Naruto Fanfiction
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Author's Note: Seems I made a few mistakes in the previous chapter; Haku is a male, just like in canon. And Danzo was indeed not Hiruzen's old teammate, but his friend and rival. Also, someone stated I typed Hamura's name wrong? It's Ootsutsuki Hamura, right? Some say it's written with only one 'O', but I think it's two…? The Sage of the Six paths is named Ootsutsuki Hagoromo. Also, the way I see things with Minato and Kushina: Minato didn't appear until Naruto went eight to nine-tailed Chakra Mode and tried to peel the seal off, whereas Kushina only appeared when Naruto was in dire straits against the Kyuubi.
The Black Apple
Chapter 3: Progress
He was still shaking off the pain from the previous blows. Since when could the dead-last hit so hard? He shouldn't have underestimated him. If he hadn't, those blows would have never connected. It was time to kick this loser's ass. Time to show Kakashi that he was done wasting time doing these useless chores, these D-Ranked missions.
"You're on, dead-last."
He watched in satisfaction as frustration glowed on Naruto's face.
"Hoo… You've done it now." The blonde turned to Kakashi. "It's on, then."
"You're going to pay for those two hits, loser." Sasuke started as he bent his knees a bit. "I'm going to show you just why you're the dead-last and I'm top of the class."
"Hey, Sakura-chan?" Sasuke twitched a bit as Naruto ignored him and waved for Sakura's attention. "Who do you think's going to win between me and Sasuke?"
"W-what!? What kind of dumb question is that?! Sasuke-kun of course! You were the worst student in our class, he was the best!" Kakashi wasn't too sure if this was a good idea as Naruto's grin seemed to radiate pure evil.
"Exactly… WERE and WAS…" Naruto agreed. "How about…" Without any warning a Shadow Clone sprang into life next to Naruto. Kakashi saw the quick handseals, but Sakura and Sasuke didn't. "The Dead-last's Kage Bunshin beats the shit out of Sasuke…"
"That's it!" Sasuke's patience ran out after that, he couldn't wait and dashed forward in impressive speed, intent on teaching his teammate a lesson. Only to get his movement forcefully stopped.
"You're pretty fast." The grip was so tight. The grip on his neck was too tight; he could only try and stop Naruto from choking him any further as he tried to pry Naruto's left hand away from his neck with both his hands. "I'm just a Kage Bunshin, but even I can kill you easily now." Calmly, he lifted his left arm up and started performing one-handed seals. Sasuke's struggles were not loosening his grip one bit.
"S-Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's eyes were widened at the sight of Naruto's Kage Bunshin holding Sasuke by the throat.
The real Naruto slowly walked over to Kakashi and Sakura. "Can you believe it? He can't even beat one of my Shadow Clones!"
'One-handed seals? How did he learn those? From Danzo?' Kakashi couldn't believe it when he saw Naruto's fingers get surrounded by Water. Small Water Blades… 'Water Affinity?'
"Naruto! Let him go!" Sakura yelled as she glared at both Narutos.
"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? You said he would beat me, right? Have some confidence in him!" He chuckled softly. "Or perhaps, do you think Sasuke can't beat me, after all?"
The Kage Bunshin flicked Sasuke in the right cheek with his Chakra enhanced fingers, creating three bleeding whisker marks… "Hey, boss! He kinda looks like us now!"
"Naruto! You've won, let him go!" Kakashi started as he took a step forward.
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei?" The real Naruto was still smiling. "Did you also believe Sasuke would beat me? The other way around, would you have stopped Sasuke?" He nodded upwards at his Shadow Clone.
"Urghh!" Sasuke was rapidly losing consciousness.
Right then, the Shadow Clone dropped him to the ground and glared at the struggling Uchiha. "Having trouble breathing?"
"Hahahaha! " Both Naruto and the real Naruto started laughing. "You see that? The top of the class can't even defeat the worst student's clone! The Clone! THE! CLONE!"
Wiping the blood from his right cheek, Sasuke managed to lift himself up a bit as he supported himself on his knees. After a few seconds of catching his breath, he glared up at Naruto and decided. "Fine… You're stronger than I thought, Naruto. I'll take you seriously now. I don't want to fight your clone, or are you scared to deal with me yourself?"
