Author's Note 1: Just warning you that this story has a few questionable and mature scenes in it. Also, there will be points in later chapters that I speed things up a bit. Just thought I'd giving you guys and gals a heads up.
Author's Note 2: I'm not the most patient of writers and I lose interest in my stories occasionally. I'm trying to prioritize my stories on how many people review them, so they more reviews I get the more I'll work on it because it means that there are people that like the story. Tell me what you like, tell what you hate, or just tell me some of your suggestions that might help with the story.
Naruto and the Dragon Master
Chapter 2: Sides Change and Training Continues
That evening, Sand Ninja Apartment, in the Leaf Village,
The Sand Shinobi Siblings were silently eating their dinner together while Jaki was eating on his own. Jaki, brother of Baki, who was their original sensei, may be their current sensei but it was not because he wanted to train them, he was just trying to get a more powerful spot in the city. Jaki looked and dressed a lot like Baki but he covered the right side of his face, not the left, and had blue tattoos on the sides of his face, instead of red. His most recent plan involved getting Temari to be his, by either seduction or rape. He had tried to seduce Temari but she refused all of his advances and had even gotten Kankuro into helping stop them since Jaki couldn't take a hint. Jaki had then changed his tactics to getting Temari alone and raping her. The first time he actually tried this, he would have succeeded had it not been for the intervention of Gaara, using his sand to attack Jaki.
Gaara never admitted it but he cared about Temari and Kankuro because they never tried to hurt him and always showed him kindness. The only times he ever usually threatens them is when the Shukaku is acting up or when they are in public so no one would suspect that he cared about them. Even after the Shukaku managed to get loss that one time, Temari and Kankuro always tried to show Gaara a kinder side even though he could tell that they were scared of him at times. Occasionally, Gaara would subtly tell Temari to sleep in his room as Jaki had something planned. Tonight was one of those nights. "Temari," Gaara said as he headed for his room, "try not to make too much noise when you come to bed tonight." This was Gaara's way of say, 'You better sleep in my room tonight. The pervert is up to something.' No one ever argued because Gaara was always right and he would hurt them if they did.
"Yes, Gaara," Temari said nervously, not about sleeping in the room with Gaara but whatever it was that Jaki was planning.
Over at the Ichiraku Noodle Shop,
Naruto and Hinata were enjoying a meal together as they quietly discussed their training. "I still can't believe that I was able to master the first step after only one day of training." Naruto said with a smile.
"Yeah, but, uh, you know that there are two more steps in the training, and I'm sure that they are much more difficult." Hinata said shyly. She was also surprised how much easier her training was when they started. "I wonder why the training seems so much easier than I expected." Hinata wondered out loud.
"Yeah, but sensei did say that he would be working with us for two weeks so he could be taking it easy on us right now since we won't have much time to use in recovering from the training." Naruto suggested with a shrug.
The two agreed and smiled at each other. Hinata was already starting to get over her nervousness around Naruto, even if it was just a little bit at a time. They then finished eating their meals and Naruto was walking Hinata home when they passed a seemingly abandoned building but they could hear people inside it. "You stupid slut!" A familiar voice shouted followed by a loud *SLAP*. "Not only did you provide no help in our attack on Sasuke but you also lost to that pathetic Shikamaru Nara!" Naruto realized that it was that guy named Zaku, the one who had his arms injured by Sasuke and then fought and lost against Shino.
Naruto and Hinata could hear a muffled cry coming from inside the building and it was obvious the person was in pain. "You should've paid more attention during our training, Kin." Another familiar voice said tauntingly. It was that mummified weirdo, Dosu, the only one of the Sound Ninja that managed to get to the final rounds of the Chunin Exams. "But don't worry by the time we're through with you, you'll learn not to slack in your training or to underestimate your opponents. That is if Lord Orochimaru decides that you're still of any use, he may just kill you and be through with it."
Naruto recognized the name and knew that the Hokage would definitely need any information they could provide. Even if the guys weren't willing to talk, their victim might be willing to answer a few questions. "Hinata…" Naruto was about to say something more but saw that Hinata had activated her Byakugan and was looking inside.
"There are only three of them inside the building with one being tied up while the other two are standing in front of her." Hinata said. "I don't see anyone else inside the building so I think we can handle them."
"Alright then," Naruto said with a smile as he placed crossed his two index fingers and middle fingers to use his best jutsu. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A bunch of clones appeared in front of the building. "Surround the building so they don't escape." He told the clones, which immediately did as they were ordered.
Once the clones were in place, Naruto and Hinata rushed into the building, catching the Sound Ninja by surprise. Hinata easily took down Dosu with her Gentle Fist Technique while Naruto beat the crap out of Zaku. Naruto stopped when he heard a moan of pain and what he saw was disgusting. Kin Tsuchi was tied up with her arms being held over her head and legs held apart, in an X shape. She was completely naked, not one piece of clothing was on her body, but her body was black and blue from the fresh bruises and there was some red from cuts that had been made. Normally, at seeing a naked beautiful woman, Naruto would've probably fainted, or at least gotten a nose bleed, but, seeing how hurt she was and how much pain she was in, he found himself feeling sorry for her.
