Summary
It was something he kept hidden for four years. No one, except the Hokage, knew. It was only when Mizuki hurt Iruka that he finally used it. A technique that left behind nothing but a yellow flash. / Smart!Naruto Fuuinjutsu!Naruto
Things you should know:
-Naruto is smart and is a prodigy at Fuuinjutsu
-He still retained his childlike attitude and outlook on things
-He is still the 'dead last' of his class. Of course, of his own volition
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto Uzumaki was always an inquisitive and observant child.
Ever since he was young, he would notice the glares and ire of the villagers-mostly, civilians-directed at him whenever he was around.
Thankfully, no one actually dared to inflict physical harm upon him lest they suffer the wrath of the Sandaime Hokage. They just tended to ignored him and act like he didn't exist or cast their glares at him, and the blonde boy did the same.
At first, he tried to ignore them. It didn't matter to him. The only people who mattered to him were the old man he knew as 'Jiji' and the nice father and daughter duo of Ichiraku Ramen, Teuchi and Ayame, who gave him free ramen every now and then.
There were Anbu stationed around him everyday. They never tried to communicate with him. He tried once but only received silence as a response. He tried to probe them with a stick once...they promptly took the stick away from him and threw it to who knows where. He also offered them food. Sadly, they didn't make a move to take it.
He gave up on trying to engage any form of communication with them.
When he was 6, Naruto would sometimes go to the playground and try to make friends, but over and over again the same things happened. He'd befriend one of the children, they'd talk and play a bit before their parents see them-or rather him-and pull their child away from the 'Demon Brat'.
In the end, it was still the same. It would never change.
He'd always be alone.
At the age of 7, he gave up on trying to befriend anyone. He'd chat with a few of his classmates, mostly Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akamichi and Kiba Inuzuka, but they were merely aquaintances. Since he was an Academy student now, he had access to the Konoha Library-albeit still limited but still access nevertheless.
The librarian was an 'okay' person in Naruto's opinion. She would smile at him-not the fake ones-and allow him to borrow a few books. She even helped him read the difficult words!
She would often mumble "Just like Minato..." under her breath, though, of course, she didn't know he could hear her. He often wondered who this 'Minato' fella was. He hoped he was as nice as the librarian.
During his first year at the Academy, he would spend every afternoon at the library. He would randomly select a book of any topic and only leave the library after he finished it, taking a detour more often than not to eat at Ichiraku Ramen.
There weren't many people who visit the place. It was quiet and the scent of books strangely calmed the blonde boy. He was safe there. Away from all the glares and hate. Reading was one of the few things he treasured. It allowed him to escape the world for a few hours and travel to another alternate universe.
He would read all sorts of books. His personal favorite was 'The Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi' written by one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage.
It was because of that book that Naruto resolved that someday, like the main character of the book, he would bring peace to this world.
Coincidentally, the main character of the book and Naruto had the same name. Another factor that drove Naruto to enjoy the book. he would sometimes envision the main character as an older version of himself.
It helped him determine his dream.
Someday, he'll become Hokage, team up with all the Kages of the different shinobi villages and bring peace throughout the whole Elemental Nations.
It was an accident, really.
Naruto never meant to stumble upon a book on Fuuinjustu.
He was heading towards his usual seat, a small table at one of the corners of the first floor of the library, when he spotted a closed book lying on top of a wooden table.
He frowned. It was a known rule that you had to return the book you've read back to its proper shelf. He clicked his tongue. "They shouldn't depend on Librarian-san to clean up after them." He climbed up a chair and reached toward the book. He pulled it toward him and blinked. "Fuuinjutsu?" His eyes skimmed the plain cover-page. He blinked. "Jiraiya-san wrote this?"
He opened the book gingerly. There was a warning.
Fuuinjutsu is considered to be highly
dangerous and risky. If done wrong or
without proper supervision, it may lead
to severe injuries and may even result
in death.
Please proceed with caution.
