could store any element in it. Just because he was playing a prank, water was the best choice. Lightning or fire would be very painful. He turned towards the person who was most likely their jonin sensei. 

                                                                                                                                                      ****

Kakashi was lost in thought as he finally decided to go to the academy to collect his team. On one hand, there was Sasuke. The last member of the Uchiha clan that was still loyal to the village. Kakashi brought his hand up to the covered left eye. It was his late best friend, Obito Uchiha’s last gift to him before he died. He felt a sort of obligation to his friend to train the last bearer of the Sharingan.

On the other hand, there was Naruto. His sensei’s son and Kakashi’s only remaining tie to his late teacher. The person he had failed to protect from the village’s hatred. He was shocked to hear that the boy was a certified seal master at his age, getting to know that while being shepherded through Naruto’s apartment by the Hokage himself, the latter claiming he wouldn’t have gotten in otherwise due to the security seals. The Sandaime had made it clear that Kakashi had until the Chunin exams to increase the number of bonds Naruto had in the village. If he doesn’t have any bonds, he may very well leave the village and Konoha could not afford to lose its only jinchuriki and a seal master who may or may not have surpassed Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Walking up to the classroom door, he was caught off guard when he was suddenly doused in water. Perplexed, he looked up, hoping to find a bucket, but saw nothing but a seal.

‘Naruto’s doing’ he thought. Eyes narrowed, he looked around the classroom. Sasuke was looking at him with doubt, ‘Is this guy really a jonin?’

Sakura looked apologetic as she bowed, “Sorry sensei, it is all Naruto’s fault! I tried to stop him…”

Naruto was simply smirking at the jonin. He had identified the chakra signature as that of Dog, the ANBU who sometimes used to protect him, who he later found out was Kakashi Hatake, his father’s student, during his ‘spying sessions’ from Tobirama and from what he heard from Anko. However, Naruto’s I-know-something-you-don’t smirk definitely put Kakashi on edge.

Kakashi was having his own thoughts about the three. Upon seeing Naruto’s smirk, he confirmed that Naruto most likely used a seal to play the prank. Turning to Sakura, he thought, ‘Sakura tries to protect herself using excuses.’

Eyes turning to Sasuke, he saw the boy turn his face back towards the window. ‘Sasuke minds his own business. Doesn’t seem to accept the other two as comrades.’

He sighed internally, ‘There is not a single shred of teamwork in this team at all.’ Outside, he gripped his chin in a mock thinking pose and said in his lazy voice, “Hmmm, how do I put this? My first impression of you guys, well, you’re a bunch of idiots.” He finished with an eye-smile. He could literally see the cloud of depression over Sakura and Sasuke’s head, but Naruto kept smirking in that annoying manner, not at all fazed by Kakashi’s insult. Deciding to move on, he said, ”Meet me on the roof in five minutes.”

Kakashi then disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Startled by the sudden exit, Sasuke and Sakura scrambled and rushed to the roof, the latter scampering after the former. Naruto sighed; it was a good thing he didn’t have to hide his skills anymore, though he would have to hold back just a little bit before the Chunin exams. Grabbing the edge of the window, he swung his feet onto the wall and leisurely walked up it.

Kakashi was as usual, buried nose deep in his porn when he felt it. Looking down curiously, he contained his surprise on seeing Naruto walk up to him. The boy was displaying a skill not many people showed before graduating.

“Yo sensei!” Naruto waved with a smile. Kakashi had nothing to say so he waved back, “Yo!” It really made him feel like an idiot.

Naruto walked past him, checking for traps before he sat down on the steps in front of Kakashi. Just as he sat down, Sasuke and Sakura burst through the door, eyes widening when they saw Naruto had already reached ahead of them and was sitting nonchalantly.

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, ’How did the dobe reach ahead of me? Now that I think about it, I didn’t see him following me and Sakura. So how DID he get here?’

Sakura was in a similar state of surprise, but did not think much of it. She immediately sat down beside Sasuke, hearts in her eyes.

Kakashi closed his book with a snap and said in his ever lazy tone, “All right, why don’t you introduce yourselves. You can start first, pinkerbell.”

Sakura scowled at ‘pinkerbell’ and spoke up, “Why don’t you go first and show us how it’s done, sensei?”

Kakashi pointed a finger at himself. ”Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have many likes and dislikes. My dreams are none of your business…and you are too young to hear my hobbies.” He finished and glanced at Sakura, motioning to continue.

Sasuke and Sakura sweat dropped, ‘All we learned was his name.’

‘One only needs to look at that book to figure out his hobbies.’ Naruto thought.

Sakura began speaking, “I am Sakura Haruno. I like…” She glanced at Sasuke and blushed. “My hobbies are….” She blushed harder. “My dream is…” she squealed this time, making Naruto shake his head in disgust. Sasuke showed no reaction.

Kakashi asked, “Dislikes?”

Sakura was quick to scowl, “Ino-pig and baka-Naruto!”

“The feelings mutual,” said Naruto under his breath.

Kakashi thought with a resigned sigh, ‘I just HAD to get a fangirl.’

He motioned Sasuke to begin, “You next, emo.”

Sasuke scowled like Sakura at the nickname, but spoke, “The name’s Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things. And I don’t particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I wish to rebuild my clan, and kill a certain man.”

Sakura looked at Sasuke with hearts in her eyes, thinking ‘Sasuke-kun is so cool!’

‘So he wants to kill Itachi? And doesn’t he know that to rebuild his clan he needs girls and for girls he needs some personality?’ Naruto thought.

Kakashi narrowed his eye a little, ‘As I had thought…’

He motioned for Naruto to begin, “And finally, blondie.”

Naruto was not at all offended at his nickname and spoke with a small smile, “The name’s Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, nature and spending time with my precious people ‘especially a moon-eyed indigo haired beauty’” he thought internally. “I dislike the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook, traitors, arrogant people, and people who put others down just to feel better about themselves. My hobbies are gardening, training and experimenting with Fuinjutsu ‘and chakra, but no one needs to know about that’. My dream is to rise through the ranks, gain experience and protect the village as its Hokage someday.”

While his teammates scoffed at him, Kakashi smiled slightly, ‘His hobbies are a bit unusual, but he has certainly grown up in an interesting way. He’s got spunk too. Insulted the other two without even coming out and saying it.’

He then said, “All right! All of you are unique and have your own ideals. We will start our duties from tomorrow! But there is something the four of us have to do first.” The deadpan in his voice was unmistakable.

Naruto tilted his head ever so slightly, “What would that be, sensei?”

“Survival exercise”, Kakashi replied seriously.

“But we already did enough of it in the academy, sensei”, Sakura said with a frown.

Kakashi chuckled, “This time, it’s different because I’m your opponent.”

“What’s so funny?” Sasuke asked, a little irritated.

“It’s your reaction when you hear this; of the twenty seven graduates, only nine will be made genin. The rest will go back to the academy. As a matter of fact, the failure rate is over sixty-six percent!”

As Kakashi predicted, everyone’s eyes went wide at that, Sakura going as far as to gaping. Kakashi laughed and said, “Told you you’d freak out!”

Naruto then deduced with narrow eyes, “Then it is quite clear that the graduation test was just to select those who have the potential to become genin, isn’t it?”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, ‘That was quite perceptive of him. Looks like you have a lot of secrets, Naruto.’ He easily ignored Sakura shouting at Naruto for trying to act cool like Sasuke.

“Anyway, meet me on training ground 7, tomorrow morning at five o’ clock. Skip breakfast if you don’t want to throw up.” He vanished in a leaf shunshin after that.

For a while, none of them moved, thinking of the man’s advice. Sasuke got up first and walked away, with Sakura following close behind like a lost puppy, trying to get a date with him.

‘I wonder how long it will take for her to get killed on a mission at this rate,’ Naruto thought, shaking his head. Deciding preparation was necessary, he shunshined to training ground 7. He then spent three hours inspecting the training ground to be prepared for the next day, following which he went to his usual training ground to do his training for the day. Perhaps he could even find Anko and get her to spar with him…

Naruto laid on his bed, hands tucked behind his bed and eyes up at the ceiling. Anko was tough, though not as tough as before, and she was even kind enough to let him know that he had some openings in his fighting. By that, he meant she used those openings to leave nice big bruises. He was not worried about that though, because he had already closed those openings. Right now, he was mentally conversing with Kurama.

‘How much do I let loose tomorrow Kurama? The Hiraishin and subelements aren’t an option. That will only be revealed in the chunin exams and not before.’

‘You can reveal your clones and a jutsu or two from your wind element. You can scare Kakashi-brat with your flash step though. A bit of fuinjutsu will do as well. But you can also use the great fireball. I want to see the look on Uchiha’s face.’ Kurama replied after thinking for a bit, snickering in the end.

Naruto ignored that suggestion. ‘Which means earth, lightning and fire are out. I’ll switch between tou-san’s and Tobirama sensei’s style in taijutsu, but won’t go all out. Besides, it was clever of Kakashi-sensei to mislead us into fighting on an empty stomach, don’t you think?’ he smirked.

Kurama smirked in return, ‘Don’t make the mistake of underestimating him, Naruto. Kakashi is a very strong shinobi, strong enough to be feared across all shinobi nations in the third shinobi war. He is not lacking in the mental department at all.’

Naruto mentally nodded, acknowledging Kurama’s advice. Closing his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep. Tomorrow would be interesting. 

                                                                                                                                                        ****

Glancing out of the apartment he lived in, Sasuke was thankful for the silence the night provided. ‘I will pass this test myself. I will not allow those two to hold me back!’ he thought.

Frowning in thought, he absently tapped the window. ‘The dobe has been acting differently as of late. His sudden improvement in the graduation test, his clear familiarity with seals…could it be that he was hiding his skills? If so, then why? He has always craved attention, so why would he do something like hiding his skills and personality? Just who are you….Naruto?’

Sasuke had noticed that Naruto acted very different from his usual loud and idiotic personality in the graduation exam. He was calm and collected, more so than Sasuke usually was. Not many had the ability to see underneath the underneath, not even Sasuke, but he could tell that Naruto was hiding a lot of his abilities.

He would make Naruto tell him, because he deserved it more than anyone else, least of all the dobe.

****

Naruto’s eyes opened at five o’ clock, according to his body clock. ‘This is the time by which I am supposed to be on the training field’ he thought as he got up to do his morning rituals.

As he was brushing his teeth, he began thinking about Kakashi’s behaviour. ‘Our sensei has the habit of being notoriously late unless ordered by the Hokage or a B ranked mission and above. And he was not sorry yesterday after coming late over three hours, whos to say he won’t do it again today?’ he thought as he wiped his mouth.

Going to the kitchen, he leisurely began preparing four omelettes. As he cracked the eggs, he scoffed, ‘Skip breakfast if we didn’t want to throw up? He must be crazy if he thought that we would fight him on an empty stomach!’ He slid the omelettes onto his plate and sat down on the dining table.

A quick prayer later, he was gorging them down. From Tobirama’s memories, he could deduce that it would be a teamwork exercise, though he would have a hard time trying to convince the other two about it. Finishing his meal, he walked over to the sink and washed his plate. ‘Only Sakura would be stupid enough to skip the most important meal of the day! That girl is so thin a simple breeze would be enough to blow her away!’ he snickered.

He went to his room and took out the two seals he was working on, making two clones who sat down to work on them. The real Naruto took out his father’s letter and unsealed the notes on his other jutsu, the Rasengan.

The Rasengan was a spiralling sphere of pure chakra, a form of pure shape manipulation. Minato had made the jutsu after observing the Tailed beast ball, the strongest attack of the bijuu. It involved three steps; rotation, power and containment. The first step involved bursting a water balloon by rotating chakra in different directions. The second step involed bursting a rubber ball with pure power. The third step involved combining the first two steps.

Making up his mind to get some water balloons and rubber balls from the shop, Naruto replaced the notes back and decided to get some training in. Flashing to the Senju grove, he made more clones to work on chakra control and elemental manipulation, while he meditated. After a while, he returned home and noticed that only half an hour remained till eight o’ clock.

He freshened up, dressed up and checked if he had all his supplies in his pouch and holster. Tying his hitai-ate on his left arm, he nodded to himself and exited his apartment after ensuring his trap seals were in place.

He walked at a comfortable pace to the training grounds, eating two bananas and a backpack holding his lunch.

Reaching the training grounds, he had to hold his laugh at what he saw. Both his teammates were there, probably from five o’clock, and were looking miserable. Well, as miserable as Sasuke could look. Sakura was sitting on the ground, probably regretting not eating breakfast.

As soon as she saw him, her face twisted into anger and she got up, yelling. “Naruto! You’re late!”

Naruto looked around, and sure enough, Kakashi wasn’t here. Turning back to Sakura, he shrugged, “I don’t know how I can be late if sensei isn’t even here, Sakura.”

Sakura opened her mouth to yell more, but couldn’t find any words to refute his statement. Her temper got the better of her and she moved to hit him, but Naruto decided to teach her a lesson and caught her fist easily, his cold eyes freezing her in place.

“I suggest you stop doing that. Otherwise, I’ll do more than just catch your fist next time.” His voice was a whisper, but it was cold as ice, letting her know he was dead serious.

Sakura nodded shakily, making Naruto let go of her fist. Sighing in relief, Naruto walked up to the posts and set his backpack on top of one of them. He then went over to one of the trees, sitting against it as he pulled out some leaves. Balancing them on his forehead and forearms with chakra, he took out his book on sealing and began reading it while spreading his senses, picking up Sasuke’s and Sakura’s signatures close to him.

After a while he felt Kakashi’s signature close by, a few metres away from them. He was curious as to why he stopped his approach, but decided against confronting him. He continued spreading and enhancing his senses, trying to make it second nature to him.

He opened his eyes a few minutes later, just in time for a poof of smoke to appear near the training logs, and Kakashi appeared within. “Good morning everyone!”

Sakura pointed accusingly at him, “You’re late!”

Kakashi’s eye curved up in a sort of smile, “Sorry, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around.”

“Liar!” Sakura shouted.

Naruto shook his head, ’She let him rile her up even before the test started. But she has a point. That was a terrible excuse.’

The silence became awkward and Kakashi coughed to break it. “Well, let’s begin.”

He placed his backpack down and pulled out an alarm clock, which he set for twelve o’ clock. He put it on one of the posts. He then took out two tied bells. “Your task is to take these bells from me before the alarm rings. Those who don’t get the bells get no lunch. Not only that, I will tie you to the posts and eat lunch in front of you.

Sakura’s hungry, devastated face was exactly what he wanted. Sasuke tried to hide his hunger, but his stomach betrayed him. Only Naruto looked calm among them. “Naruto, why did you eat breakfast when I told you not to?”

The other two glared at Naruto, who shrugged, “Actually, you only suggested not to, sensei. You never said it as an order. And considering if I didn’t eat I wouldn’t have the energy to face you, so I decided to not follow your advice.”

Kakashi just ‘hmm’ed, ‘He is turning out to be interesting. Completely different from what the academy reports say. Maybe he would figure out the purpose of this test as well?’ he wondered.

“I suppose I did. Anyway, you only have to get one bell. Since there only two, one of you will be tied to the stump. The one who doesn’t get a bell fails and goes to the academy.” He said, smirking at the horror on their faces; well, two of the faces. As usual, Naruto looked calm, deciding to think more on it after escaping Kakashi’s scrutiny.

“Come at me with the intent to kill. If you don’t, you will fail. Any questions?”

Sakura spoke up, a confused expression on her face, “But sensei, what if you get hurt?”

Naruto snorted at that. Kakashi was a freaking jonin! They would be hard pressed just to harm a hair on him.

Kakashi chuckled, “Trust me; I’m good enough to avoid getting hurt.” He looked at them. “Now then, ready? Begin!”

The three of them jumped out of sight. ‘Well, at least they know how to hide. A shinobi should be able to hide from his enemies. Now to wait for one of them to attack.’ Kakashi thought. 

                                                                                                                                                 ****

Making a shadow clone to observe his sensei, Naruto went deeper into the forest to think.

He frowned. ‘This whole thing is about teamwork. After all, Tobirama-sensei used the same test on jiji and the elders. But those two will never work with me. Maybe I can convince them…after ‘I’ get beat up from sensei. What is he up to?’

‘He’s just standing there reading Icha-Icha, Prime.’

Naruto blushed a bit, remembering when Anko had once tied him to a chair and read out parts of the book that were….explicit. It didn’t help that Kurama was sniggering the entire time as well.

‘Prepare to engage. I’m on my way.’

‘Roger that, Prime.’

Naruto made his way towards his clone, who reduced the level of his resistance seals from fifteen to eight and flash stepped from his spot, leaving the original to hide himself.

Kakashi looked up in surprise as Naruto seemed to shimmer before him, landing in a crouch. ’What was that? He appeared really fast. His speed was too high for a genin!’

“Rather stupid of you to come at me head on, isn’t it?”

“I don’t see what’s so stupid about testing your opponent.” Naruto replied, his eyes narrowed.

Kakashi had to hold back the memories from seeing those eyes. So much like sensei….

“Besides, something’s off about this test.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, masking his surprise and interest. “Oh?”

“I’ve never heard of a three man squad before.” Naruto said. “A squad always has three genin and a jonin sensei.”

‘Could he have figured it out?’ Kakashi wondered but shook his head. ‘No, he knows something is suspicious, but not what.’ “Well aren’t you full of surprises.” Kakashi said. “However, it’s going to help you get a bell.”

“I guess you’re right.” Naruto shrugged. “So, can I have a bell?”

Kakashi blinked a bit, while inside Naruto’s mind, Kurama didn’t know whether to laugh or to facepalm. “No, you can’t. But good try though. I’ve never had someone use that approach before.”

“Well it was worth a shot.” Naruto said, before rushing Kakashi.

The one-eyed jonin was almost caught off guard when Naruto disappeared, reappearing in front of him, leg extended in a kick. ‘That was easily low-jonin level speed! And how the hell does he move that fast?!’ he frantically thought as he blocked the kick. He winced, ‘He hits hard as well.’

Kakashi was forced to put away his book as as Naruto’s movements were too fast. But Kakashi wasn’t an elite jonin for nothing. He began countering Naruto’s attacks, mentally applauding his fighting style.

‘His movements are fast, not giving the opposition time to think. The strength in his attacks might even reach mid to high chunin level. Not many opening’s to exploit too. His attacks are quite unorthodox. Very interesting style, like he almost seems to know where the attacks are coming from.’ He applauded mentally as he ducked and blocked a three roundhouse kick combo that he knew wasn’t part of a style he knew, and he knew a lot of them.

“You’re good, kid, but not good enough!” he grunted as he used the momentum of the spin kick coming towards his face. He caught Naruto by the ankle and threw him towards the nearby pond, only to be surprised that the Naruto in front of him threw a couple shuriken and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

‘Was that a Kage Bunshin?’ he thought as he sensed movement behind him, just in time to dodge a few shuriken coming towards his back. He was even more surprised when he found six Narutos facing him, grinning and charging.

Kakashi was about to move when he felt himself grabbed by a full nelson. Turning his head he saw another Naruto grinning at him. The other Narutos jumped towards him with fists cocked back.

SMACK!

Naruto’s eyes widened when he ended up punching a clone of himself, which disappeared in smoke along with the others. Once the smoke cleared, he saw that Kakashi was gone. His danger sense flared as he heard a voice, “You shouldn’t let your opponent get behind you.”

Kakashi got behind him, his hands in a tiger sign, “Konoha Hiden Taijutsu Ogi: Sennen Goroshi! (Konoha Hidden Taijutsu style: One Thousand Years of Death)!” He shoved his chakra enhanced fingers up Naruto’s butt, only for ‘Naruto’ to explode, forcing Kakashi to jump away to avoid the blast, though he still got singed.

‘He knows the Bunshin Daibakuha?!’ Kakashi thought in surprise. ‘Was I fighting that the entire time, or did he use kawarimi to replace himself?’ Looking around he saw that Naruto was not in the clearing. ‘He’s a lot better than I expected.’ He shrugged.

‘Well, whatever. I still have two more genin to test and even with this surprise, I doubt they’ll understand the true meaning of this test.’

                                                                                                                                                             ****

Sasuke and Sakura were shell shocked. They were not expecting Naruto’s taijutsu to be this good. He was matching their sensei strike for strike, even adding his own attacks. His form of movement was also noticed by the duo, inducing jaw dropping shock.

Sasuke was seething. The speed of Naruto’s movements was something not even he could match. ‘What were those techniques? Solid clones, and even exploding clones?! Where did the dobe learn all this?! I should be the one with those jutsu, not him!’ he raged mentally.

“Pst. Sasuke.”

The raven haired genin stiffened as he turned around and saw Naruto crouched behind him. ‘How did he get behind me? I didn’t even sense him!’

“What do you want, dobe?” Sasuke hissed, still feeling jealous of the blonde’s abilities.

Naruto frowned at his teammate’s attitude but shrugged it off. “Listen. Don’t you think something’s funny with this test?”

“What do you mean?” asked Sasuke, frowning as anger and jealousy gave way to curiosity.

“I mean, three genin going after a jonin.” Naruto said as if it was obvious. “A jonin is an elite ninja; there is no way a genin can ever hope to defeat a ninja of that calibre. I think the three of us should work together.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened at the suggestion. Work together? With Naruto AND that fangirl?! He scoffed. “I don’t need your help, loser! I can do this on my own.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed. “Now listen here, emo. This isn’t some average jonin we’re facing. That man is Kakashi Hatake, an A rank ninja who is said to have copied a thousand jutsu! There is no way you, I or any one genin can defeat him! Hell, there’s no way even three genin together can defeat him. But if we work together then we at least have a shot at getting those bells.”

‘Could the dobe be right?’ Sasuke asked himself, frowning a bit as he wondered if Naruto might actually be on to something. ‘If our sensei really is that strong then…’ he shook his head, what was he thinking? He was an Uchiha, an elite ninja. He could get the bells on his own.

“I don’t need your help.” Sasuke stood up and glared at his teammate. “I can do this on my own.”

Naruto clenched his teeth as he watched his teammate leave. ‘Damn it! Why is he so set on doing this by himself?! I know he saw my fight. Surely he can’t think he has any chance of winning? Damn Uchihas and their superiority complex!’ Shaking his head Naruto stood up, made a shadow clone that left in search of his other teammate and tailed behind Sasuke, masking his presence.

Truthfully, he did not have much hope that she would be willing to work with him without Sasuke, but he wanted to at least try and get her to cooperate.

Sakura stared in shock as the fight between Naruto and Kakashi finished. ‘Naruto was never that good at the academy! When did he learn to fight like that?! He was the dead-last!’

Then her fangirlism took over. ‘If Naruto was that good, then Sasuke-kun will easily get a bell! And maybe if I help him get a bell, I will gain his notice!’

With her delusions set in place, Sakura stood up and walked carefully through the forest, stopping when she heard a twig snap. She looked around and froze when she saw Kakashi standing a little ways away, reading his book.

‘I don’t think he saw me.’ Sakura thought to herself. She was about to continue when a voice spoke up behind her.

“Psst, Sakura.” Turning around she saw Kakashi looking at her. Then he disappeared in a swirl of flower petals and Sakura saw black.

She woke up a few seconds later and sat up. “Huh? Where am I?” Sakura’s eyes widened as she remembered the last thing she saw was Kakashi, and she began to look around frantically. “What happened? Where’s Kakashi sensei?!”

“Sa…kura…”

Sakura turned around at the familiar voice. “Sasuke-kun-“ she stopped and her eyes widened as she saw Sasuke, beaten, bleeding with his left arm missing, his leg bent at an awkward angle as he leaned against a tree.

“Run…Sakura….” He said in a strained voice and she saw that he was missing an eye.

“Sas…uke…-kun…” Sakura’s eyes widened and she did the only thing she could. “KYAAAA!” she yelled, before her eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she fainted. 

                                                                                                                                                 ****

“KYAAAA!”

Sasuke’s head turned to the sound of the scream. ’That was Sakura.’ He thought to himself before shrugging. She had probably been stupid enough to get caught by their sensei. He was not surprised by this turn of event; the girl was nothing but a useless fangirl. The genin-to-be turned his head when he saw Kakashi, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.

“Maybe I went a little too far.” Kakashi said. “Though she was said to be the best at genjutsu.” He mumbled at the end.

Sasuke scoffed. “I’m not like those two.”

Kakashi eye-smiled. “Say that after you get a bell Sasuke.”

Sasuke smirked as he threw several kunai at Kakashi, who dodged to the left. Sasuke waited a moment, expecting the trap he had set to go off. He ended up frowning when nothing seemed to happen.

“If you were expecting that wire trap to get me, you’re going to be disappointed.” Kakashi said, after having Naruto surprise him with his abilities, he had decided to keep his guard up with the others. Perhaps that was why he had used a genjutsu of a little higher quality than normal on Sakura? He shrugged; it was still a D ranked one so he could not be blamed if she was incapable of breaking it.

Sasuke scowled as he rushed Kakashi, throwing a punch at the jonin. Once again Kakashi decided not to let Sasuke do anything, grabbing the genin’s arms and then throwing him towards a tree.

Sasuke twisted around and bounced off the tree, shooting back towards Kakashi as he went through several hand seals; Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger. Kakashi’s eye widened.

“Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu! (Fire style: Great Fireball jutsu)!”

Sasuke sucked in a deep breath and blew out a fairly large fireball, sending it crashing into Kakashi.

Landing on his feet, he frowned as the fireball dissipated and Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. ‘That should have at least left some ashes, so where is he? To the left?’ No. ‘To the right?’ No. ‘Above?’ Sasuke looked up to see that Kakashi was not there.

“Below.” A voice spoke up from under Sasuke’s feet. A pair of hands shot out of the ground and grabbed Sasuke’s feet before pulling him down, burying him up to the head.

Sasuke looked up to see Kakashi crouched down next to him with an eye-smile.”I’ll admit, you’re not bad. You may stand out, but you know what they say-“he was interrupted when a smoke bomb exploded just in front of him. Only his experience letting him narrowly dodge it. Once the smoke cleared he saw the whole where Sasuke had been, only to see a puff of smoke.

‘Not bad, Naruto. You figured the test out, seeing that you saved a teammate. But how are you going to convince the other two?’ Kakashi thought as he went back to the clearing. 

                                                                                                     ****

“Are you now willing to listen?” Naruto asked a fuming Sasuke.

He had watched the fight between Kakashi and Sasuke, successfully copying the Doton jutsu Kakashi had used. He had then thrown a smoke bomb and made a clone that substituted with Sasuke, bringing him to his location.

“I said I didn’t need your help dobe!” Sasuke snarled.

“The whole damn test is about teamwork, Sasuke! I don’t like you any more than you like me and we both aren’t fans of Sakura, and that’s putting it mildly. We need to put our differences aside and show Kakashi-sensei that we can work together if the situation requires it. The whole getting a bell schtick is setting us up against each other. Kakashi is an A rank ninja, a former ANBU captain. You really think we have a chance against him alone?”

Sasuke hated to admit it, but Naruto was right. He couldn’t get the bell even after trying. He would have to push his pride aside for now.

“….Fine.” Sasuke ground out reluctantly. “Do you have a plan?”

“You order Sakura to distract him with weapons, then attack him with your fire jutsu. I’ll distract him with taijutsu and also help increase the strength of your fire jutsu. Sakura is about five hundred meters away at two hundred and forty five degrees.” Naruto said, relieved that Sasuke had finally seen sense.

Sasuke wanted to ask how he knew all this, but shook his head. He would find out later. “Be ready in five.” He said and went to order Sakura to do her part, while Naruto made a clone and prepared to engage their sensei. 

                                                                                                                                                ****

Kakashi was standing in the middle of the clearing reading his book. It had been a whole fifteen minutes since Sasuke had been rescued and he sensed no movement whatsoever. It was then that he noticed feathers falling and he began to feel a bit sleepy.

‘Genjutsu! But who?’ he thought as he flared his chakra to dispel it, raising his arm to block a kick, wincing at how hard it was. The attacker used his raised arm to flip back and reveal himself as his, apparently, dead last student.

“So, back for round two? Hopefully you won’t suck as much as last time.”

Naruto kept his irritation in check, which Kakashi approved mentally. “Won’t know unless I try.” Naruto replied, settling into a stance.

‘That stance! That’s Minato sensei’s-‘ Kakashi was interrupted as Naruto rushed towards him, narrowly dodging a punch. The two then began engaging in taijutsu. Naruto tried to confuse Kakashi with his speed, but the experienced jonin blocked all attempts to land hits.

“My sensei used the same style of taijutsu Naruto. It won’t work against me.”

Naruto grinned, keeping on the offensive. He added chakra to his hands and aimed for a grazing hit on Kakashi’s lower thigh, damaging a muscle slightly.

Kakashi then jumped back. “I see. Not completely your father’s style then. You included elements of your own.”

Naruto followed Kakashi, trying to keep on the offensive. But Kakashi proved his experience by reversing the situation. Naruto was keeping on the defensive when he finally got the message from his clone. He dodged a kick from Kakashi and jumped back to hide again, waiting for the signal.

Then several kunai were thrown from the bushes. Not very fast, but they were on target. Kakashi deflected them without problems. Then Sasuke shot his fireball and a Naruto clone strengthened it with a wind jutsu. ‘He knows wind manipulation?!’ thought Kakashi as he substituted himself with a log. However, the real Naruto, knowing which log he would use to substitute, threw a flurry of shuriken at that position, forcing Kakashi to block them all.

Naruto and Sasuke engaged Kakashi in a bout of taijutsu, Kakashi mentally approving their teamwork. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was starting to enjoy the fight. Sasuke noticed that they were closer to getting the bells.

“Sakura, get the bells! You have two and a half minutes!” Naruto shouted.

Sakura closed in on their position and tried to grab the bells only to be stopped by a weakened Kakashi. Using this time Naruto tried putting a subtle Kokoni Arazu no jutsu (False surroundings technique) on him. Kakashi felt the invading chakra and dispelled it, however it was too late as Naruto snagged the bells just as the alarm rang.

“Phew, we did it.” Said Naruto holding up the bells.

‘They passed the test with flying colours. Their teamwork still has much left to be desired but it was good for a start. However…’ “Good job. You have the bells, Naruto. But who will you give the second bell?”

Without any hesitation, Naruto threw the bells to Sasuke and Sakura, much to their shock.

“You do realise that if you do that, you’ll have to go back to the academy.” Kakashi said. ‘He has figured it out. There’s no other explanation.’ He thought to himself.

“I don’t mind doing another year in the academy.” He said with a shrug.

“No.” Sasuke said, causing everyone to look at him. “You came up with the plan and you got the bells. Therefore you must pass, and my pride as an Uchiha will not let me accept this when I didn’t actually get one myself.” ‘I refuse to accept charity from the dobe!’ he thought seething mentally.

“No. I-I think you both should pass since you both did most of the work.” Said Sakura, looking depressed as she threw her bell to Sasuke. ‘I didn’t do much. I can’t accept it, even if I can’t be with Sasuke-kun.’

“Is that so?” Kakashi interjected. “Well then…You all pass!” Kakashi finished with an eye-smile.

Sasuke and Sakura were shocked. “WHAT?!” shrieked Sakura, making the other three wince.

Recovering first, Naruto shot a wary look at Kakashi. “Is that it?”

Eye-smile disappearing, Kakashi said in a serious tone. “Yeah. I wanted to be sure you three would act as one. My best friend always used to say, ‘Those who break the rules are called trash, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse that trash.’ I wanted you all to accept each other as comrades. This is actually the first group I have passed. The previous ones were blockheads who couldn’t get it.”

He gave them an eye-smile and thumbs up. “Team 7 will start its missions from tomorrow!”

Chapter Text

“Team 7 reporting for a D-rank mission, Hokage-sama.”

The aged Hokage looked up, seeing team 7 in front of him. Kakashi as usual was keeping his face buried in his porn. He then looked at the genin in front of him. Sakura looked irritable, Sasuke looked composed, though the twitching eyebrow said otherwise. Naruto looked indifferent.

“Ah yes. Welcome team 7. Let’s see what we have here. Walking the Inuzuka dogs, painting a fence, catching Tora-“

“We’ll take the mission, ‘Catching Tora’, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi said with an eye-smile, which widened hearing the groan of three genin. Ah, music to his ears…

“Very well. Team 7, your mission is to capture Tora the cat for Madam Shimji. Dismissed.” The Hokage said with a barely hidden smirk.

****

It had been two months since they had become genin. D-rank missions were, in the humble opinion of all genin, horrible. One couldn’t say WHY the senior shinobi classified these so called ‘chores’ as ‘missons’, so they concluded that it was because they wanted the genin to suffer what they had gone through before.

The only one who didn’t really complain was Naruto, since it brought in the money. He had even asked the Hokage and Kakashi sensei if he could do extra missions solo, seeing that since he was an orphan, he didn’t have clan money to fall back on, yet, and the orphan’s fund stopped the moment he became a genin.

Since then, Naruto would do three extra missions a day with the help of his shadow clones. Due to his constant presence in the mission office, the ninja there slowly but surely warmed up to him. After all, no genin would willingly take on extra D-ranks, and it also helped reduce the load and bring in the income for the village.

Only he, and by extension Kurama, knew the real purpose of some of the missions. He had chosen five missions in such a way that it would help in training all five elements. Helping at a power plant for his lightning; working the oven at a bakery, which just so happened to be a wood burning oven for his fire jutsu; picking up trash in the river for his water jutsu; helping repair the wind mills for his wind jutsu and clearing a field of rocks for his earth jutsu.

However, it was while helping out at a farm during one of his missions that Naruto accidentally stumbled into one of the abandoned bases of the Snake sannin and traitor, Orochimaru. Needless to say Naruto had managed to find some notes on poisons and medical scrolls. The Hokage had labelled it an S-rank mission after going through the report, and had to talk to Naruto about his experience.

His teammates were confused as hell and refused to believe that whatever they were doing were missions.

Speaking of which, Sasuke had started asking questions about how Naruto knew wind ninjutsu, and about his taijutsu style. He even had the nerve to demand from him all the jutsu he knew. Naruto had told him in no uncertain terms that unless Sasuke was willing to share jutsu from his own repertoire, Naruto had no intention of telling him what he wanted to know.

Of course, Sasuke refused to share any jutsu of his, believing they were Uchiha clan jutsu and as such, no one besides him could know. Naruto had scoffed at that, but Kurama had straight burst into laughter. The great beast had told him he knew at least twenty people who could perform the great fireball, only two of which were Uchiha.

Naruto had smartly countered that argument by toeing the line that was Sasuke Uchiha’s pride. He had condescendingly asked if the great Uchiha library was not enough for him. Sasuke did not want to admit that he could not access it without his Sharingan and he honestly believed all jutsu available outside were weak and so, did not bother to learn them.

He stopped bugging Naruto after that, much to the blonde’s relief. However, Sakura had started bugging him on Sasuke’s behalf to get him to hand over the jutsus, saying that a loser like him does not deserve them. Naruto was quick in shutting her up, turning her own argument against her.

He had smartly questioned her if she was implying he was weak. Sakura, unaware of what she was putting her foot into, scoffed and replied that she was not implying, she knew he was weak. After that, everything went smooth like butter.

Naruto replied that if he was weak, then by extension, the jutsu he used were also weak. And Sasuke wouldn’t love Sakura if she handed him weak jutsus, right?

Sakura had adopted a worried frown at his question and seemed to come to the conclusion that he was right. She did not once question why Naruto accepted himself as weak, which was opposite of what he had displayed in the bell test. Regardless, after mocking him some more, she went back to Sasuke, who ignored her as usual.

Kakashi-sensei was also on to him, but was a lot more cautious in his approach. He subtly framed his statements such that Naruto would have difficulty in avoiding the correct answer. But Naruto, having trained under the Nidaime for six years, had learned the art of figuring out how to avoid someone fishing for information no matter how subtle. He wisely told Kakashi-sensei that he figured that he had a lot of chakra and decided to learn to control it, thus using the library to increase his knowledge. Kakashi knew Naruto was holding back, but didn’t call him out on it.

Speaking of training, he had begun working on the Rasengan on the day of the test. It had taken twenty days to learn the jutsu, despite his excellent chakra control. It then took another week to master the Rasengan in both hands; he wanted to be able to create the Rasengan in an instant, with no delays. Remembering his father’s letter saying that the Rasengan was incomplete, he had begun trying to add elemental chakra into the rasengan, with less than stellar results. It did not stop him from trying to modify the Rasengan though, trying to make it a long range attack as well as a close range one. It was even good practice for his medical ninjutsu, as he would burn his hands on more than one occasion. He even learnt a jutsu for his elements and had started working on another subelement.

He had even got halfway through reading the copy of the Forbidden Scroll he had made using Tobirama’s memories. One of the jutsu he found was a B rank wind jutsu called Kaze Sokudo Chikara (Wind Speed Force). This form of wind manipulation accelerated one’s velocity while running, allowing the user to move as fast as the wind. The jutsu also allowed the user to execute a mighty body crash against a target with no harm to the user. However, the jutsu required massive stamina, wind chakra nature, and physical endurance since the jutsu would take a toll on the body after prolonged usage.

His weekends now involved sparring with Anko, Tenten, Hinata, Yugao and even jiji. Hiruzen had started training himself after getting the fuin beads from Naruto. The ANBU now dreaded weekends as they would be subject to being handled like ragdolls by their esteemed leader during spars. To add to their shame, their prankster nemesis for some unknown reason was able to give their esteemed leader a workout. This triggered a wave of increased training in the Anbu facilities, something the Commander took note of, and making a mental note to ask Hiruzen to induct Naruto Uzumaki into Anbu.

Anko would spar with him and play extreme death tag with him in the Forest of Death, whenever she didn’t have missions. The fuin beads he had given her had inspired her to start training as well. While she was proud of her student/surrogate little brother, Naruto needed to know that the little brother cannot beat the big sister. Thus she had begun training and sparring with her friends Kurenai and Yugao, in order to stay ahead in skill, and had even taken up learning kenjutsu, much to the latter’s surprise. Might Guy had heard of her increased training and had offered his assistance when not on missions, shouting about her ‘flames of youth being reignited’. After coming to know that Naruto had even started sparring with Yugao, the two kunoichi would often fight against the genin in a two against one taijutsu and kenjutsu match, inadvertently increasing the skill and experience of all three involved.

He and Tenten would spar with weapons, and he helped her with creating a combat fuinjutsu style due to their shared love for the art. He helped Hinata polish her Juuken and they had even made progress in adding the water element to it. They had even started Hinata on lightning manipulation. She was done with the first step, but she was more than happy with her progress, and spending time with Naruto-kun was always a plus in her book.

Hanabi, Hinata’s sister, had once joined them in their training session, wanting to see just what exactly her sister saw in the boy most of her clan bar Hinata and her father pegged as a no-good troublemaker. Sure enough, she was awed at Naruto’s knowledge and even begged the two to help train her as well. Naruto, despite being a master of the puppy eyes jutsu, ended up succumbing to the combined attack from Hinata’s and Hanabi’s puppy eyes, thus training them both.

Naruto had even began training Konohamaru and his friends, Udon and Moegi. Udon was a dopey looking boy with brown hair and glasses and had a drop of snot always hanging from his nose. Moegi was a short, orange haired girl with her hair done in pigtails that stood up, with dark brown eyes. Naruto focused mostly on their physical conditioning and chakra control, occasionally focusing on taijutsu, and separately training Konohamaru in bojutsu, Moegi in kenjutsu and Udon in fuinjutsu and trap making. Needless to say, the three young academy students enjoyed their training, though they had to promise Naruto that they wouldn’t skip out the academy whenever they wanted to.

He had improved in his medical ninjutsu as well. His constant training to perfect his chakra control and his mastery over the water element played a huge role in his training. His clones would shadow Arata while he would conduct rounds and teach him. He had even treated some patients and had assisted some of the staff. However, he had to remain in a henge, at least until the chunin exams so as not to blow his cover.

But enough of that. Right now, team 7 was on a mission. A mission Naruto had absolutely no problem in failing.

The mission to capture Tora, the Daimyo’s (feudal lord) wife’s cat.

It was a mission that always managed to give Naruto goosebumps. He could swear on his ramen that the old man was a sadist. He could see the joy at their pain in his eyes every time the mission to capture the blasted cat was handed out.

They had caught the cat at least seven times. This would be the eighth. He was ready to tear his hair out.

“This is Kakashi. Everyone copy?”

“Sakura here, copy.”

“Sasuke here, copy.”

“Naruto here, copy.”

“Does everyone have eyes on target?”

Naruto responded, “I have clear eyes on target. Just waiting for the go.”

“Alright, go!”

A flash step later and Naruto had Tora secured in his arms. She was thrashing around, but he could care less. “Got him, Kakashi-sensei!” Turning to the cat, he pressed two fingers onto the cat’s forehead and removed them, revealing the kanji for sleep. Tora fell asleep instantly.

His teammates landed beside him, irritated expressions on their faces which Kakashi expertly ignored and asked Naruto through radio, “Does it have the red ribbon on the right ear?”

Surprisingly, it was Sakura who answered, “Yes, red ribbon is there! Can we go now?!” Naruto couldn’t fault her for being so infuriated. He looked over to Sasuke and saw him return to his normal brooding expression, but his clenched fists told otherwise.

Kakashi landed beside his team, eye scrunched up in that annoying smile of his. “Well done team 7! Capturing Tora is a success!” Naruto quietly mumbled, “Again.” By now, he was beginning to get tired of the D ranks. He wanted to do some real missions.

****

After they returned to the mission hall, Kakashi asked for another mission, much to his team’s protests.

The Sandaime scrolled through the missions, “Hm, let’s see….There is a fence that needs painting, weeding to be done, dogs to be walked-“

“Actually Hokage-sama,” said Kakashi, getting the aged leader’s attention. “I think my team is ready to take C-rank missions.”

Naruto and Sasuke perked up. They didn’t expect their sensei to say that.

“Do you now?” asked the Hokage. He had been waiting for one of the genin to blow up and ask for a ‘real’ mission, in their words. In his mind, either Naruto or Sasuke would be the ones to burst first. Kiba from team 8 being a close second. However, Naruto had been calm for the past month, doing the excess D ranks on his own, not counting the upgraded S rank. He believed Naruto to be more than ready, considering who had trained him and what he had done in the last two years, though he wouldn’t admit it.

Kakashi was having the same thoughts. In two months, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura’s teamwork had considerably improved, but at a slow rate. One development worth mentioning was that Sasuke now held a one-sided rivalry with Naruto. With Naruto starting to hide less of his abilities, it became even more clearer that he had Sasuke outmatched in ninjutsu because of his wider repertoire of jutsus, not to mention his mastery over the Kage bunshin, requiring half or no hand seals to create one. He had also shown that he could use two elements and had monstrous chakra reserves due to being a jinchuriki and an Uzumaki, easily dwarfing Sasuke’s reserves. Fuinjutsu already gave Naruto an edge that Kakashi knew Sasuke would not be able to match, given that he was the inventor of the Pad, the fuinjutsu device that helped send messages without delay, leading to a rise in mission successes, not to mention his surprising skill in genjutsu.

The jonin knew that Naruto was hiding a lot more, but didn’t call him out on it. He had talked to the Hokage after the bell test, finding out that Naruto had done quite a lot of self study in secret with only the Hokage knowing. Kakashi was awed by the mass deception Naruto had pulled on everyone in the village; not that he could blame him, seeing how he was treated by the villagers in his childhood. He didn’t give the boys a chance to spar, seeing that Sasuke’s inferiority complex wouldn’t allow him to accept anyone, especially Naruto, as stronger than him, leading to something serious. He wasn’t dumb enough to take that chance.

Anyway, Naruto had unintentionally became Sasuke’s reason to get stronger. Kakashi reasoned that Sasuke held his brother, Itachi, in a much higher position than Naruto and wanted to become stronger than Naruto, so he could finally kill him. Another positive development was that Sasuke didn’t completely alienate himself from his teammates. He held a strange…companionship with Naruto, deeming the boy tolerable. Maybe it was because Naruto had metaphorically extended a hand of friendship towards the lone Uchiha by displaying a bit of what he was capable of, and Sasuke respected those who had power.

When it came to missions, they had a healthy number of completed missions among themselves, having done the required number of D ranks to qualify for a C rank mission. Naruto only added on by doing three times that amount.

Taking all this into consideration, Kakashi nodded. “Hai, they are.”

All three genin had different reactions to this. Sakura sighed in relief, not wanting to do D-ranks anymore. Naruto pumped his fist, muttering “Yes! Finally!” Even Sasuke smirked a bit. He felt doing D-ranks held him back from getting stronger. Maybe getting some real world experience like encountering bandits and foreign shinobi would make him stronger, he mused.

Hiruzen nodded and browsed through the pile in front of him,”Let’s see. Hmm….Found it. Simple escort and protection mission. To Wave Country. Your client is a bridge builder named Tazuna who wants you to protect him until he finishes building his bridge in wave.”

Kakashi took the scroll. ”Mission accepted, Hokage-sama.”

Hiruzen turned to Iruka, “Send Tazuna inside.”

Iruka nodded and went out of the room, returning two minutes later with an old man wearing a straw hat and holding a bottle which obviously contained alcohol. Naruto wrinkled his nose, the odor was not pleasant at all.

Tazuna looked at the team of genin and slurred, “These are the brats that are supposed to protect me? I paid for real ninja protection!”

“Funny how you can say that, considering you didn’t even notice me move.” A voice came from behind him. Tazuna whipped around with wide eyes, but couldn’t spot the owner of the voice.

“Over here, you drunkard”, the same voice drawled, making the man whip around again, eyes locking onto a mop of blonde hair. Intense blue eyes stared back at him, silently mocking him for his earlier statement.

Kakashi intervened before Naruto could scare Tazuna even more, “Naruto, please don’t scare the client,” he reprimanded in his usual lazy voice, which didn’t sound like a reprimand at all.

“You’re no fun at all, Kakashi-sensei. Troublesome.” Naruto sighed despondently.

****

Shikamaru was painting a fence lazily with his team when he sneezed.

“Troublesome. Why do I feel like I want to sue Naruto for copyright infringment?”

He shrugged and continued painting. Thinking about it was too troublesome.

****

Ignoring the looks the senior shinobi were giving him, Naruto walked back to his place beside Sasuke.

Kakashi coughed into his fist and assured the builder, “You have nothing to be afraid of, Tazuna-san. My genin are among some of the best upcoming ninja of this village. We can easily take care of a few bandits.”

Instead of making the man relax, Tazuna tensed up at the word ‘bandits’. Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit at that. Protection from a jonin would be enough to make anyone else relax, so Tazuna tensing up didn’t make sense.

‘He’s hiding, or more probably withholding some information.’

‘Agreed. Be on your guard, Naruto. Maybe you could gather some information.’ Kurama replied.

‘Will do, Kurama.’ Naruto replied before turning to Kakashi, excitement on his face. “When are we leaving, Kakashi-sensei?” he eagerly asked.

“We leave tomorrow morning at seven,” he answered. He then lazily waved them away, “That’s all for today. Take full rest for tomorrow.”

He vanished in a shunshin, with Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna leaving through the door. Naruto turned to the Hokage, his expression serious.

“Tazuna-san’s hiding something.”

“You noticed it too. Impressive.”

“Protection from a jonin usually reassures someone. Tensing up at the mention of bandits doesn’t make sense.”

“Agreed. Unfortunately, I do not have much of an idea as to what is happening in Wave. Perhaps I can trust you to gather information and relay it back?” Hiruzen asked seriously.

Naruto nodded, ”Hai, Hokage-sama.” He left after that.

Iruka turned to the Hokage with a worried look. “Was it wise to trust Naruto with information gathering, Hokage-sama? He’s only fresh out of the Academy.”

Hiruzen smiled. “That may be so. But being able to pull those pranks and evade ANBU had to be good enough practice for evasion and infiltration. Thanks to that, we were able to get an idea of the loopholes in security. I trust you won’t relay that part to anyone, Iruka.” He levelled a serious glare to the chunin.

Said chunin gulped and nodded. “H-Hai, Hokage-sama.” Inwardly he thought. ‘So THAT’S what the pranks were. Disguised as a ploy for attention, he was practising his stealth and infiltration and looking for loopholes in security. Ingenious! Naruto actually has the makings of a skilled infiltration specialist!’

****

Naruto stood in the Nidaime’s library. He figured that this C-rank might take two to three weeks, so he might as well collect a couple of scrolls to learn in the meantime. Browsing the shelves he picked up three scrolls; a doton, suiton and fuuton jutsu.

Doton: Ganban Kyu (Earth style: Bedrock coffin) was a B rank supplementary jutsu. This technique allowed you to control multiple sections of rock and move them around their opponent. The user then forms two gigantic sections that crush the opponent.  It contained only one seal: Rat.

