Fuuinjutsu Naruto

by Marlowe Roxe

What Naruto had enough time to learn some other techniques from the Forbidden Scroll? What if one of the things he learned was a seal that sparked a life-long obsession with seals? Even the one on his stomach? Parings as yet undecided. Rated M to be safe!

A/N:

This chapter is posted in celebration of my 30000th word of my other Naruto fic Tsurugi no Tenrai Hogosho. If you read this, I must stress that this fic will not be updated as often as my other one. I will, however, be updating the chapters every mile-marker of my fan-fic: the next one 50000th word. Enjoy! I hope it whets your appetite for more work from me. Also, when I use the term Cloak I mean an actual cape like cloth. The best image I have for it would is in my profile. In fact, that will be what Naruto looks like eventually, so look at it. The chapter is slow on some parts, but that is on purpose. Otherwise you run the risk of not fully explaining what is going on, and seals are anything but a simple thing to explain. I SUGGEST YOU LOOK AT MY PROFILE AND SEE WHAT THE SEALS WILL LOOK LIKE! I ALSO HAVE A MINI-DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THEY DO!

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DISCLAIMER:

Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. All characters, scenes, jutsu, and situations are property of the master Kishimoto himself. All I did was tweak a few ideas, plug in a few plot holes, and blow it to kingdom come. There will be no more disclaimers after this, So enjoy.

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"Blah" - Talking

"Blah" - Thinking

"Blah" - Demon/Summon talking

"Blah" - Demon/Summon Thinking

"Blah" - Jutsus

Academy

If one were to look outside the Academy, they would assume that this was a day for celebration. Unfortunately, one little orphan boy sitting on a swing was not having a good day at all. In fact, this was not a joyful occasion in the least. Naruto was sitting on the swing and watching the other children enviously as they proudly showed off their hitae-ate to their proud parents.

Why would this boy be envious and lonely, you ask? Why because this boy could see the proud smiles that the children's fathers gave them for their accomplishment, all the while shooting looks of superiority at the little orphan. He looked on as their mothers gave their kids loving hugs, while shooting glares of contempt at the lonely swinging child. Naruto had no doubt that later they would take their families to their warm loving houses and celebrate. While all Naruto had to look forward to was the cold unfeeling confines of his apartment that, more often than not, was broken into and vandalized.

Uzumaki Naruto was not a very well liked child in the city of Konoha. In fact, you could very well say that he is downright hated by most of the citizens of the ninja village. And it was this attitude that was inherited through their children. Kids playing in the park were told to stay away from him, that he was a bad boy. When Naruto would walk down the streets he would her malicious mutterings about himself coming from the majority of the populous. If he had to buy anything, more often than not, he was charged three times the cost for twice as bad condition. And heaven forbid he actually try to get food, then he would have to settle for what was rotten and spoiled. At times it seemed that the only people he could think of was friendly to him was the Hokage and the father/daughter duo that ran the local ramen stand.

But Naruto wasn't truly envious of those things. While all those things chaffed somewhat badly on him, Naruto learned to live through it by keeping the people he cared about closer than anything else. What Naruto was envious about was that he failed the Ninja Academy exam for the third time in the same number of years. That made him very jealous of his other classmates.

What most don't know was that ninja Academy was run different than regular school. In regular school, you could fail year after year and as long as you paid tuition, you could keep returning. Ninja Academy was different because it allowed you to stay as long as you needed, however you could only take the exit exam three times before you were booted out of the system. With the Sandaime Hokage's help, Naruto was able to test into the academy a year earlier than most attendees. Trouble started when classes began. The teachers would constantly question him on things that they knew the class hadn't studied, his test papers were always different than the other children's and went into area of study that had not been discussed, and he couldn't understand head from tails the textbook given to him.

Now most would have started to despair, but Naruto had adopted the creed of 'never give up' and he proceeded the entire next year to attempt to understand the book that was given him. What Naruto didn't know was that that textbook was written in a way that most Jonin would have had a hard time understanding the complex theories in it. But Naruto gave it his best try and he did understand the book somewhat, but the answers he gave in class was never the answers the teacher was looking for. It was like teaching a child about 'felis domesticus' and then showing the picture and wanting the name 'cat'. Most of the time the teacher would berate him for not having the knowledge needed when what he said would be correct but at a higher level than they needed. This made the people label him as 'Dobe'.

It wasn't until the year previous that Naruto made any headway into the basic three Ninjutsu because of the help of the only decent teacher to ever help him. Umino Iruka saw Naruto as a pseudo little brother, and wanted only the best for the little thirteen year old. Naruto in turn showed affection for the Chuunin teacher, and didn't want to disappoint him. So Naruto practiced every day to the bone to get the three basic down, but no matter how hard he trained, he couldn't manage to perform the basic Bunshin no Jutsu which created illusion clones of himself. His clones always came out wrong, or barely formed.

Now that his dream was forever denied him, Naruto allowed himself to feel depressed as he continued to watch the other families with their children, as he kicked pebbles away from his seat on the swing. Hearing a rustling in the bushes that were near his swing, Naruto aimed a well placed kick at one of the stones by his feet. The stone flew into the bushes where it made a meaty slap against something that let out an "Ow!" The man hidden in the bushes came out into view nursing a newly made bump on his head from Naruto's Rock. This man was Iruka's teaching assistant Mizuki.

"What you do that for?" Mizuki asked the obviously depressed thirteen year old. Naruto just shrugged his shoulders before returning to kicking the stones by his feet. Mizuki looked on at the young boy who was ignoring him and continued, "You know Iruka wasn't being hurtful when he failed you. He just wanted you to succeed. And every ninja needs to be able to do Bunshin no Jutsu, it's an invaluable tool for escaping. That's why it's necessary." Mizuki finished with his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"I know Mizuki-sensei. I just wanted so much to make Iruka proud of me. But that dumb Bunshin no Jutsu just wont work for me." Naruto replied while sending an extra hard kick at another stone and lodging in into a tree. Mizuki looked on at the youth with a little bit of apprehension as he continued.

"Naruto? If you are having problems with the clone jutsu, then I might know of the way that you could still pass." Mizuki said tantalizingly and noticed that he had Naruto's undivided attention. Smiling at the young boy, Mizuki continued conspiratorially, "The bunshin is important for shinobi, but there are more than one KIND of bunshin. There is a scroll in the Hokage's office, it's big and contain all of Konoha's super secret jutsu. One of them is called Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu. What if you took the forbidden scroll without anyone noticing, and then learn the improved shadow clone? You would show the Hokage that you are not only shinobi material, but you would also pass Iruka's test of performing a bunshin. Then they'll have to let you be a shinobi." Mizuki finished dramatically.

Naruto thought over Mizuki's proposal and agreed that Mizuki's proposal was sound. Would they really refuse to take him into their ninja corps if he demonstrated such skill? Naruto thanked Mizuki profusely and made haste to his apartment, so he could prepare for his unofficial exam. Unfortunately, he never noticed Mizuki's kind smile turn sinister as he too prepared for that evening.

Hokage Tower

Naruto was waiting in anticipation on a roof opposite the Hokage's Tower for the last vestiges of light to fade and the darkness to take over. Directly after leaving his apartment, loaded with the tools he would need to steal the Forbidden Scroll, Naruto had settled himself on this roof trying to scope out the numerous entrances and exits. He also kept in mind the patrol routes of the Chuunin guards on the outside of the building. Naruto was no fool, he realized that this was not going to be a walk in the park. Even he, prank god that he was, would find getting through the tower unnoticed was nearly impossible.

Taking experience from the numerous times he had entered the Hokage's Tower, Naruto knew that the first three floors were the easiest to get through. They only had various offices for some of the more mundane departments of government. As such, they only warranted minimum security which consisted of two Chuunin guards that were posted on the entrance and exit of the floors. After the third floor was where things started getting harder. The fourth and fifth floor was where they kept the mission and record halls of Konoha respectively, so the protection was greater than the previous three. They had a Chuunin guard at the entrance and exit, a Jonin guard protecting both entrances to the individual rooms, and a ninja that wore a funny mask patrolling the hallway. The hardest part of the tower was also the level that he needed to infiltrate. The sixth floor of the tower consisted of the Hokage's office and personal library, it also possessed the highest form of security. The entrance held another set of mask wearing guards and was constantly patrolled by another one. The exit lead to the roof, and was guarded by yet another mask wearing guard. It seemed that the forbidden scroll was virtually inaccessible to Naruto without him being caught.

