(note: I've decided to try writing with different voices I like this one so I might stick with it. It's a very odd combination and you'll know just how much I like it if the next chapter is written in the same voice.)
As is a customary end to searches without any clear goal or objective we find our lovable protagonist at the end of his search and still empty handed. By now he has searched high and low in town and reached the outskirts near the walls. Without so much as a clue as to what he's looking for it would be hard to find any help for the time being.
On his way home he is confronted by an old man but ducks away and takes a different path through an alley circumventing any confrontations or plots that could have developed from such a situation. However, he could not pass up a chance for ramen and so we find him on a lunch break from his musings about his direction in life which are filled with many odd tangents and are at the moment not important to the story.
Somewhere between beginning and end of his third bowl our hero decides that he will consult the journal for any clues as to what he should do next.His next move decided he paid for his meal and left the stand grinning and waving like an idiot to the stand owner, who after checking and double checking the nutritional value of his product was still baffled the kid lived off of it.
Back with the misguided boy with good intentions he's walking home and manages to make it there without any altercations with the locals. As of late he's managed to quell any outward physical hostilities the villagers tend to express towards him by taking every chance to remind them with his physical prowess that they are no longer of any use as he can outmaneuver the average and most of the above average citizen. Upon reaching and entering his abode he looks around to find everything in its place proper and the book waiting for him on a counter. It was then that it occurred to him that he should stop leaving the book out in plain sight where any trespasser could just walk off with it.
Naruto(A/N I feel like using his name every now and then.) opens the book and skims through it searching for anything that'd be of use to him. Upon finding nothing other then the training tips and exercises he had already recorded he is nudged into despair as the sad truth that there would be no help for the time being makes itself apparent to him. He shakes his head clearing it of such sad thoughts and decides then then was as good a time as any to begin his training for the day. Hiding the journal in a secret location that's so secret he wouldn't even want the reader to know about he pockets his scroll of training techniques and is out the door
Today he had decided he would be working on his chakra, because as nice as it was to pummel people into the ground with superior strength he understood that chakra would make his life as a ninja just that much easier. For the past 5 weeks he'd been exercising every day sometimes late into the night and as a result his stores of chakra had made a considerable jump. Searching the scroll he finds various techniques for strengthening and fine-tuning chakra but all of them looked very advanced and at the moment he had no semblance of chakra control what-so-ever and the idea of his own chakra ripping him to shreds was an unappealing one. He finally settles on the only training technique that seems doable for him.
A series of varying sets of seals that you write on the body. It sounded easy enough because the first set only required chakra and didn't need any control though it'd be teaching him control. It gave him some warnings about not being for novices and neophytes but he played it off reasoning that he'd been training for two years now and was sure he'd have some idea of what he'd be doing. The first and most obvious obstacle was that he didn't have ink of any sort to graph with. After some deliberation on this issue he decided he'd use blood as the seal was small so he'd only need a small amount. Taking great care he used his thumb to roughly sketch the design found on the scroll and prepared to channel chakra through the seal. Whether it was good luck or just less bad luck then usual the force of his chakra repelling him back saved him from the resulting explosion as he channeled a large amount of chakra through the faulty seal which simply converted it to give it a volatile nature and quickly expelled it causing a large explosion on the tree in front of him. He'd find out weeks from now that blood is highly potent for seal-making as chakra is constantly surrounding and penetrating it making it highly receptive its owners chakra.
A little worse for wear Naruto is able to limp over and collect his scroll before limping off further into the forest. Soon after he left the field the ANBU arrived to find nothing but the charred remains of a tree and a set of small tracks. After following they find Naruto training hard in a new clearing and decide to just pass it off as a flopped katon attempt. Deciding that he'd probably learn his lesson the first if not the second time they left him in his new field without so much as a warning about the dangers of his behaviors. The young were born to make mistakes.
After a warmup to help him clear his mind Naruto was back to attacking the scroll for information. He scoured the seals illustration but could glean no further details from it and decided to simply practice the seal in verbatim until he could do it in his sleep where he'd wake up to find it written all over his walls, and it'd again be in blood cause he had no ink that he could reach in his sleep, and seconds after waking up his anemic state would cause ataxia and he'd fall back down on his bed and swear off seals for the rest of his life if he lived to see it. Shaking his head to clear it of that tangent he heads home but decides to go see old man hokage first, he wanted to know more about these seals.
It was the precious few moments of peace that kept him going. The constant lull of a village free from war if only for a moment still gave an aura of peace that permeated the walls and windows of the city and sunk into its very roots. It was this peace and the momentary peace he received from the breaks in his frantic job that kept the sandaime hokage going. If not for breaks from paperwork the stress of his job would have claimed him years ago after claiming the lives of both of his predecessors. Meanwhile the sad truth is that moments like these were not meant to last and would always have to come to an end.
Just as Sarutobi was pondering such thoughts the door to his office burst open courtesy of one Uzumaki Naruto who was at the moment followed closely by his assistant.
"Excuse my mistake Hokage-sama, he just came running out of nowhere and before I could do anything he had slipped by me."
