Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other Reference character I may use in here. The plot however, I do own.
AN: I apologize to those who expected an early upload, I was caught up with the life of being a college student. This chapter had been ready for a while now already but I was really busy so I forgot to upload it.
"Hey, that's mine"- speaking
'I wonder what I'll have for dinner?' - thoughts
Bold letters means shouting, tailed beast talking, jutsu or sfx
This day had been Naruto's fourth day after the transport. The first day he had spent on general cleaning of the house, the second spent on changing his wardrobe and getting food supplies. The third day, which was yesterday; was spent on buying new furniture for his house as well as a little research about anything in general. He realized that his house needed a makeover and since he had spare cash and with enough food on his fridge he decided to go with the plan. Unfortunately, though his supplies needed for training and living were already secured; he no longer had any savings left.
This morning had been rather great in the Konoha. The weather was beautifully clear, neither to sunny nor too humid. The birds were chirping, singing their melodies, the people were busy with their own businesses; the children were playing with one another with glee. Naruto had always been fond of days like this.
During his previous life; he and Shikamaru would spend days like this lazing around training ground 3 when they had spare time. Training ground 3 was a rarely used training ground as there was a grassy hill there with a single tree which provided shade. The landscape was elevated and thus, not too practical for training it was rare to find anyone there; it was the perfect place for him and Shikamaru to nap until they grew bored of lazing around. Unfortunately for Naruto, he could not just simply walk to that training ground as it would be too suspicious for him to walk there when the said training ground was not a commonplace for a nine year old kid.
Naruto was taking his time relaxing on the kitchen with a ladle on his hand, humming a tune while stirring the stew he was cooking. This was when a loud knocking and a familiar voice was heard on his front door.
"Naruto!Open Up!" The familiar voice yelled out again.
Naruto walked to the door to welcome the person, who was yelling quite rudely "Coming!" He shouted back as he was still far from the door.
When Naruto finally opened the door and saw the person, his mind suddenly went to panic.
'Crap, I knew I forgot about something major. I was too busy about correcting my current lifestyle that I forgot about the last thing I should have forgotten. How could a student ever forget about going to school?!' Naruto was already panicking inside. His past self may had liked lazing around but he was not a delinquent. He had never missed even a single day in class without a proper excuse.
"What the hell were you thinking making three absences in a row? Don't you know your grades are already on the verge of being blank space and here you are lazing around with no care in the world. Just what were you….." The man's rant was stopped when he looked around Naruto's apartment.
'Just the perfect opportunity for an excuse' Naruto thought.
Naruto scratched the back of his head as an act to reduce the tension, chuckling to further diffuse the man's growing annoyance "Hehe. Iruka-Sensei, the other day I thought I'd do some cleaning since my house was too much of a mess. The house was so messy so I took longer than I thought. I was gonna come to school today though. Since you're already here, why don't you accompany me and have a breakfast. I actually cooked more food than I could eat, I was thought of having it for lunch. But since you're already here…" He left the words hanging and walked to the kitchen to put the finishing touch on the stew.
Naruto readied two bowls for him and Iruka; who was now seated on one of his new chairs. The Chunnin instructor had been silent for a while now, not that Naruto minded it a bit. As long as Naruto got away with his absences, he was OK with the man keeping his opinions for himself.
What Naruto didn't know was the internal turmoil that was going on the head of Iruka.
The man's brain was on shock, trying to process the changes that Naruto he had seemingly undergone over the past few days. He had not only cleaned his apartment, changed his wardrobe and refurnished the said apartment but he had also gone a one-eighty degree change in attitude. The Naruto that Iruka had known was a boisterous knuckle head who had been equally fond of the color orange and ramen. Meanwhile, this Naruto acted very different from that one. This Naruto was reserved, calm, polite, and most importantly; this Naruto does not have a verbal tic*datebayo!. He even had a new haircut. Iruka felt that Naruto looked like somebody familiar with his new look, though he couldn't put his finger as to who he looked like.
Right now, Iruka felt like a total stranger around this new Naruto.
Iruka's train of thought was stopped when an exquisite aroma infiltrated his system. He shook his head out of his stupor and looked at the source of the delicious smelling aroma.
Looking in front of him, he immediately saw the source. It was the stew that Naruto had invited him into eating. He could see the outline of chicken meat as well as a few vegetables he could recognize in the stew.
'He even COOKs nutritious food instead of just boiling ramen!' Iruka thought.
"Iruka-sensei, it's rude to keep the food waiting you know"
'He even has, table manners now!'
Apparently, Naruto had already taken his seat on the opposite chair and removed the apron he was wearing when Iruka entered the household. Iruka looked around and noticed that he had already prepared the table as well as the food down to the last detail, silverwares included.
The Chunnin kept his silence, still not fully able to process the situation. He felt so awkward that he couldn't even trust his voice. So instead, he nodded to Naruto and started eating. Upon taking his first spoon, his eyes widened. The stew wasn't just good, it was great. This made Iruka feel even more like a stranger to Naruto.
Both of them finished the food in silence. Not one word was said during the meal due to the same reason. Both persons did not know what to speak of due to different reasons.
Iruka's reason was that he felt like a total stranger to Naruto due to his sudden change of behaviour while Naruto just didn't know which words to say. In his previous life; he wasn't that close to Iruka as the man had only been his instructor for his first two years in the academy. This time, Iruka would seem to be his counterpart's sensei for a longer time. And if based by the fact that Iruka home visited Naruto even though he was a "Jinchūriki", then this must mean that 'he' and Iruka had been quite acquainted and probably in good terms.
As Naruto excused himself from Iruka to clean the tables and clean the dishes. The Chunnin had finally mustered the courage to open a casual conversation.
"So, what brought the sudden change?" He started
'That was the same thing Kenzou asked last time, guess he must be just as awkward to me as I am to him' Naruto thought before replying "Puberty I guess" He was cleaning the dishes while he said this.
"You're nine" Iruka stated with a deadpan face.
"I guess I'm an early bloomer then?"
Naruto felt that the conversation wasn't going as smoother than it was supposed to be so he decided to be the one take the step to make the conversation more comfortable.
"It's still seven Iruka-sensei, and the class doesn't start till eight. Do you mind if I go to the school with you?" Naruto knew he wasn't the best in making conversations but figured that at least he tried.
"That would be fine, I guess?"
"Good! Then I'll just finish washing this and were good to go"
Silence ensued again after the brief exchange. Naruto was fast enough to change to his school clothing and bring his textbook as well as all his other academy items. He had already done the process in his previous life so he was familiar to the things he should be bringing.
