CHAPTER 3 – GENJUTSU

Naruto breathed a weary sigh as he walked down the streets of Konoha. The day of d ranked missions had been exhausting. The sheer boringness of the missions seemed to wear him down quicker than usual. He was certainly relieved and glad he was finally dismissed for the day.

Something about his team bothered him though. Or more specifically, Sakura did. He had noticed that his pink haired teammate had been acting somewhat strange lately while in his presence. He had tried to observe the girl, but never managed to understand her recent behaviour. She would occasionally sneak glances at him, but when he would voice his concern, she denied that there was anything wrong. And she would always look away when he met her glances. He did not know what it meant and what caused it.

He was certain it was not due to his growth in power. He had yet to show anyone on his team his true strength.

It wasn't because he was trying to hide his strength from his team, but it was simply because he never needed to show any kind of skill in d ranked missions.

But then, while it puzzled him, he didn't feel that it was especially important. At least not at the moment.

Like he had for most days, he had bid his team goodbye and was about to head out for his daily training after he went home for some training equipment.

He certainly wasn't expecting to find Kurenai coming out of Konoha's best dango shop with a female companion. He easily recognised the genjutsu specialist from the distinctive bandage like red and white clothing she wore. He did not recognise her companion though. He had never met to woman before. She was an attractive woman with purple hair tied up in a bunch with some of her hair sticking up at odd angles. Naruto judged her to be several years or so younger than the genjutsu specialist and wore a tan coloured coat over a fishnet undershirt.

He took in a breath and quickly thought to himself whether to approach Kurenai or not. He decided that this was probably the best chance for him to approach Kurenai for training.

He let the breath out and immediately called out to the woman before she got to far away.

"Kurenai-sensei!"

The red-eyed beauty paused in her walk and turned her head to the source of the call. Her eyes widened slightly when her eyes made contact with the boy whom was waving to get her attention.

'My god…. He looks just like the Yondaime…'

Kurenai blushed faintly as she reminisced her younger days when she had a crush on the blonde Hokage. It was hard not to like the Yondaime. He was a great man, kind, strong and good-looking. He had many of the traits that she looked for in a man. Though her crush was short lived as it had ended when the man had died defeating the Kyubi.

Simply looking at the boy brought back flashes of memories of Yondaime. She pushed those memories to the back of her mind, content in letting the past remain in the past. After all, a crush was just that. A crush.

She turned and straightened herself and watched as the boy slowly approached them. She focused her deep red eyes onto the boy and took in a better look. She instantly recognised the blonde haired boy as the Kyubi container despite the change of clothing. Curiosity flashed within her mind as she wondered what business the boy had with her.

She had seen him several times when she still taught at the academy. She had heard about the boy from her colleagues, but she never knew him personally.

Naruto looked up into Kurenai's piercing red eyes as he approached. 'Beautiful'. He couldn't help but to think. It was perhaps one of the most beautiful sets of eyes he had ever seen. Not only because of the exotic shade of red of her eyes, which gave her an aura of mysteriousness and intrigue.

But also because of the underlying warmth in her eyes that betray the cold, dispassionate image that she tried to portray with her indifferent expression. He could easily see the kind, caring nature of the woman underneath. And it made her all the more attractive.

Naruto couldn't help but be mesmerised.

"You're Naruto-kun right?"

He blinked, finally breaking eye contact. He quickly regained his bearings and hastily filtered through his mind her question, having almost missed it.

Even as her question finally sank in, he could only nod dumbly at her, not knowing what to say. He could feel his face heating up and he tried desperately to hide his blush by looking at the ground.

The shyness of the boy almost brought a smile to Kurenai's face, though she quickly hid it. He almost reminded her of her student Hinata.

"So… how can I help you, Naruto-kun?" Kurenai asked, breaking the silence.

Feeling the warmth in his cheeks starting to fade, he looked back up at her face.

Unsure how to phrase his request, Naruto brought his hand up to the back of his head in habit and scratched a few times.

Kurenai smiled slightly at the gesture, and the cute expression on the boy's face when he was trying to think.

"Umm…. Kurenai sensei, you are a genjutsu specialist right?" Naruto finally questioned.

Kurenai smiled proudly and nodded at the boy's question. It had been her dream to become Konoha's foremost genjutsu specialist. She had achieved her dream after many years of hard work, and she was extremely proud of her achievement.

"Umm… Can you teach me genjutsu?" Naruto asked with an embarrassed grin on his face while scratching his head.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow curiously to his request. "Isn't your sensei supposed to teach you? Kakashi should be your sensei if I'm correct".

"Yeah, but Kakashi sensei hasn't really been teaching us any jutsus. And all he's been teaching is teamwork and what to do in different situations. He spends more time teaching Sasuke anyways," Naruto argued.

Kurenai frowned slightly. She had always known that Kakashi was lazy, but from the sound of it, he really hasn't been training his team as much as he should've been doing. And having once been an academy instructor, his laziness and favouritism grated on her nerves. Even now with her team, she taught each of her students equally despite being much closer to Hinata than Kiba or Shino.

But while she had no problems specifically with teaching Naruto, as she had never thought of him as the Kyubi, she didn't want to interfere with another jounin's team.

"You're better at genjutsu, right? So won't you be able to teach me genjutsu better than Kakashi sensei?" Naruto quipped, trying to convince the woman by complimenting her.

Kurenai couldn't deny the truth in that statement. She was definitely more knowledgeable in genjutsu than the copy ninja. Still, she did not wish to interfere with Kakashi's team no matter how bad a teacher he may be.

Still seeing the look of hesitation on her face, Naruto decided to use one of his more devastating jutsu in his arsenal. It's power is devastating to women, and on par if not exceeding the power of the infamous Oiroke no jutsu.