Naruto thought long and hard about how to go about retrieving the scroll. He could just waltz in through the front door and head straight to the Hokage's office, take the scroll and leave. After all, Naruto had a free standing invitation into the old man's office, and the Hokage had never once resisted his Orioke no Jutsu. But that wouldn't really showcase his abilities as a ninja. He couldn't possibly sneak through the halls undetected, especially with all the security there was. As he watched the guards patrolling around the building he had an idea. The windows were covered with an awning that stuck out vertically. If he slipped onto the top of one of them when the patrol lulled, he could jump across one after the other and climb up to the Hokage's window. It would be easy after that to just wait until the old man left and take the scroll from the adjoining room. Finally having a game plan, Naruto got himself ready.

From an even higher rooftop across from Naruto, Mizuki was watching as the young boy was studying the security of the Chuunin patrols. Mizuki couldn't help but grin as his plan was coming together quite nicely. If Naruto got caught,Mizuki would disavow any knowledge of the boy's crimes. However, if he succeeded in attaining the Forbidden Scroll, all Mizuki would have to is let Naruto try the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu and die from the backlash of chakra exhaustion that was sure to follow. After the little demon container died, Mizuki would steal the scroll and take it to his master Orochimaru. The plan was fool-proof.

Naruto was outfitting himself with a midnight blue cloak that almost shimmered black. He had stolen the piece of clothing off of the line of one of the resident villagers on his way to the tower. It would do well to hide his orange clothing that seemed to glow in the dark. The piece of fabric was just a very wide cloth that had fastenings on both ends. When he put the cloak over his shoulders, he took the right fastener and secured it to a catch that was positioned on the inside of the cloth near his left shoulder. When that was done, he took the left fastener and secured it to another catch that was on the outside of of the cloth on his right shoulder. The end result looked like a poncho that stretched down to just below his knees. He found that if he need to, he could maneuver either of his arms through the folds and create a parting that let his arm through. After taking a look at himself, he thought the affect looked pretty cool. Maybe he would amend his shinobi wardrobe to include it.

In the tower, the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was battling the mortal enemy of all Kage's...Paperwork. Sarutobi could swear that every time he looked away from the stack, it seemed to multiply and new stacks would be there by the time he looked back. The boring monotony of his routine was broken, when his faithful Anbu that had been guarding the rooftop entrance came in to give his nightly security report. Putting down his pen, the Sandaime gave the man his undivided attention.

"Hokage-sama! Everything has been relatively quiet tonight. However, I must report that Uzumaki Naruto was seen on the opposite building keeping an eye on the patrol routes, but now is trying to scale the tower on the window awnings. Also, you should note that Umino Iruka's Chuunin assistant can be seen on the rooftop watching the boy expectantly. He seems to have suppressed his chakra to nearly unnoticeable levels. That is all!" The masked ninja finished awaiting the Hokage's orders.

Sarutobi seemed to take the news that Naruto was watching the patrols quite well. After all, he was known amongst the Hokage Tower as quite the prankster. So it was not a stretch to think that he was just planning his next prank. What seemed to disturb the old man was the fact that Mizuki was there, keeping track of Naruto's movements. Probably expecting something, but the question was what? Sarutobi knew that Naruto had failed the Academy for the third and final time. It saddened him to think of the young blonde's dream of being Hokage crushed like that. However, there was nothing that he could do. The council had put there foot down on the matter: Naruto would not be shown favoritism and be passed if he could not perform a bunshin, a kawarimi, and a henge. The Sandaime knew that something like that could make people do crazy things, even believe things they shouldn't. So turning to his Anbu, he gave him his orders.

"I want you to have someone follow Mizuki around, and also have someone tail Naruto. Remember though, I don't want you to do anything but follow him. We'll let whatever it is he has planned come to fruition. I think that there is more to this than meets the eye. I'm going up to the roof, and let this scene play out. Dismissed!" With a burst of air, the Anbu disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Sarutobi went to his window and unlocked it before proceeding to retrieve his pipe and tobacco. Exiting out of his office and up to the rooftop, the Sandaime filled his pipe and lighted the tobacco up. Puffing the end of his pipe, the old man thought to himself, "Mizuki, what are you planning? And what does it have to do with Naruto?"

On top of the awning that was directly beneath the opening of the Hokage's window, Naruto sat panting. The cloak looked cool, but it was really hot underneath it, he was beginning to think that maybe he would need to modify his shinobi attire if he was going to wear it with it. Maybe since it would be covering his torso anyway, he could forgo his shirt and jacket and go bare-chested. The idea sent a shiver of excitement running through his spine. It had the feeling of being naughty without actually doing anything. He started to like it. Taking a peek up through the window Naruto saw that the office was empty, "Lucky!!!" He thought to himself as he left himself in through the unlocked window.

"Where is that scroll Mizuki told me about" Naruto asked to himself as he took a look around the office. The office looked the same as all the other times he had been there. It was box shaped and directly behind the desk was the pictures of all the previous Hokages, but other than that the room's walls were barren. Just a couch that leaned against the only window into the room. Naruto thought back to one of the lessons that Iruka gave him about Genjutsu. He told them that one way to see if there is a Genjutsu on something was to attempt to concentrate of one part of something, and if it shimmered a little, then there was a Genjutsu present. So taking a long shot, Naruto focused on each separate wall. He hit pay dirt when the empty wall left to the door shimmered a little bit revealing that there was a Genjutsu present.

Feeling along the wall, Naruto came to what felt like a mount on the wall. The mount felt like it held a huge scroll, so Naruto hefted the bulky thing off of it. After he did that, the Genjutsu lifted off the mount and revealed the Forbidden Scroll. Securing it onto his back, Naruto left the Hokage's office through the opened window and headed into the forest outside Konoha to learn the bunshin and pass his exam.

Forest Outside Konoha

Naruto settled downinto the clearing and set the Forbidden Scroll down beside him as well as his new cloak. Deciding to get started on learning the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu, Naruto tried to peel back the edge. Tried being the operative word because before he could break the seal, an electric shock went jolting through his body and forced him to jolt back a few feet.

"Ah!!!!" Naruto yelled out in surprise as he dropped the scroll onto the ground. Trying to shake off the tingling in his body, Naruto saw what appeared to be a sealing tag on the scroll. The tag was still crinkling with residual electricity for a while before it settled down and stopped.

"So the tag is a security measure that prevents anyone from opening it. It's probably only meant to be opened by the Hokage, but if that's true, how does it know the difference between different Hokage's?" Naruto asked himself trying to puzzle out the tags mystery, "Does the ink direct the chakra of the one opening it to protect itself. If that's the case, if I manipulate the ink, will it change the seals properties?" Naruto looked in his pockets and couldn't find a pen or anything to write, so he took a kunai and pierced his finger, "I guess this will have to do!" he began to trace the lines on the tag, before making a swift line through the markings. Cringing, he gingerly took the edge of the seal and pulled. Surprisingly, it came off without no further injury.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Naruto unrolled the scroll and looked for the jutsu that Mizuki said would be there. After finding it near the beginning, he settled down for what he thought would be a long night of training.

Hokage's Tower

Sarutobi Hiruzen was standing before an assembly of his shinobi. Keeping his voice steady, and maintaining eye contact with each of the ninja assembled let them know just how serious he was that moment. After he had met the eyes of everyone present, the Hokage gave out orders, "The Forbidden scroll was taken from my office by Naruto." There was a outbreak of outraged murmurs, and the Hokage had to give them a blast of Killing-Intent to get them back under control. Continuing onward, he stated, "I want him apprehended and brought back UNHARMED. Anyone that messes an unnecessary hair on his head will be given to Ibiki and Anko, and they will be given no restrictions on how to treat you."

The gathered ninja heard a snicker behind them, and turning around they could barely make out two form leaning against the wall. But what they could see revealed the bottom of two very familiar trench coats. It was when one of the shadowy figures moved into the light, that the assembly knew they were in the presence of the very people who would interrogate them. Mitarashi Anko leered at the ninja and plead, "Please hurt him, I BEG of you. I could use another playmate, the last one broke too easily." the shinobi's all felt a cool sweat fall down their spine as Anko retook her previous spot on the wall.

The Hokage sent everyone one last glare before he repeated, "Remember UNHARMED! Dismissed!" he gave them their cue to leave with a wave of his hand. The assembled ninja leaped into action and vanished in their various forms of Shunshin. When the various smoke clouds and leaves dispersed, Sarutobi returned to his office, where the elderly man pulled out his scrying crystal. Positioning the large orb onto a pillow in the center of his desk, he sent chakra into it and watched the image that showed up. The image was of the very boy that he sent his shinobi after. Naruto seemed to go through various handseals, while the Forbidden scroll lay open at his feet.

