AN: A new chapter for you all. I have this written to about chapter 5 and I'm just rereading everything since I don't have a beta. If anyone is up for it just review or send a PM. Thanks for all of your support and reading guys!

Xxx

Chapter 3: Blood Training

"Now Naruto as you can tell it seems that whatever holds some of your blood you are able to teleport to it. I have noticed, though, that there are times when you don't teleport to the point that you wanted to go to," Sarutobi stated as Naruto sat in the grass with shuriken in his hand.

"Yeah I've notice that too Jii-jii. Like I would prick my finger then throw it at you when we were training and when I wanted to Blood-line to it there would be no line there," Naruto said. Hiruzen stroked his beard as he thought about it.

"Naruto let's do some tests shall we. I want you to take three shuriken. On one I want you cut your thumb and swipe it on the shuriken like you would normally do. On the second, merely prick your finger as you have done when you were either too lazy to cut your thumb or rushing. And finally, cut your palm and coat the last shuriken with blood." Naruto nodded and did as he was told. When he was done he had three shuriken, one being almost red with his blood, one having a red swipe of blood over it, and one that looked fairly normal except for a speck of red on one of the four tips.

"Here Jii-san," Naruto said.

"Now activate Blood-line and then tell me if you're connected to them." Naruto did so and nodded. He had seen lines going to all three before he made the world move once more. Sarutobi thanked the boy and held up the shuriken with a blood swipe.

"This Naruto will be our control."

"Control?"

"Yes Naruto-kun. We are working with variables. That means we are working with unknowns. We don't know why sometimes you are unable to teleport to your shuriken at times which is why we are doing an experiment." The Sandaime threw the first shuriken into the ground then held up the other two.

"This one is the shuriken that you would sometimes use," he held up the ninja star that Naruto had pricked his finger on. "And this is one that you have never done before. We are goin to simulate a battle with these two." Sarutobi threw them both close to the ground and made them skip across the dirt. The the two weapons skipped and bounced along till they stuck to random trees.

"Now if you would activate Blood-line then tell me what you see." Naruto did so and the world froze and sounds stopped. Naruto saw a line leading to the control shuriken and one leading to the one that was coated in his blood. But the shuriken he pricked his finger on, there was no longer a line. He voiced this once he disabled his ability.

"I've come to the conclusion that the more blood you use then the less chance connection will be disrupted. In a battle situation weapons receive wear and tear. Let's say you throw the shuriken that you pricked your finger with and it had gone through an attack that would have wiped that small amount of blood away like the dirt did. The blood was covered and completely dissipated."

Naruto rubbed his chin and thought. "Dissipated like when you crushed my shuriken?"

"Correct Naruto-kun."

And with that Naruto became aware that there were weaknesses to everything.

Xxx

"So fuinjutsu basically uses seals to perform techniques. Depending on how you write the seal affects what it does, right?" Naruto asked as he held a book on basic sealing he was given.

"Correct," Jiraiya said. "That is the basic book on the fundamentals that I wrote. Fuinjutsu requires a high knowledge on the what you are trying to manipulate. It is also very important to know the correct sequence of what seal does what and how they affect each other. You also need to be quite adept at calligraphy."

"Adept?"

"You need better handwriting gaki." Naruto cursed but continued to read. Handwriting was something he would need to work on in his own time. But as he read more he couldn't help but be fascinated at the material in his hand. Fuinjutsu was basically reliant on the imagination. If you could find the correct seals and put them in a correct sequence then the formula should be able to work. However, it was a very dangerous art. One wrong move and you could effectively blow yourself apart.

"Anyways, that's enough studying for now. We need to head back into town and try looking for Tsunade again. Plus you need to get back to training in that jutsu I was showing you," Jiraiya said as he held up a water balloon. Naruto sighed and took the balloon from the man's hand and glared at it. They had been Tanazaku town for three days and once they had gotten there Jiraiya had started Naruto on the new jutsu training. It wasn't going so well.

