Okay now for more writing. Huh, never thought I'd say that with a smile!
I apologize I uploaded this and a few of the ending paragraphs were entirely in bold font I have fixed the problem. I hope.
Disclaimer: Naruto does not equal my property.
Naruto sat cross-legged and cross-armed on his bed. Staring directly at the box of scrolls left to him by his father. He had planned on going out and training today after his team meeting, but it seemed like such a waist to leave all of this here, not being read. That's when he was stricken with inspiration! He'd just leave some Kage Bunshin here and they'd take notes and give them to him when he came back! He was such a genius.
Forming his favorite seal he created an easy 20 bunshins all with identical smug smiles of self-satisfaction. "So, we all know the plan right?" they all nodded. Then in complete unison 21 fists were raised to the heavens and 21 identical cries of "YOSH!" could be heard throughout the entirety of Fire Country. Several people were deafened by the explosion of sound. Naruto promised to be back by six that night because that was when the Hokage could find time to show him his new house.
Quickly running out of his apartment his clones found themselves eager to read the scrolls when one turned to the other and asked, "You think he'll ever figure out what we learn, he learns?"
His doppelganger of a companion just shrugged, "He'll figure it out eventually".
"Well he better! I'm not gonna fucking take notes all day!" The other clones seemed to agree.
With a sigh the second clone just nodded "Fine, just make sure we get this all done." He reached into the box and went all the way to the bottom. He felt something that didn't feel like a scroll. Pulling it out he found a two small wristbands and looking further he found two more that were slightly larger. There was a note on one of the wristbands.
Hey Naruto,
These are chakra weights. The more you put into them the more weight you body feels. They must all be in place for these to work. When all for are on and you put chakra in 'em they make your whole body feel the weight not just your arms or legs. Think of it like increasing gravity. It will make soooo fast! Be sure to wear them at all times, tha way your body is always conditioning. You will become a chick magnet in no time!
All Narutos present did a collective sweat drop. Sighing again #2 got up and said simply "I guess I've gotta go bring these to him."
"Don't forget to tell him about the learning thing!" #1 shouted as #2 left the rattrap apartment. "Well fellahs lets get to readin'! I call the blueprints!" "No way! I had 'em first!" "Hey I want chakra control!" "It's mine!" This is gonna be a long day.
-Back with real Naruto-
Naruto had made his way to the team 7 bridge early because he wanted to try out his camouflage in the nearby trees. He crept up into a suitable tree and hid him self to the best of his abilities by wrapping his cloak around him. Surprisingly he blended almost perfectly. He had been there for about 3 minutes when one of his clones had come by with four things in his hands. Upon closer, Takagan enhanced, inspection he found them to be rings of some kind almost like sweatbands for your wrists. Because of their chakra link the clone was able to spot him and he made his way to his creator.
When he made it to his blonde God he handed him the weights and Naruto just said "What the hell?"
"Dispel me and it will be completely explained." The clone said tiredly.
"'Kay!" With that Naruto drew his fist back and slammed the wanna-be right smack in the face, this was not exactly expected by the clone but it should have been. Making said wanna-be disperse into a cloud of smoke. Naruto was slightly confused when all of a sudden all the information that the clone had wanted to tell him came rushing into his skull. He understood how the weights worked and he remembered the clone's conversation. This was an amazing revelation! With stars in his eyes he shouted "So Cool!" straight up to Kami's domain. Remembering his plan to hide he quickly recovered his old hidden position while lacing the weights on. He decided to activate them when he started training, he might put too much n and break the branch.
It had been about ten minutes when his 'secret' crush had finally made her way to team 7's meeting area. Sakura looked around and, finding no one, she sighed and took her seat underneath Naruto's tree. Naruto's breath hitched, he never got to see her this close before. Using his new eyes he inspect her face a little more. She did indeed have a larger forehead than most but what did he care; he had a larger inner demon than most. She had pink hair that no one else in the village had and he had blonde hair that no one else had…except maybe Ino, but she doesn't count. She had green eyes, he had …blue eyes… but that doesn't matter. It was a match made in heaven.
Poor, poor deluded fool.
While scrutinizing the object of his affection the lucky monkey started thinking about hers. She wished that Sasuke-kun was here with her and then they could fall in love without that stupid Naruto around to ruin her life. Unfortunately (or fortunately) she had voiced her opinion. He unknown watcher had felt an extreme pain right where his heart should be and his stomach felt awful. Sure, he had bugged her a bit but he didn't ruin her life did he? He decided that all he needed to do was think positive and it would defiantly work out. So he just decided to try that while tuning out Sakura's rant about how much she hated him. He was having a difficult time.
While the pink-haired kuno-bitch-i listed the reason why she hated Naruto and she loved Sasuke-kun. Said Sasuke was gloomily making his way to the field. In an attempt to ignore his "eternal love's" hate-rant Naruto used his family's ability to watch his rival. Sasuke was walking at a sedated pace to the meeting area; brooding all the way. The amount of angst seemed to flow from him in waves. Naruto could swear he saw a flower wilt when the black-headed avenger walked past it. 'I hope he never figures out how to use that as a weapon!' Naruto thought to himself.
Spending the next few hours in total silence was the hardest thing Naruto had to do. Watching his teammates he found that all he wanted to do was to tell Sakura-chan to stop obsessing over a jerk and to take said jerk and shake him until he stopped being so damn anti-social.
When Kakashi finally arrived he noticed something he only heard one cry of "YOU'RE LATE!" and "LIAR!" and it just sounded terrible compared to the fun sound he got out of hearing it with Naruto's voice mixed in; it really sounded much better than the banshee-like scream of his female student (It took a lot of self control on Naruto's part not to give away his position. But afterwards he was proud of himself.). That was another thing, he couldn't find Naruto at all. "Hey, where's Naruto?" came the expected question.
