Summary: While experimenting with his shadow clones, Naruto discovered one of Orochimaru's abandoned lab.
Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto's.
AN: This story has been in my mind for almost two years but I'd never gotten past the planning stage. Now, the plot outline is finally completed and it's time to begin the tedious task of writing this loooong story.
Before we start, I want to thank GlidingOne for her wonderful suggestions and DualInsanities222, which is the dual account for CuteCat213 and Zoete9, for their AMAZING, OUTSTANDING, SUPERB, SPLENDID proofreading. It's thanks to them that this story actually looked like a story instead of a fantasy written by a six year old. They not just gave every sentence a thorough examination, but also pointed out the plot holes and wrong facts that I, someone who had only watched 200 episodes of Naruto, had made. Not only that, they also gave me ideas on how to make certain parts more interesting. PLEASE GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE! And check out their stories!
Note: Blame any mistakes you find on ME, not my wonderful beta-readers.
Chapter 1 The Artist
He brought his hands down.
A splash. A wave.
The image of a lantern was completed as the the brush filled in an empty spot with yellow paint. The young boy plunged his brush into the murky water, wiped it on his stained smock, then dipped it into a daub of black paint on the wooden palette that was hooked onto his left thumb. He glanced at the dark starry sky in a moment of contentment before going back to his painting.
A sudden swish jolted him, causing his brush hand to sway. He frowned, annoyed at being interrupted. Just as he was about to return to his work, a thin sizzling streak shot straight up into the sky and exploded into thousands of sparks. His eyes widened at the sight of the glittering shower. It was his first time seeing fireworks.
Of course, this didn't mean that this was Konoha's first festival with fireworks involved; it was just that for the past few years, on the day of the Kyuubi festival, he was either hiding in his shabby apartment or being chased by mobs who only reluctantly stopped when the ANBU showed up. This young boy was nowhere near being a threat to Konoha. But because of the tenant living inside of him, biased people would see him and his tenant as one and the same.
Konoha's Jinchuuriki, the Kyuubi container, Uzumaki Naruto, sighed in contentment.
He was glad that he had heeded the Sandaime's advice, otherwise he would never have discovered the magnificence of fireworks. He'd only ever heard the fireworks going off in the background, but had never seen any with his own eyes.
Two years ago, when Naruto had still been the boisterous and obnoxious loudmouth who ran around Konoha causing troubles, the Sandaime would get dozens of complaints everyday regarding the blond's behavior. Hoping to change the boy's ways, he had suggested Naruto pick up a new, more tranquil habit to spend time on. It had taken Naruto a while to find something of interest.
Drawing, he learned, was relaxing. Whenever Naruto sat down and placed the tip of his pencil against the blank sheet of paper, he'd feel all the noises fading away and the tension leaving his body. It was difficult to complete a satisfying piece of art due to the necessity of high concentration and patience, but Naruto continued his hobby because he liked the satisfaction he'd feel whenever he'd completed a piece that he originally thought was too difficult.
In the two years since, Naruto had drawn hundreds of pictures. Their subjects ranging from people to animals to objects and landscapes. He started out with simply sketching the subject onto his sketchbook. Eventually, when he thought his skills had progressed to a decent level, he began teaching himself how to water-paint. Costs for the tools weren't a problem, since the Hokage would eagerly give him money when he mentioned he was in need of more equipment. Apparently, Sandaime was overjoyed when he noticed that Naruto's new hobby had indeed made him a calmer and more thoughtful person, which led to less complaints and less paperwork. And less paperwork was always a good thing.
It was his art hobby that led him onto his current location on Yondaime's nose and gave him something to do during the Kyuubi festival. He could have joined in the celebration if he wanted to, since his mastery of the henge allowed him to physically alter his appearance, but why celebrate alone when he could save the beautiful sight of bright lights from the lanterns creating exquisite patterns in an expanse of darkness onto the canvas so he could relish it whenever he needed solace?
Time passed by quickly. In the blink of an eye, the festival was over and Naruto's painting was complete. However, he remained on his spot, only wiggling a bit to remove the strain on his hunched back. He squinted his eyes at his painting.
"'Kyuubi festival'? No, too simple," Naruto murmured as he tapped his lower lip. "I need something more...meaningful."
The bright sparks of the fireworks stood out on the canvas. Naruto thought.
