I do not own Naruto.
Kono Yo no Kyūseishu
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." – Thomas A. Edison
It has been over two weeks since the team placements. During that period, Naruto had been training tirelessly under Jiraiya's tutelage.
The man was strong, very strong. It was no wonder that it was debatable whether he was the strongest of the Sannin. On one hand, Senju Tsunade was known for her incredible strength and Iryō Ninjutsu, and on the other, Orochimaru was known for his Ninjutsu and Taijutsu prowess, having been hailed as a genius.
Despite all that, Jiraiya had somehow come out on top. He truly was a genius of hard work.
Concerning Naruto's training, Jiraiya had found a secret that Naruto had been keeping to himself for quite a long time.
Jiraiya and Naruto were in the middle of a Taijutsu battle. Crossing his arms above his chest, Jiraiya blocked a strong roundhouse kick from Naruto.
Taking advantage of his imbalance, Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's leg and spun, tossing him in the direction of a medium sized tree. Naruto spun in the air and landed on his feet on the bark of the tree just in time to leap off to the right, dodging the hail of shuriken that had followed him.
While midair, another set of shuriken was tossed in his direction. Five multiplied into twenty five and tore through the air towards him.
"Shuriken Kage Bunshin." Were the words spoken by Jiraiya, commanding the cloning of the dangerous weapons.
Naruto, being caught in quite a dilemma and spotting no way out – other than to deflect the fast oncoming shuriken – subconsciously activated his Sharingan and grabbed a kunai to deflect the shuriken.
While deflecting all these shuriken, Jiraiya watched in wonder as Naruto's blue eyes bled red. For a moment he believed it to be the Kyūbi but no malevolent chakra was coming from Naruto. He quickly canceled his technique after Naruto had deflected twelve shuriken.
Naruto stopped and watched in wonder why his sensei has stopped his attack. He looked up at the man and saw an expectant look on his face. Then he sighed.
"And pray tell me how you have the Sharingan." Jiraiya said, with a small downturn of his lips. "I wasn't aware you had Uchiha blood in you."
Naruto put away his weapon and deactivated the chakra flow to his eyes. He looked up to the sky as he began speaking again.
"I don't know how, sensei." He began. "But during one of the most vicious attacks about six years ago, I activated these eyes when some shinobi let loose a hail of weapons on me. I was lucky to escape with a few scratches on me but it was all thanks to my Sharingan." He said in a shallow tone, noticing the whitening fists of his godfather.
"Jiji's ANBU apprehended the civilians and this shinobi and they were sent to the TI division. Turns out one of the civilian merchants had paid this shinobi to assassinate me during the latest attacks." He said grimly but a shallow smile crossed his lips. "They were both executed." Jiraiya's eyes slightly widened. He hadn't known if his sensei was truly serious about the law he had instated many years ago but it seemed he had underestimated him yet again.
Naruto, on the other hand, had been glad that the merchant had been dealt with. He had been one of the most vicious towards him during his childhood.
"I'm glad Sensei dealt with them." Jiraiya started. "But this still doesn't explain how you have the Sharingan." Jiraiya said with a frown of concentration on his face. Naruto just gave him a small smile.
"I guess that's one more thing we have to find out."
Taking advantage of Naruto's fully matured Sharingan, Jiraiya decided to begin training his elemental affinities. Interrupting Naruto, who was running through Taijutsu kata with Jiraiya's Kage Bunshin, he called him over.
"Naruto, come over here." Jiraiya shouted out to his student. Naruto walked over to him, wiping the sweat of his forehead with a cloth he has brought. "Now, do you know what elemental affinities are?" Jiraiya asked, to which Naruto nodded.
"Elemental affinities are the five natural affinities: Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning and Water. They are an advanced form of chakra control which enables us to mould our chakra into certain elements, like the Uchiha with their Katon or the Uzumaki with their Sūiton." Naruto concluded his textbook version of this subject.
Jiraiya was impressed. It was rare that Genin knew anything about elemental affinities but Naruto was a great exception.
"Well, that was impressive." Jiraiya said, digging into his pocket and pulling out a square paper. "This is chakra paper. It allows you to determine which elemental affinities you'll likely learn much easier than the other." He said giving the paper to Naruto. "Just pour some chakra into it and it'll show you the results."
Naruto examined the paper before laying it flat on his palm. He began pouring chakra into the paper and the results were almost instantaneous.
The paper immediately split in the middle into two parts, the one side shrinking into a tiny ball and the other dampening. Naruto just stared in wonder at what had occurred until he heard a loud whistle from Jiraiya.
"Well I'll be damned." Jiraiya said running a hand through his hair. This was amazing. Rarely did a shinobi ever have more than one or two elements but somehow his godson did. "Seems like you have a very strong alignment to those three elements."
Naruto looked up with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes. Things were really beginning to look up for him lately.
It had taken another two weeks of training before Naruto was allowed to go on a mission. His first mission would be outside the walls, not those chores he had seen the other Genin do.
