Chapter 3 - Basics, Elements, Fundamentals
Naruto stifled a yawn. Shikamaru flicked away a fly.
The two newly minted chuunin spent much of the morning waiting at training area twenty. Compared to the more scenic and dramatic training fields, this one was an exercise in simplicity and meeting perfectly ordinary needs. It did not have grand waterfalls, canyons or deadly inhabitants beyond the shinobi regularly coming to train. Most of the ground was a large, grassy field with a range, a small artificial pond at its centre and a few circles of bare soil of about three meters radius scattered about, with small clusters of trees here and there, all bearing marks of recent practice. Perhaps the single distinctive feature of the place was the dense and high hedge, less an active preventive measure to keep trained ninja from spying on their fellows training, and more of a polite reminder for privacy.
Shikamaru laid back, stared at the sky. If he squinted just right and cocked his head the right way, one of the clouds looked remarkably like a big fan. Or a shell, or a bird with a huge wing, but mostly a fan. So far the training session went just according to his tastes, however his fellow rookie did not seem quite as happy to while away his time. It was becoming a substantial bit of pain to refuse Naruto's challenge to a fight to kill some time.
"But come on, it will be fun!" The plea came again after a blissful half hour of Naruto contenting himself with basic physical exercise and trying out a selectioin of dulled practice weapons he found in a nearby tool shed. "You'll see, I'm on a roll, I bea- I almost beat Sasuke yesterday. Honest! Bet ya a bowl of ramen you can't keep all my clones tied up in that shadow thingie of yours."
"Correct. I probably couldn't get too many, but I don't feel like fighting." It was Shikamaru's turn to yawn, long tired of the visage of Naruto pacing around the tree he was leaning against. "Besides, maybe having to settle down and wait is the first lesson we're meant to learn. Wasn't there something about patience in the Academy? I think I woke up for some of that lesson."
"Patience? With Kakashi-sensei? Pfhah! I bet he's off somewhere reading his dumb book again. Hey, wanna play cards? We'll be here for hours and I'm bored."
"Not really my game." Shikamaru said, wondering whether that other cloud looked more like a dog or a deer. "Why do you even have cards on you?"
"I still had an empty pocket and couldn't think of anything else to put in there. So, wanna deal?"
The Nara gave up with a smirk. At least this was less troublesome than having to fight the guy.
They played one of the most popular ones among shinobi, favoured for its simple rules that nonetheless allowed the game to become a mix of mental wrestling and luck, quick sessions that went well with the sort of breaks that could come along on missions, and more importantly the steel edges laced into the cards that encouraged cheating as well as made for almost decent throwing or cutting weaponry in an emergency. It was no shogi, but Shikamaru has played it enough with Chouji to get a taste for it.
What was surprising, however, is that while Naruto made an eager series of questions about how Shikamaru's parents took his promotion and made a spirited effort to express how he was going to present Iruka-sensei with the news, Shikamaru found himself having to concentrate on a strangely frustrating game.
Naruto either preferred not to cheat or the idea didn't occur to him, he was ridiculously easy to read and predict, his entire strategy may as well have been spelled out in his expressions as he peered into his cards. Or so it seemed at first. Shikamaru quickly learned that probably without ever even meaning to deceive, there was a fundamental arbitrariness to the way Naruto played. He'd quickly piece together a dozen strategies based on Naruto's moves and his knowledge of him, to be left utterly flabbergasted by a move he never thought would make sense to move. Try adjusting to that mentally, and he'd only be surprised in a new way.
Of course that alone didn't turn the tide of the game at all or even gave a perticularly hard time for Shikamaru to beat him, but it had him wonder if it'd be worth it to work out a way of getting him to understand the rules of shogi. Asuma's expression alone could just be worth the trouble.
And speak of the devil, before Naruto had a chance to challenge him again, he was disrupted by the sudden appearance of two jounin in a puff of smoke. It was uncommon in Shikamaru's experience to see his sensei get about in any way faster than a comfortable stroll, but judging by Naruto's expression, such a sight was a regular thing under the jounin.
"Sorry, sorry. We had an important meeting to attend to. Village security stuff." Kakashi offered little more than a light laugh, directing away Naruto's frustration with the automation that indicated a sort of ritual between the two.
"Yeah right, sensei, now and a dozen other times." Naruto too grumbled his bit in an equally routine manner, coughing from Asuma's attempts to re-supply the small cloud of smoke from the earlier jutsu. Preoccupied with trying to wave the foul stuff away, he added "Next time at least come up with a better excuse, will ya?"
Being used to Asuma's habit, Shikamaru has already made the cautionary step to the side for precious air, musing on the oddly relieved face the jounin lit his cigarette. Like he hasn't had any for a while, or if he was stressed out about something. Village security might not have been that much of an excuse, and by the looks of it, Naruto's teacher took issue with the accusation as well. There seemed to be a break in the rehearsed give-and-take, and on the visible third of a face he was beholden to the scariest expression he's seen since Gaara of the Sand.
"Now, Naruto, remember what I said yesterday about insubordination?" The man's expression lasted just for the briefest flash, enough to get Naruto to freeze, and even the memory was in absurd contrast to the still light and cheerful tone. "That applies to you as well. Since we have a lot to do today I'll pretend I did not hear it, provided you won't complain either. Do we have a deal?"
"Y- yes sir!"
The sheer commanding power behind those words, even directed at someone else, seemed to act on Shikamaru's spine without the interference of his brain. He found, just like Naruto, his trademark slouch right itself in a most worrying way. Bad premonitions of high expectations and almost no chance of sleeping through them dawned on Shikamaru, without a single word yet spoken to him. Asuma's light chuckle at his behaviour didn't help much, especially with the terrifying aura around the other jounin disappearing as quickly as it had come, revealing a Kakashi much more fitting to whatever little he had heard about him around town.
"Now that is settled I say we get to business." Asuma's relaxed tone took charge as he surveyed the unusually meek chuunin in front of him. He exhaled a small cloud of smoke contentedly. "You've both done well to get this far, but now comes the hard part. Kakashi and I have talked this over and compared our observations." Another drag of the cigarette and Kakashi continuing to be passive was enough for Shikamaru to risk relaxing a bit. "There will be some joint sessions later on and we've been talking about switching you two between us, see if there's something we can teach the other couldn't, but for now let's stick with a one-on-one start. I for one definitely have a lot to talk to you about, Shikamaru."
As the duo departed, Naruto too risked dropping the larger than life standing at attention that his body seemed to adopt at its own volition after sensei's remark. It was one thing having seen him fight for his own life and that of his genin, quite another to face a bit of that killer intent on his own skin. Like how the usual Ero-Sennin disappeared when they faced Orochimaru, or how Granny behaved now compared to how she was when they found her, there were times when you just did not mess with them. Years of habitually acting out the silliest thing he could to make people pay any attention has made it difficult to gauge just how he was to act at times like these, but even to naruto it was obvious that if he was ever to make sense of it, it was now. Thankfully Kakashi-sensei seemed back.. or almost back to his regular ways, eyeing Shikamaru and his sensei leave for their corner of the training field.
"Right, I think we'll begin with… oh, you have a question?" Thankfully he did not seem angry at the disruption this time, spotting Naruto hesitantly putting up a hand.