"'Sparks of Life.'" Naruto smiled at the sound of the name. He liked it.
Done with his work, Naruto packed his supplies swiftly, scratched his butt, and returned to his apartment.
Morning came too soon for his liking. Nonetheless, Naruto got up, reluctantly leaving the warmth of his bed, and started his morning routine. He had something to do today.
After getting dressed and eating three cups of ramen and downing a glass of chocolate milk, Naruto went to his storage room – a room not much bigger than a bathroom stall – and took out a painting that appeared in perfect condition. It was a painting of the Kyuubi festival he had done last year. The difference between this one and the one he'd finished yesterday was that this one didn't include fireworks.
He placed the painting on the ground carefully and took out a storage scroll he'd gained through a bargain with a retired shinobi months ago. Remembering what the shinobi had told him, Naruto laid the painting on the scroll and set his palms on each side, then pushed chakra into the scroll. The ink lit up and, with a pop, the painting disappeared, leaving the kanji "絵" (art) in the middle of the circle of unreadable characters. He slipped the scroll into his pocket and left for the Hokage tower.
It was still fairly early but the civilians were already up and moving about. Though careful with his strides, Naruto barely managed to avoid bumping into three rash boys who looked to be a few years older than he was. Two of them twisted out of his way before the collision, while the third one tripped before he could crash into the smaller boy.
Probably overwhelmed with my cuteness. Naruto mused, but quickly bonked himself on the head. He really should lose his habit of staring at himself in the mirror so often. It was seriously unhealthy and gradually corrupting his mind. He didn't want to become a pervert like that strange, mask-wearing shinobi he saw who often walked around with his nose buried in an orange-covered book.
When Naruto had first begun learning about portraits, he'd started with self-portraits. And after staring at himself for so long, he realized...he was actually pretty cute! Round face, big (not-so) innocent cerulean eyes, kitten-like whisker marks, and a head of fluffy blond hair. How could anyone resist the temptation to hug such an adorable ball of cuteness!? Naruto swore, one day, he would learn that clone jutsu he'd seen ninjas use so often to clone himself then...snuggle them every night!
That way, he wouldn't be lonely anymore.
There was already a bunch of people waiting to meet with the Hokage when he arrived and Naruto quickly took his place at the end of the long line.
Bored, he decided to strike a conversation with the gray-haired teen standing in front of him.
"Hello!"
The boy turned around and looked startled when he saw who had spoken. The guarded look on his face left Naruto in despair, wondering if he was going to be hated by yet another person. To his surprise, the look only lasted a second before the older boy smiled. "Hello."
Warmth settled inside Naruto's stomach. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What's your name?"
"I'm Yakushi Kabuto," Kabuto extended a hand, and Naruto eagerly shook it with all his might, probably too hard, but it was his first time shaking hands with another person.
"Yakushi? That's a strange name. Are you a medic?" (The meaning of "yakushi" is close to "medic")
There was a moment of silence before Kabuto spoke, a slightly annoyed tone to his voice, "What about you: do you like ramen?"
Naruto nodded vigorously, "I love it! I have at least six servings a day!"
Kabuto blinked in surprise, then chuckled indulgently, "Yes, I'm the medic on my genin team."
"Genin team? Don't medics only work at the hospital?"
"There're many jobs for medics. The hospital isn't the only place they're needed," Kabuto crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Naruto recognized the posture as the beginning of a long lecture. "Most medics work as a team with other ninjas so they can heal their teammates when they get injured. Medical ninjutsu -or Iryojutsu- can be offensive as well. It all depends on how you use it."
Well, that was short. Naruto was glad; his attention span was short on anything that wasn't art-related.
"How can medical ninjutsu be offensive? Can't they only heal people?" If Kabuto's lectures were going to be short, then it wouldn't hurt to get more knowledge on the topic, especially if he was going to study this by himself later on. He would have to deal with large chunks of words in boring textbooks and long lectures from retired shinobi who had nothing better to do than to converse with a six year old.
"There's more to medical ninjutsu than healing. Just to name a few examples , you can use it to disable your opponent's chakra flow, emit poisonous smoke through your mouth, heal yourself and boost your strength and speed during a battle quickly…. And if you're good at it, you can even regenerate a limb with some advanced jutsu."
"What's a regenerate?"
"Regeneration," Kabuto corrected. "It means to regrow something, a limb in this case."