The laughter coming from Naruto and his clone had slowly been dying down, but when Sasuke uttered those words there was a slight pause and then… the laughter returned tenfold.
But then the laughing abruptly stopped, the Kage Bunshin vanished and Killing Intent unlike any even Kakashi had ever felt filled the clearing. Sasuke was frozen on the spot due to the Killing Intent when the real Naruto suddenly appeared right before him.
"Hey, Sasuke…"
The first punch hurt more than anything he had ever felt. It felt like he lost his entire nose in one clean hit. But Naruto didn't stop there and hit him again, right between the eyes. Sasuke's sight vanished for a few seconds but returned instantly when the third blow, a kick this time, plowed straight through his stomach.
"S-Stop! You're hurting him!" Sakura was sobbing.
Kicking him in the side one more time, Naruto stopped to throw Sakura a gaze of incredulity. "Whatever could you be talking about? A dead-last like me could never hurt a genius like Sasuke…" A grin popped up on his face out of nowhere. "Right?"
She dropped to her knees as Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar and hit him in the right eye hard. "Hey. Hey? Hey! Hey!" Another blow. And another blow.
Kakashi was clenching his fists… He didn't know what to do. Just when he was about to step in, Naruto stopped peppering the Uchiha with blows, but he still held him by his collar.
"Call me a dead-last one more time…" He held his fist in front of the Uchiha's face, whose right eye was now swollen shut. Sighing, he dropped the Uchiha to the ground. "This is what I mean, you know?"
Turning away from Sasuke, he started walking back towards Sakura and Kakashi again. "See, Sakura-chan? You were wrong. You were SO wrong! DEAD WRONG! Not only was he NOT able to beat ME… He was not ABLE to beat EVEN a CLONE of me! So there, you have the true answer to my question…"
The pink-haired girl didn't respond as she was a sobbing mess.
He turned to Kakashi. "Thank you for not interfering, sensei. Could you heal him? I think he won't underestimate me from now on. I want to spar with him again."
"You hurt him pretty badly, Naruto. I can perform only basic Iryou Ninjutsu." Kakashi took a quick glance to the fallen Uchiha, who was struggling to even crawl. "Maybe we should take him to the hospital."
Memories and skills from Haku gave him a better understanding in Medic Ninjutsu than Kakashi, so he merely grinned at the older nin. The injuries Sasuke had picked up in the little spar, if one could call it that, were still quite minimal. Kakashi just didn't want them fighting anymore. "That's fine, I know Iryou Ninjutsu too."
'Why doesn't that surprise me?' Kakashi glowered a bit.
"Reign in a bit of your Killer Intent, sensei. I am kind of sensitive to it." Before he moved for Sasuke, he turned to Sakura once more. "Before I heal that bastard… Let me ask the question again, Sakura-chan. Who do you think will win between me and Sasuke?"
Sakura glared at him and refused to answer. Her blonde teammate merely sent her a meaningful glance back.
"I want to be Hokage, sensei. The leader of Konoha. I don't want to be a leader of a Village filled with weak Shinobi." He moved for Sasuke. "The sooner he gets his Sharingan, the better. I'm going to help Sasuke get really strong."
Despite being in pain, Sasuke heard all the words as Naruto was approaching him. He heard his teammate's footsteps stop next to him and suddenly felt Chakra on him. Was Naruto healing him?
"Sasuke… Let's try that again."
Every feint he performed, excellently he might add, was dealt with with a shrug and a casual evasion here and there. Every well thought out strategy, every well planned attack… they were all useless. It was as if Naruto knew exactly what he was thinking. They had been sparring for almost ten minutes now and he could already feel his muscles screaming at him to stop.
But no, that was unacceptable. He hadn't even landed a single blow on his teammate! The dead-last was… He was just too good!
Every kick or punch, every Shuriken and Kunai… even his Goukakyuu no Jutsu he had unleashed in perfect manner…
Nothing even came close to touching him!
As he was panting and analyzing the blonde's movements, he started realizing something…
Naruto was better than him… in everything!
But he also realized that he liked this. He was finally facing someone who pushed him to his limits.
He didn't expect Naruto to be this good of a teammate. Now he had a goal! To surpass Naruto and then Kakashi! If he could beat Naruto that would be proof he was getting stronger. Of course not strong enough to beat Itachi, but it was at least a way up.
