Time to train! Yamato will be their sensei when they graduate from the Academy.


Naruto yawned having been forced to get up at the crack of dawn thanks to Jiraiya, but didn't complain much when the man said it was time for him to train. The blonde wasn't complaining even though he wasn't happy about getting up early he'll just have to deal with it. Gaara and Hinata were up early too, the white haired man said that he would be training both him and Gaara which made him happy. What surprised him though was Hinata, he thought she'd go home but insisted on staying because she said she wanted to get stronger (Though Jiraiya knew it was because she had a crush on the blonde and wanted to train with him). Jiraiya found out that the kids were on a summer break and when the new year starts they'll be going back to school, the man wanted them to be ready by then and hopefully graduate earlier than their classmates. Tsunade and Shizune were currently working at the hospital with the blond woman acting as the head doctor and Shizune the head nurse due to their advanced medical knowledge.

So now here they are at the Third Training Grounds. According to Jiraiya the old man used this place to train him and Tsunade when they were a little older than them.

"Okay, the first thing we're going to do is learn chakra control." Jiraiya told them.

"Chakra control?" Hinata questioned.

Jiraiya nodded, "That's right, takes a lot of time and a great deal of training to gradually build up. You see, the key is not to actually have a large amounts of chakra but instead being able to control and conserve it hence why it's called "Chakra Control."

"Wow, I didn't know it worked that way." Naruto commented.

Gaara nodded in agreement.

"Now, in order to have good chakra control a ninja should mold as much chakra as they need to perform a given ability. If you mold more chakra than what's needed then the excess chakra is wasted and you'll tire out faster." Jiraiya explained.

"I think I get it." Naruto said.

"M-Me too." Hinata said.

"Mm." Gaara said.

"Good, now the first thing we're gonna learn is the Leaf Concentration Practice. Have you heard of it?" Jiraiya asked.

They all shook their heads.

Jiraiya grabbed three leaves from a tree and placed them on the kid's foreheads much to their confusion, "This is one of the methods of chakra control. The point of this is method is to have you direct all of your chakra onto the leaf, and to keep your mind concentrated without any distractions."

"So we have to only focus on the leaf and nothing else that's around us?" Gaara asked to be sure he got it right.

Jiraiya smirked, "That's right. All right you brats give it a try."

They nodded and closed their eyes concentrating on only the leaf, Jiraiya stood there and watched waiting to see what would happen. After about 5 minutes had passed the leaves on their foreheads were surrounded in chakra.

He smiled, 'It usually takes longer than that for kids their age to get it right, but these three are special. Hinata because of her Hyūga heritage, Naruto because of his Uzumaki heritage and the Kyūbi, and Gaara because of the Ichibi and his skills with sand.'

The kids had their eyes closed still concentrating on only the leaf and nothing else, "Alright, that's enough you can stop." Jiraiya told them making them open their eyes and the blue aura surrounding the leaves disappeared.

"Good job, you three pass the first stage in chakra control."

Hinata smiled, "We did it!"

"It felt kinds weird concentrating on the leaf that was on my forehead but it wasn't so bad." Naruto smiled.

"That was a great experience." Gaara smiled.

"Now then, we're moving onto the second stage. Tree Climbing." He grinned.

Naruto and Gaara gave him a blank expression while Hinata looked really confused.

Laughing at their expressions he went on to explain, "This is another method in chakra control, see this time you concentrate on the chakra in your feet."

"In our feet?" Naruto questioned.

"That's right," Jiraiya walked over by a tree then walked right up on it making their eyes widen. Jiraiya was hanging upside down from a tree branch with his arms crossed a smile plastered on his face, "This is what I mean."

Naruto blinked, "So chakra can let you do this too? Amazing…"

"Back in Sunagakure they have a similar system, but instead of tree climbing they do rock climbing." Gaara informed them.

"That's even more amazing." Hinata complimented.

"Alright kids give it a try." Jiraiya said.