"Um, sensei? How do you do that? The voice and all?" Naruto asked, resisting the urge to mimic Sensei's gestures as he dressed the team down the other day. That would likely not be taken too lightly, a thought Naruto never would have thought would occur to him about his teacher.
"The voice? That's a good start." Kakashi turned towards him in explanation, signalling his student to follow him as they too went off to a distant corner of their own. Stuck in a half-run, trying to keep up with an adult's legs, Naruto followed. "Projecting authority is one of the basic skills that you will need to learn, so we may as well begin with that. And while we're at it, let's work on getting you into the habit of thinking for yourself. I'm not expecting miracles, but I have seen enough of you to know you can do better than you have as a genin and you will need that skill more than the greatest of jutsu. Describe this 'voice' to me. What's different and what does it do?"
Naruto cocked his head, tried to think. He'd come to expect most answers from adults to be confusing and full of big words no one's ever bothered to teach him, and being posed a question just like this was a new thing to be certain.
"Well, I guess it's not just your voice but your whole, sort of… attitude?" They finally settled in the shadow of another tree, getting a larger cluster between their own and Shikamaru's training. Busy with the question at hand, Naruto still found the keeping of secrets like that a bit strange, but didn't dare ask about it. Once stopped, Sensei stood like a planted scarecrow with arms crossed, keeping his eye on his pupil. He was not the force of nature he seemed like not that long ago, but now he really looked at him, Naruto wondered how he managed not to notice qualities like that underneath. He always knew Kakashi-sensei was awesome, but first hand experience not as a protector but commander gave him a whole new appreciation as well as a healthy amount of fear of the man. Finally, focusing on the differences, he started putting it together, chancing the crucial one he finally spotted. "Back in the hospital you stood differently, looked at us differently. Oh, and you don't have that book anymore!"
"Good start. I do have the book, but I'm not reading it like before. Why? Because this is a serious matter and I need you to take it seriously too. That is also why I got you to stop whining about my timing." The answer came calmly, but with just a hint of the firmness new to Naruto.
"But you never had a problem with us behaving like that or complaining about you being late before!" Naruto insisted, trying his best not to cross the newly established line of behaviour.
"Before, you were a genin so it was okay for you to play silly. Frankly, it was cute and I hoped time and experience will sort out such things, but you and the village was denied that comfort. Now as a chuunin there are standards of behaviour, responsibility and respectability expected of you. You will need to give orders and expect to be obeyed; you will need to be able to talk with clients and civilians with several times your life experience." Kakashi's finger rose in the typical position of a lecturer, talking to Naruto in a patient, clear tone as he explained. Naruto wasn't sure why the mask betrayed sign of a smile when he instinctively nodded, focusing his attention he's never done before in the Academy. This really did sound like important stuff. "At your age I was a jounin, and let me tell you, both you and Shikamaru will have to learn how to handle that visible an age difference. For very different reasons, both of you will have a hard time at the start, but part of the training is to help you get there."
"But wasn't the whole thing about insubordination that others can't just talk back like, uh, like I did? And if I'm a chuunin people should know I'm good at the command stuff and do as I say anyway, right?" The question came on its own, but fortunately did not seem to offend Sensei as much as amuse him.
"I'm afraid it's the other way around. Did you think just because you have the rank people would obey you?" Breaking the spell of commander, Kakashi squatted down to put himself on the same height as his pupil and roughed up his hair. "People don't respond to just names and rank, you have to have genuine leadership. You have to trust whoever is assigned under you and you have to expect them to trust you in turn, have some real teamwork. Why do you think that was the first thing I looked for when I tested Team Seven? You'll have to make them feel they are part of a team that's more than just the sum of its members, you will have to lead them, inspire them. If you do, you will be able to help your friends move forward, support them through situations that alone they could never face. If you don't, if you fail as a leader, tragedies will happen that will haunt you for the rest of your life."
Naruto took that better than Kakashi had expected him to react, with merely signs all over his posture that he was disheartened. Certainly it was better than how he handled it when it was his time, by completely disregarding the advice. When he was that young and the new rising star of his generation, such warnings seemed pointless because nothing bad was ever going to happen and he was going to live forever. It was almost funny how wrong that was.
"But just between you and me…" Kakashi continued "… I think Hokage-sama chose to grant you a promotion precisely because you have a lot of the right qualities to be a good leader. You have been doing a good job turning Team Seven into a real team, and over anything else it is that dedication and spirit that earned you that vest. I'm not going to lie, I have my work cut out with you. But if you do your best, we'll make a great chuunin out of you. Can I count on you?"
"Yes sir!" As if someone flipped a switch, Naruto was back to his cheerful, normal self.
Kakashi celared his throat and stood back up, looking down into the face of his pupil. Gai-esque speeches were definitely not his strong suit, but he seemed to cheer up nonetheless.
"Good. I suppose that brings us back to the overview of your skills and where you are. Naruto, you remind me of an old teammate, both in your best qualities and in your worst. Your pranks, the moves you devised on the fly during missions and in your spar yesterday all point to a creative and unconventional approach, all very valuable in a unit leader. I would not have accepted the task of training you up if you were not, beyond the superfluous boons of chakra, a good fit for the role. You have a talent that can move people. The right words and actions to the right person turned a village of fearful fishermen into a fighting force. None of the examiners missed how you rallied the genin in the written exam and in the Forest of Death you broke your teammates out of a terror none of you were prepared for. In that, you are already an exemplary chuunin. My job is simply going to be to jump you to a level where you can reliably do this and keep the people entrusted under your leadership safe." Kakashi smiled as his pupil tried to hide his embarrassment with a loud laugh right out of Obito's book.
"That said that job is not going to be easy. Some of your essential skills are barely at graduation level. From what I can tell you practiced alone a lot, which for the most part simply grained in some of the worst habits you could get. We will hammer those kinks out, go over the foundational principles of taijutsu and weaponry. You may be unpredictable and that's fine and dandy, but we will be going over the basics of conventional strategy just the same, so you know when it's a good idea to depart from it and go with something of your own. Then there's a few more ideas I have that I think…"
Naruto's expressions, Kakashi reminded himself, would have to be another area to improve if there was time. He could practically follow the inner discussion bouncing round in his head, debating whether making the obvious question would count as insubordination.
"Sensei? I think if I try to learn that much in a short time I will die." He confessed in a fearful tone. The instructors of the Academy probably would have agreed.
It was not, however, something Kakashi was prepared to accept. If all you looked at was just the surface, he could see how one would arrive at this conclusion, or how the boy may have thought that about himself. But looking underneath the underneath was one of the most basic skills of shinobi, and you hardly needed to do that much to spot his willpower, if motivated enough.
"You learned a difficult technique from the scroll you took from the Hokage's office in a single night, probably just a few hours." Kakashi reminded him. " You learned a very complex chakra shape manipulation technique that is only known by a handful of people in a matter of weeks. I have confidence that you can master what you need... or rather, that I will be able to make you master them if it means keeping your team safe. Besides, I have in mind a method that could help you save time, if not energy. Remember the restriction I placed you under while fighting Sasuke? Think about it for a second, then tell me why I did that."
"You didn't want me to just blow Sasuke straight away with my Rasen-" This time, Kakashi did not have to even try looking serious or frightening, Naruto shut up on his own. There was hope for him yet. "Sorry, sorry. It's about that weird feeling with the clones, right?"
