Training Begins
The Next Morning
The librarian shot a look of utter distaste at him as he entered what she considered to be her domain. He ignored her. As long as she confined herself to looks, she wouldn't be able to get through to him. He hadn't let it bother him yesterday. He wouldn't let it bother him today.
Hidden villages took pride in their secrets and went to immense lengths to ensure that they remained secret. Hence, the Konoha library was split into multiple sections: the public section, the genin section, the chuunin section and the jounin section. While one would not be able to find instructions for jutsus in the library, it contained many generic texts for every possible field of interest for a shinobi. Under the eye of the Sandaime, the library had grown so large that it now occupied a building of its own. The ground floor was open to all and was maintained by a civilian staff. From the 1st floor and above, the library was sealed off and heavily guarded, with access granted to only those who possessed a Konoha hitai-ate and the requisite rank.
On his first visit to the library, Naruto had managed to find the aisle which catered to Academy students. He had then focused only on books catering to the history of shinobi. This time he broadened his search.
A while later, he returned to the librarian with books pertaining to ninjutsu, chakra control and stealth.
"I would like to issue these, please."
An oily smile blossomed on the woman's face as she inspected the titles.
"I'm sorry but you cannot take these books out of the library."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. He didn't like where the conversation was heading.
"What do you mean? This is the public section, isn't it?"
"Yes, but these books are about the shinobi arts. You need an adult guardian to issue books regarding the shinobi arts."
"You've got to be kidding me. You made up that rule just now."
The woman didn't rise to his taunt.
"I did not make the rules. Do you want to talk to my manager? His office his upstairs and he'll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have."
If the manager had his office upstairs, it meant that he was a shinobi. With a deep breath, he bottled away the anger growing within him.
"No, it's okay," said Naruto as he took back the tomes. "I'll put these back where I found them. Thank you for your time."
Turning sharply, he headed for the reading section. He guessed that he was going to be spending a lot of time there.
1 Month Later
Naruto sat in the middle of his room poring at a scroll lying in front of him. The floor all around him was littered with dozens of scrolls. Given that he couldn't bring books home, he had taken to making his own notes; something which had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He found that his mind retained things much more easily if he wrote it down.
The scroll he was staring at was a list. A to-do list. A list he had created after many hours in the reading room of the library.
He had started off with the Academy textbooks. And it had proven gold. He had devoured through them like a hungry wolf does its prey. Once he was done, he had a broad outline of all the basic abilities he needed.
There were a wide variety of skills a shinobi could specialize in. But there were a few essential skills which all shinobi required to survive in the field.
Theoretical knowledge. Physical strength and endurance. Taijutsu. Chakra control. Ninjutsu. Dispelling genjutsu. Proficiency with projectile weapons. Stealth. Survival skills. First aid skills. Teamwork and tactical thinking.
Mastery of these fields was absolutely essential for promotion to chuunin. Most genin were given a working knowledge by the Academy and were then whipped into shape by their jounin sensei. He however was aiming much higher. He was aiming to master the list before he joined the Academy. Once he joined the Academy, he would be competing with children from the various clans of the village. Given the intensive training they received on a day-to-day basis, he would be extremely hard-pressed to keep up.
He needed a training regimen. And a strict one at that.
The Academy textbooks outlined the basic aspects of all the fields he wanted to master. That would have to be his starting point.
The problem for him were fields like taijutsu and stealth. These were techniques one could not learn from a book. They required hands-on practice and a guiding hand. With that in mind, he had pushed them down the pecking order.
Physical training in the mornings.
Theoretical knowledge in the library in the afternoons.
Chakra control and ninjutsu training at nights.
That was going to be his regimen for the coming few years. He grinned and shivered in excitement. This was going to be fun. He'd never had fun before. He was looking forward to it.
The other stumbling block was fuinjutsu. Fuinjutsu was an extremely arcane and niche field of shinobi arts. Most of the texts he had read had vaguely mentioned fuinjutsu in passing but try as he might, he could not find a single book which focused on it. At least not in the public section. He would somehow need access to the chuunin or the jounin sections. Hoodwinking shinobi guards was something he was light years away from. With a sigh, he consigned it to the future as well.
Three Weeks Later
It was night-time and Naruto Uzumaki leaned panting against the trunk of a tree. He was currently in a clearing in the forests which surrounded the village. A large number of leaves lay scattered around him. He was training his chakra control.
Chakra was the resulting energy formed due to the mixing of physical energy and spiritual energy. The physical energy was collected from the body's cells and could be increased by improving one's physical endurance and strength. Spiritual energy was derived from the mind's consciousness and could be increased by meditation and through experience.
Every living being innately created a small amount of chakra and let it flow through their body's chakra regulatory system. Shinobi, on the other hand could, by training, mould additional amounts of chakra by forcibly mixing their physical and spiritual energies. The additional chakra flowing through the chakra network could be released through the many tenkutsu located on their bodies to perform ninjutsu and other similar techniques. In time and with experience, the amount of chakra flowing innately through a shinobi's chakra network increases and it could be used to make a rough estimate of the total chakra possessed by the shinobi.
The Academy network had outlined leaf concentration, tree climbing and water walking as the basic chakra control exercises. After two weeks of consistent effort, Naruto had finally managed to successfully complete the first exercise.