"That's quite alright I was just on my break. I'd be happy to give audience to the boy." replies Sarutobi waving off the comment with his left hand.
"If that is your will Hokage-sama." Is his secretaries reply as she bows before leaving him alone with Naruto.
"sigh They're demeanor always makes me feel just that much older," he complains before motioning towards a chair conveniently placed by his desk "So, sit down sit down, why have you come to see me Naruto?" he asks lifting the edge of his hat that had fallen lax in his moment of relaxation.
"I had a few questions I was hoping you could answer." says Naruto coyly poking his index fingers together.
"Then by all means ask them. A man of my position does not come by much free time and if you are to stall then you lose what little time you have to talk to me."
"Ok... I was wondering... if you knew anything... about seals." chokes out Naruto. He was sure that if the other adults were to catch word that he was asking about such things they might put two and two together and start making his life harder.
"Of course, every hokage should know about them to some extent. One of my very own students went on to train in seals and is considered an expert in the field." Sarutobi revels in Narutos shy behavior. Not to be mean of course, but to see such childish behavior in him was a comforting thought that perhaps the boy hadn't been robbed entirely of his childhood.
"Wow!" exclaims Naruto all nervous tension forgotten "Then I'm sure you could answer these questions!" he begins to hop up and down in his seat bubbling with excitement.
Sarutobi chuckles laying a hand on Naruto's head which calms the boy to some extent.
"Your enthusiasm is admirable but best left to matters of the heart for now try to calm yourself and tell me exactly what it is you want to know about seals."
"First, I was wondering about the ink, where do you get it?" Naruto really didn't like the idea of having to use his blood every time he wrote a seal and would try to stay clear of doing that again.
"Well the most obvious answer would be in a store though I'm sure that's not the answer you were looking for." his suspicions are confirmed by the young boys cringe. After a moment of silence and serious thought he comes to a decision.
"There are other ways," begins Sarutobi catching Naruto's attention "in this village there is a book. In this book are the ways and methods of seals. Generation after generation have read this book and generation after generation have pooled there experience into this one book. The last owner of this book died quite a few years ago and since then no one with the proper spirit for this kind of work has stepped forward. I think you could do it; I think you would do a fine job of expanding the book."
The initial enthusiasm that colored Naruto's face faded upon hearing this and he once again looked downtrodden.
"That sounds like a very big job. I don't know if I could do something like that. You say that book is the work of so many people, would it be right if I were to mess it up and ruin their hard work?" asks Naruto. Sarutobi is startled at first, he was expecting a more enthusiastic answer, or a more childish and naive answer, but what he got disturbed him to some degree. The boy thought too far ahead and behind for someone of his age. Later on this would make a fine trait but for a child to be so worried about the consequences their lives have on others was a startling and dreary concept.
Regaining his train of thought Sarutobi replies "Does this mean you would quit halfway?"
"No, quitting is not the problem. I don't know why you even ask." says Naruto.
"If you were to read this book you would find mistakes, you would find failed experiments, and you would find problems made too complex for all but the writer to solve. Among all this however, you would find answers, all of these pages have been appended by the ones who wrote them and do you know why that is?" asks Sarutobi a hint of a smile playing across his face.
"Because they figure it out later?" is Naruto's hesitant response.
"Yes, they solve the problems and go back to write them in. This is not because the answer eludes them until one day it dawns on them. No, this is because they work to find these answers. Once they began none of them stopped until they had an answer even if the answer required answering more questions. Now I ask you, why do I ask for such a task from you? Keep in mind that there have been many people before you that came to me and volunteered themselves for this task and I have turned them all down."
Naruto pauses in thought for a minute or two before asking "Is it because I'm stubborn?" he recoils when Sarutobi begins to laugh which soon dies down to a light chuckle.
"No, the others were stubborn too. Some would hound me for days hoping that I'd give them the book."
"I'm confused then, what is it?"
"It's your will." Sarutobi says with conviction.
"My will?" asks Naruto.
"Yes, your will is that of fire. Focused and ever-growing, I know that you would complete this task if I gave it to you."
"Oh, I still don't get it." says a confused Naruto.
"Do not worry Naruto I didn't expect you to understand just yet. Now this is very important Naruto do you trust me?" asks Sarutobi.
"Yes, you're a lot nicer then the other adults and thoughts of you are comforting."
"Good then I hope you will believe me when I say this is in your best interests." that being said he reached under his desk and pulled out a large leather bound book. He hands it to Naruto and then tells him it's time that he left.
"One word of warning though, this book is dangerous. Not just reading it but just possessing it can be potentially fatal for you. I'll do what I can to look over you and that book but if you are to lose it or if at any time it is damaged while under your care then I will have no choice but to defer to the will of the council. If you ruin or lose that book you will be executed as my hands will be tied in the matter. Guard it with your life Naruto."
These are the words that Sarutobi leaves Naruto with before turning around to stare out at the village. He didn't have much time left until an assistant would show with a new batch of paperwork and he wanted to spend what little free time he had watching over the peaceful village.
Well there it is finally got around to finishing this chapter . I was very bored and might have slipped a few times with the new voice but oh well I find it quite interesting : 3
