The Walk of Legends
By Wandering Knowledge
Summary: What happens when, due to circumstances slightly out of his control, Hiruzen assigns Naruto to a... very different team. Under the tutelage of this new, oddball sensei, will Team One become something more than anyone anticipated, or will they crash and burn like everyone expects them to? Naru!Hina OC!Sensei OC!Ayame
Line Break: Chapter Number
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Chapter 1 - 'The Flying Sandal'
1
Uzumaki Naruto sat fuming as he tried not to think on the events that had transpired mere moments ago; but his swollen cheeks courtesy of Uchiha-teme's fangirls prevented him from doing so.
So deep was he in his disgusted denial that he didn't notice his sensei, Umino Iruka, entering the classroom and calming everyone down. He'd even (thankfully, in his own opinion) missed Iruka-sensei's lecture on how they were now shinobi, and 'adults' in the eyes of the village.
The only thing that brought the uncharacteristically brooding blonde from his thoughts was the announcement of his name.
"Due to having an uneven number of students passing the examination, Uzumaki Naruto of class 1-B will be joining Hanikamiya Karei and Subarashii Omoi of class 1-A to form Team One. Naruto, your sensei requests that you and your teammates meet him... at..." Iruka paused to shuffle through the papers in his hands, "... aha! 1850 Basabasa Road, Apartment 318 in..." he glanced at the clock above the door to the classroom, "Precisely half an hour."
...
"Well, off you go," He nodded encouragingly at Naruto, and, with that, the boy left.
1
Despite the anticlimactic departure, Naruto couldn't help the anxious, excited feeling that overcame him for reasons deeper than... well, anyone would expect from Naruto.
He was going to be on a team of people who hadn't been in his class! Whose parents wouldn't have actively encouraged them to stay away from the 'demon-brat' because they didn't need to worry about that. Who didn't know of his status s dead-last, and hadn't seen his struggles and failures through the academy.
Who, hopefully, would be a clean slate for the blonde Genin.
1
Hanikamiya Karei was having a great day. She'd been assigned to a team with Omoi (and another boy as well, but that wasn't on her mind) and had walked all the way to their sensei's designated meeting point beside him.
However, poor Omoi was oblivious to his pretty teammate's affections. Unlike the Uchiha and his vast club of fangirls, Karei found a similar soul in Hyuuga Hinata in that she admired Omoi from the shadows, too shy to confront the lonely boy.
Omoi was a bookworm, through and through. Of all the classes, he had received the highest mark on the written examinations, even higher than Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. However, Omoi's practical skills were... slightly lacking.
He was an intelligent boy, and had no great plans for the future. What he did plan on, was making Chunin and joining the Konoha Cryptanalysis Team where he could de-code his beloved puzzles all day.
He wanted to meet a pretty girl who loved him for his stupid sense of humour and odd quirks, and when he became old and grey, planned on growing a long white beard and running around the village with a cane spouting wise nonsense to the younger generation.
Yeah, life for Omoi was good, and, by the blush on her face, it was good for Karei as well.
The two had found the apartment building where their sensei wished to meet them and had climbed three flights of steps to get to the right floor. The place wasn't exactly the... nicest, in Omoi's opinion. It was dark, the floors were carpeted and a little dirty, and the walls were probably once white, but he didn't think they classified under a specific colour any more.
They had meandered down the hall, side-by-side, until coming upon room 318, the second last one in that hallway. Omoi had raised his fist, poised to knock politely, when something came hurtling through the small square window at the end of the dark passage.
Letting out a frightened squeak, Karei dove behind Omoi as the boy shifted into a - sloppy - Taijutsu formation.
Blatantly staring, the two watched as the objected hurtled down the hall, spun, and alighted on the ground. The figure, identified as a boy by his broad shoulders and more masculine features, skidded to a stop beside the two frightened pre-teens as he unfurled from his flip.
Without bothering to brush himself off, he strode forwards the last few steps to where they were standing and stuck out an unblemished hand.
"Uzumaki Naruto. You guys the other members of Team One?"
Everyone just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before Omoi managed to compose himself slightly.