The kids looked at each other before nodding their heads and walking over by three trees, then channeled their chakra into their feet but this time it was a lot quicker than it was when they were concentrating on the leaf on their foreheads. Having got that done they all walked on the tree with no problems and were currently hanging upside down with smiles on their faces.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this." Naruto smiled.

"It's much easier than it looks." Gaara commented.

"I was worried it wouldn't work, but I'm glad it did." Hinata sighed with relief.

Jiraiya grinned, "And now you've past the second stage of chakra control. Now there's the last one you've gotta do then we can move onto basic jutsu's before we get more advanced."

"Sounds good to me." Naruto said.

Gaara nodded.

Hinata had a determined look on her face.

Jiraiya jumped down with the kids following right behind him, "We're going to a different location for this one."

The kids nodded eager to see what the last one would be.


"…"

"…"

"…"

"What's with the faces?" Jiraiya raised a brow.

Naruto gave him a deadpanned look, "You expect us to walk on water?"

"Is that even possible?" Gaara added.

"U-Um, I was wondering the same thing." Hinata confessed.

Jiraiya grinned, "Trust me, this is the last step to maintaining chakra control. Now for this you have to send a constant chakra stream from the bottom of your feet, which makes this one more difficult than the tree climbing step." He started to walk on the water making their mouths form an "o" shape and saw he had complete control over it, "Now then, your turn."

They nodded and focused their chakra in their feet, after about a minute they started walking on the water but very slowly not wanting to break their concentration but seeing that they stayed above water they relaxed.

Jiraiya was even more impressed, 'Normally when shinobi try these steps it takes them a lot longer to get it under control. These kids really are prodigies.' He crossed his arms with a grin plastered on his face, "Congrats you all pass."

"Alright!" Naruto smirked.

Gaara smiled.

"We completed all three steps!" Hinata said happily.

Jiraiya clapped his hands, "Good job brats, now we're going to be moving onto basic jutsu's by first starting off with the Clone Technique."

"Clone technique…" Naruto mumbled.

"We'll head back to the training grounds for this one, so lets go." He walked away from a river he found and brought them back to the training grounds for the Clone technique, "Now then, there are two types of cloning techniques. The basic one, "Clone Technique" then the more advanced one "Shadow Clone."

"So there are two types." Gaara mumbled.

Jiraiya did the hand seals: Ram → Snake → Tiger, "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)." Two clones appeared on his right and left side looking exactly like him impressing the kids.

"W-Wow…they all look alike." Hinata stared at them.

"This is what the cloning jutsu looks like? Pretty cool." Naruto complimented.

"With more training you'll be able to distinguish the real from the fake just by looking at them with or without dōjutsu. Now then, Naruto you go first." Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded and performed the hands seals: Ram → Snake → Tiger, "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)!" two clones appeared on each side of him.

"Amazing, Naruto-kun!" Hinata complimented.

"Well done." Gaara smiled.

Naruto sighed then looked at Jiraiya who nodded his head with a smile making the boy proud.

"Good job Naruto," Jiraiya congratulated the boy, "Gaara, your turn."

Gaara nodded and performed the hand seals: Ram → Snake → Tiger, "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)." He created two clones just like Naruto did.

"Good," Jiraiya smiled, "Hinata, now you."

Hinata gave a determined nod and performed the hand seals: Ram → Snake → Tiger, "Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)!" she also created two clones making her smile, "I did it!"

"Nice, Hinata." Naruto smiled.

"Nice job." Gaara complimented her with a smile.

Hinata blushed with the compliments they gave her, "Th-Thank you…"

Jiraiya dispelled his clones, "Good job, you three will blow your classmates away when you go back to the academy."

All three smiled at the compliment.

"Alright, now that you know how to do the basic cloning jutsu we'll try something more advanced. The Transformation Technique." Jiraiya grinned.

"Transformation Technique?" Hinata questioned.