"That's better. Continue." In the short time he had for preparation since learning of Naruto's promotion and the training he was expected to provide, Kakashi found himself under great pressure. The Hokage mentioned the way Naruto learned the Fourth's technique, which seemed the best method to use with the boy, but getting him to work things out for himself, without providing explanations to pick apart, letting him learn by going through the motions and experiencing the logic of all he'd have to teach on his own skin, well that was going to take a hell of a lot of energy.
"I noticed that they were sort of better when I didn't make loads of them. And, uh, this may be weird but I think that a few times when I sent one into the forest where Sasuke hid and he dispelled one, I sort of got to know what it saw?." Feeling silly with his response, Naruto made a face. Silly or not, however, it seemed to be the right one, judging by the expression and nod he got from Sensei.
"That is because that is the original purpose of the technique. Unlike the illusory or elemental clones, a Shadow Clone has a unique aspect in that it's not just a chakra construct." A set of hand seals too quick for Naruto to follow resulted a shape emerging from the ground and assembling itself into a copy of Kakashi, then dispelling itself as quickly as it came. "It is a real, linked copy of your mind and when the technique is dispelled, what was learned returns to you through the link. It is also, certainly until you have gotten a lot more used to the mental strain and learned how to absorb the information quickly and well, why a small number of clones might work better than a whole mass of them. If you create three, you will be able to tell each what angles of attack to cover, and if they are destroyed the valuable new information stands out. If one in hundreds sees something useful, it is lost if you are not looking for it."
"How hard do I have to look? And how much is lost? I sorta remember what other clones saw in fights, but it's all a blur, mostly." naruto went over some of the memories from the clones he barely realised he had. Being impaled by sand and weapons, suffering Neji's Gentle Fist strikes. And there was also the memory of taking another form in the Sexy Jutsu and being ogled at by Ero-Sennin. Naruto was not sure he liked the whole memory gaining thing.
"It's blurred because you still haven't used the technique for long, so your mind might not be used to it. What I can tell you is that you seem very resistant to the mental strain presented by the technique. Beyond the chakra that mental component is a heavy burden for a lot of people to bear, even with just one clone." Kakashi explained, then ventured into less certain territory, less a passing along of information and more a simple wondering aloud. "Maybe it is natural result of your abnormally large chakra reserves, maybe your psyche was strengthened by that which was sealed in you under a constant pressure to resist it. Because of that resistance your mind was strong enough to automatically discard what must be an absolute flood, and it is also why, if we don't overdo it, you will be able to tolerate it and absorb useful information properly."
"From a bunch of clones, all at once? Like, one clone learning a jutsu and another throwing kunai? Sweet!" Naruto almost jumped for joy, barely containing his excitement at the prospect of great strength he was sure to gain.
"It is hardly as simple as that." Kakashi did not much like resorting to Tenzo's methods of gaining control of the sheer energy in the ge- chuunin, but he had to admit they worked very well on Naruto. A simple trick of hardening his look at him seemed to do the job of a bucketful of icy water. Oh, what he wouldn't give to give this simple information to himself when he first took charge of the team. "Let me make it clear for you. You are still relatively new to this technique. You have used it a lot and seem to have a knack for it, but that does not alter everything. I have used the Shadow Clone in spying missions enough to know that the toll on your mind will be taxing. Every stray thought, every new experience, every step, when you focus on regaining the information becomes a barrier between you and the actual thing learned. You can't do anything about it consciously, it is down to your unconscious mind to take care of all that for you. It will be a bit hard on you, but that is the best way I can think of to make sure you and the people under your command are safe. Are you willing to take that strain?"
Naruto thought hard about this. He wasn't used to serious choices and preferred to just go where his guts led him, but this was different. Kakashi-sensei wanted him to think for himself more, be more responsible, know what he was doing and why. Frankly that did not sound like too much fun, and once the excitement passed, neither did learning through clones. He wasn't much good at studying regularly, and this sounded even more upsetting. But if it could be the thing that would save a friend's life, could he afford not to do everything in his power to prepare?
"Yes, I think I am."
"Good. We won't use too many clones. This is not a way of training you've done before, bloody bravado will not get you anywhere." And, Kakashi thought to himself, it might be best not to strain his chakra network too much. Tenzo was up to his elbow in missions, unavailable to keep a certain prisoner's seal in check. He concentrated and went through the hand signs, producing three clones. "Naruto, you'll make twelve clones. One of mine will take one of yours along, they will start going through simple tactics. Another one of me will take six others and work on your taijutsu because frankly it is your second weakest area, almost as bad as chakra control. The last of my clones will take the final five of yours, and start going over the academic knowledge absolutely necessary for a chuunin. I have seen your answer sheet from the Exam and that will not do."
Seeing Naruto's surprise and disappointment, Kakashi could not help but laugh.
"Not the type of training you expected, is it? After weeks with Jiraiya-sama I can see how this might seem small time. But think: was there a single time when your own taijutsu, one on one, did not have you losing badly? You have gotten better over the missions, and normally I'd trust time and practice to hammer out your flaws naturally. But we haven't got the time for that. By the time I'm finished with you, your taijutsu form and tool use will need to be at a suitable level. Even after it you won't be able to go toe to toe with a specialist, but it should give you some better fundamentals as well as skills in coordination."
With a gesture he sent off his clones, and Naruto's ones followed them, still somewhat reluctantly.
"Besides" Kakashi continued "there is one more thing we will do that might make you a bit happier, give you another ace up your sleeve. But the most important thing is that you own the skills, your own as well as those on your team, and use them well. Part of that is giving you lectures to think over, try to teach you the principles you will need to apply."
As the clones and their replica sensei took off for some privacy for the lessons (no use in letting Naruto get distracted by Naruto's antics or Naruto being too loud, was there?) the real Uzumaki himself was visibly annoyed at the prospect that his taijutsu technique was lacking, but shortly yielded to the facts. He was using clones in the bell test, and it did not achieve anything. They would be useless against someone like Lee, never mind the monsters out there, like Orochimaru – it was only now he realised what the perverted old man meant when he said it would just be a waste of chakra. Against Mizuki and Gaara he used their sheer numbers, not actual skill. The times it worked best were frightening that mob on the bridge, getting out of Orochimaru's snake and deceiving people. The only times it worked against skilled fighters was when he used few of them, like against Kiba and Sasuke.
Finally he gave in. "Okay sensei I think I see it. But then what do I do? When we were told we'd get special training I thought it would be a new, cool jutsu like the Rasengan! So what's that ace?"
"The ace will depend on what we are about to find out about you. Before we get there, however, let's consider that Rasengan of yours. It is not very much like other offensive jutsu you have seen, right? It took the Fourth years to invent it, yet it is fundamentally a simple technique. It just needs you to take your basic skill of chakra shape manipulation and improve it greatly, enough so that you can directly channel your chakra into the most dense, most complex formation possible. There is no great secret, no special clan restrictions on it. Even without the Fourth or Jiraiya-sama teaching it to anyone, people could conceivably replicate it. They don't, however. Why do you think that is?"