A grin slowly formed on his face as he regarded Naruto with respect, and the blonde noticed.
"Heh, you're finally enjoying yourself, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha nodded once and got ready again. "You deserved it. I won't call you dead-last ever again."
"Finally!" Naruto yelled out to the skies. "Now let's see about activating Sharingan of yours… I'm gonna fight back now…"
The young avenger sighed and knew this was going to happen. For the last few minutes, all Naruto did was dodge his attacks. All just to show him he was THAT good. He was dreading but waiting for this moment at the same time. It is said the Uchiha mostly activate their Sharingan in dire situations.
As Naruto's fist sent him skywards, he couldn't help but hope…
Sakura stared in disbelief at the sparring in front of her.
Forever she had known Uchiha Sasuke to be the strongest Shinobi to walk the lands! But now…
But now, watching Naruto pick his nose as he was easily dancing around all of Sasuke's attacks… Watching Naruto close his eyes and STILL evade all of Sasuke's attacks. Watching Naruto yawn and jump around Sasuke without even attacking back.
And then, watching Naruto kick Sasuke in the neck, punch him in the back of his head, grab him and throw him all over the place…
She now knew… Sasuke is NOT the strongest Shinobi in the world.
Naruto was stronger, WAY stronger.
Of course, Kakashi and all other higher-ranked Shinobi were stronger too, but Sakura didn't pay any attention to that simple fact.
No, because Naruto was the dead-last. The weakest and stupidest in class.
And yet here he was, wiping the floor with the Uchiha prodigy with amazing ease.
It was unbelievable.
This wouldn't have been possible at all without all of his absorbees. Thanks to their muscle memory, their experiences, their skills and Jutsu… He could see through every amateur move Sasuke was pulling off. It was all just too easy.
Zabuza's speed was incredible, Danzo's even more so. Haku's speed was even faster if he used that mirror technique of his. Even Danzo's robot soldiers were fast!
Thanks to all of them, Naruto was also very fast.
As he landed another blow, this time a kick to Sasuke's left ear, he realized he was getting bored. He had to admit that the Uchiha was persistent. But then, Naruto was holding back a lot. After seeing Kakashi almost take action before, he decided not to pummel his teammate too much. He didn't want to be on Kakashi's bad side.
"Ne, Sasuke? I think you should take a break. You've got some serious injuries." The blonde suddenly stated seriously after he saw how Sasuke wasn't getting up as fast as before. "Forcing your body through too much pain is never good."
"He's right, Sasuke. I think this was a good spar." Kakashi eyed his blonde subordinate with a deadpan look. "Better than the one before." The Jounin turned his head a bit to give the remaining member of team 7 attention. "What about you, Sakura? Want to spar against Naruto?"
"N-no, thanks." After seeing how easily Naruto had beaten Sasuke to the ground, she actually feared the blonde now.
"Hmm. Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Sakura was confused. "What about tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow you will spar with Naruto. You can prepare for it." Kakashi then turned away from the pink-haired girl and crouched where Sasuke was on the ground. "I'll accompany Sasuke to his home. You guys are dismissed." With a Shunshin, Kakashi and Sasuke disappeared, leaving Sakura and Naruto alone.
"Ne, Sakura?"
She flinched at his sudden voice. She had still been staring at the spot where Kakashi and Sasuke were just moments before. "W-what is it, Naruto?"
"I'm sorry."
She flinched again, though this time for a different reason, as Naruto suddenly bowed.
"It's just… Everyone always calls me a dead-last, a loser… an idiot. I was tired of it. It really gets to me, you know? This was a good chance for me to show you and Sasuke that my marks in the academy were inaccurate. The teachers really hated me, so they failed me in every subject, on purpose." A sigh came as a pause. "Well, of course I also felt that Sasuke deserved that ass-kicking, but that's really beside the point."
"You've… you've always been that strong?"
"Of course not." Came the immediate answer. "I started training. I never liked the names everyone threw at me, so… I made it my goal to prove everyone wrong! You guys are the first to witness this!"
"W-well…" Sakura fidgeted a bit uncomfortably as she played a bit with her short dress. "I'm sorry for calling you those names. It won't happen again."