Suiton: Suidanha (Water style: Water Severing Wave) was a powerful A rank jutsu. After infusing chakra in your stomach and then converting it into water, the user spit the water out in highly pressurized, razor sharp jets of water, sharp enough to cleanly cut through rock and barks of thick trees if used perfectly.

Fuuton: Kaze Gyorai no jutsu (Wind style: Wind Torpedo technique) was a powerful A rank jutsu created by Tobirama himself keeping explosive tags in mind. ‘Wow. Sensei really was obsessed with explosives.’ He thought as he remembered his training with Tobirama while reading how to perform the jutsu.

After infusing wind chakra in your lungs, it is expelled as a highly explosive ball of wind, near invisible. Upon contact, it will explode with the force of two standard explosive tags. It required the hand seals Ox-Horse-Snake.

“Should be enough to last this mission”, he mused as he made a clone and walked to the Senju grove. He had training to do as well as a shift in the hospital, along with some….urgent business.

****

Naruto reached the Senju grove. Making clones to work on the jutsu he collected, he then sank into the ground, vanishing from sight.

He appeared in what looked to be a large room divided into four parts. One part looked like a meeting room of sorts, with a large desk and chairs along with some seals to help with the lighting and ventilation. The second room was large, and had clones who were working on various jutsu, mainly jutsu creation, fuinjutsu, taijutsu and kenjutsu katas. The third room functioned as a weapons storeroom and the fourth doubled as a library containing various documents.

He had created this room before leaving for his stint as a bounty hunter, in order to not draw attention to his jutsu creation and training. It was a fallback option in case his cover was blown. Tobirama had approved the creation of the room. Naruto had even put up seals to avoid detection from chakra spikes and had made the room resistant to earth users except himself, knowing of Danzo and his Root faction and their habit of meddling in others’ business. No one but he, Tobirama and more recently, Hiruzen and Jiraiya knew about it.

Walking to the meeting room, he saw clones of himself as well as four other people, who were really his clones under henge, waiting for him. Not wanting to delay any longer, he went and sat at the head of the table.

“Thank you all for coming. As you know, I have a mission tomorrow to Wave Country. However, our client is hiding something and is acting fishy, which means something is going on in Wave. For now, give your reports.”

A brunette man in his early thirties stood up.

“Everything is going well in the civilian sector. The apprentices at various shops are doing well and earning well. Even those who have been situated in other countries. It was a good move to put the spy network in the investigation of the various council members by the way. Sooner or later those bastards will get what’s coming to them after all they did to overprice us back when we were little.”

Naruto nodded. He had gotten the spy network he had set up within Konoha to look into the activities of the civilian and merchant council, thinking that something wasn’t right within their ranks. The evidence had been damning and had been sent to the Hokage once it was completed.

“Good work. Keep doing what you have been doing. Next!”

A black haired boy wearing all black covering everything except the hair and eyes, which were brown, stood up and said, “Spy ring continues to avoid suspicion. Clones enrolled in the Shinobi Academies of Suna, Iwa, Kumo and Kiri have just finished their first year. All have scored in the middle of the pack. The chunin clone we inserted in Kiri’s rebel forces report that the rebellion continues to grow in size. Mei Terumi will become Mizukage in the next one to three years. Jiraiya was spotted in Rice yesterday. Met with one of our own and will probably relay the information back to the Hokage soon.

“Our man in Oto was nearly caught trying to get to the plans for the invasion which will happen in the Chunin exams. Orochimaru plans on getting the aid of Suna, considering the cut in funding caused by the Wind daimyo due to him redirecting missions to Konoha. His elite forces have the cursed seal of heaven, similar to Anko-sensei. He also has spies over here in Konoha, the most prominent being Kabuto Yakushi, who is masquerading as a genin but is a medical ninja in the hospital, rumoured to be on the level of Kakashi Hatake. Mizuki was only one of the few we caught.”

“Is that so?” Naruto asked. He then placed his chin between his thumb and index finger, deep in thought. “Tell him to continue his work and see if there’s any way to find the components of the cursed seal. The sooner we find it, the sooner we can find a counter and remove it from Anko-sensei. We could use the fuin bracelet but I’d rather have Jiraiya nearby as we examine the seal. I knew that Kabuto guy smelled funny in the hospital. Plus he was too polite for his own good. Anything else?”

“Yes, actually. There’s a group consisting of S-rank missing-nin that has been on the rise. Currently they are collecting bounties and doing high class secret missions, mainly for Iwa. Jiraiya once mentioned that Orochimaru was a part of this group and currently Itachi Uchiha is in it too. Other members are unknown as of now. We will keep reading the Bingo book for updates.

“Since you’re headed to Wave it’s best to warn you. Currently Wave is under the control of Gato.” Ignoring the sharp intake of breath from the others, he continued, “He’s pretty much drained the country dry. He took over their shipping industry and cut them off the mainland. He managed to suppress the people by publicly executing the leader of their resistance in the most brutal way. He’s set up his base to the east of a fishing village close to the coast of Fire country. His personal guards are thugs he hired. Mostly small fry for any ninja. We have infiltrated their ranks and trying to glean as much information as possible. He has around five hundred from their main base and another five hundred on call in a camp on the other side of the island. As of now, he has hired missing-nin from Kiri, the most notable being the Demon brothers and Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist.”

“So it’s like the village in River country all over again,” Naruto said with a sigh, then blanched. “THE Demon of the Hidden mist?!” Blocking out Kurama’s rant of ‘I’m the only demon here damn it!’ he continued, “This changes a lot of things. This is no longer a C-rank, but an A-rank! No wonder Tazuna was apprehensive. He’s being threatened by Gato. We will have to see tomorrow. Anything else?”

“Root is still continuing their off the book missions. Danzo is plotting ways to get you as a weapon still. We managed to nick an updated Bingo Book of his for further reference. Oh and be careful of his right eye. I think he has a sharingan underneath it from what the spy managed to sense. He even has Hashirama Senju’s cells implanted into his right arm. Kumo has still not demilitarised after the war. Iwa is still recovering and Suna is currently preparing for the invasion. Speaking of Suna, the Kazekage’s daughter, Sabaku no Temari, is pretty hot! And can wield a battle fan too!”

Naruto and the other clones sweatdropped. “Uh, noted. Dispel.”

The spy clone dispelled. Naruto stood for a moment, going through the memories. He was puzzled about what he heard about Danzo but filed it away for future reference. Creating another copy of the spy clone, he slapped a durability seal on to it and gave some chakra storage seals. The meeting further continued with updates on training and other ventures. Once the meeting was adjourned, Naruto went back to his apartment. He had a lot to think about.  

He remembered encountering Gato back in River Country. It had been a few months into his bounty hunting gig that he stumbled upon the village for refreshments. However, seeing the state of the village, he knew he had to help out. The village had had a dam built by Gato, who had used it to reroute the water that came from the Mugen River, leaving the village dry and out of resources. It had looked like the people had given up hope, making Naruto want to save them. After beating up a couple of thugs who were harassing a little girl, Naruto had continued fighting the wave of thugs before finally encountering Crow, a rogue samurai who was under Gato’s payroll. Naruto initially struggled due to his lack of experience, but after a long drawn out fight, which also ended up blowing the dam, Naruto had managed to defeat Crow, who, unexpectedly, smiled and thanked him for a good fight before dying. While Gato had managed to escape, the village had managed to recover with Naruto’s help, and had named the bridge formed out of the remains of the dam the Arashi Big Bridge, in honour of his alter ego.

He smiled at the thought. He had managed to convince a woman named Hanare who lived near the village, that he could save it. She was sceptical at first, but after seeing what he was capable of, she had start to hope again. He remembered the last thing she had said to him,

Flashback

Naruto, as Arashi, was on his way from saving the village in River country. He passed by a house when a voice called out to him.

“You actually did it.”

He turned to see a woman with black hair and brown eyes, wearing a green kimono smiling at him. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“I did, didn’t I? Told you so.”

“That you did.” She smiled. “What will you do now?”

“I’ll still travel a little before going back home to Konoha. I still want to gather experience.”

“But you’re still young.”

“Age is merely a number.”

Hanare sighed. “Very well. But i have a favour to ask.”

“What is it?”

“If you ever meet a man named Kakashi Hatake, tell him I said ‘thank you’”

Naruto thought for a moment and then nodded. “Will do. See you around!” He turned and walked away.

Hanare watched him go with a smile, which became wider when she looked at the new bridge formed. That boy would be going places. She knew it.

“Arashi…”

Flashback end

Naruto reached his apartment. Pushing the thoughts aside, he decided to work on a strategy before going to bed. He had a mission to accomplish.

****

Naruto woke up at his usual time of five o’clock, refreshed and recovered from yesterdays’s training and shift at the hospital. Walking to the bathroom, he finished his morning rituals and almost put on his regular running clothes, before remembering that he had a C rank mission today.

He shook his head and put on a lower and shoes. He opened the door to his balcony and breathed the fresh, cool morning air. He shivered once as the air hit his bare upper body, but soon adjusted to it. He flipped onto the roof and began a series of stretches to simply warm his body up. ‘Wouldn’t want to exert too much today before the mission.’ He thought as he stretched every part of his body. With that being the last thought, he emptied his mind and enjoyed the silence that the village experienced in the early mornings before it began the daily chaos.

After half an hour, he decided that his body was sufficiently warmed up. He made a clone to make breakfast while he scanned the area, before he shunshined to the Senju grove, deciding to meditate and do some nature manipulation exercises. Entering the cave and standing in the middle of the lagoon, he closed his eyes and crossed his arms, sending chakra through the water and forming a whirlpool. In his mind’s eye he could see how the Nidaime had done this exercise; crossing his arms with a bored look on his face.

‘Sosofu, even when you’re not here, I can feel your presence.’

He kept at the exercise for another ten minutes, deciding to make it harder by balancing kunai in each finger using chakra. Another ten minutes were spent walking up and down the waterfall, alternating between his feet and hands. He decided to walk back to his apartment after that, practicing drawing water from the air around him, along with manipulating the earth and keeping his senses active while watching the sunrise.

‘Kurama, in your ridiculously long life, have you ever taken time to breathe and admire the sunrise?’

‘What brought this on, brat?’ Kurama’s voice was a bit laden with sleep, signifying that he was napping as usual.

Naruto shrugged, ‘Just asking.’

‘Despite what people tend to think about me, I don’t rampage all the time, you know. Even I take time to enjoy the simple joys of nature.’ He grumbled.

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, ‘Wow, people really don’t understand you as well as they think they do.’

Kurama nodded mentally before shooing him away, ‘Now go away. Let me sleep in peace. And concentrate on that water blob dammit.’ He said, cutting off the link.

Naruto shook his head. ’He must have a passionate hobby of sleeping which he adheres to like anything. He’d give the Naras a run for their money.’ He snickered, nearly losing concentration on his water manipulation.

He reached back to his apartment, walking to his bathroom to freshen up. Ten minutes later, he was eating four scrambled eggs, all the while mentally compiling a list of what he should take with him. He created a shadow clone to clean up while he got ready.

He dressed up as usual and sealed up whatever supplies he would need in a large sealing scroll which he bought from Higurashi’s weapon shop. The folks there never upped the prices for him, and his good friend’s family was the owner of the shop. He even sold some of his ideas on modified explosive tags and communication seals for discounts on purchases and a secrecy. After all, he would require those in the future.

After double checking everything, he made two clones and gave them enough chakra storage seals to last him a month. He had talked to Arata-sensei who agreed to him leaving a clone behind in case of any mission outside the village. His chakra storage seals had been a godsend among the shinobi forces that the Hokage had drawn up a contract to enable him selling them under a nom-de-plume until his name was cleared among the masses. One clone would work in the hospital while the other clone would continue training and reading in secret.

He picked up his scroll, slung it around him and walked out of his apartment. He activated the trap seals he had designed himself. With that, he flashed to the Hiraishin seal on top of the gates of Konoha, keeping in mind what he had heard about Wave and looking forward to the mission.

Chapter Text

Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke each had different thoughts concerning this mission. Kakashi didn’t lose sleep over it, figuring this would be a normal C-rank mission. Despite what he told the Hokage, he didn’t think his team was ready for a C-rank. He wanted to get his team of genin exposed to what may be the hardships of shinobi life. And while Naruto had maintained a professional attitude towards his teammates, this would be the first time their co-ordination was tested.

Naruto was clearly skilled. His taijutsu was between high-chunin to low-jonin level, but Kakashi suspected Naruto had held back and had some sort of seal, probably weight or resistance, on his body to increase his overall speed and strength. Naruto hid it well, but the occasional stumble in places where there was no reason to stumble gave him the idea of speed and strength increasing seals.

Kakashi suspected that Naruto had more jutsu in his ninjutsu arsenal, though he only showed his affinity for wind. The Sandaime had secretly informed him that Naruto had a high water affinity as well, but remained tight-lipped about anything else, implying that he was aware of Naruto’s abilities, but wanted Kakashi to find out for himself.

Fuinjutsu was a branch of the ninja arts that not many chose to master. Currently there was only one exclusive seal master in the village. However, Naruto had already shown his proficiency with seals, being the inventor of the Pad. He had been present at the secret testing of the device, being an elite jonin of the village. He along with most of the jonin were initially sceptical of the fact that an academy student had been the one to create the device, but once proved successful and with the word of the Hokage, the ones present had no choice but to believe him. But it wasn’t hard to believe that Naruto could use seals, knowing who his parents were.

What surprised the jonin more was the fact that Naruto could use genjutsu. While subtle about it, Kakashi could tell that it was Naruto and not the others who had cast it in the bell test. With his huge chakra reserves, Kakashi would have thought the boy would have, in all honesty, sucked at it, but Naruto surprised him with casting it, proving he had fine control over his chakra.

Sasuke was also skilled, but outclassed by Naruto. The boy had a loner personality, but had mellowed a bit in the last two months. Kakashi knew that credit went to Naruto, who knew exactly how to push the Uchiha’s buttons and had somehow created a bond of friendship between them.

The boy’s taijutsu was good, but he could only go so far without the sharingan. Kakashi didn’t worry about it, knowing that once Sasuke awakened it, he would close the gap between him and Naruto.

While the sharingan was an excellent tool to use for ninjutsu, it really depended on the size of the person’s chakra reserves. And he didn’t even need to speak about Sasuke’s proficiency with ninja tools.

Sakura was perhaps the only problem in team 7. Her actions leaned more towards and obsessed fangirl than a kunoichi focused on her career. She would always be asking Sasuke out for dates, leading Kakashi to wonder if the girl only became a kunoichi to get close to Sasuke. She wasn’t physically strong, did not know any useful jutsu, proficiency with ninja tools was mediocre at best and tried to make others feel bad to make herself feel better, as was the case with her and Naruto. Thankfully, Naruto seemed to be well-versed in the art of ignoring Sakura.

The only good thing about her was that she had excellent chakra control and intelligence, but that was of no use to her if she couldn’t find a way to apply it on the battlefield.

The only reason he took this C-rank was to show his team that the ninja world wasn’t as easy and forgiving as it seemed. They hadn’t even experienced their first kills, or so he thought.

Sasuke had his normal, neutral expression on his face as he walked to the gates for his mission. His thoughts, however, were anything but neutral.

Sasuke couldn’t understand Naruto Uzumaki, no matter how hard he tried to. Every time he thought he would figure Naruto out, the blonde would seemingly switch angles and leave Sasuke confused again. At first glance, he gave off the impression of a clown, but that quickly changed on the day of the graduation exam. Since then, Sasuke kept a close eye on Naruto.

On the day of the bell test, Sasuke had been outraged by the level of skill displayed by the blonde. He suspected Naruto’s taijutsu was at par, if not greater than his own. But to engage in a spar with a jonin, attacking and countering all attacks with a precision and fluidity Sasuke did not possess, was enough to ignite jealousy inside Sasuke.

His ninjutsu was something Sasuke did not expect, but didn’t exactly know why he was upset about it, so he didn’t much of it.

He was surprised with his teammate’s prowess in fuinjutsu, knowing that it was a difficult art to master. He had thought that Naruto, being the dead-last, wouldn’t even be interested in such an art. But he managed to surprise him again. He knew Naruto had massive stamina, having seen it in action in the academy. However, he could accept that, having no interest in the sealing arts, as in his eyes, it wouldn’t help against Itachi.

He had thought Naruto would hold a grudge against him for how Sasuke treated him in the academy. In a sense, Naruto never approached him, but was professional towards him. He never looked down on him or Sakura, instead encouraging them to get stronger. Sasuke was determined to figure Naruto out.

Naruto would occasionally invite him to have ramen at Ichiraku’s. Sasuke had accepted every time, desperate to piece together the puzzle of Naruto. They usually talked about their training schedules; more like Sasuke wanted to know how Naruto became so strong. They talked about their childhoods, surprising Sasuke just how similar they were. The weird thing about these meetings was….it became easier to talk to him every time.

Sasuke was now pretty sure that he did not consider Naruto as a weakling to be dismissed at the first glance, but rather as a scale to measure himself against. He respected him; he wanted to become as strong as Naruto, in hopes that he would surpass him and finally become powerful enough to kill his brother. He had accepted Naruto as a comrade…for now.

Sakura happily made her way to the gates, Sasuke being the main thought on her mind. She was sad how Sasuke always denied her a date, but kept her spirits high, just in case he decided to accept the next time. But in the past two months she has spent with her team, she was witness to some rather troubling developments.

The first was that she was forced to accept that she could not use Naruto as a step to boost her confidence anymore. He had made it very clear that he would not tolerate her picking on him anymore. That made her realise with a small amount of shame that she had very unnecessarily picked on Naruto, who had no hand in anything that upset her.

The second was that Naruto was strong. Easily stronger than Sasuke. The so called dead last was the most physically capable of them all, proven when he could physically exert even more than Sasuke. He would take longer than her or Sasuke to get tired and recover much more quickly than both of them. The revelation of Naruto having Kage-level chakra reserves from Kakashi had shocked her, having believed that Sasuke had the most chakra in their class.

The third and hardest to accept was that Naruto and Sasuke came from very similar backgrounds. She refused to believe that at first, going as far as to call him a clanless orphan who could never match Sasuke. She was shocked though, when Sasuke came to Naruto’s defense. He admonished Sakura, saying that she had gone too far. He harshly reminded her that he and Naruto shared the fact that they were orphans.

Since then, Sakura had felt tremendously guilty and had tried to act nicer towards Naruto. She wouldn’t call them friends though, they were far from that.

She began to see Naruto in a new light. Though he always acted like he was indiiferent, the subtle actions made it clear that he always cared for his comrades. She noticed that in the two months, Naruto and Sasuke had grown a little closer as friends. She saw that Naruto clearly knew that he was stronger than Sasuke, but never rubbed it in the boy’s face, instead using the fact to encourage them both to get stronger.

She was, by no means, a friend to Naruto, but hoped that he would at least consider her a worthy comrade in time.

The two reached the gates exactly fifteen minutes before seven. Sakura’s eyes lit up as she saw the dark haired boy.

“Sasuke-kun!” she waved enthusiastically, and like always, was disappointed when he replied with his customary “Hn”.

Sasuke looked around, trying to find Naruto. ‘Perhaps this mission may force Naruto to reveal what he is hiding from us’, he thought. A hand fell on his shoulder and he barely caught himself from yelping. Instead, he turned his head back as calmly as he could to see Naruto’s smirking face.

Sasuke tried to play it cool, but knew Naruto had already seen his moment of weakness. Before he could do anything else, Naruto chuckled and patted his shoulder, “It’sok, Sasuke. Even Anbu would be hard pressed to detect me in the middle of my pranks.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that, silently waiting for Naruto to elaborate, but he didn’t. Naruto simply leaned against the wall, waiting for their sensei.

Sakura had a confused expression on her face, “Naruto, why don’t you have a backpack like me ad Sasuke-kun?”

Naruto replied, “Well, for one, sealing scrolls are just more practical to use. It take time to take off your backpack, and rummage through everything to find what you need. All you need to do in a sealing scroll is unroll it, push chakra into the required seal and boom! So much quicker than backpacks, don’t you think? Also, I modified this scroll to suit my needs. I trust my creation more than anything else.”

“That’s an interesting outlook, Naruto.”

The three genin turned around to see Kakashi and their client coming. Tazuna was still drinking, but he didn’t seem as drunk as he was yesterday.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, “While your logic isn’t wrong, it is a bit unconventional for shinobi to use sealing scrolls instead of backpacks. However, if it works for you, I have no problem with it.” He finished, shrugging in the end.

Turning towards his other two students, “Are you two ready?”

Seeing them nod, he turned to their client, “Let’s go, Tazuna-san.”

****

Hiruzen looked at his clones doing the paperwork with a frown. What he had found three months ago after his surrogate grandson had suggested the use of Kage Bunshin had enraged him. Before, he hadn’t really noticed just how many useless documents he got on his desk. Many of the decrees the civilian council wanted to have signed were only meant to increase their wealth and didn’t help the village as a whole. Some that had been slipped into his mountain of work were outright attempts to legally abuse Naruto, like the hotsprings requesting to be able to deny people they think unsuited to use the premises entry, or the grocers asking to set taxes for their goods themselves.

Getting some of his personal Anbu who were skilled in financial matters, he had found more evidence damning the council of bribing members of the shinobi council, mainly the elders. What set him off, however, was the way they had changed the syllabus and lowered the standard of shinobi.

Even worse, Naruto had managed to gather more evidence about the merchant council and some of the civilian councillors of their misdeeds. Hiruzen chuckled at the thought. Naruto, with the help of his sensei, had managed to create a simple, but effective spy network within Konoha itself. Any intelligence gathered would be slipped in by Naruto to the Hokage during his ‘visits’, thus allowing him to keep an eye out for anything amiss. Tobirama Senju may have created the shadow clone jutsu for reconnaissance and spying, but Naruto was using it to its full potential, with the help of seals. He had Jiraiya working on the outside, and Naruto working inside. Should the two ever combine forces, Konoha would be feared for their intelligence network for ages to come.

He looked at his fuin bracelet, something he considered a gift he had received after a long time. Not for the first time, he felt relief for stepping up and getting Naruto trained in secret. Encouraging the boy ended up actually benefitting him and the village. With the pad, he was able to receive messages in real time, not needing to rely on messenger hawks for long distance messages, increasing the efficiency of sending out instructions and receiving updates, leading to a rise in mission success rates. The bracelets had motivated him to resume training again. While not able to reach the strength in his prime, he was able to gain back a part of his strength, even giving the Anbu a workout.

Making a mental note to ask Naruto for permission to mass produce the bracelets, he went back to his part of the paperwork. The civilian council’s meddling in shinobi affairs would end today. No longer would they be able to stifle the Will of Fire.

****

They had left the gates over four hours ago. Four hours of silence. Naruto appreciated it, being able to sift through Tobirama’s memories and seeing the process of inventing the various jutsu that had been in the Nidaime’s arsenal. He would replay some of the memories whenever Kurama was asleep; the fox having made a hobby of trying to force the memory and image of Tobirama-sosofu and Tokka-baachan doing the no-pants dance and watching Naruto getting flustered. This was also a way of dealing with long hours of awkward silence. He could talk to Tazuna, but nothing came to mind about what to talk.

Sakura seemed to sense the awkwardness as well, and she did not have the same problem as Naruto of finding a topic to talk about. “Um, Tazuna-san, you are from Wave country right?”

Tazuna turned his head towards her, “Yeah, what about it?”

“Do you have ninja in Wave country?”

Surprisingly, it was Kakashi who answered, “Actually, Wave does not have a ninja village. Each of the elemental nations has their own hidden shinobi villages. But the smaller countries don’t have the resources to fund, let alone maintain their own hidden village. Budget, people, missions…there are so many resources to account for that the smaller nations can’t afford. So they prefer to hire ninjas from other countries.”

Naruto only paid half attention to the explanation, the other half of his attention focused on the puddle a couple of meters ahead of them to the side of the road. He could feel the hint of malice coming from it. It looked so out of place on the sunny day that a word automatically rang through his mind, ‘Trap.’

‘This must be the Demon brothers.’ He turned to Tazuna and asked about the travel duration, while subtly glancing at Kakashi-sensei, quickly and discreetly making hand-signs, {Two shinobi in puddle ahead, chunin-level chakra with water affinity. Orders?}

Kakashi blinked. ’He knows Anbu hand-signs?! Maybe the Hokage must have taught him. Wait, how does he know how many are there? And he can sense affinities?! I’ll have to ask him later.’ Recovering quickly he signed back {Acknowledged. Be on guard. There’s something I want to confirm.}

Giving a subtle nod to his sensei, he then nudged Sasuke, motioning him to glance at the puddle. Sasuke raised an eyebrow for he didn’t understand what Naruto was trying to imply, but it suddenly clicked after a moment. He nodded his thanks to Naruto who nodded back. They subtly re-positioned themselves in front of Tazuna.

As soon as they passed the puddle, Naruto’s sense of danger buzzed loudly and he called out, “WATCH OUT!” He and Sasuke both jumped back in time, but Kakashi was apparently too slow to react.

Two ninjas jumped from the puddle and attacked Kakashi with a bladed chain, tearing him to shreds. At least that’s what Sakura and Sasuke saw. Naruto’s senses were fast enough to follow the kawarimi followed by a minor genjutsu.

“One down”, the one on the right declared. They both then turned their attention towards the genin.

“Sakura, guard Tazuna!” Naruto shouted, turning his attention towards the one who was closing in on him. He palmed three shuriken and, coating them with his supersonic chakra made of wind and lightning, threw them towards the chain. As the chain was cut off, separating the ninja, Naruto palmed two kunai in reverse grip and coated them in supersonic chakra. He then charged towards the closest one, who was distracted by the chain cut off.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Naruto executed a diagonal slash along the torso of the ninja. The supersonic chakra easily tore through and made a deep cut. Not enough to be fatal, but deep enough to hurt. The ninja cried out in pain and instinctively held his left hand to the cut.

Naruto took full advantage of the opening and flipped over the wounded ninja, hitting the back of his head with the blunt end of the kunai, rendering him unconscious.

Creating a clone to tie up the fallen ninja, Naruto looked over to Sasuke, who was about to clash with his opponent, a kunai and shuriken in hand. But before he could do that, a hand appeared in the ninja’s path, right in front of his throat.

Needless to say, Kakashi’s block knocked the ninja out cold. Eye-smiling at his students, he said, “Good job on taking him out, Naruto. You too Sasuke, keeping the enemy away from the client. Sorry Sakura, I didn’t know you would freeze up like that.”

He tied his ninja to the tree where Naruto’s clone had tied the other ninja to. He missed the frustrated look on Sasuke’s face, which turned to jealousy as he gazed at Naruto, who was watching Kakashi. ‘He was easily able to take out the ninja in less than half a minute! Why couldn’t I do that?! I got stuck in engaging the ninja instead of trying to take him out as quickly as possible.’ He clenched his fists in agitation.

Naruto felt the jealousy from Sasuke coming in waves and sighed internally. The guy had a massive inferiority complex that would come back to bite him in the ass later. Shaking his head, he listened as Kakashi explained, “These guys are known as the Demon brothers. They are rogue chunin from Kirigakure no Sato. They are…somewhat dangerous.”

Tazuna looked scared out of his wits, “If you were not skewered to pieces, why did you let your genin handle them?!”

Kakashi eye-smiled, “I had to test them how they would perform in the field. Besides, I had to find out who they were attacking. Us because of the grudge between our villages,” his expression then became serious, “Or you.”

At that moment, the ninja with one horn, the one whom Naruto had knocked out, seemed to wake up. He groaned in pain, “How…did you know…we were going to attack?”

Naruto spoke up before Kakashi could, “A puddle on a completely sunny day, added to the fact that it hasn’t rained in weeks. Well done, genius”, he sarcastically clapped.

Sakura let out a light giggle at this. Naruto’s snark was funny when it was aimed at others. Kakashi narrowed his eye at Tazuna. “We need to talk.”

Tazuna adopted a nervous expression, “About wh-what?”

“It was stated in the mission scroll that you needed protection from bandits, not rogue ninjas. Especially those from Kirigakure, where the ninjas complete their missions, no matter the cost. Why would they be after you?” his tone was light, but the suspicion was heavy.

“Unless they were hired specifically to take you out.” Naruto added his two cents, pointing at Tazuna.

Tazuna tried to think up an excuse, but it was already too late. With a resigned sigh, he asked them, “Have you heard of a man named Gato?”

Kakashi questioned with a thoughtful frown, “Do you mean one who is among the richest men in the nations? That Gato?”

“I’ve heard of him,” Naruto stated. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, silently asking to elaborate. “He’s the owner of Gato Corporation. A predominantly shipping company. When I last read about him, he was among the top five richest in the nations. Suspected of criminal activity, but no proof.” He said with his arms crossed.

“The very same”, Tazuna agreed. “He came to Wave country more than two years ago. First we didn’t think anything about it, but soon he had bought up all the shipping industry of our nation. You see, Wave country is an island so we are dependent on the shipping to get goods. But that wasn’t the worst part. He used his monopoly to drain the country dry.

“The people live in poverty. Many lost their houses to Gato. Whoever protests is killed. He takes what he wants with his hired thugs, making sure nobody dares to oppose him. His shipping business covers his criminal activities. He deals with drugs, alcohol, rare goods, even slaves. Anything and everything that brings him money. The only thing he fears is the bridge I’m building. If I finish my bridge, his monopoly will be rendered obsolete and our country will be back in business because we will be connected to the main land.”

“So why didn’t you just tell the truth to Hokage-sama?” Kakashi glared at him.

Tazuna threw his hands up. “I couldn’t! Wave country has been sucked dry! We don’t have enough money to pay for more than a C-rank mission!”

Kakashi shook his head. “While that is sad, you had no right to lie to the Hokage. This mission is at least a B-rank, possibly A-rank, should we encounter even more powerful shinobi. This is not a job my genin are suited to perform!”

Glancing at his students briefly, he said, “But as they are ninjas of Konoha, they have a say in this as much as I do now.”

He then turned to his students, “What do you think we should do?”

Sasuke spoke up first, “I say we continue, Kakashi. We can’t afford to let people think that Konoha will let a country fall to a man like Gato. And I don’t want an incomplete mission on my first mission outside the village.”

Kakashi sighed. The boy’s complex was acting up again. But he had surprisingly made a good point.

Sakura looked less scared than before, but still scared, “I-I say we g-go forward, Kakashi-sensei.”

Kakashi then looked to Naruto, who had his eyes closed, deep in thought, with his thumb and index finger on his chin.

“What do you think, Naruto?”

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at his sensei. “Permission to speak freely, sensei?”

Seeing Kakashi nod, he continued, “I say we continue, despite going against protocol, since it isn’t just a mission where the client wanted to save money. This is about a whole country going down the drain because one greedy bastard wants to fill his pockets more than he already has. But this isn’t really an escort protection mission anymore.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, ignoring the others’ confused looks. “Explain.”

“We’re going into hostile territory with our opposition on the lookout for us. This is more an infiltration, Kakashi-sensei.”

“That’s a very interesting point. And how would that change things?”

“I don’t know. I will need more information-“

“It doesn’t matter,” Sasuke interrupted, glaring at Naruto. He wasn’t going to let his chance to become stronger get taken from him. Sasuke knew that his teammate had a good point. However, his pride won over his rational thought. “Whoever comes our way, we can take them on.”

Naruto resisted the urge to smack his head. “Sasuke, the ones we faced were B-rank chunin. The next person we may face will probably be a jonin level shinobi, who may be equal to Kakashi-sensei in strength. And these guys are actually known associates of Zabuza Momochi, who was a member of the Seven ninja swordsmen of the Mist. Do you really think we can take him on when we haven’t managed to defeat Kakashi-sensei when he held back?”

Kakashi, while surprised that Naruto knew about all this, had to admit he had a strong point. However, his other two students thought differently.

“We can take them. We won’t grow stronger if we don’t test ourselves.”

“You realise we may be walking right into an ambush with the client, right?”

“It doesn’t matter. You can stay back while I do the fighting.”

‘Arrogant, impulsive idiot. How in Kami’s name is he Rookie of the Year?! Tobirama-sosofu, Kurama, how did you deal with these arrogant pricks?!’

‘Hm? Did you say something?’

‘…No it’s fine. Go back to sleep.’ Naruto thought with a sweat drop.

Kakashi felt the distinct urge to high-five a nine-tailed fox but shook his head. “Naruto’s right, Sasuke. We’re heading into dangerous territory. For all we know we could be heading into an ambush.”

Sasuke, however, like most Uchiha, never budged. Naruto finally sighed. “Fine, we’ll go along with your plan. We’ll head to Wave country. We can continue, Kakashi-sensei.”

Kakashi looked at his three students; one who was smirking, the other frowning and the third one was impassive. He sighed and said, “Let’s go. But be on guard.”

Receiving three nods, he called Tazuna to join them, missing his sigh of utter relief.

****

Naruto put the seals on both the brothers’ foreheads, putting them to sleep after getting the necessary information from them and discreetly stealing the poisons they had in their person. Kakashi told him the Konoha shinobi would be arriving to take them, so he sould leave instructions for them on how to remove the seal.

Tazuna saw the application of the seals with chakra and couldn’t help but comment, “Damn it, boy. One would think you were an Uzumaki of old.”

“I am an Uzumaki, Tazuna-san.” Naruto answered.

“A real Uzumaki?! But your hair is blond, not red!”

“I don’t know about my parents, but my mother was an Uzumaki. The Hokage only told me that much.”

“What’s so special about the Uzumaki?” Sakura asked, clueless.

Kakashi looked at her strangely, “Didn’t they teach you that in the Academy?” he asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Kakashi sighed, “Okay, impromptu history lesson. Before the third great shinobi war, Konoha had a sister village named Uzushiogakure, located in the former land of Whirlpools, an island nation close to Wave country. The leaders of the village were the Uzumaki clan.” Ignoring the looks of surprise from Sasuke and Sakura, he continued,”the clan were known for their longevity, massive chakra reserves, skill in kenjutsu and incredible skill in fuinjutsu. They were distant cousins of the Senju clan that founded Konoha. It was thanks to them that Konoha had won the first great shinobi war.

“Sadly, just before the end of the second great war, Kumo and Iwa suddenly attacked Uzushio to remove them in order to have a chance against Konoha. Kiri had also joined in at the last minute. While they managed to wipe out the clan, they lost a majority of their own troops due to the superior skill of the Uzumaki in fuinjutsu. Konoha ninja were sent to assist Uzushio but were too late.They only arrived in time to see the village wiped out and the remaining forces retreating. They ended up wiping out the remaining invading forces.

“In remembrance of our failure to reach Uzushio in time to help them, Konoha wears the spiral of the Uzumaki clan on the back of our chunin and jonin vests. Exactly like the one on Naruto’s jacket and right sleeve.”

‘So he too is from an extinct clan. That explains his expertise in fuinjutsu.’ Sasuke realised, looking at Naruto, who had an impassive look in his face.

Sakura was solemn. She hadn’t known about that. ‘Why didn’t they teach us this in the Academy? It seems to have been a really important event!’

Naruto had known the story from his mother’s journal, even going to visit the place during his two year trip as a hunter. The village looked desolate, but he had left a clone to look for anything valuable and to gain any knowledge if possible. ‘Maybe it’s time I call them back.’ He thought to himself.

After a moment of silence, the team and Tazuna continued without any further delay until they reached a coast where Tazuna had organised transport to Wave country. The man greeted Tazuna and cast a wary eye on the Konoha squad, but kept his words to himself.

He stirred them, appearing extremely nervous in spite of the dense cover of the morning fog. As soon as the bridge came into view, Kakashi let out a low whistle, “That is one impressive bridge, that is.”

Naruto shook his head in wonder, ‘I’ve never seen anything as awesome as that bridge before.” Sakura was gaping at the sheer size of the bridge and Sasuke was, like always, neutral faced.

Suddenly Naruto realised where he was heading to and decided it was time to check in. It always gave him a kick that he had telepathy with his clones.

‘Prime to Wave force. Do you copy?’

‘This is Wave one. I’m in the main base. Copy.’

‘Wave two. I’m at the second base. Copy.’

‘Wave three. I’ve infiltrated one of Gato’s brothels. Copy.’

‘Wave four, five and six here. We’re walking among the streets disguised and looking for any trouble. Copy.’

‘Good. The team and I will be reaching Wave soon. What’s the status?’

‘Bad. Wave country is sucked dry. The produce in the market is scarce, and on top of that, some thugs still try to harass the population and force themselves on the women here. Managed to follow some of them and infiltrate the base and knocked them out. We’re avoiding suspicion for now, but Gato’s ranks will lessen soon now that you’re here.’

‘That’s good. Anything else?’

‘Yeah, Zabuza Momochi and his helper are on their way and may be watching you as we speak.’

Naruto forced himself not to flinch and extended his senses when he heard the message. He felt two chakra signatures, one high jonin and the other high chunin. The second chakra felt…different.

‘Very well. I can sense them. Keep on watch. I’ll meet one of you tomorrow. Over and out.’

Naruto kept his senses alert. This would be the second time he faced a swordsman of the Mist. As much as he hated to admit it, he was looking forward to it.

****

Meanwhile, back in the village, the Sandaime was sitting in the meeting room with the shinobi council on one side and the civilian council on the other. The three elders, Homura, Koharu and Danzo stood on his right side.

A civilian council member spoke up, “Why have you called this meeting, Hokage-sama?”

Hiruzen did not reply, eyes closed and in deep thought. At last he spoke.

“Do you all, especially the civilian council”, he glared at said council, “Know why the civilian council was established by my sensei, Nidaime-sama?”

There was no answer from both the sides, but the elders and Shikaku seemed to grasp the true purpose of the meeting from the question.

Koharu moved forward,”Hokage-sama, you can’t-“ She was silenced with a wave of killing intent. It made one thing clear in everyone’s heads: ‘He’s in a bad mood today.’

“To assist the shinobi council in times of war. Last I checked, Konoha hasn’t been at war for the last fifteen years. Therefore, your entire existence is debunk.” Outraged cries came from the civilian section, but killing intent from the shinobi side for interrupting the Hokage silenced them.

The Hokage glared at them, “If anyone interrupts me one more time, I will have the person executed. Understood?” He enforced the threat with killing intent. After seeing their urgent nods, he continued.

“The only reason, and I have checked the records thoroughly”, he said motioning to the big pile of paperwork beside him, “That the only reason they exist is because of political mongering and bribing some members of the shinobi council.” His eyes swept the room, intensifying the tension.

“My hands were tied after the Kyuubi’s attack and the Uchiha massacre. The civilian council took advantage of this and began to take charge of more important tasks by bribing the shinobi side.” He said while glaring at the two elders, who didn’t even look into his eyes.

“Until they finally managed to get their hands on the shinobi academy, the most important stage of the shinobi’s career. Changing the syllabus and actually lowering the standard of shinobi, the council gradually became more corrupt. Tell me if I’m wrong.” He finished, practically glaring at everyone and daring them to disagree.

Danzo grit his teeth. The civilian council was easily manipulated and as such, was a form of power that he could control, not the Hokage. But it seemed Sarutobi had finally had enough of their bullshit and was going to dissolve the council. The worst about all of this: He couldn’t lift a finger without resorting to Shisui Uchiha’s eye, and he would rather die than attempt something that foolish.

No one spoke in the council room, which was enough for an answer that the Hokage had hit the bullseye.

“I will hold a vote now, to dissolve the civilian council.” He declared. A fat man stood up, face red and ready to shout at the Hokage. He didn’t even finish the first word that came out of his mouth before his head rolled on the ground, courtesy of the ANBU. They cleaned up and vanished back into the shadows.

Suddenly seeming to remember something, he turned to the elders, “Before I commence the vote, the elders will not be voting seeing that their position only allows them to advise and as such, have no say in any final decision made by the Hokage.”

Koharu and Homura had a defeated posture. Heads down, shoulders sagged, an aura of dismay. Danzo simply stared ahead, not showing any emotions. Sarutobi had caught them totally unawares with this maneuver.

“All against dissolving the civilian council on basis of the charges I have read.” The entire civilian side raised their hands, but they knew they were defeated.

“All in favour of dissolving the civilian council based on the charges I have read.” The entire shinobi side raised their hands. Their numbers were equal to that of the civilians, but the air of smugness was unmistakeable in the room.

A tie breaking vote was required of the Hokage who said, “I am in favour of this notion.”

Straightening up, he declared, “The civilian council is dissolved as of today. I will appoint a shinobi committee to review all the corrupted laws they have passed in favour of themselves. A separate division will be responsible for reviewing shinobi areas. The civilian council can leave now.”

All of them slowly got up, an air of defeat around them all. They filed out of the chamber one by one. “The elders please leave. I have some important things to discuss with the shinobi clan heads.”

The elders couldn’t protest against this as well. Clan business was serious, and no one, not even the Hokage, was to interfere unless it concerned the integrity of the village.

As soon as they left the room, Hiruzen snapped his fingers. An ANBU appeared with a scroll held in his hand. He put it on the Hokage’s desk and went back to his post. A signal from the Hokage caused all the ANBU to leave the room.

Hiruzen opened it, revealing it to be a storage scroll. He slapped his hand on the scroll and in a puff of smoke, a bottle of sake and the same number of cups as the shinobi council appeared. Hiruzen smirked, “Who wants drinks?”

Chapter Text

As Team 7 and their client reached the shore of Wave country, the fisherman wished Tazuna best of luck to get home safely while Tazuna thanked him for his help. Kakashi asked Tazuna, “How long is your home away from here?”

“A journey of about one hour and a half.”

Kakashi nodded and motioned for his team to start walking. Though he didn’t know the reason why he suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. Glancing towards his team, he wasn’t entirely surprised to see that only Naruto seemed to share his wariness. He looked at the blonde’s hand which was signing to him.

[We have company.]

Not waiting to see his sensei’s order, Naruto threw a shuriken into a bush on his left. Sasuke and Sakura jumped at that, along with Tazuna. Kakashi narrowed his eye. “What is it?”

Naruto walked to the bush, a kunai ready in hand. He saw a white rabbit, scared to the bone. ‘A white rabbit? The fur is all wrong for this time of the year. Which means it was raised indoors. So it was used a substitution?!’ He immediately looked up to his right.

“Location changing at a fast pace.”

Sakura scolded him, “Baka! Look what you did to the poor rabbit.”

Naruto ignored her as his danger sense kicked in. “GET DOWN!” He and Kakashi yelled together. Everyone dropped to the ground just in time to avoid a giant spinning sword from cutting off their heads. Naruto was even able to bring Tazuna and Sakura down just in time.

Everyone stood up and turned towards the tree in which the sword was buried, a man standing on the handle. He had black hair and brown eyes, his slashed Kiri headband tilted upwards to the left side of his head, signifying his status as a missing-nin. He wore mist stripped pants and hand warmers that extended to his biceps.

Kakashi’s voice took a tone of mock surprise, “Well, well, if it isn’t Zabuza Momochi, rogue nin and former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Known as the Kirigakure no Kijin (Demon of the Hidden Mist).”

The now identified Zabuza raised a non existent eyebrow, “Well, well. Copy Ninja Kakashi. Now it makes sense why the Demon brothers failed. Surprising to see you with a team of brats.”He replied mockingly. “Now I’m going to ask you to hand over the old man. Do that and you all get to escape with your lives.”

Kakashi had a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. ‘Naruto was right. This is really bad. Zabuza is a high A-rank missing nin, bordering S-rank, which means this mission is a high A-rank!’

Naruto stayed calm, having known about Zabuza beforehand. He took out two kunai from his hip pouches, held in reverse grip and ready to engage, but Kakashi held a hand in front of him. “Everyone stay back. He is not someone you can take on. It’ll be tough, even for me. Unless I use this…” he said, lifting up his hitai-ate and exposing a blood red eye with three tomoes in a circular pattern.

Zabuza gave a dark amused chuckle, “The Sharingan, this early Kakashi? I’m honoured. I’ve read about you, back when I was in ANBU. The man who is said to have copied a thousand jutsu, Sharingan no Kakashi.”

Sasuke’s head whipped around to stare at Kakashi, more specifically, at his left eye. ‘How does he have the Sharingan? It’s supposed to be an Uchiha clan dojutsu! Did he steal one on the night of the massacre?’

So deep into his thoughts that he didn’t see Zabuza make a strange stance and make a half ram sign and call out “Ninpo: Kirigakure no jutsu!” (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist technique). Mist slowly started to surround them. In just a few moments, the mist was so thick that it was hard to see two feet in front of them.

Suddenly, incredible amount of killing intent filled the air, causing all of them to tense up. But Naruto immediately relaxed, having gathered his wits. This was nothing compared to what Kurama, Tobirama and his other adversaries put him through. Sasuke and Sakura were a different story; Sasuke was frozen in his place, while Sakura was barely keeping herself from crying. The killing intent seemed to relax and Kakashi’s voice rang out, “Don’t worry, Sasuke, Sakura! There’s no way I willlet my comrades die!” Kakashi had released his own killing intent, easing up some of the pressure.

Turning back Kakashi said, “He’ll come after me first. Zabuza is a known master of the silent killing technique. Before you know it, it is over.”

Before anyone could say anything, Zabuza’s voice xame from all around the mist, “Eight points: Liver, lungs, spine, subclavicular vein, jugular vein, brain, kidneys, and heart. These places, if hit too hard or cut too deep, are a one hit kill. Where should I strike first?”

‘Yeah, no. Don’t care about his preferences,’ Naruto thought as he took a deep breath, ‘Fuuton: Daitoppa!’ (Wind style: Great breakthrough). The burst of wind he expelled blew away all the fog, revealing Zabuza standing a few feet away from the group, sword in hand.

“Now it’s better for you, sensei.” Naruto smiled, kunai held in reverse grip. He had already released all his resistance seals.

Zabuza clicked his tongue in annoyance. ‘Annoying brat, he cancelled out my jutsu. How the hell does a genin know wind manipulation anyway?!’

Naruto saw it. Zabuza was looking at him in annoyance; the same way Raiga had looked at him when they had fought. Before he could react, Kakashi appeared behind his back, slashing at him. Zabuza collapsed in a puddle of water.

‘Mizu Bunshin, huh?’ Naruto and Kakashi thought simultaneously. Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, slashing him off. A flicker of surprise was visible when Kakashi too, collapsed into water.Kakashi came up behind him,”Nice try”, he mocked.

Zabuza chuckled, “So you copied my jutsu, hiding in the trees and waiting to strike. Clever.”

He swung his blade towards Kakashi, who ducked under it and slashed his own kunai as a counter. However, the force behind Zabuza’s blade was much more than Kakashi anticipated, and almost went down to his knees. Zabuza didn’t hesitate in giving a chakra enforced kick to Kakashi, who was unable to dodge in time.

However, Zabuza’s eyes widened when he saw that the one he was kicking was not Kakashi, but the blonde brat, who flew and hit the tree. He was about to scoff at the kid when the kid burst into smoke. Looking around, he saw Kakashi at the shore with the brat.

“Thanks for the save, Naruto. That was a good use of the Kawarimi.”

“Don’t mention it. You still owe some us training after all.”

Zabuza scoffed, “Whatever. You got lucky. It won’t happen again.”

He began a long series of handsigns, forty four in total, which Kakashi copied and Naruto knew very well, his blood clone having been drilled by Tobirama to learn it with as less hand seals as possible. Not one to waste an opportunity though, he kept his eyes on Kakashi’s hands and sense on his chakra.

“Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu!” (Water style: Water dragon bullet technique). Both the jonin shouted.

Two identical dragons made of water appeared, taking each other out. Zabuza moved in to engage Kakashi with his blade, while Kakashi parried back. They continued this for two minutes after which Zabuza jumped back, starting a new series of hand signs. Kakashi wasted no time in copying them, and Naruto wasted no time in copying Kakashi.

Sasuke, who had just come out of his stupor, was in a daze, seeing the power of the sharingan so close. ‘Did he really copy all the hand signs?’

“My moves. He is…” Zabuza thought, before he was interrupted.

“…Reading them.” Kakashi said, finishing Zabuza’s thought.

“Did he read my mind? He is…”

“…Really pissing me off with that damn eye of his.” Kakashi finished, for Zabuza, continuing to copy Zabuza’s hand signs.

Continuing with his hand seals with Kakashi copying Zabuza, the man yelled, “All you’re doing is copying me!”

“You can’t beat me with those cheap circus tricks you monkey bastard!” Kakashi yelling the same thing while copying the hand signs.

’I wonder how jiji would react to that. I bet a lot of fire would be involved.’ Naruto thought to himself while copying the hand signs.

Zabuza came to a slight stop, seeing an image of himself behind Kakashi. “What is that, a Genjutsu?” Zabuza thought.

His slight falter cost him the victory as Kakashi finished the jutsu ahead of him, “Suiton: Daibakufuu no jutsu!” (Water style: Giant vortex jutsu)

Literally, a giant vortex formed around Kakashi, much larger than his body. It approached Zabuza at incredible speeds, who was unable to do anything. It slammed into him, and he was washed away like an insect under the force of the jutsu, slamming roughly into a tree and leaving him dazed.

