Greetings to all!
I wish to thank those who reviewed the first chapter and I'm glad to see that fan's of the original have decided to see where I'll take this new revised version of the story. It warms my frozen heart to see that, especially when I remember said fans who have read and reviewed. Makes me feel old, or maybe just brings back pleasent memories of the old days. Whatever the case, I'm glad to see some of you are still around and willing to give this a second chance. Now all that's left for me to do is ensure I don't ruin your expectations.
But enough of that, on to the second chapter of Naruto: The Fox with a Dog's Fang!
Inuyasha and Naruto are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Mamashi Kishimoto respectfully; therefore I own nothing.
Long wisps of smoke filled the rather clustered room which made up the Hokage's office as the strongest individual in the village stared down at his desk. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the man who was renown as the Shinobi no Kami, was currently perplexed in regards to what he was looking at. Or, perhaps, it was the lack of what he was looking at that perplexed him so much. Having returned the Fūin no Sho, the formerly retired shinobi had taken it upon himself to inspect it upon its recovery.
The reason for this inspection had much to do with the other object currently occupying his desk; the katana Naruto had claimed to have out of nowhere. Though the boy had mentioned that it had a container of sorts where he found it, no evidence remained of the 'tree turd', as Naruto took to calling it, located at in the place specified. Unfortunate as that was, it was still worth mentioning even if it didn't help the elderly Kage understand the significance of the sword itself.
The inspection did yield some results, he at least had an idea of how far into the scroll the boy had sifted through. Based on the bloodstains on the parchment and the vacant circle outline he could assume what had happened. That part wasn't what was difficult to understand, questionable as it was but nonetheless easy enough to grasp. What he didn't understand was why there would be an active containment seal inscribed in the scroll.
Most of what was written on this scroll were instructions and details regarding the technique or seal's purpose. Just as many things here were practically useless to those who did not have the aptitude for specific arts. He had the capability to do so because of his many years under the tutelage for the founding leaders of Konoha. In all likelihood, had Mizuki succeeded in his efforts to steal it, there would have been little to nothing he could do with it.
And yet, here he was, staring down at a blank containment seal and a katana which the former was used to house it.
For all his wisdom and experience, the Sandaime Hokage was at an utter loss.
The soft knocking of his office door fulfilled its purpose in breaking the elderly man from his musing as he tore his eyes away from the scroll. Taking another drag from his pipe, he called out to the individual behind the door to meet that of his secretary who was, for the most part, looked fairly exasperated. He could take a guess as to why, it would not have been difficult since there were only a handful of reasons why he would be wearing that sort of expression.
"He's here."
And wouldn't you know, his first guess would have been right on the money.
"Good, send him in please."
With a bow and a humbled remark, the man excused himself back into the hallway, though he must have only taken a few steps before a familiar boy swept passed him and into the office. The fact that he had accidently shoulder checked the larger male in the process was not missed, nor was the comment said male made as the boy had arrived. Nevertheless, Sarutobi Hiruzen only let out another stream of smoke as he simultaneously released a tired sigh.
"Naruto, I believe we discussed this before, but you cannot just barge in here like that."
"We did?" The Uzumaki in question, however, looked mildly puzzled as he scratched the side of his head in thought. "I don't remember, must've forgot or something."
"Clearly." Yeeeeah, Hiruzen wasn't buying the act one bit, but given what was to be discussed here, he would dismiss the matter for the time being. Clearing his throat, the man gestured the boy to take a seat , to which the Uzumaki complied without hassle. Though instead of sitting like he properly should, in front of the village leader no less, he had already leaning the furniture backwards leaving him to balance it on the back legs. All this did was make the older man pinch the bridge of his nose for a few moments, feeling quite fortunate to be alone in with the boy who was showing way too much disrespect towards his superior. "Please sit properly, this is important."
"Is this about that picture I brought in here yesterday? Or does it have to do with what happened with me and Konohamaru?" Oblivious, Naruto continued to balance himself on the chair whilst still maintaining the puzzled expression on his face. "I already retook the picture like you told me to and that closet pervert got what he had coming to him. So if that's what this is about, then-"
"I'm already aware of yesterday's occurrences and you did do as I asked; neither of which are the subject of this discussion." Having casually dismissed the two subjects, Hiruzen used his pipe as a pointer to draw the blonde's attention over to the sword that was brought upon returning the Fuin no Sho. "This katana that was seized after the incident evenings ago is what I wished to discuss with you, Naruto."
"Ooooh, wait, huh?" Now having his full attention, Naruto complied to his leader's whims, having leaned forward to pensive look at the sword, then at the aged male. "Why do we need to talk about that thing? It's just some beat-up katana that looks as old as you do."
"A charming observation, but from what I gather it is much, much older than I am." Let it be never be said that a Hokage can't have a sense of humor. Crude as his humor, Naruto hardly meant anything by it and he himself was well aware of his own age. No point in being upset over something that's trivial to someone like himself. "In fact, I have not been able to conclude just how old this weapon is. Despite its age, however, the blade has not dulled in the slightest; clearly whomever forged it was master of their craft. That or perhaps the method in which it was preserved allowed for its sharpness to remain this pristine. "
Now the Uzumaki was getting bored of this topic. He really didn't care much about the craftsmanship of some old-ass sword he found in some wooden pod.
