Naruto the Natural Sage
It was the first day of the Ninja Academy in Konohagakure. Despite the village being in the Fire Country, it was the middle of winter. Snow blanketed the, once lush and now bare, trees and ground. Naruto Uzumaki, your typical orphan, wished he could say he didn't see his day turning out like it did. How had his day turned out? Well…
After FINALLY convincing the Third Hokage, or just Old Man as he called them because why not? He was an old man after all. Anyway, after convincing him to let him join the Ninja Academy, Naruto was pumped to get started! His whole life amounted to one thing and one thing only: loneliness. Due to the Kyūbi Attack eight years prior, there were a lot of orphans and lonely people in the village of Konoha. Yet Naruto felt he suffered the most. At least orphans had the caretakers. At least others still had people they could rely on; our favorite blonde had no one.
Maybe… Just maybe, the Ninja Academy would be his fresh start? Be his chance to actually meet people and develop more bonds. For him to find a purpose in life. With that in mind, Naruto rushed to the Academy on enrollment day! He surveyed the campus grounds a few times just to get a feel for it. When suddenly he heard something.
When he searched for the source, Naruto found it to be a group of older kids bullying a little girl. Bullies really pissed him off. Going around hurting others just for your own entertainment. Those were just a few monsters he wished were gone, if not a little less common. "Hey! Why don't you pick on a guy ya punks! Have to pick on a little girl to feel all big!" His taunt worked. The bullies turned their ire from the 'Blank-Eyed Freak' to the 'Loudmouth brat'. And that is where Naruto found himself.
Naruto put up a valiant fight… For all of 3 seconds before the bullies outnumbered and overpowered him. Naruto's red scarf was used to hold him still as one bully literally wrapped it around his neck and lightly chocked him. The other bullies punched and kicked him in a complete and bloody beat down. The once porcelain white grounds were stained with his blood. The girl he saved could only watch in fright and shame as he protector was pummeled into the ground.
"Stupid Fox Brat. I wasted all my energy on him. Now I can't show that Blank-Eye who's boss." The apparent boss literally spat on Naruto. His followers just shrugged and they make their way out of the playgrounds before an adult came. Naruto lied broken on the ground. Drops of his blood soaked into the ground. Yet another day of him getting pummeled. First day at the Academy and he had already been deemed a failure…
"Pathetic… I can't have you getting your ass kicked by a bunch of lesser beings… GET UP!" a dark and booming voice barked it's order. A small burst of energy filled Naruto and the energy compelled him to rise to his feet. "HEY YA PUNKS!" the boss and his followers stopped and turned with a glare that dropped into teeth chattering fear. All they could do was sweat and all the girl could do was stare in awe. Naruto gave the boys a cold glare. His once sky blue eyes froze into a chilling violet.
"Let's try this again…" Naruto prepared. He didn't know what had possessed him. His body moved by the force of that strange energy. It was really warm; almost boiling hot! The energy actually caused his body to steam! He rushed the boss and wasted no time. He slugged the boss in the face and then took his head and drove it into his knee! One of the followers tried to sneak attack him, but he flipped him on his ass and finished him with a blow to the temple. The last guy tried to run, but Naruto was having none of that.
Naruto grabbed him by the collar, kicked him in the balls a total of three times, and finished it with one massive punch to the face. The snowy ground had the blood of the bullies spilled as they groan in pain. Naruto felt no sympathy for them. He pouted at the fact they had taken his scarf from him. He searched for it until he found it in the hands on the girl he saved. She seemed nice enough, though she seemed scared of him. She wouldn't look him in the eye.
"Hey no need to be afraid. I know you saw me get a little wild there, but I only do that to the bad guys! You're a girl in need, so Naruto Uzumaki is here to save the day!" Naruto declared with his foxy smile. He even flexed his scrawny arms. The girl's response was to shy away from him.
"Um… Thank you for saving me…" the girl whispered. Naruto still heard her, though she stuttered so much he almost didn't know what she said.
"I'm guessing you said thanks… So you're welcome! I have had my fair share of bullies, but you can't let them get you down! Only you can tell yourself how important you are, at least I think so?" Naruto asked. At some point in his attempt to cheer her up, he got lost or something. "Of all the… I would get sealed into a guy just like him… This must be Kami-sama way of paying me back for that time humans wandered onto my forest of bloodsucking weeds… Not my fault the humans got mad and tried to burn the forest to the ground… So ended a once proud clan…" Was Naruto hearing things? He looked around to see if there were people around. He just shrugged.