Kakashi approached Zabuza with a kunai in hand, intent on finishing him off. Groaning in pain and bracing himself for his death, Zabuza asked him, “Can you see the future?”

Kakashi answered, “Yes…and your future…is death.”

Naruto sweat dropped, ‘What a corny guy!’

Just as Kakashi was about to finish the job, two senbon came out of nowhere, hitting Zabuza in the neck. The man fell to the ground with a thud.

All of them looked around to spot where the senbon came from, but Naruto pointed towards a tree, from which came a soft chuckle. A masked person was standing on a branch. “Looks like you were right.”

The person had long black hair with a slender frame. The outfit was a green kimono pinstriped which stopped at the knees. There was a brown sash around the waist with a tail, wrapped around twice. But the most identifying thing about he person was the mask they wore. It was white with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth, as well as the Kirigakure symbol etched on top.

The person was a hunter nin.

Naruto couldn’t quite place the voice as female or male. It was…unsettling. He would assume it was a male. However, he figured this was Zabuza’s accomplice, but didn’t make a move yet.

“I thank you for your help.” The ‘hunter-nin’ said as he hopped down. Kakashi knelt and checked Zabuza’s pulse to see if the man was truly dead or not. Finding nothing, he concluded that Zabuza was dead.

“I have been hunting him for quite a while,” he said. Picking up the body, he prepared to shunshin away when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait!” The hunter-nin turned to face Naruto’s narrowed eyes. “As a hunter-nin, isn’t it your job to dispose of the bodies on the spot?”

The hunter-nin saw the suspicion in the blonde’s eyes and explained, “This body holds many secrets. The village would like to know them before doing that.” With that, he was gone.

‘Secrets my ass. He just wanted to get away. Too bad for him, I have him marked.’ Naruto thought.

‘We’ve managed to map out the base, Prime. Sending you the details via the fuin bracelet now.’

‘Roger that. Prime over and out.’

Kakashi pulled his headband down, “Well, that is over with…”, and promptly fell face first into the ground.

Sakura rushed to him, “Kakashi-sensei!” She turned him over to see that his eye was closed.

“It’s chakra exhaustion, Sakura.” She turned towards Naruto. He explained. “The sharingan is an Uchiha kekkei genkai. It is not meant for him and as such, consumes his chakra faster. He just needs time to recover.”

Tazuna spoke up. “Well, in that case, let’s hurry to my house so he can recover safely.” Naruto nodded and created three shadow clones. One of them henged into a stretcher while the other two put the exhausted jonin on it and started walking.

Sasuke walked beside Naruto, “Hey Naruto”, said boy turned to him, “How did you know about the demon brothers before they attacked us?”

Naruto looked confused, “Haven’t I told you before that I am a sensor?”

Sasuke’s eyes immediately narrowed at him, “What?!”

Naruto sighed; this would take a while.

****

Hinata stood with her team in front of the Hokage. Team 8 had gone on a D rank mission to deliver an important scroll to the outpost. It was kind of insulting to be delivering mail but at least they got out of the village.

They had stopped for a break on their way back when they ended up running into a ninja cat who begged them to help save their leader Nekobaa’s granddaughter Tamaki. Kurenai had sympathetically told the cat that they had to get to the Hokage first which would take two days from where they were. That was when Hinata had reminded her of the Pad that they had received from the guard post at the gate. Sending the message to the Hokage and getting the green light for the C rank mission, the team had gone and helped rescue the girl. Nekobaa had thanked them profusely, receiving a nod of thanks from Shino, a blush and bow from Hinata and a grin from Kiba.

Hinata was happy that she finally got a chance to test a new technique she had developed with Naruto’s help. After she had finished the first step of lightning manipulation, she had tried combining the Hakke Juurokusho (Eight trigrams sixteen palms) with her lightning element. Trying it on her clone, the results had been…shocking, no pun intended. She now tried it on a real opponent and she was pleased with the results, while her team had stood open mouthed at the electrocuted form of her opponent.

The Hokage congratulated them on a job well done. After they had been dismissed, Kurenai dismissed the team for the day, before motioning Hinata to walk with her.

“How did you know about the Pad, Hinata?”

“I know it because I have one too, Kurenai sensei.”

Kurenai looked at her surprised. “How do you have one?”

“When you’re best friends with its inventor you tend to get one.” Hinata said with a smile.

Kurenai had a sceptical look, “I know you like the boy, Hinata. But it’s hard to believe that the dead last of your class invented something as innovative and useful as that.”

Hinata sighed and looked at Kurenai, “Sensei, I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me, and for being there for me ever since I was nine. But I know Naruto-kun. Everything about him, even his…burden,” ignoring Kurenai’s shock, she continued. “I don’t know how he does it. He’s carrying this burden for all of us and instead of thanking him everyday, the village hates him and blames him for the incident. Do you really think he hasn’t lost anything? For all we know he may have lost his parents on the night of the attack, and he may never really know about them. He won’t have memories of outings or conversations around dinner tables. Be thankful that he is as kind as he is and helping the village with his inventions instead of becoming the self fulfilling prophecy the citizens are making him to be.”

Kurenai was speechless. The shy, timid girl she knew was no longer there, instead replaced by a confident girl and a strong kunoichi in her own right. The conviction with which she spoke about Naruto was something she never expected. Kurenai began to feel ashamed of the way she had thought of the boy, not knowing what he had gone through. Resolving to do better, she said, “Hinata, I’m sorry. I guess I never thought that I was one among the rest. I will try to do better. But, how did you know about it?”

Hinata looked at her for a moment and then smiled, “I’m not the one you should be apologising to, sensei. But to answer your question, he told me two years ago. I know there are some other things he’s hiding, but he promised to tell me after he comes back from his mission. I better be going sensei. See you tomorrow!”

Kurenai watched as the girl who she came to love like her own sister walked off. She thought of the conversation and had come to the understanding that it was Naruto who had managed to bring out this side of her. She along with majority of the ninja in the village were content to treat the boy neutrally but she always felt a bit of resentment as she had lost her father to the Kyuubi. However, Naruto was known to be an orphan, whose parents no one knew of. She didn’t take into account that he too had lost his parents on that night.

She then had a thought, ‘There’s no way that a dead last managed to invent something like that. The pad is some advanced fuinjutsu, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The only ones I know who could be good at sealing are Jiraiya-sama and Kushina-sensei, but Kushina-sensei died on the night of the-‘

She stopped in her tracks. Kushina Uzumaki was a mistress of fuinjutsu and kenjutsu and had tutored her and her friend Yugao in the art respectively. Kurenai herself, though not proficient, was no slouch in the area, having managed to seal off the destructive personality of Yakumo Kurama, the heiress of the Kurama clan within her. Could Naruto Uzumaki be her son? ‘But that’s impossible!’ she thought to herself. She needed answers from her friend. She set off in the direction of Yugao’s apartment.

****

Team 7 and their client walked in a quiet manner towards Tazuna’s house. Naruto had the others arranged into a formation. Sasuke and Sakura would guard Tazuna from the front while he would protect them from the rear. Sasuke had rudely questioned who had made him the leader. Naruto had coolly responded that if he had a better idea, then speak up.

As Naruto suspected, Sasuke didn’t exactly have a lot of bright ideas. With a glare hot enough to burn metal, he had growled at Naruto, “Just because I am doing this doesn’t mean you can order me around, dobe. You will tell me everything about your sensing ability.”

Naruto had sighed at that. It seemed Sasuke’s inferiority complex was acting up, probably because of what happened with Zabuza and the demon brothers. Maybe he was also pissed about seeing the hunter-nin from before. Someone their age and already a part of the hunter-nin program must have set him off. They thankfully made it to Tazuna’s house without any more attacks.

They all saw it, the lakeside house. They all waited on the porch as Tazuna went and knocked on the front door. After a minute, the door swung open and a slim, pretty woman tushed out and embraced Tazuna. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her, ’Probably must be his daughter.’

“Tou-san, I’m so glad that you are safe!” she spoke with obvious relief in her voice before she spotted the ninja behind him. She gave them a small bow, “I’m sorry, where are my manners? I’m Tsunami, please come in. Is he hurt?” She asked, pointing towards the half-conscious Kakashi on the stretcher. Her eyes widened at the three identical blondes, but she was quick to recover.

Naruto spoke up, “He’s simply exhausted. Tsunami-san. Is there a room where we can put him?” She smiled and moved aside for them to come. Sasuke and Sakura removed their shinobi sandals and went inside while Naruto first removed Kakashi’s sandals and then his own, going inside. The small gesture of caring brought an unseen smile onto Kakashi’s face.

Tsunami answered, “I just need to put down a futon. I’m sorry, I didn’t get your names….”

Sakura smiled, “Sakura Haruno, Tsunami-san.” Tsunami smiled tightly at her. Something about the girl just unsettled her.

Sasuke was much ruder, “Sasuke Uchiha.” He barely glanced at her, dismissing her as unimportant. Naruto threw him a dirty glare for that, which was whole-heartedly reciprocated.

Naruto turned around and smiled, “I’m Naruto Uzumaki, Tsunami-san. Nice to meet you.” When you are nice to others, they are nice to you. This was demonstrated when Tsunami returned his easy grin and replied, “Nice to meet you too, Naruto-kun. Follow me upstairs where you can lay your sensei down for rest.”

After the futon was laid down and Kakashi on it, Naruto just stared at the wall blankly, processing what happened to them so far. A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his trance. He looked up to see Tsunami’s face, full of concern. It was a bit strange, having someone look at him like that. It gave him a funny feeling in his stomach.

“Are you ok, Naruto-kun?”

He took some time to respond. “I’m ok.” Standing up and putting a small smile on his face, he turned to her and asked, “So, Tsunami-san, how about I help you cook dinner?”

****

HInata stood in the middle of the pond in the garden of the compound. She meditated, getting the flow of chakra through her coils the way Naruto had told her. She had seen Naruto create whirlpools underneath him while he stood with a bored look on his face, as if it was second nature to him.

She opened her eyes and started to go through the katas for the Juuken. She let her body flow, not trying to control it. Naruto had told her that the Juuken style that fit her should be more flowing, since she was a water element contrary to the standard earth element that the Juuken represented. She could feel the water ripple underneath her and began to add the element to her katas, not aware that she had an observer.

Hanabi watched transfixed as her sister went through the katas that looked like Juuken, but different. But she couldn’t fault her for it. Her sister looked absolutely stunning, while the water droplets around her gave an ethereal beauty to the scene. She had acknowledged that Hinata was really stronger than her. She only wished that Neji niisan would stop demeaning her all the time and going on about fate. She had begun training as well, so as not to fall behind her sister.

‘Nee-sama, it took someone from outside the clan to bring out your true potential. Naruto niisan may look like an idiot but he really had us all fooled, except you. I have no doubt you will be one of the strongest Hyuga among us all. But I will work hard so as to catch up to you.’

****

The sound of metal clanging reached Kurenai’s ears as she walked through the Forest of death. She headed there as she couldn’t find her friends at their apartments. She appeared in a clearing just in time to see her friends Anko and Yugao locked in a kenjutsu spar. Anko was thrusting her new wakizashi towards Yugao who dodged it easily. This went on for sometime until the kenjutsu mistress parried another thrust and knocked the sword out of Anko’s hand, putting her own sword against her neck.

“Yield,” she said calmly. The special jonin raised her hands in surrender and the ANBU took her sword off. “You’ve improved Anko-chan. You actually caused me to get serious a bit.”

Anko pouted, “Still not enough. I still can’t wrap my head around how the gaki managed to improve in kenjutsu in such a way that he could give you a run for your money! I mean, you’re among the best kenjutsu users in Konoha!”

Yugao shrugged and was about to answer when she felt a presence. Turning her head she said,”You can come out now, Kurenai!”

Said jonin stepped out of the trees into the clearing. “That was quite the match. I didn’t know you took up kenjutsu, Anko-chan.”

Said special jonin shrugged, “Meh, felt like learning something new. Plus I thought it would be nice to let the brat know who’s boss between us. Little brother cannot beat big sister. Law of nature.” She said, nodding her head sagely.

“And yet he kicked your ass last time Anko-chan.” Yugao teased, getting a glare from the kunoichi.

“S-shut up! I’ll get him next time. Cheeky, arrogant, cute-faced brat!”

“Um…excuse me,” Kurenai interjected, “but who’re you talking about again?”

“Oh, Naruto Uzumaki. The genin under Kakashi-sempai.” Yugao answered.

“Oh. I wanted to talk to you about him. It seems my student Hinata is very close to him.”

Anko grinned. “Yeah, they both have it bad for each other. Still wondering who will ask whom out first. I’m going with the brat!”

“Yeah, about that.Yugao,” said person turned to her. “Is Naruto her son?”

Yugao’s eyes widened, then nodded. “Yeah. But don’t mention it to anyone. It’s an S-rank secret.”

Anko was confused, “We talking about the gaki’s family? Who’s his mother?”

“You’re only a special jonin Anko. We can’t tell you, unless you ask Naruto-kun himself. It’s his secret to tell. But we can clue you in. Let’s just say he inherited his fuinjutsu and kenjutsu talents from her.”  

“But there aren’t many seal masters other than Jiraiya-sama, the Yondaime and Kushina-“ Anko’s eyes widened. “No way! Really?!”

The ANBU and jonin nodded. “Don’t tell anyone this. Consider this our little secret.”

Anko nodded and grinned. “No wonder he was that good. It’s like the parents’ talent went to the son. Good thing it was nurtured early. I heard his academy days were terrible with all the sabotaging.”

‘Is that why he ended up as the dead-last? He may have even taken up that role to deceive everyone. But why would he do that?’ Kurenai pondered.

“Say, since the three of us are here and I’m rested enough, how about a three way?”

Seeing Yugao’s and Kurenai’s faces turn red, Anko facepalmed. “SPAR! Three way SPAR! Seriously you two, if I didn’t know you better, with all the anti-pervert image you’ve been putting up, I’d think you two are closet perverts!”

Both shook their heads and took up their stances, along with the special jonin. The three then charged each other to begin their spar.

****

The mysterious nin had taken Zabuza to a small house far away and took him inside, placing him onto a bed.

“I will have to remove the bandages so he can freely cough up the blood, if he has any to cough,” he mused, his hand reaching to pull down the bandages. A rough hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“I can do that myself, Haku.”

Zabuza opened his eyes, which were quite bloodshot. He sat up, painfully groaning. He reached behind him to take out the senbon in his neck, small squirts of blood coming out as he pulled them roughly.

“Please don’t pull them out like that Zabuza-sama, or you will really die,” Haku commented in a light voice, which failed to convey his seriousness.

Zabuza grunted as he lay on his back, “You’re as vicious as ever, Haku.”

Haku watched as his master lay on the bed. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up, “How will we face them next time, Zabuza-sama?”

Zabuza got a murderous look in his eyes, “Next time”, he growled out, more to himself than Haku, “I’m taking away that sharingan from that damned monkey!”

Chapter Text

It took a day for Kakashi to regain consciousness. Naruto had begun healing him after dinner while his clones had set up traps and barriers around the house. He had also dutifully healed any outward injury and had a soldier pill on standby, helped Tsunami cook dinner and kept a watch on Kakashi while Sakura and Sasuke….Well, they didn’t do anything significant. Sasuke trained; Sakura did too, but not as much. She only did a little before sitting on a rock and watching Sasuke with hearts in her eyes. What they didn’t know was that thirty of Naruto’s shadow clones, divided into three groups were learning the three new jutsu Naruto brought with him far deep into the forest while another five were scouting the village.

Naruto was in Kakashi’s room, observing the map of Gato’s bases from his fuin bracelets while his clone drew up ideas for new types of flash tags and explosive tags. He was drawing the map when he noticed Kakashi’s breath hitch. Sealing up his sealing supplies and dispelling the clone, he walked over to Kakashi and knelt down, activating the Shosen jutsu (Mystical palm technique) to check for abnormalities. Finding none, he placed a palm on his sensei’s head, causing his eyes to open.

“Sensei?” he whispered. He saw as Kakashi opened his eyes with a groan, persisting even when the light seemed to burn through his eye. After finally opening his eye, he looked around and assessed that they had safely made it to Tazuna’s home. He figured that his genin might have gotten pretty bored, especially Sasuke if the occasional tremors indicating Sasuke’s great fireball to burn off some steam.

He looked to the side, seeing a mildly concerned Naruto looking down at him with his azure blues. He was reminded of another blonde who used to give him the same look. He pushed that aside and smiled cheerily.

“Oh hello, Naruto.”

A small smile came onto his face. “About time you woke up. How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but I’m fine otherwise.”

Naruto then took out a sealing tag and put it on the back of Kakashi’s neck. Kakashi was about to protest when he suddenly felt three fourth of his chakra being replenished. His fatigue had somewhat reduced as well. He looked at the boy curiously.

“What was that?”

“Oh, that was a chakra storage seal. It can replenish your chakra reserves quickly and doesn’t have the disadvantage of tasting bad like the soldier pills. I made them myself to not have to eat those soldier pills until they make some edible and tasty ones.” He said with a grimace.

The silver haired jonin looked at his genin in wonder. He had pretty much gotten rid of the need for soldier pills with his chakra storage seals. Now that he thought about it, the Hokage had issued similar seals to his ANBU members recently, saying they were from the new seal master in Konoha. Kakashi now knew that seal master was Naruto, but before he was about to ask, Naruto seemed to have read his mind as he said, “The fact that I’m a seal master is only known to Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama and the ANBU,” ‘along with Anko-sensei and Hinata-chan’ “considering that there may be some….unwelcome people around.” Kakashi nodded, knowing that spies were around. It seemed one of his students had trained the right way.

Naruto stood up, “Now that you’re awake, I’ll alert the others.” He walked over to the window and saw what he had been seeing for the past one day. Sakura was sitting on the ground and having hearts in her eyes and Sasuke blowing off trees. He decided to break their peace.

“HEY SAKURA, DUCKBUTT!” He ignored Kakashi’s snort at the nickname. ”SENSEI IS AWAKE!” With that he went back to Kakashi’s side, not checking if they were coming or not.

Two minutes later, Sakura and Sasuke walked through the door, coming to stand in front of their sensei. Sakura sat down in a whirl of pink and red, exclaiming in relief, “Sensei, you’re awake!”

Naruto quietly scoffed and looked to the side. She was saying it as if she was the one looking after him, skipping her training. ‘Quick to claim others’ credit isn’t she?’ Kurama’s voice spoke, faintly lined with disgust.

Naruto mentally rose an eyebrow, ‘Quite the long nap you took.’ Then he shrugged, ‘Also, she’s not taking credit, she’s just…useless. She just wants to be seen doing something. I’m actually glad sensei keeps his sharingan covered, otherwise he would hate to accidentally copy her uselessness.’ He commented, prompting a snort of laughter from the fox.

Kakashi decided to find out what he had missed. “So, what happened after I went down?”

Sakura spoke up before Naruto could, “Well, after you went down, we carried you to Tazuna-san’s house. You’ve been out for a day, Kakashi-sensei. We’ve just been training and guarding the house.”

Naruto kept quiet, not wanting to look petty by pointing out the mistakes in Sakura’s speech. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. He decided to speak up.

“Sensei, we’re gonna have to train to fight Zabuza again.” He said with a serious look on his face.

Sasuke turned to him, an eyebrow raised as if mocking him, “Zabuza died when that hunter-nin hit him with the senbon. Or did you forget that, dobe?” Sakura nodded, as always, in favour of Sasuke. ‘Does she even think for herself?’ he thought irritably.

Naruto shook his head, “I never forget, Sasuke. But you probably have forgotten what we read about hunter-nin in the academy. They are supposed to destroy the body on the spot, not take it away. Also, the senbon hit a very specific spot, in the back of the neck,” he trailed off, opting for Kakashi to continue.

Sakura scoffed, “Please Naruto, sensei checked and there was no pulse-“

“I’m afraid Naruto is right, Sakura. It is very much possible that Zabuza is still alive.” Kakashi said grimly.

Sakura and Sasuke had disbelieving expressions, letting Kakashi continue, “The back of the neck where the senbon hit…I think that the nin most likely put Zabuza in a death-like state, which is most likely why I couldn’t find a pulse as it was so weak.”

He further explained, “The weapon that nin used has a low fatality rate unless it hits a critical spot. The nin took Zabuza with him, even though Zabuza was much heavier than him. Also, he used a weapon with low fatality rate. With these two points, we can conclude that the nin wanted to help Zabuza.”

Tazuna looked sceptical, “is it possible that you’re overthinking this?”

Kakashi’s reply was swift, “No. Once a ninja feels that there’s something out of place, they must prepare for it before it’s too late.”

Naruto folded his arms across his chest, “So how long do you think we have, Kakashi-sensei?” He didn’t feel like revealing his medical knowledge to his teammates yet.

Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought and said, “I’d say…about one week. He’ll need that much time to come back to full strength from a death like state. I’ll need a day or two at most.”

Sakura gave him a look as if he was crazy, “Sensei, how are we supposed to train if you’re to rest?”

Kakashi gave her an eye smile,”Not to worry, my cute little genin. A crutch is all I need to train you. And I’ll be back to full strength by the day after tomorrow.”

“Excuse me, everyone, dinner is ready”, a voice came from the door and all of them turned to look at Tsunami, who was wiping her hands with a towel.

Kakashi eye smiled and asked her, “Hello, you might be…?”

Tsunami smiled, “Oh, you’ve finally woken up. Naruto-kun took good care of you then.” He looked at Naruto who looked away with an impassive face, arms crossed, but the faint blush on his cheeks gave him away. Kakashi resisted the urge to ruffle his hair, because the kid looked damn cute right now.

“Anyway, I’m Tsunami, Tazuna’s daughter. Pleased to meet you.” She bowed. Kakashi bowed as much as he could while sitting.

“Pleased to meet you too, Tsunami-san.”

Tsunami turned to Naruto, “Please help your sensei down, Naruto-kun. And thank you for your shadow clones’ help in the kitchen.”

Naruto waved his hand, “They’re an excellent kitchen crew for me too. Don’t mention it.” With that Sakura and Sasuke filed out of the room, not even bothering to help Kakashi up.

Naruto gave a disgusted shake of his head and stood up. Putting Kakashi’s left arm over his shoulders, he helped him up, supporting his full weight like it was nothing.

“Thank you, Naruto, for taking care of me.” Kakashi murmured, eye smiling. It was quite weird for him. Only two people cared for him like Naruto did and they were both Naruto’s parents. What also nagged him was that he had felt a soothing sensation sometimes, which he used to feel back when Rin would heal him when they were genin. Could Naruto know medical ninjutsu? He would have to ask later.

Naruto shook his head, smiling. “You are my sensei. I didn’t do it because it was my duty to take care of you like you do. I did it because I wanted to.”

Kakashi gazed at Naruto with a wide eye, who ignored it, and slowly helped the man downstairs. Using a little bit of his restored strength, he pulled Naruto into a one-armed hug. Naruto initially stiffened, but relaxed after a few seconds. No words needed to be spoken.

He helped Kakashi sit on the table and sat beside him, close in case he needed to feed him. The small gesture caused Tsunami to smile. ‘Such a sweet boy.’

Kakashi couldn’t stop the eye smile. He didn’t show it, but he was glad that there was someone like Naruto to care for him. Kami knows he had no one left close to him now. This feeling made him want to do everything not to disappoint Naruto.

Naruto gazed at the small boy who was sitting beside Tazuna. Somehow, he cast a somber atmosphere around him. Half of his face was hidden beneath his hat. Tazuna smiled and spoke up, “Inari, greet these nice ninjas. They will make sure I’m safe while building my super bridge!”

Inari looked up and Naruto immediately understood why the boy felt so sad. He had that look in his eyes, he had lost someone very dear to him. The same look he himself had had when he had lost someone close to him during his time as a bounty hunter. It had taken him a few weeks before he snapped out of his funk, believing that moping around wouldn’t be what they wanted.  

“But jiji, they’re all going to die!” he cried out, as if he was stating a fact.

Naruto suddenly understood the boy’s position a whole lot better, so instead of being angry, he just felt a deep sense of empathy and sadness for such a young child hurting.

Of course, Sasuke didn’t take it too well. “You don’t know that, brat.” His voice had a little bit of scorn added into it along with his usual rudeness.

Naruto’s head snapped to glare at him, “Sasuke!” he snapped. That was not how someone talks to a child. Particularly a child who has eyes like that.

Sasuke returned the glare, but he turned his eyes away after a few seconds. He didn’t speak after that.

Dinner went quietly after that, though Naruto got a bit embarrassed when Tsunami thanked him again for his help in cleaning the dishes. They set up the beds in separate rooms. Naruto and Sasuke would take the room with Kakashi while Sakura would share the room with Tsunami. As soon as he went into the bathroom he immediately contacted his clones.

‘Dispel in groups at an interval of five minutes. We all know I can live without the headache.’

As the shadow clones dispelled, the memories came to his mind. He sorted through them and sighed.

The doton jutsu was mastered; he could now cast it with just a thought. He often wondered why most doton users never trained their earth manipulation in such a way that they could control the terrain they were on with just their chakra and thoughts. Heck, the Iwa missing-nin he had encountered as Arashi would just form handsigns and slam their hands to cast the jutsu. He shook his head. As far as people knew only Uchiha were able to copy jutsu with their sharingan; Kakashi being the exception but then again, he too had the sharingan. He probably was the only one without a dojutsu who could copy jutsu, though it wasn’t immediate.

The futon jutsu was a bit complicated. He had to first gather air in his lungs, which was the easy part. The harder part was the shape manipulation; it was not easy to compress all of the air into an explosive ball of high density. Initially losing a lot of clones to it due to the ball of wind exploding inside them, he had gone through Tobirama’s memories and found the solution:

‘Gather the air inside in way that it is spinning and compressed. That way its explosive effect and power can be controlled. Build up a lot of pressure simultaneously when creating the air ball by creating a vacuum. Use that pressure to give explosive speed to the ball.’

Reviewing what Tobirama had said, though in a way it was his own point of view, Naruto finally succeeded in perfecting the jutsu. He now needed to master it, bringing it down to one hand seal at most.

The suiton jutsu was not as hard as the futon jutsu, just tricky. He already knew how to expel water from his mouth. Making the jet of water highly pressurised so it could cut through rocks or trees was no piece of cake. Having reduced the opening of his mouth, his clones noticed that the pressure of the water released would be considerably high if the speed were to be kept the same, the high pressure making the water sharp enough to cut rocks.

‘Well I can master them tomorrow, now that Kakashi-sensei is awake’

He exited the bathroom to find Sasuke waiting impatiently.

“Took you long enough.” He said rudely walking past him. Naruto looked confused at his back and back at Kakashi, who was in the room.

“What’s up with him?” Kakashi just shrugged and lay down. He looked at Naruto who had a serious look in his face as he signed with his hand [We need to talk tomorrow morning. It’s important].

Kakashi frowned but nodded. Naruto nodded back and laid down on his bed, closing his eyes and working out what to do tomorrow. He found himself laying beside Kurama in their mindscape, and it looked like he wanted to talk.

“You had quite the fight” he remarked, sarcasm in his voice and looking faintly amused. Naruto shot him a blank look.

“Just how long do you sleep in a single stretch anyway?”

Kurama gave a graceful shrug as he settled his head on his hands, eyes gazing peacefully at the moon. “Depends. On another note, the fights were disappointing.”

Naruto nodded, “Yeah well, the demon brothers weren’t much and Zabuza, while he would be a good fight, I really didn’t want to reveal too much. You know how the Uchiha gets when he’s shown up.”

Kurama gave a disgusted shake of the head, “That’s the problem with most Uchiha. They believe they are on top and hate it when they find out someone stronger than them. Hell, the only Uchiha I’ve come close to respecting is that Kagami brat from the Senju’s memories.”

Naruto gave a grunt of affirmation. Kagami Uchiha was one of the shinobi that trained under Tobirama. He didn’t have the typical Uchiha arrogance and was very skilled in fire style. He had helped Tobirama with creating some fire jutsu that Naruto had learned and had yet to learn and master.

After a minute, Kurama spoke up, “How far are you with the subelements?”

Naruto sighed, “Aside from wood, I wouldn’t call any of them mastered. Ice is close; I’ve mastered the release to a point where I don’t feel the strain on my chakra coils. Same with lava and magnet release. But it isn’t battle ready, since my control isn’t strong enough yet. Why do you ask?”

Kurama hummed, “I planned on starting to work on a new subelement using fire and wind, but since you still ought to get your lava and magnet under control, I think we can leave it until we reach back to Konoha. However, how would you like to learn one of my own fire techniques?” he asked with a grin.

Naruto looked at him wide-eyed, “You’re gonna teach me your techniques?!”

Kurama huffed, “One of them for now. The rest I will teach you at a later date. You still have to master those two jutsu, and don’t think I didn’t notice you copying the vortex jutsu Kakashi-brat used. You’ll be learning that alongside the fire technique. Now get to sleep. You have a long day tomorrow.”

Naruto nodded, “Thanks Kurama.” With that, he finally entered REM sleep.

****

Naruto’s eyes opened at exactly five in the morning. Realising he had work to do, he quietly lifted himself off the bed. After his morning rituals, he quietly walked out of the house and flashed to his training area. Making clones to continue their training, he flashed back to the front of the house and sat down on the front steps.

As he waited for his sensei to arrive, Naruto pondered on what he must do. He would have to talk to Kakashi about whether or not to get back up. Then the rest of the team desperately needed training. He’d also need to show Kakashi the map of Gato’s headquarters, and explain his infiltration. Whether or not to get rid of the tyrant was the senior jonin’s call.

He took out the map and was going through it when he heard the door open and someone make their way behind him. Noiseless steps, hoping to catch him off guard.

“Good morning sensei. Glad to see you’re awake.”

If Kakashi was surprised, he didn’t show it. Instead he replied with an eye smile, “Morning Naruto. I wasn’t awake till I heard you move out.”

Naruto nodded, after which he handed the map to Kakashi, who took it with a questioning look. The blonde Uzumaki gave a smirk and said, “That’s the map of one of Gato’s bases.”

Kakashi’s eye widened. He looked from the map, to Naruto, to the map again. He couldn’t believe one of his genin had already managed to infiltrate one of Gato’s bases! And make a map of it too! Just how strong and skilled was he?! Also, it was very dangerous! A genin should not have been doing all this! This required an infiltration specialist. Naruto was full of surprises.

“How? And did you say ‘one of Gato’s bases’?”

Naruto turned serious and nodded. “Yeah, he has three bases. There’s one on the outskirts of the village, one on the far end of the forest,” he pointed towards the growth of trees opposite the house, “and one near the sea. According to my sources, the map now in our hands is of the one in the outskirts. My clones are making a map of the other bases as we speak.” That was not entirely true. The maps to the bases were already made. But he had already told Kakashi enough.

“Clones? Naruto while I commend you for making this map, infiltrating an enemy base is dangerous! Who knows what lies there?”

“I know sensei. And I’m sorry. But Hokage-sama had asked me to gather information and send to him as soon as I can. And don’t worry; I’ve studied the thugs whos place I take after knocking them out.” He had only killed those thugs who had taken their harassment of the local women and children to….extreme levels. Most of them he just knocked out.

Kakashi sighed. “Very well, Naruto. But we’ll be talking about this later.” He said sternly to the blonde who nodded.  Seemingly satisfied, the jonin looked at the map.

“The map gives a general layout of the base. You noticed the moving dots? The blue dots show my clones disguised as thugs and the red stationary dots show our enemies. As of now, my clones have subdued a third of the thugs and will be taking over the base by tonight or tomorrow morning as long as Gato doesn’t come by.” Naruto explained.

Kakashi nodded. “Very well. We’ll hold off on taking over the other bases until we get back up. As much as I hate to admit it, we will need it.”

“Don’t let Sasuke hear you say that.”

“He’ll just have to deal with it.” Kakashi shrugged, though deep down he felt a sense of dread on telling his team about the need for back up. He continued, “After all, our mission is to protect Tazuna as he completes the bridge.”

With a nod, Naruto took out his pad. Seeing this, Kakashi took out his own. Opening it, he penned his note to the Hokage, informing him about how the client had lied about the difficulty of the mission, and his encounter with the demon brothers and the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momochi, apologising for taking the decision to continue and requesting back up for the mission. He winced at the thought of the chewing out he would receive from the aged Hokage, but he guessed it would be a lot less than what it would have been had he not requested back-up.

Naruto’s note, for the most part, involved the same, along with additional information from what he had seen of the country. He also sent the map and the co-ordinates to the first base, should the back-up go directly there for the takeover. Finishing the message, he closed the pad with a sigh of relief.

Kakashi stood up after closing his pad “Come on, we’d better go eat breakfast.” Naruto followed him after a nod. They arrived inside to find Sasuke and Sakura already at the table, surprise in their eyes as they saw Naruto and Kakashi entering together. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but thankfully kept silent.

Tsunami was mildly surprised, “I was just coming to see if you two were outside, Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun.”

Kakashi smiled, “We were just enjoying the morning air outside, Tsunami-san. It’s quite peaceful.”

Tsunami smiled and gestured to the table, “Please sit. Breakfast is ready.”

                                                                               ****

Hiruzen sat in his office, reading the reports sent by Kakashi and Naruto with a frown on his face. By the looks of it, Wave country was in bad shape; the business tycoon Gato had sucked the place dry, and he had hired Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the Hidden Mist of all people, to take out their client. He shook his head at Kakashi’s decision to continue the mission; while they technically had two jonin in their team, with Naruto being a jonin in all but title, Zabuza had earned his spot in the Seven ninja swordsman of the Mist. He was worried about the Uchiha’s attitude though; the eagerness to fight, while sometimes a good thing, would not always end up beneficial. Sasuke wanted to continue the mission regardless of the danger or the lives of his comrades or client, just so he could test his abilities; not the best attitude to have.

He sighed; whether in relief or not he didn’t know, but thankfully Naruto had managed to send the maps of Gato’s bases through the pad. Not for the first time, he was elated in his decision to nurture Naruto’s talents in fuinjutsu. The boy had even managed to take over one of the bases as well. While dangerous for a genin, the aged Hokage knew that Naruto was basically a jonin in all but title. Taking out one of the bases was a boon for them. Now he’d have to hold on till back up arrived. And speaking of back up….

“Cat!” he called.

The purple haired Anbu appeared with her head bowed, “Orders, Hokage-sama?”

“Have Anko Mitarashi and Hana Inuzuka report to my office at noon for an A ranked mission.”

“Hai Hokage-sama,” she replied and vanished.

Hiruzen stretched out. “Now then,” he said as he smirked, “Let’s have our daily spar shall we?” his smirk widened at the groans he heard from the Anbu guarding him.

                                                                                     ****

After breakfast, Kakashi took his team outside, into the forest to train.

“All right, training will begin now! You will learn chakra control exercises so you don’t waste chakra in excess while performing jutsu. This exercise is one of the basics, so you’ll have to master it, no matter what.” He observed their reactions closely.

Sasuke had a…predictably disappointed look in his face. He was hoping Kakashi would teach them powerful jutsu, but he conceded the fact that the basics were important to master. There was, undeniably, a small amount of curiosity on his face.

Sakura was also curious, but she was more confused than disappointed. She didn’t exactly know what Kakashi-sensei was planning to teach here, so she waited until he explained.

Naruto…well, he looked supremely bored of Kakashi. The one-eyed jonin found his right eye twitching at the distinctly unimpressed look Naruto was giving him. Sasuke was looking faintly amused at the look Naruto was giving Kakashi.

“You’re going to teach us tree walking aren’t you?” the deadpan in his voice was unmistakable.

Kakashi sweat-dropped, ‘This could be trouble. Naruto already knows how to walk on vertical surfaces. I could get him started on water walking, but then Sakura and Sasuke would get the impression that I’m favouring Naruto.’ He thought as he tried to figure a way out.

He was saved however when Naruto signalled him, {I’m a clone and I know tree-walking, but I’ll play along. Make a clone later and come find me at your 2 o’ clock. We’ll have that talk you wanted.}

Kakashi internally sighed in relief, and decided to explain the exercise, “Like Naruto said, we’re going to learn how to climb trees. What you need to do,” he said while walking up to a tree, “is to direct your chakra to the soles of your feet”, he put a foot on to the bark, “And stick to the surface.” He was now walking perpendicular to the ground until he turned onto a branch and looked up, or down, at them.

Sakura looked up at him with awe in her eyes, while Sasuke looked at him with narrowed eyes. Probably thinking how this would make him stronger, both Naruto and Kakashi mused.

Kakashi threw three kunai in front of his genin. “Get to it, then,” He slowly walked down the tree as the three of them picked up a kunai and walked to a tree. Kakashi hid behind a tree, made a clone and had it watch them while he walked off.

“Hey, this is easy!” Sakura called out from her spot on a branch. “Did you see that, Sasuke-kun?” she looked down at him with adoring eyes and a smile, which vanished when she saw his expression.

‘Oh no! Now Sasuke-kun will be mad at me for showing him up! Hah! At least better than Naruto-wait, where is he?!’

Sakura looked around, and saw Naruto walking up the tree nonchalantly without a care in the world. She continued to watch, slack-jawed as Naruto pretty much walked up and down the tree without even falling once. She remembered reading that if a person had huge amount of chakra, their control over it would be terrible. She had actually expected Naruto to struggle, but here he was! Walking as if he had perfect control of his chakra.

Sasuke watched Naruto walking up the tree with a seething expression. ‘How?! How can he be so much better than me? When and where did he learn all this?!’ Sasuke looked over at the tree he was in front of and ran up the tree. After ten steps, the bark exploded and he was sent flying, though he managed to right himself. Shaking his head, he glared at the other two, one watching him with concern and the other with an impassive expression.

He glared back at the tree, ‘I won’t let you beat me, Naruto!’

                                                                                                  ****

Kakashi walked through the forest with his head buried in his book, however, his thoughts were elsewhere.

He was still wrapping his head around the fact that Naruto, a genin, had pretty much infiltrated Gato’s bases and was slowly taking over them. Granted, he was using clones, but no genin, no matter how good or how powerful, should have the brains or experience to pull off such subterfuge. Hell, he had started this kind of infiltration halfway during his days as a chunin. He was desperate to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Naruto Uzumaki, the son of his sensei.

‘If things work out, maybe he can help in training the others. But it would seem that Sasuke needs to be broken in more and Sakura has to be broken out of her fangirl phase. I’ll see if I can bring it up with him.’ Kakashi thought as he finally reached the edge of a clearing. He was about to step into it when he bumped right into an invisible wall.

‘What on earth?!’ the cyclops jonin blinked as the air shimmered around him to reveal that the clearing was in fact, in use. His eye then widened at what he saw.

Dozens of Naruto clones, divided in groups working on various things, from jutsu to sword katas to chakra control. Yet the Naruto in the middle of the clearing was what got Kakashi’s attention.

The blonde genin was topless, holding himself up over a kunai with just his finger, doing one-armed push-ups. He was blindfolded, and sticking to his body were a few leaves and some decently sized stones, which Kakashi was sure were held in place by chakra. On his feet were two medium sized boulders. He was currently blindfolded, with his hitai-ate over his eyes, while several clones stood around him in a circle.

Without warning, the clones took a kunai and started tossing them at the real Naruto, Kakashi was about to yell out a warning when he saw Naruto deflect the kunai, while continuing to do push ups. The ones that came from behind were blocked by him moving his feet using the boulders as shields.

Kakashi gaped at the sight. ‘Not even Gai has this sort of training! On second thought, maybe he would, but how could Naruto know about it?!’ he thought. At least Naruto didn’t have the green spandex jumpsuit. He shivered at the thought of a Naruto wearing green spandex and running around yelling about the power of youth.

A moment later, Naruto threw off the rocks and hopped off the kunai. He pulled up the hitai-ate and walked towards his waiting sensei as the clones dispelled.

“Enjoy the show?” Naruto asked with a grin.

Kakashi shook his head and replied, “Well, it certainly beats any exercise I did as a genin. I don’t think even Gai does this kind of exercise.”

“You were six when you were a genin. Pretty sure you’d be bedridden if you did it. Hell, even I would be, and I have a passenger to heal me.” Naruto deadpanned, ignoring Kurama’s rant of how he would leave him to rot out of spite if he had ever done that kind of exercise at that age.

The one-eyed jonin blinked. Then he shrugged, “True. Anyway, I believe we have a lot to talk about.”

“True.” Naruto conceded. “You might want to sit down. There’s actually a lot to tell you, as long as you keep it to yourself and only yourself.”

Kakashi’s eye narrowed. “You know if Hokage-sama asks me I’ll have to tell him, right?”

Naruto smiled, “The old man already knows. How else do you think he knew how to get into my house?”

Kakashi relaxed and then his eyes widened, “H-how-“

Naruto smirked, “Seal master and ninja.” He pointed to himself. “Speaking of which,” he tapped his foot on the ground and Kakashi saw a seal array sprout from the place his student put his foot. Then it faded and Naruto said, “Now we can talk.”

Chapter Text

‘Well…the gaki certainly made our job easier’

Anko snorted to herself as she looked up at the building which was supposed to be one of the bases of the business magnate Gato, who was basically a tyrant in disguise. According to the information the Hokage had given them, they were supposed to go as back up for team 7, Kakashi’s team, and help them secure the bases while Zabuza was still recovering. The Hokage had warned them that there would be a battle, but they could try their best not to let it reach to that point.

When they arrived, however, they discovered that the base they had reached had pretty much been taken over. And to the surprise of everyone in the back up team, bar the snake Tokubetsu jonin, it was done by a genin.

“I take it you approve?” were the words that greeted the Tokubetsu jonin when she saw her former student/surrogate little brother walk towards her.

She snorted, “Approve? Hell kid, if you were older I’d be-“

“I really don’t think you want to finish that sentence Anko. I’d like my genin not traumatised, thank you very much,” the voice of Kakashi Hatake interrupted them.

Anko turned around and saw the cyclops jonin walking towards her next to her little brother, who was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a small blush. Anko smirked. No matter how good he had gotten, he would never stand a chance against her teasing. She noticed out of the corner of her eye the other Naruto disappear in a poof of smoke.

“Aww why not Kakashi? After all, the gaki has to gain some sort of resistance when he finally asks out that Hyuga girl!”

Kakashi turned to his student, who was blushing, “Oh? Something you wish to tell me, Naruto?”

Naruto stammered, “I-wait! We’re twelve! We’re just friends now!” ‘Though I really wouldn’t mind getting with Hinata-chan. She IS beautiful.’ He thought with a small smile.

                                                                                       ****

Back in Konoha, an indigo haired lavender-eyed Hyuga girl sneezed as she was training with her sister.

‘Someone must be thinking about me….I hope it’s Naruto-kun!’ She thought with a smile.

“Nee-sama! Don’t get distracted!” Hanabi yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Oh don’t worry imouto. I’m very well in this fight. Though now you’re within range of my divination.” Hinata stated.

Hanabi’s eyes widened, ‘Oh no-´

“Hakke Juuroku sho!” Hinata exclaimed and charged.

“Two palms!”

“Four palms!”

“Eight palms!”

“Sixteen palms!”

Hinata’s last strike had Hanabi blasted backwards. She crashed into the wall with a heavy thud.

“Yeah! I’m the princess of Jyuken and you better deal with it!” Hinata exclaimed getting a groan from her sister.

Hiashi, who had been watching from the sidelines, sweat dropped at that declaration. Though he couldn’t help but feel pride for her daughter. It seems his late friends’ son had come through and brought Hinata out of her shell, and she was stronger for it.

‘Though that last declaration sounded like something Kushina would say.’ He thought with a shudder. He still remembered the kind yet loudmouthed and fiery redhead who had been his late wife’s best friend and his best friend’s wife. He shook his head of the thoughts as he watched his daughter rush to her sister and start healing her with her medicinal creams.

‘She would make a good medical ninja too.’ He thought with a small smile.

                                                                                       ****

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and saw Anko smirking. Clearing his throat, he was about to speak when Kakashi spoke up, “So what’s the plan?”

Anko looked to him and said, “As of now, we’ll ransack this base and see if we can find anything. Then we’ll hit the other bases.”

“Speaking of, where are the rest of your team?”

“Right here,” two figures dropped to the ground. “Kakashi-senpai. Good to see you; though I wish you’d put down that book for once” Yugao said exasperatedly.

Kakashi gave her an eye-smile, “Well it is hard to put down good literature, Yugao-chan.”

Naruto shook his head, “I think we should focus here.”

Anko snorted, “Not every day you see a genin being the voice of reason yet here we are. Anyway, what’s the plan, taichou?” she asked Yugao.

“The base is secure. Naruto-kun’s clones have got it covered. Tomorrow we’ll target the other base by the sea. For now, I think we should head to the main house and rest.”

“Right. And you owe me a spar in the evening brat!”

“Sure Anko-nee. Meet Prime in the training clearing at 5 o’ clock.” Naruto replied before saluting the others and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Anko blinked and shook her head, “That was a clone too? Where’s the real one then?”

“Guarding Tazuna, our client,” Kakashi replied, “Though one of his clones is monitoring Sasuke and Sakura with my real self as they’re working on tree walking.”

Yugao shook her head, muttering something about irresponsible senseis as Kakashi’s clone led them back to the house.

                                                                                        ****

Kakashi leaned against a tree as he kept reading his book, though he kept an eye on his students as they kept going with the exercise. The real Naruto was guarding Tazuna at the bridge today, while the clones went to receive the back up, consisting of Anko, Hana and Yugao. A perfect combination, in his mind. He was still reeling from the revelations he had been privy to yesterday.

He had seen and heard many things that most people would consider ridiculous. He had had an illustrious career in his Anbu days as a captain, and would probably have been commander in another few years had he remained. He had been nearing S-rank status just before he had quit the corps.

However, none of that prepared him for yesterday’s bombshells.

His student knew about his heritage. And most of all, he had mastered the jutsu that made his

sensei, the Yondaime, the most feared shinobi in the elemental nations. He had trained since he was

a child with the encouragement of the Hokage. He didn’t know how to feel about that.

Not to mention Naruto had trained in chakra control to the point where he could use medical ninjutsu! No wonder he could use genjutsu so easily! The amount of hard work and dedication Naruto must have put in seemed unfathomable to the jonin. He had nearly choked on his spit when Naruto had demonstrated the Rasengan. That was something unexpected. However, Naruto wasn’t known as the most unpredictable ninja for nothing.

It was the conversation after that actually had Kakashi reeling though.

Flashback

Kakashi stared as Naruto showed him the fully formed Rasengan. He couldn’t believe that it took only twenty days for the genin to complete the jutsu. He had taken a month and a half to complete it and Jiraiya-sama had taken three!

However, what surprised him was that Naruto had kept his hand outstretched and aimed it at a tree. Next thing he knew, the Rasengan moved a bit forward and started shrinking. Naruto then closed his hand and left only the middle and index finger opened with the thumb pointed straight, as if he was pointing at the tree. The shrunken Rasengan stayed at the end of the fingers.

“Rasendan!” (Spiralling bullet)

The shrunken rasengan shot forward at high speed towards the tree. Kakashi had barely lifted his eyepatch to track the jutsu with his sharingan, when the jutsu pierced the tree and another three behind it.

Kakashi stared at the tree, then at Naruto and then back to the tree.

“So, any chance of you teaching me that?”

Naruto raised an eyebrow, “You have a thousand jutsu. And you need this as well?”

“Well, I could teach you a couple,” Kakashi said with a shrug and an eye-smile.

He then opened his eye to see Naruto give him a deadpan look. It was the same look that Minato-sensei gave him, Obito and Rin when they (especially Obito) did or said something stupid. ‘Like father, like son,’ thought Kakashi.

“Sensei, while that is appreciated, should Sasuke come to know about you teaching jutsu, he’s going to behave worse than a toddler who got denied his milk.” Naruto replied. “You can teach all of us the jutsu, though you might want to separate us while doing that.”

“Why?” Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow, which then narrowed when Naruto took out a piece of paper that looked like chakra paper, only to again shoot up to his hairline when he saw the paper split in three. Though he figured the surprise this stop there; his mask covered jaw had dropped when he saw one strip of paper soak heavily, another crumble to dust and the last crinkled almost into a ball and burst into flames.

“A-all five?!”

“Yep.” Naruto said with a smirk.

Kakashi did the only thing he could do at that point. He fainted.

He regained consciousness quickly, too quickly in his opinion, when he realised he was wet. He opened his eye to see Naruto standing over him looking amused.

“That was the same reaction Jiji and Anko-neechan had when they found out.”

Kakashi shook his head as he sat up. No wonder the Hokage had called Naruto the most unpredictable ninja. And he was friendly with Anko too? Now that was a bit concerning. Not that he had anything against the woman; she was a great person and fun to be around. It was just the love for torture and the overly suggestive jokes and behaviour, though it would be akin to the pot calling the kettle black considering he read porn-great literature- in public.

