Two

Three months seemed to fly by as I practiced the kenjutsu kata with a small wooden dagger that Danzō-sensei had given me. It was much more smaller than a normal-sized bokken, customized for people who was going to learn the art of using a tantō. It was also without a tip, to ensure no one got injured by the wooden weapon. Also, it did emulate how a normal Root tantō would look like as well. I never even broke so much of a sweat as I stabbed the soft training dummy made of hay with my wooden short sword. 'Stab, stab, stab, stab.'

The room was a dim room, with low florescent lights on the ceiling. It was large enough to practice my sword kata comfortably on training dummies, and fortified to use my ninjutsu here as well. The walls were made of sturdy blue stone, and was used to train several of Danzō-sensei's soldiers underground. Under the noses of Konohagakure. Hiding in shadows.

After completing such exercises, I sat down and drank from my canteen. I felt good. I was faster, stronger, and better than what I was eight months ago. I could perform all three of the necessary techniques to pass the Academy and I could now take the test any time I wanted to. I still had to wait a few months until I could in May but it gave me enough time to do whatever I wanted, to study up and brush up on anything I needed. May was four months away. I had plenty of time to learn whatever I wanted.

I've shown Danzō-sensei my mastery of the three Academy techniques two months back. I also mastered the Tree Climbing, and Water Walking Exercise, and now, I was working with my elemental affinity. Nature manipulation was a higher form of chakra control and Danzō-sensei told me I was ready to try learn it.

Wind. Awesome-as-fuck wind.

Sensei had told me it had worked for me that the wind was my affinity, because that was his affinity as well. Good, because I sure as hell need someone to help me with this wild element. It was very difficult at first, since I had to learn how to split things with my chakra. Wind was made to cut things, so I had to learn how to cut things.

First, a leaf. I had to learn how to make a single cut in the leaf with my chakra. Which was difficult in itself. Then I had to learn how to make a clean slice through it without any other cuts in it. That got my fingers cut up more times than I wanted in a lifetime. The training took about a week figuring it out. I worked on nothing else but the cutting of the leaf.

Then the intermediate stuff came, and I had to learn how to cut a boulder with my wind chakra. Much harder to deal with than a leaf. At first, I barely made a mark on the boulder I trained with in the training grounds I usually worked with Sensei in. I did that, while working with sensei with my taijutsu and other non-elemental techniques. After two weeks, I cut cleanly through it and I couldn't help but to beam at my handiwork. And to be relieved.

Now, I was trying to work on a new task. I was learning how to cut a waterfall in half. That was where I was at with my training, and where I was stuck at. My teacher assured me that after the waterfall, nothing else was required, but that still didn't make the new training exercise any more easier.

My last part of my wind chakra training started about a week ago. It was one of those days I got off from the Academy, Danzō-sensei had taken me to the place on the outskirts of Konohagakure. It was a little's way out, taking about an hour to get there, but we did, and I was treated with being nearby a small river and a massive waterfall...

So when Danzō-sensei told me I had to cut that waterfall in half, I said the most appropriate thing that could come to mind.

"Are you fucking joking?"

Sensei had no hint of a smile on his face. "I am not joking. I want you to split the waterfall in front of you. This all plays a part of your training."

"No way... No fucking way-" My swearing was cut short at the old man hitting me with his wooden cane. "Ouch! Sensei, what was that for?"

"How many times have I told you to not curse in my presence, boy? How rude." The old man uttered, before placing his cane near his feet again. "This isn't a joke. This is the final part of your wind chakra training. I had you cut leaves, and split rocks in half. I had you work on small, accurate targets. Then, large and durable targets that wind chakra could not cut through so easily. Now, the hardest part of them all. In order to completely master your wind chakra, you must learn how to split that waterfall. Water, that's always moving, always going."

I rubbed my head tenderly, pouting at him childishly. Then, I stared at the rushing waterfall in front of me with raised eyebrows. "You did this when you were mastering your wind affinity?"

"Yes, I did. As did many others before me. Wind is a chaotic element, hard to control, because it is one of the strongest elements ever. You can end up hurting yourself more than your opponent if you don't know to control your chakra in the right way. All the training I put you through is not only to help you control your wind chakra, but for you one day to help you create your very own techniques one day."

I perked up hearing that. Making my own techniques one day, huh? I liked the sound of that. I grinned, and pumped my arm. "Alright! Let's get it done, Sensei! I'll have this done in no time."

Then Sensei shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid you won't be speeding through this part of the test quickly. Unlike a stagnant rock or a limp leaf, moving water is much more difficult for wind to cut. This part of the training will take months, even a year to completely get down."

