AN: Academy grad is at 16 years old. I might be taking stuff from other animes but this is not a crossover. Definitely an AU story he will be traveling for around 10 years with people he meets Suggestions always welcome. Strong, Observant, Intelligent & Mature Naruto.
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO AND OTHER CHARACTERS I AM TAKING FROM ANIMES AND GAMES:(....
Morning the Next Day...
Naruto was woken up by his blaring alarm clock. Looking at the time he sees it's 6:30 AM. Getting up out of bed he heads to the bathroom. Turning on the shower to let the water warm up he gets his toothbrush and puts toothpaste on it. Shoving it into his mouth he checks the water with his hand before hopping in brushing his teeth while letting the water hit him. Finishing his brushing he soaps up and shampoos his hair.
Getting out of the shower the he heads to his dresser and pulls out an orange shirt, a fresh pair of boxers, and his overalls. Throwing on his clothes he heads to the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Grabbing a cup of instant ramen he starts to boil water. When the water was done boiling he poured it into the cup. After the waiting the excruciating 3 minutes it took for the ramen to finish. Tearing into the ramen with gusto he finished it in and instant.
Throwing the foam cup into the garbage he checks the time and notices its almost 7 o'clock. "Hmm...ji-chan said that we would be leaving at 8...I should probably head over to the tower and wait with him." Heading to his bedroom he sees the bag filled with the many scrolls and items that he was bringing with him. Swinging the pack onto his shoulders he makes sure to lock all the windows and door. After his little security check he forms the ram seal he does a generic shunshin to get to the Hokage's office.
Hokage's office...
Sarutobi was going over all the preparations for the trip to the capital of fire country. Speaking to his secretary and asking if she took care of all the non-important paperwork and arrangements for his absence.
He sat in his chair when he had Shoki send for Shibi Aburame and Shikaku Nara. He choose these two men to be in charge due to their intellect. They were capable of thinking outside the box and were strategic genius's when the time arose. They were also the most logical when difficult decisions were brought up in council meetings. Sarutobi also trusted these two because they have always shown that that they were loyal to the village and and himself, they did not trust Danzo and felt that the civilian portion of the council had to much power for their own good.
Pulling out his pipe he packed a bit of tobacco into it and lit it. Taking relaxing drags he feels himself calming down. Feeling a chakra signature approach he prepares himself. Seeing a poof of smoke appear and Naruto stepping out of he relaxes.
"Nice to see you Naruto-kun." He greeted the boy
"Mornin' ji-chan! Just thought it would be easier to wait here with you instead of at my apartment." Naruto replied taking his pack off and sitting down on the couch near the wall.
"Thats fine. I'm assuming that you are all packed and ready to go then, hmm?"
"Yup sure am I sealed all my things in scrolls and put them in my bag." he said as he went to the Hokage's bookshelf to look for something to do while he waited.
"Well I'm just making some last minute preparations so just sit and relax." Sarutobi said just as Naruto found a book that caught his eye. Pulling the book off the shelf Naruto returns to the couch and opens the book. The Hokage looked at the title to see which book that the boy had started to read and saw that it was a book written by the Nidaime about his sword the Raijin. He knew that the book didn't tell exactly how to make the sword but if someone who could read between the lines they would be able to replicate it. Hearing a knock on the door he gives a soft "Enter".
"Hokage-sama Shikaku-san and Shibi-san are here." Shoki said as she gestured to the two shinobi clan heads.
"Thank you Shoki. Please come in Shibi-san, Shikaku-san." as Shoki closed the door after the two clan heads entered.
"To what do we owe the pleasure Hokage-sama?" Shibi said. Both the men had noticed Naruto reading a book on the couch. They were one of the few people in the village that knew he was just a little boy who contained a vile beast and trusted the Yondaime's skill enough that they knew the demon couldn't force its way out without killing itself along with the boy.
"I have something important that concerns the two of you." They both looked at Naruto and the Hokage got what they thinking.
"Ah its not a secret and Naruto-kun is coming with me so he is fine where he is." nodding the two of them stood in front of him.
"As you know I will be leaving the village for a little while to meet with Fire countries Daimyo." Sarutobi said and paused while he took another drag from his pipe. "While I'm gone I have decided that I will leave you two in charge." He chuckled as he saw both men raise their eyebrows and thought. "Leave it to the laziest person and most stoic man in Konoha to only raise their eyebrows at such a comment."
"Why us Hokage-sama?" Shikaku said after both men had recollected themselves.
"Simple I don't trust the council while I'm gone." Seeing the looks on their faces he decided to elaborate. "While I trust some of you on the council I know that many of its members some who are shinobi are in the pocket of Danzo, Koharu and the Uchiha. While a few are like yourselves which include the Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Hyuuga, and even Homura and the head of the Hospital and can be trusted." He finished.
"I see I will do my best while you are gone Hokage-sama." Shibi said with a bow.
"Same here it would be too troublesome if Danzo and the Uchiha had control." Shikaku said with a nod.
"Very well I will put my trust in you while I'm gone. Thank you, you may leave."
"Alright Naruto-kun that was the last of my business we should head to the gates. ANBU!" Sarutobi called. When he said this four clouds of smoke appeared and bowed.
"Hokage-sama?" The leader of the group said. He had gravity defying silver hair and wore a dog mask.
"Yes you and your squad will be accompanying myself and Naruto-kun to the capital." Sarutobi gestured to Naruto on the couch. "We leave in 30 minutes meet at the main gate." The four disappeared to prepare for their mission.
Grabbing his robe and hat Sarutobi checked to make sure he had everything he needed. Opening one of his drawers of his desk he pulled out an orange book with a woman wrapped in a towel and kissing a man. "Ah can't forget about you now can I" he giggled as he thought about getting some much needed reading in without the distraction of paperwork. Naruto looked at him like he was crazy hearing a grown man giggle at a little orange book was kinda weird. He looked at the cover and title and read "Icha Icha Paradise" and thought that he would look into the book sometime later to see what could elicit such a reaction from the Hokage.
