Before hand, this is my first fanfiction of this type, so r&r, please. This fic takes place two years after that of the events in manga 223. Which of course, may lead to incontinuities in the near future, but I don't care, and neither should you. Oh, and some of you may wonder why I don't use the honorifics such as kun, chan, etc. Simply because, I do not know Japanese and do not want to sound like a fool when I missuse a honorific.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, simply because I am not a genius of that calibur. Now, on with the story! But the mentioned jutsu is of my creation. Any similarity to any other's is purely coincidential.

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Friends Fight the Strongest

Ch. 1: Growing Power and Respect

Shikamaru lay on the roof of his home. Staring out into the clear skies of Konoha village. No matter how free the sky looked, the feeling of the new Chuunin jacket he had honed was restraining. Constantly reminding him that he was now capable of leading a group into missions, and responsible for bringing them back. "Forget this," he said to nobody in particular as he began to sit up.

"What was that, Shikamaru?" asked the blonde girl looking up from the ground.

"Oh, hi Ino," the dark-haired chuunin said as he looked over the edge of his roof, "what's up?"

"Nothing much. Do you mind if we just talk for a bit?"

"Uh, sure," and with that Shikamaru jumped from the building onto the ground next to her.

"Actually, mind if we go inside?"

He sighed. 'And after I came down here? How troublesome.' "Alright." He opened the door and led them inside.

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Naruto smiled to himself. "Perfect," said the young shinobi between his gasps for air. He finally perfected his new technique. He was nearly jumping from excitement. And the best thing was, that the only effective way to learn this technique was immense training and teaching. Ensuring that it would not fall into the wrong hands. Unless of course, the remaining Sharingan users were to see it. But with the two Uchiha brothers outside the country boundaries and the only other being Hatake Kakashi, it was safe. 'Better show this to Jiraiya. I bet he'll be so impressed, he'll treat me to some ramen!' thought the exhausted ninja. "Ha ha! The future Hokage is now unbeatable!"

"Oh really? Is that so?" said a familiar voice from one of the few surrounding trees that had not been destroyed by Naruto's new jutsu.

"Jiraiya? Perfect timing! Let me show you my new technique!"

"A new technique at 14, is it? Impressive, Naruto. Let's see it, maybe I'll be interested in learning it," laughed the old Sannin.

"Ha! You couldn't learn it unless I taught it to you! Consider it payback for Rasengan!" the cocky little ninja said. "Just watch."

"Alright, alright. I just hope it's not just another idiot technique like Sexy no Jutsu."

"You know you love that technique!" Naruto put on his game face. His eyes lit up with the power of the Kyuubi running through his body. He spread his legs to gain a better footing. Red chakra tails whipped around his body. Power could be sensed in the air.

'Hmph. Maybe this jutsu might be worth learning afterall.'

Naruto made his hands into fists. He filled the surrounding sphere around him with chakra and charged it while spinning it wildly with in it's orb. He slammed his fists together and shouted, "THUNDERBALL NO JUTSU!" The globe became a crackling ball of glowing red lightning. Naruto leapt backwards at an astonishing speed, even for the skills of that Sannin. As soon as he made contact with a nearby tree, it bursted into burnt splinters that practically vanished into the sky and Naruto was rocketed forward, bouncing into another tree with identical results to the first and continued the pattern until Naruto felt it was a good time to stop. The result was large clearance interrupted only by singed tree trunks raising from the ground no more than 10 inches.

Naruto collapsed. "Well? How'd ya like it?"

Jiraiya just stood there with a dropped jaw. "How did you ever come up with this technique?" asked the astonished old man.

"Well, I remembered when you taught me the Rasengan. I was amazed at how much explosive power could be generated from just spinning and focusing your chakra. And then I remembered the Chidori. While it is weaker than the Rasengan in the long run, it's more for like piercing rather than blowing up. And so I thought, what would happen if I just made it bigger? So much bigger so that I would be in the orb, rather than just holding it. From there, I just combined what I learned from the Rasengan, mainly the spinning, and what I Understood about the Chidori, the extreme focusing of the chakra. So, what did ya think?"

Jiraiya sat down. "Amazing, Naruto. But I noticed something. You can't control yourself when you're in the Thunderball, can you?"

"Nope. I can only control the first jump. From there, it just depends on the surfaces I bounce off of. I was kind of thinking about naming it Pinball no Jutsu... More appropriate, don't ya think? But I ended up deciding that Thunderball sounds cooler."

"Ah, so basically using this jutsu in a large, clear area would just be pointless? Or in an area with comrades who wouldn't be able to dodge it?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But you haven't answered my question. What do you think of it?"

"I think it's a great technique that could practically ensure victory. If used wisely and correctly, of course."

'Alright! Jiraiya approved of my very own technique! Yes! Once the rest of the village hears about this, Tsunade'll have no choice but make me Hokage for sure!'

Jiraiya began walking away, "Oh, and Naruto? Don't go telling everyone about this. Keep it as a trump card. Know what I mean?" Jiraiya said as if he had read Naruto's mind.

"Fine..." Naruto mumbled. 'Jealous old geezer.'

'That kid will be Hokage for sure. No doubt in my mind about that now.' Jiraiya stopped in his tracks and looked back. "Hey Naruto! Want to join me for some ramen? My treat!"

"Sure!" said the hungry shinobi and went ahead to catch up with the Sannin.

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So there you have it. Sorry, if it's too short for your taste and leave reviews. Find out what happens next in "Ino's Confession."