Author's Note: It has come to my attention that some people may be confused about what his spells do, so I will describe his existing ones to the best of my ability.
Water/Fire/Blizzard/Thunder/Aero/Quake: Basically, it's a small amount of control over a bit of the raw element of water/fire/ice/lightning/wind/earth respectively. He can do whatever the hell he wants with the given amount of the element, though.
-ra as in Watera/Fira/Blizzara/Thundara/Aerora/Quakera: More 'mass', I guess, of the element to work with, meaning more destruction can be caused with these variations of the spells. Can be used however he wants.
-aga as in Waterga/Firaga/Blizzaga/Thundaga/Aeroga/Quakega: Even more 'mass' to work with, and can be manipulated to however the hell he wants it to be manipulated.
-ja as in Waterja/Firaja/Blizzaja/Thundaja/Aeroja/Quakeja: The ultimate in mass destruction, gives a rather large amount of the element to be manipulated in whatever fashion Naruto wants to manipulate it in. I will write out what he's doing with the particular spell when he casts it, as he can do anything from splash council members with a Waterja to creating tidal waves. Similarly, he could use Water as a form of Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique) to trap people in a bubble of water, or he could just slam them with a wave, so it's up to the situation.
Break: Petrifying spell. It literally turns the target's body into stone, and they can be shattered quite easily. Cannot be used on powerful enemies, as their chakra will fight off the change of the body. Plus, it's too much like an 'I win' button. However, I might use it for plot twists and bashing fun, but it won't ever be used in a heavy combat situation. The two ANBU caught in it were too surprised at the teenager turning the tables on an ANBU ambush to fight off the effects.
Bio: A mass of non elemental green… goo, I suppose… that can be imbued with special poisons to leech into the target's blood stream to infect them. Similarly, a fusion of Bio and Break was used to infuse the goo with the Petrifying abilities of Break, allowing Naruto to petrify two people who weren't in his line of sight, due to the fact that they were holding onto his hair, which he used to channel this spell. Their surprise at the appearance of the spell allowed them to fall victim to the petrify, as they were too preoccupied to try to fight off the change.
Flare: Single-target non elemental highly powerful destructive spell, though it looks like it is the fire element. A swirl of fire sinks into the ground below them, before exploding in a column of orange-white fire. After writing that description, I may have to change how it looks if I use it again, since it really does sound like fire.
Ultima: Widespread non elemental destruction. Very, very powerful and not used unless there is nothing else to cause collateral damage. It is also very traumatizing to viewers, as the energy literally rips the enemies to pieces, before destroying the remains, leaving only their spilt blood behind.
Death: I may or may not give this to Naruto, as it seems too much like an 'I win' button. If I do give it to him, it'll have heavy circumstances to be allowed to use it, like the person has to be near death and too weak to resist. Basically, it removes the soul of the target, and kills them instantly.
Toad: Temporarily changes the target into a harmless little frog. It's fun for terrorizing citizens with the Kyuubi doll. Similar to the Break effects, chakra fights off the change, but Kakashi was too surprised that his student was attacking him to fight it off, and then too terrified of the doll to try to use chakra.
Sleep: Puts the target into a near-coma state of deep sleep, where only special techniques or viciously physical attacking them will wake them up. It'll wear off after eight hours or so, just like petrify, as Naruto hasn't fully mastered his magic to the point where it's permanent… yet. It works like a Genjutsu, so people can dispel it before it fully takes hold if they try hard enough, though it's considerably harder to dispel as it was cast with Mana, not chakra.
Will write more spells if I have him create new ones, though some will just be fusions of others, like Bio-Break. As I'm trying to make them make sense, it'll usually have both spell names in the fusion spell's name, or something alluding to them both and their level of power, so that I don't have to do another list.
Reviews!
HarbringerLady: It was mostly spur of the moment, as it started off as a plot bunny that raped my mind. However, after I thought about it, she seemed like a good character to mentor Naruto.
Vilkath: I totally agree with you. You'll have to read to find out, though, what happens of course. Personally, I don't think Naruto would be able to stay in Akatsuki forever, as he would eventually get bored, and a bored Naruto is a potentially destructive Naruto.
Mrbiggs132: Thank you.
Shadow Zeranion: Yes...those hats are mighty enticing... I'm sure Sasuke must have thought the purple ass-bows of Sound were mighty enticing as well, and secretly had that as one of his excuses for defecting in canon.
AnsemMesna: Their hats are awesome. 'nuff said.
ryu megaverse: I try to update every two days or so, this one was a little later as I waited for my muse to show up and smack me upside the head with something off-canon to happen in the storyline.
Rei Tamashii: THE FOON?! You shall never match the might of my spork, no matter how interesting your fork-spoon hybrid is! Chocobos would be interesting... perhaps he could use his 'unique' training regime to recreate them? For more information on said training regime, see chapter below. As for Orochi-pedo... hm... I suppose. Also, Lina Inverse rocks, or so I've heard. I should probably watch Slayers, as I haven't ever seen it. Plus, I read a pretty interesting fanfiction about how Inner Sakura was really the reincarnation of Lina, and it turned out quite well until they kinda... went on permanent hiatus. I'm afraid if I watch it, though, I'll create some goddamn plotbunny of Lina Inverse in Naruto-world.
saiyan prince1: I'm glad you like it. POWER TO THE HATS!
kiraille: Yes, but the Sandaime doesn't know that. His voice is nearly always deadpan, so its hard to tell when he's being sarcastic unless he willingly puts some sort of inflection on his speech.
Saetan: I update when I can.
KunoichiDreamer: Thank you!
Hakkyou no Yami: I always wanted to see what would happen if Naruto went into fan girl mode, or imitated one. It would've been hilarious in canon. I decided that, since he's usually indifferent like Itachi, the mood swing would be good for the story.
shadowzerover5: Yeah... dark Naruto fics tend to completely reconstruct his personality. I think I did that, too, though I gave a pretty good reason for it. However, he has an undying love for chaos and discord when it comes to people he doesn't like, and will degrade himself to squealing to cause it, should he be required. I believe he's a deviant little bastard at heart, and having a decent relationship with the Kyuubi, a kitsune who are always pranksters, would only enhance that.
Requiem of Solace: I remember I read one fic where Zabuza was afflicted with the Frying Pan Curse of his family, where he would get attacked by frying pans at inopportune moments. He also was the victim of quite a few Frying Pan Assaults from Tsunami, as she was a renowned user of the Frying Pan as a weapon. I wish I could remember the fic, as I found it hilarious.
RookRaven: I'll do my best.
de-raz-bomber: Ehh... I'll think about it. But I'm heavily leaning towards no-pairing, as I want this to have less focus on romancing, more focus on blasting things. Good ideas, though, and thank you.
WhatDoYouMeanI'mDrunk: A lot of those "Naruto joins Akatsuki" stories all begin with "Naruto gets banished for failing to recapture Sasuke/for harming Sasuke while capturing him" and then he all of a sudden realizes that "Konoha fucked me over constantly!" before heading off to join Akatsuki who have the best of the best to train him. Then he just becomes super powerful and it has a very steady decline into the drain from there. Also, thank you!
sniper757: The seal is still bound to Naruto's soul, so it would have to be something more than just cutting up the doll. I think of it as this: If the plush toy is destroyed, the spirit as well as youki of Kyuubi return to Naruto's body before he reseals it within another doll. The Shiki Fuuin basically bound them together for life and death, so its impossible to destroy the seal without killing one of them, which kills the other. The way its set up now is just like sticking the fox on a leash and letting him out, though they are still connected. If you remember, Kyuubi was viciously attacked by Lulu for commenting on her dress, and Naruto had to re-sew him together after she was done.