The task had been to stick a leaf to his forehead with the help of chakra. It was an extremely simple technique which most shinobi could perform even in their sleep. For a 4-year old boy who had never moulded chakra before, it had been a herculean task at first. Just moulding chakra successfully had taken him about a week. Focusing the moulded chakra to the tenketsu on his palm so as to release it had eaten away another week. Modulating the amount of chakra he used had taken away the rest of the time. If he used too less, then the leaf fell away when he flipped his palm. If he used too much, the leaf folded unto itself and disintegrated spontaneously.
Raising an exhausted arm, he wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve. With a sigh of exhaustion, he closed his eyes and let his arm fall. He took deep breaths and waited for the tremors of exhaustion to subside. From what he had read, he believed that he had a mild case of chakra exhaustion. He wouldn't be moving for a couple of hours.
In a few minutes however, he felt the strength return to his body and his eyes snapped open in shock. The book had categorically stated that the symptoms of mild chakra exhaustion lasted for a minimum of two hours. He opened his mind to his new partner.
"The book I read said that mild chakra exhaustion lasted for a couple of hours and that I would not be able to move until it passed. It's hardly been 10 minutes and I feel better already."
"Yes. That is because of my chakra."
"Your chakra?"
"Yes. The Eight Trigams Seal which the Yondaime used on me, innately steals a tiny bit of my chakra and channels it into your chakra network. My chakra is much more potent and powerful than you humans'. It is what gives you your accelerated healing and your stamina."
"You mean other people don't heal this fast?"
'No. You humans have a pathetically slow rate of healing. Takes weeks and even months sometimes."
"I see. I did not know that."
Naruto silently contemplated the words of Kurama for a while.
"Cut if off."
"What?"
"Cut it off. That bit of chakra you give me. Cut it off."
"If I may ask why?"
"I need to build up my skills on my own. I can't rely on your power completely."
"Why not? Using my chakra, you'll easily become one of the most powerful shinobi in this village."
"Yes. That's true. I'll be able to become Hokage. And then what? Like we agreed, I'll be releasing you once I figure out this seal. What then? No. I have to be self-reliant."
"I see. As you wish."
"Thank you, Kurama-san," said Naruto as he sat up. "This tiny bit of chakra you mentioned. Is that all you can give me?"
"No. I don't think so. This seal of yours is... how do I put it? Let's say that it is slightly open. I think I can give you much more. Be warned however. My chakra is nothing like yours."
"What do you mean?"
"My chakra is much more potent and powerful than yours. You cannot utilize it for minor tasks like sticking things to your body. It is not meant for techniques which require fine chakra control."
"I see. Give me some of you chakra now. I want to see if I can control it like I control my own chakra."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? There is a man who is watching you right now. We do not know how he will react to my chakra."
"There's someone watching me?"
"Yes. There are two of them. They alternate with each other and keep guard on you at all times."
"And why didn't you tell me this before?" he asked hotly.
"I am not one to initiate conversations unless it is extremely important. Given that the man seemed to be your protector, I didn't deem it to be of urgency."
"I see. For future reference, I would like to be told about things like this right away," said Naruto, a tad stiffly.
"I'll make a point of it."
"Thank you," said Naruto and lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
"You said that you sensed him," said Naruto after a while. "What exactly did you mean by that?"
"I am able to sense the chakra and negative emotions of those around me."
"Negative emotions?"
"I am attuned to anger, hatred, vengeance and similar states of mind."
"Why?"
"My creator created me as an embodiment of anger and hatred. Why he did so is an answer only he knows."
"Creator?"
"That is a story for some other time."
"I see. And what is your range?"
"Given that I am stuck in this cage of yours, my sensing range has been severely curtailed. I would say a few hundred feet at most."
"I see. That's going to be extremely useful," muttered Naruto softly.
The Next Day
Naruto's eyes flicked open just as his alarm was about to go off. In a flash, he disabled it before it could let loose its jarring tone. He had been waking up early every morning to work on his physical training. After two weeks, his body had gotten used to the sleep cycle and had woken up of its own accord. With a grumble, he sat up and rolled off the bed. It was still dark outside. The sun hadn't even risen yet. He cursed his past self for forcing him to get up at this ungodly hour. With another curse, he got up and started to get ready.
His ablutions done, he left his house via his window and made his way to the village gate. He stretched the different muscles of his body as he walked. He reached the gate and stretched a bit more. He was going to do 10 laps of the village and finish off his routine with 100 repetitions of squats, sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups each. His plan was to increase it to 25 laps and 500 repetitions at the end of the first month. He hoped to be able to do 50 laps and a 1000 repetitions by the beginning of the third month. From what he had read, this regimen seemed to be the basic muscle and endurance building regimen most shinobi used when they got started. So far, it had been extremely grueling but he was pleased with his progress. His time was improving day-by-day and he could perceive the improvements to his stamina.
He nodded at Izumo and Kotetsu, the gate guards, as he began his first lap. He had established a decent rapport with the laidback duo who seemed to be consistently assigned gate duty.
He was on his third lap when a man wearing a green full body spandex suit materialized out of thin air to his right.
"Yosh!" he shouted as ran alongside Naruto. "It is not often that I meet somebody else up so early in the morning. Pray tell me what you are doing here."
"Training to improve my speed and endurance."
"Why?"
"Because I want to become a shinobi."
"Yosh. The flames of youth burn brightly within you. Good luck," said the man with a thumbs-up and a blinding smile. Naruto watched blankly as the man disappeared into the distance in a cloud of dust.
In short order, Naruto completed his designated laps and collapsed against the gates in exhaustion and irritation. Being lapped eleven times per lap by a man wearing a green jumpsuit was really pissing off.