30 minutes later...
The Hokage, Naruto and the four ANBU were on the road. Naruto had asked the Hokage if he could continue reading the book about the Raijin. The Hokage said it was fine so here he was on the road with his face in the book. He would occasionally sneak glances at the ANBU guards.
One was a woman who had long purple hair and wore a cat mask. She was wearing the standard ANBU uniform except none of the wore four wore the cloak. She had a plain katana across her back instead of the standard ninjato with the hilt on her right shoulder.
The one behind him was a black haired man. His hair reached to his shoulder and was kind of wavy. He wore a rat mask. He had a pair of swords that looked like hooks because the tip rounded at the end and came 4 or so inches back over the dull side of the blade.
The last one wore a horse mask. His black hair was tied high ponytail that was rather short. He wore the standard ANBU gear also. On his back strapped in a backward fashion was a ninjato the hilt was pointed down towards his right hip.
The trip on the way to the capital was rather uneventful except for a little incident that occurred on the second day. A group of 10 bandits lead by a rather large man wielding a giant battle Axe that looked to be bigger than Naruto was proclaimed that he was the legendary bandit king. He had stated that he wanted all of their valuables or they would kill them. The battle was rather anticlimactic the Hokage made one hand sign and the before the bandits even knew what happened eight of them fell to the floor dead. 'Horse' and 'Rat' had taken care of them with ease. Naruto was amazed because he didn't catch them move at all. He simply thought "These guys are the real deal..." the leader of the group was scared after his men were killed and started to run when a kunai was embedded into his skull while the last bandit was stabbed through the heart by 'Horse's' ninjato.
The 'Dog' masked ANBU told his group to check the corpses for anything valuable and then burn the corpses. The Hokage had said to Naruto that if he found anything interesting that he could keep it. He had searched three corpses including the leaders and found 4 sacks of ryo that totaled about 17,000 ryo. Along with the money he found a couple of swords that were of good quality. But the thing that he found on the leader's body that had interested him was a scroll of Suiton jutsu that held the Kirigakure no jutsu and Mizu bunshin no jutsu he had sealed all the items into a scroll. He had also found a scroll that held the location of the camp that they had set up. He had showed the Hokage the scroll with the camps location and got a pat on the head. He called both 'Horse' and 'Rat' and gave them the scroll and said to destroy the camp and meet them at the capital when they were finished. After they had searched all the corpses they burned them. Most of the bodies had mostly money a few more had jutsu scrolls but other than money and weapons that was all. The jutsu scrolls contained basic Katon & Suiton jutsu that the ANBU already knew so they had handed the scrolls to Naruto. Apparently the bandits didn't know how to use chakra so they had not learned the jutsu on the scrolls that they had.
After the little battle --if you could call it that-- Sarutobi decided to make camp. Rat and Horse immediately left to take care of the bandit camp. Sarutobi pulled out his scroll with a tent and had Naruto help set it up since they would share the tent. After the tent was set up Naruto sat down near a tree and pulled out the scrolls that the ANBU given to him. The scroll listed two Katon jutsu Housenka no jutsu which shot out multiple fireballs, Houkakasui which shot a small stream of fire. The Suiton scroll held only one jutsu. It was the Teppodama. Spending a few minutes looking over the three scrolls Naruto decided to learn the fire stream jutsu since it look the easiest. Putting the two Suiton scrolls in his pack he began to memorize the handseals for the jutsu.
After learning handseals and practicing for ten minutes so he didn't mess up the seals he moved away from the camp to try it. Sarutobi saw this and decided to follow about five feet away from camp he saw Naruto stop. Naruto practiced the seals needed for the jutsu a few more times before deciding to try it. He completed the seals at a slow pace so as not to screw up and called out the jutsu. A stream of fire burst forth from his mouth. He stopped the jutsu when he heard clapping. Turning his head he was met with the sight of a smiling Sarutobi and the ANBU who had felt the little chakra spike.
"Very good Naruto-kun I see that you got the jutsu and on your first attempt I might add." Sarutobi said walking over to Naruto to ruffle his hair.
"Yup that one was easy it only had a few handseals and used little chakra about the amount of chakra it would take for five bunshin I think." Naruto grinned at getting a new jutsu.
"Still though getting a jutsu right on the first try is very hard. But next time tell one of us when you go to practice a jutsu just in case you do something wrong and hurt yourself." Sarutobi said and received a nod and 'hai' from the 6 1/2 year old. "Who knows maybe one of the ANBU might teach you something." Naruto looked at the ANBU with a puppy dog look
'Cat' who thought "Kawaii" caved and said. "Why don't I teach you how to wield those weapons you picked up from those bandits." The Hokage chuckled at the fact that she fell for his puppy dog look. While 'Dog' snickered at her.
Naruto ran back to his pack and unsealed the weapons and grabbed the sword. He ran back to the group and proceeded to be taught how to hold the sword. 'Cat' had taught him the basic sword stance and had him doing a bunch of slashes to get him used to the feel of the sword. He struggled at first because the length of the sword was as tall as him standing.
The last day of the trip went by without incident. They had arrived at the walls of the capital pretty fast. After the routine check in at the gate they were allowed entrance. Sarutobi also said to the guards that two of his ANBU would be arriving later as they were dealing with a bandit problem in the area. The guards nodded and asked what they looked like and Sarutobi pointed to the two with him and told them they had the same clothing but one wore a rat mask while the other wore a horse mask. Writing the description down the guard said that they would inform the two of his arrival and send them to him.
