A/N: Hello, everyone. It's been awhile since my last update, and I've gotten amazing responses from you guys! Thank you so much; I never thought I was capable of receiving such love! You guys are great. To answer some questions:
OutofReality08: Good question. I simply want Naruto to act as he does in canon until he matures, which will happen. I know that this Naruto annoys most people, but it's unrealistic for him to suddenly act differently. Patience is a virtue, trust me.
A Friendly Guest: I hadn't planned on it, but I guess I could incorporate lemons into this story. Can't say how good they'll be, though.
GodX: I hate Naruto when he's annoying as well, but you have to remember that he's still a kid, and no one has taught him any different. But don't worry; I wouldn't be writing his character like that without reason.
bankai777: I didn't like the way the Kumo group was introduced in canon, so most likely.
JJP123: That's interesting…. Yeah, I've got an idea for that now. Thanks!
My thanks to everyone who has shown support for this story!
Cursed Eyes 2
"...And that about wraps up what happened, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, looking his leader in the eye. To say that Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked was an understatement. "Naruto-kun, would you allow me to see your eyes for a moment? I'm curious." Hiruzen requested. Naruto nodded, and his eyes shifted to the legendary Rinnegan. The glowing eyes took Hiruzen's breath away. "They're beautiful… Naruto, you must understand something.
"Those eyes of yours will attract very powerful enemies. You will need to utilize their full combat prowess to overcome the obstacles that ail you and our beloved village. Do you understand me?" Hiruzen spoke in a commanding voice.
Surprisingly, all traces of the goof that is Naruto's personality left him. "Understood, Hokage-sama. I will become strong enough to capture, debilitate, or eradicate any enemy ninja that threatens Konohagakure and Hi no Kuni. And I never go back on my word, dattebayo." Team 7 and the Hokage were shocked at Naruto's mature attitude.
"You'll make a fine shinobi, Naruto. Dismissed, except Kakashi." Hiruzen said. "Remember, we have a team meeting tomorrow," Kakashi reminded. "Hai, sensei," they each responded.
As the genin dispersed, Kakashi and Hiruzen began their conversation. "Kakashi, you understand the importance of training him don't you?" Hiruzen asked. Kakashi nodded his head. "I'll teach him every art of the shinobi spectrum. No avenue will be left undeveloped." he assured.
Hiruzen smiled. "Good. Also, I believe Jiraiya will be taking over his training sometime soon. Jiraiya told me that he encountered the Rinnegan once before, in Ame no Kuni." Kakashi's eyes widened. "So that means, Jiraiya-sama will be able to handle his training, right?" "Yes. Also, when he makes chunin, I will give him his inheritance."
Kakashi was confused. "What do you mean, 'inheritance'?" "Your sensei is Naruto's father." Hiruzen said. "Wait, so does that mean Minato-sensei had the Rinnegan, as well?" Kakashi asked. "It's possible, but more likely that his mother had it. Jiraiya's student had red hair, after all." Kakashi nodded. "Another Uzumaki, then. Anything else?" "No, you're dismissed." Kakashi bowed and disappeared in a pile of leaves.
_Cursed Eyes_
Naruto was at his favorite place: Ichiraku Ramen Bar. He was enjoying his eighth bowl of the noodle-based soup, chatting away with Ayame and Teuchi.
"So, did anything interesting happen on your mission, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked, face resting in her palms. "Actually, yeah! It was supposed to be a C-Ranked escort mission, but we encountered two B-Ranked missing nins, one A-Rank, and another that had a rare Kekkei Genkai!" Ayame and Teuchi gasped. "And you fought them? Are you alright, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked. Naruto grinned.
"Don't worry about me, Ayame-nee-chan! No one can take out the future Hokage!"
"Well, did anything else happen?" Teuchi asked. Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I awakened my Kekkei Genkai." he said, switching his Rinnegan on. Ayame 'oohed' and Teuchi grinned. "Who would've thought that you'd get a kekkei genkai? What does it do?" he said.