ZaBuChar: You have asked, and you have received the list you requested. Nice idea, but like I said before, no pairing. Thanks, though.
Atrumfides: I'm just awesome like that. In reality, I have tons of free time, and an active imagination, so I sit down and write out chapters in like four hours... but I give them a day or two in between so that people can read them, as well as get new ideas. Also, Naruto/Rikku would be quite interesting... well, this one wouldn't, as they would be polar opposites. If Naruto was like he was in canon... well... sans the stupidity and the orange... he would make quite the bouncing ball of sunshine to pair with Rikku.
griffin blackwood: Thank you!
SpunkyHellKitty: I try to update when I can.
wingsofeagle: As would I.
Talonspike: Thanks.
vynya-galad: Why thank you! I always wanted to stick it to the annoying council, as well as his teammates. As for his outfit... hm... if you want a better idea of what it looks like (as I can't draw worth shit) just think Kuja's shirt from FF9, with standard black shinobi pants that ride a bit low on his hips. I was really, incredibly, horribly tempted to give Naruto Kuja's outfit, and I was going to if it was going to be a yaoi story. I don't think any straight man would wear a purple thong, or a weird skirt thing...
Enjoy the chapter!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Spell/Jutsu"
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, FFX, Lulu, or any of FFX's or Naruto's characters.
Meeting Gai, and Kakashi's Mask
Naruto had decided that enough was enough.
He was going to take something so dangerous, so incredibly risky, that not even the Hokage could classify it as a mission.
Many shinobi have asked for it as a mission when they were feeling suicidal, and not even the Hokage would force them to suffer the fate of those who failed. He sent them on standard high profile assassination missions instead, as then their deaths would make the target more arrogant about their bodyguard system, making them more susceptible to real assassinations.
The mission Naruto had in mind would shake Orochimaru to the core at how impossible and daunting the task seemed. The man created a probable way of immortality, but this… this was too much for even him!
He was going to…
Find out what the fuck Kakashi's face looked like.
If Naruto's theory was correct, this would be the ultimate in blackmail material. He had hypothesized that either his Hatake's face looked absolutely marvelous, and he could threaten to spread the photos around, or the man looked hideous behind that blue facemask, and didn't want to feel ashamed of his looks. His final theory, though plausible, was highly unlikely. Perhaps the man had an incredibly unmanly tattoo on his face?
Either way, that god damn mask was going to go.
After relaying his mission to his doll, the plush's eyes had widened and mumbled a 'you're too young to die' before yelling at him in the privacy of his own home.
"I'm the fucking Kyuubi no Kitsune and even I'm afraid of the consequences of failing that mission!"
The Black Mage gave a grave nod, before making one of the most potentially suicidal decisions of his life, with an even higher fatality risk than disguising yourself as Uchiha Itachi at the Annual Fan People Convention, based in Wave Country. Those fiends would rip you apart, just wanting to have a piece of Itachi. He had heard that someone made a fortune by somehow managing to gain a hair from his eyebrow before, and he shuddered to think of what vital organs would sell for.
"I don't care. I will finish this mission, and I will be alive at the end of it. That man's face shall be shown!"
And so started what would later be renowned throughout the Elemental Countries as the time when a fifteen year old Genin defied fate itself and attempted the SSS-class mission of unmasking Hatake Kakashi.
He quickly packed a bag with things needed for this mission: clothing, a high definition camera, and his plush toy, which was safely situated on his head. He tied back his bright blonde hair, and used raw Mana manipulation to alter the appearance of it, giving it a dull black color that seemed to absorb all light.
He was absolutely ready; however, Kyuubi was gnawing on his stuffed fingernails in fear of what would happen should they fail. He wanted to get one thing off his chest before they set out.
"If anything happens to you, I wanted to tell you that you're like the son/apprentice/sibling I never had, and I'm proud that you inherited my sadism and fighting spirit. I also wanted to let you know that, when you see Lulu on the other side, to tell her I hate her for calling me "Fluffy", but I love her for giving you weapons of mass destruction, me included, at your fingertips."
The Black Mage was quite surprised at the fear his doll was showing, and gave the fox a few belly scratches. He contemplated what he was going to say before shrugging, deciding that if he was captured or failed this mission, he was probably going to die anyway, and might as well say it. He gave the doll a warm smile, and answered.
"Kyuubi-kun… I wanted to tell you that I'm thankful that I had a companion like you throughout most of my life. You're the greatest doll I could have wished for, and I'm actually quite glad you were sealed inside me. If not, I may have fallen to the lies and deceit of this village, and become yet another mindless drone willing to throw their lives away for the decrepit Council."
With that said, he gave the fox doll a reassuring hug, before setting out. He swore he would complete this mission and come out alive.
Konoha streets…
Nobody really noticed a flicker of black as it weaved its way through the crowd, hopping from shadow to shadow so as to not arouse suspicion. Every now and then a speck of red or purple would appear along with the black, but it would be gone so quickly it was as if it never existed. The figure was searching all over for the elusive Jounin who he was sure had the day off for the day, and he was determined to find him.
He checked high and low, near and far, and even checked though the Hokage tower, and asked the aged man where he could find Hatake.
The Hokage had given him a quizzical look, before he elaborated.
"I'm determined to see underneath that mask. Rumor states that not even Hyuugas can look under it."
Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock, before his voice broke the silence.
"Are you mad?! Nobody ever came back alive and unharmed after those missions! They all failed horribly!"
The Black Mage nodded, pure determination sparkling through his odd eyes.
"I know and I'm well aware, but I'm positive that I will be the one to find out what's underneath that mask. If only to get some blackmail on the Jounin."
Sarutobi sighed wearily, knowing he would be unable to dissuade the blonde, temporarily raven haired, teen. His thoughts ran rampant on the subject as he seemed to age decades as he contemplated what to do, before he nodded, mostly to himself.
"You can find him at the memorial stone. He's usually there."
Naruto gave the man a slight salute, before disappearing in a black void, leaving no trace behind. The Sandaime leaned back in his chair, sending his prayers with the young man who seemed to be doomed. A thought broke through his reverent silence, startling him.
'What the hell am I going to tell Jiraiya when he asks where Naruto is so that he can train him? My student can't train someone who's dead! Damnit, this means more paperwork!'
At the memorial stone…
The Black Mage landed soundlessly on a tree branch, studying his gray haired sensei with a wary eye. The man wouldn't be that bad, if he didn't have that retarded grudge against him. Well, that's not entirely true… as he was still a hypocrite who didn't follow his own saying of 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash'… and he was a dishonorable thief… Come to think of it, wasn't he rivals with Maito Gai, the taijutsu specialist? He almost shuddered to think of how many taijutsu styles he 'learned inexplicably quickly' throughout his career from sparring matches with the eccentric spandex-loving jounin.
'Poor man. Not even his extreme amounts of youthfulness can save him from the Sharingan. Did I just refer to that as youthfulness? Fuck. I need to quit spending time around Konoha, that spandex virus is starting to infect me.'
