- Taijitu -
Been a few years since I've properly written a full fanfic (and under a different name too). Played a lot of Overwatch since then, and I decided that a Naruto x Overwatch crossover would be the most appropriate way to celebrate my addiction to that game.
As this is a one-man project, like most fanfic these days, updates will be slow and the grammar might not be perfect. But, hopefully you'll enjoy it regardless of those facts.
Will there be pairings? Probably not. Will Naruto be a complete badass with eight-pack abs and killer shinobi techniques? Probably. Depends on how the story goes, I guess.
Also, if you enjoyed the story or want to point something out, leave a review.
Never static, always changing.
That is the inherent nature of our universe, the forces of everything remaining in an ever-constant motion - a cycle where the beginning of one force marks the end for another.
That is the essence of taijitu - opposing yet complementary forces, blending into each other, converging into a whole. And in doing so, this unity brings us balance and harmony.
That is the purpose we seek as inhabitants of this universe - to understand that our seeming limitations as mortal beings - our fragile minds and bodies - can become one of our greatest strengths. Harnessing conflicting energies to create balance, moulding it into a singular, transmutable form.
That is the principle of chakra - to seek balance and harmony through the unity of one's own mind and body.
(A Preliminary Study of Chakra, Gaman Uzumaki)
"Again."
Naruto hated the thing.
In the middle of the large courtyard, a leaf laid limp on the stone tiles. Unmoving.
He despised it with an ever-growing passion.
The very fact that a leaf - a leaf - refused to conform to his will...
The boy's fingers curled into angry fists, and through gritted teeth, he let loose a loud frustrated hiss. Naruto was like an overfilled kettle reaching its boiling point. The already unstable situation was about to get real hot.
Pictures of leaves raining down and being burnt in a firestorm danced in Naruto's vision. It was a beautiful sight.
However, before the boy could reach for the matchbox hidden deep within his pockets, a firm, somewhat annoyed voice snapped him out of his destructive trance.
"Again."
Naruto raised his head, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. "Uh…." The boy responded as he stared at the stern face of his mentor.
The bald man standing over him was practically a fossil, a relic ancient enough to have witnessed a world without the omnics. Liver spots, skin near dripping off the bone and a withering tuft of grey hair for a beard, Tanjiro Uzumaki was a man who appeared to have surpassed his expiration date. But, Naruto knew that it wasn't the case.
It was never the case for an Uzumaki.
Never underestimate an Uzumaki, his mother would always tell him. The boy had promptly ignored his mother's words of warning, instead challenging Tanjiro to a one-on-one spar during his first lesson with the other children. He had been convinced that the 'frail old fart' was nothing more than a push-over.
Naruto shivered from the ghost pain, cringing from the memories of the humiliating experience and instinctively reaching to rub his behind.
"There will be more of that if you continue to disobey me, boy," Tanjiro said, almost as if he had read Naruto's mind.
"Huh?" Naruto replied, before realising what the elder Uzumaki implied. "Oh, right! Again, you said? Uh, okay!"
Picking up the leaf, Naruto stood stiff-backed and pulled his head backwards, craning his neck to stare up at the clear sky. He carefully balanced the leaf on his forehead.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro observed the blonde boy with astute eyes, watching him prepare for another round of chakra training.
"Now, relax. Take a deep breath. Centre yourself. And focus."
Naruto closed his eyes, trying to search inside for that feeling. It had been described to him earlier.
Two different energies - one from the head and the other from deep within his lower gut - drawing closer to each other before finally coming together into a single form. By that point, he would feel a mellow warmth coursing throughout his body. And using that warmth, he would be able to direct that energy through the objects touching him. Letting them stick to his body.
As he returned his head back to its natural position, Naruto reached inside both his mind and body. He could feel the energy rushing towards each other and whirling violently within. Like a raging typhoon.
Rather than the mellow warmth described, incredible heat flooded his chakra system.
The leaf blew off his forehead with such force that it went spiralling through the air, landing at one of the ends of the courtyard. Naruto heard a deep sigh, watching as Tanjiro shook his wizened head.
"That will be enough for today," the old man said as Naruto dropped to his knees, fingers clenching into harsh vices. He let out a loud sigh of sheer frustration.
The elder Uzumaki turned away from him and began leaving the temple courtyard. "We shall resume training tomorrow. Perhaps the new day will bring a much-needed change."