It happened again the next day. And the day after that. On the fourth day, the man ran backwards and was still managing to lap him at the same rate. On the fifth day, he outpaced him again whilst running on his hands.
"That man is infuriating as hell. If he beats my while running backwards on his hands, I'll kill myself. How the hell is he that fast? Is he even human?"
"It just means that you are dead slow.
"Thanks for your vote of confidence."
"Stop complaining then and get faster."
"I know. I won't stop until I'm faster than that guy."
But even after a month, the gap between them was as vast as ever.
One Month Later
Naruto was sitting exhausted by the gate, having done his quota of laps, when the man in the green jumpsuit materialized before him.
"Yosh! I was right when I first met you. The flames of youth do burn brightly within you. You have the guts to never give up. You have been trying to beat me for a month now but you never gave up even though you failed every day. I commend your sincerity," the man shouted, his teeth blinding Naruto.
Naruto glared up at him.
"How do you know that I have been trying to beat you?"
"Because, every time I surge past you, your eyes burn with the flames of rivalry and youth. I would know that look anywhere. I'm sure that I have a similar look in my own eyes when I gaze upon my very own eternal rival."
"How the hell are you that fast?"
"Because of my youth!" he replied as if it answered his question. "I have been training like this for many years. A fledgling such as yourself has no hope of defeating me. You must follow a strict and arduous training regimen for you to have any hope of doing so."
"I do have a training regimen."
"What are you going to do next?"
Naruto told him.
"Yosh," he shouted. "That is commendable but pointless. You will never be able to match me, Maito Gai - The Fabulous Green Beast of Konoha, by following the basic endurance building regimen. No worries. I have seen your youth and I respect it. Hence, I swear that I will make you faster than myself or else I will climb the Hokage mountain 500 times using just my index fingers," he shouted, jotting down something into a notebook he pulled out. Where the jumpsuit had its pockets, Naruto had no clue and neither did he want to find out.
"Works for me," said Naruto with a dazed expression on his face. This guy was too much to handle so early in the morning.
"Yosh. Follow me. I have some extra body weights at home which you can use."
"Body weights?" asked Naruto in confusion.
Naruto cursed his luck. The man had strapped so many weights onto him that he could barely move.
"This, my dear friend, is the fastest way to build up your musculature and endurance. Given how young you are, if you are able to successfully complete this training, then you will reap immense benefits. You must not remove these weights at any time. In time, you will be able to move normally. When we reach that stage, it will be time to increase your weights. If we progress forwards using this technique, you will have unparalleled body speed quite soon."
Naruto mentally groaned at the thought of additional weights.
"That is not all, my dear student. Simply strapping these weights onto your body is not sufficient. You must follow a strict regimen that strains every muscle of your body so as to ensure an even development of all your muscles. Lopsided or imbalanced development is the bane of every shinobi."
Naruto nodded.
"I will assist you in developing this regimen. You must also begin training your taijutsu so that developing muscles get acclimatized to the movements of your body. I will also assist you in this. Any questions?"
"Yes. Why are you doing this for me?"
"Why? Because the flames of youth burn brightly within you and it is my responsibility to nurture it."
Naruto sighed. He was not going to get a straight answer out of this guy anytime soon.
2 Months Later
Naruto lay bruised and exhausted in the middle of the training ground. He simply did not have the energy to move a muscle. Gai's routine was killing him and that was the plain truth. It was a struggle just to complete the laps around Konoha. A herculean struggle. But Gai never left it at that. Gai took him to his apartment where he had setup a miniature gym. Naruto was forced to do a series of grueling exercises which taxed all the muscles of the body. And then came taijutsu. And that was even worse.
Gai's method of instruction was unorthodox at best. He showed Naruto the basic taijutsu stances and the first level of katas which came associated with them. He gave Naruto an hour to get acclimatized with the forms and the movements and then he began beating on him.
And thus began the cycle of beatdowns.
They would spar for about 10 minutes during which Naruto would be battered in all ways possible. He would then be given a short break in which all his mistakes were pointed out. And then they began all over again. His body was under so much stress lately that he was finding it almost impossible to focus on his other pursuits.
"Sensei," called Naruto from his prone position.
"Yes?" replied Gai as he continued his last set of push-ups.
"Why do you train so hard?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've already made jounin. You don't need to work this hard just to maintain your skills. Why do you do it?"
Gai continued his push-ups for a while. With a almost inaudible groan, he eased out and sat down.
"I have many reasons," he said softly causing Naruto to sit up in a hurry. This was the first time he was getting to see Gai's serious side and he didn't want to miss it. The man hid it quite well but Naruto was sure that he was highly intelligent. "The main one being to protect this village. This village is my home and I'll do anything to protect it. And to do that I have to be stronger. And to get stronger, I need to train."
"I see," nodded Naruto. "You said you had many reasons."
"Yes. There is one who I consider to be my rival. While he may not be as fast or strong as I am, he is highly intelligent and he uses that to win his battles. I strive to be stronger than him and I hope that he does the same."
"What's his name?"
"Hatake Kakashi. He is a jounin like me."
Naruto nodded though he had never heard of the man.
"There is one more reason," said Gai almost imperceptibly after a long pause. "I don't know how to do anything else." With a grunt, Gai got up and turned towards the village. "Try not to emulate that part of me," he said softly.
1 Week Later
Naruto cursed under his breath. This was the third shop he had been turned away from. How was he going to buy a pair of swords if the guys selling them refused to cater to him?