He gave a violent shudder when he thought of what he would look like in green spandex, before a devilish glint lit up his eyes. He kept his voice as a soft murmur as he whispered conspiratorially with his plush toy, whose eyes widened in the pure deviance of what the teen was saying. The fox broke out into a maniacal grin, his tails twitching in anticipation as they refined their mission objectives a little, and disappeared to make accommodations.
Gai's living quarters…
Naruto found it actually quite easy to disable the traps and alarm systems on Gai's apartment, guessing that the man really didn't have that many enemies wanting to kill him. Or, more likely, they were too afraid of what his living quarters would be, should his eccentric ways be any indicator of how his entire life would be.
The taijutsu master really did have a rather… odd… internal designer. More likely, the man declared having an internal designer (as well as fashion sense) as 'unyouthful' and did it all himself. The walls of his apartment were painted in the exact shade of green as his spandex suit, and had hundreds of weights stacked all around the walls in varying densities, anything from a tiny weight that weighed forty pounds, obviously to slip into a weight belt, to weights designed for lifting, a bit less dense than the tinier ones. There were a few books in a bookshelf, mainly on muscle training theory or taijutsu exercises.
There was a sheaf of papers on top of a desk along with a reading light. He walked over on silent footsteps as he read over the title, and realized that Gai was actually writing a book. A training manual, to be exact, on the uses of the Celestial gates, as well as their pros and cons. However, it suggested to constantly wear a green spandex bodysuit as one of the precursors to the training regime, and the title was a bit… off.
"You and Your Youthfulness! A Guide to the Springtime of Youth: Using the Celestial Body Gates by Maito Gai"
The doll on his head shuddered heavily as he thought of all the impressionable children that could be corrupted by this book-in-progress. Naruto, however, thought it was a rather nice gesture of the man, although done a bit… oddly. He obviously had quite a bit of knowledge on what he was doing, if all these detailed notes on the how each and every Gate effects someone meant something. He supposed the shiny bowl cut, green spandex suit, and incredibly sparkly teeth were just a quirk of the taijutsu master, and shrugged it off. Most Jounins had something to deal with the stress of killing people for money, and he couldn't fault them for the different ways that they chose to express it.
He continued on his search, finally finding the man's closet. He opened the door with a feeling of intense dread, almost horrified of what might be hidden within. After he fully opened the door, he almost fell to the floor in shock of what he was seeing.
Gai had normal clothing!
Not just any normal clothing, but actual stylish normal clothing!
Sure there were around four spandex body suits, as the man obviously had great hygiene (if the absolutely luminous teeth were anything to go by), but the rest of the closet was full of great clothing. The doll actually fell off his head in pure awe at the spectacle, but he was able to catch the plush toy before he impacted with the floor. Quickly deciding that his respect at the spandex clad Jounin raised several notches, he crossed off one of the routes to go about his new plan with Hatake. He refused to steal from this man, as he obviously A) had some sort of dignity, as he had normal clothing, B) had great pride in his work, and wanted to pass it on to others who he couldn't manually teach, and C) damn he wanted to learn how to make his teeth that shiny.
He set off towards Training Ground 27, where he knew Team 9 was training, intent on asking the Jounin a question or two.
Training Ground 27, about 11 am…
Naruto appeared within a swirl of snow, shocking the ninja team there. He had been working on his ice manipulation, after being given the hint by Haku, and was able to make a Shunshin out of it, much to his delight. A little known fact about Naruto is that he really loves his different teleportation techniques, and strives to come up with new ones to offset the standard 'smoke' or 'swirl of leaves' that everyone else in Konoha does.
Gai regarded the newcomer warily, as Naruto had dropped the weave of Mana over his hair once he changed his mind about stealing from the spandex Jounin.
The taijutsu master had heard about his eternal rival, Kakashi's, eccentric student, but hearing and seeing are two different things. Firstly, the boy obviously was quite advanced, as he had not only had a flawless Shunshin, but he was able to interchange elemental effects with it. The boy also displayed exemplary control, as well as multiple elemental affinities, and showed that he was completely unbiased, and reactionary in any of the situations he was placed in. He decided to give the teen the benefit of the doubt, and disregarded the fox plush doll on his head, having seen odder things in his time of being a ninja.
Tenten, the weapons mistress, was quite intrigued with the newcomer. She had heard from several loose tongued ninja around the village that there was a 'blonde haired demon' walking around, but she couldn't see anything wrong with Yamanaka Ino (aside from the banshee squealing and fan girl-ism), so this was the only other person with blonde hair, sans the Yamanaka clan, in the village. She inspected him, her incredible eyesight (gained from years of throwing different weapons for perfect accuracy with any given weapon, whether it was meant to be a projectile or no) taking in almost unnoticeable details.
The teen was obviously fit, if the toned stomach meant anything, though he didn't have the 'bulk', as she called it, of her teammate Lee or her sensei, Gai. His muscles were lean and wiry, lending him to flexibility and evasion, as well as precision based combat instead of heavy hand to hand combat. His long, golden blonde hair looked to be... not uncared for, but definitely not high on his priority list. She oddly wondered that, if he had long hair but didn't worship it like others do, why he kept it at that length. She pushed that thought to the side, as she continued her observation.
The blonde's rather odd eyes had the weirdest shade of purple, and she had seen weird shades of purple before. Her teammate, Hyuuga Neji, had nearly white purple eyes, and the entirety of the Hyuuga clan had some shade of lavender for eyes. This teen's eyes were an almost jewel-like shade of amethyst, and looked quite… shielded… from the outside world. He showed no emotion on his noble-looking face, but didn't give off an air of superiority like the Uchiha or Hyuuga. He simply seemed… neutral. His clothing seemed a little odd, with wide, flowing sleeves, as well as revealing his stomach, and the way his shinobi pants rode low on his hips, but she was used to odd clothing. Her eyes also rested on the Kyuubi doll on his head, which she could've sworn gave her a smile when she finished her inspection, but she convinced herself it was just a doll.
Lee was beaming a grin worthy of Gai himself, wondering how this newcomer could appear without so much as a hint of his approach, something that should have made him quite wary. However, he simply saw it as a possible partner for sparring.
Neji gave the teen a glare, his Inner Neji screaming inside his head about how he spent so much time making his dark brown hair as silky and shiny as it is, but this… newcomer… had even better hair than he! He was about to go into his brooding mode, with angst levels clearly surpassing that of the last Uchiha, when he realized that the boy didn't even seem to care about his own appearance, as if his hair was just… naturally perfect. This, of course, pushed his angst levels to much higher than normal, causing the grass around him to wilt and decay.
Breaking the awkward silence, Naruto decided that he would be polite and… not blunt for once, as he was still trying to ascertain if his respect for the green-clad Jounin was placed well.
"Hello, Gai-san. Please forgive me for my sudden intrusion, but… I was wondering, since Hatake-san seems to be busy either brooding over the memorial stone, or training the Uchiha when he thinks nobody is looking, if I might observe how a real team interacts. I arrived in Konoha on the day of the Genin exam, and, though I am a newcomer, I am quite sure my team is not exactly… satisfactory… in teamwork."
Gai was notably surprised, as the stories he had heard from Kakashi always detailed the teen to be a 'wolf in sheep's skin', as it were. The gray haired Jounin was positive his student's animated doll was either the Kyuubi, or he himself was the Kyuubi. Speaking of the doll… it was noticeably inanimate at the moment, and he was curious as to how the blonde manipulated it, wondering if perhaps it was a form of the Kugutsu (Puppetry) technique. Adopting a rare serious face, the Jounin nodded a bit before responding.