Before either of is other students could say, "who cares" a bundle of leaves seemed to fall from the sky in between the teacher and his students. They all took defensive positions when the bundle started to spin in place at a slow pace. It unraveled to reveal someone in complete camo and an almost blinding smile. "Right here, Kakashi-sensei!" the person shouted.
"…Naruto?" Team 7 said in three-part harmony. They were all surprised by his change in attire but what shocked them the most was that he was able to hide from all of them.
"Yup. What's up?" He was brimming with pride at the fact that even his Jounin sensei couldn't find him. 'Heh, I'm gonna kick so much ass!' he thought proudly.
Somewhere in the afterlife a blonde haired spirit smiled at the sight of his son evading the detection of his former pupil "He's gonna kick so much ass!" he stated proudly.
"Hn, so you changed clothes, so what dobe." Guess who said.
"Yeah, so what." Guess who's #1 fan girl added eloquently.
"Heh, you're just jealous teme!" The would-be Hokage retorted.
"Well, now that that's over I just want to let you know that the Hokage asked me to give you the day off today." Kakashi said with his up-side down "U" smile. Sasuke was mad, he could have been training to kill him. Sakura was ticked that her teacher made them wait for 2 hours to give them the day off. Naruto was ecstatic, he would have all day to train! No stupid missions.
"Sweet! Thanks old man, Kakashi-sensei!" With that he ran off into the forest to go train.
"No Naruto I won't go out with you!" Sakura exclaimed agitatedly. But to EVERYONE'S surprise Naruto hadn't asked her out. She looked to Sasuke to find him with his eyes wide. When he saw her looking at him he shook his head 'no' and walked away. She followed, of course, but she wondered why Naruto would suddenly stop, it wasn't in his nature to give up. Maybe she had been too mean to him or, 'maybe he heard me!' she gasped. She had said some terrible things about him, she didn't mean for him to hear her. It's not that she liked Naruto, it's that she liked all the attention she got from him that Sasuke would never give her, she didn't want two teammates who wouldn't talk to her.
Kakashi smiled under his mask while looking where Naruto had run off to; maybe his student was growing up.
While Naruto ran he mentally smacked himself, one: he forgot to ask out Sakura-chan! She may not like him very much and would have said no anyway, and he may have been hurt, but they were meant for each other, weren't they? Two: he forgot his training regiment scroll. Making a clone he asked it to go home and get the scroll and meet him back at his special training spot, an open area in the forest that he was sure no one would use. Unknown to him was the reason why no one used it, it had been designated as the 'Demon's Training grounds' by the adult population of Konoha.
Before entering his clearing he stopped and decided to turn on his weights. Using as little chakra as he could he pushed it to one of his wristbands. Apparently the least he could do was too much. The bands all glowed blue for a moment before the number 200 appeared on the band on his right wrist. His body crashed to the ground with a low thud. "S-s-shit, this is f-f-freaking heavy! But, I'm not going back! Only forwards from now on!" With his confidence soaring he forced himself off the ground slowly while making his way to the training grounds.
When he arrived he was shocked to find someone there training already. He was wearing a green leotard with orange leg warmers and had a black bowl cut hairdo. The most disturbing part of his image were his extreme eyebrows. They looked like fucking caterpillars! Shrugging off the intruder he decided to start his own training with stretching while waiting for his clone. It wasn't his property so he couldn't kick the kid out and the kid couldn't tell him to leave, well he could, but Naruto wouldn't listen.
The brushy browed weirdo kept punching the logs and Naruto kept stretching. The kid was too enraptured with his training to notice Naruto. After a few minutes of silence, excluding ,of course, the sounds of fist meets log, a few more people made their way to the clearing. 'Sweet Kami can't a guy find a training ground all to himself for once?!' he was roused from his thoughts when a feminine voice called to him.
"Naruto-kun? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Hmmm, sounds familiar. Where had he heard her before? Both he and the green guy turned to investigate and were met with a pink wearing girl donning two buns in her chocolate hair.
"Ah, Ten-chan! I came here to train! Why are you here and who's that with you?" he asked while continuing to stretch his legs.
"Oh, this is-" she began.
"Hyuuga Neji" interrupted her stoic, girly-haired teammate.
"And –" she began. But was once again interrupted by…
"THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA MAITO-" the green beast began.
"GAI-SENSEI!" finished the weird kid. Who had run over to his idol. When he looked at them Naruto realized that they looked almost exactly the same. They started hugging and all hell broke loose.
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!" Needless to say Neji and Tenten were embarrassed beyond belief at their squad mate's and sensei's actions and they expected Naruto to be shocked or disturbed but when they looked over to see his reaction they were the ones who were shocked. He had a sad far away look in his eyes and a heartrending smile on his face while he watched the spectacle. Neji was completely thrown for a loop as to why he wasn't running away in terror while screaming something about his eyes. Tenten almost had the same reaction but then she remembered what Naruto had said the day before.
He has been alone his whole life; he probably wishes that he had someone that close to him too. Her heart felt sick at the thought of anyone being so alone that they were actually envious of Lee and Gai's relationship. She chose that moment to stop the sight before Naruto felt even worse. She coughed, very loudly, into her fist to draw their attention. It didn't work, so instead of trying it again and hurting her throat, she waltzed over and landed a blow directly onto Lee's head. That stopped the all-day hug fest fucking fast. Naruto mouthed a silent thank you to her and she just smiled while nodding.
"Yes, Tenten-chan what is it?" Lee asked with a happy voice while tears were brimming in his eyes.
"We have a guest my youthful student!" exclaimed Gai.
