Chapter One
Prologue
A young man lay on the ground close to the Uchiha Compound. It was night, and mournful wails could be heard reverberating through the midnight sky. The man's right eye bleed and his left eye was closed. A second man, no boy, kneeled beside him, hyperventilating.
"Itachi….take…my left eye…you will need its power when the time comes. Remember, self sacrifice, a nameless shinobi who protects peace from the shadows, is the true way of the ninja." the young man lying on the ground said softly, barely conscious and on the verge of certain death.
"N-no, Shisui, don't go…NOOO!" the other boy, now recognized as Itachi, screamed to the heavens, his Uchiha demeanor gone as he cried for the only comrade that understood him.
the man who lay dying, Shisui, took one last shaky breath, before succumbing to the blackness that overtook him.
Present
The Shunshin No Justu; its common use extends to traveling to places in high speeds. Most shinobi use it when they were lazy, or when they want to get somewhere and didn't want to walk. Over the extension of almost three centuries, it was labeled as the epitome of a quick getaway or the perfect escape. But that belief was shattered when Shunshin No Shisui single-handedly forced all of the Elemental Nations to reconsider that belief.
It was said when Shisui used the Shunshin, he would go at speeds so fast that the only thing his enemies would hit were his after images. His mastery over the technique was so great he did not have to use hand seals. In Suna, Kumo and Iwa's bingo books, he was labeled as B bordering A ranked when he suddenly went missing.
The Shunshin is Ram-seal based and requires mediocre chakra control. It propels the user forward with chakra and allows them to move great distances with extreme speed. It is similar to the Fourth Hokages's Hirashin but solely ninjustu based.
Naruto Uzumaki's eyes shone up like the night sky of Fourth of July. He quickly put a tab in the history book he borrowed from the Hokage. This Shiusui guy sounded really cool! He had seen other ninja in his village use this technique all the time. It shouldn't be that hard to accomplish, his seven year old brain thought.
He looked around in the book some more. It didn't tell him how to do the Ram seal or how to mold chakra to propel himself in a certain direction. He soon grew very frustrated.
"Oh well, I'll just ask Jiji tomorrow then!" he said aloud to himself.
His hand automatically reached up to get the next book he borrowed. The title read "Building Your Body For A Shinobi's Life"
Naruto grinned as his demeanor completely changed again. "Cool!"
Next Morning
The village of Konoha was in an era of peace since the time of the disastrous Kyuubi attack. Birds were chirping and people greeted each other in a friendly manner throughout the roads. However, the tranquility was soon disturbed by a loud shout. "JIJI!"
Naruuto Uzumaki grinned as he burst through the door to the Hokage's office. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandiame Hokage, sighed in disbelief at the amount of paperwork on his desk. He wanted to curse the Yondaime for dying and leaving him with the burden of his very long life. His thoughts were suddenly scrambled by a certain chibi with blonde hair and blue eyes in an obnoxious orange jumpsuit bursting through his door.
He sighed again, secretly happy for the distraction, "Good morning Naruto-kun, how may I help you again?"
"Jiji! Jiji! I need you to teach me the Ram seal and how to propel myself with chakra!" Naruto yelled excitedly as he raced to the elder man's desk.
The Sandiame frowned as he peered over the large stack of paper, "Why do you say that Naruto?"
"In that book you gave me yesterday, there was a guy named Shisui or Suisui or something like that. He knew this justu named Shunshin and the book said he was super strong and I want to be just like him!" The young, energetic boy replied in his funny run-on sentences.
Hiruzen grimaced on the inside. The young Uchiha had shown so much potential but was almost ultimately slaughtered by his best friend. But he smiled at his 'grandson'. "Naruto-kun, Shisui was a prodigy and his mastery of the Shunshin was even greater than mine. What makes you think you can be super strong like him?"
The young boy only grinned, "I'll train and train everyday! And one day, I'll be come the Hokage with my Shunshin techniques!"