"Sure thing, Naruto-san. May I ask a question first?"
The blonde gave the man a slight twitch of his lips, and only Gai and Tenten's eyes caught the movement on the normally immobile face. Using their experience with Neji, a stoic, yet arrogant, Hyuuga, they realized the blonde was giving a slight impression of… acceptance? Before they could ponder more, the enigmatic teen had answered.
"Of course, Gai-san. What would you like to know?"
The spandex clad Jounin tried to think of a way to phrase his question without it seeming too… blunt… or biased. He finally decided that he might as well just ask the question without flowery language, getting the impression that the teen's mind tended to rip apart what people say to find exactly what they're asking regardless.
"I have heard… stories… about how you fight. I was wondering how if it was true that you animate your doll, and if so, how you are able to do so? From what Kakashi said, it seemed as if there were no chakra strings to be a Kugutsu, making it quite an interesting ability."
Tenten, Lee, and Neji were shocked at this, and the doll on the boy's head seemed to nod appraisingly at the Jounin. The blonde struck a slight thinking pose, as if deciding whether to answer or not. Finally deciding that the green clad man hadn't done anything to irritate him yet, he might as well give him the same answer he gave Haku.
"I have a rare bloodline that gives me extreme elemental control, as well as allowing me to animate inanimate objects. Fortunately for me, yet unfortunately for Hatake-san, his Sharingan was unable to copy any of my abilities when he decided he would try to… inspect them without my knowledge when I was engaged in a water battle with a nuke-nin on our C-rank mission."
Gai was immediately suspicious of this ability, as he wasn't just a taijutsu fanatic. He found many interesting things when he researched ancient taijutsu styles, and one of the things he had heard was the stories of a fabled set of warriors who used elemental techniques without hand seals, and tended to use something to help channel their energy. Most notably, they used staves, rods, or… dolls. He was also shocked at the lack of honor his 'eternal rival' had shown, attempting to steal techniques from one of his own students. While his three students seemed shocked at the 'bloodline' the boy had, he decided to ask another question before basing his opinions.
"Naruto-san, would you agree to a spar with me so that I might see how this bloodline works in battle? I have to admit it perked my interests, and it would be helpful for my students to increase their youthfulness while watching such an interesting fighting style!"
The serious face of the spandex man seemed to slip a little at the last bit, causing Naruto's lips to twitch once again. The doll on his head seemed to be holding back a snicker, if Gai's eyes could read the movements correctly. The blonde tapped an index finger to his chin, before pulling the doll off his head and setting it on the ground, where it stood stock still.
"As you wish, Gai-san. Hand-to-hand, doll-to-hand, or full out combat?"
The Jounin, seeing a chance to see each aspect of the supposed bloodline, decided on a hidden option.
"How about hand-to-hand first, then doll-to-hand, then all out combat? Most people with bloodlines will focus solely on the bloodline abilities, and neglect their other talents, and if your bloodline is how you say it is, I would expect you to be a bit shoddy with your taijutsu. Perhaps I could help you with it?"
Naruto gave a slight smirk as he realized what the Jounin was playing at. The odd man seemed to actually have a hint of what he actually was, and he had to admit his respect grew from the observance. He wondered where he might have come across the information… but if he was correct, the man must try to revive ancient taijutsu styles, and may have come across Black Mages mentioned in history. He nodded his head politely and assumed a stance, which he could tell from the man's slight widening of his eyes that he recognized it.
Gai indeed recognize it. It was a truly ancient hand to hand style, the name lost to the history books, and he had been studying it for the past few months as its potential was quite large. It encompassed flexibility, evasion, deflection, and precise strikes meant to cause intense pain to aggravate and cripple opponents. It required such immense training and flexibility that it was nearly impossible to copy it, however, and made it quite good against Sharingan users as they couldn't fight your style with the same style, unless they wanted to hurt themselves in the attempt. Gai shifted into his Goken (Strong Fist) stance, and his Genin team moved to the trees. The two stood there for what seemed like hours, before a single leaf fluttered from a tree, and they sprang into action.
The doll, sensing it wasn't needed quite yet, hopped up into the trees with the Genin team, scaring them a bit (though Neji wouldn't admit it) and hopped into Tenten's lap, watching the fight.
Gai was quite surprised, as the boy seemed that he had trained in this style for over a decade, as he fluidly dodged, deflected, and blocked his powerful kicks and punches. The boy's pure flexibility surprised him, as it matched even with the body augmentations that Orochimaru used, though he was sure the boy had nothing of the sort done to him. He nearly marveled at the flexibility as the boy twisted his spine at an unhealthy angle, dodging a kick to his midsection, and delivering swift jabs to the insides of his thighs, as well as the sides of his knees, in turn. Gai wasn't a Jounin for nothing, however, and he was able to swiftly slam the lancing pain that was trying to disorient him out of his mind, concentrating on getting a good spar out of this.
The two continued their taijutsu spar for about ten minutes, each giving as good as they got, though neither took it too far. It was merely a spar to compare styles, so Gai didn't remove his weights or open gates. If he had, he would've won purely by how much more experience he had in the realm of taijutsu. They both separated, breathing lightly. Gai had some swiftly purpling bruises from the accurate strikes of the Black Mage, while the blonde had a cracked rib or two, as well as quite a few bruises of his own, quite a bit bigger than Gai's. The doll hopped out of Tenten's lap, and jumped into Naruto's arms, who looked strangely satisfied at having a challenge to fight. Gai was the one who spoke first, his serious façade crumbling underneath the exuberance of finding someone who had successfully revived such an ancient style.
"YOSH! Naruto-kun, your youthfulness burns brightly! I have only heard legends of that style, and that it was incredibly dangerous to train in! How is it that you were able to use that style to its fullest?"
The blonde's stoic demeanor lifted a little, and a sad smile tugged at the edges of his lips, startling observant viewers.
"I was taught by my caretaker and mentor from when I was three, to when I was fourteen. She had insisted that, since my bloodline is range-oriented, that I have a solid foundation in evading hand-to-hand combat, while making sure that I would be well defended should I be unable to escape close range."
Gai nodded his head a little, his youthfulness slipping back into the next place, as he was getting quite excited at this fight.
"She must have been quite a youthful woman, Naruto-kun. YOSH! Onto the next part! Doll-to-hand combat! Send it at me with as much as you have, Naruto-kun!"
The spandex wearing Jounin could have sworn he felt a malicious smirk coming from the doll, and the blonde nodded, his indifferent demeanor back into place. A pale violet aura flickered to life behind Naruto, as he backflipped away, dropping the doll in mid air. The doll sprang to life, sprinting towards Gai at near Jounin-level speeds and shocking the man slightly. He started to dodge as many of the attacks as he could, dishing a few kicks back when he could, though the nine tails, as well as the sharp plush teeth, left very few gaps in the offense. Each of the tails caused crater-like dents in the ground, startling all but Naruto and the doll itself at the power packed within the doll, and causing the Jounin to regard it with a bit of caution.
Naruto, as Kyuubi was fully in control of his own movement for the fight, was wondering if he could give the Jounin a better fight with the doll. It was quite small… too small to fight effectively, and obviously the man wanted to inspect how the doll could fight. He thought about it for a little, before he grinned as he remembered something he had heard from Lulu back when they were training.