'Puppy eyes no jutsu!' "Please…" And with that he activated the quivering lips of the technique.

Kurenai stared at the boy with wide eyes and sweat dropped slightly. Though she had to suppress her female instinct and the urge to hug the boy who looked so incredibly cute.

'So cute…. Well, it's not like teaching him genjutsu is that bad right? Besides, its true I could teach him genjutsu better than Kakashi. And none of my team shows any interest in learning genjutsu…' She thought.

"Alright" She finally answered.

The look of delight on Naruto's face and the sincere smile that formed on his face warmed her heart. Kurenai couldn't help but find his smile contagious and smiled in return.

"My team doesn't have training or missions on Thursdays and Saturdays after 4pm. We can train at training ground 8 at these times".

Naruto quickly searched his memory and recalled that these times did not clash with his team schedule. So he nodded.

Then, on impulse, he lifted her hand from her side and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand. He gave the raven-haired woman another smile of gratitude and bid her farewell before walking away to his training.

As he walked, he wondered what had compelled him to do what he just did.

'Why did I do that? I don't want her to take it the wrong way.' he mused.

Kurenai stood rooted to the spot she had been standing, blushing wildly. While she found it slightly embarrassing, it felt refreshing to be treated like a princess, rather than be looked at like a sex object.

"Aww… Kawaii… What would everyone say if they knew you got so flustered by a 12 year old?" Her companion who had stood silently to the side throughout the entire exchange teased.

Kurenai groaned. "Anko!!"


Thursday morning came around, and team 7 as usual found themselves waiting for their teacher who was once again, late.

Despite the annoyance that was Kakashi, Sakura found herself immensely curious to the reason for the excited and eager look on Naruto's face as the boy stared off into space while pacing back and forth impatiently along the bridge.

Her eyes followed the boy as she tried to comprehend what made him so excited and impatient.

The boy had become somewhat a mystery to her. With the changes he was going through, it was obvious to her that there was much more to Naruto than she had previously thought. And now that he no longer annoyed her, the more she spent with him, the more she realised that he had not been any where near as bad as she had previously made him out to be.

She couldn't deny that Naruto was really a decent guy, now that he took things much more seriously. Not that she wanted him. To her, Sasuke was still better in everyway.

Meanwhile, Naruto continued his endless pacing as he waited for Kakashi to arrive. He was eager to get the missions done so he could train with Kurenai.

He wasn't sure what made him feel so excited, all he knew was that he had never been so excited about genjutsu training before. Even his heart seemed to be beating faster as if willing the time to go quicker along with his heartbeat.

"What are you so happy about Naruto?" Sakura asked finally unable to hold her curiosity.

"Nothing!" Naruto chimed.

Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly at him in suspicion, but did not press the issue.

Feeling the girl's eyes still on him, Naruto turned to look at her and tilted his head slightly in question. "Yes?"

Sakura blushed slightly at the boy's stare, finding the way he tilted his head to be incredibly cute.

And oddly enough to her, it had not been the first time she thought Naruto was cute. With the way he had been growing physically, she found him to be more and more attractive everyday.

The blue-eyed genin had grown much during the last two months. Naruto had always been the shortest in their team, shorter than her by an inch or so. But now, he was almost as tall as she was. His hair had also grown in length, as he had not bothered to cut it. Sakura honestly thought that it suited him better and even made him look more mature.

While she would never admit that to anyone, she did think that Naruto had changed from looking like a goofy loudmouth idiot to a fairly handsome boy. If the way he had been growing in the last two months were any indication, she wouldn't be surprised if he had girls all over him in a few years. And that thought irritated her for some reason.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at Sakura's reaction and scratched his head curiously.

'There's that look again… But what does it mean? Come to think of it, she's not the only one that looks at me like that. I caught Ayame-oneechan looking at me like that too… It's almost like how the fangirls look at Sasuke… Nah…'

Naruto shook his head with some amusement. Sakura would never find him attractive right? Especially since she made that quite clear. Not to mention cute girls like Ayame-chan…

Naruto blinked. Cute? Since when did he start thinking of Ayame-oneechan as cute? Not that it wasn't true. It was the opposite in fact. Ayame was a very cute girl. Beautiful even, although not quite as stunning as Kurenai sensei. The jounin just had that charm and aura of mystique that captivates people. Not to mention that perfect face that you couldn't help but admire like a work of art. And that flawless creamy white skin, exotic wine red eyes that he could lose himself staring into… And that pair of velvety red lips that made him just want to kiss…

"Gah!"

Naruto instantly found himself blushing a deep shade of red and banged his head against a wooden post on the bridge to get the perverted images out of his head. He leaned his forehead against the post hiding his embarrassment.

His teammates stared at him liked he had just gone crazy making him blush even more.

"What?" He turned to his teammates still slightly flushed.

"Baka" Sasuke scoffed and looked away.

Sakura gave him a curios look but eventually just shrugged and looked away.

It was at this time that Kakashi arrived and distracted him from making more thoughts about the opposite sex.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted holding up a hand. "Lets go get ourselves a mission".


Kurenai leaned her back against a tree as she waited for Naruto to arrive. She shifted her body slightly as the bark of the tree dug into her back. She settled into a fairly comfortable position and let her mind wonder.

She contemplated to herself why she had agreed to teach the boy. Surely, it could not be because of that incredibly cute puppy eyed look, no matter how adorable he looked at that moment. Perhaps it was because he reminded her of the Yondaime. Or perhaps she was simply curious about the Kyubi container. She realised that she didn't really have an answer to the question.