"So show me again how I'm supposed to pop it," Jiraiya held up a water balloon in his own hand and it started to bulge. Bumps appeared all over it before it burst apart and water splashed out. "Alright well time to get to it. Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto summoned five clones and looked them over. "You all know what she looks like. If any of you find her run back and tell me," Naruto said.

"Why would you have them run here," Jiraiya asked as he scratched his head.

"What do you mean? How else are they supposed to give me information?" Jiraiya gave Naruto a deadpan look as if saying 'are you serious?'

"Um dispel themselves? I mean you do know how Kage bunshin works right?"

"Clones." Naruto stated simply. "More chakra equals more clones, right boys?"

"Right boss!" The clones yelled in agreement.

"Wrong!" Jiraiya yelled out exasperated. How could this boy who is able to make more clones then anyone in the world not know how shadow clones work!

"Wrong boss!"

"Shush! What do you mean wrong? Isn't that what Kage bunshin was made for? To even odds?" Naruto asked.

"No because not everyone is a chakra factory like you brat. Kage bunshin was made as a technique for espionage, or spying. If the ninja had the chakra for it then they could send the clone to get the information and dispel. What the clone knew would be sent to the creator," Jiriaya explained. "Plus, because clones don't give back physical trauma then the creator wouldn't feel the pain if the clone was killed." Naruto opened and closed his mouth in shock. Suddenly the memory of a card game appeared in his head and the boy remembered the time his clones were playing cards in the hotel room.

"What-the-HELL! How come no one has ever told me this?"

"Everyone assumed you knew! I mean you spam clones like no tomorrow so we all thought that you knew!" Jiraiya yelled back. Naruto practically pulled his hair out. All this time he could be training with them!

"Okay so let me get this straight," Naruto slowly said as he tried to grasp what was being stated. "If I have my clones read something like this book," Naruto held up the book on basic fuinjutsu, "would I remember it?"

"Effectively yes. The reason it is a forbidden jutsu is because of not only the chakra requirement but also the mental backlash of having the memories of clones coming back at once. People have had their brains fried because of it." Then Jiraiya started to think. And as he thought the man gave Naruto a strange look. That look freaked the blonde out.

"Uhh what are you thinking Ero-Sennin?"

"Naruto as the Kyuubi host you are given extremely powerful regeneration abilities. I believe that with this Kage bunshin memory feedback, you are the only one who is able to use it for training," Jiraiya stroked his chin. Oh yes the prospects could be amazing. This boy could be a power house in a few years.

"Alright fine then. You clones try and find the pervert's teammate in the next few hours then dispel. Even if you can't find her still dispel. As for me!" Naruto summoned another ten clones and looked to Jiraiya. "Let's get started on this training!"

Xxx

Jiraiya was appalled. Why? Because in the span of five days Naruto was now on step three of learning the jutsu Jiraiya had given him. After the boy had learned about the Kage bunshin training method he had used his mass stores of chakra to summon hundreds of clones a day to train. The boy had finished the first book on the basics of sealing and was now on volume two of the basics. In the first day of this new training he had learned how to pop the water balloon. On the third day Naruto had popped the rubber ball. It wasn't so hard seeing as how it was all about power. What Naruto lacked was focus and how to focus power.

The only good thing that Jiraiya could laugh at was the first time Naruto dispelled the hundred clones that were working on the first step. Technically Jiraiya could move the boy's accomplishments up a day because on the first day the boy had knocked himself out for the whole day. Jiraiya was worried at first but when the boy started to mumble about ramen and ramen gods then Jiraiya knew he was fine. After that the Sannin made sure to make the boy dispel clones in groups of five. It took some time but it lessened the mental strain.

So now the two of them were once more in town searching for Jiraiya's teammate Tsunade. Naruto had a balloon filled with air in his hand and a look of fierce concentration on his face. Jiraiya had forbidden the use of clones for this last part. This last step was to be completed by himself and Naruto didn't disagree. It would be a good accomplishment so the boy couldn't refute the man's claim. A loud pop interrupted the quiet of the two walking and Naruto cursed.

