Chapter Text
Trying to get comfortable in his formalwear, Naruto said, "Why do I need to be at this funeral? I didn't even know the man!"
The Old Man shook his head, saying, "My student was one of the most powerful and respected shinobi of the village. Almost all of the village will be attending his funeral."
"Do I have to be in the front row, though? I'd never met Jiraiya the Toad Sage!" Naruto said, getting annoyed, not even sure why he cared about that so much.
"You will attend Jiraiya's funeral with me and that's final," the Old Man said firmly.
Knowing that the Old Man wouldn't budge, Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest, with the sleeves of the funeral kimono bothering him, forcing him to uncross them.
-----
...After failing the Academy's early graduation test for the second time because of the Clone jutsu, Naruto was- he felt- he wasn't sure how he felt. He was past being sad, though.
Naruto had thought that his fortune was beginning to change; that the Old Man would start paying more attention to Naruto after attending the funeral of Jiraiya in the front row together but soon enough, reality had ensued and Old Man Hokage had buried himself under a mountain of paperwork once more.
When he noticed the comments coming from some parents of other Academy Students, he clenched his teeth but kept on swinging, not letting them see they had affected him. He had his pride.
Naruto started walking home as the sun lowered in the sky. Realizing that there would be nobody at home... nobody to bother him in the Academy at that hour, he decided to return to the Academy.
Rather than train, though, he just stood in front of the striking posts, thinking, until a strange sound snapped him out of it, one much like the croaking of a frog.
!
The mysterious frog was still croaking, but Naruto was having a hard time placing it. After a few seconds of thought, Naruto remembered something Iruka had said and tried looking up, only to see what looked like a large frog, if frogs could grow a goatee and visible eyebrows, on top of one of the striking posts.
"About time you looked up, child. I was starting to worry I was dealing with a dullard," the creature said.
Naruto stayed still for a few moments, then started screaming, saying, "Aaaah! The frog talked!-"
All of a sudden, there was an impact on one of Naruto's shoulders, making him step back to avoid falling, grabbing whatever it was at the same time with his fingers.
"Hmmm," the voice said in Naruto's ear, though it sounded a little strained. "You may be a disrespectful little tadpole, but you at least have good instincts and balance. Now, please release my neck."
Naruto considered it for a moment, then moved his hand forward to look at the creature more carefully without letting it out of his grip. True to the creature's words, Naruto had it by the back of the neck.
Up close, the creature looked even more ridiculous. Still, that didn't mean Naruto would let his guard down. He said, "Who and what are you?"
The creature's expression changed into something that looked like a smile. It said, "Greetings, my name is Fukasaku and I'm one of the Elder Sage Toads of the Gama clan of summons." A few moments later, the- toad said, "Not introducing oneself is usually considered quite impolite at this point."
Naruto threw the frog away. "Crap crap crap! I got frog slime on my hand!" Wiping his hand on his pants and turning to head back home, his day having taken a turn for the weird.
...The next day, the first one of the spring break, Naruto had nothing to do, so he went on a stroll on the outskirts of Konoha, then sat on a smooth boulder next to a brook, alone with his thoughts.
Everything was swirling in his mind, from his failure to pass the Academy's test to his failed attempts to talk to Sakura, to- to-
To having to return to an empty apartment every evening. Whenever Naruto let himself think deeply about anything, he ended up thinking about something like that, missing out on any chance at a good mood.
"A Ryō for your thoughts…?" A somewhat familiar voice said.
Naruto turned just barely enough to see that bearded frog -toad, his mind corrected him- from last time. "You're that toad I met yesterday, right?" Naruto said slowly, almost like Shikamaru's speech patterns.
A thought that would have made Naruto almost wish for something to scrub his brain of it at any other time just didn't get any sort of response. Supposedly, that wasn't a good sign for somebody's mental state, but Naruto couldn't bring himself to care.
Naruto noticed the toad rub at his beard out of the corner of his eye, though the sound of scratching was obvious on its own.
The toad said, "Indeed. Fukasaku is my name, in case you have forgotten. You look quite deep in thought there, young human."
"My name's Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto told the toad, "not 'young human'. I'm eleven anyway, not that young."
"A fair point," Fukasaku said, "if one were to not take into account that instead of introducing yourself the previous time we met, you ran away screaming about toads being slimy." A pinched expression on his face.
Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto decided to apologize. He knew that he had screwed up. "Sorry, Fukasaku-san," he said, "you're right, I'm at fault."