Taking out his pipe and lighting it once more, Sarutobi asked aloud in a contemplative voice, "What are you doing Naruto?" as he watched the scene unfold.

Forest Clearing Outside Konoha

Naruto was lying on his back in the clearing exhausted and a little proud. He thought that learning the Kage-Bunshin was going to take the entire night. Imagine his surprise when just after an hour Naruto felt he had the jutsu learned. It wasn't like he had a lot of handseals to memorize, after all, even he wasn't dumb enough to not remember three regular handseals and an unique finishing seal. What took the most amount of time was getting the right amount of chakra into the clone, so that the bunshin could sustain itself.

If any other shinobi were to say this to you, then they would most likely mean that they summoned the necessary chakra and then adjusted the amount until they had the technique accomplished. However, Naruto was not like other shinobi because his chakra was in constant motion, circulating through his coils. So when he needed to use a jutsu, it wasn't necessary to gather chakra. All he had to do was adjust the amount of chakra to perform the technique provided. However the problem he had with the Bunshin no Jutsu was that he simply couldn't restrict his chakra output to the specifications needed without causing himself some serious harm to his chakra coils.

The Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu didn't call for a small amount of chakra. In fact, the majority of his time spent on the jutsu was spent confirming this fact. He first lowered his output similar to that necessary to perform a Henge. When that didn't work, he raised the output to that of a Kawarimi, and didn't achieve anything. After much experimentation, Naruto found that the perfect chakra output necessary was what he normally had running though his coils at any given time. When he calculated what he figured was stored in his reserves, he approximated the amount of Bunshins he could summon was in the hundreds.

"Pant...Pant...OK! Just one more time to make sure I got it." Naruto started going through the necessary handseals, "Hijutsi(ram), Mi(snake), Tora(tiger), Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" he finished up with his index and middle fingers in the special cross formation. There was a puff of smoke, and when the cloud dispersed there were two Naruto standing in the clearing. Observing his duplicate, Naruto saw that the clone was perfect. Giving himself a job well done, the young teenager looked at the opened scroll. The picture on the scroll showed the handseals for the techniques, but underneath them was words written in an elegant scrawl that Naruto recognized as the Hokage's. So dispelling the clone and picking up the scroll, Naruto read what the old man had to say about the technique:

'Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu

Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu is a Jonin ranked jutsu. So it is imperative that the person attempting this technique have a minimum of Jonin level reserves. Failure to posses necessary reserves can lead to chakra depletion.'

"That's very serious! If I didn't have the large reserves I have now, then I would have died. What was Mizuki thinking trying to get me to learn this technique on my own?" Naruto asked to himself. Everyone who goes through the academy knows that when using jutsu you must never us up all the chakra you have in your stores. Without the necessary chakra amount running through your system. This amount consisted of no more than five percent of a Genin's total reserves, three for Chuunin, and one for Jonin. If the ninja didn't have that left in their stores, then their body wouldn't have the necessary energy needed to function. Their body would shut down and die. Chakra Depletion was the single most causes of death for any starting Genin. Naruto continued reading from where he left off, resolved to inform the Hokage about Mizuki when he returned the scroll.

'The Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu primarily consists of the user molding his chakra to make physical clones of themselves. However, since the new body is made of a membrane filled solely with chakra, then any solid hit made to the clone could dispel the clone from existence.'

Naruto looked up from the scroll frowning, "What is the point of making these clones if none of them can actually do anything. I mean, if one hit disperses them into the air, then they aren't very useful." Naruto heaved a sigh and resumed his reading.

'The use of Kage-Bunshin lies in its defensive capabilities. The Kage-Bunshin is a scouts weapon, and plays an integral part in information gathering. The technique uses a lot of chakra for this reason alone: Assembling that much chakra into one Jutsu allows that technique some measure of self-awareness to a degree. It is this awareness that allows the experience to be transported back to the source when dispelled, thus the shinobi is able to gain what the clone experienced when alive.'

Naruto raised his eyebrow in interest, "So I could use the technique to learn this at an accelerated pace if I have a clone learning it right along with me?" Doing his mental tally Naruto continued, "That means that I could use one hundred clones to master in one day, what would take me one hundred days to master. That's awesome!" Noticing a huge label, the teen was shocked as he proceeded.

'WARNING: Constant misuse of Kage-Bunshin can lead to severe mental trauma. Known side-effects of misuse are migraines, extreme disorientation, fainting, and coma's for the most extreme cases. Suggested Modus Operandi: For every hour you have one clone in existence, you take a necessary hour without using the technique.'

Naruto was a little appalled by the side-effects of misusing the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu, which was what he was previously thinking about doing. His fears were assuaged a little when he read the suggested method of safe use. Thinking aloud he said, "So as long as I use the technique when I only need it. I should be okay. But if I were to use it for training like I originally planned, then for every one hundred clones I have spending an hour training I will need to go two hundred hours without using the technique." He did some quick figuring in his head, "That is eight days without the technique. And only if I wanted to suffer some of the side-effects from misuse. So I'll need to figure out the right ratio of Kage-Bunshin training to non Kage-Bunshin training." Noticing a little more, Naruto finished learning about his knew technique.

'The unique properties of the Kage-bunshin make the technique perfect for helping someone speed up their training for chakra control. It was made by Minato Namikaze to help people with similar abnormally large chakra stores, but naturally horrendous chakra control. He was often seen using this technique to further his control and increase his knowledge of Fuuinjutsu, without which it would have taken countless decades to master. Users must note: While it could help you commit Taijutsu and Kenjutsu forms to memory, It doesn't pass along muscle-memory or conditioning. It is suggested weight training, or applying seals to the body in order to augment chakra training.'

Naruto was interested, "Fuuinjutsu! The art of using written seals and diagrams as a means to contain and/or destroy an opposing person/object/force." Naruto recalled almost word for word from his textbook. The boy's eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. He could understand the Forbidden Scroll, which was apparently with Jonin in mind, better than his textbooks. How could that be? Naruto decided that he would have to ask the Hokage about that later when he returned the scroll later.

Looking back over the section that one word continued to flash through his mind. He could recall how the sealing tag shocked him when he tried to open the scroll just an hour previously. Rubbing his hand across his arm, Naruto could feel a phantom pain of the experience. The idea that such an unassuming tag could be used in such a way gave Naruto an idea. Sealing arrays directed the chakra in similar ways that handseals did for jutsu, right? So why couldn't someone make a seal, and place it on a slip of paper (like one of the talisman tags that monks used) that already had the technique inscribed on it? Then all they would have to do is push his chakra into the tag, launch it in the direction he wanted the technique to go, release the tag remotely, and it would do the work for him. The prospect was exciting to him, and he decided to look up everything he could the next day in the library.

Unraveling the scroll a little further, Naruto decided to check and see if there was any seals in the Forbidden Scroll. After all, he might never get a chance to check for a long while. After looking through some supplementary techniques for the Kage-Bunshin (he made sure to memorize the Kunai Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu and Shuriken Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu because they had the same eight handseals, and it would be handy to turn one kunai or shuriken into ten) he found a seal that looked awesome to him.

The pictures on the scroll of the completed seal looked very intricate. There were tribal lines that stretched all over the outlined body. Each of the numerous black lines were connected, in one way or another, by some offshoot black lines. The pictures showed a blank outline of the human body, front and back. The completed seal stretched from below the lower back to encompass both thighs completely. Zit also extended up the back and across the shoulder blades before encompassing both upper arms completely. The seal appeared to look like one huge body tattoo except for blank holes in the artwork that were positioned around the top half of the body. The holes held kanji for Control, Speed, Strength, Perception, and Pain throughout the lower-back, front-left bicep, front-right bicep, back-left bicep, and back-right bicep respectively.

