AN: For anyone wondering about Jutsu no Kage, I have excuses, and I will get to it at some point. Until then, I'm going to play with this. For anyone interested in reading that story, it's M for a reason. Just a heads up. R&R
I do not own Naruto
A rooster crowed in the crisp morning air. Blue eyes revealed, focusing quickly to resolve the sky above. Blonde hair rustled as the young boy sat up. He turned to look at a ball of orange fur. He scoffed and hopped up to his feet, stretching out up to the tips of his toes. He breathed in deeply, through his nose and his eyes squinted. He crouched and sniffed the air again, turning his head as he did so. His toes gripped the ground and chakra surged through is body as he tensed.
Naruto jerked forward, in flight for a moment before his feet and hands started tapping the trees and ground to keep his speed. He whipped around a tree, slightly longer and tougher nails, along with chakra gripping the bark as he changed direction up the tree. He reached the apex of his jump to leisurely pull himself into a crouch onto a branch above most of the trees in the area. He leaned out, turning his ear to listen. A few moments passed the blonde statue, eyes closed on a peaceful face. The bees, the chirping of the birds, the cricket trashing in the spider web below, the breathing of the masked watcher of the day, his target.
He pulled the goggles from around his neck, up to their proper place. He rocked back, chakra tightening until his whole being exploded out into the air above the forest. The wind roared in his ears until he slowed his accent. The massive trees were like blades of grass below, his eyes zooming down to the boar drinking water from a small pond. He quickly searched around for something with the right mass near by. A rock peaking out the pond was suddenly a few hundred meters in the air and Naruto was waist deep in water near the boar. The water splashed a bit against the boys orange jacket and the boars eyes darted to the disturbance. Naruto slowly reached into his pouch for his hunting knife and slid out of the water. Two steps into his walk out of the pond, the boar whirled around and bolted. The boar galloped fiercely, huffing as it's hooves ripped and flug the dirt behind it. It's head bobbled in time with the thrusts of it's rear legs, until a kunai dug into its forehead. The boar's legs froze and it's jaw dragged across the ground.
Naruto's hand held the handle of the kunai tightly as he kneeled on the boar, skidding to a stop. He kissed the top of the boar's head.
"Thank you."
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The blonde haired boy's whiskers were visible from the Crystal ball. An old ornately carved pipe held a crackling wad of tobacco. A cherry scented smoke slipped through the thin wooden tube and old wrinkled lips. It passed back out moments later into the general vicinity. A scarred man did his best to still the desire to wave the smoke away, as he sat int the dimly lit back room of the Hokage.
"His kawarimi is exceptional." Came the scratchy voice, beneath a wide rimmed conical hat.
The pony tail of the scarred ninja bounced as he nodded, and said, "He learned the Kawarimi and the henge within a week each. But he's been unable to master the Bushin, Hokage sama."
Sarutobi Heruzien, leader of the village, tilted his head up to gaze at the man in front of him and raised his eyebrows.
The other man continued, " I've taught him the wall and water walking skills, but it's still not good enough." The scarred ninja scowled thinking of the boy.
Demon? Or just a boy? Seal master or not, it was difficult to trust that the most powerful demon in the world was sealed inside a child and not even a sliver of it's taint would touch the boy.
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Naruto sat eating his boar, outside a small cottage. A fox laid, eating a large chunk on a wooden bowl, both a few feet from a small fire. The energy of the masked watcher had changed a few minutes ago. This one, he liked. The sun was still high in the sky and he could almost pinpoint the vague tingling of sense he had of the man. He tossed the leg bone to the ground and sliced off another one to hold up, into the air. Turning to the general direction of the presence he spoke.
"Crow - san. An early lunch?"
A few silent moments passed. The fox pausing from his meal to look up at the boy.
A large crow glided out of the trees, snatching the meat from the boy's hand. Gold ring charms, resting loosely around its legs, clinked together, from the movement of the hand sized talons. It swooped up from it's glide and landed on a nearby tree branch. Foot pinning the leg to the bark, and eye looking towards the shadows in the forest. After a moment it cawed at Naruto and began to eat.
A shiny metal and cloth sailed through the air and into the hand of the boy. He looked with glee at the Konoha head band and jumped up. It was quickly fastened around his head and pulled snug with the final knot.
"I'm a ninja!" He shouted throwing both hands into the air and running around the fire. He felt the man's chakra spike a bit and stopped to point directly at the man.
"Some day the great Nations will all know and respect my name, Uzumaki Naruto, and I will become Hokage, Believe it!"
Naruto danced around for a while before he noticed a note tied to a book with brown twine. He snatched the note and glanced at the title of the book. "Sealing level 3 - wards and charms"
His eyes widened and he jerked back to grab the book. He ran into the cottage and straight to his book shelf in the living room. He smiled again as he slide the book into place after, "Sealing level 1 - what are seals?" and "Sealing level 2 - Foundations of a seal master".
"Jiraiya - sama! You are my hero, he said in a pose, pointing to an old ripped painting of the Sanin.
"Oh", he said unfolding the note, legs still in the pose.
Congratulations Naruto,
You are now a member of the Konoha Ninja Core. You will meet with your new team one week from today at training ground seven .
