Naruto stared outside the window of the Academy building as the rest of the children around him talked amongst themselves. He was sitting in the back of the class next to a boy with spiky hair that was in a ponytail. The boy's name was Shikamaru Nara. He'd investigated the Nara clan as well as all other clan's here in the village well known and non-well known. The Nara clan is known for their famous Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Possession Jutsu) that allows them capture their enemies by their shadows and control their bodies. Their also part of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho formation that symbolizes the bond and friendship between the clans. He sent the information about how many clans reside in Konoha and the potential clan heirs to his father Eisai. The man thanked him for the information and said to try and have fun while at the Academy.
'Even if you say that…' Naruto eyed some of his classmates with an impassive expression, 'I'm not sure how to interact with them unlike Sora; also I'm sure their parents told them not to come near me. Well…that's not actually a bad thing really. I like it when it's quiet.' His eyes then landed on that boy, the same boy who bullied Hinata during the winter season, Hibachi he thinks his name was. The boy's arm seems to have healed but he could still see he was having difficulty moving it like he did before. He noticed Hinata was here too, their eyes met for a split second and she turned away with a small blush on her face. Such a shy little thing. Sighing in boredom he decided to read the book his father got him as he waited for their sensei to arrive.
Hinata watched him as he was reading his book ignoring his surroundings, as he seemed to be lost in land of words. She also noticed he brought his wooden swords with him and wondered if he was skilled in Kenjutsu. Since the day they first met she decided to become stronger so that next time he wont have to protect her…she would be able to protect her self and the people she cares about. And maybe…even him, but she wanted to get to know him first. She didn't know where he went after he left with that monk, but when she saw him again she saw how some of the villagers would glare at him, ignore him, and would even say awful things to his face when he would walk by them. She was able to pick up a constant repeated word, 'Demon brat.' There were times when parent would lead their children away from him as he passed by them. Her heart felt for him, but she noticed that he didn't even react to the villagers and simply ignored them as he walked around lost in thought. It was then that she wanted to get to know him. The real him. Maybe the time in the Academy would allow her to do just that. She turned her attention towards the front as two male Chunin's walked in, 'I want to know more about you…Naruto-kun.'
Naruto found attending the Academy to be insightful somewhat. He could sense the emotions of both the grown males before him, the one Chunin Iruka didn't seem to hate him, but he didn't trust him either. The other one Mizuki outright hate him but he didn't really care how the male felt about him. He felt something sinister coming off from him too…meaning he would need to be watched.
"Now then," Iruka stopped writing on the board, "Can someone explain to me about the Five Great Shinobi Countries?"
Some of the kids shifted their eyes around the room nervously wondering who would answer the question. Some were expecting Sasuke to answer the question; Shikamaru who was sitting next to Naruto had his head down asleep not even bothering to try and answer and would rather just take a nap in class.
Iruka smiled nervously, "Anybody…?"
Mizuki saw Naruto was reading his book and decided to call him out, "Naruto, would you like to answer?" he sneered inwardly at the demon brat.
The blonde in question still read his book as he answered the question, "The Five Great Shinobi Countries are the largest countries that are led by governmental leaders, known as the Daimyō who are in charge of ruling their individual nations solely through a monarch-like government. The countries are divided equally on an unknown continent to create balance in the shinobi world. Tsuchi no Kuni (Land of Earth) in the Northwest, Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning) in the Northeast, Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water) in the East, Kaze no Kuni (Land of Sand) in the Southwest, and Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire) which is located in the center of it all," he flipped a page, "They also have discussions in politics as well as trade between shinobi nations. These nations have powerful shinobi villages such as, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Konohagakure. These villages also have a strong Kage as the village head, the Tsuchikage, Raikage, Mizukage, Kazekage, and Hokage." he flipped another page ignoring the stunned looks he was receiving from the other students, even Shikamaru had woken up at some point having heard the long explanation about the Five Great Shinobi Countries and stared at him. Even Iruka and Mizuki were stunned but for entirely different reasons. For Iruka, it was because he didn't expect such a long and calm explanation coming from a child, and Mizuki…well he wasn't expecting the boy to know anything at all and wanted to humiliate him in front of everyone. Plan failed.
Iruka coughed into his fist, "That's correct. Good explanation Naruto." He smiled.
Naruto lifted his head from the book to nod at the man before going back to reading having been completely sucked into the land of fiction.
'This is a really good book! I think tou-chan said it was a four part series, as soon as I've finished this I'll request for the next volume!' Naruto thought with excitement.
The whole lecture time Naruto never lifted his head from his book as he was asked to answer more questions by Mizuki. The silver haired man was inwardly seething as his attempts to embarrass the demon brat was failing and to add insult to injury the boy didn't even flinch or get nervous when answering the questions he was called on to answer. Naruto knew what the man was trying to do and instead of passing off the questions on Shikamaru or anyone else in the class he simply answered them all the while never looking up from his book. To be perfectly honest he was enjoying himself as he played with silver haired Chunin. He was having way too much fun with this. Inwardly he could hear Kurama laughing at the man all the while complimenting him on his flawless way of embarrassing the idiot.
Eisai's influence was definitely rubbing off on him.
Iruka brought the kids outside, "Okay class, for today we're going to work on your accuracy skills by throwing shuriken at the targets pinned to the trees you see before you. Now there are 10 targets, don't be disappointed if you don't hit all of them, okay?"
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" the class said in unison.
Naruto didn't want to but he had to put his book away for this part of the lesson. It was no trouble he could always go back to reading it later. Bookmarking it he decided to see who would be going first. He wasn't surprised when the first one to go was Sasuke Uchiha. The Uchiha clan has been in the village since the very beginning, since it was founded by both Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. The Uchiha clan was well known for their Sharingan and powerful Genjutsu abilities, but the Sharingan was mostly known for copying any jutsu by simply seeing it. They can also copy a person's Taijutsu and make it their own. It was part of the Three Great Dōjutsu along with the Byakugan and Rinnegan. If he wasn't mistaken, Karasu was part of the Uchiha clan; he just didn't know his real name.
