I do not own Naruto.
"Naruto! Wake up!" Naruto groaned and stumbled out of bed.
"Coming!" he called back. He quickly got dressed and raced through his usual morning routine before dashing down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Morning!" he grinned as he plopped himself down in his usual seat. Minato was sitting across from him, already dressed and eating breakfast. Kushina plonked a plate piled high with eggs and bacon in front of Naruto and fondly ruffled his hair.
"Here you are, make sure you eat it all up!" she said. Naruto nodded before mumbling a question around a mouthful of food.
"When are we going?" he asked. Kushina scowled and whacked him on the head.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, dattebane!" she scolded. "We'll go once you've finished eating. Do you have everything you need?" Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Yeah mom, you don't have to worry about me anymore. I'm not a little kid, dattebayo!"
"You'll always be my little Naru-chan," she grinned, tousling his hair. Naruto grumbled and made a face, but the scowl quickly faded into his usual grin.
"So Naruto, what are you going to do today?" Minato asked, putting aside his newspaper. Naruto washed his breakfast down with a large gulp of milk before answering.
"Itachi said he learnt a new trick he wants to show me," he grinned. "I bet I can learn it faster than he did though. After all, I'm going to take that hat from you one day, dattebayo!" Minato chuckled and smiled warmly at his enthusiastic son.
"I'm sure you will, son, but for now, I'm off to work. Don't worry Naruto, I'll make sure to take good care of the village for you!" he teased as he got up. He gave Naruto a quick hug, kissed Kushina on the cheek, and pulled on his sandals before vanishing out the door.
"Let's go Mom!" Naruto urged, bouncing in his seat.
"Alright, I'm coming," she said, quickly putting away the dishes and drying her hands. She turned to Naruto and took his hand as they left the house, with Naruto bouncing up and down as he alternately regaled her with tales of Itachi's phenomenal abilities and begged for more training. He was so engrossed in his tale that he failed to notice that the two had entered the Uchiha clan compound until Uruchi waved to him and offered him a classical Uchiha senbei. He received it with a brilliant smile and exultant thanks before being gently pulled along by his mother.
"Ah, Kushina, Naruto! I was wondering where you two were!" Uchiha Mikoto said warmly from her porch.
"Mom was walking too slowly," Naruto grumbled. "Otherwise we would have been here ages ago."
"Naruto!" Kushina scolded playfully. "You were the one who slept in and made us late!" Mikoto smiled fondly as the two began arguing. Like mother like son…. she couldn't help but think.
"Itachi!" she called. "Naruto's here!" Bare feet thumped for several moments before a young boy with short, curly black hair appeared beside her.
"Itachi's feeding Sasuke," the boy explained before casting a curious eye at Naruto who had paused in his mock argument to examine the newcomer.
"Shisui, this is Naruto. Naruto, this is Shisui. I'm sure the two of you have heard plenty about each other from Itachi," Mikoto smiled. "Shisui, why don't you bring Naruto to see Sasuke? I'm sure he's dying to see what's been keeping Itachi from him for the past few weeks." Shisui nodded before grabbing Naruto's hand and dragging him into the house.
"Now, why don't you come in?" Mikoto asked, gesturing to Kushina. "I've got a pot of tea simmering on the stove and we are long overdue for some heart-to-heart, don't you think?"
"Isn't he cute?" Shisui asked proudly. Naruto leaned over for a closer look, staring critically at the pudgy-faced bundle in Itachi's arms.
"He's so…."
"Wonderful? Amazing? Absolutely gorgeous?" Shisui filled in amusedly.
"Fat." Shisui shot a double take, revaluating his opinion of the cheerful blonde.
"What?! But he's the most beautiful baby that has ever graced the Uchiha clan!" he declared dramatically. "How could you insult him with such a simplistic, demeaning word?"
"Shisui, would you please keep your theatrics to a minimum?" Itachi asked mildly. "While you may feel exceptionally energetic this morning, please keep in mind that some people are not and would much rather the noise level be tolerable by a normal human's standards."
"Yeah, yeah, Itachi, I know. Jeez, you and your formalities!" Shisui scoffed as he dropped the drama queen act. "Why can't you just act your age for once?"
"You know that Father wishes for us to conduct ourselves with the proper dignity, honour, and decorum expected of our clan," Itachi replied, poker-faced. "It is only you who sees the need to 'act your age' as you say." Shisui rolled his eyes and flopped down on the floor, choosing to ignore Itachi's pointed words and focus on baby Sasuke's waving fists.