And she idly wondered what it would be like to teach Naruto. Although she had never personally taught the boy before, according to the rumour mill, he was a teacher's nightmare, what with his pranks and his terrible attitude towards his teachers. But then, he didn't seem as bad as those rumours said when he had approached her the other day.

She really wasn't expecting the boy to have any talent in genjutsu considering his grades in the academy. After all, the barely graduated genin had been known as the dead last that had absolutely no talent in any of the ninja arts. Still, she fully expected him to at least put his best effort into the training to learn everything she would teach him.

Kurenai shifted from her thoughts as she felt a presence enter the training grounds.

"Hi Kurenai sensei" Naruto called out in a friendly tone, blushing faintly as he recalled his thoughts earlier, in the morning.

Kurenai just nodded at his greeting.

"So what do you need help with?" Kurenai asked, calmly, getting straight to business.

Naruto thought for a few seconds and scratched his head in an embarrassed manner.

"Um…everything really… But I definitely have to at least learn how to detect and dispel genjutsu. But I would like to learn some actual jutsu too".

The red-eyed woman nodded. "How about I teach you how to detect and dispel genjutsu, then let you practice by cancelling some lower level genjutsu that I'll cast on you. This way, you can get first hand experience at dispelling and recognising genjutsu".

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and Kurenai smiled slightly at his enthusiasm. It was always nice to see a fellow ninja interested in her chosen art.


"The first step to detecting genjutsu is based on observation. Detecting genjutsu is the embodiment of the concept of looking underneath the underneath. It requires you to be able to notice anything out of the ordinary. Because of this, the higher level of detail in the genjutsu, the harder it is to detect. This is why normally people with higher intelligence have more aptitude in genjutsu. But if you have enough experience, you can compensate for a lack of natural talent. So before we do anything else, we'll work on your observation skills," Kurenai lectured.

Naruto nodded for Kurenai to continue.

"I want you to observe and analyse what you can see about me. Tell me what you can observe of my personality and even fighting style and name my weaknesses and strengths. I'll do a short demonstration first so you'll know what to do".

"Hai".

"Your stance is solid even when you are standing around casually. So you are likely a taijutsu-oriented fighter and prefers straight out combat. The way you constantly shift your weight between each leg tells me that you can react quickly to most situations. You might be concealing weapons underneath your sleeves. So avoid making contact with your arms unless with a weapon. But your coat is also quite loose and might be an advantage to grab onto it in a fight against you", Kurenai listed.

Naruto simply stared at the red-eyed jounin in awe. He never imagined it was possible to know so much about a person's fighting style just from observing how a person looks and the way they stand.

"Now your turn".

Naruto focused his eyes on the woman. He looked from her face down to her feet, then back up to her face again.

"You are a very beautiful woman… You could definitely use your looks to distract your enemies…" Naruto spoke in an embarrassed tone.

Kurenai waved her hand signalling for him to continue, while hiding a blush of her own.

"Um… You probably prefer genjutsu and ninjutsu over taijutsu, since your body still has a very feminine shape and doesn't have large or very defined muscles. I think your taijutsu is also based on illusions. Most likely using your red sleeve to attract attention. Maybe even use the red colour to disorient opponent by moving your arms really fast. And your clothes don't look like it'll give that much protection for combat. So you are likely to prefer stealth. I suppose your weakness is physical strength, so overpowering you in close combat is the best way to fight you".

Kurenai was surprised. Considering how unobservant Naruto look and seemed at times, his analysis of her abilities was quite accurate.

"Ok, Naruto. Your observations are pretty good. But you don't seem to be very confident with your observation skills. So I want you to practice this skill everywhere you go for the next few weeks and analyse in your mind everyone you meet during that time. Try to look for skills, strengths, weaknesses and threat level. And try to analyse not only people, but also your surroundings and how to take advantage of your surroundings for a fight".

"Hai" Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Now, we'll move on to actually detecting and dispelling genjutsu using your observation skills. Genjutsu can affect all of your five senses. Your touch, smell, hearing, sight, and even taste…."


Kurenai was surprised. Considering Naruto's reputation as a hopeless ninja, the boy had been doing surprisingly well. It took the boy many tries to finally learn how to perform the dispel technique properly. But once he had gotten it down, he had been able to dispel all but one genjutsu she cast on him.

Kurenai had to admit that who ever said the boy had no talent couldn't be any further from the truth. Sure, there were those that learned at a faster rate than Naruto, but for the boy to become as proficient at recognising and dispelling genjutsu as he was right now in only one day was an impressive feat.

"I'm surprised you did so well Naruto-kun. I didn't expect you to be able to cancel the last one. Now, before we finish for the day, I'll show you a low-level genjutsu and let you practice it on your own. This is a jutsu called Magen: Narakumi no jutsu…"

Kurenai performed the required seals and cast the jutsu at Naruto.

Naruto felt a gust of wind blow against him, before a cluster of leaves carried by the wind was blown around him, slightly disorienting his vision. A moment later, Naruto found that the leaves to have disappeared.

Naruto looked around the training grounds and saw the figure of Kurenai stumbling out from behind some trees. Numerous kunai and shuriken pierced her body. She reached out to him with agony showing on her face, before collapsing to the ground.

Naruto knew it was merely the product of an illusion, but the imagery still brought shivers down his spine. He quickly brought his hand into a seal.

"Kai".

The bleeding figure shimmered and faded away to reveal a perfectly fine Kurenai standing several feet away. Kurenai nodded in approval.

"Now pay attention, here are the hand signs for the jutsu." Kurenai formed the seals with her hands slowly in order for Naruto to follow.

Naruto formed the same seals with his own hands several times and when he finally got it down, he nodded to Kurenai.

Kurenai looked up at the sky to see it almost dark.

"Ok Naruto-kun that's it for today. It's getting dark and I still have to get home and find something to eat".