Kin was shocked that two other ninjas would help her but thought that it was just because she had just been making too much noise and they wanted to join in. She couldn't see them because they were staying in the shadows. She watched as one of the ninjas started to approach and was pulling out a kunai from his ninja tool pouch. She figured this person had a thing for cutting people up and closed her eyes, waiting for the pain that was sure to come.
Only it never came.
Instead, the kunai cut the ropes that were holding her arms apart and she felt as someone caught her body before she hit to the ground. Kin opened her eyes to find that Naruto was cutting her loose and then he was putting his jacket around her naked body. "You're safe now, Kin." Naruto said as gently as possible as he gently picked her up in his arms.
Kin nodded in surprise and leaned closer into Naruto's chest. "Thank you…" She murmured before passing out.
Naruto knew that he would need help. "Hinata, go get Sakura and bring her to my place, tell her what happened here." He said sternly.
Hinata nodded before the two of them split up and headed off to different areas of the village. Naruto made his way back to his apartment where he put Kin in his bed and gentle tucked her into his bed.
Meanwhile, at the Haruno Residents,
Sakura Haruno was worried and for good reason. Sasuke was missing from his hospital room and she had no idea where he was training to make sure he was okay and not in the hands of Orochimaru. While she cared about Sasuke, she was starting to wonder if that was a good idea and she knew she wasn't the only one in that respects. Ino had also noticed a change in Sasuke's attitude after receiving the Heaven Curse Mark from Orochimaru. The two old friends had decided that they wouldn't fight anymore until they figured out what was going on.
*THUMP!* *THUMP!* *THUMP!* A loud knocking brought Sakura from her thoughts and back to reality. She made her way to the door and opened it. "Hinata?" she said since she was surprised to find Hinata was the one that was at the door. "What are you doing here?"
"Sakura, there's an emergency." Hinata said before coming inside and quickly telling Sakura what she and Naruto had found.
Sakura's skin visibly paled at what she heard but she had never been more proud of Naruto than she was at that very moment. "I'll get some things." Sakura said dashing up to her room. She quickly grabbed some medical supplies and clothing that she guessed would fit Kin.
A few minutes later, Sakura and Hinata were rushing over to Naruto's apartment. 'I hope Kin is alright.' Sakura thought. 'I may not like the girl for attacking us while we were in the forest but that was all part of the exam and this was much worse than anything that happened in the forest.'
The two kunoichi soon arrived at Naruto's Apartment and were greeted by Naruto who looked really worried. "Thanks for coming, Sakura." He said before leading her to his room and left her and Hinata to get to work. He then and an idea and used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create a copy. "Go get old man Hokage and tell him that we might have a lead on the snake he's looking for." He told the clone, who nodded and headed out to get the Hokage.
Meanwhile, at the Hokage Mansion,
Shark Dragon shook his head at his old friend and teacher. "You really are in some deep shit this time, Sarutobi." He said sadly. "The Civilian Council is trying to stick their nose in things that don't concern them and your so-called advisors are doing nothing more than just helping them."
"Yes, and I'm getting too old to lead the village out of these sort of situations." Sarutobi admitted. "This village needs a strong leader and I'd like that to be you."
Shark sighed and scratched the back of his head, knowing this was coming. "Sorry but I'm not the man for the job, at least not at this time." He admitted. "I've got no patience for politics and would most likely kill too many people that pissed me off. No, if you want a replacement I suggest you ask Kakashi, Jiraiya or Tsunade to do the job."
"Hmm, I agree with you that Kakashi could do the job but Jiraiya is…well…" Sarutobi said.
Shark laughed at the thought of what his best friend would do if he was in charge of the village. "Yeah, Jiraiya would probably make peepholes legal just so he could look at women in the bathhouses and hot springs." He said with a chuckle.
The Hokage couldn't help but agree with that statement. "Yes, now Tsunade would be perfect for the job but there is also the matter about her not being here and us not knowing where she is." Sarutobi sighed. "Not to mention, I doubt she'll return even if we could find her. Since her little brother and a previous lover died, she hasn't been very keen on returning to the village."
The last of the Dragon Clan smiled at this. "Oh, I'm sure I could find her and convince her to return. I have missed her." He said with a smile that made Sarutobi laugh.
"Yes, I almost forgot how close you and Tsunade were all those years ago." The Hokage said with a smile, causing Shark to blush slightly but he quickly covered it up. He was about to say something more when he sensed someone coming and looked at the door.
Just then, Naruto came bursting in. "Hey old man we've got a situation!" He said before a couple of Jonin grabbed him.
Sarutobi could tell that Naruto had something important to tell him. "Let him go!" He ordered and the Jonin jumped as the harshness of the Hokage's voice.
