'It seems I was wrong about you Naruto. There is more within you than a demon's spirit, there's the heart of a splendid Hidden Leaf Village ninja.'
Amongst the steam and relaxing streams, Ebisu watched as his newly acquired student blew past all expectations. The whole of Naruto's feet were still submerged however for a boy who couldn't make a shadow clone without producing enough energy to power an entire hidden village, this was progress to be proud of.
"Naruto, I need you now to look at me," Ebisu spoke evenly and calmly. Through his struggles to maintain balance the genin managed to open one of his eyes." calm yourself. Your mind now is your greatest obstacle. Maintain a steady heartbeat and remove doubt from your mind and you will be able to stand without issue."
After making an expression that clearly conveyed a 'much easier said than done' reaction, Naruto inhaled deeply. He repeated it again, and again. The fresh steam whipping around his system clutched onto his negative thoughts and left his body along with his old breath. Finally, Naruto was able to open his other eye and examine his surroundings. Due to the stream and how tightly he closed his eyes, the boy's blurry vision restricted most of any fine details with the exception of one. The very large grin on Ebisu's face.
"And what did I tell you? This is how far you get when you listen to your sensei." Ebisu said smugly. While Naruto prepared himself for an angry retort his attention was quickly diverted to his feet.
"Oh wow, I'm actually walking on water! Closet Perv, I'm walking on water!"
"Hush boy, remember the deal we made? Anyway, while this is a major step, we still have a long way to go. For now, however, I'm going to call this session to a close. I want you to go home, get a proper amount of sleep, and be back here at the springs at the crack of dawn. Think you can handle that Uzumaki? However, if you still wish for Kakashi to handle your train- "
"No, Clos- I mean Ebisu-sensei, if you can teach me how to control my chakra and make me a better ninja, that means I'm that much closer to becoming Hokage. So I guess I'll be back here tomorrow?" Naruto asked scratching the back of his head.
"At dawn. And Naruto?"
"Yes?"
"As long as the will of fire burns in you, I won't stop until I make you the greatest ninja I possibly can." with that Ebisu disappeared in a sudden cloud of smoke.
Left alone with his thoughts the boy couldn't help but to feel a mixture of glee and guilt. Was it right for him to be taught by this random jonin? True, Kakashi did specifically pick out Ebisu but still, it's about morals. Kakashi is the leader of Team Seven and Naruto was a member, so it's only right for the leader to show his students how to be a proper ninja. But then it gets even trickier. While Naruto did like Kakashi the fact stands that at this point Ebisu and Kakashi are on equal ground when it comes to what they've actually taught Naruto. And Kakashi was even assigned to be his teacher, and then he pawned Naruto off, for Sasuke! And another thing. . .
"What's that smell?" Naruto muttered under his breath while his nose brought him down to his feet. His unprotected feet. His unprotected feet inside burning hot water.
"AAHHH!"
[hr]
The bright morning sun shone over the village like the worn paint on an old canvas, carrying the spectacle of aged beauty as gracefully as anything could. Over by the hot springs, a primed sensei looked over his worse for wear student.
"Okay, what happened? You look like a clump of dirt that got thrown into a wood chipper!" Ebisu's eyes bulged from his skull. He was looking at what appeared to be unlike the boy from the previous day. This boy, while not exactly on the up and up in ninja fashion, normally presented himself in pressed attire. Today his clothes looked like he was put in the aforementioned wood chipper, his hair looked as though someone dumped a handful of grease on his head then rubbed vigorously. His eyes were gaunt and his stomach growled audibly.
"Oh well Sensei, I'm sorry I'm not all prim and pretty for you. Unlike other people I don't have a chest of makeup that I can just use whenever I need to look good!" Naruto said tiredly.
". .What is that even suppose to mean?"
"What do [b]you[/b] mean?"
"Naruto, what happened to you last night?"
"Ugh, there was another gas leak at my place so I slept in a dumpster."
"You slept in a dumpster? Why would you sleep in a dumpster?!"
"Duh, didn't you hear the whole gas leak thing earlier?"
"Yes, I did, that doesn't answer why you didn't go to the hospital or anywhere else besides a dumpster."
". .I don't like the hospital. It smells funny."
"And a dumpster doesn't?"
"Hey, it took me almost the whole night just to find one that wasn't full."
At a loss for a proper response, Ebisu muttered his discontent and then looked back at Naruto.
"Fine, but I can't have you train while you're a tattered mess. Go into the showers and clean up, then me back out here."
Naruto grunted loudly in protest but marched off to the showers nonetheless. Grabbing a towel from a bin just outside the hut, Naruto entered, crossed a small locker room, disrobed and placed his clothing just outside the shower stalls. The boy was completely engrossed by the warm water so he didn't notice his sensei just outside the stall.
After a thorough washing session, Naruto emerged and reached with one hand for his clothes while his other dried off his face.
"What the?" he asked when his hand was met with air.
"I hope you don't mind, I repurposed those clothes to fire kindle." Ebisu said from around the corner outside of the hut, as to keep Naruto's sense of privacy mostly intact.
"You did what?! How could you do that?! I liked those clothes!" Naruto's voice hinted sadness underneath the unyielding rage.
"I understand Uzumaki but I will not allow any disreputable behavior, including poor hygiene. So I took it upon myself to get you some proper clothing. I was planning on giving this to you later but given the circumstances, I've decided to speed up the timetable." Ebisu explained holding something bright.