He watched as Sasuke managed to hit 9 out of the 10 targets making the females around him blush and cry out his name. Loud and Annoying. He did however notice Hinata was not among those crying out the Uchiha's name, instead she was glancing at him from time to time with a small blush on her face. It was almost…cute. The boy's around him though scoffed, well the male clan heirs didn't. The civilian males however didn't like the fact that the boy got a 9 out of 10, almost a perfect score.
Iruka nodded his head in approval, "Great job Sasuke, not bad for your first try."
Sasuke nodded his head at the praise as he took his place back with the boy's. Another scoff was heard, but it was loud enough to hear this time. Naruto knew exactly who it came from. Hibachi.
"Whatever, it wasn't all that great. He's just showing off." Hibachi scoffed as he took a step forward, "Watch this!" he threw ten shuriken's at the targets only for them to bounce off and almost hit some of the students making them scramble away so they wouldn't get hit.
"Hibachi, that's dangerous!" Iruka yelled.
Hibachi didn't seem to hear him though as he got out more shuriken, "Damn…once more!" he threw ten more shuriken only for the same thing to happen again and make the students run for cover, and to make things worse one almost hit Hinata. The girl shut her eyes tightly as she waited for the projectile to his her…but it never did. Opening her eyes slowly she saw a hand right in her face and two fingers were holding the shuriken just inches from her face. She saw that the owner of that hand belonged to Naruto; he had saved her yet again.
Naruto dropped the shuriken and turned to Hibachi who was about to throw more shuriken at the targets, but the blonde didn't let him. Reaching the boy quickly he tripped him making the bully fall on his face. Hibachi got up and glared at him, "What's your problem?!" he yelled.
Naruto simply inclined his head around the field making Hibachi look too. A blush of embarrassment appeared on the boy's as he saw that the projectiles he threw were all over the place and would have hit someone, like Hinata if Naruto hadn't stopped him.
Iruka sighed, "Hibachi you fail for this course. Please just stand back in line."
Hibachi didn't need to be told twice as he took his place back in boy's line as did Naruto. Iruka was glad the blonde had stopped the boy and was impressed with the speed he'd shown when he grabbed that shuriken preventing it from hitting Hinata in the face, then appearing before Hibachi tripping him to make him stop.
"Okay, Naruto Uzumaki please step forward." Iruka called out.
Naruto said nothing as he approached to stand in the middle facing the targets. Taking his own shuriken that his father got for him he got ready to take aim when a voice stopped him.
"Naruto, why aren't you using the shuriken I gave you?" Mizuki questioned but you could see it in his eyes that he was trying to mess with the boy again.
Naruto gave him a cool stare, "The ones you gave me were defective, so I'm using my own." He said turning his attention back to the targets. Wasting no time he took aim at all of them but unlike Hibachi he hit all the targets. Nodding to Iruka he took his place back with the boy's. During his training with the monk's they taught him accuracy, history, mathematics, and science. He was still having some trouble with both mathematics and science but when it came to history, accuracy, Taijutsu, and other areas he was okay.
"Excellent work, Naruto!" Iruka was impressed with the boy's accuracy, but another part of him was wondering why Mizuki gave the boy defective shuriken. Hopefully the man wasn't trying to be malicious by interfering with the boy's studies. He glanced over at the females and saw some of them didn't appreciate the fact the boy had gotten a perfect score and not Sasuke making him sigh. These girls will become kunoichi in the near future yet here they are fawning over Sasuke instead of paying attention. He noticed however that not all girls were staring at Sasuke, Hinata Hyūga for example was staring at Naruto with a dreamy expression on her face making him chuckle inwardly.
'That's just cute. Good luck, Hinata.' Iruka encouraged.
After getting the shuriken throwing practice out of the way it was time for Taijutsu practice. He told the student that they will be paired up with someone, whoever leaves the ring is out, or goes down is out. Iruka called out the pairs that will be fighting against each other. He randomly chose which student would fight whom; so far the results weren't all that bad. The next pair he called was Sasuke and he was against a civilian boy and as expected the Uchiha won making the girls except Hinata go crazy for him.
"Okay next pair, Naruto Uzumaki and Hibachi." Iruka called out.
Naruto calmly walked over by the ring facing the same boy whose arm he broke over the winter season. Judging by the smirk on the boy's face he seemed to remember what happened. No matter. Hibachi was smirking at the prospect of beating up the runt that broke his arm. His mother had gone to complain to the Hokage about the demon child attacking her son, only to have her complaint thrown back in her face as Hiashi Hyūga was there and demanded to know why her son was bullying his daughter knowing full well she was from the Hyūga clan. After that his mother scolded him and said this will teach him a lesson. Hibachi was just itching for a chance to get payback on the runt and the time was now.
"Make the Seal of Confrontation." Iruka told them.
Both boys did, Hibachi was getting impatient and wanted get started already. Naruto stared at his opponent calmly. If there was one thing the monks taught him is that one must always be calm and keep an open mind.
"Begin!" Iruka gave them the signal.
Hibachi wasted no time in charging at the blonde, when he finally reached him he sent a punch at the blonde's face only for him move his head out of the way, get behind him and kick him in the rear making Hibachi fall forward and land on his face. The class snickered as they saw him fall down on his face. Hibachi got back up red faced and came at Naruto again, this time trying to kick him in the stomach but the blond merely ducked and tripped the boy again making him land on his back this time. Iruka had sweat-dropped at his point. It was obvious Naruto was toying with the boy, for what reason he had no idea.
At this point Hibachi was getting really pissed off but before he could do anything Naruto attacked this time. Closing the distance between them quickly the blonde sent a palm strike to the boy's gut sending him flying out of the ring and landing hard on the ground. Hibachi was groaning as he lay there on his back.
Iruka called it, "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"
Hinata smiled as the boy won. She might have been a little worried since Hibachi was a bit taller than Naruto but size didn't matter to the masked blonde because he defeated him.