Sarutobi nodded and lead the group towards the Daimyo's palace. He had to grab Naruto's hand so as not to lose track of him in the crowded streets. After the daunting task of walking through all the people they arrived at the gates to the palace. Walking up to the gate the guards said
"Halt name and reason for being here." the guard on the left said
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage of Konoha, here for my meeting with the Daimyo. These are two of my guards two more will be here after they take care the bandit camp a day or two away from here. This boy here is my guest Naruto Uzumaki." the guards looked them over and opened the gate. When the guard on the right spoke.
"I will lead you to the meeting chamber where Nobunaga-sama will meet you." the guard said as he led them through the main hall to the meeting chamber. Naruto was astounded by the many items around that were around the palace. When they reached the meeting room they were told to wait for the Daimyo to arrive. Sarutobi had sat down on one of the two couches in the center of the room. Naruto had spent his time looking around the room at all the paintings and statues.
Minutes after they had arrived the doors were opened to reveal the Daimyo and his 12 Ninja Guardians. Naruto walked back over to the Hokage who was now standing with 'Dog' and 'Cat' on his side. Sarutobi bowed to the Daimyo which in turn was followed by Naruto and his guards.
"So good to see you Sarutobi-dono." the Daimyo said after he and his guards returned the bow with one of their own. "I would have thought that you would have more guards?" questioned the Daimyo.
"Ah yes of course Nobunaga-dono...I do but along the way we ran into some bandits and Naruto-kun here" Sarutobi gestured as he brought Naruto to his side. "Found a scroll with the camps location so I decided to send my other two ANBU to deal with it so the bandits would not be able to cause future problems for the people of Hi no kuni."
"Thank you for taking care of that than. I should also be thanking young Naruto for finding the scroll since those bandits have been causing problems in one the villages to the east of here." Nobunaga said as he smiled down at Naruto and ruffled his hair. Naruto smiled back at him and blushed from the praise. Everyone chuckled at his blush which made him blush harder.
"You must be tired from your trip here how about we hold off on our little meeting until tomorrow. I am sure that young Naruto would like to see the city." Nobunaga said while Naruto nodded.
"Ah of course I was planning on showing him around after our meeting but since we are holding off on that until tomorrow I will show him around while we find a place to stay." Sarutobi said.
"Yes let me write you a voucher for one of the hotels near the palace just show them the note and they will put the tab on me." said Nobunaga as he was scribbling the note on a piece of paper. He handed them the note and said. "I will see you tomorrow at the meeting." as he got up and bowed and left the room.
One of his guards stayed to guide them out. This guard caught the attention of the Hokage. Walking over to the guard Sarutobi said. "Asuma my son how are you doing?"
"I'm doing good how about yourself Pops." Asuma replied as he led the group out.
"Good. I'm doing well just getting older as you can see. Konohamaru is getting bigger now that he is 2 years old. Been causing as many problems for me as Naruto-kun has." they both chuckled at the thought of their grandson/nephew.
"Ah almost forgot about you 'Ruto." Naruto made a face at the pet that Asuma had given him when he was 4 before he left to join the guardians.
"Good to see you to Smokey." Naruto said using his nickname for Asuma. Everyone chuckled when they heard Asuma's pet name They had reached the door to the gates after Naruto replied. Opening the door they said their goodbyes and left the palace.
It took them a good half hour to find the hotel the Daimyo was paying for them to stay at. Upon seeing the voucher that they showed the clerk they were immediately showed to their rooms. Sarutobi and Naruto would share a room while the four ANBU would share the other. Two would guard the door while the other two slept and they would switch midway through the night.
"Ne ji-chan can we go out to eat I'm hungry?" as if to emphasize his statement Naruto's stomach growled.
"Hahaha...alright we'll go get something to eat and then we'll look around the city." Sarutobi said getting into causal robes instead of wearing the Hokage robes. Naruto looked through his bag and took the scroll with his money, and the scroll with the weapons he got from the bandits so he could sell them.
When the old man was ready Sarutobi told both ANBU that they were going to out to eat and were welcome to come along. Both ANBU nodded and followed after the two. They spent many minutes trying to find a place that Naruto wanted to eat at. Eventually they ended up at a ramen stand.
After their meal Naruto lead Sarutobi to many shops and vendors. They had stopped at a clothing store that Naruto wanted to go to so he could buy a new outfit or two. They had spent 30 minutes rummaging through the goods that the store had to offer. Naruto ended up picking out a red long sleeve pull over hoody with the kanji for fire on both the front and back and grabbed 3 more. He picked out a pair of black shorts and got 3 also. He also picked out 5 pairs of pants 1 in dark green, 2 in black, and 2 in red. He picked out 5 shirts to match the colors of the pants.
When he went up to the counter when something behind the counter caught his eye. It was a backpack. It was smaller than the one he already had but this on had a a special feature. A plastic pouch that could be filled with liquid with a tube running from it out to the shoulder strap so a person could drink straight from the pouch. He placed his stuff on the counter and asked. "Excuse me, how much is that pack on the wall with the tube?" this caught the attention of Sarutobi and the ANBU who thought it was nothing special it looked like an ordinary pack.
"Oh that is one of my own creations its only 200 ryo. Do you like it?" the clerk said. He hadn't sold any of them people thought it was a waste of money.
"I would like to purchase one if I may. I think that pack is a great invention it makes traveling much easier as you don't have to worry about a water source as long as you have the pouch filled with water." Naruto said. Sarutobi and the ANBU after hearing his reason were thinking of buying one themselves. The clerk beamed at having someone call his creation a great idea and spoke.
"I like you young man you are the first to every want one...many call it a waste or stupid, so for you I will throw in the bag for free while you pay for the clothes." the clerk pulled the bag of the wall and placed it on the counter.
"Thank you for your generous offer clerk-san." He was interrupted by the clerk
"Ah call me Kasher. May I know the name of my customer?" holding his hand out to shake with the boy.
"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." grabbing his hand to shake.