"Speaking of, you claimed it to have appeared at some point by a stroke of chance, correct?" Confusion aside, Hiruzen watched as the boy gave a slow nod before using his pipe once more to point at the very scroll he had stolen a few nights ago. "Then am I to presume the bloodstains I see here are yours?"
"Huh?" Taken aback by this, the blonde stood up to find, indeed, the parchment did have bloodstains on it. A second or two after this, his memory kicked in and a look of sheepish realization dawned onto his features. "Oh, heh, yeah that's from me. I was checking out all the jutsu in there for something to learn. I was rolling it back up when I got a stupid paper cut on the edge. Must've got on the paper when I wasn't looking, sorry 'bout that."
"It's of no consequence, but you must understand that you are being required to provide me with the absolute truth. You had gone quite far into the scroll in your search, further than anyone outside of myself has ever gone. I have already given you permission to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu as you please, but if there was anything else you had learned or memorized from the scroll you are to tell me now."
While Sarutobi did not doubt his faith in the boy, he was still obligated to confirm the truth in regards to the Fuin no Sho'ssecrets. While its contents might not be of use to him, others could gain a great deal from even one of the techniques inside it. If Naruto was lying, if he had indeed learned something more and used it recklessly, it would cause potentially cause more harm than good; not just for the boy but for village itself. Again, Sarutobi had faith in the boy, but he had just as much reason to believe that boy could be withholding information for fear of being in greater trouble than he could handle. It wouldn't have been the first time that the blonde had done something of such a degree given the mischievous nature and high aspirations.
Thankfully, Naruto did his part in making the elderly man glad to have trusted him.
"Pff, yeah right, like I'm gonna remember any of those stupid drawings or lame ass jutsu from that thing." The Uzumaki openly stared at the parchment with blatant contempt and irritation. "I still don't see what the big deal is behind all those drawings and stuff I saw. Hey, jiji, what is the deal behind all those scribbles and doodles anyway?"
The Sandaime merely chucked to himself as he took another long drag from his pipe. He had took a keen interest in watching the boy grow up these past twelve years, so it went without saying that he knew when he was lying and when he wasn't. He didn't need to be Hokage to do that, didn't need to have all the experience as a shinobi to do it either. Just being a former parent and current grandparent gave him enough experience to tell the difference. It certainly helped to know that Naruto was an honest kid, a misfit and a troublemaker, but still a mostly honest kid at heart.
"Perhaps I'll explain that to you on a different day." The intricate nature that made up Funinjutsu was definitely something that Naruto wouldn't appreciate or even remotely understand at this stage of his life. Maybe when he was older, two or four more years give or take, then maybe he would be able to grasp the concept behind that criteria of the shinobi arts. "For now, I believe I have confirmed my thoughts on this matter."
"Huh, really? Weren't we supposed to be talking about that sword?"
"Hm? Ah, that was just used as a catalyst to breach this particular subject. As you yourself said, it is just an old relic that was previously stored inside the scroll until you accidently released it. Aside from its sharpness, there does not appear to be anything peculiar about the weapon."
"Ooooh, I get it." No he didn't, but he could pretend that he did despite his efforts to appear smart being pointless in this scenario. "Soooo I'm not in any trouble?"
"Not unless you did something you weren't supposed to prior to coming here."
The nervous chuckle that comment enticed almost made the elderly man's gaze go stern. The term 'almost' being emphasized because the boy was more relieved than anything else. Although, in complete honesty, Hiruzen was half expecting some Chuunin to come barging into his office any moment now. When the seconds ticked by and nothing happened, his concerns were promptly dismissed as he took another drag from his pipe and exhaled the fumes from his barely parted lips. He was about to dismiss the young jinchuuriki when he took note of the fact that the said boy still looked nervous about something.
Well, he wouldn't say it nervousness, rather it looked as though he had something he wanted to address yet at the same time didn't want to ask.
"Is something on your mind, Naruto?"
"Eheh, um, yeah I guess." Undeterred from being called out, Naruto just continued to grin sheepishly at the old man whilst proceeding to scratch the nape of his neck as he spoke. "You said that sword was stored inside the scroll, right? Now that it's out, what're you gonna do with it?"
A single gray eyebrow rose curiously as he observed the blonde who all-too-suddenly became curious about the sword's fate. Admittedly, he already planned to put it back in its proper place inside the scroll where it had been prior it its release. Not that he understood why such a blade needed to be placed inside it in the first place. But now it seemed the young Uzumaki was curious about it and the renown shinobi could only guess why. It didn't surprise him in the least, or at least it shouldn't have, but it still didn't stop him from letting out a tired sigh as his fingers once again found themselves pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Naruto, I can only assume what you are going to ask, and the answer is no."
"But-"
"No Uzumaki, that's final."
"Oh come on Jiji! What are you gonna do with that thing anyway, hang it up on the wall or something?"
A tempting idea, now that he mentioned it, but that was besides the point. At least the orange clad youth had confirmed his thoughts regarding his sudden interest in it.
"I am going to put it back where it belongs, as is customary when someone or something removes it from its proper place. You have already been given permission to use a jutsu from that scroll, you deserve to use it after learning it and using it to bring the scroll back to me. But that was your reward for your efforts in bringing Mizuki back to receive proper justice. Do not become greedy or expect any more generosity from me in regards to what you did that night."