Mizuki was seething mad in his office. All his attempts in embarrassing the brat had failed. He tried to embarrass him by making him answer questions but that didn't work, next he tried to sabotage his equipment gear but that didn't work, and he even bribed Hibachi into getting payback on the boy for breaking his arm and that still didn't work!
"Dammit!" he growled clenching his fists, "Nothing phases that damn freak! There's gotta be something!" he sighed, "Whatever, as soon as I get orders from Orochimaru-sama's spy I'm out of here! And I'll kill that demon brat!" unknown to the ranting man he was being watched by Naruto Uzumaki who was perched on a tree branch. He was close enough to hear what the man was saying because he left the window open. Naruto thought he misheard when the man said the name Orochimaru but he didn't mishear him at all.
'Orochimaru…tou-chan said he's one of the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja). There's him, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. So he's working for Orochimaru then? I should tell tou-chan about this.' He thought vanishing from the area.
Naruto appeared at the Academy's entrance and left heading to his apartment complex to report what he found out, 'Mizuki mentioned that Orochimaru had a spy here in the village and that he was waiting on that spy's orders. I wonder if Hokage-jiji knows?'
"Who cares if he does or doesn't know? If that fool tries something then all you have to do eliminate him." Kurama voiced his opinion.
'Your right, but I want to wait what tou-chan has to say first. I'll know what to do from there.' Naruto said.
"It was entertaining watching you embarrass that fool. He'll most likely keep targeting you through other means." Kurama warned.
'I know. My goal isn't to be noticed actually and would rather be unnoticeable but he's making that difficult.' Naruto said honestly.
"Standing out is nothing more but pure idiocy to me. Why would humans go out of their way to be noticed by other humans?" Kurama scoffed.
'For many reasons. To seek attention, acknowledgment, or recognition. In the past I would have wanted the same thing and would succeed in making myself look like an idiot. If tou-chan hadn't come when he did…' Naruto trailed off.
"Stop that. I've told you once before already that remembering what happened that day is a waste of time, besides the idiots are dead anyway." Kurama told the boy.
'I know you did. I'll stop thinking about it now.' Naruto assured him.
Kurama's sensed something, "Naruto…"
'I've sensed them for awhile now,' Naruto said feeling three individuals following him, "Kagura Shingan (Mind's Eye of the Kagura)." The blonde muttered. Naruto sensed that there were indeed three individuals following him, and they weren't shinobi either. Their chakra coils are nonexistent making them civilians.
'I take it their hostile?' Naruto guessed.
"That's right. What are you going to do?" Kurama questioned.
Naruto smiled underneath his mask, 'You'll see.'
About 5 more minutes the civilians that were still following Naruto saw him turn down an alley, knowing that one led to a dead end they smirked followed after him planning to hurt the boy, but when they reached the alley he was nowhere in sight.
"He's not here!"
"Where'd he go?!"
"There's no way he could just disappear like that!"
If they had been paying more attention then they would have realized that Naruto was standing above them just staring down at the three civilians with an indifferent expression before taking off via rooftops.
'Waste of time.' Naruto thought.
"It's good that monk taught you useful things like that wall walking technique." Kurama said.
'Actually it was originally the tree climbing technique, the hardest for me to do was the water walking one. Remember how many times I fell in?' Naruto remembered the first time he tried it he fell in the river and Eisai went to get him out.
Kurama howled with laughter at the memory finding it completely hilarious! "I remember that! Seeing you fall in the water became humorous to me!"
Naruto chuckled not at all offended by his companions words, 'Are there anymore individuals I should avoid?'
"I don't sense anymore humans with malicious intent. Your fine, but watch your back." Kurama informed.
'I will.' Naruto landed on the ground and resumed walking towards his apartment complex but he kept his senses active just in case.
"Oh!"
He stopped in his track as he saw a red tomato roll right towards him, only stopping when it hit his foot. Picking up the fruit he lifted his head and saw a fair-skinned woman with long, straight black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks and black eyes. She wore a simple dark purple blouse with a red-plum skirt and a light-yellow apron worn over it. She was carrying around five grocery bags and one had busted open allowing all of the tomatoes to fall out of it. Not saying a word he walked over to the woman and began picking the rest of the red fruit's up not seeing her stunned but grateful look as she smiled softly at the boy as he picked up the run away tomatoes.
Having picked up all of them he turned to the woman having a handful of tomatoes in his arms. She was smiling at him, not a fake one either, but a real sincere kind smile.
"Thank you so much." She thanked.
Naruto simply nodded his head in response making her giggle, "The silent type are we? You remind me of Itachi."
Naruto merely tilted his head in confusion.
"He's my oldest son," she clarified, "My youngest is Sasuke. Have you heard of him?"
Naruto nodded.
"I see." She said.
Naruto walked over to the woman passing by her before stopping and turning his head back a little staring at her. She blinked then giggled again in amusement, "You'll walk me home? How kind of you, good sir." She joked.
Naruto gave her an eye smile in return as they both began walking towards her home. The woman looked down at the blonde boy, "Thank you for doing this, I hope I'm not taking you away from anything."
Naruto shook his head in denial. He wasn't in a hurry to report to his father so he didn't mind doing this for the nice woman.
"Your such a sweetheart, my name is Mikoto Uchiha. What's yours?" Mikoto asked.
Naruto contemplated whether he should tell her his name or not, but he saw no harm in it, "Naruto…Uzumaki."
Mikoto's smile didn't change, if anything it became a fond smile as she closed her eyes for a brief moment remembering a certain red head woman with purple eyes with a bright and cheerful smile, "Naruto Uzumaki…what a strong name."
"Thank you." Naruto mumbled.
They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence. The blonde found the woman to be warm and kind. He could hear Kurama growling the whole time not liking the fact that the woman was an Uchiha.