Jiraiya had told him that he was to join Team Ten on their border patrol mission, which would last about a week and a half – considering the time they had to travel to and from the borders. Which is the reason why he was currently knocking at the door to the Hokage's office.
Hearing a voice on the other side allow him entry, he pushed open the door and walked in to find the members of Team Ten and their sensei, Sarutobi Asuma, the Hokage's son and a former member of the Shugonin Jūnishi.
"Ah, Naruto-kun. It's good that you have arrived." Said the Hokage with a smile. "I take it you're familiar with the members of this team?" Naruto nodded and turned to Asuma.
"It's been a while, Asuma." He said with a small smile. Asuma just chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair.
"Still the ever serious kid, ain't ya Naruto?" Asuma said in a light tone, pulling back his hand when he noticed the indignant look in Naruto's eyes.
The Genin of Team Ten watched in amusement and wonder at the scene. They hadn't been aware that Naruto was friendly with their sensei at all. Naruto turned to them and nodded to them.
"Shika, Chōji." He said, greeting his much friendlier acquaintances from the Academy. They were his fellow bottom-of-the-class students. Both boys smiled and greeted him back. Then he turned to the last member.
"Yamanaka-san." He said, nodding to Ino. The blonde girl bristled at his formality. The nerve of this guy!
Back in the Academy, they had never seen eye-to-eye. Rather, Ino had been – along with many other members of the Uchiha's fan club – violent and vocally abusive of the blonde. Despite all that, he was never rude to her but he wouldn't take it seating down. That had built quite some tension between them.
The Hokage reading the state of relations, he cleared his throat, inadvertently causing Naruto and Asuma to stand straighter.
"Well, since everyone is here, Naruto is going to join Team Ten for the duration of this mission since his sensei is out on a mission of his own." Said the Hokage. "Your mission is to patrol the borders between Hi no Kuni and Taki no Kuni. At the end of a week, another team will be dispatched to exchange positions with you." The Hokage concluded.
"Hai, Hokage-sama. My team and I will handle it." Said Asuma, glancing at each member of his team.
"Very well. You are to exchange with the current team in two days. You're dismissed."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." The rest of the Team said as they began to file out of the room.
"Naruto-kun, a word if I may." The Hokage said, interrupting procession.
"Meet us at the gates within an hour, Naruto." Asuma said before nodding to his father and then leaving the room.
"Hokage-sama?" Naruto inquired, wondering what the Hokage needed him for.
"Naruto-kun, I ask that you be careful during this mission. Takigakure no Sato is dangerously close to Tsuchi no Kuni." He sighed when he noticed a look of realisation dawn on Naruto's stoic face. "You bear an uncanny resemblance to your father and I fear the shinobi of Iwagakure no Sato still hold a grudge towards him for his actions in the previous war." The Hokage concluded grimly.
It was unrealistic for the instigators of the war to hate the man who stopped it, for doing what he did. Indeed, Iwagakure had been the one to declare war on Konohagakure but neither side had come out unscathed. The pyrrhic victory had gone to Konoha and Iwa had paid much for it. In anger of their loss, there had been numerous deaths of Yamanaka clan members – whom the majority were blonde haired – had been thought to be related to the Yondaime Hokage.
"I understand, Jiji. I'll be careful." Naruto said with a serious edge to his voice. And then he smiled. "Besides, I have Asuma-nii with me."
The Hokage chuckled. Of course, Asuma was quite the formidable shinobi and it would take much to defeat him. He truly was proud of his son's accomplishments.
"I'll see you around, Jiji." Naruto said as he walked out of the room.
It had been a few hours since they left the Village, and by the position of the sun, dusk would be upon the area with an hour. Asuma had decided that they would stop and make camp for the night just a day's walking speed from the border.
Once they had set up camp, each Genin had been designated a task. Naruto had been sent out to hunt for food, Ino had been set to scouting the area – having transferred her mind into a hawk – which was flying around the area. Shikamaru and Chōji had been sent out to search for wood for their fire. And considering that it was autumn, the fire was necessary to keep their bodies warm from the windy weather.
Naruto soon returned with his quarry of four rabbits and two birds. He had made sure to avoid the one Ino had taken control of. Shikamaru and Chōji later returned with a stack of firewood. Living in Hi no Kuni, you eventually learn that the best firewood came from Oak trees which covered almost every area of the country.
They piled up the wood and with a small katon jutsu from Asuma, they cooked their game and ate in relative silence only broken by some light chatter from Ino.
It was still early in the night but the moon shone brightly overhead, basking them in the translucent light. They chatted more and more until they turn to Naruto, who had been relatively quiet during the evening.
"Naruto." Ino began. With a slight hum of acknowledgement from the blonde boy, she continued. "Who's your sensei? I mean, he must be someone who really wanted to train you instead of Sasuke-kun." Ino said animatedly, her eyes glowing at the mention of her object of affections.
The rest of the squad just rolled their eyes while Naruto sighed. He had been hoping to avoid this question but it seemed that it had also piqued Shikamaru's interest, if the slight widening of his eyes were any sign to that.