"Haven't you ever heard of 'finders keepers' jiji? I'm the one who found it and it only showed up when I had the stupid scroll! Besides, a lot of the other kids have cool jutsu and stuff that I don't have. The clones are okay I guess, but what good's that if I've got nothing else to back them up with? And you just said that it's nothing special or anything, the thing's just sharp, so what the big deal about actually putting it to use?"
"Naruto, for all I know, this blade can be an artifact or an heirloom from a time before Konoha was even founded. To carelessly pass such a relic on to someone else would be ill-advised by anyone; much less myself. Artifacts like these are considered priceless, they make up our village's history, and as such are required to be preserved for sake of-"
"Yeah, yeah, geez you sound just like Iruka-sensei." Hiruzen was glad he was still wearing his hat, otherwise the protruding vein on his forehead might have caught the boy's notice. "Still though, if you're not gonna do anything with it and its not one of those legendary swords, then what's the problem with letting me use it? It beats leaving it behind to collecting dust and being a waste of space."
By all accounts, Naruto was not doing a good job in his argument to claim the sword under his ownership. All he was doing was repeating himself and what made this sad was that he was most likely unaware of it. Perhaps he thought if he repeated himself enough times the Sandaime would relent; which was not the case. In all actuality it was just irksome and was just pestering opposed to being an argument; like a child begging their parents to buy them a toy or snack. And in any other situation, Sarutobi would have treated this situation the same way he treated his sons and grandson when they did the same thing.
But there were certain circumstances which made the aged leader actually give it more thought. His vision periodically shifting between the blank circular outline where the storage seal once was, the bloodstains where the seal used to be, the katana, and finally the blonde youth.
Said circumstances went beyond what he was willing to share openly with the lad at the moment. Those same conditions were also the sole reason why he was even contemplating the idea of humoring the blonde's request. All the same, he did have it on good grounds to deny him anyway since it was still an artifact from an old age. Naruto wouldn't be happy about the latter, but he would eventually get over it and carry on with his career regardless. The former, however, wouldn't likely instill too many issues either since there really didn't seem to be anything unique about the sword in any way aside from its age.
Both sides of the spectrum ended in a relatively positive outcome, though one would start out negatively for a short time and even that would be short-lived.
His decision here was all based on his generosity, on how much he was willing to let Naruto get away with. As Hokage, he couldn't allow himself to pick and choose favorites, but in the same vein he was entitled to do what he deemed was the correct course of action. Having said that, Hiruzen came to a conclusion that would benefit both of them in some way.
"How about we strike a compromise, a deal if you will, regarding the ownership of this blade?" Speaking as plumes of smoke drifted out with each word, he gave the boy a challenging, yet lighthearted, expression that had attracted boy's attention like a magnet. "I will lend it to you for now, but on the day of your orientation, you will be informed of a certain condition that you must fulfill before I grant you official ownership of that sword. Should you fulfill that requirement, you will be permitted to keep it, otherwise, if you fail, you will return it to me without complaint."
There was a pause here as the boy took a few seconds to process the arrangement that his leader had proposed. Why he had to wait until his orientation was the first question that came to mind, but dismissed it. Maybe the old man needed time to think up a fair condition or something along those lines? Whatever, he was fine with waiting until then since he was still getting a chance to use the thing for a while. As far as the conditions for success and failure went, it sounded pretty fair to him compared to what they could have been. In a way, it reminded him of a punishment game or one of those rites of passage he heard about.
Either way, the terms seemed fair enough, and he trusted the Sandaime to keep his word; a sentiment he would begrudgingly return if it came down to it.
"Deal!' Exclaimed the boy with the grin many had come accustomed to before making a beeline for the sword. "Just try not to get too surprised when I win this thing fair and squire Jiji."
His fingers had barely been on the smooth surface of the sheath for a second before his ears caught the sound of Ssarutobi clearing his throat. Once he looked up, an old wrinkled hand was left outstretched towards him in a gesture that even he understood. Customary handshake to affirm that both parties agreed to the terms and were fully prepared to comply upon the wager's conclusion. Of course Naruto didn't particularly like such a formal manner of things like these; though there was no specific reason why he didn't like it either. Regardless, his grin didn't dim in the slightest, lightly slapping the extended hand with his own, before properly gripping the weapon and making his exit.
"Wasn't planning to lose anyway Jiji, so thanks for givin' me five ahead of time!"
Hiruzen had only a few moments to react after the boy had done this; spending those moment blinking as he watched Naruto's form disappear passed the doorway. This almost owlish reaction softened into one of utter amusement whilst his extended hand moved to stroke his beard. That sort of enthusiasm was always a treat to behold, especially when he had seen how depressed the boy had been a few days ago. As informal as he was, the Uzumaki had agreed to the terms, so all that was left to be done was wait and see how things unfolded in the days to come.
Still, the amusement ebbed out of features as his eyes drifted back towards the scroll and the now blank space where sealing inscriptions once resided. That had been no ordinary containment seal either, those were much more commonplace than what this one had been composed of. Or perhaps it was better to say the originator of that seal, as their works have been extinct for well over a few decades now. His confusion was not due to the happenings of how Naruto, in a stroke of luck no less, released its contents from its prolonged time of containment.