“I can see why you want to separate yourself. Sasuke would have a fit.”

“He would. But he can’t do anything about it. Besides, he has somewhat the same affinities as you. Fire and lightning with a touch of earth that needs to be brought out later. Sakura on the other hand has a small affinity to fire and a moderate affinity to water and earth.”

Kakashi gaped, and then shook his head, “At this point I don’t even want to ask but I have to. You can sense affinities as well?”

Naruto smirked, “Sensor,” he then turned serious. “Kakashi-sensei, while your teachings of teamwork being the most important thing for a shinobi is apt, we need to also grow stronger individually. I may be good, but there is still a lot you can teach us. If you don’t mind, you and I can help Sakura and Sasuke in different ways.”

Kakashi blinked, “How so?”

Naruto sighed, “As much as I hate to admit it, you are the only one who can teach Sasuke the ways of the Sharingan, and the Uchiha’s Interceptor fist. So I won’t blame you if you spend more time with Sasuke than either me or Sakura. It will also get the council off our backs, so the old man won’t be bothered much as well.

“As for Sakura, the only thing she has going for her right now, is her intelligence and high level of chakra control; owing to her small reserves, which I plan on making her increase, her control should be even better than mine. The only reason it isn’t is because I practise mine every day. Anyway, she is more attuned to genjutsu and medical ninjutsu. But you can teach her a bit of advanced taijutsu as well. I can nudge her towards focusing on medical ninjutsu. That way, we can have a team medic as well. Something not many genin teams or even chunin have.”

Kakashi was lost in thought. Normally he would have dismissed what people said about training his team, especially the words of a genin. But this was no ordinary genin. This was his sensei’s son, who was pretty much as smart as his sensei if not more. He was powerful, but at the same time, humble. Plus he put forward a lot of good points. He was yet to see the signs of the other two genin opening their eyes to the reality of the shinobi world, but for now, he could wait.

End flashback

Kakashi sighed as he looked up from his book at his students. He and Naruto had then talked about other things. But right now, he realised that while getting his students in shape, he had to focus on his own training too. Naruto’s comment about Obito, Rin, and Minato sensei not wanting him to continue wallowing in grief and to live for them struck a cord within him. He would have to start training soon. But first, great literature awaited, he mused as he let out a perverted giggle while going back to his book

                                                                                  ****

Zabuza was resting on a cot with a blanket over him. He did not like the fact that he had lost to Kakashi. That damn sharingan! He hated its abilities; copying off the hard work and dedication he put into learning his jutsu in a simple blink. His fists clenched in anger. He could not wait to tear out that eyeball and stomp on it. His thoughts then diverted to yesterday’s conversation

Flashback

A short man dressed in a business suit and two samurai who were his bodyguards entered the room and went over to where Zabuza was resting.

“So the terrifying demon of the mist is crippled after facing a few kids and a ninja. I don’t think I’m getting my money’s worth when it comes to paying you, Zabuza. Maybe I should get someone who would be able to get some Iwa shinobi to do your work. Or perhaps I should just kill you and save me the pain of losing any more money.” The short man sneered at the bed resting nin.

The short man, known as Gato, walked over to Zabuza and reached out his hand to strangle him when a figure appeared out of nowhere and caught his wrist, before twisting it ruthlessly.

“I will not let you harm Zabuza-sama.” Came the hard voice of Haku, who further twisted Gato’s arm to the point of breaking it. Gato shrieked in pain and fell to his knees.

“Hands off our boss!” one of the samurai said and stepped forward when haku grabbed a kunai and threw it at them. The samurai dodged and it got buried in the wall behind them.

Seeing them distracted, he pulled two senbon and threw it precisely at a point in both of their arms that they were rendered immobile.

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees as Haku whispered with deadly intent, “I missed your vital points on purpose. So don’t test me!”

Gato snarled as he got up to his feet after Haku released him, “Insolent brat! You and Zabuza had better finish the job I gave you, or there will be consequences!” With that, he exited the house, followed by his bodyguards whose arms were still immobile.

“You know, you didn’t have to do that for me. I could have taken care of it myself if it came to that.” Zabuza commented as he fingered the kunai in his hands under the bedsheet.

“I was aware of that Zabuza-sama. But as your tool, I will always protect my master in any circumstance.” Haku said with a smile.

End Flashback

Zabuza sighed thinking of that encounter. “In any case, I will be back to full strength in three more days. And when I am,” his voice turned murderous, “Kakashi will die.”

He did not notice the small ant near the corner of his bed disappear in a puff of smoke.

                                                                              ****

Naruto opened his eyes and sighed. He had been assigned to guard Tazuna today, while the others continued their chakra control exercise. Most of the time it was boring, until one of Tazuna’s workers quit, claiming he didn’t feel safe while Gato was around. He nearly scoffed at that but held himself. It was, after all, only a matter of time until Gato met his end. With one base taken over and the other two almost done, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable clash occurred. Seeing Tazuna hurt but trying to put up a brave front, Naruto had supplied help with a few clones (read: around twenty), and they had been a great source of help for Tazuna and his men. Reading those books on building stuff came in handy after all, he mused.

He frowned as he received the memories of some of the clones; Zabuza would regain strength in three days, their reinforcements were likely on their way to the house led by Kakashi’s clone, while Sasuke and Sakura were making good progress in their chakra control. They were slowly warming up to him, but Naruto wasn’t convinced that they were ready for that talk yet. He had actually agreed with Tsunade when jiji told him about Tsunade’s idea of a medic program, and was disappointed when jiji had shot down that idea. He had argued for it as well, forcing the aged Hokage to concede to starting one after the chunin exams. If each team had one medic at least, the mission success rate would be high.

Team 7 already had a medic in him, but he believed Sakura could be the main medic while he was the back up. The team’s combined strength should Sakura become the medic would be pretty high, as far as he was concerned. Hinata was already the de facto medic of Team 8, with her healing creams and basic medical jutsu Naruto had taught her in secret. It seemed Team 10 was the only team without a medic. Hopefully that would be resolved soon.  

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Tazuna’s voice, “Hey, kid! We’re done for the day! Let’s go!”

Nodding, Naruto got up and joined the old builder. They were walking back while chatting when Naruto’s eyes glazed over and then widened in shock.

“Shit!” Tazuna was startled by the kid’s outburst.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have news. We need to get back to sensei quickly!” Naruto said. With that, he grabbed Tazuna’s arm.

“Brace yourself. This can make you a bit dizzy.” He said before performing a Shunshin.

They appeared in front of the house, with Tazuna nearly throwing up. “Never do that again,” the old man wheezed. “That was super disorienting!”

“Sorry,” Naruto replied sheepishly before he headed to the front door. Opening it, he stepped into the dining room to see Kakashi, Anko, Yugao, Hana and his team seated around the table. Sakura and Sasuke looked tired, as if they would fall on top of their food, but content.

“Yo gaki! We were wondering if you ended up lost on your way back.” Anko quipped with a grin, which dimmed when she saw the look on Naruto’s face. “What’s wrong Naruto?”

Naruto took a deep breath. He tapped his foot which caused a seal array to spread out and glow before it vanished. Before anyone could comment, he started, “It seems Gato never planned on paying Zabuza. I think he plans to double cross him. When, I’m not sure but I’m thinking it would be when we were all weakened after we clashed later or when Tazuna was dead. Possibly the latter. And he has three other ninjas with him. Ninjas with Iwa headbands.”

“Oh boy,” Kakashi and Anko muttered.

Sasuke scoffed, “Why would Iwa ninjas be a problem?”

“Because of who is on the team,” Kakashi answered. “I was the Yondaime Hokage’s student, and was part of the Third great Shinobi wat against Iwa. It is when I earned my nickname, Kakashi of the Sharingan,” he said, moving a hand to rest on his covered eye.

“Any idea who they are, Naruto?” Yugao asked.

Naruto, who had been looking through what looked like a small black book, much to the surprise of the senior shinobi, looked up. “Yeah, I think I got who we’re up against.” Handing the book to Kakashi, he said, “Tomoharu Haskaya, 39 years old, jonin. Specialises in wide area Earth jutsu. War veteran. Bounty 15,000,000 ryo. Known to be brutal to anybody from Konoha.”

He paused as Kakashi turned the page, “Ichikawa Sansetsu, 31 years old, jonin. Specialises in Earth enhanced taijutsu. Said to have body armour as strong as granite. Known to have a grudge against Konoha for loss of his parents during the war. The next is Mikiko Kamizuru, 24 years old, jonin. She specialises in-“

“-insect based combat similar to the Aburame,” Kakashi cut him off. “Also, she’s sworn to kill me for copying her jutsu during the war and passing it on to the Aburame.” He finished.

A long silence followed that sentence. Finally, Anko was the on who broke it. Clapping her hands, she said, “Well then! Shall we begin to plan?”

Naruto stood up, “I’ll start beefing up the security. Think I’ll get some training in as well.”

Hana blinked, “Naruto, what more security do we need?”

“Yeah, brat,” Anko snorted. “The traps you set are enough to neutralise chunin-oh.”

“Yeah, but not enough to neutralise jonin. Give me an hour or two and I’ll set it up.” With that, Naruto walked out of the house.

Sasuke turned to Kakashi and asked, “Kakashi, exactly how good is Naruto at fuinjutsu?”

Kakashi eye-smiled, “Good enough. Though you’ll just have to wait and see or ask him yourself, Sasuke.”

Sasuke scoffed, “Whatever. When are we attacking Zabuza and the Iwa ninjas?”

Kakashi looked at him seriously, “Leave the ninjas to me and the back-up, Sasuke. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re not ready yet.”

Sasuke bristled. How dare he speak down to an Uchiha! “Well, I need to get stronger so I have to test myself against them! How else can I go after him?”

“Quiet, genin.” Yugao ordered. “Do not speak to your superior like that. Uchiha or not, you’re still a genin and you would do well to remember that. The council may sing your praises but this is the real world. You’re good, kid, but you’re not at the level where you can talk back to your superiors.”

Kakashi’s mouth twitched. Though Sasuke was his student and he tried to instil in him the need to be cautious, it was usually going over the boy’s head. Having someone else be blunt towards him would hopefully cause him to pause a bit.

Sasuke glared at her, but thankfully remained silent.

None of them noticed two of their number go outside.

                                                                                                   ****

Inari watched as the blond boy, Naruto they called him, made clones of himself; clones that could walk, talk, and think for themselves. He then watched the clones paint those weird symbols around their house, when after making a hand sign, glowed for a while and then vanished. He then went and drew the same seals on the trees nearby.

All this time, Inari felt conflicting emotions within himself. He was angry, but confused. He had seen his father, his role model slaughtered mercilessly by Gato. The story had been narrated by his jiji and mother to those ninjas when that pink haired girl had pointed to the picture that had his father’s head cut off. Kaiza had been the hope of his country when Gato had started invading and increasing taxes against the population. Seeing him brutally murdered had quelled any form of rebellion and Inari had lost all hope. Seeing this band of ninjas, some of them not many years older than him, going about without a care had pissed him off. He was confused when Naruto had placed all those symbols around his house. He finally couldn’t hold on his curiosity.

“Why does he try so hard?!” he exclaimed to himself.

“I think I can answer that.” Said a female voice.

Inari spun around to see that pretty purple haired woman with the trench coat and dark orange skirt leaning against the wall and looking at him with a smirk.

“Yo, pint-size. You really should be aware of your surroundings. An enemy would have killed you by now.” She told him.

Inari scowled at her, “What do you want?”

“You wanted to know why he tries hard, didn’t you?”

Inari scoffed, “Whatever. You people won’t win against Gato! He’s too powerful to be stopped!”

“Already giving up? No wonder Gato had an easy time taking over.”

“You wouldn’t know what it’s like to live a hard life! You walk around without a care in the world!  I’d hate to be like you people!” Inari shouted as he glared heatedly, tears coming out his eyes.

He then shut up as he felt the temperature drop, and then a spike of pressure which caused him to freeze. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and saw the woman look at him with anger in her eyes.

“Look at you,” she whispered, “Bitching and moaning about life, thinking you have it hard,” she was just whispering, but the tension was enough to bring those inside out of the house, wondering what was going on. Kakashi heard the boy’s rant and Anko’s retort. While he felt Anko’s anger was justified, Tazuna and Tsunami were wide eyed.

Anko straightened up, tightening her grip on the boy’s shoulder, making him wince and cry. Her mind went back to the children she had seen on the way back, the ones who were no doubt orphans.

“You sit here, with a loving family, with a mother that cooks for you, worries for you, and loves you. A grandfather that is building a bridge so this country can be free of Gato’s reign,” Anko looked upon him with disgust, “Some hard life you have!”

Sakura had enough of Anko berating Inari. She felt that the special jonin was being too harsh on the boy, “Enough! That’s too far-“

She was silenced immediately when a kunai was embedded just in front of the space between her feet. She looked up to see Anko give her a fierce glare, enforced with killing intent. “Shut! Up!”

Sakura was terrified of both the killing intent and the smouldering rage in Anko’s voice. She fell on her backside like a sack of potatoes, a look of terror on her face.

Naruto, who had come back on feeling the tension, had remained silent at this point. But felt he had some right to intervene in this. “It’s all right, Anko-neechan,” he said, before bringing up a piece of paper, which had a seal on it. “Everyone put your palm on this quickly.”

They did so, and felt something wash over them. It was cold and hot at the same time.

“We’re safe. No one but us can enter through those trees now. The house is pretty much invisible to the rest of the world for now.” Naruto explained once everyone had put their palm on the seal.

Sakura, Sasuke and Hana gaped in shock. Anko laughed. Yugao and Kakashi looked impressed. Tazuna and Tsunami relaxed considerably, as if a huge weight had left their shoulders. Inari, however, ended up getting a new momentum to his tirade.

“So what! You’re still going to lose to Gat-“

The temperature dropped again, as everyone focused on Naruto, who had a cold look on his face. That look terrified everyone; even Kakashi, Anko, Yugao and Sasuke took a step back. Tsunami was wide-eyed, trying to wonder how a sweet boy like Naruto could carry such rage within him.

“I’m willing to bet that you’ve never set foot outside the house! Where children younger than you have lost their parents; both of them!”

He raised his voice, and felt a dark satisfaction in seeing everyone flinch, “I’m glad I am nothing like you! Anko-neechan and I actually decided to do something with our lives instead of becoming a crybaby, sitting in a place and whining how hard life is! News flash, there are people out there who have it far worse than you do! You are nothing but a coward who refuses to do something right!”

He turned and walked towards the forest, leaving a stunned crowd behind him.

“Where are you going, Naruto?” Kakashi asked him.

“To burn off some of this anger.” Naruto replied, not bothering to look back.

Anko snapped back to her senses, “Hey! Wait for me, gaki! You owe me a spar!” she yelled out chasing after her student/surrogate little brother.

The rest of them wondered what caused both Naruto and Anko to have such a strong reaction to Inari’s words. Inari sniffled before he too ran towards the pier, looking out into the ocean.

‘That was a disaster, though not entirely unexpected,’ Kakashi thought as he ushered the rest of them inside. Once that was done, he put his book aside and followed Inari out to the back, where he was watching the ocean.

“Do you mind if I join you?” asked Kakashi, startling Inari.

Without waiting for a reply, Kakashi sat beside the boy, both looking out at the ocean. “Naruto and Anko didn’t say those things out of spite. They’re just a bit stubborn is all,” Kakashi gently said. While what they had said was the cold, bitter truth, the weight of those words was not something an eight year old could handle. Naruto was different; he had been handling such wait ever since he learned to walk and talk.

“Naruto is just like you in the regard that he has no father,” Kakashi knew that Naruto knew who his father was, but Naruto had no memories of him.

“In fact, Naruto has no memories of his parents at all. They were taken away from him at his birth, so he doesn’t understand what parents are. He also had no friends.” He explained.

Inari’s head lifted up to face Kakashi, confusion in his eyes. Kakashi continued, “However, there wasn’t a single moment when I saw either of the two cry or get sulky,” That was true. Naruto and Anko, had faced the difficulties of life head on and won, becoming stronger with each challenge.

“They were desperate to make people acknowledge them,” Kakashi said. He had seen it in their eyes; the hope that someone would recognise them for who they are was naked for the world to see. Unfortunately for them, save for a few people, the world acted ignorant. Though, in a way, it led them to each other, and it made them happier and stronger for it, Kakashi mused.

He chuckled softly, “They got bored of crying at the world a long time ago.” Inari looked down, beginning to understand what Kakashi was trying to say.

Naruto was not born strong, he chose to get strong so he could live his life in a better way. “Naruto knows where true strength comes from, just like your father. In fact, Naruto might be the one who understands you the most,” Kakashi said.

 Inari was slowly understanding that Naruto might be the only one who was most similar to Inari. Anko too. Kakashi eye-smiled, “The words they said to you earlier, they’ve probably told themselves that over and over again.”

                                                                                 ****

‘THE NERVE OF THAT BRAT! I DON’T KNOW SUFFERING?! HE WOULDN’T LAST A DAY LIVING MY LIFE!’ Anko ranted to herself as she parried one of Naruto’s strikes with her sword. The spar had been vicious till now, with the area surrounding them littered with scorch marks, shuriken and kunai, and lots of mud. Naruto followed up with a roundhouse kick that Anko blocked with her hand, followed by a downward swipe of her sword that Naruto blocked with a kunai. The clang of metal sounded as they went back and forth before Anko finally saw an opening and kicked Naruto towards a tree. Instead of slamming against the tree however, Naruto looked like he merged into the tree and vanished.

The surroundings then became quiet. Anko looked around, waiting for Naruto to show up. She then felt the heat getting stronger. Looking up she saw a giant ball of flames rushing towards her. But something felt…off.

‘Genjutsu!’ Anko thought before the heat got to her. She quickly put the ram sign and released the illusion, only for the flames to vanish and be replaced by feathers that were falling. Anko, already tired from the spar felt even more drowsy…’wait, drowsy?!’

Anko released the second layer of genjutsu and everything came into focus. It was too late though as she sank to her knees in exhaustion. ‘Not bad, gaki!’ was the last thought in her head as she felt a blunt force to the head, knocking her out.

She came to quickly, to see Naruto using medical ninjutsu on her. “Sorry for that concussion. It’s healed now though. You should be right as rain in a few,” Naruto told her with a smile.

Anko smiled back; she was one of the few who Naruto had told about his medical training. Plus the spar had even calmed her down from the fact that Naruto hadn’t told her about him knowing who his parents were. She did not know whether to be proud or smack him around when he had told her of his adventures as the bounty hunter Arashi. She had settled for a week long trip to the Forest of Death where she tort-er-trained with him more using him as bait for her summons. Naruto had understood her anger and concern and didn’t fault her for it. She even promised him another when they got back to Konoha for not telling about his parents. She was proud of his achievements though, and proud that it had been her who had helped him along. Th

Though. It wasn’t a one way street. Naruto had actually helped her as well. Not just with his company, but he also helped her complete her mastery over Doton. While she couldn’t make as many clones as Naruto (something she had pouted about for a few days until Naruto had ended up dragging her to a dango stand and even paid for it), she now had the chakra capacity to create at least ten clones, all with decent enough chakra to help with the manipulation. With that, she was able to complete the exercises in three years, and had even started on Katon.

She was simply left in awe of her little brother, who had beaten the Sandaime’s record of mastering all five elements by about a decade; something she desperately wanted to brag about, but was silenced by Naruto and the old man for fear of letting unsavoury company know. He had inspired her to not only improve upon her current elements, fire and earth, but also start training for her third, which was, surprisingly, water. Naruto was helping her through the first step of water manipulation, which even her friend Yugao had also helped in, being a water elemental herself.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Naruto said, “There, all done. You should be able to get yourself back to the house. Unless you want me to help your old self walk?” he asked cheekily.

“Old?! You’re calling me, the sexy and single Anko Mitarashi old?!” Anko exclaimed before grabbing Naruto and giving him a noogie. They spent a few minutes roughhousing until Anko had Naruto in a hug. No matter how much they trained, bickered or fought, the sibling bond between them was strong. A sort of kindred spirit found within them, and it made them happy. Naruto did not even mind Anko’s hugs.

“Thanks, Naruto. You’re a good brother.”

“Anytime, Anko-neechan.”

“So, you’re going to train a little more?”

“Yeah. Have some jutsu to get down. I’ll come by the house soon though, don’t worry.” With a nod, Anko shunshined out of the place, leaving Naruto alone.

Seeing that he was alone, Naruto made the half ram seal and summoned a hundred clones. He then mentally commanded them, ‘All right, twenty five of you shall work on reducing the hand seals on the water dragon jutsu. Fifty of you shall work on the Daibakufu no jutsu. Ten of you work on any new ideas for new seals, and another ten work on mixing the elements with the Rasengan. The other five, let’s practise our taijutsu!’

With a salute and a nod, the clones split off to work on their assignments, while the original took on five clones in another spar to practice their taijutsu. 

Kurama just watched on, glad that his container was strong, yet level headed, almost like... 

He shook his head. Naruto may have gotten stronger, but he had a long way to go if he were to get on his level. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Haku wore a pink kimono with red cherry blossoms and wooden sandals. He was carrying a basket and slightly humming to himself. While boys of his age would cringe at his choice of clothes, Haku had no such problem. In fact, he wore them just so he could witness the absolute shock on people’s faces when they figured out he was a boy and not a girl. It was amusing, no, scratch that, it was always downright hilarious.

After an hour of walking, he came upon what he was searching for. Kneeling down, he began to pick herbs. His basket was almost half full when he felt something off. Getting up and turning around, he watched the scene with shock and curiosity.

The field a few metres away was full of scorch marks, burned trees and dozens of kunai. Thankfully, the area he came to collect herbs was untouched. In the middle of the area, he saw the boy his master had fought three or four days ago. ‘Naruto’ his mind supplied helpfully. From what he had seen in the fight, he was very skilled. He knew how to perform elemental jutsu, which his master had told him no genin is capable of. His use of the kawarimi was also impressive as on the fly technique to save his sensei.

This boy was dangerous.

He was laying down, limbs spread away from the body. He was not even aware of the birds that had taken perch on him. Haku had an internal debate: he could either quietly collect his herbs and leave, or he could kill him and save some trouble later on.

He reached out his arm towards Naruto’s throat, silently deciding to kill him now and swiftly, to spare him the pain.

“I would advise against that.”

Haku jumped back in surprise and watched as Naruto instantly opened his eyes, as if he was not asleep at all. But his slightly puffy eyelids gave it away that he had been asleep, but woke up due to feeling his presence.

Naruto took a few moments to shake off the drowsiness from his eyes before turning to address the girl, “Jolting me awake hasn’t been pleasant for anyone who has done that.”

Haku watched as he kipped up to his feet before working out all kinks in his joints, all the while, completely ignoring his presence.

Naruto worked out the stiffness in his body while simultaneously going over the results of last night’s training. The clones practicing the Water dragon jutsu had managed to reduce the number of hand signs to twenty. The futon, suiton and doton jutsus had been reduced to one hand seal each two days ago. The Daibakufu no jutsu was almost down. He wanted to get those done so he could focus on Kurama’s fire technique. ‘Well, not a bad day,’ he thought.

He turned to face the girl, who he thought was quite pretty. However, something seemed…off.

He focused his senses, and could feel the wind and water chakra natures within her. However, they were mixed in such a way that it could be harnessed easily. ‘Ice Release? Wait, this is familiar…she’s the hunter-nin!’ He realised.

He kept his features neutral, and asked her, “So, what are you doing here?”

His question snapped Haku out of his trance and he bent down to make It appear that he was picking herbs. “I’m picking herbs for a friend. He’s quite ill, you see,” Haku sincerely hoped his voice didn’t waver. Sadly for him, Naruto had noticed.

To his credit, Naruto only rose an eyebrow, “Then you might want to avoid that herb. I’ve read it’s quite poisonous.” He said, nodding towards the ground.

Haku looked down as an embarrassed blush came across his face. He was going to pick an herb that was more suited to make poison than antidote.

To cover up his embarrassment, Haku decided to introduce himself, “By the way, I’m Haku.”

Naruto let out a small smile and extended his hand. “I’m Naruto. Nice to meet you Haku-san.”

Haku inwardly laughed as he imagined Naruto’s face when he revealed he was a boy. For now though, he replied, “Nice to meet you too.”

Naruto gestured to her basket, “Can I help you in collecting those herbs?”

Naruto and Haku collected herbs to fill Haku’s basket. As they went about their work Haku decided to break the silence, “So I noticed your headband. You’re a ninja right?”

Naruto inwardly smiled at the attempt to fish information out of him. But he decided he could humour the….girl? boy? He couldn’t really tell at the moment, taking a deep breath, he replied, “Yes. I was out here letting off some steam last night. It was pretty late when I finally calmed down so I decided to sleep out here.” He then looked at Haku, “How long have you been living in this country?”

“Not long I’m afraid. My friend and I travel a lot and we sort of got stuck here.” Haku replied.

“So what does your friend do that requires so much travel?”

Haku hesitated for a moment before an answer came to mind, “He’s a craftsman of a particular art that is always in high demand, I don’t practice it myself so don’t ask me to explain it to you.”

“I hope being stuck in Wave hasn’t dulled his skills.” Naruto looked up and saw the sun was pretty much up. “It’s getting late. Would you like me to walk you to our home?”

Haku was quick to respond, “No thank you. My guardian would not take it well if I showed a stranger where we were staying. Do you mind if I ask you something?”

At his nod, Haku asked, “As a shinobi, why do you fight?”

Naruto looked at him, thinking about the question. Images of his jiji, Jiraiya, Iruka, Anko, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji came to his mind. A fleeting image of Mikoto-obachan, and his parents also flashed. Finally, the image of Tobirama sensei, arms crossed as he watched him train and his last words came to his mind.

‘Train hard and push yourself to learn more and more. And use the skills I have taught you and those you will learn to protect Konohagakure and her citizens.’

“I fight to protect those who are precious to me. I may be strong now, but there is always room for improvement. The stronger I get, the better I can protect my precious people, the closer I can get to becoming Hokage. It was also a promise I made to my mentor before he passed,” he finished with a sad smile.

Haku knew from the moment he gazed into Naruto’s eyes that Naruto fully knew what he was talking about. Nonetheless, he spoke, “Then I believe you will be truly strong. Because when you have someone precious to protect, only then you can gain true strength.”

Naruto kept his intense gaze on Haku, who returned it without flinching. After a long while, Naruto smiled and said, “Never have I met anyone before except my jiji and my old mentor who shares my understanding of fighting to protect. You have the most accurate idea of where strength comes from Haku-san. You have my respect for that.”

Haku smiled and stood up from where he was sitting and picked up his basket. “You will become strong,” he stated before walking away. Time to reveal his secret.

“Oh and by the way, I’m a boy,” he said turning to flash a smile at Naruto. However, he was disappointed when Naruto just nodded. How could he be so calm?!

“I figured,” Naruto said. On the inside, he was breathing a sigh of relief. He had nearly confirmed that Haku was a girl before taking a whiff. “Women and girls have a particular scent to them. Most kunoichis tend to forget about those. But not everyone has a nose like mine,” he said, tapping his nose with a smirk. It was how he had managed to catch Anko neechan sometimes when she hid her chakra from him in their spars.

Haku managed to cover his surprise and disappointment with a nod, “I see.”

“Though….you do look prettier than most girls I know,” Naruto admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “You enjoy trying to mess with people with that don’t you?”

Haku let out a small laugh, “No comment,” he said as he walked away.

As soon as he was out of sight, Naruto’s smile vanished. He had managed to place seeds scattered across the ground and he had seen some get attached to Haku’s sandals. Good. That would mean his Shoshinki (Transmission wood) was a success. Now all he had to do was notify Kakashi sensei so that they could get one problem off their backs. As he walked back to Tazuna’s house however, he tried to think of how to tackle the Iwa nins. He decided to leave it to Kakashi sensei, Anko neechan and Yugao, after dealing with Zabuza.

He was almost at the edge of the forest when he saw Sasuke coming out of the house and heading towards him. Putting a smile on his face, he said, “Good morning, Sasuke.”

Sasuke gave a grunt. “You missed breakfast, Naruto,” he replied. Naruto blinked and shrugged. As he went back he saw Sasuke start doing stretches, no doubt going to be continuing the tree walking exercise.

Once he was out of Sasuke’s sight, he made a few clones who shunshined to their clearing where they would continue training the Suiryudan (though at this point he could just call it Suiryuu since the dragon didn’t shoot anything from its mouth like the Earth dragon) and the Daibakufuu. Another few clones would go and help out in the bridge, and a few more would brainstorm ideas for new seals and jutsu theory.

Reaching the house, he saw Kakashi, Anko and Yugao at the table, still eating their breakfast. They looked up as he entered and sat at the table.

“Oh, you’re back Naruto-kun!” Tsunami said as she walked out of the kitchen with a smile. It then turned into a frown, “You were training all night, Naruto-kun! What if you had caught a cold?”

Naruto shook his head, “I don’t catch a cold Tsunami-san.” He sat down at the table. The thought of a cold amused him. He had never been ill in his life, courtesy of having Kurama sealed inside him.

As he ate his breakfast, Kakashi turned to him, “So how was your training Naruto?”

Swallowing his food, Naruto nodded, “As well as can be. I do have some information though,” he said, gaining the attention of the jonin.

“What is it?” Anko asked with a frown.

“Zabuza’s accomplice, the hunter-nin, came across me as I was resting in the morning after training. We got to talking. I knew he knew who I was but I haven’t let him know that I knew who he was. I have a way to track him to their hideout.”

“Why didn’t you bring him here so that we could interrogate him about Zabuza’s location?” Yugao asked.

“Because he would have carried that information to the grave. He’s very loyal to Zabuza, unlike the Demon brothers,” Naruto explained.

Kakashi sat in thought. While knowing Zabuza’s location was a plus, they still had no clue how to get the Kiri-nin off their backs. If only they had the means to-

“Naruto, where does Gato keep his money? Any idea?”

Naruto looked surprised, but rubbed his chin in thought, “From what I have observed, Gato split his money among the bases. The most amount of money is in his main base, in his office. The least amount of money was in the base I took over.” He said. He then had a thought, “Are you thinking of-“

“Paying Zabuza off? Yes, that is what I am thinking of,” Kakashi said.

Naruto leaned back, “The base I ransacked had 20 million ryo in it,” he said, leading to the jonin nearly choking on their food and Tsunami to drop a plate in surprise.

“T-twenty million?!” Tsunami gasped.

Naruto turned and nodded, “Yeah. I’m betting most of the money will be with Gato, meaning we may have to infiltrate and rob him blind, or we pay the twenty million to Zabuza and send him off.”

“But where would he go?” Anko asked, slightly annoyed.

“He probably became a missing-nin to escape from the current Mizukage, who is going on a rampage against bloodline users. Kiri is in a state of civil war, so he probably wanted money so it could help to overthrow the Mizukage,” Kakashi said, rubbing his chin in thought.

He then nodded to himself, “Right. Naruto and I will handle Zabuza. Anko, you and Yugao head to the main base and see if you can lure out the Iwa ninja. Take Naruto’s clone with you and see if you can end this today itself.” Kakashi gave out his orders.

“Right,” the two jonin and one genin nodded.

Naruto made five clones, four of which would guard Tsunami. It wasn’t needed since no one other than the current residents could see the house, but one can’t be overprepared, Naruto mused. They then split up and headed to their respective locations.

Naruto and Kakashi appeared via shunshin to the clearing where he met Haku. Naruto immediately made handsigns,

Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram

“Kuchiyose no jutsu!”

In a puff of smoke, a small panther with reddish brown fur and a light pink nose appeared before them. “Onii-chan!” the panther cried out happily.

“Hey, Mageela-chan,” Naruto smiled at his familiar.

Kakashi was stunned. His genin was full of surprises, “You have a summons?”

Naruto nodded, before pulling out a senbon, “Mageela-chan, could you track the scent in this senbon and lead us there by your method of transport?”

“Sure thing, onii-chan! But do you have a snack?” Mageela asked, giving him the puppy-eyes.

Naruto sighed, “It’s a good thing you’re cute and I like you,” he said as he took out a strip of meat from a seal on his belt. Giving it to the panther who gobbled it up. She then sniffed the senbon, which fortunately wasn’t coated in poison, but had the scent of a human in it. She then looked at Kakashi and said, “Hold on to me!”

Kakashi, who had been watching the byplay with amusement, blinked. He then shrugged and held on to the panther. Suddenly he had a sinking feeling as he felt like he was falling into a void. He couldn’t yell out in surprise for as soon as it started, he then rose out into a different area of land. He shook off the feeling and gave the panther a glare, who returned it with an innocent look.

“Wait, where’s Naruto?”

“Right here,” said person came out of the shadows on his own, literally. “So, did you enjoy shadow travel, sensei?” he asked with a smirk.

Kakashi gave a pointed look, “I’m not travelling like that again. Besides, how were you able to do it on your own?”

Naruto smiled, “Just a basic application of fuinjutsu combined with the Nara clan jutsu. While I can’t replicate shadow attacks, shadow travel is easy with a seal I had made in case the villagers ended up being meaner than usual. Maybe I should give it to Shikaku-san and Shikamaru. They’d probably find more use for it along with easier travel,” he said.

Kakashi shook his head, “Whatever, let’s go find Zabuza. We will need to be subtle. They might have traps nearby.” He said as he and his student walked towards the building in front of them.

                                                                                                            ****

Anko, Yugao, and Naruto’s clone stood in front of a huge building in the outskirts of the island. Naruto had his index and middle finger pressed on the ground his eyes closed.

“There are around 200 signatures. Of which only two are of jonin level. The third one is of high chunin to low jonin level. I believe another three are my clones. The rest have as much chakra as a civilian or an academy student.” The clone said.

Yugao nodded, “Very well. We’ll lure out the Iwa nin to the bridge. Fighting here would be a problem. Clone-kun,” she turned to the clone. “You’ll have to sneak in and take out Gato. As much as I or Anko would like to do it, we’ll need to take care of Tomoharu, Mikiko and Ichikawa. Try to finish him off and get any documents or money and get Kakashi senpai to join us soon. We’ll probably have the real you and the other genin deal with the thugs.” The clone nodded and disappeared into the shadows.

Anko blinked and shook her head, “Of course, he has the shadow travel method,” she then took out couple of kunai and looked at Yugao, “Shall we blow some shit up, taichou?”

                                                                                                 ****

Haku applied some of the crushed herbs he had collected earlier to Zabuza’s shoulder, which he had injured when he was hit against a tree. “Zabuza-sama, you should be healed in two days. What do you plan to do?”

Zabuza growled, “I’m going to take care of Kakashi. You’ll have to take care of the blond brat. I’ll crush that Sharingan, and finally kill the bridge builder. As much as I hate Gato, he’s paying us for the mission.”

“You won’t have to worry about Gato anymore soon enough,” said a voice.

Zabuza and Haku started and immediately took battle stances, only to see Naruto leaning against the wall and Kakashi on the window-sill.

Kakashi raised a hand in greeting, “Yo!”

“You just saved me the trouble of coming to find you, Kakashi,” Zabuza said, gripping the Kubikiribocho tightly.

“Don’t make me call your bluff, Zabuza. We didn’t come here to fight. In fact, we’re here to offer a proposition.”

“Don’t make me laugh! What could you possibly have to offer us?”

“How would you like to get paid double of what Gato offered to leave the bridge builder and his family alone?” Kakashi asked.

“You think you can just buy me and make walk away? Not a chance!”

“Zabuza-san, think about it. You were at a hundred per cent when we fought first. Now you can’t perform jutsu and with your shoulder injury, your kenjutsu will be less effective.” Naruto said.

Seeing Zabuza falter a little, and Haku paying attention, he continued, “Gato made a small error. While the majority of his money is in his main base, he left a sum of 20 million ryo in his other base, not counting this one. I have the 20 million with me, and I know for a fact that Gato offered you 10 million for this job.”

Zabuza looked at Naruto, “How do you know that, brat?”

Naruto tapped his nose, “A ninja never reveals his secrets.”

Zabuza let out a chuckle. “Very well, brat. But how can I trust you?”

Naruto took out a scroll and tossed it to Haku. “Open it and count.”

Haku opened the scroll warily. He passed some chakra into it and in a poof of smoke, multiple stacks of ryo notes fell out.

“20 million ryo. Counted and sorted,” Naruto said proudly. Kakashi had nothing else to do than look at his genin with pride.

Naruto then turned serious, “I’ve given you the money. Now you have no reason to fight us. And even if you want to, you aren’t at one hundred percent yet, whereas Kakashi-sensei is in top form. And I’m well aware of Haku’s Ice bloodline limit.” He said drawing shocked looks from those present in the room.

“H-how?! How do you-“ Haku sputtered.

“Sensor,” Naruto said with a shrug.

“That’s not possible! No one is that good!” Zabuza exclaimed.

Naruto smirked, “I practiced. A lot.” He then turned serious, “So what’s it going to be?”

Zabuza looked down in thought, ‘On one hand, I’ve gotten the money. Plus it’s not like I can fight these two, even with Haku. The brat is a pretty good sensor, and I’m injured. To hell with it, I don’t even like that pig anyway.’ With a sigh, he said, “We won’t fight you. We got what we wanted.”

Naruto nodded, “Good. Plus we actually had info that Gato planned on double crossing you after you finished us off. He actually hired Iwa ninja for that. I believe you know Tomoharu Haskaya? He along with Ichikawa Sansetsu and Mikiko Kamizuru are there as well.”

“Tomoharu?! Oh, I’ve got a bone to pick with him,” Zabuza said with a scowl.

Just then, an explosion sounded in the distance, “What was that?” Haku exclaimed.

“That was the signal. I believe Anko and Yugao are luring out the Iwa ninja and heading them towards the bridge.” Kakashi said.

“Gato’s dead,” Naruto murmured, expression solemn. “My clone has killed him and has gotten the location of the remaining money.” Naruto looked at Kakashi, “There’s a small army of thugs headed towards Tazuna’s house.”

Zabuza picked up his sword, “Haku, go help the brat. Kakashi and I will help the ladies at the bridge.”

“As you command, Zabuza-sama.”

The four ninja split up and headed their seprate ways. The battle for Nami was about to begin.

Earlier, at Gato’s main base

Gato was sitting back in his expensive leather chair, behind his expensive wooden desk smoking and drinking the finest cigar and sake money could buy. He had built his reputation and empire around two emotions, greed and fear. In his office with him were his two bodyguards, Zori and Waraji, along with the Iwa ninja, Tomoharu, Ichikawa and Mikiko.

Zori was a young man in his mid-20s, with bluish white hair and black eyes with tattoos lined beneath them. His partner, Waraji, was a little older with brown hair and a short beard, with an eyepatch over his right eye.

Gato was addressing the five people in the room, “Zori, Waraji. That fool Zabuza may strike against that genin team today. I want you to take an army and go grab the bridge builder’s daughter for some extra insurance. If they have back-up, kill them.”

Getting nods from the two, he turned to the shinobi, “You three, I want you to go to the bridge and kill off Zabuza if you see him struggling against that Kakashi. I have no use for him if he loses.”

“Did you say Kakashi? As in Kakashi Hatake? Oh yes. I’m going to have my revenge today!” Mikiko cackled.

“Calm down, Mikiko. We’ll do as you say sir,” Tomorharu said, hiding a sneer at the little man-pig.

Anything else was cut off as an explosion sounded in the front courtyard, which rattled the windows. “Wh-What was t-that?!” Gato sputtered as he nearly fell off the chair.

Mikiko went and looked out the window and saw two women, one in the standard Konoha jounin uniform and the other in a tan trench coat. The trench coat wearing lady waved with a big grin and then flipped her off. The two women turned and jumped into the trees.

“It seems Konoha has sent their Snake Mistress Anko Mitarashi as back up. This should be interesting,” Mikiko said with a smirk.

Gato slammed his fist into the table, “I don’t care! I want all of you to go about your assignments! NOW!” He roared.

The ninja jumped through the window while his bodyguards ran out the door, rallying people to go up against the people of Wave.

Gato got up to head out with his thugs when a cold voice called out.

“You won’t be going anywhere.”

The next thing he knew, Gato was facing a pair of icy blue eyes before a foot connected to his face and his world went black.

He was awakened with a hard slap to the face.

“Wha-What happened?” He mumbled as he regained consciousness.

“Hello Gato. You’re probably wondering why you’re tied face down on your desk with your pants around your ankles and your ass in the air? It’s because I want your undivided attention,” his captor said, holding up a piece of paper. “You see this? It’s what we shinobi call an explosive note. You can guess what it does right?” Seeing Gato nod shakily the assailant continued.

“Good, now one of these things placed in a strategic spot could level a good sized building. You currently have two shoved up your ass and they don’t get anymore strategic than that.”

Gato whimpered and pleaded, but the man ignored it and approached the shipping magnate and knelt down until they were face to face, “Remember me? I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but I’d be lying.”

“A-A-Arashi,” Gato whimpered.

Naruto patted Gato’s cheek hard, “Good boy. Now, you only have one chance. I want the deeds and money you have stolen. Not just from the people of Wave, but every place you stole from!”

“Okay! Okay! In the basement behind the floor to ceiling map of the Elemental Nations is the vault, there are two key pads on opposite sides of the safe! Press 139-45-250 on the left and 754-12-484 on the right! You have to put in the code at the same time! Please! Just let me go!” Gato said desperately.

“Thank you for your co-operation,” was all Naruto said before heading for the door.

“Wait! Wait! I told you what you wanted to know! Please untie me!”

“I don’t recall making that offer,” Naruto said coldly as he shut the door, blocking out Gato’s screams. He made a half ram seal, setting off the bombs in Gato. The resulting explosion, he guaranteed, was not pretty. With that done, Naruto headed towards the basement to complete the next part of the mission.

‘Gato’s dead.’

                                                                                                       ****  

Anko and Yugao landed on the bridge after speeding through the forest. They could sense their pursuers closing in on them fast. They saw their teammate Hana along with the pink haired genin guarding the bridge builder, while the rest of the workers were heading for their homes, as it was the evening.

“Hana! Pinky! Be on guard! We’re going to have company! Old man, be careful!” Anko shouted.

Hana, Sakura and Tazuna tensed and kept their guard, Sakura placing herself in front of Tazuna, in spite of feeling a bit of fear.

“Don’t worry, Sakura. We’ll just do our job guarding Tazuna. Let the superiors handle this!” One of Naruto’s clones said as he landed beside her.

Sakura gave a strained smile and nodded. She looked ahead to see three figures land in front of them.

“So Konoha sends the famous Snake Mistress, an unknown, and an Inuzuka to take us on? Always thought you lot were scum,” the tall broad shouldered man, Tomoharu, sneered at them.

The three kunoichi scowled, “Well, looks like we got a pig to roast,” Anko said, licking her kunai.

“Where’s Kakashi? I want to fight Kakashi!” Mikiko shrieked.

“Let’s finish these ladies off first, Mikiko. We might even have some fun with them if we leave them alive,” the thin man, Ichikawa leered at them, causing them to recoil.

“That does it,” Hana growled, charging at the lean man, the triplets chasing after her. Yugao cursed, “Damn it! Anko, you take on Mikiko. I’ll hold Tomoharu off!” She dashed off toward the broad man, leaving Anko with the bug user.

 Hana jumped into the air and started spinning, “Gatsuuga!” four human sized tornadoes headed towards Ichikawa, who smirked.

“Doton: Tsuchi no Yoroi!” he called out. The tornadoes crashed into him but all Ichikawa did was step back a bit. Hana and her triplets had to fall back.

“Damn, what is that?! It was like hitting a rock!” Hana said.

“You like it? That’s my Earth armour. It’s my strongest defence!”

“Is that so? Then I’d like to test that.”

Ichikawa spun around to see a boy clad in grey and a red vest. His lower face was covered by a grey mask and he had a hood up. He held a tanto in his right hand.

“And what can a kid like you do?” he taunted.

“More than you know,” the boy’s tanto lit up with red lightning, shocking Hana and Ichikawa. The man was even more shocked when the boy dashed towards him at speeds he could barely catch.

Naruto had released the resistance seals on himself when he had made the clones earlier, in anticipation of battle. Therefore, since the clones had the seals off, their speeds were around the high jonin level. And the clones in the bridge had at least low jonin level chakra in them since they hadn’t used much. Naruto used the style of attacking with his tanto and then retreating, while secretly placing his lightning seals on Ichikawa’s body with his chakra. Ichikawa defended against Naruto’s attacks, but never realised the real danger he was in. Due to having earth armour, he was desensitised against soft contact. For a seal master like Naruto, it was perfect.

Naruto jumped back next to Hana to get a little distance.

“Even with your lightning attacks, you’re out of my league.” Ichikawa taunted.

“No. You’re out of our league. Goodbye,” Naruto made a half ram seal. The lightning seals activated at the same time, electrocuting the earth user. Not wasting time, Naruto dashed and cut off his head with his tanto. He then sealed the body into a scroll. Looking at a stunned Hana, he nodded.

Anko vs Mikiko

“Katon: Housenka no jutsu!” (Fire style: Phoenix Flower jutsu) Anko called out as she spat multiple fireballs in Mikiko’s direction, incinerating her bees in the process. Mikiko cursed at her for destroying her precious bees.

“Damn you bitch! No matter, you still won’t be able to defeat me!” she cackled.

Anko, not paying heed to her opponent’s rambling, decided to charge at her and use taijutsu. Like many Aburame in Konoha, the Kamizuru clan had neglected their taijutsu, Mikiko being one of them. While they could use it, they relied mainly on their insect based attacks. Anko dominated the entire taijutsu bout, her training and sparring with Naruto paying off as she struck Mikiko’s vital points and finally, palming a kunai, got behind Mikiko in a burst of speed and slit her throat.

Mikiko, caught off guard, could not defend herself in time, and hence perished at Anko’s hand, her dreams of revenge against Kakashi, remaining just that; dreams.

Anko stared down her opponent’s body and sighed. It was a short yet great battle. Sure she wasn’t pushed too hard but it was nice to get out once in a while and have a good fight. She took out a scroll and sealed the body and decided to look around.

It seemed Hana had difficulty with her opponent leading to Naruto’s clone stepping in and defeating him. Really, how strong was the gaki?! His clone was enough to beat a jonin! Sure, the man was high chunin at best, but if his clone was that strong, then how strong was the original? They may have sparred and he had defeated her in some of them recently, but to gain such strength was, in her opinion, ridiculous.

She looked at her other teammate. Yugao seemed to be struggling with her opponent. He was a broad based earth user and Yugao’s element was water, meaning something had to be done and fast.

Yugao vs Tomoharu

Yugao cursed as she dodged another set of earth spikes. This battle had been to her disadvantage from the beginning. She had barely landed a few glancing blows on the man, but due to her elemental disadvantage, she couldn’t do much. Her kenjutsu was negated by the fact that he use long ranged attacks, hence preventing her from getting close. She wished Kakashi senpai would hurry up.

As though her prayers were answered, a cry of “Raikiri!” was heard, forcing Tomoharu to move from the range of attack. However, he wasn’t so lucky as he ended up with a cut on his right side.

Yugao took a breath and then was caught off guard. Kakashi senpai was standing next to Zabuza Momochi himself! What was he thinking?!

As though sensing her thoughts, Kakashi turned to her and said, “Sorry I’m late. I just had to help with convincing Zabuza to join us. It took a while though, but you can take rest, Yugao.” He turned back to face Tomoharu, “I’ll take it from here.”

“Kakashi Hatake, and Zabuza Momochi,” Tomoharu sneered. “Figured you would betray Gato. I never trusted a Kiri scum like you,” he roared.

Zabuza rolled his eyes, “I don’t work for a dead man. In fact, I believe you should have returned to Iwa now that you are the only one left.”

Tomoharu shook his head, gritting his teeth. “I’m not letting the student of THAT man get away alive!” With that, he charged.

The battle progressed with Kakashi and Zabuza together giving Tomoharu massive problems. Kakashi led the man away from the bridge, while Zabuza stayed behind using water attacks. While they weren’t much, they succeeded in keeping Tomoharu distracted while Kakashi got up close and personal with him. Tomoharu struggled a lot due to having to avoid the sharingan. Finally, a water dragon rose from the water and rushed towards the Iwa nin. He dodged the attack, only to look into Kakashi’s sharingan. He tried to undo the genjutsu, however that proved to be his undoing as that split second was all Kakashi needed to shove a Raikiri into his heart, killing him instantly.

Kakashi removed his hand from Tomoharu’s chest, cutting off his head with a kunai in his other hand. Shaking his head, he sealed the man’s head in a scroll. He was walking back towards the others when heard a sound. Turning around, they saw a crowd of the thugs facing them.

“They killed the ninja boss hired! They must be tired now! Let’s get em!” One of the thugs yelled to cheers.

Kakashi sighed, then heard Zabuza chuckle, “Sit back and relax, Kakashi. I’ll take care of this rubbish.”

