A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to Strong World. I am not a newbie to the Naruto Fanfiction website, having read hundreds of them. So now I decided to have a go at it myself. I'm taking everything I've learnt from reading the fanfics on this site and turning it into my own, original story.
N.B: I have made minor changes to remove some grammatical errors, in case any who have read this before are confused by the changes.
As a fellow reader I know people always have questions and expectations, I'm going to try to answer them all here
FYI:
How often will I update? Hopefully once every week. They are longer chapters though.
Pairings? You'll just have to read to find out! What I can say is that I'm going for originality here. It will be a bit later on in the story though. (But in my story the romantic subplot plays a huge role in the overall plot).
How powerful will Naruto be? Eventually strong, but not OP. He'll have a wide skill set that grows over time.
Villains. I don't want to spoil it, but I have pretty much planned out all the enemies. I also know how the story will end.
World building and changes from canon – It might shock you at first but I have made a few changes. The most glaring one you might not like, but I just want to say that I have a very good reason for every change I've made.
How long? It should be above the 100,000 word mark.
Just as a final reminder, my story starts off as slow and mysterious. The first 5 chapters I plan out to be quite small in scale. They are there to set the scene. After that the 6th chapter will truly reveal parts of the great world. There are many things I won't explain until much later, so hang on with questions!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the adaptations made on the original canon in this story.
Lands that wish to reach the heavens but fall ever so short. These mountains are truly a fitting place for my people. A tall man in a dark cloak lamented.
In a large courtyard there sat hundreds of people. Civilian men, women and children ate rations from their disorganised and messy bags. Even their cloths were filthy, with a rotten stench emanating from the general populace. As for the uniformed ninja, their cloths were tattered and some still bleeding. Many of them had an arm or leg missing, and some corpses were being burned in front of their grieving families.
At the centre of the courtyard was a raised platform where 3 men and a woman stood. A chakra sensor would be unable to sense their chakra. In fact they looked like ordinary people. But surprisingly the villagers showed them tremendous respect.
"This world has grown too bold in its rush for power. They have a lot of guts, to have dared to turn on us." His voice, loud and domineering, swept through the courtyard. Everyone fell silent, listening to him quietly. Even the children had stopped shouting and screaming.
"But it is our fault too, for us to have grown so complacent during peacetime." Many of the ninja in the courtyard lowered their heads in shame, some crying in anguish. It was truly a pitiable sight.
The man in the centre stood up from his seat and looked around the courtyard. At least 50% were dead. Half his people! And it wasn't just limited to shinobi, there were innocent civilians caught in the crossfire! They still had some hidden cards left to play, but this should never have happened in the first place! He clenched his fists, but after a few moments they were slowly relaxed. No point worrying about this now, I need to ensure our safety and prepare for the future.
He cleared his throat, regaining everyone's attention. "This is not the end my brethren, we must carve this loss and humiliation into our hearts and live on! Live on for our ancestors, our children and our legacy. We cannot falter in the face of hardship. We may have lost our land but we haven't lost our heritage, our skills or our knowledge." He paused, before continuing, "I know that you have lost a great deal, I have too. In fact my father's condition is currently unknown, as is his location. Even worse is losing our homeland. However remember this: The most important thing for a civilisation isn't their land, but their people! We will rebuild our home, creating an even stronger village where we can protect our own! We will once again rise to the top!"
The more he spoke, the louder his voice rang across the grounds. When he saw his people pay attention and cheer he inwardly sighed in relief. As the leader it was his duty not just to ensure his citizens' safety, but to make sure their wills remained strong. He could tell his words lighted a spark of hope into their hearts.
"And...", he clenched his fist with a dark glint in his eyes, "once we have re-built our empire the 9 great masters shall rise once again, leading us to destroy all those that acted against us! We will avenge this loss!"
No one questioned him. He was their leader and protector. A resounding cheer swept across the courtyard as the man finally managed to smile. The 3 people around him also clenched their fists in agitation; clearly they too were infected by this optimism.
"Onwards to the mountains my brethren. I, Blood Calamity, will lead you to build a new home, a new paradise!"
And so they vanished. Many people would try to find their last traces, but fail. Some thought they died, others not so sure. However the Elemental Nations did agree on one thing; the glorious reputation that this people built had fallen into ruin.
No-one knew that deep in a secluded mountain range there still existed that clan, who possessed centuries of glory, knowledge and power, having protected the world many times over. Their strength would grow unnoticed within the mountains, preparing to one day re-emerge into the Great Elemental Nations!