"Oh, I'm Subarashii Omoi. Nice to meet you, I guess?" He tried to react nonchalantly, but he was still a little frazzled by his new teammate's sudden appearance.
"I'm Hanikamiya Karei, it's nice to meet you Naruto-san," The poor girl was still huddled behind Omoi as she tried to calm her heartbeat from the blonde boy's unexpected entrance.
There was another awkward silence before Naruto decided to speak up.
"So... why're we all just standing out here?"
Omoi jumped, seeming to remember that he'd been about to knock on the door marked number 318 before Naruto's untimely entrance. Without a word, he turned and proceeded to do just that.
Naruto had expected a lot of different things to happen after that door was knocked on. He hadn't been expecting... this.
"If you're not Team One; leave, I'm busy! If you are... door's open!" The shout, deep and masculine, came from the other side of the door.
Looking to Naruto with a raised eyebrow, Omoi shrugged and turned the nob, pushing the slightly jammed door open with his shoulder.
Again, not what any of them had been expecting.
Sitting in front of them on a grungy blue couch, slice of pizza in one had and a game controller in the other... was a teenager.
"Uhh... who're you?" Was Naruto's eloquent response to this unprecedented situation.
"Hold up a second, I'm almost done..." The boy muttered, slamming away at the controller with only one hand as he chowed down on the steaming slice of cheesy goodness. The half empty box beside him had saturated the room with a delectable smell, and despite themselves, the pre-teens standing around at the door felt their mouths watering.
"A-ano, we were just looking for our sensei. Have you seen him anywhere, Stranger-san?" Karei tried, her voice failing slightly at the end of her sentence. The boy didn't even acknowledge her, his fingers a blur on the controller, until suddenly, a mechanical announcement of 'Winner!' burst from the television and the boy let out a cheer.
Dusting the crumbs from his hands, he motioned the three over with a wave of his hand, his brown eyes twinkling in the light of the television screen. Hesitantly, the three walked towards the boy with Naruto in the lead.
Moving the box of pizza, he motioned again for them to sit on the floor in front of him. Though they didn't know why, something about the way he moved made them obey his requests.
"Pizza?" He offered, pulling out another slice for himself.
It wasn't unheard of, but it was still odd for people in the Elemental Nations to eat cuisine from the outer-continents, especially that of Western cuisine. So, it was understandable that none of the Genin-to-be even knew what Pizza was.
As he handed each of them a slice, he paused, suddenly giving Karei an odd look.
"Oh, and to answer your question; I'm Naimenteki Ryoku, Team One's temporary Sensei."
...
"Eh!?"
Naruto's cry of outraged confusion summed up the general mood of the three pre-teens.
1
The members of the not-quite-yet Team One were trying to digest the sudden information dumped on them. Omoi was the first to compose himself.
"Temporary Sensei?" The confusion in his tone mirrored the confused look on the faces of Naruto and Karei. This guy was getting weirder and weirder by the minute. And he was supposed to be their sensei?
"Ah, I guess that deserves an explanation," he scratched the right side of his cheek with a large hand, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully, "You see, I'm only going to be your sensei until you actual sensei recovers from his wounds. Apparently he got into a nasty border skirmish with Iwa and he's fallen into a coma."
Karei let out a small gasp and Omoi looked at the ground in respect, but Naruto's eyes only hardened.
"Because of this, and because of the fact that Hokage-sama's a little tight on prospective Jounin-sensei," Ryoku-sensei continued, "He decided that my first task as a Jounin, would be to prepare you three for your actual Jounin." He grinned down at the three.
"So, how's about we get to know each other for a little bit. We might be stuck with each other for a little while!" He chuckled, leaning back to rest his arms over top of the couch.
...
When nobody spoke up, Ryoku-sensei puffed his cheeks out at them childishly.
"Moo, you guys are no fun. Like I said, I'm Naimenteki Ryoku, you guys can call me Ryoku-sensei or Ryo-sensei, whatever works. I really like teasing my little sister, and my hobby is writing! I made Jounin two days ago, I'm sixteen years old, and in the future, I want to become a greater writer than even Jiraiya-sama himself! And maybe a better shinobi too..." He finished passionately, a fire blazing along with a twinkle of amusement in his warm brown eyes.