"Kurenai sensei. Why don't you come to grab a bite to eat with me? Anywhere you like, my treat!" Naruto asked. "As thanks for training me!" he added quickly. It was just an innocent expression of gratitude after all. He didn't want her to think he was trying to ask her out or anything. Although for some reason, he couldn't help but blush madly.

Kurenai pondered it for a moment. She knew she would've ended up eating out anyways. She didn't feel up to cooking for the night and getting a free meal sounded like a tempting offer.

Not to mention that it didn't hurt to get to know her new student better. She was curious in the least. Everything she had heard about him from rumours had not been entirely accurate if at all. Despite being dubbed talent less, he had learnt to dispel genjutsu quickly. It was certainly a surprise, as she heard that he was supposedly hopeless in anything regarding genjutsu.

And she was more than a little intrigued with his resemblance to the Yondaime. Certainly, the boy was like a mystery. A mystery that she would like to solve. Not to mention there was the added bonus that she could help Hinata win his heart if she knew the boy better.

So, she nodded a yes.


"I've had a nice night. Thank you for having dinner with me, Kurenai sensei" Naruto smiled softly at the red-eyed beauty.

Kurenai smiled in response and agreed that she also had a great night.

Naruto once again lifted her hand and gently placed a chaste kiss on her hand, then bid her farewell and left.

Kurenai blushed faintly, half leaning against her opened apartment door. She watched him walk away, his cape billowing in the winds, making him seem almost regal.

It seemed kind of strange, but the more she watched him, the more she saw the resemblance between Naruto and her former crush.

Even the foxy grin the boy sported most of the time seemed to remind her of the Yondaime.

She had immensely enjoyed the night. Even though neither of them had considered the night a date or anything even remotely related to a romantic sense, she couldn't help but wished that of the few dates she had ever been on, had been even half as nice as this night.

She had never felt so relaxed with a person of the opposite sex. Not with her peers, her students, not even with her friend Sarutobi Asuma, who she had considered to be the closest match to what she considered decent boyfriend material. Although she did hate his smoking.

She supposed that Naruto's age and his lack of ulterior motives helped. Most men her age only wanted her for her body. It was the reason why she always turned down any men that approached her. Although it was a little strange that she felt more relaxed around Naruto than even with Kiba and Shino.

But then, the boy's cheery and somewhat playful persona reminded her almost of her friend Anko. She supposed that familiarity relaxed her. Not to mention the boy was naturally easygoing and always informal, which helped lower her guard.

Kurenai entered her apartment and gently shut the door behind her. She plopped herself onto her couch and thought back to earlier in the night.

After they had left the training ground, they had chosen a modest restaurant that was inexpensive, yet served decent food. They had conversed while they waited for their meal, and their conversations continued through the night.

She had half expected the blonde to brag about himself and even his dream to become Hokage. She had seen it before when she still worked at the academy. But it was not so, and she found their talk much more interesting and meaningful.

It began with mostly insignificant chatter about themselves. But that quickly turned into an animated discussion about genjutsu.

It was certainly a shock for her to find the boy as knowledgeable as he was in the theories of genjutsu. He had certainly done his reading. Although the boy did admit he could not apply the knowledge to practice. Still, the ideas and theories he had simply fascinated her.

Increasing the strength and efficiency of genjutsu by using a higher concentration of spiritual energy while a possibility, was something she had never thought of. She was excited of the possibilities of this theory. And it reignited her passion for the art of genjutsu.

It was then that she realised that she had not once been as excited by genjutsu since she had been acknowledged as the best genjutsu specialist in Konoha, as she was now.

She decided then and there, that she would help Naruto learn genjutsu as best as she could. As thanks for renewing her interest in her art. She thought that perhaps they could even explore the possibilities of his theories together once he had reached a reasonable level in the art of genjutsu.

Their discussion continued even long after they had finished eating, and when they finally decided to leave, they realised they had been talking for much longer than they had expected.

Afterwards, Naruto paid the bill and walked her home like a perfect gentleman.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable night.

She could understand why Hinata liked the young man. He was definitely more than he seemed at first glance. He was an interesting person, and very good company. In fact, she felt rather jealous of Hinata. Even if her student had yet to win his heart, she had discovered this hidden gem where nobody even bothered to look and already had her heart set on winning his love.

Kurenai had yet to even find someone that she would even consider dating.

Hinata would be a very lucky girl if she could gain Naruto's love. The boy had even made her feel special and appreciated through the night without really even trying to.

She couldn't really explain it. It was simple things he did that came together. The way he pulled her chair out for her, the way he payed rapt attention to her even when she talked about insignificant things, walking her home and especially the way he looked at her in awe when they talked about genjutsu. It was just things that he did without any motives other than to be nice. Things he did sometimes without thinking.

It was why she felt relaxed around him. Naruto was unlike most men that tried their hardest to impress her. She could feel that Naruto was simply being his natural friendly self.

She had never before imagined that Naruto would be such nice company. She had to re-establish her opinions of the boy, considering he was different to what she thought she knew of him. He was unlike all the rumours that described him.

She found herself enjoying the night so much that she could hardly wait for their next training session together.

Kurenai sighed wistfully. If only he was her age. And he was quite cute too….


Two days later, Naruto entered training ground 8 once again. When he realised Kurenai was nowhere to be found he paused his step in suspicion. He looked around, his brows creased in concentration. Then he relaxed and smiled.

The blonde raised his hands in front of him and formed a seal with his hands.

"Kai!"

Clapping resounded from behind him and he whirled around to see Kurenai looking proudly at him.

"Good job. You have really improved your genjutsu detection skills even after just one training session"

Naruto blushed slightly from the praise and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Feeling that he should show his new sensei his progress in the art of genjutsu, he cast the jutsu he had learned two days ago.