The seal itself would look very daunting to anyone even thinking about putting it on, it was clearly something that wasn't for beginners. But Naruto figured that with his numerous shadow clones, and his own determination, he could spend the next several hours using ten clones to memorize the individual tribal marks for each area of his body they needed to be put on. After all, the Finished product looked cool and he liked the look. Looking below the image at the instructions, he decided he need to find out what it did, if he wanted to put it on himself. The young teenager found that the words describing the Jutsu written in a different scrawl than the Sandaime's. Naruto assumed that it was written by the Yondaime. After all, only the Hokage's are allowed to make additions to the Forbidden Scroll. Taking in the image of his hero's handwriting, Naruto read hungrily:

'Kinjutsu no Ougi: KuroFuuin - Nobiru no Karada

Kinjutsu no Ougi: KuroFuuin - Nobiru no Karada (Forbidden Technique: Black Seal - Progression of Body) is a A-rank forbidden Fuuinjutsu created by me, the Yondaime Hokage. I created the seal with the soul purpose of helping my family, and others like me that need some help training. I wanted to keep this seal as a secret family training tool, but something tells me that the Council wouldn't let that happen. With the end of the war with Kumo nowhere in sight, they would demand I hand over any advantage that will give our side a sure victory.

'It took the majority of twelve years of creation, dedication, and ingenuity but I finally finished it. I had to make several adjustments to the original so that the Council would think that the seal wasn't cost-effective during these troubled times. I feel proud that my idea that I had as a Genin for a way to make the perfect training method for future Hokage is complete. However, I realize that I must take precautions with this seal. The Council is currently trying to usurp my control over Konoha (Power-hungry Bastards). And if word of my original seal got around, they might try to force me to give up it's secrets.

'So I have effectively changed the seal! Instead of allowing a person to reach Hokage level in a year, it lets a person reach High-Jonin level in four. I think that that is much better than having to train for eight years, like most average shinobi have to, just to reach Low-Jonin level. Or even the ten years of training the average ninja needs to in order to reach High-Jonin. It saddens me, but I'm sure you'll understand.'

Naruto lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. How could he have written this in the scroll, and no one brought this seal up to the Council (Not that he would do those old farts any favors)? Surely the Council has some cohorts in the shinobi forces that have read some of the Jutsu in the scroll. After all, If the Kage-Bunshin was a Jonin technique, surely some Jonin were given the right to look through the scroll? Continuing to read, Naruto's question was answered:

'It might have occurred to you to ask, why have I run the risk of writing this down if the Council might send Jonin to look through the Forbidden Scroll later? That's because I have done what no other Hokage did before me. I, the veritable genius that I am, transferred the Forbidden Scroll from its original scroll. The scroll you are reading is a marvel of countless hours of unfailing Fuuinjutsu genius! The whole scroll is littered with numerous, tiny, nigh INVISIBLE seals that are connected to the security tag on the front of the seal. The purpose of which is so complex it would take several years to just right out. Alls you need to know is that the moment you remove that tag, This scroll studies your character. If you are found unworthy by various protection seals on the page, then all that would appear would be some form of infinitely complex, nigh impossible Fuuinjutsu technique capable of summoning one undying flower. Take that Council!'

Naruto couldn't help himself and started laughing uncontrollably. To think, his hero was just as much a prankster as he was. He sure got those council people good. Naruto was starting to like the Yondaime portrayed in the scroll rather than the one portrayed as a stern but fair man by the school. The Yondaime was a person just like Naruto,and maybe Naruto could get the Hokage to tell him about the man that the Yondaime REALLY was. Not who people just assumed he was. Getting his laughter under control, Naruto continued reading.

'However, I made sure that if anyone actually was able to brake through the seals, then they would only be able to see the seal itself, and the writing that came before this sentence. If they person actually was actually judged worthy, as you apparently were (Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this paragraph), Then heed this warning: This seal is actually a set of two! Do NOT attempt to put on this seal without first putting on its brother seal, The Kinjutsu no Ougi: ShiFuuin – Fukkatsu no Seishin (Forbidden Technique: White Seal – Rebirth of Spirit). Failure to do so, and the consequences are death.

Now that you understand that, I must tell you that if you close this scroll without having the ShiFuuin technique in place, then you will unable to see this seal again. The ShiFuuin allows some measure of security against the council by insuring that anyone who had it is unable to tell people about the seal. The Hokage may be told, only if he had been deemed worthy by the seal. Don't ask how! It took me twenty years to develop it, while I was creating the KuroFuuin technique. To understand the ShiFuuin technique place a drop of blood on the swirl seal under this paragraph.'

Naruto took his pricked his finger he cut to open the scroll and smeared it onto the swirl. Naruto's eyes widened as the swirl gathered his blood together and then started writing along the blank scroll. The words seemed to be written in his own blood, and the picture of what looked like a Tribal Heart tattoo took shape beside the image. Naruto read hungrily.

'Kinjutsu no Ougi: ShiFuuin – Fukkatsu no Seishin

Kinjutsu no Ougi: ShiFuuin – Fukkatsu no Seishin (Forbidden Technique: White Seal – Rebirth of Spirit) is a seal that has two purposes. The first and main one is to facilitate the body's activation of the KuroFuuin – Nobiru no Karada.. The second purpose is to keep the wearer from speaking about that same seal It will insure this by making the heart skip a beat if the wearer is in the process of giving off information to someone who wasn't permitted to know. Purposefully try to give away the secret to someone with result in a coma.

'Permission may be given by having someone nick their finger and place it on the center of the seal. Then the ShiFuuin will judge that person's intent and character. If they are not found worthy, they will be forcefully expelled, and put into a coma for several weeks. I did this by placing my personality into an Avatar that guards the mind of the person wearing the seal, so that if anyone wants to gain permission they must petition my avatar for it. If they are unworthy, then the Avatar will fight the person's mind. Assuming that they are not from a clan similar to the Yamanakas, then anyone who fights my avatar will lose because he has all the skills that I have right now. As the Yondaime Hokage, I think that I am a very formidable opponent, don't you? The Seal's Avatar may contact the host by taking them into their subconscious mind scape. This is to give updates on the progression KuroFuuin, or the event of the ShiFuuin becomes activated.'

Naruto couldn't help but smile. Thinking to himself, Naruto pondered, "So I will have a piece of the Yondaime inside me? I suppose that's cool. The scroll said that he would only be keeping me updated on what the Seal is doing, and determining if someone is allowed to know about the seal." Naruto though it over and decided that there could be worse consequences to a seal other than having a Person with the Yondaime's personality in your head. Continuing Naruto read about possible side-effects the seal could have.

'The ShiFuuin is a permanent seal that constantly draws five percent of the users total chakra output. This is to maintain the power of the Avatar that guards, and protects the mind of the person wearing the seal. Also, In the event of the user using up all of the ninety-five percent of the chakra output they have left, then the Avatar can relinquish his hold on the chakra and circulate it through the host's body. This will insure that the host doesn't die from chakra depletion, but at the cost of the host being in a coma until their body has retained enough chakra to support themselves and the Seal. To apply the seal, all you have to do is sign your name in blood on the line provided. The ink will travel up from the scroll and onto your arm. You will feel a tickling sensation before it turns to burning, this is the ink settling over your heart and becoming permanent. If you put this seal on, then you will never be permitted to take it off, otherwise the KuroFuuin would become unstable and shut down your body. Decide for yourself if you want to do this.

Naruto thought about the offer for a few minutes. He would be getting a training seal that could allow him to reach High-Jonin level in under four years, more than twice as fast as anyone else. But, he would be unable to take it off. However, he would never have to worry about Chakra Depletion because it would keep five percent of his chakra in reserve to be used by the avatar. But what if he needed that Five percent to win a fight? If he needed to use his last five percent of chakra to win, then he might have well have lost cause he would be dead anyway. Plus he would get an guardian for his mind. The pluses outweighed the minuses, so he wrote his name with his cut finger on the line and watch what happened.

Before Naruto's eyes, his name turned as black as ink and proceeded to slither up his arm and into his orange coat. Naruto could feel the ink progress underneath his clothing as it proceeded across his left shoulder and settled over his heart. Naruto felt burning as the seal settled into place. The pain was great, but Naruto was able to suppress his yell to just a whimper. After a few minutes of the burning, the sensation stopped. Peeling off his jacket and lifting up his shirt, Naruto revealed to the night air his torso, and a very noticeable seal on his heart that seemed to contrast nicely against his skin. Already he could feel the seal start to pull away some of his chakra and stare it into itself.

Naruto's chest, while not heavily muscled, looked impressive for a thirteen year old. He was neither built for strength, nor speed. Instead, he was a happy medium between the two. His muscles didn't overly bulge out, they were taut without being too slack. And his abs were defined enough that you could tell he had a six-pack, but they had enough fat on them that you knew they were natural. Despite what many people though about Naruto, he actually cared what he looked like. He knew that eating ramen all the time was unhealthy and fattening, but no one would actually sell him anything. So Naruto started to play pranks and lose those excess calories in his diet in the corresponding marathon runs that proceeded them.