Naruto's jaw dropped. This was definitely something he had never heard of before. If regeneration was possible, then people who had lost a limb wouldn't have to use a prosthetic anymore. Limb regeneration wasn't something the Konoha hospital could perform, which meant this skill was extremely advanced.
Before he could ask more, Kabuto's team was called into the Hokage's office. As he left, Kabuto gave Naruto a wave and a warm smile.
Naruto thought over what Kabuto said while he waited. Medical ninjutsu sure sounded rather useful. The limb regeneration especially hooked him. If Naruto could learn that skill, then…
Naruto swayed in his spot. The blood loss was blurring his vision.
"You're pathetic!" His enemy cried.
A disturbing grin crawled onto Naruto's face. "Regeneration Jutsu!" He shouted. The visible bone in the bloody stump of his amputated right arm grew as the flesh developed along with it. Within a second, the regeneration was completed and his arm looked as good as new.
His opponent looked ready to pee himself.
"Now, can you please repeat what you just said?"
There was a silence, before his opponent fainted on the spot...
Naruto almost drooled. Now, how cool would THAT be!
"Of course we'll make it. Stop doubting yourself!" A loud voice interrupted his thoughts.
Naruto turned and found the group behind him chastising the only female member of their party, who seemed to be cowed by their words.
"Hey, what's going on?"
They looked at Naruto, then one of the boys sneered, "Mind your own business, brat."
Well, Naruto was only six, and he was rather short for his age, so the nickname did fit. But it didn't mean he liked it.
"Hey, don't call me that!" Naruto fumed, but the anger was quickly suppressed and his calmer side took over. "I'm just curious, what're you guys talking about?"
The older boy seemed to want to push more of his buttons, but the other one stepped in front of him and answered, "We're talking about the upcoming Chunin Exam that'll be held at Amegakure. Now please leave us alone." The group returned to their conversation after Naruto turned his back on them.
Chunin Exam huh? He'd heard about it a couple of times when he was with the Hokage. Apparently, children became Genin after they graduated the Academy. Then they took the Chunin Exam and became Chunin if they passed. The location of the Chunin Exam varied, but no matter what village it took place in, only ninjas from allied villages could participate. Same with the Jounin Exam.
Naruto was far too young to take the Chunin Exam. Hell, he hadn't even entered the Academy yet! Thus, he tuned out the conversation and let his mind wander to other things. Like Amegakure.
Since it's the Hidden Rain Village, it must rain a lot. Naruto mused. Glad I don't live there. I hate rain. It ruins my mood and I can't draw outside. Though staying inside and drawing the rain is fun. ...When his work wasn't ruined by a drop of rain water that leaked through his ceiling, that was.
"Next!" A friendly-looking man called the last appointment of the morning as Kabuto's team walked out. Naruto waved at him amicably when they made eye contact and Kabuto waved back, smiling.
The friendly-looking man was the Hokage's secretary, whose name was something along the lines of Mitsukushi. Naruto couldn't quite remember since he tended to recall people's appearances rather than their names, a habit he'd picked up after observing people for so long to use them as art models. Hokage's secretary had changed three times in Naruto's life.
The first was a woman who had made him wait outside for over four hours with the lie that "Hokage-sama is busy," and being the naive brat Naruto had been, he'd accepted it without a doubt. The second was also a woman who had told him that the Sandaime was elsewhere and she would lead him to him, only to take him to the forest behind the tower where she would have beat him to death if not for an ANBU's intervention.
Apparently, Sandaime had decided that women couldn't be trusted; ergo, he hired a male secretary this last time. Naruto felt sorry for the old man since he could no longer drool over female secretaries' assets. He knew that the Hokage liked woman's big, bouncy breasts, because when he used the Hokage as a practice target for his Sexy Jutsu, the old man always ogled 'her' boobs for a full ten seconds before collapsing in a pool of blood.
Anyway, Mitsukushi (or whatever his name was) led Naruto into the office with a guiding hand on his back before he closed the door, leaving Naruto alone with the Hokage.
"Hello Naruto, how's your day?" The Sandaime greeted, taking his eyes off his paperwork. Talking with Naruto was always relaxing. The blond's energetic aura could make anyone's day go from bad to good...and sometimes to worse.