The two walked in a moderate pace and arrived at the academy a few minutes later. During their walk, Naruto noticed that the populace of Konoha had been giving him strange looks as if they did not know how to respond to his sudden change. As they walked towards the classroom, Iruka could no longer take the awkwardness and decided to clear himself in front of Naruto.
"Look Naruto, whatever brought the change. I'm happy that you are finally deciding to take your life seriously. I know what that you're life isn't easy as most of the children as you are living alone, but skipping classes for pranking would do you no good either. You must do your best and take your lessons at school to heart. To be a proper ninja, you must have not only physical duress but also fortitude. This is why you are being trained in the academy before being sent to the field, to give you preparation for what is the worst that may come. I truly hope that from now on, you will try to put enough effort in your academy classes Naruto."
Naruto's face brightened up at the man's speech as he replied "I must have been a really naughty boy then Iruka-sensei. Don't worry, mistakes were made. I'm still nine after all, so I have all the time in the world to change those mistakes. That speech was great sensei; you were really a teacher straight to the heart"
Naruto's compliment surprised Iruka just as much as it delighted him, after all; it's not every day that Naruto Uzumaki complimented you. This was the first time that Naruto a direct compliment to Iruka since the day he had been his sensei three years ago during Naruto's first year in the academy. Iruka's awkwardness around Naruto receded for a bit and he tried to make a light joke.
"With the complete change proves the fact that you are finally growing up, Naruto. Who knows, one day your dream of being a Hokage may become a reality" Iruka stated.
"Hokage? That troublesome job? Nah, I think I'll pass. There are a whole lot of other things to do out there than stay inside an office and do paperwork. I'd rather tend my own greenhouse garden than do that job"
This made Iruka stop dead on his tracks in shock but he was quick to recover as he chastised Naruto "I'll have you know that being a Hokage isn't just simply about staying inside an office and doing paperwork, although I won't argue that it is most of the time. It is a respectable job, without the Hokage. A village will… … … ….."
And so Iruka went on with his ten minute lecture about what being a Hokage really was. Iruka didn't notice that Naruto had not been listening to him halfway through the lecture. During this time, Naruto thought about the previous day.
Just yesterday, before buying furniture for his house; Naruto had walked around the town to survey the population about their opinions about him. The results were as expected, he was considered as the same as the kyuubi; a monster. That didn't bother him nevertheless; he never had much care to people who wouldn't even bother to know him personally. His previous life, he was hardly considered as 'Naruto the kid', but rather, he was known as 'Naruto the hero'. This time around was no different than back there. These people considered him as 'Naruto the monster'.
He also found out that his counterpart had a dream of being a Hokage. Naruto figured out the truth behind that reasoning. His counterpart didn't actually want to be a Hokage for the position, he wanted the position so that he would be given attention and respect. Him however, didn't need that same attention and respect as he had loads of those in the past. What he needed was life, living life doing what you want and discovering new things. The fact that the face of the four Hokage's on the mountain was the first thing you would see upon exiting Naruto's apartment was probably another factor.
The study room in his previous life was massive and he hadn't even seen the best of it. He wanted to know more, to learn more. For that, he must grow stronger. As knowledge meant being painted as a target, anybody who has learned too much would surely catch the eye of powerful individuals. Knowledge is indispensable. Science, technology, astronomy, chakra manipulation are only a few examples of knowledge that can turn the tides of war or make a nation prosper. He had no time to sit around and do paperwork inside an office for years.
And thus, Naruto decided that he must train to be strong enough so that even a Kage would be no match for him. So that in the future, he could do what he want and nobody could intervene with his work. He would not be bound to Konoha. Knowledge existed everywhere and not just in this village! So why must he lock himself up in this place?
"…and that's why you should respect the position" Iruka had finally finished his rant.
Luckily, Naruto had noticed this and went with the flow.
"I guess I'm sorry for undermining the work of the Hokage then sensei, why don't we go to the room already. We have less than five minutes before class"
Iruka looked at his watch and nodded. The two walked straight to the room with moderate pace. Iruka was first to enter.
As Naruto entered through the doorway, he heard a set of loud gasps. He looked to the source and found his classmates staring at him with varying facial expressions, most of them being shocked . Naruto knew it was his sudden change of clothes that made them notice him, what he overlooked was his change of appearance too. Yesterday he had asked Kenzou for a barber who would trim his hair a bit. It wasn't necessarily a new hairstyle, more like a simple haircut that reduced his hair. It wasn't that they never saw Naruto with this haircut, he had to have a haircut every now and then after all; or else his hair would grow so long that it would make him look like a girl. It was just that his wardrobe change was accompanied his haircut that it emphasized its effects to his classmates.
Naruto looked around the classroom wondering where his seat was supposed to be. He hadn't thought that there were no nametags on the seats in this place. During his previous life, the academy was organized enough that they had made specific name tags that were put on the table of each student so that there would be little to no confusion upon the start of the school years.
When he was looking around, he noticed that Shikamaru had been subtly signalling him to take the seat on his right, it was probably his place. Naruto then walked to the seat. Just as he had seated himself, Iruka called out for the class to start. Getting over their shock, the class stood up and gave the compulsory greetings.
"So, what brought up the sudden change Naruto?" Shikamaru asked him just as they had finished greeting.
"That's actually the third time somebody asked me that same question in a few days, are you in some sort of conspiracy?"
"I don't think I need to be in a conspiracy to ask that obvious question. It would be stranger if I chalked it up as a common occurrence of somebody turning one-eighty degree in personality, especially somebody of your kind"
Naruto sighed, feeling too tired to explain his alibi once more "You were never the type to directly confront somebody to know something. You were always at the side-lines; watching and observing silently till you come up with the perfect conclusion which means that you can't come up with an explanation this time around, at least one that has little flaws"
Naruto's answer surprised Shikamaru.
A chuckle escaped Shikamaru's mouth just as he replied to Naruto's assessment of him "Another puzzle-piece added again huh. You were also never the observant one Naruto but rather, you were the weird one. I could never know what to expect between that brain of yours. You manage to surprise me every time I think I have you all figured out"
"Trust me; It's too troublesome to explain the reason. Besides, haven't you thought that it would be something simple? Like, what if I just grew up?"
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed with what Naruto's reply "I may know only little of you Naruto. And one of those is that you never have a simple ulterior motive. But if you don't want to say it, then who am I to pry for more information"
"Hey you two! The class has already started!" The voice of Iruka boomed and it stopped the two from conversing.