Fukasaku's face had relaxed a lot. He said, "You are forgiven, young Uzumaki Naruto. A piece of advice, though: if you ever get to meet my wife Shima, don't insult her cooking no matter how alien you might find it. It won't end well for you," shuddering towards the end.
Naruto nodded, saying, "I'll keep that in mind," though he didn't get why Fukasaku found that relevant. Then, Naruto said, "So, Fukasaku-san, why are you here in Konoha? Do you live nearby?" Honestly curious.
Fukasaku said, "Without going too much into it, I came to Konoha to say goodbye to someone and to look for someone else to take up his position," his expression downcast.
Seeing Fukasaku's expression, Naruto suspected that he shouldn't push further. "Okay," Naruto said, "I hope you find who and what you're looking for."
"Thank you, Naruto-chan," Fukasaku said, walking onto the brook and disappearing in smoke… somehow.
By the time Naruto snapped out of his stupor, Fukasaku had left. Naruto had seen ninjas disappear in smoke before, but how had the man- toad walked on water?!
"What the hell?!" Naruto yelled out loud, making birds fly out of their trees and other kinds of animals hide.
Oops!
Naruto mentally apologized to all those animals and walked back home to go to sleep early.
...Unfortunately, Naruto ended up getting up earlier than he had expected, so he went on a walk.
During his morning walk, Naruto's feet took him to the same brook he had last seen the old toad. Fukasaku was nowhere to be seen, so Naruto decided to try out the Clone jutsu again. He did the hand-seals and put lots of Chakra into the clones… only for them to come out looking sickly once again.
Naruto slumped over, not knowing what he was doing wrong with the jutsu and worried he'd keep failing the graduation test.
"Good morning, Naruto-chan," a familiar voice said.
Naruto turned to see Fukasaku standing on water again. "Good morning, Fukasaku-san! How are you doing that?! Is it a jutsu and can I learn it?" Naruto said, hoping that the old toad would say yes.
Fukasaku said, "Doing what?" Then, he looked down and said, "Oh, the Water Walking exercise? Not quite a jutsu, just an exercise which helps our young -and rookie Shinobi- improve their Chakra Control, though it has its uses beyond that purpose."
"Chakra Control? Like that boring thing with the leaf Iruka-sensei has us do sometimes?" Naruto said, not nearly as impressed anymore.
The expression on Fukasaku's face shifted into something Naruto couldn't recognize. Eyes somewhat narrowed and a half-smile on his face, which then shifted into what looked like triumph.
Before Naruto was able to think about Fukasaku's expressions, the toad talked again, saying, "Hmm, I think I get what the problem is with your jutsu, why you failed to use it well earlier."
"You do!? Then, what do I have to do to make it work?!"
"Before I can confirm my hypothesis, I need to watch the process several times," Fukasaku said.
"Huh, what?" Naruto said, confused.
Fukasaku then said, "I mean to make sure, I need to see you try the jutsu again."
"Ah, okay," Naruto said, "why didn't you just say so?"
"Just- show me the jutsu again a few more times, Naruto-chan," Fukasaku said, his webbed hand on the side of his own head.
Nodding, Naruto said, "Okay, here goes! Bunshin no Jutsu!" Creating sick-looking clones, but Naruto wasn't deterred and tried again and again and again.
"All right, that's enough Naruto-chan. I've made all the observations I need," Fukasaku said.
"So? So? What's the problem?" Naruto said, impatient to get to the point.
Thwack!
"Ah!" Naruto said, startled, "what was that for!?"
In truth, it was the surprise that had made him react, as the toad hadn't hit Naruto hard.
"Focus, Naruto-chan! It's not a solution that will work right away! It will take time and dedication!" Fukasaku said, getting onto the boulder Naruto had sat on before.
"So, what is it?" Naruto asked, managing to control himself, barely.
"Simply put," Fukasaku said, "you don't know how to use your Chakra. You need to practice Chakra Control by repeatedly manipulating your Chakra doing such exercises as Leaf Concentration and Water Walking."
Naruto thought it over a bit, then said, "Those are boring! Doing the Leaf exercise again and again? That would get old fast!"
Fukasaku smiled at Naruto, but it was a strange kind of smile. He said, "Do you want to learn that jutsu or not? You seem like an ambitious young man. You probably could manage to learn even that jutsu with sheer stubbornness and repetition, but it would take a long time. What other jutsu are you able to use and how long did they take you to learn?"
After sighing out loud, Naruto said, "The Transformation Jutsu, which took me two years," in a whisper.