Shark and Sarutobi looked at Naruto waiting for an explanation. "What's going on kid?" Shark asked.
"Oh, hey, sensei," Naruto was surprised to find Dragon-Sensei talking to the third Hokage but quickly shook it off. "I found a lead on a certain snake that you're looking for."
The Hokage and Shark were both shocked by this statement and looked at each other as they stood up. "Naruto, where is this lead?" Sarutobi asked.
"She's being treated by Sakura and Hinata back at my place." Naruto said calmly. "She was pretty beat up when Hinata and I found her."
Shark didn't like that and knew there was more to the story than that. "Alright, I'm going there to make sure she's kept safe." Shark said.
The Hokage nodded. "I'll meet you there once I've rounded up Ibiki Morino, Inoichi Yamanaka and a few medical ninja." Sarutobi said sternly.
"I'll let the original know." The Shadow Clone dispersed much to the amusement of Shark and amazement of Sarutobi.
"Kid learned about that just today and is already using it for his own benefit." Shark chuckled. He then got serious and headed out.
At Naruto's Apartment,
Naruto immediately gained the information from his Shadow Clone and smiled that his new Sensei was on his way. He went into the bedroom to find Hinata and Sakura had finished doing what they could for Kin and were letting her relax. "My new Sensei is on his way and so is the old man." Naruto informed the two kunoichi.
Hinata nodded in understanding while Sakura was a little confused about who Naruto was talking about. Before she could ask, there was a knock on the door. "Byakugan!" Hinata said causing the veins on the sides of her eyes to bulge out and become visible. "It's him."
Naruto smiled and went to the door. "Hey, Dragon-Sensei, that didn't take very long." He said happily as Shark Dragon entered the apartment.
"You know, you can just call me Shark, kid." Shark said with a grin as he entered the bed room and saw Sakura and Hinata kneeling by the bed that had Kin in it. "What's the verdict, Hinata?"
"She has massive bruising all over her body and some old injuries that haven't properly healed." Hinata reported which horrified Shark.
Sakura was shocked to find that Naruto's new sensei was none other than the legendary Shark Dragon, the Dragon Master. "Naruto, do you realize who this is you're talking to?" She asked in shock. Naruto looked confused so she went on. "This is Shark Dragon! His power rivals that of the legendary Sannin and he trained the Fourth Hokage!"
Naruto smiled. "He also trained my father!" He said proudly.
Shark looked at Naruto and Sakura as they were talking. "I take you two are on the same squad?" He asked.
"Yup!" Naruto said happily.
"Yes sir." Sakura said calmly.
Shark then put in finger to his chin as if thinking something over. "Naruto, once we're done here, I think you should talk to the Hokage about who your father was." He said calmly.
Soon enough, the Third Hokage arrived with Ibiki Morino and Inoichi Yamanaka, as well as a two Medical Ninjas. The medical core members immediately went to the bed and began checking out the injuries that Kin had. "I take it the girl is the one that might have the leads for us?" Sarutobi asked Naruto calmly.
"Yeah, Hinata and I found her being beaten and almost raped by Zoku and Dosu." Naruto reported.
Ibiki was shocked by this because he had seen the teams and remembered who was on them during the Chunin Exams. 'Her own teammates did this to her…' He thought sadly. 'Looks like things are worse than we first thought if the Sound Village is in league with Orochimaru.'
Kin could hear people talking as she slowly started to feel her strength returning. She opened her eyes a bit to see two Medical Ninja tending to her wounds while Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, the old man Hokage, Ibiki and two others Kin didn't know stood around talking. "We need to begin questioning her involvement with Orochimaru immediately after she awakens." Ibiki said sternly.
'So that's why everyone is here, they want information on Orochimaru.' Kin thought to herself. 'Well, it's not like I owe those bastards anything. The least I can do is through a major monkey wrench in his plans.' She opened her eyes all the way so everyone knew she was awake. "Orochimaru is the leader of the Sound Village." Kin said out loud.
"What?" Ibiki asked in shock. Everyone had suspected that the Sound was allied with Orochimaru but they never expected that Orochimaru was the founder and leader of the Sound Village.
Kin glared at him as she painfully sat up. "You heard me." She growled as the medics tried to help her with the pain. "Orochimaru is the founder and leader of the Sound Village. He also uses the different members of the village in his experiments, especially those that disappoint him, questions his orders or tried to disobey him."
"This is far worse than we thought." Inoichi said calmly.
"Oh, it gets better." Kin said with a grin. "The Sand and Sound are planning to attack during the finals of the Chunin Exam while the Uchiha brat and Sand Jinchuriki, Gaara, were fighting."
The adults in the room were horrified by that information. "Wait, Gaara has a demon spirit sealed inside of him like me?" Naruto asked out loud in shock.
Kin, Sakura and Hinata all looked at Naruto in shock but Kin quickly recovered. "Yes but I didn't know you were one as well." Kin said with a smirk. "No wonder you were able to go toe-to-toe with Orochimaru for a while." The adults were a little surprised but didn't find it hard to believe as they knew what Naruto had sealed inside him.