"Um… I'm Hinata Hyūga…" Hinata introduced with a polite bow. Naruto just laughed. No one ever was polite with him. "You sure are proper. Must be tough being so stiff all the time." His joke had the opposite effect of what he wanted. Hinata started to tear up for reasons she knew all too well. Contrary to what Naruto thought, Hinata was actually rather lax. Without getting too deep into, she wasn't stiff at all and since she wasn't it made her family way hard. Too hard for her and that made her a failure…
Naruto could feel what little manhood he had dwindling with each tear Hinata shed. He panicked and tried his best to make her laugh or smile or get mad; anything to get her to stop crying. "Tell you what. Why don't you keep the scarf. It's cold out and I don't want you getting sick." Hinata started to dry her tears, sensing her guard was drawing near.
"Won't you get a cold without it?" Hinata asked without a stutter. Her concern for her hero overshadowing any shyness or fear. Naruto just waved her off, "Nah. I'm too tough to get sick. I've never had a cold my whole life!" deep within his mind. Something stirred more than ever before. "You're welcome brat… The Chakra I was forced to plant in your body is the only reason you are even alive…" The voice went unheard to Naruto; the voice had no plans on revealing itself just yet.
Hinata thanked Naruto shyly and left the playgrounds for her family estate. Naruto watched her go, his smile dropped. The loneliness was back… out of frustration, the blonde kid kicked some snow until the grass showed. It was green, "What a second… Grass dies in winter… Right?" "Interesting… Could it be?"
Upon further inspection, Naruto saw something sprouting from the snowy ground. "No way!" Naruto couldn't believe his eyes! Blooming in bloody grass patch was a budding orange Rosa flower. "Harvest it quickly!" Naruto jumped and looked, but found no one around to have called out to him.
"I said harvest it you foolish brat! That is… A super awesome… Ugh… Mega flower that will bloom and grant you a forgotten, but powerful, type of jutsu…" The deep mysterious voice promised. The promise of powerful jutsus was all Naruto needed to hear. He had time before the Academy officially started anyway. He safely dug up the flower and its roots and ran home to put the plant in a vase.
Meanwhile, the other children and parents were gathered at the Academy entrance. Through those halls every shinobi, since its foundation, has had to attend and pass in order to start their ninja careers. Ninja clans and civilians alike were encouraged to participate and truly show their love and honor for the family that was Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. At the entrance was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the wizened leader of said Hidden Village. He spoke of his own love for the village and what the Academy had to offer. The rules of the Academy and a brief lesson on the rules of the Shinobi.
"Before I go over the Academy Curriculum for the parents and adult loved ones of our future shinobi. I feel I must share with all my future defenders of the village my views on 3, ' Hiruzen puts up three fingers', of my own personal Shinobi Rules." The Third stated. The kind grandfatherly smile he was known for dropped briefly. He looked at the children with eyes keen and stern. Even the adults silently swallowed a lump and paid attention to the veteran of all 3 Shinobi World Wars.
"Rule#1, 'Hiruzen counted down to 1 finger.' A shinobi must prepare before it is too late. This rule is the difference between a great ninja and a dead ninja. Always strive to foster a strong body and mind by practicing and honing your skills." The Third explained wisely. He was not known as the Professor for neglecting his studies. Nor was he known as the God of Shinobi for neglecting his body.
"Rule#2, 'Hiruzen puts up two fingers', a shinobi must never show weakness. Weakness can be many things, but it boils down to this. Don't let anyone see things you don't want seen. If you must show weakness. Show it to your most trusted loved ones, but be careful. Weakness is exploited more often than not." The Third explained. He wanted to keep his explanations short and yet profound. He was talking to children and no matter how matter they may or may not be. After awhile, all his talking would only register as 'Boring Old Guy Stories'. He sighed, peace was indeed a wonderful thing, but it did soften the people. The steaks weren't as high, but that was a good thing.
"Rule#25: A Shinobi must never show their tears. Tears are a powerful thing. When people see them, they know you are hurt or hurting. Unfortunately, in the Shinobi World, tears are a sign of weakness to exploit. So save your tears for those who earn and deserve them. Think of tears as precious energy your enemies want to steal from you." The Third explained. He managed to not only get his message across, but got some of the kids and adults to laugh at his interpretation.
With that taken care of, the Third explained the curriculum to the adults and let the children go and play. When the kids were dismissed, he gave the crowd a quick scan and frowned when he didn't see a head of spiky blonde hair or the red spiral on a plain white shirt. "After all that fuss… Naruto-kun wouldn't skip enrollment… That much I know. What are you planning my boy?"
The Academy Curriculum was established by the Second and adopted by the Third Hokages. The Hidden Villages were established to keep children from dying needlessly in war. An Academy student should expect to spend 8 years in the Academy with special cases being able to graduate in 1-4 years. That curriculum was universal and had been since the times of the Second Hokage. Itachi Uchiha, the Black Prodigy of the Uchiha, was an example having graduated at 8. He would be the last.