100 years later
(Location: Konohagakure)
It was a rainy day which was rare for the land of fire, especially during the summer. A sprawling metropolis sat below a grand set of rock faces, 4 of them. As a village victorious in 3 great wars it was safe to say Konoha was a superpower, even amongst the 5 great villages. It was also an economic powerhouse, with lots of business taking place on a daily basis.
Near the centre of the village was a tall red tower, which had the symbol, Fire, emblazoned on it proudly. And at the very top was an office, inside of which sat a middle aged man. Nothing about him was ordinary, from his cloths to his very presence. For a few minutes he persisted in signing documents and reading confidential reports, but soon he sighed and leaned back.
"How long are you going to stand there, Jiraiya-sensei?"
A man appeared in front of the desk out of thin air. He was tall with white hair and red face markings, with a large scroll strapped to his back.
"Now I can't even hide from you, and I'm supposed to be the spymaster. Have your sensory capabilities advanced so far?" Although it was a light-hearted tone, he was clearly awed and slightly displeased about being noticed so quickly.
"The young surpass the old my dear sensei, and you're definitely reaching old age. " He grinned, and started laughing when his sensei flipped him off in response. "You need to visit me when I'm at home sensei, why don't you stay in Konoha for a while? Kushina and Wulin would be excited to see you again!"
He looked expectantly at Jiraiya, who frowned in response. "Can't this time Minato, a storm's brewing. And it isn't going to be pretty if it heads in our direction."
Minato paused for a second, before becoming quite serious. "It has to be bad for you to come personally, what happened?"
Jiraiya paused for a minute, perhaps due to hesitation or misgivings, before replying; "There are a few new organisations that have been set up in recent years Minato, and I didn't take them seriously at first. But recently I realised that their operations have been discretely set up against Konoha."
"Is it Iwa or Kiri? Or even... Kumo? We did sign the peace treaty 4 years ago, so I don't think Kumo would do anything. As for Suna, they won't even dare to do anything." Minato pondered, clearly in deep thought, before looking expectantly at Jiraiya.
Once again Jiraiya hesitated, "I'm afraid it is none of the villages, its worse. The name of one of these organisations is... Akatsuki."
(Location: Eastern Konoha Residential District)
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. An alarm clock rang incessantly before a hand clamped down, restoring peace and tranquility. "Ahhhhhhhhh" A boy yawned as he threw off the covers and got up from bed, rubbing his eyes.
He was quite scrawny in general and looked lethargic this morning, but his vibrant violet eyes indicated otherwise. They scanned the room incessantly before falling on the calendar opposite him, on which there was a big red line underlining 'Graduation – Time to become a ninja!'
Suddenly all sense of lethargy disappeared, "YESSSS" he shouted before running around the small run-down apartment picking up cloths and getting ready. He had to avoid the used cups of instant ramen noodles, which had expired way before he ate them. The water in the shower was as cold as ice, and the room's temperature was the same as the outside. None of this bothered the boy as he hurriedly freshened up.
5 minutes later he walked out of his apartment to see a street full of filth and garbage. A few homeless people sat begging for money or still sleeping. Asides from them the street was empty. It was early in the morning after all. Needless to say he lived in a poor residential district, and as the young boy walked towards the academy the slums disappeared, replaced by shops and restaurants. They ranged from simple cloths shops to ninja weapons shops, although not just anyone could enter the shinobi shops. The houses and streets were cleaner and much more high-end, with people wearing high quality cloths and some women wore gaudy jewellery. None of the changes bothered the boy, who looked on emotionlessly and continued walking.
Finally the boy reached the Ninja academy; he tightened the headband around his shoulder, adjusting his hair a bit. Wearing black shorts and a plain green shirt, it contrasted quite heavily with his blood red hair. He closed his eyes and counted to 10 before entering.
His jaw dropped when he saw that everyone was already here! Given Iruka-sensei's instruction it shouldn't have been surprising, but noticing he was last among his peers was shocking. Looking around he noticed the people who he had been together with for 6 years.
Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara sat together, with the former eating chips and the latter napping. That's what he loved about them, their consistency. Over the last 6 years every morning, or at least most of them, he'd find those two doing the same thing. A fatso and a guy who sleeps more than a Koala.