"Thanks!" Naruto beamed at her and Sakura suddenly saw the old cheerful Naruto again. "I promise I'll be a good teammate to you and Sasuke! I also promise I'll go easy on Sasuke from now on! I just needed to let him know where he stands and where I stand, you know?"
"A-ah." What else could she do but nod at that?
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll spar. And don't worry, I won't fight against you like I did Sasuke. After the spar, or even after we're dismissed tomorrow… How about we train some more? I mean, Sasuke too, of course."
Sakura blinked a few times as she considered this new Naruto, who seemed to ooze confidence. "Yeah… maybe?"
"How are you so sure he is in Sunagakure? What if he isn't? Even if you are with him, Naruto is still only a Genin."
"You underestimate Naruto greatly, Hiruzen. Even if I die and he is unable to absorb me back, he will still remember all of my techniques, my skills and my experience. Knowledge like that is not easily forgotten." Danzo chuckled shortly at the Fire Leader. Truth was, once absorbed you learn everything Naruto knows as well. The knowledge transfers both ways. Danzo knew exactly what kind of ability Naruto had and where it came from. "This is the perfect time. Only a Shinobi of Orochimaru's caliber could be a problem, but since he's not there… " The obvious need not be stated. "Also, My ROOT ANBU are coming along. I know you don't trust me, but I am just a puppet here."
"He's right. If I hadn't absorbed Danzo, your old friend would have done nothing to stop Orochimaru. I would know, I have his memories." The blonde tapped the side of his head. "His plans were to let his ANBU Root ambush many of the Konoha ANBU from the shadows, so Orochimaru would have an easier time. This won't happen now." Naruto actually glared at the old warhawk. "I fight for Konoha and I will destroy everyone who wants it gone."
The man now turned puppet nodded his head in respect. "I had my reasons, Hiruzen. I could apologize for my future actions, but that's absurd. It hasn't happened and it won't. And the reason I had was you'd led Konoha astray. Now that it doesn't matter anymore, I think you should know my motives. Konoha has grown weak. Other Countries will take advantage of it. I will not see the great Tree of the Fire Country wither. And now…" He looked at Naruto here. "It won't. Naruto has great plans and I support them completely."
The Third frowned at Danzo. "Konoha hasn't grown weak, Danzo. You just want war and supremacy, to let all other Shinobi Villages know Konoha is the strongest. It's not about being the strongest anymore. We live in an era where we can all prosper together."
"Always with the naïve talk. You and I will never come to terms with this. The Shinobi world is a world filled with backstabbers and opportunists. Stop being the idealist, Hiruzen."
"What say you, Naruto?"
The blonde in question shrugged at both old men. It was weird, but their banter almost seemed friendly. "I don't know. I don't really care either. All I want is to be Hokage. No… All I want is to be Hokage of the most powerful Village. We don't need to go to war with other villages for that. Konoha's Shinobi will just be the strongest. They need to be. I don't want to lead a weak village. I want to lead the best."
"Tch. How can you know you're the strongest without knowing how strong the other villages are? Besides that, being the strongest will come with problems. Other villages will be intimidated, their leaders not pleased. You see now how it's impossible to avoid conflict. War is inevitable, because just like you, Naruto…" Danzo grinned at the Jinchuuriki. "The Raikage wants his village to be the strongest too. So does the Mizukage, Kazekage and the Tsuchikage. Kumogakure especially, seems to be readying themselves for war as the Raikage is pushing his Shinobi extremely. Your dream is not unique, it's basic. You can't only want to be the strongest, you need more."
Naruto chuckled shortly at Danzo. "I don't care what the other leaders want, Danzo. I know what I want and that's all that matters."
"You're missing the point. Conflict is unavoidable, because of the simple matter called… clients. All villages need money and it comes from missions. All missions come from clients. Clients will go to the best, or strongest available. If you're the strongest, the other villages will fall because they won't be getting any missions. They WANT missions however… I assume you see how that plays out?"
"I don't care." Naruto shrugged. "As long as Konoha remains standing."
And then Danzo turned to Hiruzen and grinned. "We might differ in certain opinions and we might walk different roads, but the end goal Naruto and I share is the same. As long as Konoha stands strong…" He nodded to the Fire Leader, hoping that explained all of his behavior. "That's all I want."