His curiosity stemmed from a combination of both the seal and the weapon.
"What is so important about the sword that warranted the Uzumaki Clan to seal it away?"
Such was the question that Hiruzen would continue to ponder well into the day, as well as the days that followed.
One would be inclined to question the reasoning behind the seemingly impulsive desire that took place then. It was to be expected since, a few days ago, the Uzumaki had chalked the weapon to being equivalent to a piece of crap. He had no reason to deny it, in fact he still had that belief. By admitting that, what was the reasoning behind obtaining that sword; why would he want something he already had a negative opinion about?
The answer was simple: he wanted it because it was free.
Yes, it was garbage and rusty, and chipped, and overall an old ass sword; but it was still something he got at seemingly no cost.
One could say what they will, he would have ignored it anyway, because free stuff was free stuff regardless of condition. Sure he was only borrowing it for now, so technically it wasn't his, but it soon it would be; of that he was sure. But attaining it without cost was not the only reason he wanted it in the first place. Using it against Mizuki had actually been more exhilarating than he thought, granted he was using it more like a club than an actual sword.
But that was why he wanted it, he wanted it because he liked the idea of using it for real like those swordsmen he had seen in both movies and in real life. The latter wasn't something he had personally witnessed, more like seen shinobi carrying as they were in the village and such. Even so, the movies did a good job at painting a fantasy that he could someday turn into a reality for himself in his own career.
Was that a bad thing? Probably, but everyone had to start somewhere in their careers and it wasn't like Naruto had much else. He didn't have 'cool jutsu' that some of the other kids did, nor was he as good at Taijutsu as someone like Uchiha Sasuke.
"Tch, bastard." Muttered the boy as his thoughts became vocalized, his fist tightening around the sword as he continued to hastily move through the back roads of the village. "Bet he won't ever be as good with a sword as I am after I get the hang of it."
Uchiha Sasuke, the only survivor of the Uchiha massacre that happened many years ago. Naruto personally didn't know much about that incident, didn't care as much about it at the time. Granted, he felt bad because the guy had lost everything that day, a fact that Naruto could relate too in some degree. But Sasuke didn't have any problems getting people's attention, didn't even have to try to get it either, and that irked the blonde beyond measure. Not just that, but Sasuke was good at everything the academy taught them, from techniques to hand-to-hand combat; everything the guy touched he was good at it.
Meanwhile Naruto stood at the sidelines, watching as everyone complimented the boy for his success, and listen to the laughs of everybody else at his own failures.
Needless to say Naruto had more than a few reasons to feel jealous of the attention Sasuke always seemed to get from teachers and students alike. But that was all going to change starting today, because he was going to be learning how to use a sword! Surely that was something that Sasuke wasn't going to be good at, right? Target practice was one thing, but fighting with a sword was something that the academy had not trained anyone in doing; that was something students had to invest their own time into doing if they were aware of it. At least that's what Naruto thought anyway and, surprisingly, that assumption was indeed correct.
Kenjutsu was not something that was learned in the academy as it was not an essential category when placed among the likes of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. All three of those were commonly used across every nation, whereas Kenjutsu was not nearly as common. Hence why it wasn't part of the academy's curriculum, as it made more sense to put emphasis on the basics rather than do so on sub-categories that were not as commonplace.
Naruto, who was poor in nearly all three categories, would obviously have no idea what he was doing if he went into his career as he was. But that was why he was doing this, why he was quickly approaching the entrance to the nearest training ground he could find. He wanted to get better so when his shinobi life started he wouldn't be behind everyone else. If he had to be good at something, he might as well go with something that nobody in his class was good at. At least then, no matter what team he was with, they couldn't call him bad at an art that they themselves weren't good at either. So, in a way, it was a countermeasure of sorts to anyone's taunts; which would have been a good idea had Naruto actually thought of it like that.
Fact of the matter was that he didn't; he just wanted something to gloat about.
"Alright, let's get started!"
Having arrived at his destination, he took a look at his surroundings and took immediate notice to the thick log posts at few dozen meters from his person. The clearing was seemed pretty barren and looked as though it had seen much use due to the patches of dirt and gravel leading all the way up to tree line. At the edge of the area were some other paths that cut into the forest beyond, meaning there were likely other training areas further into the woods, but he wasn't about to go that far in. He came here to train, that was his intent, and the sooner he got started the sooner he could get an understanding on how he was supposed to use the weapon that was loaned to him.
It wasn't until he approached the log posts that he decided to unsheathe the blade from its scabbard; only to cringe at the sight which beheld him.
"...I can't get over how bad you look..." Admitted the blonde, looking at the blade with a mixture of repulsion and disappointment. "...dunno if I should just keep the sheath on it or not..."
Sighing dejectedly, he let the sheath fall to the ground before taking on a stance he assumed was correct. At least he tried to anyway, as raising the blade upright with one hand proved to be a significant challenge due to the sword's natural weight. Based on the way he was holding it, his body straight with only his right shoulder and the blade's edge facing at the post, he was unintentionally doing a fencing post. Only the blade fell much shorter than intended, making him appear as though he was going for a thrusting motion rather than making a stance. Having gotten tired of trying, Naruto simply gave up on maintaining the stance and blindly made his first swing towards the post.
