shadow puppets chapter one the intervention
Naruto is desperate for any knowledge of the Shinobi arts but no one will teach him anything. one day he meets a ninja who gives him some books to study on his own. over time he learns that corruption runs rampant in the village and is responsible not just for his miserable childhood but others too
Naruto woke up in a damp and cold alley close to his house, just two blocks over really. For most people that meant they got too drunk and fell asleep on the sidewalk. Embarrassing as hell but overall not too bad so long as you didn't lose anything worthwhile like your keys or dignity. Naruto however was part of the minority that woke up after getting into a fight and left in a ditch to wake up by himself. Well officially it was a fight as Naruto did get a punch in when that guy held him up and taunted him some more. But mostly it was a one sided beating organized by some drunken villagers and some ninja looking the other way.
Naruto knew those ninja were supposed to stop incidents like this, it was inevitable that fights would break out when everyone got drunk during a festival but they never seemed to bother when they were fighting him. Well the exception was when he was hanging around the Hokage, but there was a limit to how long you could stalk someone before it gets weird.
He blinked a few times trying to focus his vision. He looked around and saw no villagers around waiting for round two. He sighed in relief and tried to ignore the smell of piss that hung eternally in this alley.
The feeling was slowly returning to his left arm while his right side was still sore from all the kicking. he idly wondered if he had a broken rib that kept it from healing sooner. If so he would have to visit the hospital soon before it healed the wrong way. Re breaking bones hurt worse than breaking them in the first place. This was mostly because of the glee the nurses on duty took in helping him reset his bones and the fact that he didn't get any anesthetic. This was because he couldn't afford it and because his metabolism burned through it so fast they needed to pump enough into him to put down an elephant.
They were stingy about their valuable supply of medicine. They said they were saving it for more important cases . Unless the Hokage himself was looking over their shoulders they wouldn't give him a drop.
Not particularly keen on dragging himself over there he felt around his wound to confirm it was broken possibly shattered. And then pierced the skin on top of his stomach and inserted his hand to pull out the pieces of broken bone. One by one he fished out the bits that could pierce his internal organs and ensured more pain ridden days. He was confident that the bones would grow back into place in time. It wasn't the first time they had done so and probably wouldn't be the last.
He had to hurry up though his consciousness was slipping and he didn't feel like passing out with his hand still inside him. His wound might heal over his hand trapping it or worse it might cause him to bleed out.
After doing his best to gather the shattered pieces of his ribcage he pulled out and held the wound closed with his hand. He preferred those needles and strings but his hands did the same job in a pinch. After a few seconds of waiting that familiar steam came out of his wounds and it started closing up. His whole body would hurt like hell tomorrow but it would still be better than the alternative.
He laid there for a while and then went back to sleep never noticing one anbu looking at him very closely.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
One week later
Naruto was walking around inside the forest surrounding the village. He was looking for something to eat but wasn't having any luck so far in finding anything edible. He was then interrupted by a anbu who appeared out of nowhere in front of him.
He wore the standard anbu outfit with a sword strapped to his back. He looked disinterestedly at him like he wasn't really worth his time. Though it was hard to say with the impassive mask on, he gave the general air of being indifferent.
"Who are you" asked a nervous Naruto, he knew those who liked to beat him up loathed to give out their names. But anbu wouldn't regardless so it didn't really matter but he stuck to his routine.
" I'm Uchiha Itachi" replied the guy in a emotionless tone only strengthened by his lack of body movements.
" Nice to meet ya" replied Naruto relieved that this guy had given out his name as that would ensure that he wouldn't beat him up. Every anbu knew he went to see the old man on a regular basis and so wouldn't be foolish enough to think that he wouldn't be believed if he had actual names. It was the exact reason why he kept showing up even if the old man never really helped him in anything.