The elderly man only chuckled and beckoned him forward. "I'll show you how to do a Ram seal and give you books on chakra molding, but you have to do it by yourself all right?"
The young boy nodded happily. "I'll become the greatest shinobi in the world with this justu!"
"Great! Now before we go further, the Ninja Academy is accepting new students next week? Every great ninja went through that place, even Shisui and the Yondiame. I'll be enroll you in the academy if you want but if you don't want to…" He trailed off, a hiding a smirk because he knew Naruto would never refuse.
He proved himself right a second later. "Hell yeah old man! Enroll me in that academy and I'll show the world what I'm made of! Now show me that Ram seal!" Naruto yelled excitedly.
The old Hokage grinned slightly, "All right Naruto-kun, put your left hand slightly above your right hand with two fingers up on each hand. Yes, that's it. That is the Ram seal."
Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically before yelling "Shunshin technique!"
"….." The old Hokage said nothing. Naruto said nothing. And nothing happened.
"Aww man! Why didn't it work Jiji?" Naruto complained. "I wanna be a super cool ninja!"
"Naruto-kun," the Sandiame sighed again, "You have to mold chakra remember? Here I'll give you a book on how to do that but remember, a technique is just a technique, but you need to know how to use it to make it effective."
"What does that mean Jiji?' Naruto asked, confused, "The Shunshin is an awesome technique!"
"Never mind Naruto-kun, have fun training and be careful." The old man said again.
Naruto jumped off the Hokage's desk and proceeded to head to one of his training spots in the wood. He gave a wave to the aged man and said "Bye Jiji, I'll take that hat one day!"
The Sandiame merely smiled, "Minato, Kushina, "he said softly, "He would make you proud."
The Third Hokage turned his head to the ever growing stack of papers at the edge of his desk. "Now you! I'll get rid of you in an instant!" He started making hand seals for the Great Fireball Technique.
Naruto's Training Ground
Naruto ran as fast as his short legs would carry him. He held the book his Jiji had just given him in one hand and skidded to a halt in his favorite training place. It was a flat piece of land in the center of a huge forest. Unknown to him, a figure was patrolling the woods and stopped to watch the young ninja enthusiast.
"Let's see," Naruto said to himself as he opened the book. He flipped to the first chapter. It explained the theory behind chakra and what it was. He skimmed through that and went to the second. Leaf Sticking and Tree Walking was the chapter's name. He skimmed through this too. Apparently, to use chakra, you had to find it first and then mold it. Finding it wasn't hard because a person could naturally use chakra, but molding took years of ninja training. After a while, he finished the whole book, and stood up readily.
"All right! Let's try this again!" Naruto felt the energy coursing through his body as he called out his chakra. He focused his chakra around the back of his body. He made a Ram seal and got ready. "Shunshin!"
Nothing happened again. Naruto frowned, maybe he had to push himself forward with his chakra.
He remade the Ram seal. This time, he gathered chakra behind him and pushed out towards his back. "Shunshin!"
Naruto felt a force, gale of pure energy slamming into him from behind. It threw him forward so fast tears almost escaped his eyes. He rolled to the ground, skidded for a few moments, and then slowly got up.
The figure in the trees watched all the while. "He's trying to learn Shunshin. But he looks to be only seven or six. Kids don't have the reserves to do that."
It was then he noticed the whisker marks on his cheeks, "…..Kyuubi…."
Naruto looked around; he was in a complete new area of the forest. A giant trench in the ground told him of how far he'd come. "Wow! He yelled excitedly, "I'm gonna be the Hokage in no time! Now all I have to do is master this and use it in battle like Shisui!"
The figure in the trees almost fell off in surprise. It appeared the boy wanted to be just like…..him? He then smiled, "Well, I'll see how he does, and then maybe I'll give him some pointers."
Meanwhile, Naruto studied his tracks. It seemed like he flew too fast and couldn't control himself. He made a mental note to put less chakra behind the push next time.