The whole class suddenly started laughing at the expense of the two. This time around, Naruto noticed some of them were just chuckling with mirth and with a strange expression in their faces as they covered their mouths, the ones with those expressions being a few of the the females of the room.
'Tsk. There's no doubting it, it's infatuation' Naruto figured. He wasn't surprised though, he had heard that the fourth Hokage which was his father also had his own share of admirers. And now that he himself had himself fixed, his genetics were playing their role on him.
Naruto apologized to Iruka for his ignorance and the put his focus on the current topic.
"Now let's get back to the topic. I'll just retrace a bit so that Naruto and Shikamaru can follow. Our topic today is about 'Soul Scripts'. Anybody who has an idea can raise their hands and I'll try to rectify any wrong conclusions you may have already thought are correct"
A few hands were raised, all of them being of those with ninja background in their family. Iruka then picked a blond girl.
"My father said that 'Soul Scripts' are in essence, a piece of our own soul. Although it has never been proven, it is believed to be a materialization of one of the qualities of our soul. They manifest with great diversity or variation. Some manifest in the form of an 'ability' and some in the form of physical augmentation or mutation, there are other types of manifestation but they are minority in number compared to the first two that I have stated"
As the girl was explaining, Naruto's head was whirling with a myriad of different thoughts.
'What! A Soul Script? We weren't taught of that on my previous life. There was no way that 'Soul Script' exists in my previous life, something major like that would surely be taught to academy students. This must mean that there are new things here that don't exist in my previous world. I have to be more careful and observant for other things that maybe not present in my previous world' The thought of new things that exist in this world surprised Naruto and at the same time, it excited him. 'This just means more for me to learn, who knows. I might even get one myself' he thought.
"Perfectly said, just as expected of somebody with a ninja clan background. You can sit down Ino. Now, if anybody has a question about what Ino just explained; you can raise your hand and we will move from that question to clarify any misunderstandings you may have gotten" Iruka said.
A random civilian boy raised his hand and asked a question.
"Sensei, if they are just simply granting abilities. Then doesn't that mean that they are simply variations of Kekkei Genkai? I mean, if you look at Hinata-san who has a Byakugan doujutsu; which is a type of Kekkei Genkai. Then it can be qualified as a 'Soul Imprint' as it has a physical manifestation as it makes their eyes be all-white and they grant Hinata-san the ability to see through things like x-ray vision"
Shino raised his hand just as the kid finished speaking and sat down, Iruka allowed the kid to speak. It seems the kid would like to answer the previous assumption of his classmate.
"In order to not cause confusion about Kekkei Genkai and 'Soul Imprints', I would like to review you about what a Kekkei Genkai is before explaining their differences. A Kekkei Genkai or also known as BloodlineLimit are abilities that can be passed down genetically within specific clans through blood and not just contract. The BloodlineLimits have records stating that they have existed just as long as we had been able to control chakra, thus predating the warring eras. It is proven that 'Soul Scripts' are not Kekkei Genkai due to multitude of reasons, the first and most prominent one is that; Kekkei Genkai cannot be obtained without having the genetic composition of an individual who has access to that particular kind of bloodline. Although there were rare cases that Kekkei Genkai's would mutate and form into either a more potent type or an inferior type, some have modified types but never a different one. This means that it is impossible to get a Kekkei Genkai if you have no ancestors without a bloodline. This is proven correct as no civilian without ninja background has Kekkei Genkai. However the case of 'Soul Imprints' are different as there are civilian without ninja background had been able to attain their 'Soul Imprints'. Furthermore, a Kekkei Genkai can only be activated and used if the individual who has it had training to mould chakra even in the simplest ways. A great example would be the Byakugan of the Hyuuga Clan, they are proven to be Kekkei Genkai as they are hereditary as well as they require the process of being capable of moulding chakra to activate. The Soul Imprints on the other hand, do not always have this requirement. There have been civilians with no prior chakra training that were capable of utilizing their own 'soul scripts'. Also, while bloodlines require chakra to be utilized; some Soul Scripts do not. I believe it would be best if sensei would give us an example for this"
"Those were very good representations of the difference between Soul Imprints and Bloodlines, Shino. Actually, as of now; We do not actually have a great understanding of what Soul Imprints are so you shouldn't be surprised if you don't find anything about it in the Konoha Library with your current access. The earliest record of their existence were during the warring era's. As of how we can identify whether somebody is using a Soul Imprint and not a Kekkei Genkai is simple. Watch and listen closely" Iruka stated.
Iruka closed his eyes after explaining. He was standing still with no apparent movement aside from his mouth that were opening and closing as if muttering something that could almost be passed off as whistling, it was too weak that it would surely be unheard had the whole class not been totally silent. The whole classroom watched closely for any change that might be happening. After about a minute of repeating what he was doing, Iruka opened his eyes. Just as he did, the whole class was awed with whatever that he did, many statements were made but one kids voice stood out above the others.
"Woah! Look at his eyes. They're glowing blue" Kiba Inuzuka said loudly.
True to the Inuzuka's statement, Iruka's eyes glowed like the blue of the sea.
"Sensei, are you ok!" the worried voice of some were heard echoing.
"I'm alright now, stop screaming because it's hurting my ears" Iruka replied
The whole room then stopped their uproar and once again, silence ensued as they waited patiently for their teachers explanation of the previous event.
"This is how a 'Soul Imprint' looks like…" Iruka started "Soul Imprints, when used; usually make a part of the user glow a certain color depending on the attribute that the manifestation is aligned into. My 'Soul Imprint' manifested as a form of tracking or sensory ability. A voice will resonate in the head of a Soul Imprint holder when they learn how to properly call upon their Soul Imprint, this voice will dictate the name of the Ability. This ability can only be called forth if you call upon it with its name, whether verbal or only in your thoughts; just as long the user means to use the ability"
"What's the name of your Soul Imprint Iruka-sensei?" The same loud voice of Kiba boomed.
Iruka scolded Kiba due to his loudness "I said no screaming Kiba! I didn't fully activate this ability so there are still drawbacks and restrictions. But to answer your question, my ability is called as 'Echolocation', True to its name; it allows me to echoes of sound waves that will bounce off of solid surfaces near them, the sound waves will bounce back to me and let me know what particular object that is by guessing it through its shape; Unlike the Byakugan that allows X-ray vision, mine gives me vision in a way that I will know the shape and location of the nearby objects around me up to a few kilometres at max, provided they are unobstructed since sound waves can only travel through vacuum and are severely crippled in solid objects"
"That's so cool sensei! Can you prove it by locating something you can't see inside this room!" Kiba seemed to be overexcited with the topic as he was enthusiastic while speaking.