"And how does that compare to your peers? I mean, the other children in your class?" Fukasaku said, looking Naruto straight in the eyes.
Naruto said, "I was the slowest of my class at learning jutsu, all right!? I know I have no talent, no need to rub it in!" Getting angry.
Fukasaku shook his head. He said, "On the contrary, with the way you went about learning them, it is a miracle they did not take you twice as long."
"Huh, wha-?" Naruto said, starting to become very confused.
Then, Fukasaku continued by saying, "Naruto-chan, you do not lack natural talent nor intelligence as far as I can tell. There is a reason basics are basics. If you were to look at a dictionary, you'd see the word basic means something is a necessary starting point-"
Naruto was getting angry, enough so to interrupt Fukasaku. He said, "Yeah, I know what it means, -ttebayo!-"
"If you do, why haven't you put effort into them? Are they too boring for you?" Fukasaku said, interrupting Naruto in turn.
Naruto shook his head. He said, "What's the point?" Thinking back to his first few years at the Academy. "I realized way back that without someone guiding me, I'd do more harm than good if I tried my hand at learning the basics. Mizuki-sensei offered to teach me Taijutsu a couple times but I refused. I- I don't trust Mizuki-sensei and I trust Iruka-sensei even less.
"So, I figured I'd only learn what it takes to pass and catch up on what I've missed later, with a Jōnin teacher."
Fukasaku didn't speak for a few moments, then he said, "There might be a few problems with that, Naruto-chan."
"Yeah, but what can I do...?" Naruto said, "at least on a team with two others and a Jōnin, I might learn something even if the others are from a clan. In a class with almost thirty students total and with at least seven of them being from important clans, what will a Chūnin or two manage? Even if they cared enough to try."
Fukasaku had turned his head sideways like an owl, his expression strange again. It looked like the toad was- curious, intrigued, whatever that feeling was called. He said, "So, you are thinking ahead. I'm curious, though, why you never bothered to train Chakra Control. At least that one shouldn't be too risky."
Naruto sighed out loud. He said, "I didn't know what to believe and what not to, and the Old Man wouldn't help out…. Something about every Konoha Shinobi becoming great through the Academy."
Fukasaku said, "So, it has nothing to do with Chakra Control exercises being boring? What about learning things that can be taught through books?" Looking directly at Naruto's eyes.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. He said, "Yeah, a little bit. In my defense, I took my cues from Shikamaru and Kiba to keep my teachers from looking deeper. Shikamaru won't put in any more effort than necessary and Kiba hates studying... besides, I've fallen behind on my book learning and it's slow going on my own."
Fukasaku narrowed his eyes, not breaking eye contact with Naruto. He said, "So, let me get this straight. You kind of became the mask in your efforts to keep your Academy teachers' attention off you?"
"Well, yeah," Naruto admitted, "I know I need to work on it, get back the motivation I had when I was starting the Academy. I know I need to get off my ass and stop blaming clan kids for all my problems. In my defense, they definitely added to my problems and I really don't like any of them.
"One is a lazy fool who thinks his brains are all he needs to be a ninja, another is a cocky fool who is less smart than his pet and the third is a cowardly fool who doesn't think for himself and relies on the lazy fool for that. And those three are the ones I dislike and look down on the least!"
Fukasaku seemed deep in thought. Suddenly, he said, "Naruto-chan, do you know who Jiraiya was?"
"The one whose funeral was a week ago? A legendary ninja and the Old Man's student, right...?" Naruto said, wondering where that had come from.
Fukasaku was looking at Naruto in a strange way again, somewhere in-between pity and annoyance, if Naruto had to describe it.
Thinking it over for a few moments, Naruto realized: Jiraiya had been the Toad Sage! "So, Jiraiya was a member of your clan? He was human though, wasn't he?"
Fukasaku looked annoyed again. He said, "Yes, Naruto-chan, he was human. Have you forgotten- have you not learned about- I mean, sometimes humans with access to Chakra form contracts with clans of sapient animals and summon those animals using Kuchiyose no Jutsu. We, the Toads, are one such animal clan and Jiraiya was our summoner."
"Aah, all right, thanks for the information, Fukasaku-san," Naruto said, then he realized something. "I'm sorry for being insensitive," Naruto said, honestly apologetic for his behavior.
Fukasaku examined Naruto for a few moments, then said, "You are forgiven, Naruto-chan."
The silence that ensued was a bit awkward, so Naruto wanted to break it. He grasped for something to talk about, then said, "You're looking for a new summoner, right?" Naruto said, hoping he hadn't put his foot in his mouth again.