"Man Ero-Sennin you weren't kidding. This last step is freaking hard," Naruto grumbled. "How many balloons is that? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Fifteen kid," Jiraiya said laughing. Naruto cursed and picked up the busted pieces of latex before placing them in his pocket. He'd rather not get a ticket for littering again. The old pervert had laughed too hard at that for the boy's liking.

"Oi Ero-Sennin I'm hungry let's get some food," Naruto said. Jiraiya hummed in thought then looked at the sky. The sun was starting to set so maybe some dinner would be nice.

"Alright kid let's get some grub. I feel like-."

"Ramen!" Naruto yelled jovially.

"Hell no! We had that last night! And the night before!" Jiraiya roared.

"But ramennn!" wailed Naruto. "You shouldn't disgrace the great Ramen Gods. They must be appeased!"

"Sweet Kami. Damn kid you need variety. You know what we're going in here," Jiraiya pointed to small looking bar that held yakiniku. Naruto pouted but relented. Hey if the pervert was paying then Naruto was fine with it. Especially yakiniku. Stuff was expensive.

Jiraiya grinned as he walked in with Naruto behind him but stopped suddenly making Naruto smack into his back. "Hey what the hell Ero-Sennin?"

"Tsunade?" Naruto peered from behind Jiraiya's back and lifted his eyebrow. The Tsunade that he was looking at right now looked almost exactly like the one in Jiraiya's picture.

"That is your teammate? Man she aged well," Naruto whistled. The woman in question, a beautiful blonde with a very large chest with her hair done in pig tails, looked up. Next to her was another pretty girl with short black hair holding what seemed to be a very lavished pig. Naruto scratched his head in confusion. What confused the boy wasn't the fact that he and Jiraiya had found Tsunade. No that was just chance and good luck. No what confused him was the pig eating the yakiniku.

"Hey Ero-Sennin?"

"Yeah kid?"

"Yakiniku has pork in it right?"

"Sometimes I think."

"Hey blonde lady!" Naruto called over getting Tsunade's attention.

"Uhh what?"

"You order pork?"

"...Yeahhh."

"Holy shit! CANNIBAL PIG!"

Xxx

After Naruto was assured by Shizune that the pig was merely eating tofu he and Jiraiya joined them. It seemed that he and Tonton had gotten into an eating match. Naruto was surprised to say that the pig could keep up with him.

"Hello Tsunade," Jiraiya said ignoring the gluttony beside him.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade answered looking a bit queasy. She wasn't used to seeing a boy eat like Naruto. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh can't I just go around and say hi to a teammate?" Tsunade glared at Jiraiya who chuckled.

"Well played Tonton," Naruto said to the side. "That'll do pig. That'll do." Naruto held out his hand and Tonton took it to the blonde's slight surprise. Smart ass pig.

"Tch it seems like I'm seeing a whole bunch of old faces," Tsunade growled as she downed her sake. Shizune gulped as she saw Jiraiya's face turn stony and Naruto turned his attention to the conversation.

"So it seems that you've had a run in with 'him' already. Then I'm sure you know what happened to sensei." Tsunade nodded stiffly.

"Yeah looks like that old snake in the grass finally took the old man out." Naruto looked back and forth between the two Sannin. What were they talking about. Well whatever it was it seemed important.

"What did Orochimaru want Tsunade?" The Genin stiffened and shifted his focus on Tsunade. Orochimaru was the man who killed the Old Man. What did he want with her. And does that mean that he was Jiraiya and this woman's old teammate?

"None of your business pervert. Now what is your business?" Jiraiya sighed before leaning forward and staring at Tsunade.

"Konoha is in need of a leader. You have been named as Hokage."

"WHAT!?" Naruto roared as he stood up. "I thought we just needed her to heal people, especially Sasuke and Kakashi! This is bullshit! Why would they elect her?!"