"That's right, this technique is E-level just like the Cloning technique but is much more difficult to do because it requires a constant emission of chakra while mentally maintaining the form. This technique requires you to transform into somebody else, for example." He performed the hand seals: Dog → Boar → Ram, "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)." There was a puff of smoke and in his place was Tsunade making Naruto and Gaara roll their eyes.

"Why am I not surprised?" Naruto deadpanned.

"Pervert." Gaara frowned.

"Eh?" Hinata said confused.

Jiraiya-Tsunade pouted, "How rude, all have you know that I've been studying Tsunade's body since we were kids, so as far as I'm concerned this is a flawless transformation!"

'Yeah, for perverts.' Naruto and Gaara thought.

Jiraiya changed back, "Now it's your turn brats, Naruto you go first."

Naruto nodded and performed the hand seals: Dog → Boar → Ram, "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)!" Naruto transformed into Gaara much to the boy's happiness, "What do you think?"

"Very impressive, but why Gaara?" Jiraiya already knew the answer but wanted to know anyway.

"Isn't it obvious? It's because he's my best friend." Naruto-Gaara crossed his arms to prove his point.

Gaara smiled, "I feel the same."

Naruto-Gaara grinned.

'I figured that much out already, just thought I'd ask anyway.' Jiraiya smirked, "Gaara, your turn."

Gaara wasted no time in performing the hand seals: Dog → Boar → Ram, "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)." He transformed into Naruto, which didn't come as a surprise to anyone there.

Jiraiya nodded with a smile, "Hinata."

Hinata gave him a determined look and performed the hand seals: Dog → Boar → Ram, "Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)!" she turned into Naruto too making Jiraiya laugh his ass off.

Naruto-Gaara stared at him like he'd just grown a second head, "What's with you?"

Jiraiya managed to stop laughing, "N-Nothing, anyway you all pass and can change back now."

They all went back to looking like themselves.

"Now we're going to a more advanced technique of the cloning jutsu which is called, "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Jiraiya explained.

"Shadow clone jutsu…" Naruto mumbled.

"This is a B-rank clone technique, what the Shadow Clones different from the basic cloning technique is that not only do they have their own personalities, they can also use the same jutsu's as the original." Jiraiya explained, "Their also good for gathering intelligence, say for example you create a clone to seek out information and they get what they need. When they disappear that information is then automatically passed onto the original."

"Really? That's amazing." Hinata blinked.

"That is useful." Naruto said.

Gaara nodded in agreement.

Jiraiya brought up two fingers on each hand, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." He created a shadow clone that waved to them.

"The clone really does have its own personality." Naruto waved back.

"That's amazing." Gaara stared.

"It is." Hinata agreed.

Jiraiya made the Shadow Clone disappear, "Naruto, you start off first."

Naruto nodded bringing up two fingers on each hand, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" he created a shadow clone that smirked.

Jiraiya nodded, "Good. Gaara."

Gaara did the same, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)." His clone had its arms crossed looking calm and composed.

"Good, Hinata your turn." Jiraiya turned to her.

Hinata nodded, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!" her clone gave a shy smile.

Jiraiya nodded, "You guys are progressing a lot better than I thought. Dispel your clones because now we're going to go through weapon training."

The kids dispelled their clones and waited patiently for what they were about to do next.

Jiraiya brought out a scroll and summoned some kunai and shuriken for them to practice with, "You'll probably learn how to do this in the Academy but its best you learn now."

They nodded.

"Start off with shuriken first then move to kunai," Jiraiya told them, "For the shuriken training as well as the kunai training I want you guys to aim for those stumps from where your standing right now."

They nodded walking away from each other and standing in front of the stumps, Hinata was on the left side, Naruto in the middle, and Gaara on his right side. They had five shuriken's in their hands getting ready to throw them at Jiraiya's command.

"Alright, throw!"