Yugao stepped up, “I think I’ll step in too. I felt useless back there and I have some frustration to let out.”

“Me too,” Hana said.

Anko rushed to join, “You wouldn’t think of having a party without me now would you?” she asked with a grin.

Kakashi chuckled lightly and walked backwards where he knew Sakura was, who was standing with a clone on Naruto, looking at them in awe.

The five ninja faced the thugs and were about to charge when an arrow fell between the two groups. They turned around and saw a crowd of the villagers, led by Inari, Naruto, Sasuke and Haku.

“Don’t come any closer!” Inari shouted. “Today we take back what’s ours!” the crowd cheered.

Naruto, Sasuke and Haku walked up to Kakashi, who asked, “How did it go?”

Naruto spoke up, “It didn’t last long. We collected Sasuke and intercepted the thugs as they made their way to Tazuna’s place. A few fireballs enhanced with wind, water needles and kunais and the entire group was obliterated.” He finished in a quiet tone.

Kakashi nodded and looked towards Sasuke, who looked troubled. “Are you all right?”

Sasuke nodded shakily. He realised now that killing was hard, even though it was part of shinobi life. He had taken down a large number of thugs himself along with help from Naruto. And to think Naruto had to bear the burden of taking out even more thugs beforehand. He understood the magnitude of the burden Naruto shouldered so that Sasuke wouldn’t have much to deal with.

After dealing with the thugs, they had made sure Tsunami and Inari were safe. Inari however, managed to rally the crowd of Wave citizens to take back what was theirs. There was hope in his eyes again.

Kakashi proceeded to comfort Sasuke about the killing of the thugs while Zabuza and the remaining kunoichi made short work of the thugs.

The battle for Wave was over. They could all breathe easy now.

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Gato was killed, and the situation in Wave could not have been better. Naruto had managed to acquire eighty million ryo from Gato. Of which he, along with the Konoha jonin, gave seventy million to the people of Wave, taking ten million as payment for the mission. Tazuna and the people of Wave had no qualms about that, as they knew that the ninja had risked their lives to save their country. To say that the people of Wave were relieved to be free was an understatement. The celebrations had lasted for days.

On the fourth day however, Naruto grew bored and decided to go out and train. He felt he had put off training for three days and had relaxed enough. Sasuke, not wanting Naruto to get ahead, decided to follow suit, which led to the entire group going out and training. Zabuza was impressed by the genin’s drive, especially Naruto’s, that he challenged the boy to a spar. He was even pleasantly surprised when Naruto brought out his sword. Though Zabuza had won the kenjutsu spar, he respected Naruto’s ability with the blade, and was even spotted helping him train with it, giving pointers and such.

Sasuke had awakened the sharingan during the fight with the thugs, leading to Kakashi taking him aside to have a talk about the dojutsu. Kakashi had expressedly forbidden him from using the sharingan to copy jutsu from comrades. Sasuke was outraged to hear that. The sharingan was his to use by right and as he pleased! So what if he copied jutsu from anyone? He needed power to kill that man and avenge his clan!

Kakashi seemingly shut that line of thought down by mentioning that only three or four Uchiha were the only ones who didn’t succumb to the lure of the eye, wanting to get stronger without it. The sharingan was just a tool in their arsenal. Shisui Uchiha was a master of the Shunshin, being able to frustrate enemies because they couldn’t hit him or see him at all. Itachi had taken genjutsu to a point that he didn’t need his sharingan; all he needed was to point a finger at someone. Kagami Uchiha was proficient in many fields, but his Katon was to a point that he nearly surpassed Madara Uchiha. Sasuke’s own mother, Mikoto Uchiha, was able to substitute herself with even the smallest of objects. A leaf was sometimes more than enough.

Sasuke had been deep in thought since then. He realised that if Itachi could get stronger without his sharingan, he would too. He had asked Kakashi to train him. Kakashi just eye-smiled and told him that they would resume training back in Konoha. For now, they would stick to spars, much to Sasuke’s slight disappointment.

The biggest surprise however had been Sakura. After seeing how the older kunoichi fought, she had felt useless. She had always thought that if ever in a bind, Sasuke would save her like a knight in shining armour. She was jolted out of that fantasy when she saw what real ninja fought like. She was in awe of how the kunoichi had handled themselves, even in losing battles. She knew that compared to them, she was weak. And she realised that Sasuke wouldn’t always be there to save her. She had noticed, even before the mission, that Naruto and Sasuke had gotten closer as friends. While not friendly, Sasuke had been civil with Naruto, and not outright ignoring or mocking him as he used to.

Sakura had resolved to start training seriously when she got back. However, she used the time in Wave to talk to Naruto and Kakashi, asking their help and in Naruto’s case, apologising profusely for her past treatment of him. Naruto had cautiously accepted, both relieving and slightly hurting her. Relieved that he had accepted, and hurt that he had to be cautious. Though she knew it was her own fault. She resolved to do better.

Anko, Yugao and Hana had left the next day, taking with them the documents that had been pilfered from Gato to bring to the Hokage, who would decide what to do with them. In all likelihood, Gato’s businesses, at least the legitimate ones, would be taken over by Konoha, while the illegitimate ones would be dealt with. While Anko had challenged Naruto to an all-out spar, Naruto replied that Wave wasn’t the best place that they wanted to go all out.

Flashback

“Come on, gaki! Just one spar!” Anko whined. The two of them were sitting in the clearing where Naruto usually trained. At the moment, Naruto had about fifty clones doing who knows what in the clearing.

Naruto shook his head, “The last time the two of us had a spar, we pretty much trashed the place. Tell you what, we’ll have that all out spar in Konoha back at the Forest of Death,” his grin turned sly. “That should give you the home advantage.”

Anko scoffed and stuck her tongue out at him, “Like I need an advantage like that to kick your ass,” The two of them laughed. After a comfortable silence, Naruto spoke up, “Anko-neechan?”

“What’s up, gaki?”

Naruto hesitated, then took a deep breath, “May I please have a look at your seal?”

Anko stiffened, bringing a hand to her left shoulder, “Why? What brought this on?”

 Naruto raised his hand, showing his fuin bead bracelet, “Ever since you showed me the seal, I’ve been thinking of a way to try and get rid of it. But to do that, I needed to find what its components were. I developed a seal that will help scan seals and try to break it down into, if I’m correct, its basic components. Once I’m able to find out what they are, I plan to co-ordinate with Jiraiya-kyofu and with his help we should be able to work on a way to get rid of it.”

Anko thought for a second, then reluctantly nodded, “Fine, have at it gaki,” she gave a small smile, “Even Jiraiya-sama hasn’t been able to find a cure for it. But I guess you can give it a shot.”

Naruto rolled his eyes, “Your vote of confidence is appreciated, neechan. Though would you prefer Yugao-nee or Hana-san to be with you?”

Anko snorted, “Brat, I trust you, but not enough to go topless,” Naruto shrugged and made a clone to find Yugao and give her their location. A few minutes later, Naruto sensed a chakra signature and took down the barrier he had around the clearing just in time for Yugao to appear via Shunshin.

Yugao took a look around and saw the Naruto clones at work, then saw Anko and Naruto sitting on a rock. “What’s wrong Naruto-kun? Your clone told me to meet you and said it was something only that the three of us should hear.”

Naruto then explained the situation to her, leaving her wide-eyed, “You mean to tell me that there is a way to remove the seal?!”

Naruto raised his hands, “Well, it’s a work in progress. But I think once I present my findings to both Jiraiya-kyofu and Hokage-jiji, we should be able to come up with a solution. It would take time though.”

Yugao just shook her head. The boy was doing Anbu-level stuff at twelve years of age! And his fuinjutsu was at least on par with Kushina sensei’s. ‘I’m pretty sure he’ll surpass you Kushina-sensei. You would be so proud of him right now,’ The Anbu thought with a smile, internally snickering at an image of Kushina sporting a huge grin and having a victory sign at her son’s accomplishment, feeding him unholy amounts of ramen while gushing about how proud she was. She shook her head sadly and focused on the task at hand.

“Fine, I’ll help.”

“Great! Now, Anko-neechan, could you…um…” He blushed.

Anko rolled her eyes, “Yeah yeah, I’ll take my coat off. Seriously gaki! How are you going to ask that Hyuuga girl out when you can’t even look at me topless without blushing?”

“That’s different!” Naruto protested. Anko waved him off and proceeded to remove her trench coat and mesh undershirt. “Yeah, I’m ready Naruto!”

Getting his blush under control, Naruto schooled his features and approached Anko. Making five hand signs, he raised the bracelet to be at the level of the seal. Yugao and Anko watched with confusion as Naruto stared into thin air, initially in concentration, then having various expressions go through his face; confusion, worry, amazement, and finally anger. What Naruto was actually doing was looking at a screen visible only to him, showing the breakdown of the complex seal by Orochimaru.

After a few minutes, Naruto sighed as he made two clones, who took out scrolls and started jotting down points and various diagrams. When they finished, Naruto summoned two panthers, much to the kunoichis’ surprise, and handed them the scrolls, telling them to give the scrolls to Jiraiya and the Hokage. The panthers nodded and after a few licks goodbye, disappeared into the shadows.

Anko couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer, “Well?!” she demanded.

Naruto sighed, “I hate Orochimaru for what he did to you. I hate him for deserting the village and causing jiji lot of pain. And, I hate to admit it, but this,” he pointed to the seal, “is a thing of beauty. It has layers upon layers of sealing, but it can be divided into three components. He is proficient, but not a seal master.”

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the two kunoichi, “From what I suspect, and I’ve relayed the same to the two, I shall tell you two out of the three components. The third one is a theory that I wish to disclose only after confirmation. So I don’t care that you’re senior in rank to me. As a seal master, certified by Jiraiya himself, I have the right to withhold information on seals. So don’t ask me about it. Understand?” He said sternly, leaking a bit of his aura.

Anko and Yugao were shocked by the stern demeanour he exuded; it was on par with one of the Sannin, if not the Sandaime himself. For a moment, Yugao thought she was in front of the Yondaime again. The two kunoichi nodded rapidly.

“Good,” just like that, the aura was gone. Naruto continued, lifting a finger, “The first component contains enzymes that actually enhance your chakra. But with it also comes a drug that enhances and feeds off your negative emotions. It causes you to become addicted and more…aggressive the more you use the seal. Worst part is, it also comes with a paralysis seal and a suicide seal, that would allow him to stop you whenever he wanted.” He raised a hand to quell any protests. “The good news is, this is one part of the seal that I CAN remove on my own. The other two may need Jiraiya-kyofu’s opinion.”

Anko swallowed but nodded. Even if it was a small part, she was glad that there was a chance of removal. “Well? Can you get it off now?”

Naruto shook his head, “I’ll need to work on a seal that can take it off without activating the other two parts. I should have it within a few days after reaching Konoha. Rest assured that I’ll be working on it.” He was then tackled to the ground by a very excited Anko planting kisses all over his face. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she kept repeating over and over.

“A-anko n-neechan, c-can’t breathe!” Naruto sputtered while blushing.

“Awww! Does the gaki like being smothered by his Anko-neechan?! Don’t worry gaki, your Anko nee-sama shall make you immune to seduction before you ask the Hyuuga girl out! I won’t have my otouto blushing the moment he sees a pair of tits, got it?!” Anko said, pumping her fist into the air.

Yugao just watched the entire scene in amusement. This was the happiest she had seen her friend over the years. She hoped Naruto would be able to help as soon as possible.

End Flashback

Anko had been in a very good mood since then, and no one decided to question why. A happy Anko meant everyone was safe, for now.

Currently, Team 7 along with Zabuza and Haku stood in front of Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari and the people of Wave near the completed bridge. The entire country had come out to see off the ninja who had saved them from Gato’s tyranny. Inari was crying; he had come to view Naruto as an older brother of sorts; someone who could understand him and after a heart to heart, the two were near inseparable. He had even joined to help out Tazuna in helping to build the bridge. With more people coming out to help along with Naruto’s shadow clones, the bridge had been completed in a mere five days.

Tazuna bowed to the ninja, “Thank you all. For all your help! Thanks to you, Wave has a chance to prosper again! We hope you’ll visit us sometime soon, once we get up and running,” he said as the other nodded in agreement.

Zabuza cracked his neck, “Well, as fun as this was, we must be off. Thanks for the fight Kakashi. But know that the next time we meet, I’m definitely going to win.” He extended his hand.

Kakashi shook his hand with an eye-smile, “We’ll see, Zabuza. I’ll admit I haven’t enjoyed a spar in a while.”

Zabuza nodded and looked to Haku, who was talking to Naruto. “Thank you, Naruto-kun. I hope we meet again,” he said, pulling Naruto into a shoulder hug.

“Don’t worry, Haku. You’ll be seeing me sooner than you think,” he whispered much to the other boy’s confusion. He continued, “When you reach the rebel base, ask for Tendou. He will help. Just say, ‘Bloodlines don’t make a shinobi.’” Naruto let Haku go.

Zabuza and Haku turned and ran across the bridge. After a while, they jumped into the trees and out of sight.

Kakashi looked over at his team, “Well, we better be off as well. Let’s go,” he bowed to the people, “Thank you for letting us stay, Tazuna, Tsunami-san,” he turned and started walking off, Sasuke and Sakura following him.

Naruto bowed to the people, “Thank you all. And Inari,” he patted the crying boy on the head, “It’s okay to cry when you’re happy. Promise me that you’ll protect your family. I’m sure Kaiza would be proud of you,” he said, bringing tears to Tsunami’s and Tazuna’s eyes.

Inari sniffled but nodded with a determined gaze, “I will, nii-san,”

Naruto smiled and nodded. With another bow, he turned and flash-stepped toward his team, startling them, if the scream from his female teammate was any indication. Kami, he loved the Shunpo. It was almost up there with the Shunshin and his own Zanzo no jutsu.

Tazuna shook his head, “Those shinobi gave hope to every single one of us. Especially Naruto. He gave hope and courage to Inari, and in turn the others in this country.”

Tsunami nodded, “What should we name the bridge, tou-san?”

“How about the Tazuna Super bridge?!” Tazuna puffed his chest out, only to receive a deadpan look from the people, “Ok, ok. Definitely not that,” He scratched the back of his head.

“Let’s name it after Naruto nii-san!” Inari shouted to the approval of the people.

Tazuna nodded, “Very well. From this day forth, the bridge will be known as the Great Naruto Bridge!” he declared to cheers from the crowd.

                                                                                      ****

 Hiruzen read Naruto’s report on Orochimaru’s cursed seal with a worried expression. He couldn’t believe Orochimaru had sunk to such depths to make this kind of seal. Naruto’s theories on the three components worried him, but it was the third and final component that had him stumped.

While the first and second components are worrying, they can be identified. The third component, however, is what confuses me. I believed initially that it was Orochimaru’s chakra, which would blend with the victim’s chakra and boost it along with the chakra booster enzymes, but I do not believe so anymore. For one, the chakra is, for a better term, sentient. It is like it has a consciousness that can think for itself, and that worries me.

Yes, even Hiruzen was worried, reading that section. What could possibly be the component that was sentient? Sentient forms of chakra could only mean the bijuu. Had Orochimaru managed to harness bijuu chakra and put it in the seal? He shook his head. That would have been dangerous, and even lethal. Besides, the second component also had a different form of chakra, which was, if Naruto was correct and should Jiraiya confirm it, natural energy. So it was hard to believe that the third component would also be chakra. Orochimaru was evil, not stupid.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when a knock sounded on the door. Shaking his head, he put away the report in a secret drawer and schooled his features, “Enter!” he called out.

The door opened, and Hiruzen’s eyes widened a bit before they narrowed dangerously at the person he least expected to show up in his office. Tall, black haired with a bandage covering his right eye, wearing a grey and black kimono and having his right arm covered by the black part of his kimono, making it appear like a sling. Danzo Shimura, his old friend and rival, entered.

“Danzo, you have some nerve coming in here right now. How may I help you, old friend?” Hiruzen spoke with a bit of sarcasm at the end, his voice carrying a hint of steel.

Danzo internally sighed. He knew that meeting his old friend would start off bad. After all, he had spent the last twelve years trying to undermine his rule so he could become the Hokage. But now, in truth, he was tired. Tired of the infighting between the two of them. While he did have the dream of Konoha’s glory on top of the world, the talk he had just after Hiruzen dissolved the civilian council put things into perspective.

Flashback

Danzo sat in his office, seething about the fact that Hiruzen had pretty much negated his only way of undermining his rule. He didn’t want to resort to Shisui’s Sharingan, but it turned out the only way he could do gain any control was to use it. He was patient however, he could wait until the perfect time when he could use it on the Daimyo should something come up. It seemed Orochimaru had a plan to invade Konoha and kill Hiruzen. He would wait and see how that played out.

He was brought out of his musings when one his ROOT appeared before him.

“What is it?” Danzo asked, his voice holding the barest hint of irritation.

“Naruto Uzumaki is here to see you, Danzo-sama. He says he wishes to talk.” The agent said in an emotionless tone.

Danzo’s surprise was reduced to a mere uplifting of his eyebrow. “Hmm, as far as I know, the boy is on a mission in Wave country. It is odd that he is here at this time.” He said to himself. He stood up, “Very well. Dismissed.” He said as he walked out his office.

Five minutes later, he arrived at the entrance to see four of his agents surrounding the Uzumaki boy. He had noticed that the boy had changed his attire from that ridiculous orange jumpsuit to a more neutral colour. A burnt orange mesh undershirt covered by a grey shirt with sleeves upto the elbow, grey Anbu pants wrapped in dark red bandages and a red vest with a grey hood, Naruto Uzumaki stood before him with an impassive expression. Not even a single shred of fear despite being at the end of multiple swords, Danzo noticed. ‘Interesting. He’s different from what he portrayed himself as in the past few years’ he thought.

“Well, this is interesting. I never would have imagined I’d be meeting you here of all places, Uzumaki, let alone you coming here. I’m interested to know how you know of this place. Not to mention, how you are here when you should be on a mission outside the village,” he commented.

The boy shrugged, “I’ve known about this place for four years now. And I also know what it is; the headquarters to your ROOT, which ‘should’ have been disbanded. But I know the old man turned a blind eye because you were useful to the village. By the way, I’m only a shadow clone, so you might want to tell your agents to be careful, or they’ll cause me to disappear and so I won’t be able to deliver the message I want to deliver,” the boy, or rather, his clone said with an emotionless face.

Danzo made a sign, and his agents, backed off, still keeping the clone at sword-point.

“Cool. Well, I guess you want to know the reason for my visit. It’s to offer a mutually beneficial alliance. I know that you’ve tried to get me into your ROOT ever since the Kyuubi was sealed into me. While I have no interest in being a mindless weapon, I also know that with the current attitude of the villagers towards me, it would take a while to have a somewhat peaceful life in the village. I even know that Itachi killed the clan on your orders,” Naruto revealed.

Danzo’s eye narrowed at that. The boy knew too much for his liking. But his offer of a mutually beneficial alliance was intriguing, “You don’t seem to mind the death of the Uchiha clan. And what would I get from this…alliance? As far as I know, you were the dead-last of the class. If anything, you should have been assigned to me from the start.”

Naruto just raised an eyebrow and shrugged, “Aside from a few, I didn’t like the Uchiha much. Believe it or not, they were among my chief tormentors back in the day. Not to mention, they tried to usurp the old man’s power with the coup d’etat, he found out, struck before they could and they paid the price. You’re the root that supports the tree that is Konoha. I know you’ve dealt with threats to Konoha for many years from the shadows. I also know you’re after the Hokage’s hat. I’m sorry to say, that the Daimyo would never choose you as long as there are other suitable choices. And the sharingan you took from Shisui Uchiha won’t help either. Have any Hyuga there you’re pretty much busted,” Naruto said.

Danzo looked like he wanted to attack, but Naruto raised his hand.

“Hit a nerve? Don’t worry, aside from you, Itachi and I, no one knows. I don’t plan on telling the old man your secret. I don’t even plan on telling about the mokuton arm with the ten sharingan attached to it, though I wonder why you’d need that. Not to mention it’s disgusting,” Naruto made a face. “Either way, it’s not my business that you’re into grave robbing, though in essence you’re pretty much committing treason,” he said much to Danzo’s increasing ire. “No, my interest is to gain power in the village, and to bring our village back into power. I believe it will be easier once I let loose in the chunin exams. Right now, not many know that I held back at the academy. Konoha has been sleeping for the past 12 years. First we needed to rebuild after the Kyuubi attack, then the Uchiha massacre happened, costing us one-fifth of our military. The vacuum of power left by that is still yet to be filled.

“In the past we had many powerful shinobi in the village, and with Uzushio we had a very powerful ally. By we let Uzushio be destroyed by Iwa, Kumo and Kiri because we didn’t expect the attack. And by the time our forces reached there, it was too late. While the other three villages lost more ninja, they could afford it with their greater numbers. We let the White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, commit suicide over a discrepancy in opinion. He saw his comrades more important than the mission, and the others saw it differently. But letting one of our legends who could have been the Yondaime before my father die because of that? We are founded on the Will of Fire, something founded by Hashirama Senju and taken up by Tobirama Senju himself. If we didn’t have the teamwork and high regard for the lives of our shinobi, we wouldn’t have become as great as we are!

“Don’t get me started with the Sannin. Only Jiraiya is currently loyal to Konoha. Orochimaru is a traitor and Tsunade caught up in her grief. Meaning two of our most powerful ninja are unavailable to us. I don’t need to mention the deaths of my parents. The Yellow Flash and the Red Hot Blooded Habanero were powerful shinobi in their own right. My dad pretty much single-handedly took down Iwa, and my mother laid waste to Kumo and Kiri shinobi in her time in the war, and that was without using her Jinchuriki powers. She was strong enough to go toe to toe with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Add in Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, the Queen of Kawarimi and the Demon Eyes themselves, and we had an unstoppable quartet. Too bad the latter two were involved in the coup,” Naruto said with a sad expression.

 He had liked Mikoto; she had been one of the kinder Uchiha to him, always taking time to drop in his apartment and getting him some fresh food and new clothes. She would even spend time with him telling stories of his mother. All this was done in secret however, due to the growing unrest between the Uchiha and the village. He still remembered the sad expression on her face the day before what he knew was the massacre. The last thing she had asked him to do was look out for her two sons. With a confused but determined look, he had nodded. He still remembered her smile and her words. “Kushina would be proud of you, Naruto-chan. I know I am.” She had said before kissing his forehead and walking out his apartment. The next day, the massacre had happened. Naruto had been devastated but didn’t show it during his training with Tobirama. Though since then on the anniversary of the massacre and on his birthday, he would visit Mikoto’s grave as well as his parents’ to pay his respects.

Collecting himself, he continued, “Which leads us to Itachi. To kill your clan, especially your family, to protect the village is a huge sacrifice. Itachi is one of the village’s true heroes. He is also acting as eyes outside the village along with Jiraiya. But that takes another one of our ninjas out of the village. Finally, the decreasing strength of both you and the Sandaime. We need more strong ninja that can bear the burden of our village in the future. My generation has some real talent. We have the potential but it needs to be properly cultivated. About three years to develop. While you and the Sandaime are powerful, as the God and Darkness of Shinobi, the old man is too worn out to be that leader, and you aren’t exactly Hokage material, as well as crippled from the war and wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like Itachi at full power. You need a symbol outside of ROOT that will be your representative. And that is what I have to offer. I will be your representative. You know my heritage. I’m the prince of this village, which I plan to reveal during the Chunin exams.

“I think the same way my great grandfather did. We need to bring our village back to power. And we need symbols out there that can show the other villages that we didn’t lose any of our strength since the third war. I’m currently working on my team along with Kakashi sensei to bring it up to speed. It may not last beyond the chunin exams, but I’m going to do my best. I’ve worked with Hinata Hyuga on her Jyuken and even got her to branch out to other fields. A Hyuga as a medic would be extremely beneficial to the team and to Konoha. Hopefully my drive will be able to snap Kakashi sensei into training even more, that maybe, should Tsunade refuse the hat, which she most likely will, the old man has a chance to pass the hat on to Kakashi sensei. He has already solved quite a few of the problems right now and the rest are on their way. I can be the leader of the new generation when they are old enough to lead the village. While I do want to be Hokage, I first want to make a name for myself out there. It would be fitting to make them fear the Uzumaki and Senju name again, wouldn’t it? And there’s plenty of time to take the hat in my 30s or 40s. Why would I want to be chained to an office before it’s necessary?”

Danzo had to admit, no matter how painful it was for him, that he was impressed. The boy had made some good points. Much power had been lost to the village, which was his main gripe with Hiruzen. He had also underestimated the boy. To think he had been holding back this entire time. His thoughts went to whether Hiruzen had actually had the boy trained in secret, or was there someone else? Whatever said and done, Uzumaki had very good information gathering skills, almost as good as his ROOT agents, if not better. He was also cunning, having sent the information to the Hokage in secret, forcing his rival to act. Losing Naruto would be a catastrophe to Konoha. And all this was without the Kyuubi. He had to wonder, how strong was he, really? And the part where he offered to be Danzo’s representative also sounded appealing. However, nothing was for free.

“So what do you want for being my representative?” Danzo asked.

“Access to your library, training facilities, and information. Your true power is not your skill or the number of ninjas. They may look impressive, but other than Fu, Torune, or even that ink using guy, most of them are barely mid jonin level. And the three I mentioned would barely stand a chance against Kakashi sensei. Your true power is based on information. If the old man wanted, he could have stopped all this and executed you for treason. But he knows that there are threats you need to take care of in the shadows. Plus, your information network is too valuable to just throw it away.” Naruto said.

Danzo nodded, “I see. Very interesting. I will agree to your conditions, Uzumaki, or should I say Senju? It will be interesting to see if you indeed have the strength to reach your goals and bring Konoha back to the top. I knew the Nidaime well and if you’re half the man he was, you have a glorious future ahead of you.”

“Thank you, Danzo-sama.” Naruto said with a bow. “Though you should have a talk with the old man. Instead of being rivals, you two can work together in weeding out the spies. It would help pave the road for the next Hokage.”

“I will think about it. You may leave,” Danzo said curtly.

“Very well,” Naruto replied. With a smirk, he left a parting shot. “See you soon, great-uncle Danzo,” he said before disappearing into smoke, leaving a wide-eyed Danzo.

Flashback end

No one, not even Hiruzen, knew of Danzo’s secret wife and son, who turned out to be the sister of Yashiro Uzumaki, the then clan head of the Uzumaki clan, and father of Kushina. They were killed in the siege, causing Danzo to walk the path he was on currently. But after the talk with Naruto, he had done some thinking of his own, and if he were honest with himself, he was tired of it all. All the scheming, plotting and wanting to undermine Hiruzen’s rule; he wanted it to end. He knew that Hiruzen would destroy him in a heartbeat. And he didn’t want that. He could maybe pass on his knowledge to his grand-nephew.

“I wish to come clean, Hokage-sama,” he replied.

Hiruzen was caught off-guard, though his surprise was reduced to merely a raised eyebrow. Danzo would rarely address him as such, and only with great reluctance. The fact that he addressed him like that spelled trouble.

“What’s your game, Danzo?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“No games, Hokage-sama. I have been doing some thinking of my own. And frankly, I’m tired.”

Hiruzen’s brow furrowed, “Tired, you say?”

Danzo nodded, “Yes, tired of undermining your rule. Tired of trying to usurp the Hokage position. Tired of everything.” He said. “May I?” He gestured to one of the chairs, where he sat at Hiruzen’s nod.

“That’s unusual, Danzo. You’re being frank with what you’re saying, in spite of it pretty much bordering on treason, if not outright treason.”

Danzo nodded, “I know. I also know that you know I haven’t disbanded my organisation. The only reason my head is still on my shoulders is because of the fact that you value my information, or else it would have left them long ago. No, I have no wish to continue. What I’d like to do is help with the slow integration of the soldiers into the regular Anbu forces. A sub-division if you will, answerable to the Hokage and the Anbu commander.”

Hiruzen leaned back in thought. He could detect no lie from Danzo. He had known about Danzo’s right eye before, since while he was not a sensor, he was strong enough to sense foreign chakra in Danzo’s eye similar to Kakashi’s left eye. And he had felt Danzo using the eye on him some days, but his training with Kagami Uchiha had helped him gained a sense of the genjutsu from the sharingan and how to dispel them. He felt no such chakra or presence from Danzo now. And Danzo’s idea did have appeal to it.

“Your idea does have appeal. I still have to sort out many other laws the Civilian council had passed during the vacuum period, as well as elevate the Academy standards. Not to mention the financial discrepancies. Having some of your agents helping mine would work.” Hiruzen said finally.

He then steepled his fingers together, “Though it does beg the question, why now?”

Danzo sighed, for the first time since Hiruzen saw him, he looked tired, “I had a talk with Naruto the other day.”

Hiruzen immediately became alert, “But he’s-“

“I know,” Danzo raised a hand. “He’s resourceful, that one. Had a clone talk to me while he’s on a mission. You know as well as I do, that he has been hiding his true powers from the village. As of now the only one who knows his full potential is you. You’ve trained him well,” he said with a bit of accusation in his voice.

Hiruzen relaxed and chuckled, “Train? I wish. I merely nudged him here and there. A few stories sprinkled in as well. But the fact that he spoke to you at your own hideout, something that only you and I know, speaks volumes of his skills.”

Danzo nodded, “I am aware. But yes, we talked. And he did have some valuable points. While we are powerful, our powers are waning. I now realise that we should leave it to the next generation and just act as advisors or mere pointers in the right direction. The current generation has potential, but we need a Hokage who can help them out.”

Hiruzen slowly nodded, “I do have an idea on whom to pass the hat to. I shall have a talk when they get back. I believe they should be back in a few hours. After all, the normal pace of travel doesn’t really suit Naruto-kun. He’s a bit…impatient if you will,” he finished with a chuckle.

“Hiruzen, if I may ask, how strong is he?” Danzo asked.

“Put it this way, Danzo,” Hiruzen replied, leaning forward, “had he been born in our time and he had this level of power, the two of us would never have even been in contention for the position of the Sandaime. At this point, give it a few years, and maybe when he’s in his twenties, he would, hypothetically, be able to take on the four Hokages in their prime…and win, with barely a scratch on him.”

Chapter Text

The trip back to Konoha could not be considered pleasant, at least for two of the members of Team 7. Naruto had gotten bored with the pace they were travelling and had told Kakashi as such.

“Hey sensei, do you mind if I went ahead?”

Kakashi shrugged, “Sure, why not? Don’t get too ahead though. Not all of us have your stamina,” he remarked.

“Sure. See ya,” Naruto said, and with a salute, he sped up.

Sasuke scowled; while he was able to get over the fact that Naruto was stronger, he still was jealous of him. And now he felt as if he was being taunted for being slow. He began to add chakra to his legs, speeding up a bit, trying to catch up to Naruto.

Kakashi observed all this silently; he knew that Naruto was trying to rile Sasuke up by doing this. He decided to watch how it unfolded. He would need to work on his team and himself once he got back to Konoha. He remembered that the Hokage had messaged him in his Pad about the very important meeting to be had. He wondered what that was about.

Naruto smirked as he felt Sasuke approach him. Really, it was just too easy to piss Sasuke off. He waited until Sasuke was just behind him, and then increased his speed more.

This went on until they finally reached the gates of Konoha. Naruto landed first, breathing a sigh of relief. A few feet away, Sasuke landed, though he looked like he was shaking and barely able to stand up. He breathed heavily as he glared at Naruto. And behind him, Kakashi and Sakura landed. Sakura looked out of breath, almost as bad as Sasuke, and Kakashi…well, he was absorbed in his book.

“You…are…a…freak!” Sasuke said between deep breaths.

Naruto, who had been in thought, looked at Sasuke confused, “Huh? Did you say something?”

Sasuke collapsed at that moment, prompting Sakura to shout his name and run to him. Naruto shook his head and looked at Kakashi, who was giving him a strange look.

It was almost like reverence and…pride?

“They grow up so fast!” Kakashi said as he wiped a fake tear from his eye.

Naruto rolled his eyes and headed towards the gate, “Are we heading for the Hokage’s office or not?

                                                                                      ****

Rebel Base, Mizu no Kuni

Mei Terumi sighed as the rest of the rebel squad leaders made their exit. It had been quite the long meeting; with plans coming up on how to target the penultimate stronghold of the Mizukage and his men. She was happy though; they had the makings of a plan. And it was all thanks to the efforts of her subordinates, namely Ao, Chojuro, Raiga and most of all, Tendou. Now if only Zabuza had returned….

She had a small smile at the thought of the man. She and Zabuza had been pretty close since the Academy days, where he was a year ahead of her. They had remained friends despite the final exam being one that pretty much killed off all emotion. When Yagura had started going against the bloodline users, Zabuza was among the few, along with Jinpachi, Raiga Kurosuki and Jinin Akebino of the Seven Ninja Swordsman, who sided with the bloodline rebels. But after the failed coup on Yagura, Raiga and Zabuza had ended up fleeing, Jinin had been injured heavily and Jinpachi was killed, leaving Mei with Ao and Chojuro to pick up the pieces of the rebellion.

They had managed to hold off the anti-bloodline army, despite incurring losses, but with the return of Raiga, and the arrival of Tendou, they were able to turn the tables.

The young man, Tendou was a huge blessing. A bounty hunter who had been wandering around the country, he had come to her, offering his services to help with the civil war. While sceptical at first, since Tendou had the height of a young boy, she was appreciative of the help, but placed the young bounty hunter with Ao’s group to keep an eye on him. That changed when Ao’s group had been the one who had the highest number of successful raids. And Ao, someone who Mei knew was not easily impressed, was actually raving about the boy’s skills in infiltration, claiming that it had contributed to the success of the raids. He was almost as silent as the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Not only was he efficient, he was also friendly and helpful, especially helping Chojuro with his kenjutsu and his confidence. Chojuro now stood a bit straighter, and had a lot more confidence in himself, though he still blushed a little whenever Mei would smile at him.

Tendou intrigued her as well; while most men looked at her like someone who couldn’t be attained, or a fantasy, or with lust, Tendou looked at her as one looked at an older sibling. As someone who never had siblings, Mei felt like she finally had the brother she always wanted. They had gotten closer, with Mei confessing about her feelings for Zabuza to him. Tendou had assured her that Zabuza would return, even though with each passing day, the possibility seemed less.

Tendou’s knowledge of the shinobi arts was impressive for his age. He would often engage in spars with his comrades and even Mei had engaged him in spars. While Mei usually had the upper hand initially, Tendou’s rate of improvement was staggering; Mei had to actually get serious in order to beat Tendou now. This actually led to the group, plus Mei, getting stronger from it.

She was brought out of her thoughts when a knock sounded on the door. “Come in!” she called out.

The door opened, and Ao and Tendou entered, “Mei-sama,” they bowed.

Mei frowned, “The meeting just finished Ao, Tendou-kun. What happened?” she asked.

“Two of our friends have returned,” Ao said. While he remained stoic, the relief could be seen in his uncovered eye.

Tendou nodded, “Told you he would be back,” even though Mei couldn’t see it, she knew he was smirking under the mask. He would definitely get socked for that later on in their spar.

He turned to the door, “You guys can come in now!”

The door opened, and Zabuza stepped in. Along with him, there was a girl who looked really pretty, with black hair tied in a bun, wearing a dark blue kimono and brown pants. At her waist was a Kiri hunter nin mask.

Zabuza and Mei stared at each other in silence, before the silence was broken.

“Mei-chan, I’m back and-UMPH!”

Zabuza was cut off as Mei closed the distance between them and wrapped him in a bone crushing hug, following with a searing kiss.

“Zabuza-kun, I missed you,” Mei said after breaking the kiss.

“I missed you too, Mei-chan.”

Mei then turned to Haku, “And who might you be kunoichi-chan?”

Haku, Zabuza and Tendou mentally snickered, “Actually, I’m a boy, Mei-sama,” Haku said, with Zabuza laughing at the stunned faces of Mei and Ao, both of whom could not believe that a boy could be so pretty.

Haku turned to Tendou, “You said you had something to share with us, Tendou-san.”

Mei and Ao snapped out of their shock, and looked puzzled, when Tendou nodded and lightly stomped his foot on the ground. Writing materialised from under his foot and covered the whole office, which then glowed before vanishing.

Mei and Ao immediately adopted defensive stances, “Explain,” Mei ordered. She noticed that Zabuza and Haku looked at Tendou with what seemed to be realisation.

Tendou nodded, “I apologise, Mei-sama, Ao-san, but I haven’t been completely honest with you. Remember when I said I had some secrets but promised I’d tell you later in the future?” He asked Mei, who nodded, frowning.

Tendou then removed his mask, revealing a tanned face, with azure blue eyes which showed experience far beyond its years, and six whisker marks on his face. His hair was blond and spiky, which Ao felt was somewhat familiar, but couldn’t place it.

Haku was the first to speak, “N-Naruto?”

The now named Naruto nodded, “Tendou is merely an alias I use. My real name is Naruto Uzumaki, and as of now, I’m a genin of Konoha.”

Mei and Ao were stunned; Konoha had sent a GENIN of all people to help them?! Did they really think so low of Kiri?

But Mei calmed herself; despite everything, Tendou, no, Naruto had been a big help to their cause. Even if he was a genin, he had skills that could put most chunin and even jounin to shame.

Naruto continued, “I apologise for not telling earlier, but I don’t think Sandaime-sama would want people to know of Konoha’s involvement in the Civil War. Hence I came of my own accord to help. Only the Sandaime, and Jiraiya of the Sannin know of my involvement here.”

After a small silence, Mei spoke up, “While I’m not happy with being lied to, I’ll admit that you have a point. Not to mention that you have been a massive help with the war. But if you are a mere genin, how come you are here, and not with your team?”

Naruto smirked, “I’m a blood clone actually. I was initially sent to Uzushiogakure to train in my family techniques. However, the Boss told me to help out the rebels in the Civil war on the way back. Boss is in Konoha right now, and I’ll join him once we win the war here.” He turned serious. “I only wish to help in the war, Mei-sama. I don’t expect anything in return. Maybe a future alliance with Konoha, but nothing more than that.”

“He’s not wrong,” Zabuza spoke up, catching the others’ attention. “I ran into his team while in Wave.” He then proceeded to tell of the mission in Wave, to assassinate the bridge builder. How he and Naruto met in opposing groups, but teamed up when he realised Gato would betray him. He even mentioned his battle with Tomoharu, which brought a sigh of relief to the people in the room when they heard of his death.

“From what I have seen, the gaki is genuine. He merely wishes to help, though to be honest, normally I’d say he was naïve and sucks as a ninja,” he quipped, ignoring the glare and rude gesture from Naruto, “but his wish to help is the reason I’m alive now and able to bring in the money for the rebellion.” He brought out the scroll with the money inside.

Mei sighed, “Well, this has been quite the revelation,” she looked at Naruto, “you still owe me a spar Naruto-kun, and don’t think I’ll go easy on you because you’re a genin. You’ve proven to be much stronger than that,” she grinned sinisterly.

“You better not, Mei-neechan,” Naruto grinned back.

“Neechan?” Zabuza asked with a raised eyebrow.

Haku shook his head and giggled, “Naruto-kun has a habit of calling older kunoichi neechan. According to him, he views them as older sisters, even the strong and good-looking ones.”

“Really,” Mei asked, then looking at Naruto with a grin, she asked, “So you have someone special back in Konoha, Naruto-kun?” she walked over and put an arm around his shoulder.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that,” Naruto said, with a hint of pink in his cheeks.

“Aha! So there is someone!” Mei crowed triumphantly, pinching his cheeks.

“Oi! Quit it, neechan! Shouldn’t you go play kissy-face with no-brows oji-san?!” he swatted her hand away only to duck under a swing from Zabuza’s blade.

“What was that, gaki?!” Zabuza growled, ignoring Mei’s snickering.

“Yeah, let’s go Haku! We don’t want to interrupt the old people from their romance and reminiscing,” Naruto hurriedly said before grabbing Haku and shunshining out of the office, narrowly avoiding the kunai and swing of a sword.

Zabuza and Mei huffed while Ao shook his head, “No respect for the elders among the youngsters these days! Back in my day, couples would be respected-“

“Ao” Mei and Zabuza said, causing Ao to turn to them, “shut up, or we will kill you,” They said with an eerie smile.

Ao paled. It was bad enough when Mei-sama said it, now it became even worse when Zabuza was added to the mix. “What did I say?” He mumbled to himself.

                                                                                           ****

The visit to the Hokage was, in a way, interesting. After being called in, Hiruzen spent the first few minutes reprimanding the team for their decision to continue the mission, though Kakashi took the brunt of the chewing out. He then went on to praise the team for a job well done, and individually congratulated each member, despite the higher ranking of the mission.

He then asked for a report, which Kakashi gave. It was brief, and to the point. Kakashi wanted the genin to know how to give reports for future missions. Hiruzen listened to the report with rapt attention.

When the report was done, he sighed, “Well done Team 7. You shall have the pay for an A rank mission deposited into your accounts. Please wait outside while I speak to your sensei, after which he shall take you to cash in your checks. You have three days off. Dismissed.”

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura bowed and left the office, but not before Naruto offered a subtle nod to Kakashi and Hiruzen, who nodded back.

Once the door closed, Kakashi turned to Hiruzen, face serious, “You said you wanted to talk to me, Hokage-sama?”

Hiruzen nodded and with a sign, signalled the Anbu out of the room. He then made a few handsigns, causing the room to glow blue and fade quickly, showing that a silencing seal was up.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, which prompted the aged Kage, “Kakashi, starting three days from now, I want you to take the training of your team seriously. No being late for more than half an hour. I’m sure you’re wondering why,” At the jounin’s nod, he continued with a sigh, “I’m old, Kakashi, and as much as I’d like to continue being Hokage, I’m well past my prime, and the only reason I took back the hat was because there was no one who could replace Minato at the time. But now, I think that my time has come soon. The reason I ask you to train your team is because I believe you would be the ideal choice for the next Hokage.”

Kakashi’s eye widened, “But Hokage-sama, I-“

Hiruzen raised a hand, “I’m not asking you to become Hokage now. The chunin exams are in three months’ time. I’m sure you will be able to train the three of them to pass the exams at least. You and I both know that Naruto at this point is strong enough to be a jonin. Sasuke is strong enough to be a low chunin, and I’m sure by the end of three months, both him and Sakura should be ready to become chunin at least.”

Kakashi thought back to the conversation with Naruto back in Wave. In a way, he need only train Sasuke and Sakura and help Naruto with gaining experience while providing pointers. Also, he now needed to train himself to improve upon his techniques and master them. Naruto used his shadow clones to train, maybe he should too. While he couldn’t make as much as his student, he could make enough, plus his control was relatively good.

“I’ll do my best, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi stated with a nod.

Hiruzen gave a smile, “Good. I’ll be expecting updates every two weeks. And near the beginning of the chunin exams I shall announce my retirement. For now, take three days off. Dismissed.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi bowed and left the office to meet his team. Together, they went to the mission payment office where they collected the payment for their mission. As they exited the Hokage tower, Kakashi turned to them.

“Alright team, take the next three days off. After that, meet me at the training ground at 8:30 am. I promise I won’t be late.” Kakashi said with an eye-smile.

Sasuke and Sakura looked sceptical but nodded. They then turned and headed to their homes.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. “So, things are looking serious?”

Kakashi gave him a serious look, “Yes. They are. And come on time, Naruto. I won’t be walking in late if there isn’t any emergency.”

Naruto nodded. He then took out a fuin bracelet and handed it to Kakashi, “Here, I believe this will help. I made it myself when I was around 11 years old to help with my training. Only Hokage-jiji, Hinata-chan, Anko-neechan, Jiraiya-sama and now you have it. It helps with recording vitals and your training progress. Use it when training yourself. Oh and before I forget,” Naruto handed a stack of seals. “These are chakra replenishing seals. You can use each one twice. They have enough chakra for 5 A rank jutsu in them. If you plan on using the Kage Bunshin technique to train, these can help. And it can be recharged once. It would take approximately six hours to recharge.”

Kakashi gave him a look, “Thank you, Naruto. However, I must ask. Did you listen in on our conversation? You know it’s rude to do so.”

Naruto looked at him confused, “What conversation? I just figured since we’re going to train seriously, you might also want to train as well. Unless…” Naruto’s eyes widened but Kakashi cut him off.

“Not here, we’ll talk in three days. Now get going!”

“Hai, sensei!” Naruto saluted and vanished in a shunshin.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head as he headed to his home. He had a lot of work to do.

                                                                                       ****

Naruto’s eyes snapped open at five in the morning. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stretched and decided to start the day. Today would be the team meeting after their three day rest period. He was wondering what Kakashi-sensei had planned.

He had been surprised on seeing Kakashi-sensei during his morning run three days ago. It was after that when Kakashi had asked him if he could put resistance seals on his teammates. Naruto had agreed, thinking that the two of them would benefit a lot from that. They were soon joined by Might Gai and Rock Lee, who both had tears in their eyes at seeing their rival and friend’s (respectively) ‘Flames of Youth’ shining brightly. Lee had even challenged Naruto to a spar after a while which the blond won, though narrowly. After all, neither of them had relieved their weights/ resistance seals.

He had then visited Hinata and Hanabi the next day, and then spent time working on removing the first component of the cursed seal from Anko. He felt he was ready to remove it, but decided to put it off for later, and work on the other components.

Once his morning routine and exercise was over, he made a few clones who headed to the Senju compound while he shunshined to the training ground, where he saw both Sasuke and Sakura were just coming in.

“Morning Sakura, Sasuke,” he greeted them with a nod.

“Good morning, Naruto,” Sakura replied while Sasuke replied with a “Hn” and a nod.

The three looked around awkwardly for a while. Then Naruto spoke up.

“How about we start a warm-up till sensei gets here?”

Without waiting for a reply, Naruto started off at a jog around the training ground.

“But-“ Sakura was about to object when she saw Sasuke shrug and start jogging as well. Not wanting to be left behind, she began to jog as well.

This was the scene Kakashi walked into; his three genin were already beginning their warm-ups. Well, it looked as if Naruto was leading, and Sakura still needed to get her stamina up.

“Good morning, team,” He said with an eye-smile.

Naruto gave him a mock salute, Sasuke gave a nod, while Sakura was too weak to shout, but gave a mild glare that was ignored.

“I see that you have started your warm-ups. Good. We’ll have 10 laps around the training ground. I shall join as well. Go!” Barked Kakashi as he too started running with them, much to the surprise of the genin.

Kakashi ended up finishing his set first, despite the late start, owing to higher speed and taller stature. Just behind him was Naruto, who immediately started stretching exercises. Sasuke followed up soon after, and after seeing Naruto stretching followed by a nod from Kakashi who was doing his own, began stretching as well. After a while, Sakura finished her ten rounds, still huffing.

“Start stretching, Sakura,” Kakashi ordered.

As much as she wanted to protest, she could see the serious look in his eyes. This told her that her sensei was not as laid back as before. Without a word, she began stretching, though she was way slower than the other three.

Following this, Kakashi made four earth pillars, and had the three genin run slalom around them, while he timed their performance. He then had them do fifty push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks, and lifting weights. Finally, he declared it enough, much to Sakura’s relief.

“All right you three. From now on, this will be our warm up. Since running around the training ground isn’t that interesting, we shall meet at six in the morning and run two laps around the village. We can increase the number of laps as your stamina improves. Following which we shall proceed with stretching and strength exercises, Sakura, you will do forty reps of each exercise we did today. Sasuke will do seventy, and Naruto a hundred. That should take you about the same time to finish.”

Sasuke and Naruto nodded, they felt this was better than what they previously did. Sakura looked scared.

“After workout, we shall work on battle formations and teamwork exercises. Let me finish,” Kakashi raised a hand as he saw them about to protest. He levelled a bit of his killing intent at them, surprising even Naruto. “We are a team focused on frontal assault and combat. As such, we should have good teamwork, as well as be able to last long enough against an opponent. And I apologise for waiting this long to train you seriously, but after the mission in Wave, I realised that I cannot be slacking off in training you three.” He said the last bit with a hint of sadness that surprised the genin.

He then looked up. “Also, I want to train this team well enough that you three get promoted to chunin in the next chunin exams. Now, I’ll let you know when the exams are later, but for now, we are going to train hard enough that we will be strong enough to take on the exams. As you have discovered, the ninja world isn’t all sunshine and roses out there. Some of you have already had their first kills. But I digress. Once we finish the exercises, we will have lunch and then go on a D-rank mission. Don’t worry,” He said as he was about to see them open their mouths to object. “The mission will be a more taxing type. Once the mission is over, we shall work on chakra control for two hours, following which I will teach you individually every alternate day. It may be a new jutsu, or something I feel will be important to your skillset. Every Wednesday and Saturday will be focused on sparring each other.” Kakashi finished.