Appearances were half the battle sometimes , if you walked and sat beside someone then to a casual observer you might look like friends. Hell you might even fool the guy himself into thinking that over time. He had tried this tactic with a few village kids but they kept getting reminded to stay away from him by their peers. That was annoying but it also helped him learn that even just hanging around kids in front of their parents would get them in trouble. It was a good way to tackle his bullies, instead of beating them up he gave them a nice present in front of their parents as a thank you for being such a good friend. He had a blast laughing behind their backs when they couldn't explain it to their parents and ended up getting grounded.
he knew the Hokage also got in to trouble with his council who acted as nagging pseudo parents but he was a grown man so Naruto didn't feel too bad. Especially since It was this perceived friendship with the Hokage that stayed the hand of most ninja . Many grumbled about him but did nothing as the Hokage could execute them without cause. The civilians however had more free reign to do as they wished. This was to prevent a total dictatorship by the Hokage. This was mainly because ultimately the civilians were subjects of the daimyo first and Hokage second. Without the ninja oath of loyalty to the Hokage. The Hokage couldn't punish them directly and it fell to the civilian council to punish them as a representative of the daimyo. The council however often let them go with a slap on the wrist or dropped the matter entirely. So long as he wasn't found dead with someone caught in the act of killing him. He seriously doubted anyone would go to jail longer than a night to sleep off their hangover.
In reality the old man just gave him enough to survive by paying his apartment bills and treating him to ramen every now and then. He never did anything about his real problems despite having to know about them. So while he liked the old man as he was one of the few to give him anything at all he wasn't blind to how lacking it was either.
" Likewise Naruto" replied Itachi after a moment of silence
" Why do you know my name" it wasn't like most people didn't know him but the where they got it from told him something about the person. It was also a good prompt to get them to start spouting that nonsense about him being a demon. Demon rhetoric was a clear indicator for a future beating and gave him only a few moments to plan his escape route.
" Put simply because I was put on a guard detail recently meant to protect you however they don't exist except for in name to appease the Hokage" he said while not moving an inch like a statue.
" So why don't you tell the Hokage" asked Naruto hopeful that maybe the Hokage was just unaware and would improve his life if given proper information.
" He knows to some extent but lacks the power to enforce his will with every ninja, not without losing serious political power. If he sacrifices all the support he has on you he cannot accomplish his other objectives. Simply put he has to pick and choose his battles and has decided to lose yours'' Itachi mercilessly explained with only a hint of something in his voice Naruto couldn't place.
Naruto hanged his head down low, his worst suspicions had now been confirmed. The old man knew and just didn't care enough.
" So why are you telling me this?" wondering if it was just to rub it in, if so he was going to put up a fight even if he couldn't win.
" Although I was only recently put on this detail which was meant as a vacation for me I'm already being pulled off it" he made a slight head movement that seemed to be apologetic.
Naruto scoffed " Why did you screw up or something. Don't see how that is possible compared to your predecessors"
" Indeed, I did not screw up. The detail itself is being cancelled due to lack of success and not enough backing to waste valuable military personnel on it'"
" So what, it's not like it's going to change anything " dismissed Naruto. Thinking if they didn't show up when he was picking out bones through his stomach then they might as well never show up.
" Actually it will, if you accept my offer" continued Itachi undaunted by his dismissal of his services
" What offer " Naruto asked curiously. He only got offered free ramen up until now
" You don't deserve the treatment you get from this village and though I can't change it myself I can now give you some advice and training to better survive it" Itachi explained while refraining from any motions that might help sell his pitch.
This perked Naruto's interest, a real live ninja was going to teach him and not just any old ninja but an anbu ninja the best of the best. Though the timing of the offer raised some suspicion he just didn't care right now and put it to the back of his mind.
" First off you will need to promise me that you will abide by my teachings and will not tell anyone what you have learned until you reach chunin."
" Why can't I show everyone that I'm not as useless as they make me out to be" questioned Naruto loudly.
" Because the element of surprise is your biggest advantage'"
" What's that got to do with me not strutting my stuff"
" If no one has ever seen it, they can't gossip about it and then your enemies won't hear of it in advance."Itachi patiently explained
" Why not let them hear I'll beat them all down" boasted Naruto confident that his awesomeness would skyrocket now that he would get some proper instruction.