At this point in time, Sensei had me start training to suppress my emotions, for purposes in a fight or in a battle. It was the standard of being in Root. Sensei wanted everyone of his ninjas to be competent soldiers in battle. That explained why some of the ninjas I seen in Root was "emotionless". Or appearing to be... They completely suppressed their emotions to a point where they respond to little things emotionally.. It's not a path I truly wanted to follow, but I wanted to definitely be much calmer in battle. I didn't want to always make an ass of myself in front of my opponent. Or to flail out of anger if the opponent did something I hated.

As it was, however, I still had a habit of getting carried away.

This was one of those times. "A year?! But, how the heck am I going to be ready for the world then? Lord knows I suck as a jinchūriki but if I suck as a regular ninja too-"

Sensei stopped my bitching, with something of a humorless chuckle as he raised his hand to stop me talking. "It seems I not only need to speed up your physical training, but also your mental training, Naruto. What did I say about shouting so much?"

I bit my lip, ashamed of my outburst. "I apologize, Sensei."

"Hmph. I resent your comment about you being a terrible jinchūriki. We haven't completely started your training, boy. Those others were training with their beasts at much younger ages than you. With the way you work, I'm sure you'll have it down soon enough. Besides, you are much stronger than most genin these days. Even chūnin. You have come a very long way in eight months."

I grinned, feeling better at the man's praise. Sensei continued talking, "Now, I see you want to get your training done quickly and get to learning wind ninjutsu. So, I will assist." Doing a hand seal, Danzō-sensei channeled chakra into his hands, and at his sides, a perfect copy of himself was created. "This is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, a B-rank ninjutsu capable of the user being able to create a few clones. The user splits their chakra evenly between the clones, being both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is the potential of the technique. It is useful for many things: espionage, information gathering, and training purposes."

"Training purposes?" I asked.

"Yes. Because the clones share information with the user after they are dispelled, any information the clones gain, the user will also gain it. If you train with your clone for one hour, and you dispel the clone, you will gain two hours of training despite only training for one hour."

"You mean to tell me that... There is a technique out there that you can gain hours of experience by the number of clones you use?" I barely could contain my excitement.

"Yes, essentially. The more clones you use, the more hours you gain in experience."

I had another impromptu outburst."Holy shit! When I learn that technique, it will be extremely useful! Clones that can fight, learn as much as I can, and be used for other purposes. I bet I can use, like, one hundred clones in a day, so I can get hundreds of hours of training!"

Sensei immediately shut that idea down. "It is extremely dangerous doing so, child. Do you not remember The more clones you use, the more likely you are to use up all your chakra. Ergo, it can end up killing you if you use too many clones."

I raised my eyebrow, a small amount of indignation in me. "I'm not stupid enough to make that many clones, Sensei."

"Thus why I'm giving you the technique, boy. I trust you won't completely kill yourself over something that you technically should take a year to learn how to do."

"No, sir!" That wouldn't mean I wouldn't milk the crap out of this technique to get things to work in my favor.

"So get to it then." Sensei raised his hand into the weird hand seal again. "Copy this hand seal and try it."

It took me an hour for me to get down how to use the Kage Bunshin, but I learn it. Much faster than the year and a half it took me to learn the Bunshin no Jutsu. Danzō-sensei nodded his head approvingly, "Very good. After a few hours, we will stop and we will go back to the village."

I almost pout again, but I decided to be a good boy and nodded at the old man. Sensei just showed me a very useful technique – one that I would cherish for the rest of my life – today and I wasn't about to act like a brat because I didn't finish splitting the waterfall today. It was Saturday, I would have tomorrow to try again. After that, I could spend every day here training to split the waterfall until I got it down.

Like I thought, I didn't get it down in three hours and we spent the next hour getting back to the village in the evening. After Sensei and I said our goodbyes, we went our own ways for the night. He went either home or to tend to the others in Root and I went to check into Ichiraku's and get my usual order for dinner. Also in an effort to see Ayame-neechan and Teuchi-jiji.

I grinned, thinking about how my training experience was starting to multiply – literally – now that I had access to the amazing ability that was the Kage Bunshin. It was the technique of ultra multitasking. If I was occupied doing my tantō kata in one room, my other clone could go down to the library in the base, read all the books there, and I would almost be able to recite it from page to page. I could even send my clone to the Academy and have it go to school for me. Hopefully, it didn't have to also participate in a taijutsu spar either, or my whole cover would have been blown.

Of course, Sensei, being the wet blanket he can be, limited my clone usage a day. He said I could only use about six a day. That didn't leave a lot of room for anything, so I usually did the easy stuff myself, while leaving the hard stuff, like the splitting of the waterfall, to my clones. It sucked not being able to ditch a day from the Academy, but it would be okay.