Sakura looked ready to faint, though there was a bit of determination and excitement. Naruto and Sasuke however, looked like they would be drooling. Kakashi smirked inwardly. This would probably help the team, and him as well.

“Now then, break time is over. Let’s focus on battle formations!” He said, clapping his hands.

By the time they were done, it was noon. Kakashi called a halt and had them relax. Sakura collapsed on the ground with a groan. Kakashi then gave them a bento each along with water that contained added vitamins.

As they ate their meal, Kakashi gave a basic idea on what to eat. Looking at Sakura, he said, “I know Anko, and Yugao talked to you in Wave about this, but I think I should remind you as well. There is no need for shinobi or even kunoichi to diet. Whatever we eat ends up being burned off during our training. And I’m sure you noticed the figures of the kunoichi that were with us, so make sure you eat a balanced diet from now on.” he finished with an eye-smile.

Sakura nodded lamely. She had remembered the talk, which was more of a dressing down, by the two kunoichi when they found out about her diet. They encouraged her to eat as much as she could and train hard. She resolved to do much better, as she didn’t want to be the weak link of the team anymore.

Following lunch, they took a half hour break. They then headed to the mission office for a quick D-rank mission.

As Kakashi watched them paint the fence, he thought of how to tackle each person individually. Sasuke would need help with his sharingan and taijutsu. Considering today’s workout, he felt Sasuke would probably start working with the team more. He would slowly bring up ninjutsu, in order to properly round up his repertoire.

Naruto wouldn’t need much help, but would be the only person Kakashi could take seriously in a spar. He also felt he could teach him some jutsu as well as add more versatility in taijutsu and brush up in some kenjutsu, having seen the blond go toe to toe with Zabuza. Naruto was much better than he was at his age, he suspected that the Hokage had a hand in training him earlier. Naruto would need more experience, and that would come with missions.

Sakura was the one he would have to teach the most; a blank slate for the most part, with exceptional chakra control and intelligence, she would have a knack for genjutsu as well as iryojutsu. While he had no idea about the latter, he could help with the former, as well as work on her taijutsu and possibly help with ninjutsu, once she increases her chakra reserves.

He smiled to himself. Training these three wouldn’t be so bad after all. For all he knew, they would end up being the next generation of the Sannin. That thought actually excited him a bit. He then frowned. He would have to talk to Gai, Asuma and the others. It was time he took his training seriously as well.  

                                                                                            ****

Rebel base, Mizu no Kuni

It had been a month and a half since Zabuza’s return and Mei could not have been happier. Not only had they gotten the required funds, Zabuza’s return had actually bolstered the troops’ morale, not that they had been on a low note, but the extra help was welcomed all the same.

Zabuza and Haku had then teamed up with Ao and his group and their mission success rate skyrocketed. Haku and Tendou’s, no, Naruto’s skills in infiltration and stealth were pretty much unrivalled by any other member. Not even Zabuza, Raiga and Jinin, the ones proficient in the art of silent killing, were as good as those two. Needless to say, most raids ended up going off without a hitch.

Naruto had even gotten closer to the others; he was often found helping Haku with his Wind style, and encouraged Chojuro to spar with the other swordsmen, even sparring with him occasionally. He was even seen discussing plans and tactics with Ao and Zabuza, and what warmed Mei’s heart was the way he would take time to talk to or even play with Ranmaru, the boy who Raiga had brought with him, who had the power to pretty much cancel out dojutsu.

But that wasn’t what surprised Mei the most. It was what Naruto believed about subelements that got both her and Haku to sputter in disbelief when he revealed his ability in secret.

Flashback

Naruto and Mei were sparring on a large sheet of ice made by Haku while said person stood by watching. Both looked to be on even ground, though Haku could tell that Mei was actually serious, while Naruto was still holding back a little. He frowned; he knew Naruto’s strength. He had been able to dispatch most of the thugs when they had fought together with the Uchiha back in Wave. He had to wonder just how strong Naruto was.

He sighed when he saw Mei spout a huge glob of lava from her mouth. Well, so much for his ice platform. The lava would probably melt the ice and it was not like Naruto had a defence for it.

What happened next made both Haku and Mei sputter in shock.

Naruto smirked and made the tiger hand sign. “Hyoton: Suishouheki! (Ice style: Crystal wall)

A large wall made of ice erupted from the ice platform, stopping the flow of the lava attack. It turned out that while some of the ice melted, the wall was powerful enough to cool the lava and cause it to harden into molten rock.

Mei was stunned to see such a display of ice, that she didn’t even notice the hands that appeared under her and pull her underground with only her head sticking out the ground. Naruto appeared beside her and placed a kunai to her throat. “I win.” He said.

Mei merely nodded and allowed Naruto to help her up. As soon as she was on solid ground, she whirled on Naruto and was about to ask when Haku beat her to it, “How do you know Hyoton?!”

Naruto sighed, “It’s a long story,” he sat down on a small stump he made from the ground. “You see, I’ve been training since I was five years old, and I’ve been working on elemental nature manipulation since I was six, even trying to invent jutsu apart from learning the already existing jutsu. I want to be Hokage someday, so I thought, why not make jutsu and learn jutsu theory and stuff? Turns out, I was pretty good at it, almost as good as Sandaime-jiji was, and I did make few jutsu. Not powerful ones, some were just mundane stuff, which people already knew of. Did you know I invented a water jutsu that acts like a garden sprinkler?” he chuckled at the small snorts of his audience.

He continued, “Jiji and my mentor were pretty impressed, but they told me that my next foray was impossible, which was combining elements to produce sub-elements. Jiji was adamant that sub-elements were kekkei genkai, and that those without a bloodline would not be able to manipulate them. He himself had tried, and had come up with a stop gap measure. I had learnt that and by twelve years old, I had managed to create a subelement. And the first was ice,” He shrugged.

He looked at the gobsmacked rebel leader and ice user. “My theory is that those with the bloodline, or rather, the bloodline itself, is the ability to easily mix the elements together to form the sub-elements. Normal people can do it too, but it takes a lot of time and effort, therefore, they pretty much stay content with what they have and not work on improvements. Think about it, no one has to kidnap people to produce subelemental bloodlines!”

Mei and Haku were pretty much stunned. What they were hearing was impossible and downright ridiculous in their opinion, but the boy in front of them pretty much proved them all wrong. He claimed he knew Hyoton, but he hadn’t mentioned any other.

Naruto looked at them, “Speaking of which, I made a jutsu for both ice and lava. Do you mind helping me refine it?” He asked them both, who had their jaws meeting the ground.

Flashback End

Mei shook her head; the boy had pretty much revolutionized the field of ninjutsu by his lonesome, and though he could keep it to himself, he shared it with people of another village. She wanted to scoff at his trusting nature, but knew that he still kept secrets of his own. But he was honest with them. Plus, they helped him refine his manipulation and got two new techniques out of it.

Not only that, Mei and Haku had discovered their fourth and third affinity to be lightning and fire respectively. Naruto had begun to help them with the first step of manipulation, and had even given them a scroll on combining the elements with their other affinities to them. In return, Mei had ended up showing Naruto the Vapour or Boil style, combining Fire and Water. Since Water was a strong affinity of his, he was able to pick up on it quickly. He claimed it wasn’t ready yet, but would be in a few months.

Right now, she was standing in the command centre with a determined look on her face. In their recent raid, they had found out that Yagura, along with fifty jonin level shinobi were heading to the border of Mizu no Kuni in order to meet with Orochimaru. They didn’t know what it would be about, but they knew nothing good would come out of it. But she saw an opportunity to intercept Yagura, and if possible, end the war once and for all.

She looked around the room. Zabuza, Ao, and Chojuro were there, as they were considered her inner circle. Along with them were Raiga and Jinin. They had come at her call to discuss the final attack pattern that could finally end the war. Now she was waiting for one more person to come join them.

As soon as the knock sounded on the door, she gave the command to enter. The door opened and in walked Naruto and Haku, the former in his Tendou disguise. Mei frowned at Haku’s presence, but a nod from Tendou calmed her. She decided to get to the point.

“Good afternoon, everyone. Now that you are all gathered here, I shall come to the point. During the last raid conducted by team Ao, we were able to get information that Yagura would be meeting up with Orochimaru at the border of Mizu no Kuni along with fifty of his elite jonin level shinobi. They will be crossing the borders near the Mangrove forests at the Kiso river basin in ten days, that is a week from now. And we cannot allow that to happen. We need to plan an ambush as soon as we can,” Mei said.

As everyone in the room tried to digest the intel, Naruto raised his hand. According to Ao, Naruto’s plans had a high success rate. Not only could he plan and be ten steps ahead of his opponents, but if something went wrong, Naruto was able to think on his feet and even re evaluate plans that turned out successful too. Knowing this, Mei smiled, “Tell me, Tendou. What’s on your mind?” she asked, making sure to use his alias.

“Mei-sama, I think that Yagura’s team will most likely consist of Jonin than are skilled in guerilla warfare, silent killing and capable of fighting underwater, just like he is, owing to the fact he is the Sanbi’s jinchuriki. With the porous roots of the Mangrove and rising water level at night, there will be a good amount of water to do the Kirigakure no jutsu and sustain it, making easy for them to hide and attack us if we try to ambush from the open. Plus, even though the intel said 50 ninjas, I think we should assume there will be more and plan accordingly, starting with better back-up.”

 “The gaki sure knows what he’s talking about,” Zabuza said, with the others nodding.

“I agree with Tendou’s assumptions,” Ao said. “Yagura is pretty intelligent; he would have thought about us ambushing him. We have around 800 shinobi in our forces out of which 150 are jonin. I say we take 100 shinobi each to the front lines and as back-up. 50 jonin and 50 chunin to the front and 25 jonin and 75 chunin as back-up along with iryo-nin.”

“What about Yagura? Who will fight him?” Raiga asked, as he looked excited to get his hands on the Mizukage, as well as planning to give him a proper funeral.

After a moment of deliberation, Mei nodded, “Tendou and Haku will lead the back-up forces. Ao, you, Chojuro and Jinin will handle the frontal attacks. Zabuza, Raiga and I will fight Yagura.”

Ao, ever the realist, protested, “But Mei-sama, Yagura is a jinchuriki, and once he starts using his bijuu chakra, it won’t be easy to stop him! We’re pretty much fighting him in his domain, and it could easily destroy us all. We would even lose you!”

“Not to mention Orochimaru might be present. We haven’t made a plan for him,” Raiga added.

Mei looked at the two in exasperation, “I’m a kunoichi first and foremost, Ao. And ninjas die on the battlefield. It’s part of the job. And it would be an honour to die for you. But you must believe in me, for I will come back alive,” she said passionately.

Then she smirked, “Of course, we do have plans for Orochimaru. And we have our own ace in the hole for Yagura. Do you not remember the reinforcements that we will receive soon?”

As if on cue, the door opened, and no one except Mei and Zabuza noticed Tendou stiffen.

Through the door came a few people. The first was a tall white haired man wearing it in a ponytail, tan skin, with markings under his eyes, wearing a green kimono shirt with a red coat. On his forehead was a hitai-ate with the kanji for ‘Oil’.

The second was a tall pale man, who had black hair covering his one eye, he wore a light blue kimono and he held what looked like a golden brown pipe.

The third was a blonde haired girl who wore a pink top. She seemed to stay close to the black haired man.

The last looked like an Anbu but he had spiky brown hair. He had the mask of a tiger. It seemed like he held the rank of captain. Most guessed he was from Konoha. It turned out he had brought his team as well.

Mei smiled as they came in, “Jiraiya-sama, thank you for your assistance. And welcome back, Utakata, Hotaru. I hope you will find your stay here comfortable. And welcome Konoha Anbu. Thank you for your help.”

The white haired man, Jiraiya chuckled, “No worries, Mei-san. We’re just happy to help. Sensei didn’t want the involvement of Konoha to be known, so we could only send one team. But rest assured this team is among the best in Konoha Anbu.” He looked around and his eyes narrowed slightly at Tendou.

Mei caught his gaze and smiled, “That is Tendou, one of the bounty hunters who offered his services. He has been very essential to our cause.” She said.

“I’m sure,” Jiraiya replied, giving a subtle nod to Tendou and got a nod back.

Turning to Mei, he said, “I’ll handle Orochimaru if he shows up. Utakata can help with Yagura. Tora and the Anbu can help with the frontal forces, if you want Jinin to help you with Yagura.”

After a moment, Mei nodded, “All right. We’ll go with that plan. Prepare for an all out ambush and for the final lap. This is do or die everyone. Dismissed!” Mei said loudly.

With a final cheer, most of the people departed, until only Jiraiya and the Anbu teac, along with Utakata, Hotaru, Mei, Ao, Zabuza, Haku and Tendou remained.

Jiraiya turned to the masked boy, “Good disguise Naruto, but you actually thought it could fool me?” He asked with a smirk.

Naruto took off his mask, “Like you’re one to talk. You couldn’t recognise me when I first used this, Ero-sennin! Then again, you’re pretty much a sitting duck when peeping on women.”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT, BRAT!” Jiraiya yelled.

There was a stunned silence, until…

“Pfffft BWAHAHAHAHA!”

Mei was banging the desk while laughing uncontrollably. Zabuza and Haku were no better. Hotaru giggled while Utakata and Ao didn’t know whether to laugh or stare in disbelief. The Anbu team stood firm, though if the shaking of their shoulders were to be seen one would think they were holding in their laughter. Jiraiya pouted while Naruto grinned smugly.

“No respect for elders these days,” Jiraiya mumbled.

“To be fair, the name suits you, Jiraiya-sama,” Utakata stated with a smirk, making Jiraiya slump.

Naruto then walked up to Utakata, “Naruto Uzumaki. It’s nice to meet you, Utakata, or should I say, Roku,” he said with a smile.

Utakata’s eyes widened and shook his hand tentatively, “How did you know?”

“I am nine,” Naruto stated simply.

Suddenly, the world changed and both Naruto and Utakata appeared in Naruto’s mindscape. What was different was that there was also a swamp with bubbles.

Kurama appeared behind Naruto, “It’s been a while, Saiken.” The giant fox said.

From the swamp appeared a giant white slug monster with six tails, “That it has, Kurama! You seem calmer than usual. Though I find it curious. The surrounding chakra feel like the same as that Hashirama fellow. Your container has the same ability I take it?” the six-tailed beast asked looking at Naruto. The boy had the same aura as the man who had captured him but also something he felt….familiar. ‘Could it be…?’ he thought to himself.

He looked to his nine-tailed brother who gave a nod. Saiken then looked at Naruto, “Well met, Naruto. I am Saiken, the Rokubi. You have already met my container, Utakata.”

He then looked at the two humans and his brother, “I don’t believe for a second that Isobu, the Sanbi,” he said when he saw Naruto’s and Utakata’s confusion, “would encourage such atrocities we’re hearing right now. I mean, he was the most peaceful of us all!” Saiken said.

Kurama nodded, “He would be the one who would always mediate whenever that stupid tanuki Shukaku would have his tantrums. So to hear his container suddenly encourage this war and even spearhead it, it’s hard to believe, even for me.”

Naruto and Utakata were deep in thought. Utakata spoke first, “You think he’s being controlled?”

“He could be,” Naruto pondered quietly. “But that kind of power that could tame and control a tailed beast has only been shown by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha with the Mokuton and Sharingan respectively.” Naruto’s eyes widened as he looked at Kurama, who was growling, “That could mean-“

“It’s him,” growled Kurama. “He probably is controlling Yagura with a genjutsu! We can only confirm it in the battlefield however. Saiken, you and your container will be confronting Yagura along with the Lava lady and the sword brats. You can confirm it then.”

After getting a nod from the slug, the two bijuu talked for a little while longer, and Naruto and Utakata exited the mindscape and came back to the real world to find the others staring at them in confusion.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. “Six and Nine were catching up,” he said much to the shock of the others. Without giving them time to think, they told the rest of the room their suspicions, which Mei, Zabuza and Jiraiya took into consideration going by the grim looks in their faces.

Mei spoke up, “We will deal with this when we head to battle. We have one week to prepare. Till then, be at your top form and train hard.” She said.

The rest of the people nodded and exited, leaving the room empty. When they exited, the purple haired Anbu from Konoha came up to Naruto and whacked his head, asking why he was here and not with his genin team. But after explaining he was a blood clone she calmed herself.

                                                                                      ****

One week later

“So, you finally show yourself, Mei Terumi. Oh, and you have brought company as well,” the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, said dryly, facing the rebel leader and her team. “I knew you would come out. I asked my men to leave such intel at our camp on purpose. I thought you would be smarter than to just take the bait. Oh well, now I can finish off the rebels and bloodlines once and for all,” he said, taking out his hooked staff.

Mei, Zabuza, Raiga and Jinin shifted into fighting stances. After a while, Zabuza and Jinin rushed forward, engaging Yagura. But it seemed despite his child like appearance, with pink pupil-less eyes and a long stitched scar running down his left cheek, Yagura wasn’t named Mizukage for nothing as he easily held off the two. While Jinin’s attacks with his Kabutowari bluntsword were troublesome, he was weak in defense which Yagura exploited. Zabuza’s Kubikiribocho was a bit more troublesome but Yagura was able to handle him better.

However, Mei and Raiga had not been idle; with a bit of fire manipulation, Mei had been able to create storm clouds, allowing Raiga to channel lightning through his Kiba blades and send them at Yagura, pushing him back. Irritated, Yagura made water clones which rushed the three swordsmen while he engaged Mei in a fierce bout of taijutsu.

Yagura swiped his hooked staff towards Mei, who dodged and gave a roundhouse which was blocked by Yagura. Instead of stopping, Mei flipped quickly using the staff as a balance and kicked Yagura in the face, sending him skidding. However, Yagura showed no emotion. He rushed at Mei making hand signs.

“Suiton: Suidan!” (Water style: Water bullet)

Multiple globs of water were spat out of his’s mouth and flew at high speeds towards Mei, but she was ready. Doing multiple handsigns at lightning speed which ended with the snake sign she called out her new jutsu which Naruto had created and taught her,

“Suiton: Suiryuuheki!” (Water style: Water dragon wall)

A large water dragon rose from the water and coiled itself around Mei, taking the force of the water bullets. Switching to the tiger sign she called out,

“Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu!” (Water style: Water dragon bullet)

Yagura, who was expecting the dragon to hurtle towards him, widened his eyes when instead the dragon opened its mouth and shot large globs of water at high speeds. Using his staff he managed to block most of the bullets but some managed to hit him, sending him skidding. When he looked up, the water dragon hurtled towards him, which he dodged, but felt a searing sensation on his arm. He looked at his arm, which was sporting a large gash.

“Strange, I was sure I dodged that dragon,” Yagura commented.

Mei smirked. She was definitely thanking Naruto later. “Like it? It’s my new Suiryuukiba no jutsu (Water Dragon fang technique). But enough talk,” Mei turned serious.

Yagura looked at her and then the rest of the swordsmen who had just finished off his clones and joined the leader, however it looked like Jinin was breathing a bit heavily, while Zabuza and Raiga were only panting a bit.

The Mizukage then looked at his army, which had consisted of around 400 chunin and jonin, instead of the false 50 jonin that he had let slip. However, someone in the rebel ranks was a better spy than he thought, and it seemed like the rebels decided on a pincer attack, leading to his army getting routed by the bloodline rebels. It seemed a team of Anbu along with Ao were easily taking down the frontal forces while two boys, by the looks of it, and their men were routing the backup forces.

He frowned as he saw a tall man join in on destroying his back up forces, one he recognised as Jiraiya of the Sannin. That meant Orochimaru had fled, he mused. Considering he was a slippery snake, that had to be the case.

“Yes, I believe it’s time I stopped toying around,” Yagura said calmly, unleashing a bit of his bijuu chakra.

                                                                                          ****

Earlier

“Ah, Jiraiya, what a displeasure to see your ugly mug again,” Orochimaru said with a sneer on his face. He had thought of helping Yagura with his army by joining himself for the time being, but it seemed Jiraiya had heard of his plans and was now standing in his way.

“The displeasure’s all mine, Roachy-chan,” Jiraiya mocked. “There’s no use, Orochimaru. The bloodline rebels will win this. Your chances of stealing bloodlines are zero.” He said seriously.

“I didn’t think you could get any stupider, baka,” Orochimaru chuckled. “You see, I have my men within the Kiri ranks, and also with the 50 men behind me, we can easily swoop in and-“ He was cut off as screams began from the men behind him. He turned to see most of his men slaughtered with around 20 remaining and fighting a masked boy and his clones.

“How is this possible?” Orochimaru frowned.

‘The gaki’s experience and skill with the Kage Bunshin is astounding, but this looks more like the Doton: Kage Bunshin. And the fact that the version he made and taught sensei and me not only can endure more hits, it’s also able to retain memories like the Kage Bunshin and can also communicate through the mind. It was a bitch and a half to learn it though,’ Jiraiya thought as he shook his head.

“Well, Roachy? Now that your army’s gone, you still want to fight?” He mocked again.

Orochimaru seethed internally then smirked, “As much as I’d like to show you your place Jiraiya, I’d prefer not to waste my time. Trust me, we’ll be meeting again soon,” with that, he sank into the ground, but not before attacking one of the masked boys, only to find it was an earth clone.

Cursing, Orochimaru decided to cut his losses and flee.

Jiraiya clicked his tongue. Using his senses he figured Orochimaru was gone. He decided to jump into the fray, helping Naruto and Haku destroy the remaining forces.

Haku and Naruto worked as a formidable team, both using Ice Style to take care of the forces, and even switching between offence and defence between them. Even with the Kiri chunin and jonin being experts in the Kirigakure no jutsu and silent killing, Naruto’s mastery and instinctive control of wind negated the mist, and Naruto and Haku were good at stealth that Naruto could do the silent killing in a crowd, which was how both took down a majority of their forces, along with the Ice style. Currently Haku dodged a punch from an incoming Kiri jonin and retaliated with a kick to the chin, which was followed up by a roundhouse kick to the stomach. As the jonin was sent flying, Naruto used his Zanzo to appear behind the jonin and stab him in the chest. The jonin then dispersed into water. ‘Mizu bunshin’ Naruto thought before his danger senses alerted him and he jumped before two hands came from the ground.

“Damn, I was sure I had you, bloodline scum,” the jonin said with a twisted smirk. “ It doesn’t matter, now die!” he roared as he engaged Naruto in taijutsu. What he didn’t notice was that while Naruto was fighting him, any contact Naruto made with him was draining him of energy. Incorporating his fuinjutsu into another Uzumaki style of taijutsu which he picked up from Uzushiogakure, Naruto ended up creating a seal which when he fought an opponent in taijutsu, he could drain the energy of his opponent and even make them drowsy, which was what was happening as the jonin’s movements got sloppy. “Wha-“ the jonin got out as he was suddenly stabbed from behind by an ice needle on the throat. The last thing he saw was Naruto looking at him with boredom and a bit of pity.

Naruto sighed as he looked around. Out of the 200 forces he and Haku faced, they along with the backup of 100 had managed to whittle them down to 20. Haku looked a bit tired if the sweat on his brow was any indication. But he himself wasn’t winded so much. Just then, Jiraiya had entered the fray taking on a few and dispatching the rest of the soldiers easily. He looked around and saw that the rebel back-up had suffered some loss too. He closed his eyes while keeping his senses open, giving a small prayer of peace to the departed, while going around and helping the medic-nin with the injured along with Haku.

He just finished healing up one of the soldiers when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Jiraiya who squeezed his shoulder and gave a nod, understanding his pain. The blond blood clone sighed and nodded back. This was war, and he was pretty young to face it. He had already seen much worse than most of his peers already did. He was holding it in now, but he was sure to break down soon enough. And it may be worse for the boss when he absorbed his memories.

Jiraiya spoke up, “Haku, will you be able to handle it from here?” Getting a nod from said person, he continued, “All right then, Tendou and I will go help out the frontal forces. Once you are done here, rendez-vous with us there and we’ll go help Mei and the others.”

“Hai, Jiraiya-sama,” Haku replied.

“Come on, brat,” Jiraiya said as he sped off, Naruto following close behind. The two came upon the frontline forces where Ao and Chojuro were having a hard time fighting the forces, despite thinning them down considerably.

Without waiting, Jiraiya and Naruto jumped into the fray, taking down multiple soldiers with taijutsu. Naruto then unleashed his ninjato and passed his supersonic chakra through it, taking down and cutting through a vast majority of forces. Thanks to their arrival, the remaining forces were pushed back, trapping the remaining 50 in between the rebel forces.

“Surrender, there is no need for meaningless bloodshed,” Ao commanded the remaining Kiri nin. “You have fought bravely and lost. We do not wish to harm you. We have you trapped between our forces. Do not push further!” He said.

One of the Kiri jonin snarled, “We will fight till our last breath to end the bloodline scum as long as Mizukage-sama is alive!” He roared and was about to charge when one of the ninja stopped him.

“There is no point!” The other ninja said. “Ao-san is right. We have lost.”

In a shocking display, the jonin slit his comrade’s throat. “There is no need for sympathising scum like you in the Bloody Mist. Now, charge!” He roared as the remaining soldiers charged, but then they were suddenly frozen and trapped in a barrier. They tried to get out but found that they were trapped in a swamp below the icy field, and their chakra was draining.

‘Fuinjutsu: Kisei shouheki success,’ Naruto thought grinning behind his mask. The parasitic barrier did as named, drained the chakra of the prisoner until they were unconscious. The frozen capturing field was an added bonus along with Jiraiya’s Doton: Yomi Numa (Earth Style: Underworld Swamp). Naruto had discreetly placed the kunai during the fights, and with the control of his chakra, managed to send chakra through the kunai with the seal on them to activate it. With this, The Kiri army was trapped. On the whole, a good field test of the barrier.

The Kiri army, seeing they were trapped, dropped their weapons and surrendered. The rebels cheered and were about to advance when they felt demonic chakra wash over them.

Ao activated his Byakugan, “Oh no…” he muttered.

“That’s bijuu chakra,” Jiraiya and Naruto said warily. “Yagura decided to get serious.”

Naruto gave a nod to Jiraiya and dashed off. Ao was about to protest when Jiraiya silenced him with a look. “He will be fine,” Jiraiya said.

Ao nodded.

                                                                                 ****

Mei was panting, her dress was ripped and her chakra was on the lower side. The three swordsmen were struggling to stand on the water. Yagura had even wounded Jinin hard in his cloaked bijuu form, and it looked like the wound was fatal. Even Utakata, despite having the Rokubi in him, was struggling currently against Yagura. Both had gone into Version 2 states and Yagura was close to overpowering him. He was about to use a tailed beast bomb when he was suddenly kicked aside.

“Damn, bijuu chakra hurts,” Naruto said as he cooled his foot in the water.

“Careful kit. He’s in his version 2 state. Agitate him further and he’ll go full tailed beast mode. You’ll have to get close and place the seal on him, or reveal your Mokuton” Kurama warned.

‘I’ll try not to,’ Naruto replied as he made a half bird sign. ‘Suiton: Mizu Mayu’ (Water style: Water cocoon), he thought.

The water around the version 2 version of Yagura rose and coalesced around him to form a sphere. The sphere seemed to be getting darker the longer he was in it. Naruto had created the jutsu after learning the Suiro no jutsu, since he would be able to absorb the chakra of the prisoner. But yagura had too much chakra and he had to time it just right. He quickly created two water clones who had their fingers coated in five flames. They quickly dashed to the imprisoned Mizukage.

Just as they reached, the sphere exploded and Yagura was revealed. He turned to Naruto with rage in his blank white eyes and was about to advance when from below him, another Naruto emerged from below him and slammed his fingers into his abdomen.

“Gogyo Fuin!” (Five elements seal) The clone roared.

Yagura roared in pain and anger as his chakra started to recede, but not before using his tail to stab the clone which turned into water. Utakata also receded into his normal form. Both had burns covering their bodies, making Naruto wince.

“Yeah, our chakra is pretty poisonous, it’s why once the pervert and you are in Konoha with your original, I’ll be helping you with controlling my chakra,” Kurama spoke up.

Naruto nodded as he approached Yagura. Wanting to confirm his suspicion, He placed a paralysis seal and held his hand.

He immediately entered the mindscape which looked misty. He quickly found Yagura who was chained up along with the Sanbi.

Yagura was unconscious, but the turtle was not. The chained turtle looked up at him.

“Who are you, boy?! What do you want?!” The turtle rumbled.

Naruto raised his hands in a placating manner, “I come in peace, Sanbi-san, or would you prefer I call you, Isobu-san?”

Isobu paused, looking at the boy in front of him. He felt familiar. “You have one of my siblings sealed inside you. You would not know of my true name otherwise. And I sense you are the one who disrupted our chakra, which has somehow caused the genjutsu that man put on me,” the three-tailed turtle said.

Naruto nodded, “I figured. That man is also responsible for Kurama attacking my village, causing my father to seal him into me, at the cost of his and my mother’s life. It seems that Madara Uchiha or someone as powerful as him is the one who used his sharingan on you and Yagura, causing you both to act out. I shall now remove the genjutsu,” he said as he touched Yagura’s head.

At that moment, the chains shattered and Yagura fell to the ground. He then opened his eyes, “Where am I? What happened?” He looked around and saw Isobu and Naruto.

Suddenly Yagura grabbed his head in pain as he felt the memories rushing to him. He looked up at them with tears in his eyes, “What have I done?!” he cried out.

Naruto tried to placate him, “It wasn’t your fault. You were under a genjutsu! That man is to blame for all this!”

Yagura shook his head. “Please, kill me. I don’t deserve to live after all I have done. Have either Mei or Zabuza do the deed if you don’t want to.”

“Don’t be stupid! If you die, Isobu dies as well! Think of-“

“He’s right young one,” Isobu chimed in. “Neither he nor I can forgive ourselves for what we have done, genjutsu or not. It is better you kill us. Consider this an act of mercy to us, as living in guilt will only deteriorate his current well-being further.”

The turtle paused, then continued, “It seems Kurama has trained his jinchuriki well, and you have to be special to be able to get through that thick skin of his. He may act tough but he’s a big softie,” he chuckled.

Naruto snickered as he heard Kurama’s scoff. He was then surprised when the turtle stretched his paw out.

“A small gift from me to show my gratitude. I may reform after a few years, but it warms my heart to know that a part of me will live on still. You remind me of someone in my time. Similar to my father,”

Naruto and Kurama looked shocked at the gesture, as did Yagura. After a few moments, at Kurama’s prodding, Naruto finally extended his fist and bumped it with Isobu’s.

A jolt passed through Naruto and he grinned at the turtle, who looked like he was smiling too. “I’ll see you soon…brother,” Naruto said, shocking the turtle.

Isobu gave a nod, after which he turned to Yagura, “I’m sorry it has come to this. May you find peace in the afterlife,” he said as he exited the mindscape.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw Mei, Zabuza, Utakata and Raiga who was holding on to Jinin’s body staring at him. With a sigh, Naruto relayed what he found to them. As Naruto took out his sword, Zabuza stopped him, “You’ve done enough, brat. Let us take care of this.” He then walked over and cut off Yagura’s head.

There was a moment of silence, and then the rebels cheered, and the Kiri nin bowed their heads in surrender. The ones near Yagura’s body bowed their heads in silence, along with their fallen comrade.

The Yondaime Mizukage was dead. The Civil war was finally over.

                                                                                                     ****

It had been a week since the fall and Kiri was rebuilding itself from the war. Mei was instated as the Godaime Mizukage and she focused on the rebuilding and dealing with Yagura’s supporters. The most extreme were sent to prison for life or executed and the ones willing to turn over a new leaf were placed on probation.

A funeral was held for those who lost their lives in the war. Jinin was given a send-off worthy of one of the seven swordsmen and he had his body cremated. Naruto bowed his head. He would miss the serious, yet kind and helpful man.

The Anbu team had left four days after the war, with Tora and Yugao secretly telling Naruto that they would meet and train with the original.

Jiraiya and Naruto stood at the gates of Kirigakure. With them were Mei, Zabuza, Haku, Ranmaru, Raiga, Ao and Chojuro. Thanks to Naruto’s clones, Kiri was on it’s way to be completely rebuilt.

“We can’t thank you enough for your help, Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-sama. We will send a treaty of alliance during the Chunin exams.” Mei said with a bow.

Naruto and Jiraiya bowed back, “Don’t mention it, Mei-sama.” Naruto said.

Mei smiled, “Naruto-kun, Mizukage or not, I still am your neechan.” She then frowned, “Are you still sure you don’t want to accept your pay for helping us?”

Naruto shook his head, “I don’t feel right in accepting pay for something that was caused by a rogue originating from my village.” Jiraiya nodded while looking at Naruto with pride. 

Utakata stepped forward, "Saiken wants to talk," he said holding out a fist. 

Naruto bumped it with a raised eyebrow, and appeared in the mindscape only to see Saiken extend an appendage. 

"A gift to show my gratitude for taking care of us," the slug said in his high pitched voice. 

Naruto shook his head and bumped his fist. He then grinned at the bijuu. He came back to the real world and nodded to Utakata. "Take care of yourself. And of Hotaru," He said with a wink. 

He then turned and walked out of the gates, waving back at the ones remaining with Jiraiya following him.

Haku shook his head, “He’s on his way to become the strongest ninja of our time.”

Mei and Zabuza smirked, “True, and we can say we helped him reach it,” Zabuza said while Mei nodded in agreement.

Jiraiya and Naruto were making good speed when Naruto suddenly stopped.

Jiraiya turned to him, “What’s wrong brat?”

Naruto turned to him, “We’re heading to Tanzaku Gai.”

“What for?” Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow, and his eyes widened at the answer.

“I found her. Tsunade-obachan.”

Chapter Text

Konohagakure

Sakura dodged a blow narrowly and retaliated with a chakra enhanced punch that was blocked easily by her opponent, who delivered a kick to the abdomen sending her skidding back in the water surface. She panted as she quickly made handsigns, “Ninpou: Dokugiri!” (Ninja art: Poison Mist)

A cloud of purple gas shot out of her mouth and headed straight towards her opponent who cupped his hands together. Her eyes widened as the cloud of gas compressed into a ball and then shot towards her at fast speeds. She barely dodged the blow only to get a blow to the head, knocking her out.

When she came to, she saw Naruto healing her and giving her a smile.

“You’ve improved a lot Sakura. I’m sure you’ll be moved up to chunin. And your poisons and knowledge of medicine has come a long way as well. Who knows, you might be the next Tsunade,” Naruto said with a smile.

Sakura blushed and beamed at the praise. Over the two months since they returned from Wave, Kakashi had taken it upon himself to train them into the ground, adding resistance seals to their bodies in order to help with their speed and stamina. Currently Sasuke and Sakura were in the third level of the seal. The whole team had come a long way since the mission in Wave.

The one who had the most visible progress was Sakura. She hadn’t given up her crush on Sasuke, but had stopped asking him on dates and pestering him at every opportunity. Her chakra reserves had come up to low-chunin, and her control was exceptional. Kakashi had helped her with her taijutsu and genjutsu, with her having a knack for the latter. Naruto helped her with her medical ninjutsu, which surprised her since medical ninjutsu required high level chakra control, and she had thought Naruto having a lot of chakra wouldn’t be able to control it. Naruto had drilled the anatomy and physiology textbooks into her that she knew the content like the back of her hand. She even volunteered at the hospital along with a clone of Naruto whenever the real Naruto and Sasuke were off learning or mastering their jutsu. Naruto had taught her the Shosen jutsu (Mystical palm technique) and the chakra scalpels, which she was able to use to great effect in their spars. Kakashi had even taught her some low level ninjutsu from water and earth, which were her main affinities. She had even mellowed out and was much nicer to Naruto, owing him a lot for her training. Sasuke had even started talking to her more, which she considered a huge plus in her book. Overall, she was a solid high genin level kunoichi bordering on low-chunin, and a competent medic-nin, which she felt was her calling despite Naruto being better than her at it.  

Sasuke too had come a long way. Now with harsh training, he felt himself get stronger, especially with the resistance seals on his body. Naruto had even helped him with the trick to use them. Kakashi had even trained him with his sharingan, but had reinforced the lesson of not relying completely on it multiple times. Sasuke also resolved to round up his repertoire with jutsu his clan had copied, which while his mother had encouraged learning, his father had scoffed at them, claiming the Uchiha jutsu were superior. But he had realised that there were instances that flashy fire jutsu wouldn’t help. He had seen Naruto’s level of stealth and had wanted to get to that level. His current level, while not as good as Naruto’s, was enough to put him on par with most chunin and even some jonin. Kakashi had also drilled him with some jutsu in fire and lightning, which he discovered was his main affinity. His taijutsu had improved to a point where he was able to hold Naruto off for three minutes before Naruto upped his level. He had even taken to meditating for fifteen minutes everyday on Naruto and Kakashi’s advice, and he found that he was able to remember much more from during and before the massacre, figuring that something was not right when he remembered Itachi crying before he vanished. Overall, Sasuke was a solid chunin with his taijutsu and genjutsu being high-chunin, ninjutsu and Sharingan in the low to mid-jonin level.

Naruto’s improvement wasn’t as vast as the other two, but it was visible nonetheless. Due to him having Tobirama’s memories, his taijutsu was already enough to hold against Kakashi when he got serious, and Kakashi was able to go all out against him. In that stage he was able to hold his own for ten minutes, after which Kakashi would defeat him due to his experience. His ninjutsu repertoire had expanded even more, and he had mastered his jutsu to the point where wind, water and earth required one or no handsigns while fire and lightning were reduced to one or two handsigns. He had even read up on the Kages of other villages from his spy clones in the other village academies and had tried to see if he could emulate some of their techniques, like a variant of the Jiton (Magnet Release) used by the Sandaime and Yondaime Kazekage, who used Iron Sand and Gold Dust respectively. He had even tried to emulate the Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning armour technique) which was the Sandaime and Yondaime Raikage’s signature move, making them the fastest shinobi in the world apart from his father. His medical ninjutsu had skyrocketed after he had stumbled upon Hashirama’s journal, which helped him to convert his chakra to healing chakra and heal himself with no handsigns easily. His training with the Anbu captain Tora had helped improve his Mokuton as well. He could now use the Hokage-shiki Jijun jutsu: Kakuan nittan suishu (Hokage-style sixty year old technique: Kakuan entering society with bliss bringing hands or the tenth edict of enlightenment) as well as other jutsu from Hashirama’s scrolls on Mokuton. He had made progress on Hyoton and Yoton as well as start on a new subelement, Shakuton or scorch style, involving fire and wind, with Kurama’s help.

He hadn’t slacked off in his other skills either. His kenjutsu was as good as Tobirama’s was during the man's teenage years, due to his experience in the warring clans era. He could easily hold his own against Yugao and her boyfriend Hayate Gekkou, leading to the both of them upping their own training as well. Naruto had warned against overspecialising in one branch of the shinobi arts, something the two sword practitioners took to heart. His fuinjutsu was at the point where he could easily disrupt and extract seals from various locations. He had figured out the components of Anko’s cursed seal and was waiting for Jiraiya to arrive in order to finally remove it. He could even apply seals with just his finger or even feet. He felt he neglected his genjutsu a bit so he worked on improving that as well. Overall, Naruto was at the level of mid to high-jonin. Kakashi had even commented privately to Hiruzen that Naruto’s growth was even more than Itachi’s at that age, even surpassing that of his own and Minato’s growth.

Kakashi had also had an improvement in skill. He had worked on mastering the thousand jutsu he had copied earlier, leading to him being able to reduce most of the handsigns to use the jutsu. Lightning and earth required no to one handsign, while the others required at least four. He had even managed to improve on the Raikiri, making it silent and even managed to increase the range of the jutsu, which he called Raikiri Eiso (lightning cutter sharp spear). Thanks to Naruto’s seals he was able to shut off the sharingan in his left eye and was able to now see in both eyes, but covered it up so as not to rouse questions. He even joined Naruto in his spars with Hiruzen, finally witnessing how strong Naruto was, along with seeing the God and Darkness of Shinobi taking them on and tossing him around like a pinball. Naruto could hold his own for a while but then both would end up manhandling him.  

A thud from nearby brought both Sakura and Naruto out of their musings and they turned to see Sasuke on the ground, panting from the spar with Kakashi, with said sensei looking a little beat up and torn here and there, but otherwise all right. Sakura rushed to him and began healing him, while Naruto walked up to Kakashi.

“Good job, Sasuke,” Kakashi praised as Naruto healed his very minor wounds. “You managed to get a couple of good hits in, and considering the stage of training we are in now, that is saying something.”

Sasuke grunted as he sat up, allowing Sakura to heal him. “I still lost though,” he said with a slight scowl.

Kakashi eye-smiled, “You’re still a genin. A very strong one, but a genin nonetheless. And trust me, except you three, no other genin would last this long against me, much less land a hit on me. And when you three work together, you managed to actually get me to be serious if I have to take you down,” he smiled as his three genin perked up. “However,” he said becoming serious, “You must never forget that there may be others who are younger than you who can be even stronger than I am. Teamwork is important, and so is experience. And I believe we have been building both up properly,” he finished with an eye-smile.

He wasn’t wrong. In the two months since the Wave mission, they had gone on a few more C-ranks, and even two B-rank missions. One of them was to escort Shibuki, the leader of Takigakure, back to his home. The man was short and initially a coward, but they had managed to escort him back safely. However, they had had to stay to help clean the waste in the water. Kakashi had been called back to Konoha via a summons, and had let Naruto take charge of the mission. It was there that he had met Fu, the seven-tails Jinchuriki. The two ended up striking up a friendship and had talked a lot while cleaning out the water. Despite the treatment Fu received, she managed to strike up a friendship with the whole of Team 7, much to the displeasure of some of the villagers.

The mission ended up culminating with a take-over attempt by a rogue-nin from Taki itself, a man called Suien, who was Shibuki’s mentor, and had a fixation with the Hero Water, a substance that was guarded by Takigakure which granted increased chakra, and his cronies. Sadly for them, the attempt didn’t last for more than fifteen minutes. Suien and his henchmen, despite knowing their way around Taki easily and even forcing Shibuki to guide them to the Hero Water, had severely underestimated the team. Naruto and Sasuke took on the henchmen while Sakura and a clone of Naruto took care of evacuating the civilians and healing the injured. Fu and Shibuki faced Suien.

The rogue ninja had managed to defeat Shibuki and was about to kill him when Naruto and Sasuke, after defeating his henchmen had intercepted him. Struggling against three opponents, one of whom was a jinchuriki (at least to his knowledge), Suien went into a fit of rage and had drank the entire Hero Water, evening the odds. But despite the boost, the teamwork from Naruto and Sasuke along with Fu’s strength ended up clinching the victory, Fu taking on Suien in Taijutsu while Naruto and Sasuke unleashed a Water/lightning combination jutsu, combining the Suiton: Mizurappa (Water style: Wild water wave) with the Raiton: Jibashi (lightning style: electromagnetic murder) to form the Electromagnetic Murder Wave, which hurtled towards Suien, electrocuting him.

After Shibuki had recovered, he realised the importance of standing up to wrongdoers thanks to Team 7’s resolve in standing against the odds and Naruto talking sense into him in private. Kurama and the Nanabi, who they learned was named Chomei, had spent some time in the bijuu’s plane catching up. Fu’s standing in the village had improved drastically, seeing as the leader and their saviours vouched for the mint green haired girl. Some of the shopkeepers had even tried getting to know her and had warmed up to her. Needless to say, Team 7’s genin ended up with the bear hug of their lives thanks to Fu. Konoha also gained an ally in Taki, and Naruto had ended up gaining a bit of Chomei’s chakra.

The other mission was an escort mission to the land of Birds, where they ended up preventing the assassination of the Daimyo and returning the princess who had been sent to another country as a hostage. The three genin were appalled at the kind of political backstabbing going on. Naruto, and surprisingly Sakura, had tore into the people, saying that a child should be loved and should be with their families and not be used as pawns. The princess wholeheartedly agreed with them.

Shaking his head, Kakashi then clapped his hands, “All right! Let’s go pick a mission!” he said as he walked away, making the three genin follow him.

By the evening, Kakashi had dismissed the three genin, however, Naruto stayed behind.

“How’s training coming along, sensei?” the blonde asked after discreetly putting up a silencing barrier.

Kakashi sighed but gave an eye-smile, “Mah, mah, Naruto. Don’t worry about me! I’m growing stronger.” He then sobered up. “But three months, while getting experience and notoriety, still won’t help me grow much stronger. There’s only so much I can do. And there’s only one month left. I’m above the level I was during my ANBU days, but it’s still not enough!” Kakashi said.

He looked up to see Naruto smirking. “Don’t worry sensei. I know just the thing. Meet me in ten days outside my actual house, not my apartment.” With that, he removed the barrier and shunshined to his apartment, leaving a confused Kakashi.

‘What could he have that could help with my training?’ he thought to himself before he shrugged and headed to the memorial stone. He would spend some time there before heading to the Hokage's office for some lessons with Hiruzen.

                                                                                                        ****

Unknown pub, Tanzaku Gai

Tsunade Senju, known better as Tsunade of the Sannin, sat staring at her cup of sake, her blond hair impeccably styled with two pigtails running down her back, and her eyes red and puffy and a blush across her face. She had been drinking for an hour; or what she thought was an hour. How could she know? She was drunk.

She had just lost her money to another gambling centre, and was wasting what little she had on sake. She was allowed to drown her sorrows however she wanted to after all.

“Tsunade-sama, you really must stop! This is your tenth drink in two hours!” Her assistant Shizune pleaded. She was a young black haired woman in her twenties with her hair cut up to the nape of her neck, and she wore a black kimono with a mesh shirt underneath. She was holding a pig who had a red coat and a pearl necklace.

“Oink!” the pig, Tonton, squealed in Shizune’s hands.

Tsunade looked at the two of them and sighed. “Fine, Shizune! We’re leaving! Spoil all my fun, why don’t you.” She slurred the last part under her breath.

Shizune shook her head and was about to turn when-

“TSUNADE!”

Said woman started at hearing her name. Looking up, her eyes widened and a scowl formed on her face.

“Jiraiya! What the hell are you doing here?!” she half-asked, half-shouted.

“Why, is that any way to treat your old teammate?” Jiraiya asked jovially. Tsunade then looked at the person next to him and did a double take. It looked like a boy, no older than fourteen, with spiky blonde hair that was getting a shaggy look, bright blue eyes that spoke of experience far exceeding his age in years, and a ninja outfit consisting of a dark red sleeveless jacket with a grey shirt and pants. The lower half of his face was covered in a grey mask. However, his hair and eyes reminded her of three oddly familiar people, but she couldn’t place who.

“Who’s the kid, Jiraiya? I didn’t think you would take another apprentice,” she said, turning to her teammate.

Jiraiya laughed, “Well, this is Naruto Uzumaki. He is my apprentice, you could say,” he said as he patted Naruto’s shoulder.

Said apprentice sighed and faced the two women with a bow, “Its an honour to meet you Tsunade-sama. Jiraiya-sensei and Sarutobi -sama spoke a lot about you. And I read your book about battlefield medicine.” He turned to Shizune and smiled, “And you are?”

Shizune blushed, “Oh, I’m Shizune. It’s a pleasure to meet you Naruto-san!” she said with a bow.

Naruto smiled, “Likewise, Shizune-san. However, I think you should wear the senbon launcher such the  launcher appears below your wrist than above it,” he said, pointing discreetly to his wrist.

Shizune froze, “you can see it?!” she gasped.

“The outline is quite visible. Putting it below hides it better,” he shrugged.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, inwardly impressed, “This one has promise, Jiraiya. And he’s read my medic book. Fine, why don’t you two sit down? I’m certain you have other business to talk about,” she grumbled, the drunkenness going from her tone.

Jiraiya and Naruto sat down, with Jiraiya erecting a privacy barriers discreetly.

“I’ll be blunt, Tsunade. Sarutobi-sensei wants you to come back to Konoha. He feels it’s time for you to return and set up the medical program you have always wanted to start.”

“I refuse!” Tsunade said sharply. “Konoha has taken everything from me! Why should i-“

She stopped speaking when she saw Naruto hand over a scroll to Shizune. “ This is an audit I secretly held by myself in the Konoha hospital. You can see the stats in here that I have compiled,” Naruto said.

He then turned to Tsunade, “Please, Tsunade-sama. We need you to return to Konoha so as to take charge of the hospital and overhaul the systems so that more people will be able to focus on iryoninjutsu. While I have learned a lot, the hospital will benefit even more with you in charge. Not to mention my teammate back home, from what Prime tells me, has taken an interest in iryoninjutsu, so has my best friend, who is a Hyuga.”

Tsunade scoffed, “While that’s impressive, I can only come to Konoha if my debts are paid. And they are massive as it is. And why would I go to a place that has taken everything from me?”

“You still have family, Tsunade...oba-sama,” Naruto softly replied.

Tsunade froze, Shizune gasped as her hand came up to cover her mouth. Only Jiraiya stared seriously ahead.