Naruto wasn't normally a narcissistic person by nature, but in a moment of self-appreciation Naruto admired the way that his torso looked with his brand new seal. To him, the seal looked like it gave him a feeling of mischief when it contrasted with his sun-kissed skin. Naruto could just imagine what the rest of his body would look like when the rest of them were put on. He could hardly wait. So summoning up twenty clones, Naruto set the scroll flat on the ground and had one of the clones lie on the ground naked as he used a stick to trace the clones outline. When he finished he turned to the others and said, "I want all of you to do this as well. You will outline each other and then proceed to memorize where on the body the lines go. Later this week, we'll move up to practicing on clones themselves. When we can do that right, then we will put the seal on me. Every one okay whit that?" Naruto asked the replicas of himself. Seeing a general nod for everyone, Naruto said, "Alright! While you all do that, I will be familiarizing myself with the inner-workings of both seals. Let's get to it!" He settled down beside the scroll and started familiarizing himself with both seals. The clones drew more outlines of the naked clone in the ground and then got to work. The next several hours were filled with clones moving back and forth from the scroll to their outlines, making sure their drawings were accurate

Konoha Chuunin Apartment Building

A pounding could be heard on the door of a very tired Chuunin teacher named Umino Iruka. He had just finished handing out the hitai-ate out to his class that afternoon, and was depressed because the one person he really wanted to pass wasn't able to. He had went home directly after that and drunk himself into a stupor before passing out earlier that evening. Now he was making his way to an incessant pounding at his front door. The clock on the wall proclaimed that it was 1a.m. and Iruka had to be at the school in the morning to announce the teams later that day.

Feeling like his head was going to explode, Iruka opened the door, ready to give the person on the other end a piece of his mind. He was greeted by the sight of his teaching assistant, looking disheveled and worried. The words that came from Mizuki's mouth shocked Iruka out of his Hung-over state

"Iruka! Naruto has stolen the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's Tower! The entire ninja force is out searching for him right now. He seems to have disappeared."

Iruka was struck deaf after the words 'Naruto has Stolen the Forbidden Scroll' went through his head. All he could think was why did Naruto do something so foolish. Sure, thoughts that maybe the Kyuubi took over him ran through his head, but he dismissed him as soon as they came to mind. He had gotten to know Naruto all through the year, and never once did Naruto exhibit any signs that he wasn't in control of himself. Also, Naruto was never the type to let anything get him down. Even when people were mean to him, he would only show them a happy face and move on. The boy reminded Iruka so much of himself when he was that age.

So lost in his thoughts was he that Iruka didn't register anything Mizuki was saying, all he was able to think was, "Naruto, what have you done?" Iruka was still in shock, but he was able to hear the last of what Mizuki was saying.

"Iruka?... Iruka?... Are you listening to me? The Hokage wants every able-bodied shinobi out there to find Naruto. He wants us to use any means necessary." Mizuki finished with a concerned look on his face.

Iruka couldn't stand it any more, those words high-jacked his brain back up. Rushing back into his apartment Iruka's one thought was, "I can't let anyone else find him! Everyone else would try to kill him, and I don't want him to die." Iruka frantically put on his Chuunin outfit and flew out the door, giving Mizuki a hurried reply, "I'll start searching! Bye Mizuki." Iruka called back as he sped down the street.

If he had looked back, Iruka would have seen that Mizuki now sported a sinister grin and he watched the fleeing Chuunin. Mizuki knew that the only person in the whole village that was able to predict where Naruto was was Iruka. The man seemed to have an uncanny sixth sense when it came to Naruto's whereabouts. That made Iruka the best person to lead Mizuki to Naruto. Enshrouding himself in a Genjutsu, Mizuki took off after Iruka. Mizuki decided he could deal with the Chuunin after he lead him to the boy, and the prize that awaited.

Forest Clearing

Naruto had just spent the last three hours memorizing the effects of the ShiFuuin and KuroFuuin seals. While his Kage-Bunshins continued to trace, over and over, the necessary way that the seals must be drawn. It was tedious work, but they all knew that it was for a good cause. And despite what everyone thought, Naruto wasn't against sitting still and learning something if it helped further his goal towards Hokage. The seal would help him do that. Apparently, after the entirety of the seals were put on him, the black tattoo-like lines that protruded from the blank spaces with kanji retracted themselves back until it was at the first stage. After this was done, He would be unable to remove the seal until the entire seal had progressed its way back to its original form. The entire process took roughly four years.

The first stage consisted of the Control restriction seal that was placed on the lower-back. The seal over the back of the Core, which was the place where most of the body's chakra is produced and starts circulating through the body. By placing this seal over the Core, it disrupts whatever chakra is circulating through your coils effectively making control that much harder. The Forbidden Scroll stated that at its earlies progression, it make control merely five times harder. But after each of the four other seals are gained, it ups the difficulty by five. Meaning that at the final progression, when the seal is activated, the difficulty of controlling becomes twenty-five times harder than without it activated. He would be able to disable the Control Seal. But that would also disable all the other seals since it was, in essence, the Master Seal that all the others came from.

The second stage was easy enough to start. It only required that you manage to bring your total chakra under control while the Control Seal is at five times. That will allow the seal to progress up to his left shoulder and unlock the Speed Seal, which is located over the front upper-bicep. The name 'Speed Seal' is actually a misnomer, it doesn't actually increase the users running speed. It allows the user to achieve mastery of the strength the body already has. This seal is actually the only constant seal that never changes or adds anything. All it does is use chakra to make the muscles constrict without relaxing (Like the persons muscles are resistant bands). This means all Naruto's reactions would be 1/10 what they usually would be. This had the added bonus of allowing Naruto's reaction time, dodging speed, striking speed, and maneuverability would be increased by ten. His actual running speed doesn't really get affected by this seal, and just because he could hit faster, it didn't mean that his hits were stronger.

The third stage was the last one that was brought about by becoming used to the Control Seal. It required you to control your chakra while the Control Seal is at ten times. This permits the seal to progress across the shoulder blades and onto the right arm, unlocking the Strength Seal. The Strength Seal used chakra to circulate throughout the muscles in his body, weighting each limb proportional to how strength of the bones they were attached to, the seal couldn't increase their weight any more than the bones could handle. As the bones grew stronger, eventually the weight was increased. This means that when he took off the Strength seal, then his physical speed would increase relatively to the amount of weight removed. His strength in general would remain the same because even though he removed the additional weight from his arms, the density of the muscle mass remained the same. Like the previous seal, over time the seal would stretch to the back of his arm.

However, the problem with the two seals, Naruto found, was that they couldn't be used in conjunction with each other at the same time. While the Speed Seal used chakra to constrict muscles, the Strength Seal used chakra to course through them weighing them down. If both seals were used together, the amount of chakra coursing the muscles would explode them. And then Naruto's ninja career would be at an end. This presented a problem to Naruto. How was he supposed to use them for four years, if any enemy ninja could just mess around and accidentally turn both of them on?

The scroll gave Naruto a measure of comfort in that department. It explained that to counteract that problem, the Yondaime arranged a series of handseals to be the keys to locking and unlocking the seals. This was unique because rather than using blood, the most common substance many shinobi use when unlocking seals. Any enemy who attempts to meddle with the KuroFuuin – Nobiru no Karada must have two things to manipulate it. The first is that they must ALSO have the KuroFuuin Seal themselves, and the second is that they must know the specific personal handseals the original possessor of the KuroFuuin Seal agreed upon with the Avatar of the ShiFuuin Seal. This was made in case a Yamanaka happened to try and possess anyone possessing the seal. Naruto decided on what he thought was random handseals, but was easy to perform in pinch. He decided on Inu(Dog), Mi(Snake), Tora(Tiger), and Hitsuji(Ram) as his seal-release key. And a simple Uma(Horse), Tori(Bird), and Mi(Snake) as his seal-lock key. The Scroll also gave him a training schedule to keep to for maximum use of the two seals. It said that he should alternate each month between the two seals, the first month should be dedicated to the speed seal. This was so Naruto's control of whatever strength master what strength he already started at. That way, as he was getting faster and stronger, his mobility and agility would stay consistent with his speed.