Iruka grinned as he made an example "Akamaru is located under Kira's desk, it would seem that you commanded him to look for her undergarments"
Kiba's partner dog ran out of the girls desk and ran to hide in Kiba who dodged the said girls punch. Kiba's head grew a bump when he failed to being unable to evade the punch but didn't reply as he was guilty of the crime.
"Does this mean you were muttering 'echolocation' earlier to activate the ability before sending the sound-waves sensei?" This time, a random civilian was the one to ask the question. Iruka's eyes already went back to normal the exchange which meant he had deactivated the ability.
"That would be a no, 'echolocation' is what others people call my ability but there are a lot of different echolocation users. The signature name of my ability would be 'Dolphin's Echo' which is what I call upon in my name to activate it. Each user has a different name but there are similar abilities that can be categorized as the same group. My ability was probably activated due to my surname being Umino which means 'Dolphin'. We cherish our names greatly and as such, they are bound to our souls. This probably resonated within me and granted me the ability of a dolphin which is echolocation. Also, I told you that Soul Imprints have alignments. Alignments are places or elements that are closely related to your ability. This is not to be confused with chakra nature however" Iruka paused for a bit before continuing "Naruto, can you tell us about Chakra Natures?"
In reality, the five chakra natures were still untaught to them as it was a more advanced topic for students due to their knowledge on chakra nature being vaster compared to Soul Imprints. Iruka wasn't expecting Naruto to answer but rather, he was testing how the new Naruto would react to a question whose lesson wasn't even taught to the class yet.
It was safe to teach Soul Imprints at an early age as the chances of getting them were remotely low as well as they are usually manifesting at early age too, so it was needed to be taught to prepare them in case of it manifesting earlier. Chakra Nature on the other hand is another topic, they could only be trained in order to be attained by a person, and so it wasn't necessary to teach it to younger individuals.
What Iruka didn't expect was for Naruto stand up and answer the question with great ease.
"The chakra natures or more commonly known as the 'Five Basic Natures' are the five elemental chakra natures, which are the foundation of all elemental Ninjutsu. The five of them are as follows; Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth and Water. Each element is naturally weaker than and stronger than another. Fire is strong against Wind but weak against Water. Wind is strong against Lightning but weak against Fire. Lightning is strong against Earth but weak against Wind. Earth is strong against Water but weak against Lightning and last. Water is strong against Fire but weak against Earth" Naruto then sat down just as he notice that the whole class was awed by his knowledge. It wasn't every day that you see the dead last knucklehead Naruto Uzumaki answer a question still untaught by Iruka.
Iruka himself was impressed and applauded Naruto for his perfect answer. Naruto had curtly thanked the teacher for his compliment which further increased Iruka's respect for Naruto as he was showing modesty.
"Show Off!" Kiba shouted.
"Shut up Kiba or I'll punch your head again" it was the same girl who bonked his head earlier. Kiba squeaked out of fear and kept his silence.
Iruka decided to intervene and diffuse the situation "That was an unnecessary remark Kiba" He looked at the class and continued "Naruto's answer was straight up correct. The five chakra natures are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth and Water; and as I have said. Soul Imprints are categorized into two kinds as you may recall that Ino stated earlier. The two are, Ability Manifestation and Physical Manifestation. Ability manifestations are those that only grant abilities to the user without any physical change barring the glowing part of the body when a user activates his ability. I belong in this category as I do not undergo physical change when using 'echolocation'. As I have said, we have different alignments for each ability. Mine, is everywhere that is underwater. My Soul Imprint was based on the echolocations of Dolphin's as such, my ability works best when submerged underwater. Due to this, if I am inside the area of my alignment which is underwater, my abilities effects can be doubled and even quadrupled under the right conditions. I will also have full access to it during that time"
"What about the other category sensei?" another random student asked.
"Physical Manifestations are Soul imprints that of course, change your physical appearance and either augment your other physical capabilities or grant you a new one. A great example would be Alphonse Elric, also known as 'The Living Armor' though we were never able to learn of its actual Soul Imprint name. His Soul Imprint allows him to transform his body into a living armor made of an unknown material. His ability grants him near impenetrable defence. It's a good thing that he isn't affiliated to any hidden village as he would be a force to be reckoned with should he be sent to war in case a need for one arises. Another example is the son of the third Hokage who is Asuma Sarutobi, he is one of the 'wind people' and the signature name of his imprint is 'Flight of the firebrand'. Firebrand is actually a bird that is native to fire country where we are now located. His ability manifests as wings that grow on foot giving him the ability to 'fly', but in actuality; he is actually just riding the 'wind'. This gave him the moniker 'Konoha's Wind Rider'" Iruka finished.
"These abilities are really great sensei, how do we know if there is a possibility that we would get one, and is it possible to get more than one?" Naruto asked. He was now really excited of the thought of getting one of these abilities.
"It is possible to get more than one ability; it may be uncommon but it's not too rare. Some even have as much as five but they will be another topic for another day. The question to knowing who can get a Soul Imprint is quite tricky. Most, if not all of us with Soul Imprints agree that we are chosen by 'Nature' to have a manifestation. The criteria were never given, whether a person is good or bad does not seem to affect the choice. What we have noticed though is that all of those with Soul Imprints have strong ties to where their abilities are derived from. I was fond of my name which gave me a dolphin's ability. Asuma-san was also a fireguardian and was known to have a great understanding of how the element of wind works. Whatever the criteria is, we do not and it is doubted to be ever revealed. The voice telling the name of the ability will also only be heard once and it will never return"
"I see, thanks for the answer sensei"
"It is my role as your teacher to teach you proper knowledge and remove any misunderstanding you have in any topic as long as you are in school. Now who else has a question?" Iruka asked the classroom.
The whole morning revolved around the same topic. Most of the questions being redundant or had already been answered indirectly but Naruto still listened to every bit of the topic. He had to, if he wanted to have an inkling of obtaining this so called 'Soul Imprint'.