A rational part of Naruto's brain told him to stop reading, but another part of him felt compelled and drawn to the book. His desire won out and he reluctantly flipped open another page. It was the Table of Contents. He turned to the next page.
Fuuinjutsu is a type of jutsu that seals objects, living beings, chakra, along with a wide variety of other things within an object. It can be used to restrict movement among many things.
Fuuinjutsu is one of the most dangerous skills that can be acquired by a shinobi. Without the proper repercussions, it can lead to permanent injury, limb detachment, destruction of property, loss of the 5 senses and even death among many other things.
Fuuinjutsu is only limited to the seal master's creativity.
Naruto craned his head behind him. There were no signs of anyone near him. He took the book in his arms and brought it with him to his usual table.
There, he allowed himself to sink into the study of Fuuinjutsu. He soaked up knowledge like a sponge. His eyes skimmed through the symbols, letters and numbers with ease.
It was as if the knowledge was already implanted at the back of his head and all he needed to do was pluck them out and review.
The book he first chosen laid discarded at one end of the square table.
Unknown to him, the woman who worked at the library smiled.
'You must be so proud of your son, Yondaime-sama.'
"Ohayo, Jiji!" Naruto's exuberant voice could be heard down the hallway of the Hokage's office.
The Sandaime smiled, his eyes crinkling. "It's good to see you as well, Naruto-kun." He pushed aside the tower of paperwork on top of his table to get a better view of the Uzumaki. "How was the Academy?"
"It was great, Jiji!" He babbled on about his day and how it was so cool that Iruka treated him to Ramen even after his little fox mask stunt that scared the wits out of his few peers. "Hey, Jiji..." Naruto's voice suddenly quieted. The Hokage lifted a gray eyebrow at him, urging him to go on. He pulled out a book from his green backpack, that was set on the Hokage's desk, and opened to a folded page. "That's the Yondaime, right?" He pointed hesitantly at the image of Namikaze Minato from the old, stray Bingo book he found in one of the Training Grounds.
The wizened Sarutobi furrowed his eyebrows. "Where did you get this book?"
"I found it in one of the Training Grounds. So...is he the Yondaime?"
"Yes. Indeed, he is."
Naruto chewed his lip. He looked up at the Hokage with big, blue eyes-innocent-looking but with a purpose. "Can I borrow a black marker?"
Hiruzen decided to humor the young boy and handed him one. he patiently waited for the young Uzumaki to finish whatever it was he was doing.
The young boy drew the book close to his chest and used his arm to shield anyone from seeing what he was drawing. After he was done, he hugged the book and tugged on the robes of his surrogate grandfather.
The man leaned forward and Naruto, after his eyes shifted from left to right, lifted the book off his chest and, almost as if it was a secret, gave the Hokage a peek of what he drew.
It was the Yondaime Hokage with three whisker marks on each cheek.
The Sandaime sucked in a breath.
"Kinda looks like an adult-me, don't you think?" Naruto asked his rhetorical question, his voice unusually subdued. "He's my dad...isn't he?" The old Sarutobi had to strain his ears to catch the last question.
Hiruzen looked at the blonde boy. He closed his eyes and signaled the ANBU guarding him to leave the room. He activated the privacy seals drawn around his office with a single hand sign. "I suppose it is time to tell you of your parentage..."
Naruto stared intently at the three-pronged kunai sitting on his table.
He copied the seal matrix on another separate scroll. He took out another scroll and wrote out the different symbols used.
He frowned. None of it made any sense.
The Hokage took out something from one of his desk's lower drawers. It was a three-pronged kunai marked with a strange seal. "This was your father's, the Yondaime's, kunai marked with a Hiraishin seal. I believe you are aware that it was that very seal that earned him his moniker the 'Yellow Flash'."
Naruto was certain that the Sandaime handed him this because he believed that he could somehow decipher the strange technique formula.