"Naruto-san is there anything else that you need." Naruto shook his head before replying.
"Actually could I get another one of those bags just in case this one breaks or something happens to it."
Kasher nodded and placed another bag on the counter.
"Alright lets total this up and see how much it costs." the man looked at the items and totaled up the amount. "That would be 1,275 ryo Naruto-kun." Naruto pulled out his scroll and unsealed a bag and counted out 1,500 ryo. Kasher told him he gave to much and Naruto replied "Keep it, it is for your generosity, and I will be coming back if I ever need more of these bags. I hope that you will have new creations for me to buy." Kasher laughed and told him he would work on it. Gathering his things he put them into his new bag. And once again thanked Kasher and headed to the door.
"Naruto-kun would you wait at the door for me I have to talk to Kasher-san here." Naruto nodded and proceeded to wait by the door. "Kasher-san I was wondering if you would by any chance want to strike up a deal. You see I am the Hokage of Konoha and would like it if you could supply us with those bags of yours they are an interesting and useful invention. Of course we will compensate you for your work say 300 ryo for every bag which includes shipping?" Sarutobi asked.
"Sounds like a sound offer to me maybe when word gets out other villages will want to buy them also. I'll take you up on your offer, though it takes a day or two to make them I could hire some help and speed up the process." Kasher said.
"Good how about this you make as many as you can in a month and in a month from now you send me the amount and I will send you the payment. Sound good." Kasher nodded. "Could I also purchase one for myself at this moment?" Kasher nodded again and pulled another bag off the wall.
'Dog' and 'Cat' also stepped forward and asked for a pack for themselves and Kasher was happy to oblige as he found people who liked his creation. Pulling off 2 more packs he set them on the counter and said. "Together or separate?" he heard 'separate'. "Okay than that will be 200 ryo each." All three pulled out the amount and placed it on the counter. After counting the money Kasher said. "Pleasure doing business with you I will be working on the bags and will send a message at the end of the month." they said goodbye and left the shop.
After visiting many more shops and vendors Naruto had accumulated many items. Some useful some not so useful, but what can you say he was still a child who liked to have fun like a deck of cards and a white tiger mask that made him look like the two ANBU with him. In his bag sat some books that he picked up on the capital, books on tailoring, and some on gardening. He picked up a couple sketch pads so that he could draw out all of his ideas. In one of the vendors stalls he came across a beautiful looking fan. The fan was just a small personal fan used to cool a person off, but on the fan was a picture of a creating the moon. The vendor who sold the fan said that it was created a long time ago by someone who had seen the man actually create the moon. After hearing the story Naruto bought it due to his interest in legends and other stories of the sort. In his bag was also a flute and a book on how to play the flute with a few songs inside of it. It was getting dark and Naruto and Naruto was a few hundred ryo less heavy but he had wanted to go to one more place. The local blacksmith. He wanted to sell the weapons that he had because he had a feeling that they were tainted from being used by the bandits.
They asked around and found out that the best local blacksmith was named Murusame, and he had a shop on the east side of the city near the park. People said he liked it there because it was quiet and he could get his work done without interruption. So they headed toward his workshop. Arriving at the park they had found the one building with smoke coming out of it. Walking in they saw many weapons from throwing knives to giant Halberd's. They could here the sound of a hammer pounding on metal in the back of the shop. Naruto went over to the counter where a bell was and rang it. The pounding ceased and a man around 5'8'' stepped out covered in soot. He was well built from his work. He had black hair that was tied into a high ponytail that fell down to his shoulders. He walked up and said. "What can I do for you?" looking at the group who he found out was obviously ninja and a small boy. He was mildly surprised when the small boy answered his question.
"Ano sir would you perhaps be the blacksmith known as Murusame?" Murusame nods. "I was wondering if you would forge me something?" Naruto questions.
"What would that be young one?" Murusame replies.
"Well I would like a Katana and Wakizashi that would grow in tune with myself as I grow older. But I would also like that that you add five more inches onto the sheath of the Wakizashi that can be taken on and off." Everyone was looking at him a little weird after he said that.
"It's been awhile since I've had such a strange request. But I know how to do it but I got a question for you young one." Naruto nods. "What is it you plan to do with the blades that I create for you? And what are the extra five inches on the sheath for if I might ask?"
"Well first answer is that I will use them to protect people in need even if I don't know them personally." Murusame nods. "Second answer to your question is that I plan to do something very special to it." Naruto was planning on making the extra part of the sheath into something like the Raijin Murusame stares at him and then nods.
"Alright well I am gonna have to make you custom sheaths as well to deal with the growing of the blades and would have to get your measurements to make the size of the sword for you right now so come over here while I measure you." After the measurements Murusame said that the swords would be down in one weeks time. He also asked if there was anything else he could help with. Naruto says 'yes' and takes his pack off and searches for a something. He pulled out a scroll and unsealed the items in it. Out of the smoke came 5 katanas, A giant Axe, 3 Wakizashi, and 25 throwing knives. These were the weapons that he had pilfered of the bodies of the bandits.
"Ano how much could I get if I wanted to sell all these weapons?" Naruto said.
Murusame 'hmm's' and looks over the weapons with the eye of a weapons crafter and says. "I'll give you 6,500 ryo for all of them they aren't that great but average."
"Thats fine I wasn't going to use these weapons as I feel they are tainted with the blood of innocents so I felt either throw them away or sell them to a blacksmith such as yourself who could melt them down and work them into something else." Naruto says getting approving looks from the people around him.
"Very well let me move all this stuff back by the forge and I will count out the money for the weapons you just sold me." Gathering the weapons he made his way to the back leaving the group to wait. By the time Murusame came back into the front of the store Naruto was looking around again so he started to count out the 6,500 ryo for the boy. After counting the money he called Naruto over and gave him the money. Naruto came up to the counter with a book in hand. The on the art of forging and crafting weapons. "Could I also get this book I feel that I will need it sometime in the near future." Naruto said.