After the Uchiha Downfall a few months prior, it was decided that no one was allowed to graduate early. Many who knew Itachi knew he was a pacifist due to all the death and destruction he both saw and sowed in his career. Some believed having such power and responsibility at such a tender age was too much for him to bare. His younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha was the last of his clan. The boy would need the 8 years to both recover and be monitored.
The Academy could be broken down into eight years and each year teaches something new or expands from the previous year. Obviously the first four years set the basis for the Academy student. The Academy Instructors were Chūnin in rank. So while they taught the students the basics and some of the material seemed advanced. It was really just the basics and they would have to become Genin and be instructed by a Jōnin to really master their skills learned at the Academy. It went as followed: Year One: Math, Language Arts/Calligraphy, Science: Biology, Geology, Chemistry, Physical Ed, and Beginning Shurikenjutsu.
Year Two: Beginning Chakra Theory, Chakra Affinity Test, Beginning Chakra Development, Beginning Hand Seals, General Ed classes based on Affinity (Fire=Fire Dynamics, Wind= Atmospheric Science, Lightning= Fumniology, Earth= Geology, and Water= Hydrology), and Team Building.
Year Three: Intermediate Chakra Theory (Learning about Yin and Yang Chakra), Medical-Nin Aptitude Test, Kenjutsu Aptitude Test, Fūinjutsu Aptitude Test, Genjutsu (Recognition) and Intermediate Shurikenjutsu (Accuracy).
Year Four: Beginning Specialist Field (Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Medical Jutsu, Fūinjutsu), Intermediate Hand Seals, Advanced Shurikenjutsu (Adding Wire), Intermediate/Advanced Chakra Development (Spiral Pit Development), Beginning Chakra Control (Leaf, Kunai Balancing), Beginning Taijutsu (for those not specializing in it), Intermediate Genjutsu (Casting), Beginning Ninjutsu (for those not specializing in it), Beginning Fūinjutsu (Explosive tags, Storage), and Beginning Affinity Training.
Year Five: Intermediate Specialty Field, Intermediate Taijutsu, Intermediate Ninjutsu, Intermediate Chakra Control (Tree Walking), Advanced Genjutsu (Canceling), Dojutsu Study, Advanced Chakra Theory (Chakra Flow), Intermediate Affinity Training, and Agility Training.
Year Six, Seven, and Eight: Advanced Specialty Field, Advanced Hand Seals, Advanced Taijutsu, Advanced Ninjutsu, Advanced Chakra Control (Water Walking), Advanced Affinity Training, and Shape Transformation training.
At the end of their eight year, the students will be given a 3 portion test. One a written, the other a combination of Tai-Nin-Genjutsu, and the other based on the students apparent specialty. Passing 2-3 of either portion is enough to become a Genin and assigned a 3 man cell that is assigned to a Jōnin and given a team number. Only Chūnin and higher cells are given names.
Naruto missed ALL of that. He managed to return just in time for the Academy Instructors opening the doors and all the excited kids rushed in. He just smiled with anticipation! He wanted to rush in their too, but he felt something. Naruto was always able to feel people's emotions. He was used to negative emotions most of all. He looked to the source of such raw emotion and saw a dark boy. He had no life to his coal like eyes. He managed to keep his appearance from reflecting his inner turmoil. Outside he was as cool as a cucumber. The dark boy looked his way and they exchange a glance. They both saw the same thing: Loneliness. Both boys refused to believe anyone could feel so alone, so they glared and turned away from one another.
Everyone walked into the Academy and went to their assigned classroom. Naruto saw that there were dozens upon hundreds of classrooms besides his own. When he got to class, he saw that every seat was filled. It went over his head the sheer scope of the Academy and how many shinobi it pumps in and out every year or so.
"Alright students listen well. Before I introduce myself let me be clear. Yes this is my real name and if I hear anyone laugh they will regret it… I am Dango Mitsuki…" Dango introduced. A random student couldn't help but snicker and was rewarded with a tooth pick lodged in his forehead! It actually bled a little as the kid went pale blue and passed out from fright.
"You will call Mitsuki-Sensei!" Dango ordered. "Yes Mitsuki-Sensei!" Mitsuki smirked and threw a few more tooth picks at seemingly random targets. Sasuke caught one and flicked it away. Naruto fumbled and managed to avoid by falling back in his chairs. A pineapple haired kid yawned and the pick lodged into his desk. One toothpick poked a hole in a bag of chips held by a plump kid. The lavender eyed girl flicked her wrist and split the pick in half. Both a pink and long haired blonde girl got hit in the arm and cried about it. A cloud of insects caught a pick headed for a heavily cloaked kid with black glasses. A rough and shaggy looking kid actually caught it with his teeth to show off.