"Pfft screw that. You know I'm not going back there," Naruto turned surprised eyes to Tsunade. "Besides that job is cursed. Only idiots take that job. Hell I'm surprised sensei lasted as long as he did. He took the job twice after the Yondaime kicked it. Now look where they are. All dead because of their stupidity."

"Hey," Naruto growled, "don't you dare disrespect those guys. They died fighting for what they believe in. And who are you? Just some drunk." Tsunade bristled while Jiraiya leaned back. Shizune grabbed Tonton and held her close.

"Tsunade-sama I'm sure he didn't me-."

"Quiet Shizune. What did you say?"

"You heard me."

"I am the granddaughter of the Shodaime and the grandniece of the Nidaime. Both of them were the Hokage and both died young and stupid. The old man died cause his stupidity for letting that damn Orochimaru go when he should have killed him just because the old man still cared about that snake. And the Yondaime," Naruto bristled and glared. This bitch wouldn't dare. "Well the Yondaime was the dumbest of them all. He died the youngest and for what? A village that continues to make enemies? A village that was betrayed by its ally? What a fool."

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto tried to jump over the table and smack the woman in front of him. He didn't care if she was a Sannin. As long as he got one good smack. Unfortunately, Jiraiya was holding Naruto's jacket effectively holding him back. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Tch what a brat. You're still so immature. You have no idea," Tsunade said as she poured a saucer of sake and drained it.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune whispered sadly as she looked between the enraged Naruto and her calm master.

"Better an immature brat than a drunk old hag!" Well her master was calm. The broken sake saucer was a testament to how much control the woman had.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. I may be a brat but you're an old hag. Drunk old hag actually," Naruto said with a fierce smile.

"Let's take this outside," Tsunade whispered harshly.

"Gladly." Naruto hopped over the table while Tsunade merely stood and walked around Shizune. Jiraiya palmed his face and sighed.

"This won't end well," the man moaned.

"Jiraiya-sama we have to stop Tsunade-sama! She could kill the boy!" Shizune cried frantically.

"Yeah if she can catch him at least. Come on let's go make sure it doesn't escalate too quickly." Jiraiya pushed himself from the seat with Shizune rushing behind him.

Outside stood Naruto and Tsunade. Naruto took off his jacket and started to stretch his arms and legs with a determined look on his face. This was going to be a tough fight. Naruto was fighting a Sannin. They were known throughout the nations as extremely strong ninja... Meh, he could take her.

Tsunade merely stood on the other end of the road. She was about to curb stomp a Genin. This would take a second. Jiraiya and Shizune walked outside and Jiraiya easily recognized his old teammates look. Boy will she be surprised.

"You know Jiraiya I really didn't think I'd see you going to take a new apprentice. Compared to the Yondaime this kid is nothing. Looks smaller, stupider, and louder," Tsunade said. Jiraiya shrugged and looked at Naruto who only cracked his neck.

"It's hard to compare yourself to such an amazing ninja. That man was sure one of a kind. But," the man smile and nodded at the Genin. "One of a kind means there is someone just as special but in a different way. Their own one of a kind."

"Pfft whatever. You know kid I've been a Sannin for years I really don't need to fight you seriously," Tsunade mocked.

"Keep telling yourself that. It will make me smacking you all the sweeter," Naruto replied.

"One finger," Tsunade held up the index finger of her right hand, "that's all I'll need." Naruto growled and reached into his thigh pouch subtly. He quickly cut his finger and wiped blood on the first two shuriken that he could before throwing his arm out.

"Need this!" The shuriken spun forward and Tsunade scoffed as she moved to the side. The throwing stars stuck behind her and Naruto rushed forward with a kunai in hand. He stabbed forward but Tsunade ducked under quickly and poked the boy's wrist eliciting a startled cry. Naruto dropped his kunai and the Sannin grabbed it before quickly spinning it in a reverse grip. She swiped up and knocked off the boy's headband while also letting go of the kunai.