Said strike promptly bounced off the log and left only a faint line of the wood as a result.
Worse yet, Naruto could practically hear the hum of the blade as the rebound from this swing vibrated from the blade all the way up to his hand.
"...okay, not working."
Having acknowledged that, well, the sword was heavy to wield one-handed, the Uzumaki shifted tactics a bit and went with the alternative and properly faced the post and gripped the hilt with both hands. Almost instance success came to mind when the weight became much more bearable, enough success to warrant him grinning as he reared back for another swing. This time the blade didn't bounce off, this time the sharp edge of the sword cut deep enough into the post to cause chips of wood to flake down onto the ground. The problem? Naruto had swung in an angle, and because of that, as well as putting a little too much strength in his swing, he ended up getting the blade caught inside the log itself.
"..."
A certain Uzumaki was starting to get annoyed with this little activity already.
Worse than that, five minutes hadn't even passed yet.
Not so quietly Naruto went to work on wrenching the sword free from the post, his teeth grinding not out of effort but more out of annoyance. Holding the sword worked better than the first time, but what was the point of that if the sword was going to get stuck every time he hit the post with it? It was already aggravating him, more so than he thought possible considering how easy it looked on the outside looking in.
"Geez, how am I supposed to train with this thing if its just gonna get stuck!?"
Arms crossed, vein exposed, and glaring down at the innocent sword that somehow managed to hold a gleam in the sunlight despite its rough exterior. His fingers tapped against his arm as he pondered on how he was to proceed from this point onward. He wasn't going to stop practicing with it, not when he had at least two more days until his orientation at the academy. But already things weren't looking well for him, already he had hit a snag on his little plan to improve himself before that time came. It wasn't like he could ask anyone to train with, he didn't have any friends or anyone who would want to train with him in the first place. He didn't have anyone other than himself to train with...anyone other than himself...
"OH!" The metaphorical light bulb lit up as he quickly scooped up the weapon, sheathed it, and stuck it between the pit of his arm as he formed his new favorite seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A pop and cloud of smoke later, yet another young wide grinning blonde stood parallel to the original in the center of the clearing. Much like the last time he had done this, his clone had the sword as well and was already moving to hold it properly as he did before. Likewise the original followed suit and, like the clone, didn't remove the sheath as he raised his own weapon in the ready position. Thankfully there was a big enough gap between where the original was situated and the clone that had popped into existence. Not close enough to swing and immediately hit something, but not far enough that would entice either into running.
So when the clone's foot inched forward, Naruto took that as a indication to start and promptly moved forward a few paces, lowering the weapon and thrusting it at...himself. For its part, the clone merely sidestepped it before raising the weapon higher and bringing it downwards as quickly as possible, to which the original quickly raised his own weapon horizontally over his head; his left hand gripping the sheath for added security. The loud clap of wood connecting rung out as a result of the two sheathed weapons connecting, though neither original or fake stayed in that position long as both quickly retreated back to avoid retaliation.
Baby steps, baby steps, that was this was all about.
Having taken the imitative the first time, the cloned blonde went in for the aggressive approach this time. Instead of an overhead strike life or thrust, the clone made his approach with the weapon poised for a wide horizontal sweep. Naruto didn't need to be skilled to see that move coming and promptly back stepped once more to avoid it, taking the moment to adjust the weapon and bringing it down as sharply as possible to the exposed clone's head. Unfortunately, the clone didn't need to be skilled either to read the signs of a counter, thus why it quickly swung the sheathed blade in where the copy met once again with that of the original.
This harsh contact was enough to cause the latter to temporarily lose his handling as it shot back from the force, the left hand having lost its grip while the right struggled to stay on. Having an opening to exploit, the clone wasted no time in continuing the attack and swung the weapon in the same manner as a club its creator's ribcage.
And this time it connected.
"Guh!" And apparently it really fucking hurt. "Gahah damn it, my ribs, damn it, you bastard, damn it. "
Blinking as the creator clutched his now aching side with his free hand, the clone loosened its posture seeing as how its partner was in obvious pain from the blow.
"...you okay?"
"What do you think idiot, of course I'm not!"
It didn't cross his mind that his clone could get pissed off at this remark, never mind the fact that he was essentially calling himself an idiot.
"Hey! Don't get mad at me because you suck!"
Well, on the bright side, at least the orange clad youth had learned two things already. One his clones really were like him in every way and two even they could tell that he sucked at Kenjutsu. How ironic that in this situation he couldn't even tell off his clone because, based on his clone scoring the first hit, it was seemingly better at it than he was.
Infuriating!
"Say that again, go ahead, say it and see if I don't kick your ass!"
"Bring it on, see how that turns out after I knock your teeth in, jackass!
It would have been comedic if it wasn't so pathetic. Creator and clone, fighting amongst themselves, and doing every little thing they could to entice the other to attack. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, the clone would win for one very simple reason. The bruises it made on the creator would stay long after it was gone, though on the flipside one hit would spell its own doom. Even with that knowledge, it would forever have the last laugh and that was the part that made this whole scenario such a sad sight.
...additionally, Naruto had learned one extra thing during the course of this training session.
His clones were a bunch of assholes.