"We do sensei!? Where!?" Lee asked excitedly.
"Lee, he's been behind you the whole time" Neji deadpanned.
"Really!?" Turning around Lee spotted our hero who had a blank expression on his face. "Your skill in stealth is incredible! You must be genius to be able sneak up on me!"
"Nah, I'm no genius, just a hard worker." Neji smirked, Tenten just chuckled while slapping her forehead. He could have described himself in any other way, but nooooo he had chosen THAT particular expression. Almost as soon as he finished his sentence both Gai and Lee came to a screeching halt in front of him.
"YOSH! YOU ARE TRULY YOUTHFUL NARUTO-KUN!" Gai shouted. "THE FLAMES OF YOUR YOUTH BURN WITH SUCH YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE!"
"NARUTO-KUN, YOU WILL BE MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee exclaimed with equal vigor. "TOGETHER WE WILL SHOW THE WORLD THAT A HARD WORKER CAN EXCEDE A GENIUS!"
"Uhhh…. okay." Naruto said a little weakly, he hadn't expected this reaction in the least.
"YOSH! I WILL WORK HARDER THAN YOU NARUTO-KUN FOR IF I CAN'T I'LL RUN 1000 LAPS AROUND KONOHA!" Lee yelled.
"AND IF LEE CAN'T FINISH THAT THEN I WILL-" Gai was about to continue the ritual of extreme self-inflicted punishment/training when what Lee had said finally registered with Naruto.
He got right in Lee's face and started to yell back "LIKE HELL YOU WILL BUSHY BROWS! IF YOU BEAT ME I'LL GIVE UP MY DREAM OF BEING HOKAGE!" At this point he was sticking an accusing finger right in Lee's face. "I'LL TRAIN 10 TIMES HARDER THAN YOU AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHO'S THE BETTER NINJA!" Naruto had taken Lee's exclamation as an insult to his ability as a ninja.
"YOSH! NARUTO-KUN YOU TRULY ARE MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee cried happily as he was raising a shaky fist while twin waterfalls of tears spouted from his eyes.
"YOUR YOUTH BURNS WITH A PASSION EQUAL TO MY CUTE PUPIL'S NARUTO-KUN!" Gai was in an exact replica of Lee's current stance. "PLEASE ALLOW ME TO TRAIN YOU NARUTO-KUN!"
"REALLY!? You'll train me/him!?" all gennin present asked/shouted.
"OF COURSE! ONE WITH YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE SUCH AS YOURS WOULD BE AN HONOR TO TRAIN!" Gai 'said' happily.
Naruto was shocked, he said it would be an honor to train him, HIM! But surely this man was old enough to know about his…resident. "But, you don't…hate me?"
"Hate you! Why would Gai-sensei hate you Naruto-kun?" Lee asked in a hybrid indoor, outdoor voice.
"Yes, why would I hate you Naruto-kun?" Gai wondered aloud. Tenten and Neji both had the same question but felt no need to repeat it again. All Naruto did in response was take off his hat and remove his cloak which was obscuring his face a little. After revealing his striking blonde hair and his whisker marks he just pointed to his face. The others were confused but Gai instantly recognized him as the Kyuubi boy and understood his question fully now.
He had never really known the boy so he had never had an opinion about him. He had known however, about the hate and scorn his village had shown the boy. Upon seeing the quiet intensity of the pain I his eyes Gai was a little sick to his stomach at the thought of his beloved village treating anyone so harshly, especially one of its loyal ninja. He had heard about the boy through Kakashi, wait! "Isn't my eternal rival Kakashi your sensei? Surely he should be training you."
Naruto flinched a little, this guy obviously didn't want to train him, "Well, he kind of needs to train Sasuke, but I don't mind! I can get stronger by myself! But if you don't want to help me I'm sure I could find another sensei. Plus my dad said that I should get a few sensei's." Gai was pissed at Kakashi's actions, but he didn't show it because he would talk to him later. Tenten, Neji, and Lee decided to ask Naruto about his odd question later.
"OH, no! Of course I'll help Naruto-kun! But because I am not your official sensei I need to know what you want to improve!" Gai said to show the boy that he truly didn't hate him.
"Really, you really will? THANK YOU GAI-SENSAI!" Naruto shouted while tackled the jounin to the ground.
After Gai regained his senses and both Naruto and Lee had calmed down he asked Naruto to list his needs. "Well, I need to work on speed and strength and accuracy."
"Lee and I can help you with strength and speed Naruto-kun. Tenten-chan can help you with accuracy, she's the best shot I know!" He proclaimed proudly. Tenten beamed with pride while she threw a kunai dead center into a target over 50 feet away. "Now, Naruto-kun, do you have any weights? They are essential to your training."
"Sure I do sensei! I'm wearing them right now!"
"EXCELLENT! May I enquire as to how much weight my new youthful student is wearing?" Gai asked eagerly. Lee was also interested in knowing how much weight his new rival was wearing. Tenten was mildly interested and Neji could care less.
"Umm about 200 combined I think." Gai was ecstatic that his new student could handle such weight. Lee has excited that his rival was wearing so much weight. Tenten was shocked he could have so much weight. Neji was skeptical that he could hold so much weight.
"Impossible, I see no weights on you. You're lying." Neji said in a cool control tone. As much as Tenten didn't want to label her new friend as a liar, it seemed like she had no other recourse. Besides Neji was always right. Lee couldn't help but be shocked that his rival would stoop so low. And Gai was just eyeing his pseudo student's wristbands.
Naruto turned to the stuck-up Hyuuga and said "I. Am. Not. A. Liar." with enough ice to freeze hell over. He held up his wristband, with extreme difficulty. "These are special chakra weights. When all four are on the person the amount of chakra they put in is transferred to weight that is spread out over their entire body. I am currently under 200 pounds of pressure at all times. I am not a liar." And with his explanation concluded he curtly flipped Neji the bird.