"Shit!" Naruto pushed his head back and was startled to see a hand in his face. The woman smirked before flicking her finger forward and sending Naruto flying away. He tumbled on the ground before pushing himself back up. 'Damn that hurt. And she only used one finger? This lady is strong...' There was a thunk and Naruto saw his kunai land in front of him while his headband clanged a few feet away. 'Well she's still in front of my shuriken but one should always have a back up plan,' Naruto thought and grabbed his kunai. He quickly pricked his finger and swiped some blood on it before anyone could see and held it in front of him.

"Before you pass out I just want to ask something," Tsunade called over.

"What?"

"Why does the name Hokage mean so much to you?"

"Because," Naruto started, "the title of Hokage is more than just a name. It is hope and it is light. People look to the Hokage for strength. And that is why becoming Hokage is my dream!" Tsunade recoiled in shock and looked down in sadness.

'Nawaki...Dan...' Naruto noticed the woman's faltering and grinned.

'An opening!' He switched his kunai to his left and held his other hand out. 'Come on. Concentrate. Concentrate!' To the two women's shock a mass of chakra started to swirl around Naruto's palm. Jiraiya watched and shook his head.

'He's close but still not there yet.' Naruto compressed as much chakra as he could before rushing forward. Tsunade looked in awe at such a young boy wielding the incomplete form of such a powerful technique. Even if it was incomplete, it could still hurt. She jumped backwards then quickly slammed her finger on the ground and created a fissure that sent Naruto tripping forward. The crack in the ground had also sent Naruto's shuriken tumbling down, much to the boy's displeasure.

"Whoa, whoa!" The disruption in Naruto's concentration made his jutsu falter and dissipate, but Naruto wasn't done yet. Before he fell Naruto launched the kunai in his hand towards Tsunade.

"Tch, a last ditch effort? Something of this level is nothing," Tsunade said as she tilted her head to the side letting the kunai pass by harmlessly. Naruto grinned as he fell back and that grin made the Sannin worry. Naruto fazed out in a haze of red and appeared behind Tsunade where his kunai was and pulled back his arm.

"W-what?!" Tsunade yelled in shock. The kid was in front of her one second and then suddenly she sensed him behind her. It was instant! Not even a second in between!

"Take this!" Naruto roared. He threw his fist out but was shocked beyond belief when Tsunade spun around so fast she was a blur and faced him. She grabbed his fist and threw him like a rag doll across the street. Naruto bounced off the dirt like pebble skipping across a pond before stopping and making a trench in the road. His legs pointed upwards and twitched every so often.

'What the hell was that!? I had to actually use a majority of my speed to counter! If the kid was faster he may have gotten a hit in...' Tsunade thought as she surveyed Naruto as he pulled himself up with a groan. 'Plus, how is that brat even able to pull himself up?'

"What ran over me?" Naruto moaned in pain. This lady was a beast. Even after he pulled out Blood-line she was able to counter him. How?

"You alright there gaki?" Jiraiya called out.

"Fan-frikkin-tastic..." Jiraiya chuckled and looked at Tsunade who was giving him a harsh glare.

"Jiraiya..." She growled. Jiraiya gulped. This didn't look good. "What in your right mind told you to teach the kid Rasengan? Only you and the Yondaime are able to use that jutsu. Don't try and do something crazy!" Naruto finally pushed his body up with the help of a worried Shizune and looked up at the mention of the jutsu he was using.

'Rasengan? Sounds familiar.'

"Well I am his master," Jiraiya replied. "I thought it would be a good idea to teach the kid something. I mean who wouldn't want to learn the jutsu that the Fourth created?"

"He'll never be able to do it. Plus, what the fuck was that last move? What are you teaching him?" Before Jiraiya could say something Naruto chimed in.

"That's mine. Ero-Sennin didn't teach that to me," Naruto said as he slowly pushed himself up and hobbled back. Shizune looked worriedly at the young boy. Tsunade snorted at Naruto's nickname for Jiraiya before looking the Genin over.