"'Cause it really hurts trying to get good at keeping it together?" Naruto didn't even need to think of it, he automatically scratched his palm. The burn marks were long gone, and skill with the technique let him get away without hurting himself anymore, but developing his skill at the technique was one of his most painful experiences.
"Possibly so, but there is another reason. And as you will surely learn yourself, for most people learning a technique is almost always a difficult and painful business, except for, well, some lucky few." Kakashi stopped himself just in time before mentioning the Sharingan. Naruto did not need that right now, nor was it pleasant to think of the sheer difference he experienced between learning jutsu seal by seal and relying on his gift to do decode the technique for him. "There is a more conventional path to jutsu, more worth it for most ninja. Other than shape, there is a whole other way of chakra manipulation that gives you similar leaps of power and available techniques. The Rasengan is excellent for your current skill level, and was the best investment of time you could make. Learning it is as much an exercise in handling powerful and condensed chakra as the mastery of an actual technique, which is something crucial for someone in your… unique situation. But since we are increasing your other skills as well, the improvements in your chakra control and knowledge of the ninja arts should allow for you to begin that training too. So first of all, can you tell me what besides leadership, distinguishes chuunin from genin?"
"Better pay? More fun missions? Cooler jutsu?" Naruto was happy to finally touch upon something he understood.
"Well, yes. It is also expected however that chuunin are capable of using at least one element of chakra nature manipulation."
Naruto awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, making a face with confusion. And things were looking so promising there for a minute.
Not for the first time Kakashi found himself wishing it was Sasuke who was promoted. He'd done most of the work with him already and all that would be left would be to just work on his attitude and maybe try to slip in some other motivations than an obsessive wish to avenge his family. Feeling like he was making progress would have soothed his tempers and allowed him access to materials to further improve while Kakashi began the long and heavy work of getting Naruto and Sakura up to speed. Instead it was Naruto who got there with the help from Jiraiya-sama, the team's spirit was struck and he had a difficult job guiding the tensions down a less destructive path.
Based on the contents of the meeting this morning, it was also awfully convenient for the Sound to come to kidnap Sasuke right around the time when any insight into the Leaf's structure would reveal not only weaknesses, but information to accurately predict the boy's mental state and frustration. Had they not been intercepted by Jiraiya-sama, things would have very wrong very fast. Events were certainly on the move, and for the next time Kakashi intended to make sure it was preparation and skill that made sure his team stayed intact, not a string of fortunate coincidences.
Which right now meant getting right back to basics.
"Right. Fundamentals. Create a single Shadow Clone for me." Kakashi's command was followed by an almost reflexive formation of a clone in the distinctive orange. "Good. Now, what did you do to create it?"
"I, uh, made a clone?" Naruto scratched his temple, thinking. "I mean, like, I kneaded up the chakra for it, did the hand seal, poured the chakra into a sort of, err, form I guess, finished the technique and poof, there he was." His copy waved happily.
"That's better, although you meant chakra matrix. Most nature-neutral techniques work that way. You simply pour chakra in the right shape into the technique and if you have the right skill, you can do it." Once more a quick demonstration followed, Sensei changing his form into that of Granny's and back, fixing his kunai to his hand without holding it, producing an intangible illusory clone. "Skills like the water walking technique are the foundation for both chakra control and chakra shape manipulation. They are simple, but they are skills anyone who learns them will from then on use practically every day, and that is generally considered practice enough, since most complex jutsu have hand seals to guide chakra shape. Now, demonstrate your Rasengan on that tree."
Naruto did so. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him using the clone to fully form the sphere, but said nothing for the time being.
"Good. The Rasengan, as I just said, is a simple but deadly technique invented by the Fourth." Kakashi picked up a small splinter torn out of the tree by the incredible shredding force of the technique, toyed around with it as he continued his explanation. "In the right hands it can be an extremely effective technique, used almost as instantly as latching onto a tree with the chakra in your feet, needing no hand signs. It is the highest level of chakra shape manipulation, taking a large amount of it, condensing it, moving the threads rapidly in a sphere shape for an immensely powerful, concentrated technique."
He concentrated for a split second, and a tiny, tiny dragon shaped flicker of flame appeared around his hand, circling it, then devouring the splinter. Naruto looked on in awe at the simple trick.
"The better you are at shape manipulation, the less signs will you have to use to make a jutsu work when time is of the essence, and if you know what you are doing you can change how a jutsu you already know works. I refined my Chidori's shape and concentrated it enough through shape manipulation to call it a whole new technique, Raikiri, for instance. All clear so far?"
Naruto gave a hesitant nod.
"Can you use shape manipulation to, say, make a square Rasengan, then?" The dragon in Kakashi's hand twirled and burnt itself out, as if to pose the question.
"Um, yes if you know what you are doing and are good enough. But there would not be a point to doing it because the way the Rasengan is it is at the height of shape manipulation and, uh, chakra condensation." Naruto answered and tried to sneak in his own attempt at creating a small chakra construct to no avail. The manifested chakra did twirl in a way he was rather happy with, though.
"Concentration, but yes. Good. Now, while shape manipulation changes how your chakra is organised and what form it takes as you release it altering the jutsu in one way, another factor is whether you apply nature manipulation to make the chakra within the technique attune itself to an element. While there are plenty of element-neutral techniques, higher level techniques tend to have an element associated with them that allows a chakra construct to take on qualities desirable for a jutsu."
Kakashi found himself encouraged by Naruto nodding again, genuine interest and actual understanding in his eyes. There was hope yet, and perhaps he could step up the lesson.
"The Earth Wall technique for instance" Kakashi's technique gave rise to a large wall adorned with hounds comprised of the element "would not be able to retain itself if it was just a technique based on chakra and shape manipulation. To render chakra solid enough to hold together as a physical object for a time, never mind something that can actually block incoming attacks, you need either to change the chakra's nature in the technique to become solid, slow and strong like the earth and minerals themselves, or you need to keep the chakra circulated and continuously replenished, like some chakra barrier techniques, like your Rasengan or the Hyuugas' Kaiten does. As for most people it is far easier to learn an element suited to them and maybe a second one to round out their abilities than to master shape manipulation to such a degree that the creation of such a circuit of chakra is practical, chances are a powerful technique will rely on an element to make itself work. Of course, it is best to make use of both, but for now that's well beyond what we are going for."
"So what you are saying is that to learn a cool new jutsu I will need to learn a natural element?" Hopeful signs, of course , should never be overestimated. That spark of actual understanding was still there, but Naruto returned to his original hopes. Boy, this was not going to be easy.
"…Yes. In a way. Ideally it's not so much learning an element to master a specific technique, though in some cases that has happened before, but learning an element to gain access to the host of higher level techniques that can then be performed using that element." Kakashi let the earth wall crumble, and without signs, channeling the technique to the ground through his feet, formed stalagmites in the shape of canine teeth to rise out from the soil, made it form fake footprints to misdirect possible pursuers, right into a just-formed hole with spikes at the bottom, easily covered by twigs.
"And it's better to learn elements than chakra shaping, right?" Naruto asked, paying more attention to the show than the lesson.