'The only limits to Black Magic are your imagination. However, Black Magic can never delve into the realm of healing, as that is governed by White Magic. No Black Magic spell has the possibility of healing, but aside from that, the possibilities of endless. When you want to create your own spells, you must think of what you want them to do, before opening your mind to the possibilities to meet those ends. Allow your instinct to guide you, but always make sure that you are able to guide your instinct, as well.'
He started to meditate for a moment, before the answer popped into his mind. The violet aura flared to life around him, darkening a little as he started to fabricate the spell. Gai noticed this, and wondered what the boy was doing, when the doll stopped in place as if frozen.
Kyuubi, feeling the spell starting to affect him, had stopped and wondered what the boy was up to now. As the ground sped further and further away from his muzzle, he realized. The boy was making him grow, so as to give his opponent a better advantage! He could almost chuckle in delight at this, as he never really liked having an underhanded advantage… his attack on Konoha a notable exception…
The doll was around four feet tall now, about five feet from nose to tail base, and each tail was about six feet long. The observing Genins were quite shocked, as was Gai. Naruto could have cackled in glee at how his spell worked, before speaking loud enough for Team 9 to hear him.
"I felt that the doll's small stature was an unfair advantage for me, Gai-san, so I decided to try to increase its size. Now you can fight it effectively, however, it will be more powerful at the cost of the small target and nimble efficiency it had before."
The Jounin nodded, in slight awe of what the teen was able to do, before continuing the fight. The doll really was quite a bit stronger than before, the slight dents in the ground becoming full craters, and trees nearly splintered under the might of the tails whipping towards him. One of the notable disadvantages of fighting a doll, however, was the fact that it wasn't human. It didn't tire, it didn't feel pain, and most of all, it didn't have bones to break, which was one of the biggest advantages of Goken. Goken focuses on bludgeoning force, snapping bones beneath their strong strikes, and causing their opponent physical damage. Against a doll… it was quite useless.
About five minutes later, a heavily breathing Gai called for a halt, and Naruto beckoned the doll to come towards him. The fox plush, while quite large, still had a soft spot for ear scratches it seems, as the fox's tails started to twitch side to side in happiness as Naruto busied himself with scratching, while Gai got his breath back to normal.
It took about ten minutes for the man to get his second wind, and the doll was safely back in Naruto's arms, back to its smaller state. The Jounin was feeling quite exhilarated, though a bit scared, of what the boy would be like in all out combat. The boy was clearly at least Jounin in strength, though it seems Kakashi hadn't taught him at all, or even attempted to. He was quite disappointed by his rival at how he let such a prize student slip through his grasp.
His Genin were wide-eyed in shock and awe of the Genin who had to be only a year younger than them. He showed that he was quite capable in taijutsu and his doll could easily fight on par with Gai when he still had his weights on! And that was only one facet of his bloodline, he had said that he had extreme manipulation over all the elements, and they were both a little afraid, and a little excited, to see what happened next.
Naruto, deciding that the man really had earned his respect, politely spoke up in a softly amused tone.
"Gai-san, if we continue, I'm afraid that I won't be able to prevent this training area from being destroyed. Due to my elemental manipulation, I specialize in wide-scale demolition. If Hatake-san told you anything about our encounters during the C-rank mission, surely he told you what happened when I was faced with opponents?"
The Jounin blinked a little, before his eyes widened a bit in recollection. Kakashi had stated that his blonde student was a demon when it came to the battlefield, stating that the abilities he had were nothing short of kage-level destruction. He had said that the blonde had wiped out a full army of mercenaries, as well as their boss, with one technique! Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, he wondered if he could perhaps compromise…
"Hm… you have a point, Naruto-san. Would it be possible for you to show some of your techniques, though? I haven't seen anyone able to accomplish much with pure elemental manipulation alone. The only Jounin in Konoha that can do much at all with just the manipulation is Sarutobi Asuma, a trench knife specialist who uses his wind element to enhance the length and sharpness of his knives."
The blonde thought about it for a moment, before nodding and responding with a question.
"Small explosions, bigger destruction, or wide-scale devestation?"
Gai thought about it for a moment, before nodding his head to himself.
"The best you have. To a point, of course, as I don't wish this training ground to be destroyed."
The Black Mage's purple eyes seemed to sparkle with impish delight as he gave a decisive nod, setting the toy on the ground in front of him. A dark purple power surged and flickered around him for a moment, as he raised a single hand into the air. The doll's tails sprang to life, flicking side to side in a hypnotic manner. A word escaped the teen's lips as he named off his technique before results were shown.
"Waterja."
A huge globe of water exploded into existence above the training area, easily fifty feet in diameter. It hovered for a bit, before twisting and twining into a one hundred foot long water dragon, twisting through the air and knocking over a few trees with slight flicks of its tail. The doll's tails slammed downward in front of it, but didn't harm the ground as Naruto snapped his fingers, the near-maroon aura flaring into existence for a moment. Another word slipped into the air, before the water changed again.
"Blizzaja."
The water dragon exploded into a shower of rain, before freezing into hundreds of thousands of ice needles, impacting the training area's earth without even a sound, a testament to how sharp they were to slip in without much resistance. They all slipped back out, leaving tiny pinpricks where they were, before slamming into each other and forming a large prism out of ice that hovered into the air before dropping to the ground. As soon as it made contact, the area around the prism flash froze, turning grass to ice, before it exploded into a shower of glass-like shards, dissolving into the air as the grass thawed.
Naruto gave a wistful smile at the sight, remembering Haku's ability, and her subsequent hint of unlocking fusion elements. He quickly moved onto the next element, clearly aware that there were another two observers hidden in the trees. He felt no malicious intent from them, and allowed them to continue to watch as he brought both arms above his head, the doll mimicking his actions with its tails. The purple aura reappeared, darkened slightly more, before dissipating, as he brought both arms in a vicious downward motion together. The word that escaped his mouth was nearly lost in the effects following it.
"Thundaja."
Through the bright clear sky, fifteen lightning bolts, easily two feet thick, collided with each other over thirty feet above their heads before combining and slamming into the earth below them, the white beam of energy easily ten feet across, and even a foot or two thick. He toned down the electrical charge that escaped the ground so that he didn't give anyone more than a minor shock of the electricity, but the ground was unable to contain it all and exploded where struck. An echoing 'BOOM' rattled the leaves in the trees in the wake of the lightning bolt. Without missing a beat, he moved to the next spell, turning to an unoccupied set of trees before delivering a swift palm thrust, accentuated by the movements of his doll, as well as his Mana springing to life for a moment.
"Aeroja."
Slicing gusts of wind shredded well over fifty trees into something akin to the consistency of sand, the poor bark never standing a chance to the incredibly precise blades of wind hidden within the storming gale that completely surrounded the trees. Taking aim at a place that wouldn't be too destructive, he released his second to last elemental spell, the purple aura staying after this one as he really needed the power for the last.
"Firaja."
Over one hundred feet above them in the air, the sky combusted into a brilliant explosion of white-hot fire, spreading easily at least thirty feet in every direction before imploding on itself, as he didn't wish for the forest to catch fire. The purple aura was nearly black as it twisted and twined about him, and he raised both hands up before slamming them onto the ground, the doll miming every movement.
"Quakeja."
The earth groaned and cracked in protest to the spell, before hundreds of thousands of branching spears of earth erupted from the ground. They only stayed for a moment, though, before disappearing, and the earth returned to how it was before the sparring ever even started, all the craters and dents filled from the added power to the spell.