"That probably explains why I've never seen this idiot teammate of mine use something like that," Tsunade said as she pointed to a pouting Jiraiya.

"I would hope not. It is special to me. But on another note. You," Naruto pointed to Jiraiya, "you're teaching me a technique created by the Yondaime?" Jiraiya nodded.

"Yup. The Rasengan took him two years to create," the man stated. Naruto scratched his head.

"Damn no wonder the technique is so hard. But if he could do it then there is no doubt I can learn it!" Naruto said with vigor. That is, before he let out a moan of pain.

"Whatever kid. You'll never learn that move. And besides no one answered my question about what the brat did at the end," Tsunade said.

"Yeah, yeah. You really don't need to know," Naruto drawled. "And besides who says I can't learn it. I almost smashed it into your face!" Tsunade growled before smirking.

"Oh yeah you think so? How 'bout a little bet then?" Shizune gasped and was about to speak but Tsunade held up her hand. "I bet you won't be able to learn the Rasengan by the end of this month. If you do I'll give you this back," she held up a frog shaped wallet eliciting a cry of Gama-chan! from Naruto. "And I'll agree that the Hokage name isn't for fools."

"Bah what an easy bet. That's like two weeks. And if I lose?"

"This money is mine, you have to tell me what that disappearing trick you did was, and you must give up on becoming Hokage!" Tsunade declared. Naruto froze in shock. That was a very steep wager. But hey he was almost done with the jutsu. Hell he could be done with it in a week. And Naruto decided to voice his thoughts.

"You're on. In fact I can finish the Rasengan in a week!"

"Oh really now? Well kid if you can do that I'll even throw in my necklace," Tsunade said as she pulled a bright green jewel from her shirt. Naruto gave it a blank stare and shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm not really into jewelry but I'll still take it."

"You idiot. That's the Shodaime's necklace you could sell it and buy villages for that money and still have some left over," Jiraiya said. Naruto blanched at that. Now that was a lot of money. Naruto could live happily with that. Though the idea of owning something of the former Hokage's was quite an honor. Grinning the boy turned and started to walk away.

"Where you going kid?"

"Sleep. Then training."

Xxx

Naruto pointed at the tree in front of him then made a motion with his thumb going over his throat. The universal sign of "You're dead". It was three days since the wager. Naruto was not going to stop training till he was able to form that damn ball of spiraling death. He held up his right hand and focused. Bright blue chakra started to swirl around his hand and compressed itself into a sphere. However, trails of chakra still spun around showing that not all of it had been concentrated. Naruto growled and focused harder as he ran at the tree. More and more chakra trails were compressed and the ball became compact.

"Rasengan!" Naruto roared as he slammed the jutsu into the tree. The technique started to grind into the bark and Naruto felt hope. Suddenly, the sphere fluctuated and he was blown backwards. Naruto slid across the ground and groaned in a mixture of pain and frustration. He had almost had it that time.

"You are making amazing progress Naruto-kun." Naruto turned to the source of the voice and saw Shizune shuffling into the clearing. Her eyes scanned the various craters and trenches that were the result of the boy's technique. "But you shouldn't push yourself."

"Can't stop Shizune-chan. I've gotta finish this jutsu and win that bet!" Naruto declared before he sighed. "But I just can't get it to compress all the way. It's frustrating as hell." Shizune walked over to Naruto and sat down. Her hands were clenched in worry and Naruto could see that something was on her mind.

"What's wrong?" Shizune twitched slightly before sighing.

"Naruto-kun I beg of you, please forfeit this bet," Naruto looked at her blankly and shook his head. He had expected this. "Please don't misunderstand though. This has nothing to do with how competent a ninja you are. This has to do with Tsunade-sama's past. You see she lost two of the most important people in her life," Shizune stated.

"What do you mean? Everyone has lost people. Why does her loss make it so different."

"Because to my master, their deaths were her fault." Naruto blinked rapidly at that. This sounded complicated.