"Sorry, but I can't tell you. My sensei made me promise to stay quiet about it." He said, hoping that it'll make them forget about it. He understood why Jiraiya asked him to keep it a secret. If anyone were to see Jiraiya training another blonde, who bore a resemblance to the last, they would connect the dots. And those are dangerous dots to connect.
"Come on!" Ino whined at loosing the chance to glean some information from Naruto. "He can't be that great if you're keeping your lips shut like that. I bet you don't even have a sensei." She said crossing her arms indignantly. Naruto just smirked at that.
Jiraiya and not great cannot be spoken in the same sentence. Honestly, it made him wonder why the man hadn't become Hokage before his student. But now that he thought about it, Jiraiya wasn't the type to want to be held back by a desk and paperwork.
Shikamaru perked up when Ino had been dismissed by Naruto. He had a question of his own that he'd been wanting to ask all day.
"Hey, Naruto." The blonde boy turned to him. "When did you start learning Kenjutsu? I don't remember it being taught in the Academy."
"I doubt you'd remember anything taught in the Academy, Shika." Chōji chuckled after saying that. It was the truth though, Shikamaru had spent quite the majority of the time sleeping.
Shikamaru just glowered at his best friend but said nothing else, turning to Naruto who had his hand on the moonlight silver scabbard on his lap.
"I started learning Kenjutsu some years back after I watched a spar between a Jōnin and an ANBU." He said with a small smile. The battle had been quite amazing to the nine year old blonde boy. The speed and skill shown by the shinobi and kunoichi was truly breathtaking. "Plus I read that the Uzumaki were quite skilled in swordsmanship, as they were in Fuinjutsu."
"Wait! The Uzumaki were a real clan?" This information had immediately attracted Ino's interest. As had it had her teammates. Naruto nodded to her in acceptance.
"So where are they? If a clan was that skilled, they should be fa…" Chōji trailed off when he noticed the frown on Naruto's lips.
"Their Village was destroyed by the joint works of Iwagakure and Kumogakure during the Second Shinobi World War." Naruto concluded in a dejected tone. The thought that two villages would team up to destroy one just because of their neutrality and prowess, proved how vile the shinobi world was.
"It is why we wear their emblem on our standard shinobi attire. To honour them and our alliance. It took the joint teamwork of two of the Five Great Shinobi Villages three days to destroy Uzushiogakure no Sato." Asuma said, pride bleeding into his voice, as he turned around to show his team the red swirl on the back of his flak jacket.
"So that makes you the sole survivor of the Uzumaki clan." Ino said in a somber mood. Just like Sasuke-kun. Naruto gave her a small smile.
"I suppose it does. Those who survived the invasion were scattered across the nations, probably changing their names and such." Naruto said, gesturing a circular motion with his right hand – the world. And I'm going to search for them as best as I can.
They chatted more, deep into the night until they decided to go to sleep. Having scheduled their night watch shifts, Shikamaru stayed up first, because he wanted to sleep longer than wake up earlier.
Five days into the mission and it could be summed up in one word.
Boring.
And with Ino's incessant complaints about the mission, it was beginning to grate on everyone's nerves. Never had he ever thought that someone could speak so much within a day. Now he knew how much the Uchiha suffered at the hands of his fan girls.
While the mission was boring, it was crucial in the defence of the Village. There had been many incidents of shinobi infiltrating the borders of countries in attempts of assassinating powerful figures within or to kidnap certain people.
His own mother and Hyūga Hinata had been victims of such attempts.
Hence it was a necessity for the borders to be patrolled almost constantly, especially in times of peace as they were in times of war.
Pitched up on a high branch of a tall tree, Naruto spotted a few shadows from the other side of the border. From the side of Takigakure no Sato.
And they all wore red and brown shinobi attire. Not good!
Naruto leaped down to Asuma and immediately warned him.
"I spotted five Iwa shinobi coming from the direction of Takigakure." Naruto said in a serious tone. "One of them seems to have chakra off the charts while the other four seem to be high Genin and mid Chūnin."
Asuma frowned and signalled for his students to approach him.
"There are five shinobi trying to infiltrate the borders. Naruto will take the Chūnin and the rest of you will take the three Genin. I'll take the Jōnin. Be careful." Asuma commanded in a sharp tone. His Genin weren't much prepared for this but he'd do his best to dispatch the Jōnin in time to help his students.
"Hai." They chorused as they leapt off the branches to the direction of the fine shinobi.
Ino's hands were shaking while Chōji's lack of his usual packet of chips showed his anxiousness. Naruto nodded to each of them as an attempt to ease their worries, as they sped through the foliage to the intruders.
This was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission. Their package was to be the Uchiha, who at this moment – according to their spies – was out on a simple escort mission near Kusagakure no Sato, which was a few hours from here.
Hence why Han had come along. The boy's sensei was Sharingan no Kakashi was a man not to be trifled with. That man had more bodies under his name than the number of jutsu he had copied and he had copied a thousand.
The mounting figure of Han ran across the barren fields between Taki no Kuni and Hi no Kuni with four of his teammates behind him. Teammates. A term he used very loosely.