"AMAZING NARUTO-KUN! Can you please give me some of those weights?" Lee asked with stars in his eyes. Gai also looked excited at this prospect.
"Sorry Lee, as far as I know these are the only ones made and they were given to me by someone special who wants to remain secret." Lee and Gai's expression fell considerably. "But, but, uhhh I'll figure out some way to make more of them! It's a promise!" Lee and Gai perked up. Naruto had said that in attempt to cheer up his new sensei and rival, he didn't want them to dislike him, but he had no idea how to do that! But now he had to do it. Why did he always get himself into these situations?
"Really Naruto-kun you'd d that for me?" Lee asked, not many people were that kind to him, especially after just meeting him. They often said he was weird for some odd reason.
"Sure thing Bushy Brows. I never take back my words. It's my nindo!" Gai smiled at his newfound student's bravado and spirit. Neji was still fuming at the disrespect Naruto had shown him and Tenten had been trying to calm him down in hopes of getting on his good side, but she still smiled at Naruto's proclamations.
Shortly after that a second Naruto made his way into the clearing. Ignoring the strange looks from everyone in the clearing he walked up to the original. "Hey boss. Just got your scroll here, and some ramen. Figured you'd like something to eat so you can keep your energy up! Oh and number 2 says you need to make a replacement for number 1 cause you smoked him."
Taking the scroll and ramen while nodding he said, "Oh sure, thanks for the ramen." He put the scroll and cup on the ground and then proceeded to make another clone. The two clones marched off back to Naruto's apartment while the others were still gawking. "What?"
"What do you mean 'What'? What the hell was that thing!?" Tenten exclaimed.
"Naruto-kun here is a master of kage bunshin." Gai said with pride in his voice. He knew Naruto wasn't his official student but he would be teaching him so that was enough for him.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head and blushed a little at the praise "Well, I wouldn't say master…buuuut I guess you could say that if you really wanted to. Hehehe."
"Naruto-kun using a kage bunshin you could accelerate your accuracy training 10-fold by practicing with ten bunshins." Gai said while thinking up ways this could help Naruto's thinking.
"Really?! Could it help with chakra control too?" Naruto ask-yelled.
"I suppose it could. Because chakra control is just learning how to control it and it doesn't change anything physically." To everyone's surprise it was Neji who had said this. "However your stores wouldn't increase you have to do that yourself."
"Hmm, I'll need to learn chakra control from somebody then…could you teach me Neji?" Naruto asked really not expecting anything from the Byakugen user.
"Only if you teach me kage bunshin." To say everyone was shocked was an understatement. No one had seen this coming. Naruto always being the first to recover simply smirked.
"Fine, Neji-hime." Naruto said stating his opinion on giving away his prized technique. Tenten was pissed that Naruto would insult her secret crush after he had just said he would help him.
"Hn, whatever Naruto no baka" Neji said with a smirk to match the blonde's. Another unexpected reaction. Gai looked to his new student and smiled 'He brings change with him.' He remembered when Iruka used to hate Naruto but now the scarred chunnin treated the kid like his little brother. Naruto was thinking something along the lines of 'is there a teme in every squad? Well…I guess he's better than Sasuke. But, if what Gai-sensei said is true than I can increase my chakra control and accuracy by 100-fold. But, they don't need to know that.' He wanted to keep some of his techniques and strength secret after all.
Naruto opened up his scroll while Gai was telling his youthful students their training regiment for today. This is what it read:
Hey there,
For training to increase speed and strength use those weights I gave you. Make sure to do 100 push ups, pull ups, sit ups, 200 jumping jacks, 300 hundred punches with each arm into a log, 300 kicks with each leg into a log and 20 laps around the village. Then anything else your sensei should tell you. As for accuracy, just practice throwing, remember follow-through. Increase weight every week by fifty pounds and increase the number of each exercise each week by fifty as well, except for laps, increase those by five.
'He can't be serious!'
P.S. Yes, I'm serious.
Insert MASSIVE sweat drop here
'Hmm, he didn't give away his name or my relation to him, I guess that is so that my sensei can read it.'
"What do you have there Naruto-kun?" Gai asked while he walked over to the blonde dynamo.
"A scroll from my faaaaavorite Hokage!" 'Phew, nice save!' "He gave it to me to help with my training!"
"Well, this certainly does seem extensive for conditioning your body, buuut you need to learn a taijutsu style my youthful student!" Gai said while scrutinizing the scroll.
"Oh, I have my clones at home memorizing the forms and when they do I'll practice them after I get faster!" Naruto said.
"Good, well then, LETS GET STARTED MY YOUTHFUL PUPILS!"
"OSSU!" cried Lee and Naruto in unison. Tenten giggled at his antics while he tried a very slow and lopsided salute.
That night the Hokage paid Naruto's apartment a visit. In his pocket he had the keys to Naruto's new house and on his face he had a happy smile. He knocked on the door. After a few moments the sounds of someone rushing around and tripping, quite a few times, were heard. Naruto almost ripped the door off its hinges to reveal a chuckling Hokage. "HEY OJIJI!"
"Hello Naruto-kun. Excited?" He asked knowing full well the answer.
"Oh Hell Yeah!" 'Just as I thought' chuckled the old Sandaime.