Uchiha Compound
Mikoto and Naruto arrived at the compound pretty quickly. Naruto was surprised there were no guards stationed in front of the place. Very different from the Hyūga clan who have guards stationed outside the compound. Stopping at the gate Naruto was fully prepared to leave but he couldn't just take the tomatoes with him, so what to do?
"Come inside for a little while, I still need to thank you kind sir." Mikoto winked.
Naruto blinked before nodding slowly following the woman inside the compound. There was one thing Naruto noticed as he followed Mikoto to the compound, one thing he noticed was that the Uchiha's were off in the far corner of Konoha away from everyone else.
'Does it have something to do with Kurama being controlled into attacking the village by that orange masked Uchiha?' Naruto remembered the conversation he and Kurama had one day. It was about why the fox attacked Konoha and the blonde found out that an advanced version of the Sharingan was enough to control the Bijū making Naruto tense. It was very clear to the blonde that the reason the Uchiha clan were so far away from the villagers were because of the three elders, isolating them from everyone else to probably keep surveillance. That would also explain why some of the villagers were uneasy about seeing him walking with Mikoto earlier too, probably thinking she'd take him here to be controlled but he sensed no malicious intent from her so it was fine.
Arriving at the house she slid the door open, "I'm back!" she announced.
Naruto heard heavy footsteps and figured it probably belonged to an older male. He was right when a man appeared. He had short, brown hair that reached to his shoulders and onyx-coloured eyes, with visible creases below them. He wore a simple kimono with grey pants which had the clan's symbol on the back when not on duty. The blonde stared at the man as if sizing him up. The man was no threat he determined.
"Mikoto, your back," the man said then saw the blonde boy that was by her side and stared at him making the woman smile, "This is Naruto Uzumaki. He was nice enough to help me with the groceries after some tomatoes got away from me. Even walked me home like a gentlemen."
Naruto said nothing still staring at the tall man before him with a calm expression. The man was doing the same, after about 2 minutes the man closed his eyes with a sigh as if he was satisfied about something.
"I see," the man said, "Thank you for walking my wife home, I am Fugaku Uchiha."
Naruto dipped his head down a little, "Nice to meet you, Fugaku-sama. My name is Naruto Uzumaki."
Fugaku was surprised by the boy's formality and calm demeanor. It almost reminded him of his oldest son Itachi. With a nod he turned around, "Come inside." He said walking away.
Mikoto smiled at Naruto and led him to the kitchen. He volunteered to put all of the groceries away much to Mikoto's amusement allowing him to do so while Fugaku was seated in the chair just watching him. When Naruto was done putting the groceries away he bowed to them both about to leave the kitchen but Fugaku's voice stopped him, "Hold on."
Naruto stopped dead in his tracks turning a questioning gaze towards the man. Fugaku stood up from his seat going over to the fridge, opening it and taking out a few tomatoes and other things the boy would need and put them in one of the grocery bags. Walking over to the silent boy he held the bag out for him to take, the blonde didn't hesitate to take it but not before giving him a questioning look once more.
Fugaku simply ruffled the boy's head, "Take those with you. Eating healthy is important."
Naruto was taken back by the affectionate tone in the man's voice but nodded his head in response, "Thank you." He said.
The Uchiha Head removed his hand from his head, "Be careful on your way home."
"Yes sir." Naruto said.
Mikoto gave him a cook book, "There are a few recipes in here you can try out."
Naruto took the brook gratefully, "I'll take care of it." He assured.
"Please do." She smiled.
Naruto bowed to them before leaving the kitchen, then the house, and out of the compound leaving the two Uchiha's standing there.
Fugaku closed his eyes, "He reminds me of him."
"Really? In my opinion he reminds me a lot of Kushina." Mikoto smiled fondly.
Fugaku flinched at the mention of the woman's name, having remembered the red heads feared yet well-known temper, "Let's just hope he doesn't inherit her fierce temper."
Mikoto giggled.
"We're back!" a young voice announced.
"That sounds like Sasuke, I'll go greet him while you two talk." Mikoto said gong off to greet her sons.
Fugaku sat back down in his chair waiting for his oldest to appear in the kitchen. He didn't have to wait long as Itachi stepped into the kitchen wearing civilian clothing this time instead of his normal ANBU attire.
"I've returned father." Itachi announced.
"So I see. Welcome home, son." Fugaku greeted.
Itachi sat in another chair facing his father, "You seem pleased about something father, did something happen?"
Fugaku huffed in amusement at his oldest. He could always tell what the older man was thinking, "You could say that. That young boy you've been assigned to watch is quite something indeed."
Itachi was completely surprised. He wasn't on guard duty today so he had no idea that Naruto had come here, "Why was he here?"
"Your mother had a small problem on her way over here and he helped her even walked her home." Fugaku found the whole thing to be amusing.
Itachi chuckled at the explanation, "I see. He didn't want to stay?"
"No, I believe the boy felt as though he didn't want to trouble us so he left. But not before putting the groceries away for your mother. Don't worry, we sent him off with some ingredients for him to make a healthy meal." Fugaku assured.
Itachi didn't know what to say. His father had never expressed much emotion or shown kindness to anyone outside the clan so he was quite surprised to hear his father willingly help Naruto by giving him some food. Showing a knowing smile he responded, "I see."
Fugaku closed is eyes with a grunt.
Sasuke and Mikoto chose that time to walk in, "Nii-san, tou-sama, what are you two talking about?"
"Nothing." Itachi smiled.
Sasuke pouted, "Hey, tell me."
Itachi motioned his brother to come over to him, once the boy was close enough Itachi poked his forehead with two fingers, "Some other time, okay?"
Sasuke rubbed his forehead still pouting
Itachi was still thinking about Naruto and hoped the clan wouldn't get any funny ideas in trying to use the boy.
Naruto set the bag down on the kitchen table before walking over to his bed. Lifting the pillow up he took out a seal that was different than the rest. It was a Communication Seal. To use a Communication Seal both user each need a seal then place their blood on it allowing them to communicate even if both individuals are far apart.
Naruto concentrated some chakra into the seal making it turn white, "This is Naruto Uzumaki, can you hear me?"