He pursed his lips and decided it would be pointless if he didn't probe the seal. It was admittedly a dumb move but it wasn't like there was anything he could do that he was aware of.
He hovered his index finger on top of the seal and channeled a bit of chakra into the digit. He lightly pressed it on the technique formula. His eyes widened before he was suddenly thrown back.
The blonde boy was in a sewer lit only at a couple of intervals by burning torches. He observed his surroundings but couldn't make out where he was exactly. "Hello?" He called out, steadying himself after standing up.
There was no answer.
He placed one hand on the wall to his right and began trekking through the ankle-deep water. He trudged on for a while. The minutes he spent walking seemed like eternity.
He nearly deemed his travel pointless and was about to give up and return to where he started when he realized that there was a strange, almost malevolent chakra signature further down his path.
The sewer widened and he spotted horizontal bars lining one end of the huge area.
"So my jailer finally decided to pay me a visit." A deep voice rumbled.
Naruto walked closer towards it, hoping to see who was behind the cage. "Who are you?" He called out.
It rumbled something incoherent which Naruto assumed was actually a chuckle. "Who am I?" Red eyes glowed ominously from behind the cage, contrasting with the darkness, accompanied by a wicked smile appeared. "I am the Great Kyuubi no Yoko!" One of its paws shout through the bars and tried to claw Naruto, stopping just a few feet of the blonde boy.
Naruto stumbled back at the fox's mighty roar. "K-Kyuubi?" He stuttered more out of surprise rather than fear. "But the Yondaime-my dad-" He hastily corrected. "-killed you!"
"Kill...?" Its voice lowered slightly. Then all of a sudden it boomed, making the Uzumaki struggle to remain upright. "A mere mortal can't kill me! I am more powerful than any of your so called Kage! I am all-powerful. I CANNOT BE DEFEATED!"
Unfortunately, Naruto spoke before thinking. "Says the one who got sealed in me."
The Kyuubi all but shoved his face closer to the bars and glared at the blonde boy. "Get. Out."
Naruto woke up, lying on the floor. His eyes darted to the clock hanging on his wall.
Not even a minute had passed. Strange.
He already suspected that he was the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. He tried to puzzle it out a few days after he discerned his father's identity.
It was actually just a twist of fate. He wanted to try a chakra exercise called 'water-walking'. His shirt was soak through and through so he decided to take it off, lo and behold a strange seal array appeared on his stomach when he channeled his chakra.
He'd read about Jinchuurikis and their Bijuus once so he knew almost automatically what the seal on his stomach meant.
But still, it was quite shocking for the 8-year old boy. After all, who wouldn't taken aback when they find out that a Nine-tailed fox resides in their stomach?
It answered nearly all the questions he had, actually.
The glares of the villagers. His birthday being on the same day as the Kyuubi Festival (In his opinion, naming the festival as such seemed like it was bring held in honor of the Nine-tails). Him being called the 'Demon Brat'. Parents being reluctant to let their children play with Naruto. Iruka's initial dislike and disregard of him. And-
A lot of other things actually.
He found it strange why he didn't piece it earlier.
Although Naruto being a Jinchuuriki sucked, he didn't mind as much as he originally thought.
It's just...being a Jinchuuriki gave him a lot-and he meant a lot-of chakra. He's practically a chakra tank! In addition to his naturally large chakra reserves, he doubted he could ever end up dying of chakra exhaustion.
A Bijuu and its Jinchuuriki were stuck together until the host dies, so the Jinchuuriki will never be alone...well, unless for some inconceivable reason something pulls the Bijuu away. Though that'll likely not happen.
Another bonus is having quick regenerative healing.
But there was one thing Naruto was ecstatic about being a Jinchuuriki.
It meant that when people respect and admire him, it would be because he was Naruto. Not his father, the Yondaime, or his mother, the Red Hot Habanero. He would be praised for his accomplishments.