"I'm doing great, Jiji! I need your help again." Naruto took out the storage scroll and unsealed his painting. He handed it to the wide-eyed old man, since there was no room to place it on the table, and stepped back, grinning proudly.
"Wow, Naruto, this is beautiful," Sarutobi smiled, eyes crinkling warmly.
"I painted this last year actually, during the Kyuubi festival," Naruto said. "But because I missed the fireworks last year, I drew another one this year with the fireworks. However, I'm keeping that for myself. Heehee."
"You're truly a little prodigy when it comes to art. If you drew this last year, I fear to know how good the painting you did yesterday must be." The two shared a laugh. "But no matter how good, no painting is better than the self-portrait I received on my birthday a few months ago. Thank you again, Naruto."
"No biggie, old man. It's thanks to you that I picked up this hobby. Without your advice, I'd never have discovered the wonder of art." Naruto added, "Oh, and thanks for the birthday present you gave me yesterday." He took out a green frog wallet and held it to his face, rubbing his cheek against its soft cotton material. "I decided to name it 'Gama-chan'!"
"No need to thank me. It's my duty to take care of you, and ensure that you have a happy birthday every year." Sarutobi coughed. "Anyway, back to business. This is the new painting you want me handle the processing for, correct?"
"Yeah."
"What's its name?"
"'Dance of Happiness.'" Naruto blurted out. "You see, the lights of the lanterns stand out in the darkness. Even from far away, you can tell people are having fun and are happy with the celebration just by seeing the bright lights. That's why I named it that."
"A beautiful name, Naruto," Sarutobi commented. "Very insightful. You've really put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"
"Yeah, well, can't have the villagers think of the new me as an idiot . It'll lower my repetition and I'll lose my fans. This is a prefre...sion...nal job and I can't take it lightly."
The Hokage chuckled at Naruto's mispronunciation but didn't bother to correct him. "Indeed."
"By the way, Jiji, can you teach me some medical ninjutsu?"
The Hokage stared at him in surprise, "Why all of a sudden?"
"I talked to this Kabuto guy while we were waiting and he told me how useful it can be. And I wanted to learn it."
Sarutobi sighed. "Medical ninjutsu is difficult even for Genin, and you aren't even an Academy student yet."
"But I've already mastered the Henge!"
"That's a basic Academy Jutsu. It's on a whole different level in comparison to medical ninjutsu." He observed the boy's unwavering gaze before sighing once again. "You're not going to leave unless I say 'yes', are you?"
He was rewarded with a big grin.
"Very well." Sarutobi signaled one of his ANBU hidden in the room and told the chicken-masked man something quietly. The ANBU jumped out of his window, and he sighed. "Why can't they use the door..."
"Because they're shinobi?" Naruto offered. He sweat-dropped at the deadpan expression the Hokage threw him. Wrong answer…
"Naruto," Sarutobi said and the blond straightened up. "I will allow you to learn medical jutsu under one condition."
"What, what?"
"Learn the tree-climbing exercise within a week."
"But I already know how to climb a tree!"
"Without your hands?"
Naruto blinked.
Chuckling, Sarutobi got up and went to the nearest wall. Naruto watched with wide eyes as the old man placed a foot onto the wall, then the other foot, then began walking up the wall, across the ceiling, and down the other wall. The whole time Naruto stood awestruck.
"This is called the Tree-Climbing Exercise. Though you're obviously supposed to practice it on a tree."
"Wow… That is so cool!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards a wall. He eagerly placed a foot onto the wall, and another- only to fall on his bottom.
"You're supposed to syphon chakra down to your feet. The amount of chakra you use determines whether you fall or not. That's why this is a great way to increase your chakra control."
"Dammit! I won't give up!" Naruto exclaimed and tried again.
When he fell the twentieth time, Naruto groaned, too tired to get up or do anything other than roll onto his stomach to get a look at the Hokage. The old man wasn't watching him anymore, but was frowning at his mountain of paperwork. An idea suddenly came to Naruto.
"Jiji, why don't you use the Clone Jutsu to help you with paperwork?" Naruto wondered out loud.
Sarutobi immediately face-palmed. "I'm such an idiot." He then did an unfamiliar hand sign that was shaped like a cross and murmured "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three identical copies of the Hokage appeared right next to him. "Well, get to work." His clones groaned but began nonetheless. The original cackled like he had just seen his first ray of sunshine after forty years in prison.