Besides my training, I had a few other things I was trying. Something more sociable.

I tried making friends in the Foundation. It seemed like the right thing, seeing many of these people I would be working with one day, and I wanted to make a nice impression.

No one told me that making friends with people that severely kept their emotions in check was hard. Everyone felt like a brick wall to talk to, and I didn't want to admit, but I didn't know how to approach them besides a "Hello" or saying some silly joke. I'd say it, they looked at me like I was saying something crazy, with the way they raised their eyebrows. After trying with a few people, I just stopped trying. It was not successful at all. It was mostly because these people were almost twice as old as me, or just disinterested in talking with me.

I stuck with trying to make friends with people around my age; the first person I tried was Amaya-senpai. However, that was a difficult task itself. She had been the same as I first met her. Quiet – so quiet, it almost felt like she wasn't there. I felt like I was always talking to her, always starting up the conversation. She had never attempted it. Not to mention every time I started a conversation with her, it felt like she forced herself to respond.

I tried getting some more words out of her lately, but it didn't seem to work. She would politely nod when I said something that she agreed with, shake her head 'no' appropriately, and spoke when she felt I needed her to. It was almost like she didn't have an opinion on anything. The only thing she was almost adamant against was going outside the village to do anything. I tried dragging her to Ichiraku's a few times and she refused. It wasn't because she hated ramen – because if she did, I would have strangled her by now – but it was just her general objection to go topside for anything. If it was to make her journey to get some weaponry, sure. If it was on some errand Danzō-sensei sent her one, sure. It was something other than that, she wouldn't do it, unless she was ordered to. It was frustrating, and there were times when I just wanted to scream at her but it wouldn't help. She wasn't totally at fault anyway.

Whatever Sensei made her go through in order to induct her into Root made her into this introverted girl who so stoic she seemed like a stone. It was one of the rare times I questioned what Sensei was doing with these people in Root. If it had been good for anyone.

But it wasn't all that bad. Not everyone was drones in this place. In fact, my first day in Root, I met two people who seemed actually... Normal. Something weird to say since we were all weird in a way. Sai and Shin were two adopted brothers that I met a few months back. However, they were very different from each other.

First, Sai: a boy who just got induced into the Foundation, with the suggestion of his adopted brother, Shin. Sai was very shy of a person, but seemed amicable towards me. He talked to me more than Amaya ever did and he was much more open. However, he did object going anywhere outside the underground base, unless to train with Shin or to relax with Shin. He never went anywhere with me or Amaya. It kind of bugs me sometimes. However, he wasn't a brick wall to talk to like Amaya-senpai was. We weren't that close, but at least it didn't feel like Sai was forcing himself to talk to me or anything.

As for his brother Shin, I could honestly say he was the only person in the base that didn't give me the heebie jeebies sometimes. Shin wasn't a freaking rock to talk to or a wallflower like Amaya and Sai could be sometimes. Shin was a cool person as well as open. He was talkative, often loud like me, and loved training. Mostly, he was friendly, and someone I was starting to enjoy having around, whether or not we were in Root. Unlike Amaya and Sai, Shin didn't object too much with going outside. He was the closest thing to a friend I could call here.

We talked, we trained together, often relaxing in the base's training quarters, and shooting the breeze. Shin had been around just about the same time I came in, I realized, as he told me where he was from, and why he came to Root. Much like me, Shin joined because he felt like he had no choice, like this was the only way to get strong. He was an orphan, and had no one. No mommy or daddy to make him happy. Danzō-sensei found him. Brought him in for his talents with the sword, taijutsu, and shurikenjutsu. Training with Root for over two years while attending the Academy, and then finally graduated. A few months behind graduating, I wanted to emulate Shin. Even when life was beating him down, he didn't let him affect him, and he was committed to becoming a strong shinobi of Konohagakure.

I immediately felt connected to him and his back story. It was my story as well, something we shared in common. We both needed something or someone to push us, then we got it in the form of Root. As days went by, I found myself hanging out with Shin. Months passed by, and Shin became my best friend. I found myself hanging around Shin and his younger brother, Sai. Whenever Sai was assigned to some sort of training, me and Shin hung together as well. Going out topside, training outside in the village's many training grounds, or getting a bite to eat. That often was a fight in itself. Shin liked eating udon, while I loved ramen. Which lead to some arguments, though it was all playful. No one in Root was like Shin. He was my first true friend that wasn't very older than me.