"Not necessarily." Kakashi shook his head and dispelled the techniques with a single movement of his hand, to the visible disappointment of his pupil. Teaching him the basics for techniques of combat, it was all too easy to forget that there was a kid in there as well, for however long still. "Each element has its counter in another. Users often need to rely on long hand sign sequences to properly fire them off. Recognising the element of a technique is halfway to an effective strategy against it. In any case, for someone with your unique situation shape manipulation is a good first step towards refinement, and high skill with it means you will have to rely on fewer signs. The point is that neither shape or nature manipulation are necessarily better than the other, one just happens to be more common."
"The only one I know who uses elements is Sasuke, and he's got two. And Haku, but he's dead, plus the ice thing was a bloodline limit, right? Oh, and there was Gaara and that girl with the big fan from the Sand." Distraction gone, Naruto was back in the lesson at full attention, counting on his fingers the various techniques he has seen.
"Most of the people you know have access to some very special skills. Your generation is rather unusual in that regard, and people of the more notable clans tend to develop uniform, specialised techniques appropriate for their clan's role in the village. Other Genin on the other hand start out with little but kunai and the simplest techniques to their name, but as they develop their reserves and skill and are promoted in rank, by the time they become Chuunin they know at least one element. Whether that is the defensive Earth and Water or the more offensive Fire, Wind and Lightning determines a lot about their later role, and all can be bent to your will, but fundamentally you either use what you are given, or try to master a secondary more suited to what you want." Kakashi coated one finger in lightning, created a small flame at the tip of another and manifested a small, floating droplet above the third, again amazing Naruto. Just here he beat his star pupil; Sasuke was of course not very amused by a show like that and needed only a brief explanation, but in this case he much preferred to see the wondering nature of youth on his student's face. So long as Gai never learned a thought like that crossed his mind at any rate. "Let me be clear on this: with you we don't have the time to learn what your natural affinity is and then try and go for another, what you get is what you have for now. Agreed? "
"Okay! So how do we do this, how do I find out what's my chakra affinity?" Naruto was clearly inspired by the show and wanted try his own, achieving little but coating his hand in enough chakra to have it glow with yellow-orange, already twirling in the way he'd start up a Rasengan. Kakashi found himself once more amused and amazed at the sheer amout of chakra the kid had, for most shinobi his age manifesting enough chakra to be visible would alone be a stuff of wild fantasy. Hopefully he could have him put all those energies to some use for the village.
"We use these. It's a chakra nature paper. Hold it between your fingers, run the chakra through it, and it will react differently for each."
Kakashi demonstrated his own, making the paper crumble seemingly by itself, crackling with electrical energy. He handed one to Naruto.
The chuunin tried the same thing with the paper. Nothing happened for a second, but when the paper reacted and split down the middle, Kakashi looked surprised.
"A wind affinity, huh? That's pretty rare in the Land of Fire as the first, natural element. We are lucky, though, as Asuma is the only other natural wind user in the village I know of. He is probably busy with Shikamaru for now so I'll only start you up on the basics, but we might want to talk to him about teaching you on the higher levels. The shadow manipulation of the Nara is something best trained by the family, so he should have the time to spend on you. For now, I have a few ideas to get a feel for the nature manipulation's basics. Don't expect this to work quickly. Later on we will be able to increase the pace by using clones, but for today I want to make sure we are not overwhelming you with as many as we are already using on different topics."
Kakashi settled down and finally, finally took his book out, letting Naruto get at the work of cutting through a leaf by manifesting enough wind chakra for the task. This would take a while, considering it took Sasuke a month to really get the lightning nature down enough for it to be useful in the creation of the Chidori. At least this time the only real time constraint was an irritated Tsunade-sama, rather than an out of control Jinchuuriki, which allowed him to take things easier, occasionally giving a bit of advice. Peering over his book he could see his clone overseeing three pairs of clones going through kata, correcting stances, explaining what and why worked, how to best position oneself, what to strike for.
From the distance the tall, uniformed figure with a mess of spiky hair, albeit of the wrong colour, teaching an overenthusiastic kid practically abuzz with energy and wanting to impress the hell out of the world seemed all too familiar. It's been years since he thought of Obito. By all means he spent hours every day by the grave stone, remembered his subordinate who maintained he was his equal, his teammate who knew more of sacrifice and the meaning of the word 'shinobi' than he learned of it since, and his friend to whom his promise he could not keep. Rin, and so many of the others were long dead. The image of the person faded, mixed with other losses, guilt and emotional baggage from his days in ANBU. Maybe these days he went to the gravestone and saw not Obito, but the idea and measuring stick for shinobi that he would never live up to himself.
So to remember the loud, obnoxious, clumsy little brat who used to annoy the hell out of him and see him in one of his own pupils, his sensei's son at that, was a mixture of obtrusive, amusing and a very welcome opportunity to wax nostalgic. Maybe this time around with the cards reshuffled, things would turn out happier. 'Obito' was in charge of the team now, and he would make it damn certain that he'd be ready for whatever came.
Of course, that was just one perspective he had at the time. Different clones in different situations will certainly reach some very different ideas. The clone entrusted to give Naruto a quick course in what he should by all rights have learned in the Academy, for instance was busy discovering huge gaps in his education and trying to explain why certain moves worked and why others did not. In particular having to hammer in an explanation as to why empty theatrics were plain stupid and only got you or your team killed, and doing all this with five Narutos chorusing, arguing, asking silly questions and generally being Naruto meant that this one was far less awash with benevolence at the time.
As for the one tasked with introducing his Naruto to tactics beyond preparation to pranks or at least applying the principles to unit command as well as doing a basic review of decisions he made with his previous fights, well…
"Why on Earth did you not summon one of Jiraiya-sama's toads against Sasuke or Neji? Do you realise how incredibly powerful summons, especially as legendary as the Toads can be?"
"What do you mean you can only summon Gamabunta himself or one of his most junior progeny? That makes no sense! Why haven't you taken the first opportunity to try and summon one of the less gigantic ones who can still help out in a fight?"
"What do you mean you were too busy? The main me is trying to teach the main you the fundamentals of elemental techniques to try and give you an ace, yet here you have been sitting on one of the single most useful techniques a shinobi can perform. There are hundreds in this village alone who'd kill to get their hands on that contract!"
Once the clones returned to the originals, it was obvious that had Kakashi decided to ever discuss those memories with anyone, Iruka would finally have gained someone to commiserate with over the promises and many, many missteps of his student. Jiraiya never would have gotten involved in such conversations, mainly because one suspected he made his own sensei voice more or less those very same concerns in his own time.
By the afternoon Asuma was rather pleased with the results of the training thus far and Shikamaru was getting more of a workout that he'd ever had in his life. As clans went, the Saurtobi were flexible and laid back, but even among them the Hokage's younger son was known as exceptionally relaxed, trusting the world to sort itself out for him. Sure, he had moments where the nonchalant haze that was his personality coalesced into a hard, determined mass – such was the case when it came to his past stance against some of the more questionable decisions his father made, threats to those he cared about (particularly a red eyed mistress of illusions), but it could not be denied that he resorted to that approach when there was no alternative.
This manifested itself in the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio getting lighter training compared to Teams Seven and Eight, never mind the tortured existence of Team Gai. In all fairness Asuma did have every good reason to be more free with the reigns: unlike Kakashi he did not have two students at his hand without any access to decent techniques and lacking the diligence in training that comes naturally with clan culture, and unlike Kurenai who also had specialists with unique techniques all to themselves, he did not have to actually instil the idea of teamwork in them or how they were supposed to cooperate as a unit. The trio under him was practically groomed for the role from birth. That was not to say that Team Ten or Asuma himself did not work hard, merely that much of the job involved in his work was either already done as a matter of tradition or specific clan skills and he was yet to really get a feel to how best to help his team move forward, save for being a reliable figure of authority and motivation.