For all that had happened in his life, he had come to despise humans. Their inhumanity disgusted him to the core. They created weapons off the monsters they feared and in turn, hated those weapons they had created. It was truly despicable in their greed for dominance and power.
He supposed his thoughts could be biased due to the Bijū he inhibited, Gōbi, which seemed to hate humans down to its very core. At least his leader allowed him reprieve from civilisation, opting to have him live in the mountains outside the village.
Just as they were rushing across the threshold, they had to leap back when a violent wind attempted to blow them away.
"Fūton: Daitoppa." Came the voice of a relatively young man. After the jutsu stopped, five Konoha shinobi appeared on the other side of the border; only a few meters from them.
"Halt! State your purpose of entering Hi no Kuni. Shinobi of Iwagakure no Sato are not particularly welcome to this side of the nations." Asuma stated in a serious tone. He was analysing the shinobi in front of them until his eyes widened.
Han just stared at the five shinobi in front of him and turned away.
"It is none of your concern. We have a mission and I will see it through even if you have to perish for it to be accomplished." He said, his deep voice grating at them and causing some shivers to run up the spines of the Konoha ninja.
Asuma gripped the trench knives attacked to his flak jacket and turned to his students.
"Follow the plan. This will be a difficult battle. The leader is the Gōbi's jinchuriki, Han." His students gasped at what he had just told them. He turned to Naruto. "Finish as quickly as you can and assist the others while I deal with him. I'll need your help if necessary."
"Hai." Naruto said, his face blank of any expressions and a steely edge to his voice.
Asuma turned to their enemies and flashed through hand signs, faster than his students could follow. He ended with the tiger seal.
"Katon: Haisekishō no Jutsu!" He intoned, breathing out a huge plume of smoke. Then he clicked his teeth and the smoke ignited resulting in a huge explosion.
"Go!" He commanded his students, who then leapt off, following Naruto to the three Genin and one Chūnin who had stayed behind when their leader had gone after Asuma.
Naruto activated his Sharingan and placed it under a subtle Genjutsu which would make it seem as though his eyes hadn't changed at all. Reading the chakra levels of each of the remaining four shinobi, he commanded.
"Ino, take the short Genin. Chōji, the larger one. Shikamaru, take the one in the middle. I'll take their leader, go!" Naruto commanded and sped to his opponent as fast as he could.
"Hai!"
Grabbing a kunai from his pouch, Naruto leapt at the Chūnin. He was quite tall with a slightly brawny figure and dark brown hair. He had a scar underneath his left eye and seemed to be around the ages of nineteen and twenty.
The older boy pulled out a kunai and clashed with Naruto which resulted in a shower of sparks.
"You look very familiar." Said the older boy, pushing down on Naruto after a short struggle of strength. Then his eyes widened and an angry snarl ripped from his throat. "You're that bastard's child! I'll kill you!" He shouted kicking Naruto on the chest then speeding through hand signs.
"Dōton: Doryūso!" The Chūnin shouted out, holding his hand in a snake seal. Spears made of hard earth immediately started growing out of the ground, speeding to Naruto's direction, who was flying through hand seals.
Choosing the most effective element in this situation, he held the dragon seal and intoned.
"Raiton: Jibashi!" The jutsu, being the first one he ever learnt, obviously was the one he had mastered efficiently. Strong lightning currents sparked to life around his hands and started spreading around the area. The lightning tore through the earth spears and headed to the direction of the Chūnin, who was taking a chance at escape. Not on my watch.
Naruto released the dragon seal, dug into his pocket and threw five shuriken. He then clapped his hands and muttered the name of the jutsu.
"Fūton: Kaze Shuriken!" His shuriken we're immediately enveloped in wind chakra and cut through the air towards the Chūnin who slammed his hands on the ground.
"Dōton: Doryūheki!" The shuriken struck the wall, except for one that cut at the corner and continued speeding through the air.
The Chūnin believing that he had defended himself well, started running through hand seals until he felt something pierce through his chest.
"Ugh!" He groaned out as he looked down his chest, only to see the tip of a pitch black chokuto humming with wind chakra. That was his last sight as he fell to the ground. Dead.
Naruto sighed in slight disgust as he pulled out his blade and flicked the blood off of it. He then laid the Chūnin down and offered a silent prayer, then sped off to the rest of the team.
Ino was having a much better time than Naruto. It seems that the boy in front of her wasn't that skilled, just below average at least while she was mid to high Genin.
Ever since the warning she and Sakura had received from Iruka the day of the team placements, she had trained harder with her team and her father in order to be able to protect herself and her team.
The shorter boy jumped back and Ino took advantage of that. Speeding through hand seals, she stopped and held the snake seal.
"Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu!" She whispered as she disappeared from sight. The boy looked around, frantically searching for his opponent only to feel himself choke and gag at the blood flowing into his lungs and seeping out of the slit on his throat. He fell to the ground and bled to death.