I met a few others at the base of Root but it was harder building a friendship with them since they weren't even close to my age. There weren't a lot of kids, besides me, Amaya-senpai, Sai and his brother Shin running around in the Foundation. The kids that were, I didn't even bother trying to talk to them because they were already mindless drones. Politely calling me "Uzumaki-kun" or "Uzumaki-kōhai" like Amaya-senpai called me. Fake smiles everywhere, the same sort of smiles I threw at people. None of them felt... Alive. It was like the life was sucked out of you. Amaya-senpai said that me, Shin and Sai were new recruits, and we didn't completely finish our emotional conditioning yet. Apparently, emotional conditional was more that suppressing your emotions ruthlessly in battle. There was more to this. If at the end of the conditioning turned us into them, I almost didn't want to become a Root shinobi.

"Almost" being the word there. I couldn't help it. I was still desperate to become a strong shinobi. Even if I was to become a drone, I would become one, even if I didn't want to. At all cost. Any hurdle thrown at me, I would jump over it.

Besides people my own age, I had some moderate success meeting people older than me.

I met two other older people that I had been able to strike some sort of conversation with. It had been with Sensei's two personal bodyguards, Fū-san and Torune-san. As quiet as they may be, or detached, they were willing to tell me their story.

Fū had auburn hair, amber eyes and usually walked around with a flat expression on his face. He was a serious man, just as stoic and expressionless like all the other guys in Root. He was strong, I could tell, and could kick my ass if we ever spared. According to him when I asked him, Fū had been training with Danzō-sensei ever since he was five. Younger than I was when I met Danzō-sensei, definitely. Much like everyone in Root, he had been an orphan, and Sensei picked him up and brought him in Root. An interesting fact was that the auburn man was a member of the Yamanaka Clan. I could have swore I seen on or two of them in the Academy once, but that could have been my wild imagination. Yamanaka were cool in my books. All those funky mind-control abilities. The ability to control people with their minds, from their limbs, to the way they acted, to their entire bodies. Hell, I even read that the strongest of them could even mentally speak with people. Telepathy was an awesome ability I would have loved having the pleasure of using.

Torune-san was the same. A calm man with the professionalism of a killer. Yet, he had been amicable and sent me a small smile once or twice. Maybe the smile was not as genuine as the ones Shin sent me at times, but it was friendly and polite. Torune was another of sensei's former students. He was an orphan from the Aburame clan, whose father died when he was very young. Sensei picked him up after he showed him his talents to him. I couldn't describe how he looked very much, besides the short black hair on his head, because all he did was wear a mask that only showed his jaw.

Yet another orphan. With how many orphans Danzō-sensei picked up, you would think he would be the one running the Konoha Orphanage. I was an orphan too – did Danzō-sensei have a habit picking up helpless kids up and training them to kill people?

Eh, details. There wasn't anything I was going to do about it, or willing to do about. Maybe those orphans had been like me. Having no parents was something everyone looked down against, adults and kids alike. Maybe those orphans wanted attention, respect, and power like me.

"Uzumaki-kun." A female voice brings me out of my thoughts. "Danzō-sama has asked me to retrieve you and bring him into his office."

"Ara? I wonder what the old coot wants, dattebayo. Maybe he lost his walking stick again, eh?" I tried joking lamely, trying to incite a chuckle, a snort, a laugh – anything out of Amaya.

The black haired girl simply does an almost imperceptible nod in my direction and gestures me to follow her. I grumbled, "One of these days, I will get you to laugh, Amaya-senpai."

She smiled politely, but I know a fake smile when I see one. "Of course, Uzumaki-kun."

"And stop calling me 'Uzumaki-kun', dattebayo! I told you just to call me Naruto! I call you Amaya, after all."

"Of course, Uzumaki-kōhai."

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. "Ugh, you're impossible."

A small smile on her face lights up, before she turned her back to me and started to leave the room I was practicing with my sword in.

I snorted in amusement. That smile wasn't as fake as the last one. Maybe I was starting to see some change in Amaya-senpai.

I left my wooden dagger in the training room, and straightened out my Root jacket and my black pants. I liked this outfit. The jacket was a solid black, with red straps on the shoulders. I also had a dark orange kimono under it and a black sash with it. A bright color like orange caused a stink in Root, since this group had been already an organization that was supposed to even more secretive than regular ANBU themselves. It took some time, but I managed to convince Sensei to let me wear it, at least until I was officially a shinobi. Unlike me, Sensei did not appreciate my love for the color orange. He could barely tolerate my obsession for ramen. Sensei was a party pooper like that.

It was dark enough to not completely look like I was shouting at my enemies to kill me, so Danzō-sensei didn't say much else about it. I like orange – sue me. It was a recent color I started to enjoy. I just had the pleasure of buying a few outfits today with the monthly stipend Root gave me to spend on getting basic materials such as shuriken, kunai, and outfits. I wasn't allowed to buy anything – legally anyway – other than that. No civilian could buy weaponry under the age 18 anyway. Even then, civilians couldn't purchase any ninja weapon or tool like exploding tags, ninja wire, or smoke bombs. Academy students were allowed to buy kunai and shuriken, but that's about it, really.