The cherry blossom gardens outside the Uzumaki compound's training temple was considered to be one of the most beautiful consortia of flowers and trees in southern Japan.
Tanjiro disagreed with that. To him, it was the most beautiful garden in all of Japan, quite possibly the most beautiful in the entire world.
Skirting around the pond on a grey-stone path, the old man admired the crystalline water as small fish darted between the rocks and the pond-weed while bugs flitted across the surface.
This was the gift from the gods to the humans: nature. Providing serenity and a sense of clarity unlike any other source known to man. And it was here that Tanjiro found himself contemplating the actions he would take concerning the peculiar child - Naruto Uzumaki.
He was truly an enigma.
With each passing day, the boy's performance grew considerably worse. His chakra control remained erratic and unresponsive, often leading to embarrassing failures.
To an unskilled outsider, the boy would be chalked off as an immediate failure, a waste of time and resources for the Uzumaki clan. However, that was beyond the case.
To the trained eye, however - those attuned to the presence of chakra - they would realise the strength and potency of the boy's dual energies, which developed at a rather alarming rate.
No child his age should possess such raw power.
Making several journeys around the pool of water, it was only after his fourth lap that Tanjiro was interrupted from his musings.
"Kushina's child too much to handle, Tanjiro-shishou?" A deep voice asked from behind one of the cherry blossom trees lining the pathway.
Tanjiro stopped in his tracks, regarding the younger red-haired man who had emerged from the depths of the garden, leaning against a tree-trunk.
Lilac eyes, filled with mirth and expectation, met Tanjiro's, as the old man formed his response. "I have already considered taking increased measures to counter the potentially undesirable effects of the boy's stagnating training. He has great potential, but he is too… emotionally volatile."
"Emotionally volatile?" The younger man's curious tone was touched with a hint of amusement. "Are you suggesting that Naruto-bouzou is actually a spoilt teenage girl with a predisposition to throwing wild tantrums?"
Tanjiro let out a rather undignified snort. "Only you could make such an unorthodox statement, Hiro-sama."
Hiro Uzumaki gagged, his sharp facial features contorting in great displeasure. "Please don't call me -sama again, Tanjiro-shishou. Not only does it sound weird, especially coming from you. It makes me sound like an old fart."
"Likewise, Hiro-sama," Tanjiro said, emphasising the honorific, as the younger man groaned. "I have not been your shishou for many years. Therefore, there is no need for you to address me as such. Furthermore, it is only appropriate for me to properly address those of a higher status with the respect they rightfully deserve."
"Yeah, yeah." Hiro waved a hand in annoyance before folding his arms against his chest. "But seriously, don't call me that again, Tanjiro-shishou." The younger man paused to consider something before his lips twisted into a cheeky smirk. "As your superior, I command you to stop calling me Hiro-sama."
Tanjiro bowed to the younger man, bending to a perfect 90° angle. "If you wish that to be the case, Hiro-san, then I shall obey."
Hiro doubted the old man's words had been even remotely sincere, having spotted the ghost of a smile on Tanjiro's face as he bowed, but he let it go.
"Anyway, back to the topic of my sister's lovely child. What's exactly the problem?"
"Come, Hiro-san." Tanjiro moved from his place, urging the younger man to follow him along the path. "Let us walk." Hiro stepped away from the tree and joined the elder Uzumaki at his side.
As they made their way around the garden pond, Tanjiro explained Naruto's situation. "Throughout his training, the boy has shown to be easily distracted. He is easily frustrated by even the smallest of failures, and his relations with the trainers and other children have certainly not improved with time. Any sign of progress has long passed, and his training has halted to a standstill. This only serves to inflame his already distracted nature and his frustrations."
"And with Naruto's increasing chakra developments, we may potentially have, as you say it, an 'emotionally volatile' child walking around with dangerous levels of power. A walking, ticking time bomb." Hiro added, his brow furrowed as he was deep in concentrated thought. He too understood the unprecedented power that his nephew possessed.
"Yes, if recent trends of Naruto's chakra level developments continue, we may very well have a child that could harm not only himself but those around him if he loses even the slightest of control," Tanjiro concluded, "Which is why I propose a relatively simple solution."
"Hmmm… and what would that be?"
"Remove the boy from the standard training program," Tanjiro said, his resolute tone sounded almost as if what he had proposed was the simplest solution known to all of mankind. "Give him a mentor who can fully dedicate their time to his training. One that fully appreciates him as not only a powerful child with enormous potential but also a proud member of the Uzumaki clan."