"...Wow."
Sarutobi raised his brows. "What's the matter, Naruto?"
Naruto sat up, "That jutsu...the Shadow Clone Jutsu...can you teach it to me?"
"This is a B-ranked ninjutsu. It would be far too hard for you."
"It won't be! You know I won't give up on something I set my sights on until I get it right." Naruto's eyes gleamed with determination. "Please teach me that jutsu."
"And may I ask why?"
"So I can hug it at night."
Sarutobi blinked. Naruto copied the movement. Wrong answer again?
"Ugh, well, I also want to use it for my art model. You know, it's really hard to find a good model who has the time, patience, and mind to deal with me. But with a clone, I can make it transform into whoever I want and tell it to pose however I want. It'll make my work a lot easier."
Apparently this was the correct answer, the Hokage seemed to ponder the idea. Naruto discreetly crossed his fingers.
"Alright, I'll teach you the jutsu. With your chakra, this shouldn't be too hard for you."
Naruto punched his fist into the air and shouted, "YES!"
Sarutobi smiled fondly, picked up an empty scroll from his desk, and wrote the directions for the jutsu. Handing it to the boy, he warned, "Use it wisely. Don't do something I wouldn't do twice."
Naruto grinned and accepted the scroll with trembling fingers. "You can count on me, Jiji!"
At that moment, the chicken-masked ANBU appeared at the window, causing the Hokage to complain once more about 'ninjas and doors.' The ANBU walked right past the three hardworking clones without a glance and handed the scroll to his superior wordlessly, then vanished as swiftly as he had appeared.
"Let's see..." Sarutobi looked down at the scroll with Naruto peering curiously over his arms. "'Basic Medical Ninjutsu.' It contains all the basics you'll need to get started in this field. This is not an easy scroll, especially for someone with a large amount of chakra like you."
"How does the amount of chakra matter? Isn't it better if you have more chakra? You said last time if you pour more chakra into that fireball jutsu those damn Uchiha love to use, you'll get a bigger and more powerful fireball. Isn't that right?"
"That is true, but medical ninjutsu is different. It requires extremely good chakra control. And the more chakra you have, the less control you have over it. You understand that right?" Naruto nodded. It was the same as the more ramen you had, the less control you had over yourself...wait. That wasn't right. "That's why you need to practice your chakra control before you can learn medical ninjutsu. Exercises like tree-walking and meditation help."
Naruto knew what meditation was. That was what Sarutobi had originally told him to do to try and tone down his exuberant behavior, but it hadn't worked. He almost always fell asleep five minutes into the practice. It was after that that Sarutobi suggested he pick up a more tranquil hobby, and Naruto was introduced to the world of art.
Suddenly, with a poof, the medical scroll vanished, leaving Naruto gaping wordlessly at the Hokage's empty hand. "If you can complete the Tree-Climbing exercise within a week, this scroll is yours."
Naruto sighed and looked up with determined eyes, "Just you wait, Jiji. I'll show you nothing is too hard for Uzumaki Naruto!" His stomach chose that moment to voice its complaint. "Well, guess I'll see you later. I can't leave my stomach alone for too long or else it'll eat me alive."
Sarutobi chuckled at the joke, along with his three clones.
"See ya, Jiji! Don't forget to handle the processing for my painting!" Naruto called out and slammed the door close.
"Mmmmhmmmm! Yummy!" Naruto cried at the amazing taste of ramen. His cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk's, but he continued to stuff more into his mouth.
Ayame and Teuchi both smiled fondly at their youngest customer, their eyes glistening at the gradually increasing stack of ramen bowls. They just needed to have their pupils replaced with money symbols to complete the image of two sly traders.
"More!" Naruto handed, more like shoved, the empty bowl into Ayame's face, but the older girl didn't care. Her mind was too filled with the idea of becoming rich, marrying a cute guy, and living a life of luxury.
As Naruto waited for his fourteenth bowl, two older men stumbled into the booth. They sat two seats away from him, but the blond could still hear their conversation.
"Man, I wish I could visit Amegakure. My friend's son is entering this upcoming Chunin Exam," one of the men grumbled after ordering a miso ramen. "If I can go with them, then I can get free protection from bandits and see what the world outside of Konoha is like."