Itachi sighed " Your enemies are in this village, picking a fight with them leads to a fight with the village meaning you'll die or get kicked out. Your best bet is to hide your real skills until you can survive with or without the village"
at Naruto's puzzled face he continued
" This means you will purposefully screw up every test they will make you do whether you like it or not. The more they underestimate you the easier it will be for you to avoid beatings"
" Fine I'll do it but why should I? Why do they hate me so much they want to keep a little kid down."
" Because their hate is rooted in their fear of you. So make them think you are a weak pathetic loudmouth or something and they'll write you off as thrash not worth their time." itachi explained stoically.
" Why are they afraid of me I'm just a little kid" said Naruto with a slight glistening in his eyes indicating he might cry.
" That doesn't matter for now. Right now I'll tell you how to become strong enough to make it justified." said Itachi avoiding the question that might get him killed.
'' How, are you going to teach me a cool jutsu" asked Naruto somewhat cheering up at the thought.
"I'm going to teach you the foundation of every strong ninja, chakra control"
" What's chakra '' asked Naruto puzzled by the strange term. While his strange benefactor seemed annoyed that he didn't know. " What do they teach you in that ninja academy of yours nowadays. That was first day stuff back when I attended"
" Ah well I kinda missed that day because I had a food poisoning'' It was true he did get food poisoning his was just a bit stronger than most thanks to some complimentary rat poison on his cabbage. Ever since that day he stuck mostly to his instant cup ramen and ichiraku. It was hard to poison a sealed container without leaving signs of tampering. It was beyond the skills of most civilians though ninja could probably still pull it off. and ichiraku were just too nice to do it themselves and people couldn't risk poisoning the entire village by sabotaging their supplies.
Itachi reached inside his combat jacket pocket and pulled out a scroll. He then pricked his thumb on one of the kunai strapped on his left leg and wiped his blood across the scroll.
After a poof of smoke five books appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of Naruto.
" Chakra is the fuel that drives a ninja's jutsu, the more you have the more jutsu you can perform and the more powerful you can make them. The better you control it, the less you will have to use and they will be more effective." said itachi with a bored inflection
" cool" said naruto already daydreaming about firing off powerful jutsu as soon as he mastered chakra.
" Not really, many ninja can perform devastating ninjutsu but rarely hit with it because it's so obvious and slow that it always gives your opponent time to dodge or block. " Itachi replied trying to nip his fascination with flashy jutsu's in the bud before it could take hold.
" Oh" Naruto was at a loss for words. He liked those awesome jutsu's he saw other ninja's perform in training areas but he had to admit that they rarely actually hit.
" It often devolves into who can fire of the biggest jutsu that leaves no place left to dodge which is wasteful of chakra" lectured Itachi
" But if it leaves no place to dodge don't you have to fire something back or get blown away'' asked Naruto
" True sometimes it is unavoidable so I too have a few one hit kill techniques in my arsenal but they don't make me strong by themselves as their cost is too high to use frequently." conceded Itachi
"They don't ? "
" Even if I taught you my strongest fire jutsu and you learned it. You would still lose to a ordinary chunin. " itachi deadpanned
" If your special attack could be beaten by a chunin than it isn't that strong" objected Naruto
" It is the user that makes the attack strong. I can make a simple kunai throw more deadly than most ninja's can make a B ranked technique. That chunin would use his speed to dodge the attack or stop you from launching it in the first place. Devastating power still needs to hit its target to be effective."
" So speed trumps power and jutsu don't make the ninja" concluded naruto
" Precisely." answered Itachi somewhat relieved that his new student understood a lesson many grown ninja struggled with for years despite the answer staring them in the face. He had to admit that a blank slate was sometimes better than pre trained ninja' s, who already had many bad habits. Itachi as an anbu captain had to spent weeks getting his men to outgrow the bad habits they picked up in the academy all the way to chuunin. He had to put them through grueling training and use his sharingan extensively to pick up all their bad habits so he could correct them accurately.