Ino, realising what she had done, ran to the side and vomited out her lunch. Despite being prepared for this, she still suffered the reaping of her own sowing.
Tears started flowing down her face and she didn't even notice when Naruto appeared, she only felt him rub her back and she leapt up to him. He held her knowing she needed the comfort.
He embraced her for those moments while whispering to her about how it was necessary for her survival. He rubbed her back for a while longer as her sobbing turned to silent tears. A minute or two later, she stopped entirely.
"Come, we have to find the others." Naruto said when he noticed that Ino seemed to have quietened. She nodded and they ran off to the other team members.
Shikamaru wasn't having such an easy time. His opponent, it seemed, was probably the strongest of the three Genin. He had been throwing elemental jutsu at Shikamaru – and a few had managed to scathe him – not knowing that he was creating openings for him.
Again, the strongest not the smartest.
Shikamaru leapt away once again – which was becoming tiresome to him – and knelt to the ground with his fingers set into a rat seal. His shadow sped across the clearing and into the hole his opponent had created with his Shinjū Zanshu previously.
"Kagemane no Justu. Success." Shikamaru intoned. His opponent, who stood on the other side of the second hole stood stock still. He began moving awkwardly, imitating his opponent
"W-what? How did you capture me?!" The boy shouted out in wonder and fear. He hadn't expected the seemingly weak opponent to manage to defeat him. He had severely underestimated the Nara.
"Look at the field. Your jutsu created many shadows, kinda foolish when you're going again members of my clan. We're the bane of Dōton users." Shikamaru said, his lips upturned into a smirk. He then reached into the pouch on his right – to which his opponent imitated – and pulled out a kunai.
His opponent's pouch was on his left thigh.
"This is it." Shikamaru muttered as he grasped the kunai tightly and threw it in his opponents direction. The kunai lodged itself in his neck and he was dead before he fell to the ground.
Shikamaru looked away as he felt bile leap into his throat but he forced it down. He was a shinobi. After gaining his bearings, he ran off to the direction Chōji and his opponent had taken.
Naruto and Ino had been running for a few minutes until they eventually made it to Chōji's battle. The rotund boy was laying on the ground, heaving, while his opponent was creeping at him with a kunai in hand.
Around them were trenches and spikes which showed evidence of Akimichi and Dōton jutsu.
"Chōji!" Ino screamed out but it seemed they would be too late to save him. At that moment, Naruto released all the restrictive seals Jiraiya had put on his body and blurred across the field with his blade in his hand.
It all happened in a matter of moments. One moment, the brawny Genin was swaggering his way to the boy he had been fighting. It had been quite a tough battle, he would admit that, but Iwa shinobi were made of stronger stuff that Konoha shinobi. The next moment, he heard a feminine voice scream out a name – which must have been his opponent's name – he didn't stop either way. The last moment, he saw a blur fly right past him.
That was all.
He never felt his opponent coming.
He never felt the blade cut through his neck.
He never felt his head vacate his body and drop to the barren floor.
All this happened in a matter of moments.
The rest of the members of Team Ten watched in shock and disgust at the scene. The now headless body of the last Genin was spurting out blood like a fountain, all over Naruto and Chōji, and all over the floor of the barren wasteland. This time Shikamaru got sick and proceed to vomit. Ino did the same however, for the second time that day.
Chōji, fortunately, was knocked unconscious by the trauma of seeing his opponents head being dislodged. Naruto looked at his handiwork in disgust. And turned to the side and vomited.
Such is the life of the shinobi.
After regaining his bearings, he sighed and began to clean himself up. He created two clones which picked up Chōji and took him to the rest of the team. He then turned to them but was interrupted by an explosion of familiar malevolent chakra.
Shit!
Naruto sped off to Asuma's clearing, leaving behind the recovering Team Ten under the protection of his clones.
Asuma was not having a good day. At all.
Firstly the mission was getting on his nerves, being too long and unnecessarily quiet. Secondly, their mission had suddenly gotten exciting when enemy shinobi had been spotted.
He regretted the second part.
Had he known that Jōki no Han would have been his opponent during this mission, he might have opted out of it. He still wanted to live a full life, watch his kids grow and maybe have a few kids of his own. But that seemed a far fetched idea now in the face of his opponent.
Han was strong. He was very strong. Especially when it came to Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. This man – being a jinchuriki – could throw a limitless number of elemental Ninjutsu without breaking a sweat.
Asuma had tried to engage him in Taijutsu but had failed dismally. He had forgotten the one crucial thing this specific jinchuriki had. His Fūtton bloodline. And he had paid for it. The burn on his left shoulder was proof enough.
So he has resorted to Ninjutsu. To which he also has a disadvantage, his opponent being a stronger Katon user and Fūton was weak against this element. But that didn't mean he stopped trying.
He has resorted to the use of his Hien and it was doing great for him. He had managed to scratch his opponent a few times as well as damage the conical hat Han favoured so much. That had set him off.
Han had begun to attack more fiercely once he activated his Kairiki Musō and incorporated it into his fighting style. Right now, Asuma had been scorched a few several places on his attire and on his body. I suppose it's time to kick it up a notch. Asuma mused to himself.