"Well, shall we go?" Naruto then proceeded to, slowly, gather up all the things he had packed before the Hokage arrived, clothes, food…that's it. After saying good riddance to a place that held only bad memories they walked down the street toward the forest. After walking into the forest for a little while they came across a house. The outside was a light gray color with a green metal roof and green shutters on the windows. It was two stories and had a basement as well as an attic. They were three bedrooms with a bath in each. A living room big enough to comfortably fit about 20 people and it was adorned with three large couches, a recliner, a few bean bags, and a large television as well as a fireplace. The study had many books ranging from chakra control to advanced physics to sewing as well as a large oak desk and a few filing cabinets. The kitchen was large enough for a few people to be in there without getting in the cook's way; it had a fridge and a double oven plus a microwave. The dining room had a formal feel to it and the large table could seat as many people as the living room. The master bedroom had large, heated waterbed as well as a big TV on the opposite wall, a dresser, a wardrobe, and a walk in closet. The other bedroom was more of a kid's room, and the last bedroom was obviously a guest room, but it still was very nice and cozy. The bathrooms all had the essentials as well as tub/showers; the master bathroom however, had a Jacuzzi for relieving muscle stress. The basement was actually a large dojo-like area with special places for storage scattered around the edges, his clones could practice in here while he was out. The attic was just a normal attic, but it could be turned into an extra room if the need be.
The Hokage had had several gennin teams come and clean the house as well as to restock the kitchen and wardrobe. Naruto now had several pairs of casual clothes as well as formal attire. After inspecting the whole house Naruto was on the verge of tears. He hugged the old Sarutobi and thanked him profusely. When the Hokage finally had to leave, after having some ramen to celebrate of course, Naruto told him to come by and enjoy some time off every once and awhile. The blonde heir made his way into the master bedroom and, after a quick shower, drifted off into a happy sleep about ramen, training, and a crying Sasuke.
And so it started. Everyday after the team meeting Naruto would go meet team Gai and depending on the day would train with a different member. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday twenty of Naruto's clones would practice with Tenten. And every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday twenty would practice with Neji. While everyday aside from Sunday, he took that day off (You can't train all the time, even with his Stamina and healing factor you need to rest every once and awhile.); the original would train with Lee and/or Gai in speed and strength after doing his father's designated "warm-up" routine. Unknown to the others however was that Naruto would send an extra two-hundred to Neji's practice in secret watching with their takagan's from afar, as well as an extra two-hundred to Tenten's. This had four advantages:
One: He got extra training and improved faster.
Two: He learned how to read lips.
Three: He increased his chakra stores.
Four: He improved with his takagan.
While the first 120 clones would practice what Neji or Tenten were teaching. The other 100 would practice with different ranged weapons until he mastered them, then he would move onto the next. Currently he had mastered using a slingshot, a blowgun and he was currently training with a bow. This along with the extra 100 he always left at home to study made his already massive store even larger. He also had his clones use the Hokage's private workshop to build the weapons he used as well as his ammo for each weapon.
The others were astounded at his progress. They were also impressed with his will to keep going. He never once backed down from training and always made the effort to do one extra lap or ten extra kicks when it was clear that he was just as exhausted as them. This inspired the others to work harder as well as change each of them. Neji became a little less anti-social (emphasis on little, but it was still noticeable). Spending several days a week surround by 20 Naruto's who tell jokes and mess around because they have nothing better to do while practicing will do that to you. Tenten became a little more dedicated in her work and it showed through the fact that she too now wore weights. Lee had become more like Naruto, but not by much, but he was always working to surpass his rival so they pushed each other further and further. Naruto, after being around Lee and Gai, found the that people liked it when you were quieter so he toned it down a bit; he was still loud but not nearly as loud as he used to be. He also decided that when he was on a mission he should try and be quieter and more professional, it would make being a ninja easier and he would still get to be himself outside of a mission. Gai couldn't have been prouder. Team 7 was completely oblivious.
The only difference they could see was that Naruto had stopped picking fights with Sasuke…well, picked less fights with Sasuke; and asked Sakura out less. Kakashi was curious as to the reason behind the change in his student, he decided to look into it some other time.
Naruto was currently in the Hokage's office with his original team complaining about the D-ranked missions they'd been having. "Hey, Ojiji you know that I can handle at least a C-rank mission, Come on!"
Iruka was furious at the disrespect his little brother was showing the Hokage "NARUTO! Show some respect-" at this point Iruka rants and I don't remember what he says but we ALL know what happens.
Finally the Hokage caved and gave them their first C-rank mission. Escorting Tazuna to his bridge in wave. At this point the old drunk waltzed into the room. Stumbled being the correct term actually. "These brats are supposed to protect me? They look weak especially the short green one."
Naruto whose face was barely seen threw his cloak and hat just did the opposite of what everyone present thought he would do, "HAHAHAHA! That the best you got you drunken bastard! Come on hit me with something new." Everyone save Tazuna was completely slack-jawed. Kakashi had even been ready to sit on Naruto to stop him from killing the man.
"Hahaha, you got some balls on ya' brat. I like ya'. Glad to be working with you." He extended his hand the young ninja who shook it in a firm grip.
"The feelings mutual, 'cept I'm not into guys." They both started laughing at this point. Everyone else was still trying to recover when the Hokage began to laugh as well, then Iruka, then Kakashi. Sakura refused to laugh because Sasuke-kun wouldn't either. "Well, heehe, can we get going now sensei?" Naruto asked wiping away a tear of mirth while the laughter died down.
"Sure thing. Meet at the gate in half an hour with everything you need for a few days of travel." Kakashi said. 'He really has grown up' thought three adults in the room.
"YOSH! I'll get there before you Sasuke-chan!" 'Well, he's still 12. What did I expect.' Thought the same three adults. 'Heh, chan, classic' thought one bridge builder and 'How dare he call our Sasuke-KUN that!' 'YEAH!' thought one possibly naturally pink-headed kunoichi.
"Hn, yeah right dobe. Bring it on." Sasuke and Naruto both got into race positions and looked at Sakura expectantly.