" So what are you going to teach me" asked Naruto again hoping for something a bit more concrete.
"I will only give you some general advice I don't have the time to hold your hand. You will learn your skills by yourself from these books. If you manage to get through them and demonstrate your skills I might give you some more advanced books. If I don't get around to it you will search out more material on your own discreetly"
" I will test you once a month but I might be gone from the village for long periods" Naruto nodded in understanding
"Now that you no longer have a guard detail, you can practice the techniques in secluded areas but be sure that no one is around you or you will get beaten again more severely. But more importantly they will take away the books and I will not provide replacements." warned Itachi uncaring of the pout Naruto put on.
" Why not" asked Naruto worried his only way to get stronger might get stolen from him
" Because they will be watching you to see where you got it from. And also if you can't keep something like this secret you don't deserve to be a ninja anyway." Naruto understood that logic somewhat. Itachi must not want to get associated with him publicly. A lot of the village kids shunned him because their friends wouldn't play with them if they didn't. He was used to it but it still hurt.
Naruto took a look at the books, they were called : Chakra control exercises and elemental affinities. The human anatomy and medical chakra the hidden affinity, Sealing theory a forgotten art, a jutsu scroll with some technique called the shadow clone and Puppetry: string theory and puppet building.
" I get what the others are but what Is puppetry" said Naruto holding the leather bound book up for Itachi to see.
" It's a underappreciated art from Suna our neighboring country and ally "
" Why is it underappreciated "
" Because it is like my specialty genjutsu. It takes many years of training before it becomes effective in combat . However most ninja prefer flashy jutsu or something else that promises quick results."
" Then why don't you teach me those" whined Naruto
" Because they don't provide a real advantage in a fight other than a tool in a tool belt that might or might not work but always eats up a lot of chakra. It doesn't make sense to add more at a certain point as you don't have the chakra to use all of them and those ninja never make it past mediocre level. If you want to be a mediocre ninja be my guest and I'll just teach you those. " said Itachi with a hint of anger in his voice. He must really not like people looking down on his illusions and by extension feel somewhat sympathetic to other difficult disciplines.
" Okay so why not teach me genjutsu if your skilled at those, wouldn't it make more sense if you taught me those." asked Naruto trying to appease his benefactor by showing interest in genjutsu
" It would, under normal circumstances but your chakra capacity is so large that learning enough control to create a illusion will take you a dozen years of training at least. And I doubt you will have the patience for that. ''
Naruto wasn't going to disagree with that statement. As cool as illusions might be he wasn't willing to train a dozen years to become somewhat competent when he wanted to be Hokage tomorrow.
"So why is puppetry different does it take less chakra control" asked Naruto trying to get back on track while not hurting Itachi's feelings.
" It does and doesn't, to be more precise it isn't as big of a disaster to overload the puppets with chakra as it is with illusions. Illusions are carefully layered on top of each other without the victim ever noticing that they are not real until it's too late. If your chakra control is bad it will be obvious it's an illusion and it might shatter without the opponent even lifting a finger. Puppets however are less demanding."
"How so " asked Naruto getting intrigued by the puppets
"'They will still move although choppy and erratically without decent chakra control and you can overcharge them if you wish it will only make their movements faster and stronger, so long as its properly molded chakra rather than just raw chakra."
" I see, I guess that makes sense, they have a larger margin for error then. But what about this jutsu scroll then I thought you just said that jutsu didn't make a ninja strong" asked Naruto curious as it was the only scroll and not a book about an entire discipline.
" That scroll is an exception its real value lies for most people in scouting and distractions. But for you with your large chakra pools. You can use the information retaining feature of the technique to your advantage and learn at a faster rate. In theory you can shorten your training time to learn techniques in half or more, depending on how many clones you use. " Itachi quietly explained
" Sweet I'm going to be the strongest in little under a year and then I'm gonna show em all "
" Remember never show your true skills until you make chuunin or your life is in danger" reminded Itachi.