I used my money to buy shuriken and kunai mostly. I was given the spot where Root's special colleague sold goods to us for a discount. All I had to flash the cursed seal on my tongue, and he knew where I hailed from without a word. After I became a genin, I would get more discounts on better stuff, like swords. I was eyeing up a nice tantō in the store. Sharper edge and not the tip-less Root standard. Much thicker blade than the manufactured short sword most Root shinobi wielded. When I asked the shopkeeper about it, the Root colleague said it was a yoroidōshi. Armor piercing weapon. Great for stabbing people at a close range, which is where my style of fighting was starting to go down to. Danzō-sensei had made the suggestion long ago that wind release users had a great advantage fighting at short to mid-range, and since I was a swordsman, I would be better suited in an opponent's face instead behind, throwing long-ranged attacks.

The yoroidōshi fit me. I wouldn't have to worry about pesky armor some ninja like to use, and with wind – the ever cutting element – my style of fighting would be feared. Already imagining when I mastered wind as an element and using it one with my sword, I couldn't shake my excitement of buying the weapon. It would work awesomely if I had it now.

The shopkeeper knew I had my eye out on it, so he winked my way, and said he would try to keep it just for me. I thanked him, and wished him a good day after I left the store. He was a nice guy. I would definitely be visiting the store often. The first thing I would do when I became a genin would buy the yoroidōshi.

The last bit of my money went towards clothing and food to eat. Clothing that annoyed Danzō-sensei with the bright colors I liked to pick out, especially orange. Every time he saw me with it on, he had scolded me, as did others as well. All I did was stick my tongue out, and laugh at their annoyance at me.

Just to appease the old man, however, I wasn't a complete bastard when he sent me out to pick out some clothing for myself. I picked out a dark red, dark blue and, just for him, I also picked a dark green color kimono – his favorite color – so I could switch between them all. I just liked orange when we had our down times. I was still in the training part of my initiation into Root. I wasn't going on any missions anytime soon. Technically, it was illegal for any civilian to go on missions that were for ninjas anyway in Konohagakure. If Sensei didn't want Sarutobi-jiji up his ass about that, he wouldn't even try.

I walked up to my teacher's office, with Amaya at my side. I saw Sensei sitting at his desk, conversing with his guards, talking about something light. As soon as we come inside, the conversation in the room dies down. We both bowed deeply and, at Danzō-sensei's command, we arose and stood still.

I looked over at the Yamanaka bodyguard at Sensei's side and send him a nod. I didn't expect a nod from him, and I didn't get one, but one would have been nice.

Sensei came from his desk, stood up with his only hand resting on the familiar wooden cane I have always seen him walk around with. He addressed me with a small smile. "Naruto. I am surprised you're not busy working with the waterfall assignment I gave you a week ago."

I smiled slightly back. "Clones. Working outside the village as we speak. They can be quite useful since they don't need me to be in a close radius of me to function."

He nodded at that. "Of course. Well, the second part of your training will begin." The man said, this time no longer having a smile on his face. He was serious.

"What is next, sir?" Sensei was in business mode. That meant I was in business mode.

"The next part of the initiation into Root will be a test of your durability. When I tell you to, you will step into a room of which you will meet with one of my top acolytes. You will follow his instructors and wait for your next part of your test."

I nodded and bow, "Yes, Danzō-sama." I said seriously. Whatever next test sensei had in mind, I would pass it with flying colors.

Sensei just nodded and told me to follow Torune out of the room. I looked towards Amaya and she whispered a "Good luck" to me. It was a surprising effort. Amaya never really made much of an effort to talk to me, unless I forced her into conversation or my sensei told her to speak to me. I sent her a nod and make my way out of the room with the Aburame. Yet, I couldn't help but to think the "Good luck" was a little ominous.

Torune and I walked at a slow pace, walking down the steel and stone corridor until we stopped at a room. He simply says to me, "Enter" and I obliged. He then takes a look at me, and mutters a "Good luck" to me like Amaya. Again, Torune never tried talking to me, and he uncharacteristically muttered something my way. It all felt this part of my training was going to truly test me.

Nevertheless, I grinned confidently at the Aburame, studying the white and plain room for a small moment, and walk up to the new man in the room.

I studied his appearance and there isn't much. The man is wearing the standard black jacket of Root, with a matching kimono, pants and sandals. He's a lot taller than me, of course, and he's wearing a white mask with five red dots painted on its forehead. "Uzumaki-san?"