The reason for buying swords for simple. Given his size and build, he would face a heavy disadvantage in terms of range and power if he ever faced down an adult opponent; something which his spars with Gai made painfully obvious. It had been Gai's suggestion that he should specialize in a weapon to overcome that disadvantage and Naruto had agreed. He had toyed with multiple weapons before settling on katanas. Kenjtusu was simple, straightforward and deadly; a concept which resonated with the way Naruto wanted to fight.
Gai considered himself to be an aficionado for the various forms and styles of taijutsu and its variants and collected information regarding them in his free time. As such, he had many scrolls on kenjutsu in his collection which he offered for Naruto's inspection. It was after going through these scrolls that Naruto had decided upon a two-sword style. This style was rarer than a single-sword style and hence he had more chances of gaining an advantage over enemies who hadn't faced similar opponents before. Gai also claimed to be reasonably proficient in the utilization of blades and promised to assist as much as he could.
Now all he needed to do was to buy two swords. And that's where he had hit a dead end. He had been turned away by the three weapons' shops he had visited.
A bell tinkled as he entered the next shop. If this shop thwarted him as well, he would need Gai's help.
A girl of his age emerged from a door at the back and looked askance at him. She was wearing a yukata and had her hair done up in two buns.
"What do you want? Are you lost or something?"
"No. I need to buy some weapons."
"Don't joke around, kid. Get out of here before my dad comes."
"Don't call me kid," said Naruto hotly. "You're just barely older than me yourself. And I do want to buy weapons. Look, I even have money," he said, holding up his coin purse.
"Where are your parents?"
"Don't have any."
The girl looked at him with an odd expression and then turned around.
"Wait here. I'll get my dad. Don't touch anything," she called.
She disappeared through the door and reappeared in a few minutes with a hulking giant of a man.
"My daughter says that you want to make a purchase," he stated gruffly.
"Yes. I would like to buy a standard set of shuriken and kunai," said Naruto, craning his neck to look up at the man. "I also need two katanas. Do you have any for my height?"
The man rummaged beneath the counter for a second and placed two small boxes on the table.
"Here you go. As for the swords, I do have some of your size but not too many. You won't have much a choice."
"I don't mind. Let me see them."
"Tenten, go fetch the swords."
The girl brought out a large box from the backroom. Naruto opened it and started inspecting the balance of the swords one-by-one. Gai had told him how to test the balance of a sword and decide whether it suited his build or not.
The man leaned down and picked one out.
"Try this," he said gruffly.
Naruto took the proffered blade and instantly knew it was the right one for him. It felt like an extension of his arm.
"This is perfect. You have another one like this?" he asked hopefully.
The man rummaged about in the box and eventually pulled out a twin blade.
"Thanks. This is brilliant. How much?" asked Naruto taking a couple of practice swings. In short order, Naruto paid for them and made to leave the shop. He was just leaving when the girl cried out.
"Hey!"
He turned around.
"If you ever need somebody to spar with those swords then I'll be glad to help."
"Thanks. I appreciate that. I'm Naruto, by the way."
"I'm Tenten," she smiled.
"Thanks again and see ya around."
He left the shop grinning like a fox. He was completely broke but extremely happy.
2 Months Later
Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting on his office, smoking his pipe and trying to catch up with his paperwork when his secretary burst in.
"Hokage-sama, Ferret is here to see you. He says it's urgent," she cried.
"Send him in."
She nodded and left in a brisk walk. Sarutobi nodded as the ANBU operative codenamed Ferret walked in. The ANBU took her position and bowed low.
"There's seems to have been a break-in into your private library, Hokage-sama."
Impassive as always, Sarutobi pulled out his pipe and asked, "Are you sure? How did they get past the barriers?"
"We don't know, sir. The barriers are still active and haven't been punctured.
"Sightings?"
"None."
"Scent?"
"Pepper trail. The Inuzuka ninken were quite agitated."
"Were the guards incapacitated?"
"No, Hokage-sama."
"What has been stolen?"
"We believe nothing. We're still in the process of cross-checking all the catalogues but that's what the initial estimates seem to indicate."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"If no one saw him or sensed him and nothing was taken, how do we even know that there was a break-in?"
"Well... the perpetrator left behind a note saying 'I was here'."
"Have you had that analyzed?"
"Written with his inferior hand. Very shaky. Ran it for matches in records. Nothing. The paper and pen used are both easily available everywhere."
"Any we don't know how he got past the barriers?"
Ferret shook her head.
"Well then, nothing else can be done except to improve our defenses. Inform the clans about this. The perpetrator might strike again."
"Hai. Hokage-sama."
The perpetrator must have very skilled to have managed it but why leave that note? Why bring attention to his escapades? Sarutobi didn't know.
The Previous Night
"You sure are lucky that you have me around. You would never have managed this otherwise."
"I know, I know. I already thanked you. Stop showing off."
"I was not showing off. I was just reminding you of my contribution. Yo-"
"Ya. Ya. I know. I owe you one. I got it. Now shut up and keep sensing."
"Be polite or I might even let you get caught."
"If I get caught, I'm screwed," muttered Naruto as he lurked in the shadows, waiting for the patrolling guards to walk past his position.
"Calm down. You have me. It's highly unlikely that you'll get caught at his stage."
"Doesn't hurt to be careful. He is called The Professor for a reason," said Naruto as the patrolling chuunin walked by. Putting on a burst of speed, Naruto ran forwards. He had abandoned his training weights for this excursions and his body felt amazingly light and fast.
"Where's the access point?"
"3rd door to the left."