"Alright you nine brats. Since you all seemed so focused on yourselves and whatever seemed more important than learning your Sensei's name. Why not introduce yourselves?" Dango instructed.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha… I have a life purpose. A mission I must complete and to do that I need power. I couldn't care less about you or your name. I have no Sensei… No one can ever hold that title again…" Sasuke declared before he went back to contemplating. Dango's head bugled with frustration, but he calmed his nerves. "Hokage-sama was right to be weary of the last Uchiha… I guess the Curse of Hatred lived on…"
Naruto got up and tried to save face, "Naruto Uzumaki, what's it to ya? Sensei, Sempai, Sama-Rama who cares about all those dumb titles? All I care about is Hokage and my name attached ya know!" the class laughed at Naruto, who only growled at the doubters.
*Yawn* "Shikamaru Nara…" Shikamaru sloth about on the verge of falling back asleep.
"Ah! You hit one of the chips! Nothing beats eating a whole chip in one bite!... Choji Akimichi…" Choji cried for his fallen chip.
"OW! WHY SOULD YOU DO THAT MITSUKI-SENSEI?! THAT HURT!" both the pink and blonde girls yelled shrilly! "Get used to it! The Shinobi World is filled with hurt and agony!" that shut both of them up.
"I am Ino Yamanaka…" Ino introduced quietly.
"Sakura Haruno…" Sakura introduced just as quiet.
"I am Hinata Hyūga… Thank you for testing my reflexes and focus… I… Got distracted…" Hinata introduced timidly. Naruto perked up at that.
"Ah man! Hinata!? We're in the same class? What are the chances? I really am lucky!" Naruto cheered by leaping into the air! Poor Hinata could only blush. "Alright calm down ya Knucklehead! We have two more showoffs."
"… Shino Aburame… Also I would like to point out I was not attempting to show off. I was simply getting a feel for the room…" Shio explained. Dango knew the implication. He checked himself and found one of the infamous Aburame Insects crawling on him. He picked it up and looked at Shino. The Aburame child nodded and the insect stealthily flew away.
"Ha! I'm Kiba Inuzuka, but you can refer to me as the Alpha of this class!" Kiba boasted with a flex of his freshly sharpened claws. Dango just sighed, "Great… I would get a bunch of Clan Kids AND the freaking Kyūbi Jinchūriki all in the same class… I know my observation skills are top notch, but this is retarded!"
Dango wrote down the Academy Requirements on the board and watched each students reaction down to the smallest detail.
Love the village and hope to help preserve peace and prosperity.
Have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard training and work.
Be healthy in mind and body.
Most of the class responded well. Their parents and family were either Shinobi or spoke highly of them, so they had the patriotic spirit needed to keep the village alive and well. Some, read Shikamaru, only glanced at them and fell asleep. Most of the Clan Kids responded as one would expect. Sasuke's reaction was worrying.
"Tsk… Love the village… Where was the village when my clan was slaughtered? You mean to tell me no one noticed? Itachi was an Anbu Captain. Sure he knew the routines and locations of most Anbu, but no one person should be to kill a clan without setting off some alarm. Peace just makes you weak and prosperity just makes you want more…" Sasuke might as well have set the board on fire with how intensely he glared at it.
Dango started the class by passing out aptitude tests based on Year One's curriculum. Naruto groaned when he looked at all the big and complex words written down for him to solve. "Why is reading so hard!" deep within Naruto's mind, where the boy had yet to discover, a deep voice groans. "Probably because everyone was too afraid of the Kyūbi Brat to teach you properly… Sucks to suck." Growing bored of such childish lessons, the mighty Kyūbi, awakened from its recovery, decided to test his theory. Despite popular belief, the Bijū were more than mindless beasts ready for the taking. They were Sentient Constructs of Natural Chakra. Their emotions are the main reason it is so harmful to humans. If humans wanted to take its power, they would get its hatred along with it. The Kyūbi's hatred being among the most potent.
That being said. One ability that the Kyūbi had that many didn't know was its ability to transfer its Natural Chakra into living things and potentially control and empower it to foxy effect. It didn't work well with most humans, but with just a little bit of its Chakra, or in that case blood soaked with his Chakra from birth, maybe it could spread its influence and find a way out of the boy who reminded it of someone it once knew in a distance time and life. It tried to connect to the small spark that was lit inside that flower at Naruto's apartment. It wasn't easy. The seal really prevented it from even being able to get a tail out. It had to settle with just ¼ of a tail.
The orange Rosa was consumed by a red aura of Chakra. The red Chakra burned the budding flower and from its ashes, "Yes! I am free! No more damp and cramped cage! I am… stuck in a pot… Well it is a start…" the Kyūbi successfully transferred its Will to another living being. Given enough exposure to its source, Naruto, it could become mobile, if not combat-ready! Things were just getting started…