By the end of the morning and as lunch had come. A few of his classmates who he assumed were infatuated with his new look asked him to eat lunch together only to be stopped and warned by their parents to stop meddling with Naruto. A lot of parents came to the academy upon learning that Naruto had returned to the academy to warn their kids against the 'monster kid'. They had noticed that Naruto had looked better and so he might woe the hearts of their innocent child, but he was still a 'monster' to the eye of the civilians so they didn't want their children to interact with him outside of school. The third Hokage's law prevented them from telling their kids directly to hate Naruto but it had never told them that they were forced to befriend the kid. Naruto didn't mind their opinions, he couldn't care less.
The ninja clan kids didn't get this kind of warning and so they weren't that wary around Naruto. This gave Naruto the opportunity to get close to a person he knew he would be happy to be in accompany of. He walked close to that person and started a conversation.
"Hey, Shikamaru. Wanna play shōgi? I have a board at home, I'll also treat you for lunch if you want" He grinned. Naruto had already planned ahead and brought the things that he knew the kid liked so that his trust would be gained easier.
"You play shōgi?" Shikamaru looked peculiarly at Naruto. He seemed sceptical about Naruto's choice of a game.
"Well of course, it's great a great practice for strategizing. How do you think that I was able to get away with all my pranks in the broad daylight? I even have the most conspicuous clothing in the whole Konoha! Do you think I got through with just luck? Of course not, i need to be always a step ahead of time so that I can escape my pursuers. Speaking of pursuers, Iruka-sensei had always been the one to catch me most of the time. Now that I know what to expect of him since he revealed his ability, I'll be able to find a way to counter that!"
"Troublesome. I guess since we already have no classes for the day, I might as well come with you. I'll be taking up that offer for lunch. But you have to wait for me, I'm telling Chouji to tell mom that I won't be home for lunch" Shikamaru walked to tell Chouji of his message leaving Naruto to his devices.
Naruto looked around and watched as the students went home, some on groups and some were with their parents who he had noticed were sneering at him. He replied them with an eye roll and he got the reaction he expected, they seethed in silent fury but could do nothing.
'That's pathetic, putting all your anger on a child who you believe is the incarnation of a very strong demon and at the same time, fearing that said demon with all your heart. I can understand those people who have lost their precious ones during the attack. But most of these sneering people did not even have anyone to lose during the incident; they just go with the flow. People like them with no sense of individuality and only follow the flow of world and act like they are entitled to that very flow disgust me. I won't die protecting these kinds of people, I'd rather die for protecting something I love than someone that hates my very existence' Naruto thought.
The voice of Shikamaru broke Naruto out of his thoughts.
"We can go now"
"That's nice, let's go"
(At Naruto's apartment)
"Hmm, not bad. I would have thought that you would take longer to clean up your apartment since you just had a change recently" Shikamaru commented. Clearly content with the way Naruto's apartment looked like now "So where's that free lunch you were talking about, I'm starving 'cause I ate little this breakfast" he continued.
"You're not that picky aren't you?" Naruto asked.
"So long as it's edible and not poisonous, it'll do"
"Then you can go to the kitchen. There's still some stew I left from breakfast. You can reheat it at the stove. I was about to cook later but since you're already starving as you say, then you can have that. You can come back after you eat, I'll do something before then. Oh, and you can take your time; I'd probably take a long time with what I'm about to do"
"Kay" Shikamaru then went to the kitchen and reheated the stew before eating. After a few minutes of break after eating, he walked back to the living room.
Upon returning to the living room, he found Naruto on the table; holding a brush and a scroll with complete concentration on his face. Shikamaru knew that what Naruto was doing was Fuinjutsu, but he wasn't very familiar with the art. What he knew was that it was an art that only few ninja in the village were capable of performing, all of which are ranked Chunnin and above. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he observed Naruto. Naruto looked to be in a trance though he was sure it was because of his concentration; his eyes moving fast and his hands moving gracefully; each stroke made with great precision and elegance that it almost looked as if he was dancing.
Shikamaru watched carefully with fascination, amazed at the event unfolding between his eyes. He didn't expect Naruto to be this skilled in an advanced art.
He couldn't remember when he had started watching Naruto but it couldn't have been less than 5 minutes since it started. He was too transfixed with what Naruto was doing to notice the time.
Suddenly, Naruto withdrew his hand and put the brush away. He started a series of handseals that Shikamaru couldn't identify. 'Too fast!' he thought. Naruto then finished with a clap and said "Compress!"
The writings on the scroll moved in an intricate manner and interlaced themselves with one another till they formed a single kanji of wind(風) in the center of the scroll. Naruto then performed another set of handseals and finished again with a clap, this time he said "Multiply"
True to his order, the kanji at the center of the scroll multiplied into a dozen and placed themselves in order on the scroll, dividing the scroll into twelve parts each with their own kanji in the middle. They were only divided though, not cut.|
"Pheww, that was tiring" Naruto wiped the sweats that formed on his head " Thanks for not disturbing me, I'm not yet that good at Fuinjutsu so I couldn't do shortcuts which made the process longer plus the fact that I had to incorporate a 'multiply' inscription which doubled the total time spent. Anyway, thanks again for not disturbing me. I took a total of twenty-right minutes to prepare the scroll, this one's a simple Seal which wouldn't have taken five minutes had I been better"
"You call that simple yet I didn't even have an idea of what you were doing. Your welcome about the not disturbing thing too, i was actually too transfixed to react. Anyway, what's that scroll?"
"You're not going to ask me about what I just did and how some nobody like me know something as complicated as that given my age and previous personality?"
"I was once curious about you about two years ago so I asked father about any affiliation you had parents or any relative, he said he didn't know of any since there are too many individuals in Konoha. You were capable of giving some of the Chunnin a run for their money since they couldn't catch you after you did you pranks so I figured you had ninja clan training, heck you even evaded anbu's every now and then but I was sure that they were taking it easy back then. I then asked about Uzumaki clan on my father, this time he answered me. He said they were an old clan who were famed for their red hair along with their long lives and superb skills in the art of Fuinjutsu which no other could compare to them, that's when I knew you weren't just a simple orphan. However, father said that they were wiped out and only a few survived. What I didn't expect, was for you to learn that art knowing you are the only Uzumaki left in Konoha" Shikamaru finished.
"You forgot the part where your father told you not to tell anybody ever about what you just learnt didn't you?" Naruto smirked, a knowing face written in his face just as Shikamaru noticed a half ram seal on Naruto's hand. Only now did Shikamaru also notice the wind that was blowing rather strong outside Naruto's window had been blowing for a while now, only stopping when Naruto dropped his hand.
"What was that?" Shikamaru was alarmed. Naruto's knowing look coupled with the fact that he disobeyed his father's orders on not telling anybody about what he learnt was making him fidgety as If he had just done a crime.