"I wasn't expecting you to remember that," Fukasaku said slowly, making Naruto frown.
There he goes, underestimating me!
"No need to pout, Naruto-chan! You remembered, you connected the dots and you proved me wrong," Fukasaku said, leaning on a cane he had gotten out– somehow.
Naruto opened his mouth to speak, he closed it, opened it, then paused. Fukasaku wasn't wrong, though the 'pout' part wasn't true. Naruto had scowled in a manly way, cooler than Sasuke's brooding- 'Okay, maybe pouting is better,' Naruto thought to himself.
"What's that sour expression over, Naruto-chan?" Fukasaku said, looking at Naruto straight in the eyes again.
"Nothing! Just got lost in thoughts," Naruto said, cold sweat running down his back.
Another awkward silence ensued. "So, Fukasaku-san-," Naruto said at the same time Fukasaku said, "So, Naruto-chan-."
Naruto mimed zipping his mouth, letting Fukasaku speak.
"So, Naruto-chan, how do you feel about being the next Toad summoner?" Fukasaku said, catching Naruto off guard.
"Wha- when? Right now?" Naruto asked, walking back and forth in agitation.
Fukasaku said, "Of course not immediately. We would test you first, of course. You already have a high enough Chakra capacity, which might be the most difficult to achieve, capabilities-wise. We have yet to see if you possess the guts and are willing to work hard to get stronger, not to mention how well you'd work with our clan.
"So, Naruto-chan, are you willing to become my pupil, with the possibility of also becoming the new Toad summoner?"
Naruto thought it over a bit. Maybe he should ask the Old Man...? 'Nope,' Naruto decided, 'I'll just keep it a secret for now and cross that bridge later.' Maybe it was reckless, but Naruto didn't exactly have lots of good options. "I accept!" Naruto said out loud. A bit too loud, going by Fukasaku's wince.
Fukasaku looked a bit put out and Naruto didn't believe it was just because Naruto had been loud.
"Are you certain, Naruto-chan? Do you not need to think it over? Perhaps consult an adult in your life?" Fukasaku said, looking worried.
Naruto shook his head. He said, "Adult in my life? Nothing like that, at least not one I'd trust with that."
Fukasaku's expression looked pinched, sour in a way Naruto hadn't seen him before even when Naruto had said something insensitive. "I've already informed Hiruzen-chan- I mean the Third Hokage, Naruto-chan," Fukasaku said, softly.
Naruto looked at Fukasaku, scrutinizing the toad.
"If you'd prefer for me to give Hiruzen-chan the absolute minimum of information, I can do that," Fukasaku said, shaking his head. Then, he said, "I was not aware that you do not trust him, Naruto-chan. As such, I've made some promises to him about your development, about information rather."
It was too good to be true, apparently. The Old Man knew about Fukasaku and approved. Then again, as far as Naruto knew, the Old Man didn't have bad intentions, he just was usually too busy with other stuff. Something about what Fukasaku had said though, had drawn Naruto's attention. He said, "What kind of promises and information...?" Looking at Fukasaku straight up once again.
Fukasaku frowned, saying, "There is some information I am not meant to reveal to you, such as who your parents were and I also promised to report how well you are progressing in your training. I intend to keep those promises now that I've made them, though of course, I will give Hiruzen-chan as little information as we both can get away with if you so wish."
Naruto nodded, glad that Fukasaku was on his side as far as Naruto could tell. "Wait," Naruto said, "the Old Man admitted that he knows who my parents were?"
"Yes," Fukasaku said, "he and I have discussed your parents and that's all you are getting for now. As I said, I keep my word, even if I gave it for the wrong reasons this time."
Naruto knew that keeping one's promises was very important, so he said, "I understand, Fukasaku-san. Or is it Fukasaku-sensei now?"
"Either is fine," Fukasaku said, then jumped off the boulder and landed in front of Naruto. Fukasaku offered his hand, saying, "I promise to teach you what you need to learn to the best of my abilities and to at the very least give you a fair chance when it comes to making you our summoner."
Naruto could feel the gravity of the situation. He shook Fukasaku's hand, which Naruto noticed had an opposable thumb and four other fingers, much like humans. Then, Naruto said, "I promise to give it my all to learn."
Fukasaku seemed to like that proclamation, judging by his smile. Then, the smile turned a bit sinister. "So, Naruto-chan. Follow this stream that way until you reach the Naka River at a walking pace, then eat the light breakfast I will provide and drink enough water for heavy exercise but not enough to weigh you down. Then, do laps around the village, following its walls.