"Really, Naruto, sometimes I wonder how you can stand to be friends with this guy," he grumbled.
"Itachi's my best friend," Naruto said simply. "He always has been and always will be." Shisui looked up in surprise at his faithfulness. An evil grin spread across Naruto's face.
"But you're right, he does need to learn how to smile once in awhile….Good thing I know all his tricks!" With that, Naruto dived at Itachi and executed his ultimate attack: tickling. Yes, tickling. Itachi glared at Naruto as he struggled to evade the boy's fingers, but eventually his hard exterior cracked and he descended into a fit of giggles. Shisui stopped and stared. Itachi….the genius, the prodigy, the pride of the Uchiha clan….was laughing? He rubbed his eyes hard before looking again. Itachi was now squirming to get out of Naruto's grasp and shaking from suppressed laughter.
"Naruto…." he began, completely serious. The boy looked up in surprise and even Itachi paused in his attempt to escape. "You must teach me that!" Itachi's eyes widened in horror and he quickly wriggled free and grabbed Sasuke, holding him up between the two pranksters.
"Truce." Naruto and Shisui exchanged glances before nodding resignedly.
"Alright, you win this time, Itachi," Naruto scowled. "But watch out! Next time we'll get you for sure, dattebayo!"
"Well, well, isn't this sweet?" Kushina smirked as she spied the three boys huddled around the cooing Sasuke.
"I'm sure they'll be doing much the same for your girl when she comes out," Mikoto smiled, glancing pointedly at Kushina's protruding stomach. Kushina smiled sheepishly and scratched her head.
"Haha, I guess you're right. They're sure to spoil her rotten, though."
"Perhaps. Have you picked out a name yet?" Mikoto asked as she poured the tea.
"Naruto picked her name, it's Kunami," Kushina smiled. "He mixed up my name with Namikaze and that was what he came up with." Mikoto raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Oh? How clever of him," Mikoto commented. She placed a steaming cup before her best friend before settling down in her chair and gracefully lifting her own cup to her lips. "Now tell me, what does Naruto think of his new sister?"
"…and Mom and Dad let me pick her name and everything! I can't wait 'til she comes out!" Naruto grinned. Shisui and Itachi were both listening intently; neither of them had sisters or any female cousins younger than them, so they were doubly interested in the upcoming addition to their circle of friends.
"Perhaps she will become as good friends with Sasuke as we are," Itachi smiled softly. Naruto nodded enthusiastically and jumped into one of his long explanations about how awesome of a team they would be in the future and how maybe all five of them would go on a mission together one day and completely destroy the enemy.
"Oh yeah, Itachi, you said you wanted to show me a new trick you learned?" he suddenly asked partway through his narrative.
"Yes, come outside with me and I'll show you," Itachi replied. "We'll drop Sasuke off with Mother on our way out."
Naruto gasped in awe as Itachi ran up the side of the tree and along the underside of the lowest branch.
"This is one of the basic chakra control exercises," Itachi explained as Shisui sprawled on the ground in boredom, having already mastered the trick himself. "I focus a fixed amount of chakra to the bottom of my feet and use it to stick to the tree and climb it without using my hands."
"That's so cool!" Naruto exclaimed as Itachi detached from the tree and jumped down to join the two boys. "I wish my dad would teach me cool stuff like this," he pouted. Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure he has his reasons," Itachi reasoned. "Considering we will be entering the Academy in a year, perhaps he has simply been trying to enjoy his time with you while he can." Naruto frowned but nodded slowly as he worked his way through the sentence.
"Itachi, could you please stop talking in that serious adult tone? It's starting to tick me off," Shisui scowled. "Naruto, take it from me, most of the kids at the Academy start off knowing nothing, so it's fine if you don't learn anything before that."
"Wait, you're already in the Academy?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed.
"Yep," Shisui smirked. "Started this year."
"But Dad said you have to be at least six years old to enter now since the war's almost over!" Naruto protested.
"Who said I was five?" Shisui scoffed. "I'm a year older than you! Besides, they let geniuses in early, don't they? What about that Hatake kid, what was his name, Kakashi? He started when he was four and graduated a year later!"
"I know about Kakashi," Naruto scowled. "But he's the exception! And times are different now! We don't have a war looming over our heads 'cause we just finished one! It's peace time now!"
"If you two are done with this pointless discussion," Itachi intervened, "our mothers are waiting." The two boys looked up from their stare-down to see three amused faces.