The Hokage's library was housed in the basement of the Hokage building. Created by the Shodaime Hokage, it was used to store Forbidden books and techniques along with other materials which the reigning Hokage felt is unsuitable for public consumption. The library was guarded by a number of roving guards running in random patrols and an ANBU level barrier with a single access point. An access point whose location even the chuunin guards were not aware of. An access point which Kurama could sense.
All barriers require chakra to remain active. However, ordinary sensory ninja cannot sense the chakra flowing through the barrier. Only extremely talented sensors are able to sense and locate barriers. Kurama was no ordinary sensor. Kurama could even sense negative emotions, something which almost no human sensor could do. For someone of his level of proficiency, detecting barriers was child's play. And by detecting the break in the flow of chakra, he could detect the entry point.
Naruto padded down the corridor silently and entered the room before the next patrol arrived. The sheer number of books and scrolls amazed him. It wasn't a private collection. It was a private library of sorts. He started to inspect the shelves. He was here for books on fuinjutsu.
As he methodically scoured the shelves, his eyes locked onto a dusty tome titled 'A Basic Treatise on Fuinjutsu by Uzumaki Mito'. Must be someone from his clan. He had traced his lineage to an extinguished clan from a now-defunct village in the Land of Whirlpools. He pulled out the tome and slipped it into his pack. As he walked back towards the entrance, his eyes fell upon a shelf marked 'Forbidden'. The shelf was populated sparsely with around half-a-dozen scrolls. His curiosity overpowering him, he jogged over to the shelf and picked out a scroll. Most of the techniques in the scrolls were S-rank ninjutsu, fuinjutsu and space-time techniques he had no hope of learning at his current skill levels. He did however come across two techniques he could learn. Pulling an empty scroll put of his pack, he quickly jotted down the descriptions and instructions to both. Erasing all traces of his intrusion, Naruto slipped out of the room but not before leaving a note saying 'I was here'.
"I don't see why you insisted on doing that. They will search for you tomorrow and they might even find you."
"Nah, I'm helping them. If a kid like me can get in, then they need to improve security. Now help me get out of here."
"Oy, what do you mean a kid like you? You only managed this thanks my awesome sensing skills."
"For the last time, I am grateful for your help. Now let's get out of here. I have no intention of getting caught."
The Next Morning
Naruto sat at his table and re-read the descriptions for the two techniques he had been able to find.
First was the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It was a variation of the Bunshin Jutsu created by the Nidaime Hokage that allowed the user to create solid copies of himself. The user's chakra was evenly distributed amongst every clone, allowing the clones to perform jutsus on their own. The clones will disperse on being killed or could be dispelled by the user themself. On dispelling, the clones transferred all the experiences they gained, to the user and other active clones. The jutsu itself was not forbidden. What was forbidden was the creation of more than two clones. If the user created too may clones, there was a high chance of severe chakra exhaustion and subsequent death. Variations of this technique included Bunshin Daibakuha and Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
Second was the Shunshin no Jutsu. This technique was a high-speed movement technique, allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. The amount of chakra utilized depended upon the speed and the distance travelled. With practice, the speed of this technique and its effectiveness could be drastically improved. This technique was usually accompanied with a puff of smoke or some other element to mask the movement. While the standard form of the technique is used quite commonly by all ranks of shinobi, the variation which uses no masking element is forbidden due to the high chances of chakra exhaustion if used multiple times in quick succession.
Naruto had finally mastered water walking just before he had attempted his night excursion to the Hokage's library. It was time to begin mastering the other Academy ninjutsu.
"Oy, Kurama-san," Naruto called.
"What do you want? I just went off to sleep. This better be good."
"I wanted to ask you if you think it is possible to do jutsus without handsigns?"
"It should be. As far I can see, you humans use handsigns to help mould your chakra in the right way. With enough practice, I presume that you should be able to skip them and mould it on your own."
"That's what I thought," muttered Naruto thoughtfully. "You go back to your sleep now."
"Bah."
2 Months Later
Naruto slipped into his bathroom fully dressed. Making a handsign, he created a Kage Bunshin. That done, he transformed himself into a rat using the Henge Jutsu. His clone bent down and gathered him up in his palms. Opening the small window in his bathroom, his clone placed him on the pipe running just below the window. With a nod of thanks, Naruto scurried off.
He ran down the pipe and made his way through the back-alleys of Konoha. Hiding behind a dumpster, quite a few blocks away from his flat, he opened his mind to his partner.
"Is he still following me?"
"No. He is still guarding your flat."
Performing another Henge, Naruto transformed into a boy of his age with a round face and brown hair. Sticking to thoroughfares, he made his way out of the village.
He dropped the disguise once he was out of the village and took to the trees. He ran hard and in short order, he was once again in the clearing where he had learnt how to climb trees and practiced leaf concentration. He had adopted the clearing as his personal training ground of sorts.
This was the practice he had been adopting to lose his tail ever since he had discovered that the ANBU kept a guard on him. He had no intention of showing them his ninjutsu training. They, most definitely, reported directly to the old man. He had been extremely surprised the first time he had attempted to lose his tail and the ploy had actually worked. From what he knew, the ANBU were high-level shinobi and should easily be able to read through the tricks someone of his level may employ.
"Kurama-san, give me your chakra. There's no one anywhere near us. Nobody from the village should be able to sense it at this distance."
"Here you go. Be wise how you use it."