"I can manipulate gravity, and I'm still trying to figure out what else I can do with it," Naruto said, not wanting to say that he can bring the dead back to life. Ayame had a big smile on her face. "My little Naruto-kun is growing up! There's no way you won't be Hokage now!" she encouraged. Naruto grinned. "Amen to that."
_Cursed Eyes_
The next day, Team Seven was assembled at their training grounds. "Okay, guys; it's time to really begin training. You're not a normal Genin team, so I'm not going to train you like Genin." Kakashi explained. Naruto looked excited, while Sasuke seemed anxious to begin, and Sakura looked worried. "Saa… let's start with Sakura, since you need the most work." Kakashi pointed.
"Okay, you have great chakra control, but low reserves. That makes you the perfect genjutsu specialist, but I suppose you could become a medic as well. It's up to you." While Sakura thought over her options, Kakashi turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I want you to copy this jutsu." Sasuke activated his Sharingan, and Kakashi blurred through hand seals and said, "Raikiri!" His signature jutsu lit his hand blue. Sasuke grinned, and performed the jutsu himself, though his looked and sounded different. It sounded like… "I may have to rename your jutsu, Kakashi. How about… Chidori?" Kakashi eye smiled at the name. "Rather fitting. Practice moulding the chakra necessary for that jutsu for a while, then I'll teach you something else. Naruto..."
Naruto nodded vigorously, obviously ready to train hard and long. "...Go stand on top of that water without getting wet."
"...Eh…? EEEEEEH? That's it!?" Naruto asked disbelievingly. Kakashi nodded. "You have terrible chakra control. If you want to do a jutsu, you need to work on it. Here's a tip: have as many Kage Bunshin as you can do it with you."
Naruto sighed dejectedly and walked over to the pond. He took off his shirt and made eighty shadow clones. They all jumped into the water with a cry, intent on getting the assignment done. Kakashi turned back to Sakura. "Have you decided?"
Sakura hummed in thought. "Medical Ninjutsu takes time and dedication. I need to be able to support my teammates as soon as possible. I never want to be as useless as I was in Wave again… I choose to be a Genjutsu Specialist." she said with the Will of Fire burning in her eyes. Kakashi smiled then. "OKay; because you already fit the criteria to begin with, we can just start you off with a jutsu. How about the Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu?"
_Cursed Eyes_
It had been about two months since Team Seven began training in earnest. Sasuke could now perform the Chidori three times, and knew two lightning jutsu besides that: Raiton: Gian, and Raiton: Jibashi. He was working on performing the Chidori with no hand seals.
Sakura had learned Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu, then began working on her Taijutsu. Kakashi had wanted to surprise opponents who thought that just because Sakura was a female Genjutsu user, she wouldn't be able to handle herself in a brawl. With the insane conditioning that Kakashi put her under, she quickly became about high-Genin level in pure taijutsu.
Naruto had evolved quickly, bringing one jutsu from each element under his belt, as well as three total fuuton jutsu. He learned Suiton: Suijinheki; Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu; Katon: Housenka no Jutsu; Raiton: Shunshin; Fuuton: Daitoppa; Fuuton: Reppushou; and Fuuton: Juha Reppushou. Naruto had also discovered another of his dojutsu abilities, or paths: the Asura Path. Naruto couldn't yet fully utilize the path, but he was able to fire his arms as projectiles, the fire concentrated chakra beams from the remainder. It was a useful ability to have, and it cost him little to no chakra.
Another thing the team did collectively was physically train. Everyone was set at their own pace, but it quickly became clear that it was a contest to Naruto and Sasuke; and thus, they began to rapidly increase their weights, running laps and doing push-ups until they collapsed. One day, when the Team met up, Kakashi handed them each a slip of paper. "What're these for, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi eye-smiled at them. "Congratulations, you three! I hereby nominate you all for the Chuunin Exams."
A/N: I know this one was a little short, but I wanted to end it quickly because it's been so long since I've updated. Rest assured that now that I've gotten to the Chuunin Exams Arc, the story AND the update pace will pick up. I'll have the next chapter out soon. Until then, my faithful readers!