I nodded, and he gestured me to the door. "Shut the door, will you?" He said calmly. I did what he asked, remembering Sensei's words to follow this man's instruction. "I am Kaji, and I will be your instructor today. The test I will administer will test your loyalty to Root. This test will go on for about 45 minutes. After that, your results will be read to you. Should you fail, you will be kicked out of Root and possibly will never become a shinobi."

I gulped. Being kicked out of Root was one thing, but being kicked out of the Shinobi Program altogether? How? Did Danzō-sensei even have that authority? I was honestly spooked. I kept calm, and I send out a nod to the man. No time for worrying about it. "What do I need to know?"

"You will be given a code that you must memorize. You have a minute to memorize this three digit number." He gave me a sheet of paper with the number "265" jotted down on it. I looked it over and stare at it, trying to burn the number into my memory. "When you are ready, sit in the chair in the middle of the room and await the first part of the test." He then points to the only chair in the room – a metal fold out chair – and tells me to sit in and wait patiently.

Then I saw him weaving a few hand seals and I heard him shout out, "Nehan Shōja no Jutsu!"

And the world became black.


I woke up with a brain-splitting headache, and I felt terrible. Perhaps it's because I just woke up with the nastiest headache. Perhaps it's because I'm hung off the ground, hands up and my wrists tied to a tan-colored rope. Perhaps I noticed painful punches being laid upon my face and stomach. Perhaps it's because I tasted the copper taste of blood in my mouth.

Then it hit me – like literally. Someone's punching the shit out of me, like I was a punching bag.

I chocked out a painful groan as a blow connected with my face and then my stomach. Then I heard a chuckle that could make kids like me shit their pants. In a deep voice, a male's voice said, "So, little shit finally woke up, boys."

"Heh, finally. I was thinking we couldn't get to play." Another male voice said, this time sounding much more bloodthirsty.

"Easy Akira..." A third voice chuckled from the darkness. "We don't want unnecessary bloodshed. Well, more than what boss has been giving him for the last few minutes."

I took my time out to see a very large shinobi, with no hitai-ate on his head. He had dark hair, a large nose, and a gnarly scar running on his face, stretching from his ear to his nose. He had just a plain black cloak on, with a red jacket under. On his back, a katana rested there. The leader's two lackeys sauntered up behind him with no hitai-ate on their foreheads. They were nothing special, sporting similar outfits as their leader and similar cheeky grins. One had short hair than the other two, but that was about it. They looked like the type of people I passed in crowds and never batted an eyelash at. Forgettable. Nothing.

I noticed something else as I gazed at my surrounding with puffy eyes.

I'm no longer in the room with Kaji-san or doing any sort of testing of any sort. Now, I'm in some sort of dark room with a spotlight shining on my face. If I stared up into the bright-ass light, my eyes would start hurting.

I was a few inches off the ground, dangling uselessly and an easy target for a beating.

And so I get it, with a person snapping a brutal punch into my face, and another one doing the same again to me, but to my stomach. Then the third one punched me hard in my face, right in between my eyes and at the start of my nose. It's so hard, that I feel my nose bone break. It earned a scream out of me. I screamed so loudly, anyone in a 500 ft radius can hear me. I feel a warm feeling trickling down my face and I know it's my blood. I can't see it until it drips on my kimono and I have seen their smiles.

"Had enough, kid?"

I panted, looking at him with defiant eyes. "Fuck you."

"Oh ho, this kid is asking to be killed, Yung and Junpei. Let's fulfill his request!"

"Not yet, Akira. We'll be done soon. The kid's going to cave in, unless he wants us to butcher his cute little face." I felt a kunai graze against my skin. Its cold metal gave me a shiver that runs down my spine. "Ante up, kid. We just want to know the code. Once we get the code, you'll be freed and you can run back to your village."

"Code?" I asked stupidly. "What code?"

"The code, kid! It's the key to getting out of this place and finishing your test. You give us the code, and then we let you go. You don't tell us, and well, the beating continues."

"And why would I do that? This is just a genjutsu." Kaji already said it would be. This was all fake. I scoffed. "I don't need to tell you shit. I can outlast some damn illusion."

I said that confidently, and then I felt a sharp sting of pain when the leader of these nameless shinobi slices my leg with his kunai. I yelled, and the pain worsened when he jammed that same kunai into my knee cap. The genjutsu felt so real. Then he cut the same leg again with a newer kunai, leaving another deep cut. I tried my best to hold back tears from my face. Pain-filled tears still slipped from my eyes, and I looked down at my dangling legs.