Hiruzen had his eyes narrowed at Naruto however. "This is all just talk. Suppose you are suitable to become the Fire Leader, you're decades away from becoming Hokage. You're still young, pure and naïve… Your views change as you go through life. You know nothing yet, Naruto…"
"On the contrary, Hiruzen…" Danzo countered as he also turned to focus on Naruto. "He knows everything I know… You could even say he saw you, like I have, turning from the young Genin you were into one of the strongest Shinobi, the Professor, in the world now. That's how you should view this ability of his. It was like he was right there next to us."
Really, why did she have to take him to the weapon shop? Just because her family owned the store didn't mean her entire team could take advantage of discount or anything. Didn't they know her father was a no-nonsense man? Gai-sensei doesn't understand anything. She herself didn't even get discount from her father!
She didn't mind any of her teammates, as long as they weren't around her too much off-duty. Normally they weren't, especially Neji. But today Gai-sensei insisted she take Lee to the shop for some new wrist weights and ankle weights. Ten-Ten was persuaded because Gai-sensei said he'd buy her sets of explosive tags. Four at least, she had demanded.
"Weights! Weights! Weights!"
That had been going on for about ten minutes now. Ten-Ten shot an exasperated glare over her shoulder as Lee was following her to the store. If him screaming 'WEIGHTS!' wasn't enough of an attention grabber, him walking backwards on his hands definitely was.
How annoying.
She was tempted to throw a Kunai in one of his wrists just to make him fail his own stupid bet.
If he couldn't follow Ten-Ten walking backwards on the palms of his hands without letting the five small pebbles on each sole of his feet fall, he would carry Ten-Ten on the soles of his feet next while making the same trip twice.
Like she would let him.
From the corner of her eye she saw the blonde kid from Kakashi's team suddenly stroll into the street they were walking in. "Hey! You're the kid with the huge sword!"
Not feeling perverted, Naruto decided to shrug at the girl. She was yelling at him, they were quite a distance from each other. Ten-Ten, which in turn meant Lee as well, had stopped walking as Naruto made his way over to them.
"Where's the girl of your team?"
Turning red in fury, she pointed a finger at the blonde. "I'm the girl of the team, you moron!"
Waving his hands in a calming gesture, Naruto grinned at her. "Of course, of course! I mean the guy who looks like a girl."
"He doesn't look like a girl!"
"You mean Neji?"
"You guys… are Ten-Ten and Rock Lee, right?"
"Yeah?" She was embarrassed now, because she totally forgot this kid's name. It looked like he didn't notice. "So, how's the sword doing?"
"Oh, you mean the Kubikiri Houchou? Well, it's not in top shape at the moment, because it needs more blood to repair itself."
Ten-Ten blinked. What a weird way of saying he needed to train more with it. "Well, I'm not bad with swords, how about we have a spar now?" She remembered him having turn down the offer before in Wave.
The younger Genin shook his head resolutely. "No. The Chuunin Exams is soon and I don't to reveal my tricks. You're participating too, right?"
"Yeah, we're also- Wait! You're in them too?! You're just a rookie!"
"How incredible! You must be amazingly talented!" Rock Lee was still not facing them and was still standing on his hands.
Naruto didn't quite know how to deal with the weird boy so he kept facing Ten-Ten. "Well, our team is also in it, despite us being rookies, yeah. I've heard your other teammate was also Rookie of the Year, like Sasuke was."
"Neji is the strongest Genin in Konoha!" Lee responded again. "But I will defeat him one day and prove that a genius of hard work can beat any other genius!"
"Sure." Naruto responded, still facing Ten-Ten.
Ten-Ten understood. "Lee and I are a close second, though. You don't know what Kakashi-san has thrown you into."
The grin he gave her was actually intimidating, Ten-Ten felt. "Oh I do. Best of luck to you Ten-Ten-san and Lee-san. May we meet each other in the exams."
"We don't need the luck, kid!" Ten-Ten yelled after the departing blonde.
"My name's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!" He threw a knowing smile over his shoulder in her direction. "Try to remember it this time!"
"Yo, Kakashi-sensei."
The old veteran sighed to himself as he was crouching on a tree branch reading his Icha Icha. His subordinates weren't supposed to show up for another five minutes and he HIMSELF wasn't supposed to show up for another two hours. He forgot one of his students was a very talented Sensor-nin though.