"Eisai speaking. I hear you perfectly Naruto."
"I have a report that's unrelated to the three elders." Naruto said.
"Reports unrelated to the three elders is fine, so don't worry. What do you have to report?"
"One of the academy teachers named Mizuki rank Chunin is waiting for orders from Orochimaru's spy that is currently in Konoha. I don't know the name of the spy, but I'm sure its either a shinobi or someone higher." Naruto reported.
"Orochimaru, huh? I wonder what that little snake is up to? Describe this Mizuki fellow for me."
"He despises me greatly. I could sense it. On my first day of the Academy he's tried to humiliate me by making me answer hard questions, which I wouldn't have been able to know had it not been for you. He also gave me defective shuriken but thanks to ones I received from Karasu it wasn't a problem." Naruto explained.
"I see. Good to know you've picked something up from me when it comes to dealing with ill-mannered brats. What else do you have to report?"
"I encountered both Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha. Mikoto-san was having trouble with her groceries so I helped picked them up and walked her home where I met her husband and Clan Head Fugaku Uchiha. Both were very kind to me and gave me some food." Naruto said.
"That's good. Have you had anymore problem with the villagers?"
"While I was on my way here after leaving the Academy three civilians were following me with malicious intent. I managed to lose them before they could try anything." Naruto confessed.
"…"
Naruto knew the reason why the man was so quiet. This happened once before back at the Fire Temple, it was the first time he was exposed to such high killing intent that it made him want to run away and hide somewhere.
"Is that so…?"
"I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me, and if they tried to then I'll be able to handle it." Naruto assured the man.
"…I see then. Do make sure to be careful and make sure you keep training. I've gathered some scrolls and chakra paper while I was there the last time, I just sent them by using my summoning contract. It should be there soon. Also, if this Mizuki fellow keeps giving you trouble then you have free reign to mess with him as much as you like."
"Got it."
"Looks like that concludes your report. Talk to you soon."
"Mm, talk to you soon, tou-chan." Naruto said as the Communication Seal stopped glowing white. Placing the seal down on the bed he went back over to the kitchen and opened the cook book Mikoto-san let him keep and found a recipe for tomatoes and other ingredients. Not wanting to waste time he started preparing the meal.
Washing the dishes and putting them up he went over to the window hearing something tap on the glass. Looking more closely he noticed it was one of his father's summons and opened the window for it to come in. Once the summoning bird was inside the room it placed the items down on the bed. Naruto saw they were elemental scrolls, containing the elements of Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire. He saw a chakra paper too, petting the bird's head he thanked it, "Thank you." The bird summon disappeared in a puff of smoke seeing its job was done.
There was a note attached to one of the scrolls prompting the boy to pick it up and read its contents.
Before you think about trying out any of the scrolls its important you use the chakra paper first to find out what your elemental affinity is. Once you know what your affinity is you can start working on using the scrolls. To see what your affinity is simply transfer some chakra to the chakra paper, if it cuts in half then you have a wind affinity, if it crumbles you have an earth affinity, if it crinkles you have a lightning affinity, and if it catches on fire you have a fire affinity. Good luck.
-Your father, Eisai.
Naruto put the note down picking up the chakra paper up and started channeling some of his chakra into the paper, and soon enough the paper split in half meaning he had a wind affinity.
Nodding to himself he picked up the scroll that had the words, "Fūton" written on it. His father must've taken these from the library here at some point, but there's no telling when.
"I'll make sure to work on them tomorrow after leaving the Academy." Naruto said.
The next day was different. Mizuki didn't try to embarrass him like last time seeing how it wasn't going to work on the blonde and left him alone for the rest of the day but that didn't mean he wasn't planning anything else. Naruto paid attention for the lecture course not having it in him to not pay attention. It was the physical discipline the monks gave him. Some of the stuff rubbed off on him more than he thought.
When the lecture course was over it was time to go outside and rest up, to either play or just simply relax. Once outside Naruto went up to a tree and jumped on the branches until he picked one that was just right and sat down on the branch simply staring out into the horizon observing the village. He didn't really care for this place all that much but the scenery was pretty nice. Too taken in by the scenery he didn't notice he was being watched by a pair of analyzing eyes.
Shikamaru stared at the enigma that was Naruto Uzumaki as the blonde was perched on a tree branch looking out into the scenery. The Nara heir had been woken up by his nap yesterday by the blonde as he answered a question about the Five Great Shinobi Countries with ease and spoke calmly. Not only that but his shuriken throwing accuracy was perfect, he didn't know what to make of the boy's Taijutsu seeing as how all he did was trip his opponent and sent him flying out of the ring with ease despite the other boy being taller than him. Not only that but he was confused about something, and that is why the villagers seem to hate him so much? Its not like he did anything wrong, right? So why?
Choji noticed his friends look and saw what he was looking and saw it was Naruto Uzumaki. He didn't know what to make of the blonde haired boy seeing as how he was very quiet and didn't seem to like interacting with anyone and would rather read his book. When he did talk it was only if the teachers called on him and that was all.
"Do you wanna talk to him?" Choji asked.
Shikamaru snapped out of his thoughts hearing Choji's voice call out to him, "Huh?"
Choji smiled, "You've go that look on your face. You look like you've just found a new puzzle to solve but it's a little more harder to solve this time."
Shikamaru sometimes hated it when his friend was so perceptive but he was right. He had no idea why he kept thinking about the blonde so much, and wanted to know what made him tick.
"Hey, do you wanna play with us?!" Choji called out to the blonde.
Shikamaru whipped his head towards the boy quickly, "Hold on-what are you doing, Choji?!"
"Well I thought I'd invite him to play with us so you can get to know him." Choji figured with a smile.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru rubbed his forehead.
"You say that word a lot."
Shikamaru and Choji didn't even notice when the blonde appeared behind them making them jump out of their skins and turn to him quickly. Naruto merely stared at them silently finding their surprised faces amusing.