"Mom!" Shisui exclaimed. He winced and quickly amended himself upon seeing the strict look on her face. "Mother, I thought you were coming by later?" he asked in his most formal tone. Satisfied, Uchiha Satsuki nodded imperiously at Mikoto and Kushina before extending a hand to Shisui, who obediently, if somewhat reluctantly, walked over and took it.
"I apologize for coming without prior notice, but Shisui is needed at home. Good evening, Mikoto, Kushina," she said with a quick bow before sweeping away, pulling along a forlorn Shisui in her wake. He discreetly waved to his friends and mouthed an 'I'll see you later' as the pair swept out of sight.
"Do we have to go too?" Naruto asked worriedly, turning to his own mother. She smiled apologetically at him and ruffled his hair.
"Sorry, Naruto, but Minato will be home soon and I still have to make dinner. You two can play again later," she said. Naruto nodded sadly.
"Okay, Mom," he sighed. "I have to go Itachi, so I'll see you later, 'kay?" Itachi nodded.
"Good-bye, Naruto."
The walk to the Hokage Residence was a long one. They were often stopped by well-meaning villagers or ninja who asked after their health and well-being. After the tenth person who stopped them, Naruto began getting impatient. By the twentieth, he was downright frustrated and mad. As they slipped by yet another villager, Naruto cast a pained look at his mother, who was equally frustrated but much better at hiding it.
"Okay, Naruto, it looks like a jutsu lesson is in order," Kushina said cheerfully as she pulled him into a shadowed alley. "Seeing as your father would probably kill me if I started jumping around rooftops as I am now, we're going to use a very useful jutsu to get us home in time. Watch and learn." With a grin and overly dramatically formed seal, two clones popped into existence.
"That, my boy, was the Shadow Clone Jutsu," Kushina smirked, fully enjoying the wide-eyed look of amazement stamped across her child's face. "Now, this is B-ranked jutsu that evenly splits your chakra across the clones, so it's a jutsu not a lot of people can or want to use. The clones created are solid and can perform attacks, but will usually be dispersed by a solid blow or two. This jutsu also has the added benefit of sharing all of the clone's experiences to the original. Even though it requires a lot of chakra, I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off with ease since you've inherited the Uzumaki chakra reserves. But you have to promise me you won't use this jutsu until you're older." Naruto nodded enthusiastically as he pinky-promised her.
"No problem, Mom!" he grinned happily.
"Alright, clones, take us home!" Kushina cheered as her clones, grumbling and complaining loudly, picked the two up and took to the rooftops. They had only travelled a short distance when several ANBU descended upon them.
"Kushina, you shouldn't be running around in your condition! You could hurt the baby!" the boar-masked ANBU cried. Kushina rolled her eyes.
"If you didn't notice, my shadow clones are doing the running, not me," she pointed out. "I hardly think that any harm will come to my child because of that."
"Even so, you should not be performing jutsu or any other strenuous activities in your condition," the ANBU replied. As Kushina scowled, Naruto giggled quietly. Clearly the ANBU didn't remember it was the Bloody Habanero they were talking to. They would never know what hit them….
Other than the unfortunate incident with the ANBU, their trip went without a hitch. Once they arrived at the Hokage Residence, Kushina dispelled the clones and made a beeline for the kitchen, leaving Naruto to his own devices.
"How long until Dad gets back?" Naruto asked, pausing at the foot of the stairs.
"He should be back in an hour or so," Kushina called from the kitchen. "Dinner should be ready by then too. Expect plenty of ramen!"
"Awesome!" Naruto called back from the top of the stairs. He ambled along the hallway towards his room and paused when he saw the study door ajar. He glanced at the stairs and hesitated a moment before steeling himself and entering the study. Quietly, Naruto tip-toed over to the bookshelf and pulled out a random book titled Advanced Sealing: a Study on the Uzumaki Style.
"Heh heh, now I can show Itachi how awesome I am next time I see him!" he grinned. Naruto sat down and flipped to the first page and began reading. As he read, he found himself confused and completely bewildered, yet satisfyingly so. Whenever he encountered a word he didn't know (which was more often than he liked), he simply consulted one of the few dictionaries lying on his dad's desk or skipped it and continued.
Despite his slow progress, Naruto continued reading stubbornly, carefully studying the ideas and diagrams that danced on each page. As he advanced through the chapter, he slowly began grasping some of the simpler concepts. The theories behind the methods were surprisingly similar to the ones behind his pranks. Sure, the seals were massively more complicated and efficient, but the main idea was pretty much the same. He was so engrossed in his reading, he didn't register the creak of the door or the soft thud of footsteps until it was too late.