"Go on," Naruto sighed. And Shizune started her tale. From Tsunade's brother and his short life to Shizune's very own uncle and his demise. The woman recounted all of her adventures with the Sannin. She told the boy of their constant running from debt collectors. And finally the curse of the necklace. Naruto now understood why Shizune was so adamant about Naruto giving up. To the dark haired woman if Naruto were to succeed he would die.

"So please Naruto-kun just give up. This will only end badly," Shizune pleaded. Naruto looked at Shizune before standing up. He took out a shuriken and pricked his finger before smearing it with his blood.

"I want to show you something," Naruto said as he tossed the weapon at the tree he was practicing on. The weapon hit the tree with a thunk and Naruto was next to it in a flicker of red mist. Shizune gasped and stared.

"That's the technique you used against Tsunade-sama. It was so fast! What is it?" Shizune asked.

"Before I tell you I want you to know a few things about who I am. There is no doubt you know what I carry seeing as how you were in Konoha during the Kyuubi's attack," Shizune nodded in confirmation. She knew the boy was a Jinchuriki. "Most of my life was spent being ignored and basically thought of as a menace. People ignored me. I was nothing to them. I couldn't really get basic needs because to them I didn't exist. I could only thank the Sisters at the Orphanage for taking care of me for the first seven years of my life. But, there were many kids. They couldn't take care of all the kids and couldn't watch everyone at all times. I spent most of my childhood scrounging for food. When I was in the Academy my learning was stunted by many teachers. They taught me wrong and I know now many of them did so in hopes I would die," Naruto spoke. Shizune could only gape as Naruto continued.

"On the day of Genin exam I failed. However, a sensei of mine who I thought had my best interest at heart tricked me. I did a very bad thing. Not only that but on that night I learned of my burden and was almost killed by this sensei. If it wasn't for another sensei of mine I would be dead. He protected me and showed me that he truly cared. From then on I vowed to protect people as much as I could. But I also learned of my father," it was here that Shizune became confused. "My skill comes from my dad. I don't know how but I was given this ability. It is similar to the Hiraishin no jutsu if you haven't figured it out. It is a bloodline, my bloodline, given to me by father. I inherited my kekkei genkai from the Yondaime Hokage." It was here that Shizune did gasp. This boy was the Yondaime's child?! Well now that she really looked at him she could immediately see the resemblance. How did no one notice that?

"S-so that ability? That is a bloodline?" Naruto nodded as he walked back to sit next to Shizune.

"I didn't used to use it because of my own issues. What I'm trying to say is that everyone has things that cause them pain. It took my teammates almost dying for me to get over my problems with my father. I just hope it won't come to that point for Baa-chan," Naruto said. Shizune gave Naruto an amazed look before giggling.

"You better not let Tsunade-sama hear you call her that," Naruto laughed loudly.

"I'm not going to give up Shizune-chan. I have to complete this jutsu. Not just for the bet but for me. My dad used this jutsu and I feel like I need to be able to use it. So I'm doing this for me too," Shizune nodded.

"Um Naruto-kun I have a question."

"Mhmm."

"Well you have a bloodline right?"

"Yup. The only one of its kind," Naruto grinned. "I call it...Blood-line!" Shizune gave the boy a deadpan expression. "What?"

"You named your bloodline...bloodline?"

"No, no. Not bloodline, but Blood-line," Naruto corrected. The woman shook her head not hearing the difference. It didn't matter though. The boy's ability was one of the strongest she had ever seen. It was only thanks to her master's skill that she was able to counter the Genin.

"Hey Shizune-chan you're a ninja right?" Naruto asked. "How long have you been a ninja? What rank are you? Do you have any cool jutsu?" The blonde fired off questions at the girl making her back up.

"Hold it, hold it. One question at a time Naruto-kun. Well yes I am a ninja and according to the Konoha ranking system I would be a Jounin." Naruto whistled at that. "As far as special abilities ummm," it was here that Shizune had to think. "I am a medical ninja so basically I know a lot about your body," Shizune said as simply as she could.