7:00 am
Be prepared and always remember that your team comes first. Protect them with your life and they will soon treat you the same. Your Sensei will be able to help you with anything you need.
-Jiji
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*one week later - 6:15 am*
Naruto crouched over wet grass, watching the early morning mist evaporate as the earth rolled towards the sun. He peaked out from under the hood of his black jacket. He pulled out his hunting knife from a side pocket in his camouflage cargo pants, quickly spinning around to stab at air. He rolled to the side and flung a kunai from the seal on the inside of his jacket, flashing the world with the bright orange inseam.
A dull thud of the kunai against the tree echoed out into the surrounding forest.
Only his shallow breaths tainted the cool morning air afterwards.
There was a presence, unlike any he'd felt. Crow was like a faint tingling, while this like an elusive spark. It gnawed at him, that someone else was watching him. The masked watchers had stopped coming the night he became a ninja.
He forced himself to still after he shuffled back to the tree he'd had his back to.
He sat focusing on his breathing and attempting to pin down the intruder, until soft foot falls met his ears.
A young black haired girl walked into view a minute later and he was suddenly flushing. Her lips were plump red - pink and her eyes were soft black. The black head band waved behind her as she walked and he was mesmerized. The long black skirt and black robe like top gave her the appearance of a beautiful temple maiden. Her mouth moved and he smiled dumbly.
After a moment the smile became pained and her mouth moved more tightly.
"Can you hear me?"
He shot up and she took a step back.
When had she gotten so close?
He bowed and said sharply, "Uzumaki Naruto, I'm happy to see you."
She took another step back , Uchiha Coco", the girl said slowly.
"Coco, he said slowly" Feeling the way his mouth cupped around the syllables.
"Coco."
"Coco."
Another few steps back brought him back to the training ground and then to her face.
Amused hesitance gripped her features and he felt suddenly abashed. He straightened and cleared his throat. He made to speak ,though no words came to mind, and he looked at her with a embarrassed smile.
The hesitance faded from her face and the hold on her katana slacked as she put the weapon away.
When did she draw her weapon?
The wind shifted and an odd smell came to him. Like an ant hill, but some how human. A beige Jacket with sun glass, supported by brown slacks crested the forest surrounding the training ground. The girl stiffened when she caught sight of the….
"Another teammate." He all but shouted at the jacket.
"Oi, are you here for team seven?"
The chakra of the boy was separated into tiny bits inside the main presence and Naruto, once he had a feeling for these bits, could suddenly pick out many of them around. He smiled and walked over to one of the bits to see a tiny insect. The insect stared at him for a moment and took off. His eyes followed the path of the insect as it headed toward the boy, now much closer. He steadied his head and focused a small bit of chakra to his eyes, to see the creature fly over the collar of the jacket and disappear inside.
Naruto's eyes widen as he understood.
"Aburame - san!"
The boys glasses reflected Naruto's smiling face and a pregnant pause settled over the group. Naruto picked another bug from the air around them and looked at it closely, before showing it to Coco.
"Did you know that he shares his life and body with a whole colony of insects?" He spoke cheerfully pushing the bug ever closer to Coco's face. She struggled to maintain a smiling face at the insect which appeared to be inspecting her too closely.
"Amazing…" And his voice trialed off and his placed the insect on his shoulder.
He bowed to the large boy, "Uzumaki Naruto, your new teammate." he finished with a wide smile.
"Aburame Shouzo." came a voice seemingly too deep to be 12, as the boy gave a small bow.
The boy's eyes drifted to the surrounding forest and Naruto looked in the same direction, and spoke lowly, with a hint of frustrated elation, "You found him?"
Shouzo pealed his eyes away to glace at the blonde haired boy, from behind his shades.
"Yes."
Naruto crouched looking at him expectantly.
"Lets go get our Sensei."
Shouzo squared up with the boy before darting out into the forest. Naruto leapt after the boy , keeping in the trees above him. Soft steps from behind told him Coco was right behind him.
The pace that Shouzo set was one Naruto approved of, for the hunt. Shouzo raised a hand and they came to a stop near a clearing. There, a silver haired man stood staring at a stone. His silver hair was medium length and extended up and to the side, which reminded Naruto of the way his chakra felt. Even now, with the man in front of him, his senses fought to console the hazy non-presence he possessed.
"So." The young man's voice reached out to break the silent observation of the man.
"You three are the assault squad I've been assigned to sensei. My name Hatake Kakashi. We will leave for our first D - rank mission tomorrow. I'd normally test you three, but I don't have the luxury of turning you away and I will see your skills soon enough. Review your equipment amongst your selves and be here packed, for three weeks. Same time."
Silence reigned as the preteens absorbed the information.
Coco made to speak, but was cut off by the man, still staring at the large cut stone before him.
"Dismissed."
Shouzo rose after the order and stared for a long moment at Naruto, who was hanging from the side of the tree. Buzzing briefly rose from under his jacket, and Coco looked up to see Naruto. She sheathed her Katana and joined Shouzo in a quick gawk. They looked at each other and she, for once didn't cringe under his shaded visage. He nodded to her, glanced at Naruto, still fiercely staring at the back of the man's head, and left.
"Nice meeting you Uzumako - san."
"You too Shouzo."
Coco quickly said, "See you guys tomorrow, " and she dashed away through the forest.