They threw the shuriken at the stumps with quick precision impressing Jiraiya who thought they'd at least have some trouble but they proved him wrong, 'These kids are amazing. I figured Naruto's chakra would be stable enough for him to use since I unsealed it, but Gaara and Hinata are having no problems at all.'

"Alright, that's enough!" Jiraiya called out to them to stop.

They stopped and looked at him wondering what he wanted them to do next.

"Now with kunai!"

They nodded.

They threw the kunai with quick precision just like they did with the shuriken impressing the white haired man who believed they would be fine ninja in the future. After about five minutes they stopped under Jiraiya's command, "Good job, now we'll do something even more advanced known as…Nature Transformation."

"Nature transformation?" Hinata blinked.

"That's right, this is also an advanced form of chakra control that allows you to mould and defines the nature of one's chakra altering the properties characteristics for use of techniques." Jiraiya explained.

"So basically if there's an element we're good at the most we can use it for special techniques?" Naruto theorized.

"You got it, but it's much more complex than that," Jiraiya said, "There are five basic natures, here's something to help you remember better. The Five Great Shinobi Countries is named after one of the five with each element being stronger and weaker than another. The five elements are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. This will give you an advantage in battle and will take your enemy off guard when you do elemental basic attacks, Like Lightning Release, Fire Release, Wind Release, Water Release, and Earth Release."

Hinata was impressed by this information, "Oh wow, I had no idea there was so much to this."

"Me neither." Gaara agreed with her.

Jiraiya got out three pieces of paper and handed them towards the kids to take which they did, "This is a special kind of paper known as Chakra Induction Paper, when this paper comes in contact with the user's chakra it will react to that user's element. If your element is Fire it will ignite and turn to ash, if your element is Wind it will split the paper in two, if your element is Lightning it will wrinkle, if your element is Earth it will turn to dirt and crumble away, if your element is Water it will become wet and damp. Shinobi can also have more than one nature element, Jonin commonly have two but what's more uncommon is for a shinobi to have all five natures, except for the Hokage's but their on a whole different level."

"Wow…" Naruto said.

"You can also create a whole new element by combining one or two with each other, for example the Hyōton (Ice Release) is created by combining Water and Wind, Mokuton (Wood Release) is created by combining Earth and Water, Yōton (Lava Release) is created by combining Fire and Earth, Ranton (Storm Release) is created by combining Lightning and Water, Futton (Boil Release) is created by combining Water and Fire, Jinton (Dust Release) is created by combining Fire, Earth, and Water, Bakuton (Explosion Release) is created by combining Earth and Lightning, Shakuton (Scorch Release) is created by combining Fire and Wind, and Jiton (Magnet Release) is created by combining Wind and Earth." Jiraiya explained.

"Th-That's a lot." Hinata said what everyone was thinking.

"Now then, I want you all to focus your chakra on the paper in your hands." Jiraiya told them.

The kids nodded and closed their eyes concentrating on the piece of paper in front of them. They waited until they finally got the results they wanted.

Naruto's paper split in two.

Gaara's paper became dirt and crumbled away.

Hinata's paper ignited and turned to ash.

They all opened their eyes seeing the papers in their hands identified the elements that suited them the most. Needless to say, they were quite surprised.

"No way…I can use the Wind element?" Naruto stared.

"Mine is Earth." Gaara was just as surprised.

"A-And mines Fire." Hinata was surprised she got the fire element.

"Huh, I always thought Water suited you more." Naruto commented.

Gaara simply nodded in agreement.

Hinata blushed, "Th-Thank you…"

Jiraiya smirked, "Those element's are impressive actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you kids manage to combine your elements."

They all smiled.

Jiraiya brought out two scrolls for Naruto and Gaara, "These are for the two of you, Naruto these are your clans jutsu's and Gaara the old man said Yashamaru was carrying some sand jutsu's for you to train with including Iron and Gold Dust."

Gaara stiffened knowing that the gold dust jutsu belonged to his father but shook his head and gave the man a determined look.