"What about abilities. Do you have a kekkei genkai?" Shizune blushed.

"Well it's not really a bloodline but I do have a special skill that's not normally seen in Hi no Kuni," Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Ehhh that's so cool! You must super awesome!" Shizune blushed a little more but smiled.

"It's not all that special. Because I am a medical ninja that means I know a lot about the body and chemicals. So using that I'm able to do specific things." Naruto waited for her to explain but Shizune remained silent after that.

"Like?" The black haired woman giggled slightly.

"Why so curious Naruto-kun?" Naruto blushed in embarrassment and scratched his head.

"Uh I mean you don't have to tell. It's just it has been awhile since I really just sat down and talked to someone," Naruto said. "Not since my mission to Nami," the blonde's eyes glazed over and Shizune looked at the boy curiously. "But that seems like so long ago."

Shizune tapped Naruto and he twitched before looking at her. "I didn't mean to tease you Naruto-kun. It's just as a ninja, secrecy is vital for our line of work. I know you're a friend of Jiraiya-sama but all ninja have to have some secrets." Naruto nodded at that. Shinobi were supposed to be secret. So telling someone you just barely met all of your skills seemed like a stupid move now that the blonde thought about it. It was probably best that he not blab about how Blood-line worked. He already may have said too much about where it came from.

"Well I just wish I was as strong as you. It must have taken you a long time to be so strong, huh?" The woman nodded.

"Getting stronger is a process Naruto-kun. It takes time. As far as my special skill well that is an area in my ninja arts that I must work on like everything else. But because it is special and very rare where we are I have had to learn by trial and error mostly," it was here that the young medic reached into her robe and pulled out a small notebook. "So what I do is write a journal on my abilities. I write about everything, how I feel when I use them, new skills, and pretty much everything. Also, thanks to my travels I've gained some valuable experience."

Naruto gave the notebook a curious look. It seemed like a fairly normal journal and the blonde saw the word "Doku" scrawled on the front. 'Doku? Huh so whatever she does is poisonous,' Naruto thought with a gulp. The journal itself, however, made Naruto really curious. He didn't have a lot of formal training with Blood-line. Most of it was from the Sandaime. And a lot of that wasn't really training.

"Shizune-chan does the journal help?" The girl nodded.

"Greatly. It helps me understand my progress on many things while also letting me catalogue my adventures."

"Catalogue?"

"Mmm that means keep track of things," Naruto made an oh sound and looked at the notebook before looking up at the sky. Shizune placed her journal away and sat quietly with the boy.

"What's it like?"

"What is what like Naruto-kun?"

"Traveling. Like how fun must it have been to go everywhere," Naruto said. "You must have seen so many amazing things! I mean I've always wanted to travel. I've always wanted to go out and see what is out there." Naruto grinned at Shizune who tilted her head cutely. "Can you tell me about it?"

Shizune looked at the boy and smiled. He was so curious. "Will you tell me about Konoha? I haven't been there in so long. I want to know it anything changed."

"Deal!" And so the two of them talked. They sat in that clearing for hours just trading stories. Naruto would sit in rapt attention as Shizune described all the places in the Elemental Countries and asked an occasional question. And Naruto would regal great stories of all his pranks and how the village looked. He would tell her all his schemes and how he would cause such chaos for some of the higher ranked ninja that Shizune couldn't help laughing.

As they talked they didn't notice two sets of eyes staring at them. One holding pride and the other regret. One proud of his student and the other remorseful for what she had put her apprentice and longest friend through.

'Forgive me Shizune. Maybe it is time we do go back.'

Xxx

AN: I'm sorry if any of you guys are a bit upset with Naruto revealing his heritage to Shizune. But there are reasons for that. Plus I mean its Shizune, she is like the nicest girl to Naruto in the series other than Ayame in the beginning. Anyways hope you all like the new installment of Blood-line.