In an instant, Kurenai realised that she was caught in the Narakumi no jutsu. The leaves that swirled around her were a dead give away. She quickly dispelled the jutsu before looking at Naruto surprised.

It wasn't the fact that he was able to perform the jutsu that truly surprised her. But it was rather the fact that she did not notice the boy making any hand seals at all. He was either able to perform hand seals faster than she could see, or he was able to create the jutsu without hand seals.

It was practically impossible for someone to create hand seals without her even noticing their arms move when she was looking right at them, especially for someone at Naruto's level. But while the second option was more likely, it should still have taken him weeks if not months of practice to achieve that level, even if the jutsu was merely a d-rank.

"How did you get so good in such a short time? You would've only gotten a days worth of practice at most." Kurenai inquire with surprise in her voice.

Naruto smirked and responded with two words.

"Kage bunshin…"

"Mm?" Kurenai was perplexed. How would kage bunshin help?

"The memories of a clone will be transferred to me when it dispels. If I train with a large amount of clones all working on a single jutsu, I gain all the experience when they dispel. I can cut down the time I needed to master a jutsu since I can create over a hundred at a time".

Kurenai nodded in understanding and was impressed. Not only did the boy have a charkra reserve large enough to make a hundred solid clones, but he also had a good understanding of the capability of the kage bunshin no jutsu.

"Well, now that you are at a decent level in dispelling genjutsu and learned the Narakumi no jutsu, we'll move on to harder stuff…."


Kurenai snuck a short glance at the boy walking beside her. Her opinion of the boy was getting better and better, the more she got to know him. It was rare to find someone as hardworking as he was. Considering how intense she trained her own team, she could even argue that Naruto trained as hard, if not even more intense than her team. Although she could also argue that it was partially due to his massive charkra potential and exceptional stamina.

The sheer amount of charkra he had used to practice repetitively, a genjutsu she had taught him would've worn her out after just half an hour at most. And the boy did it endlessly without even a single break for three hours straight. Even when he was starting to tire, he did not stop. She had even had at one point started to worry that the boy would collapse from charkra exhaustion.

She had ended the session soon after that just to be safe.

"Hey Kurenai, isn't he a little young for you?" a voice teased.

Kurenai stopped walking abruptly and turned to the sound of the voice, to see her friend Anko looking amusedly at her.

"We were just heading back from training, what are you doing here?" Kurenai explained.

Anko raised her eyebrows.

"I don't remember him being on your team". Anko then gave the genjutsu specialist a sly grin. "Are you two really training? Or were you two doing something else?"

Kurenai blushed slightly at what the purple haired woman was implying, but tried to brush off her teasing by changing the subject.

"So what are you doing here Anko?" the blush still adorning her face.

Anko looked at the blushing Kurenai and then to the boy who was trying to hide his blush by looking away and making himself seem less noticeable. The tokubetsu jounin smirked. 'So easy to tease'.

"Just came to see if you wanna go grab some dango" She answered.

Anko looked back to Naruto who was now looking seemingly out of place, before Kurenai could reply.

"So what's your name kid? I'm Mitarashi Anko".

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto".

"So, Kurenai-chan, how about some dango? What about you kid? You wanna come too?"

Naruto shrugged "Sure, but I don't want to impose…"

"Don't worry kid, I'm sure Kurenai won't mind!" Anko turned to Kurenai and winked "Right?"

Kurenai blush returned to her face once again. She didn't even know why she was blushing so much.

Although she agreed that she didn't mind the young man's company. Not to mention she thought it would be amusing to see Anko and Naruto interact seeing they are quite similar in personality.


The three entered the dango shop and got seated on an unoccupied table.

Anko was about to catch the attention of the waiter so they could order when a less than quiet sneer was aimed at them.

"What a way to ruin the night. The damn snake bitch and the demon brat".

Naruto, Kurenai and Anko frowned before looking in the direction of the voice. The voice belonged to an inebriated man who was glaring at them along with two other men that was given Anko and Naruto the same look.

"Why couldn't they just die…" one of the other men murmured, to the agreement of his companions.

Kurenai frowned and send a glare with some killing intent at the men, shutting them up, before looking at Anko and Naruto worriedly.

Anko seemed to have shrugged off the heated comment, and assumed a cheerful face. The purple haired tokubetsu jounin loudly called out an order of a massive batch of dango for the three of them, to the waiter.

Anko hated this. She had never done anything to deserve the villager's scorn. She had once been a respected kunoichi of the village, becoming hated and scorned, all because of one man. Orochimaru. Oh how she loathed that name. Not only had he given her the cursed seal of heaven, then cast her away when he decided there was no more use for her, merely having once been his apprentice continues to haunt her both through the curse seal and the contempt of the village passed on from teacher to apprentice.

But there was nothing she could really do. And she really hated this helplessness. He was an S ranked missing nin, and as much as she hated to say it, also her former sensei. He had taught her practically everything she knew. As much as she wanted revenge against him, she knew she was unlikely to ever get it. She could never be able to defeat the man with the very same techniques he taught her.

All she could do was bear it all. But damned if she would let these bastards see how much it affects her.

While Anko didn't seem to be affected by the men's insults, Naruto could easily see through her mask.

He placed a hand on Anko's shoulder catching the woman's attention. He looked into the woman's brown eyes and gave her a sad smile. For a brief moment, he let his own mask drop. The woman gasped softly seeing his eyes full of pain and sadness. Eyes so similar to her own.

In an instant, the sadness was gone, replaced by the same mask he always donned. Naruto flashed her a cheerful smile.