"Now Hinata, I don't have anything for you I'm afraid." Jiraiya said regretfully.

Hinata didn't look too disheartened by it though and simply smiled, "It's okay! I can still train!"

The man was taken back but smiled anyway, "Well alright then, I want you three to separate yourselves and focus on practicing you individual jutsu's until I call "Time," got it?"

They nodded.

"Then get going!" Jiraiya told them making the three kids disappear in a flash.

He smirked, "Wonder how far they'll come?"

With Naruto

Naruto stared at the sealing scroll from his clan, it was interesting now that he thought about it but it's also the reason why they were wiped out in the first place. He didn't let that get that to him though and decided to practice it anyway, okay let's try it out then. There was one that said "Element Seal," so let's try that one.

Naruto stood up and remembered that his element was the wind element so maybe he could start off using a wind attack and then seal it up in case he had to use it against and enemy. Yeah that'll work.

"Okay," Naruto said getting ready and clasped his hand together, "Fūton: Tatsumaki (Wind Release: Tornado)!" he generated wind from his hands and three tornadoes were surrounding him, "Now!" he made the hand seals: Rat → Bird → Wind Seal → Tiger, "Fūinjutsu: Fūka Kaze (Sealing Jutsu: Wind Seal)!" slamming his hand down on the seal it made the kanji for "wind," and absorbed the three wind tornadoes around him, when that was done he rolled up the scroll and smiled, "I did it…"

Naruto couldn't believe it actually worked, now what else can he try?

With Hinata

Hinata had her Byakugan activated and was currently training her family's fighting style not wanting to be a burden to Naruto and Gaara. She wanted to prove to them that she was strong enough to stand by their side and can count on her when the time comes. Stopping for a bit she closed her eyes and remembered the time she saw Neji practicing the Trigrams technique. She took a deep breath and got into her very own stance and the green ying-yang seal appeared below her and focused on the tree before her, "Jūkenhō: Hakke Jūroku Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms)!" she attacked the tree, "Eight Trigrams 2 palms, 4 palms, 8 palms, 16 palms!" she finally finished the jutsu and was panting.

'16 is my limit for now, but I want to keep going! I won't quit until I can stand by Naruto-kun's side!' She thought determinedly.

With Gaara

Gaara was looking through some old sand jutsu's that were used by the previous Kazekage and the current one, he refused to be intimidated by his father anymore. He refuses to feel fear ever again because now he has someone to protect, and that someone is Naruto. He had the Sand Gourd strapped to his back and turned towards the tree before him and lifted his hand, "Sabaku Kyū (Sand Coffin)." The sand started to gather around the tree and he decided to make it hover in the air even though he had trouble he was determined to make the tree hover in the air no matter what! As if responding to his will the sand managed to make the tree hover in the air. Gaara took a deep breath, "Sabaku Sōsō (Sand Burial)!" closing his hand the tree exploded and some bark came falling down but because the sand protects him automatically the tree barks didn't fall on him. The sand dissipated and he smiled, "Mother…for the first time in my life, I have someone that I want to protect."


Jiraiya yawned as he heard many sounds around him and knew the kids were testing out their new jutsu's. These kids were determined to prove themselves and something told him that when they get older everyone will see just how strong these kids really are. After about five minutes Jiraiya yelled, "TIME!" and just like that the noises around him stopped, "Impressive." He saw the kids run towards him and saw their clothes were kinds dirty, "Were you kids fighting each other?"

"No, but I was practicing both my element and sealing jutsu's and I think I've got the hang of it." Naruto said.

"Same here." Gaara smiled.

"I'm going to keep practicing so I can do my best!" Hinata said with determination.

Jiraiya grinned, "Good to hear, now time to eat!" he brought out a scroll and their food instantly appeared. They were all ramen!

Naruto and Gaara were practically drooling and Hinata looked happy to have some herself.

He chuckled these kids were just too damn funny.


