AN: First of all, I want to apologized for the awful long delay. Not only in this fic, but with my other stories as well. Aside from life facts, I'm also writing a novel that is halfway done. It will be published, hopefully before April, and I had been concentrating all my efforts in it. And because of this, my fanfiction writing schedule is drastically reduce. I will try to update my stories each fifteen days, but if not, I will update them once a month at least. With luck, you will not have to wait long for the next chapter.
Note: This chapter is unbetaed.
3rd Wind: Tempest
Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. ~Alexander Graham Bell
(Last chapter)
"Tell me, koso, do you want me to train you up to readiness for the Chuunin Exams?"
(Now)
10 days. That was how long he had been training under the masked chuunin, Ushio Benkei. It could be argued about how little could be done in such small time frame, and normally, Naruto would agree. Specially if he had dedicated 8 of those 10 days solely focused in chakra control. Uzumaki Naruto, hyperactive number one knucklehead ninja, shuddered at the amount of chakra control exercise that he had undertaken the last week without stop. Not even the sheer variety of them (who knew that so many chakra control exercise existed in the first place) helped his boredom after a while. The monotony was mind numbing, and his focus was stretched beyond its limits. And yet, he was on the ground, his breath was elaborated, his skin was pale and the sweat poured of his body like a cascade. He never had been so close to chakra exhaustion, heck, he never knew what it was until know. He barely could feel his limbs and his muscles were aching like a bitch.
::... Since you know the Shadow Clone jutsu, your training will be different than anybody else. Did you discover the trick behind your signature technique?...::
And with that question, Ushio Benkei had taught him more than any other, bar Iruka-sensei, about ninjutsu. He never knew that he had the ultimate training tool at his disposal. Oh, how much he could learn! The opportunities, for both fighting and pranking...
::... You other glaring weakness is your taijutsu. You have good reflexes, kid, I will give you that. But you need a form of your own, and, sadly, your high speed regeneration is more a disadvantage than an advantage in that aspect because you will never be able to build muscle fast enough. But don't worry; once you learn chakra control, all your problems will be solved...::
He was skeptical at first, but he had to admit, once he had obtain perfect chakra control, he all the ninja techniques were in his reach.
(15 days)
The Academy had 22 fighting taijutsu styles that were adapted versions of known martial arts. Taijutsu and Martial Arts were two different things. The former was the way to terminated someone using hand-to-hand combat; the latter was, as its name implied, and art, steps for the ultimate physical conditioning and fitness.
Naruto had 4300 clones, his limit so far, of which 2200 of them were practicing said academy taijutsu styles. 100 clones for each style.
Admittedly, there were out there a lot more taijutsu styles that were more advanced and refined, but the academy ones were the basis for any further training in that aspect,thus they were taught to the ninja hopefuls as a requirement.
To graduate, it was required from each student proficiency in at least two of the styles, unless you were a member of a clan with their own taijutsu style. It was a rule that benefitted those blessed with clans, but it served well the ninja population. Naruto, he being who and what he is, was sabotage in this aspect, and any other aspect of being a shinobi, by the teachers that weren't named Umino Iruka.
And so, Naruto decided, that he would show them how awesome he could be by learning ALL the taijutsu, and mastering them, as he would do with every single aspect of the path of the ninja.
(18 days)
::... Now that you had learn all the basic taijutsu styles, you will have to incorporate them in something that suits you. This is called a Personal Style, and is basically learning katas from different other styles and modify them to your own needs. I told you that your best qualities were your quick thinking on your feet and your instinctual adaptation while going with the flow. Those qualities will serve you well in the creation of your own Personal Style.::
(22 days)
:: Oh, my jailer came to pay me a visit. What do you want, you disgusting bag of flesh and bones?!::
"Shut up, you oversized furball, I don't have the time for your usual ramblings. I want to know something and you may know the answer."
::Watch your tongue, brat! I have eaten beings superior to you even before your kind came down from the trees! Now, what do you want to know?::
"It's my chakra. Ever since I had gained perfect control over it, I feel something wrong in it, like it is... sickly and unnatural."
::Oh, so you notice. Well, that's because your chakra is becoming poisonous.::
"What?! What have you done?!"
::I DID NOTHING, INSOLENT BRAT! It is the seal that had been warped in the the wrong way. Remember that freak ninja in the forest? The one that wiped the floor with you and your teammates? He placed another seal on top of the one that is holding me on you, disrupting your chakra flow and mixing it with mine.::
"And that is bad?!"
::Stupid human! Your kind was never made to withstand the power that belongs to us, demons. If I had been sealed in another person that wasn't you, my chakra would have eroded and killed him or she in matter of hours.::
"Then, how I..."