"Oh! Uhh, ready…" Kakashi hurriedly opened the door, "set…" he pulled Tazuna out of the line of fire, "GO!" The only thing to register that either of them had left was the cloud of dust and sonic boom.
Thirty minutes later Naruto and Sasuke were seen running from opposite directions toward each other. They skidded to a halt and were mere centimeters apart in front of the gate. "I WIN!" they both shouted, quite uncharacteristically for Sasuke.
"I am obviously the winner dobe."
"Suuure you are Sasuke-chan. And why is that? Because you're an Uchiha?" Naruto said while rolling his eyes.
"Of course. My clan is better than your clan." Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.
"Says you! You are the only one of your clan left and I'm the only one of my clan left! That makes our clans equal!" Naruto pointed out with his hands thrown up to the sky, they quickly fell back down to his sides.
"Well, I have a bloodline" Sasuke was sure he had won.
'Damn, I'm not gonna reveal the Takagan just to show up Sasuke in an argument.' "Oh Yeah!? Then lets see it tough guy!" 'Please don't have it activated, please don't have it activated, please don't have it activated' he chanted in his head.
"Hn, like I'd show you." 'That should shut him up.' You know, you think he'd have learned by now.
"Yeah right! You just haven't unlocked it! Ha! Our clans are equal!" Naruto yelled triumphantly. Sasuke just humph-ed opting to end the argument there. Naruto stuck his hand out to Sasuke. The Avenger just stared at it like it was a tentacle. "Good race teme. We should have another sometime." Naruto said in a friendly tone with a grin.
After a minute or so of deliberation Sasuke grasped it "Sure thing dobe. But don't expect me to go easy on you next time." Sasuke tightened his grip. Naruto reciprocated the action. This continued until they were both red in the face with exertion.
"Ahem! If you two are done holding hands I'd like to get home please!" Tazuna interrupted their little contest. If either of them had blushed it was hidden by the shade of red already on their faces, although with Naruto you could hardly tell already because of his cloak-hat combo. But Naruto was never one to be out done.
"But I thought you liked seeing boys hold hands old man." Naruto and Tazuna shared a small laugh and he gave Naruto a noogie. "Hey quit it your pits smell worse than your breath you old booze hound!"
"Yes, well Tazuna-san it would be best if you let Naruto go so we could get going." With that they all exited the village, never to be seen again. I'm just kidding.
While they were walking Sakura had made a startling discovery! "Naruto!"
"Yes Sakura-chan!" Naruto asked excitedly, maybe she would finally talk to him and they could get closer and then they would go out and-
"You baka! You forgot your stuff!" –or maybe not.
"Sakura's right dobe. I knew you couldn't match me without cheating." Why do they always think he lies or cheats? Oh yeah, he's a pranking ninja, it's kind of expected.
"No I didn't Sakura-chan, teme, I have it all right here." He pulled out a small scroll. "I sealed it." He had asked Tenten to teach him the basics of sealing and from there he read his dad's notes. He was well on his way to becoming a seal master, all he needed was a teacher.
"Hn, whatever" 'How could the dobe learn to do that? He must have gotten help! Whatever I don't need to seal things, I need to get stronger.' Seeing as how Sasuke was ignoring him Sakura decided to as well. Naruto simply sighed replaced the scroll and put his hands behind his head. Kakashi however was proud that his student was beginning to learn seals.
After walking for some time the group finally passed the suspicious puddle. Only Naruto and Kakashi noticed it. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi looked back to see Naruto next to the puddle, but he couldn't tell what the boy was planning because his cloak hid his body from view. "Yes, Naruto?" the rest of the group stopped.
"You know what's the best part about puddles?" Naruto asked while looking his sensei right in the eye.
Kakashi was smiling under his mask "No, what?" he put his book away and covertly pointed Sasuke over to Tazuna. He saw the signal and with a smirk quietly went over to get in a defensive position in front of the bridge builder. Sakura and Tazuna were clueless.
"Sometimes, if you try hard enough, you can make them scream like little girls!" Naruto said while jumping high and raining kunai and senbon into the puddle. And lo and behold the dreaded demon brothers came flying out of the puddle covered in the knives and needles screaming like, well, like little girls. Kakashi didn't move but Sasuke threw a shuriken nailing the chain connecting their gauntlets to a tree while Naruto threw a kunai into the hole on the shuriken locking the blade in place. "Nice work teme."
"Same to you dobe."
"How!? How did a fucking Gennin see through our perfect illusion?" The left most of the two brothers asked.
"Anyone who had taken the time to pay attention to the weather could have seen through it. There hasn't been rain in a week, and it's high noon! There is no way a puddle could have been in the middle of a hot, dirt, road you fucking moron!" Naruto exclaimed exasperatedly.
"Damn, he's got a point." The right brother said.
"That he does." The first brother affirmed.
Now we get into the point where Kakashi chews out Tazuna, they keep going, yadda yadda.(1)
So Naruto and the gang are walking a long the road. Sasuke and Sakura are flirting (Sakura bothering Sasuke to the point of contemplated suicide). Kakashi and Tazuna are comparing favorite scenes in Itcha Itcha. And Naruto is trying to drown them out while muttering something about perverted old men. When out of nowhere Kakashi grabs Tazuna and drags him to the ground "GET DOWN!"
Team 7 was eating dirt faster than Naruto eats ramen, and not a moment too soon, because a huge fucking sword flew overhead and embedded itself into the tree behind them. "Hahaha, aaaaaah Sharingan no Kakashi."
"Momochi Zabuza S-class missing-nin of the hidden mist. Known as the demon of the mist for his skill in the silent killing techniques as well as killing all of the participating genin in his year's genin class." Kakashi and, to everyone's surprise, Naruto stated in textbook unison. But then Naruto started to chuckle.