Naruto waited for them to leave and spoke. "Jiji said you would help me. I don't have much in the way of equipment."
Kakashi glanced back at the boy and closed his eye to steady himself.
Yondiame~
Kakashi nodded at the boy and took off at a brisk pace. Naruto pumped out at a full sprint and felt the man still pulling away. He started tapping the ground and trees with chakra to boost his speed and the acidic tang of his chakra grew closer. He could almost see the man when sparks danced at the edge of his senses and the young man took off at blinding speed. Naruto pushed as hard as he could but soon even his magnified presence drifted out of range.
He stopped after a moment, breathing hard.
He whistled loudly and Fox came a few minutes later. He pointed in the direction and sniffed the air.
"A man who smells of battery and dogs left that way, lead me."
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A combination henge and two hours later, he found the man in a bar. The man was staring into an orange book, twirling his finger over the rim of his glass, sitting in a back both.. Naruto walked up to man and a hand pointed to an old duffle bag.
Naruto grabbed the bag and eyed the man. He couldn't see the man's eye and he cursed the stupid book in that man's face.
"Thank you", and he was gone.
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The bag was full of tools. Wire, springs, bandages, old style armor, a tanto and much more.
The gift seemed at odds with the man's coolness. The wear and age led him to believe it had been the man's old gear when he was a genin. Naruto smiled at the hand - me - downs and studied the blade katas in a scroll that had been sealed with other material, like the shinobi handbook.
He put on the armor over his jacket, equipment belt, and tanto to look in the mirror.
"Ninja."
He smiled a foxy grin and the fox growled at him.
He held up a hand, "You can come, but stay out of sight."
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The moment he awoke he felt the presence of the Shouzo's colony. He'd slept in his armor under the stars, like most nights, too exited to remove the garments. Shouzo's colony and Fox danced around him as he grabbed his bag.
He bounded quickly leaving them and Fox behind. More of them dotted the forest as he ran straight to the cut stone, knowing the man would be there gazing at it. Coco was arriving at the same time as him, 6:05 am. Shouzo was already there, standing against a tree at the rim of the small clearing. Hatake was there exactly as he was yesterday.
"This stone will have many more names on it in the years to come."
"It bares witness to the lives paid in service to the village and its people. I hope that you all live long happy lives, but if that is not the case, die well. The Hokage carves the names of the remembered by hand. Each one dying under his command. I come to honor my comrades who've fallen."
They all stood in silence for what seemed like ever, before Kakashi started walking away.
"Come."
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A massive horse drawn carriage awaited them, in front of a small gate for Konoha's ninja core. It was filled with food and, while last minute preparations were being made to leave, Kakashi passed around the mission scroll. Naruto glanced over it and saw that the great rail road had already made it to it's first station at the boarder of the land of iron. Soon the iron road would head between two great nations all the way to Konoha, along neutral grounds, and offering neutral stations after the main track was laid down. This was a grand endeavor, and Konoha Ninja and Iron Samuri would ensure it's safe completion.
Kakashi square up with their group and they all straighten to attention at the unspoken call to it. His eye met none of their's as he paced before them, an assessing gate as he slowly moved.
"Food deliveries, are an important mission for the village. The massive railway being constructed has an army of skilled laborers and workers. And a small split forces army to guard it. Konoha is the direct Hub for all food transport. I have eyes on the wagon and you three need eyes on the wagon and each other. You all seem to make nice with each other", he pause pointing a waving finger at them. Shouzo, Naruto and Coco stood in that order in front of him.
They're at least attentive, he thought. And that's when he'd finally confirmed what his peripheral had been warning him about. The shoulder plates over his hooded jacket and Kakashi's black, back up mask, over his face. The tanto over his shoulder and determination in his eyes. Naruto looked like the blonde haired version of himself when he was younger.
"Is this how you felt sensei?" He spoke in his mind.
"So watch out for each other and never let down your guard. Iwa clans and refugees are still wondering the lands and there is always a chance for an attack. So far the sound and rain have been quiet, though Kumo looks posed to strike at them if they over reach. Tension is high and we'll be pulling these missions for the next year or so, depending on the influx of new genin teams."
He paused to asses their faces, and realized he could only see Naruto's eyes and Coco's attempt at hiding her boredom. His eye slid off the sword she was fingering and he was again amazed at Itachi's sealing work. He'd be the clan head soon and his seals had made them retake the seat as most feared clan. He swelled with pride, at his pseudo student.
A bear of a man in simple robes and a katana at his side strode up purposefully. Kakashi took steps towards the man and they clasped each other's shoulders.
"Yohan is a fearless samurai turned wagon master. He will not need guarding. Only the wagon requires our eyes. And only he will be allowed inside, until we get to our destination."
Yohan looked a young man, like Kakashi. His stance and gate said swordsman to Coco's eyes,. Naruto and Shouzo took Kakashi's word. Yohan made a show of looking at Naruto and then to Kakashi, his blue eyes flashing with mirth.
He looked questioningly at Kakashi and everyone of them knew the question in the air.
Soon they were on the road.