They started out with a shogi match. Then came some hypothetical scenarios while trying to hit moving targets with kunai or shuriken, then his shadows. A debate on the best actions to take on a pursuit scenario was broken up by lunch, when Kakashi and Naruto came up to them, bringing news that the orange-clad chuunin had a rare affinity for the wind element.
It was not entirely unexpected that he might end up with an element more at home with Asuma, and a simple enough swap of trainers was already bartered between the jounin. Naruto would show off the little progress he made and get some pointers on the nature of wind chakra, whereas Shikamaru, to his everlasting joy, would get to test out the feasibility of his ideas for the pursuit scenario against a summoned pack of ninja hounds and their master who was ANBU longer than the boy had been alive.
Asuma was not a hard sensei, but he had to admit, he liked the testing of the idea, as well as the summoning technique. Perhaps it was finally time for him to stop sulking and take up the contract of the family? His brother, the new clan head, was busy with village security and never had a flair for that sort of thing, while the rest of the family was apprehensive about naming a successor to the contract so soon. But they could be persuaded, and the summons might just help him during solo missions or in training the kids.
Chouji could benefit from trying to wrestle with someone far, far stronger than he is who doesn't need to rely on chakra, some of the apes held very in-depth knowledge of poisons and might be willing to impart some of that knowledge to Ino so she can add them to her existing arsenal from the Yamanaka archives, and some of their elders have seen and participated in some of the greatest historical battles, which was sure to benefit Shikamaru – or alternatively the younger ones could give him or the rest of the team an even more fearsome chase, just for practice.
As he walked back to the other corner of the area with Naruto, Auma was really starting to consider his options on the matter, liking them more by the minute.
"Very well, let's see how far you've gotten." He usually preferred his trusty lighter, but felt it was far more appropriate to light his cigarette off a small flame technique.
"Oh it!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbed a leaf and started concentrating. This was different from bringing up chakra from the palm of his hand for a Rasengan. He's gotten used to the strain of that, and if Kakashi-sensei's explanation meant anything, it had to be a difference in the kind of chakra used. He tried recalling how the chakra felt when it split the paper, but it was a fleeting difference he barely recognised at the time. It was somehow … thinner, maybe? Trying to replicate it resulted in little except for the tiniest scratch through a quarter of the leaf, not even deep enough to pierce it.
He looked at Asuma with embarrassment as the jounin examined the leaf.
"Oh dear. You've been at this for a couple of hours now? How are you visualising your chakra?" Shikamaru's instructor sounded strange, shifting the cigarette to the side of his mouth and biting down on it as he talked - then again maybe it was no stranger than the muffled noises escaping a mask.
"How do I what my chakra?" More importantly he had no clue what the hell he was talking about.
"That's not a very good sign." Asuma took a very, very deep drag of his cigarette. Trading pupils, even for a short time, seemed far less good an idea now. "What image do you have in your mind, a plan or idea of the eventual result just before releasing the chakra for a jutsu?"
"Well I never really worried about anything like that before. I just put a whole bunch of chakra into the technique and hope it works out." Naruto seemed perplexed at the very idea. "Do you mean like a jutsu matrix thingie? Kakashi-sensei talked about those this morning."
"At least that's a start." Asuma breathing out could have doubled for a jutsu used to disappear, the small cloud of smoke enveloped them so thickly. It did not disturb the lecture continuing from somewhere inside, though. "A sense of the matrix for the jutsu is the simplest form of chakra visualisation. Start with a basic idea, let your instincts and imagination take over, supply the chakra. But you can be more precise than that. Use a finer measurement, be more certain of what you want the technique to do, try to take hold of the chakra on a smaller level. If you are to manifest natural chakra beyond trace amounts, you must be able to see in your mind the type of chakra you are trying to produce. You have the natural capacity to do it, but it needs to be brought out by conscious effort."
"But that sounds too complicated to be used in a real fight!" Naruto frowned, looking at the remaining markers of the elemental demonstrations from earlier and his own barely scratched leaf. "By the time I am done imagining all the little bits, I have been chopped up and burned to crisp!"
"Don't worry. At first it will take conscious effort, but practice it enough and even though it's more complex, you will be able to do it almost as a reflex, without really having to think about it. You will simply also have a far clearer idea of how the technique works. For now we'll just have you start on visualising wind nature chakra. Close your eyes, try to relax." Asuma watched Naruto shut his eyes tightly, with a face signalling he was either constipated or trying to concentrate.
"Now to start, imagine your chakra, like you're about to use it for a technique. Describe it to me." A voice eerily similar to the Third's rang out as Naruto made every effort to concentrate, achieve a clarity of chakra sense within himself.
"It's orange. It flows around in me. I can tell it what to do." The first words popping into Naruto's mind became the best description he could offer. He never really, really got the whole chakra thing. It was like asking fish to define water.
"Good. Now take a single thread of it as it moves and have a closer look. It's a nice and uniform flow of energy, is it?" The command came again. Naruto frowned and was silent for a short time.
"It is, but kind of isn't? Sometimes there's a tiny little whirl or an eddy here or there I guess." He ventured to guess. Usually when they were taught meditation he just umm-ed loudly and broke out in a snore, to the amusement of his classmates, but this might have just been the real thing, focusing on one's inner chakra.
"That is a good start, although the word you are looking for is 'vortex'." Naruto smelled a new supply of smoke and wondered whether it too formed those little swirls with the funny names. 'Vortex' sounded like a name for to the occasional gadget that found its way through trade to the village from the Hidden Rain. "Take that chakra and try to focus on the vortices, strengthen them. The strongest characteristic of wind natured chakra is its motion. It is fast, flexible and can be a million things, from a cutting and sharp blade made of the wind, vacuum or wind chakra directly, to a whirlwind or a direct gale. It can be the air you breathe out or in, it can be induced with the motion of your arms or just of your chakra, you can use a fan or bend existing wind to your will. Motion is at its heart, and that is what you need to instill in your chakra."
At first the idea of messing around with his chakra was foreign and difficult to even properly try. But as he concentrated on the rivers of the thing felt in his system and got more and more lost as he followed it, the little movements of it became easier to feel. It was not the exception, but the rule, all the motions too small to be seen initially. Almost like one of those strange paintings Naruto studied once to try and make his pranks fancier, a weird chaos was first meaningless, then you started looking at it a bit differently and suddenly it began to fall into place. Naruto could see it in his mind clearly, and needed only to take the idea and make it real. For someone who learns by doing it was an odd, upside-down way of working, but that was what was needed.
He concentrated with a leaf in hand. His chakra changed as it ran through the leaf, as he focused on the idea of all those little whirls. The way they moved looked as if they produced and kept on sharpening a blade between one another. If he could just position them right and move it along the leaf…
"Aha!" Naruto was pleased with himself. Sure, a real cut through the leaf was only about a third of its length and the line itself was more jagged than it should have been, producing strange scarring trailing off from the main cut, but he was making progress.