"Sure take it I'll let you have it for free since I'll be making your swords and because I wrote that book myself so tell me how you like it when you finish it." Murusame said.
"Alright thanks I guess I will see you in a week than goodbye." Naruto said as he left the shop with Sarutobi and the ANBU. It was dark out now so the Hokage and ANBU decided to make it faster they would Shunshin to the hotel. It took a few Shunshin's to get there because it was pretty far from the blacksmith's. They all went about their nightly routines and went to bed.
Morning the Next Day...
Naruto and Sarutobi woke up at 6 o'clock and went about their morning ritual. Sarutobi donned his Kage robes while Naruto decided to wear his new clothes. He wore a black shirt, his red hoody, and a black pair of pants. When he was fully clothed Naruto emptied his pack and began to seal the new items that he purchased yesterday into scrolls. When he was all done sealing everything he grabbed all his scrolls that he left in the room when they went out last night. After packing all his things in his bag he went into the bathroom and filled the pouch in his bag with water.
Sarutobi was waiting for Naruto as he went about his morning. He knew that he had a meeting in a couple hours so he waited for Naruto so they could get breakfast somewhere. Seeing the boy run into the bathroom with his bag and hears the water running and wonders what he could be doing. Naruto came out with a tube in his mouth and water running through the tube. He smiles as he forgot all about the new packs that they had bought just yesterday and that they seem to work just fine. He thought to himself that he made a great deal with Kasher and his ninja would be well equipped if they wanted to buy one from one of the stores in Konoha.
"Ji-chan it works! This Is really a great invention why haven't more people bought this thing it would make travel so much easier instead of carrying canteens you can get a full backpack with water." Naruto said taking another sip of water.
"I don't know but it is indeed a fine invention I am glad that I have struck a deal with Kasher-san so we could sell those to our ninja in Konoha. Come lets go get some breakfast and visit some more places." Sarutobi said.
The ANBU were all ready set to go they even had their packs on their backs. They headed out the hotel and searched for another place to eat at. They stopped at a little tea house in one of the allies near the main market place. They sat in a booth and waved the waitress over and ordered cinnamon buns and green tea. They see a few of the Daimyo's samurai sitting at a table in the center of the shop laughing and playing cards. Naruto gets up and heads toward the samurai to see what they are playing as they have caught his interest with all the laughing so he bows and asks.
"Excuse me samurai-san would you be willing to teach me how to play this game...it seems like it would be fun since you and your friends are laughing so much?" hearing this the samurai stop laughing and stare at him before resuming their laughing fit. The closest samurai to him says.
"Sure kid why not my buddies and I are playing a game called poker...this version of the game is called 5 card draw." As he dealt out everyones hands and told him what kind of hands you can get and which hand beats which. Naruto asks if he could sit out for awhile and watch to see how its played. After a few hands he believed he had the game understood. So he asked if he could join in now. "Alright kid lets see if you got it down we play with whatever we have money, items, other things so what'cha got to put up." Naruto pulls out about 500 ryo and places it in front of him.
"I only have money on me right now and I don't have many expensive things that would interest you guys so yea..." Naruto says rubbing the back of his head.
"Alright fellas looks like the boy is in the game deal'em out!" the samurai sitting on his left says. So the time in the tea house went by with lots of laughs and pots won. Naruto was so lucky that he won every hand that he stayed in to play. He had started out with only 500 ryo and ended up with 8,000 ryo a silver pocket watch and a silver ring with a beautiful yellow diamond on it that the samurai said he got off a bandit that he killed...when he heard Sarutobi call him.
"Ah sorry guys but ji-chan is calling me so I have to leave thank you for teaching me how to play and letting me play with you guys." He gathered his money into a pile and counted it into stacks of 1,000 ryo each. "Oh yea for helping me play samurai-san here you go." as he hands one stack of bills to the samurai that helped him. The other samurai were mumbling about 'lucky blonde gaki's' "Ah can't forget these." as he grabs the ring and places it on his finger ands sees that it is to big for his tiny finger so he stuffed it in his pocket with the pocket watch. He puts the 7,000 ryo in his pack and walks back to his table where he sees everyone had already eaten except for him.
"Ah sorry about that is it time to see the Daimyo already...I guess I got to caught up in that game." He said as he grabbed the bag of cinnamon buns and follows the Hokage out of the teahouse.
They walked to the palace and arrive at the gates soon after. The guards let them in this time without hassle. As they head to the same meeting room Naruto eats his cinnamon buns. The Daimyo arrived soon after and then the meeting started. The two talked about problems in the village and things that could be improved on with extra funding. When Naruto finished his buns he pulled out the scroll on Suiton jutsu that he snagged off of the bandit leader. He reads through and sees that the Mizu Bunshin is just as easy as the Houkakasui jutsu. So he calmly interrupted the old mens talk and said.
"Ano I was wondering if there was a place that I could go that had water near it so that I may try a jutsu that I have been studying." The two looked at him and nodded the Daimyo called forth Asuma since he knew the boy.
"Asuma why don't you show young Naruto to the courtyard where all my guards practice." The Daimyo said.
"And make sure he doesn't hurt himself or anyone else. I don't know what jutsu he plans on learning but he already knows several but he has one Katon jutsu that could cause damage."Asuma just nodded and led him to the courtyard at the middle of the palace. The courtyard was rather large probably an acre of land. It was mostly a grass field but there was a pond with koi fish and wooden dummy's and targets. He could see some of the Diamyo's samurai sparring and a little girl about his age playing near the pond.
Walking over to the pond he sits down and opens the scroll and rereads it making sure to memorize the handseals for it. After he read through it twice he set it down and practiced the order of the seals making sure to get it right. When he felt he that he had it he did the seals and called out Mizu Bunshin no jutsu and a pillar of water formed into a human shape. Naruto inspected and thought it was okay until he heard a Asuma's voice.