Rat. Dog. Tiger.
He breathed in and intoned.
"Katon: Zukokku!" And he blew out an enormous fireball which impacted with Han and exploded in a shower of earth and fire.
Asuma heaved while trying to keep his balance. That jutsu was taxing on his reserves, especially now that he had spent a lot chakra attempting to contend with a jinchuriki.
"Hopefully that will put him down." He said to himself. He straightened up but his feet almost gave up when he sensed that chakra. "Shit!" He cursed out to no one. The fight was about to get a while lot difficult now.
That's when he spotted Naruto in his peripheral vision. Naruto stopped right in front of him and held out his blade defensively. Huh. Asuma thought to himself. This kid really is brave. Or very stupid.
"You okay, Asuma? I came as fast as I could. We've already dispatched the other four and your team is resting with a pair of my clones guarding them." Naruto spoke, his voice with a serious edge to it. "They had their first kills – besides Chōji."
Asuma was impressed. Disheartened that it happened so early in their careers but impressed nonetheless. He the glanced at Naruto.
"Thank you." Naruto nodded. Then Asuma turned to the dissipating smoke of the explosion he had set off. "It seems we have a berserk jinchuriki to fight now." He stated grimly. Fighting a jinchuriki – army killers at that – was like a Genin attempting to defeat a Kage. All possible but very, very, difficult
"Really?" Naruto turned to Asuma, a smirk marring his face and his Sharingan spinning ever so fast. "Let's dance with him then." Asuma gaped at Naruto's insinuation.
I was right. This kid is crazy.
At that moment, a figure burst from the smoke and landed some meters away from them. Han – if he could be called that anymore – was no longer the human he had fought before. Now, his entire body was red – a cloak of chakra stuck to his skin. His eyes and mouth didn't show any features, only empty white sockets and a white maw.
And he roared.
Naruto smirked at their now opponent. Finally, a battle worth fighting. His eyes spun so fast that they begun changing shape.
Naruto's eye colour inverted, the black of the tomoe becoming the iris and the red of the iris depicting a pattern. The pattern formed was somewhat that of three intersecting ellipses with a three-bladed shuriken around a red pupil.
The world became more clear, moved slower and faster at the same time. His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan flashed around, reading the situation and his opponent. His eyes could see the chakra cloak – akin to fire – flickering on Han's body. It certainly has been a while since I used these eyes.
Han decided to attack Naruto – after sensing the chakra that could stop him within his eyes. Kokuō was frantic. This boy had eyes that could subdue it if necessary. Hence it started seeping more chakra into Han, making up four tails worth of chakra in its jinchuriki.
Han sped towards Naruto, attempting to kill him first but Asuma intercepted with a high kick to his chin.
"Hien!" His chakra blades began to hum with wind chakra with sharpened the blades and added two feet long blades made of pure wind chakra.
He then leapt off towards the airborne Han, with Naruto following behind on the ground, his chokuto humming with wind chakra as well. Asuma crossed his blades and attempted to cut at Han's torso but failed.
Han recovered from the blow well by spinning in the air and landing with a crouch on his fours. Then, like the horse he jailed, he began galloping towards his larger opponent as Asuma made way to cut at him again.
Avoiding the first chakra blade, he made way to uppercut Asuma, but a Kage Bunshin swapped places with him, taking the hit in his stead.
"Asuma, be careful!" Naruto warned. "Bijū chakra is highly volatile to any who isn't a jinchuriki." Asuma nodded at the advice. This battle just got a lot more difficult.
"Follow my lead." Naruto sped towards Han, his blade striking in a horizontal pattern, which resulted in a cry of pain from the jinchuriki. With an uppercut to the chin and a kick to the navel, Han flew back while attempting to regain his balance. The moment he landed, he was covered in smoke.
"Katon: Haisekishō!" Asuma intoned as he ignited the gunpowder.
Having exchanged places with some fallen bark using Kawarimi, Naruto stood up straight. They were under no illusions that that jutsu has taken out a jinchuriki.
A loud roar covered the area and the smoke was blown away. In the trench that had been created by the explosion stood a now five-tailed jinchuriki.
Han roared once again and began speeding towards his two opponents – who were terribly becoming a nuisance.
Glancing back at Asuma, he smirked when he saw the look in his eyes.
"Asuma." Naruto shouted out to him. "Formation F2!" He said. They both sped through hand seals and released their jutsu. Both their hands resting on the snake and tiger seal respectively.
Back when Naruto was younger, he used to visit the Sarutobi Clan Compound. Many a time, he would play around with Konohamaru or challenge Asuma to a game of Shogi. Sometimes Asuma would entertain the jutsu that Naruto would imagine and let him write them down. Now was their chance to put them to play.
"Katon." Naruto breathed in, compressing a large amount of chakra for his jutsu. "Gōryūka!" He breathed out a fireball which changed into a dragon head, easily double his size.
"Fūton: Atsugai!" Asuma breathed out a large sphere of air which powered the dragon headed fireball and let loose a firestorm.