Naruto blushed a bit at the praise. Hinata looked at Naruto for a bit but easily brushed it off as she had suspected that something was up from the way people looked at Naruto and acted around him. She didn't care, she loved Naruto and something that was beyond his control was not going to change that. Sakura looked at Naruto for a while and found that she realized that some things were starting to make sense. 'No wonder Naruto's been able to recover so quickly and berserk in the forest when he got angry.' Sakura thought. 'But he seems more likeable than anything I'd read about demons, especially compared to Sasuke's recent attitude change. I'll see what Ino and some of the others know about this before asking Naruto for more info about it.'
"Naruto, you shouldn't talk about such things in front of other people who don't know what you're talking about." Sarutobi said sternly.
Naruto dropped his head realizing he had just revealed something top secret to Hinata, Sakura and Kin. "Sorry…" He mumbled.
Hinata, Kin and Sakura could tell that Naruto thought they would hate him after learning the truth. "That doesn't change how we feel about you Naruto." Sakura said with a gentle smile. Hinata nodded.
"Hey, you saved me from a fate worse than death; I doubt a demon would've done something like that." Kin said with a smile at Naruto, who blushed. The former Sound Ninja turned to Ibiki and Inoichi. "Now, I believe you wanted to know everything I know about the invasion plans?" She asked.
The two interrogators nodded and Kin began telling them everything she knew about the invasion. "I'm not sure how but Orochimaru plans to assassinate the old man while the rest of the village is being destroyed." She reported. "He had four bodyguards that are very good at barrier jutsu. One of their favorites for battles is the Four Flames Formation."
Shark recognized that jutsu. "Ah, that one huh?" he asked curiously. "That would be pretty tricky to get around if they put on barriers on the inside and outside but not impossible. In fact I know of a jutsu or two that could easily get around it as well as one that could destroy it."
"Which jutsu are they?" Ibiki asked immediately.
"The Dragon Style: Dragon Fire Crossbow Jutsu and the Fourth Hokage's teleportation jutsu, both of which I have mastered and can use effectively," Shark answered calmly.
Ibiki, Inoichi and Sarutobi were not surprised by the Dragon Style Jutsu but there were shocked that Shark knew the legendary jutsu of the Fourth Hokage, which was what led to the Fourth Hokage's nickname "the Yellow Flash of the Leaf". "How do you know that teleportation jutsu?" The Hokage asked calmly, already suspecting the answer that was to come.
"The Fourth Hokage was in the process of teaching it to me before he died but I took me a lot longer than that to master it." Shark said calmly. "However, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to use that jutsu at this time. It would make our enemies a little jumpy and they might try to help Orochimaru complete his plan for destroying the Leaf."
The adults all agreed while the Genin were all confused by this statement but remained quiet. "Naruto, pack up your things." Shark ordered. "You and Kin are moving in with me at the former Namikaze Residents."
"Namikaze…?" Naruto asked trying to remember why that named sounded so familiar. "Wait! Namikaze is the last name of the Fourth Hokage!"
Shark smirked at Naruto. "Of course, I'm the one who sealed up the area so no one could try to steal his secret jutsu scrolls and possessions." He said with a smile. "The Fourth Hokage requested that I do that in his Will. He made me the guardian of his home and library, while he left his fortune in the care of Sarutobi."
Sarutobi sighed regretfully, knowing full well what Shark was going to be doing. "Unfortunately, those greedy bastards in the Civilian Council managed to steal a large portion of Minato's money." The Hokage said regretfully. "I was unable to trace it back to the source but I have my suspicions." Ibiki and Inoichi were both steaming mad at this.
"Just tell us who you think it was and we'll get the truth from them." Ibiki said. Ibiki felt that the entire village owed the Fourth Hokage for saving the village from the Nine Tailed Fox but, to hear someone had stolen from the deceased Hokage was unforgivable.
"No, I'm afraid we can't do that as it will be most difficult to convince the other members of the Civilian Council to stay out of other people's business." Sarutobi said calmly. "I was however able to get keep a much larger portion of his money set aside so there was no need to worry about it."
Shark nodded as Naruto packed up his things. "Make sure you don't leave anything behind that you might need, Naruto." Shark said calmly.
Naruto opened a hidden compartment in his room a pulled out a plan old box. "These are some of my most prized possessions." Naruto replied to a questioning look from Shark. "They were the only gifts I've received from people on my birthday and for Christmas."
Shark was surprised by this but smiled at his student as Naruto probably never got much on his birthdays or on Christmas, so it made sense that whatever he did get would be really important to him. "Why do you have them hidden, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
Naruto got sad at this question. "Because the last time I left them out, someone broke into my apartment and destroyed them." He said sadly.