"What's so funny gaki?" growled the missing-nin.
"Hehe, nothing, nothing at all Mr.Momo." Zabuza's non-existent eyebrow twitched. "You know if you need eyebrows I have a friend who has more than enough to spare." At this point the vein that was throbbing before threatened to burst. Kakashi was trying so hard to not laugh, and a little while away watching in the trees Haku was giggling under her mask (2). The others were too afraid to do anything but gape at Naruto for being so bold, 'I knew that kid had balls but, this is ridiculous'.
Zabuza just disappeared into the mist he had created growling like an animal all the way. They formed a tight circle around the elderly bridge builder while taking defensive stances. If Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna were worried before they were utterly distressed now. Sensing his companions plight Naruto turned his head to them. "Don't worry you guys Kakashi-sensei will protect us, and so will I, believe it." He said while allowing them to see his carefree smile and flashing them a thumbs up.
"He's right you know" Kakashi said while sporting his usual "U" eye smile. Their statements visibly relaxed the three scared shitless members of the group.
'How could that dobe not be scared?! This feeling is so intense!' a certain avenger screamed in his head.
'Wow, Naruto sure is cool-headed right now' 'He also looks really cool too' 'yeaaahhhhheeeeeyyyy wait a minute!' please tell me you know who it is.
'This brat, heh, what a guy.' The drunken man was glad he had this kid to back him up.
'Very good Naruto.' Thought Kakashi, proud of his student's ability to shrug off killing intent. When he thought about it Naruto probably had to deal with this on a daily basis. He felt a little bad for ignoring his student, but he didn't have time to worry about it now.
Kakashi unveiled his hidden Sharingan and Naruto took that as a cue to activate his eyes as well. He pulled his brim down so that his teammates wouldn't find out just yet. "Ah, the Sharingan! At the beginning of our fight? I'm honored Kakashi." Zabuza's voice came from all around them.
'Sharingan?! Yes, I can use him to teach me how to use my own. Perfect.' Sasuke thought. 'If I survive' he added grimly.
"Kakashi sensei" Naruto whispered while straining his eyes to find any sign of the missing-nin.
"Yeah" Kakashi whispered reciprocating Naruto's actions in another direction.
"Can you teach me to do that voice thing?"
"I guess, why do you want to know"
"It's cool and I could use it"
"Sure then."
"Thanks sensei…he's right behind us isn't he."
"Yep." Kakashi went disembowel the nin behind him with his kunai and when he did instead of getting blood on his blade he was treated to water. "Mizu Bunshin!" He had just enough time to say before Zabuza slit his throat. "Its not over" Said the new Kakashi from behind Zabuza.
The trapped Zabuza chuckled "No, it certainly isn't" Kakashi's eyes widened as he felt a presence behind him, he turned slicing the clone's throat in the process only to be met with a boot to the face. He was sent soaring into the body of water behind the group where he was promptly encased in a water prison courtesy of Zabuza. "I expected more from the legendary Sharingan no Kakashi! HAHAHAHA!" His insane laughter was cut short when he had to move his head to avoid the arrow that went whizzing by his head. "Holy fuck! What was that!?"
"Let my sensei go Mr.Momo." Naruto said coolly, his eyes were hidden by his hat but you could practically feel the death glare he was presenting to the missing-nin. His cloak was billowing in the wind revealing the bow in his left hand and the six quivers facing diagonally to the right on his back. He looked very threatening.
"Lets see you make me twerp!" Zabuza made several Mizu Bunshin.
Naruto muttered a quiet "Kage bunshin are better." Before his sensei finally came to his senses.
"NO! Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura take Tazuna and RUN!" he yelled hoping beyond all hope that he wouldn't have to see another team member die.
"Sorry sensei, we can't do that. You guys know why right?" Naruto asked gesturing to his teammates.
"Because those who don't follow the rules are trash…" Sasuke began while coming out of his bush on Naruto's right looking towards said ninja-turned-archer.
"But those who abandon their friends are lower than trash." Sakura finished flanking Naruto on his left.
"Right." Naruto said while giving his sensei full view of his shinning smile and customary reassuring thumbs up.
"This is heart-wrenching and all but I have business to attend to!" Zabuza shouted as he sent his clones to attack.
"Sakura! Cover the client! Sasuke you're with me! Let's Kick His Ass!" Naruto ordered in an authoritative tone.
"Right!" Sakura said as she dashed to Tazuna's front.
"Hmph, Whatever, just don't get in my way."
"Shut up and fight teme!" Naruto yelled while turning his bow so that it was parallel to the ground. Reaching into his white quiver he pulled out four arrows, one in between each finger, and pulled them back on his bow. With a light twang the string launched the sharp rods directly into the hearts of four out of the seven charging bunshin. "Sasuke handle the rest I'll free Kakashi-sensei!"
"Whatever" Sasuke ran towards his cloned opponents, who were in a triangle formation (two in front one in back), wielding a kunai in each hand. He ducked under a horizontal zanbatou strike and followed through with a jumping uppercut to the clone's right side. The clone exploded into a shower of water and while he was still airborne the avenger span in mid air to deliver a devastating unconsciously chakra-aided spin kick to the clone on his left, ending it's meager existence. Using the remaining momentum from his kick he hurled both his kunai into the last target hitting it in both the head and the stomach. "Heh, cake." He said while smirking he went to look at Naruto's progress when he heard a thunder clap from his teammate's position.