Han had no way of avoiding such a massive jutsu so he did his best to cover himself with his arms and tails.
The explosion that following was one to be recorded. It would surely leave a mark on this land.
Boom!
A lone figure was blown out of the explosion and floated momentarily in the air, until gravity took effect and dropped the figure to the earth, creating yet another crater in the area.
The members of Team Ten watched in shock at what they had witnessed. Naruto, the boy who had failed twice and was one of the worst students in the Academy, had just assisted their sensei in defeating their opponent – who was the jinchuriki of the freaking Gōbi.
One of the clones he had left them with had been popped some moments ago, attempting to protect them from the heat and the rubble. They were all scratched and scarred but otherwise fine.
Then they noticed some movement in the crater where their enemy had fallen. Asuma was on his knees, the last jutsu having taken much from him. Ino screamed out to her sensei and Naruto, trying to warn them that their opponent had turned to mud. She was too late.
A figure appeared from the earth and scratched Asuma across the chest.
"Ugh!" Asuma ground out in pain. The searing pain of a slight Bijū's chakra seeping into his body hurt.
"Asuma!" Naruto cried out when he saw the state he was in. He immediately created a clone which stayed next to Asuma as he searched for Han. Then he sensed it. A low rumble in the direction of the rest of Team Ten. No.
Han broke out of the ground right behind the three Genin and made way to attack them. He kicked Chōji on his chest as he turned and slapped away Shikamaru, both boys rolling across the field and landing painfully. The Kage Bunshin met it's end after being punched by a steaming fist.
In his shock, Naruto saw the grin on Han's grotesque features as he turned to Ino. No. No. No.
Han began to reach for Ino – his whole body steaming from head to toe – but he was interrupted but an explosion of chakra. Instead of the normal blue chakra or the red – which he had sensed in the form of a Bijū in the boy – this chakra was a dark silver.
The chakra was thick, calming and oppressive at the same time. Then something he never would have imagined, happened.
Children at the Academy were taught basic shinobi techniques. The Bunshin, Henge and Kawarimi. Those three were the base of all techniques. They had been taught about the impossibilities of each of these techniques. Such as the Bunshin being incorporate, the Henge being an illusion and the Kawarimi being limited to inanimate objects.
Imagine his surprise when the girl in front of him vanished and was almost instantaneously replaced by the blonde boy. The blonde boy who then held out his hand to his navel and muttered a word that caused Kokuō to run rampant in his mind.
"Gakidō."
And Naruto saw black.
Kage Bunshin – Shadow Clone Technique: B-rank, Supplementary; Similar to the basic Clone Technique, this technique creates copies of the user, however, these clones are corporeal instead of illusions. The user's chakra is evenly distributed among every clone, giving each clone an equal fraction of the user's overall power. The clones are capable of performing techniques on their own, including the Shadow Clone Technique itself, and can even bleed, but will usually disperse after hit by a strong enough force. The clones can also disperse on their own, or be dispelled by the user of the technique.
Shintenshin no Jutsu – Mind Body Switch Technique: C-rank, Supplementary; Originally, this ninjutsu was suited for intelligence-gathering missions rather than battle. With it, a ninja sends his mind as spiritual energy into a target's body supplanting the target's mind with their own. The user transfers their consciousness to the target, giving them complete control of the body for a short period of time. While in control of the body, the user is able to communicate with the target. Since the user is in another body, they are also able to use that body's chakra. It is also possible for the user to switch bodies with the target. This has great strategic value when used on a team-mate as neither body is left incapacitated and they may also make use of the user's abilities as well as their own while doing this. To remain inconspicuous when spying, the user can perform this technique on an animal, such as a hawk, which they can use to do aerial reconnaissance. It is generally used on immobilised targets.
Fūton: Daitoppa – Wind Release: Great Breakthrough: C-rank, Offensive; If used by a superior shinobi, it has enough destructive power to knock down a large tree. The wind from the squall can blow away all things in the user's line of sight. The technique can also be used in the form of a devastation stream of wind expelled from the user's mouth. There is also a variation of the technique involves a smaller blast of wind which gets ignited with flame.
Katōn: Haisekishō – Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning: B-rank, Offensive; The user spews a stream of chakra-infused gunpowder from their mouth, which surrounds the region. As the gunpowder is composed entirely of ash, it stays in the air around the victim like a cloud, which can be used like a smokescreen. After surrounding the enemy with the ash, the user can ignite it with a flint placed on their teeth beforehand to create a spark, resulting in a violent explosion, burning the enemy. However, this technique requires keen senses to read the air currents, the insight to read the movements of the enemy, the tactical experience to not also enfold one's allies in the flames, and careful attention for the timing of the ignition.
Dōton: Doryūsō – Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears: B-rank, Offensive; This technique lets the user condense mud or stone from the ground and shape it into spikes that protrude from the ground in order to skewer the target. The spikes cannot penetrate targets of greater density.