Naruto gasped in shock as Kurama's powerful chakra rushed into him. He watched as his pruned nails transformed into claws. He couldn't see it, but his whiskers had grown more pronounced and his pupils had transformed into vertical slits. It felt as if a fire was raging through his chakra network. He wasn't sure if he could control this raging chakra. He definitely couldn't use it for jutsus which required precise control and tiny amounts of chakra. He had to do something powerful. Concentrating the chakra on his right leg, he lifted it and stomped down. The ground literally collapsed under him from the force of the attack. He jumped back and landed a few feet away. The dust cleared away and revealed the crater he had created with his attack. He would never be able to match that, no matter how much of his own chakra he used. He grinned. This chakra would be perfect when he needed to get out of sticky situations.
"Is this the limit of the amount of chakra you can give me?"
"No. I can give some more."
"Hmm. We'll have to try that out someday."
8 Months Later
Naruto and Gai were doing pushups at a ferocious rate in training ground 27.
"998...999...1000... that's enough for today, Naruto-kun," said Gai, as he stood up. Naruto, however, lay panting pathetically at his feet. How Gai managed to do their entire routine with even breaking a sweat was beyond him. The man was a fucking monster. The noonday sun was shining directly into Naruto's eyes but he was too tired to move.
"Come on. Let's go eat something, Naruto-kun. We have been at it since 4:30."
"You say that as if we haven't been doing it every day for the past eight months," groaned Naruto as he slowly got up and stretched.
"You're growing more sarcastic day-by-day. That's not necessarily a good thing. By the way, I won't be able to come for a week."
"Why? You have a mission again?"
"Ya. A team of genin got killed in the Forest of Death during the chuunin exams. I have been tasked with returning them back to their village."
"Forest of Death? What's that?"
"You don't know? That's the restricted training ground 44. Although why it's called a training ground, I don't know. It's filled with all kinds of giant beasts and poisonous plants. It's a very dangerous place. I can even think of a few jounin who wouldn't be able to survive the place."
"Then why the hell do you send genins in there?"
"The genins have to avoid all the dangers and get to the central tower. That, in itself, is not too difficult. That's doable. Most of the animals leave you alone if you don't bother them. What I meant earlier was that even jounins would be hard-pressed to survive if they took the beasts head on. That is, of course, assuming the fact that they don't resort to ninjutsu."
Naruto was excited. Very excited. This sounded like the perfect place to test out his swordsmanship. The fastest way to improve was to survive a life or death situation. He would definitely face that in the Forest of Death, if it was anything like what Gai-sensei said it was. His face split into a devious grin.
"Oy, why are you smiling like that, Naruto-kun? I don't like it. You aren't thinking of going into the Forest of Death are you? I forbid it."
Naruto schooled his features into an innocent look. Thank god Gai-sensei was so gullible.
"No. No. Of course not. I'm not stupid, you know."
"Thank god. Let's go eat something. It's past noon and I'm starving."
They both set off for the village.
"You know Naruto-kun, to become a shinobi you need more than just strength and speed. Of course, you have been training taijutsu but you need to learn ninjutsu as well. I am willing to teach you those as well, if you want."
"I train more after I'm done with you, you know."
"What! You train more after our morning workout? That much workload is simply too much for a boy like you. You'll damage your body."
"Nah. I'm fine. I have lots of stamina. Thanks for offering to teach me anyway. I'm grateful. Now let's go faster. I'm hungry and Ichiraku is waiting."
Gai twitched as the boy raced off. With a shake of his head, he took after the boy.
"Yosh! I will not lose to you in a race yet, Naruto-kun. I am still youthful. Yosh!"
That Night
Naruto crept towards the Forest of Death dodging the four chuunin guards stationed there. It was surrounded by a really tall fence. Tall enough that he couldn't jump over it normally. It must be electrocuted if it kept all the animals in. There were no trees near the fence to use as a boost to clear the fence. He had no choice then. He forced a lot of chakra to his feet and jumped. He just managed to clear the top. He landed on the other side and rolled a couple of times to deaden the impact. He was up in a flash with both his swords drawn and ready. There seemed to be no sign of life anywhere near him.
"Kurama-san, wake up. If this place is as dangerous as Gai-sensei says it is, then I'll need your help."
"You shouldn't have come here if it is that dangerous."
"I need to get better."
"That doesn't mean that you literally go looking for trouble."
"Well now that I'm already here, it won't hurt to have a look around. This looks like the perfect place to train my stealth."
Naruto held his sword as steady as he could as he slowly backed away from the gigantic lynx perched on the same branch as he was. The lynx had appeared out of thin air during his exploration of the forest. He hadn't felt an iota of its presence before it had landed lightly on the branch he was running along. Running to the side was not an option. From the way it moved, it was clearly better than him at navigating through the trees. Jumping down was not an option as well. The lynx would launch itself at him before he landed. Waiting for it to attack was also out of the question. Even if he managed to skewer it while it charged, momentum would ensure that the lynx's attack would hit him. Unless he managed to land a killing blow with his first stab. And that was something he wasn't backing himself on. Plus, it seemed a shame to kill such a magnificent beast.
He cursed silently when his back hit the tree trunk. There was now no more room to maneuver. With a snarl of triumph, the lynx lunged. In a flash, Naruto flipped the blade and swung with all the might he could muster. The flat of the blade caught the lynx's head and knocked the charge slightly askew. At the same instant, Naruto himself jumped in the opposite direction. He flipped in the air and landed on the adjoining tree with his feet. Sticking to the wood with chakra, he ran up vertically to the next level of foliage. Jumping onto a branch, he ran pell-mell through the forest to get away while the lynx was still disoriented. He landed in a clearing a reasonably safe distance away to catch his breath. With adrenaline rushing through his veins, he leaned against a tree, closed his eyes and began to take deep breaths.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Naruto's eyes snapped open in an instant and then widened in alarm in the next. He was surrounded by giant spiders. Glancing up, he saw that they were everywhere. On the branches. Sticking vertically to trees.