Asuma meanwhile did not have the heart to chide the kid for losing control of the chakra merely a third of the way through the intended action. Inwardly sighing, he set out to detail the fundamentals of the element, its creation and how it may be controlled. This would take a lot of practice.
By the time of early afternoon there were four exhausted people in the field, for a final meeting before an early, abrupt end to the training session.
Shikamaru's idea, it turned out, was good but risky and he ended up having to spend hours trying to escape, outwit and constantly revise as the experienced ANBU was toying with him, pushing him, making him realise on his own where and how he made mistakes. When the final variation of his tactics played out, he found himself surrounded by a pack of ninja dogs, and had to analyse and justify practically every step he's taken since the afternoon's exercise began for hours on end. How would he need to alter the tactic when commanding a unit? How high in number could it be realistically expected to work? But at least that was something he had some semblance of idea how to answer. Questions regarding unit morale and what the best way would be to keep it up, ensuring his authority is obeyed, properly dealing with the effects of a member of the team being lost were a whole different matter altogether. What's worse was that Naruto's sensei seemed, if he really tried to read him, focused on the topic where he had very little in the way of answers, not without real experience of command.
He did not particularly want a promotion, yet here he was grilled on ideas, tactics, pressure handling, recognising the proper way of judging unit cohesion. Shikamaru tended to know when he could get away with a remark or barb, and a fair bit of the afternoon's discussion was labelled in big, red letters as not the appropriate time to be a smartass.
Playing shougi or applying reasoning to a fight where he himself or people he's worked with would take his commands without question was one thing, but to present himself as a legitimate authority to some of the people he'd apparently be taking command of, well, was probably something entirely different.
That and some of the stuff later on was genuinely interesting and challenging. He had a slight suspicion that the sort of things he was being taught and expected to complete were well beyond the stuff expected of chuunin, so by the end of the day he had plenty of mental fatigue, to go with the physical from his little chase with the dogs. One hardly needed to be a genius to figure out, given the programme the two jounin seemed to have in mind for him, that he would be on first name basis with exhaustion before the end of training. All because Asuma had apparently explained his supposed genius to the rest of the jounin, a mind best burdened as much as possible for his own good.
'Troublesome' did not begin to describe it.
Naruto was much more quiet than usual. Part of that was the strain of absorbing the experiences of his clones. When they dispelled themselves and all that memory and mental fatigue hit him all at once, he felt like a mule just kicked him in the head, and he fell over in much the same way. It dissipated quickly and felt different to all previous forms of tiredness, but still made him wonder how he's managed to ignore the clones' memories before. Taijutsu training, basic geography, introduction to field unit tactics and coordination – it all buzzed around in his head.
The worst was Kakashi-sensei's academic lecture. He could see the sense in learning about poisonous plants and the like, but a bit less of the history . Okay, maybe he'd spent too much time imagining cool jutsu and great battles while the teachers droned away in the classrooms about those very same battles. Okay, maybe some of the stuff he did get seemed actually useful now, with a few missions under his belt. Perhaps most of it would be the same when he got it all straight. But he was sure that if the next few weeks would be like the first day – and he was told they would be – he would have some nasty, nasty nightmares as his poor, tortured brain struggled with it all.
As for the tactics, he found that strangely similar to preparing pranks, with a hint of coming up with interesting ideas, almost like one for a fun story with crazy twists he used to make up during the more boring classes. Examining the mistakes and ideas he had in previous fights with the sensei was embarrassing, but going over big historic battles, the memory now reviewed with the historic memories of the other clones in mind, was refreshing. Especially those experienced personally by Kakashi-sensei were interesting, he even offered his personal account and views on them. That alone transformed a dry subject into a story from the first perspective, with Kakashi reluctantly sharing his concerns at the time and an examination from hindsight of what he did right and where his mistakes lay. For that clone the afternoon flew by fast and Naruto looked forward to what he'd learn next.
His own development was strange. He had not pushed himself as hard as he would have liked, compared to what he did to master the Rasengan. He was starting to get the feel for wind chakra, but it was taking time and this was merely the first step so far. Mostly what gave him trouble was the task of absorbing a different set of memories and actually incorporating what he'd learned from them, rather than just keeping it as knowledge.
Asuma for his part talked himself dry with Naruto. Through the afternoon he has spent a great deal of time explaining not just the nature of wind chakra, but also how the elements relate to one another, how those elements created by kekkei genkai are unique as valued and feared, how to best exploit a situation where he faces an enemy with an element he holds an advantage against, what to do if he is outmatched with them and so on. The kid even surprised him by immediately realising that if some elements are in direct competition weaker than others, they can be bolstered by a cooperation technique of another element to turn the tables. He'd also spent some time elaborating on direct elemental chakra being sometimes stored in scrolls and how those may be used – he once saw a certain lightning user release a small pond over the battlefield to let the water conduct the electricity to his actual target, which in turn led to a discussion of how elements could, even though there was no direct relation between them, sometimes interact nonetheless.
Kakashi was knackered. Creating three clones was well below his normal capacity, but sustaining them for such a long time was tiring, and reabsorbing their memories was not particularly pleasant either. The Nara kid was impressive and was very similar to Shikaku, but he was too used to strategic games with Asuma to fully apply the skills gained by those exercises to real people and he would need some real, no nonsense experience in the field actually leading people for him to really come to his own. At least Pakkun and his lot had a little fun with the boy who had them chase fake smells, well-placed trails leading to a hastily set up trap and various tricks all day.
But tired as he may have been, he was proud of both kids. Both did their very best to overcome the areas they were lacking in and showed more skills and determination than he'd expected of either of them. For Naruto he had a few more ideas and he assumed Asuma wasn't yet done for Shikamaru either, but officially with the situation being what it was, all that was left for the day was a final pep-talk.
Fortunately Asuma was experienced enough to not need any signs for that, opting for a simple goodbye as he took his pupil for some private words, and it was all for the better. They were happy to teach each other's pupils a little and help out where they could, but at the end of the day what would be discussed was sensitive and there was little sense in letting other ninja needlessly know of the young chuunin's weak and strong areas beyond the immediately obvious. Information and the acquisition thereof was one of the most important aspects of their profession after all.
Which brought him to another, uncomfortable topic he would nonetheless talk to Naruto about. Wordlessly they watched the departing student and master, until there was nothing but the noise of birds chirping in the hedge filling the silence.
Unsure how to begin, Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder in a vaguely familiar manner.
"Well, if my clones' memories are accurate, I have to say you have done well today, Naruto. I understand that it might be a strange experience to handle that, but it is something that's necessary. Asuma tells me that you've made good progress on the leaf exercise as well, and I have every faith in that you will be able to master your element. But don't let that get on your head. Realise that the reason you might feel you've improved that quickly is because frankly, there was plenty of room for it." Kakashi coughed awkwardly. Times like this, he knew precisely why he rejected the opportunities to teach his own genin for all those years. "Now, I have two more things to say to you before we end for today, both more a suggestion than a real command. Firstly, I'd like to talk to you about your new technique."
"The Rasengan? Did I do something wrong?" Naruto's face was still downcast after the sour ended evaluation of the day.
"Yes, you have, in a way. For starters you still need a clone to perform it, but that is not the real issue. The error you made is that you allowed me to know you have the technique when there was no reason for it."