Hiruzen sighed as he went through the bane of all Kage's existences. Paperwork! Why oh why was there so much paperwork? Maybe he should just retire. There was a knock on the door, "Come in!" he called out. Tsunade entered his office seeing the look on his face almost made her laugh.

"Paperwork?" he smirked.

He sighed.

"I've been meaning to ask you for some time now, but has the Kazekage demand anything? Like why you took Gaara out of the village?" Tsunade questioned with a hint of worry.

Hiruzen gave her a serious look, "Since your bringing it up, no he didn't. I haven't received a single letter or a threat of declaring war from the Kazekage. I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"No kidding, but Gaara's not exactly eager to go back home anyway." Tsunade told him moving towards the window looking down at the village.

"Perhaps he knew Yashamaru, Gaara's uncle would betray him and ask me to take the boy away from Sunagakure." He theorized.

"Maybe…" Tsunade stared off in the distance for some reason she had a feeling Sunagakure would be causing trouble in the future.


"Keep going!" Jiraiya ordered.

Naruto and Gaara came at each other again meeting blow for blow not holding back. They were practicing Taijutsu this time and Jiraiya was adamant about them fighting each other with the intent to kill otherwise they'll leave themselves open for an enemy ninja to attack them. Currently Naruto and Gaara were sparring with each other and occasionally Gaara's sand would protect him on its own so that could come as an advantage in case someone tried to literally stab him in the back. Just as Naruto was about to land a blow to the red heads head with a kick Jiraiya told them to stop making his leg freeze from hitting the red head in the face at the last minute.

Naruto smirked, "Not bad, Gaara."

"You too." Gaara smirked back.

"Alright you two, good work. Hinata, you and Naruto are sparring this time." Jiraiya said.

Hinata was hesitant she didn't want to hut Naruto but she knew she had to get rid of this hesitation of hers so she got and stood opposite of Naruto who looked ready. She closed her eyes calming herself but soon opened them back up her Byakugan activated.

Jiraiya nodded his head in approval, 'Hinata hesitates when she fights which gives her enemies an advantage. Sparring with Naruto is the only way for her to stop her hesitation, and then there's her personality. There's nothing wrong with it, but we need to find a way to use her kind nature to her advantage while it takes her enemies off guard.' He saw the kids were ready and wasted no time, "Start!"

Naruto and Hinata came at each other sending punches and kicks or in Hinata's case her clan's fighting style. Jiraiya saw that the girl didn't hesitate in her blows, which was a good sign, which means she can train with a comrade without feeling guilty. Hinata used her Byakugan to see Naruto's chakra points and tried to hit them but Naruto was faster and jumped back. He smirked and she smiled. Time to get serious then. Naruto's fists were incased in chakra taking Jiraiya by surprise.

'He incased his fists with chakra? Did he learn that from Tsunade?' Jiraiya wondered.

Hinata's hands were incased in blue fire that made Jiraiya's eyes widen.

'She's using her fire element to surround her hands?! And she has control over it already?' he thought.

They both charged at each other, "Funsai Ken (Crushing Fist)!" Naruto sent his chakra-incased fist at her.

"Jūkenhō (Gentle Fist)!" Hinata sent her fire-incased palm at him.

"Stop!" Jiraiya announced making both children stop in their tracks just inches from each other. Naruto and Hinata stood straight and smile at each other.

"Hinata, your amazing." Naruto smiled.

She blushed with a smile, "You too, Naruto-kun."

Gaara approached them as did Jiraiya, "You two had me worried there for a second, you two were so focused you forgot about your surroundings."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "My bad."

"I'm sorry." Hinata bowed apologetically.

He smirked, "Don't worry about it, that just means you kids are learning to defend yourselves should the situation need you to."

The kids talked amongst themselves while Jiraiya was in thought, 'There's no telling what these kids might go through in the future, but at least they'll stay by each other's side giving support whenever they need it. And that's all I can ask for.'


Next Time: Prologue: Academy Days!