Shino Aburame sat alone at the back, holding up his hand and talking to an insect on his finger. Weirdo. A few seats across him sat another quiet boy. He looked completely unremarkable, with brown hair and average height. But it was universally accepted that he was one of the most talented people in the class. Even Iruka, as impartial as he was, raved on and on about Ryoga and his talent. Asshole
Before the boy could finish taking in the sight he was roughly shoved out of the entrance by 2 girls who had just entered the classroom behind him. They were also pushing each other, clearly having a race of some kind.
"Ha, I'm first Ino-pig! I get to sit next to Wulin!" The girl with long pink hair shouted, who had hands on hips and looked very pleased with herself.
"For God's sake Sakura, why do you like him so much, Sasuke's way better! And I was first, I'm just being kind to you by letting you dream." Like a twin she also had her hands on her hips, a condescending attitude shown.
"Hey you can't just shove people out of the way, that's rude! Show some respect for your classmates." The young boy growled out, incensed by being manhandled.
The 2 girls looked at him blankly, and then laughed in response. "Naruto? I'm surprised a loser like you even graduated. Even Shikamaru did better than you and he slept for like half the exam." Ino spoke ruthlessly, yet this was quite a normal event during the past few years. She looked like she was going to continue when someone shouted.
"SILENCE, AND TAKE YOUR SEATS EVERYONE". Naruto glared at the 2 girls before sitting at the back next to Shino.
A young man stood at the front of the table, Naruto recognised him as their sensei, Iruka. He had a reputation of being exceedingly stern and fair amongst the students of all classes. Except for his pet Ryoga of course, thought Naruto.
"I am very proud of all of you for graduating and starting your journey as shinobi, and hopefully you will be even more careful and hardworking. The life of a shinobi is difficult and can be full of blood and tears. What is even more important is to stay true to your team and sensei. After all, they will be like your family. Perhaps for the rest of your life." Iruka paused and looked around the room sternly. He then picked up the clipboard and cleared his throat.
"Now the team placements: Team 7 consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Wulin Namikaze and Yakumo Kurama. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake."
The class immediately erupted into chaos, what kind of team was this? They were the strongest 3 people in the entire class! Yakumo was the top kunoichi, exceedingly talented at all aspects especially genjutsu. She was from the vaunted Kurama clan, the clan of illusionists. Rumour was that she could already do a B rank genjutsu. She's also really really pretty. There was no need to even talk about Sasuke. Typical arrogant Uchiha genius. As for Wulin, he was the Hokage's son! He got personal training from his father, the Hokage, and his mother, an Elite Jounin. In fact, Jiraiya of the Sannin had personally gifted Wulin the toad summoning contract on his 11th birthday. Talk about a golden spoon.
If I got even half the help they did I would easily beat them. Ok, so maybe it wouldn't be that simple, but Naruto never doubted his own determination and hard-work. But who could he go to for help? Iruka? He would just point him to some random book and give no practical pointers. The assistants were useless, and there was no-one else to go to.
"Team 8: Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka, sensei is Kurenai Yuuhi"
Naruto didn't find this strange; he hated Kiba ever since they got into a fight 3 years ago. It was safe to say the feelings were mutual. But Kiba was strong and more importantly a tracker. For Hinata, clearly the Byakugan was similarly good for tracking. But what annoyed Naruto was that she basically looked down on anyone with a normal background. Arrogant stuck up bitch. She fitted well with Kiba.
"Team 10: Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka."
Wincing at the last name, Naruto felt sorry for Shikamaru and Choji. Although he doubted they would mind Ino, given the history of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. "Sensei is Asuma Sarutobi"
"And finally Team 11: Sakura Haruno, Naruto- " NOOOOOO, Naruto groaned smashing his head on the table, he didn't notice Sakura doing the exact same thing across the classroom. A lot of people, including Ino, were laughing at them "alright that's enough out of you two, the last member is Ryoga and your sensei is Yugao Uzuki."
Naruto, after getting over his depression, smiled at Ryoga who nodded back in acknowledgement. At least he's a nice guy, unlike some others.
All the Sensei were scheduled to come after lunch which gave the genin a lot of time since this was early morning. Naruto got up stretching, ready to get early lunch when in front of the classroom a woman materialised out of thin air.
Long purple hair reaching her waist, with a jonin uniform and headband sewn on her shoulder, she looked around the class with unemotional black eyes. "Sakura Haruno, Ryoga and Naruto stand in front of me. I am your new sensei Yugao Uzuki." Her voice was bland and she had a disinterested posture. Does she not want a genin team or something? Naruto felt quite indignant about having a reluctant sensei, but still dutifully got up and followed Sakura and Ryoga to the front.