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They worked 16 hours shifts between the genin, and Kakashi seemed to be sleeping or giggling at his book at any time, atop the wagon. One person was always sleeping in the back hold, which was a glorified armored chest strapped to the back of the wagon. Yohan seemed to move on his own schedule. Traveling and napping as he pleased. They never made camp, and no one ever drove the wagon aside from Yohan. If possible, each time they stopped would be at a wey station, manned and patrolled by Konoha ninja. Rations and game caught between the trees by Naruto and Kakashi were food of the day and every so often Naruto or Kakashi would pull some fresh fruit, or vegetables from special scrolls.
Yohan, always had odds and ends for the Ninja along the route and he seemed to make a fair bit of coin from his dealings and "friendship" with the ninja. The way he and the ninja never quite let down their guard or took too much drink in the night was not lost on Naruto. He spoke with each of the ninja along their route and found out that every wagon master was a swords man of the North of some skill and that Yohan was one of the few who took the time to speak with them.
A week and a few days into their journey Naruto's nerves were shot. His eyes were squinted and his senses alert, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Any inattention on his part, would result in pain of some sort from the man that never seemed to meet his eyes. Naruto held no intention of hunting along their trip but soon found that he couldn't help but let kunais fly at the sound or sight of something lurking in the shadows. As a result the chakra that focused through a tenkestu in his back, into the jacket that released a single kunai, from a storage seal, into an awaiting hand, that flicked it into the foliage didn't quite rouse Kakashi to full alertness. The loud curse that came from that general direction, however, did.
Naruto stood frozen from the exclamation of pain.
"Naruto!" a girls voice he absently noted.
An arrow flew into Naruto's shoulder, breaking him from his trance. At the same time the wagon lurched to a stop and he fell forward.. He rolled out of the fall, two more kunai in hand as feet gripped the ground in an attempt to begin a run around the cart, to seek shelter. Three steps before a club came whipping around from behind a tree and he leapt over the swing, hearing more arrows zip past him. He curled around to flip in the air and let both kunai at the man, whom took both in a the back without sound. The man spun around as Naruto's feet were touching the ground and the huge club was still in motion orbiting back around towards him. Naruto was gripping the ground to fling himself away from the blow, coming too quickly to hope to be missed completely, when a flash of black heralded the club and hand still holding it launched into the air, past his head. He saw Coco's red eyes flash to him briefly before her sword swatted two more arrows away and then spun around to remove the head of the man gripping his gushing stump.
From the direction the arrows came, light flashed and the sound of crackling electricity preceded silence. Naruto scrambled to his feet, feeling embarrassment at doing so pointedly behind Coco. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and the pain of the arrow in his shoulder started to come back to him. He started breathing more heavily, looking to stare at the wound. A hand landed on his shoulder and he knew from the little bits that arrived along with the touch, it was Shouzo. Buzzing caught his ears and he calmed at the soothing sound of the colony.
"Kakashi has eliminated the threat. Well done Naruto." Shouzo spoke.
Naruto's eyes rove over Shouzo's shaggy brown hair and wished he could see the older boy's eyes.
Had he really done anything aside from tossing a random kunai and require rescuing by his teammates?
His face fell, and Coco clicked her tongue and spoke. "Next time, don't stand around once you've made your opening strike. Either seek cover or move to follow up."
He looked up at her and she looked away, "Otherwise, well done."
He smiled at his team.
Kakashi strolled out a moment later to see the Uchiha girl cut the arrow's shaft and swat Naruto's hand away when he tried to pull it out.
At least she knew better than to pull it out.
"Kakashi Sensei" Shouzo said in a low voice, and the other two straightened and squared up in the direction of their sensei.
"Naruto", Kakashi began staring at the arrow in his shoulder. "Those arrow heads are the type to expand when they enter so they take a large chunk of flesh with them when they are pulled out. You'll need to leave that in, unless you have some blood line I'm not aware of?"
Naruto's glare turned stone faced for a moment, aided by the mask. " Uzumaki are known for their accelerated healing Sensei. I thought you knew."
"Ahh, so not just a name. Well if you're truly an Uzumaki then my clumsy bit of medical jutsu should be able to make the difference. Take off your shirt and lay down."
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Coco could see the scarless tissue, still pink and fresh, showing through the hole in Naruto's shirt. He practically regenerated, with the aid of Kakashi silver - green chakra. Perhaps her sensei over exaggerated his clumsiness with the healing arts. Naruto didn't even flinch when a relatively large chunk of flesh was ripped out. He only closed his eyes with calm focus. She thought about how quickly he'd moved when practically ambushed. She'd thought that a single hit of that club would destroy him, but she now knew the kid was made of tougher stuff. She knew he was younger, by a few years, but age didn't matter. It was strength that mattered.
Even Shouzo warms, in his own way, around him.
She almost smiled. It wouldn't be a couple bandits or even a small group of ninja to claim team seven.
Then her face screwed up at a final memory.
That "wagon master" never even moved from his seat.
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The Station was like a large bridge that soared over four sets of tracks, each far enough from each other to accommodate an oversized train with room to spare and include the pillars holding up the bridge. Sticking between the pillars were huge steam engines with cars behind it stretching into the distance.
All of the genin stood in awe at the complex. It was the single grandest sight they'd witnessed in their lives. People were swarming around the station and the railroad ahead like locus. Samurai strode through the crowds, a keen eye on everyone.
Kakashi had prepared for this and had stopped to wait, and let them grasp how massive and important this project was.