He must have run right into their nest. With a curse, he drew one of his swords and held it up. With the other, he formed a handsign.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Dozens of Narutos popped into existence all around him and burst away with loud shouts. The appearance of multiple new enemies confused the spider colony. Utilizing their distraction, Naruto forced chakra to his feet and burst through them with a cry of triumph.
"No, you fool. The other way. You're going deep-"
Naruto lost the rest of Kurama's warning as he ducked to avoid a face full of foul-smelling and smoking poison shot at him by a spider. He was more surrounded than ever as he ran. The spiders had the numbers to flank all of his clones and the speed to keep with him. They scurried along the tree-tops and the ground at a speed which easily matched his.
"Don't you get it? They're using chakra as well. And you're running deeper into their nest."
"Gimme your chakra, then. Now's the time."
With a deep, feral growl, Naruto put on a huge amount of speed and left his pursuers behind.
2 Months Later
Naruto took a deep breath as he scaled the fence bordering the Forest of Death. After 2 months of nightly trysts into the Forest, he was finally ready to fly solo.
"Kurama-san, no sensing for you today."
"You sure? You've never been able to sense those leeches until its way too late."
"I've got it covered," replied Naruto calmly as he made a handsign and created six Kage Bunshins.
"Spread out. You know what to do."
It had taken Naruto quite a while to discover the different uses of his Kage Bunshin. The fact that he took no damage on their deaths and the retrieval of their experiences was extremely useful. Tonight, he was going to use them for scouting and recon. With a shunshin, he jumped into the trees and headed towards the centre of the Forest. His clones dispersed and formed a perimeter with a radius of hundred feet around him. His goal was to reach the tower without resorting to combat or meeting any of the Forest's deadly inhabitants. If he approached anything dangerous, his clones would let him know.
3 Months Later
Naruto jumped backwards off a branch and dodged the giant spider lunging at him. He landed on the ground and drew one of his swords as the spider launched itself at him off the branch. He waited until it was almost upon him before he slashed. His stroke cleaved the spider completely into two. Panting, he sheathed his sword and started limping away. Never attack a spider nest again unless he wanted to die, he noted. He should have known better. Especially after the previous incident with the spiders.
As he moved, he looked around trying to get his bearings. Realizing that he was very near gate 23, he made his way towards it stealthily, hoping not to encounter any more of the beasts he may have enraged with his nightly trysts into the forest. His forays into the Forest were limited to the periods when Gai was away on his missions. If the man even received an inkling of the things Naruto was up to, he was sure he would be shut down.
He reached the gate without incident and turned towards the village. He had only gone a few steps when he sensed a presence near him. He jumped just as three kunai struck the spot he had been an instant ago. Twisting in the air, he threw a couple of his own kunai in the direction of the attacker. He saw a short woman with violet hair wearing a large overcoat dodge them by jumping backwards onto a branch. Just as his foot touched the ground, he disappeared in a shunshin. He appeared behind the woman with his sword drawn. He aimed for her neck with the flat of his blade intending to knock her out. Instead, the woman blocked his blade with ease and countered with a punch to his stomach. That was new. Most of the animals weren't fast enough to keep up with his speed; let alone counter him. However this woman had managed to counter even his shunshin. He flew backwards, hit a tree and landed heavily on the ground. He was up instantly. Months in the forest had taught him that if he stayed down to catch his breath, he would be dead. He looked up at the woman and smiled. This was going to be fun. He was just about to make his next move when the woman began talking with a smirk.
"You're really good, kid. Are you the one who has been running about in the forest and making all the animals angry?"
Naruto held his swords up in a defensive stance. The woman was wearing a Konoha headband. She wasn't an enemy then and he could get into trouble if he attacked a comrade. He decided to reply but he didn't let his guard down.
"Yeah."
"Nice work, kid. Most people don't have the guts and more importantly the skills to do that."
He waited for her continue. Her smirk widened. She started walking towards the village.
"Relax. I'm not going to kill you. Come on let's get back to the village."
He sheathed his swords and joined her but remained wary.
"Good. You still haven't let your guard down. You don't blindly trust people. I like that," she said, glancing sideways at him.
Naruto remained silent.
"Oy brat. Don't you have a tongue?"
"I have no clue what to say to you. What am I supposed to say to a random stranger who attacks me out of the blue?"
"You could start with your name, I suppose. I'm Anko."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
Her eyes widened slightly when she heard his name. She definitely knew who he was.
Glares and unfriendly looks were directed at them as they walked through the village. The villagers seemed to be including her as well with their looks, something which Naruto found unfair. It was he, they had their beef with. Why victimize someone just because there were associating with someone they found unsuitable? Did their hatred for him run that deep?
"Sorry about this," he said out of the corner of his mouth.
"For what?" she asked.
"This," he said, waving an arm at the people around them. "I didn't mean to include you. Didn't think they would go this far."
Anko didn't respond but she leveled a strange look at him.
"Ha! You're funny, kid. You're not the only one despised by these idiots."