"You! Where did you come from?" Shikamaru tried to stop his heart from beating too fast.
Naruto merely lifted up his finger pointing to the tree he jumped down from making Shikamaru and Choji sweat-drop, "That's not what I…nevermind." The Nara boy sighed.
Naruto gave them an eye smile in return, "Did you need something from me?"
Choji brought out some potato chips opening them and taking a bite, "You looked lonely up there by yourself and we were wondering if you wanted to play with us?"
Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Play?"
Shikamaru raised a brow, "What? You've never played before?"
Naruto stared at the chips Choji was currently munching on to respond. The boy noticed this and offered some, "You want some? Their barbecue flavored."
Curious to know what they taste like the blonde took one piece out of the bag and slowly brought up his other hand to pull his mask down making Shikamaru and Choji look on with anticipation, but they were forced to look away hearing Ino scream about something trivial. Looking back they saw the chip in Naruto's hand was gone meaning he already ate it.
"It was good." Naruto complimented.
Both boys were disappointed they didn't get to see the blonde's face thanks to Ino's loud shouting. Oh well.
Shikamaru noticed something, "What's with the wooden swords?"
"It's a secret." Naruto said.
Shikamaru sighed, "Troublesome blonde."
Naruto found the Nara boy to be amusing, "So I am."
For the rest of the recess break Naruto spent his time with Shikamaru and Choji simply talking to them. The blonde discovered that the Nara enjoyed the game of Shōgi and asked if Naruto had ever heard of it before. Naruto said he did he had just never played it. Shikamaru told him that next time he'd bring a Shōgi board and teach him how to play it making the blonde secretly excited.
She had been watching him again today.
Hinata was peaking from behind a tree as she watched Naruto converse with Shikamaru and Choji having what appeared to be an interesting conversation. She had followed him yesterday and saw him help out a pretty woman with her groceries and even walked her home making the girl smile, 'He's so…kind.' She blushed.
Naruto turned his head in the direction where he sensed Hinata and tilted his head getting Shikamaru's attention, "What is it?"
Naruto simply stared in the direction where Hinata was and eye smiled at her making the girl blush and hid back behind the tree quickly, 'He-He saw me! A-and he was smiling!' her whole face became beat red using both hands to cover her face embarrassed she got caught but happy that he smiled at her at the same time.
The blonde turned back to the shadow user and his friend, "Nothing. I just thought I saw something interesting, that's all."
Shikamaru gave him a disbelieving look but nevertheless relented and didn't ask anymore, it would be more troublesome anyway.
"Alright, class for today we're going to explore the forest as a way of helping you get used to being outside. You see when you all become Genin you'll have to camp outside when your out on a mission, so its important you get exposed to it early on." Iruka explained.
Some of the girls groaned, Hinata was actually looking forward to it seeing as how she had never camped outside before.
"You can pair up in groups if you want, if not then feel free to explore on your own but be careful." Iruka warned.
The other kids went off to pair with each other while some preferred to be alone, and those individuals were Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto didn't mind not pairing with anyone because now he would able to read his book to his hearts content. Sasuke had been to the forest once with his brother so he would be okay. With the signal given to them by Iruka they went off into the forest to simply explore and look around.
Kiba was grinning from ear to ear as he walked with Shino and Hinata, "This is awesome! This is a perfect chance to test my tracking skills!"
Shino felt some form of excitement himself as he relished the thought of finding more insects to add to his collection. Konoha's forest has a fine selection of insects that he simply enjoyed searching for and collecting.
Hinata was brimming with excitement as she walked along with Kiba and Shino through the forest. Looking around she saw just how tall the trees were as she observed them.
Shino noticed her emotional state and decided now was the right time to answer a question he'd been wanting to ask her for awhile now, "Hinata."
"Y-Yes?" she said.
"Do you perhaps have feelings for Naruto Uzumaki?" Shino questioned.
Her whole face became red at the blunt way he asked that sensitive question, "Th-That is…um…well…I-I…yes…" she mumbled.
Shino nodded, "I figured as much. Might I inquire as to why?"
Hinata poked her fingers together shyly, "He-He saved me f-from Hibachi over winter season…and h-he saved me again when that shuriken almost hit me in the f-face. He's also…very kind." She smiled.
"I see. I cannot say anything to that since I have not observed him being kind, but I admit he is more skilled than he let's on." Shino confirmed.
"Keh! He's not that special," Kiba's voice chimed in, "The dude's as quiet as the dead and only talks if one of the teachers asks him something. He's pretty much invisible and not that impressive."
"I disagree with your statement. There is a saying that people use, "Never judge a book by its cover." I feel as though he is a prime example of that." Shino pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever man." Kiba waved his hand dismissively.
Hinata disagreed with Kiba as well. Naruto was strong she just knew it. He probably just didn't see a reason to flaunt his skills around for everyone to see.
'I need to get stronger so I can gain his attention!' she thought with determination. She was surprised when he turned his head in her direction and gave her an eye smile, 'I wonder what he thinks of me?'
With Naruto-Location: Konoha's Forest
Naruto was having a field day.
The last time he had been alone in a forest was when his father took him to one that surrounded the Fire Temple. The two of them stayed in the forest for a total of five days. The reason for this is because the man wanted the child to get used to nature and the elements that come with nature. Naruto enjoyed himself because it gave him some time to spend with his father and made him feel warm because he was spending quality alone time with the man who became his family. Sending chakra to his feet he decided to climb up a tree and sat down on a branch simply staring at the trees that surround him.
'Hey, Kurama?' Naruto called out to the Bijū.
"What do you want?" Kurama responded.
'I read somewhere that Hashirama Senju used his Mokuton (Wood Release) to make all these trees and forests that surround this village. Is that true?' Naruto questioned.
Kurama scoffed, "How should I know? I only met that tree hugger once and it was when he sealed me inside Mito."
'Mito?' Naruto questioned.
"Mito Uzumaki," Kurama said her full name, "A relative of yours that's long since passed away. She married Hashirama Senju."