"The train cars carry all the material needed to build the entire railroad track and 6 more stations. The lands of Fire and Iron have dumped a considerable amount of resources into this undertaking, and we are to protect its future with our lives. The train will stretch from, Iron through otufuku gai to Wave and take three years to complete."
He let it all settle in for a few moments. He bid Yohan a fairwell, exchanging some coins and whispers. A chunnin arrived shortly and signed off on their mission scroll. A salute and he was back to his students still taking in the sight.
"Now, time to train."
They turned to him with those cute innocent eyes and a smile broke across his face wide enough to be seen under the mask.
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They jogged at a brisk pace for what seemed like hours before they stopped to eat a ration bar and sip water. Ten minutes later they were back at it. Shouzo was thinking about abandoning his jacket when Naruto offered to seal it for him. Shouzo had hesitated for a moment before whipping it off, to expose his bare flesh. It was extremely smooth in places and pitted in others. Coco decidedly didn't look at Shouzo but Naruto gasped and smiled at Shouzo, "So cool."
Without the jacket's collar to hide behind Naruto and Kakashi both caught the slip of a smile that touched his face.
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Shouzo took a knee first. Coco took a single step further and began a knee and ended sprawled on the ground.
Naruto stopped and sped to Coco's side. "Coco - chan."
Sweat was pouring down his face but he seemed ready to continue as he kneeled next to her.
"Kakashi sensei!"
Shouzo didn't move from his stop, only leaning forward to brace himself on the ground with a hand.
Kakashi was there suddenly, leaning over them, a critical eye and ear at Coco, before easing back to glace at Shouzo.
"Everyone as a limit." Kakashi began speaking.
"Coco ran herself out. Shouzo still has a bit left in the tank. Naruto."
He trailed off looking at the boy.
"Show me your limit, come at me with the intent to kill."
Kakashi stood there one eye on him.
Naruto looked bewildered. He stood for a moment before catching Shouzo's brown eyes, under saggy hair. He nodded at Naruto and that's when Kakashi whispered into Naruto's ear from behind.
"I said come."
Naruto spun around and thrust the ground beneath him away. His back first was caught and his face hit. He took the stinging strike to his face and continued his dash away, a few more steps.
He took the basic stance he'd been practicing from the scrolls and pulled out his tanto.
Sloppy but a good start, Kakashi thought.
Naruto proceeded to swing fiercely at the man through every move he knew. Every form and swing was countered or proven unstable by Kakashi's knee and fist. Kakashi was surprised by the sheer speed and wasn't sure what to feel about the boy going through all his old forms. He pulled out a kunai and continued to dance with he boy.
Suddenly Naruto jumped back throwing up his tanto and speeding through seals. "Uzumaki Bushin no jutsu."
Kakashi was then in a sea of blondes. "Hmmm." He looked up at the trees to see them filled with Narutos doing all manner of things. Throwing kunai, putting seal tags on the trees and logs. Kakashi hesitated as he went to unveil his eye. He'd never seen the jutsu used in this way, and thought about the mind that sat quietly thinking of all the different things he'd want them to be doing. Things he'd be doing. And finally he felt Naruto's presence descend at him from behind silently. And "the eye" remained hidden.
Good.
He spun around to see 20 Naruto's, all phasing in and out of each other as they came at him, tanto drawn back. Kakashi side stepped the strike and felt the need to give the boy a wide birth as he came at him with darting slashes. With all of the bushins swarming around him, it was impossible to see what he was actually doing.
This continued for a time until Kakashi heard him, still surrounded by the cloud of bushin, dart behind a tree. The bushins continued to attack as though Naruto was still there and Kakashi played along to see where it was going. The lack of sound was a dead give away but Naruto was soon letting some Kunai fly from Kakashi's blind spot. Kakashi moved past them towards Naruto and jumped through the trees. Seals lit up on the sides of the trees and Kakashi saw them too late. He cursed himself for underestimating his sensei's son as he felt his movement arrest with resistance seal's glow.
Kunai's with explosive tags sailed at Kakashi and he struggled through a shunshin out of the way. Naruto was on him moments later, the cloud of Narutos making things much more difficult for the joinin.
A leg came whipping around from the side of the cloud and Kakashi snached the limb out of the air and pulled Naruto out of the bushins, to see a sizzling explosive tag on the branch he was grasping.
He performed his own kawarimi and closed his eye to listen for the delicate taps the boy moved with when sneaking about.
Stealthy.
The tree only slightly swayed when Naruto's jump crested a high branch towards the top. He descended the tree silently, until his sensei was in sight. He let go of his grip on the tree and fell towards the man, tanto drawn. The man snatched his sword in mid swing holding it trapped between two fingers. Naruto's feet met the branch and Kakashi morphed into an armored demon, ripping the sword from his grip. Naruto coughed out a chocked gasp before the demon had Naruto's throat in a tight grip and is back against a tree. His feet dangled in the air and the eyes of the demon seemed to fill with glee at the coming death.
Naruto tried; to kawarimi, a kunai into the armor that shielded the demons arm, kicking legs too short to make a difference, all in vein. His face felt hot and his vision began to swim. He began to elbow the monster's arm, nothing. He wrapped both legs around the arm and tried to pull it off of him, the grip only tightening. He began to felt numb and weak. A crescendo of ringing started in his ears, and his face felt like it was about to burst from the pressure.