Naruto used a quick Shunshin to appear on a tree branch close to the one Kakashi was crouching on. "I want to summon Haku to train Sakura a bit. Do I have your permission, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Haku's from the Yuki Clan, right? The Hunter-nin that was with Zabuza?"
"Yeah… Sakura has a very high Chakra Control and I think she could really benefit from learning some basic Iryou Ninjutsu. Haku knows plenty of those!"
Closing his book and scratching his chin, Kakashi considered the possibility. "Well, my knowledge in Iryou Ninjutsu is very limited and from what I understand you already know Haku's is more advanced than mine, right?" Kakashi didn't need an answer, he was good in analyzing. "You have complete control over them, right?"
"Yeah."
"Both Sasuke and Sakura don't know your special skills yet and both of them haven't seen Haku before. How are you going to explain that?"
"… I'll just tell them the truth? The Chuunin Exams are coming up soon and I don't want them surprised when I summon some awesome friends to help me out."
"Somehow I don't think they consider you as a friend, Naruto."
"What? Why not?"
"You killed them? You're using them as tools?"
"I think you're exaggerating, sensei."
Kakashi didn't know whether Naruto was joking or not. "I think it's best, however, that you keep your skill a secret. The best secret, after all, is the one never spilled. You can simply summon Haku now and I'll supposedly bring him along. Young Genin talk even when they're not supposed to. I'm fairly certain Sakura will talk about your and Sasuke's skills to other people. I'm not worried about Sasuke, because he doesn't talk to other people."
"That sounds about right." Naruto nodded his agreement. "Very well." Smoothly, Haku walked out of Naruto's body and took in his surroundings.
"It still surprises me." Haku started as he stared at both Naruto and Kakashi. "You killed me, yet I still live. I can see, hear, smell, feel… and probably taste as well." He then turned to Kakashi. "You shouldn't worry, Kakashi-san. I cannot disobey Naruto's command, as I am now a mere extension of his existence."
"It's actually very similar to the Kage Bunshin, sensei." Naruto butted in. "Except for the fact that they don't dispel after a single strike."
"I can honestly say that this ability of yours will make you a force of nature, Naruto." The Jounin was still eyeing Haku warily. Why did this boy look like a girl so much?
"I will fight for Konoha, sensei. I will also always be your subordinate. The same way my Shinzui Bunshin listen to my commands, I will listen to yours, I promise."
The Copycat snorted in amusement. "You're starting to become a real danger already, Naruto."
"Sasuke and Sakura are both on their way here." The blonde informed Kakashi. "You still don't want to be on time?"
"Let me talk with Haku about the training while you go and entertain your teammates, Naruto."
"You do know Haku's a guy, right?"
It was the first time he actually saw Kakashi glare so he quickly jumped out of the tree. "Whoa~~."
"That's impossible."
Her voice was dead serious.
She would feel the exact same way though, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes herself.
This time the training was real pleasant, as Kakashi-sensei had brought a very female-looking young man with him to train her in Medic Ninjutsu. Her spar with Naruto was postponed because of him. She was still kind of tired though and ran into Team Ten on her way back home. Shikamaru said he was tired and went home and Chouji said dinner was waiting for him so this left Ino and Sakura alone.
The blonde girl from Team Ten had started angrily about how Sakura probably wanted to boast about being on Sasuke's team, which was kind of correct. But less so, since she had seen Sasuke being taken down a peg… by the dead-last.
She was telling this to Ino, but of course the blonde wouldn't believe her.
"Did you hit your head, Forehead? Must have been one huge stone!"
"Shut up, Ino-pig! I'm telling you, Naruto's gotten way stronger since the academy!"
The pink-haired Genin received a look of disbelief in return. "Please Sakura, the day the dead-last beats Sasuke-kun is the day I will worship that blonde dunce."
Sakura shook her head at friend slash rival. "Be careful what you wish for, Ino, I'm being serious!"
"Whatever, Sakura."
Kakashi was observing his team training the water-walking exercise. Naruto had shown them that he already knew it and had mentioned to him on the side that he didn't feel like hiding too many of his skills.
Said blonde was instead meditating in silence on the side of the pond, while Sasuke and Sakura were standing on the water, or struggling on the water. Sakura because her Chakra was slowly running out and Sasuke because his Chakra Control was not as good yet.