Naruto couldn't help it, he found himself warming up to this guy. He was weird, different, and whether he knew about the Kyuubi or not, Ryoku-sensei hadn't sent a single glare or anything of the like his way since the three of them had come in through the door. Coming to a decision that Naruto didn't know (at the time) would change his life, he closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and grinned.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" His sudden outburst made his teammates jump, "Unlike most of my classmates, I'm still twelve. My favourite food is ramen, and I really like pulling pranks on people. My dream... is to become Hokage one day. To show everyone that I'm strong, that I'm not the dead-last that everyone thinks I am."
Ryoku's right eyebrow lifted slightly and he leaned forwards a little, perching his elbows on his knees as he listened to his blonde student. For the first time since they'd entered the room, he finally had a serious look on his face.
"That's a very serious goal you have there, Naruto. I wonder if you truly know what it means to be Hokage...?" The sudden seriousness in his tone was not missed by the three sitting before him, making them wonder just who their odd sensei was, exactly.
"But anyway, how about you introduce yourself," He continued nonchalantly, pointing a finger at the glasses-wearing pre-teen.
"Oh," he seemed slightly startled, like a deer caught before a fire technique, "Um, well, I'm Subarashii Omoi, I'm thirteen, I really like to create and solve puzzles and I like reading. Um... one day, I want to be on Konoha's Cryptanalysis team and I want to settle down and have a family." He finished by adjusting his wire-frame glasses nervously, his hazel eyes staring down at the ground.
Ryoku nodded in acknowledgement of Omoi's dream, even going as far as to give him a light pat on the head. Omoi immediately tried to straighten out his messy brown hair as he flushed slightly in embarrassment.
Finally, their sensei turned towards Karei and gave her an expectant a deep breath, the shy girl began her introduction.
"My name is Hanikamiya Karei, and I'm thirteen like Omoi-k-kun. I... I like to draw and paint and... one day... one day I'd like t-to admit my feelings t-to a c-certain s-s-someone." She was stuttering and blushing by the end of her introduction, and Ryoku didn't miss the split-second glance she sent to the brown-haired boy beside her.
"Well," Ryoku-sensei clapped his hands together loudly, causing the three to jump slightly, "We're gonna preform a little test of sorts so I can gauge your skill levels. Meet me at training ground 9! Last one there's buying the team lunch!"
Then he vanished in a flash of light.
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When Naruto alighted in the middle of the training ground, he was more than a little surprised to find nobody else there. Looking around, he was a little impressed with what he saw.
Training ground nine wasn't exactly anything special. Like most others, it was a clearing in the middle of the forests surrounding the outer walls of Konoha. It was surrounded by tall, thick trees, and there was a fast-flowing stream cutting through the clearing.
What made it different was the rock of massive proportions sitting dead centre in the clearing. It was so big that the stream curved around one side and veered off into the forest at a different direction.
Not long after he arrived, Omoi and Karei jogged into the clearing, both of the sucking in great lungfuls of air. It took each of them a couple of minutes to gain their breath back, but when they finally did, Omoi turned to Naruto.
"Naruto-san, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to sensei, would you?" He asked, his cheeks still flushed from the run. It was apparent that he wasn't very... physically inclined.
Naruto just shook his head at his teammates showing he didn't know were their sensei had run off to.
However, they needn't have worried. No more than ten seconds had passed when someone strolled confidently into the clearing.
The man was wearing a black cloak with a high tattered collar, but he wore it draped over his shoulders like a cape. Beneath it his chest was bare except for some white bandages wrapped around his lower torso and the black Konoha Leaf tattoo on his right pectoral. His legs were covered by loose black pants, and on his feet were a black pair of standard shinobi sandals.
They couldn't see his features because they were hidden beneath a wide-brimmed, black cowboy hat, but the white-toothed grin he was giving them was... unnerving to say the least.
Then he laughed. Not a little chuckle or a 'haha, that's funny' laugh, but a full blown, gut-busting guffaw of laughter that rang through the clearing.
Pulling the hat from his head, he wiped the tears forming at the corners of his eyes, still laughing.
...