While Sasuke had been fending off the three clones Naruto had retrieved an arrow from his purple quiver. The arrow had a seal on the metal arrowhead. He began to carefully pump chakra into the seal while he drew back the shot. He took aim careful not to hit his sensei. He had never used one of his special bolts before so he didn't know what to expect. The chakra flow had been a mere trickle of chakra but when he saw his sensei's eyes begin to glaze over a little from lack of oxygen he lost control and forced far too much chakra into the shot. He released the bolt and there by cut off the flow of chakra activating the seal on the tip.
The result was spectacular while at the same time frightening. When the bolt left the bow it was engulfed in crackling blue electricity. It soon resembled a lightning bolt and it took off like one too, thunder and all. Because the newly dubbed ikazuchi boruto no jutsu (Thunder bolt technique.) was so close to the ground it tore up the earth that had the misfortune to be underneath it at the time. The speed was equal to that of an actual lightning bolt so the only way Zabuza could survive was if he disengaged the prison and dodged. He did exactly that.
'Whoa, what power!' Zabuza thought. "Who the hell is this kid?!" He screamed while looking at the tunnel of water that had followed the arrow, rising and surrounding it as it passed. He had no doubt that it hit the other bank. Kakashi, who had taken the distraction to ready himself again, simply chuckled.
"He's Uzumaki Naruto." Said Kakashi while sliding into a stance that was an exact mirror of Zabuza's.
"And I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever!" Said Uzumaki shouted while thrusting his fist in the air. He then fell to one knee, winded. 'Huff, huff, I shouldn't be this tired! Arrg! Stupid, stupid, you used way too much chakra.' He berated himself inside his mind. In reality the blast from the arrow had sent him flying backwards and he had used a lot of chakra to block the blast as well as cushion his fall, this in conjunction with having his eyes activated the entire time, took a serious toll on his chakra. While they may not be as deteriorating as the Sharingan they still leeched chakra and he hadn't been using them enough to lessen the amount they use. 'Okay, you still have enough left you just used a lot at once without preparing for it. Neji said that this would happen if I did that. Just need to relax myself' He took several deep breaths while trying to find his center. The blast had blown his hat off; luckily no one had seen his eyes yet.
"Dobe! You all right!? You don't look so good." Sasuke said while he handed Naruto his hat, he was watching Kakashi's fight however so he could note Naruto's peculiar eyes.
Securing his hat over his eyes again Naruto used his enhanced vision to watch the fight more closely while saying "Aww, worried about me Sasuke-chan? I'm touched!" he then proceeded to sniffle for affect.
"Yeah that's it dobe." Sasuke said in a tone very similar to mockery.
"My Kami! A joke? From Uchiha Sasuke? I never thought I'd see the day!" Naruto prodded. Sasuke simply shrugged, smirk in place. Perhaps Sasuke wasn't such a dick gobbler after all. After a short while Kakashi won and Zabuza was carted away by the disguised Haku. Team 7 picked up their downed sensei and made their way to Tazuna's house for the rest of their mission.
When they arrived after they had dropped Kakashi off in his room they were properly introduced to Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, and grandson, Inari. The former was friendly and outgoing, she treated them all nicely. Inari, however, was a pessimistic little ass, who gave them the cold-shoulder every chance he got. Naruto could hardly care though, he got this all the time, 'heh, just like home!' he thought gloomily. He hardly had time to worry about that though, he was tired as all hell. He made his way to the men's sleeping quarters sealing all his equipment into his scroll, so that he was left with only his clothes on, and fell into unconsciousness almost before he hit the pillow.
Down stairs Sasuke was brooding, 'the dobe…he wasn't scared at all, and he took charge right away! That should have been me! How can I be so weak! And that attack! What power! I have to get stronger than Naruto or I'll never be able to beat Itachi.'
Sakura was worried about her crush, he seemed broodier than usual 'perhaps he's thinking about Naruto?'
'Of course! Why wouldn't he be? You saw him back there didn't you?' Inner Sakura offered her louder than necessary opinion.
'Yeah I did but, but, he didn't seem like Naruto!' Sakura thought, slightly put off by Naruto's sudden change. He was cooler and calmer headed than he was pretty much at any other time she had known him.
'Shannaro! That's because he got serious when the fight got serious!' Inner Sakura pointed out.
'Maybe if I was more like Naruto, Sasuke-kun would notice me!' Sakura thought hopefully.
'I don't think-' inner Sakura was silenced by thoughts of Sasuke and Sakura holding hands and other girly fantasies. Upon finding their guests in the living room, one brooding with angst rolling off him in palpable waves and the other sitting there giggling with stars and hearts in her eyes. Tsunami and Inari just looked at each other. Then they shrugged and decided that ninja were weird.
A/N: Oh man I finally did it. I doubled the amount of pages from last chapter. PRIDE. Well. I guess it's time for me to sleep but I'm glad I was able to do this in one day. That's right, all this, one day. You'll be happy to know that all have to do for that project my English teacher gave me is edit it a bit and print it out again and I'll be all done! Free to write on my own whims. The only problem is writing the boring shit. There's a lot of it, sorry loyal readers. In case I don't update before your holiday, I want to wish you a happy one! Mine happens to be Christmas so I'll be aiming to write another chap before then. I will try to make all chapters around this length. Please R&R I really love reading them. It's like getting real mail only better because I get it faster.
A/N: As of 1:47 AM on 1/7/07 I have finished editing chapter three.
1: For those of you who actually LIKE reading these boring parts over and over again, I'm sorry but they ARE boring and I AM writing the story so if you complain I'm just gonna say this MY fic, MY rules; fuck YOU. For those of you who are like me and want to get to the meat of the story I feel for you so I'm dong my best.
2: yes, HER mask. One: there is no way Haku is not a girl. Two: NO she will not be Naruto's pairing. Three: there is no point in keeping her a mystery from the reader because we all know she's coming.