He didn't know why those men hated her. But he could understand her pain. To be hated, to have their very existence scorned. He wanted her to know that he sympathised with her, let her know that he would be there for her. Having experienced sadness his entire life, he could not bear to see anyone else sad. Even if he had only known the woman for a few moments, she had been kind enough to invite him for dango and he wanted to show her kindness in return. To show her that she wasn't alone.

Anko returned a smile of her own, letting the boy know that she was grateful and that she understood his pain just the same. They exchanged another smile. No words were said. They didn't need to. Even if they barely know each other, their pain connects them, almost like family.

They each gave Kurenai a reassuring smile and the three settled into a comfortable silence as they waited for their order.

Kurenai couldn't help but smile at her companions. She had seen the sadness on Naruto's face when he had dropped his mask. She couldn't help but admire his strength of will. To be hated and scorned by almost the entire village, yet he had overcome this hardship and remains innocent and pure of heart. He was so kind to Anko, even despite having only known her for less than an hour.

She was honestly happy for the both of them. To finally find someone that could understand their pain. Even if she had been friends with Anko for a long time, she knew that there was a part of her behind the emotional wall Anko had built up that she would never be able to reach, having never experienced the same pain the purple haired jounin had experience.

She hoped that Naruto could help Anko finally get on the road to healing. Not only for Anko, but for both of their sakes.


For an entire month, Naruto would train with Kurenai in genjutsu at least twice a week. They would always end up going to dinner together, as for some reason they could never be bothered to cook for themselves after their training sessions together.

Even when not training, they could often be found together, mostly along with Anko. Anko had gotten somewhat fond of the blonde after that first night, and she liked to invite the boy when she and Kurenai went out for lunch, dinner or just to hang out.

This night was no different.

"So where are we going to go eat tonight?" Naruto asked his female companions.

"Dango!" Anko cheered.

Both Kurenai and Naruto groaned in complaint in unison.

"No way! We've had dango the last three times we went out for food! We should get some ramen", Naruto protested.

Anko growled slightly. "Who cares if we had it three times in a row. Ramen sucks, dango is the way to go!"

"What? Ramen is way better than dango!" Naruto gave her an offended look.

Anko stuck her face close to the boy and narrowed her eyes at the boy trying to intimidate him. "No way is ramen better then dango!"

Unfortunately for her, Naruto would never back down when it came to ramen.

"Ramen is better!"

"Dango!"

"Ramen!"

"Dango!"

Kurenai stared at the scene in amusement and couldn't help be let out a small laugh. It was funny sometimes seeing the two fighting like siblings.

Hearing the laugh, the two stopped their argument and looked at Kurenai.

"Fine! We'll let Kurenai-chan decide what we'll have tonight", Anko suggested. Naruto nodded, and the two gave her an intense, expectant look.

Kurenai couldn't help but sweat drop at the fierce competitiveness of the two when it came to their respective favourite food.

"I suppose we can go to that ramen place you like so much, Naruto. It's only fair since we've had dango for the last three times".

Anko growled slightly at the triumphant grin on Naruto's face and the victory sign he flashed her, but settled on a pout for being denied her precious dango. She decided to get some payback and wipe that smirk off his face.

"Taking your little boyfriend's side now are we Kurenai-chan!"

Kurenai and Naruto instantly blushed beet red and the boy choked slightly on his breath.

Anko returned the triumphant grin, smirking even wider seeing the glare Naruto sent her way.

Kurenai meanwhile was trying to make herself seem as small as possible to hide her embarrassment.

She had learned much about Naruto throughout the month. He was hardworking, kind and cares deeply for his friends. She even found him good looking albeit a bit too young. It was no surprise that she had thought of Naruto in a romantic sense more than once, despite how unlikely it was.

She couldn't really blame herself. After all, he had all the qualities she looked for in a potential boyfriend. Even that innocent, childlike playfulness he had did not deter that thought.

Still, Kurenai felt a little guilty. She felt like she was betraying Hinata. Not only was she closer to Naruto than Hinata had ever been, and even if their relationship was strictly between friends, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if he was her age.

She knew it was not going to happen considering how much younger than her he was, but it didn't make her feel less ashamed. Especially since helping Hinata win his heart was one of the reasons she wanted to get to know the young man better. And rather than making progress in that respect, here she was fantasising about him being all grown up.

When the three arrived at the Ichiraku ramen stand, they sat down with Kurenai and Anko on each side of Naruto.

"Hi Ossan, Ayame-chan." Naruto called to the father and daughter that worked at the stand.

"Hi Naruto-kun" Ayame smiled sweetly at him.

Unlike most other villagers, the ramen girl had always liked Naruto. To her, he was always a nice boy, determined and caring. She knew he would be great boyfriend or husband material when he matured. And she knew that he was starting to mature recently. Not to mention she was starting to find him very handsome with the way he was growing, especially now that he had abandoned his old jumpsuit.

Meanwhile, Kurenai had caught the looks Ayame was giving Naruto. Kurenai frowned and found herself unconsciously clenching her hands into tight fists. Although unaware of what she was doing, the raven-haired beauty instinctively shifted in her seat so her body leaned towards Naruto, almost as if she was possessive of him.

Ayame caught the gesture and frowned in response, before settling with a small glare at Kurenai. Tension began to rise.

Naruto on the other hand remained oblivious to the exchange between Kurenai and Ayame. But their actions were not lost to Anko, who couldn't help but smirk at the fun she could have with teasing Kurenai later.

"So, what would you and your friends like?" Teuchi asked his number one customer with a smile.

"A miso ramen for me please!" Naruto called cheerfully.

"Can I have a seafood ramen please", Kurenai answered in a polite tone to Teuchi, before sending a glare of her own at Ayame.

"A pork ramen for me!" Anko cheered, eager to get some food in her stomach, although nowhere near as enthusiastic as Naruto.