"All right," he said to himself, "Try number two." Naruto molded chakra toward his back. He made sure to put far less than he did last time. He got in a ready position and executed the Ram seal. "Shunshin!"
A far less powerful force pushed him forward. It still sent him flying however. He quickly got up again and silently started molding chakra, determined to get the technique done.
Two hours passed and a panting Naruto lay on the ground. His clothes sweaty and gorges spread in the forest floor around him. The figure, now identified as the 'dead' Shisui Uchiha, muttered to himself, "Is this kid an idiot? I'll have to report to Hokage-sama soon and he still never looked in his book about chakra exercises. He made a quick decision. Shisui threw a senbon needle at the book. The needle hit the book with the exact force and precision needed to flip it to the first page. He threw another one, nailing the second chapter.
The masked figure then bound off silently, as his whole existence was an SS-ranked secret.
Naruto finally sat up again. He had been doing the same technique all day, and he still kept tripping and falling over himself. He sighed heavily, "Maybe the book will have some answers."
He staggered to his feet, knees bent and pulled himself to his book. From afar, a strange glow caught his eye. The book was open, but how? He had closed it! Looking closer, he saw a needle as long as his hand sticking out of it. He rushed over. The needle had landed exactly on chapter two. He looked around wildly, no one was in sight. Naruto looked at the book again and flipped to chapter two almost reflexively. Maybe the Kami was sending him a sign or something.
When he saw the contents, his eyes widened.
"Molding chakra is not an easy thing to do. Many techniques require very fine chakra control. To start on chakra control, one must first master the Leaf Sticking exercise. And then move on to Tree Walking. The final step is Water Walking but for now, focus on the two techniques in front of you."
Naurto read over the rest. His head snapped up and he groaned loudly, "I can't believe this! I'm so stupid! I'll get started right away!"
A chuckle interrupted him. Naruto spun around and balled up his fists. He almost tripped over a log when he saw a figure clad in black towering over him.
"Who are you?! What do you want?!" he cried out viciously; his hands up in a street fighting position.
The man in front of him did not move an inch. Instead, he gestured to the book he unknowingly dropped. "That technique you're learning, it's pretty hard huh?"
Naruto quieted down almost immediately since he recognized the white mask the man wore. He was an ANBU, a military force of Konoha. "Yeah, I couldn't get it done before because I didn't know how to mold chakra correctly. So I looked in my- Hey! Were you the guy that stuck a needle in my book?!"
The man chuckled again. "Yes I was, may ask your name young one?"
"The name's Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage of Konoha! Believe it!"
The figured nodded impeccably, so this was the Kyuubi container, his attitude was certainly refreshing and it brought back old memories. "How about you let me help you with that Naruto? I'll teach that to you in no time flat! I'll also teach you some cool tricks on how to use that in a fight. I will be willing to train you into a master of that fine technique, if you allow me."
Naruto's eyes shone. "You'd really do that for me?"
The man nodded again. "I will train you, but I have to let you know, this will not be a game. The techniques I will teach you are meant for killing only. Do you accept?"
Naruto froze, "Killing? B-but, I-I, I've never killed before." Naruto was shocked by this turn of events. He didn't know how to wield a kunai, much less kill! But here was a man telling him he was to be trained in the art of killing. He was talking about taking a life in such a nonchalant way, it scared him.
The figure nodded solemnly again, "You will not have to kill in a long time. But I will teach you just in case."
"Why?" Came the reply.
"Let's just say," the older man responded, "I owe it to the village."
Naruto was confused, "Wha-"
"Do not question it, now are you ready? The training begins…now!"
"Wait!" Naruto yelled as he bounded after the cloaked man. He grabbed his book and ran to catch up.
The cloaked man led him to the stream that ran through Konoha. He turned around. "Naruto, this is the first training session I have for you. Dodge!"
"Wha?"