" Okay sensei. Hey how did you get this book about puppetry anyway don't they guard it like a national secret in Suna."
" They do, so I appreciate you never telling anyone where you got it from or even showing it to anyone unless you plan to kill that person. As for the book I got it during an infiltration mission a while back. I picked it up to perhaps compliment my skills as a ninja but I'm watched too carefully to properly train or use it while still being part of Konoha"
Naruto gulped and said " I promise" realizing that he was being shown sensitive material that could get Itachi thrown in a cell and was really grateful for it. Naruto now understood that Itachi didn't want to associate with him because he feared public disapproval but a prison sentence which was a whole lot better in Naruto's eyes.
He looked at the book and flipped a few pages and saw a lot of complicated theory about chakra transformation and how it was used to manipulate the puppets. He hoped he could understand this in time before Itachi gave up on him. He may never be able to use these puppetry skills publicly like Itachi but some parts of it must still be useful he thought. Well at least the other books would be as they were generic enough to not get noticed.
" While the puppetry is a nice advantage as it is relatively unknown it isn't unique so don't expect people not to have a counter ready." Itachi continued while Naruto skimmed the book
" So its worthless against another puppeteer" asked Naruto
" No it is just less effective against those who know your general style. When I face other illusion specialists I have the most trouble because I can't rely on simple illusions and have to use the special ones or focus on my other skills. The strongest ninja all have a unique technique that makes them difficult to handle despite already knowing what it is because it is hard to adapt to something completely different than what one is used to."
" So a special technique does make a ninja strong " asked Naruto confused by his contradictory statements
" No a special ability isn't mandatory for instance the Nidaime hokage had unprecedented control of water, the Sandaime knows every technique and so is difficult to predict that way and the fourth had unsurpassable speed. They all polished their basic skills to the point that it became a special ability on its own.
" Wasn't the fourth's speed due to the flying thunder god technique" nitpicked Naruto
" Indeed it was but he was still fast without it. The flying thunder god technique is essentially similar to the shunshin. A high speed teleportation technique but without good basic speed and reflexes it would leave you a sitting duck to an enemy who could react and move fast enough."
" So his skills made his flying thunder god invincible not the other way around " asked Naruto
'' Precisely"
"What about this ridiculously thick book then" asked Naruto pointing at the 1200 page thick tome that dwarfed all the other books.
" That's a general introduction to medical Ninjutsu"
" That freaking book is just an introduction" asked Naruto incredulously
" Medical ninjutsu has few techniques as it relies more on chakra control and understanding of human anatomy to properly guide one's chakra to heal damage. Therefore reading detailed texts is mandatory to reach even beginner level."
" But why do I have to learn it. This stuff looks really complicated and not many strong ninjas know this stuff anyway." pouted Naruto not keen on reading complicated texts that he couldn't make sense of. He could read and write but only barely, due to having to figure most of it out by himself.
"" Because medic nins are scarce and as such are awarded a measure of impunity. So long as you refrain from any blatantly treasonous acts. You can get away with general misconduct because they value your medical expertise too much. " Itachi informed him well aware he was holding one big carrot in front of the proverbial horse.
"Sweet" said Naruto already thinking of the possible pranks he could pull now that he would have to worry less about punishments.
" Don't get ahead of yourself it will take you years to fully comprehend that book and utilize those techniques to a reliable degree. Same rules apply too, do not use them unless you become chunin or face a life or death situation. "
" Okay I promise I won't use them. " promised Naruto although he was itching to use these techniques right away as no one had ever given him anything remotely useful to learn. He wasn't going to risk this treasure trove before he squeezed every last bit of strength out of it. He knew of some ninja professions and knew of medic nins as he had occasional visits to the hospital and they were all well respected.