And the best way to earn everyone's respect and trust would be to become a shinobi and protect everyone. He would recreate the Hiraishin seal and prove to everyone that even Naruto, the dead last, can do something big.
He paused.
Actually, maybe befriending a certain fox won't be so bad as well. They were stuck together for life, they might as well be stuck together as friends.
But first...
Naruto stood up and continued his probing of the Hiraishin seal.
Success came to him after two months of hard work.
He failed the Graduation Exam...for the third time. (Albeit the first two were just spent trying to get the gist of what the Graduation Exam entailed.)
He clenched the ropes of the swing he was sitting on tighter.
He was completely sure that he answered 65 out of a hundred questions correctly. Just enough to scrape a pass. His taijutsu was marked average.
He may have failed the Bunshin test but still...he should have been able to scrape a pass.
Unless...
He gripped the roped more tightly. Mizuki despised him. He most likely tampered with his grades.
'Stupid, Mizuki-teme...' Naruto thought glaring at his feet. Naruto always knew that there was something wrong with the chuunin ever since he first heard word of the guy disliking ramen.
He ignored the women whispering about him. They weren't exactly subtle with their whispering.
"There, do you see him?"
"It's that boy. I hear he's the only one who failed."
"Hmph! Well, it serves him right."
"Just imagine if he became a ninja. I mean he's the boy who-"
"Shhh! We're not aloud to talk about that!"
Naruto let out a breath of annoyance. He abruptly stood up and left without so much of a single sound.
He was unaware of the lavender-tinted eyes following his form, concerned.
'Naruto-kun...'
Shikamaru Nara scratched the back of his neck. "Naruto didn't pass? Troublesome..."
"What do you mean, Shikamaru?" Choji Akamichi asked, chomping down his snack.
"It's nothing. Let's go, Choji." He walked off with his best friend in tow and headed towards one of his favorite cloud-watching spots.
'What's your game, Naruto?'
Sasuke looked at the newly vacated swing.
'Naruto didn't pass?' He scrunched his eyebrows. 'Tch...Dobe.'
He walked away his hands in his pockets, hiding the disappointment welling inside him-not that he'd ever admit it out loud.
The only one who could give him a challenge in taijutsu when he actually tries didn't pass...
'Annoying..'
'Multiple Shadow Clone no Jutsu, huh?'
Naruto read the entry from the Forbidden Scroll. Just his luck. Clones...again.
Well...since Mizuki wasn't here yet. He might as well put the spare time he has to good use.
He looked at the foliage, moonlight illuminating it, then looked back at the scroll.
This was going to be a long night.
"You need to come to Lord Hokage's right away! It's Naruto. He stole the Sacred Scroll!"
"Alright. Bring Naruto here at once."
Iruka burst through the cluster of leaves. "It's all over!" He panted.
Naruto put up an act, rubbing his neck. "Looks like you caught me already. I already learned one technique. Does this mean I passed?"
"What?" Iruka ogled him in confusion, only then noticing the rips and scrapes his jumpsuit had. "What test?"
"The test Mizuki gave me! He said that if I take this scroll-" He pointed at the Scroll slung across his back. "-and bring it here, I'll pass the test!"
"Test? What tes-" He was interrupted by a few kunai stabbing his arms and legs. "Aghh!"
Mizuki loomed over them on one of the high branches. "I see you found our little hideaway."
"So that's the way it is, huh?" Iruka's eyes swam with betrayal. "I should've known!"
The white-haired chuunin knelt down. "Naruto! Give me the Scroll now!"
Iruka pulled out one of the kunai and threw it at Mizuki who side-stepped it. "Naruto, Don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains Forbidden Jutsu that can put the village in grave danger. Mizuki used you to get the Scroll for himself for his own power!"
"Naruto! Iruka is just trying to scare you 'cause he doesn't want you to have the Scroll."
"Stop lying Mizuki! Don't let him trick you, Naruto."
Mizuki laughed. "Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying."