Sarutobi remembered that day very well, it was the one time Sarutobi had wished he had never become Hokage so he could deal with the situation personally. A five year old Naruto had come to him crying about how someone destroyed his most prize possessions, a few toys and stuffed animals he had gotten on his birthdays and Christmas. That was the last straw for Sarutobi, who was sick of people trying to hurt the boy that had, technically, helped saved the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox. He ordered the ANBU Black Ops to track down whoever did it and bring them to him. It was one of the council members so Sarutobi decided to make an example of that person as well as having Naruto's place under ANBU surveillance twenty-four-seven with orders to apprehend anyone that tried to break in and to put them in a cell for Ibiki and Anko to interrogate. Jiraiya had been told of the situation and wanted to come back so he could protect Naruto from those bigots. He didn't care about Orochimaru or his spy network, as he was Naruto's godfather. No one would dare piss of one of the legendary Sannin but Sarutobi convinced Jiraiya to let him handle it.
Sakura and Hinata were touched by Naruto's care for those things while Kin was pissed that someone had hurt Naruto, a person kind enough to save her life even though she had attacked him team during the Chunin Exam. Once Naruto was packed up, Shark used a jutsu to send the items inside the house. "Naruto and Kin will be staying with me in the Namikaze house until further notice." Shark told Sarutobi, who nodded in agreement. He pulled out a kunai that had a tag wrapped around the handle. "Here, Hinata." Shark tossed the kunai to the Hyuga Heir, who easily caught it. "That will allow you to get into the mansion but only you came use it." He explained. "There is a seal based security system around the property that keeps anyone from entering unless they have a specially made kunai. The moment you touched that kunai it became your personal pass into the mansion that only you can use. We'll be doing our training there from now on so make sure you're there by 9 in the morning."
"Yes sir." Hinata said shyly.
Shark turned to Naruto and Kin. "Sorry you two but this is the only way I can transport both you of there." He said become making a hand sign. The three of them then disappeared from the room.
Over at the Namikaze Mansion,
The Namikaze Mansion was pretty big but not so big that it could be called a compound. It was surrounded by a large brick wall, had a large areas out front and out back to practice jutsu or for just hanging out with friends. Inside were bedrooms, a large kitchen, and a library and study area for reading up on jutsu. There was also a weapons room that had thousands of kunai, shuriken and other weapons that ninja use.
Naruto, Kin and Shark appeared in one of the guest bedrooms with Kin landing on the bed, Shark landing gracefully on his feet and Naruto landing flat on his butt. "Ow!" Naruto complained as he rubbed his butt.
Shark helped Naruto up off the floor. "Sorry Naruto, but like I said it was the only way to transport both of you here." He said with a grin. "Kin, you should get some sleep." The girl just nodded and settled into the bed she had landed on. "Naruto, I've got something I need to talk to you about before showing you to your room." Naruto was confused by followed Shark has he left Kin's room.
The next morning, Namikaze Mansion,
Naruto was silently eating his morning breakfast as he thought over what Shark had told him the night before. Their conversation was playing back in his head. "I know this isn't going to be easy for you to hear, kid, but its best you hear it from me and not someone else." Shark said as he pulled out a picture. "This is a family portrait of Minato Namikaze and his family that was taken around thirteen years ago."
Naruto took the picture and sure enough the Fourth Hokage was in it standing next to a beautiful red headed woman. "So who is the lady?" Naruto asked curiously.
"The woman is his wife, Kushina." Shark explained. "Look closely at where Kushina's hands are."
Naruto looked closely and saw that they were on her stomach which seemed to be bulging out. "So the woman gained some weight?" Naruto asked.
Shark chuckled and shook his head. "Naruto, she is pregnant in this photo." He said.
Naruto was shocked by that as no one knew that the Fourth Hokage had children. "But why isn't there a Namikaze in my age group?" He asked.
Shark sighed. "To protect the child from his father's enemies, the Third Hokage decided to give the child his mother's last name until he was old enough to protect himself." He explained. "Kushina's last name was Uzumaki."
Naruto realized that it was his last name. "You…you mean that I'm…" He couldn't finish his sentence.
"Yeah, Naruto, you are the son Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage." Shark said sternly. "I want you to sleep on it and we'll talk more in the morning, okay?"
Naruto was stunned but also proud that he finally knew who his parents were and was also happy that he could now talk to someone who knew them personally. He just needed more time for it to process. Shark had taken Kin some breakfast since she was too weak to get out of bed for the time being.
"I'm here if you want to talk about it?" Shark said as he sat down across from Naruto.
"Why?" Naruto asked.
Shark was confused by the question. "Why what?"
"Why did my own father seal the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of me?" asked Naruto angrily.
Sighing, Shark decided it would be best to answer honestly. "You see, Naruto, there were two Jinchuriki before you. Both of them were from the Uzumaki clan. In fact the first Jinchuriki was the wife of the First Hokage." Shark explained as best he could. "The Uzumaki Clan originally came from the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools and was well known for being Sealing Masters, which led to their village being destroyed. Some of them were born with a strong and a special kind of chakra. Your mother was one of those people so she was made the second host of the Nine-Tailed Fox."