As he looked at the blonde Genin of his team, he didn't know what to think of him. Of course, he was the son of Minato and he felt somewhat responsible for him because of that, but… Naruto had also, in a way, killed Iruka, Mizuki, Zabuza, Haku, Danzo and some of Danzo's soldiers. It was weird, but Naruto was kind of… frightening him.
The blonde could probably dispatch him just by calling on Danzo alone… The thought that a Genin could do this to a Jounin was…
Kakashi was wary to say the least.
But Naruto was still Naruto. This skill wouldn't change him. He could see through masks quite easily, as he was a master of seeing underneath the underneath. But wasn't Naruto the same in this regard? The young boy wore a mask of happiness throughout his entire childhood. And now with so many different personalities sealed inside of him, would they become masks for him to also wear?
Would he have too many masks to realize he's wearing a mask and forget there's a little boy underneath?
Kakashi hoped not. This simply meant one thing.
Keep an eye on him, stay close to him and try to get a better read on him.
He didn't need Hokage-sama's order for that. He felt like doing it for Naruto's father.
"The way I understand it, you've accumulated quite some dangerous fighting types and skills. Above that, you say your Chakra is also accumulated, not averaged."
"It's true. And it's impossible to wield it all at once, so Kyuubi's keeping most of the amounts with him. Unlike me, a Bijuu can control such a massive amount."
"Please enlighten me on how you and the Kyuubi seem to be working so well together."
Naruto and the Third Hokage were walking through a hidden tunnel underneath the Hokage Tower. They were heading for an area that the Third often frequented to train.
"Well… Apparently this skill I've inherited comes from the Ootsutsuki Clan. I told you about it before, right? The Sage of the Six Paths was called Ootsutsuki Hagoromo. Here's the interesting part: The Kyuubi regards the Sage as his father. Hagoromo actually freed all of the Bijuu as they were stuck inside of the Ten-Tails."
"The Kyuubi told you this? Why should I believe it and why are you so easily believing it?"
"I've seen the past, old man. The Kyuubi has shown me. Whether are not those images were real or not is of course still the same question, but… I trust Kurama."
"Kurama?"
"The Kyuubi just means Nine-Tails. He has a name, it's Kurama."
"… Go on with your story."
"Well, in the past, all the Bijuu and the Sage of the Six Paths had to fight many enemies. Their biggest enemy was their mother, who wanted to rule the world through a permanent illusion. She was beaten by Hagoromo and his brother: Ootsutsuki Hamura. Hamura's skill is the very same I now wield. This power consumes you and eventually Hamura also wanted to rule the world."
"You're already speaking as if the same will not happen to you."
"That's true. Hamura didn't have any help. He had no one who supported him, he only had the people he had absorbed. I on the other hand, have Kurama. He's my comrade! He has already helped me a lot! If it weren't for him, it would have taken a much longer time for me to get used to this ability. And in the end, I would have become a fragmented person. Probably, I would have turned out the same way as Hamura."
"Hm." Hiruzen just didn't know what to think of this ridiculous situation. Here he was, taking a Genin to his private training area. A Genin, who could very well now be one of his strongest soldiers in Konoha. No, he would surely be, if even the Kyuubi inside of him was completely cooperating with him. "I want to fight you and I don't want you to hold back. The only rules are that you're not allowed to use Shinzui Bunshin and no Chakra from… Kurama. Alright?"
They had reached their destination.
"I wish to know how this ability has affected you… and ONLY YOU." Hiruzen suddenly cracked a smile as he eyed his training field, about half a mile underground.. "Danzo never was one to train with me and actually… no one really was. Perhaps you'll be a fun training partner, Naruto."
"Old man… Are you sure about this?"
"Oh I know that you have Danzo's skills and that Devil of the Mist's skills. But I am the Professor. I will show you why the entire world calls me this."
"No Bijuu Chakra and no Shinzui Bunshin?" At the Third's nod, Naruto popped his fists. "Excellent, I've also been wanting to test myself."
It was a start.
As he was observing them in the mirror , he couldn't help but marvel at the sight. It had taken him years to get to this point. He had trained as hard as he could, to the point that he couldn't even walk home in many situations. But that wasn't enough. It wasn't exhaustion or pain that he needed.
It was desperation.
And he couldn't believe that the one who gave him that was the dead-last.