"The only requirements are that you not pause or stop the laps until I tell you to and to go at a jogging pace at least, not slowing down to a walk until it's completely impossible for you to continue as normal."
Naruto saluted, then started following the instructions.
Fukasaku didn't shout encouragement or hurl abuse or anything, just mentioned milestones in the laps. At ten kilometers, which Naruto had managed in thirty minutes and seventeen seconds apparently, he had expected Fukasaku to tell him to stop.
Either way though, Naruto didn't complain and kept on with it. He managed the 20 kilometers mark at 60 minutes 29 seconds without much strain, but from then on, he had started sweating. Naruto was as steady in his pace and breathing as possible, following his neighbor's advice.
"30 kilometers, 90 minutes 41 seconds," Fukasaku said, but he didn't tell Naruto to stop. By this point, Naruto was starting to sweat enough for it to be visible.
"40 kilometers, 120 minutes 53 seconds," Fukasaku announced, but to Naruto that was part of background sounds.
"...60 kilometers, 181 minutes, 18 seconds. You should slow down a bit but not to a walking pace yet, Naruto-chan," a voice said. It sounded like it was addressed to him and Naruto trusted this one enough for this, so he followed the instructions.
"70 kilometers, 220 minutes 38 seconds. 80 kilometers, just short of 260 minutes. Slowly go down to a walking pace, Naruto-chan."
It was like Naruto was waking up from a restful sleep. Apart from being covered in sweat and his ribs protesting from the strain, that might as well be true for how he felt.
"Interesting," Fukasaku said, also instructing Naruto to stop walking and stand in place with his arms spread out and without slouching even a little bit.
Naruto followed the instructions, keeping on breathing steadily. "What's interesting, Fukasaku-sensei?" Naruto asked when he was sure that he'd be able to speak without becoming short of breath.
"I will tell you later," Fukasaku said. "Now, without ruining your breathing, sit in seiza on the rock to your left. Then, drink slowly."
Naruto sat down, taking the water bottle Fukasaku handed him and drinking it very slowly. Then, he followed Fukasaku's next instruction, which was to close his eyes.
Fukasaku said nothing else. Everything around created a loud melody; one just needed to listen to realize it was more than the sum of its parts. Every breath in brought air along with something else and every breath out discarded what couldn't be processed.
Maybe it was possible to make the process more... efficient? Taking in what could be processed fast enough and not much more and maybe making it easier to convert. Changing the breathing pattern many times, he finally picked one that he knew would recover stamina and– something much faster.
Like blood circu-ing in the veins, something went round and round his body, but it was a bit clogged up. The reason was that something was a bit too thick, like someone hadn't mixed their syrup well enough.
It shouldn't be too hard to fix it. It felt yellow for some reason, like facing the sun with eyes closed. When split back into its com-po-nents though, those were less colorful, one type darker- and the other lighter- colored. Calling them 'Light' and 'Dark' sounded silly, though. Remembering something from a long past lecture, the darker parts would be Yin and the lighter ones, Yang. His body was richer in Yang, apparently.
After the split, Yin and Yang joined the energies in his body, still with a heavy Yang focus. Unfortunately, red forced the yellow aside, which made him mix them again quickly to avoid losing to it. He didn't know what would happen if the red was allowed to run unchecked, but he knew it wouldn't be good.
Mindful of any sudden surges of Red, he split Yang and Yin again but not too much of it at once, so that he could still combat Red. Slowly uniting them and splitting them again and again and again and again until he was satisfied with how well he could mix Yin and Yang, he started working on circu-whatever faster.
At some points, small quantities of something -Chakra?- usually escaped, so he tried to get used to circu-ing his Chakra or whatever so that there were no losses, even if he had to slow down the flow. Red made things harder whenever it came, but it also increased how much Chakra there was. Once he was satisfied with the circu-whatever, he decided to work on the speed of mixing together Yin and Yang to make- to mold Chakra.
He somehow knew that he'd need a long while, too long, to do a decent job with his molding speed, same with increasing the speed of Chakra circu-thing without increasing losses. So, he'd try something else.
He could look into the Red, but for some reason, he didn't feel like doing that yet. Maybe he could search for other things with Chakra, like the blue-green near him. Is that Fukasaku-sensei?
With that thought, Naruto realized that he felt a bit stiff, to the point of numbness. He opened his eyes to notice that night had fallen. Naruto was very thirsty, not to mention he needed to go to the toilet.