Let it never be said that the life of a shinobi was an easy one. Many could serve as living testament to the harsh realities of this lifestyle without even having to say a single word. The scars that those men and women wore were not always visible on the surface, some scars dug much deeper than any physical wound could ever dream of doing. Life could be cruel, it could be devastating, and in some cases it utterly destroyed the reality that made up a person's world forever. Sadly enough, that wasn't even taking into account the shinobi lifestyle and the things which they experience or endure simply out of duty.
Such was the reason why not every person could handle this treacherous lifestyle and the hordes upon hordes of hurdles it constantly obscured their paths.
To live as a shinobi, one must be willing to jump over those hurdles each time they appeared; regardless of how sudden or how high they needed to jump to clear it.
A shinobi was meant to endure, to persevere, and carry onwards no matter what obstruction stands in their path.
But a shinobi was still a man, a shinobi was still human, and like any human rest was a necessity. In some cases, rest was a luxury and among one of the few comforts which they were allowed themselves to have. This went for all ranks of shinobi, not just the elite, for even those at the bottom of the ladder needed a form of escape from the lifestyle for a little while.
For one particular young girl, her escape and rest did not come from lethargically laying about doing nothing all day. No, her form of relaxation came in the form of her solitary moments away from her team and her own private training out in the wilderness. Granted, she liked her team well enough, but the quirks and the enthusiasm of some members made it very tiring and stressful environment to deal with on a consistent basis. When it became too much and she wasn't required to be in the vicinity of them, she typically took those moments to be on her own and train in relative peace. Again, it wasn't out of personal aversion that she did this, she just enjoyed the tranquility of the woods as she trained.
But the closer she came to her preferred training grounds, the more apparent it became that someone else was in the general area. It wasn't just one person either, based on the number of battle cries she could make out in her approach. Normally that would have been something she would have ignored since this area was one of the more commonly used spots to train. But curiosity brewed within her the more she listened, and the longer she did the more apparent it became that each voice was similar to the last. Clearly there was more than one person, but all the voices she heard sounded exactly the same and that by itself was weird in its own right.
Against her better judgment, the young kunoichi decided to sneak a peek into the clearing rather than bypassing it and heading straight into the woods like she intended.
"...what the hell?"
What she ended up finding were at leave five boys, all identical, locked into what she could best describe as a cluster fuck of a sparring session. Each of the boys had a sword, each of them had it sheathed, and each one was trying their hardest to hit the same target with their sheathed weapon at once. Said target was no different from the rest, the only difference being that he was wearing a black shirt with his orange jacket tied around his waist. A means to distinguish him from the rest of the doppelgangers no doubt, but that was an observation that came much later after reflection. As far as here and now went, the girl was more confused than anything else.
But her bewilderment wasn't born from the scene she was currently observing.
"Who taught this kid how to fight?"
Yes, being on a team that was heavily focused in close-quarters combat had made her accustomed to seeing the proper and professional forms of Taijutsu. She might not be as skilled as her teammates in that department, but she could at least tell the difference between an amateur and an expert. So she didn't even need to be in close proximity to see that the boy wasn't just amateurish, he just plain sucked. And although she wasn't prone to degrading others based on their performance, mentally the girl found watching this poor excuse of combat to be an eyesore. She wasn't being figurative either, it literally hurt her eyes just watching this group spar; if it could even be called that.
Their forms, their attack patterns, everything about it looked clunky and stiff without any sort of pattern or rhythm of motion at all. And this wasn't even Taijutsu, as far as she could tell, this was...what the hell was she looking at; Kenjutsu?
"This is depressing to watch..." Indeed it was, considering the utilization of weapons were her forte. To her, whatever this was she looking at, was downright insulting. "Oh whatever, it's not my place to judge or my problem to deal with."
Such was the mindset she wanted to have as she moved out onto the field herself in an effort to get into the wooded area beyond. As stated before, it wasn't her place to judge and it certainly wasn't her place to intervene with the group's training. She had no obligation to do such a thing, after all she didn't know the person, so why bother? But the closer she got to the tree line, the more she was able to witness; the orange clothing certainly had a way of drawing her attention against her own will. Her feet were still moving, she still had the intent of departing, but the dark pools of brown almost refused to leave the backs of that crowd of orange. It even got to the point that she was inadvertently craning her neck just to keep them in her line of sight.
This, unfortunately, didn't go unnoticed.
"Hm? Hey, who's that over there?"
Crap, she lingered too long, one of them noticed her!
"Eh?" It just got worse! Another one in the group had now stopped to look as well! "I dunno, maybe someone who wanted to use the training ground?"
More and more of the blonde's clones had abruptly begun to turn and face the girl who by all accounts was not trying to catch their attention. Sadly she had already stopped like a deer caught in a strobe light. Not once did it strike her as strange that the clones were acting like normal people, her mind too busy trying to think up a way to get out here and avoid this interaction.
Meanwhile the real blonde was currently pushing himself through the group of copies to see for himself who had caused the interruption. What he found was girl with dark brown hair styled into two buns atop her head wearing sleeveless pink blouse and dark green pants. Weird, at least to him, because he never saw the girl until today and he hadn't expected anyone to come around here. But with the way she was standing there looking him and his clones inclined him to believe that she wanted something. What she wanted he had no clue, but he didn't mind the interruption since he could use a break after spending so long out here training like this. With that in mind, the blonde swept the sweat from his brow and propped his sheathed weapon onto his shoulder; raising his other hand in a friendly wave.