The Fourth stage didn't happen until the seal progressed a good bit. Even though the place for the Kanji was on the back of the left bicep, the seal didn't get active until one of the legs was completely encompassed with the seal. This didn't occur until somewhere during the third year. And unlike the three previous seals before it, the Perception Seal didn't restrict anything. Its activation shoots the Control Seal to Twenty times difficulty of controlling chakra, but the Seal itself doesn't restrict anything. It was one of the only two enhancement seals in the KuroFuuin's repertoire. The Perception Seal uses constant minute amounts of chakra to speed up the rate at which the user's brain fires electrons throughout the various parts of the body. Allowing the persons brain to constantly send/receive signals at a right five times faster than usual. This increases the body's natural perception of the world around him. Constant use of the seal also allows some people to increase their base senses by a factor of five. The Yondaime apologized in the scroll, but stated that there was no possible way to increase the brains natural synapses further without the subject being predisposed to have a kekkei genkai. Naruto didn't really mind if he couldn't get his senses up further than that. He was fine with just five.

The fifth and final stage of the KuroFuuin – Nobiru no Karada was actually not actually able to be achieved until the seal has progressed fully after four years. It is only after the seal is complete, that the user could activate the Pain Seal. This is the second enhancement seal of the KuroFuuin Seal, and it's activation brings the Control Seal to its maximum chakra distortion of twenty-five percent. It's only job is to use chakra to prevent your brain from receiving any pain receptors. Effectively rendering you incapable of feeling pain. It truly is a double-edged sword because while you are unable to feel pain, letting you fight long after another person would have succumbed to their injuries. The fact of the matter is: YOU CAN NOT FEEL PAIN! Which means that you could be poisoned, and not know you need medical help. You could be stabbed in the back, and not know that you were. Naruto was a little apprehensive about that, but agreed that he would only use the Pain Seal if he was about to die.

Resealing the scroll back together, Naruto Called the clones to him and had them dispel themselves one after the other. As they did, Naruto could feel the Knowledge of three days worth of constant drawing and redrawing of the KuroFuuin – Nobiru no Karada. He was certain that he knew how to draw the patterns of the seal, but he needed to commit the motions to muscle-memory. Calculating the figures, Naruto's twenty Kage-Bunshins training for three hours apiece totaled sixty hours total. Taking the recommended time between techniques, Naruto estimated that he had roughly three days before he could use the Kage-Bunshin to draw the seals on himself without side-effects. Naruto decided that he would use that time to allow him to practice the brush strokes on paper.

Hearing the sound of the twigs crushing underneath the boot of an intruder, Naruto turned to confront the person who entered his clearing. Calling out to the trespasser, Naruto was surprised when the underbrush parted to show the image of Umino Iruka. Iruka sported a very agitated look.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked the fuming Chuunin, "What are you doing here? I was just about to return and give the old man his scroll back."

"Naruto! Why did you steal the Forbidden Scroll? Do you realize just how much you are in?" Iruka questioned the youth shooting a demanding look at the blond.

Naruto gave Iruka a quizzical look before replying with, "Mizuki said that this scroll had a different type of bunshin to learn in it than what the Academy taught. He also said that if I was able to show you how much of a ninja I am, and take the scroll without being noticed, you could promote me to Genin. So, Can I show you my new clone and pass Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka frowned confusion upon hearing this. Why would Mizuki lie to Naruto and have him steal the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's Tower? Things just weren't adding up for the Chuunin teacher. If what Naruto said was true, then it was likely that Mizuki was a traitor. But why would Mizuki send Iruka after Naruto if his assistant wanted the Forbidden Scroll. It would be just as easy to follow Naruto and kill the boy before taking the scroll for himself. Iruka felt a cold sweat when a realization occurred to him. Naruto most times COULDN"T be found unless it was after a prank, usually just after he declared himself to them. So far, Iruka realized, only HE had been able to find Naruto before a prank.

A sound assaulted Iruka's senses. It was the telltale sound of screeching that normally accompanied a Fuma Shuriken. And judging by the increase in sound, it was heading right for them. Grabbing Naruto by the scruff of his jacket in one hand and the Forbidden Scroll in his other, Iruka used a chakra increased leap back. The two people shot back ten yards, barely missing the giant shuriken by a foot.

Laughing, Mizuki released the Genjutsu that hid his presence from the duo in the clearing. Mizuki started to speak to the two, his every word dripping smugness, "Thank you Iruka-san. Thanks to you I was able to find Naruto. It would have been nearly impossible by myself, but you led me right to him." Mizuki finished while pulling out another Fuma Shuriken from behind him.

Mizuki looked shocked at his former assistant and asked, "Mizuki? How could you? you would betray your own village, just for some scroll?" Iruka was appalled by the other Chuunin.

The traitor rolled his eyes at Mizuki before replying, "This village is nothing! They are weak! My eyes have been opened, and I realize that the have just been holding me back all this time. But not this time! Now I have found someone to give me the power that I deserve. He can give it to you to Naruto, all you have to do is give me the scroll." Mizuki offered the confused boy.

Realizing that there wasn't any alternate exam, Naruto picked up the scroll and grasped it tightly in his arms. He was determined to not let the traitor steal the Forbidden Scroll. Iruka pulled out a kunai and shielded Naruto in case Mizuki went onto the attack. Mizuki took in the two's defensive stances, and decided to take a different approach to getting the scroll.

"Naruto? You don't really think that just handing that scroll back to the Hokage will save you from the village's wrath do you? The council will just use this as an excuse to execute you like they've been wanting to for the longest time. However, if you were to come with me and bring the scroll, my master will surely take you in to his village. Just think about it, you could still be a ninja. Just GIVE ME THAT SCROLL!" Mizuki finished vehemently.

Turning to Naruto, Iruka shouted, "Don't listen to him Naruto! Mizuki doesn't care about you, he only wants the scroll. The moment you hand it over, he will kill you and leave. He didn't expect you to be alive when I found you because the bunshin he had you try to perform could kill anyone without the reserves of a Jonin. He thought you didn't, so he expected you to die from performing the jutsu." Iruka finished shooting a worried glance in the boy's direction.

Looking back and forth from one person to the other, Naruto edged more towards Iruka. Seeing that he was losing the child to Iruka's logic, Mizuki pulled out his last ace in the hole and said, "Don't trust Iruka, Naruto! Iruka just want you to return to the village where you'll be sentenced and executed. He secretly hates you like all the other villagers. But I'm not like them, and I'll even tell you the reason they hate you. The reason they keep their children away from you. The reason they whisper mean things about you behind their back. And why they don't let you buy things in their shops. Do you want to know why?"

Presenting Mizuki with a curious look, Naruto retook his steps away from Iruka. Mizuki got a smile as he realized that he captured the young teenager's attention once again. So he continued, "Did you know, that when you were born there was a law made? That this law was made specifically for you? That breaking this law is punishable by death?"

Naruto widened his eyes as he heard Iruka shouting in the beside him, "Enough Mizuki! You know it's forbidden!"

Mizuki just continued on as if Iruka hadn't spoken, "Thirteen years ago, after the Kyuubi terrorized Konoha, the newly reinstated Sandaime Hokage passed a decree about one Naruto Uzumaki. Do you know what that was?"

Iruka shouted, "No Mizuki, you can't talk about it. The penalty is death!" Iruka tried unsuccessfully to get Mizuki to keep quiet, but Mizuki disregarded the Chuunin Teacher.

Shooting a glare of hate at Iruka, the traitor replied, "What do I care if the subject is forbidden? After tonight, I will no longer be a shinobi of the Konohagakure. My master will instate me as one of his prized ninja, and I will be a shinobi of Otogakure."

Naruto, who had been feeling a sense to dread come over barely got his voice above a whisper as he asked, "What was the law?"

Smiling cruelly at the young boy, Mizuki finished, "It says that no one is able to speak the truth about what happed the night that the Kyuubi no Yoko was defeated. How we are not allowed to explain that the Yondaime Hokage wasn't able to kill the beast, but he was able to seal it in a child that had been born that very day. That the child 'Naruto Uzumaki' is that child. YOU ARE THE NINETAILED FOX DEMON!"

Looking shocked from one teacher to the next he looked from Mizuki's sinister smile to Iruka's depressed look. That told Naruto enough that what Mizuki had said was true. Keeping the scroll tightly in his arms, Naruto Fled as fast as his legs could take him further into the forest.

Deeper in the Forest

Naruto was huddled high in the confines of a tree that was deeper in the forest. He kept rubbing the tears out of his eyes while thinking to himself, "Is it true? Am I nothing more than the Kyuubi? Why didn't Jiji say anything to me? Does he think that I couldn't handle knowing? Why?" Naruto had too many questions going through his head, and not enough answers to fill them.