A sharp pain in his ear called the breath he'd been fighting for, and it suddenly came rushing in. The damp dirt and blades or grass caressed his face, and the warm pants that had roused him from so many nightmares washed him clean of the vision.
Genjutsu
Fox met his eyes before darting away into the foliage. Naruto's focus stretched into the clearing, where Shouzo was lunging at Kakashi with a wild swing, followed by a spinning back kick. Kakashi ducked and Naruto could almost see the swarm gather around his sensei's feet. Kakashi ducked the kick and jumped out passed the genin with an elbow for Shouzo's face.
Naruto could see the Velcro like grip the ground had on Kakashi's feet, which sapped the energy out of his movement. Shouzo's knee came up with more force than Kakashi's elbow, though both of them stumbled from the blows.
Kakashi cursed himself for not noticing Shouzo's colony sapping him of his strength. He glanced back to see Naruto awake and he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been so caught up in their spar he'd neglected Shouzo and his colony. He felt deep for his reserves and winced at how low they were. The run hadn't taken too much out of him but Naruto had made him work hard to stay away from that strange bushin justu. He could have revealed his eye but he didn't want to have to resort to it and the drain might be too much at this point. Shouzo was large for 12, and could pass for one of the Akamiki if he were rounder. His colony was larger than most and he was known for having a strong and resilient breed of insect. Their thirst for Chakra probably greater than ever, given how little the boy might have had after their run.
Kakashi dodged a few more swings from the boy and sent some hard shots to his ribs and chest. The boy crumpled to the ground, and only honed senses allowed Kakashi to lean away from the sudden sword slash. He backed away with a few quick steps, forcing his feet from the grip of tiny jaws with a scowl. He met her sharringan eyes and felt a warm mist on his face. He flexed his chakra banish the genjustu and backed away some more.
Coco was walking slowly towards him hands out at her sides non - threateningly. His eyes couldn't find the sword.
"Kakashi sensei, I'm so tired. Can we lay down and rest a bit."
He felt like he was smothered in warm silk, a sweet sent filling his scenes.
He struggled against her hold, on his chakra system. His reserves were low, so he stopped the flow completely.
She was much closer now. His eyes couldn't locate the sword.
"Kakashi, your so tired." Her voice was like velvet flowing through him.
He ripped himself away from the warmth of her voice's embrace to block Naruto's tanto with the metal plate on the back of his gloves.
He found her sword in a high swing and flicked Naruto's sword up to deflect the blow. She pushed through his blade towards Kakashi. A step to the side and hook over her shoulder sent her to the floor, heavily, with a bloody nose.
She remained there and he sluggishly engaged Naruto. The speed was even now, with his fatigue and Shouzo's colony holding his feet to the ground. Only his form and experience allowed him to deflect the solid blows the boy rained down on him. The fierce look on Naruto's face as he hacked at his guard sent a bit of pride through him.
It was that moment he thought about all the shinobi that would fall to this team on the battle field. Had he tested them, he was sure they would have passed, and they were worthy if his all. He slid inside Naruto's guard and snapped off a combo of blows that made the boy choke out a grunt of pain, and grit his teeth as Kakashi's fist met his face. Naruto bent but didn't not break, keeping his grip on the ground with his feet, yanking himself back into a wild swing. His face went back into Kakashi's fist and tears weld up in his eyes. He tried to swing again, his nose broken and face mask ripped, showing half of his face covered in blood. A palm strike to his chest sent his back. He rolled back to all fours and screamed at his sensei in frustrated rage and pain. His nose snapped back into place while his lip was pulling itself back together. Blue eyes burned into Kakashi for a moment. His K-9 's grew a bit and his eyes spilt, as he crouched lower.
Kakashi sparked lighting charka around his body, just enough to make the insects back off and partially activate his ion body jutsu. He flashed next to Naruto and slapped a seal tag on his forehead. Naruto's eyes glazed over and he slumped to the ground.
Kakashi stepped back to asses the scene. Coco's red eye's were wide for a moment before she gave up her struggle to stay conscious, flicking to black before they shut. Shouzo was already on a knee looking like he'd have stepped in on Naruto's next assault. Kakashi gave him a nod, "Rookie of the year, wasn't a hollow title this generation."
The insect user eased himself back to the ground, breathing slow and deep. The insects stirred after a moment and soon a cloud was returning to their host.
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They ran six back - to - back missions to the great railroad. Always a nice ride there, filled with stories and scrolls to read, punctuated with a fight or two, and runs back spiced with beatings and training. The young man would let them run in formation while he hid from them, attacking sporadically to engage one or all of them. It had been five months into their stint on the delivery detail, when Kakashi stopped them for heading off to their customary shower, and night in their own bed before they left for another delivery.
"I'm treating you all to dinner." Kakashi said, eye crinkling up.
Naruto looked to Coco and Shouzo hoping they wouldn't attempt to leave to go straight home. Shouzo nodded and replied, "Where?"
Coco looked blankly for a moment before nodding at Naruto. "I can stay for a bit."
Naruto leapt into the air with a fist, "Yosh! I've never eaten at a restaurant."