"Sensei?!" The unanimous shout of the three pre-teens was too much for Ryoku. Positively roaring with laughter, he dropped his hat and leaned against the rock beside him for support.
"Oh," he choked out, "Oh, your faces!" He laughed harder, "Oh kami, your faces! I can't-" he gasped for air, "I just can't! Haha!" He crowed, his hands clenching his stomach as tears rolled down his cheeks from the force of his laughter.
Their expressions were the epitome of shock. Although, he couldn't exactly fault them.
They had just gone from seeing their sixteen year old, oddball sensei in nothing but a wife-beater and blue shorts, his weird orange hair a disheveled mess and crumbs dusting his lips to... this.
Poor Karei was blushing every shade of red imaginable at the sight of her part-time sensei. Loyal to Omoi she may have been (in her mind, at least... it counted!), the fine specimen of man before her was definitely having its effects. The sudden change in his demeanour and dress made Karei see him a slightly different light... and she liked what she was seeing.
Ryoku-sensei's dark orange hair was slicked back, flaring out slightly when it reached the nape of his neck. He had a thick neck and a strong jawline, as well as a few wisps of an orange goatee on his chin. His bright cyan eyes were sharp and intelligent, and how could she ignore the powerful muscles that chiseled the entirety of his body. Heck she could still see the outline of his abs despite the medical tape wrapped around them.
Omoi and Naruto, like Karei, were staring at their sensei as well. However, it was for rather different reasons than Karei's stunned admiration.
Omoi noticed instantly the scabbard and hilt of the blade hanging on Ryoku-sensei's left hip, slipped through the medical tape to hold it in place. Almost without conscious effort, he made a note that Ryoku-sensei was right handed due to the placement of his blade. He also noticed that his Konoha Hitai-ate was stitched to the cloak's left shoulder, and that Ryoku-sensei was moving without discomfort, meaning the bandages were just for show.
What Naruto noticed, however, was Ryoku-sensei's aura. Before, when they were alone in his apartment, he'd been warm, comforting, and slightly teasing. Now, Naruto could only attribute this aura to power, the kind he'd only ever felt when the Old Man got upset. It practically demanded respect and attention.
This was insane! How was this guy only sixteen?
All three were jolted from their thoughts when Ryoku-sensei stopped laughing and motioned for them to gather around him. They did, and in a sudden flash of movement Ryoku had flicked his hat back onto his head using his foot.
"Alright boys and girl, before I can officially call you Team One, you have to pass one last test," He ignored Naruto's shout of 'Nani?' "To pass this test... you have to touch me!"
Unbidden, three mental shouts of 'Hentai!' echoed through the three pre-teens. Whether he didn't notice the direction of their thoughts or simply didn't care, Ryoku kept on talking.
"To make it a more even playing field, I won't be allowed to leave this rock," he patted the boulder beside him, "and if at any point in time there isn't a single part of my body touching the rock, then I automatically forfeit. Deal? Alright," He jumped to the top of the rock, "You've got until the sun goes down! Go!"
1
As the sun begins its descent below the horizon, we find the members of Team One lying in the field by the stream, each of them gasping for air.
They had been trying to get a hold of their sensei for the past eight hours and not a single one of them had even come close. Even Naruto, who had spammed the clearing full of Kage Bunshin, had been unable to touch his sensei.
Catching their breath, the three grouped together around Omoi for a final last-ditch effort to tag their elusive sensei.
"Alright, you sure you can do this, Naruto?" Omoi asked, his brows pulled together as sweat dripped down his chin.
Naruto nodded, his face set in a determined scowl.
One of the things the team had learned about their sensei was that he really didn't play fair. Omoi wasn't sure if the teen was actually proficient with his blade, or if it was simply to distract opponents into thinking he was a short-range fighter.
He was not.
And he never seemed to run out of chakra, either. It was crazy!
Despite all of their attempts, not a single one of them had even gotten to the rock their sensei was standing on, let alone anywhere near their sensei. Walls of stone or water were constantly bing erected to keep them away. Swathes of flame were used to take out hordes of clones. Bursts of electricity were used to slow their movements. Gusts of wind were used to throw them away from the rock.