The seals sold in stores were expensive and so a seal master or even a novice would be respected as well. Puppeteering was unknown in Konoha but that was fine it was good to have an ace up ones sleeve. With these three specialties he was on his way to force people to respect him. Him becoming Hokage might still be a distant dream with no concrete steps to getting there. But these were different. He had the tools right in front of him to become a well respected ninja. And although it was a lower goal than Hokage it was also an excellent stepping stone to becoming Hokage.
" Master the shadow clone jutsu first and then take special care to practice especially hard on creating medical chakra." Itachi instructed
" Why do I have to start with the most difficult book" complained Naruto who wasn't looking forward to being stuck learning difficult terms all the time and have nothing to show for it for a long time.
'' Because your chakra is extremely malleable right now, this is because your chakra coils haven't fully matured yet. Meaning it is easier to create the healing properties of medical chakra for you than a mature ninja. It is one of the primary reasons why Tsunade of the Sannin insisted on a medical program in the academy. "
" How come we don't have one then" asked Naruto who never heard of the course. Though he did remember seeing an empty room that had materials that could be used to teach it. He was already thinking he might have to break in after dark to learn from the books that were left in that room.
" That's because the drive behind the program left the village and there isn't enough interest from young ninja to learn it. Most students are only interested in combat arts and are willing to just go to the hospital for small injuries not realizing that they one day might not have that luxury. As a result the hospital can only pick a few genin who aren't interested in combat duties but are generally the lower half of the class. "
" I see so only those civilian kids who never put in much effort for the taijutsu parts become medic nins" asked Naruto who always wondered about the carefree attitude of those kids who only seemed to care about getting high test scores and largely ignored the physical part.
" Generally yes , they are referred to as careers by most ninjas. They accumulate a lot of simple boring missions like guard duty and over time earn a promotion based on trustworthiness and non combat related skills. They are more like civilians trying to make a career in the military part of the village than a real ninja, hence their nickname"
" I see so that's why there aren't any cool medic nins around except Tsunade"
" True. But back again to the main problem of creating medical chakra. The earlier you start and the more you practice at an early age the more skilled you can become as a medic Nin. "
" And because medic nins can get away with being late and small pranks and whatnot. it's useful to be the best there is " finished Naruto now fully understanding why he should practice this skill till he dropped from exhaustion. Receiving the gratitude of villagers and ninja was already great but also getting away with pranks was just awesome.
" I suppose" answered Itachi noncommittally he then continued" If you practice daily you will surpass the doctors in the hospital in sheer potency of your medical chakra by the time you become a Genin. After that it will be up to you to refine it further by studying as much human anatomy as possible. If you take it seriously you might rival Tsunade who also picked it up at an early age due to her wanting to emulate her ancestor the Shodaime Hokage.
Naruto had heard of the name of those legendary ninjas and how they changed the course of history. It got him pumped up to do so as well, he was going to be a legend to surpass them all" I will it's a promise of a lifetime"
" Good, do not neglect your puppeteering skills either after you get a feel for medical chakra. it is not depended on malleable chakra but the instinctive finger movements are best learned at a young age also"
" So I can neglect sealing then" joked Naruto
" Actually yes you can, though useful sealing takes time to fully comprehend the theory behind it. and to practice it without doing so can be disastrous. It also takes a lot of chakra to create seals although little to activate them once made. Because of this they are popular weapons especially explosive tags but not many can make them. I recommend you don't try it until you become a genin at least. Your chakra will grow and it will be less risky when you have matured some and understand what you are doing better "warned Itachi
" Okay I promise I won't " agreed Naruto he already had enough on his plate so he could wait to start sealing after he finished with his more time sensitive studies.
" Also delay your graduation from the academy as much as possible" suggested Itachi
" Why should I, with these books I might graduate early if I work hard"
" Jounin instructors routinely put their genin forward for the chunin exam as soon as possible. Due to competition among them and clan pride putting pressure on the genin to become a chunin as fast as possible"
" So why can't I if it will only make me look better"
" Delaying graduation will give you more time to refine your skills. As I said it takes time to master your skills before they become usable in combat do not rush of to your death thinking yourself invincible. And also even if you do manage to graduate early and get promoted to chunin others will resent you for your power and you will become more isolated. Do not be in a hurry to lose your friends, enjoy them while they last" Itachi said with sadness and nostalgia staining his voice as if he was remembering the good old days.