What Mizuki told him made a sort of sense to the young boy. They hated him for being, what they perceived as, the Kyuubi-incarnate. But even though he couldn't understand all of the complex theories in his (which he had determined was a very advanced copy by now) Academy textbook, he knew that the mere sealing of an object doesn't turn the seal itself into the object sealed. This wasn't what made him sad. What hurt him the most was the fact that two of the people he cared for most in the entire world didn't deem him mature enough to know this information.

Now the entire village was after Naruto for what they perceived as a threat to the safety of Konoha. Them knowing that it was Naruto that had caused it just gave the prejudiced villagers what they need to be able to call for the young boy's execution. Naruto wasn't stupid, he knew that even if the Sandaime wanted to, He wouldn't be able to save the young boy from the council's wrath. It would take an act from God, or some very serious maneuvering, to get around the council.

Naruto pulled himself back together, and rubbed the last vestiges of his tears away. He had to take the scroll back to the Hokage's Tower and explain the situation to the old man. Then they could plan on what they would do about the boy's problem. Who knows, Naruto might ask the Hokage to get him in training to be like those masked ninja that he always had around him. At least then he could keep his identity a secret, while still working for the old man.

Naruto's attention was drawn to a noise that was coming from several yards from his current position. He could make out the tell-tale clinking of kunai on kunai. Deciding to check out what was happening a little bit, Naruto left the confines to the tree branch he was using to hid to check out the action. When he arrived to a tree limb high above the area where the noise was coming from, Naruto was shocked to see the two Chuunin face off against each other. Naruto could barely hear the two from his perch forty feet in the air. Hi no Kuni sported some of the tallest trees in the entire continent. Their height could reach up to eighty feet, while their branches could spread to a hundred feet. Naruto was certain that the two on the ground floor wouldn't discover him eavesdropping on the Chuunin's battle.

"Why do you keep protecting him?" Mizuki was questioning Iruka as he slashed repeatedly with his kunai at the Chuunin Sensei. Iruka was deflecting each strike as it came, but never answered Mizuki's question. Sending a kick at his opponent, Mizuki continued, "You've seen it yourself! All that Kyuubi brat is capable of his destruction and chaos. And as the boy grows in age, so too will his strength. Eventually he will be strong enough to get revenge on the village that scorned him, do you want that to happen? Will you let your parents murderer, continue to make more people orphans when that time comes?" Mizuki finished as he lobbed the kunai he was holding after the back-flipping Chuunin who failed to get kicked.

Righting himself, catching the kunai that would have pierced his jugular in his unoccupied hand, Iruka replied to his former teaching assistant, "Your right! The Kyuubi WOULD act like that..." Iruka twirled his opponent's kunai in his hand before lobbing in back with greater force. Mizuki was a little surprised at the speed of the kunai, and tried to catch it back. However, his aim was slightly off, and the kunai embedded itself into the side of his palm.

Naruto, who had been watching the exchanges with trepidation, felt his breath catch. Turning wide eyes to his former teacher, Naruto felt a slight pang in his chest. The words of his teacher hurt, did Iruka-sensei really think of him like the rest of the village?

"...But Naruto is NOT the Kyuubi! He is just a boy, like everyone else. He makes mistakes, tries his hardest, and causes mischief. But I can't say that I am any less proud of what he has become. To me he isn't the Kyuubi, he is just another one of my wonderful students. Sure, he is rough around the edges, but who isn't at that age? And I will be DAMNED before I let him come to harm by the likes of you." Iruka got into his Taijutsu form with one leg in front of the other, and his arms loose at his sides ready to intercept attacks.

Pulling the lodged kunai out with a wet slurping noise, Mizuki tossed the bloody knife away and popped his neck to the side before saying in annoyance, "Fine! I was going to allow you to live, but if you feel for your student so badly, then I suppose you could bee the first image to greet him in death." Mizuki launched himself at the Chuunin Sensei and engaging in a Taijutsu battle.

Up in the tree, Naruto felt a tear rolling down his face as he heard his former teachers declaration. Iruka had just acknowledged the blond as himself, rather than the Kyuubi. He felt a warm spot in his chest, forgotten was the hurt feeling that he had felt just moments prior. Returning his attention to the ground floor, Naruto watched as the fierce battle unfolded. He had written the Chuunin Sensei off as a weakling, but this battle was proving his thoughts otherwise. Where before the Chuunin couldn't block some of the Genin's punches, the two were going at a pace that almost made Naruto dizzy watching.

On the ground floor, Mizuki was throwing punches left and right trying to get in some good hits. This was made impossible as Iruka constantly intercept the traitors fists, pulling him off balance and getting a few good hits in himself. Noticing none of his attacks were working, Mizuki pulled another Fuuma Shuriken off his back and started using broad overhead strikes and cross-slashes. Iruka kept to mainly sidestepping the strikes, while bending at an almost ninety degree angle to avoid the slashes. Noticing that one of Mizuki's slashes overextended itself, Iruka capitalized on the traitors mistake. While in his ninety degree stretch, Iruka kicked the giant shuriken to the side and followed up with a back-flip kick to the Chuunin's jaw. This had the effect of launching the traitor into the air.

Landing from his back-flip, Iruka looked at where he kicked Mizuki. In his place was a falling log instead of an injured Chuunin. Mizuki had Kawarimi'd with the log before the kick had connected, if he hadn't then he would have suffered a broken jaw. Iruka knew this and was preparing for another attack when the Chuunin showed himself. Mizuki's voice manifested itself everywhere in the clearing making it hard for Iruka to pinpoint his former assistant's position.

"You are very good Iruka! It's good to see that the years of fighting against Academy students haven't dulled your abilities any. From what I've seen so far, you could easily pass for Jonin if you took the test. One must wonder WHY you haven't been promoted yet?" Mizuki's voice said in a curious tone.

Iruka's eyes continued to scour back and forth in a circle, trying to locate the source of the sound, and replied, "Some people don't want to have power. I am perfectly content to stay as a Chuunin Sensei. The fact that I have Jonin skills just make me more of an asset to protect the future shinobi of Konoha. The Hokage knows of my skills, and that's enough for me. Why else would he let me hand out missions, when some of the information in the missions is classified for Jonin ALONE? I know you Mizuki! Your type desire power just to be the strongest. Against me that kind of power is useless."

Mizuki's voice replied, "You may be right about that. My strength is useless against you. It was foolish of me to go up against you in your own area of expertise, Taijutsu. With your unique fighting style continually using my strength against me, outright attacks are useless. But there are many different types of ways to fight you. We fought using your specialty, now lets try mine."

Iruka could hear the whirring of shuriken approaching, and leaped aside as the tiny stars embedded themselves on the ground where he was just standing. Taking some of his own shuriken out of his pack, Iruka launched them in the direction they enemy's stars came from. The irritating voice of Mizuki came back over the clearing and said, "Your not very good at locating chakra Iruka, Those stars were nowhere near me. In case your wondering, I'm an assassination specialist. So do try to make my fun last." As the voice ended, there was another set of shuriken thrown in the direction of Iruka. He continued to dodge them, but more just kept coming at him.

The Chuunin Sensei was forced to Kawarimi away from a volley that came from multiple directions at once. And taking cove in a tree that was(unknown to him) several yards away from Naruto's own, Iruka was going over possible ways of leading Mizuki out into the open so he could finish the fight quickly. He needed to locate the blond soon before anyone else did. Almost too late, Iruka heard the tell-tale sizzling of an exploding tag. Looking around Iruka noticed the tag on a higher branch and leaped to safety to another tree before it exploded.

In his perch high above the battle, Naruto saw the destruction that one simple seal tag made. That just solidified the idea in his head that he was going to learn seals when this was over. Maybe the Hokage could give him some books that he could study, and help him with his talisman ideas. However, he needed to get the scroll to him first. Naruto didn't want to just leave Iruka though, so he continued to watch as the battle resumed.

Back on the ground floor, Iruka was on his guard once more. Mizuki was very good at sneak attacks, and trap making, and Iruka knew that he couldn't keep dodging the traitor's weapons forever. Eventually, he will get tired and start to get slower. Mizuki was wasting relatively no energy throwing his shuriken, while Iruka was wasting significantly more dodging them. Iruka gave a frustrated sigh as the sound of yet ANOTHER shuriken coming his way. He noticed the sound was a little louder than the others, so he assumed it was the Fuma Shuriken that Mizuki had with him.