Naruto had a thought just then, 'Since she an Uzumaki married Hashirama a Senju, that would make us related by blood. So that means I'm related to Tsunade Senju.'
"Yeah, though I could care less about the blood relations you humans seem to hold so dear." Kurama said uninterested.
'Oh, I meant to ask you this yesterday but I forgot about it until now. What did you think about the Uchiha's here in Konoha?' Naruto questioned.
"I loathe the Uchiha's more than the rest of humanity," Kurama stated, "Even if they showed you kindness don't think they don't have any dark intentions."
Naruto closed his eyes feeling the wind blow against his face before opening them up again, 'I know that, but…I still want to believe in them.' He thought about Mikoto and Fugaku how the two of them were very sincere towards him and he wanted to have faith in them.
Kurama huffed, "Do as you please." The fox went back to sleep.
The blond stood up from the branch he was sitting on hearing some voices nearby, extending his senses one signature felt like Sasuke. Well now, what could this be about? Curiosity getting the better of him he went towards the area where he sensed Sasuke to see what was up. He only had to jump three branches before stopping on one that gave him a better view, peering down he saw Sasuke was surrounded by three boy's but they weren't Hibachi and his crew but another boy and two others. The tallest of the two had a round belly wearing a green undershirt and grey pants. His hair was dark brown and short from what Naruto could see since he was staring at the back of their heads. He saw the front of Sasuke clear as day and the boy wasn't scare or nervous, if anything he looked confused as to why the three were bothering him.
Naruto focused on hearing what they were saying and heard the leader telling Sasuke not to get arrogant just because he comes from strong clan. This situation sounded very cliché right now, and he was contemplating on whether or not he should laugh. Taking out three shuriken he took aim carefully before throwing them at their feet preventing getting their attention.
"Who's there?!" the leader demanded.
There was no response instead there were more shuriken being thrown their way making the three bullies scramble away trying not to get hit. Sensing it was dangerous to remain in the area they ran off leaving a confused yet slightly scared Sasuke behind. Sasuke was looking around trying to see if an enemy ninja snuck in here by chance but saw no one. It was the sound of some leaves that caught his attention making him look up to see a yellow blur leave the area, but Sasuke knew who it was. His classmate Naruto Uzumaki saved him, the one his brother talked about in passing one time. Even last night when he got up to get a glass of water he overheard his father and Itachi compliment the blonde. He felt a pang of jealousy hearing both his brother and father talk about him with such pride.
Even now he couldn't understand what made him so special.
Itachi stepped in the Hokage's office after the old man gave him permission to enter. He noticed the elderly Hokage looked ready to attack the mountains of paperwork that was stacked on his desk. It was a funny sight actually.
"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" Itachi spoke.
Hiruzen lifted his head from the paper he was currently reading and stared at the Uchiha male, "Yes I did. I have something to discuss with you Itachi."
"What is it?" Itachi was hoping the Hokage didn't think he was betraying the village by siding with his father in the whole planning coup mess.
Hiruzen took a smoke from his pipe before speaking, "It has come to my attention that Naruto was spotted at the Uchiha compound with your mother yesterday."
Itachi wondered how he knew such a thing before tossing the thought out the window figuring the elder Hokage could have found out two ways. The first would be the crystal ball he always watches Naruto on, or the second way…the elders, more specifically Danzō.
"That's true. Naruto helped my mother with the groceries after she was having trouble with some runaway tomatoes." Itachi smiled at the conversation.
Hiruzen released an amused chuckle, "I see, so that's why…"
"Pardon me for asking this Hokage-sama, but how did you come to learn this information?" Itachi wondered.
Hiruzen put his pipe down, "Kakashi came in here yesterday after he got back from an S-Class mission earlier than planned and went to check on the boy. When he spotted him he was surprised to see he was with your mother and following her to the compound."
"I see." Itachi didn't visibly show it but he allowed his relief to show on the inside, 'So it wasn't the elders after all.'
"Your not very good at hiding your expressions as well as you may think Itachi," Hiruzen told him confusing the Uchiha, "I can tell when you asked how I found out…you believed one of the elders told me, didn't you?"
Itachi simply sighed seeing the old man had hit the nail on the head, "I can't deny your claims Hokage-sama for I was thinking that, that's why I asked."
Hiruzen stood up from his seat turning towards the window to peer out into the village, "Danzō hasn't tried to make a move towards Naruto…not yet I should say, but his silence doesn't make me feel any better either."
"I have to agree with your assessment Hokage-sama." Itachi said.
"Itachi…concerning the situation with your clan-" Hiruzen was cut off.
"I've made my decision. But I implore you sir…please don't tell Sasuke, and please keep him safe." Itachi pleaded once again.
Hiruzen closed his eyes his heart clenching a little at the pleading tone in the man's voice before facing him, "You have my word."
Itachi bowed before the man, "Thank you."
Naruto arrived at the Daisan Enshūjō (Third Training Ground). The training ground is located in Konoha where there's a view of mountains in the landscape and a large deep river with forests on both sides. There were also three stumps lined side by side, and below there is a blue memorial stone, which resembles a polished kunai shaped structure. Lucky for him he was the only one there and no other shinobi allowing him to train in peace. Taking out the wind scroll his father sent to him he decided to get started on a few wind techniques. Opening the scroll he looked at the first three techniques.
1) Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)- Is a technique that uses a gust of wind that can be destructive.
Hand Signs: Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake
2) Fūton: Kami Oroshi (Wind Release: Divine Mountain Wind)-this technique creates a vortex of wind to blast at a target.
Hand Signs: Tiger → Snake → Ram
3) Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Gale Palm)-Clapping your hands together wind is compressed and transformed into a powerful gale. The true value of this technique is when using it together with projectile weapons like a shuriken or kunai.
4) Fūton: Taifūikka (Wind Release: Passing Typhoon)-Create a gust of wind that blows away weather conditions.