Kakashi smiled and started to walk through the village gates, " I know just the place."
Naruto walked through the village with his team, grateful of the mask Kakashi had given him.
With his black hood and the mask he was seen as Kakashi's student. Some of the ninja and samurai had even asked if he was Hatake. Now, walking through the streets, the villagers looked at him with smiles, and waves and nods of recognition to Kakashi.
The sun was setting and lanterns along the street were being lit. They went passed several places sending plooms of delicious scents into the air. Naruto glanced up to Fox, above them, trotting along the roofs' shadows. Coco followed his line of sight, but saw nothing. She caught a hint of a guilty look on his face and steered towards him.
"What were you looking at Uzumaki?" She spoke so only he could hear.
He looked at her for a moment.
"Fox."
Kakashi turned into a gap in the opening of a small shop.
Naruto hastily followed the man into the shop. Coco was speaking again but it was a muffled distant sound. The aroma that assaulted his senses was thick in the air. He almost felt suffocated with the intoxicating taste that was already on his tongue. His eyes found Kakashi's knowing ones, and in that lighting he could almost see the sad smile on the man's face. Now that he wore the mask he saw its movement for the movements of his own face.
"Sensei." Naruto said eyes alit with joy. "What is that smell?"
"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen Ninja - san."
A large man behind a few feet behind the counter said twirling a wok filling with noodles said, focus remaining on his dish.
"Four house specials, old man." Kakashi said
The white garbed chef spun around and pointed at him with the ladle.
"Kakashi, you've returned, and" The old man trailed off staring into Naruto's blue eyes. "With." he attempted to continue again with a strange look in his eyes.
Kakashi moved forward to garner the man's focus, "These are my students, "Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Coco, and Aburame Shouzo."
The old man's wide bright face lit up and said, "Four house specials coming right up."
He took the noodles he'd been tossing into four bowls and plopped them promptly in front on the ninja as they sat at the bar.
"So, long time no see Kakashi." The old man said seemly brow beating the young silver haired man.
"I just came back up for air, from a series of long term missions and was told to cool my heels with a genin team by the Third. I'll be in and out, but I had a feeling…" He was cut off by a loud groan of pleasure next to them. They both looked.
Naruto was holding the bowl close to himself chopsticks the supports for the ramen bridge from bowl to mouth. A mouth, packed with noodles, swallowed and chewed. Droopy, tear stained eyes met their eyes and he seemed to say something from around the noodles that they could quite decipher.
Coco smacked the back of his head and fierce blue met cold black. A few noodles fell to the floor and several still hung from his mouth.
"Don't you dare eat like that when I'm with you Uzumaki" she snapped.
He shot a questioning look to Shouzo who only pointedly ate the noodles in small portions, wrapped neatly about his chopsticks.
Naruto looked back down at his plate. "Ok Sis."
She bristled at the way he spoke to her but remember her question from earlier.
"Who is Fox?"
Shouzo sat up at the question.
Naruto glanced at Kakashi and the old man, whom were close in a hushed conversation. His eyes moved to the muttering charm the chef had on his wrist, and glanced to the abnormally long flaps above the entrance to see silence seals weaved into them. He looked around some more to see a girl delivering food to a table where ninja sat boisterously chatting and yet the sound was washed out somehow. The place was practically silent except for the kitchen.
He could see Coco's mad face and remembered her question. Absent mindedly he grabbed up some noodles and held them out between them. She quieted, staring at them before he dropped them. Her eyes followed the noodles into the awaiting maw of Fox. She squeeled at the quiet chirping bark he give Naruto, before he bounded away. A moment later she looked at her teammates as if to say, "never speak of that, ever."
Naruto caught the fierce movement of the Ramen chef out of the corner of his eye and he leaned back to allow more into his peripheral vision. Once he'd focused on the scene , he could feel the charms power increasing to compensate for the load. Tension seemed high and Kakashi slid a small package to the old man as he rose from his seat.
"Alright my cute little killers, The meal is paid for, so eat as much as you like. Be at the Hokage's tower lobby at 7:45 am tomorrow."
"Thank you sensei." They all cheered with various intensity.
He paused to smile at the scene, half wanting to burn it forever into his mind with his sharringan, and half wanting to get away from them.
A swirl of leaves later he was gone, but not before Naruto saw the sadness creep into his hidden face.
Coco was soon gone and Naruto was left pulling at Shouzo to stay but only getting a pat on the head and a few bits that jumped ship to stay.
He turned back to his bowl in slight dejection, to find a new hot bowl of Ramen. He saw the young girl leaning over the counter, staring at him.
He paused to take her in, now closer he could see how the white bandana flowed into brown hair, falling to cup fair skin and black eyes. His cheeks began to heat at the older girls proximity, and he was suddenly thankful for his mask for another purpose.
"Na - ru - to." She said slowly, a looked away in thought. "Ah!" She said, "The Gutsy Ninja!"
Naruto's eyes widened, and then a smile split his face.
"Kind of weird you were named after a character in a book." she said leaning back on a stool behind the counter, a finger coming up to her chin.
He joy was burned away by fiery rage, and then she added.
"At least it's an awesome character."
Then as an after thought, she pointed the bowl, "eat."
He wanted to be mad, but, just then, the smell touched him and he was compelled to forget the girl and find his chopsticks.
