Diana Louis
Diana Louis
Disclaimer- Please don't sue for I am not the Naruto guru. This anime I do not own (and for this I groan) this is a profitless creative clone and for that I atone.
Naruto winced as he bandaged a particularly painful sore left from his training with Sasuke. The biggest bruise on his left cheek was already fading from Kyuubi's powers.
His heart clenched painfully when he remembered the words Sasuke had thrown after he was beaten to the ground.
"What's wrong dobe, can't get up? Are you that weak?"
Yes. Naruto's mind answered the question. He was that weak. When he could barely find the strength to not grab a kunai and slice down his arms each day how could he be expected to fight against an Uchiha?
Naruto stood up from his hard bed and put up all the medical supplies inside a cabinet in his small half bathroom.
He glanced outside the window and noticed it was already night.
"Now is as good a time as ever," Naruto said while he dug to the very back of his closet. He pulled out a black shozoko(1). After Naruto put it on, the only parts of his body that could be seen were his eyes and hands through the small slits in the fabric.
Naruto searched through the floor of the closet before he found a hidden latch that pulled open a compartment. Inside was a scroll Naruto had stolen from the library when he was much younger. By chance he had come across the scroll towards the dark back of the library; the only place Naruto could be around without getting caught and kicked out. The scroll contained mostly ninjutsu techniques created by an unknown ninja decades before Naruto's birth. The majority of the techniques were B rank and above so Naruto had decided to wait until he became a genin before trying the techniques.
Naruto placed the scroll on a shoulder strap securely and moved on to open his window. He quietly sneaked out and closed the window. He wasn't worried about being caught since he was completely camouflaged with his dark clothes. Naruto had also done this countless times and knew which paths were hotspots for Anbu and other ninja.
He jumped the roofs gracefully and quietly without any of his steps making a sound. He soon got to his destination, The Forest of Death. He entered it and ran through the trees until he got to his familiar meadow.
The meadow was in the heart of The Forest of Death protected by trees and hard to spot but than again not many people entered the forest.
Naruto placed the scroll on the ground and quickly gathered chakra to his hands.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" yelled Naruto his voice echoing across the empty grounds. Naruto's image split to create two shadow clones.
One of Naruto's clones grabbed the scroll and went to another side of the meadow to practice the ninjutsu techniques. The remaining clone went off to practice Taijutsu and create suitable moves for Naruto's immense stamina and chakra coils. The real Naruto stood where he was and sighed at having to train his weakest category of jutsu, Genjutsu.
Naruto sat down on the forest ground and closed his eyes to meditate. He steadied his breathing and calmed his body to focus on his inner mind. There was only one thing stopping Naruto from mastering Genjutsu with his usual determination and ability, The Kyuubi.
Naruto entered his mind's landscape, regrettably a sewer something Naruto promised to change in the near future. He went deeper and deeper until he got to the center of his mind.
Most of the space was taken up by an enormous golden cage with a small slip of paper attached to it spelling out the word Seal. Naruto walked closer to the cage until he could spot a crimson shape moving inside.
"Kyuubi," gently whispered Naruto yet his voice carried to the demon who froze and turned around to gaze at him with deep blood colored eyes.
"Brat," the nine tailed demon answered a smirk appeared on his face as if knowing Naruto's reason for coming into the hellhole that was his mind.
"I'll get straight to the point," Naruto strongly declared, "How can I improve my Genjutsu with the disadvantage of having to manipulate both our minds to get stronger techniques?"
"And what makes you think I can answer that or even want to help a mortal like you?" Kyuubi asked his smirk widening.
"As I am sure you know I'm weakest at Genjutsu which highly increases my chances of dying in any future mission above C rank. I know you have millenniums of experience and are adept at mental torment so I will only say one thing; if I die you also die." Naruto explained a smirk growing on his own face while he kept eye contact with the demon.
Kyuubi's smirk diminished before turning into full blown out laughter.
"I like you kit and for that I'll let you in on some knowledge. Don't expect this to be easy, there will be times where you won't be able to move from the migraines. Meet me here every other day and prepare for psychological agony," Kyuubi told Naruto before he turned around to dismiss him.
Naruto subtly gulped at his words walking away to get back to the real world.
Naruto opened his eyes to see a full moon and a dark sky sprinkled with stars. Naruto released his clones and clenched his eyes at the sudden flow of information passed down from their training. He got up and went to retrieve the scroll his clone was practicing before heading home as quiet and discreet as a shadow.
He had to mentally prepare himself for another day of ignorant teammates equipped with hurting words and actions. Naruto groaned at the thought.
(1) Shozoko- Ninja uniform typically worn in three colors: Black for night missions, White for winter missions and Green to blend into the background (forests, summer...etc).