Naruto was shocked: his own mother had been the previous host of the Nine-Tailed Fox. "My father knew this?" He asked.
"Minato was there when it was sealed in her and supported her the entire time." Shark smiled. "One thing that you should know is that when your mother gave birth to you, she was weakened and the Nine-Tailed Fox was trying to get out. Someone helped it escape and sent it on a rampage towards the Leaf Village. Your father realized that your mother was too weak for the Fox to be put back in her, so he was forced to use the only Uzumaki in the entire village: you." Shark had to stop as it was painful to take about. "It nearly destroyed your parents to make such a decision but they did what they had to, to protect you and the village. They both sacrificed their lives to ensure the seal would be strong enough to hold until you were strong enough to one day take control of the Nine-Tailed Fox."
Naruto was shocked but proud that his parents trusted him enough with such a responsibility. "Is that why you and the Pervy Sage are training me?" He asked.
Shark smiled as the kid was starting to get it. "Yes, we also believe that one day you can do it but that day is still years off so right now you need to focus on the Jutsu I'm teaching you." He said. "Oh, and you are not to tell anyone about who your father is or that this jutsu was created by your father. You can tell Hinata and others that are your age that you trust but don't go screaming it for everyone to hear."
Naruto nodded seriously and finished eating his breakfast. "Let's get started!" He said excitedly as the two went outside.
An hour later, in the backyard of the Namikaze Mansion,
Hinata had joined Naruto and Shark for their training and Shark explained everything to her as well and she promised to keep it a secret. "Alright, Naruto, I want you to show me what you master yesterday." Shark said as he tossed Naruto a water balloon.
Naruto caught it with his left hand and began tapping it with chakra from his right until it eventually burst. "There ya go." Naruto said proudly.
"Good, now I want you to create six Shadow Clones for the next step." Naruto was about to do but Shark stopped him. "After, I explain it." Naruto blushed a little sheepishly as Hinata giggled a little. Shark pulled out two rubble balls, tossing one to Naruto. "Now, watch this." Shark held the ball in his hand and it began stretching and spinning from the inside out until it burst apart. "This one is a lot tough than a water balloon." Shark explained. "The first step was about rotation, this step is about power."
Naruto tried it himself and found that it was harder that before. "This is a lot tougher." He commented.
"Now, I'm going to warn you, this step is a lot more exhausting and using Shadow Clones will make you even more exhausted, so I only want you to make six Shadow Clones so it will be like you've trained for a week instead of one day. You need to focus the power of your Chakra into the ball." He emphasized on focus and power which Naruto immediately picked up on. Shark then summoned a bag of rubber balls for Naruto to use. "Alright, I'll leave you to it." Shark then went off with Hinata to practice her style of the Gentle Fist.
Naruto created six Shadow Clones and they all began working to make their rubber balls burst. At lunch time, Shark had Naruto break the Jutsu so they could eat. Naruto did that and a second later, he nearly passed out from the exhaustion of the training. Shark caught him before he fell over. "Like I said, you'll get really tired from this." He said with a smile at Naruto. After lunch, Naruto tried again and found that he was able to put more power into the rubber ball but not make it burst just yet.
The Next Day,
Hinata and Shark were still working on Hinata's own style of the Gentle Fist while Kin was watching from the porch. Naruto was still working on the second step of the jutsu and was resting once again from working on the jutsu. His chakra network was working in overtime trying to master the jutsu but Naruto wasn't about to give up. 'Dammit, what am I doing wrong?' He thought to himself. 'Maybe I should try putting in as much power into the jutsu as I can.' He got up and picked up one of the balls. He started pouring as much power into the ball as he could. 'A little more…a little more…' He thought as he poured in his chakra. 'That's it!' He got to the point he wanted and began tapping the ball to make the chakra spin inside it. The chakra was working so hard to come out that the ball finally sprung a leak. "Finally…" Naruto said.
"Good work." Shark said as he walked up to Naruto.
"Yeah but I just got it to spring a leak and not burst." Naruto complained.
"My, aren't you awfully picky all of a sudden." Shark smirked. "Hey, it took me and Jiraiya most of the time we were learning the jutsu to do that." He said with a smile.
Naruto smiled. "Let me see your hand." Shark said as he pulled out a brush with some ink on it. Naruto held out his right hand. Shark drew a small leaf symbol in the center of Naruto's right palm.
"Huh, what's this for?" Naruto asked in confusion.
Shark took off his right glove and showed Naruto that he had the same thing on the palm of his right hand. "This is to help you focus the chakra in the ball." Shark explained. He pulled out a blank piece of paper. "Give this a look." Naruto looked it over but was confused.
"Okay…" Naruto said being annoyed.
Shark turned the paper back to himself and drew on it. "Alright, give it a second look." He said showing the paper to Naruto again, whose eyes were instantly drawn to the tiny left symbol that was in the center of the page. "Now, where are your eyes being drawn to?" Shark asked calmly. Naruto didn't answer right away. "Are they being drawn to the point in the middle?"