"Huh?" Not the most insightful question of the day from Naruto, but understandable, given the personality.
Really, such tendencies ought to have been addressed by a teacher back in the Academy, the same one whose failures now burdened him with having to re-tread the fundamentals of shinobi education with his student. He's seen first hand all the ways Naruto was wanting before, but the afternoon's training revealed gaps enough to be beyond merely the kid's own fault. There was nothing for it now but to try and patiently address the issue and hope for the best.
"You have shown it off to Iruka at the ramen stand, correct? And you told him Jiraiya-sama had taught it to you. That is dangerous."
"So what?" I trust him." Naruto's proclamation was admirable, honest, clear, and given the state of the world, a whole other danger just by itself.
"Then why did you do that to him?" Kakashi asked, causing Naruto's pupils to widen in surprise. There was no reason to soften the punch here, it was best to get the lesson to him quick and strong. "Now if someone was to find out information about your capabilities, they could go after him for the info, use him or Jiraiya-sama to get to you. Ninja must always guard their secrets, not just as a matter of rivalry but also as a means of protection. Sharing information about your capabilities is not done lightly, not just with anyone."
"So why go on about leadership and all that crap if you tell me I must keep to myself?" As expected with perhaps his earliest substantial bond with someone still living, Naruto was upset at the very idea of secrecy. and took it entirely the wrong way at that.
"It's hardly that binary a thing." A confused look from Naruto reminded Kakashi of his earlier concerns. "Binary means one or the other. Leadership, friendship, teamwork are very important things. Bonds with other people are what give life meaning, but part of that is keeping the others safe, which can mean you don't babble out information that could make your team a target. And despite that you could still choose to share important information about yourself if you think it is the right thing. Like before, all I need you to do is simply to get into the habit of thinking things through before you act."
"So don't tell people about the Rasengan, then?" Naruto squinted in confusion, as if trying to decide whether his sensei was joking. Perhaps trying the class clown to not show off is a fundamentally futile idea, but Kakashi was going to be damned if he didn't try explain it to him nonetheless.
"If you have no real reason to. And don't use it too much, that gives it away just the same. Same goes for any crucial techniques you may learn while training, unless not only do you trust them but their strength to defend themselves in possession of any info you may share. I dare say Jiraiya-sama is the safest person next to Hokage-sama to confide in, for instance. And at this point, don't bother hiding the clones, that is already your signature move – if I were you I'd keep the amount I can make as much under lids as I can, though."
"I think I understand." Naruto said, with an add look in his eye, deflated but looking Kakashi straight in the eye. "I'll… think about that."
"Good answer." Kakashi with approval. Better than simply accepting whatever he was taught, that alone was an important first step he just made, and in Kakashi's eyes a bigger one than even if he pulled off a perfect Wind affinity right from the start. "That's all I am asking. As for the other thing, well, I want to make sure that you understand the inherent weaknesses of our current mode of training."
"What's wrong with it? I mean I got a really bad headache at first, but it's gone now."
"It''s more of a flaw you need to know of, rather than something directly wrong. Remember what I said about ingraining mistakes?" An eager nod of confirmation. "That pitfall is even greater when you are using clones. As much as this could be a way of catching up, it could equally just trap you in your perceptions of what works. I will help you as much as I can, but if you rely on just this, a critical human element is removed. My own rivalry with Gai has taught me that despite occasional, well, differences, there is much one could learn when considering other perspectives given by one's peers."
"Oh, you want me to fight Sasuke more? Sure I can do tha-" The previous downcast expression vanished in a second, replaced by an eagerness Kakashi would only typically see on Gai as he made his latest challenge to him.
"Not what I was suggesting. Perhaps a training partner? Someone to compare yourself to, without needing to boast. You already have a rivalry with Sasuke, but right now the both of you need to calm down a bit and besides, all you two can do is compete instead of actively help each other out. Look, there was a real emergency this morning, believe it or not, and it means that the senior jounin will be needed for extra duties. No, you don't need to know what it was about." Kakashi cut Naruto off before he even opened his mouth.
"Suffice it to say that the afternoons will be yours to do with as you please. Same goes for everyone among the rookies getting training. I'd give it some thought as to how best to use that time. The field is open, you are welcome to keep on training, or you can think up someone to train with. As a chuunin, you will have to make decisions on your own, so consider this the first real one."
Naruto watched his sensei depart, his sudden haste suggesting he was seriously late for something again.
A look around confirmed he was all alone in the field and he had it for the whole day. His first impulse was to throw caution to the wind and get to work on that leaf. He was getting closer and closer, he felt it.
But as he took a deep breath, tried to mentally digest the swarm of memories still in his head, he thought again. He's done a lot today, but didn't actually tire himself out in the old fashioned sense. It would be nice to spar with someone or do something simple to train.
But a training partner? There was a laugh. Most of the other rookies were not quite as bad as he sometimes thought, but at most they had detention together and hung out after school, on a few good days. But the clans got wind of that and several careful words were had with the teachers, so those few, precious times aside there was not much of an opportunity to get to know any of the other guys. Being a training partner was like being their friends, right? Naruto somehow got the feeling their families would not be too happy about that either.
If he were to ask his team, it would not turn out right. Sensei's tactical insight during their lesson pointed out how much better Sasue was at everything than Naruto. So much for looking underneath the underneath, huh? He'd probably be all uppity about it too. Sakura was no better, she would probably just think it was a roundabout way of asking for a date and pummel him again.
The other guys he knew were all difficult, even if their clans wouldn't just tell him to sod off. Shikamaru was an okay guy but too smart, and it would be more of a chore to get him to train together than any sparring they'd end up doing anyway. Chouji and Kiba too were both familiar but both had their own thing, and a short-lived fellowship is hardly grounds to ask them any favours. That other guy, whose name didn't quite come to mind had some weird but cool ability, right? Eh, it was probably too specialised for them to help each other out.
That was more or less the extent of the genin he knew from Academy, and now he was sure none of them would do. He wanted to make them and everyone in the village realise he was not as weak as he used to be, and he couldn't just go and admit he needed their help. Unfamiliar as he was with having a training partner, it probably involved honesty about things you were less than stellar at. Kakashi-sensei's warning about the Rasengan didn't help much either – if he were to ask someone to train together, it'd have to be someone who wouldn't just laugh at him, someone who could be trusted, but even more importantly someone strong whom he wouldn't just put to danger with his big mouth.
And with that, a memory clicked into place, cutting through the now background buzz of memories. He'd done a lot of things that day. He fought Gaara to save the village. He successfully summoned Gamabunta in battle. He received news of the Third's death. He fought a grudge match against Neji and to avenge the pain he'd caused to a person who'd shared his nindo.
He talked with her the morning before the fight. The memory of the discussion was strange, full of things he did not understand, not entirely. Whatever they were, they made him feel better at the time, and even thinking about it now made him grin for some reason. He hasn't seen her too much even back in the Academy, but what little he saw of her during the Chuunin Exam, she had an amazing strength to her, and she was someone he could trust, maybe?
She'd called him a proud failure. He remembered the pride he felt at that, his doubts erased. He could have taken on anyone after hearing that.
The grin widened, into that toothy visage that scared so many a teacher or senior ninja. He'd come up with the person to ask to be his training partner.