" Okay I get your point I need to polish up some"said Naruto not commenting on the friends part and drudge up any more bad memories for Itachi. Although personally he would like to have friends to lose in the first place. It was a sad fact that no one wanted to talk to him. He had almost managed to make friends with Sakura but she too was ignoring him nowadays now that she had Ino.
Itachi seemed slightly unhappy with his lackluster answer but didn't comment on it.
" After you graduate look for a man called might guy. He is the foremost taijutsu expert on the strong fist style. It is the strongest taijutsu style you can learn without being a part of a clan. His training regimen is extreme however so it might be preferable to simply observe from afar and copy it yourself. "
" Okay where can I find him" asked Naruto already planning on incorporating any training he could get from the might guy person as soon as possible if it could only make him stronger
" You can find him running laps around Konoha most days but don't bother finding him until your older" warned Itachi picking up on his eagerness
" Why can't I go look for him now" whined Naruto
" Because you are short and can't grow any serious muscle mass until you are thirteen. Don't expect to overcome your opponent in pure taijutsu skills until you become fifteen at least. Most child geniuses focus on Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, only a rare few become strong due to Taijutsu and most of those are Hyuuga. Focus on your books they will be more effective than running laps for now. "
" You want me to be stuck indoors all day doing nothing but reading, that's boring" whined Naruto again.
" No I expect you to play around now and then or your muscles will atrophy and it will take more time to correct. Always keep up a light exercise to prepare yourself for later and remember to focus on speed" deadpanned Itachi
" Okay I promise I will " said Naruto trying to keep straight how many promises he already made to the mystery man.
" I have to go now to prepare for a mission I will see you again here in a two months to check your progress"
" Wait how am I supposed to know when you will show up" asked Naruto slightly panicky
" You won't, just train here until then. If I can't find you alone I won't come and you won't see me for another month or so"
" Wait that means I have to be here practicing all the time or else I won't see you at all " complained Naruto
" That is correct " deadpanned Itachi again and started to move away.
naruto groaned at the ridiculous request but accepted it nonetheless. Maybe it was Itachi's payback for having to put up with all his whining today.
From that moment on Naruto would meet occasionally with Itachi in secret to show him his progress and get a few pointers on his chakra control and sometimes even a sparring partner. Though he was always mercilessly beaten into the ground whenever they sparred. Itachi claimed it was to puncture his big head and remind him that he still had a long way to go.
They met up like this for a year with Naruto eagerly absorbing everything Itachi said as important life saving facts. They always met briefly no more than an hour at a time but he learned loads during that and got assigned plenty of homework to work on in between lessons. Naruto knew Itachi was busy so he didn't mind that he got such a hands off teaching approach. Naruto only wished the Hokage had deigned to give him some useful study material like this. Though he couldn't complain, the Hokage did provide his apartment and treated him to many free meals he couldn't have afforded on his own.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxx
author notes
in cannon naruto failed the genin exam three times before graduating but supposedly is still the same age as sasuke. this is only possible if he somehow took the test early because he skipped grades which doesn't make sense with him being the supposed dead last. if anything sasuke would have graduated three years earlier instead of naruto. so in my story naruto is three years older than the rest of the class. and nobody is allowed to graduate early anymore to prevent another uchiha itachi. though if I was hokage I would push it up to fifteen years old to cram more skills into them to lower the genin mortality rate. there were plenty of older genin at the chunin exam who either graduated later or failed previously to make sense. if they are going to fail the chunin exam a few times because of lacking skill why let them enter in the first place.
so seeing as the massacre took place four years before the start of cannon and the class was twelve and thirteen years old then. naruto was then fifteen and at the massacre eleven or ten and is now nine years old.