The classroom, previously quite rowdy, was now completely silent. She looked at them for a few seconds and nodded. "Be at training ground 11 in 10 minutes. Failure to arrive in time means you lose your genin title." And then she vanished.
"WHAAATTTTT, how can she just do that?" Sakura screamed in hysteria "Training ground 11 is at least 20 minutes even if we go all out, what's up with that?"
"Maybe 20 for you, a girl with zero fitness" Naruto mumbled, before promptly running out of the door and rushing towards ground 11. He could see Ryoga running just ahead, as talented as he was Naruto was stronger physically. He quickly caught up before overtaking Ryoga. But even sprinting at full speed it took 15 minutes to teach the grounds, Yugao was standing there in silence.
"You're late" Her voice was cold, her expression even more so. "And where's your third teammate?" After noticing only 2 people she knitted her eyebrows. They were weak, she realised that much, but was the girl even worse?
Naruto and Ryoga, who were panting from the run, looked at each other blankly. "I think she was just behind us", came Ryoga's unsure response. Yugao said nothing in reply, simply closing her eyes and waiting quietly. The two boys, who felt the oppressive vibe, joined her in silence. After 5 more minutes a pink figure was seen in the distance, which coalesced gradually into a very sweaty and tired Sakura. "*Huff* sorry *huff* I'm late" She collapsed onto the ground.
"My first impression of you guys, is that you're all pathetic. In fact, I should fail all of you right now for your complete lack of fitness." They all glared at her. "Oh, you have any complaints? Don't bother, I couldn't care less." She pulled out 2 bells from her pouch before tying them to her waist. "I pretty much expected that I would get a weaker team, so I suppose I'll just give you guys a few chances. You need to get these bells from me, if you do then you pass. If you don't in... let's say 5 hours... then you fail and go straight back to the academy."
All 3 of them stiffened, before looking aghast and immediately starting to shout:
"Haven't we already passed, why do we have-"
"Wait there's 2 bells, so only 2 of us-"
"This is completely unfair, aren't you supposed to care abo-"
"SHUT UP" Yugao shouted, killing intent billowed at them as their faces all went pale. "I don't care about your complaints. Either get the bells or don't, no questioning. Show me what you've got. One final piece of advice, if you don't aim to kill me then you don't stand a chance"
Sakura looked like she had something to say, but catching Yugao's dark look she flinched and got ready. Naruto and Ryoga had already pulled out kunai and were getting into their stances. Seeing this, Yugao nodded.
"Okay, now that you're all ready, BEGIN"
(Location: Konoha Tree-house Bar – Jonin Lounge)
"Heh, Yugao's pretty impatient. She already went to pick up her kids." A middle aged man with a scruffy beard sat on one of the sofas. A cigar in hand, he looked over to a silver haired man opposite.
"Like it's going to make a difference, aren't her genin the worst in the year?" An absolutely stunning woman sat next to him, with black hair and red eyes. She wore a unique dress that resembled bandages, but in a stylish way. "I heard she even picked up the dead-last."
"'Don't underestimate her Kurenai, she may have stepped out of line but she's still an excellent kunoichi." The silver haired man replied, respect evident in his tone. He was in standard jonin uniform, but was wearing his headband at a slant which covered his left eye. "She may have a talentless team, but she can still turn them into good soldiers. Although she has no chance of winning the bet."
"Just what happened with her Kakashi? Even Asuma has no idea how she became a jonin." Kurenai soldiered on, clearly pressing for answers.
"That's enough Kurenai," Asuma interjected, "all we know is she made a mistake, even if Kakashi knew he would have been sworn to secrecy. And if she somehow manages to build a great team they would not only have to become chunin during the exams next year, they would also have to beat our teams. So it's basically impossible."
None of the others said anything, clearly they agreed with Asuma.
"But Gai is definitely coming after you Kakashi, his team is really strong." Kakashi groaned at Asuma's words. "That's the problem Asuma, and it's not just Gai's team."
"Hmm?" Kurenai and Asuma both looked at each other in confusion, before sitting up and looking seriously at Kakashi.
"Did you forget about Anko's team, or Aoba's team? Oh and don't forget about Itachi, apparently his team can already beat chunin squads, they're just waiting for next year's exams." Kurenai looked horrified, Asuma in deep thought.