The Black Mage turned to the shell shocked green Jounin, his doll smirking at the two 'unnoticed' others within the trees before hopping into the blonde's arms. The teen raised an elegant blonde eyebrow, not looking winded in the least at his inhuman display, before asking his question.
"Is that all you needed to see? I can do a few more things, but I'd rather not. Not even my earth manipulation can restore the destruction of the ability I used at the end of my C-rank. It's hard enough to contain that technique and not allow it to affect anything that isn't caught in it, and the poor trees have suffered enough today."
Gai nodded a little, his three Genin were almost falling out of the tree at the awesome power displayed. The Jounin was greatly relieved that he didn't fight the boy in all out combat, as the abilities displayed were quite… destructive. He wasn't joking when he said he specialized in wide-spread demolition!
The two bystanders, still 'unnoticed' to all but Naruto, nodded to each other before disappearing. The blonde, as if remembering why he first came here, struck an elaborate thinking pose, the doll hopping to his head and lying their motionlessly, before he asked a question that had the Genin team falling out of the tree and flat on their faces.
"I also wanted to ask where you bought your spandex suits, as I believe Hatake-san could do with the… youthfulness… that they provide. I also wish to, as he seems to have a grudge against me, deprive him of his mask and bare witness to the mystery of the world known as Hatake Kakashi's face. If nothing else, it will serve as blackmail material should he try to set me up with a potentially fatal enemy again."
Gai was once again shocked at how 'unyouthful' his rival was being, all for a simple grudge. He was trying to get his own student killed? He couldn't detect a lie from the blonde young man, and that scared him. It meant his rival truly was blinded by uncalled for hatred and anger at this boy over nothing and was using his status as the blonde's sensei to try to get him killed! It was at that moment that the 'eternal rivalry' between Gai and Kakashi ended, as the guy in green found that the 'rival' he had been competing against seemed to have, indeed, fallen from grace.
Gai told the blonde where the store was that sold the spandex bodysuits he always wore, also politely asking the boy if he would mind stopping by his apartment sometime so that they could discuss his hand to hand style, as Gai was incredibly interested in it, and would want to write down how to correctly train a person in the style. Naruto's lips quirked upwards in a semblance of a slight smile and nodded to the taijutsu master. He didn't mind the man all that much, really, despite the exuberance and 'youthfulness'. The man had some honor, held a strict code of morals, and wouldn't use the knowledge gained from the Black Mage for selfish reasons.
With the location of where the spandex could be bought ascertained, Naruto sat against the trunk of a tree that hadn't been felled, and listened to Gai's lesson plan. He could wait a bit to remove Kakashi's mask; he really was interested in this 'teamwork' theory that Kakashi always talked about, right before he pandered to Sasuke's every whim and ignored both him and Sakura. He watched as Team 9 practiced under Gai's watchful eye, slightly surprised at what they were able to do. He did have to put up with Neji's curious, yet still haughty, gaze when the Hyuuga turned on his Byakugan, as he was unable to see Naruto's chakra coils, or any chakra whatsoever, as well as the red energy seeming to be stored within the doll on his head. Naruto… simply shrugged his shoulders and used the end-all be-all excuse of excuses.
"Bloodline thing."
They'd buy it, usually, though Gai was looking quite suspicious and thoughtful. Naruto would play a little with Kyuubi while they were practicing and training, doing his own 'unique' training. It nearly gave Neji a heart attack to see a 1:10 scale model of him, shiny hair and everything, created as a golem of earth (though with realistic coloring and details). Tenten had thought it was cute, and had glomped it, squealing slightly. Naruto knew not to say anything about that, as he was certain she was hiding pointy objects somewhere, just waiting to throw them at anything that dare call her a fan girl. Lee thought it was 'youthful', however, once he finally set up his little training playground in front of him and the Kyuubi toy.
There were four figures each doing something different, each created out of a different element that corresponded with their personalities. Neji was cold, unforgiving, unmovable in his views, and stoic, so he was an earth golem. Tenten was piercing, striking with deadly accuracy, and had a bipolar personality; she was focused and unflinching in a fight, but slightly bubbly and humble off the battlefield, so she was lightning. Lee was effervescent, always here or there, but never anywhere for long. His fighting style of Goken focused on straightforward strikes, but he combined it with a bit of acrobatics to slowly mold the style to fit him and his personality. He was a wind golem.
Finally there was Gai. He seemed to also be bipolar, in a different way. He was 'youthful' and exuberant on or off the field, but when faced with something potentially threatening or something he was highly interested in, he became serious and focused. He molded his students into powerful shinobi, yet was able to keep their clashing views from causing much infighting. He was gentle when he needed to be, yet incredibly powerful when the time demanded it. He was a water golem.
The Lee and Neji golems were sparring in perfectly imitated versions of their taijutsu styles, with the Gai golem yelling in a grand imitation of the instructor to have the Tenten golem improve their evasion by throwing projectiles at them. He wanted her to miss by exactly one centimeter, should they be unable to move out of the way, and the Tenten golem did exactly that.
Gai had come over to inspect the faux battlefield, and he was surprised at how accurate everything was. When he asked what Naruto was doing, the boy had given him a rather interesting answer.
"Well, I spend my free time improving not only my control, so that I may someday use my ultimate technique without harming anything I don't want to, but I also work on fusion between elements. You saw a glimpse of that when I showed you each of my elements, as I had gotten a hint from a powerful woman with the Hyoton (Ice Element) bloodline on how to mix wind and water to create ice. I was able to use it before, but it took an immense amount of force to create the element, and now the Ice element is coming quite a bit better with her help. The final thing I'm working on is seeing if I can create working automatons through my manipulation. Before our C-rank mission, I was able to create about five inch tall figures, and a perfect replica of my doll, but this is how far I've come now.
It also helps that I have a photographic memory, allowing me, should I wish to, to simply see the entirety of a fighting style just by one viewing. I refuse to pick apart other people's fighting styles, though, and refuse to use my memory to create a variation of the Sharingan. I find that stealing from your comrades is one of the worst things possible, so I use the stored knowledge in a rather interesting way; I have my golems replicate what I've seen, and if I'm near people I've remembered something from, I'll sit back and see if they can find anything to help themselves from seeing their likeness in pitched combat.
Think of it as this… I'm always recording everything that I'm seeing… and I dislike the thought of becoming like Hatake-san, so I use my gift to help others. Instead of teaching stolen techniques, I use the knowledge to allow people to view themselves in the third person, and be able to better their own training by seeing how they fight."
Gai was rather astonished at this, as it was a great use of a something like that. He could clearly see how the teen's memory could be considered a curse, given how he had seen how Kakashi acted with his copying eye. Neji, Lee, and Tenten were struck between awe, and slight endearment. It was a rather obscure, yet highly useful ability, and the blonde had found a way to not let the knowledge to go to waste, yet not really 'do' anything with it besides allow other people to view themselves and hone techniques. They watched their respective golems, and realized that it was, indeed, a near perfect replication of each of their ways of fighting. They sat down to watch themselves for a few minutes, each picking up a few things they could work on the next day from watching the miniatures fight. Tenten was quite curious as to how mini-Tenten got all her weapons, and Naruto gave a slight smirk and a cryptic reply.
"The wonders of elemental manipulation know no bounds, Tenten-san."