The large shinobi, Yung, laughed again, my blood now on his jacket. "Oh, you poor little fool. You think this is a genjutsu, huh?" Then I felt something creep over me. Fear, death, hatred. Was, was this killer intent? Shit that Sensei warned me a long time about that some enemy ninjas exhibit to scare their enemies. The type of shit that makes you want to slit your throat and kill yourself with a kunai. Fortunately – or unfortunately – for me, I don't have such a weapon. "Danzō-sama gave us free reign to torture your little ass. A little something special for you, fucking brat."

"B-Bullshit. Sensei wouldn't let me just get tortured like this." Right? Sensei cared about me, right? This was some time of fucking genjutsu to fuck with me.

"If this was genjutsu, you would feel a disturbance in your chakra, correct?" To be honest, I didn't even feel my chakra at all. Either I was still dizzy with pain from how much they did to me, or they did something to fuck with my chakra. Some techniques out there had the ability to scramble a ninja's chakra for a little while, so it was hard for them to control that power. Not that it matters anyway. My hands were tied up, separated, so I couldn't even force them together to use the Genjutsu Kai technique.

I hated breaking genjutsu. I always sucked with doing it. My chakra control was good these days, but breaking illusions were never my forte. I haven't even gotten to the point of being able to break higher level ones and this had to be one. Not for a second I didn't believe it was one.

Then they started beating on me for the next ten consecutive minutes. One stabbed me with a kunai a few times, another kneed me in my privates, and the last one was playing dentist and knocking some of my fucking teeth out my mouth. So I was out of breath, full of holes, and missing teeth. If I could just get out of this... I was hanging there, at their mercy. All I knew then was the meaning of true pain. Getting lumps in a spar with Amaya-senpai, and Danzō-sensei meant nothing compared to this. Having the village hate me because they were convinced that I was the Kyūbi incarnate was nothing compared to this.

This was hell itself, and I predicted that it would represent my ninja career for the rest of the my life. All the hardships I will face as a ninja. I got beat by the inch of my life. Stab, punch, knee. Knee, punch, stab. Knee, stab, punch. Stab, knee, punch. What was really minutes, felt like hours. It was so bad that I forgot it was a genjutsu for a second, until I felt someone touch me with a warm hand and whispers to me.

A ninja grabbed my chin and holds onto it tightly. I don't know if its Akira or Yung or the other guy, and I don't care. I'm still very disorientated. "So, why don't you tell us what the code is? It would save you an entire beating, kid."

A silly grin came on my face. My visage was bruised, sporting a busted lip, and two black eyes. A really bad idea ran through my head. Being the stupid kid I am, I proudly spat back, "I forgot the code."

I barely could see, due to one of them trying to gouge one of my eyeballs out with their thumb from before, but I have seen annoyance blossom on the face of the large ninja, Yung. "You fucking did what?"

If I could have shrugged, I would have. "I said I forgot-" I never finished, as Yung punched me so hard in my stomach, that I puked my breakfast. I fly back, with a wail. I was so fucked up, I couldn't even recall what I ate for breakfast.

"You fucking forgot, eh? Well, we'll help you remember it!" Yung shouted like a madman. Then he took a swing to my jaw so hard, I swore he dislocated it. My jaw was buzzing in pain.

My head was swimming, and I was lost in my thoughts, trying my best not to cry out of anguish. I vaguely remembered what I ate after I got kneed in the teeth by Yung for the second time today.

Smoked sausage, toast, a bowl of fruit and some milk. Now it was a disgusting brown, red, and pink paste of vomit.

They asked me again to tell them the code after another few more minutes. I was counting how many times Akira stabbed me in my knee caps, but they stopped once more and the third member of the group said in a bored tone, "Give up already kid. You did well, but you're not cut out for Root. Maybe if you beg hard enough, Danzō-sama can still allow you to become a shinobi."

I panted, trying my best to catch my breath. "If... If I give you guys the code, I wouldn't deserve to become a shinobi. Turning my b-back on the person who helped me become strong, who helped me get closer to completing my dream? Betraying the one person in this damn village who acknowledges me? I would never... I would never do it!"

"You're a fucking fool, kid."

I had to answer smartly for that. "The biggest one." Honestly, I don't think I could take it anymore. This genjutsu was the worst one I have ever been in – a fucking nightmare. Then, I opened my big mouth and practically told the larger man to hit me. I closed my eyes, and waited patiently for the hit to my face but it never came.

"I think that's enough, Akira-san." A familiar voice says, and I see from the darkness of the room a person step inside. My master, Danzō. I see my three assailants back up from me, and I get a glimpse at the newer people in my room.

"Sen... Sensei.." I felt my teacher's hand on my shoulder, and I groaned in pain. "I-I..."

"Rest. You have done well, Naruto. More than I can hope." Sensei said, almost soothingly, as I have seen three ninja plop down and join us in the room. Immediately, I felt the soothing green chakra of medical ninjutsu.