"Almost 'Ruto but you messed up on some things 1.) the hair color isn't the same as yours it's a little paler 2.) your missing the Fire kanji on your back 3.) his whisker marks are missing that's pretty much it. You gotta remember the details in case you wanna switch with one in fight." Naruto nodded and dispelled the imperfect clone. He performed the jutsu again and it turned out he missed something again. It wasn't until the fourth try that he got it perfect. Asuma congratulated him and asked what other jutsu he knew so he told him. Asuma was impressed with what he new he could already graduate the academy so he decided to help him out.
"'Ruto what control exercises do you know?"
"Just the leaf floating one but I can add leaves on other parts of my body like hands and elbows." Asuma nodded.
"Alright well I'm gonna teach you a gennin level control exercise since you're gennin level already and chakra control is a must for every ninja because it helps you with jutsu among other things." Asuma said. Naruto nodded he knew that control was important but he hadn't gotten that far into the books on chakra control he was reading a book about kenjutsu last night since he was finally knew what kind of blade he would be using.
The pair walked over to one of the trees on the edge of the pond. "Okay here's what I want you to do 'Ruto I want you concentrate chakra to your feet and run up the side of the tree. Oh yea and mark the spot with a kunai so you can see your progress." Naruto looked at him and asked if if was possible his answer was Asuma walking up the tree and then hanging upside down on a thick branch. So Naruto began the exercise on his first try he got up 5 steps before he was blown off. "Too much chakra and you blow up the bark on the tree, too little and you slip right off, you need the amount in between." Asuma offered. So Naruto tried again and got 2 more steps up the tree. The day wore on with him trying to get to the top of the tree. The tree had multiple slash marks on it.
He was almost to the top when Nobunaga and Sarutobi walked into the courtyard just in time to see Naruto reach the top of the tree and collapse from exhaustion. So Sarutobi bid goodbye to everyone and thanked Asuma for watching him and headed to the hotel to rest for tomorrow's meeting. What Naruto didn't see was a little pair of Amethyst eyes watching from the other side of the pond. They belonged to the Daimyo's youngest daughter Akira. Akira had long pink hair tied into a ponytail that went to the middle of her shoulders. In her hair was a gold hairpiece.(A/N: THINK LACUS CLYNE FROM GUNDAM SEED HAIRSTYLE.) She had been watching the whole day ever since he had made the first Mizu Bunshin and he had caught her attention he was her age and was already doing things that kids their age shouldn't be able to do. She decided to talk to him and see what he was like she didn't have many friends her age many of them were other Himes' of other countries or were the heir to some clan but most were a few years older than her some even more. So she headed to her bedroom to sleep and think of the blonde boy walking up trees and making water versions of himself.
The Next morning...
Naruto had woken up and didn't recognize where he was looking around he figures it out. "The hotel but how did I get here I thought that I was at the palace??" he thought but then remembered that he had passed out when he had finally reached the top of the tree. Looking over to the other bed he sees that it is already empty. "What time is it?" he looks over at the clock which reads 10:47 AM. "Ji-chan should be at the palace already...I should get ready and head over there." So Naruto did just that he did his morning routine and left the hotel with 'Cat' following him since she volunteered to guard him when he woke up. Before leaving he made sure that his pack was filled with water and had all his scrolls. Naruto decided to stop at the tea house again to grab some of their delicious cinnamon buns before heading to the palace.
After buying himself his cinnamon buns he and 'Cat' headed straight to the palace. Upon reaching the gates they greeted the guards and asked if they could go in. The guards nodded and told them to wait for a guide to show them were the meeting was taking place this time.
The gates opened up to show that Asuma had come to greet them. "Yo, 'Ruto come on they're having the meeting in northeast courtyard." as he led them to the meeting. Naruto wondered what was so special about the northeast courtyard to make the Daimyo want to have the meeting there so he asked.
"Ne Smokey whats so cool about the northeast courtyard? Why have the meeting there?"
"Ah the northeast courtyard is the personal garden of the Diamyo's daughter Akira-hime. Its a really nice place lots of plants and flowers of every color. She's even got a few plants growing some fruits and veggies. So since it's a nice day they decided to have the meeting outside. Were here." Asuma finished pointing out that they had arrived.
Naruto looked around and he had to say that it was indeed a wonderful place. Looking around he could identify some of the plants. He saw a gazebo set up in the center of the garden surrounded by a pond. He could see hummingbirds and peacocks wandering around the garden. He hadn't noticed that Asuma was already moving over the little bridge going over to the gazebo. 'Cat' had to nudge him forward so that he would follow. Upon reaching the gazebo he could see that Sarutobi and the Daimyo sitting around a table with a cup of jasmine tea surrounded by their guards. He sat down near Sarutobi and declined the tea offered to him, as the two power figures continued their talk.
He pulled out the book he had bought the day before on how to play the flute. He opened the book and tuned out the boring conversation between the two leaders. Two hours had gone by and the Daimyo had called for a lunch break and had his servants bring the food out to the gazebo, and to bring his wife and daughter out to join them for lunch. The food was immediately brought out by many butlers holding trays with and array of food set on them. The Daimyo's wife Azumi and daughter came out a few minutes after the call for lunch was sent. Azumi had red hair that was done up in a fancy style. She was around 5'3'' and wore a ornate kimono with a floral design.
The meal was as enjoyable as could be in the acquaintance of the royal family. Though throughout the dinner everyone in attendance had noticed that Akira kept stealing glances at Naruto. Naruto for his part had caught her a few times. Lunch was over pretty quickly and the meeting was resumed once the trays were cleaned up.