Fukasaku opened his eyes and turned to him, saying, "Congratulations, Naruto-chan. You've completed the first step of Chakra Meditation... along with the second, third and fourth one, not to mention the progress you've made in the fifth and the sixth step."
"That was Chakra Meditation?" Naruto said, not expecting that. "It wasn't boring or difficult to get right... or anything like I'd expected."
"Yes," Fukasaku said, "I had expected you to be better at it than your rather... hyperactive usual behavior suggests, but you have exceeded all my expectations."
That made Naruto smile. He left Fukasaku behind and found a place to do his business. It was after nightfall, so Naruto went to the nearest gate immediately afterward.
"Hey, Naruto," the guard said, "you took your time, huh? I expected you back much earlier."
"Oh, cut him some slack, Izumo," the other one said, "he ran all those laps yesterday, he needs his rest."
'Yesterday?' Naruto thought to himself, 'oh well, I need to go back fast and eat!'
After giving his order and washing his hands, Naruto sat at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, impatient for it like usual.
"Hey, Naruto," Ayame said, "Is everything all right? Something's different about you, I can't put my finger on what."
"Yes, Big Sis Ayame. I've never been better, actually," Naruto told her and he meant it.
"Oh, leave it, Ayame," Teuchi said, "the kid's maturing. He isn't as hyperactive and impatient now."
"What do you mean, Old Teuchi? I still can't wait for your Ramen!" Naruto said, looking down, only to see his legs perfectly still in seiza, no squirming or trouble staying on the uncomfortable seat.
"What happened yesterday? We didn't see you around at all!" Ayame said, "were you out all night?"
"What day is it today, Big Sis?" Naruto asked, suspicions mounting.
"Thursday," Ayame said, putting her hands on her hips. "Did you train through Wednesday? Or were you asleep all day? Neither is very healthy, you know, Naruto."
"Yeah, I know, Big Sis Ayame -ttebayo. I was doing something in-between," Naruto said, realizing that he had been meditating for an entire day and more.
No matter how many times Ayame asked, Naruto refused to answer. He knew she wouldn't believe him anyway, so he kept his mouth shut until Old Teuchi spoke up again to stop her.
On Friday morning, someone knocked on Naruto's door. Naruto looked through the door viewer carefully only to see nothing.
"Naruto-chan! It's me!" A voice said, which Naruto recognized as Fukasaku's. The old toad entered after Naruto opened the door and stepped aside, saying, "Good morning, Naruto-chan. I have some questions and answers for you, and then we can commence the day's training."
"All right, Fukasaku-sensei," Naruto said, "ask away."
Fukasaku said, "What is your physical training every week like?"
Naruto mentioned how he ran ten kilometers every day, along with 100 push-ups, sit-ups, stretches and punching a dummy 100 times.
"How long have you been at this level of training?" Fukasaku asked.
Naruto said, "Two years. Why?" Worried by Fukasaku's face.
"Naruto-chan, this is a bit too low for someone with unlocked Chakra and your levels of endurance," Fukasaku said, scaring Naruto.
"What? But, but, Rika-san said that that was the limit for someone around my age every day!" Naruto said, "did she- did she lie to me?"
Naruto would be very disappointed if his neighbor had lied to him.
"Is this 'Rika-san' a Shinobi or a civilian, Naruto-chan?" Fukasaku asked.
"She's a civilian, my neighbor," Naruto told Fukasaku. After a few moments of thinking it through, Naruto realized: she hadn't known about the limits of ninjas! The old lady hadn't lied to Naruto, at least not on purpose! Naruto relaxed when he realized that.
Fukasaku nodded, then said, "I will rewrite your training routine for you, Naruto-chan. The one you currently have is well-made, but it's not a good fit for you anymore. Next question: how do you feel about Chakra Control training now?"
"I still don't like it, but I can power through it if it's so important," Naruto said in reply.
After a lot of questions by Fukasaku and Naruto answering, the toad said, "So, Naruto-chan, any questions that you have?"
"Hmmm, lemme think about it. Ah, what about taijutsu? Will you teach me that, too?" Naruto said, "I wanna beat Sasuke at the Academy spars!"
Fukasaku looked at Naruto and said, "You need to learn a few other things before that, but I can correct your form when you punch and kick, then have you practice those things many times. If you are expecting me to teach you things that simply 'look cool' or to help you set back your overall growth to show off, you will be disappointed, Naruto-chan."
Naruto sighed out loud, but he knew Fukasaku wouldn't budge and that the toad was probably right, so he didn't complain. Much.