For Naruto, the wait for ramen seemed to be excruciatingly long, but in reality it had only been a few minutes. After the food was served, they ate their food, while the three engaged in a light conversation.

Kurenai had seemed to calm down after Ayame had returned to her work.

"So Naruto, I didn't know you liked older women? I thought you liked Sakura?" A voice from behind them teased.

The three turned and found the copy nin Kakashi looking at them in amusement.

Naruto blushed bright red and crossed his arms and looked at Kakashi indignantly "I got over Sakura a while ago. And so what if I do like older women! You jealous or something?"

Kurenai immediately blushed a deep red. 'He likes older women? Does it mean he might like me that way?'

If it was possible, her face turned even redder at that thought. But Kurenai stopped her immediate train of thought. She should not think about things like that. He was way too young for her, right? And Hinata likes him, right? But he liked older women…

Kurenai quickly caught herself again and stopped those thoughts drifting back into her mind once again. She didn't even know why these thoughts keep making their way into her mind. Sure, Naruto was a very nice boy, but she was sure she didn't like him that way. Not to mention he was too young. Right? Plus, she was supposed to help Hinata win his heart.

Ayame meanwhile, was inwardly cheering.

'Yes! I thought he might not like me because I'm a few years older than him. I have a chance… All I have to do is lure him with ramen… There's no way he can resist!' Ayame thought with a wicked grin.

Anko blushed slightly, but otherwise just smirked. She snuck a glance at Kurenai who seemed to be in some kind of inner conflict, then to the girl from the ramen store, before looking at Naruto. Her smirk grew larger. 'Oh yeah! So much teasing material!'

"Oh? You really do like older women? I was just teasing. And what's this? Kurenai and Anko? At the same time?" Kakashi continued his teasing.

Naruto's face turned bright red at his sensei's accusations and was about to reply. Anko stepped in and grabbed the jounin by the front of his shirt.

"Are you implying something?" Anko gave the copy nin a sickly sweet smile that somehow, couldn't even hide the dangerous undertone.

Kakashi sweated slightly under the purple haired jounin's stare.

"Nothing, nothing!" Kakashi said quickly, waving his arms trying to placate the bloodthirsty kunoichi.

Anko narrowed her eyes slightly at him, before finally releasing him.

"Well then, have fun you three…." The copy nin called out in a rush before leaving via shunshin no jutsu.

Naruto groaned. "Oh man… I bet I'm gonna be on the end of his jokes for a looooong time".


"Sooooooo? How was your date last night Naruto?" Kakashi teased.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at Naruto suddenly, stunned. Naruto had a date? Since when did he have a girlfriend?

Sakura felt a small pang in her chest when she looked at the blonde. Naruto has a girlfriend now? Was that the reason he no longer payed her much attention like he used to? Was it because he found someone better than her?

She realised now, how much Naruto really affected her. She realised now that it was because of Naruto, not Sasuke that she had gotten over her low self-confidence when she was younger. It was because of how determined he was in gaining her affection that let her know that at least someone found her beautiful, desirable even. But now that he no longer did that, She found herself without that reassurance. And she couldn't help but feel self-doubt slowly creeping back in her mind.

Even lately, without that assurance, her efforts to woo Sasuke hadn't been as determined as it had used to be. She couldn't help but question her own self worth. Was she not beautiful enough? Was it because of her large forehead? Did Naruto feel that she was no longer worthy of him now that he was actually good looking? Did Naruto finally realise there were better and more beautiful girls than her? Was that why he abandoned her?

Sakura clenched her fist tightly. She couldn't understand why Naruto having a girlfriend bothered her so much. So what if he found himself a girlfriend? As long she got Sasuke, then it shouldn't matter to her, right? Right? But why did it hurt so bad? Why did she want Naruto's attention all to herself when she wanted Sasuke, not Naruto?

"It wasn't a date dammit!" Naruto growled.

"But how do you explain the blush on their faces?" Kakashi continued in a teasing tone.

'Their? As in more than one?' Sakura felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She hated that feeling. She had to resist the urge to punch something or someone. And in this case, that would be Naruto.

Sasuke just stood there to the side looking at Kakashi and Naruto in amusement. It was obvious to him that Kakashi was just messing around with Naruto's head. Though he was curious as to whom Naruto had went out with that gave him that blush he sported now.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto growled out in annoyance.

"Oh nothing!" Kakashi said innocently.

"Grr….Lets just go get our mission!"


AN:

This chapter was damn hard to do. I rewrote the chapter twice since the Kurenai and Naruto attraction was going a bit too fast before. I still feel that it is moving too fast since I skipped a month in between, but I can't be bothered changing things too much. The genjutsu training was kinda interesting to write. Took me awhile to think of the details of the training. Also, I know that Kurenai shouldn't know about Hinata's crush on Naruto at least at this point, but I changed that. Also, Ayame most likely won't have a big role in this fic, although she will appear at least a few more times.

To CynicKitsune:

You can't compare Gaara to Naruto. Naruto has a better seal. So it's likely Kyubi won't have as much effect on Naruto. I'm keeping some things as close to canon as possible. I already have ideas for jutsu, so thanks. The finger thing is basically a weaker version of a Tsunade's super powered punch. As for being a brawler, that's true except that he's trying to change that, that's why he was trying to learn pressure points and stuff.

To HolyKnight5:

Yeah I agree. The wave mission is what will cause most of Sakura's insecurities to resurface. I'm not quite sure how to write Sasuke's relationship with Naruto though. And I'm not too sure about Haku. He doesn't fit that well into what I've already planned.