::It's because your family legacy. Don't you have notice that you heal faster than normal, that broken bones mended themselves in matter of hours and cuts are gone in seconds?::
"Family legacy? Do you mean that I have a... bloodline?!"
::That's what I said, you stupid brat. It seems that one of your parents was a descendant of the plaything of one of the Kamis that used to walk on the land. The only reason that you are still alive is because your body heals itself as fast as my chakra damages it. But even them, great quantities of my power will eventually kill you in irreversible ways if you are not careful, and by extensions, it will affect me as well. And now, with the stupid seal over the other one, the balance of the chakra and the original seal filter totally twisted, your body is slowly been corroded from inside out.::
"What can we do then?"
::Well, there may be something that can be done...::
(26 days)
::Well, know that you had visit your girlfriend in the hospital.. "HINATA-CHAN IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND"... and now that your chakra is perfectly under your control, I think I can teach you one technique. It is a special move of my that I obtained modifying the Body Flicker jutsu. It is called Anpou (Shadow Step) and it...::
(28 days)
::... I have to admit, your Personal Style is impressive, but still can be worked on a lot more. Only experience will help you to improve it. Now, with the couple of days left before the match, there is too little that we can do. Instead of teaching you something knew I will teach you something that will help you in the future. A great ninja once said "Good ninjas learn many techniques, but great ninjas create their own." Naruto, I will teach the basis of jutsu creation. This will be the last lesson I will give you, and it will not be much since the creation of a brand new jutsu depends alot on the creator, but at least I can give you some tips.::
(31 days, the of the Chuunin Exam Finals)
Today he was resting for the rigorous training that Benkei-sensei had unleashed on him. One of the tips that the chuunin had passed to him for jutsu creation was that it was better to start with his own element, and to helping him further, he gave him a small paper that splitted in two when he channeled some chakra through it.
He was a wind wielder, one of the most versatile (as Benkei-sensei told him in a very envious tone) elements around. He didn't taught him anything further, since they didn't have the time and Naruto need to rest, not because physical exhaustion, but because possible mental fatigue after his vicious training.
And Naruto did rest, maybe not for long, but he did. Now, a mere hours before his first match, he decided to train a little bit to kill his boredom, and thus, he tried to get a hold of his wind affinity using his chakra as medium.
With 1000 thousand clones helping him at the same time.
He could use now 5300 clones max at any given moment, before having difficulty to stand up, but for him it was good enough. And of the the 1000 that he had summoned to start with, only 50 remained.
He didn't knew it, but he had mastered the first step of nature manipulation, something that was very difficult to achieve by any other means. Oblivious of the magnitude of his accomplishment, Naruto decided that he could do some experimenting around.
Dispelling the remaining 50 clones, Naruto concentrated his chakra under his feet while converting it into dense air. After some minutes of doing this, and with all the mental focus that he was capable of, the blond jinchuuriki started to levitate a couple of centimetres above the ground.
Unknown to him, Benkei was hiding on a tree, watching awed how his student had, contrary to his order of rest, discovered the trick of flying (it totally baffled him how the blond was labeled as the dead last in the academy if said blond had obtained something that he had only hear rumours of being mildly possible). Still, the brat had disobeyed him, and thus, he need to scared him a little bit.
Body Flickering behind the blond as silent as possible Benkei went for the kill.
"Yo! What are you doi...?"
But he couldn't finish because, since Naruto had not heard his arrival, was distracted by the voice behind him. A distraction that cost him the control and focus on his chakra, which resulted in several things.
Sending a lot more chakra that he intended to his feet, the blond was launched like a rocket through the air in the direction of the Stadium. Lucky he was nearby. Benki on his part, the propulsion force of the Blond Human Rocket send him crashing against a nearby tree faster than he could perform a Substitution technique. He was almost knocked out, and lucky he had reacted instinctively and softened the impact against the tree reinforcing his back with chakra.
"Ouch. That hurt. I hope the gaki is well. Or he will thanks to his freaking fast regeneration... probably..."
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End.
Yep. That's it. I apologized with it looked rushed or too fragmented, but it was intentional. I don't plan to go in detail about his training, since I prefer to reveal bits and bits through the chapters to come.
Obviously, there were somethings that were left out, like Naruto's visit to Hinata in the hospital and, as it was hinted last chapter, Naruto's confrontation with Gaara. I also hide some things for his training, things that will have repercussions in the plot, but I assured you that many of the things that I have mapped out for this story are, some hinted and some in the open, in this chapter.
Well, worship The Log and R&R.