"Now, what do you think you're doing?"
Naruto slowly looked up to find himself facing the dreaded, forbidding face of one Namikaze Minato, otherwise known as the Yondaime Hokage, the Yellow Flash, and worst of all, his father. He gulped nervously and fidgeted uncomfortably as he struggled to come up with an answer that would hopefully get him scot-free. Minato leaned over and picked up the book that had fallen from Naruto's hands and frowned as he realized exactly what it was he was holding in his hands.
"Naruto, explain yourself," he said, a steely glint in his eye. All thoughts of escape vanished from Naruto's mind as he hung his head and quietly began speaking.
"Itachi showed me a new trick today and I wanted to learn something cool too, so when we got home and I saw your door open, I decided to come in and see if I could learn some jutsu," he said meekly. Minato's frown deepened.
"Naruto, look at me." Hesitantly, Naruto looked up, expecting to see anger and disappointment in his father's face. He was half-right. "Naruto, do you know why your mother and I haven't taught you any jutsu yet?"
"Because you want to protect me?" Naruto mumbled half-heartedly.
"That's right. Learning jutsu when you don't know how to use your chakra properly can get you hurt or even kill you if you're not careful. What's more, you're still young, and we don't want you to get caught up in the world of ninja until you're ready."
"But I'm ready!" Naruto protested angrily. "I'm starting the Academy in less than a year and besides, you can teach me how to use my chakra properly so I won't get hurt!" Minato sighed and sat down beside his rebellious son.
"Teaching you how to use your chakra properly is the job of the sensei at the Academy," Minato explained patiently. "Think about it this way. Remember how we told you that we would let you pick Kunami's name? What if we picked another name of our own and gave it to her without letting you having any say in it? How would you feel?"
"I'd be really mad!" Naruto frowned. "And I probably wouldn't talk to you for a week." Minato nearly laughed at that particular remark but quickly forced it down. It would rather take away from the seriousness of his lecture if he spontaneously laughed partway through. He did, however, let his stern look smooth into a gentle smile.
"That's exactly how the sensei would feel if we taught you everything you need to know before bringing you to the Academy," Minato replied. Naruto's frown faded into a look of comprehension, which quickly turned into understanding and remorse.
"I understand, Dad," he said softly. "And….I'm sorry." Minato smiled and wrapped his arms around Naruto, bringing his son into a warm embrace.
"I forgive you." After letting the hug last several moments, Minato gently disengaged himself and helped Naruto to his feet.
"Now why don't you take a shower and wash up before dinner?" he suggested. Naruto nodded and meekly padded out of the study. Minato sat down in his chair with a sigh before examining the book in his hands. As he mused on the problem, a sudden idea struck him. What if….
Minato promptly jumped from his seat and dashed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Kushina cast him a quizzical look as he drew her away from the stove and pulled out a chair for her to sit in.
"What's up?" she asked, blunt as usual.
"I found Naruto in the study reading this," he said, holding up the book for her inspection. She scanned the cover and her eyes widened in shock. "I think his obsession with learning how to use his chakra and learning jutsu has escalated in a bad way," he continued. "We need to do something before he blows something up or gets himself permanently injured." Kushina winced as she recalled the evening's events.
"Oh…," she scowled, slapping herself on the forehead. "I think I may have caused this by accident," she confessed. "We were coming back from Mikoto's place and the villagers were stopping to talk with us like they usually do and Naruto was getting impatient. Well, I was kind of mad too, so I may have not thought my actions through…."
"And?" Minato prompted.
"I showed him the Shadow Clone Jutsu and explained it to him and promised him I would let him learn it when he was older. After that, I used them to carry us home via the rooftops." Minato sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Kushina…." he began wearily.
"I know, I know already, dattebane!" she interrupted, barely suppressing an eye-roll. "I need to think things through more carefully and not be so reckless. But that aside, what are we going to do about Naruto? Knowing him, it wouldn't do anything to lock and seal the doors; he would only be even more determined to get in, and he'd probably figure out how to break the seals while breaking in, and you can imagine how bad things would get from there."
"Well, I've been thinking, Naruto is only a year away from starting at the Academy, and if he's desperate enough to sneak into the study and try to learn something on his own, the best thing we could do is to actually start his education."
"You want to let him learn ninjutsu now?!" Kushina exclaimed in shock. Minato quickly shushed her with a worried glance to the ceiling and she lowered her voice. "I thought you were the one who wanted him to wait until he was in the Academy!" she hissed.