"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed.
"You see without a target to focus on, it can be pretty difficult for you to focus all your power into a sphere." Shark explained.
"So this is a target for me to focus on while I'm trying to get the ball to burst?" Naruto asked and Shark nodded in confirmation.
"Now give it a shot." Shark suggested. "And remember to focus on that one point."
Naruto picked up a rubber ball, held in it his left hand, closed his eyes and concentrated on the leaf symbol on his right hand. The image clearly appeared in his mind and he was able to focus his chakra on the symbol of his home. 'Now!' thought Naruto before starting to tap the rubber ball at almost blinding speed.
The ball started to glow from the amount of chakra Naruto was using. The chakra was so powerful that it ball didn't just burst: *BOOM!* it exploded and burned his hands. The blast sent Naruto flying backwards but Shark stopped him before he hit anything.
'Damn, the kid used so much that he burned his own hands!' Shark thought. "Good work, Naruto. You've got the second step down. And much faster than I expected I might add."
Naruto looked at him. "Awesome." He then passed out from exhaustion. Kin and Hinata were surprised by the explosion but were relieved that Naruto was alright.
"Is Naruto alright?" Kin asked worriedly.
"He just needs some rest." Shark told the two girls. Kin and Hinata had become pretty good friends during their short time together and Kin was starting to really care about Naruto.
"What a relief." Hinata said with a sigh.
"I'm sure he'll be up and ready for more training tomorrow morning." Shark said with a smile.
The following morning,
Just as Shark had predicted, Naruto was up the next morning, ready to continue his training. Shark had him practicing the second step until he got the hang of it without being thrown backwards by the explosion. Naruto was actually created fifteen Shadow Clones to practice the first step of the jutsu but using only one hand, he wanted to truly master his jutsu without his short cuts, while he worked on the second step. By lunch time, Naruto had the second step down to the point where he could control the amount of chakra without having to worry about being sent flying backwards. He dispelled the jutsu and nearly collapsed from the mental fatigue from the training but it wasn't as bad as before since Naruto was starting to get used to it.
"Alright, Naruto, the final step is probably the most difficult to master but it is also the least tiring, if you allow yourself to rest properly." Shark said calmly as he tossed Naruto a balloon. "Now, watch closely." He held a balloon in his right hand.
Naruto looked closely but nothing was happening. "What am I supposed to be watching?" He asked in frustration after a few minutes.
Shark held up his left hand and formed a Rasengan. "This is what's happening in my right hand." He said with a smile.
Naruto was shocked by this. 'That's awesome.' He thought. 'There's more of a spin to it than the first step and way more power than the second.' Naruto looked at the balloon in his hand. "So the idea is to have the spin and power of the first two steps but not letting it pop a delicate balloon?" Naruto asked.
"You guessed it." Shark said with a smile.
"But why is this step so important?" Naruto asked curiously.
Shark smiled as he walked up to a nearby wooden training post, he had set up four of those wooden posts for training purposes. "After the first to steps, you get this." He created the chakra in his palm and drove it into the pole. A spiral form, like a whirlpool, was cut into the post. "Once you've mastered the third step, you get this." He created a perfect Rasengan in his palm and drove it into the wooden post. The energy ball ripped through the wood, cutting a deep indent into the wood.
"Wow." Naruto said excitedly.
Shark walked over to Naruto and took the normal balloons from him. "Now, before you do this, I want you to try the first step, using only your right hand." He said calmly. "This is just to see how you've progressed thanks to your clones, so don't worry if you don't get it."
Naruto smiled as he picked up a water balloon. "You got it!" He said excitedly as he concentrated and tried to get the water balloon to burst with just his right hand. The water started spinning within the water balloon but, instead of stretching like before, this time it was bubbling, as if the water inside the balloon was boiling. It was just like how Shark had demonstrated to him. The water balloon the burst. "Heh, I did it!" Naruto celebrated happily.
Shark smiled at Naruto. 'Amazing, I never expected him to be able to master the normal way so quickly…' He thought as Kin and Hinata congratulated Naruto. 'But then again, he is the Leaf Village's Number One Hyperactive, Knuckle-Headed Ninja.' He then walked over to Naruto. "Alright kid, now I want you to work on final step."
"You got it!" Naruto said happily.
Four Days Later,
Naruto was sitting at in a chair as Shark applied Medical Ninjutsu to the injuries that Naruto had gain from training. They were mostly burn marks from the explosion of chakra from failed attempts to master the Rasengan. Over the last four days, Naruto had mastered using only one hand to burst the water balloon and rubber ball. Right now, he was trying to contain that power but it wasn't going too well for him, even when he tried using his two handed trick. He could concentrate the chakra into a ball but after couldn't compress it enough to keep if from blowing up the balloon. However, thanks to the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he was slowly starting to make progress, not to mention Kin and Hinata encouraging him not to give up. Kin and Hinata were currently out with Sakura and Ino, shopping for new clothes for Kin to wear since she was no longer a member of the Sound Village.