"In that case, why not you, Tanjiro-shishou? You're perfectly capable of the tasks, despite your… uhh… spartan temperament during training and your… ahem... incredibly advanced age." Hiro noted, muttering out the last part.
Tanjiro shot the younger man an evil eye, daring him to repeat what he had just said.
"Hey, I'm just stating the facts here." Hiro raised his hands in defence, taking a step back. Don't blame me when you accidentally throw your hip out because you didn't retire back in the 1800's.
The old man reached out and rested one hand on Hiro's shoulder, before he began crushing it between a tightening vice-grip. "Hiro-sama," Tanjiro said, his quiet voice almost a whisper in the wind. "It would be wise for you to shut up."
The young man remained silent.
Tanjiro nodded his approval and returned their conversation back on track.
"My answer to your former statement is no, Hiro-san. I would not be able to train the boy. I simply do not have the time to dedicate myself to one single student. After all, I must assist with the training of all the children." Tanjiro's expression suddenly grew darker. "Furthermore, the elders have strictly prohibited me from tutoring a lone student. The very fact that I have taken time away to help Naruto as I have has already displeased them greatly."
"The fact that it's Naruto as well probably doesn't help," Hiro muttered, his lips twisted into a deep frown at the thought of the clan elders. A bunch of old fools struggling to preserve the outdated ways of the old, obsessed with politics and harbouring little consideration for the realities of the clan.
Tanjiro noted Hiro's disdain for the elders, a conversation that he had with the younger man many a times. Tanjiro was much older than the members of the elder council, yet even he did not yearn for the return of days past. To do so would compromise the way of the future.
"That is why I suggest you take up the mantle of Naruto's mentor instead, Hiro-san."
"What, me?" Hiro pointed to himself, before looking around to check if there was another Hiro stalking behind them. "No, no, no, no, no, no."
"Quite a curious reaction. What prevents you from doing so?"
"The fact that the elders would definitely deny me from training him," Hiro said, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation.
"Don't be so sure about that, Hiro-san."
"Huh?"
"I have already discussed at great lengths with the clan elders concerning Naruto's future," Tanjiro explained. "Despite their initial, albeit resisted insistence that Naruto should remain in the standard clan program, they are not completely against the idea of giving the responsibility of Naruto's training to you."
Hiro folded his arms, annoyed at the fact that the elders had come to a decision concerning himself without informing him. Not to mention, the decision should have been made by himself, in his own right.
Tanjiro continued, acknowledging Hiro's grievances concerning the elders, "You may consider the clan elders shortsighted, Hiro-san, but even they can understand that a child with limited control over his growing powers can become a very dangerous problem for the clan in the future."
Hiro let out a huff.
"Furthermore, unlike my restrictions as head of the Uzumaki temple, you have more freedom and leeway to do what must be done."
Hiro went to answer but hesitated as he realised and acknowledged another considerable factor in play. "There's... another issue."
"What would that be, Hiro-san?"
"Kushina."
Tanjiro paused. He remembered the fiery-haired vixen, mischievous at a very early age. Although, she greatly mellowed out with the coming years… and her painful experiences.
"She would refuse to have Naruto trained, especially by me," Hiro voiced his concern, predicting his sister's reaction. "She knows what I'm like. How far I would go to fully train a gifted child. She doesn't think Naruto's ready for such burdens. That he should have a normal childhood and be trained with the other children."
"I suggest you speak to your sister, Hiro-san. Convince her that this is the only way. Unfortunately for Naruto, the boy will never have a normal childhood."
Hiro remembered a quote from the early chapters of an old fantasy series that he had read as a teenager, "...bastards grow up faster than other children."
"There is truth in those words, Hiro-san."
"I'll talk to Kushina. Try to see if she'll budge. But, no promises."
"I believe that you are more than capable of convincing your sister, despite her hard-headedness, Hiro-san."
At the edge of the forests, a large family of broadleaf trees surrounding the clan compound, Naruto sat on an abandoned swing tied to one of the tall tree branches. Looking down at the ground, he gripped the rope and fought back the tears.
With his attention elsewhere, the boy failed to see the small group entering the clearing he was in.
"Hey, what's up, freak!"
Naruto reacted by looking up at the source of the insult, in time to see a rock barreling towards his face.