Iruka stared at the traitor, his eyes alight with fear and knowledge of what his colleague was about to do. "No, Mizuki!"
Nevertheless, the chuunin-turned-traitor pushed on. "They've been lying to you your whole life, Naruto. Since the decree twelve years ago. Everyone knows except you! Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now. He'd do anything to shut me up!"
"Don't tell him! It's forbidden."
"The decree is no one can tell you that the Kyuubi is inside you! YOU ARE THE KYUUBI!"
"MIZUKI!"
There was deafening silence, the two chuunin staring each other down, which was cut off by a yawn.
They stared at the blonde boy. "Are we done here?" He asked almost casually as if a bombshell hadn't been dropped. "It's getting late, you know..."
Mizuki eyed him incredulously. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"
Naruto stared at him with unreadable eyes. "Oh, I heard you alright. Loud and clear."
"Then, why...?"
"Baka," Naruto chastised him, hand inching it's way toward his kunai and shuriken holder, strapped on his right thigh. "Just because a kunai is sealed inside a scroll, it doesn't mean that the scroll is the kunai."
Mizuki grit his teeth. "Brat...I'll just kill you then!" He threw two windmill shurikens toward the two loyal Konoha villagers.
Iruka threw himself in front of Naruto as a shield but Naruto beat him to it. He quickly did a cross-ram seal and summoned over a hundred Shadow Clones, surrounding Mizuki while two Clones stopped the incoming projectiles with their bare hands.
Iruka, from behind the two Naruto-clones, let out a quiet gasp. 'Fast...'
"You tried to hurt Iruka-sensei," The original growled, walking forward. his eyes flashed red for a moment. "I guess I'll just have to return the favor!"
The clones surrounding Mizuki compressed, forming a barricade with no escape for Mizuki.
"You really think you could stop me?!" The white-haired man's eyes darted from left to right.
Naruto unsheathed a three-pronged kunai.
Time seemed to stop for a moment. Clouds covered most of the moon, casting a shadow across Naruto's face. His whisker marks were practically invisible. His steely blue eyes shone with brilliance, popping out of the shadows. The special kunai was held in a vice-grip in front of the blonde's face, the kunai glinting ominously.
Mizuki stumbled backwards and cowered in fear for a visage of the Yondaime Hokage had stood behind Naruto in the exact seem pose. His pupils shrunk in fear. "Y-Yondaime..." He whimpered out.
Then time resumed.
Naruto threw the kunai, just missing Mizuki's face by a few inches and disappeared in a yellow flash.
The blonde Jinchuuriki nursed the wounds of Umino Iruka. The man himself smiled fondly at the boy.
To think, that his student managed to recreate the Yondaime Hokage's prized jutsu. "I'm proud of you." He said.
The boy referred to paused in wrapping a bandage across Iruka's forearm and stared at the man with his big, blue eyes wide in disbelief. "What did you just say?"
Iruka placed a hand on the boy's head and ruffled his blonde locks. "I'm proud of you." He repeated. "You're definitely one of a kind. You always work hard and put your heart into everything you do. You may mess up a couple of times and everyone jumps on you yet still you persevere. You let your sufferings make you stronger. Now, close your eyes."
Naruto, who had by then been trying to hold back the tears but failing at his sensei's speech, followed suit. He felt cloth being wrapped around his head. The cold feeling of metal sinking pass the fabric and cooled his forehead.
"I'm proud to have had you as my student."
Naruto opened his teary eyes and lifted a hand to touch Iruka's hitai-ate-now, his. "Sensei..." He breathed out.
"Congratulations, Genin Naruto Uzumaki. You passed."
A/N:
And that concludes the super long prologue.
It's quite boring right now but it'll pick up pace.
Would you prefer it if I wrote the Wave Arc? Or should I do it differently?
I just want to have the story hammered down until the Chuunin Exams.
Comments and suggestions on my writing will be very much appreciated.
That's all. Ja ne!