"Man, why is it so hard?" Naruto asked in frustration. He had been working his butt off on the jutsu as well as studying more chakra control but it felt like he wasn't getting anywhere.
Shark chuckled. "Hey kid, remember you're a lot young than I was when I learned this technique." He said with a smile. "You're still learning to control your chakra, which usually takes years to learn. I'm actually surprised that you've mastered the first two steps as quickly as you have, with as few clones as I've been having you use. It took Jiraiya one week for each step while it took me two weeks to master the final step."
Naruto was shocked. "You mean you also had a problem compressing the chakra in a ball?" He asked.
Shark smirked and nodded. "Yeah, I used to be all about power and wasn't too big on the whole need for control." He chuckled. "But I finally started working on controlling my power and found that I could do a lot more than I ever thought possible."
Naruto sighed but understood what Shark was getting at but it was still frustrating. "It's like trying to carry a huge rock all alone." He complained.
Shark raised an eyebrow. "I see." He stood up from his seat and walked forward. "But…Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He created a single clone next to him. "…if you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, you can create a second person to help you share to work load."
Naruto looked at his sensei and he smiled. "That's it!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he got a crazy idea. Shark was a bit surprised by Naruto's attitude but allowed him to get to work on trying his new idea, not really knowing what to expect since Naruto was pretty unpredictable.
A half hour later, at the Entrance to the Namikaze Residents,
Kin, Hinata, Sakura and Ino had all returned to the Namikaze Residents with bags full of clothing, ninja gear and other things that Kin might need now that she was a part of the Leaf Village. "Thanks for all your help, Sakura, Ino." Kin said with a warm smile. She was now sporting shoulder length hair, wearing black pants, Ninja shoes and a green camouflage tank top that had a red Leaf Village symbol on the chest. "I've never really been able to go shopping like that before and it was fun."
"Hey, it was fun helping you pick out clothes that match your new lease on life, Kin." Sakura said warmly.
"Yeah, anytime you want to go shopping again just let us know." Ino said with a smile. She loved shopping as much as the next person and was always willing to help out her friends with getting new clothes.
The four entered the Namikaze Residence. Naruto had provided Sakura and Ino keys to the estate since he felt he could trust them, along with Shikamaru, Choji, Shino and Kiba, as Naruto knew that he could trust them enough not to try to steal from him. They could hear Naruto celebrating. "Sounds like Naruto finally mastered the jutsu he was working on." Hinata said with a smile.
The girls went out back to find Naruto happily jumping around a post that had a hole burned into it. "I finally did it!" He celebrated.
Shark stood off to the side smiling at Naruto. "Nicely done, kid, though I must admit your method is really unique." He said as the girls came into view. "Oh, I see you girls are finally back." They had been gone for four hours doing nothing but girl stuff, but Shark knew that they would most likely be gone for that long, if not longer, since he had a bit of experience with girls doing things like that.
"So, did Naruto finally master the Rasengan?" Hinata asked with a smile.
"Rasengan?" Ino and Sakura asked in surprise. They had both heard of that technique being created by the Fourth Hokage and being an A-Rank Jutsu. It took a lot of work and a master level of control over Chakra to master an A-Rank jutsu, so the fact that Naruto had mastered it, was impressive.
"Yeah, I figured out a trick to help me with the Rasengan." Naruto said with a smile. Before the girls could ask, Naruto decided to demonstrate. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he created a single Shadow Clone and held out his right hand. The clone began channeling the chakra and spinning it while the original focused on keeping the chakra spinning while also compressing it.
"I get it!" Sakura said excitedly. "While the clone works to gather the chakra and make it spin, Naruto is focusing all his effort on maintaining the spin and keeping it in a ball! It's amazing!"
"It's genius!" Hinata said excitedly as she watched.
"Awesome work, Naruto!" said an equally excited Ino.
Kin smiled at her savior. "Now all he has to do is win the Chunin Exam Tournament, which should be a piece of cake compared to learning that jutsu, right, Naruto." She joked.
Naruto and the others looked at her for second before laughing at her joke. "Yeah and all I need do is defeat Neji, the genius of the Hyuga, in the first round and then face either Sasuke, the last of the 'Great Uchiha', or Gaara, the demon of the desert." Naruto joked. He exaggerated Great Uchiha because that was what all of the Civilian Council and a number of the elders thought of Sasuke while the Ninja Council and a good number of the other Ninjas were starting to see him as being the village's pampered jerk that thought he was better and stronger than everyone else, just because he was an Uchiha. "That should be easy enough to do." He laughed. The others chuckled at it while Shark just smiled at his student, thinking about other things he'll need to do while he trained Naruto.
To Be Continued…
Final Note: This chapter is being posted much sooner than most of the others will be because I feel that it is done. I may go back and change a few things in it later but for now it's ready.