"Yo!"
The girl felt her shoulder's twitch at the call and immediately after let out an exasperated sigh. He had already instigated an interaction, so now there was no backing out of the engagement provided she didn't mind being rude and ignoring him. What she didn't know was that option probably would have worked out better for her than humoring him with conversation. Then again she didn't know who he was so she could be forgiven for not knowing that little fun fact.
"H-hello," Returning the greeting with the best friendly visage she could muster, the girl in pink returned the gesture as she slowly inched closer towards the treeline. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your...training a minute there. I'll just get on out of your-"
"Oh that's no biggie, I needed the break anyway, I've been at this for about...was it an hour or was it two, I forget."
Two hours and from what she witnessed he was still piss poor. Whatever powers that ruled over this reality must have really turned this kid a blind eye for him to be this bad. As that thought came and passed, she realized that the blonde had already started jogging over towards her and in that instant it sunk in that she would not be getting out of this now. Yet, even with that awareness, a part of her was already sort-of curious about the sheathed sword that he had on his person. Sure, he had no business swinging it around with how bad he was, but if nothing else she was interested in at least seeing it.
"So, what're you doing out here? Is this...um, your spot or something?"
"No, no, I was just going to head into the woods there to get some target practice."
His gaze followed after her finger as she gestured towards the path in the direction she was going. As he was took to processing this, Tenten took note of a few factors that she didn't notice before. From a distance he only looked to be sweaty, but now that he was close she could see the telltale signs of bruising in several spots along his arms, hands, and even his face. No doubt it was from this supposed training, but that was when it occurred to her that the clones he made were not just illusions, but real clones. They were corporal, which meant he was using a certain element styled clone to make them. If that was indeed the case, then every blow he took was as real as it would be if he had an actual partner. That at least explained why none of the clones had their blade's exposed, less he end up getting injured in the process.
Did the kid not have anyone to train with?
Better yet, did this kid not have someone to properly teach him how to even use a sword?
"Oh, okay, I didn't know if other people used this place or not. I kinda just showed up and started training; I hadn't seen anyone else come through here so..." With a dismissive shrug, he returned his gaze back to the girl as a grin very reminiscent to her teammate's surfaced on his features. "I'm Naruto by the way, future Hokage of Konohagakure and future master swordsmen!"
She almost laughed.
This girl truly and dearly wanted to burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter. Despite her best efforts, the pesky edges of her lips perked upwards in obvious amusement. Hard to blame her after baring witness to the fairly poor level of skill or natural talent that this boy had. Apparently he noticed it too, because his formerly bright expression turned sour as his gaze narrowed and the beginnings of a scowl took form on his own lips.
"What's so funny, huh?"
She couldn't take it.
At a record breaking time of three point five seconds, the girl followed the same pattern as everyone else and started laughing. Not hysterically, she at least had some self control than to do that, but she still laughed even if it was lightly.
"Hey! Don't laugh at me, I mean it!"
"Sorry, but you, a Kenjutsu master?" Her skepticism was pretty obvious, in both her tone and posture, as she stood there with her arms folded and gaze stern. "Please, you'd be better off trying something else more fitting to your skill set. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Kenjutsu is definitely not something I see you ever being good at."
Harsh, then again most of life's lessons were, at least that was how she justified herself. More often than not people stumble and trip up on the road of becoming a shinobi, just as many don't get back up from those falls either. What she was doing was saving the boy the trouble of wasting his efforts on something he undoubtedly would never be good at. Reality was a bitch, she could be as well, but the world needed people like her to step up and be honest about an issue that nobody wants to address. Obviously nobody told this kid he was bad so, out of respect as well as for his own sake, she would be the bad person here and address the elephant in the clearing.
Unfortunately all her words served to do was fan the flames of irritation that were building up inside the blonde who simply stood there matching her stare. He didn't look away from her, not for a second did his gaze waver. There was defiance in those blue spheres, that much she could clearly see, but that could have very well been because he himself didn't want to admit that she was right. It could have been for large verity of reasons, but he still kept his glare, kept his eyes locked on her own whilst his grip tightened on the hilt of the sword on his shoulder. Was he planning to lash out at her? If so, she would have loved to see him try it and see what she could do to utterly ruin his day.
It had been him who broke eye-contact as he scuffed and turned himself around. For a second, part of her felt smug for being the victor of the little exchange.
"What's wrong with having a goal to shoot for?" That smugness dissipated a bit once he stopped and started speaking. "I'm not very good at it right now—"
"Not very good? More like being downright terrible!"
"—okay, fine, I'm bad at it, happy now!? I just got this sword, I just barely passed graduation, and now I'm finally going to be a shinobi in just a few days! So what if I suck with this thing, I know that already, and know I'll get better at it eventually! It's not like I'm gonna just pick it up and master it now am I!? It's a end goal, something I wanna shoot for because I've got nothing else! And I don't care how long it takes or how long I need to spend out here training to do it! I've already made up my mind that this is what I wanna do and that's that!"
Once again the blonde had turned to face her and, odd as it sounded, she saw the spitting image of someone very familiar staring back at her. She had already heard the conviction in his tone as he spoke, now that he was looking at her she could clearly how much he meant those words. Yet there was more in that gaze that was off-putting, something she could easily place, and identify. The reason she could was because she had seen it time and again in the eyes of someone who had a great deal of her respect.