"How troublesome." Asuma sighed, Kurenai and Kakashi nodded in agreement.
(Location: Training ground 11)
After Yugao said begin, Naruto immediately rushed at Yugao. He wanted to pass as soon as possible. Ryoga and Sakura immediately made for the trees, disappearing from view.
Naruto threw multiple shuriken with his right hand, the left still holding onto his kunai, as he rushed at Yugao. CLANG, the shuriken were all deflected, only then Naruto noticed a kunai in her hand.
Fast. He aimed his kunai for Yugao's neck, who easily dodged. Naruto aimed a roundhouse kick at her torso. She blocked it and grabbed his leg, then threw him over her shoulder as he landed almost 10 metres away.
He gritted his teeth and threw the kunai at Yugao, rushing towards her once again. This time he went through several hand-seals, after which 3 Naruto clones appeared.
"Bunshin no Jutsu"
Yugao scoffed, after Naruto's kunai was deflected she suddenly disappeared from sight.
"Okay, I've seen enough." Naruto heard. The voice was behind him! But before he could turn around a strike hit his neck and he passed out.
==Sakura==
A small distance away Sakura watched in dismay as Yugao knocked Naruto out. "She's ridiculously powerful! Just how on earth are we supposed to get those bells" Shaking her head she turned away, preparing to run as far as possible. Maybe she'll pass the ones who can last for the next 3 hours, I don't need to fight her.
"You aren't going to pass if you don't try." A voice rang out behind her. Sakura screamed in alarm and quickly turned around, fumbling with her kunai. But there was no one there.
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique"
She was transported to an empty space, darkness surrounding her, when suddenly she dropped into a forest. "What, where am I?" She got up rubbing her head, before hearing a rustling. She turned around, only to see her beloved Sasuke's dead body covered in kunai. "AHHHHHHHHHH" She screamed before fainting. *Thud*
"Hmmm, so this is why Kurenai and Anko were laughing at me. She's this pathetic? I might as well get rid of her and lead a 3 man team, that's if the other one can at least hold a kunai properly." Yugao wasn't angry anymore, simply resigned. What would anger achieve? It's not like they'd suddenly turn into amazing shinobi if she threw a tantrum. She would just judge how strong they were and take it from there.
==Ryoga==
Ryoga didn't know why he had such a sadistic teacher. She literally made this test to beat them up, Naruto being the prime example. He wasn't sure what happened to Sakura, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be anything positive. She might have had a good ranking, but it was her theory that pulled her through. She was the worst at taijutsu, practically worthless. Naruto could at least fight a bit. Still, she's not too bad.
"You've been waiting for me this whole time; did you not consider the possibility of me waiting for you?" Yugao appeared in a swirl of leaves, arms crossed with her hip cocked at one side. She was clearly not taking him seriously.
Good, Ryoga quickly made some subtle checks before he replied, "You're here to test our fighting skills, and whether we get those bells is irrelevant." Yugao frowned, but didn't say anything.
Ryoga wouldn't have cared even if she had responded, he quickly sped towards Yugao kunai in hand. As he swung his kunai and tried to hit her, his arm was blocked by her leg. Then he discretely made a hand-sign.
*FWOOSH*, kunai and shuriken appeared from all around the clearing. Yugao still looked unimpressed as she handily dodged all projectiles whilst still managing to score some hits on Ryoga. Just when she was about to knock him out he went through more hand seals and slammed his hands to the ground.
"Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu"
The ground suddenly moved, like it was a wave of water, which disrupted Yugao's footing. Then suddenly more kunai and shuriken emerged from the trees, clearly aimed all around Yugao in case she tried to escape. The kunai hit Yugao only for her to turn into a block of wood.
Ryoga widened his eyes, Substitution jutsu, he panicked. But before he could even look around there was a quick strike on his neck and he fell unconscious.
Yugao was behind him as he fell, a look of surprise on her face. This was the first time she was actually impressed. Although Ryoga used a weak jutsu it was still elemental manipulation! Perhaps it wasn't so hopeless after all. She picked Ryoga up and took him to where Naruto had fallen, Sakura was already there. After dropping him to the ground she slapped them all awake.
They were all groaning as they got up, Sakura less so since she had simply fainted. Yugao stared at them coldly, waiting for them to get their bearings before finally speaking.