5) Fūton: Shinkūjin (Wind Release: Vacuum Blade)-Exhales wind-infused chakra onto a weapon in order to increase its sharpness, range, and lethality.
6) Fūton: Shinkūgyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere)-Taking a deep breath then exhaling several small blasts of wind chakra in such a manner that they are dispersed over an expansive range, enough to make it difficult to avoid them entirely without taking any damage.
Hand Signs: Rat → Rabbit → Dog
7) Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere)-A stronger version of the Fūton: Shinkūgyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere) technique, where the user instead chooses to compress the entirety of the previously inhaled breath into a single large, crushing sphere of wind chakra that they then proceed to expel from their mouth.
Hand Signs: Tiger → Dog
8) Fūton: Shinkū Renpa (Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves)-Taking a deep breath and exhaling several blades of wind are released at different angles, by rapidly moving their head in various directions.
Hand Signs: Rat → Snake → Horse → Snake → Dog
9) Fūton: Shinkūha (Wind Release: Vacuum Wave)-Taking a deep breath and spinning while exhaling, compressing the released air into a solitary blade of wind that covers a substantial area around the user, due to their circular motion.
Hand Signs: Rat → Snake → Horse → Dog
Kazanami (Wind Waves)-By a simple wave of the hand a large blade of wind is created.
Naruto was impressed to say the least, but here comes the hardest part…which one should he practice with first? But another question swirled in his head, where did his father get this wind scroll from? As if hearing his thoughts he note was on the grass before him not having noticed it before because he was so engrossed in reading. Picking it up he read through it.
Since your wondering where I borrowed (stole) this from I'll tell you. Danzō's security is really easy to get through. Have fun.
-Your father, Eisai
Naruto smiled. He wondered if Danzō even notices his wind scroll is gone? Oh well. First thing's first. Which technique to use first? Skimming through the scroll again he decided to start with the first one. Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). Rolling up the scroll he placed it back inside his storage scroll and got to work. It was a good thing his father taught him about seals as soon as he was healed all the way. Not wanting to waste time he went to work in trying out the first technique.
Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake: "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" a small gust of wind was blown around him but it was only a small gust of wind and not like he wasn't expecting it to be destructive on his first try anyway.
Sighing he tried again not wanting to give up so soon, "Getting a small gust of wind is better than nothing, I guess." He said to himself trying a gain, Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake: "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" another small gust of wind surrounded him this time moving the leaves on the tree a little bit. The technique died down and Naruto relaxed, "The second time it moved some of leaves on the trees, so the more I practice with it the stronger it gets." He guessed, "That's good to know."
He would keep working on it until he got the results he wanted.
Shikamaru walked around his house in thought. There was something about Naruto Uzumaki that made him curious. From what he observed today after lectures for the Academy were done for the day and watched the blonde walk through the village he noticed something he didn't notice before. The villagers hated the blonde completely. He couldn't understand why that was though, I mean its not like he did anything to make them angry but he saw the way they glared and ignored him whenever he walked past them looking to be lost in thought. He heard them mutter some things that made no sense to him either, like 'Demon brat' for example.
Having observed the blonde since the first day he noticed he had no interest in standing out and didn't like to talk much unless one of the teachers asked him to answer a question, but other than that he was so silent that you'd forget he was even there in the first place until he made any sort of noise. It was scary to honest because ninja's are supposed to be silent killers and the fact that Naruto was silent and could appear just like that made the blonde a dangerous predator. Spotting his dad sitting outside on the veranda he approached, "Oyaji." He called out to get the man's attention.
His father heard his son calling him and turned, "What is it, son?"
Shikamaru sat in front of his father not missing the Shōgi board that was between them, "There's a classmate I can't figure out."
Shikaku had a feeling who that classmate might be but asked anyway, "Who do you mean?"
"His names Naruto Uzumaki. I don't know much about him since he mostly keeps to himself, but there's something about him…" Shikamaru tried to explain.
"That just makes you curious and confused at the same time," Shikaku guessed, "Like a puzzle piece you just can't figure out no matter how hard you try leaving you more curious."
Shikamaru nodded.
Shikaku looked up at the setting sun, "I'll say this about the kid though, he's an enigma that not even I can figure out."
"Not even you?" Shikamaru's eyes widened.
Shikaku sighed, "As troublesome as this sounds, in my opinion Naruto's the silent type that observes his surroundings calmly before deciding what appropriate action to take."
"He's silent alright," Shikamaru agreed to that, "When it comes to appearing out of think air without being detected he's good at it. I didn't even notice he moved until he spoke."
Shikaku didn't take his son's explanation lightly and filed this information in his brain, "That's a good example. It sounds like the boy doesn't care about being noticed or not from what I'm hearing."
"I thought the same thing." Shikamaru said.
Shikaku huffed in amusement at the same thinking he and his son share, "Another thing I'll say about that kid…"
Shikamaru listened to his father wanting to know the next words the man was about to say.
"Is that he's special."
Naruto wiped the sweat from his face panting slightly as he finally got the results he wanted with Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). What started out as a small gust of wind soon became a mid gust that would then become a large gust of wind. Satisfied for the day he went home to rest and decided to start again tomorrow. Lucky for him it was a day off tomorrow.
Arriving at his apartment he closed the door and walked over to the kitchen ready to start preparing another meal from the recipe book Mikoto-san gave him. Now that he thought about it, the recipe he made yesterday tasted pretty good so why not make it again? Mind made up he started preparing the meal he made yesterday.
Location-Fire Temple in the Land of Fire
Eisai was sitting alone in the meditation room surrounded by nine candles, the man was worried about how his son was doing so he came to the meditation room to relax. Despite the boy's calm demeanor on the outside, inside he was still a child and only acted that way towards him only. With a sigh he decided to send his summon first thing in the morning tomorrow to bring his son here for more training. Being a monk's guard requires dedication and there was no doubt the boy was dedicated when it came to training.
He stood up slowly before opening his eyes, "Its been so long…where does the time go?"
-To be continued-
Next Time: {A Monk's Guard}