It was a look of someone who wanted to prove the world wrong.
"And I don't care what you say, hell I don't even know you. You don't know me either, so don't you go telling me what I can or can't do."
Just like that, the boy turned back around in a huff as he proceeded back towards the group of clones that lay in wait for him to continue their spar. As for the girl, well, it was clear to see that something in what had said struck a chord in her being. Granted, he had a point, she did have no reason to be so judgmental considering what was just said. Hell she wasn't always as skilled as she was either, but she reached this point because her own dedication and ambitions pushed her to being better. Having a goal to strive for was what made her this way, and not just her but her teammates as well. Without those goals, without that ambition or drive to keep pushing them forward, would she or either of her teammates have become as skilled as they were now? Maybe, maybe not, that was just one of those questions that would go on without an answer.
But as she continued to watch the blonde, she couldn't help but be reminded of the person who shared those same eyes she saw just now. They had the same look, no doubt about it, and the person on the blonde reminded her of turned out to be someone of considerable strength in the two years they had been a team.
Having already pictured the immature guy in her mind, yet another exasperated sigh emerged from her lips as she palmed her face. Frustrating as it was, humiliating as it would be, she knew she had to make this right; otherwise the remnants of her guilty conscious would tear her to pieces.
"H-hey, hold up a second!"
Now it was her turn to do some jogging as she closed the gap between herself and the departing blonde. Said youth abruptly heeded her call and ceased his moments to glance back at her, irritation mixed with traces of confusion on his features as she came to a stop.
"What now, gonna laugh at me some more?"
"No, you were right, I shouldn't have laughed and I shouldn't have said all that." While her tone nor her posture showed it, her expression did bare a hint of guilt and genuine regret for her rude behavior. "I still meant what I said, you are terrible, but at least you recognize that too; so I guess you're not too much of a lost cause."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that if it's really something you want to do, it's not impossible; it'll just take a long time." The sour expression on his face didn't leave, not that she expected it too, but it did lighten up a bit compared to before. "Especially if you go about it like like this, with the way you're training right now. If you want to get anywhere with that sword of yours you need to first understand the proper ways of using it. From what I saw, you looked like you were just swinging it around like a club rather than sword."
"You were watching me?"
"Shut up, I'm trying to help you here!" No, she was not blushing at the insinuation he had made. "Listen, there's more to it than just swinging it around like an idiot. There are a wide verity of different forms and styles in the art of Kenjutsu, finding which style suits you best is probably the hardest part about being a Kenjutsu specialist. Once you find the one you are best at, the rest is mainly just practice through repetition and continued sparring."
"...so, I just gotta find which style works for me?"
"Basically, yeah." Upon seeing the boy's bemused expression the girl finally did what she had intended to do since she called out to him. "If you want, I can help you. I may not be the best with swords, but I'm well versed in them to teach you the basics. At least that way you have something to go on until you can find someone better who can teach you."
Just like that, whatever irritation that remained was blow away by sheer surprise. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that this was the first time that someone had offered to give him any sort of help when it came to training. Sad fact was that this was the first time someone in his age group, or close to it anyway, had in fact offered to give him any sort of help. That being said, surprise gave way to genuine excitement and joy just thinking about it.
"You mean it?" He almost sounded hopeful, as if in disbelief that someone would even bother to extend such an offer. "You'll really help me get better at this?"
"I already said I would, no point in taking it back now if I didn't mean it." She would probably regret it, hell she already did, but it was just as she said. If she didn't mean it she wouldn't have said so, and now she was committed to see it through to the end. "Anyway, since I'm going to be helping you, might as well go ahead and introduce myself; I'm Tenten, and it's nice to meet you."
The girl now identified as Tenten thus extended her hand for the boy to shake. And in this moment, Tenten would soon become accustomed to the cheeky grin on the orange-clad boy's face as he fully turned around to face her. Without missing a beat, the boy's palm lightly smacked against her own, his chuckles at her bewildered face only further spurred her regret towards making this offer.
"Uzumaki Naruto, and the same goes for me Tenten-chan!"
...this was going to take some getting used to...
The First Steps Forward.
So, last time I did this, I didn't include the conversation between Naruto and Hiruzen and just had him pass it along without much care. This time I wanted to show how that played out as well as showcase that there's more to the sword than what either Naruto or Sarutobi realize. Plus now there's a bit of a better reasoning (as well as mystery) as to why Tessaiga was kept inside the Fuin no Sho.
As for the interaction between Naruto and Tenten, last time that had been rushed and was way too forced. Now there's some depth here, and in this version Tenten's kinda begrudgingly helping him out. Though, for the record, if the short spar snip here was bad it's because I had to intentionally make it that way. And to be brutally honest, writing purposely bad fight sequences is really fucking hard.
Anyways, I hope I kept most of the characters personalities in character here; still trying to get accustomed to an annoying Naruto. Not gonna do catch-phrases though, I'll at least spare us all from that because fuck that noise.
That being said, feel free to leave a review with whatever comments, questions, or concerns you feel the need to address. And as always, I hope you all enjoyed my little piece of refurbished work and I look forward to seeing you all again next time.
Goodbye for now.