Gai immediately caught on to what he was saying, and vowed to himself to teach the three their respective elemental affinities. Before long, their training session was over, and Naruto bid them a farewell before vanishing in a flurry of ice crystals, which held in the air for a moment, twinkling and sparkling, before evaporating as well.
Kakashi's house…
Hatake Kakashi was currently taking a light nap, as his brooding at the memorial stone had taken a lot out of him. He wasn't a natural at angst, like Inari or Sasuke, but he really had great things to angst about!
First was his old teammate, Uchiha Obito, who died and gave him his Sharingan eye. He had died in a rockslide, and Kakashi felt it was his fault, as if he had simply agreed to go rescue Rin earlier, perhaps the Stone nins wouldn't have caught them unawares with the rockslide technique.
Secondly was his other teammate, Inuzuka Rin. She had been captured by Stone nins, and his own stubbornness at wanting to finish the mission instead of saving her came at a heavy price. She was severely injured from her escape attempt by the time he had come to save her, and she only lasted long enough to use a medical jutsu to fully transplant Obito's eye into Kakashi's socket before dying from blood loss.
Finally was his sensei, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime. He had given his life to seal the demon away about fifteen years ago, and Kakashi blamed the Jinchuuriki for his sensei's death. The fox was the most powerful of the Bijuu, surely the container had to have been corrupted by its influence? Of course, the idea that the seal was absolutely foolproof, seeing as how his sensei was a brilliant man with seals never crossed his mind, and he blamed it all on the Jinchuuriki. Then that new blonde student of his has the gall to have a Kyuubi doll around him, and even uses it in a fight.
Apparently, without the trademarked blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks, Naruto was damn near unrecognizable. Due to Kakashi's pure laziness, he had never even bothered to learn the Jinchuuriki's name, simply knowing that it was the fox container by gold hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks. Also due to his uncaring nature when it came to anything besides the Uchiha, he really didn't care that almost everyone else in the village knew that his student was that same Jinchuuriki, as every time someone brought it up to him he was too busy with his porn to notice.
Eventually the man will grow a working brain, or so we must hope.
He was currently mulling over his thoughts on how his student had gold hair, purple eyes, had a Kyuubi doll… his abilities didn't use chakra it seemed… and he was the correct age to match the Jinchuuriki before it disappeared…
Kyuubi had red eyes…
Blue plus red equals purple…
Right as he made the connection, he was distracted from his train of thought as a odd draft was felt across his face.
'That's odd… I always have my mask on… so the only way I could feel a draft is if…!'
He bolted up in bed, eyes wide in the darkness of his bedroom. He removed the hitai-ate from his head, allowing his Sharingan eye to hopefully pierce the darkness, but was blinded before he could see who removed his mask by a bright flash of white light. Several other flashes followed it, as well as the tell tale 'click' sound of a camera going off. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision and horribly mangle whoever was the newest attempter on seeing his unmasked face, but by the time his vision returned to normal, the only trace of his assailant was a single snowflake fluttering in the breeze.
He vowed to find who was able to figure out what he looked like, destroy the camera, and destroy all copies of those pictures. He was just about to go into berserker frenzy when his thoughts strayed back to where they were going.
His blonde student that he so hated was the Jinchuuriki!
He had more cause to kill him now, and would be hailed as a hero for it!
He was nearly giddy with that news, and promptly forgot the intruder who saw his face as he started to plan on how he would get his student killed. Good thing he never taught the 'demon' anything, though his powers were already great. Just more proof that the fox was manipulating the child.
Let's leave him to his delusions, shall we?
Back with Naruto…
Naruto appeared in the Hokage's office in a swirl of delicate snowflakes, startling the Jounin meeting currently in place. He really couldn't care the fuck less right now, because he had pictures of Kakashi's face, and nothing could ruin the good mood. Not even the unnatural amount of hate coming from most of the Jounin in the room. He strode purposefully up to the Hokage, before tapping his temple and creating a transparent screen out of pure Mana on the wall behind his desk. His first words shocked the room to the core.
"I have come from my self-imposed SSS-class mission, Hokage-sama, and I was successful. I have physical as well as mental proof of what the fuck Hatake-san looks like under that mask. Allow me to show you from my memory what he looks like, while I wait for the pictures to be ready for printing."
The screen flickered a little, before an image appeared on it. It was Hatake Kakashi, devoid of mask or hitai-ate, eyes wide and unseeing. The scar across his left eye was quite prominent, but nobody was caring about that. The man's face was absolutely perfect! Unmarred skin, pale from lack of sunlight, adorned where the facemask usually covered, with only a tan line marking where the mask usually was.
Many of the Jounin kunoichi were staring in shock, awe, and a little bit of lust of the perfect face. They didn't really care that the 'demon' was the one to finally complete the mission, as he had completed it and there were results!
Two notable exceptions were Yuuhi Kurenai, Genjutsu Mistress, and Mitarashi Anko, Snake Mistress and Torturer extraordinaire. They were glancing at Naruto with a little bit of awe, as well as a tiny bit of regret. Naruto really couldn't care less at the moment, though, as he let the image hang in the air for a few seconds before dissipating back to his mind. He nodded politely to the shell shocked room before giving the Hokage a slight bow and making a polite exit.
"I am sorry for interrupting your meeting, Hokage-sama, but I felt that as it was such a momentous occasion, you could forgive this intrusion."
He disappeared into thin air after relaying that, his Shunshin even more dramatic than ever. As he disappeared, a swirl of ice prisms about the size of half a kunai ascended upwards in his wake. They all refracted the light in a brilliant array across the room, before shattering with a slight tinkling sound, and evaporating.
Quite a few, after getting over their shock of seeing Kakashi's face, had their jaws on the floor from such an elaborate technique. The control, as well as the elemental manipulation, to achieve that feat was enormous! One Jounin, however, stood apart from the rest. He was newly released from ANBU after serving the standard four year term, and his name was Tenzo, though he preferred to go by Yamato. His thoughts were on the track of 'if he was able to recreate Hyoton, would he also be able to recreate Mokuton (Wood Element)?'
The ex-ANBU decided he might have a little chat with Naruto on the possibilities of that. He didn't really care if the boy was a Jinchuuriki or not, as the bloodline of the Shodaime Hokage had two parts. One was the wood element, and the second was the ability to repress a demon's influence. If the teen tried anything using his demon's power, he'd just suppress it with his power, and he was positive he could fight off the boy if he wasn't using the Kyuubi.
That night…
Naruto snuck inside Kakashi's house with the grace of a cat, making absolutely no sounds. He used a Mana construct to hide him from sight, and was able to disperse his smell throughout the area to prevent anyone from pinpointing his location by nose. With three of the five senses taken out, and he highly doubted he would be licked by the Jounin, it left only touch which was easily avoided.
He stole quickly through the area, making no trail as he moved. He was certain this was even more dangerous than depriving the man of his mask but… it had to be done.
He got to the area where he needed to be; the bedroom. He snuck through the doorway, pausing a little to make sure the man's breathing was even as he slept. He continued to the closet, and reached out with a steady hand…
After making his alterations to the man's clothing, he headed to his final and definitely most risky task. The doll on his head was almost hyperventilating from the suspense, and Naruto decided he would have to use a sort of Genjutsu instead of a physical transformation. Using his Mana, he wove an intricate spell pattern through the air, the violet light flickering for a moment before it faded, showing that the spell had been cast. He then sprinted out of there, making sure to not leave any trace behind.