"None of you understood the purpose of this test, and I even gave you a handicap." The genin looked confused, before Sakura hesitantly expressed her feelings.
"Wasn't the whole point to see how strong we were and whether we had the ability to get the bells from you". Yugao scoffed, clearly annoyed. "I'm a jonin, you thought you could take something from me that easily? How naive. I should just send the lot of you back to the academy."
Naruto knitted his eyebrows. "But then why would you - ", Naruto paused before suddenly exclaiming in shock, "You wanted to see if we could work together. That's the only way we could possibly get those bells. You only had 2 bells though, wouldn't we end up fighting over who would get them?" He ended up even more confused.
However Yugao actually nodded in agreement. "Good, although you're late you were still able get to the answer." She looked at Ryoga, who suddenly realised he had been wrong the whole time. She pointed at him. "You were way too arrogant and conceited, thinking you knew the purpose of the test and choosing to wait for me. In a real mission, arrogance can easily get you killed." He clenched his fists and looked down.
"As for you Naruto, you rushed at me straight away without any plan or strategy. The ninja who don't think before charging at the enemy are like fish in a barrel. With your pitiful skills, you're even worse." At first Naruto was staring daggers at Yugao, but in the end he simply nodded. He had been a bit impatient so he could understand where she was coming from.
Sakura gulped in fear, she did the worst out of the three! And sure enough Yugao turned to her. She didn't say anything, and before Sakura even realised what was happening she found herself tied to the wooden post.
"Whuh? What? Wait why are you doing this to me? Please let me go, don't kill me!" Sakura started to cry and looked truly pathetic.
"You, however, are the worst. Couldn't even break through a simple D rank genjutsu? Even if I accepted how weak you are, what I cannot accept is your cowardice. You tried to run away and hide instead of trying to pass the test, why are you a ninja in the first place? And you've already started crying, a weakling like you doesn't belong in the shinobi world" Yugao's words cut deep, and Sakura cried even more now. Vicious lady, Naruto knew he couldn't mess with this sensei, he had a whole new appreciation for ninja.
Yugao clapped her hands, gaining their attention. "Alright, I'll be brutally honest. I don't want to take any of you as my genin, but if I don't give you a fair chance the Hokage might be displeased with me. So I'll give you one final chance to fight me as a group and convince me to take you guys as a team. However," Here she pointed at Sakura, "she cannot participate, since she would basically be useless in a team and I don't like having dead-weights." Naruto and Ryoga looked at each other, and looked quite confused. How could they beat her with just two people, and didn't she just talk about teamwork? Wouldn't having Sakura give them greater strength?
"I'll give you 15 minutes to prepare yourself, come to the waterfall north-east of here by that time. Otherwise, I'll assume you've given up." Her words ended with killing intent, causing them to start sweating. When she disappeared, they sighed in relief.
There was a poignant silence in the clearing, before Naruto finally spoke. "Ryoga, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ryoga looked at Naruto, who jerked his head towards Sakura, before slowly nodding. "Good" Naruto took out a kunai, and cut Sakura's ropes. "Huh? So I'm free to go home?" Sakura asked, rubbing her wrists.
Naruto rolled his eyes, "No you idiot, you're coming with us for the test. Every extra person can help when we fight Yugao-sensei, you included." Sakura started, looking at Naruto in shock. But she didn't try to dissuade the boys, to be a ninja was her dream too.
"Okay, let's plan out how we'll attack. Ryoga?" They all converged, looking at Ryoga. He smirked, "We should first start by setting up tra - "
"That's enough you three." Yugao had suddenly appeared behind them, Sakura shrieked in shock whilst Naruto and Ryoga pulled out kunai. "You completely disobeyed my orders, choosing to save your teammate instead and include her in the plan to fight me." The genin paled, and Naruto gulped in fear. He didn't want to fail! "However," Here she paused, "that's why you pass."
They all looked confused, so Yugao just decided to explain everything.
She straightened up and for the first time showed a serious expression. "Do you know why Konoha won 3 wars and stayed so strong? It is not just because of our talent, but also our teamwork. There are so many heroic stories about Konoha ninja facing insurmountable odds, but overcoming them together through sheer willpower. It was because they had faith in each other and stayed true to their friends and fellow soldiers. That's a true Konoha shinobi."
There was a proud gleam in her eyes, she exuded a charisma that Naruto couldn't help but admire. This was a shinobi! A true warrior.