Naruto had once again pulled out his book and continued where he left off. Akira had gotten bored and excused herself and went out into the garden. Naruto had seen her leave and snapped his book shut. He excused himself and followed Akira. He wanted to know why she kept stealing glances at him during lunch. He came upon her sitting under a sakura tree with her feet in the pond.
He walked up next to her and leaned against the tree with his hands resting behind his head. She looked up at him and said. "Is there something you need Naruto-san?" before looking back out at the pond.
"Hm did you say something?" Naruto replied still acting aloof.
Akira snapped he head back to face and was about to yell when she was stopped by Naruto speaking. "Ah sorry I couldn't resist. I did come here for something though." Naruto stopped playing the aloof character and looked directly at her. "I was wondering why you kept staring at me during lunch. Maybe you could help me out and tell me?" he waited for to answer.
Akira blushed as she heard the question. She had thought that she went unnoticed but apparently not. She looked away not wanting him to see her blush.
"I didn't have any food or anything on my face at the time did I?" Naruto said looking sheepish. Akira shook her head and giggled. "Hmm if it wasn't that then I don't know what it could've been!?" Naruto said sighing in exasperation. Akira giggled again and looked back up at him.
"I was looking at you because I wanted to know more about you. You are the only other kid my age that I have met." Naruto looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I only know people older than me." Akira said.
Naruto slid down the trunk of the tree into a sitting position next to her. He looked up at the sky before speaking. "I don't have many friends in Konoha. Not many people like me for some reason. I really don't know why..." Akira looked at Naruto who was still looking up. Akira wanted to change the subject cause she saw that he was becoming introverted.
"What was it you were doing yesterday when your were in the central courtyard?"
"Ah that was something called a control exercise that ninjas learn to make them better at controlling their chakra. Control is really important when doing jutsu's it helps to not waste chakra when performing a jutsu." Naruto said in lecture mode.
Akira looked at him totally confused, she didn't know what he was talking about. Naruto sensing her confusion tried to clear things up so he went into an in depth explanation about chakra and jutsu's. Naruto got an idea so brought it up.
"Hey Akira-hime I got an idea!" Akira looked at him with a look that said 'well what is it'. "How about I teach you some stuff that I know?" Naruto said looking at her. "Who knows it could be really fun for the both of us." Akira thought about it for a few seconds, and then nodded.
"Okay sure." Akira said.
"Alright let's start with unlocking your chakra. First all you do..." Naruto began to help Akira unlock her chakra so she could use it for any jutsu's.
And so the week went by everyday Naruto would follow Sarutobi to the palace. Once there Naruto would meet up with Akira in he garden. She had unlocked her chakra that day but it wasn't really impressive, her reserves were about enough to make 1 normal bunshin. He taught her the leaf floating exercise, along with the basic academy taijutsu Kata. He had also written down how to do all of the above so she could use it for reference in case she forgets how to do something.
They spent the time when they were not doing ninja things relaxing and talking about random things. Naruto would talk about how he would get so strong so that he could protect everyone and make sure no one has to suffer. Akira would talk about how boring the life of a princess was, saying that she couldn't do anything fun and how she was cooped up on the castle grounds not being able to go out without a huge entourage of people.
The day came for the swords that he had commissioned to be made for him to be finished. So he headed to Murusame's shop with 'Cat' as his ANBU guard. He entered the shop and walked over to the counter, once again he could hear the clanging of steal in the back room. Naruto went up to the counter to ring the service bell. Murusame walked out of the back room upon hearing the bell.
"Ah perfect timing young man. Your swords are ready let me go into the back to get them." Murusame walked back into the back room to retrieve the boys swords. He came back into the room with a box about 3 feet in length and 2 feet wide. He placed the box on the counter and gestured to for Naruto to open it up.
Naruto opened the box and was greeted with the sight of a 2 ½ foot katana and a 1 foot long wakizashi whose blades were of such pure silver that it almost looked like they were made of crystal. The handles to the blades were wrapped in black and red thread. The guards of the blades were the standard circular guard. He picked up the katana in a firm grip and was surprised at the weight it was pretty light almost as light as a kunai. He placed the sword back in the box and closed it. Naruto made sure to check the extra addition to the sheath of the wakizashi to make sure that it was what he wanted, seeing that it was satisfactory he placed it back.
"These are fine blades Murusame-sama I am glad that I came to." Naruto said with a bow. "May I know the cost of these fine pieces of art are?"
"Thank you my boy the total will be 4,550 ryo." Naruto reached into his pack and pulled out a scroll labeled money. He unsealed the scroll and sent chakra into it out of the scroll came a sack filled with ryo 29,000 to be exact. He counted out the bills and added another thousand to the payment. He handed the money to Murusame.
"You gave me a little to much young one..." Murusame tried to give it back but Naruto refused to take it.
"Please keep it Murusame-sama I gave you that because of the extra work that I made you do and I know that should something happen to my weapons that you are the man to come to." Naruto said preparing to to grab the box containing his new swords. When he was stopped by Murusame.
"May I know the name of the man that I crafted these swords for?" Murusame asked.
"Ah how could I have forgotten to introduce myself how rude of me." Naruto said while rubbing the back of his neck. "Naruto Uzumaki." he said as he held out his hand to shake.
Murusame grasps his small hand and shakes it. "Naruto-san I expect you to use those blades well" Naruto nodded and said.
"I will. I thank you once again I will now be on my way. I will see you again sometime in the near future." as he grabbed his box and waved goodbye to Murusame. Naruto and 'Cat' left the blacksmith and headed toward the palace where Sarutobi was having tea with the Nobunaga.
The meetings had ended on the third day but since Naruto had to wait for his swords they had used the extra four days to mingle with the royal family. Sarutobi spent the four days talking with Nobunaga about Icha Icha Paradise. He also spent time talking to Asuma trying to repair the relationship between them. Since he didn't really like the fact that Asuma joined the Guardians, but now seeing that he is doing fine and seems to enjoy it they came to terms and starting acting like a father and son.