Nothing was working! Their success depended entirely on Omoi's last plan.
Once again spamming clones, Naruto bull-rushed the rock from one side, Omoi and Karei coming in from the other end.
"Katon: Chisou no Honoo (Fire Style: Feasting Flame)!" Ryoku-sensei's voice rang sharp through the clearing as he spat out a veritable wall of fire.
More than half of the Naruto's were destroyed, but that still left almost forty of them that attempted to leap at the rock from the bank of the stream.
"Suiton: Kabe no Mizu (Water Style: Wall of Water)!" The stream surged upwards to cut off the Naruto swarm, each of them dispelling as the volume of water crashing on top of the proved too much for their unstable bodies.
Ryoku, however, didn't have time to notice the fact that all of the approaching bodies had vanished, not with Omoi and Karei approaching from behind him. Without looking, his hands blurred through hand seals.
"Doton: Tsuchikabe no Jutsu (Earth Style: Earth Wall Technique)!" Slamming his hands into the boulder beneath him, a thick wall of stone rose up to protect his back from his approaching students.
Omoi grinned. Everything was working perfectly.
Leaping back, the glasses-wearing boy watched as Karei tossed a Kunai into the centre of the Earth Wall with pinpoint accuracy. With his back turned, Ryoku-sensei wouldn't be able to see the minor explosive attached to the Kunai's handle.
The training ground shook with the small-scale explosion, and Karei twisted her airborne body as chunks of stone flew about her.
Twisting around at the sound of the explosion, Ryoku almost didn't notice one of the puddles that had formed on the rock (due to previous Suiton techniques) turn into the errant orange-toting Jinchuuriki.
With a mad lunge, Naruto dove for Ryoku-sensei's back. This was his chance!
In an impressive display of acrobatics, Ryoku slid his feet across the stone until he was standing with his left side to Naruto and his right side to the still-approaching Karei, and leaned backwards.
Both Genin's eyes went wide as Karei flew over their sensei's chest, arms outstretched, and Naruto dove just under his back, almost getting himself tangled up in their sensei's cloak.
Grunting, Naruto shoved his palms into the rock, gritting his teeth as he jarred to a stop in a handstand, his knees and elbows bent inwards.
Displaying his own acrobatic prowess and upper-arm strength, Naruto instantly pushed backwards into an improvised mule kick, a mule kick that Ryoku-sensei dodged by judging his Genin's height and leaning his head slightly to the side.
Just as Naruto's sandalled feet almost brushed the side of his sensei's head, he grinned.
"Now!"
With an explosion of smoke, Naruto was no longer the one attempting to mule-kick his sensei. Using an advanced, and rather difficult to perform, Kawarimi, Omoi had replaced himself with Naruto in the same position the orange-clad boy had held.
The taller, lankier Omoi.
Grunting in effort, Ryoku threw an arm back and, using chakra, stuck it to the boulder beneath him. Pulling himself down, Ryoku just managed to avoid Omoi's foot at the cost of his hat being knocked off his head.
Distracted by the hat that was suddenly blocking his line of sight, Ryoku never saw Omoi's right sandal get launched off the boy's foot as he twisted to pull himself out of the way.
Even launched like a missile, Omoi's errant sandal would have done nothing on its own, but they hadn't planned for him to loosen that specific sandal for nothing, had they.
With a war-cry to the heavens, Naruto performed the most difficult substitution of his life, and replaced himself with Omoi's flying sandal.
To Ryoku, however, things happened very... differently. With his vision obscured by his flying hat, he hadn't seen the blue sandal flying towards his chest. To him, one second he was dodging a very well-planned manoeuvre and the next he was staring up at Naruto, a shocked look on both of their faces.
As Naruto substituted with 'The Flying Sandal', two things happened.
The first; he plowed headfirst into his his sensei, ending up with Ryoku on the ground and Naruto on his knees.
The second; Ryoku's hat, in the confusion, had landed on Naruto's head.
Laying there, slightly stunned from the impact to his chest, Ryoku began laughing.
Laying there with one of his Genin kneeling on his chest, Ryoku watched the sun fall behind the tree line, and the world was plunged into darkness.
"Who's up for dinner, anyone?"
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