"The three of you are completely talentless. Particularly in comparison to your teammates. Most of them are from prominent clans and have been trained since they could walk. They learn specialised clan jutsu developed over centuries. Some have powerful bloodlines feared all across the Elemental Nations. They want only their clans to succeed and when a new vulnerable shinobi too talented appears." She suddenly paused, sadness in her eyes, "they try their hardest to shut them down."
The genin looked down, not knowing what to say. They knew there was favouritism but to this extent?
"But so what? We'll still beat them!" They looked up at her, and all of them froze. Because she was smiling. "As long as you wish to become powerful and stay true to your comrades, I will stand with you to the end. I will train you till the sun comes down, and then some. And one day you may be able to look upon your classmates, as equals. As of now, we are Team 11!"
"YESSSSSS, HAHAHA." All the genin jumped in joy, especially Naruto. They were finally shinobi! Although they were not as strong as the others they could still catch up, with such a great sensei how could it not be possible? Naruto felt a great admiration for her. This was because she had cut him down mercilessly, not to discourage him, but to humble him. To tell him how weak he really was. It wasn't demoralising, because he knew he would grow. For the first time, Naruto was happy about being in Team 11.
After that conversation, Yugao waved them off and told them to arrive tomorrow at 6 in the morning. Naruto headed straight home, eating a couple of instant ramen cups for dinner. As an orphan, he had very little money and couldn't really afford to eat in a restaurant to celebrate. "Maybe one day I'll earn enough as a ninja", Naruto said, hope in his voice. Lying down on his rickety bed, he looked at the ceiling lost in thoughts.
(Location: Unknown)
Naruto woke up in alarm; he wasn't in his flat anymore. Instead it was some kind of underground corridor. It looked fairly ostentatious, with golden patterned tiles and silver lamps attached to the walls. There were mosaics on the walls, with many pictures depicting some kind of story. Naruto paid them little attention, choosing to walk down the corridor.
"Who brought me here?" Naruto voiced his thoughts, still walking down the corridor. After almost 10 minutes he reached a huge hall. The walls were covered with even more pictures, with a gigantic spiral symbol present on the front wall. In fact the red colour reminded Naruto of his own hair. Of course Naruto's blood red hair was a rarity and he had never seen another person with similar hair.
At the centre of the hall was a giant pagoda. Naruto couldn't even see its top, it was that tall. It was coloured black with golden patterns. An ancient bell chime rang out which echoed around the hall. He felt so small, so insignificant, before the pagoda. Analysing it more closely he realised the golden patterns looked like a language of some kind, which confused him even more.
Naruto carefully looked around. Nothing of note was present asides from the pagoda, so Naruto decided to bite the bullet and enter. As he stepped through the gate a powerful force froze him on the spot. It was present for a few seconds before disappearing, and then Naruto was instantly transported to the base of the Pagoda. As he looked around he gasped in amazement. "Wow, so many glowing scrolls, and they're floating! I wonder what's inside of them." There was nothing important present in the courtyard except scrolls. A nice looking garden with some chairs and even a pool.
Naruto opened each scroll and saw what was inside. It was information, some of it was history, but others contained some kind of weird gibberish titled "Fuinjutsu". The strange part was, asides from the titles, Naruto couldn't read anything else on the scrolls.
It was the final scroll floating at the centre of the pool that caught Naruto's eye. It glowed far more brightly than the others, and exuded a kind of pressure that weighed down on Naruto. When Naruto pulled over the scroll and read the title he froze in complete shock.
"The History of Uzushiogakure".
Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu – Earth Style: Earth Wave technique (Trivia: Used by Kakashi when he was young in a competition in the anime.
A/N: All of what I have written has logic and is based off of the manga, even the end part (To some extent). Obviously I am expanding the idea of Fuinjutsu. But rest assured it won't get too crazy. As for the OCs and differences from canon, it's like the butterfly effect. It will all be fleshed out. I know the bell test was a bit of a copy, but I felt putting it in was necessary for the story and to just establish the relationship in Team 11. From now on its mostly original, nothing taken directly from the manga.
If you're wondering about pacing, it will be quick to some extent but I want to flesh out the world as much as possible. It's kind of like building the sandbox, so that later I have more to play with. I don't think I'm that slow, so don't worry about boring dialogue.
Finally, this story will expand and truly begin after chapter 5 and 6. That's when the world will become known and a lot of things will be set into motion.
Please review, I would really love to know your thoughts about this! TangSan98 out!