Looking in the direction of the sound, Iruka Saw the offending object hurtling toward his position. It was flying vertically through the air and Iruka turned his body sideways, letting the giant star sail harmlessly passed him. What Iruka didn't count on was the three normal shuriken that traveled in the shadow of the giant one. Those dug themselves into the Chuunin's arm.

Laughter was heard as Mizuki let himself be known. One of the trees rippled as the Genjutsu placed over it was released and Mizuki stood in the clearing facing Iruka. The Chuunin Sensei tried to get into fighting position, but his body was not responding. Trying to use a seal-less Kawarimi didn't work also, somehow he was unable to perform the basic jutsu.

Flashing the helpless Chuunin a cruel smile, Mizuki said, "How do you like my special shuriken? By now you have probably realized what they do, haven't you?" Mizuki asked as he started moving his hands. Iruka noticed a flash of light bounce off the wires that were attached to the traitors fingers, and heard the sound of Mizuki's giant shuriken coming back. The fuma shuriken landed into the traitor's hand as he continued, "I have dipped everyone of my shuriken in a fast acting poison. It both paralyzes and it renders the infected unable to use chakra. Normally, it would take one scratch about five minutes. However, you have been stabbed with three, making the potency of the toxin three times as effective. I can't say that it hasn't been fun Iruka, so goodbye."

Raising his arm to kill the Chuunin Sensei with one final toss, Mizuki was forced to halt as a shuriken almost sliced through his jugular. Luckily, his Chuunin reflexes allowed him to dodge just enough to only get a scratch from the weapon. Taking in flight trajectory, Mizuki followed the path of travel and saw Naruto standing on a branch some ten feet away. Beside him rested the Forbidden Scroll, one end securely held in his hand and the other resting on the tree's limb.

Shooting the traitor a glare Naruto declared, "If you hurt Iruka-sensei...I'll KILL you!" Tuning to the paralyzed Chuunin Naruto said, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused the village. I'll deal with any of the consequences that result from my actions. But first, I'll take care of Mizuki-teme. Here Iruka, Keep this beside you for a minute." Kicking the scroll off the tree, Naruto tossed it down in a gradual horizontal descent until it rested against the paralyzed Chuunin.

Shooting Naruto a curious glance, Mizuki asked, "Oh really? And Just how are you going to do that Kyuubi, you don't have the skill to take me down." Naruto spared an interested glance at the traitor and replied with, "Simple, the shuriken that cut your throat was one of your very own. And it is now the necessary five minutes, that according to you, for the poison to take effect." Naruto jumped down to the ground and riffled through the struggling Chuunin's vest until he found a vial that had been labeled 'Antidote' an it and pocketed it. Walking over to Iruka, he put his Sensei's arm over his shoulder and started walking away from the clearing.

Mizuki declared, "Where do you think your going? We're not finished yet!"

Naruto shot an amused glance at the traitor before replying, "I'm going to take Iruka to the Hokage's Tower and explain everything to the old man. There should be Anbu arriving shortly after that, and they'll get the truth out of you. So sit tight Mizuki-teme." he led his teacher a bit further until he was stopped by the traitor's voice again.

The traitor was yelling at the blond, "Don't think this is over! When Orochimaru comes to rescue me I will finish what I started. I'll have you watch as I torture the ones you care about the most. Then I will kill and torture you as well. Ha ha ha ha!"

Naruto looked into the Eyes of the Chuunin and saw the madness that was held in them. In that moment he realized just how dangerous Mizuki was. Giving Iruka an apologetic look, he placed the Chuunin down beside him. Steeling his resolve, Naruto said, "I'm sorry to tell you, but there will be no rescuing for you. Because when your master comes, there will be no one to retrieve. I hope you suffer in hell. For the crimes you have done toward a citizen and shinobi of Konoha, as well as treason, the punishment is death. " Going through four very familiar handseals Naruto shouted, "Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" The entire forest around them was littered with a hundred clones of Naruto.

Both Chuunin's were shocked at the sheer numbers of clones. But not just any clones, they were all real clones. Naruto had created over a HUNDRED real clones, and all of them had one traitor in their sights. Suddenly, Mizuki was gripped by very real fear. All the Clones made a cross seal and proceed to take out one kunai before tossing it at Mizuki and yelling, "Kunai Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu" each one kunai became ten. And all thousand kunai were targeting one traitor. As the light was blocked out by the sheer number of converging kunai, Mizuki heard one last thing before he died:

"Shinko Kokuangyo no Jutsu!"

Picking up Iruka once more, Naruto lead the Chuunin away from the pile off bleeding flesh that used to be Mizuki. After they got to another clearing, Naruto gave Iruka the antidote and waited for it to take effect. After a few minutes of silence Naruto spoke, "I'm sorry Iruka! I didn't mean for this to happen. I wanted so dearly to become a ninja, but because of my bunshins I couldn't pass. When Mizuki told me this was of becoming a ninja, I took it. I just didn't want to see you disappointed." Naruto lowered his eyes to the ground and waited for the Chuunin's response.

Feeling the effects of the paralyzing poison loosen, Iruka took the blond in a hug. While the blond was in his arms, Iruka said, "You are never a disappointment. Naruto, you remind me so much of me when I was your age. I was an orphan as well. Every day I would watch the others go home to happy families, and the parents would give me the most apologetic looks. So I started playing pranks, and for one brief moment in time everyone would forget that I was just the lonely orphan boy. You could never be a disappointment in my eyes." Iruka got an idea and asked, "Naruto? Close your eyes for a moment."

Naruto was curious, so complied. After a few minutes he felt something being tied to his forehead. When Iruka gave him permission to open his eyes, he was presented with the sight of the Chuunin without his hitai-ate. The Chuunin declared proudly, "Naruto! For the excellent work of defeating the traitor Mizuki, and for learning the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu. I am proud to say, you pass your Genin Exams. Serve your country well!" Iruka was tackled to the ground by a crying Naruto and just smiled at the boy.

Hokage's Tower

Sarutobi smiled at the sight of that greeted him through his crystal ball. He watched the entire fight proceed, and the result. Pulling out his pipe the Hokage was proud that Naruto passed his exam. Walking to the roof, Sarutobi gestured with his hand. From nowhere, four Anbu appeared before him.

Turning to the nearest, he said, "Call off the search for Naruto! He is on his way here and I don't want him hurt. After you spread the message, send an Anbu guard to protect him and Iruka from harm. Have the rest of your group looking in the forest two miles south of Konoha. There you will find the remains of the traitor Mizuki. Collect and study the remains. Dismissed!"

After they had left the roof, Sarutobi smiled and said to himself, "Well done Naruto! You've become an excellent shinobi." Turning to the Hokage Monument, especially the fourth Hokage, he continued, "Your legacy has bright things awaiting his future, Minato!" Puffing on his pipe, the Hokage returned to his office to finish the paperwork for his newest ninja.

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Jutsu Used/Talked About in this chapter(Bare Bones)

Manga Jutsu(Alphabetic)

Bunshin no Jutsu(Clone Jutsu)= E-rank. Makes Illusions of yourselves.

Henge(Transformation)= E-rank. Puts an illusion over your features.

Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu(Shadow-Clone Jutsu)= A-rank. Forbidden tech that makes physical double.

Kawarimi(Body-Replacement)= E-rank. Switches user with whatever is within sight.

Kunai Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu(Kunai Shadow-Clone Jutsu)= A-rank. Makes physical clones of Kunai.

Orioke no Jutsu(Sexy no Jutsu)= ?-rank. It turns Naruto into Girl (maybe shape-shift).

Shuriken Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu(Shuriken Shadow-Clone Jutsu)= A-rank. Makes physical clones of shuriken.

Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu(Mass Shadow-Clone Jutsu)= S-rank. Makes a hundred physical clones.

My Jutsu(Alphabetic)

KuroFuuin - Nobiru no Karada(Black Seal - Progression of Body)= A-rank. Forbidden training seal.

ShiFuuin – Fukkatsu no Seishin (White Seal – Rebirth of Spirit)= S-rank. Forbidden secrecy/recovery seal.

Shinko Kokuangyo no Jutsu(True Bringer-of-Darkness Jutsu)= A/S-rank. Combination Shadow-Clone and Kunai Shadow-Clone. 100 Clones through one kunai and multiply those by ten, forcing 1000 kunai to mass converge on one target. As the knives get closer, they block out light for the target. Eventually all light will be eclipsed before death. The Kunai Shadow-Clones will eventually vanish, and the real one will remain (aimed at the heart or head).