Her answer surprised Naruto. The distinct show of anger, hate and unfriendliness which were the villagers were displaying was one which they restricted to himself. To this day, he had not seen them behave that way with anybody else. He was quite sure of that. Why did the villagers hate her? Was she a Jinchuuriki like him? Or did she happen to have a similar past to his? A past which the villagers were quite happy to misinterpret and judge.
He got no answers because she stopped in front of a building and stretched lithely.
"This is me. See ya."
"Hey!" he called.
"What?" she snapped from her doorway.
"Spar with me?"
"What? No."
"Oh! Come on. Please."
"What do I get out of it?"
"Company."
He could tell that she was surprised by his answer. Unsettled by it. It had been a shot in the dark and it seemed to have worked.
With a flick of her fingers, she snapped a kunai at him. At a speed which was beyond his level. The kunai grazed his face and gouged a long, thin cut.
"See you tomorrow at Training Ground 11 at 4. If you're late, I'll kill you," she called as she disappeared into her home.
She was definitely crazy. He gaped open mouthed at the spot she had been standing for a few seconds before turning and heading for Ichiraku with a loud groan. First Gai-sensei and now her. How the hell did he only manage to meet crazy people?
Anko entered her modest home and leaned back onto the door she had just closed behind her. Closing her eyes, she analyzed the events that had just transpired. Her actions had been quite unlike her. The ease with which the brat had been able to manipulate her was shocking.
On second thoughts, she realized that manipulate was the wrong word. It was quite clear to her that boy had no actual ulterior motives. In fact, it seemed to her that his answer was quite truthful. Company. Companionship. That was clearly what the boy wanted. And coming upon a person faced with a similar fate to his, he had done the only thing he could and reached out. But why had she accepted. Was she herself so lonely that the offer of companionship from a 6 year old boy was something she was taking seriously.
With a curse, she pushed off the door and walked into her bedroom. She had never been good at figuring out emotions and she wasn't going to get any better now. As far as she was concerned, she had a spar with a fellow comrade the following day and that was the end of the matter. One step at a time, was the approach she was going to use.
1 Year Later
Naruto's body shivered in anticipation as he completed the final strokes of his first attempt at creating his own seal. He was extremely excited. This was the culmination of many months of hard work.
The first problem Naruto had faced when he began working on fuinjutsu was his handwriting. The art of fuinjutsu required extremely accurate and precise penmanship. His first task had been to practice his calligraphy and improve upon it drastically. Inaccurate strokes lead to inadvertent explosions. This was something he had learned the hard way.
The book he had stolen described the method for the creation of many useful seals. Storage Seals. Explosive Seals. Chakra Storage Seals. Movement Restriction Seals.
He had been slowly but surely mastering them one by one. Replicating the seals themselves was an easy task. Understanding the theory behind them was another matter altogether and was something he had to do if he wanted to even dream of deciphering his own Eight Trigams Seal. After many months of study, this was his first foray at creating his own seal. He was attempting to make a more powerful version of the standard-issue explosive tags by increasing the amount of stored chakra. The standard explosive tags used by shinobi were classified as Grade-2 explosives. They were relatively cheap and easy to manufacture. The seal Naruto had come up with could easily be classified as a Grade-4 explosive. Increasing the amount of stored chakra was no easy task. He had to design new storage glyphs for the additional chakra load and design additional pathways for them to flow through. Regulatory glyphs had to be added at appropriate locations to prevent overloading of chakra in certain pathways. All in all, Naruto was proud of the design he had come up with.
He placed his brush onto the ground and checked his seal array one last time. The array had taken him the better part of a couple of months to design. He then prepared to pump his chakra into it. This could either go well or extremely wrong. He placed his palm in the center of the seal and let the chakra flow.
He was instantly thrown back as a gigantic explosion rocked the clearing.
"Kurama-san, give me your chakra. I think my skin's been burned off," howled Naruto in pain.
"Hmph. Here you go. Where would you be without me, boy?"
The pain lessened and his skin began to regenerate as his pupils transformed into red vertical slits.
About 2 And a Half Years Later
Sarutobi sat in his office waiting for Naruto. The boy was going to be 9 years old in a few weeks and it was time to offer him the chance to become a shinobi. The civilian council was insisting that he not allow Naruto to join the Academy whereas the Elder council was trying to turn him into a weapon. In fact they had been trying to begin his training years ago.
There was a knock on his door and Naruto walked in. The boy was much taller and he had filled out quite a bit. That must be a consequence of training with Maito Gai.
"Sit down, Naruto."
Sarutobi looked out of the window at Minato's statue and took a couple of puffs from his pipe.
"So Naruto, you will become 9 years old in two weeks, yes?"
"Yeah."
"That is also the standard age for admitting children into the ninja academy. So do you want to be enrolled?"
"Of course."
"Are you sure? Just because your parents were shinobi does not mean that you have follow in their footsteps. There are many useful professions for civilians in the village as well."
"Thanks Jiji, but I want to be a shinobi."
"Good. Ok then. I will have all the necessary preparations made. You will start in two weeks time."
Naruto's face split into his trademark grin.
"Listen Naruto, many of the children will be from shinobi families and may have received some training from their parents. You will have to work hard to keep up."
"Thanks for the advice, Jiji. I'll try my best."
"That's it then. You can go now. Meet me again in a couple of days. I will give you any additional details that you may require."
Naruto got up and left the office with a giant grin in his face. His plan had worked. The old man did not know about his training or he would have definitely mentioned it.
Plus, he was finally joining the academy. He was one step closer to his goal now. He would be able to meet other kids like him. This was going to be really fun.
I don't plan to make any pairings for now. Let's see what happens in the future.