Well, he couldn't really call him the dead-last anymore now, could he? He would just be insulting himself even further. But even with his Sharingan out and activated, the blonde still wiped the floor with him easily. He would just be insulting himself further if a dead-last could beat him so easily.
He had to admit it, Naruto was strong. Very strong. Forget Kakashi, who didn't push him over his limits despite having the means. No, he could depend on Naruto who, gladly he recalled, was willing to beat him up.
No one dared the offend the last of the Uchiha, it seemed. Leave it to Naruto to not care about titles.
A smirk touched his face for a short time. This was the first step to annihilating his brother.
If he could surpass Naruto, he could surpass Kakashi after that. And perhaps after that all of the elite of Konoha and even the Hokage.
He would surpass them all.
Just to squeeze the life out of Uchiha Itachi.
OTOGAKURE – A few days later
"There's a problem."
Kimimaro stopped moving at the sudden interruption, although he had sensed Jiroubou coming. He just hadn't expected his subordinate to actually dare speak up while his leader was training. The Bone user was currently beating down fifteen Oto Shinobi blindfolded.
In the next two seconds, he killed all fifteen Shinobi and snarled in Jiroubou's direction. He was still blindfolded. Impressive for anyone else, but Kimimaro wasn't any ordinary Shinobi. "Jiroubou, what did I tell you before?"
The big orange haired Shinobi swallowed nervously, unsure on whether to reply or not. "W-well… N-not to interrupt your sessions, Kimimaro-sama."
A bone suddenly speared him through his left shoulder and another landed eerily close to his face in the wall he was now slumped against. "Orochimaru-sama gave me reign over Otogakure this week. He told me if I see trash acting about, I can put them down without pause. Jiroubou, despite you being one of the Elite Sound Guards… To me, you're still trash. Weak, immensely so."
"Y-yes, Kimimaro-sama!"
Another bone joined the one piercing Jiroubou's left shoulder, just to add to the pain. "As trash, you don't have any rights. Next time, I will see to it you die. Understood?"
"Y-yes!"
"Now, for what reason have you risked your life?"
The young man with the orange Mohawk nodded his head nervously. "We- T-There's an intruder! His Chakra is very weird!"
Kimimaro removed the blindfold and glared incredulously at Jiroubou. "His? Are you telling me it is only one person?"
Jiroubou was a high-level Sensor-nin. With his sensor abilities, he was able to distinguish between males and females and could gauge their Chakra Type, even from a very far distance. "Yes! But his Chakra is telling me he has all elemental affinities! And he's doing nothing to conceal his Chakra! He's just marching towards Otogakure!"
A Bone Sword, made out of Kimimaro's right arm, was now resting between Jiroubou's eyes. "Again, you're telling me there's only one person and you're not dealing with this yourselves? You four are elite guards, act like it. I'm busy." He turned his bone sword into a normal right arm again.
Before Kimimaro could turn away however, Jiroubou dared to speak up again. "B-but wait!" Despite the death glare he was receiving, Jiroubou continued. "It must be a Jinchuuriki! His Chakra Levels are just too high!"
Kimimaro's interest was piqued now and he retracted his Bone Sword once more, since it had activated on instinct again. "A Jinchuuriki?" He seemed to ponder the situation as he casually glanced around the area, observing all dead Shinobi around him. "I've fought Jinchuuriki before, they are very interesting." So interesting that he always had to go Curse Seal Level Two. Why would a Jinchuuriki be heading for Otogakure? "Very well. You intercept and try to kill him, I'll act as your backup and observe first. Consider this a test for the four of you. How far away is he?"
"Still more than a mile, Kimimaro-sama." Jiroubou paused as Kimimaro walked past him. "His Chakra… I can't feed on it."
"Then don't feed on it, fool." The Kaguya popped his neck once. "Orochimaru-sama is in Suna, Kabuto-sensei in Konoha and I don't care where Guren is but she's not here. Let's kill the trash that dares walk into Otogakure Territory in their absence. Assemble the others and go. I won't be far off."
TBC
So, another chapter done. This chapter is actually half of the chapter I wanted to post. But I felt putting up 12k+ words for a Chapter, rushed as I write them, was a bit too much. This in turn means that the next chapter is also done, I'll put it up in a few days.
Thanks for reading!