In the doorway was a suit that was almost identical to Ebisu's. A long-sleeved shirt with a pair of red swirls on each upper arm. A pair of sweatpants accompanied the shirt with no notable marks. The one thing that separated the suits was the color. Ebisu's was dark while Naruto's retained his old clothes orange shine. After giving a sideways glare towards the unfamiliar cloth Naruto approached moving his towel down to his waist. The boy then felt the suit greeting it with an annoyed sigh.
"Are you trying to turn me into a closet perv like you?"
A heavy sigh of exasperation left the teacher's mouth but this time, he chose not to respond. Quickly he threw the clothes towards Naruto and left the boy, temporarily, to his own devices. For about five minutes the tokubetsu jonin waited atop the spring water when Naruto exited the hut with a less than happy expression.
"I swear if I end up being a closet perv because of this I won't forgive you."
"Well if you're done whining I'm ready to continue your training. And maybe something else as well." Ebisu ended his sentence in a sing-song way.
A mischievous glint found it's way onto Naruto's eye. No longer hindered by any threats of 'closet perversion' Naruto charged onto the water. While he surprisingly wasn't under the water, he was still ankle deep in the water.
"Okay Naruto, breath in and out. Walking on water is just like swimming, you need to feel the current of the water with your whole body."
Naruto closed his eyes and obeyed the orders he had been given. A minute of meditation passed when the boy began to raise his foot ever so slowly, all the while under the unblinking eye of Ebisu. Once his foot broke from the embrace of the water Naruto just as slowly lowered it back to the surface.
"Keep your eyes closed and repeat."
Again Naruto slowly raised his other foot and placed it on the surface of the water. While he wanted desperately to celebrate a voice inside told him that his sensei probably had something else in store for him. No sooner had he made his decision did Ebisu beckon him over, challenging Naruto to keep his eyes closed once more. With one step Naruto could see the entirety of the springs before him. Every wave, every ripple, and every sort of shifting motion had been made so clear, the challenge melted away along with any apprehension.
Strutting across the stream, his confidence carrying him more than his legs, Naruto stopped when Ebisu put a couple of fingers on his forehead an arm's length away.
"Naruto, I've had an epiphany."
"Epipha-what?"
"Epiphany, a realization."
"Oh, what is it? Is it that I'm the best ninja ever?" Naruto said with a great big smile.
"Well, I wouldn't say that. But I will say the potential is there."
"You really think so?"
"Actually yes. The potential hidden in you Naruto is vast. You went from having very little to no chakra control to being able to water walk in less than twenty-four hours. Contrary to what I've heard about you while you were in the academy, you aren't an untalented loser."
"Oh thank you-wait what!?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, in you I see the potential to be a great hidden leaf village ninja, and the thing you've lacked isn't skills. You are absurdly fast at learning new techniques and implementing them. What you need, what you've needed, is someone that will take the time out to actually teach you and show you the patience any good sensei would normally provide." Ebisu adjusted his glasses. "With that being said what I want to do is give you something very special."
Out of the jonin's pocket, a small piece of square beige paper was pulled.
"Do you know what this is Naruto?"
"Um, paper?"
"Yes, but it's more than that. It can allow us to see exactly what your chakra nature is."
"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed bringing his fists close to his chest with his knuckles facing outwards. "What's chakra nature?"
Ebisu face faulted causing a splash of hot to cascade over his body.
"They really didn't teach you anything in the academy did they?"
"Hey don't talk about Iruka-sensei like that."
"Of course, I mean no offense. I'm just disheartened when situations like this arise. Nevertheless, to answer your question, chakra nature is that elemental resonance your chakra has with nature. In other words, your chakra can be turned into either lightning, earth, water, fire, wind, or a combination of any of them. Although combinations are rare."
In an instant, Naruto made a move to grab the paper but was quickly dismissed by Ebisu who merely avoided the lunge. After a brief scolding, Ebisu continued his explanation of the paper and how to use it. Using one's chakra channeled through the fingers it was possible to determine the nature of one's chakra. Since this required chakra control Ebisu deemed it necessary to do one more activity before using the paper.
Ebisu bent over and put his hands on the water then he lifted his feet in the air, he then did what could be described as handstand push-ups. Beckoning his student to do the same Naruto mirrored his sensei. The boy began to sweat as his arms shook noticeably. Ebisu reminded the boy of calming techniques but Naruto, after a few minutes, couldn't withstand the pressure and fell into the water. He quickly wound back up on top of the water's surface but not with suffering some burning from the water. It didn't need to be spoken but Naruto knew to get back into position and try again.
Seven Hours Later:
"I don't know about you Naruto but I think you've truly earned the right to move up to the next level. I mean, Being able to practice chakra control and perform strength training with those push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, burpees, squats, and honestly, I can't even remember what else, at the same time? I think you put yourself on the fast track towards acing the third stage of the chunin exams." Ebisu said proudly looking at his, what would be described as, deflated student.
"Just give me the damn paper so I can die in peace."
Ebisu shrugged and handed the paper to Naruto who grabbed it as quick as his body would allow. Easily he pumped chakra into the paper and to his, and his teacher's, disbelief it split in two.
"So, what does that mean?"
"It means Naruto. That you have more surprises than I could ever imagine."