A needle that looked exactly like the one that stuck in his face flew at him. A panicked look spread across his face. Time slowed down. He couldn't move. His body wouldn't respond. I'm going to die! His seven year old mind thought. This guy's crazy I'm going to die- Wait. The Shunshin. I have to, it's the only way, he thought as he instinctively molded chakra to his left side. The senbon drew nearer every second. He brought his hands up to the Ram seal. "Shunshin!"
Naruto threw himself to the left with great pace as he dodged the opposing needle. Another stuck him however, and pain shot through him. He panicked, "Shunshin!" He darted to the side again, narrowly missing another needle. Meanwhile, the other man never even moved.
Naruto survived a few more minutes before collapsing due to the amount of senbons in his body. The masked man walked closer, and quietly removed the senbons from the unconscious boy's body. Naruto did well; Shisui thought to himself, he has amazing reflexes to dodge something like a senbon. A few moments later, he woke up.
Naruto flinched at the sight of the man so close to him. "Now that you've seen a bit of my training," The other man began, "Would you like to continue?"
Naruto opened his mouth to scream profanities at the cloaked stranger but he stopped and ran his eyes over the battlefield. There wasn't a single gorge. Naruto gaped in silent awe.
He looked at the man again, "How did I-"
He trailed off, looking at his orange jumpsuit, tattered and shredded in different places. He looked up to the solemn face of a porcelain mask. An over whelming sensation of accomplishment bottled up inside him. "I didn't fall did I?"
The silent shake of the head was all he needed. Naruto made up his mind. "I'll do your training, if you tell me how I didn't fall even once."
The other man pointed at Naruto's heart, his finger an inch away. This time, Naruto didn't flinch. "Only through necessity, can our bodies adapt and do the impossible. Only through fear of death, can you reach your max. You just proved me right."
What Naruto didn't know was that while he was dodging the senbon, a faint red glow appeared around him and dragged him where he wanted to be. Shisui had noticed this almost immediately but didn't comment on it.
Naruto was solemn. His mind made up. The experience of almost dying shook him to the very core. Naruto knew something inside him had flipped completely. He wanted to be the strongest ninja in the world and if almost dying every day is the way, he would do it. He would surpass the great Shisui Uchiha and the Yondiame. "I'll do your training." He said again, this time, determination leaking from his voice.
The other nodded briskly, "Meet me here every day at 3:30 sharp, even when your academy starts." if Naruto was surprised about the man knowing about the academy, he didn't show it.
Shisui grinned under his mask, there's nothing like coming an inch away from death to whip you into shape. He used to be like that, until Danzo almost succeeded in assassinating him and taking his eyes. It was a good thing Sharingans were collected and stored in the ANBU's hospital.
He turned to go, but Naruto still had a question for him. "Before we start, can I at least know your name…sensei?"
Shisui hesitated, this was a big risk. But sooner or later, his disciple would find out. He didn't know why he wanted to train Naruto, perhaps he reminded him too much of himself when he and Itachi parted that fateful day. But he knew it was the right choice. He would start by trusting the kid. Shisui made up his mind and then said. "Call me….Shisui Uchiha."
He didn't need to turn around to see Naruto's shocked face before he flashed away in a sound less, seal less, Shunshin.
Hey guys, this is my first fic. Let me say a few things first. First of all, Naruto will NOT be overpowered in this book. He will struggle under Shisui's training and strive like everyone else. But at the end of graduation, it only makes sense for him to be stronger then his peers. Naruto only dodged the needles due to necessity and the Kyuubi aligning his movements. Second of all, calling upon chakra is not hard for him or anyone else because it is natural for shinobi. Shisui will play a big part in this book as you can already tell. And I wanted Naruto to switch attitudes really quickly so I had to make him almost die. I mean come on, if you were seven and you got stabbed in multiple places, wouldn't you be scared too? But yeah, anyway, that's it for now. Ciao!
-Kunai-