After a few moments, Tsunade regained her composure, but her voice had an edge to it, “What do you mean?” she asked dangerously.

Naruto took out a small scroll from a seal on his belt and handed it to her. Reluctantly, Tsunade took the scroll from his hand and opened it. As she read, her eyes widened, till they reached her hairline.

“Is...is this true?” she whispered.

“What is it, Tsunade-sama?” Shizune asked. Even Tonton squirmed under the tension in the room.

“This boy.... he’s...he’s...”

“I’m her distant cousin, or she’s my aunt if you prefer. While she’s the Shodai’s granddaughter, I am the Nidaime’s great-grandson. Hence, why I said that she has family, if you will have me, oba-sama,” Naruto said with a smile.

Tears formed in Tsunade’s eyes as she stood up and came around the table. Surprising everyone, she grabbed Naruto and pulled him into a hug, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

“Family....I have family,” she choked.

Shizune and Jiraiya smiled at the emotional scene, as Naruto put his arms around her and rubbed her back. They stayed like that for a while before Naruto broke the hug, albeit reluctantly.

“There’s something else I have to show you,” he said as he took out the fuin bracelet. “Based on yours and Tokka baa-chan’s books I made this in order to track my progress. You’ll feel a foreign chakra enter you, but don’t fight it.” He finished.

Tsunade took the bracelet and put it on her arm. She felt the foreign energy enter her which almost felt like her own, but she resisted the urge to fight it. Soon a screen popped up in front of her stating her current medical information. She could also tell that only she could see it. Needless to say, the Slug Sannin was intrigued.

“You used my diagnostic jutsu didn’t you?” she asked. However, everyone knew it was more a statement than a question.

“Hai,” Naruto nodded. “While one can ‘feel’ themselves grow stronger, Prime wanted a more...objective method of measurement. Hence during our bounty hunting days, Prime and I ended up making this bracelet using yours and Tokka baa-chan’s books and came up with this, along with the Pad. It was after that I headed to Uzushio, and after that I travelled over to Mizu no Kuni and joined the rebels.”

“Ingenious,” Tsunade muttered. She then raised an eyebrow. “So the Civil war in Kiri is done?”

Jiraiya nodded, “Yep. Kid was living up to his name there. A literal maelstrom this one,” he chuckled, patting Naruto’s shoulder.

Tsunade smirked, “Is that right? Well I’d like to see what my nephew is capable of. How about we have a spar outside?”

Jiraiya’s eyes widened, “Hime, you can’t be-“

“Why not, Jiraiya? It’s just a spar! Besides, the gaki just got through a war. He’s good at sealing, and might be good at iryo ninjutsu as well.”

Jiraiya was about to speak when Naruto chimed in, “Fine. One spar. But not here. We don’t want to cause damage to the area.”

The two Sannin raised an eyebrow at him, “You know of a location to fight?” Tsunade asked.

Naruto smirked, “Of course. I did travel around a bit. Let’s pay the bill and then we’ll be on our way.”

Confused but nodding, Jiraiya ended up paying the bill (still grumbling about Tsunade’s drinking habits) and the four shinobi plus one pig exited the pub.

Naruto crouched on the ground, with his index and middle finger touching it. The action caused Tsunade’s brow to furrow. But before she could ask, Naruto said, “Grab on!”

Confused, the three senior shinobi placed their hand on his shoulders and they suddenly vanished without a trace.

They appeared in what looked like an abandoned clearing, which looked to be barren with a few trees, seeming to be near the border of Hi no kuni and Kaze no Kuni. The two Sannin and one apprentice stumbled on arrival. Jiraiya shook his head and took in his surroundings, then whirled on Naruto.

“You mastered it?! You never told me that!” he yelled.

Naruto smirked, “I didn’t want to reveal all my cards. After all, you have your secrets as well.”

Tsunade joined the conversation, “What was that?!”

“That was-“

“No, Jiraiya-sensei!” Naruto intervened. He turned to Tsunade, “How about a bet?” He proposed, knowing Tsunade’s penchant for gambling. He felt that she was sold by the fuin bracelet concept, which would help in future medical breakthroughs, enough to return to Konoha, but it wouldn’t hurt to goad her a bit.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, “A bet?”

“I bet I can get you to take me seriously within the first minute,” the blonde blood clone replied.

Tsunade laughed, “Brat, you sure are gutsy. You may have been in a war, and your information gathering and sealing skills may be top notch, but you still aren’t a match for me,” she said with a touch of condescension in her voice.

She raised a finger, “One finger,” she said, “one finger is all I need to beat you.”

Naruto’s lips twitched, recalling a similar memory from Tobirama’s memories, only difference was that Hashirama was the one who said the same words to a younger Tsunade. “Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “If i win, you train me and the friends I told you about!” he said.

Tsunade smirked, “ And if I win?”

“I’ll pay off all your debts, at least the ones remaining, and I’ll give up my dream of being Hokage,” Naruto said seriously.

Tsunade’s eyes widened, along with Jiraiya’s, at hearing the stakes. Tsunade regained her composure and said, “Well, maybe you should give up now then, brat! I’d rather you be alive than go after a fool’s job!”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed, “Oh? And what about testing me? And you’re calling your grandfather and great-uncle fools? All because they became Hokage?”

Tsunade grit her teeth, “Being Hokage only leads you to your death! My grandfather, great-uncle, they all died early! I lost my brother and lover in the war, and they wanted to be Hokage! The fourth went and got himself killed as well! Like a fool!” she snarled.

She knew she crossed a line when the temperature dropped, but she stood firm. After all, was she wrong? She then looked at the boy in front of her and the look in his eyes made her freeze. It was the same look she had seen before in three people, one of which had the same colour of eyes as the boy, and the other two she had seen when someone messed with the village.

“This is the famed legendary medic Tsunade? Pathetic,” Naruto said in a whisper, angering her. “To blame the title of Hokage, for the deaths of your loved ones, when they actually died in service for the village and to protect the ones they cared for, is spitting on their sacrifice. And here you are, spitting on the sacrifice of your brother and lover as well as your grandfather and great-uncle! Do you have no shame?”

“HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT?!” Tsunade roared, fed up. “I HAVE BEEN THROUGH TWO WARS! I LOST ALL THE FAMILY I HAD! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO LECTURE ME YOU SNOT NOSED BRAT?! YOU WOULDN’T KNOW WHAT SUFFERING IS EVEN IF IT SLAPPED YOU IN THE FACE!”

The temperature dropped further and Tsunade suddenly became unnerved by the look in Naruto’s eyes. She looked around and saw Jiraiya glaring at her and Shizune looked wide-eyed and fearful. Gulping a little, she looked at the boy. For the first time in his life, Naruto felt rage. True rage, such that the ground started trembling a little and the winds were blowing.

“Naruto, I know you’re angry, but you must calm down!” the voice of Saiken spoke.

“Don’t let those words affect you Naruto. You’re a pragmatic person. She doesn’t know what you have been through. Show her by your actions,” the voice of Isobu came through his mind.

Kurama spoke up, “Calm down, Naruto! I didn’t train you just so you could lose your cool on hearing the words of a washed up has-been drunken old hag! Centre yourself and show her what you’re made of!”

Naruto took a deep breath and stared hard at Tsunade, who had managed to regain her composure, “Apologies. Please start the match, Jiraiya-sensei.”

“Now, Naruto, I-“

“Start. The match. Now,” Naruto said in a cold tone.

Tsunade regained a bit of her bravado back, “Yeah, Jiraiya. Start the match! I’d like to teach the brat a lesson on mouthing to his superiors and betters,” she said with a smirk.

“Like a washed up has-been drunken old hag could do anything to me,” Naruto retorted, using the insult Kurama used word for word.

BOOM!

Jiraiya and Shizune looked on with wide eyes as Tsunade, having been insulted for her age, lost all sense of reason, snapped and blasted towards Naruto at high speeds. Tsunade kept her finger poised to smash the brat down. She thrust her finger at the blonde brat only for it to pass through him. Eyes wide, she barely was able to block the kick that came from her left. However, the kick was pretty strong that she had to skid back a few metres, her arm throbbing with pain from the kick. She glared at Naruto who looked at her coldly, facing her with a stance that looked awfully familiar.

“What was that?!” Tsunade asked, referring to the way she ended up passing through him.

Naruto smirked, “Like I’d tell you,” he replied and charged at jonin-level speeds.

Tsunade’s and Shizune’s eyes widened as Naruto sped towards her. But Tsunade immediately smirked, ‘You may be fast, but I’m still a Sannin! I can track your speed!’ She thought to herself. As soon as Naruto reached her, arm cocked back, she swiped up her hand and knocked his chin, sending him flipping back. However, she didn’t expect for him to flip kick her. Her instincts, while dulled, allowed her to dodge the kick.

She scoffed, “What did you achieve by-“ she immediately had her head snapped back as if she was kicked by an invisible force. The force was so large that she was sent flying. However, the Sannin managed to right herself and land on her feet and one hand, sliding back. Her jaw was throbbing. She placed a hand and wiped blood from her mouth, but ended up looking at it and froze.

Naruto was confused when Tsunade froze and started quivering. He looked at Jiraiya and Shizune, the latter of whom sighed and explained sadly, “Tsunade-sama has haemophobia. The fear of blood. She’s had it since the second war, after...after uncle...” she took a deep breath as Jiraiya patted her shoulder.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked at the Sannin who was quivering with her eyes wide staring at the blood on her hand. He walked over to her and placed a green glowing hand on her jaw, healing her. He then placed a sleep seal on her, causing her to fall asleep.

Naruto caught her sleeping form and walked up to the two spectators, one looking grim and the other wide-eyed. He looked down and saw the necklace in Tsunade’s chest glowing. His eyes widened as he recognised the necklace, “Hashirama-ooji’s-“

Shaking his head, Naruto turned to Shizune, “Do you have a list of all the debts Oba-chan has to pay off?” he asked as he handed over Tsunade’s sleeping form to her apprentice.

The dark haired woman nodded as she received her master. “Yes. Follow me Naruto-san,” she said politely and walked towards a tree. As she placed Tsunade down, she turned to the younger blonde, “All our stuff is back in the hotel in Tanzaku Gai. Would you mind if we go back to take our things?”

Naruto nodded as he walked towards a small clearing. Ignoring Shizune’s confused look, he put his hands in the snake sign.

‘Doton: Iwa Shichuka no jutsu!’ (Earth style: Stone four pillar house technique).

Shizune’s eyes widened as she saw what looked like a small two storied house made of stone and mud rose up from the earth. It had the same architecture style as that of the houses in the Senju compound, complete with doors and windows.

He turned to see Shizune look at him with wide eyes. Jiraiya just shook his head with a smirk. “Show-off,” the Toad Sage muttered.

Naruto just rolled his eyes and turned to the dark haired woman. “You can put Tsunade oba-chan in  one of the rooms, and then we can go get your stuff. Then we can get that list of IOUs she has,” Naruto said.

Shizune nodded and went in. As she went to put Tsunade to bed, Jiraiya turned to him. “Was that necessary?” he asked.

“Yes,” Naruto replied bluntly. “She was wasting away back there, didnt you see? She had the potential to surpass Hashirama-ooji in medical ninjutsu. Hopefully once we return and she wakes up, we can have a long talk. Without her blowing up hopefully.”

“Yeah, about that,” Jiraiya interjected. “What was that last attack? You missed her completely with that kick, but she flew back as if she was kicked in the face! It sort of looked like the Frog Kumite that the toads practice in their senjutsu.”

“She WAS kicked actually,” Naruto replied with a smirk. “I actually figured out how she punches; she concentrates a certain amount of chakra to her hand and then releases it all at once. I incorporated the same, only difference is I used wind chakra and released it with that kick. And to be fair, wind is invisible. And efficient.”

“That...that’s ingenious!” Jiraiya exclaimed, jaw on the floor. No one had ever thought of such an application of wind chakra before!

Shizune came out at that moment, “Tsunade-sama is in bed. She’s healed mostly. How long will she be asleep?”

“For a few hours,” Naruto replied. “How about we head to your hotel room and we can get your things?” he asked as he held on to Shizune. She nodded and the two of them disappeared.

Jiraiya shook his head and decided to wait inside the house. While he was a super pervert, he knew better than to mess with Tsunade, even when she was sleeping.

Naruto and Shizune appeared in front of the pub they were in. Shizune stumbled a bit as Naruto held her up. “I doubt I’ll get used to that,” Shizune said as she shook her head.

Naruto chuckled, “Trust me, you didn’t have to bash your head on a tree when you practiced it,” he said as he remembered the times when he first practiced the Hiraishin under Tobirama, the man smirking and laughing at him every time he hit his head on a tree. Naruto then turned serious. “So where is the hotel, Shizune neesan?”

Shizune had a small smile at the endearing term, “This way, Naruto...kun,” she replied as she walked toward the hotel, with Naruto trailing behind her.

They entered the hotel when they heard a commotion at the reception. They looked to see an obese man in a grey suit and hat, a cigar in his mouth leering at the young receptionist. He was flanked on both sides by what looked like ninja. Their forehead protectors were slashed, indicating their missing-nin status.

“Where is Tsunade?! I had a source tell me that she was here! Bring her out so we can finally settled her debt!” the man yelled.

The receptionist appeared flustered, “Tsunade-sama just stepped out! She might be-“

“She’s currently incapacitated. What seems to be the problem?”

The receptionist sighed in relief as the men turned around to see a blonde haired boy along with a dark haired woman. The man sneered, “So, you’re Tsunade’s companions? Well, your ‘master’ owes us a huge debt you see? And she bailed on us after she found out she couldn’t pay us. So we need that money as soon as possible. The name is Bayashi,” he said, puffing his chest out proudly.

Naruto rolled his eyes, “Well, Bayashi-san, why don’t you tell us how much it is, and we’ll see if we can pay it off?”

Bayashi laughed, “Like a kid can pay of 4 million ryo!” he guffawed before a scroll hit him on the face. “Why you-“ he snarled.

“5 million ryo. Counted. Why don’t you check?” Naruto boredly replied, while Shizune looked at him wide-eyed. “Where did you get that kind of money, Naruto-kun?!” she asked.

“I have the devil’s luck,” he shrugged. Bayashi opened the scroll and had one of his men put chakra on the seal. A large heap of money fell on them. By the time they finished counting, the man looked up and grudgingly said, “The numbers are correct. Consider the debt paid.”

“I don’t think so, boss,” one of the missing-nin said, leering at Shizune. He was of average height, dark skin and a wiry frame. Square-jawed and had a mean look on his face. His forehead contained the symbol for Kumo with a slash across it. “After all, the Legendary Sucker didn’t pay it on time, so we should collect more. And I bet her apprentice accompanying us and doing certain....favours should be well worth it,” he said, licking his lips.

Shizune recoiled in disgust and Naruto shook his head, wrinkling his nose, “It’s pathetic. You don’t respect kuniochi at all! And you think she will come quietly? She’d probably kick your ass twelve ways to Sunday for your comment. You misogynistic bastard!” He said angrily.

“Shut up, brat! I’ll kill you first for talking back to your betters! Prepare yourse-URK!”

The missing-nin’s eyes bulged and he fell face down, revealing Shizune behind him with her hand outstretched. A senbon behind the man’s neck was revealed.

“Daikon!” the other ninja yelled. “Why you! What did you do to him?!”

“I poisoned him. He won’t have much longer if you don’t take him away. Get out and don’t ever show your face here again,” Shizune said with a fierce look in her face.

“SHUT UP BITCH! I’LL KILL YOU!” he roared as he charged towards her. Shizune dodged and parried the attacks and finally activated her chakra scalpels. She then went on the offensive, striking at pressure points while the other ninja barely managed to block some attacks. Finally his arms dropped.

“Your arms won’t function properly. I’ll heal you both if you promise never to disrespect me ever again,” Shizune said firmly.

“You rotten-AGH!”

The man fell face down, revealing Naruto behind him, with what looked like a purple senbon in his mouth. He spat the senbon on the other man, Daikon, and looked at Shizune, “Mixed up Nidaime-sofu’s Tenkyu with poison and you get that,” he said at her questioning look.

Naruto then turned to Bayashi, who was cowering in fear, “Your men are indisposed. You have no one to defend you. So what’s it going to be? Are you gonna retaliate?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bayashi shook his head frantically, “N-no! Not at all, ninja-sama! Here! Take one million from this!” He tossed a bundle of ryo bills at Naruto. “You can also enter my casinos free of charge! Please don’t hurt me!”

“Pleasure doing business,” Naruto patted Bayashi’s cheek and turned away, leaving the obese man scurrying to get away. Shizune led them to their room where the two of them made a few clones and helped in the packing.

One of Naruto’s clones approached them, “So can I get a list of the debts to be paid?”

Shizune blinked before rummaging through some bags, finally bringing out some papers. “I usually keep a list of IOUs for Tsunade-sama, just in case we are able to pay some back,” she said with a small sigh.

Naruto took the list from her and frowned. There was quite the substantial amount to be paid, considering the many years she had been doing this. Thankfully some of them in this list had been taken care of when he had tried locating Tsunade in his bounty hunter days. Shaking his head, he made a couple of clones.

‘Contact our network and get in every casino and try to get a good enough amount. We need to clear most of this by the end of this week!’

The clones saluted and disappeared in shunshins, confusing Shizune.

“Don’t worry about them; they’ll take care of most of the debts. Let’s hit the casinos here!” Naruto cheerfully said as he jumped out of the window.

Shizune shook her head and took the normal route out with the luggage. ‘How is he going to get that much money? Surely he hasn’t gambled before! Even if he has the so-called devil’s luck’ she thought as she exited the hotel.

A few hours later

Shizune and Naruto exited another casino, the former gaping in disbelief and the latter in triumph and smugness. Behind them, the owners and some of the gamblers put up a sign declaring the casino closed while crying anime tears.

“I’m so glad Tsunade-sama isn’t there to see this! If she did, she would drag you to every casino and make you play!” Shizune exclaimed shaking her head.

Naruto smirked, “To be fair, this is for her. I’m a good nephew after all,” he replied while maintaining an innocent face.

Shizune snorted, “Good nephews don’t really smack the hell out of their aunts,” she joked.

“Well this aunt was being a bitch, with all due respect, and like a good nephew, I smacked some sense into her, hopefully. Now let’s finish off this payment and head back. For all we know Jiraiya-kyofu must have done something stupid and obachan might have levelled the place beating him up,” he chuckled.

Shizune giggled as she walked with Naruto. It seemed they would be paying off all the debts, but it would take a while.

                                                                                       ****

Konohagakure, Training grounds

Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi and Hanabi looked at their opponents in frustration. The four had been sparring with their opponents for quite some time and they still hadn’t managed to land a blow on them. Right now they were panting while their opponents looked no worse for wear. One opponent just smirked at them and stood with their arms crossed, looking at them as if they weren’t a threat. It was vexing!

Glancing at Hanabi, Konohamaru nodded at her and dashed towards one of them, quarterstaff in hand. Hanabi dashed towards the other person and struck at them with the Juuken, frustration mounting as their opponents just ducked, weaved and parried their strikes with no effort whatsoever.

“It seems the munchkins have gotten their drive back, Hinata-chan,” one of the opponents said as he deflected Hanabi’s strikes. He had to admit, Hanabi had been improving a lot in the Juuken, even though Hinata was still miles ahead of her. Her spars with her sister had forced her to open her eyes to the harsh reality of shinobi life, further steeling her resolve.

“So it would seem. Shall we get serious, Naruto-kun?” Hinata joked back to her partner. Konohamaru was pretty agile with his quarterstaff, likely the training from his grandfather and Naruto, she mused as she narrowly dodged a thrust from the staff, following which she blocked a kick from the young Sarutobi.

Naruto chuckled as he parried another of Hanabi’s strikes, but his senses alerted him and he twirled away from the thrust of a sword. It seemed Moegi had decided to tag team him with Hanabi, now forcing him to contend with both of them. However, as he dodged and parried Moegi’s sword and Hanabi’s chakra enhanced jabs, he decided to get a little serious and fight back, smacking both their hands away and landing a palm strike on Hanabi’s chest, followed by a kick to Moegi’s midsection, sending her rolling across the ground. Both young kunoichi were down for the count.

“Hanabi! Moegi!” Konohamaru shouted in alarm. He tried to reach them only to be kicked away.

“Don’t lose sight of your opponent, Konohamaru-kun,” Hinata admonished gently as she took a stance. “Unfortunately, you’re within-“ she would have completed the sentence had it not been for a volley of kunai and shuriken that hurled her way. It seemed Udon had decided to enter the fray. Too bad, she mused as she dodged the kunai, as they had decided to end this.

She quickly closed off some of Konohamaru’s tenketsus and waited as Udon rushed at her, but the boy was quickly blindsided as Naruto slid in front of him, tripping him up and deftly maneuvered himself behind him, holding a kunai to the throat. “Yield,” Naruto said.

“I yield *sniffle*,” Udon replied. Naruto then let up and ruffled his hair before making two clones who rushed to the downed kunoichi, healing them.

“Urgh,” Moegi groaned as she opened her eyes. She immediately focused and saw Naruto, or rather a clone smiling at her as he healed her, causing her to blush. The clone helped her up and ruffled her hair, causing her blush to intensify as she gently smacked his hand away.

“Don’t do that, nii-chan!”

“But why not, Moegi-chan? You’ve all improved from where I stand,” he said and got groans in reply.

“You and Hinata-neechan are too good boss! We couldn’t even land a hit!” Konohamaru griped.

Hinata shrugged, “Not just that, we were going at just beyond you guys’ speed. Direct assault is fine when you have the numbers advantage, but when facing superior opponents who outmatch you, you need to get creative with your tactics. Make advantages and exploit them.”

Naruto nodded with a smile and then looked to the trees, “Did you three enjoy the show?”

Everyone except Hinata and Hanabi looked confused and then their eyes widened as three figures emerged from the trees. “That was quite the spar, Konohamaru-kun, Udon-kun, Moegi-chan,” the one in the middle said with a smile.

“Hokage-sama/jiji?!” the four young academy students yelled.

“Ojii-sama!” Udon exclaimed as he headed towards the figure on the Hokage’s right, who nodded and ruffled his hair. “Well done, Udon. It seems you’re taking your training well,” he looked at Naruto. Koharu nodded in agreement as she hugged Moegi.

Naruto and Hinata bowed, “Hokage-sama, Homura-sama, Koharu-sama.”

Hiruzen chuckled, “No need of formality, Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan. We were just out for a walk. And we thought we could check in on our grandchildren,” he said. “You seem to be learning more than you usually do at the academy,” he said chuckling at the sheepish expressions of the academy students.

“Naruto nii-chan is so cool! Though I wish he could show us some cool jutsu!” Konohamaru said with a pout.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he replied, “Cool jutsu won’t always help in the battlefield you know. Ninjutsu is like an art. You need to know when and where to use it, not just fling it about. Your grandfather could wipe out most of the ninja in the elemental nations with just his fists and bojutsu. And I’m not talking about when he was younger. I’d heed his advice if I were you, Saru-chan,” Naruto said with a smirk.

As Konohamaru rose up to yell at Naruto, Hiruzen had a fond smile on his face as he recalled something;

“Your father was one of the few shinobi I’d be wary of facing in combat. He could probably wipe out most of the ninja here with merely his fists and bojutsu. I’d heed his advice if I were you, Saru.”

A lone tear left his eye as he saw history repeat itself. Just as Tobirama-sensei said those words to him about his father, Naruto said the same to his grandson. In fact, watching Naruto train the four of them reminded the three senior shinobi of Tobirama-sensei teaching them during their genin and academy days. ‘Sensei, you would be proud of how far he has come. You would know, you trained him after all,’ He thought to himself.

He turned to his advisors and nodded, “Continue to work hard, all of you! You’re all the future of this village. Embody the Will of Fire and nurture it,” he addressed the genin and academy students.

“Hai, Hokage-sama!” the children yelled as he walked away with his advisors.

Koharu spoke up after a brief silence, “That felt...nostalgic,” she muttered.

Homura turned to her, nodding, “While Naruto-san has acted like an idiot all these years, it seemed like he knew what he was doing, though I still think it dangerous for children to learn such techniques,” he said with a frown.

Hiruzen sighed, “You know we learned much more advanced stuff from Tobirama-sensei when we were that age. Not to mention, Itachi, Kakashi and Minato were more advanced than these children at that age. What Naruto-kun is teaching them is mild, but will be useful to them when they become full fledged ninja of Konoha! I’m sure Ebisu will probably thank Naruto for making his job easier,” he chuckled as he walked on, greeting people as they passed by.

He frowned inwardly as he recalled that Orochimaru had planned to invade during the chunin exams. Jiraiya currently was on the way back from the civil war in Kiri, and was chasing a lead on Tsunade’s whereabouts. He hoped that Tsunade would be able to return to Konoha soon. As he passed by the smiling faces of the people of Konoha, he had one thought.

‘No matter what, I won’t let you destroy Konoha, Orochimaru. Even if I fall, the Will of Fire will still burn brightly. Such is the power of the future!’

                                                                                                ****

(WARNING: VERY MINOR LEMON AHEAD!)

“OOOH YESS! FASTER! HARDER! GIVE IT TO ME JIRAIYA!”

“Tsunade-sama! Jiraiya-sama! We’re ba- EEEEK!”

Shizune screamed as she slammed the door and then turned away, her face red and her eyes wide at what she had witnessed. She looked at Naruto who had a puzzled expression on his face, “What’s wrong, neechan?”

“T-tsu-tsunade-sama a-a-and Ji-Jiraiya-“

She was barely able to get the words out as she gasped and heaved. A few moments later the door opened and Tsunade and Jiraiya stepped out. Tsunade looked dishevelled and had a blush on her face while Jiraiya looked smug, save for a tint of pink on his cheeks.

Naruto looked at them both with a raised eyebrow, looking closely when he was assaulted by the scent. His eyes widened and he pointed at Jiraiya, “YOU-YOU BOTH-“

“Yeah, brat! We did it! Got a problem?” Jiraiya taunted.

Naruto shut his eyes and ears, “Lalalala! I can’t hear you!” much to his godfather’s amusement. He also had to deal with Kurama, Isobu and Saiken howling with laughter in his mind.

Tsunade got her blush under control and stared at Naruto. For a moment she could have sworn she saw Nawaki and Dan behind him, along with Hashirama-jiji, Tobirama-ooji and Minato. “We need to talk, brat,” she said in a neutral tone.

Naruto turned serious and faced his aunt, “I believe we do.” He replied in an equally neutral tone.

The tension was quite palpable, adding to the silence between them. After a short pause, Tsunade sighed.

“I guess I was out of line when I was dismissive of your life back in Konoha, and for insulting your father. I apologise,” she said with a bow.

Naruto bowed back, “I apologise for the words used. I should have been a bit more polite about it.”

The slug Sannin chuckled, “You’re not wrong. Tobirama-ooji was also as blunt as you are. I guess it runs in the family,” she replied.

Naruto nodded, “By the way, your debts have been repaid. All of them. And yeah, I don’t plan on being Hokage until my mid-thirties,” he said.

Tsunade blinked. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” she muttered. "Wait! All of them?!" she exclaimed, getting a nod from both Naruto and Shizune, with Shizune gushing about Naruto's luck.

Jiraiya sighed, “Yeah, kinda came as a shock for me too. But the kid’s got heart.” He then turned serious. “We head back tomorrow. Best get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

The rest of them nodded and departed to their respective rooms, Jiraiya trying to get in with Tsunade again only to be gently stopped. Oddly enough there was a blush on Tsunade’s face. “Later, Jiraiya,” she mumbled.

“And use silencing seals the next time you go at it! You’re a seal master for crying out loud!” Naruto exclaimed irritably as he entered his room.

“Sure brat! Don’t want to know if your aunt’s a screamer now do you,” Jiraiya taunted before he dodged a kunai that got embedded in the wall behind him. He was about to open his mouth to mock the blood clone of his godson before the kunai exploded in a cloud of orange smoke.

Tsunade and Shizune blinked when the smoke cleared. And then Tsunade burst into laughter. Shizune tried hard to stifle her giggles. Jiraiya was covered in orange paint, but that wasn’t all. His face was covered in Geisha make-up while the kanji for “Ero-Geisha” was tattooed across his face.

Curious about what they were laughing about, Jiraiya took one look in the mirror. Tsunade and Naruto would never let him live down the scream that tore out of his mouth.

“KYAAAH! GAKIIIII!”

5 days later, at the gates of Konoha

Standing in front of the village gates gave Tsunade a sense of nostalgia. However, the apprehension of being in the village wasn’t as much as she thought would happen. Naruto’s blood clone had left the previous day so as to catch up with the original, leaving her with Jiraiya and Shizune, and the three of them had taken the journey back on foot.

“Should have just asked the gaki to flash us over here,” Tsunade said with a huff.

“And miss the scenery? Come on, Tsunade! You know you’re gonna be neck-deep in the hospital once you’re back! Live a little!” Jiraiya exclaimed.

“I’ll tell sensei you were loitering around instead of reporting immediately,” Tsunade teased, making Jiraiya pale.

They headed to the gates, where Kotetsu and Izumo heartily welcomed them.

“Jiraiya-sama! And Tsunade-sama too?! Welcome back! Even you, Shizune-san!” Kotetsu said happily.

“Will you be staying for a while?” Izumo asked curiously. “I’m guessing you’re here for the exams?”

Tsunade shook her head, “I’m back for good this time,” she said, smiling at the faces of the Hokage in the Hokage monument.

With that, the three ninja and one pig walked into the village, amongst the people who stopped and stared, most of them breaking out in smiles. One of them however, was not smiling so much. The person, a silver haired young man, with dark eyes adjusted his glasses as he headed to the hospital.

‘Tsunade is back? Orochimaru-sama will need to know about this,’ Kabuto thought to himself as he wrote a quick note. He quickly summoned a small snake in secret who took the note and vanished. He then walked away, failing to notice a pair of blue eyes narrow as he watched the bespectacled man.

                                                                      ****

“Good work, team 7. Congratulations on completing yet another C-ranked mission. Please take four days off. You can collect your mission pay from the office. Dismissed! Kakashi, please stay,” Hiruzen said, receiving bows from the team after which the genin headed out, leaving their sensei with the Hokage. The silver haired jonin and the Hokage tensed when Naruto jerked his thumb at the window and signed in ANBU language, {Pervert incoming}, before walking out and shutting the door.

Hiruzen quickly opened the window as Jiraiya stood on the sill. “Hey sensei! Oh, Kakashi! Hello to you too!” the Toad sage said jovially as he entered.

“You’re back early, Jiraiya. I trust you have news about Tsunade?” Hiruzen asked with a raised eyebrow, making Kakashi’s eyes widen.

“Tsunade-sama? I thought she was-“

A knock on the door interrupted Kakashi’s sentence. “Enter!” Hiruzen called out.

The door opened and Tsunade stepped in, followed by her apprentice Shizune. Tsunade had been having quite the nostalgic walk on the way to the tower, looking at some things that had changed and some that didn’t. As she stood outside the door, she imagined the number of times she had entered the office of the man who was her sensei, for both missions and for personal talks. She stared at the man who had been a father figure to her and many others in spite of being the Hokage with unshed tears at the corner of her eyes. “I’m…I’m back, Sarutobi-sensei,” she said with a watery smile.

To her surprise, the aged Hokage laughed. It was a very hearty laugh, the likes of which she had never had before. “I’m so glad to have you back, Tsunade,” he said with a bright smile, holding out her arms.

With speed which had most in the room wondering if she learned the Hiraishin, Tsunade appeared in front of the aged Kage and hugged him tight. The sensei-student duo hugged for a while before separating, though Tsunade had to threaten both Jiraiya and Kakashi with a glare for giggling pervertedly while calling the Hokage a lucky bastard.

As he released the hug, Hiruzen’s face became serious before he weaved a handsign. Markings quickly appeared on the walls which then glowed blue for a second before fading.

“Advanced privacy seals, courtesy of Naruto,” Hiruzen said before clearing his throat. “Tsunade, I believe you chanced upon Naruto-kun’s invention. I was hoping you would be able to help him and other aspiring medic-nin by starting the medic-nin program you talked about quite a long time ago,” he said, getting a nod from the blonde woman.

A buzzing sound alerted them, before Hiruzen took out his Pad. Opening it and scanning its contents, he nodded and closed it, “It seems Naruto-kun has invited us to his place. Something about further training, especially for you, Kakashi-kun,” he said, looking at the masked jonin.

“Me?” Kakashi asked confused.

“Yes,” Hiruzen nodded. “I suppose we shall head there soon? Considering he too now lives in the Senju compound. Quite convenient, don’t you think Tsunade?” He asked with a chuckle while Tsunade huffed.

“Too convenient, I might add,” she said, but there was only fond exasperation in her voice.

“He’s just being a good nephew, Tsunade-sama,” Shizune added innocently causing the Sannin to glare at her.

“There’s nothing innocent about that brat! It’s like watching an ungodly mix of Kushina and Tobirama-ooji! No one else could be that blunt and have a straight face while doing so! I’ll still get him one day for that spar!” Tsunade raged, shaking her fist.

Hiruzen and Kakashi watched with a sweatdrop, the latter also sweating with fear. “Do I want to know?” Hiruzen asked his other student.

“I’ll fill you in as we get there,” Jiraiya sighed as the five shinobi plus one pig exited the office, with Hiruzen informing his secretary about going on leave for a day.

                                                                                    ****

Senju Compound, a few minutes later

“Lame as hell mind you! You’re always going on and on, about how you’re the sexy and single Anko Mitarashi, and that nothing can unfaze you! And for you of all people to be nailed by her perverted genjutsu?!” 

“Well it wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t teach her that damn genjutsu, baka gaki!”

“Ero-neechan!”

“URU SAI!”

“Ahem.” A cough sounded.

Naruto and Anko whirled around to see the Hokage looking at them amused, along with a snickering Jiraiya and Tsunade and an amused Kakashi and Shizune. Even Tonton’s oinks sounded like laughter to them.

The two scratched the back of their heads sheepishly. “Sorry Hokage-sama,” Anko apologised.

Hiruzen chuckled, “It’s fine, Anko-chan. Though I’m surprised you’re here. Naruto had called us here too.”

“Oh yeah! Why’d you call us anyway, brat? And there’s quite a lot of us,” Anko said as she turned to the blonde genin.

Before Naruto could respond, the door to the house they were standing in front of opened, and another Naruto came out. It looked more like the blood clone that Tsunade had met, since the Naruto in front of her had different clothing when they met.

“Yo, Prime! It’s ready!”

“Right! Everyone, follow us,” Naruto gestured as he went inside.

Confused, Anko shrugged her shoulders and followed, along with a confused group of shinobi.

The group entered the house and realised they were in Naruto’s house. However, Naruto started leading them to the basement. They walked for a while until they reached a door, shocking Jiraiya, as he remembered what it was.

“Naruto! What-“

“Yeah. Remember, Kakashi-sensei? That you were lamenting about not having enough time to get to a formidable level?”

Kakashi nodded, confused, “Yes, Naruto. But what does this door have anything to do with it?”

Naruto looked at Jiraiya and nodded, causing the Sannin to turn to the group. “It seems, Naruto trusts us enough to take us to use one of Minato’s magnum opus of fuinjutsu, with my and Kushina’s help.”

“Magnum opus?” Hiruzen asked, confused.

Jiraiya nodded, expression serious as he gestured to the door, which Naruto opened to reveal a large room covered with seals, with a large seal on the ceiling.

“Behold, the Time Chamber!”

Chapter Text

OTOGAKURE

Orochimaru read the report he was given with a frown on his face. Granted, nothing could worry him much now, but this report that his spy had sent him did give a cause for worry.

He then smirked to himself; Tsunade’s return to Konoha, while worrying, shouldn’t affect much in the grand scheme of things. In a few months, Konoha would fall, and he would come out on top against Sarutobi-sensei, and even his former teammates, considering the new jutsu he had in his arsenal. He had finally perfected the jutsu as well as his jutsu that would lead to immortality.

His smirk turned to a frown as he read the remaining report; somehow, Sarutobi and Konoha had managed to beef up their security, courtesy of a few new seals by a new seal master, who went by the name Storm. The person itself was a mystery, having never been seen before. And the last bit of information he had received, which irritated him, was that his spy couldn’t access any new information aside from what he had gotten from the academy reports. Latest mission reports were under the direct care of the Hokage, and under a seal that would only respond to the chakra and fingerprint of the Hokage.

He cursed himself lightly under his breath; he needed to know about the progress of the current generation, especially that of the Uchiha boy. He licked his lips at the thought of marking Sasuke after testing his prowess. All his adult life, he had sought out the Sharingan, its prowess for copying jutsu, seeing chakra and predicting opponents’ movements fascinating him and making him drool of the possibilities. He had initially tried his luck with the genius Itachi Uchiha during his time in Akatsuki, but had been sent running with his proverbial tail between his legs. Since leaving the Akatsuki, he had focused on building his underground village, recruiting measly thugs and missing-nin. But he never stopped his experiments, his ambition for gaining eternal youth and immortality in order to learn all the jutsu in the world trumping everything else.

He casually flung the report to the side as he stood from his chair, exiting his office and walking through the many corridors that twisted and turned like a maze. However, Orochimaru knew the way around the place like the back of his hand. He entered a room where there were many screens that showed a person’s vitals, the wires from the machines all converging on one person who lay in a bed. The person was a white haired, pale man, with two dots on top of his eyes that played as eyebrows, he was covered up to his chest with a blanket, with all the wires underneath it. His chest was exposed, showing a peculiar seal that pulsed with chakra.

“How are you feeling, Kimimaro?” Orochimaru asked the prone man on the bed.

“Better now, Orochimaru-sama,” the man, Kimimaro Kaguya replied, before starting to cough violently.

“Worry not, we shall have you up and running in no time. And you shall help me in the destruction of Konoha,” Orochimaru said, a cruel smile plastered on his face.

T-thank you, Orochimaru-sama,” Kimimaro said weakly, as his master worked on him.

‘Soon, Konoha. You shall be destroyed! And Sarutobi, I will enjoy sending you to the afterlife. I look forward to meeting and marking you, Sasuke-kun. Kukukuku!’ Orochimaru thought, licking his lips in anticipation.

His chilling laughter echoed in the halls of his base, even reaching a non-descript shinobi who was writing in what looked like a scroll.

‘Prime will want to hear about this,’ the shinobi thought as he kept writing.

                                                                                       ****

KONOHAGAKURE, SENJU MAIN HOUSE

Silence. Stunned silence greeted Jiraiya’s words as Hiruzen, Tsunade, Kakashi, Shizune, and Anko stared at him in open shock. A room that could manipulate time was something never heard of. But the Yondaime had managed to do the impossible yet again, albeit with help of course.

“A…time chamber?!” Anko blurted out. “That shouldn’t be possible!”

Naruto’s clone nodded. “It should be. But not so for an Uzumaki,” he said tapping his temple. “During my time in Uzushio, I managed to come across many scrolls, some of which detailed manipulation of space and time, even more so than the Yondaime’s Hiraishin. I believe that was the inspiration behind this time chamber. I had made my own modifications to it, such that multiple people could be allowed, instead of the usual three. However, the time taken for the room to recharge would be equivalent would be one year, instead of four months when dad first made it.”

He then straightened up, “I called you all here,” he continued, “So as to achieve multiple goals. I believe Hokage-jiji and Jiraiya-sensei could help Kakashi-sensei in training to become the next Hokage,” he ignored the sharp intake of breath and the nods from the two older shinobi. “And Tsunade oba-chan and Shizune neechan can help me while I remove the cursed seal from Anko,” he said to their collective shock.

“You finally worked it out?!” Jiraiya asked, getting a nod.

“I believe we shouldn’t dawdle then,” the Hokage said, nodding to the Sannin. “After you, Naruto-kun,” he said gesturing to the door.

Naruto and his blood clone (BC-Naruto) entered the room, followed by the others. As the last person, being Jiraiya, entered, he shut the door. The room then changed, taking the form of the forests of Fire Country. The group spent some time looking around, before BC-Naruto clapped his hands.

“I’ll deal with Anko nee-chan’s cursed seal then,” he said as he unsealed a large scroll. He also unsealed a bowl and handed it to Anko. “Do you mind putting a bit of your blood in this, nee-chan?” he asked.

Anko nodded, “All right, gaki. I trust you,” she said as she took the bowl and slashed her palm with a kunai. After the bowl was filled with her blood, she nodded to Shizune as the raven-haired apprentice come forward to heal her.

BC-Naruto placed the bowl beside the scroll when Tsunade asked, “What about your brush, brat? How will you make the seal?”

Naruto snorted and lifted his index finger, which was coated in his chakra. He dipped the finger in the bowl with Anko’s blood, and when he lifted it, the blood lifted in a thin line attached to his chakra. He then started writing quickly on the scroll, drawing kanji and seals. Over the next hour, everyone, including the real Naruto, watched in awe as BC-Naruto created the seal.

Once he was done, Naruto looked up at Anko. “Nee-chan, please sit over here,” he said, pointing to a large circle made of kanji. With a shrug, Anko sat in the middle of the circle.

“So, remember that we told you about the three parts of the seal?” he asked the kunoichi, getting a nod.

“Yeah, you said that you would only tell me the second part once we reached back,” she replied.

Naruto took a deep breath, “Yeah, because the second part…none of you will like this,” he said, pausing.

He then continued, “The second part contains Orochimaru’s…consciousness. Like a soul,” he finished, dropping the bombshell.

Anko’s eyes widened, as well as eyes of the others. No one had expected that. ‘How much have you fallen, Orochimaru?’ Hiruzen thought to himself sadly.

“Get it off!”

Everyone turned to Anko, whose eyes were wide, and scratching her shoulder where the cursed seal lay, “Get this fucking thing OFF OF ME!”

In a flash, Naruto appeared in front of her and hugged her tightly, letting his adoptive big sister squirm before she slumped and cried into his chest. “You’re safe with us, Anko nee-chan. I will get that seal out of you.” He whispered into her ear. “Trust me, please,” he continued, getting a nod.

He then pulled back and placed a kiss on her forehead, “Love you, neechan,” he whispered getting a wide eyed look from Anko.

He then nodded to BC-Naruto who stood behind Anko, stepping back and glancing at the others. Hiruzen looked impassive, Jiraiya and Tsunade looked as if they were going to burst into laughter, Kakashi’s eye conveyed his amusement and Shizune looked like she was going to squeal.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto nodded to his clone, who nodded and made quick hand signs.

“Sealing art: Evil Release!” he said and placed his hand on her shoulder over the seal.

Anko let out a scream as she felt something come out of her. Even the belt in her mouth, which she had placed a few moments earlier couldn’t contain her screams. BC-Naruto pulled slowly, Kurama’s chakra covering his hand, and his facial countenance darkened as he saw what looked like a small white snake writhing, the small high-pitched wails indicating that it was in agony. The snake began to try and attach itself to Kurama’s chakra.

‘Oh no you don’t,” BC-Naruto muttered as he finally managed to pull out the small snake, leaving behind clear skin on Anko’s shoulder where the curse mark was previously. BC-Naruto immediately slammed his hand containing the little snake into a part of the seal that looked like a whirlpool. The whirlpool spun, dragging the snake wailing into it. The seals glowed blue before it faded, the piece of Orochimaru’s soul completely sealed away.

Anko wobbled a little before she fell unconscious, prompting Tsunade and Shizune to quickly approach her. The others watched, worry in their faces as Tsunade and Shizune ran their diagnostic jutsu on her.

Tsunade stood up, “She only has chakra exhaustion, but her vitals are stable.” She then hugged Naruto’s clone, “Well done, Naruto!”

“Y-yeah,” the clone wheezed out.

The rest of them chuckled, which ceased at Tsunade’s glare. Naruto looked up at the artificial sky, wondering what the year held in store for them.

ONE YEAR LATER, ONE DAY REAL TIME

The door to the time chamber opened, and multiple figures emerged from the room one by one. Their movements were slow and purposeful, power radiating from them but controlled, a sign of the one year training that the group had gone through.

“We need a change of clothes,” Anko stated as she stretched, the action causing some pleasant things to happen to her body, which had Hiruzen and Kakashi looking away and Jiraiya staring openly, before he was slapped in the head by Tsunade.

“Will you stop being a pervert for once, Jiraiya?!” Tsunade said in exasperation.

Jiraiya kipped up to his feet, scratching the back of his head, “Sorry, hime,” he said giving the female Sannin a quick kiss on the cheek. Instead of punching him though, Tsunade merely blushed and then huffed, causing Naruto and Shizune to snicker. She glared at the two, who looked away, whistling innocently.

“While I’m happy about you two getting together,” Hiruzen said, the smile on his face showing the emotion, “we have much to do. The chunin exams begin in a month. And I believe I have to call a Council meeting. I shall announce my retirement, again,” he said sighing at the end.

Jiraiya nodded, expression serious. “We’ve grown, in ways even sensei never thought possible. But I suggest not to show off our true strength for now.”

“Controlled revelation,” The Sandaime nodded thoughtfully, “that should help since there’s only a month left,” he finished, getting nods from the others.

With that, the group split up once they exited the house, with Tsunade and Shizune heading to another house in the compound, while Hiruzen, Jiraiya and Kakashi headed to the Hokage tower. Naruto and Anko stayed back.

Anko turned to Naruto, “So what do you wanna do, gaki? Shall we get something to eat? We still haven’t celebrated my being free from the mark,” Anko said, slinging an arm over her little brother’s shoulder.

Naruto hummed, “Good idea, nee-chan! But wouldn’t you want to go celebrate with your friends? I mean, Kurenai-sensei, Yugao-sensei and Hana-san might want to see you.” He said looking at her.

Anko laughed, “I’ll see them tonight anyway. In the meantime, you and I can go and get some lunch. I was thinking Dango,” she said, drooling at the thought.

While Naruto was going to suggest ramen instead, he stopped himself. It was Anko’s decision since she wanted to celebrate. “Dango it is. Lead the way, nee-chan!”

Anko looked surprised, “That was easy,” she remarked.

Naruto scoffed, “I only agreed because it’s your favourite and you want to celebrate. We both know ramen is superior!” he said, looking at Anko in challenge before making his escape.

“You take that back, baka-gaki!” Anko said in false outrage, chasing after him.

“NEVER!” Naruto yelled back as he ran from her. What followed was a comical chase sequence between the two surrogate siblings to the dango stand. Anko revelled in the chase, feeling free from the shadow of the traitor that was her former sensei, the cursed seal being a burden that had been lifted thanks to the boy she was chasing. She resolved to always have his back. It was the least she could do. She couldn’t wait to gather with her friends in the evening.

                                                                                           ****

KUMOGAKURE

A, the Yondaime Raikage, frowned as he read the report that his spy from Konoha had sent him. It seemed they were planning something big; the Sandaime Hokage was retiring again and had already chosen his successor, but said successor had not been named yet. He was pretty flummoxed as to who it could be.

That wasn’t all; there was an up-and-coming seal master among the new genin teams; Naruto Uzumaki. The Raikage suppressed a shiver at the surname; he had heard tales of the Uzumaki clan from his father, the Sandaime Raikage, who had been one of the few who had managed to survive the invasion of Uzushiogakure, but with a lot of injuries and trauma. He had a haunted look in his eyes whenever he spoke of the clan. And the fact that another Uzumaki had popped up in Konoha was worrying. The last Uzumaki he remembered was Kushina, who was a formidable kunoichi in her own right. Had she borne a child?

There was also the problem that the boy didn’t have a proper picture. In fact, no spy could get a picture of the mysterious Uzumaki. All they had gathered was that he was part of a team headed by Kakashi Hatake, the copy-ninja, who had initially been A-rank but had managed to be bumped up to S-rank after an incident at the border of Fire Country and Earth Country.

The rest of his team weren’t slouches, but could be dismissed by him; Sasuke Uchiha, the last loyal Uchiha to Konoha. The boy had awakened his Sharingan and was pretty formidable with it. The last person, Sakura Haruno, was from a ninja-turned-civilian family who was up-and-coming in medical ninjutsu, rumoured to become the next Tsunade of the Sannin.

A nodded to himself as he made up his mind; while he wouldn’t be sending a team, he would most likely send a spy as part of the Lightning Daimyo’s delegate. Maybe then he could get a report and finally, a clear picture of the Uzumaki. Something told him that the boy would be a force of nature if not kept in check.

                                                                                         ****

KIRIGAKURE

“Hmm, that is quite the interesting turn of events.”

Mei read the report with interest. It seemed the Sandaime was retiring again and his successor had been chosen, but who it was still remained a mystery. Even though they were currently allied, they were kept in the dark as to who it would be.

Zabuza nodded, standing in front of her, “My guess is that it would either be Jiraiya or Kakashi, considering the copy-ninja managed to get back his S-rank status. Pretty sure the gaki is still too young for the hat,” he joked.