Naruto didn't answer, only furthering Shikamaru's anxiety as he picked up a scissor and cut the scroll delicately he had just made into twelve equal pieces. Naruto then put aside his Fuinjutsu equipment before finally talking to Shikamaru "I'm too early to make a silence seal so I improvised. I made a very simple 'wind breeze seal'. As the name suggests, it stores chakra and releases it as a simple wind breeze; one of them will only make a breeze for cooling. But a couple of them are enough to create a breeze that can distort sound making it hard for somebody outside to listen. The seal always uses minimal chakra that you wouldn't even notice it being used unless you're a Jounin level sensor using maximum concentration. That and the fact that the windows are closed will make it impossible for eavesdroppers outside to listen"
"Eavesdroppers?" Shikamaru tilted his head to emphasize his question. Naruto's living room had a window and he was currently facing backwards of it so only Shikamaru had access to the window in terms of sight.
"Three roofs away; red coloured, the one with two trees. Look at the leaves, there should be a mask peeking out. And before you ask; yes, it's an anbu. It's one of the few stationed to survey me"
Shikamaru's eyes widened as he subtly looked at where Naruto pointed at and realized that he was telling the truth. He was about to ask why Naruto had anbu stationed to watch him when Naruto spoke.
"You probably already know that any Konoha resident inside the village who is being watched by anbu is already tied to an S rank secret. So if I were you, I'd stop probing around and instead; let's play shōgi" Naruto had already set up the shōgi pieces and had started with the first step being the pawn from e2 to e4.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes "Naruto, I know you didn't just invite me here for a snack and shōgi. Why don't you get straight to the point, I hate being used when I don't even know for what purpose"
"Fine then, I'll get straight to the point" Naruto paused for a bit to raise the tension "I want to train with you so that I can be sure to have a competent teammate in the future when we become a ninja. Also, if we interact earlier which is now. We can build our trust and friendship earlier which would also mean increased quality of our teamwork in the later times should we become teammates"
"And what if we do not get to become teammates?"
"Nothing to worry about, we could still help each other outside of missions. Though not as good as when we would be teammates" Naruto looked at Shikamaru in the eye, a serious expression on his face. "Listen Shikamaru, I do not plan on being stagnant. I want to grow stronger, No; I NEED to become stronger! With that comes the need for competent people you can also trust. Something is looming in the horizons, hidden from everyone else. And I'm pretty sure it's not something you would want to be there"
"What do you mean?"
"Soul Imprints, The release of the Kyuubi, Uchiha Massacre, The Hunters Association, Mythical and mystical beasts coming out of hiding. Something is coming Shikamaru, something big. These events don't just simply happen out of nowhere. The powers that are given to us isn't something to be simply ignored as a simple gift from nature. We haven't done anything to deserve these gifts; I believe it was given to protect us from a coming threat, a threat that would require us to be as strong as possible. I won't wait for it to arrive in front of my face before I start to move"
Shikamaru looked perturbed by Naruto's words as he replied "Tsk, I should have known something was strange, my father has been working more than a Nara should have been. There have been an increased amount of ninja stationed inside the village too and the academy teachers are also taking their methods a step further, especially Iruka sensei. No wonder he was making us learn things like our life depended on it! To think that it would take you; the class 'dead last' to tell me the facts before I could figure it out…" Shikamaru stopped as he noticed Naruto's shaking form, giggling. He narrowed his eyes "What's funny?"
"That's the problem about you geniuses, you tend to overthink the simplest things. I was just kidding about the 'enemy on the horizon' part. I just wanted to see how you would react. Quite funny though, I've never seen you that serious before; But seriously, you have to stop overthinking things. Your father is probably working harder since your mother is pushing him, Of course there would be an increased amount of ninja stationed inside Konoha, our population is increasing meaning we need more to watch over it, and don't get me started on the academy teaching method. I've read the methods of teaching during the first and second Shinobi world wars, our methods today pale in comparison. I wouldn't think of it too much though, were at times of peace"
"That wasn't a funny joke Naruto! The fact that it makes sense would make any other student believe it too"
"I doubt that, anyway you really should stop overthinking some things Shikamaru. Some things just exist because they do"
"That doesn't make any sense at all"
"And why do you think that everything has to make sense?"
"Troublesome"
They sat on a comfortable silence after that. Shikamaru grew bored and asked if Naruto had any books to read, he lost interest in board games due to the earlier events. Shikamaru did hate playing shogi or shōgi when his head wasn't fully clear, the fact that naruto was the one to fool him made things worse for his him. Naruto gave him a book entitled "The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi" telling him it was his favourite book. He accepted it without any fuss and started reading. After a few minutes of reading, Shikamaru asked if Naruto had a more peaceful room since he could hear a bit of the noise outside, Naruto had guided him to his study room which had been previously an empty room since his counterpart didn't have that many items. It was a simple room containing two bookshelves with a few books, a chair, a table as well as his other Fuinjutsu equipment. Shikamaru noticed a three person sofa and decided to sit there to continue reading. Naruto left him at that and closed the door for better privacy.
Around five in the afternoon, He started to prepare for his dinner when a knock on the door was heard. He didn't bother to remove his apron as he walked to the door. Naruto checked up on his study room to observe what Shikamaru was doing and noticed Shikamaru was engrossed on his book he left him there. Upon opening the front door, he saw a dark man that had his hair tied up into a spiky ponytail, dark eyes as well as a goatee. His ears were also pierced. He was wearing a meshed shirt underneath his flak jacket, a deer skin coat over that and hand guards. He had two scars on the right side of his face which were probably his most noticeable feature.
"Naruto Uzumaki residence, may I help you Jonin-san" Naruto greeted with a bow of respect to the high ranked ninja, Naruto had always respected the higher ranked ninja's in his previous life. The fact that they survived to reach a higher rank is a testament to their skills and wisdom.
The man raised an eyebrow "I didn't expect that you were a kid with manners, considering what the neighbours were telling me when I asked for your place. Shikaku Nara; Shikamaru's dad, you don't have to be so formal. I heard from Chouji that Shikamaru stayed here for lunch. This is actually the first time Shikamaru asked to stay at another person's place other than Chouji's. I got curious so I decided to visit; Mind if I come in?"