Moments later he held up the bowl to her amused face, and she seemingly pulled another piping hot bowl ready to exchange the old one with, form nowhere.
He decided then he would not question the ramen gods.
Six bowls later, he was laid back in a coma like state across several stools and the bar was empty.
"Another bowl Naruto?" The young woman asked him all too innocently?
He breathed heavily in preparation to speak and ended up waving is hand to signify his defeat.
She laughed heartily, patting her knee and rocking back and forth.
"Aww sis, your ramen is too good. Don't mock my love for your trade." He moaned out.
Her laugh soon died out and she met the boy's eyes as she wiped tears from her own.
"Your dad seemed to know Kakashi well. Does he come here often?"
The girl sobered at the statement, "He used to, come all the time with his team and sensei."
Naruto's eyes widened, "Really? Who was his sensei?"
Ayame looked at him questioningly and said, "The Fourth Hokage."
And then smiled adding, "Our second best customer."
He sat up abruptly and stared at her, and then the bowl. "The fourth ate from these very bowls?"
She nodded, smile widening, and then his face screwed up. "Second best?" Naruto said looking as though he had a bad taste in his mouth.
"Who was your number one?"
She leaned in and held up her pinky finger. " his secret." and she winked at him.
Naruto blushed thinking about the fourth having a secret lover.
"Uzumaki Kushina."
His face went blank at the name and he looked up to see her looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Do you, have a.." "Picture?" She finished for him.
And he nodded vigorously and she pulled a white paper from her robe. Waving it in the air as if to fan herself, "Maybe, but I'll need you to take off your hood and your mask completely." She said with a rye smile.
He looked at her for a moment, in contemplation, and pulled the hood back and mask down completely.
Her eyes lit up and the picture came forward absent mindedly as she stared at his face and hair. He snatched the picture and stared at it. There, the Fourth Hokage sat next to a beautiful red haired lady holding a small brown haired girl, he assumed was Ayame, in the back corner of a smaller ramen stand.
He looked back at the spiral styled Uzumaki seals on the flaps of the stands opening.
As an orphan with blond hair he'd had fantasies that he was the long lost son of the fourth Hokage and that they would move him into the village to stay in some huge mansion with family and teach him the be a badass ninja like his father. But his last name and sheer improbability of it always reared its ugly head.
Seeing that face and those eyes he recognized from the mirror in that picture, sent chills down his spine.
"So are you from Kakashi's clan." Came Ayame's quiet voice and he noticed her hand extremely close to his face. He leaned away from her hand, snatching up his mask and hood. She frowned and took hold of the picture, but Naruto's fingers held it tight.
"Orphan." he said not meeting her eyes. Her face softened and she let go of the picture.
"Keep it, I have plenty of others." She lied turning away from the boy and snatching a towel from behind the counter.
"Time for you to go though. I need to clean up." She said looking at the clock.
He smiled at her and by the time she looked back in his direction he was gone.
"Uzumaki Naruto." she said glancing at another picture of the couple when Kushina was pregnant, tears coming unbidden to her eyes.
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"Is he as good as you say he is?"
It hadn't been the first time he'd regretted handing over his old equipment bag to Naruto. He'd done it to get away from seeing his sensei's eyes. The boy tracked him down mercilessly, like some animal hunting it's prey. He'd grabbed the bag thinking it would get the boy out of his face while he drank down some sorrow with his precious. Now all he ever saw were those eyes and himself.
Though this particular vision of those eye came in a picture the Hokage was grasping. The old man looked at Kakashi with calmed rage.
"Kakashi." Roared the Third and he shook the picture.
A laugh barked out from a large man with white hair draped over a red vest sitting on the couch. "I hope the boy is as good as you say he is. You better make that kid a mean son of a bitch, because the first time he makes a move in combat in front of enemy shinobi he's going to be on everyone's to kill list."
"Kakashi." The Third roared again and this time Jiraiya leaned back silently, the grin slipping from his face.
The third began again slowly, " Is he as good as you say he is?"
"Yes, Hokage sama."
The room was again silent.
"I quote - " The Hokage began holding a scroll up, peering at it through his glasses, looking nothing like the young man that had garnered the title "God of shinobi."
" - , At this point, were it not for the my ion body justu and sharringan, my team of genin would defeat me without any serious loss. "
He paused leveling his gaze over his glasses to bare down on Kakashi.
"How is the Ion body jutsu?"
Jiraiya leaned in at this. And Kakashi sent a glance to him and back to the Hokage.
The Third only nodded and made motion for him to continue.
"After I finished that last tattoos, it is perfect."
"You think you can take Jaraiya here?"
The haired man started laughing, until Kakashi's "Yes" cut through the room.
Then the Hokage leaned a bit more over the desk almost conspiratorially and said,
"And how about me Kakashi - kun? You think you can put me down now?"
Silence gripped the room tightly along with Kakashi's hesitation.
"Yes, Hokage sama."
Jaraiya's breath hitched and the old leader smiled. "Good. We'll be meeting a few kage level Shinobi on the Iron rail path in six more months. Take your team to grass with Jiraiya and you'll have four months to put down claw for good. I expect you to return with shinobi.
"Yes, Hokage sama." And he bowed low.
AN : Hope you'd it.