"But if it makes him steal and break into the advanced ninjutsu, that hardly matters, does it?" he remarked dryly. "What I suggest is that we let him start learning the basics for sealing; after all, he seems moderately interested in the subject and it would take him at the very least several months to grasp the basics of copying seals, much less activating them himself. What do you say?"
Kushina thought over the suggestion for several moments, tapping her chin and muttering under her breath. "How do you even know he's interested in the subject?" she questioned. "What if it just happened to be the first book he picked?"
"He was interested enough to not hear me enter the room without hiding my presence," Minato shrugged. "But if it really bothers you we can ask him what he thought before making our decision."
"That would be good," Kushina agreed. "I just want to be absolutely sure he'll be happy with learning it. I know it can be boring for some people and I'd rather not risk him trying to steal again because of boredom."
"Well, he is an Uzumaki," Minato grinned. "Sealing is in his blood. But I'll ask him during dinner and we can break it to him right after if he agrees."
"Sounds good," Kushina said distractedly. "Dinner should be ready in a few minutes, so you have a little time to clean up and get changed." Nodding in agreement, Minato got up to return the book to his study, pick up a book on sealing basics and change into some casual clothes. On his way down, he was joined by a sodden but cheerful Naruto. Together, they entered the kitchen and sat down at the table, where steaming bowls filled with ramen were placed before them.
"Itadakimasu!" the three chorused before digging in. Minato ate slowly, watching in amusement as mother and son devoured their ramen at an astounding pace. Although Naruto physically resembled him more than Kushina, his personality was nearly identical to hers.
"So, Naruto," Minato began casually between bites. "What did you think of the book?" Naruto gulped down his mouthful of noodles before glancing at him warily.
"It was interesting," he said at last. "Even though it was really complicated and I didn't get most of the words, it was really cool and I even understood some of the ideas! A lot of the stuff was a lot like the stuff I do for pranks." Minato exchanged a glance with his wife and she gave a slight nod of confirmation.
"Naruto, your mother and I discussed your trip to my study, and we've come to a decision," Minato said. He took a deep breath and plunged straight in. "We've decided to let you start learning sealing." Naruto's jaw dropped open and for a few moments, he sat completely still in shock.
"You….what?" he spluttered. Minato smiled warmly.
"That's right, we've decided to let you start learning sealing," he repeated, thoroughly enjoying the look of complete shock and joy on his son's face.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and hugging both of his parents. "I promise I won't let you down!"
"Hold on a moment, Naruto," Minato chuckled. Naruto obediently jumped back in his chair and closed his mouth, eagerly listening for his next words.
"While we have decided to let you start learning sealing, that doesn't mean you'll learn how to use seals just yet." Naruto's face fell and he cocked his head in confusion. "Sealing is an extremely complex art that requires a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge and skill," Minato explained. "The first basics you will need to master are calligraphy and knowledge of all the signs and symbols used in sealing. Once you have mastered those, you need to learn how to fit the signs together, and the various rules involving seal construction, deconstruction, activation, and deactivation. When you have reached this stage, we will teach you how to use your chakra, and only after you have mastered all of this will you be able to properly use and even create your own seals. Understand?"
"Yes!" Naruto enthused energetically.
"You're not bothered about having to study all of that before you can use seals?" Kushina observed.
Beaming, Naruto shook his head. "Nope! Like you always say, the more and harder you have to work at something, the better the results will be, right?"
"Not quite, but close enough," Kushina grinned, ruffling his hair. "Now remember, if you have any questions, don't just ask Dad, you can ask me too! I'm even better at sealing than he is, dattebane!"
"Kushina!" Minato scolded, but to no avail. He sighed at his wife's antics and turned back to Naruto. "Here, this is a book on the basics of sealing. You can start practicing your calligraphy tomorrow, but for tonight you can start by reading this book." As Naruto accepted the book, his eyes grew wide with happiness.
"Thanks, Dad," he said softly as he hugged Minato tightly. "Thanks, Mom," he added as he moved to his mother.
"But don't think you're off the hook for sneaking into my study!" Minato warned, a mischievous gleam entering his eyes. "Your punishment will be decided tomorrow, but for now, it's off to bed for you!" Naruto pouted but grudgingly obeyed. He paused at the foot of the stairs, casting a last glance to his parents.
"Thanks for letting me study sealing," he said quietly. "Good night Mom, Dad. I love you."
"We love you too. Good night!"