"Please do. I didn't expect another visitor so if you would. Please wait at the living room. As you can I see, I am currently wearing an apron since I was cooking something. Shikamaru is at the study room, I can guide you there if you want"
"Ah, there's no need to call for Shikamaru. I'm not in a rush so you can finish what you were doing first"
"I'll be on my way then Nara-san, please make yourself at home"
It took about ten minutes to put the ingredients for the food. Naruto left them for the stove to cook them after that as he invited Shikaku for a shōgi match. Just like his son, this surprised him but accepted nonetheless. Three losses and one draw later; Shikamaru opened the door of the study room and was surprised at what he saw. Naruto and Shikaku were playing shōgi with Naruto on the winning side.
"Dad?" Shikamaru called.
"Shikamaru, I didn't notice you were out. You see I was engrossed on playing shōgi that I forgot why I went here in the first place" Shikaku looked at Naruto "Not bad, it only took you two losses and a draw to start noticing my strategy, this one's looking good for you"
"I'm sure you are just taking it easier this time though, probably to console for my losses Shikaku-san" Naruto smiled as he replied. They continued the game while conversing
Shikaku smiled for his caught act "Don't be like that." he then turned to Shikamaru "Why didn't you tell me you had a friend who was good at shōgi, he's actually quite skilled. Not quite good enough for me but I'm sure you'd have a hard time against him"
"You don't have to go that far to console me for my losses Shikaku-san" Naruto moved a piece and secured his victory, not that much pleased since Shikaku had purposely lost, only in a subtle way, but Naruto had already seen through it. It was no question that Naruto was better than Shikamaru this time since he had a few years of experience in shōgi due to Shikamaru's counterpart. Naruto didn't doubt it that Shikamaru would catch up to him in this game though in a few months, the kid was a genius in his own right and shōgi was in his domain of skills.
"Why don't you stay for dinner then Shikaku-san, Shikamaru? My treat since you let me win for once"
"I'm afraid well have to pass on that Naruto; I didn't notice that it was night already. Mom's probably worried sick. Besides, don't you have to worry about your own supplies? You're an orphan so it would be hard for you if you don't properly ration your supplies"
"You don't need to worry about that, these are veggies and meat so they're bound to go bad if I don't cook them. Besides, I rarely get visitors other than Iruka-sensei so this is a good change of pace. But since your mother is worried about you, I guess I'll just save them for tomorrow" It was half a lie however; his preservation seals were good enough to keep the items from perishing earlier.
Shikaku's eyes dropped a bit at Naruto's admission, he had known that the kid was isolated due to his predicament but still found it sad; he was a father after all and wouldn't want Shikamaru to experience the same things the kid had gone through. Naruto himself wasn't that affected about the isolation and was actually pleased a bit, Shikaku thought of it wrong though thinking that Naruto got used to the fact of being isolated.
"Actually, your mother is currently on Inoichi's home right now. Ino's mother Noriko had a miscarriage so Yoshino went there to console her. She won't be back till tomorrow so I believe we can take up Naruto's offer" Shikaku wanted to at least give Naruto a bit of company if only for a night, the kid had enough troubles from the villagers so he wanted to give him at least this much.
Naruto did notice that Shikaku judgement had been greatly affected due to his predicament. Not that Naruto minded it even for a little bit, he was actually pleased with the thought of being in good terms with a high ranking ninja. Back in his previous life, Shikaku was revered to be a great ninja. Commander of the Jounin forces of Konoha and its greatest strategist in almost any field may it be combat or political.
The dinner went as Naruto expected it, it wasn't too stimulating but neither was it too boring. Shikaku would ask about Naruto and Shikamaru's interactions in the academy as well as Naruto's activities outside of school. After dinner, Shikamaru and Naruto went for a few shōgi matches as suggested by Shikaku. True to his previous statement, Shikamaru did have a hard time battling Naruto; the record being 3 to 1 with Naruto being the leading scorer, their matches being shorter than him and Shikaku's as the kid was less than experienced than his father. Shikaku and Shikamaru excused themselves after the final match as they went home, it had already been eight-twenty pm by then. Naruto didn't have much to do and so he decided to replace the 'Wind breeze' seals he put outside his apartment with the new batch he had made earlier.
The new batch had been of better quality due to his aptitude and progressing skills. Naruto would dare say that the new batch were at least 20% more efficient than the other.
As Naruto went to his bedroom, he pondered about the few things he discovered about this world.
The gatekeeper had told him that this world was only supposed to be a copy of his previous one with the only difference being him, ostracized and not heralded. The statement didn't hold true however, he had researched on the Konoha library for a few hours yesterday and found a lot of differences in his previous dimension than this. The most prominent being the 'Soul Imprint' that was taught in their class earlier; another one was the 'Hunters Association' which was an organization of individuals with great skills and abilities on almost all fields; gourmet, assassination, treasure hunting and even fashion. He had first thought that it was a hidden village with a different name but he found out his deduction was wrong when he learnt that they had bases all around the elemental nations and were not affiliated with any village at all. They didn't pose a threat as they do not accept assassination of village related officials on ninjas unless they were missing-nin. Apparently, the association was led by a man named Netero who strong enough to rival any Kage and was as old as the first Hokage himself if not older.
Naruto had also found out that there were mythical and mystical beasts roaming around the nations; Griffin's, Dragons and even Living Shadows, though these three were of the rarest ones around, the fact that their existence is well known and nothing that would surprise anyone if told was something that bothered Naruto. Back in his dimension, these beings weren't even an existence to begin with. Jutsu's were based on them due to their imposing images to terrify enemies. Though Naruto did think that it was strange for his previous world to have dragons as basis for stronger jutsu's when they were practically non-existent, he had then come to the conclusion that they were only extinct there but was able to survive here. Still, this proved the fact that the gatekeeper had either lied to him on purpose or had some sort of mistake. Not that it mattered now; he was starting to enjoy this world more than his previous. Who knows, there was probably a non-grotesque way of reviving his deceased parents without any sacrifices here. He would totally look up to that, who doesn't want to meet up their parents after all?
Naruto's train of thought was stopped when he felt a sudden tug pulling him into consciousness, he didn't find anything wrong with it so he just let darkness consume him.
When Naruto opened his eyes, he found himself in a familiar place with a familiar `person?'.
"We meet again Naruto Uzumaki"
"Shiro? Why am I here, I don't think I broke any of the rules you put up" Naruto's heart was starting to beat up faster. The being in front of him had already proclaimed that it was stronger than any other his dimension could provide. If he had transgressed any limit, he had no way of defending himself when he himself had not eve attained the role of a Genin.