I smiled at him, blood caked on my remaining teeth. "I did it. I didn't give them the code..."

"I know, child," Either I detected still under some effects of the genjutsu or a hint of sorrow in my master's voice. "Your test was not an easy one to condone, but it had to be done. In your life, if you have the misfortune of being captured by the enemy, you will have to deal with the same torture I just put you through."

"Heh. I'm guessing that's without the genjutsu." I said sarcastically, making up my mind to never be captured in my life. I would rather die fighting than to be captured and tortured.

Sensei just shook his head, a frown on his face. "You were never under a genjutsu, child."


I had injuries for the next few days, but thanks to the Kyūbi and Shinji-san – the medical-nin I met when I first fought Amaya-senpai – I wasn't down for long. By the time of the third night, my cuts were fully gone without so much of a scar. My jaw was back in its right place – they had to snap it back together and it hurt like hell – and the only thing I had to worry about was taking my painkillers for the next few days. There wasn't a lot that detract me from training, so I went back to it. I decided I would keep it easy and not train extensively and brutally as I usually did. I did my rep of bokken swings in the training room and tinkered with some of my lower-level ninjutsu, before relaxing for a few hours.

Sensei explained a little after I woke up from my injuries that the torture had been real and it wasn't a genjutsu. Mine had been different that the others before me. While they had genjutsu and a short time because of the fear of a normal human's beings limits being broken, my test was longer and both real. He didn't necessarily say why my test was so brutal, but I figured it out myself.

It was made to break me down, and reshape me. The test was to serve a purpose to not only see how long I would last but to see if I was truly ready to face the harsh reality of being a shinobi. Being a ninja wasn't about saving princesses and being a hero. Most of the time, you were the bad guy. Most of the time you were killing the princesses for jealous nobles. Most of the time, you bared the weight of the village on your shoulders, and you were looked upon to do the best damn job you could do for your village or die trying.

It was something I tried ignoring when being in Root. I tried ignoring that maybe the reason most of the people here was because Danzō-sensei broke them. He broke them down to their most weakest forms, molded them with clay and shaped them into hardened shinobi. Maybe the reason Fū-san, Torune-san, and Amaya-senpai, and everyone in Root acted like expressionless lap dogs awaiting orders because they were lap dogs to Danzō Shimura. Everybody was a soldier in the Foundation, everyone who passed the second test.

Sensei said there was one more test coming up in a few months, close to the date of me graduating from the Academy. Training was one thing, but that torture was one of the hardest things I was forced to live through. Now it was another test, and I knew it was the hardest one of them all.

But I quickly learned not to care. I was so close to becoming a Root member, a shinobi. I was almost there. Just one more test. One more test and I would be ready. I refused to give up. I had my dreams, my ambitions. I had thoughts, I had views. They would be heard. I already promised to myself that I would care out his will if I made in Root but I would not become a nameless ninja in this organization. My dream was going to happen. I would be remembered.

I would not be forgotten.

End.


A/N: And thus, the second test. Up next, the third...

Shin and Sai have modified backgrounds. In canon, Shin was already a Root member who already went through emotional condition, yet connected with Sai because Shin liked Sai's art and saw something inside him. Then he died soon after. In this story, they are adopted brothers already, and Shin encouraged Sai should join in order for them to become stronger and recognized by the village. Shin is also starting to become important in Naruto's life as well.

The torture scene was necessary, showing Naruto that the shinobi world could be a dark and unforgiving place – a lesson he's starting to take it. More and more Naruto is become aware of his master's brutal methods, mental training and emotional conditioning. I imagined that Root goes through the same routine in canon as well, or close to it. Still, it doesn't prepare him for what his master has in store for him next...

Thanks to everyone who's so far liking the story. I'm enjoying writing it. It's nice to write stuff like this again. I'm not doing too shabby, if I do say myself.

OCs

Akira, Yung and Junpei – Minor characters that only will serve as torturers of Naruto and associates of Danzō. They acted their part and more than likely, will never be in this fic again.
Kaji – Faceless soldier. Shares the same name with Evangelion's Ryōji Kaji. Same thing with Shinji from before. Doesn't share his triple agent status though.

Hehe, thanks for reading, guys. Until next time!Translation List:

Hitai-ate – Forehead Protector
Henge no Jutsu – Transformation Technique
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique
Kawirimi no Jutsu – Body Replacement Technique
Nawenuke no Jutsu – Rope Escape Technique
Nehan Shōja no Jutsu – Temple Of Nirvana Technique
Yoroidōshi – Armor Piercer: An extra thick, 20-22 cm tantō with the ability to pierce armor while at close-range combat, even at grappling distance. The blade had some examples of different designs being as small as 15 cm as well.