The next morning, 9 am…
A deafening scream of "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" echoed across Konoha, and it would have woken them had the screamer been a bit earlier in the morning. Of course, Kakashi was always late to everything, even sunrise. Naruto, who was currently waiting with Sasuke and Sakura at Training Ground 7 messing with his golems, nearly snickered in delight. He was positive the man would be thoroughly humiliated today, as he had cast a spell on each of the spandex suits that would last a full twenty four hours, would immolate any clothing that was worn over them, and would latch onto the man's skin like a leech, preventing him from removing one. And due to the disappearance of all his other clothing, it was either spandex until finding acceptable clothing, or a towel… but Kakashi wouldn't want to go outside in only a towel.
He was hard pressed to keep a straight face as his sensei arrived, face mask in place as he was too damn afraid of the man catching him should he try again to remove the mask. However, that was the only thing that was 'normal' about his teacher.
Hatake Kakashi was wearing a green spandex bodysuit, which was quite form fitting. Naruto absently noted to himself that he was a great judge of body to get the man's size correct on the first try. Kakashi's one eye was beaming intense rage at anything and everything in the vicinity, and it would have looked quite frightening… if his gray hair wasn't done in a shiny bowl cut reminiscent of Maito Gai.
The man's furious stare finally landed on him, and his current project. He had a mini-Konoha, with pretty good details, and it was currently being destroyed by a Kyuubi made out of ice. He still wasn't up to par with his ice manipulation yet, as it was a relatively new element and had to be worked with a bit longer than his daily training with the others until he was just as proficient in it as he was in the others.
Kakashi stormed up to his blonde student, intent on doing some kind of harm to him, as his newfound knowledge of the student's Jinchuuriki status allowed him to blame anything and everything on him. He pointed an accusing finger at the fifteen year old, almost sputtering with rage as he yelled at the blonde.
"YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME!"
Naruto looked up, cocking a slightly questioning eyebrow. He let his eyes roam over his sensei's 'attire', and pulled a mock-innocent face as he replied.
"Oh? How are you so positive of that, Hatake-san? Do you have any proof?"
Kakashi started to sputter incoherently, as it was just made clear that he really didn't know who did it… but he was positive he could blame the Jinchuuriki.
"I know you did it, you demon! You must have done it! You had to be jealous that Sasuke was getting better in his training than you were, and you tried to lash out at me for it!"
Naruto's lone eyebrow rose closer to his hairline at this statement. Even Kyuubi seemed to be giving the man a questioning stare.
'It seems that he finally figured it out. Eh, who cares? He hated me before; he'll hate me even more now. Ah well.'
The teen stood slowly and gave the man a cold glare that made the ice golem of Kyuubi look like a boiling desert, nearly making the newly-spandex clad Jounin step back in fright. But he was a Jounin, and he wasn't going to let this demon intimidate him!
"Hatake-san, I advise you to quit making nonsensical accusations when you have no proof. I am actually quite a bit stronger than you, so as I can defeat you in combat, I really couldn't care less with what you teach Sasuke. I am quite annoyed that you would believe I would stoop so low as to 'lash out at you', as you put it. However, your face mask is quite null and void at this point, as it seems someone has infiltrated your home, and was able to get quite a few pictures of your face underneath the mask. They seem to have spread all around the village, and I believe…I hear your fan club coming now."
The stampeding of footsteps started to shake the ground, as a loud squeal of "KAKASHI-KUN!" rent the air, causing all to tremble in terror. Kakashi swiftly forgot all about his hatred of his student, and handed three Chuunin Exam Applications to Sasuke, telling him he nominated the team (read: nominated Sasuke but had to nominate Sakura and Naruto as it was a team-oriented exam) for the Chuunin Exams, and that they would start in about a month. He then took off, hoping that he could outrun his mob of fan people.
Naruto walked up to Sasuke's still-shocked form, took a paper out of it, and disappeared in a swirl of snowflakes, headed towards Training Grounds 27.
Training Grounds 27…
Naruto arrived in his own teleportation spell with his lips slightly turned upwards in a smirk. He headed straight to Gai, tapped a finger against his own temple once, before a large screen was brought to life in the air, a still image of Kakashi's new 'look' on it for Team 9 to see. Neji stifled a snicker, Tenten burst out into laughing, and Gai and Lee started to hug each other, proclaiming that Kakashi had discovered his 'youthfulness' at long last.
He felt someone was watching him intensely, so he decided to find out who, and bid a farewell to the team before disappearing in a gust of artic wind, giving the entire team a brief chill. He reappeared in the surrounding forest, the same gust of freezing wind accompanying him as he appeared a few feet to the side of a Jounin who was spying on him. He decided that he was in a good mood and wouldn't harm the man… yet… unless he didn't have a good reason to be spying on him, that is, and voiced his question.
"Why, exactly, are you spying on me, Jounin-san?"
Yamato, the spy, blinked rapidly in surprise at being discovered before regaining his composure. At least the teen had a bit of respect, though it was obvious he was suspicious of being spied on. He had heard a little about the fighting abilities of the blonde, due to Kakashi's lazy drawl at all the meetings he had been to, but most of the Copy-nin's speeches tended to be about how Sasuke was progressing. Deciding that he might as well get straight to the point, he answered as truthfully as possible.
"I had seen your ability to create the fusion element of Ice during the Jounin meeting yesterday, and was wondering if you were able to create any others."
Naruto was a bit surprised at this, as he hadn't detected any malice from the man while he was speaking, and he seemed genuinely interested. He gave a slight shrug before answering the man, as it was a decent reason to be spying on him, though he would warn him to not attempt it again if he was fond of living.
"I have not been able to recreate the others to my satisfaction, so I await people with the respective bloodlines to the fusion elements to give me advice on how to combine the two. I had met a Hyoton user on my C-rank mission, and she gave me the much needed hint to make my ice manipulation viable. I can do a little of the other fusion elemental manipulations, but nothing satisfactory to me so I don't use them often. I have trained as far as I can without learning exactly how the fusion element works, and until I find someone with the bloodline to assist with that, I have hit a glass ceiling."
The Jounin nodded a little, as it seemed logical enough, before making his decision. He gave a slight smile to the blonde, before disappearing in the standard whirl of leaves, his answer floating to the Black Mage on the wind.
"I see… well, I am Yamato, the sole user of Mokuton in Konoha. Should you be able to prove to me that you are worth it, I will give you information on how the wood element works. For now, though, I notice your ice manipulation still needs training, and I will wait for you to bring it up to par with your other elements before testing you."
Naruto let a sly grin slip onto his face at this, and took it as a challenge. He disappeared in another Shunshin, a large pillar of ice engulfing him before exploding into multiple shards of ice floating in the air, before they all evaporated.
He would have to train a bit more than usual before the Chuunin Exams, he decided.
Author's Note: I actually like Gai. He must do wonders with his teaching, to be able to put up with the 'Fate fucks me without lube' speeches from Neji, as well as the annoyed acceptance of Tenten, while still turning Lee, who is unable to use chakra, into a real fighter who is capable of being almost on par with Gaara in canon Chuunin Exams. I also doubt that he always is 'youthful', but instead uses it like Anko uses her blood thirst. It's just a quirk to deal with the ninja life.
Next chapter won't be till Wednesday or Thursday, I presume, as Tuesdays tend to be off limits. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!