"Relax, I'm not here to punish you. Rather, I'm here to inform you about something you will need to know"
"It's about me being put in a wrong dimension right?"
"Precisely, smart as ever. It's a good thing that you had found your new dimension to your liking; it is your final placement after all. The mistake was not on my part, it was an unexpected predicament that could not be avoided considering who you are"
Naruto held a questioning look waiting for the being to further explain the situation.
"I have already taken into account the other being sealed inside of you in the calculation thus assuring that there would be no problem to your transport, I even included the other two tiny soul fragments that were there to begin with. What I did not expect was that there was another fragment; no…. it wasn't a fragment but rather, an essence of a fragment. The essence of a fragment of your previous person before you had entered samsara. I was not able to take into the equation, the fact that your soul was already on a contract"
"A contract?" Naruto had no idea what that other two tiny fragments were neither did he have an idea of the other essence of a fragment but he had already figured out that since Shiro didn't emphasize on those points as such it was knowledge that he was supposed to find out by himself. Remembering Shiro could read his mind, he was satisfied when Shiro smiled as she continued.
"Smart child you are, the knowledge of the soul fragments will not be taken with you when you go back to your assigned dimension; it is something you must find out about yourself. Now…..About the contract, your soul was actually in a contract of "Eternal Rivalry", another soul who is your nemesis would be born on the same era as yours and you would be doomed to battle him on each cycle, you will later be born on as a new person continuing the cycle till the day you call upon your ancient's consciousness and join forces to battle a certain rabbit"
"I see, so my soul was bound to that dimension and when you tried to transfer me. The contract that bound me resisted your own force thus leading me to another dimension that looked similar to what you were supposed to put me to but only with a few add-ons such as mythical beasts, soul imprints and other stuffs?" He summarized.
"Precisely, This is actually the only reason I personally met you today. The reason that the new dimension you were sent through was similar to where you were supposed to go to and not a random one is because my power is greater than the one that had made the contract beforehand. It is also the reason that I was not readily able to notice and feel the presence of the contract as it was not of my making"
"So how old was the contract? Not that I'll remember it when I get back right?"
"Each gatekeeper for a dimensional door gets replaced every three hundred years for reasons I am not allowed to tell you of, the contract was made around 5 to 6 cycles ago based on my observation. Each cycle being 300 'elemental nation' years for your planet"
"I see, so the only thing I will remember here is that I was sent here due to the backlash of another contract but not how old the contract was nor what the contract was. I will also forget about the soul fragments and essence stuff right?" A ripple behind Naruto which went unnoticed by him.
"On point, It is my responsibility to at least inform you of the reason lest you might have spent your whole life dedicated to find out what happened for you to be sent to that dimension, now step back as I have another individual to accommodate. If you would, please close your eyes like you did last time and I will touch your forehead to send you back"
Naruto stepped back a bit but waved his hand in front of him "Wait, I'll just greet this other guy here then. Seems rude to just leave like that" In reality Naruto had turned his head after being informed of the newcomer and got curious due to his strange attire and appearance. His face seemed foreign to Naruto and had a short unruly dark-blond hair not much like Naruto's bright-blond andhad a black eyepatch on his right eye. The man was wearing a metallic plate armor accompanied with a red cape on his back; he had a huge physique clearly built for a warrior. Naruto also noticed a few arcs of what looked to be electricity or lightning protruding from the guy randomly. He and his attire looked worse for wear as if he was just taking part on a war, the man looked around and noticed both Naruto and Shiro standing, he was sweating and panting greatly as he stood on a bowing fashion, his hands supported by his kneecaps. "I must return before it ends" the man stated.
The language he was saying was foreign to Naruto's ears but he could clearly understand it in his head, he could also feel that he would have no trouble speaking the foreign language. Naruto looked at Shiro as if to question her and was answered without opening his mouth.
"There is never a language barrier here, Naruto. I believe I have already told you that before" Shiro said.
Naruto then walked a step towards the man and extended his hand as a sign of greeting. "Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you in this dimensional space sir"
The man looked at Naruto who was in his twelve year old form. He stood straight up as he caught his breath from panting and shook Naruto's hand, he had to lower his body a bit as he was a lot taller than Naruto. "Thor, Odin's son" The now named Thor then turned to Shiro and spoke as if in haste "I believe you are the Watcher of this place, as such I must ask that you send me back to where I was before. A war that would decide the fate of our universe is taking place there. A tyrant named Thanos is on his way to create destruction, I must return in haste"
"I see…..your realm you are from itself is actually very far from here but since you are conscious and there is still residue of the warp gate I can send you immediately then. Since you have only entered here through accident, I suppose that I can expect you to speak nothing of this place to anyone. Please close your eyes, you will feel a touch on your forehead and until then you must not open your eyes"
"I shall" Thor replied as he closed his eyes. Shiro proceeded to touch his forehead. Upon touching her finger to Thor's forehead, the man glowed white and disappeared in a flash of white.
"Wait! So the universe is in danger? Is that why we have these new powers in this dimension, to protect it from that Thanos guy?" He was alarmed with the news that the other man had brought.
"Not to worry about that guy, our universes are far from each other. Too far that any action he would do would not affect us in the slightest; that tyrant is also way too overrated. Anyway this knowledge will also not be taken with you. Your planet is not yet ready to dabble with cosmic events. That guy was sent here due to the combination of a lot of variables mostly due to a powerful stone, I shall be informing all nearby gatekeepers to strengthen the barriers so there will no longer be another anomaly without a proper contract. I will be sending you back now, close your eyes" Shiro seemed calm as ever as he proceeded to send Naruto back to the elemental nations.
-Chapter End-
Finally its out. Some of you are probably upset with the fact that there is no action on this chapter, Don't worry guys. There's gonna be some action next chap as Genin-team selection is up. I'm not gonna put a poll for the teams though since I already decided them.
And also about Thor's appearance, you don't have to worry since he will not be interfering nor will he be coming back. You can consider the last part of the chapter as an OMAKE if you want but its not actually funny so i didn't put the omake sign. The actual reason that i put him in this chapter is due to my anticipation of the incoming Avengers;Infinity War. As this is not an actual crossover, this means that naruto will not have any further interactions with other Marvel characters.
Also, you probably had noticed the 'Living Armor' reference character and to finally confirm what you are thinking, yes it is him from FMA series(kinda redundant since it was painfully obvious). But as I said, this is not a crossover so they are as of right now, a person who was born in this NarutoVerse.
Tell me of your thoughts guys,
Peace out
-shunozuko18