Raitōn: Jibashi – Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder: C-rank, Offensive; A basic Lightning Release technique that allows the user to create a wave of electricity from their hands. The user can vary its power from a small surge to shock an opponent to a powerful stream of lightning capable of ripping through solid rock.
Fūton: Kaze Shuriken – Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken: C-rank, Offensive; By infusing wind-natured chakra into shuriken, the user can make them spin, as well as control them in the air.
Dōton: Doryūheki – Earth Release: Mud Wall: B-rank, Defensive; The user creates a solid wall of earth as a form of defence. Chakra is either converted to earth within the body and then spat out to form the wall or the user can manipulate pre-existing earth to form the wall. The earth then instantly rises up and takes form.
Magen: Kokoni no Arazu no Jutsu – Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique: C-rank, Supplementary; A genjutsu that allows one to trick others into mistaking the place they're in for another. This technique's main feature is that it can be cast over an extensive surface, therefore any and all who step into the illusion's area of effect will fall under the spell. That said, it might not work so well on people who are well-versed or otherwise skilled in genjutsu.
Dōton: Shinjū Zanshu – Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation: D-rank, Supplementary; This technique conceals the user underground and drags the object of their attack down into the earth, robbing them of their freedom, leaving them completely unable to move after they're underground. In addition, they can start another attack. This technique is normally used for torture, by cutting into the enemy's neck after it was used.
Kagemane no Jutsu – Shadow Imitation Technique: Supplementary; The user extends their shadow on any surface (even water) to merge with a target's shadow, thereby forcing them to imitate the user's movements. A tactic used to make this technique more lethal is to carry their shuriken holster on the side that shinobi normally don't wear it, this way when the user reaches to throw a shuriken at them, the target will be reaching for nothing. If the target is out of range, the user can produce a better light source to increase their shadow's size or rely on pre-existing shadows for their shadow to freely travel through. It's also possible to split one's shadow, either to trap more opponents at once, or to create a distraction.
Fūtton: Kairiki Mūso – Boil Release: Unrivalled Strength: A-rank, Supplementary; The user increases the temperature of chakra to the boiling point, generating large amounts of steam and evaporating any water or ice in direct contact with their body. The pressure resulting from this emitted steam can then be used to increase the force behind physical attacks, giving the user immense exact amount of force produced is proportional to the quantity of steam released, as the greater the volume of steam utilised, the larger the pressure that can be built up. On releasing the pressure, not only is the user's strength enhanced, but their speed increased as well.
Hien – Flying Swallow: B-rank, Offensive; An addition-line ninjutsu that augments the killing power of a blade — like a kunai or sword — by flowing chakra into it to extend its cutting edge past the length of the physical blade-itself. The materialised chakra is shaped like a blade, cutting up everything it touches. It is also possible to alter the attack range of the weapon by adjusting the amount of chakra put into the blade. Seeing through the movements is said to be very density of the chakra is so high it becomes visible. It not only raises the power of the weapon, but simultaneously turns oneself into a blade as well. The chakra-enhanced blades are strong and sharp enough cut through solid rock and iron. The technique works best with elemental chakra, especially with wind-natured chakra, which greatly increases the cutting power.
Katōn: Zukokku – Fire Release: Cranium Carver: B-rank, Offensive; When initiated, the shinobi fires a small fireball that erupts into a giant fire-storm after making contact with a surface, causing widespread destruction to the area. Since the flames travel along the ground, and cover such a wide area this is a difficult technique to evade.
Kawarimi no Jutsu – Body Replacement Technique: E-rank, Supplementary; With this technique, users replace their own body with some other object, generally with a block of wood, the moment an attack lands. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful. From this, the user can use the lapse in the enemy's attention to attack or flee from the battlefield. Explosive tags can be attached to the replacement for an added surprise. Despite it being a basic ninjutsu taught at the Academy, it is seen as a useful art that can be applied in variety of situations as it allows for a swift getaway from danger. The technique even allows a restrained shinobi to escape capture.
Katōn: Gōryūka – Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame: B-rank, Offensive-Supplementary; The user compresses a large amount of chakra built up inside their body and changes it into a dragon head-shaped fireball. The user then skilfully manipulates that great fire, and attacks their opponent. Even outside of the attack range, its power and reliability are stressed.
Fūton: Atsugai – Wind Release: Wind Pressure Damage: B-rank, Offensive; This tornado-like mass is compressed until it has a very high density before being released. The blast can hit a vast range, inflicting massive damage on both the target and their close surroundings.
Henge no Jutsu – Transformation Technique: E-rank, Supplementary; Given all the missions ninja are assigned to - battle, intelligence gathering, diversions - this is a priceless ninjutsu. It is typically used to change into people other than oneself, but one also has the ability to change into animals, plants, and even inanimate objects like weapons. This gives this technique an abundance of uses. The transformation of a skilled shinobi will be exactly like the genuine article, so it will be impossible to tell the two apart. On the other hand, a transformation performed by an inexperienced person will have obvious discrepancies. It will be impossible to deceive anyone with it. This is one of the most basic ninjutsu, as such most shinobi know how to perform it.