To edus:

I won't be ruining Hinata and Kurenai's relationship in this fic, though things might be a bit tense between the two of them for a while until Naruto confronts Hinata. It won't come up for at least a couple of chapters at least.

To KitsuneKami686:

I've got a few ideas but I haven't decided yet. So I can't really tell you what his attack will be like.

To T.O.B:

Naruto will probably train under Jiraiya or Asuma to learn wind jutsu after the chunin exam finals. I haven't thought about it much since it doesn't really add much to the plot. And I don't want Naruto to be over powered. As for how powerful Naruto will be after chunin exams… you'll have to read to find out when I finish writing.

To SpEcIaLk18:

I will be changing the wave arc a little, but not too much. As for Orochimaru appearing during the month between the prelims and finals, I don't think I can come up with a decent back story for the changes.

To scione:

Ha ha, well a story would be boring without some form of drama. It'll be like a report and writing what Naruto do each day. That won't be a very good fic. All stories need some form of conflict to work.

To cjcold2:

I'll be keeping his heritage close to canon. Also, he did have a mask he hid behind, though it became part of his overall personality. That's why Naruto while different, will still have some of the core traits of canon Naruto. I wrote Naruto in a way so that all of his new skills have weaknesses so he's not overpowered. He won't be matching Kakashi soon, but he'll be able to challenge any of the genin except maybe Gaara or Lee when using the gates. I don't think any more detail on Kurenai's days in the academy will add to the plot, so I won't add it. As for Naruto's weapon throwing skills, I already have a new jutsu for him, which will make an appearance in the wave arc.

To Daniel Lynx:

Not sure who you're referring to since I haven't played that version of street fighter. Yeah, the stuff he learns is based on some martial arts knowledge I have. And it makes sense since learning the anatomy in depth should let a ninja use grappling better than the average person since grappling and locks uses pressure points to numb and weaken the limbs so you can twist it into an odd way that is difficult to break out of. I don't think I'll be putting Haku in the fic since he doesn't go well with the plot I planned.

To Dookie Overlord:

I already have some ideas, but feel free to post them if you wish to. But I suggest saving it for if you're ever gonna write your own fic.

To Callibretto:

I know how much weight is too much since I've used ankle weights before. I agree with it being like a report. But like I said, I'm not that good at writing fics. I'm more used to writing as you said 'reports' for school. There'll be more dialogue later on since I'm trying to speed things up so I could get to the wave arc quicker.

To The Son of Naruto and Sakura:

Its partly inspired by that, although not entirely.

To Suifox:

I don't know about that… It doesn't make sense. If people can't do jutsu that are not in their charkra affinity, then the Sharingan wouldn't be a feared bloodline, since they're likely to be only able to copy and use just fire jutsu. Plus, Kakashi used several different elements before and I doubt he had all those affinities.

To Blackfang1983:

I already have some ideas for taijutsu and stuff, but thanks anyways.

To Diego Void:

His inheritance will be revealed, but not for a while. And Naruto will learn the rasengan so don't worry. He'll still use the kage bunshin a lot.

To FinalMax:

Seriously, I could've been wrong. But I'm too lazy to change it anyways. And I've used ankle weights before so I know how it feels to wear weights. 20kg per limb is a lot of weight. I'll struggle with lifting 20kg with both arms. But since they are ninja in the fic and super powered anyways, it wasn't too farfetched.

To Sir MIDNIGHT The DarkSlayer:

It is kinda like the Juuken. Striking tenketsu and pressure points is the same basic principle. But the execution is completely different to Juuken. There'll be more details later in the fic. As for Tsunade's technique, with the way I had Naruto learn it, there are a lot of weaknesses to it. So it won't make Naruto overpowered but still powerful.

To Demonkid:

Ha ha, considering how many Naruto fanfics out there, there's not much that hasn't been done before.

To dadude:

You'll have to see how it is with Naruto and Hinata. Although I haven't completely decided how to go about their interactions. It'll still be at least a few more chapters away, so I have time to figure it out.

To ShadowDragonGX:

Sorry, but it won't be named that. It might resemble bakusai tenketsu, but like I described it, its just Tsunade super strength in a finger poke. I was inspired more by having Tsunade flicking Naruto in the head with one finger than the Bakusai tenketsu. And no, I won't be copying ki blasts from another series to be Naruto's special attack. I want something original. Although I'll probably still borrow elements here and there from several different series.

To The Rogue Stallion:

While the pranks help improve Naruto's skills, he doesn't have training in mind while pranking. He's looking to gain attention only, so he doesn't get the full benefit. So in this case, it had been more or less useless.

To battousai222:

I'm not going to answer most of your questions since it'll ruin the surprise. As for making Naruto sound weak that was intentional because it'll be more surprising to other characters when he reveals his real strength.

To LD 1449:

I'm mostly spacing out his training. By the time he gets into the chunin exams, he would've had six months to grow stronger. That's a fair bit of time. So chunin level is fairly believable. But he won't be beating any jounin any time soon.

To TSBasilisk:

He didn't really copy her combat style, just the super strength. And even then, its not perfect since he could do it with only one finger rather than the whole body like Tsunade, and not as powerful. That's hardly counted as an entire style.

To yohmomma:

I'm glad you like my story. Though I can't claim that my writing is as good as you say. I've seen some well-written fics around and mine sucks compared to them.

To Sean harper:

It's not as much flaws as actually areas that I could improve. I can't seem to be able to fix the mechanical feel for some reason. So my skill isn't at the level I want to be at yet. Actually, I haven't been flamed for not making Naruto overly strong. In fact most told me not to make him too strong.

To Useful76:

Nah, I don't want to add the number of reviews for my story from myself. Plus, I don't mind replying to reviews. I do that during the time I'm thinking of things to write. And it gives me some inspiration and ideas.