Akira and Naruto were inseparable during the four days. The adults had seen how the two were with each other. Akira's mother and father had never seen Akira so happy. Ever since she started spending time with Naruto she could always be seen smiling. It warmed their hearts to see their daughter laughing and smiling for once and not the quiet little girl who spent her days in the garden.
Sarutobi had also seen the change in Naruto. He had only seen Naruto smile a true smile only a few times in his young life. He could say that Naruto was truly happy when he was with Akira, he had spent less time training and more time enjoying the small amount of fun that Akira helped provide. Sarutobi was dreading going back to Konoha cause once Naruto was in Konoha he would go straight back to his old self. Isolating himself and burying himself in his reading and training.
The day came for the group of Konoha ninjas and ninja in training to depart. The group made their way to through the city to the main gates of the city. They left the hotel early that morning to avoid the human traffic that the capitals streets. Naruto wore his red hoody and black shorts. On his left hip was his newly purchased daisho.
When the gates came into view they saw that the royal family was there waiting to send them off. So the group walked up to Nobunaga and his family.
"Sarutobi-dono I wish you a safe journey back to Konoha. It was a pleasure drinking tea and trading stories." Nobunaga said while holding his hand out to shake.
"The pleasure is all mine Nobunaga-dono. You were very accommodating even letting us use up a couple more days of your family and your time." Sarutobi said shaking his hand.
"No problem it was worth it to see my daughter Akira happy." Nobunaga said while looking at Akira who was off to the side with Naruto saying their goodbyes. The adults observed the two children as they talked. The two were totally unaware that they were being watched by the
"Akira-chan it looks like it's time for me to head back to Konoha." Naruto said looking up at the sky trying to avoid eye contact so that she wouldn't see his sad expression.
Akira looked at him with the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. She looks down trying to find something to say. She looks back up and sees that he is still looking up at the sky. "Can't you stay here instead of going to Konoha Naruto-kun?" Akira said hoping to get her friend to stay.
Naruto sighed hearing this question. He was all for staying with her but he knew he couldn't if he wanted to continue to become stronger. "I can't Akira-chan. I wish I could...sigh...I really wish I could but I can't. I need to get stronger to protect everyone." Naruto said bringing his gaze upon her. "You most of all Akira-chan."
Akira looked up at him this time with tears falling. She leaped up forward and wrapped her arms around his body and sobbed into her chest. "Please don't go Naruto-kun I don't know what I'll do without you here to play with me and practice all the cool things you taught me...Please stay." she spoke through her sobbing.
Naruto wrapped his arms around her when she hugged him and just held her. He listened to her speak and when she was done he pushed her away and spoke. "Hey hey stop crying...Himes' don't cry, so dry your eyes...besides you look even prettier when you smile." Naruto said grinning at her trying to lighten the mood. Akira's sobs slowly subsided and she wiped her tears away with a light blush on her face from his comment.
"Look when I'm gone why don't you have one of your fathers Guardians practice and teach you. I know Asuma would help if you asked." Naruto said. Akira nodded.
"Ah why don't I give you something to remember me by...hang on a sec I know I have something that I can give you." Naruto said while pulling off his pack. He opened it up and searched the many items in it for the thing that he wanted to give to Akira. He finally pulled out a small box. He opened the box and in it was the ring that he won in the poker game on a black string so he could wear it as a necklace since it was to big for his finger. He lifted it out of the box and put the box back into his pack. He walked up to her and said.
"Here Akira-chan I want you have this." Naruto said as he put it on over her head. After he put it on he stepped back and looked at her.
The adults had seen this and raised an eyebrow at this and wondered where he got the ring. Not even Sarutobi knew where he got it from since he had shoved the pocket watch and the ring in his pocket when he won the game. Azumi and the other females of the group thought that it was totally 'kawaii'. Akira looked at the ring and saw that it was beautiful. The yellow diamond though not the largest she has seen was cut perfectly. She held it her tiny hand. When she was done admiring the ring she looked back at him and stepped forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek and a soft 'thank you'.
Naruto was shocked when she kissed him along with the adults, though Nobunaga, Azumi, and Sarutobi were thinking about what would happen if the two got together. After Naruto got over his shock he smiled.
"Your welcome Akira-chan now you'll always have something to remember me by." Naruto said.
Sarutobi looked at the time and decided that they needed to head out now so they could make good time back to Konoha. He cleared his throat and spoke. "Naruto it's time to leave finish up your goodbyes and we will head out." Naruto nodded and began wrapping up his goodbye.
"Listen Akira-chan how 'bout I this." Naruto said and paused to make sure he was heard. "When the time comes when you can finally wear that ring properly I will come back for you. I promise!" Naruto said as he gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead and said his final goodbye.
"I'll miss you Hime." and with that he pulled his pack over his shoulders and walked away not wanting anyone see how sad he was that he was leaving the girl who made him so happy.
Shunshin: Body Flicker
Suiton: Kirigakure no jutsu: Hidden Mist technique
Suiton: Mizu Bunshin no jutsu: Water Clone technique
Katon: Housenka no jutsu: Mythical Phoenix Flame technique
Katon: Houkakasui: Fire stream
Suiton: Teppodama: Gunshot
Daisho: (Big-small) A katana and a wakizashi.
THIS WAS MOSTLY TO START THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AKIRA AND NARUTO SO FAR AKIRA AND INO ARE TWO OF THE GIRLS THAT I'M GONNA PUT WITH HIM. THINKING MAYBE 2-3 MORE.
SUGGESTIONS FOR GIRLS ARE WELCOME IF I WILL TRY TO FIT THEM IN WHEN I CAN. SO LEAVE A REVIEW WITH THE GIRL'S NAME.