"I heard that you have to be a relative in order to accompany the Genin team." The other man ordered a pork ramen, at the same time a pork ramen was placed in front of Naruto, and said, "If only we were ninja, then we could transform ourselves into cats or something, and sneak into the village."
Naruto listened closely as he began wolfing down his ramen. Sometimes, the best inspiration came from conversations and observations.
"You idiot. Henge isn't physical, it's an illusion. Those guards would be able to see through your false appearance."
Physical? What does he mean 'not physical'? My henge is always a physical transformation.
"Or we could hide in a merchant's wagon and sneak through."
"They check the wagons before the merchants leave, you dumbass."
The pork man sighed, "So there really are no other ways to see the Exams? I've never left Konoha in my entire life. I'd like to see what the other villages are like for a change."
The miso man agreed, "Same here. I heard that Sunagakure has really hot women. I've stayed single up to this point in my life just so I can leave the village and marry some hot, foreign chick. But even I wouldn't pay ninjas to escort me to Suna just so I can knock up some chicks. What was I thinking when I refused to go to Ninja Academy when I had the chance? Dammit!" He punched the table, rattling the ramen bowls a little. Naruto was glad that Teuchi had already taken away his high stack of bowls, otherwise he would've had a lot to pay for.
"But it was too late. Because of one wrong choice we made in our childhood, we are forever bound to Konoha. Never to be able to see the outside world."
Naruto couldn't help but nod his head. He also wanted to see what the world outside of Konoha was like. Did Amegakure ever have a sunny day? Was Sunagakure really covered in sand, like its name suggested? Were Iwa nins all ruthless and evil, like some Konoha war veterans claimed? What would an ocean look like?
Those thoughts were making his hand twitch involuntarily, eager to get a hold of a pen or brush. Naruto quickly grabbed his chopsticks and went back to eating.
He had to repress those thoughts. Because before he became a Genin, he wasn't allowed to leave Konoha, which meant he couldn't see what ocean looked like to draw it. And what had these men said again? Even the henge couldn't get him past the guards because it was an illu-
Wait.
Naruto put the chopsticks down.
His henge wasn't an illusion! It was a physical transformation, somehow. He didn't understand why his henge was different than the ones these men were talking about. Was it because he'd learned it by watching ninja perform and trying to copy the hand seals? Did he copy the hand seals wrong?
Well, it didn't matter if he did it wrong or not, because his physical version was way better than a mere illusion. And he could use it to his advantage.
As Naruto started on his last bowl of pork ramen, a wicked plan began forming in his head.
"By the way, did you hear? Eishi-sama's new artwork is coming out!" The miso man exclaimed.
Naruto perked up at the mention of his artist persona. It was the name he'd taken when he first started selling his drawings for a living. With shopkeepers constantly charging him twice as much as the standard prices, Naruto had been forced to think of a way to earn money. When he discovered his talent for art, he decided to become an artist as a part-time job of sorts. He'd been was too young to understand how the whole thing worked -in all honesty, he was still too young- so he'd told the Hokage his idea and left everything for the old man to arrange. With the Hokage's help, the matter became a lot easier. Naruto only needed to turn in his work to the Sandaime, and he would take care of the rest (and money would flow into Naruto's pockets, though now it would be into Gama-chan).
His popularity had risen to incredible heights, so much higher than Naruto had ever expected. His artwork was well-known among civilians and shinobi alike. In a world of flower vases and stiff family portraits, Naruto's paintings were singularly unique.
Without much to draw about (not that he could draw in public because he would be interrupted by strolling pedestrians, or ninjas jumping from roof to roof), Naruto often drew at night or inside the safety of his apartment. Because of it, he'd learned that even the smallest and least important things could be the subject of an art piece. Such as a single drop of water, a cracked window pane that was home to a spiderweb that glittered in the sun, a pair of old slippers housing a small mouse, a broken alarm clock, an empty sink... Not many pieces in the art community were of such trivial subjects, and that was part of the reason "Eishi's" work had become so famous.
Perhaps he should paint a bowl of ramen next time, Naruto mused.
He placed his chopsticks down and wiped his mouth clean with a napkin.
Time to go home and work on some jutsu.
AN: Naruto: 6 y/o
Kabuto: around 13 y/o
Eishi basically means an 'Artist' (or 'Master of Art' if you like it this way). 'Ei' means art, and 'shi' means master.
Chapter 2 will be posted as soon as I finish Chapter 3.