Mei giggled, “It would be pretty amusing, but I’m sure Naruto-kun would be a good Hokage when he’s older.” She said with a smile, thinking of her surrogate brother.

“So what do we do?” Zabuza asked.

Mei shook her head, “We’re still rebuilding, so it wouldn’t be possible to send a team for the exams this time. But we can always try to get an in through the Daimyo as part of his delegate,” she said, tapping her chin.

Zabuza nodded, “You’re right, though it would be nice to see how strong he’s gotten. Same with Kakashi. I think I better step up my training” he said thoughtfully.

“Don’t worry, plenty of opportunity in the future for that,” Mei replied with a smile. ‘I can’t wait to show him the headway I made in elemental manipulation!’ she thought to herself.

One thing was certain: these exams would be pretty interesting.

                                                                                               ****

KONOHAGAKURE, HOKAGE’S OFFICE

Hiruzen sat behind his desk, watching as the jonin and chunin of Konoha were ushered into his office and stood in front of him at attention. In the front were the jonin sensei of the various teams, with Kakashi being early and not having his ever present Icha Icha in his hand. Many were surprised by the change in the elite jonin. While he still had his laid back posture and air, he now carried himself like a predator. His exploits had recently earned him the S-rank status in the Bingo Books.

Once the last of them had entered and the door has closed, Hiruzen cleared his throat, “Welcome, everyone. I’m sure you may have guessed as to why I have called you,” he said.

“So, it’s that time again, huh,” Kakashi said in a lazy voice.

“Indeed,” Hiruzen said. “Now, those who wished to nominate their teams, please step forward!”

Kakashi stepped forward, “I, Kakashi Hatake, jonin sensei of team 7, nominate my team consisting of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki for the chunin exams,” he said.

Stunned silence followed by whispers started to float around.

Kurenai stepped forward, “I, Kurenai Yuhi, jonin sensei of team 8, nominate my team consisting of Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame for the chunin exams,” she said.

Asuma Sarutobi stepped forward, “I, Asuma Sarutobi, nominate my team consisting of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka for the chunin exams,” he said, blowing smoke from his cigarette.

The murmurs kept increasing. ‘Are they seriously putting rookie teams in the exams?’ was the question going about.

Many of them, including the Hokage, looked at Iruka, expecting an outburst from the Academy instructor. However, he only had a smirk on his face.

“I’m surprised you aren’t objecting, Iruka,” Kakashi remarked.

Iruka’s smirk widened, “What can I say, Kakashi-san? This new crop of genin seem pretty interesting. I should know, I taught them,” he replied.

Kakashi gave him his trademark eye-smile, “I’m glad you have faith in them.”

Iruka nodded, thinking of what happened two days ago.

FLASHBACK

Iruka stood to the side, observing as the two academy students duked it out in a spar. One of them was Konohamaru Sarutobi, the Sandaime’s grandson, who didn’t want any special treatment. He was pretty much routing his opponent with only Academy taijutsu. It seemed his extra training with Ebisu had paid off.

“Winner: Konohamaru,” he announced. “Now, everyone head back to class!” he said and got some collective groans in reply.

He had a free period now, thanks to Tsubaki, the ex-girlfriend of the traitor Mizuki. She had stepped up after a period of mourning the man she thought he was, and then got into teaching at the academy. Iruka thought she would have a grudge against Naruto, but she was surprisingly friendly with the jinchuriki of the Kyubi, despite him being the one who had exposed Mizuki.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice, “Hey, Iruka-sensei!”

He turned and smiled when he saw his favourite student, Naruto along with Hinata Hyuga, the two smiling at him.

“Naruto! Hinata! What a surprise!” he exclaimed. “What brings you here?”

Naruto scratched the back of his head, “We were wondering if you were free right now. We just wanted to test our current skills against you,” he said.

Iruka’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, “And why is that?”

The two genins’ expression turned serious, “Our senseis plan to nominate us for the chunin exams, and we’d like you to assess us,” Naruto held up a hand. “I know you believe us to not be ready, but please trust us, sensei. You can assess us right now in a spar and see where we stand,” he said.

Iruka looked down in thought. It would be a good idea to see what the jonin senseis had been up to the past few months. He couldn’t deny that he was proud of what Naruto had accomplished in just a short month. And rumour had it that he had been put in the bingo book as a B-rank shinobi by Iwa and Kiri.

He looked up and nodded, “All right, I’ll test you both,” and smiled as the two perked up.

FLASHBACK END

The two genin had trounced him, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. He knew he hadn’t trained seriously for a long time. After the spar, Naruto had offered to train with him sometime after the exams, or ask someone else to sub for him, which he accepted gladly.

He felt an arm around his shoulder and then blushed, “A-Anko,” he stammered.

Said kunoichi grinned, “Hey, Iruka-kun! Fancy training together? Word has it you got trounced by genin, for shame,” she whispered in his ear.

She then looked at him, “We may need to train you up. I’m sure it would be…invigorating,” she whispered the last word in a purr, that sent shivers down his spine.

Truth be told, Iruka had had a crush on Anko for a long while, even when the others had avoided her, he had tried to show kindness to her, which she had accepted happily. Though Anko’s eccentricities scared him a little.

“I-I-“ ‘Damn you, Naruto!’ he thought in his head.

Kurenai pinched the bridge of her nose, “Don’t scare him, Anko-chan,” she scolded, but there was no heat, in fact her eyes showed amusement at the situation.

Hiruzen coughed, “Yes, well, Anko’s molestation of my chunin aside,” which got chuckles from the others while Anko pouted, “The rest of you can give your nominations,”

Might Guy stepped forward, “YOSH! I, MIGHT GUY-“

“Inside voice, Guy,” Kakashi drawled.

“Sorry,” the green spandex-wearing jonin said sheepishly, “I, Might Guy, the sensei of Team 9, here by nominate my youthful team, consisting of the youthful Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, and Tenten for the youthful chunin exams!” he finished with his trademark nice guy pose, causing his teeth to glint.

‘That HAS to be a genjutsu,’ the rest of the jonin thought.

After a moment of awkward silence, at the Hokage clearing his throat, the rest of the jonin nominated their teams for the exams, though not as exuberant as Guy was.

                                                                                  ****

Kakashi appeared at the bridge where he had planned for the team meeting. “Sorry I’m late, I-“

He paused, taking in the scene in front of him. Sakura was sitting on the bridge, panting as she looked up at the trees, where two blurs, one gray and one blue, kept darting in between trees.

‘Huh, so they’ve started the shunshin tag game already,’ he thought as he watched his two male genin tag each other by using the Shunshin.

Naruto, having sensed Kakashi’s arrival, broke off the game and appeared next to Sakura, looking up at him expectantly. Sasuke followed right after, looking slightly out of breath. “Consider it a draw,” he said, which got a shrug from Naruto.

“Glad to see you two having fun,” Kakashi said dryly, getting a glare from his Uchiha student. “Now,” he said holding out three forms. “I’ve nominated you three for the chunin exams. Participation is optional,” he said, before becoming serious. “Naruto, privacy barrier,” he intoned.

Naruto nodded before tapping the ground with his foot. When the barrier was up, he nodded. “Good,” Kakashi replied. “Now, the reason I nominated you three is because I believe you have grown massively in the last two and a half months. And considering how you started out, that’s saying something,” he said thoughtfully.

He then straightened up, “Also, it hasn’t been made official yet, but I’m going to succeed the Sandaime as the Godaime Hokage of Konoha,” he said seriously.

“Sasuke’s and Sakura’s eyes widened; Sakura’s jaw dropped as well, “Hokage? Sensei, you’re serious?”

Kakashi nodded, giving them a penetrating stare, “I trust you will keep the information to themselves?” he asked, getting nods from all three genin.

He then clapped his hands, “Lets get on with training then!”

The next few hours were spent being drilled in teamwork, tactics, strategy, as well as genjutsu detection and dispelling. Kakashi then had them spar individually and as a team against him. The three genin also were drilled in ANBU tactics, hand signals and capture and interrogation, as well as collaborative elemental jutsu. Naruto and Sasuke worked well with their fire and wind combinations, as well as their water and lightning combinations. Sakura usually worked as support, placing genjutsu upon genjutsu on Kakashi, despite the older elite jonin and Hokage candidate easily dispelling them.

Then they split up; Kakashi with Sasuke and Naruto with Sakura. Kakashi helped Sasuke more with the usage of the sharingan, as well as properly explaining about the Mangekyo, that it didn’t require killing your best friend, but that the pain and sadness at the loss of a loved one should be so great that it would awaken. He even cryptically warned Sasuke that all would be explained after the exams, having heard about the truth of the massacre during his time in the time chamber with the Hokage. Sasuke confided about his various memories to Kakashi, about how he remembered Itachi crying before he departed, which left Kakashi deep in thought once their session was over.

Naruto had begun to teach Sakura the barebones of Tsunade’s taijutsu as well as her super strength, which she used on the trees with wild abandon, and even tried it on Naruto during their after-session spar, which Naruto easily caught much to her surprise. They also had a review on poisons and various medical seals, which were more of Naruto’s speciality than Sakura’s.

“That’s enough for today, team,” Kakashi said once their sessions were done. “Same time tomorrow. We have two weeks before the exams, so we should train as hard as possible,” he said, getting eager nods from the three genin.

Once Sasuke and Sakura left, Naruto put up a barrier and looked at Kakashi, “Dad would be proud of you, sensei,” he said with a smile.

Kakashi looked touched at the statement, “Thank you, Naruto,” he said as the blonde took down the barrier and the two of them went over to the memorial stone.

                                                                                             ****

Might Guy watched on as Naruto left their training ground, with Lee shouting his goodbyes and also going on about their flames of Youth. Though there was only a week left for the exams, Naruto would engage Lee in spars whenever they met up. He thought it to be a good thing, as even though Lee had Neji to put him in place, the boy had been getting a little arrogant as to not finding anyone to equal him in taijutsu. Naruto had come in since meeting Lee during their morning runs and had then taken part in some training and spars between the two genin. While the blonde student of his eternal rival Kakashi wasn’t focusing only on taijutsu-his skill with fuinjutsu on par with Jiraiya of the Sannin if rumours were to be believed-Naruto was a good sparring partner, able to keep Lee on his toes with his speed and precision. The blonde had even told Lee to take up a weapon in case of opponents who were more adept at long-range combat, and had even asked him and Guy about putting on resistance seals, as they could help even more than weights. Due to Lee’s problem with being unable to mould chakra, Naruto had promised he would look into a way to help Lee.

The spandex wearing jonin was always honest with himself, and he felt that Naruto, despite his burden, had been living up to his parents’ legacy well. He knew who they were, with Kushina Uzumaki sometimes helping him out with his taijutsu after his father Might Dai had passed, though he definitely didn’t miss the fists to his head he sometimes got for his passionate speeches. While he initially questioned Kakashi’s decision to nominate his team for the exams, his rival had confided in him during their spars that he had been nominated for the position of Godaime Hokage, and that he had trained his team well enough to the best of his ability. Guy had even observed the training from afar once and believed his rival to be right.

He gave an uncharacteristic sigh as his protégé departed after their training and decided to head to training ground 4, one of the few isolated training grounds in Konoha. He usually sparred with Kakashi there, with the new addition of Anko Mitarashi, who had taken her training much more seriously the past few years and only intensified in the past few months. Giving his nunchucks a workout was doing wonders for him as well. He was looking forward to the chunin exams, not only because his genin were taking part, but because he had a feeling this year’s exams would be interesting.

                                                                                          ****

Naruto and Hinata, along with Hanabi were walking through the streets of Konoha, Naruto having finished his team training early and Hinata finishing her training and then taking Hanabi for some shopping and quality time. The two had met in the middle and Naruto took the time to introduce Hanabi to the food of the gods that is ramen, despite the two getting into a funny argument about whether ramen or banana pudding was better, much to Hinata’s amusement.

Currently Naruto and Hinata walked towards the Hyuga estate with Hanabi on Naruto’s shoulders, which the young Hyuga had initially protested, but then happily acquiesced and went on to play with his hair, causing some of the civilians to look in surprise at the usually stoic Hyuga girl. The civilians’ opinion of the village pariah were actually improving, considering how Naruto had changed their opinions through his hard work and determination, but also his intellect and helpful nature.

Naruto suddenly stopped, causing Hanabi to jerk and Hinata to stop and look at Naruto. “That was amateur, even for them,” Hinata said with a smile on her face, glancing at what looked like a square box with holes.

Naruto sighed and facepalmed, “Konohamaru, rocks aren’t square. Especially those that look like boxes. Give it up!”

A muffled voice came from the box, “As expected from my rival! Only he would discover my presence this early!”

There was a bright explosion of coloured smoke, from which three people emerged, coughing. “Hey! You used too much powder!” The three then looked up to see Naruto, Hinata and Hanabi, the first two looking at them with amusement and the younger girl with slight disdain and a bit of amusement.

“Say, Naruto nii-chan! You free today?!” Konohamaru asked excitedly.

Naruto looked at Hinata and said, “No, I’m spending time with my lovely best friend,” he said winking at a blushing Hinata and ignoring a giggling Hanabi. “But even if I were, I couldn’t play ninja with you,” he said apologetically.

“Aww, come on, nii-chan!” Konohamaru said with a pout.

“A ninja playing ninja? That’s new,” an amused voice sounded. The group turned to see Sakura walk towards them. “Hey, Hinata,” she greeted the Hyuga heiress politely and got a nod in return.

“Who is she, boss?” Konohamaru asked.

Naruto gave a chuckle, “Konohamaru, meet Sakura, my teammate. Sakura, this is Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi,” he said, gesturing to each of them.

“She’s cute, except for the huge forehead,” Konohamaru, in typical eight-year-old fashion, put his foot in the mouth.

Deadly silence greeted that statement. Naruto facepalmed, Hinata and Udon winced, Hanabi and Moegi closed her eyes and muttered, “Baka,” under their breath.

Sakura looked livid and cracked her knuckles, “You’re dead, brat!” she said.

“Konohamaru, I suggest you run,” Naruto said, causing Konohamaru to run off, followed by his friends. Sakura chased the three kids, with Hinata and Hanabi, who had gotten down from Naruto trailing behind. Naruto sensed their chakra and decided to take a different route, which would lead to him coming in front of the Konohamaru Corps, as the three academy students called themselves. However, he came onto a different scene. “Oh, that’s not good,” he muttered.

Standing in front of him was a boy in a black cat-suit with paint like a Kabuki warrior. He had a pack covered in bandages with a tuft of brown at the top which looked like hair, ‘A puppet?’ he thought. The boy was holding Konohamaru by the collar in the air, the younger boy struggling to let go.

“That hurt, you brat!” the boy said.

“Kankuro, leave him!” his partner said pleadingly.

The partner was a kunoichi with blonde hair tied in four pigtails, teal coloured eyes, and wearing a purple dress that was off-shoulder and reached up to her knees, and she wore mesh underneath. She also had a fan on her back. She was pretty, Naruto could acknowledge that. ‘Wait, could these be the Kazekage’s children, the Sand siblings? It is! Temari the wielder of a battle fan, Kankuro whos a puppet master and…’ his eyes flicked towards a tree where he sensed a malevolent chakra, ‘There’s the other one…that chakra…he’s a jinchuriki! But his seal is all messed up!’ he thought, feeling Kurama growling in his mindscape.

‘No mistake, kid! That’s Shukaku, the Ichibi,’ the giant fox said.

‘Huh, who would have thought we’d meet up after all these years,’ Isobu murmured.

‘Hopefully he’s not as big a nutter as he was before,’ Saiken chimed in.

‘We all know it would be worse,’ Kurama grumbled.

‘You’re just biased, Kurama,’ Chomei gently chided.

‘Tch’

‘We’ll talk about his sanity and the messed up seal on the guy later, let me fix this,’ Naruto shut his bijuu friends down before he focused on the one called Kankuro. “You might want to put him down, kabuki-boy!” he said.

Kankuro turned to him, “Or else what, blondie? He bumped into me, and I got to teach him a lesson!” Temari looked at him. ‘He’s cute!’ she thought with a faint blush.

Naruto merely took out a sealing tag. Kankuro was about to scoff when he felt something. He turned to see the paper tag in the blonde boy’s hand in his own hand instead of the kid, and just as he turned to see the kid in the other boy’s hand, the tag exploded in orange powder.

“KANKURO!” Temari shrieked. “You! You killed him!” she glared at Naruto, who had put Konohamaru down.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, “Did I?” he asked, gesturing to the clearing smoke, which revealed Kankuro covered in orange paint from head to his chest.

Everything went silent for a moment, before Sakura, Udon and Konohamaru snorted, then broke out in laughter. Hinata and Hanabi giggled and Temari had to hold in her laughter, though Naruto caught the twitch of her lips.

Kankuro growled and reached for the pack on his back, causing Temari to turn in alarm. “You’re going to use Karasu?!”

“They deserve it,” Kankuro said seething.

“Wait!” they turned to Naruto, who was looking up at one of the trees, “Sasuke, you can come down! And tell the one on the branch beside you to come down as well! I think he’s their teammate!”

Temari and Kankuro looked at him in alarm, then back to the tree, from which Sasuke jumped down, landing next to Sakura, his expression that of alarm. ‘How did he even get past me? I didn’t see him!’

Temari looked at raven haired boy, ‘Wow, he’s cute as well! Does Konoha have monopoly on the good-looking ones?!’

Just then, a swirl of sand appeared in front of the two, revealing a short, red headed boy with pale green eyes and dark circles surrounding them. He had a mark on his forehead above his left eye, which was shaped in the kanji for ‘Love’. He wore a large gourd on his back, strapped by a white cloth.

“Kankuro,” the boy intoned in a cold, gravelly voice, “Stop it, you’re embarrassing yourself and the village,” he continued.

“H-hey G-gaara! I’m s-sorry, but they start-“

“Shut up, or I’ll kill you,” Gaara replied before turning to Naruto, who had by then walked past them to rejoin the rest of his team and Hinata, “I apologise for my brother’s behaviour,” he said with a short bow.

Naruto nodded, “Apology accepted, considering the boy your brother manhandled was the Sandaime Hokage’s grandson. Wars have been started for far less,” he replied shocking the trio. He then turned to Konohamaru, “You should apologise too. It’s rude to run into someone,” he told the boy.

“But-“ Konohamaru caught Naruto’s look. He looked abashed and turned to the trio, “I’m sorry,” he said contritely with a bow.  

Gaara looked at him, “What’s your name?”

“Naruto Uzumaki,” he replied. “And yours?”

“I’m Gaara. Gaara of the Desert,” Gaara replied. “You will be taking part in the exams?” he asked, getting a nod. “Good, I look forward to facing you there. You will prove my existence,” he said, leaking killing intent.

Naruto snorted, “You need a philosophy class for that, not the chunin exams,” he said before turning to Temari and Kankuro, “What about you? What are your names?” he asked, despite knowing them. He didn’t want to give out that fact.

“I’m Temari,” Temari replied, “and this is Kankuro,” she gestured to the now orange covered boy.

Gaara turned and walked away, “Temari, Kankuro, we’re leaving,” he said in a monotone.

“Right, Gaara,” Temari nodded swiftly and followed him along with their brother.

Sakura let out a breath she was holding, “That was…”

“Scary,” Hinata said, repressing a shudder. “Did you feel that intent?”

“Hn,” Sasuke said, “He’s strong,” he mumbled, eyes narrowing at the retreating back.

“We might have to be careful. Something’s off about him,” Naruto said, giving his teammates a look before looking meaningfully at Hinata.

Sasuke then broke the silence, “I’m heading home. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he nodded to Naruto and left in a shunshin.

“Well, that’s that,” Naruto clapped his hands. “Now then, you three head on back to your homes. No arguments,” he said sternly as three clones popped into existence and shepherded the three children from there.

He then turned to Sakura, “Off to the hospital?” he asked and got a nod in reply. “I’ll see you there soon. I’ll talk to Hinata first,”

Sakura nodded and left in a shunshin as well.

“Do all three of you know the shunshin?” Hinata asked.

“Yeah, and you know it too. After all, I taught you that, remember?”

“Naruto nii-san, when will you teach me?!” Hanabi piped up.

Naruto chuckled and patted her head, “Not now, Hanabi-chan. Once you graduate from the academy, I’ll teach you. Deal?”

Hanabi huffed but nodded, “Deal. You better,” she said, holding out her pinky finger, which Naruto entwined with his own, smiling.

“I promise,” he said with a grin. “Now, your sister and I have things to talk about, so we’ll drop you off, okay?”

Hanabi scrunched up her nose, “Are you two going on a date?”

Hinata and Naruto blushed before Naruto chuckled, “We’re too young for that, even you,” he said, playfully flicking the younger Hyuga’s nose, getting a yelp.

“Meanie!” Hanabi huffed, sticking her tongue out at him, while Hinata giggled.

The two Hyuga sisters walked in front, not noticing Naruto looking up at another tree, narrowing his eyes before turning and following them.

In the covering of the tree, three ninja with hitai-ates containing the symbol of a musical note, tensed then sighed in relief. After the blonde disappeared, they jumped down and walked in a different direction, not noticing the yellow seeds that littered the street.

A while later, after dropping Hanabi off at home, and nodding to Hiashi Hyuga, the Hyuga clan head in greeting, Naruto and Hinata headed off to a nearby training ground.

After the two sparred and trained for a while, Naruto called for a break. He then made some handsigns and called out, “Summoning jutsu!”

In a puff of smoke, a small panther and three medium sized panthers appeared. They looked around and saw him. “Onii-chan/Naruto-kun!” they exclaimed.

Naruto smiled at them, “Hey Mageela-chan, Okoye-chan, Challa-kun, Lupi-chan. Great to see you!” he said as Mageela jumped up and climbed to sit on his head.

The panther named Okoye huffed, “You don’t summon us much these days! We’re itching for a fight you know!” she said as the other two nodded.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you all about,” Naruto said, his face serious.

Hinata and the panthers immediately went on alert. “What do you mean Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked, a little worried.

Naruto tapped his foot, and a privacy barrier was put up. He began, “Two years ago, I travelled to other nations as the bounty hunter Arashi, while leaving a clone here,” he said as Hinata’s eyes widened. “While a blood clone remained here in the academy and helped you train, I travelled the world and pretty much made a spy network that is pretty much on par with that of Jiraiya-sama’s. During my travels I stumbled upon a village in the Land of Rice Fields, called Otogakure,” his face darkened. ‘The leader of that place is Orochimaru.”

Hinata gasped as the panthers sucked in a breath. Mageela whimpered. It seemed Orochimaru was heard of even in the panther world.

Naruto then continued, “While it was difficult, I managed to get in a few clones as spies into Oto. And I found something disturbing.”

“W-what is it?” Challa asked, trying to remain brave but voice cracking.

“Orochimaru plans to invade Konoha during the chunin exams,” Naruto said, deciding to drop the bombshell.

Everyone gasped hearing that. If Orochimaru invaded Konoha, then-

“Shouldn’t we tell the Hokage?!” Hinata asked fervently.

Naruto smiled, “Don’t worry, I’ve already informed him. And I’ve also been helping the Barrier and Sealing division to create new defenses and an expanded barrier. The Council is aware of the threat. Though I wasn’t sure about who Orochimaru had secured the aid from, until today,” Naruto sighed.

“Who is it?!” Hinata asked before her eyes widened, “Y-you don’t mean-“

“Yes, it’s Suna,” Naruto said with a nod. “There’s never been a case where any hidden village has sent their jinchuriki to the chunin exams held in another village. And Suna sent their jinchuriki to us,” he said.

“Gaara,” Hinata deduced after a moment of silence, getting a nod from Naruto.

“Yeah. And I also sense that the seal is flawed. You may not have noticed, but it looks like Gaara has never slept before,” he said sadly.

“T-that’s horrible!” Hinata gasped.

“It is,” he nodded. “While he was sent to invade us, we may be able to sway him to our side. Dangle the possibility of repairing his seal. I don’t think his life was all that good in Suna. My spies over there tell me that his father, the Yondaime Kazekage Rasa, sometimes sends assassins after him in order to check on his control.”

“Poor boy,” Okoye whispered, with the other panthers nodding sadly.

After some more talking, Naruto then decided to train Hinata more in water and lightning release; Hinata even managed to combine raiton chakra to her eight trigrams thirty-two palms, which she used to devastating effects on Naruto’s clone, while the real Naruto learned more in terms of taijutsu from the panthers, even having Mageela race him with their Shadow travel. They later helped Hinata with her fire elemental manipulation, as they had discovered her third element. Hinata promised that she wouldn’t tell anyone, but wanted to get stronger so that she could help fight alongside Naruto to protect the village, something Naruto was all too happy to help with.

Naruto sighed as he got back to his apartment after his hospital shift. The chunin exams would be interesting.

                                                                                         ****

ONE WEEK LATER

Naruto hopped through the roofs as he made his way to the academy. That was where the first part of the chunin exams would be held. He still had half an hour for the meeting time, which was 9 o clock. He wore his custom dark grey shirt and pants and red jacket, the addition being black vambraces similar to his late father’s, with multiple invisible seals present on them and on his belt. The seals were stocked up, with kunai and shuriken in one seal, ninja wire in another, rations and food in yet another, change of clothes, various poisons, senbons, and even his own medical kit. His sword and bo staff were sealed in the swirls located in the metal braces in his gloves. His special kunai wouldn’t be ready yet, having struck a secret deal with Tenchi Higurashi of Higurashi weapons shop, who was also Tenten’s dad, who said they would be ready in another three weeks.

He landed in front of the academy and waited, keeping to the shadows and observing the genin as they entered the academy. He mentally thanked Jiraiya for the cloaking jutsu, as annoyed as he was for the purpose he sometimes used it for. His mind whirled with possibilities of what the exams could entail, since Tobirama’s memories didn’t show of any such exams.

He thought about his time in the time chamber; he had trained with Jiraiya, Kakashi and the Hokage, while his blood clone trained with Tsunade, Shizune and Anko. And while the six adults had something or the other to teach him, he himself had helped them using his chakra storage seals which he had made long ago, and had them implement the shadow clone training method. The aged Hokage could easy make up to 30 clones with the seal, while the others, especially Kakashi, Shizune and Anko could make up to 50. This helped accelerate all their training, with Hiruzen getting into the spirit of combining elements again, while Jiraiya went to master his other elements. Tsunade went on to work on earth and water manipulation, her increased number of clones and perfect chakra control helping to master them quickly in the space of six months. In terms of ninjutsu, they had all advanced, though Hiruzen chuckled and still claimed to be among the first to master all five elements, while Naruto claimed to be the youngest and more advanced, causing the aged Hokage and the young Uzumaki to roughhouse each other quite often, much to the others’ amusement.

Naruto’s blood clone had even completed the Creation Rebirth seal that Mito Uzumaki couldn’t complete. In secret and as a prank, he had slapped it on Tsunade and activated it. Before she could lose her temper and pound him into paste, Naruto told her to deactivate her henge. It turned out that when she dropped the henge she looked the same as she was with the henge. The Hokage had refused one though, stating he liked himself as he is, wrinkles and all.

Tsunade didn’t leave him alone though; she went harder on him with her taijutsu, and made him do the same training she planned to use for all her medical ninja as well as her future apprentice. Shizune had taken part too, and now she was strong enough to take an apprentice of her own, though she was more into poisons and antidotes, similar to Anko. Tsunade also had mastered her lightning style, and also earth and water style, wanting to honour her grandfather, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju. She worked with Naruto on both their Yin and Yang release, the former being familiar with the Sannin and the latter being held by the boy in spades. Within six months in the chamber, the two of them had mastered both Yin and Yang, and had managed to start on Yin-Yang release, something that Naruto was excited about, since it could help in advancing the field of medicine in helping to regrow limbs and organs that were lost. He had sensed the recognition and conflict within his mindscape from his bijuu companions, but filed it away for later.

Anko had discovered an unexpected effect of the cursed seal removal; she had ended up getting the chakra and memories of the traitor, which initially scared her. But Naruto, Hiruzen and Tsunade helped her get through it. She was able to pass on much of Orochimaru’s research to both Tsunade and Hiruzen, as well as most of the locations of the Snake Sannin’s bases. She had even worked with the snake summons, and was found even worthier than Orochimaru. She had now become involved in what were the makings of a coup d’etat of the Snake clan, since many of the snakes felt that Manda, the leader was too power hungry for his own good, similar to Orochimaru. She had worked on her techniques with the snakes, especially her familiars Kaijin and Tsuki, Manda’s older and much more kinder sister who was pushed aside by the leader. Maybe in a month, Anko could probably be on the level of, or even surpass the traitorous Sannin.

Kakashi had grown in such a way that he could now stand with the Hokages of the past, his sharingan now covered by a seal that would let him activate it at will. He mastered all the thousand jutsu he knew, and taught them to Naruto and Anko, and had even mastered the manipulation of all the elements. He had even worked out the Lightning armour of the Raikage with Naruto’s help, as well as the counter to it, the Lightning Style: Overdrive. He even invented a new type of lightning, the Purple lightning, similar to Naruto’s Red lightning. He even began to get in tune with using his white-chakra sword, similar to his father Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.

Jiraiya had tried to first get him to sign the toad contract, but when Naruto revealed his panther contract, Jiraiya had accepted it, but also insisted in view of his father having the toad contract as well. Naruto would accept as long as Kakashi also accepted, much to everyone’s surprise. When asked, Naruto reasoned that Kakashi was his father’s last remaining student, and the closest to having a little brother or a son before him, touching the hearts of everyone there. This led to the toads, panthers and dogs hashing out the conditions and details of the summoning. Naruto and Kakashi got specific tattoos in the shape of toads to signify their status as summoners of the toad clan, and the two had also worked with both their summons.  

Naruto was jolted out of his thoughts when he caught sight of his teammates, having seen the other rookie teams minutes ago, with only Hinata managing to sense him, giving him a subtle nod. As Sakura and Sasuke reached the entrance, Naruto pretended to pop up in front of them, appearing in a Shunshin, “Hey you two! Lovely day, isn’t it?” he said cheerfully.

Sakura started while Sasuke snorted, “Don’t do that, Naruto!” Sakura scolded, though there was a small smile on her face.

“No promises,” Naruto replied with a grin, gaining eyerolls from both his teammates. “Let’s go,” Sasuke said, taking the lead as they stepped into the academy.

As they walked up the stairs into the second floor, they saw a large crowd in front of the door labelled 301. Naruto narrowed his eyes and scoffed slightly, ‘Who do they think they’re fooling?’ he thought to himself.

His scoff had been heard by his teammates who looked at him. {Preliminary test. Weeds out the weaker teams. Bypass them to the next floor} he signed to them.

Both of them nodded, and completely ignored the crowd while bypassing them and sneaking off to the next floor. Naruto slowly looked back and saw Lee and Tenten look at him questioningly, and signed to them to get to the next floor, getting barely imperceptible nods.

As they walked up, Sasuke shook his head, “That was a horrible genjutsu. Those people down there must be really weak if they couldn’t sense that,” he said.

Sakura nodded, “Very much so. Though it helps our case as it weeds out the weaker teams.”

They reached the third floor, where the real room 301 was. They saw Kakashi standing there in front of them, hands in his pockets and leaning against the wall.

“Ah, my cute little genin, all present and accounted for,” he said with his signature eye-smile before turning serious. “You have all trained and improved in the last three months, showing teamwork that even some experienced chunin haven’t shown in the past few years. When you get inside, do not falter. You three are much stronger than you were when you first became a team. Believe in yourself and remember, the most important thing for a Konoha shinobi-“

“Is teamwork,” Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke said together, nodding at the same time, getting an eye-smile from him. “Good luck,” he said as he disappeared in a shunshin.

Naruto took a deep breath. “Well, shall we?” he gestured to the door.

Sasuke nodded and opened the door, the three stepped into the room full of their competitors.

Heads turned as they stepped in, the opposition trying to drown them in collective killing intent. However, the three stood firm; Naruto and Sasuke staring back in disinterest, while Sakura looked firm, in spite of the bead of sweat on her forehead. Naruto, after a while having had enough, glared back at the teams, seeing many of them flinch and look away. Good, his eyes, same like that of his father’s had scared many in the battlefield, but his intensity was as much as that of his great-grandfather, and both his ancestors could send enemies scurrying in the opposite direction.

“Good one, Naruto,” Sasuke whispered, before another blonde and purple blur appeared.

“SASUKE-KUN!”

Naruto flinched momentarily and sighed. Man, he hated that voice. He turned and felt before he saw Ino Yamanaka hugging Sasuke from behind and trying to rub their cheeks together, causing Sasuke to get her off his back while Sakura had a twitching eyebrow.

“Let Sasuke-kun go, Ino,” Sakura muttered, not rising to the bait. Naruto nodded slightly in approval. He had trained Sakura in emotional control, cautioning her that her rising temper and eagerness to escalate fights with Ino showed that the girl could easily get to her, and that a controlled response or no response would easily throw her off.

Ino looked at her and stuck her tongue out, “I’m surprised you’re here, Forehead girl! Didn’t think you’d have the courage to even sign up for the chunin exams,” she said, then was surprised when Sakura ignored her.

“Troublesome. Must you be so loud?” they turned to find Shikamaru and Choji walking up to them, with Choji eating his chips and Shikamaru with his slouched posture. However, both Naruto and Sasuke picked up the Nara’s eyes darting about and intensely observing the competition.

“I never thought I’d find you here, Shika! You of all people would find this troublesome,” Naruto said with a smirk.

“I do, and stop stealing the Nara catchphrase,” Shikamaru said with a slight glower. “Plus, I blame Ino for dragging us into this. Something about impressing Sasuke,” he said jerking his thumb at a glaring and blushing Ino.

“Pfft! Good luck with that. You’d have more chance of beating a Sannin in a one-on-one than of impressing Sasuke,” Naruto said quietly, causing said Uchiha to glare, while Sakura stifled a giggle. “Also, Nara catchphrase?”

“Finally found you guys!”

The six of them turned to see Team 8 walk towards them, with Kiba Inuzuka in the lead. Naruto nodded to Shino and winked at Hinata, receiving a nod back from Shino and a wink from Hinata who blushed slightly.

Kiba rubbed his chin, “I wonder how we’ll do in the exams! Should be interesting to see, right Sasuke?”

Sasuke smirked, “You seem awfully confident, Kiba.”

“We’ve trained a lot! We won’t lose to you,” Kiba boasted, pointing at him, while Akamaru barked.

“You guys should be quieter, you know?” a voice said.

The nine rookies turned to see a tall, silvered teen with round glasses and dark eyes walk over to them. He wore a bluish purple overshirt and pants with a grey undershirt, and had a Konoha forehead protector on his…well, forehead.

“Who are you?” Ino asked rudely, having already gotten off of Sasuke.

“I’m Kabuto Yakushi. And I said that as some of the people in this exam are dangerous. That team from the Hidden Rain have some nasty tempers,” he said pointing behind him.

Naruto subtly glared at the teams again, causing them to quickly look away. But soon he caught sight of a redheaded girl, who wore a yellow dress with black borders and had red eyes with red glasses. Something about the red hair felt familiar, and a seal on his right arm pulsed. ‘Could she be an Uzumaki?’ he thought.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Kabuto said, “This will be my seventh,” while scratching his head.

“Man, you must suck!” Kiba loudly stated.

“Or the exams are much harder than you thought,” Kabuto replied pleasantly, though Naruto had seen the flash of irritation that was quickly masked. ‘Yep, he’s a spy, all right. As per the information I had found a few months prior. Guess we now know how Orochimaru was able to plan his invasion. Stupid snake-eyed bastard!’ he thought.

Naruto subtly created smokeless and sealless shadow clones and spread them throughout the area while also creating a wood clone that sprouted from his foot, travelled through the floor and exited the academy without anyone noticing. The Hokage would want to hear about this.

He looked to see Shikamaru, Hinata and Shino looking at him discreetly and gave them an imperceptible nod, as Kabuto continued, “As a veteran of these exams, I’d like to help you out. You see, I’ve been gathering info on many of the teams during my time in the exams, and I’m willing to give them for free to my fellow Konoha nin,” he pulled out a thick deck of cards from his weapons pouch. “Who would you like to know about?” he asked.

“How about some info on forehead- I mean Sakura?” Ino said shooting a challenging look at Sakura.

“And I’d like to know about that redhead guy from Suna,’ Kiba stated.

“Oh? You know one of their names. That takes a little fun out of it. No matter,” He took a card out and channeled chakra through it. “Hmm, let’s see. Sakura Haruno. Konoha genin. Graduated as top kunoichi from the academy. Placed under team 7 under Kakashi Hatake. Teammates are Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. Has high level skills in academics, genjutsu, mid-level in taijutsu and ninjutsu, and…oh, this is interesting, beginner level medical ninjutsu! Missions include…wow! 80 D-ranks, 12 C-ranks, 2 B-ranks and one A-rank! Well, looks like your friend is one to watch out for,” he said to them.

Ino looked at Sakura in surprise, then scoffed, “Yeah right! I bet Sasuke-kun carried the team through all of it!” she said looking dreamily at Sasuke.

However, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto glanced at each other before Naruto tapped his left earlobe, an action noticed by everyone except Kiba and Ino but understood only by a few. The ones who understood quickly but subtly channelled chakra through their earlobes, activating their comm seals, which Naruto had given them during the month.

‘This confirms it, he’s a spy!’ Naruto thought through the seal.

‘Has to be! I’m pretty sure most of the mission records have to be classified under the Hokage!’ came Sakura’s voice.

‘They are. My old man keeps telling me how troublesome it is to get through some of the red tape,’ Shikamaru said through the link.

‘Why don’t we wait and watch first? He still has to talk about that other person,’ Hinata reasoned.

“Next, the redhead from Suna? Hmm, let’s see…ah! Here it is! His name is Gaara of the desert. He is part of the Sand siblings team with Temari and Kankuro, and the three of them are the Kazekage’s children,” he said, ignoring the spike of killing intent that came from one corner of the room. “Mission records show 8 C-ranks and 1 B-rank…wow! It seems he came back from all his missions with nary a scratch on him!” he exclaimed the last part.

The killing intent spiked until Naruto focused solely on Gaara and let loose his own. Due to his training starting from the age of five, with seven years of rigorous training and two years of experience out in the field, not to mention working in the time chamber for a whole year with the God of Shinobi, two Sannin and three high jonin-level shinobi had increased his chakra capacity to the level of five Kage. Not to mention the chakra of four bijuu in him and with near perfect control…well…

Gaara’s eyes focused on him and the widened, before he backed down, but he shot a smirk at Naruto. “You will prove my existence, Uzumaki,” he whispered, but Naruto got the message.

‘W-wow,’ Sakura thought.

‘Yeah…so what are we going to do with him?’ Sasuke thought, subtly gesturing to Kabuto.

‘We report this to the Hokage. Why? Because this seems to be a huge breach of security. And considering he has information on foreign shinobi as well, makes it extra concerning.’ Shino spoke up through the mind link.

‘Way ahead of you. Already reported to the Hokage. Current order is to avoid confrontation,’ Naruto replied.

‘How did you-never mind. It’s too troublesome to find out,’ Shikamaru thought, making Sakura and Hinata giggle.

‘All right. Over and out,’ Naruto thought and he cut the connection when he sensed a spike of intent. Glancing to his left he saw three ninja with a musical note on their head advancing towards them, or more towards Kabuto. The spiky black-haired one threw kunai at Kabuto’s feet which he quickly dodged. The bandaged one swung his arm containing what looked like a bracer at the glasses-wearing ninja, who leaned back, smirking. Then he suddenly started coughing up blood as his glasses cracked, while he looked dazed

‘Huh, a sound-based attack. Travels through the air and causes disruption to the ear drums, which causes vestibular imbalance while also affecting the arteries nearby.  Stupid guy! He gave away his own technique! Now to think up a counter…sound travels through air, so chakra insulators through the ears just before the eardrum should work,’ Naruto thought quickly.

“Write this in your cards! The three Oto ninja will definitely make chunin!” The spiky haired ninja declared.

‘Wait! That’s Dosu, Zaku and Kin Tsuchi! The team from Oto that the spy there told me would come for the exams! I sense my seeds on them too. I wonder what role they will be playing?’

Kurama interjected, “Naruto! Do you feel that? There’s some chakra that feels similar to that curse mark from the Anko lady!”

Naruto’s eyes widened and he tried to sense what Kurama had said. Sure enough, there was that malevolent chakra, which felt wrong and corrupted. ‘It’s HIM! WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!’

‘I dunno kid! But your primary objective should be getting away from him. He may strike at the Forest of Death! And from what we know of him, he’s probably after your Uchiha teammate,’ the giant fox said, getting a mental nod from his host.

Just then, a large plume of smoke engulfed the front of the classroom, “ALL RIGHT, MAGGOTS! STAND DOWN AND SHUT UP!” a gruff voice boomed. The smoke cleared to reveal some chunin in grey uniforms, and in front was a tall man wearing the same uniform, but with a black trench coat, and a blue bandanna with the Konoha hitai-ate attached. He also had two scars run parallel on his face diagonally.

The man turned to the Oto team, “There will be no more fighting, unless you want to be disqualified?” he asked leaking some killing intent.

The three nin shuddered. “S-sorry, exam fever,” Dosu, the bandaged one replied.

“See that it doesn’t happen again,” he said before looking at the rest of the genin. “I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor for the first part of the chunin exams, and as of this moment,” his lips curled into a very sinister smirk, “your worst enemy!”

‘I like him,’ Kurama said in his head, and Naruto could feel the grin on the fox’s face.

‘So that’s Anko nee-chan’s superior, and the current head of the Torture and interrogation department and top interrogator alongside Inoichi Yamanaka!’ Naruto thought as he fell in line with his team.

After the genin settled into their assigned seats, doing so under Ibiki’s glare, the burly man began explaining the exam, “This is an exam in which you will start off with ten points. There are two rules to this exam. First: This is a team test. Whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of your teammates.

“Second: Anyone caught doing any sneaky activities, namely cheating,” he smirked even more sinisterly sending shivers down many people’s spines, “will have two points taken off for every offense. You have 45 minutes. BEGIN!”

The sound of papers turning around sounded for a brief moment. Naruto quickly scanned his surroundings: He was seated next to Hinata, sure, but his teammates were a bit far. Once that was done, he looked at the question paper and raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

‘These questions are chunin-level, maybe even jonin-level! How do they expect genin to answer it…unless…wait! Two points to be taken off when CAUGHT cheating, meaning they want us to cheat WITHOUT getting caught! So this test is about information gathering, that’s smart,’ he thought with a smirk, then frowned, ‘Oh wait…’ he went through the paper again. ‘I know the answers to them, but that defeats the purpose of this test. All right boys! It’s time for some info gathering and sabotage! Stay away from that Orochimaru though,’ he added mentally.

‘Yes Boss!’ was the collective reply.

All around the classroom, various people had figured out how to go about it; Sasuke used his sharingan to copy the movements of the person in front of him, Sakura already knew the answer, considering she was a bookworm and intelligent as well, Hinata and Neji used their Byakugan, Kiba used Akamaru to find the answers and tell him, Shino used his insects, Ino used her Mind transfer jutsu on Sakura to read the question and then copied the answers and then used the jutsu again on Shikamaru, who then used his shadow technique to attach himself to Choji, causing them both to write together.

Tenten used ninja wire to adjust mirrors to find the answers, helping Lee and herself. Gaara used his third eye, and Kankuro got up and went to the restroom along with one of the invigilators.

Naruto’s disguised clones had identified the chunin plants and discreetly placed themselves, mentally telling some of the answers back to the original. Naruto had improved upon some of the answers received. Once he was done he turned his paper upside down, leading to the invigilator who was watching him with a look of shock. His other clones performed sabotage by burning up papers or shredding them via wind and fire jutsu. Some clones pulled water out of the air to make some of the papers so soggy that they tore apart. In this way, many teams had been disqualified, aside from those that were caught multiple times.

Strangely, Naruto noted that Ibiki seemed pleased by the sabotage, but maintained his poker face so that no one would suspect him.

“I hope there was some benefit to playing with your dolls,” Ibiki said with a smirk once Kankuro entered. The puppet user flinched at being caught and sat down.

“TIME’S UP!” Ibiki stated once the 45 minutes were up. “Now, before I collect your papers, you have a choice ahead of you; to take the tenth question, or not to take it,” he stated much to the confusion of the genin.

“Choose?!” A familiar voice shouted from the back. Naruto turned to see Temari, who looked confused and angry. “What happens if we choose not to?!”

Ibiki chuckled darkly, “If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero, and you will be failed along with your teammates!”

Everyone started to shout in protest, but a bout of killing intent from Ibiki silenced them.

“Also, if you choose to take it and answer incorrectly, you will lose the right to ever participate in future chunin exams!”

Kiba hollered in anger, “What kind of rule is that?! Genin from before were still able to take the chunin exams, so why is this exam any different?!”

Ibiki grinned sinisterly, “Because the other genin didn’t have ME as their proctor! MY TEST, MY RULES! Choose wisely, I haven’t got all day!”

One by one, many teams trickled out. Naruto quickly glanced around to see Sakura and Sasuke, the former looked shaken but then locked eyes with him. He nodded and smiled at her, receiving a smile back in return. She then looked forward, shoulders straight and proud. Sasuke stood his ground, locking eyes with him and giving a slight nod.

He then reached out and held Hinata’s hand, squeezing it. Hinata got the message and sat up straighter. ‘That’s my girl!’ Naruto thought happily.

Ibiki waited and then saw that everyone else was sitting, looking straight at him, determined. ‘Hmm, fifteen teams. An interesting crop this year,’ he thought.

Outwardly he said, “Well, congratulations! You all pass!” He hid the smile that threatened to appear on his face at the baffled and disbelieving looks of the genin.

“But what about the tenth question?!” someone demanded.

“That WAS the tenth question. While the other nine were meant to test your skills in information gathering, as well as to test your guts, the tenth question was to test your will and fortitude. As a chunin, you will be forced to make tough decisions, and no one wants a weak-willed chunin leading their forces to their deaths! By answering this question, you have shown me your determination and willingness to do the best for your villages, even with handicaps,” he explained.

“This marks the end of the first phase of the chunin exams! Good luck to you all for the next phase!” he smiled, which was actually pretty pleasant.

He then frowned when the blonde kid, Naruto if he remembered, stood up from his seat and walked quickly towards one of the windows in the front. Opening it, he nodded to the interrogator before heading back to his seat. Ibiki figured what was happening and quickly stepped out of the way.

Through the window, a black ball of cloth entered. Two kunai flew out of the cloth and stuck to the ceiling, unfurling the cloth, revealing a very familiar purple haired woman wearing brown trench coat. But her attire had an addition from her usual. She wore a jonin flak jacket under the trench coat and over her mesh shirt. On the cloth was written, Second exam Proctor: Anko Mitarashi.

“All right, you lot! This isn’t the time to be celebrating!” She exclaimed. “I am the proctor for the second test, Anko Mitarashi! The real exam starts now! Are you ready?!” she shouted and pumped her fist in the air.

Stunned silence greeted her outburst. After a while Naruto held up a placard with the number 8 on it. Anko saw it and groaned, “Oh that’s bullshit! That entrance was at least a 5 out of 5!”

“Mandatory deduction, one from the entrance and one from presentation,” Naruto shrugged with an innocent look on his face.

Anko was about to retort when Ibiki stepped in, “You’re early, Anko!”

The purple haired kunoichi blushed and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. She then counted the number of genin left and whistled. “15 teams? Wow, Ibiki! That’s almost as much as last time!”

Ibiki snorted, looking at Naruto, “We may have an interesting crop of genin this year.”

Anko followed Ibiki’s gaze and saw Naruto who winked at her. “You’re not wrong…but don’t worry! I’ll cut that number to less than half during my time!” She said grinning savagely.

She straightened up, “All right brats! Be at training ground 44 in half an hour or you’ll be disqualified!” she said as she vanished in a fire shunshin, leaving a dazed group of genin.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get moving!” Ibiki barked.

The remaining genin scrambled, except the Uzumaki and his teammates. The three of them vanished in a shunshin of their own, though they were normal shunshin, leaving Ibiki shaking his head.

“They’re funny ones, all right,” Ibiki said to himself.

As he collected the papers, he came across Naruto’s. He read the answers and his eyes widened in disbelief. But more than the answers, he was surprised by the glowing seal at the bottom of the paper. Channelling his chakra, the seal unravelled to form words:

Ibiki-san,

There’s been a breach. Somehow Orochimaru has found his way into the exams and is posing as a competitor. I don’t know who, but I believe it prudent to inform the Hokage. Also, the genin Kabuto Yakushi? He’s a spy and is working for Orochimaru. I didn’t tell anyone but he had the smell of snakes on him. I’ve informed the Hokage about Kabuto. Kindly do the needful.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Ibiki clenched his fists, “This is bad, Hokage-sama will want to know about this,” he muttered before disappearing in a shunshin, heading for the Hokage Tower.